Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Jackie's Party

Oh yeah, NSFW. Cups not included.

Phil Knight, Nike and well heeled Ducks

Reportedly the University of Oregon wants to offer Michigan State coach Tom Izzo a contract worth somewhere north of $32 million dollars over multiple years to become their next basketball coach.

Yes, Tom Izzo.

Heck, why not Mike Krzyzewski? Jim Calhoun? Roy Williams?

How freaking ridiculous is this? Izzo is no John Calipari folks.

UPDATE: It is so ridiculous that coach Izzo had to take time out of preparing his team against Butler in the Final Four to deny being interested.

NCAA To Strip Duke Of Its '08-'09 Losses

This just in:

DURHAM, NC—NCAA officials announced Wednesday that seven losses would be stricken from Duke's 2008-2009 season record, claiming they were forced to act after discovering evidence of dramatically meritorious behavior both on and off the court.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has decided not to appeal the NCAA's decision...

Quick thoughts about the Final Four

Butler: Three point assassins. Almost as good as the A.J. Graves era. They have a good shot at beating Michigan State but not West Virginia or Duke.

Michigan State: Yup, they just find a way to win baby. It would not surprise us if they beat Butler.

West Virginia: At the risk of being prejudiced jerks we think coach Bob Huggins' time is up. It just seems that the Mountaineers are getting by on a little bit of luck here and there.

Duke: Take your pick, Singler, Smith, Plumlee squared or Zoubek. They all can kill you. Duke seems poised to get to their first championship game since 2001.

It's so good

We have gotten a late start today so enjoy a random post. We'll resume normal broadcasting later today or tomorrow.

This is what happens when an extremely narcissistic teenage girl gets a hold of a webcam and the internet...

But we like popcorn too. Cheers!

Bring the pain

This is what CBS will not show you from the Kansas State / Butler game on their highlights. KSU cheerleaders, players, coaches crying. This is March Madness.

The is not CBS.

So long, John Wall

It was a treat watching you play. We wondered why you didn't exhibit your takeover play ability that you had as the season went on. But it didn't matter, you were still good. As long as you were in the game Kentucky had a chance. But then there was West Virginia. Who forced you to play the perimeter. And if there was one thing everyone said it was that you (they) could not play the perimeter under pressure. And they were right. But it doesn't matter, you were still fun to watch. Have fun in the NBA, dude.

The end: Song version

1) Tennessee 76, Ohio State 73: Break On Through

You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run
Tried to hide

Congrats Volunteers for getting to the Elite 8 for the first time. Fuck you for busting our bracket.



2) Baylor 72, St. Mary's 49: Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

Exit Samhan. Hubris has a very very bitter price we guess. We don't know yet but we don't suppose Omar was very talkative after this game.

Games watched last night: Song version

Kentucky 62, Cornell 45: Momma Said Knock You Out

After so much hype was piled on this game the Wildcats take care of business blowing out the Big Red similar to their first two opponents. West Virginia seems like road kill at this point. Speaking of which...



West Virginia 69, Washington 56: Only God Knows Why

Sorry, we are glad that the Pac-10 are gone. What a waste of time. And some people were starting to believe in the tripe they were shoveling down the tournament's throat.



Kansas State 101, Xavier 96 2OT: Everybody Hurts

And this is what Xavier must be feeling right now with Musketeers guard Terrell Holloway making not one but TWO game saving 3 point shots only to have KSU phenom Jacob Pullen stick the dagger right back in them. And we thought that game would be boring. Pooh on us.

Follow the leader

Hey, since The Dagger has ranked the Sweet 16 games we thought we'll do the same. But unlike them don't expect lucid insight into why we have ranked them this way. Onward!

1) No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Cornell (Thursday, 9:57 p.m. EDT)

We mentioned why here but just to reiterate: Race War. And the potential for becoming one of the most exciting games of the whole damn tourney.

2) No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Tennessee (Friday, 7:07 p.m. EDT)

Well shoot, we have the Buckeyes going all the way so I guess we HAVE to root for them. Plus Evan Turner is the bees knees.

3) No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 Purdue (Friday, 9:57 p.m. EDT)

Another situation in which we have the Blue Devils going deep in our bracket. And this has the makings of being a Mike Tyson (in his prime) fight. Translation: A beatdown without Boilermaker star Robbie Hummel.

4) No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 10 St. Mary's (Friday, 7:27 p.m. ET)

Mr. Samhan!!!!!!!

5) No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 5 Butler (Thursday, 7:07 p.m. ET)

This seems like a normal close game to us. Syracuse's suffocating defense against Butler's trademark 3 point shooting. Popcorn game.

6) No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 9 Northern Iowa (Friday, 9:37 p.m. EDT)

Can the Spartans survive another close game? We think UNI will take them to the brink if not beat them all together.

7) No. 2 Kansas State vs. No. 6 Xavier (Thursday, 9:37 p.m. EDT)

Jacob Pullen? Check. Anything else? Anything? Anyone care? Does anyone even have these two teams in their bracket still?

8) No. 2 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Washington (Thursday, 7:27 p.m. EDT)

There are so many bad things to say about this match up. Cripple fight. Washington shouldn't even be here. Injuries to star players on both sides. We might just read about this one in the paper tomorrow over watching it. What a woofer.

An Inconvenient Truth

"This tournament at its heart is a huge money-making operation that makes millions of dollars for coaches, television networks and the NCAA, which is the sport's governing body.

It makes this money by shamelessly exploiting athletes, many of whom would never find their way onto campus if not for their ability to shoot a basketball. Although their coaches sign lucrative contracts, the players can be expelled for as much as taking a pair of shoes.

Ah, but they get a free education. But in too many cases, demanding classes are discouraged and athletes are directed to courses specifically designed to meet minimal academic standards."

All true. And we here at M2M have always advocated that Student-Athletes should at the very least receive a monthly stipend derived directly from the profits of their chosen sport.

But until that day comes where the NCAA comes to their senses, compensate these kids a little, enforce more stringent rules concerning classes taken and GPAs earned, let us ignore all of this and enjoy the splendor of the Sweet 16. It's go time.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Snow

Don't be fooled, NSFW. From one of our favorite bloggers, Ms. Jen.

Bracket Challenge update

So at the start of the NCAA Tournament we mentioned being part of a pick 'em bracket challenge with fellow bloggers Ballin' is a Habit (the organizer), Storming The Floor, March Madness All Season, Rush The Court among many others. You might remember a few us us during the old blogpoll days. Well, here are the results so far...



At least we are not at the bottom (which was going on for the first few days of the tournament) but nowhere near the top unfortunately. The interesting thing is all those "Kansas winning the tournament" picks. We came so close picking the Jayhawks as well but the thing that stopped us was just how streaky they were this season. Never was the team of two years ago. Maybe we'll make up some ground during the Sweet 16/Elite 8.

Leave your jokes here.

Culture Clash

Although other blogs may be more tasteful in talking about the upcoming Cornell / Kentucky game we are not afraid to stoop to the lowest common denominator.

This game will feature lumbering slow White people destined to be doctors/lawyers/accountants versus fast agile Black people destined for the NBA! And you know what that means...


Kentucky FTW!

March to Madness. Not afraid to start flame wars and idiotic controversies since 2007.

Three things

1) Best game: Northern Iowa beating Kansas. Best win: Michigan State over Maryland

2) Cornell is no joke!

3) We're still standing. Our final four picks are still alive...

Ohio State
Kentucky
Duke
Syracuse


Mr. Elton John, if you please...

The Dagger

This is sick.

Michigan State beats Greivis led Maryland team in final seconds!

What do you do...

...when you are getting ass raped by a physically superior team? We were wincing the entire game.

Can't stop talking about it

Brackets have been busted!

The Earth has shaken. Goliath has been slain. Northern 'fucken' Iowa has beaten Kansas 69 to 67.

Thank goodness we pick Ohio State.

Go Racers...

Wow, Murray State is totally eating Butler right now! There is still another half to play but color us impressed.

UPDATE: Butler wins but barely...



We teared up at the bass trumpet player for Murray State (you will probably have to watch a couple of times to see him).

Yeah, the Big East does suck

Sometimes prayer DOES work. Is Saint Mary's for real? We are starting to think so. Goodbye Villanova.

Did you see what West Virginia did to Morgan State?

That's right! 27 times, baby.

The Wrath of Wake Forest

Captain Saavik: "Any suggestions, Admiral?"
Admiral Kirk: "Prayers, Mr. Saavik. Demon Deacons don't take prisoners."

At least we got one good game right.

It's all good

Read our tagline. We were happy that SDSU won the MWC Tourney to begin with (while we were in Vegas) but we knew that Bruce Pearl is a great coach. Congrats Tennessee, beat Ohio. So far it's BYU and possibly New Mexico... Conference root time!

Day one

You're in the office, baby...

Ohio University (NSFW) beats Georgetown. UNLV is the first Mountain West team out. We're up next against Tennessee. Gonna be a long night.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Dedicated to you Villanova because you were definitely saved by zero today in overtime. Robert Morris was had.

Ain't this something

BYU and Florida have gone into overtime 75-75 double overtime 81-81 and we're here stuck at work. Blah.

No grades, no tourney!

United States Education Secretary Arne Duncan lives in a right and honorable world. He believes that if you go to college you need to make passing grades. You need to graduate. And if you play college sports on a team that fails to graduate the majority of its players you should definitely not be playing in the post season. He even bristled when initial plans called for a ban on teams who graduate less that 40 percent of their players:

"Frankly, that's a low bar, and not many teams would be ineligible," Duncan, who played college basketball at Harvard, said on a conference call. "Over time, we should set a higher bar. But it's a minimum, a bright line, which every program should meet to vie for postseason honors."

However the NCAA powers that be just laughed in his face. We guess this won't get much traction.

And now, a special comment

National Public Radio and Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford talks about the merits of expanding the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams.

Needless to say he makes the coaches look like fools.

On another programming note make sure to tune in tonight for our coverage of the opening rounds.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Sunbathing

Kind of NSFW. Taken at SDSU!

You're fired

Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez has been fired today. The Pirates went 19-14 and lost the first round of the NIT against Texas Tech.

Plus their players were punching people in the nuts.

Obama knows basketball

Here it is folks, hot off the press. President Barack Obama's official 2010 March Madness picks.

Thoughts: Murray State over Vandy?? Cornell over Temple??? Get back to health care motherfucker...

Note to Secret Service: We kid. Please don't arrest us.

Millie the Dog is better than Stewart Mandel

People will use any scientific means at their disposal to fill out their NCAA Tournament brackets. This is serious shit. And who the hell is Old Dominion?

Meanwhile Sports Illustrated's Stewie Mandel once again comes off as arrogant explaining how his picks are superior to everyone else and how you can be just like him.

Bizarro March Madness

Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, Villanova, West Virginia, Pitt, Baylor... What do all these teams have in common? No one ranks below a 3 seed and nearly everyone has them picked to get to the Elite 8 or the Final Four.

Ohhhh, they are really living on the edge. Some controversial picks, huh? How about we change this up a bit. Emerald Nuts is holding a contest in which you pick the lowest seed that will go furthest in the tournament. They call it their Underdog Bracket game and to top it all off they are also awarding cash and prizes. We normally wouldn't mention commercial contests but this is really intriguing. So join us and give it a shot, citizens.

The official M2M NCAA Tournament picks

Read them and weep boys! Yes, we do have 3 out of the 4 Mountain West teams making it to the second round. Yes, we are actually betting on our team to beat Tennessee. Yes, we do have Ohio State winning it all. Yes, we're comfortable with that. We're enlightened.

We are also part of Ballin Is a Habit's bracket challenge with a bunch of other blogger types. This should be fun.

Updates tonight

Real life has caught up to us so we'll post updates later tonight including our official M2M bracket picks and other stuff.  Tune in later.

The party's over

We are set to leave Vegas in four hours but why are we still at a bar?  This was taken at the West Wing lounge at MGM.  We're still in the afterglow of having 4 teams get into the tournament from the Mountain West.  Let's dance!

Take me to another place

They put us against Tennessee?  How fucked up is that?

Welcome to Selection Sunday

Good morning, America

Just finished watching SDSU coach Steve Fisher being interviewed on SportsCenter at the MGM Grand.  *we're tearing up here*

Win the MWC and leave no doubt

Let's dance

I'm tired

Here is someone not excited about the UNLV/SDSU matchup...  It's gonna be a blowout.  ;)

It's 4:19 AM

And we are STILL celebrating SDSU's win over 8th ranked New Mexico.  We are so proud to be Aztecs right now.  Maybe that was the alcohol talking.

We're at some bar at MGM Grand.  Life is good.

As it was meant to be

Two teams fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives.  San Diego State versus the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the Mountain West Conference final.  This shit is fun.

Buca di Beppo

This was where we were when we found out that SDSU beat New Mexico in the semis of the MWC Tourney...

Que?

FINALY we bump into to SDSU fans.  They were confident in the win against New Mexico.  Yikes.

On another note Ohio State stole that win against Michigan!

Bad pic but good story

First, the thing you have to know about these UNM fans is that they are shy.  Don't take their picture.

Or maybe we are creepy guys who no one wants their picture taken from.  Anyways the Lobos fans are worried because they feel SDSU will play them close.  We already won one game with them.  They don't feel it's a lock because the Aztecs are playing for their lives and New Mexico is already in.  We beg to differ.

We were hoping for a better pic with a bunch of Lobos women but they shot us down real quick.  Such is life.
 

No... No...

New Mexico fans are shy.  No one wants to pose for a pic!

Left on a jet plane

That's right. Watch out. Happy Friday to you too.

We're here!

Two observations:

1)  Just on school support alone New Mexico deserves to win the MWC tourney.  Tons of boosters here.

2)  Based on our mediocre performance verses Colorado State SDSU deserves to get their asses kicked against the Lobos tomorrow.  Sorry.

The thinning of the herd

Game watched last night

1) Large white women shaking their big breasts

We love love LOVE these one bid conference championship games. These kids get really excited and play like their lives depend on it. Robert Morris went down to the wire playing Quinnipiac‎ and eventually punched their ticket winning 52 to 50. There really hasn't been a dull one yet and to be honest we really haven't been watching many of the major tournaments. Of course we'll watch some of the Mountain West tourney since we will be only 10 miles away from it. Maybe we'll even make a few bets play a few SETS. Of roundball. Yeah, that's what we meant.

And Robert Morris is located in Pittsburgh btw.

Dancing machine

Marquette's Buzz Williams demonstrates why it's called the Big Dance...

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Wine

NSFW. Makes you do crazy things...

Games watched last night

1) Providence 106, Seton Hall 109

Along with Saint Mary's, Seton Hall is in the bid thief club bursting bubbles for at-large hopefuls. Whom did they take bids away from? We feel a couple of teams from the Oracle of Bristol's last four in picks. What makes this crazy is that whoever wins the Pirates next game with Notre Dame will more than likely take another at-large bid.

Pop. Life.

Wait a second...

Yes, congrats Siena for your win against Fairfield in the MAAC championship game. Yes, Siena is good.

But for folks to issue a blatant warning that the Saints have beaten every team they have played in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and to watch out? To say that their starting five are as good as Kentucky? Kansas? Hell, West fuckin' Virginia?

To say that Siena is all powerful? To proclaim them already in the Sweet 16?

To this we say nooooooo, noooooooo. They are good but the Saints will go marching out BY the second round. Sorry guys.

Games watched last night

Various championship games. Various tickets punched. This shit is bananas.

Daughter + Mother = Hatred

Seen during the West fuckin' Virginia / Villanova epic overtime battle. Some mother-daughter repulsion in the upper right side of the vid.

If it was our daughter we would have walked away from the bitch.

We're getting freaking pissed off here

SDSU? Hardly...

We even teared up

Louisville was on the bubble. Their last home game of the season. Their last game in Freedom Hall ever. Facing Syracuse, the number 1 team in the country. And the Cardinals won.

Here's your miracle. Stand up and fight.

We sound like a broken record but this is why we love this game.

Totally off topic

Women we think are hot but our wives think we're nuts...

Emily Watson (Best Movie: Breaking the Waves)


Tilda Swinton (Best Movie: Constantine)


Yeardley Smith (The voice of Lisa Simpson)


Elizabeth Peña (Best Movie: Jacob's Ladder)

2 Brits, a Frenchie and a Cuban. Talk about United Colors of Benetton. We could mention women who we think are hot and our wives agree but what's the fun there? Plus the wives would get mad. So there. Back to college hoops!