Regardless of how demented the NCAA tournament gets played out, one prediction holds true, year in and year out – bad predictions. Thankfully, most of them were spoken in hushed tones – I can’t even seem to track down who Dick Vitale picked.

However, with the Final Four set to tip in two days, the time to come clean is now.

I implore you, let’s hear the worst prediction you made this NCAA tournament. Here’s mine taken from my post: NCAA Tournament: The Regions in 100 Words or Less:

Cornell is not all they’re cracked up to be, and everyone should be considering Temple for the Sweet-16 rather than picking Cornell to upset, because Evan Rodriguez is the real deal and Ryan Wittman is just a garden-variety nerd.

Cornell of course were exactly what they were cracked up to be – many a non-genius picked them to go to the Sweet-16. And that nerd Wittman’s NCAA tourney showing included a 20 point showing in their win over Temple, and 24 in their win over Wisconsin. As for Evan Rodriguez, if you do a search, your more likely to find Chi Chi Rodriguez highlights during tournament week. I’d be lying if I said that prediction was based on more on basketball knowledge, and less on just trying to to be a contrarian.

For all others willing to swallow your pride, and cop to poor NCAA tourney conjectures, leave it in the comments below.

So many more guns than your school’s rendition of Fiddler On The Roof.

And with that round of applause I think we can crown this spoof of the day.

H/T to @melfi

His bracket was perfect through to the Sweet-16. He was 0-4 with his Final Four picks. Still, I can’t really give Alex Herrmann – the 17-year old autistic kid from Chicago – a hard time, I only got one Final Four pick – and it was Duke coming out of the Cupcake Region.

It’s sad to see it end for Alex, but I think I speak for everyone who went roughly 4 for 16 on the first day when I say you had a good run.

And where’s the other bracket boy’s bracket? The Lunardologist has been awful quiet this tourney season.

Here’s the photo of what was once an amazing bracket.

And now for something completely infuriating…

Photos via NBCChicago.com and ESPN.com

Momentous day in history. On this date in 1979, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went head-to-head in the Championship game of the 1979 NCAA Tournament. The game pitted Bird’s Indiana State University Sycamores (33-0) vs. Magic’s MSU Spartans (25-6). Here’s the final minute of the game that Michigan State would win with Magic being named MVP, followed by some other classic Bird vs. Magic moments…

Whitney Matheson (Pop Candy) picked up on this first earlier. I commend her.

SPIN Magazine did Rock N’ Roll fans a solid, and put every issue from their back catalog – dating back to the first issue in May, 1985 that featured Madonna on the cover – on Google Books.

At some point I’m going to go way down the rabbit hole with this. Chuck Klosterman features, here I come. In the meantime, check out ten covers from what I think we can all agree was the golden age of SPIN – the 1990s.

1990 – Depeche Mode, July

1991 – Sinead O’Connor, November

1992 – Chris Cornell, September

1993 – Evan Dando & Adrienne Shelly, April

1994 – Kurt Cobain, June

1995 – Pearl Jam, January

1996 – Rage Against The Machine, October

1997 – Ani Difranco, August

1998 – Marilyn Manson, February

1999 – Beck, December

ESPN.com posted a breakdown of the percentage of people who picked each team to win in each round in their Tournament Challenge. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

Of the 16 teams that advanced to the second week, here were the five teams that ESPN users lacked confidence in the most – because showing you that at least 92% thought that Kentucky would make it to Sweet-16 isn’t even interesting to John Calipari on his most narcissistic day.

Tennessee – 19.8%

Cornell – 11.3%

Washington – 8.8%

St. Mary’s – 3.7%

Northern Iowa – .9%

And just how damaging was that Kansas upset? 42% of ESPN’s brackets had them in the Championship game.

Who Picked Whom (ESPN.com)

Unfortunately, I’m not a big enough horse racing nerd to know if winning a “a highly competitive second-level allowance race for 3-year-olds” two months before the Kentucky Derby is indicative of possible Derby performance (The skilled handicappers RollingStone.com seems to think so). However, I am a big enough nerd, in general, to link to a story about a horse race – second-level allowance or otherwise – strictly because the horse that won is named Radiohead.

From ESPN.com:

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — What figured to be a highly competitive second-level allowance race for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park turned into a showcase for the English-bred Radiohead, who cruised to an easy victory over stablemate Homeboykris in Saturday’s third event. Radiohead was making his first start on dirt and first since being switched to trainer Rick Dutrow’s barn following his seventh-place finish in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He stalked the pace of the previously undefeated New York-bred General Maximus under confident handling from jockey Edgar Prado in the one-mile race, readily gained command when roused nearing the eighth pole, and was never seriously threatened thereafter, winning by 3 1/4 lengths. He was timed in 1:35.90. “It was a good day for us,” said Dutrow referring to his one-two finish in the race. “This is what I wanted to see from Radiohead. He could have gone to the lead, but I told Edgar to let the other horse go and be a measuring stick. It certainly showed he likes the dirt.”

After I invested too much time, energy and coin in attending all three events of the 2008 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in hope of seeing Rick Dutrow and Big Brown win the whole enchilada, I vowed to never get behind another Dutrow horse.

Still, I love Rock n’ Roll more than I hate my past disappointments and misfortune, so this could change that.

Photo via The Telegraph

I’m in the Uproxx Pool of Awesome. The Intentional Foul pool. A pool at work. Another pool that a buddy just invited me too. Plus, I refrained from entering two others. Here’s the hitch: one bracket though – only smart way to do it, right?

At 12:20 today – with the tip of BYU vs. Florida – you’re officially out of time. I want to hear how invested everyone got this year. Let me know how many pools you’re in (leave a comment or shoot me an @ reply).

Anyone who entered more than ten pools gets a signed B/W 8 X 10 photo of me eating the bacon explosion – after I win it in the IF pool.

Pictured above, that’s my 2010 NCAA Champ pick.

UPDATE: This might be the worst bracket I have ever filled out. And not going to lie there have been some real dogs in the past. (Friday, Mar. 19 2:41 pm ET)

Photo via

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! You know the motto: It’s St. Patrick’s Day, Eat Corned Beef Responsibly (Drink Egregiously)

Personally, I’m good with just corned beef, stone-ground mustard on a bread roll, but here are ten choice looking corned beef sandwiches to get you in the spirit.

Corned Beef Coleslaw With Avocado on Demi Baguette Sandwich


Corned Beef Biscuit Sandwiches


Mustard-stout glazed corned beef topped with aged cheddar and cabbage, red pepper and tarragon slaw served on a toasted onion roll



Benjie’s New York Deli-Corned Beef Sandwich (w/ Cole Slaw and Russian Dressing on Rye)


Katz’s Deli (NYC) Corned Beef Sandwich


Corned beef Reuben on dark rye



Corned Beef at the Carnegie Deli


Corned beef on rye with a sizable portion of mustard


Corned beef brisket, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, smoked-bacon mayonnaise, served on dark rye bread


The Woody Allen (Carnegie Deli)

The NCAA tournament is roughly 50 hours away – viva la rampant speculation!

I personally did 10 minutes for my peers on how Cornell is not all they’re cracked up to be, and everyone should be considering Temple for the Sweet-16 rather than picking Cornell to upset, because Evan Rodriguez is the real deal and Ryan Wittman is just a garden-variety nerd, thus…

It goes on. Nobody had a good time.

Fact is your friends and office mates want to condone your pontificating as much as they want to blow the whistle on the rampant gambling and implicate themselves.

But we can’t go completely silent, can we?

Therefore, I enlisted a few members of the sports blog intelligentsia to breakdown each region, only stipulation: brevity: get to a Final Four pick – and slip in a few madball Sweet-16ers (Notre Dame) – in 100 words or less.

That said…

East (Jameson LaMarca, Steady Burn):

With guys like John Wall & Demarcus Cousins playing out of their minds, I pick Kentucky going to the Elite 8 after knocking off Texas and Wisconsin. Across from them is Big East Champs West Virginia, who will mow through Morgan State, Clemson, and a tough Marquette.

Who’s in the Final Four? Here’s a big hint: it’s not a #1 seed. While Calipari’s boys have had a phenomenal season, I don’t see them playing on April 3rd. Da’Sean Butler is a beast inside and I think will be too much for the Ashley Judd cheering section.

Midwest (A. Isaac, Guyism):

Consider the Midwest one of the hardest brackets in recent NCAA tourney history.   In Kansas you have the overall #1 seed in the tournament and the best team in the country this year.  In Ohio State, Georgetown, and MSU you have 3 teams who have been ranked in the top 10 several times this season.  In Maryland, you have arguably one of the best players in the country in Greivis Vasquez.  Look for Kansas to get to the Final Four, although, a tough rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 looms with MSU and coach Tom Izzo.

West (Steve Melfi, NY Hoosier):

There are three teams with a shot: Syracuse, Pitt, Kansas St.

Kansas St. is just the wrong Kansas.

As for the other two, Syracuse won’t go 1 for 13 from three-point again against Pitt nor commit 19 second-half fouls.

Onuaku’s knee be damned; Syracuse is too good. Syracuse over Pitt.

Side note: Is it just me or have the past two years been really dull for making picks?  I just don’t see any upsets.  The NCAA is making it too easy for people who don’t follow college basketball to have a shot at winning their office pools.

South (Mike Hayes, Steady Burn):

My pick: Duke, sickening, because I’ll watch three Big East teams fall – penance for screaming “You’re a Klingon!” at Singler, heard mostly by a 10-year-old boy – at Madison Square Garden earlier this year.

Duke beats [insert play-in winner], walkover Louisville, then foil Texas A&M, not there yet under Mark Turgeon.

A melee in the Sweet-16 between Villanova and Notre Dame. A beating, but the opposite type Duke handed, for argument’s sake, Winthrop. Victor, throttled.

Prediction: Duke over worn-down Villanova, advances to Indianapolis. Big East fans who loath Huggins wrestle with rooting on West Virginia.