Tag Archives: NCAA Women’s basketball championship

Monday, March 21, 2016 – Please Excuse – One Sweet 16 Ready To Go and One Sweet 16 on the Court Tonight.

Posted on March 21, 2016 | Leave a comment

Monday, March 21, 2016 – Please Excuse – One Sweet 16 Ready To Go and One Sweet 16 on the Court Tonight.

To Whom It May Concern: Please excuse all Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks from work and school today because they lost by one point to Notre Dame. Way to go Jacks for almost another upset and for a great season. Please note: Do Not play Notre Dame on a Sunday – especially the Sunday that kicks off Holy Week.

And speaking of miracles – Please excuse all Texas Aggies from work and school and anybody who watched the most amazing comeback in NCAA men’s basketball history. How many had already changed the channel with the Texas Aggies behind by 12 points to University of Northern Iowa with 44 seconds to play? Shut up, Barkley. If the other team should have won, it would have. Remember you went to Auburn. If you went to Texas A&M you would know “I’ve seen ‘em win; I’ve seen ‘em lose, but I’ve never seen ‘em give up!”

But that was yesterday and yesterday’s gone. Tonight coming to you live from Reed Arena in College Station The Fighting Texas Aggie Women will tip off against Florida State University. This is Anriel Howard. – Aka Lashes by her team mates.

Lashes 2 (800x450)

Texas Aggie #5 Anriel Howard photo by me

She is a freshman and on Saturday she set an NCAA Tournament record with 27 rebounds in a single game! She is a 5’11” forward from Atlanta, Georgia. In high school she enjoyed setting records in multiple sports not to mention being crowned homecoming queen, yearbook editor, and National Honor Society. http://www.12thman.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3327

Check out the hair. Big Basketball Hair– Even I can see her eyelashes from my seats and I just had cataract surgery. Check out her legs. She is a two-sport athlete and will compete in the triple jump with the Aggie track team when basketball season ends. Her gait while running down the court is beautiful to watch. This young lady has it going on. Check out the fashionable shorts.

Congratulations to #5 Anriel Howard.

To the entire team: BTHO Florida State.

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Wednesday, March 16,, 2016 – Me and My Brackets

Posted on March 16, 2016 | Leave a comment

Wednesday, March 16,, 2016 – Me and My Brackets

Our post today is brought to by the word Skullduggery – Skuhl-DUHG-uh-ree

It is a noun meaning:

  1. dishonorable proceedings, mean dishonest or trickery: bribery graft and other such skullduggery
  2. an instance of dishonest or deceitful behavior; trick

But enough about the presidential elections and the government.

Here is my completed bracket for the women’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

2016 Womens bracket (800x450)

Yep – got the Baptists and the Catholics in Championship Game – Baylor and Notre Dame. As you can see I have Baylor and Texas A&M playing in the Sweet 16. When these two teams play it is known as a “bitter rivalry.” I am sure Coach Mulkey and Coach Blair will show clips from 2011 and the infamous clock issue. Should A&M pull an upset, I will not talk to my family for a week.

“Just Say No to Four” is my mantra for UConn. The University of Connecticut is a basketball dynasty in any league and Briana Stewart (Stewie) is one of the greatest collegiate athletes you will see – male or female. Nevertheless, Here’s What I’m Thinking – the odds are against you to repeat as National Champions for a fourth time. And you know Mulkey and Muffet have teams that can beat you. The scenery only changes for the lead Huskie and it is time for a change. So I am going with the Bears and the Creepy Leprechauns.

But first on March 19 The Fighting Texas Aggie Women must BTHO Missouri State.

I also completed a Division I Men’s Basketball Bracket. I used the Penny method for selecting the Championship Game – my favorite colors, mascots, funny sounding names, etc. My major criterion was schools from which I have graduated. Therefore I have Texas A&M playing Stephen F. Austin for the National Championship. Gig ‘Em Aggies and Ax ‘Em Jacks!

 

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Monday, March 14, 2016 –Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Posted on March 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

Monday, March 14, 2016 –Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Does Anybody Care about Time?

And so the opening lines of the Chicago song go.

Let me have a show of hands – how many like Daylight Savings Time?

Last night due to the magic of television the men’s NCAA tournament basketball bracket was completed. Tonight the women will learn where they will play and who they play as their bracket is completed. I will be at the Texas A&M Watch Party tonight. Teams placed in the brackets should be available to download this later this evening. If you want a blank bracket to complete as announcements are made go to the NCAA website http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-women/d1

Therefore, tomorrow be prepared as we explore How to Complete Your Bracket to select winners.

Buddy Glasses

Professor Buddy T. Cat

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Wednesday, March 9, 2016 – Your Basketball Bracket Primer – Going Dancing – Part I – The Women’s Tournament

Posted on March 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 – Your NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Primer – Going Dancing – Part I – The Women’s Tournament

Gather ye basketballs while ye may, the time is still a flying; And that same team that flies today; tomorrow will be dying.

Monday evening the ESPN will air the selection show for the NCAA Division I women’s tournament. Sixty-four teams will be selected to go to the dance. Let’s start with terminology.

Automatic bid – these are teams who win their conference or their conference tournament. It is like going to the dance with your long-time boy/girl friend.

At large invitation – these are teams who did not win their conference or their conference tourney, but will get to go to the dance. It like hoping you get asked to the big dance by somebody.

Bracket – a funny little chart showing which teams play against one another. More to come on brackets after Monday.

Bracket Virgins – your first time to complete a tournament bracket.

The Dance – the championship tournament is referred to as “the dance.” I do not know why.

Final Four – the last four teams left after everybody has played through their bracket. These teams play to be crowned 2016 Basketball National Champions.

Hardware/Bling – Hardware refers to the trophy; Bling refers to the BIG diamond rings you get if you win the tournament. The bling is the size of the nob on your dresser drawers.

Ticket punched – this is the term that a team received an automatic invitation and is loading the bus or plane to travel to a destination selected by people who actually get paid to watch, analyze and make up brackets for sporting events.

Let’s see who already has their tickets punched to the Dance and the conferences represented.

  1. George Washington – A-10 Conference
  2. Notre Dame – ACC
  3. Chattanooga – Southern
  4. South Carolina – SEC
  5. Maryland – Big 10
  6. Oregon State – Pac 12 – Go Beavers! It is not the usual champ – Stanford. Sorry Tara V. I hope you get an at-large bid.
  7. Iona – MAAC Conference. I must admit I was devastated when Iona upset Quinnipiac 57-41.
  8. Yale – Ivy League
  9. St. Johns – Big East Conference. It is St. Johns first trip to the Dance since 1988. Come on – you got to like St. Johns. Their band plays New York – New York – “Start spreading the news; I’m leaving today…”
  10. Baylor – Big 12 Conference
  11. UNC Wilmington – Colonial Conference
  12. University of San Francisco – WCC
  13. Florida Gulf Coast – Atlantic Sun
  14. UNC Ashville – Big South
  15. Northern Iowa – Missouri Valley
  16. Austin Peay – Ohio Valley

I have never heard of most these teams either and my TV automatically turns to ESPN so do not fret.

Still to come – tournament winners from the following alphabet soup of conferences: West Coast; Mountain West; American East, MAC, SWAC, Big Sky MEAC, WAC. No, I have no idea what the letters stand for either. You have Google on your computer, look them up.

I think I left out a team. Oh yes – UConn from the AAC. I refer to this team as Geno and his Giants. I shall yell for any team playing UConn.

The at-large bids will “round out” the field of 64 teams. This should include Texas A&M, THE University of Texas @ Austin, and other teams that are really good basketball teams.

Then play begins. There is no tomorrow. You win or you go home. The objective is to continue to play until there are only four teams left. This is called The Final Four. Notice: there are four teams I have bolded. These are my Final Four predictions. Notre Dame, South Carolina, Baylor and UConn.

Another prediction: Baylor will win the Championship Game against UConn.

But then again it is not called March Madness without reason. Yale or any other team could throw the ball toward the basket on a desperate shot and win on a buzzer beater. A buzzer beater is defined as: with the scored tied and only seconds left to play in the game, a desperation shot is attempted; the ball goes through the basket and the team wins. Shades of Louisville several years ago and all Baylor fans wanted to (or did) throw up.

As we wait for Selection Monday, let’s begin to cheer for teams we want to win somewhere in the tournament. Sic’ Em Bears. Gig ‘Em Aggies and yes, even Hook ‘Em Horns. Somebody bring that hardware and bling back to The Lone Star State from Connecticut! Geno and the Giants already have too much hardware and too much bling. It is someone else’s turn for hardware and bling.

GB & Me (800x600)

GB (Gary Blair – Texas A&M women’s basketball coach) and me. Photo by the crazy women who shoved me out of the way to get her photo made with GB.

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Thursday, March 19, 2015 – Here Come the Big Boys

Posted on March 19, 2015 | 1 comment

Thursday, March 19, 2015 – Here Come the Big Boys

Today I will spend my afternoon watching very large and handsome young men dressed in uniforms of tank tops and long shorts run and bounce and then toss and catch a round ball. Then after several passes, one of the young men will attempt to throw it through a hoop.  Today the big boys (no pun intended) begin to play. The big schools with recognized names begin play.

I actually played girls’ basketball in high school.  Let me rephrase that – For two years I attempted to play girls’ basketball.  The few outstanding qualities I possessed at the time were: height at 5’ 8” and some small level of athletic (i.e. – eye hand coordination) ability.  However what little eye-hand coordination I possessed was compromised because I wore glasses.  Those beautiful, wing-tipped, cat-eyed monstrosities, if you recall.  I had to wear a mask to avoid breaking them.  This is a fundamental truth of basketball at any level – You cannot play basketball while wearing a catcher’s mask.   You cannot see anything except what is directly in front of you. The wearing of a mask is probably why I turned out to be a much better softball player than basketball player.  There is actually a position which requires you to wear a mask.  Unfortunately, MHS and every other high school in Texas did not have organized and sanctioned softball teams. But I have forty years of softball stories with trophies packed away somewhere to prove my participation.  And unlike most catchers, I still have my original working knees.   And in my mind and dreams, I can still throw out that runner going to second and I can still hold on to the ball as the runner slides into home plate causing me to go ass over head for OUT NUMBER THREE!

But that is in my mind and dreams.  Today I will be in my chair (IMC) watching a couple of teams from the men’s NCAA Bracket.  Tomorrow the women’s NCAA basketball tournament begins.   By tomorrow evening I will have carpel tunnel of the thumb from channel changing with the remote and my eyes will look like basketball balls.

But for today – Sic’ Em Bears! And because you are from the state of Texas, I wish the team from Austin good bounces also.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2015 – No Golf Today

Posted on March 18, 2015 | Leave a comment

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 – No Golf Today

No golf today. As my dear HB used to say “there is always lots to be thankful for.”  I will be so thankful if the rains wash away the stain in my driveway.  See – my friend came to spend a few days with me over the weekend and something leaked from her truck which was parked in my driveway creating a grease stain.  Remember I live in a group of all look a-like town homes.

After she left I went outside to look at the stain hoping to see the face of Jesus or Mary or maybe even Reveille. Maybe even something prophetic such as “Texas Aggie Women Upset UConn to win the 2015 National Women’s Basketball Championship.  Or something even more profound “Texas Aggies Win Their First National Football Championship since 1939!” This way I could turn my town home into a shrine of some sort and charge admission for people to drive by and take photos, but I couldn’t see any faces, messages from the future or oily images suitable for Instagram.

So I will be so thankful if these rains wash away the stain.  Otherwise directions to my house will include, “Turn right and then my house is the one with the giant penis looking stain in the driveway. You can’t miss it.”

Oh yes – another thing to be thankful for – I did not put cat litter on the stain yesterday.  For that to work on grease stains it must be “the clumping kind.” Can you imagine if my driveway was filled with clumping cat litter and it rained causing it to all clump at the end of my driveway?

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Thursday, March 5, 2015 – March Madness – Part Three – The Bracket

Posted on March 5, 2015 | Leave a comment

Thursday, March 5, 2015 – The Bracket

A bracket is a tree diagram that represents a series of games played during a tournament. The bracket used for the NCAA college basketball tournaments is a single elimination bracket. There is no consolation for this tournament.  That means win or go home.  This type of bracket is also known as an Olympic system, or a knock out, or a sudden death.  My favorite is the single penetration name.  One does not see that name used often.

Completing a bracket leading to The Final Four has become an entity in and of itself. There are people whose profession is “Bracketologist.” They study a pseudo-science called bracketology.

There are 64 teams that will be selected to play in The Big Tournament or the NCAA tournament. Teams are “seeded” according to the number of wins and the level of the teams played.  The seedings of teams is done by a committee. Teams are placed into mini-brackets in certain regions.  Each mini-bracket feeds into the overall bracket.  Seeding of teams usually results in a lack of geographic awareness and some teams have to travel cross country, while others play in their own back yard or court as the case may be.

To play a tournament bracket is easy. One completes a bracket by predicting which team will win each game from the opening games or rounds to the final game.  In other words, you guess.  The time is called March Madness because an entire game, season and reputation can rest on an injury or illness, a foul that is called, a foul that is not called, a foul shot made, or a foul shot missed.  And of the course the worse is the dreaded buzzer beater when the big round brown ball is thrown toward the hoop with a last second heave and the ball goes through the 18 inch hoop and the team wins.

Completing a bracket is easy.  You really do not have to know anything about basketball. Here is an easy method for completing your bracket.

  1. Go to NCAA.com and download a copy of the bracket you wish to play. I like to play both men’s and women’s brackets. These will be available around Monday, March 16.
  2. Make several copies of the blank bracket. You will want to complete one. You will want to have one to keep track of who actually wins the games. And you will want another one when you rip yours faster than Oliver North when your team loses against a lesser opponent. See buzzer beater above.
  3. Then complete your bracket by selecting the teams you think will win and proceed through the bracket until they reach The Final Four and then pick the National Champion.

Here are several methods for choosing which teams will win and thus advance to the finals. These methods are equally and statistically valid in terms of probability and possibility and usually have similar results regardless of method used to predict winning teams.

How to select teams.  Select a team based on:

  1. The color of their uniforms,
  2. The most tattoos, (Note: this can be by player or by team.)
  3. The best, longest, and/or most creative tattoos,
  4. The school’s mascot. Note: One seldom sees live mascots at basketball games. I supposed a BEVO cleanup in the free throw area is not in the janitor’s contract,
  5. The players’ hairstyles. This includes men’s and women’s teams. Be sure to include west coast teams, whose hair colors were not originally intended for hair hues,
  6. By the coaches you like or dislike or what the coach wears,
  7. By the college you attended or graduated from or by the T-Shirt from Wal-Mart you wear if you had attended college,
  8. Actually do statistically analyses comparing won loss records and strength of schedule data,
  9. On the men’s bracket, predict Kentucky as the winner and work backwards,
  10. On the women’s bracket, predict UConn as the winner and work backwards.

Good luck and BTHO Auburn. (SEC Tournament – Lady Aggies vs. Auburn)

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Lent Day Seven

Posted on March 12, 2014 | 3 comments

Lent Day Seven

Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Late Lent post. I said I would write something every day and I still have a few hours left in this day. My apologies for the delay. So we are off today with congratulations to the Lady Bears of Baylor for winning the Big 12 NCAA Women’s basketball championship last night. You can put the trophy next to the one you won in football. I bet you did not think Baylor would be “other” school when Texas A&M left the Big 12 Conference, did you? I feel certain neither did the Texas Longhorns. Speaking of The University, I see where their former football coach Major Applewhite is “spending time with the family.” We all know this is a euphemism that means “no one has hired me.” Trust me, Major, I know what you are going through. Maybe you and Vince Young could hold quarterback camps for promising young football players. I know several schools are in need, including your alma mater and mine. If you have to do something to feed the family, may I suggest getting a job hawking beer at Texas sporting events? I understand an eight ounce plastic glass of beer sells for $8.00. Let me do the logistics. I can sit in the hot sun at DRK Memorial Stadium or Disch-Faulk Field or McCombs Field and drink one beer for eight dollars. Or I can sit in my air-conditioned living room, watch the game on The Longhorn Network and drink all six beers in a six pack for eight dollars. Two six packs if it is Pearl Beer. And I never have to wait in line at the Women’s Room. But good luck, Major and do not rule out selling beer. The University of Texas has got to pay for that new medical school somehow.

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