SUNNY SUNDAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

SPARTANS AND DEVILS GO FOURTH!
> In a game that had little interest for me before the game, Michigan State wins a close one in a very entertaining game with some definite drama at the end!
> The reverse was true for the second game. I was very interested in the outcome, but the end was less than suspenseful. No magic Three pointers to steal a win! Duke advances to another Final Four.
>We have ended up with two # 5 seeds ( Butler vs. Michigan State) playing each other in one game and a #1 vs a #2 (Duke vs West Virginia) in the other semi final game.

WINNING COMBINATIONS AND PERMUTATIONS!
> THE KING JONAH WISE did not get Baylor to close it out for him today! So close, but yet so far. Unfortunately for him, he does not have any teams alive in the Final Four. So leading from Day 1 only to see it slip away in the last weekend!
> Below are the remaining possible outcomes for our contest!

IF WEST VIRGINIA BEATS DUKE ON SATURDAY- THEN:
1st Place - 74 pts - THE MAILMAN
2nd Place - 71 pts - DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON
3rd Place - 65 pts - Tie - THE KING JONAH WISE & BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER

IF DUKE BEATS WEST VIRGINIA ON SATURDAY, AND DUKE LOSES NATIONAL CHAMP GAME:
1st Place - 69 pts - MARIANNE PENNY WISE
2nd Place - 67 pts - Tie - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD & THE MAILMAN

IF DUKE WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
1st Place - 69 pts - TIE - MARIANNE PENNY WISE - Tiebreaker = 140 pts for NC game
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN - Tiebreaker = 149 pts
-Therefore - if the total for the game is 144 or less then PENNY wins. For 145 or more BRUIN wins.
3rd Place - 67 pts - Tie - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD & THE MAILMAN

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POOL
> BRUIN DALE is the only remaining contestant with his choice of Duke.
> If one of the other three teams wins, the money will go to the party fund.

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA WINNER!
> THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL will be the winner of the high school division this year! Congratulations and great job! THE BIG DIESEL will win $15!

SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING
Losers - BRUIN DALE (Tennessee); LEWALCINDY (Baylor)
Staying Alive - THE MAILMAN (Michigan St.); MARIANNE PENNY WISE (Duke)

RESULTS AFTER SUNDAY - 60 games - 108 possible points
67 - THE MAILMAN - has WVU on Saturday.

65 - THE KING JONAH WISE

64 - DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON - has WVU on Saturday

62 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE - has Duke on Saturday

60 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD - has Duke on Saturday

59 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON

58 - BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER - has WVU on Saturday
MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE

56 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

55 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON - has WVU on Saturday
CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT

53 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL

52 - $BILL BRADY
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN - has Duke on Saturday & Monday

51 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ

50 - THE HUSKY CASEY WISE

49 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY
RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER

47 - LEWALCINDY HUFFMAN - Rolling Rocks coming your way!!

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
56 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL - has WVU on Saturday

53 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS

45 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ - has Duke on Saturday

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns or ideas for next year!

The Mailman

UPSIDE DOWN SATURDAY!

WILDCAT LOSERS
> Butler, the new Cinderella, beats the Kansas State Wildcats and return home to Indianapolis for a huge home court advantage!
> The Mountaineers handle the Kentucky Wildcats to advance to the Final Four. Seven of our players predicted this game correctly, while everyone else was shut out for the day!
> Both lower seeds won on Saturday!

THE WEST IS DEAD!
> There are no more points in our contest coming from the Left side of your brackets! There are no teams left on this side!
> The only teams left in play for any of our players are West Virginia and Duke and Baylor (two players).

LOCKING UP FIRST PLACE???
> THE KING JONAH WISE can guarantee the 2010 March Madness in Huntington Acres Crown with a Baylor win on Sunday! He will have 70 points and the best that anybody would be able to do is 69 after next weekend!
> This definitely would be a first for our little contest in the neighborhood! Never has anybody won before the Final Four weekend!
> Thought I let you all know - to add some interest and excitement for this game!

THE BRUIN STANDS ALONE!
> With the Kentucky loss, only BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN remains in the National championship Pool with his pick of Duke for the National Champion!
> If Duke does not win it, the money will go to beef up the party fund.

SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING UPDATE
> Losers - THE KING JONAH ( Kansas St.); $ BILL BRADY (Kentucky)
> Staying alive - HOT ROD BILL (Butler); BUBBA JEFF (West Virginia)

RESULTS AFTER ELITE EIGHT SATURDAY - 58 games - 98 possible points
65 - THE KING JONAH WISE

62 - THE MAILMAN

59 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON
DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON

57 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE

56 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE

55 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD

53 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE
BIG ONINONS DOUG REISINGER
SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL

51 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG

50 - THE HUSKY CASEY WISE
THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD

49 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY

47 - BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
LEWALCINDY HUFFMAN
$ BILL BRADY

46 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ

44 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
53 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR

51 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL

40 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ


GOOD LUCK ON SUNDAY!

The Mailman

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

MIDNIGHT STRIKES FOR CINDERELLA!
> Midnight struck for the true Cinderella teams - Northern Iowa and St Mary's! Northern Iowa lost a tough one to Michigan State, while St Mary's was over matched by Baylor! Now we are left with two #5 seeds and a #6 seed- both on the same side of the bracket as our pseudo Cinderellas!

THE MIDWEST IS DEAD!
> For purposes of our contest there is no more points out of the Midwest Regional - MSU vs. Tennessee. No one has picked either of these teams beyond the Elite Eight.
> THE LONGHORN TYLER and THE KING JONAH both had Tennessee winning on Friday night! They both had 3 out of 4 on Friday - both correctly picking Baylor and Duke as well! Great job guys!

SHRINKING POOL
> Ohio State's loss eliminated two more people from the National Championship Pool as CHIP FAN JAN and THE DEBSTER both had the Buckeyes as their National Champs. Only 5 people remain in the running for the $100, with Duke (1 player) and Kentucky (4) the remaining options.
> If no one predicts the correct winner the money will go into the party fund! There are 6 other teams left!

LIMITED POINTS AVAILABLE -
> There are only 4 teams left that can potentially bring points to any of our players.
> Kentucky, West Virginia, Duke, and Kansas State are the only teams left that are predicted by our group to advance beyond the Elite Eight.
> Obviously the Kentucky - West Virginia game will be a key game to determine who might advance to the one of the money positions!

SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING
> Losers - JAMMIN JEFF - Ohio State; RAM FAN JAN - St Mary's; DEBSTER THE CHEF - Northern Iowa; MBFGGG - Purdue
> Still breathing - BRUIN DALE - Tennessee; LEWALCINDY - Baylor; THE MAILMAN - Michigan State; PENNY WISE - Duke

RESULTS AFTER TASTY TWELVE FRIDAY - 56 games - 88 possible points
65 - THE KING JONAH WISE - Amazing! I keep being surprised when I look at his scores- picking everything right! FINAL FOUR TEAMS LEFT - Kentucky, Baylor

59 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON - He told me he wasn't sold on his picks! the Rookie of the year - FINAL FOUR - Kentucky, Baylor, Kansas St.

57 - THE MAILMAN - Holding on - banking on the Mountaineers! FF- WVU, Duke

56 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE - The last minute Kansas traitor may win because of it! - FF- Kentucky. Baylor

54 - DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON - Strong Friday moves her up and challenging for the Family championship! FF - WVU, Duke, Kansas St.

53 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL - Tough Friday - 1 for 4! Best hope is a Kentucky NC and split the pool! FF - Kentucky
MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE - The Defending champ has possibilities for a repeat with Kentucky NC and a Duke FF! FF - Kentucky, Duke

52 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE - Will be rooting for the Mountaineers and the Devils. A NC from the other side of the bracket might get some money for PENNY! FF - WVU, Duke

51 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG - A Kansas St win this weekend would help but will be tough to get to money! FF - Kentucky, Kansas St.

50 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD - Looks like too far back to catchup to the money positions, but you never know. FF - Kentucky, Duke
BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD - Bob's clever ruse to use Patti as a second ballot has resulted in a standoff so far. Has one different FF participant. FF - WVU, Duke
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON - Having Kansas St to the FF will help. A West Virginia win would as well would do wonders! FF - WVU, Kansas St.
CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT- Lost OSU, but has Baylor and West Virginia to FF which is an unusual pick in our group and would help a lot! FF - WVU, Baylor

49 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY - Basically HOT ROD is screwed! Only has Kentucky to Final Four and that's it. Look forward to the party! FF - Kentucky

48 - BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER - Maybe too far out to get money with a West Virginia and Duke win this weekend. FF - WVU, Duke

47 - $ BILL BRADY - For money will need to rely on Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen drawing! FF Kentucky, Duke
LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN - Hope you enjoy the party! We are looking forward to a POLE DANCE RECITAL! FF - Kentucky
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN - He is the proverbial Great White Hope with 3 teams to the FF and Duke as his NC! FF - Kentucky, Duke, Kansas St.

46 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ - Rising (like the Hot Air Balloon that he is) from the cellar and he has three possible FF participants! FF - Kentucky, Duke, Kansas St.
THE SEEDINGS

45 - THE HUSKY CASEY WISE - Tough FF! West Virginia might keep you out of Rolling Rock territory! FF - WVU

44 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER - Rolling Rocks or ??? You've got some good picks for FF! FF - Kentucky, Duke

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
53 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS - Looking strong with 3 teams to the FF! FF - Kentucky, Baylor, Kansas St.

46 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL - Looks like needs West Virginia, and Duke and maybe Butler to catch The Exterminator! FF WVU, Duke

40 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ - Looks grim to get to first. Needs KSU and Duke but leaders have the East Region covered! FF - Duke, Kansas St.


GOOD LUCK ON SATURDAY!

The Mailman

A DOG & CATS THURSDAY!

YOUR TYPICAL UPSET AND DOUBLE OT NIGHT!
> Another Number 1 goes down when the Orangemen get crushed by some Bulldogs!
> Kentucky's Cats athleticism finally stops the Brainiac Cinderella from Cornell! It was a good run!
> The Mountaineers stifled the Huskies with defense and offensive boards all over the place!
> But the GAME of the night was K State over Xavier. Xavier was killing me (my bedtime got pushed back a half an hour!) with two unlikely last second 3's (free throws and then a trey) to force double overtimes. I mean that was almost a half court shot for a three to force the second overtime! Unbelievable! They ran out of gas or luck in the the second overtime (thankfully)! The Cats saved 3 points in our contest for the majority of the group.

OBSERVATIONS -
>My alma mater - University of Washington - was the last one standing of our neighborhood contestants. Surprising to me that they advanced that far!
>Is Butler, at a Number 5 seed, considered a cinderella team? I vote yes, mainly based on the conference they come from. When is the last time a Horizon Conference team ended up in the Elite Eight?
>We are all doing as well as or better than Sports Illustrated, and also better than if you just chose the Seeds! I'll try and get Obama's picks. I haven't scored them yet.
> The HUFFMANS are tied, but for the other husband- wife match ups in our contest in the 'hood, the male gender is ahead so far. Last year I think it was reversed!
> I think we may be heading to an all time low number of points for the year end winner this year. Too many upsets and the favorites not advancing.
>Not too much change in the standings after Thursday!
> It's a little early to predict who will win. We have had winners go from near last to first in the past. If you pick the national champ you have a good chance of winning still!

NATIONAL CHAMPION POOL
> Only SEVEN PLAYERS remain with a chance of naming the correct National champion and sharing $100.
> BASKETBALL BOBBY lost his Syracuse pick tonight.
> Fourteen of us are sitting on the sidelines after giving up our money!

SWEET SIXTEEN
>COWBOY JOE (Syracuse), BIG ONIONS DOUG (Washington), MAGIC MIKE (Cornell), and CHIP FAN JAN (Xavier) all surrendered their Money to the eventual winner.
>HOT ROD BILL (Butler), BUBBA JEFF (West Virginia), $ BILL (Kentucky) and THE KING JONAH (K state) kept their hopes alive for the big pay off!

RESULTS AFTER SWEET 16 THURSDAY - 52 games - 76 possible points
56 - THE KING JONAH WISE

54 - THE MAILMAN

50 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE
THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL
JAMMIN JEFF WISE

49 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE

48 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
DEBSTER THE CHEF

47 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD

46 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY

45 - BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
THE HUSKY CASEY WISE

44 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
$ BILL BRADY
LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN
THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN

41 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER

40 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
THE SEEDINGS

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
47 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
40 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL
34 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ

GOOD LUCK ON FRIDAY!

The Mailman

SETTING SAIL FOR THE SWEET SIXTEEN

SUNDAY SAILING!
>A relatively calm Sunday compared to the windstorm on Saturday! Only Cornell was a minor upset, and several of our players (MBFGGG, JAMMIN, PENNY and THE KING) predicted it! The number 1 and 2 seeds made it through unscathed. Eight of our players had 6 out of 8 correct!

FUTURE WINNINGS
>Below is the revised pay out for the Winners this year!

1ST PLACE - $175 plus PARTY FUND - $120 = TOTAL - $295
2ND PLACE - $85
3RD PLACE - $45

SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING WINNER - $80

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POOL - $100

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA - 1ST PLACE - $15

SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING
>THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD graciously did the honors of drawing the names out of my Washington hat! Thanks PATTI!
>Below are the results - as COWBOY JOE GEORGE says "It's easier to be lucky than be good!" - Good luck!

$BILL - Kentucky
BUBBA GUMESON - West Virginia
BRUIN DALE - Tennessee
LEWALCINDY - Baylor
THE MAILMAN - Michigan State
CHIP FAN JAN - Xavier
JAMMIN JEFF - Ohio State
PENNY WISE - Duke
THE KING JONAH - Kansas State
DEBSTER THE CHEF - Northern Iowa
MAGIC MIKE - Cornell
MBFGGG - Purdue
HOT ROD BILL - Butler
COWBOY JOE - Syracuse
RAM FAN JULIE - St. Mary's
BIG ONIONS DOUG - Washington

PARTY TIME??
> I did not receive an overwhelming response about doing something next weekend. In fact I had ZERO response!
>If someone wants to take the ball and run with it, please do so!
>We might try to put something together for the Final Four weekend.

RESULTS AFTER SUNDAY - 48 Games - 64 Possible Points
47 - THE KING JONAH WISE - Final Four teams remaining on predictions - 3

45 - THE MAILMAN - 3

44 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL - 2

41 - JAMMIN JEF WISE - 3
THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON - 3
MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE - 3
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON - 2

40 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE - 3

39 - THE HUSKY CASEY WISE - 2
DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON - 4
BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER - 3
MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG - 2

38 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER - 2
LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN - 2
CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT - 4
THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD - 3
BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD - 3

37 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY - 3

35 - BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN - 3
$ BILL BRADY - 3

34 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ - 3
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

31 - SEEDINGS

THE TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
38 SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS - 3

37 THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL - 3

31 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ - 2


NEXT UPDATE ON THURSDAY NIGHT

Good luck!

The Mailman

ROCK SHOCK! JAYHAWK!

FOUL BREEZE IN THE ACRES?
> That WOOSHING sound, like a tornado, you heard last evening about 6PM, was the collective hot air rushing out of the balloons of 12 of our contestants that had the Jayhawks as their National Champs! Are you kidding me! Supposedly the best team in college basketball getting beat by Northern Iowa!! Can you say CHOKE! I guess this year the tournament is wide open and no one is safe! Maybe this will be the year for a true CINDERELLA! Wouldn't that be fun!!
>UPSET SATURDAY - Best score for Saturday was 5 out of 8 by THE KING JONAH (picked St. Mary's- great pick!!) and THE MAILMAN (gotta like my Huskies!).

LATE NIGHT SATURDAY NIGHT!
> Sorry that this was not posted last night. I am sure you rushed to your computer this morning with your coffee and were disappointed. I was up too late to get this done with accuracy so thought I'd wait to do it right.

NATIONAL CHAMPS
>Here are the numbers for National Champs predictions. Divide it into $100 to determine what you might win if your team is still in play.
> KANSAS - 12 - out
VILLANOVA - 1 - out
KENTUCKY - 4
OHIO STATE - 2
DUKE - 1
SYRACUSE - 1

RESULTS AFTER SATURDAY - 40 GAMES - 48 Possible Points
35 Points - THE KING JONAH WISE - National champ predicted - Kansas
THE MAILMAN - Kansas

33 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON - Kansas

32 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL - Kansas

31 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE - Kentucky

30 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD - Syracuse
THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD - Kansas
MARIANNE PENNY WISE - Kansas

29 - JEFF BUBBA GUMESON - Kansas
BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER - Kansas
DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON - Ohio State
JAMMIN JEFF WISE - Kentucky (at the last minute!)
THE HUSKY CASEY DAIGLE - Kansas

28 - LEWALCINDY HUFFMAN - Kentucky

27 - MY BIG FATGREEK GREOS GANG - Kansas
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN - Duke

26 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT - Ohio State
RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER - Kentucky

25 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY - Villanova
$ BILL BRADY - Kansas

24 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ - Kansas - There's hope with the Sweet Sixteen Drawing!

THE TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
29 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL - Syracuse
28 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS - Kansas
23 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ - Kansas

GOOD LUCK ON SUNDAY!

The Mailman

FROZEN FRIDAY NIGHT!

SHOTS ON GOAL!
>Despite the local weather better suited to skiing (although I don't think it is required for the ShotzSki at right!) and the College Frozen Four Hockey tournament, there was lots of basketball in the rest of the country! Friday was certainly not as UPSETTING as Thursday, and our scores reflected it with a big jump in accuracy by all of our players! More than a few predicted the Cornell win today. The STAR OF THE DAY was the Birthday Girl LEWALCINDY who had 15 out of 16 correct guesses! Great job LEW!

TECHNICAL FOULS!
>Apologies to THE KING JONAH WISE and JAMMIN JEFF WISE! I missed a game for both of them on Thursday. THE KING was the STAR OF THE DAY Thursday with 13 correct. JAMMIN actually had 10 points. Sorry for the error.
> PLEASE do not hesitate to let me know if I have miss counted. I usually do these late at night and by hand so I am sure it happens on occasion, although I usually double check myself the next day and will adjust the score accordingly.

INJURED RESERVE?
> ADAMZONA ADAM SWANSON was in Cancun, Mexico and returned home on Thursday night, but he was unable to complete a ballot before hearing the results of Thursdays games, so he will be sitting out this year. Bummer!
> So we are down to 21 players for the adult game! that will decrease the pot slightly. I will recalculate the winnings and report in the next day or two.

AFTER FURTHER REVIEW -
>I will get out the final analysis for the National Champion this weekend.
>I will have an impartial drawer for the Sweet Sixteen on Sunday evening and get those results out Sunday night!
>Please let me know if you have any confusion about the new pool or anything else.

SOCIAL GATHERING?
> Is there interest in a social gathering next weekend? We have traditionally done a Happy Hour but the attendance has been sparse the last two years. I would be happy to arrange or publicize. Do you have any ideas? CB Potts? Anybody want to volunteer their house and have people bring the refreshments? Other ideas?

SORRY ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE TEXT -
>I have spent 15 minutes trying to correct the size of the text below but I can't seem to get it done, so I apologize if this seems a bit overwhelming! Computer glitch I guess!

RESULTS AFTER FRIDAY - 32 GAMES
25 - THE KING JONAH WISE
THE MAILMAN
THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON

24 - LEWALCINDY HUFFMAN
SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL

23 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE
BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON

22 - CHIP FAN JAN
THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD

21 - HUSKY CASEY WISE
MARIANNE PENNY WISE
JAMMIN JEFF WISE
DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
$ BILL BRADY

20 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER

18 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ
HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
23 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL
22 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
19 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ

GOOD LUCK on Saturday!

The Mailman

LATE NIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT!

BACK TO BUSINESS -
>Welcome back to everyone to our 14th edition of our neighborhood basketball festival! We are off to a wild start with upsets by a #14, a #13 and two #11 seeds! Kudos to JAMMIN JEFF, PENNY WISE, and KING JONAH WISE who all had Murray State's upset picked. BUT, BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER deserves Double Kudos for not only picking Murray State , but also Ohio and Washington! Great Job Doug!

FIELD CONTRACTION -
>We have smaller group of contestants this year with 22 adult players compared to 30 in 2009. The High School Division is also smaller with 3 players, down from 7 contestants in 2009.
>We are missing our charter members PISTOL PETER BURG, ICEMAN GEORGE BELME, and THE LEGEND JOHN TAYLOR this year!!?? Say it ain't so, Joe!

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR -
> We can safely award the Rookie of the Year Award already, since we have only one new player this year in the adult game. THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON moves up from the Sweet Seven in 2009 to the senior circuit! His 'Horns blew the game tonight, but he still managed to start out with the best score for Thursday!

MONEY MATTERS -
>Here are the payouts we are playing for this year!

1st Place - $180 - Party fund - $120 = Total - $300
2nd Place - $90
3rd Place - $50

Sweet Sixteen - $80
-We have a full field. Everyone who wanted to play is in!

National Championship Pool - $105
-This will be divided equally by all players who guess the correct National Champion. If no one correctly guesses the National Champ it will go to the 1st Place winner for a better party!!

The Terrific Trifecta - 1st Place only - $15

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEW!
>LEWALCINDY HUFFMAN celebrated her Birthday on March Madness Thursday. Rumor in the 'hood is that she had some pole dancing lessons, along with some of our other players, at a party celebrating her 60th! Is this a new career opportunity? I for one am looking forward to the year end party for a dance recital!!

SNAIL MAIL TO EMAIL -
>I received entry ballots this year by hand, snail mail and email!

RESULTS AFTER DAY 1 - 16 GAMES
12 - KING JONAH WISE
THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON

11 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL
JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
THE MAILMAN

10 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE

9 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD
THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY
$ BILL BRADY
BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
LEWALCINDY HUFFMAN - "The Birthday Girl"
RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER
DEBSTER THE CHEF SWANSON
JAMMIN JEFF WISE
MARIANNE PENNY WISE
HUSKY CASEY WISE

8 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG

7 - COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ

THE TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
11 - THE BIG DIESEL SHAQ SEAN BULL
10 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
8 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ

GOOD LUCK on Friday!

The Mailman

The BIG DANCE is HERE!

PUNCH YOUR TICKET TO THE MADNESS!
> Selection Sunday is here and the brackets are out! KANSAS, KENTUCKY, DUKE and SYRACUSE are number 1 seeds. Now it is time for your study and decisions about the matchups for the 2010 tournament. You are only 63 games away from the HUNTINGTON ACRES MARCH MADNESS CHAMPIONSHIP and THE JOSH WISE TROPHY! At right MIKE SAVAGE celebrates his 2009 win, by hoisting the trophy at the year end party!

BALLOT PRINTING
> Go to the link to CBS Sports to print up the brackets for your study and completion!

CLARIFICATION - ENTRY FEES AND NEW CONTEST!
>ENTRY FEE for the prediction contest is $20!
-$15 will go to the Prize money pot, as in previous years!
-$5 will go to a new contest - There will be a pooling of $5 from each entrant. This pool of money will be awarded to the person or persons who correctly predict the national champion! If there is more than one person, then the money will be equally split among those who were correct. For example, if the total pool is $150 and 5 people predict the correct national champion then each person will get $30. If only one person is correct then they would win $150! So this will give everyone a chance to get some or all of their money back even if you do not place in the money positions.
-There will still be a PARTY FUND of $10 / household!
-The SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING will still be $5!
-Please disregard my previous blog about an additional contest for $5 more - sorry for the confusion - I just figured this out! Slow thinker!

BUZZER BEATER
> Remember the DEADLINE for submitting your ballot either in person or by email is THURSDAY at 10 AM!

OVERTIME
>The tiebreaker for the First Place position only will be the Total Points for the National Championship game. However, it would be important to now which teams are playing before an educated opinion can be made. Therefore, I will contact any potential players who would be in contention for First Place on the Sunday before the National Championship game. We have never had to use the tiebreaker in the past!

FREE THROWS
> Remember the SWEET SIXTEEN DRAWING! Entry fee is $5. Your position in the drawing order is based on when Money is received!

E MAIL ADDRESS - Please be sure to give me your current email address with your entry!

GOOD LUCK!

The Mailman

ACRES MADNESS 2010

PREGAME WARMUPS!

SELECTION SUNDAY - This Sunday at 6 PM! Brackets will be available!
>I will not be distributing your brackets to you again this year. Please go to a website such as www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets/printable_men (see links on right column) to download and print up your ballot.
>BE SURE TO PUT YOUR NAME ON THE SUBMITTED BALLOT!
>Also put your current email address.

BUZZERBEATER - Remember the DEADLINE for your entry is THURSDAY, MARCH 18th AT 10:00 AM. Please drop off your ballot at the Swanson's, or Mail to me, or eMail your entries to me and arrange payment later.

NEW CONTEST THIS YEAR - This year we will try a new contest with a $5 entry fee. Any interested player can choose any of the 65 teams for their National Championship team. If their selected team wins the NC then they will win the total pot. If more than one person chooses the same team then they will split the pot. For example, if you choose Kentucky to win, and they are the champions you win all the money in the pot for this contest. If three people all choose Kentucky then they will split it 3 ways. You must make your choice before the start of the tournament.

TICKET PRICES:
-NCAA Tournament predictions - $20 per entry - (Note this is an increase from 2009!)
-March Madness Party Fund - $10 per household - (No change)
-Sweet Sixteen Drawing - $5 per entry - (No change)
-National Championship Team Choice - $5 per entry - (New game!)

BRIEF RULES SUMMARY
-ENTRY FEE
> $20 per entry for the NCAA predictions contest - one entry per person
> $10 per household PARTY FUND - to subsidize the year end party
-PRIZES
> 1ST - 50% of total prize pool (plus Party Fund)
> 2nd - 25% of total prize pool
> 3rd - 15% of total prize pool
> 4th - 10% of total prize pool
> The rest of us! - A PARTY at the home of the 1st place winner later this spring!
-TIEBREAKER
> The tiebreaker for First place will be the total points for the National Championship game.
> NEW THIS YEAR - The Mailman will contact any potential winners before the National Championship Game for their predictions, since your guess should be predicted by the two opponents that are playing.
> Ties for Second, Third and Fourth place will split the winnings evenly.
-ENTRIES
> One entry per individual - Entry fee due with completed ballot
> The Mailman will play for free.
> Deadline -Thursday March 18th at 10 AM
> I will still need correct email addresses for each player.
-REPORTING
> Updates and standings will be reported on this blog site.
> All anouncements will be posted on this blog site.
-SWEET SIXTEEN
> $5 Entry fee: Limited to 16 entries (First 16 people paying).
> Each contestant assigned a Sweet Sixteen team by random draw.
> Winner takes all!
-KIDS DIVISION
> $5 Entry fee for players 18 and younger.
> Payoff for top one to three places depending on participation.

Please email me or call me if you have any questions. Please blog if you have any suggestions on how to improve the Madness in the Acres.

The Mailman

March is here! The Madness in the Acres is near!

The Great month of March has arrived! The promise of Spring is just around the corner and the promise of a chance to earn Fame and Fortune in the Acres is fast approaching for each and everyone of you. The BIG DANCE will be starting soon. Now is the time to evaluate the teams for talent.

The next two weeks will be filled with a flurry of tournaments and intense college basketball action. This is your last chance to do your homework on the favorites and to find the teams that are the "diamonds" that will lead you to the 2010 March Madness in Huntington Acres Championship!

Below you will find the important dates for the 2010 NCAA Tournament and our March Madness Contest.

THE MOST IMPORTANT DATE is the entry deadline for our contest of Thursday, March 18 at 10:00 AM!!

NCAA 2010 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
SELECTION SUNDAY - MARCH 14th

FIRST ROUND - THURSDAY & FRIDAY, MARCH 18 & 19
SECOND ROUND - SATURDAY & SUNDAY, MARCH 20 & 21

SWEET SIXTEEN WEEKEND - THURSDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 25-28

FINAL FOUR - SATURDAY APRIL 3
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - MONDAY, APRIL 5

I will notify you of the next posting as well by email. I plan on posting the Rules and Entry Fees and any Changes for 2010, sometime the week of March 8th. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

The Mailman

2009 YEAR END AWARDS PARTY!

CELEBRATION ALERT!

THE 2009 MARCH MADNESS IN HUNTINGTON ACRES YEAR END PARTY!

WHERE: At MAGIC MIKE & LINDA SAVAGE'S - 9581 E. Lake Cir.

DATE: SATURDAY - MAY 9, 2009
TIME: 7:00 PM till ??

BEVERAGES & DESSERT: Provided by the SAVAGES

PLEASE BRING A FUN APPETIZER!

AWARDS: Presentation of THE RED BULL JOSH WISE TROPHY to our 2009 Champ!
>Monetary awards to the money winners!
>Monetary award to our Lucky Sweet Sixteen winner!
>Presentation of the Rolling Rocks!
>Review of the 2009 March Madness in the Acres!

DANCING with LEW ALCINDY and DEB THE CHEF???

MOST OF ALL - A chance for everyone to get together and socialize!

RSVP REGRETS appreciated! 303-713-9911

SEE YOU THERE!

The Mailman

KICKING UP SOME 'HEELS IN THE FINAL DANCE!

MONDAY NIGHT'S GAME was Carolina blue with a relatively easy game for North Carolina. It did not live up to last year's exciting Kansas win over Memphis. The 'Heels trailed only 10 minutes out of 240 minutes of the tournament and had a double digit lead for over 150 minutes for the tournament. Domination!

THE SHINING STAR IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD for 2009 is MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE. The MAGIC man truly has the magic touch with his 5th Huntington Acres Title. Definitely Hall of Fame material. He now will have his name on all three levels of the RED BULL JOSH WISE TROPHY! CONGRATULATIONS!

UNC FOR NC!
> Six of the adults and five of the teens predicted North Carolina for the National Championship this year. $BILL, MBFGGG, MAGIC MIKE, DEB THE CHEF, THE MAILMAN, and KING JONAH had the 'Heels in the adult game. A TRAIN ADAM, DR. HOOPS, SAM THE EXTERMINATOR, STONE COLD JOHN and THE LONGHORN TYLER were clairvoyant in the teens division.

APOLOGIES TO THE ICEMAN - I fully admit to making an error in one of my scenarios that I put out last week on April 1st. I forgot to erase the championship game points for ICE for tonight's game scenario from my spreadsheet. As a result I falsely inflated the ICEMAN'S expectations for a win tonight no matter what. Sorry, ICE. I did not post a disclaimer, but - It was April Fools day!

SWEET SIXTEEN WINNER 2009 is COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ. It's always nice to be a lucky, JOE!

FINAL MONEY WINNERS
FIRST Place - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE - Wins $210 + $170 party fund = $385 total
SECOND Place - DEBBIE THE CHEF - She did it all herself! - $100
THIRD Place - THE MAILMAN - $65
FOURTH Place - KING JONAH WISE - $40

SWEET SEVEN
FIRST Place - DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS
SECOND Place - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS

PARTY TIME
>We will ALL be able to enjoy a final celebration of the Madness in the Acres at the home of our Shining Star for 2009 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE. The final details will be provided soon for, hopefully, a Saturday in May. We can all get together for another chance to review the tournament, socialize with your neighbors, meet our Rookie players and of course see Magic hoist the RED BULL JOSH TROPHY once again! See you there!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU for playing again this year! I hope you enjoyed it! As always, please let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve our contest. Please bring your ideas to the Party.

FINAL STANDINGS FOR 2009
Place - Points - Player
1- 101 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE - Yet another win!
2 - 97 - DEBBIE THE CHEF - No help from anyone! Great job!
3 - 90 - THE MAILMAN - Saved by the 'Heels.
4 - 88 - KING JONAH WISE - Surprises everyone and squeaks out some money.
5 - 87 - ICEMAN GEORGE BELME - Leads almost all the way, but falls short at the end.
6 - 85 - $BILL BRADY
-MARIANNE PENNY WISE
-President Obama
8 - 83 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
9 - 82 - BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
- THE LEGEND JOHN TAYLOR
11-81 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY
12-80 - HUSKY CASEY WISE
13-79 - LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN
-RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER
15-78 - JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
-Seedings
16-77 - GADI BLING EISNER
17-76 - PISTOL PETER BURG
18-75 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD
-COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ
20-74 - BIG HOUSE STEVE WOOD
21-72 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE
22-71 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
23-68 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL
-WOLVERINE JAKE BURG
25-67 - AND 1 ADAMZONA SWANSON
26-64 - DUNKIN DON RONYAK
27-63 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
28-62 - BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
29-61 - MARCY TIGER WOOD - Rolling Rocks on their way!
SWEET SEVEN
1-98 - DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS
2-95 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
3-91 - STONE COLD JOHN LANTZ
4-87 - A TRAIN ADAM BURG
5-82 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON
6-73 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ
7-56 - THE BIG DIESEL SEAN BULL

See you next year!

The Mailman

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR SPARTAN TARHEELS!

SATURDAY NIGHT resulted in the Spartans ultimately taming the Huskies, while the Tarheels had a much easier time with the Wildcats. Michigan has the opportunity to pack the stands with 60,000 people for Monday! Should be interesting.

SIXTY FOURTH GAME BUT NUMBER ONE IN YOUR HEARTS!
>We have had 63 total games in the tournament so far, leading to the most important game of the DANCE. Hopefully it will live up to it's billing!

ANOTHER - FIFTH - SHINING MOMENT!
>MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE clinches yet another March Madness in Huntington Acres Championship and we will see his name for the 5th time on the RED BULL JOSH WISE TROPHY! The UNC win cemented his victory no matter what happens on Monday night! Congratulations MAGIC! He will be continuing the tradition that he started in 1997 with a party at his house later in the spring! Further details will be announced later.

TIED UP IN KNOTS!
>ICEMAN GEORGE BELME and DEBBIE THE CHEF SWANSON will tie for second place this year. I think this is a first for both players to win money!

FOURTH UP FOR GRABS!
>The only position that still is uncertain is for fourth place with MARIANNE PENNY WISE currently in third, will hold on if MSU wins on Monday. If North Carolina wins THE MAILMAN will jump into fourth place this year.

BETTER LUCKY THAN GOOD SURVIVORS!
>The Sweet Sixteen drawing has had 14 of the 16 contestants eliminated. The two remaining contestants to be the LUCKIEST IN THE ACRES award are;
-COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ - North Carolina
-ICEMAN GEORGE BELME - Michigan State

SWEET SEVEN WINNERS-
> As reported in the last blog DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS has won the 2009 Sweet Seven division! Congrats Doc!
> SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS wins second place this year! Great job.

SPARTAN SPOTTER!
>HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY was our only contestant who predicted a Michigan State victory on Saturday! Great job HOT ROD!

FINAL FOUR ATTENDEES -
>The Burg family is attending the Final Four weekend this weekend in Detroit. PISTOL PETER, WOLVERINE JAKE and A TRAIN ADAM are enjoying the festivities in Motown. Hope you are having a Blast!

STANDINGS AFTER FINAL FOUR SATURDAY!
Points
91 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE
87 - DEBBIE THE CHEF SWANSON
-ICEMAN GEORGE BELME
85 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE
82 - THE LEGEND JOHN TAYLOR
- BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
81 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY
80 - HUSKY CASEY WISE
- THE MAILMAN
79 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER
- LEW ALCINDY
78 - KING JONAH WISE
- JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
- Seedings
77 - GADI BLING EISNER
76 - PISTOL PETER BURG
75 - COWBOY GEORGE LANTZ
- $BILL BRADY
- BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD
- President Obama
74 - BIG HOUSE STEVE WOOD
73 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
72 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE
71 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
68 - SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL
- WOLVERINE JAKE BURG
67 - AND 1 ADAMZONA SWANSON
- Sports Illustrated
64 - DUNKIN DON RONYAK
63 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
62 - BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
61 - MARCY TIGER WOOD

SWEET SEVEN
88 - DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS
85 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
81 - STONE COLD JOHN LANTZ
77 - A TRAIN ADAM BURG
73 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ
72 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON
56 - THE BIG DIESEL SEAN BULL

Later!

The Mailman

FUTURE STANDINGS!

THE TALKING HEADS on ESPN and sports talk radio have been predicting what the future holds on Saturday and Monday! I've put the eight possibilities through my trusty MAC computer to show the eight possible outcomes for our little pool here in the Acres. Hopefully this will help those players in the money know who they should be rooting for in each game!

PRIZE MONEY REMINDER
1st Place - $215 + Party Fund $170 = Total = $385
2nd Place - $100
3rd Place - $65
4th Place - $40
The Rolling Rock will go to MARCY TIGER WOOD this year. Prepare your thirst TIGER!

SWEET SEVEN - 1st and 2nd only
1st Place - $25 -WINNER - DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS -will win in all scenarios! Congratulations!
2nd Place - $10 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS - will not be surpassed as well! Congrats!

TIES - 1st place uses the tiebreaker. A tie for Second place will split the total money for 2nd and 3rd place ($165) - or $82.50 for each player. Third place ties will win $52.50 each. Fourth place ties will win $20 each.

EIGHT POSSIBLE OUTCOMES:
FINALISTS : NATIONAL CHAMP

MSU - Villanova : MSU
1 - HUSKY CASEY
2 - MAGIC MIKE
3 - HOT ROD BILL
4tie- ICEMAN and DEB THE CHEF

MSU - Villanova : Villanova
1 - HUSKY CASEY
2 - MAGIC MIKE
3 - HOT ROD BILL
4tie - ICEMAN and DEB THE CHEF

MSU - UNC : MSU
1 - MAGIC MIKE
2tie - ICEMAN and DEB THE CHEF
4 - PENNY WISE

MSU - UNC : UNC
1 - MAGIC MIKE
2tie - ICEMAN and DEB THE CHEF
4 - THE MAILMAN

UConn - Villanova : Villanova
1 - HUSKY CASEY
2 - PENNY WISE
3tie - GADI BLING and MAGIC MIKE

UConn - Villanova : UConn
1 - PENNY WISE
2tie - GADI BLING and HUSKY CASEY
4 - JAMMIN JEFF

UConn - UNC : UConn
1 - PENNY WISE
2 - GADI BLING
3tie - MAGIC MIKE and BIG HOUSE STEVE

UConn - UNC : UNC
1 - MAGIC MIKE
2tie - ICEMAN and DEB THE CHEF
4 - PENNY WISE

OVERALL SUMMARY
-FIRST PLACE SCENARIOS (out of 8) - HUSKY - 3; MAGIC - 3; PENNY - 2
-MONEY OPPORTUNITIES (out of 8) - MAGIC - 7; PENNY - 5; ICEMAN - 5; THE CHEF - 5; HUSKY - 4; BLING - 3; HOT ROD - 2; JAMMIN, BIG HOUSE, MAILMAN - 1 EACH

Next Update after Saturday!

The Mailman

FINAL FOUR AHEAD!

TOO MUCH FUN last night, sorry I failed to get a post done! Louisville ran out of gas today. They couldn't make those shots that all went in on Friday. UNC winner over OK, so at least a couple of number one seeds, one two and one three survived.

SWEET SIXTEEN SURVIVORS
-Michigan State - ICEMAN
-North Carolina - COWBOY JOE GEORGE
-Villanova - HOT ROD BILL
-U Connecticut - $BILL

WINNING SCENARIOS- Later this week I'll post a more in depth analysis of the possible winning options for the final four games.

CURRENT STANDINGS
Points Player - National Champ (if still alive): Finalist (if still alive)
84 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE - NC: UNC
80 - ICEMAN GEORGE BELME - UNC
- DEBBIE THE CHEF SWANSON - UNC
- HUSKY CASEY WISE - NC: Villanova ; Finalist: UConn
79 - LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN - None
78 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE - UConn: UNC
-Seedings
77 - GADI BLING EISNER - UConn
75 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD - None
- COWBOY GEORGE LANTZ - None
- BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER - None: UNC
- THE LEGEND JOHN TAYLOR - None: UNC
74 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY - None: MSU
73 - THE MAILMAN - UNC
72 - RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER - None: UNC
- JAMMIN JEFF WISE - U Conn
71 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD - None
- JEFF BUBBA GUMESON - None: UNC
- KING JONAH WISE - UNC
69 - PISTOL PETER BURG - None: UNC
68 - $BILL BRADY - UNC
- SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL - None
- WOLVERINE JAKE BURG - None
- Obama
67 - AND 1 ADAMZONA SWANSON - None
- BIG HOUSE STEVE WOOD - UConn: UNC
- Sports Illustrated
66 - MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG - UNC
64 - DUNKIN DON RONYAK - None
63 - CHIP FAN JAN - None
62 - BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN - None
61 - MARCY TIGER WOOD - None

SWEET SIXTEEN
81 - DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS - UNC : UConn
78 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS - UNC: UConn
74 - STONE COLD JOHN LANTZ - UNC
73 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ - None: UConn
70 - A TRAIN ADAM BURG - UNC
65 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON - UNC
56 - THE BIG DIESEL SEAN BULL - None

Later,

The Mailman

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

LATE NIGHT IN TUCSON leading to a late Saturday morning.  Sorry this is a little late.  At least it will be online before the Great Eight starts.  Three of the games last night were not so Sweet, but MSU over KU was at least interesting at the end.  Everyone here in Tucson looked good in the their red shirts with Arizona logos last night, but it wasn't enough!  

Straight ahead to the standings! No pictures today!

Points

75 - ICEMAN

74 - LEW ALCINDY

70 - DEBBIE THE CHEF

- COWBOY JOE GEORGE

- BASKETBALL BOBBY

69 - MAGIC MIKE

68 - PENNY WISE

- THE MAILMAN

- SEEDINGS

67 - JAMMIN JEFF

- RAM FAN JULIE

- BLING

66 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI

65 - HUSKY CASEY

- THE LEGEND

-BIG ONIONS DOUG

64 - DUNKIN DON

- PISTOL PETER

- HOT ROD BILL

63 - CHIP FAN JAN

- WOLVERINE JAKE

- SUNDEVIL JEFF

- $BILL

- OBAMA

62 - BRUIN DALE

61 - KING JONAH

- BUBBA JEFF

- MBFGGG

57 - BIG HOUSE STEVE

- AND 1 ADAMZONA

-SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

56 - TIGER MARCY

SWEET SEVEN

69 - STONE COLD JOHN

68 - SOONER OR LATER DAVID

66 - DR. HOOPS

65 - A TRAIN ADAM

63 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR

60 - THE LONGHORN TYLER

51 - THE BIG DIESEL SEAN

GOOD LUCK ON SATURDAY

THE MAILMAN

BLIZZARDS AND BASKETBALL ON A THURSDAY NIGHT!

FINALLY WINTER in Denver on Sweet Sixteen Thursday! Pittsburgh almost experienced basketball winter in Boston, but wins on Fields of Dreams desperation trey and manages to avoid the upset! Memphis did meet it's match in Mizzou, and I guess validated the selection committee's choices for number 1! UConn floats an easy win like ICEMAN in a Margarita! 'Nova dominates the Dukies like LEW ALCINDY dominates BRUIN in March Madness! Looking forward to a Fantastic Friday!

KUDOS to DUNKIN DON RONYAK and JAMMIN JEFF WISE who both went 4 for 4 on Thursday night! Great job guys! THE BIG HOUSE STEVE WOOD and KING JONAH WISE were the only other players to get Mizzou correct!

NEXT UPDATE will likely be late Saturday morning from Tucson! Go 'CATS!

STANDINGS AFTER SWEET SIXTEEN THURSDAY
Points
66 - ICEMAN GEORGE BELME
62 - LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN
61 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE
60 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE
59 - THE MAILMAN
- HUSKY CASEY WISE
- MARIANNE PENNY WISE
58 - BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD
- PISTOL PETER BURG
- GADI BLING EISNER
- COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ
- DUNKIN DON RONYAK
- DEBBIE THE CHEF SWANSON
57 - $BILL BRADY
- WOLVERINE JAKE BURG
56 - BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
- THE LEGEND JOHN TAYLOR
- SEEDINGS
55 - HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY
- MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
- RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER
- KING JONAH WISE
54 - THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
- SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL
-SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
-PRESIDENT OBAMA
53 - BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
52 - JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
51 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
- AND 1 ADAMZONA SWANSON
- THE BIG HOUSE STEVE WOOD
- MARCY TIGER WOOD

SWEET SEVEN
59 - A TRAIN ADAM BURG
- SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ
57 - DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS
- SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
- STONE COLD JOHN LANTZ
51 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON
45 - THE BIG DIESEL SEAN BULL

Good luck on Friday!

The Mailman

MIDWEEK MADNESS MUSINGS!

EXCITEMENT, BABY!
We've made it through 48 games of the Dance! Some exciting moments! A couple of upsets. One Cinderella left - Arizona - especially since they were the last one in! The weekend was a busy one for me to get organized for the year! So I wanted to take some time to review the Madness, if you will, and send you some updates and hopefully interesting information about this year's contest.

DIAPER NICKNAME DANDIES!
I thought my job would be easy this year, with only two rookies, to get some dynamite nicknames. Unfortunately, I came up with some writer's block until I really attacked it last night!

I had some preliminary names that came to me right away. In no particular order Marcy Knock on Wood, Marcy Riding the Pine Wood or Marcy Babe in the Wood, but they did not do her justice. So after thinking of other great sports personalities I settled on one particular Nickname for one of the most famous sports personality of our time. And he almost has the same last name. But I think MARCY TIGER WOOD sounds terrific!

Our other new player has a name that lends itself to several choices such as Gumby, Goner, Gomer, or The Glove. However, I also thought of other famous names in the movies and one came up in my mind from Forrest Gump. That's right, BUBBA! So we now have our own JEFF BUBBA GUMESON. Sounds swell to me!

OFFICIAL CALLS!

FAST BREAK -ICEMAN GEORGE BELME has charged to the front of the pack from day one and has led all four days so far! He also has an impressive 15 teams left in the Sweet Sixteen! Great Job ICE! I wish I would have studied the Women's NCAA brackets!!

LONG REBOUND -GADI BLING EISNER has made a terrific rebound this year from his last place finish in 2008 to his current third place position. THE MAILMAN, JAMMIN, MAGIC and PISTOL have all finished in last at least one year, but also have been previous champions in other years. It just might be Gadi's year to win it all!

NO ASSISTS NEEDED - LEW ALCINDY is in second place by herself and she has done it on her own! BRUIN DALE relied on outsourcing and is paying the price! You go, girl!

BLOWN OUT - AND 1 ADAMZONA SWANSON and THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON both were blown away in the first round as they both had Wake to their Final Four! Sorry guys! You should have consulted with THE MAILMAN! AND 1 likes his Sweet Sixteen drawing with PITT.

HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS -Out of 29 players, 28 still have all four of their Final Four teams still in the Sweet Sixteen. Only AND 1 ADAMZONA is missing one. In the Sweet Seven - six are still intact, with THE LONGHORN missing one. EVERYONE still has their choice for National Champion still alive.

OUTLET PASSES - Several of our players have done a great job predicting the Sweet Sixteen. ICEMAN, LEW ALCINDY, and PENNY all predicted 15, while, $BILL, WOLVERINE, BLING, RAM FAN JULIE , (and OBAMA) have 14 out of 16! Awesome!

HIGH SEEDS - All of the 1 through 4 seeds made it to the sweet sixteen except for Wake Forest and Washington. Purdue is a 5 seed and Arizona is a 12 seed.

FINAL SCORE ? - The final distribution for predictions for the National Champion by our contestants this year are: Total = 29 + 7 = 36

1)NORTH CAROLINA - 11
1)LOUISVILLE - 9
1)PITTSBURGH - 8
1)CONNECTICUT - 4
2)MEMPHIS - 1
2)OKLAHOMA - 1
3)KANSAS - 1
3)VILLANOVA - 1

NICKNAME CHANGES - You may or may not have noted that a few of our players have had some mutations of their previous nicknames. Dropping Dimes Doug Reisinger has become BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER. Shaq Sean Bull has mutated to the BIG DIESEL SEAN BULL, and Tyler The Dawg Swanson is now THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON!

TRAVELING - THE MAILMAN will be traveling to Tucson, Arizona this weekend for Father's weekend at AND 1's fraternity. Never fear I'll be able to up date the blog from there and will keep you up to date as to your standings. Unfortunately I'll be in an airplane when the 'Cats play Louisville! I'm pulling for the 'Cats!! Even if it messes up my bracket!

FINAL BUZZER - That's all for tonight! More to come on Thursday night after 4 more important games in the Awesome Acres!

Later,

The Mailman

SWEET SIXTEEN HERE WE COME

SUNDAY was another great day for basketball. Great games and finishes. A lot of nervous contestants as some of the favored teams struggled, but managed to prevail. Unfortunately it was a busy day for me and I have not had enough time to fully complete things on this posting. I will be putting another posting out on Tuesday with more stats and info! check it out then.

NICKNAMES - more on Tuesday,sorry!

SWEET SIXTEEN RESULTS
The teams going to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend were put into a hat and I had two very impartial helpers, Hagan and Pierce Reisinger draw the names. The boys did a great job and thought it was cool, but thought I wrote things funny! Thanks Hagan and Pierce!

Remember that the winner is the player who has the team that wins the NCAA March Madness tournament! Winner wins $80!

Player -National Championship Team
JAMMIN JEFF -Louisville
PENNY WISE -Duke
KING JONAH -Syracuse
MAGIC MIKE -Missouri
ICEMAN -Michigan State
THE LEGEND -Memphis
LEWALCINDY -Arizona
THE MAILMAN -Purdue
COWBOY JOE GEORGE -University of North Carolina
HOT ROD BILL -Villanova
$BILL -University of Connecticut
SUNDEVIL JEFF -Kansas
BRUIN DALE -Oklahoma
RAM FAN JULIE -Xavier
AND 1 ADAMZONA -Pittsburgh
DEBBIE THE CHEF -Gonzaga

STANDINGS AFTER SUNDAY'S GAMES
Points
57 - ICEMAN GEORGE BELME
56 - LEW ALCINDY HUFFMAN
52 - GADI BLING EISNER
51 - MAGIC MIKE SAVAGE
-WOLVERINE JAKE BURG
-$BILL BRADY
50 - MARIANNE PENNY WISE
-HUSKY CASEY WISE
-THE LEGEND JOHN TAYLOR
-THE MAILMAN
-SEEDINGS
49 - JAMMIN JEFF WISE
-DEBBIE THE CHEF SWANSON
-RAM FAN JULIE REISINGER
-COWBOY JOE GEORGE LANTZ
-MY BIG FAT GREEK GREOS GANG
-PISTOL PETER BURG
-HOT ROD BILL BELLAMY
-BASKETBALL BOBBY BAIRD
48 - CHIP FAN JAN HUBERT
-SUNDEVIL JEFF BULL
-THE PROFESSOR PATTI BAIRD
-PRESIDENT OBAMA
47 - BIG ONIONS DOUG REISINGER
46 - KING JONAH WISE
-DUNKIN DON RONYAK
-JEFF BUBBA GUMESON
45 - AND 1 ADAMZONA SWANSON
-SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
44 - MARCY TIGER WOOD
-BRUIN DALE HUFFMAN
42 - BIG HOUSE STEVE WOOD

SWEET SEVEN
51 - STONE COLD JOHN LANTZ
50 - SOONER OR LATER A SOONER DAVID LANTZ
-A TRAIN ADAM BURG
48 - SAM THE EXTERMINATOR GREOS
-DR. HOOPS ANDY GREOS
45 - THE LONGHORN TYLER SWANSON
42 - THE BIG DIESEL SEAN BULL

Later!

The Mailman