The wife and kids are out of town for Spring Break and I’m left holding the bag… it’s a bag filled with doggie doo-doo because I have to take the family pooch (her name is Hope) for a walk every damn day while they’re having fun in the sun. (I’m not bitter.)
There’s a cemetery near our house and it’s a good place to walk the dog. (Does that sound too Tim Burton?) While Hope is sniffing every tree, leaf and blade of grass, I have a bit of free time to ponder my own mortality (the cemetery is a great place for that too). I found this headstone intriguing:
Seems like maybe the Spears family went for the “buy one engraving, get one free” special when David bought the farm, but either Jennie is the oldest living person in the world or she wound up somewhere else. Probably not that surprising when you consider Jennie was nearly 20 years younger than her hubby. She had a lot of living left to do. And David wasn’t really in a position to complain.
Side note: I wasn’t sure if I should use till or ’til in the title of this blog post. “Till” is the correct one, and actually has been around longer than the word “until”. The abbreviated ’til is “etymologically incorrect” according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. You learn something new every day… at my age though you’re lucky if you still remember it the next day.
Yesterday and today, during the opening round of the NCAA basketball tournament, this is how our living room is set up. Games are on 4 channels, so we need 3 TVs and a computer monitor. Maybe this is why it’s called March Madness.
A few observations from yesterday’s action:
Enough already with the Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Charles Barkley commercials
Ditto for the DirecTV “settlers” ads
There were quite a few players who slipped on the court late in the game, at crucial times. Could the NCAA’s “let’s install the same generic looking court at every venue” policy be to blame?
There’s nothing more fun than a first round upset by Yale… unless it’s a 2nd round upset by Yale (they’re playing the dreaded Duke Blue Devils).
The double OT game between Purdue and University of Arkansas-Little Rock was the most fun to watch.
Providence’s last-second layup was really the closest we’ve come to a buzzer-beater.
My Xavier Musketeers play late tonight. Saw this bus on the road yesterday:
This morning, March 13th, I ran the Cincinnati Heart Mini, a 15K race. This was the 39th annual Heart Mini, a fundraiser for the American Heart Association.
Six years ago, on a Sunday, March 14th, 2010, my dad had a hemorrhagic stroke while attending Mass. He died 4 days later.
Needless to say, it was easy to find motivation to run. A silent prayer with every step. This one’s for you, Herb.
As a college basketball fan, I love the madness of March. But I do find the obsession with “bracketology” rather maddening. For more than 2 months, the bracket experts have been creating mock brackets, predicting which teams will make the field of 68 and which teams won’t.
It just seems a bit silly to me, all that energy expended on something that’s out of your control. Instead of worrying, gnashing your teeth and spending countless hours religiously following the latest “breaking news” on the “last 4 teams in” and “first four teams” out—which change on a daily or even hourly basis—here’s a novel idea:
A. Watch the actual conference tournament basketball games.
B. Tune in tomorrow night to see who makes the field and what their seed is.
Bracketology is not a sport, it’s an exercise in futility. I’m happy for people like Joe Lunardi (“Joey Brackets”) who have been able to make a living by being pretty accurate in predicting which teams will make the tourney. But to me it’s very similar to the old saw about “everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” Unless you are one of the 10 people on the official NCAA selection committee, you’re wasting your time thinking about it.
Up next: why “mock NFL drafts” are really just mocking anyone who believes them.
Dave Linkletter on Rictile unleashed: “Well Said DD. Although I always considered you and Ric "Partners" more than roommates.” Nov 9, 14:49
blueandgolddreamer on It’s the most wonderful time of the year: “No other words to say except that I do enjoy the cheesy videos and Xavier gave me something I will…” Nov 7, 16:29
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