Tag / Florida

by admin

Dancing Days

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this yearone at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  I will be in Milwaukee tonight to watch the Purdue Boilermakers make their third straight tournament appearance, hopefully advancing past this first weekend.

Last year’s champion, Villanova, gets the overall #1 seed and are my pick to advance to the Final Four.

Purdue ends up as the 4 seed in the Midwest, and I have them going to the Elite Eight, before falling to Oregon.  I have tickets to the first two games, so I hope they can at least win those 2.

Continue reading →

by jim

And Then There Were 4

My hopes of winning anything in a basketball pool this year took at fatal hit when my pick for champion, Louisville, was bounced out during the Sweet 16 round against Kentucky.  With the Final Four happening this weekend, let’s take a look at how things stand.

2014FF-ffI am down to one team, but still have some hope of finishing second in the work pool.  If Florida advances to the championship game, but loses the national title, I will nail that second place finish.  Every other scenario has me finishing in either fourth or fifth place.

by jim

The Sweet Sixteen

Despite a weekend of upsets, things are looking pretty bright for my brackets, at least in the work pool, where I’m currently in second place.  I’m tied for 44th in the big pool I’m in, which isn’t too bad.  And, my entire final four is still alive.  Let’s take a look at how things stand:

2014South-s16Things look pretty good here in the South region, where my final four pick is still alive.

2014East-s16Things were even better here in the East regional, where I was perfect through the first round and only lost Villanova going into this weekend.  Unfortunately, I did have them winning another game. Continue reading →

by jim

It’s Tournament Time

It’s that time of the year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next couple of weeks.  I’m in three different pools again this year, one at work, one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend.  Once again, Purdue is sitting out the tournament, but I can take some solace that IU is as well.

2014SouthNot much in the way of upsets here in the South region, as I have overall #1 seed Florida making it to the Final Four.

2014EastI see Michigan State making it out of the East region. Continue reading →

by jim

Down To Four

2013_FinalFour2Another wacky weekend leaves me with only one of my Final Four teams still standing, despite a devastating injury to one of their players in during their victory over Duke.  Florida’s loss against Michigan destroyed the last, faint hope I had of winning any of my pools, but my disappointment is tempered somewhat by having a Big 10 team make the Final Four.  My only shot at getting at least some money back is if Louisville wins the whole thing.

by jim

Sheets Of Integrity

Holy crap, what a weekend of upsets.  I probably shouldn’t even bother checking my ranking anymore, given the sorry state of my brackets.  Let’s take a look.

2013_Midwest_Rd3The Midwest Region isn’t too bad as I have 3 out of 4 alive for the Sweet Sixteen, as well as everything going forward.  If only the rest were this good.

2013_West_Rd3Jesus H. Christ!  Only one team still remains, and I have them losing in the Sweet Sixteen, so this region is pretty much dead to me.  Gonzaga once again couldn’t get out of the opening weekend and New Mexico, my Final Four pick out of the region, completely crapped the bed by losing to Harvard.

Continue reading →

by jim

It’s Dancing Time

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next couple of weeks. I’m in three different pools again this year, one at work, one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend. No Purdue in the tournament this year, so my picks were made mostly with my head and not my heart, though it pained me to have IU going as far as I did.
2013_Midwest_Rd1
I have Louisville coming out of the Midwest region.

2013_West_Rd1
New Mexico is my pick to come out of the West region. Continue reading →

by admin

Time To Dance

Well, it’s that time of year again. I’m in three different pools this year, one at work, one at my mom’s work, and my friend Tom’s pool. This first bracket is entered in all three.
This second bracket is only entered in the work pool. Continue reading →

by jim

Book 8 (of 52) – Personal Injuries

Personal Injuries - Scott Turow

Personal Injuries - Scott Turow

This was not your father’s legal thriller.  Most of the action is confined to the courtrooms and law offices of the main players, making it more legal than thriller.  But the characters come alive in ways difficult to describe, making the story worth the read.  This was my first time revisiting Turow since late high school/early college and, while not as good as I remember the previous outings, it was a nice reintroduction to the goings on in Kimball County.

Possibly the better story here is the mystery of a little addendum to the physical book.  I must have bought the hardcover years ago on eBay (it originally came out in 1999) and then put it in a drawer until earlier this year.  Tucked inside was a boarding pass for American Airlines flight 685 headed to New York from Fort Lauderdale on November 2nd, 2009.  Mr. Todd Scher must have enjoyed this particular piece of fiction while sitting in seat 14A on his evening flight to New York.  What is his story?  Heading to New York for business?  Returning home after some fun in sunny Florida?  Is he who I bought the book from?  Where is he now?  Is this him?