#1 Seeds Who Actually Win

It appears that the selection committee for the women’s NCAA basketball tournament pretty much got it right.

If everyone plays as the committee expected and up to their ranking, you would expect that all four number one seeds to make it to the Final Four. But that virtually never happens. If the men’s tournament this year is any indication (where #2 seeded UCLA, #3 seeded Florida, #4 seeded LSU and #11 seeded George Mason have made it to the Final Four), being #1 doesn’t guarantee you a Final Four berth.

But that was not the case this year for the women.

Three of the #1 seeds in the women’s tournament have made the Final Four. Duke, LSU, and North Carolina have all prevailed in their four previous match-ups to reach the Final Four games in Boston. Ohio State was the only #1 seed not to make the Final Four. Instead, rounding out the Final Four, is #2 seeded Maryland.

There was a lot of speculation about who should and should not have received #1 seeds when the brackets were announced. The teams that have made it to the Final Four show that the women’s selection committee were almost right on target, more so than the men’s committee.

And my pick to win it all:

Nice Rebound!

It’s now time for my biweekly weight update.

Last week was not a good weigh in week for me. Coming off of Spring Break I knew the results wouldn’t be good. I ended up actually gaining a pound.

So I recommitted myself and really stuck to the diet this week. Today’s weigh-in had me at 3.5 pounds down for the week and 34.5 down overall.

In other related good news, today is the first day that I’m wearing jeans that are a size smaller than what I have been wearing. I now have actual physical evidence, not just my weigh-ins each week, that this diet is really working!

Winter Olympics 2014

Having now been approximately one month removed from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy the next order of business for the International Olympic Committee will be to choose the host city for the 2014 Winter Games and the subsequent Paraolympic Games. While the ultimate decision will not be made until July 7, 2007, the process that the candidate cities that made the current “short-list” is progressing. Each host city had to submit the answers to a questionnaire this past February, and from these questionnaires and some other evaluations the current list of seven cities will be reduced to 4-5 potential host cities in June, 2006.

Here’s a list of the cities vying to host the games, accompanied by their bid logo. If you click on the city you will also be directed to the official website of the candidate city’s bid to host. (NOTE: Not all sites are in English, but those that are not have links that will give you an English version.) Make your best guess as to who you believe will get the bid. My non-professional opinion: the Games will end up going to Sochi, Russia.

Almaty, Kazakhstan




Borjomi, Georgia




Jaca, Spain




PeyongChang, South Korea




Salzburg, Austria




Sochi, Russia




Sofia, Bulgaria

Go Patriots! - Part Deux

I’m at a loss. The final four that I had predicted for the men’s NCAA tournament (Memphis, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State) have all lost. Now what is a guy to do?

As you saw in my posting below I have a certain affinity for George Mason having spent many of my formative years in Northern Virginia. I now must wonder if they have what it takes to prevail over the remaining teams: LSU, UCLA and the winner of the game going on currently between Villanova and Florida.

My uneducated guess is yes.

They may be the underdog, but I believe that the Patriots have shown what it takes to be champion. I do believe that the teams that have faced George Mason, and those that will, really have been underestimating them. George Mason has capitalized on this and will proceed on to be the ultimate winners.

I only wonder if there was anyone out there that actually predicted George Mason to win it all, let alone make it to the Final Four.

Go Patriots!

Growing up many years in Northern Virginia I heard about George Mason University as a viable option as a location to get my college degree. I even applied there while in high school and was accepted. What I never heard was about George Mason being a great basketball program.

That has all changed in recent years. George Mason has reached the Elite Eight of the current NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It was a team that many thought toward the end of the regular season might not make it to the tournament at all. They had a bit of a small slump and one of their top players was suspended for at least the first game of the tournament.

The Patriots have proven that they did indeed belong in the tournament. Do they have the potential to win the whole thing? Probably not. They next have to face the humongous challenge of defeating number one seeded the University of Connecticut.

But no one will forget how the George Mason University Patriots became the Cinderella Story of the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Major Accomplishment

Those that know me know that I am not in any way a fan of NASCAR. Yet there was a story worth mentioning coming from the Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.

On Friday driver Bill Lester qualified to drive in the Golden Corral 500 race. He was the fastest driver out of fifteen trying to qualify for the race.

What is special in Bill Lester’s making it to the final race is that he is the first African American driver to qualify for a NASCAR final in nearly twenty years. The last to do so was in June 1986 when Willy T. Ribbs raced at the Michigan International Speedway.

This accomplishment is a culmination of a long career for Lester, who wants to race among the best that NASCAR has to offer.

Lester will have the 19th position at the Golden Corral 500 and hopes to have a very good showing racing among some of NASCAR’s best drivers.

Women’s NCAA Tournament Predictions-First Round, Day 2

Day 1 Record 11-5

Cleveland Bracket:

12:00pm ET: (4) Purdue over (13) Missouri State
12:00pm ET: (2) Tennessee over (15) Army
2:30pm ET: (5) UCLA over (12) Bowling Green
2:30pm ET: (10) Old Dominion over (7) George Washington
7:00pm ET: (3) Rutgers over (14) Dartmouth
9:30pm ET: (6) Texas A&M over (11) TCU

Albuquerque Bracket

12:00pm ET: (7) St. John’s over (10) California
2:30pm ET: (2) Maryland over (15) Sacred Heart
7:00pm ET: (9) Notre Dame over (8) Boston College
9:30pm ET: (1) Ohio State over (16) Oakland, Michigan

Bridgeport Bracket

7:00pm ET: (1) Duke over (16) Southern University
9:30pm ET: (8) USC over (9) South Florida
12:00pm ET: (6) Temple over (11) Hartford
2:30pm ET: (3) Georgia over (14) Marist
7:00pm ET: (10) Missouri over (7) Virginia Tech
9:30pm ET: (2) Connecticut over (15) Coppin State

Men’s NCAA Tournament Predictions-Second Round, Day 4

Day 3 Record 5-3
Overall Record 27-13

Atlanta Bracket:

2:40pm ET: (14) Northwestern State over (6) West Virginia
4:45pm ET: (2) Texas over (10) North Carolina State

Oakland Bracket

12:10pm ET: (5) Pittsburgh over (13) Bradley
2:15pm ET: (1) Memphis over (9) Bucknell

Washington D.C. Bracket

2:20pm ET: (3) North Carolina over (11) George Mason
2:30pm ET: (1) Connecticut over (8) Kentucky

Minneapolis Bracket

4:50pm ET: (2) Ohio State over (7) Georgetown
5:00pm ET: (1) Villanova over (8) Arizona

Women’s NCAA Tournament Predictions-First Round, Day 1

Cleveland Bracket:

8:00pm ET: (1) North Carolina over (16) UC Riverside
10:30pm ET: (8) Vanderbilt over (9) Louisville

Albuquerque Bracket

1:00pm ET: (12) Middle Tennessee State over (5) Utah
3:30pm ET: (4) Arizona State over (13) Stephen F. Austin
8:00pm ET: (3) Baylor over (14) Northern Arizona
10:30pm ET: (6) Florida over (11) New Mexico

Bridgeport Bracket

12:00pm ET: (13) UW-Milwaukee over (4) Michigan State
2:30pm ET: (5) Kentucky over (12) UT-Chattanooga

San Antonio Bracket

12:00pm ET: (9) Washington over (8) Minnesota
1:00pm ET: (2) Oklahoma over (15) Pepperdine
2:30pm ET: (1) LSU over (16) Florida Atlantic
3:30pm ET: (10) Iowa over (7) BYU
8:00pm ET: (4) DePaul over (13) Liberty
8:00pm ET: (6) Florida over (11) Louisiana Tech
10:30pm ET: (5) North Carolina State over (12) Tulsa
10:30pm ET: (3) Stanford over (14) Southeast Missouri State

Men’s NCAA Tournament Predictions-Second Round, Day 3

Day 2 Record 11-5
Overall Record 22-10

Atlanta Bracket:

1:10pm ET: (1) Duke over (8) George Washington
5:50pm ET: (4) LSU over (12) Texas A&M

Oakland Bracket

8:00pm ET: (2) UCLA over (10) Alabama
8:10pm ET: (6) Indiana over (3) Gonzaga

Washington D.C. Bracket

3:40pm ET: (2) Tennessee over (7) Wichita State
5:30pm ET: (4) Illinois over (5) Washington

Minneapolis Bracket

3:20pm ET: (3) Florida over (11) Wisconsin-Milwaukee
5:40pm ET: (4) Boston College over (12) Montana

Men’s NCAA Tournament Predictions-First Round, Day 2

Day 1 Record 11-5

Atlanta Bracket:

12:25pm ET: (3) Iowa over (14) Northwestern State
2:45pm ET: (11) Southern Illinois over (6) West Virginia
7:20pm ET: (10) North Carolina State over (7) California
9:40pm ET: (2) Texas over (15) Pennsylvania

Oakland Bracket

12:30pm ET: (9) Bucknell over (8) Arkansas
2:50pm ET: (1) Memphis over (16) Oral Roberts
7:10pm ET: (5) Pittsburgh over (12) Kent State
9:30pm ET: (4) Kansas over (13) Bradley

Washington D.C. Bracket

7:10pm ET: (6) Michigan State over (11) George Mason
7:25pm ET: (1) Connecticut over (16) Albany
9:30pm ET: (3) North Carolina over (14) Murray State
9:45pm ET: (8) Kentucky over (9) UAB

Minneapolis Bracket

12:15pm ET: (2) Ohio State over (15) Davidson
12:30pm ET: (9) Wisconsin over (8) Arizona
2:35pm ET: (7) Georgetown over (10) Northern Iowa
2:50pm ET: (1) Villanova over (16) Monmouth

Men’s NCAA Tournament Predictions-First Round, Day 1

Atlanta Bracket:

7:10pm ET: (4) LSU over (13) Iona
7:10pm ET: (8) George Washington over (9) UNC-Wilmington
9:30pm ET: (1) Duke over (16) Southern University
9:30pm ET: (5) Syracuse over (12) Texas A&M

Oakland Bracket

2:40pm ET: (7) Marquette over (10) Alabama
4:55pm ET: (2) UCLA over (15) Belmont
7:20pm ET: (3) Gonzaga over (14) Xavier
9:40pm ET: (6) Indiana over (11) San Diego State

Washington D.C. Bracket

12:20pm ET: (10) Seton Hall over (7) Wichita State
2:40pm ET: (2) Tennessee over (15) Winthrop
7:25pm ET: (4) Illinois over (13) Air Force
9:45pm ET: (5) Washington over (12) Utah State

Minneapolis Bracket

12:25pm ET: (11) Wisconsin-Milwaukee over (6) Oklahoma
12:40pm ET: (4) Boston College over (13) Pacific
2:45pm ET: (3) Florida over (14) South Alabama
3:00pm ET: (5) Nevada over (12) Montana

Time for an Update

It is time again to give everyone a weight loss update.

This past week I lost another 2.5 pounds. This brings my grand total to 32 pounds.

I even have to get new jeans and a new belt. My old ones don't fit anymore!

My Favorites for American Idol

As many people know, I am a big fan of reality television. I enjoy many different shows with many different premises. One of the biggest out there is American Idol. Tonight marks the start of the finals, having narrowed the field down to six men and six women.

This year’s field has some real talent. I’ve been blown away by two of the performers in particular. While I’m reticent to actually pick my favorite to win since for nearly every reality show I’ve done that for that person has lost, with only exception being my prediction of Matt winning last fall’s season of The Biggest Loser, I really do think that either Chris Daugherty or Mandisa will walk away with the title of American Idol.

NCAA Tournaments

Sunday and Monday marked the announcing of the fields for the NCAA basketball tournaments.

There were some surprises in each bracket. For the men, many thought that Cincinnati or Michigan should have been included while they were surprised to see Air Force and Utah State included in the field. For the women it was the exclusion of Western Kentucky (with a ranking of 17 in the RPI) and Indiana State.

I’m looking forward to watching games in both tournaments. My predictions? Ohio State for the women’s championship. And I have a dark horse contender for the men’s; even though they’re seeded #1, Memphis is not on many people’s lips as a possible championship contender. They’re my pick to go all the way.

A Change for the Better?

For my regular readers you are now noticing a change. My blog looks very different.

In truth, the fuschia and black background that I had been using had become tiresome to me after more than six months. The fuschia was very bright and I was finding it to be difficult to read sometimes due to the color scheme.

Any feedback on the new look would be greatly appreciated.

A Different Doping Incident

Doping is a serious issue in the world of sports. Players are suspended and professional lives can be ruined when caught in a doping offense.

No sport is immune. As evidenced by a recent incident.

Recently a tennis player was caught by the International Tennis Federation when she tested positive for terbutaline. Israeli tennis player Ilanit Fridman tested positive at an event in London last week and was suspended for one month.

Did I mention that Fridman is in a wheelchair?

Yes, that’s correct. The ITF suspended a wheelchair tennis player for testing positive for a substance that was prescribed to her from a doctor. It turns out that terbutaline is an ingredient in Fridman’s asthma medication.

I do agree with the suspension because Fridman did take a substance that is on the ITF’s banned list. However, she did not get the proper “Therapeutic Use Exemption” that is necessary when legally taking such a substance. Ignorance isn’t an excuse, as has been supported in other recent doping cases.

My big problem is with how the ITF handled the situation. They publicized it, even going so far as to issue a press release about the incident. Why publicize a doping incident that involves an ignorant wheelchair player? Even though they were in the right (in my opinion) doesn’t this somewhat tarnish the ITF’s overall reputation?

First Football, Now Tennis?

The United States Tennis Association, in conjunction with the ATP and the WTA tennis tours, has announced that, beginning with the Nasdaq-100 Open, tennis will have instant replay.

Officials believe that by instituting instant replay many missed calls will be caught and will work to the players’ advantage.

Each player will receive two instant replays a set, with a third being given if the set goes into a tiebreaker. A play will lose one of their instant relay challenges if they dispute a call and the instant replay shows that the umpire’s call was correct.

The first Grand Slam event of 2006 that will use instant replay will be the U.S. Open.

There are some drawbacks to the plan. First, not all courts used at an event will have the capability for instant replay. Citing costs for the technology needed for instant replays, the Nasdaq-100 will only have instant replay at their stadium court. At the U.S. Open it will only be on the two show courts.

In addition, not all events will have instant replay. At this time any event that is played on clay, such as the French Open Grand Slam event, will not because it is believed that the mark the ball leaves on the court will be sufficient for the umpire to make their calls.

I’m not exactly sure that this is the best route for tennis to go in. I agree that it may help the players and the game, but why institute it now if it’s not going to be available to all players at all events? I hate to have an all or nothing attitude about it, but it will definitely benefit the top players who typically play on the featured courts at an event, and will definitely not help any player at an event played on a clay court.

I definitely think that it may be a bit premature to be instituting instant replay in professional tennis.

Award Predictions

Coming up this Sunday is the 78th Annual Academy Awards, airing at 8pm on ABC. I have not seen all of the nominated films, but I have seen many of them and read about the rest. I’ve seen what the prognosticators have put out there and their predictions and I figured I could do the same. The only categories that I am not making predictions for are the short film categories: Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short Film, and Best Documentary Short Subject. I have no clue about any of the nominees. With that being said, here are the nominees and my predictions (my predictions are in red):

Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich







Best Director
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Paul Haggis, Crash
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Steven Spielberg, Munich







Best Actor
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck





Best Actress
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line




Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence



Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain


Best Adapted Screenplay
Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
Dan Futterman, Capote
Jeffrey Caine, The Constant Gardener
Josh Olson, A History of Violence
Tony Kushner & Eric Roth, Munich






Best Original Screenplay
Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco, Crash
George Clooney & Grant Heslov, Good Night, and Good Luck
Woody Allen, Match Point
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
Stephen Gaghan, Syriana






Best Foreign Film
Don’t Tell, Italy
Joyeux Noel, France
Paradise Now, Palestine
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days, Germany
Tsotsi, South Africa







Best Animated Feature Film
Howl’s Moving Castle
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit








Best Documentary
Darwin’s Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight






Best Art Direction
Good Night, and Good Luck
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice







Best Cinematography
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World




Best Film Editing
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line







Best Costume Design
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk the Line


Best Makeup
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith








Best Original Score
Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain
Alberto Iglesias, The Constant Gardener
John Williams, Memoirs of a Geisha
John Williams, Munich
Dario Marianelli, Pride & Prejudice

Best Original Song
“In the Deep” from Crash, Kathleen “Bird” York and Michael Becker
“It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from Hustle & Flow, Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman & Paul Beauregard
“Travelin’ Thru” from Transamerica, Dolly Parton







Best Sound Editing
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds









Best Sound Mixing
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds






Best Visual Effects
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds

Why Interested?

I’ve been asked recently why I have such an interest in the Olympics. Is it just curiosity or is it something more?

I thought that was a very good question. I guess my interests are twofold: personal and professional.

First, I do think that the Olympics are an interesting event. It brings forth feelings of national pride and sportsmanship. The best athletes in the world come together in order to test their abilities against the world’s other top athletes. And great stories that you would never have heard on a national stage come forward.

Second, I do have a professional interest. How each athlete is discussed as well as how much screen time is devoted to male sports as compared to female sports is of particular interest to me. Projects that I would like to explore based on the 2006 Winter Olympics include a comparison of the broadcasts on network television and the broadcasts on cable television and a comparison of the network television broadcasts to newspaper coverage of the Games in the nation’s major newspapers. Are the Games framed in the same way or differently?

The Olympics are more than just something that is fun to watch on television. It’s also ripe with research possibilities.

Biweekly Diet Update

As I promised two weeks ago, I'm giving an update on how my diet is going.

Today marked the completion of week 7. This past week I lost 3 pounds, bringing the grand total to 25.

Needless to say, I am amazed.