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You are here: Home / Sports / March Madness Open Thread

March Madness Open Thread

by John Cole|  March 15, 20127:00 pm| 62 Comments

This post is in: Sports

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Go EERS!

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Reader Interactions

62Comments

  1. 1.

    scav

    March 15, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    This will probably be the sanest thing about March this year, so enjoy.

  2. 2.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Great MArch! Gopher women kick Cornell’s ass this Friday in the opening round &, assuming Wisconsin does not fold on Friday like they did in the WCHA playoff will beat two red teams this weekend.

    The boys still have the WCHA playoffs this weekend before NCAA madness hits

  3. 3.

    lamh35

    March 15, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    So anyone gonna watch the Obama doc streaming live online at 7pm CST?

  4. 4.

    The Dangerman

    March 15, 2012 at 7:27 pm

    No real upsets today (though ‘Cuse almost had no excuse). I’d love to see Kentucky go down (it would only be the biggest upset ever, so I’m not watching yet).

  5. 5.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    Hoping to get Shaka at Illinois so go VCU!

  6. 6.

    General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)

    March 15, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    Western Ky, is a scrappy bunch and very quick. Kentucky has pulled away some, and this wildcat team, this season, is the best second half team I’ve see anywhere for some time. They just crush the oppo in second halfs. They didn’t with Vandy though.

  7. 7.

    JCT

    March 15, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    Well, as a Cal grad it’s all about the Bears for me, but on a fun note. Was woken up in the middle of the night here in Shanghai by my youngest – a lifelong UMich fan. He found out this morning that he was accepted by his dream school, and now gets to go to Ann Arbor and be a Wolverine! A colleague of mine there gave him a Michigan football helmet over 10 years ago for good luck!

    Poor kid had been battered by this college application process – so we are thrilled .

    Just felt like sharing.

  8. 8.

    TBogg

    March 15, 2012 at 7:36 pm

    Refs did to Ashville what Bernie Fine did to ball-boys.

  9. 9.

    S. cerevisiae

    March 15, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    @Schlemizel:

    The boys still have the WCHA playoffs this weekend before NCAA madness hits

    Go Bulldogs!

  10. 10.

    The Dangerman

    March 15, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    @TBogg:

    Refs did to Ashville…

    That one OB call with about a minute left was brutal. Like Booker Turner bad (old Pac-10 ref, probably dating myself).

    ETA: Moderation! Shit!! Was that for dat-ing or Book-er (I suppose that could be gambling term).

  11. 11.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    You bet, particularly the way the Gophs spanked them this season 8-{D

  12. 12.

    S. cerevisiae

    March 15, 2012 at 7:44 pm

    @Schlemizel: Two close games in October is hardly a spanking. We shall see who comes out on top.

  13. 13.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    I will say the women do have a gripe about the NCAA letting the Sue in instead of the bulldogs. They showed at the WCHA they deserved to be there, the Sue not so much. Maybe if coach Miller had whined as much to the NCAA as she does to the refs they might have been in.

    It was a big weekend for the Dogs – we have been going to Womens games for 12 + years * seen something like 30 Bulldog games only seen four where Miller did not hold the refs hostage between periods – 1/2 of them last weekend!

  14. 14.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    come on thats some weak woofing! What are you a Minnesotan? Drop the nice & be like a bball fan – woof it up 8-{D

  15. 15.

    Spaghetti Lee

    March 15, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    My bracket is currently in first place in ESPN’s bracket challenge! Well, tied with probably millions of others, but STILL.

  16. 16.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    Are you in Duluth? seriously, we will be there this weekend of the NCAA finals – I would buy you a beer – name the place. We can woof or talk politics, my choice 8-{D

  17. 17.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    @Schlemizel: It’s weird for me to watch the Gophers and see Tubby, Saul and my old buddy Ron Jirsa on the sidelines. I still think of that idiot Mussleman.

  18. 18.

    General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)

    March 15, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    On the topic of Mississippi and racism.

    Stay classy there So Miss.

  19. 19.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    @General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero): College kids are idiots, what do you expect. When Steve Kerr played at Arizona the ASU fans chanted PLO, PLO. The PLO killed his father.

  20. 20.

    Abstruse

    March 15, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    Let’s gooooooooooooo!

  21. 21.

    General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)

    March 15, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    @Raven:

    I expect them to not spout racist shit in an NCAA basketball game. Especially from the school band. They aren’t children.

  22. 22.

    The Dangerman

    March 15, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    @General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero):

    Especially from the school band

    School bands are the hardest drinkers on any campus (see: Stanford – shit, even the Tree Mascot got busted for public intoxication).

  23. 23.

    Libby

    March 15, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    Just want to say thanks for letting me into your pool again this year. I savored my five minutes in the top ten before my bracket tanked already. Meanwhile, thought I joined the Weird pool, but not seeing any extra points on the board. Wonder if I joined the wrong one.

  24. 24.

    Ken

    March 15, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    Suicide watchfor John Cole. Mountaineers are getting manhandled; not that there’s anything wrong with that..

  25. 25.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    @General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero): right

  26. 26.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    @Libby: WTF, I tried to find out about a pool here and got shit.

  27. 27.

    Clime Acts

    March 15, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    Are there some games today?

    The tournament doesn’t really get going until tomorrow when the Jayhawks take the floor.

    Rock Chalk

  28. 28.

    piratedan

    March 15, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    watching from Laughlin, nice and understated and allowed to decompress in peace, hopin this latest parley hits, have the under in the Ky/VCU and baylor games…..

  29. 29.

    General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)

    March 15, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    @Libby:

    I’m 8 for 8 in the non bonus pool, and 4 for 8 in the bonus pool. Such is life.

  30. 30.

    S. cerevisiae

    March 15, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    @Schlemizel: I’m currently out in Oregon watching from a distance. It’s harder to find coverage of the women, I’m just glad I can get FSN on DirecTV so right now I’m watching the Sue and the Huskies.

  31. 31.

    mellowjohn

    March 15, 2012 at 8:50 pm

    go, doooooooook!

  32. 32.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 8:50 pm

    @Raven:
    What is this “tubby” you speak of? Nobody that plays hockey could ever be tubby in any sense of the word.

  33. 33.

    ThresherK

    March 15, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    It was hard to pick even before knowing what Long Beach State (yellow as an “away”) and New Mexico (gray as “home”) would wear.

  34. 34.

    Svensker

    March 15, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    @JCT:

    That is nice! Yay, your kid!

  35. 35.

    burnspbesq

    March 15, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    @Ken:

    I warned y’all about Pangos last night.

  36. 36.

    burnspbesq

    March 15, 2012 at 8:58 pm

    @mellowjohn:

    Enjoy this weekend, and hope Kelly’s foot gets better quickly. We have no shot against Baylor without him.

  37. 37.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 9:01 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    Interesting game so far. Two mean teams beating on each other.

    Too bad you can not see the women this weekend. Sadly there are just not enough talented women players to have the number of great games the boys can generate. I have not seen Merceyhurst or Cornell this year (the cancer thing really curtailed the adventuring) so I don’t know anything about them but if MN & WI meet in the final it will be faster than the boys, physical without the goonball crap and some of the best hockey you will ever miss. A few of weeks back they played with the WCHA leadership on the line & they were the two most fantastic games I have seen in years. Probably neither team is as good as USA/Canada but comparable so it was as good or better than the gold metal game at the Olympics!

  38. 38.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 9:04 pm

    @Raven:
    BTW – best basketball game in history – Gophers v Buckeyes 1972.

    Also Mussleman – The St. Paul newspaper reporter who asked him at the start of the 72 season “Do you really think you can draw a crowd starting 5 spearchuckers?” Billy to his ever lasting credit banned all St. Paul reporters from his locker room for the season.

  39. 39.

    S. cerevisiae

    March 15, 2012 at 9:06 pm

    @Schlemizel: Have fun at Amsoil! I have yet to see it, except on TV. If that is the final it will be a hellava game with a split crowd.

    ETA: Blackwoods on London Road has great little wood fired pizzas half price at happy hour and Bell’s Two-Hearted on tap.

  40. 40.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    Oregon? well that saves me the price of a beer! Any other BJ in Duluth this weekend?

  41. 41.

    Montysano

    March 15, 2012 at 9:13 pm

    Well crap… looks like the ‘Eers are going to be the one red spot on my bracket (if VCU hangs in and wins).

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    March 15, 2012 at 9:19 pm

    Go VCU! Close.

  43. 43.

    Trakker

    March 15, 2012 at 9:22 pm

    Someone tell me if the Hoosiers win. I care too much to watch.

  44. 44.

    RareSanity

    March 15, 2012 at 9:23 pm

    What an age we live in when I get real-time bracket updates, on my smartphone, wherever I am.

    Remember the olden days, when we used a stack of low quality copies, of brackets that you had to…gasp…fill in manually? (shudder)

    In the immortal words of Yakov Smirnoff…”What a country”

  45. 45.

    Elizabelle

    March 15, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    (exhales). Congrats VCU.

  46. 46.

    Schlemizel

    March 15, 2012 at 9:27 pm

    @S. cerevisiae:
    Boy the second period was a hockey game instead of a street fight – pretty entertaining!

  47. 47.

    The Dangerman

    March 15, 2012 at 9:28 pm

    A 5/12 game, with VCU the 12, and I take Witchita.

    Shit.

  48. 48.

    burnspbesq

    March 15, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    South Dakota State is hanging with Baylor. Go Jacks!

  49. 49.

    Heliopause

    March 15, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    The committee did everything they could. They made an established program travel all the way across the continent. They gave a 13 loss team what amounted to a home game. Alas, it was to no avail. Oh well, at least Syracuse got an NBA officiating crew to coax them into the second round.

  50. 50.

    RareSanity

    March 15, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Greg Gumble: “Baylor, in those uniforms…”

    Charles Barkley: “…are ugly.”

    I love Chuck…

  51. 51.

    Marcellus Shale, Public Dick

    March 15, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    big 12 teams often choke in the first round, chin up wvu.

  52. 52.

    RareSanity

    March 15, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    What..the…hell…did Leslie Visser do to her face?

  53. 53.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    March 15, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    Gotta love those Baylor Lime green colors, their women’s program is the monster. I must say as a Buckeye fan I am not expecting great things from OSU in the tournament. If they get outof the elite eight into the Final Four I would be stunned. The Bucks are not that good, despite the record.

  54. 54.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    March 15, 2012 at 9:46 pm

    @burnspbesq: Jcks beat the Washington Huskies earlier this year, a reason the Dawgs are playing in the NIT. Sad about Nate McMillan, but he had time to do something with the Blazers, they let draft bust Greg Oden go too.

  55. 55.

    Libby

    March 15, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    @Raven: I found it by accident I think.

  56. 56.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    @Elizabelle: I hope the Smart’s will like Champaign_Urbana!

  57. 57.

    Raven

    March 15, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    @Libby: Waddaya gonna do. I went to a calcutta the other night and I have been totally priced out of it. Used to be you could get a high seed for $25-30 bucks. This year they were in the $70’s and the total pool of almost $10,000.

  58. 58.

    Libby

    March 15, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    @General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero): As usual I didn’t fill out my bracket until minutes before the deadline, so I only joined the one. Just checked and I am in the Weird pool. Bonus points helped me out of the ditch. VCU saved me from early obscurity. Still searching for the just the right amount of upset picks. Two that I changed to upsets lost. Knew I should’ve stuck with Vandy instead of those snobby Harvard boys.

  59. 59.

    burnspbesq

    March 15, 2012 at 10:29 pm

    Wow. Eric Abidal, the Barcelona defender, needs a liver transplant.

  60. 60.

    Linnaeus

    March 15, 2012 at 10:34 pm

    @JCT:

    Was woken up in the middle of the night here in Shanghai by my youngest – a lifelong UMich fan. He found out this morning that he was accepted by his dream school, and now gets to go to Ann Arbor and be a Wolverine!

    Congratulations to your son. It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine. :)

  61. 61.

    Comrade Luke

    March 16, 2012 at 2:20 am

    How ’bout them Zags, bitches!

  62. 62.

    Yutsano

    March 16, 2012 at 2:26 am

    @Comrade Luke: Heh. Go Zags indeed. :)

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