Baseball? Really? Hmmm...

Sigh.

I've never really been a baseball fan. I've always blamed the Royals. I was 23 months old when the Royals won the World Series. That was the last time they won their division.

I was into the games somewhere between the age of 6 and 9. I remember watching the games on local tv and even listening to it on the radio. I attended a bunch of games at what was then just Royals Stadium. But after moving to Illinois, I couldn't follow the Royals and had no interest in following the Cubs or Cards (nobody roots for the White Sox in Peoria).

I've already documented how by the sheer number of games, a baseball game is 1/10th as important as a NFL game. I can't even sit through a non-playoffs NBA game. Basically if it's not football, or it's not the playoffs, I'm not that interested.

All that said, for some reason, the idea of watching baseball suddenly seems interesting. Maybe it was watching some youtube clips of ozzie smith, or playing softball again, or maybe the commercials where ESPN always makes every sport sound so freaking good...but I'm at least semi-interested in baseball.

I tried to think if there was a team that I could get behind, that would have a winning season and have a chance at the title. And nothing seemed right. In the last 2 years the White Sox and Cards won and if I had any reasons to root for teams, those would have been it. I was happy they won, but I didn't really care after they did it. The Cards/Mets series was more enjoyable than the sloppy WS.

I toyed with the idea of picking a team that hasn't done that well that could be on the rise, like Cleveland perhaps, but it wouldn't feel right either. No, the only team that I could ever root for, would be the Royals. And if they ever make the World Series, at least I could say that I never followed another team.

Too bad they still aren't wearing the powder blues. Snazzy.


The last time the Royals even finished 2nd in their division was 1995. They've finished in 5th place 6 times since then. But it wasn't always that way. Ignoring the 1981 strike season, starting in 1975 the Royals finished 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 1st - when they won it all in 1985.

But now? They're the consensus pick for last place in the AL, and they're in the division where any of the other 4 times could be a legitimate title contender. It doesn't really seem fair.

I guess the lone bright spot is Alex Gordon...and that's about it.

But I'll be tivoing the Opening Day game vs the Red Sox and who knows, this year could be the year.

Boo! Williams!

Well, we're on the eve of a tremendous Final Four, baseball's opening day is approaching, and it's the week leading up to the Masters. So of course I'm going to talk about Arena Football, a sport that I haven't watched more than 10 seconds of.

1. KC Brigade won in overtime, on a Boo Williams 35 yard touchdown. He had 7 rec for 110 yards and 2 tds. If the name sounds familiar, he was a tight end for the Saints from 01 to 05. I remember picking him in fantasy because he was pretty cheap and sometimes scored. He had 5 touchdowns in 03, 12 in his career. He looks much happier on the Brigade, then he does in the NFL.

2. The Brigade play in Kemper Arena, an arena that was 3 miles from our house in central Kansas City. Kemper was host to both an NHL and NBA team in the 70's/80's as well as an indoor soccer and minor league hockey team, both of which I attended many games. (I still remember going to a KC Comets soccer game, and my mom gave my 6 dollars to give to friend's parents who were taking me. I didn't realize that's what the money was for, and spend the 6 dollars on 3 souveneirs. Money went farther in the early 90's.)

Kemper also hosted the 1988 Final Four which was won by KU. It's really a shame that I wasn't born about 6 year earlier, so I could have enjoyed the 85 Royals and 88 Jayhawks. As it stands now, I don't have any memories of rooting for any team to win a championship on any level.

Kemper is being replaced by the Sprint Center, which doesn't yet have a major tenant. They were hoping to land the Penguins, but that didn't happen. That would have been nice with Crosby and all Oh well. The Clippers and 2 unnamed NBA teams are rumored to be up for relocating.

I Hate Chalk

The last time there were 2 regionals that had the top 2 seeds in the elite 8 was 2002. The other half of the elite 8 was a 5-10 matchup and a 12-2. (Interestingly, that 10 seed in the Elite 8 was Kent State, led by NFL Star Antonio Gates. Also I picked them to go to the Elite 8 based on nothing, probably my best, reaching bracket prediction.)

After tonight we could easily have a 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-3 Elite 8. Are you kidding me?

Here are some Elite 8's notable for least upsets:

1985: 1-2, 1-2, 1-3, 1-8. Total = 19 (Villanova was the 8 seed and won it all)
1993: 1-2, 1-2, 1-3, 1-7. Total = 18 (3 #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four)

Without looking at every year, it's reasonable to assume that this year could set records for most chalk. If Florida, UNC and Georgetown all win, then regardless of the Orgeon/UNLV game, this would be the chalkiest Elite 8 ever. In fact, we could reasonably have all 4 #1seeds advance to the Final Four, which would almost make me vomit.

Also, last year was the first year that no #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.
In current format (since 1985) all 4 #1 seeds have never advanced to the Final Four.

Home Cookin'

Obviously Florida has the easiest path to the Final Four. And since pretty much everyone has them there anyways, even if they lose, it doesn't really matter.

But for the other 3 regionals my bracket is relying on Home Court Advantages. The distance might not seem like a factor, but it plays a role in how well students/fans are able to travel, plus a time zone difference can lead to fatigue. Here are the driving distances from each campus to their regional site.

San Jose
My bracket: UCLA 5 hours
KU 27 hours
SIU 32 hours
Pitt 38 hours

East Rutherford
My bracket: Georgetown 4 hours
UNC 8.5 hours
Vandy 14 hours
USC 41 hours

San Antonio
My bracket: Texas A&M 3.5 hours
Memphis 11 hours
Tennessee 17 hours
Ohio State 20 hours

For what it's worth here are the distances for the Midwest Regional:

St. Louis
Butler 4 hours
My bracket: Florida 13.5 hours
UNLV 23.5 hours
Oregon 31 hours


Does that mean that I'm worried Butler can knock off Florida? I shouldn't be, but yeah, a little.

I'm (an) Upset

Part of my advanced methodology for picking my bracket came down to studying the chalk. The evidence was clear. Looking at the Sweet Sixteen over the last 3 years, the number of upsets has been 6, 6, 7, 7, and 8. (Upsets being defined as any team not seeded 1-4, so yes a 5 over a 4 would be an upset for this discussion.)

Clearly the range for upsets is 6-8, with 7 being a likely target. But if you don't pick at least 6, you are relying too much on chalk, and ignoring history. Especially after last year's GM run where an 11 seed made it to the final four, it seemed that upsets were getting more and more probable.

So of course I picked 5 upsets. I wanted to pick 6, but couldn't find a sixth team.
For a chalk comparison, Mark picked 1 upset (Tennessee), Kirat and Niraj both picked 3, and Matt picked 4.

And as it turns out there were 5:
5 Butler
7 UNLV
5 USC
6 Vanderbilt
5 Tennessee

Too bad they weren't the 5 that I picked (I did get 2 of them right. Which means that there were 3 upsets that I thought would be that I got wrong, plus the 3 that I didn't expect.) So I got 6 wrong, and in a normal year, if you don't pick any upsets, you're likely to get the 6 upsets wrong anyways.

(Also, only once in the last 5 years had a region gone perfectly 1-4, and it happened again this year in the West).

3.21.07

So I've made a big deal about what I'm currently eating, what about what I used to eat?

Well, I occasionally would go to Chipotle and get a burrito with barbacoa beef, peppers, salsa, cheese and sour cream. Here's the nutrition facts:
That doesn't include guacamole, chips, or even beans. I'm not sure where to start, basically every line is bad, except for the protein, but it's not like I needed that much protein.

And this was for lunch, after I had already had at least 600 calories worth of cereal, and perhaps a granola bar during the day. Sometimes I would add 150 calories worth of coke, and maybe even chips and guacamole. Then I would come home and have a dinner of probably at least 1,000 calories(pasta, quesadillas, fatty burgers), and then probably a late night snack as well. It's easy to see how I could eat 3,500 calories a day without feeling too guilty, with rationalizations like I'm not having bacon or I'm not eating french fries.

Now I'm eating 1,500 calories a day, enjoying what I eat more, feeling better, and not missing all that junk.

3 Albums You'd Have to Pry From My Cold, Dead Fingers

Monday Hamper Dump

• Saturday was a Tour de Force day for college basketball--totally redeemed the first two days of lackluster action.
• I've been on fire with cooking: pita pizzas with homemade sauce, cheddar hashbrowns, chipotle ranch chicken pitas...
• I've got big plans for my creative writing...more on that before 2007 is over.
• Blogger has every picture I've uploaded
• I've started doing a little bit of yoga, which has already made a noticeable difference, but also goes beyond the line of just healthy eating/exercise to more of a health freak. We'll see what happens.
  
• And all the best games from the Sweet 16 are on Thursday:

Madness? Not so much.

The first 4-day weekend is the wild one.
The second 4-day weekend is the great basketball one.
And the final four it typically a let down.

Well when the biggest upset is an 11 over a 6, this first round was anything but wild. And there weren't even that many close games either. The two 11 seeds to advance, were hardly surprises as VCU and Winthrop were projected sleepers.

With a lackluster first round, it will be hard for the second round to have that many exciting matchups. Unless a 1 or 2 goes down, or either of the 11's advance, it will be hard to have a 2nd round upset. As for great upcoming games?

Hmmm...Winthrop/Oregon? Butler/Maryland? I can hardly contain myself.

Seriously, Kansas/Kentucky could be interesting, as could VCU/Pitt, UNC/MSU, USC/Texas, BC/Georgetown. But they all rely on the underdog showing up. Probably the best game over the next 2 days will be...

Louisville/A&M

It's in Lexington, even though Texas A&M is the higher seed. Louisville is explosive and A&M has Acie Law. Oh yeah, and I have Texas A&M in the final four--partly because if they can get past Louisville, they will go to the Regional in San Antonio.

The game is at 2:40 Central, 20 minutes after the tip of Butler/Maryland...hopefully they don't stick Chicago in the Butler market.

Box Office Hit

The movie "300" has been a surprise hit, and talks are already in the works for a sequel:

An Incredible Time of the Year

Chicago weather can be brutal, but we are on the cusp of a beautiful 6 months. The winters are just a bit colder than Peoria/Champaign, but the benefits it that the summer is rarely too hot. Perhaps a few scattered days in July and August, but overall from April to October in Chicago is a wonderful time of year.

And walking without a coat, thinking about March Madness, softball season is looming on the horizon, and I'm feeling quite fit and comfortable in my body...things are just pretty good right now.

3.13.07

I recently mentioned some of the healthy foods that I couldn't live without. Now I'm pondering the most unhealthy foods possible. Deep-dish pizza, fried chicken, donuts all come to mind. While unhealthy, they don't really take the cake. And neither does cake. Here is my list of worst foods:

3a/3b: French Fries/Ice Cream
You'll notice a trend on my list. As opposed to say fried chicken, it at least is a meal. It fills you up. Sure it might have 700 calories instead of the 200 in baked chicken, but at least it provides a dinner. French Fries makes the list because it doesn't fill you up, full of the worst fats (likely trans fats but at least saturated fats) and because they only accompany other bad options. If you served french fries with a whole-grain turkey sandwich it might be a different story. (Not really, but you get the point.)

And ice cream is definitely not a meal, or at least it shouldn't be. It's empty calories after you've already eaten. And it usually packs in candy or chocolate syrup or something else. We can get by just fine without dessert.

Replacement Options:
Make your own french fries at home - cut potatoes, season with salt and pepper and even garlic powder, cooking spray and an oven. Because it's the oil, not the potato that's terrible. And they have low-calorie single serve ice cream bars/sandwiches. For under 150 calories you can satisfy your sweet tooth while maintaining portion control.

2. Coke (and any other regular soda)
Soda? A 150-calorie drink worse than deep-dish pizza? Yeah. While we may think of it as pure Americana, there's nothing pure about it. It's high fructose corn syrup and food coloring. It's not even real sugar. And it provides 0 fulfillment. It's a waste of calories. You can drink yourself fat and not even realize you had anything at all. And once you stop drinking it, you realize that it tastes too sweet anyways. It manipulates your taste buds.

Replacement Options:
Of course water is the best, but I think it's fine to have a zero-calorie soda.

1. Beer
This is bad for so many reasons. For one, a Bud "Light" still has 110 calories per 12 ounces. Hardly a light drink. And you're more likely to drink 6 than you are to stop at one. While 6 of them might fill you up, it's the same filling as food provides. In fact, from my own experience, it makes me even hungrier for greasy, unhealthy foods, compounding the badness.

Replacement Options:
If you can drink just one good beer, say a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at 200 calories, and savor it, then you wouldn't have to swear beer out of your life.

Madness? Yep.

So it's Monday, so of course I'm already on the 3rd (hopefully final - I just printed it out for the first time) draft of my bracket. I've been using a strategy that I developed a couple of years ago, but this year I've fine tuned it with a couple of new methods.

I feel pretty solid about most of my picks. Excluding the Midwest Region. I feel comfortable my regional winner, but the rest of the bracket I'm not sold on. My goal is to get 6 of the Elite 8 teams, we'll see how that goes. And I'm feeling pretty good about getting 3 of the Final 4, too.

And as for Thursday and Friday while I'm in the office, I have Tivo. So I won't miss a minute, but that means that I'll be trying to avoid all sports related sites, which I'm not sure if that's even possible. But it'll be worth it, right? The mmod internet thing was cool last year, but it wasn't great or 100% reliable.

Random Monday Thoughts

You really don't need to put your clothes in a dryer. Just hang your shirts on hangers, and put the hangers on your shower rod. Shirts dry in a couple hours, pants overnight.

I get nosebleeds in my right nostril more than once a week.

I've fallen asleep in a movie theater only once: Gladiator.

Hoagie Central's Exclusive Bracket Contest

Sure it's easy to pick a Sweet 16 when you go all-chalk. But let's kick it up a notch. The rules are simple:

Make a list of teams, picking one team from each seed.

Your list could look like this:

1's: Florida
2's: Georgetown
3's: Oregon
4's: Maryland
and so on.

You could pick every team from one region if you wanted to.

The scoring system for each game will be:

(# seed) x (# of round)

Imagine Maryland wins a Sweet 16 game. If you picked Maryland, that win would be worth 12 points. And you would have already gotten 4 points for their first round game, and 8 points for the second round game.