Butter Face

I remember the first time I heard one of my guy friends use the term "Butter face". I was later informed that it refers to a particularly unfortunate girl as having a "nice body, but-her-face". As a young woman, I found it completely derogatory at first. In the end however, cleverness won by a hair, or with regards to the match up between the Huskies and West Virginia game: a basket.

The first half of the sweet sixteen bout was ugly. Not ugly like your Aunt's hideous Christmas sweater, ugly like her sweater on steroids - think blinking lights and bedazzled reindeer. Quincy Pondexter incurred two offensive fouls within the first six minutes of the game, and left for the remainder of the half with a total of three, leaving UW without one of their top scorers for nearly five minutes. I am also suspicious of some evil genius watching the game; someone with a rift against the Huskies, who designed a joystick that kept any shot UW put up, completely out of range.

The biggest surprise other than Bobby Huggins not wearing a Guido track suit to match his slicked-back coiffure, was the Mountaineers Deniz Kilicli (aka the Balkan Balla'), who led West Virginia's team in scoring at the end of the half. About Kilicli - the freshmen didn't play much this season, but against UW, he seemed to shine. One more interesting fact on Kilicli - he bares a striking resemblance to Lurky, Rainbow Bright's cartoon nemesis (also one of my childhood favorite stuffed animals).

The second half wasn't much more glamorous than the first. Washington simply turned the ball over too many times. Isaiah Thomas didn't have even close to the game he had vs. Marquette. Matthew Bryan-Amaning was non-existent. About ten minutes in, they let West Virginia become heroes, and De'Sean Butler and cast sent the Huskies back home to contemplate their loss over a Starbuck's latte in Seattle.

Meet Me at the Alamo

I came up with this title earlier this morning when I had predicted that two Texas teams would make it to the 2nd round. It turns out only one, Texas, who knocked off Wake Forest, will be cattle herding it up amongst their UTEP peers. Oh well, the title stays, not just because it's catchy, but because of my love for John Wayne.

Fast forward to 9pm and the list of winners has migrated to the right; that much closer to the middle of my bracket.

One note about my bracket, or should I say brackets. I have devised three different brackets to satisfy my own March Madness. The first, displays my heterotopian view of the teams that I want to win (fyi, some picks are about as likely to win as Elton John performing a singing tour for the troops), the second bracket determines who I think will most likely win, as far as RPI and talent are concerned, finally, the third follows the tournament in real time, where the blanks are filled in those who are actually moving on. I know, reality bites, like Winona Ryder said.

As far as accuracy is concerned, the only surprises today with regards to my predictions, were Old Dominion's upset over Notre Dame and Ohio's victory over the Hoyas. Murray State beat Vanderbilt, which probably shocked a few, but I don't have too much faith in the Ivy Leaguers -- remember they're not running for political office.

Before I catch up on my own Z's, I want to give a shout out to the teams I consider "Sleepers", starting with St. Mary's. The Gaels hail from the West Coast Conference, where the only team that makes headlines is Gonzaga. Sandham and the rest of his Aussie Posse (nice rhyme if I do say so myself), took it to Richmond with unmatched play in the interior from their Big Man, who combined for 29 points and 12 rebounds in the 80-71 victory.

Believe it or not, I think Utah St. also has "Sleeper" potential. I've come to this conclusion after doing extensive research, including the donning of a lab coat, the use of a beaker, as well as exploding gasses -- er, I went on the teams' website and caught their conference championship game. The Aggies were 14-2 leading in the tourney and beat BYU earlier during the season. Just keep an eye on them as they take on Texas A&M tomorrow, you might be shocked that Cache isn't just the valley their University is located at.

I won't delve into any more potential "upsetters" with the exception of the University of Washington. The beginning of their season showed a team stumbling like Bambi to find its legs post John Brockman's departure to the NBA last year. However with 7 of 7 in wins leading into the tournament, not to mention the Pac-10 title, they have much to be proud of, and should not be taken lightly by any opponent, particularly when you have stars like Quincy "Q-Pon" Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas who along with their teammates, accumulate the most points per game in all the Pac-10. I see them making a big Splash on Saturday vs. New Mexico.

For the most part, the games today were excruciatingly close, depending on who you were rooting for. Both Kansas' annihilated their opponents, but no big surprise there. In fact, most of the matches were relatively close. Look at Villanova's win over Robert Morris - the Wildcats barely clawed their way to a victory.

However, now that the day is over, I'm able to slip into my Snuggee, turn on Project Runway and prepare for tomorrow's slurry of match ups. If today was any reflection of how tomorrow or the rest of the tournament will go, I look forward to watching who ends up being the fairest of them all. One thing is for sure, however, I'm going to have to replace my deodorant with a prescription strength version; one more suited for the perspiration inducing excitement of March Madness! Maybe I should ask Dick Vitale what he would suggest? He usually looks pretty greasy.

Tournament Projections: East Coast Bias

Cal is predicted by Andy Glockner of Sport's Illustrated to go into the Big tourney as a No. 12 seed. Are you serious? Is the East Coast bias such that premier Cal players like Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, and Theo Roberson are not even going to see themselves in the top ten?

Look, while there is no denying the fact that the East Coast has fabulous programs, including tremendous teams like Duke, Syracuse, Kentucky, and Florida to name a few, but it is so obvious each time a new Coaches or AP poll comes out that the basketball reporting press suffers from a serious case of East Coast bias.

When ESPN set up shop in Seattle last week to broadcast the network's main prime-time matchup between the University of Washington Huskies and the UCLA Bruins, I almost blew a gasket to see Jay Bilas and Bobby Knight reporting in my own background -- in the same time zone no less. In fact it provoked an awkward, giddy feeling like the way you feel on a first date: anxious and excited, while simultaneously espousing strange body twitches and sweaty palms.

Think of the last time you saw Dick Vitale announce from another venue besides the ACC or SEC, or any East Coast "C" for that matter? I certainly can't. Maybe throw in a Texas vs. Oklahoma game for kicks, but in my experience I've never heard "Diaper Dandy" references to any West Coast players. It is my belief that the closest Vitale has been to the West Coast in recent years was most likely a Hollywood studio that he filmed his last Hooters commercial at.

In the wake of countless predictions that the Pac-10 will only receive one bid to the tournament, my question is: What's the beef ?

Certainly it has been an up and down season in the Conference, where the top five teams have traded in-conference rankings like musical chairs, but it doesn't signify a lack of talent, or that a top Pac-10 team can't beat a highly ranked East Coast opponent (think USC's win over Kentucky in January).

Maybe it has something to do with the convenience of the East's broadcasting schedule, particularly for those living on that side of the country. A blogger for instance, from Kansas, is going to be able to make a report that afternoon depending on which teams are scheduled. Whereas the WCC, or Pac-10 teams typically don't begin play until 7, he/she is going to be in bed by that time. As a result they garner less cred and often don't make it to deadline.

Ultimately, the combination of timing, the lack of viewership (with the exception of the handful of local West Coast sport's networks), and most of the dominating voices on television hailing from places like Duke, Notre Dame and Michigan (think Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose), talented teams on the West Coast are often snubbed and undervalued come ranking and tournament time.

Yuck!