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The Season’s Over
Some devils went up to Indianapolis (in the Indiana) and were able to stage a late game flurry of offense to neutralize Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky and his fellow Badgers to win the men’s college basketball national championship last night. As a basketball fan, it was an exciting game. As a fan of the Tar Heels who lives in Columbus, Ohio with family from Wisconsin, it was excruciating watching Coach K jump up and down in pure exuberance after the clock ticked down to all zeros. Wisconsin and the Big Ten were so close, but the summit was just too steep to reach.
Baskets are only worth so many points in the final 30 seconds.
Yesterday was fascinating, though. Aside from the grand finale of March Madness, it was also Opening Day for baseball. Quite the transition from one indoor sport with a time limit to an outdoor sport with no time limit. From a sport with nail-biting plays to a sport with no shortage of yawns, sports made one of its transitions on Monday. The occasional experience of a baseball game is fun. I have a few great memories of being at a baseball game in a new park every several years. There is an entertaining dynamic. But like hot dogs and beer, a steady diet is not recommended.
Regardless, in ballparks across the country, hot dogs and beer were purchased, jerseys were taken off the hanger in the closest and America’s pastime (some may say literally…) began its 162-game marathon of strikeouts, home runs and, well, what the New York Mets do:
That’s funny every year.
Pandemonium’s Playground is Open
A tornado unlike anything you’ve ever seen before is coming…
No, not that one. Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! will premiere on July 22nd at 9 p.m. ET on the Syfy network.
This tornado is filled with colossal upsets, trending dunks, dancing mascots and buzzer-beaters is finally touching ground in basketball arenas all across the United States today. March Madness, the wildest sports tournament in existence, is tipping off for the final 64 teams after a few teams were required to take an entrance exam for admittance earlier this week. From coast-to-coast, American companies will experience its lowest output for the year.
However, employee excitement levels will be off the charts.
Nobody has figured out an algorithm that is perfectly compatible for this tournament during any given year. That’s probably why sports fans anxiously await this momentous occasion. Any person has a shot at predicting correctly. The rationales for picking Team X or Team Y between Person A and Person B can see a variance as gaping as the Grand Canyon. And more surprising is that logic can and will only determine some of the results. The nature of March Madness is exactly that: madness. Therefore, each person’s bracket needs to have a few major upsets. There should probably be a Cinderella run by a mid-major. Mascot superiority and jersey colors will be determining factors. A few top teams will play exactly as expected. A 16-seed will never win.
As crazy as it reads, I strongly believe that a 16-seeded David will slay a Goliath sometime in the next few to several years. When this happens, the tournament will be deemed certifiably mad.
For some fun, listed below are a few highlights from my bracket:
- Every Iowa school (#7 Iowa, #3 Iowa State, #5 Northern Iowa) will win at least its first round game
- #11 The Dayton Flyers will see good fortune playing in Ohio, specifically in nearby Columbus
- #1 Duke and #2 UVA will meet in the Final Four for an epic ACC clash
- #7 Wichita State will shock the world and bring the entire state of Kentucky to tears en route to another Final Four
- #1 Wisconsin v #4 UNC will be must-see television
- The Arizona Wildcats will officially return to the college basketball summit by winning the 2015 National Championship with Sandra Bullock (“that wildcat behind the wheel”) sitting court side
Jim Nantz: You’re on.
Recycling Success
7-nil.
FYI – Bayern Munich has scored 33 goals and conceded 3 in their last 9 games in all competitions.
For any Champions League match, that’s a startling final score. After dismantling Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk following Müller’s successful penalty (and the fastest red card in tournament history) in the 4th minute on the friendly pitch at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich sent a clear message in their final game in the round of 16: Will Smith and Margot Robbie aren’t the only people in the world who are focused.
Last year’s devastating and embarrassing loss to eventual tournament champions Real Madrid in the semifinal still appears to be on the minds of the German leaders. 4th and 5th gears only. Pep’s Boys, regardless of potentially securing their 25th Bundesliga title with games in hand, will not rest until they can hoist their second Champions League trophy in three years. Or, in other words, winning the trophy that was the reason why Pep was hired as manager. As a matter of fact, they won’t rest until they get another historic Treble, like they did in 2013 with his predecessor Jupp Heynckes.
What are they doing to accomplish this? Oddly enough, it partially involves large buckets.
The goals are really piling up for Bayern Munich.
Happy Monday!
Ladies and gentleman, I’ve been saying for the past few years that Mix Diskerud is a burgeoning superstar and recently that he’s the USMNT’s genuine #10. He’s the central piece in the middle that will help guide the bright future of the young national team. It’s also been mentioned on this blog that it was a mistake for the Columbus Crew not to pursue Mix a second time late last year. Trading Josh Williams also wasn’t the wisest decision. The Crew lost 1-nil at Houston in their season opener Saturday night and yesterday the expansion club NYCFC (with Mix) tied fellow expansion club Orlando City 1-1.
Guess who opened up the scoring in the 76th minute?
And this is just the first game of the MLS season for the skillfully perceptive 24-year old American. He’s also an equally impressive distributor of the ball.
Mix It Up This Week!
P.S. Who is the majority owner of NYCFC? The same group that owns Manchester City. Mix will likely be wearing sky blue jerseys for many seasons, except the city where he resides may change down the road…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 