XII. Only interesting to me...

1. March Madness
It's that time of year. Good. But I haven't been watching much college bb this year. In fact, my college bb cup has been rather empty since I've been up here in Ohio. But every time March rolls around I get all pumped up.

1a. It's an interesting feeling to sit down and watch a couple basketball games. It feels like... like... going outside and noticing your car isn't frozen in ice and snow. Now that's a good feeling.

1b. Sports Reference online now has extensive college basketball stats. Today is "selection Sunday" so I'll be digging into them to help fill out my bracket. Of course I will be giving the "mascot" bracket to a friend of mine to fill out at well. She just pits the mascots against each other in a fight in the wild. She has beaten my bracket about 5 years running.

2. Stoke City, F.A. Cup
On right now. Can't find it live so following the "match cast" 1-1 right now. I really think Stoke is going for broke on the F.A. Cup this year. They have their A team in. Anyone familiar with the brutal Premier League schedule knows that this takes planning weeks out to make this happen. Good to see Sorensen in goal. I hope it pays off.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets.
Not going to make the playoffs again this year. They are celebrating 10 years. Only one playoff appearance. Got to go to a game last week and sit on the Club Level. Loge Level to be exact. It was a great time. Never seen any sporting event like that before. I could get use to it.

1a.1. Time of year weather gets all wonky in Columbus. In the 40s one day... car covered in ice the next. Yesterday is was around 50. I opened my windows.

4. FIFA 11 Career Mode.
I've taken the Northampton Town Cobblers up to the Champions League as a Player / Manager. Having a great time doing it. Making transfers, shuffling line ups. Also learning a lot about how the business side works, even if it may be on a remedial level. It's a good feature. After it is all said and done I'll probably do a larger write up on it. Wish list of sorts. I'm earning it. Playing every game.

5. OSU not going away
The lawyer that leaked the information to Coach Tressel is now making the rounds in the media. The long this goes on, the more it reminds me of the NC State stuff that got Jim Valvano ousted way back in the late 80s. I was a kid then, but remember it well. No internet back then, so it was a book that lead to the Valvano resigning. A crappy book written by Peter Golenbock with the help of a former punk kid manager (an others looking for a quick buck).

5a. Good first hand account of things HERE by John Feinstein.

5b. I was going to NC State basketball camps during that time. I remember the near rock star status of Jim Valvano the first years I attended them. The camp was packed, people would come and sit in the stands just waiting for Valvano and watch him speak to us. My age group had enough kids to have a league! I remember we played a couple games a day and my team lost every game during the week. The last day we had an all day tournament and we won that sucker. Jim Valvano himself noticed this feat and came down to talk to us about it. He said that we were the kind of team he loved. Underdog. I still have the ribbon I won from that day. I get emotional just thinking about it.

It was probably one of the most exciting events in my life being there. I attended after Valvano resigned too. I remember the place being dead. Not even enough kids in my age group to get a game of 5 on 5. It must have been around 1991. The year that NC State hit rock bottom with their basketball program.

This event is why I get concerned about the future of the OSU program.

2a. Stoke....

F.A. Cup WIN. off to Wembley for the final four! wow! It's been 39 years since that for the club?!