Whoops...

Well, that didn't go as planned. My bracket didn't exactly hold up under the rigors of, well, actual basketball.

But, I am willing to admit when I'm wrong, and I have to tip my cap to Brandon Bowser, winner of the second annual OLASB Bracket Challenge. That's right, King of the Koopas knows more than just how to run spot routes (42 yards on the hash [Rashad Biggers edit: Don't drift!!!] ), he actually knows his sports too, though you wouldn't know it if you watched me beat his head in on Madden.

The OLASB prize committee of one will be in contact with this year's winner, but you can all be winners and [shameless plug] purchase some OLASB merchandise using the easy-to-find store below! [/shameless plug]

Nothing major in sports happening, but my NBA Second Season preview is coming soon, as is my take on the NFL offseason as we head to draft day. And, of course, my obligatory YouTube video of the day. Which is, in a word: AWESOME.

OLASB Bracket Challenge 09

Show and prove time, OLASB nation. Click on the link below, enter in the password, and join in the race for fame, fortune, and fabulous prizes. Ok, so no prizes for now, but definite bragging rights. Well, if we get enough people, I might scrounge up some prizes, but you have to play to win!

Here's the link!

Password : roarlionroar

Click the link, fill out a bracket, lose to me. I'm playing chess, while everyone else is playing checkers.

I Was Right!!!

Well, kind of. Last week, I talked about how the Iowa Hawkeyes were poised to capture a national title. And lo and behold, they did it. Now, this matters to wrestlers only, but maybe this is the turning of the corner for me, maybe I can start being right about things.

Nah.

There must be some sort of trade off, since my NCAA Basketball brackets look like a minefield. I've got 9 of the 16 teams right, but only 3 of my Final Four left. This weekend was great fun to watch, proving once again that the top of the College basketball world is getting ever thinner, as there were few dominating, world beating performances all weekend. Except for Stephen Curry, son of Del, and UCLA in round 1, which wasn't even fair.

The womens tourny started this past weekend, too. I have my vices, but if you are filling out a NCAA Women's tournament bracket, get help.

The Assocaiation has been heating up down the stretch, as we cap off the best regular season in 15 years with the most intense push for the playoffs in just as long. With a legitimate 9 teams out West vying for the 8 spots, every game carries significant weight in eventual seeding. Even in the (still mostly) Leastern Conference, there are 4 teams angling for the final spot in the playoffs, and an opportunity to get dusted by the Celtics.

Double The Madness

Warning: The first half of this post will deal with NCAA Wrestling. If you feel like you will be bored by this topic, skip down past the line break.

"So dissatisfied with your picks...Plus, you're a wrestler and NOTHING about NCAA this weekend." -- Chad Olberding, via text message, 11:45 pm EST March 18, 2008

After I got done mocking Olberding's recently retired hero (4), I had to concede that he was right: my picks this year have been awful. And, I guess, I did need to address the sport that, for better or worse, made me the man I am today. I owe alot to my time on the mat, and the least I can do is offer a (however brief) look at the NCAA Tournament, happening this weekend in St. Louis.

I can easily tell why my old coach want my thoughts on the tourney: his favorite team Iowa looks poised to start collecting National Titles again, as they send 9 of their 10 wrestlers into this weekends action looking to capture All-American status and National Titles. Identified as historically THE wrestling school in America, they look to add to the 20 banners hanging in the rafters already.

But the road will not be easy.

Boise State, Central Michigan, Minnesota and Northern Iowa also qualified nine competitors, while Edinboro and Iowa State will each be sending all 10 to the big dance this weekend. Also, keep a look out for Lions in the tourny, as seniors Anthony Constantino, and Brandon Kinney, along with first-year heavyweight Ryan Flores will be representing Columbia in St. Louis.

Full brackets here.

Happy O?

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I'm proud to bring to you the first annual Oh Look, A Sports Blog bracket challenge. All you need to do is email me at dpalm66@gmail.com and I will organize you an invitation to join the OLASB challenge group. As I state in the invite, the only prize right now is bragging rights, but the more entrants, the more I might want to attach a different prize. Not better, because what's better than bragging rights, but still.

I do this only to crush all opposition, so realize that as soon as you sign up...you're playing for second.

March Madness (1) over Mother Nature (16)

If you happened to catch me on the Sports Watchers Radio Show last Friday, you might have caught me throwing the UGA Bulldogs Men's Basketball team under the bus. If you happened to miss it, you can go there by clicking here, and listening to the show from March 14th. Anyway, who knows me would immediatly realize that was no more than an elaborate anti-jinx, as the team braved tornados, two games in a day, and a horde of zombies to claim the SEC title.

One of those three was made up.

Anyway, congrats to the Dawgs, who were rewarded for their miracle run with a 14 seed. Ugh. My full brackets will be posted for scrutiny before Thursday...but I can tell you how the play-in game is going to open the Madness:

Coppin State (16b) over Mt. St. Mary's (16a)