March Madness Thoughts

Wow, I am doing horrible in my pools. In fact I am in last place in 3 of 4. Damn, that is bad. So, don't really listen to anything I say.

Some people have been hating on this tournament because of its lack of upsets and buzzer beaters, but I think it has been pretty entertaining. Just look at Friday night and Saturday night. All the big teams save UCONN have been challenged. LSU made UNC look beatable same with Louisville against Siena and Pittsburgh twice. I think the case in a lot of instances was just the better team winning.

Also noticed that in almost all the close games, the team I was rooting for lost, but I guess that makes sense when you root for the underdog.
Friday was good as I was rooting for Wisconsin, Oklahoma St., Marquetee, and Siena, but Saturday blew - Duke, UNC, Purdue, and Gonzaga all winning close games. Man, then Sunday was more of the same.

I am glad I am a Wisconsin fan and not a Marquette fan. I am not a Marquette hater, but it's kinda funny. They waited 4 years for this? This was supposed to be their year, with the three senior guards, while it was a down year for UW. I was much more pleased this year with the Badgers as there was no expectations like in years past. I knew they were still gonna be good last year, winning the regular season and tournament and making it to the Sweet Sixteen, and I knew they would be OK this year, but sorry Badger fans, I think their NCAA tournament run ends next year. Is Travon Hughes really going to lead them? Jason Bohannan? Tim Jarmuz? I still, though consider Wisconsin a top 20 program. Maybe that is the homer in me, but 2nd Round, Sweet 16, 2nd Round, 1st Round, Elite 8, 2nd Round, Sweet 16 - that is a pretty good 7 year run.

As for teams still in the tournament, I hope it is not again all #1 seeds. That would be boring. I think the #2 seeds are vulnerable, so possible a 3 seed could sneak in the Final Four. Hopefully by the end of the day, I will no longer be last in my pools.

Nintendo Madness

Anyone remember the Nintendo Madness Tourney I put together last March? No, well that's ok. I kinda forgot about it too and never completed it. It got trumped by the amzaing LOTR/Star Wars bonanza.
But the Nintendo Tourney is back! We have four finalists. Vote over one the right. Most votes wins the title of BEST ORIGINAL NINTENDO GAME


Pick your horse.

1. Super Mario Brothers 3You got P-wings, frog suits, tails, memory games, big world, ice world, warp whistles, tons of great levels. Level 8 was extremely difficult. Plus, in this game you could go forward and backwards. And who can forget the king of each level being turned into some sort of weird animal? Great

3. TMNT IIThe classic arcade game in your own home. Who could want more? Well, you got Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Thousands of Footsoldiers, Shredder, and Krang in his giant, scary robot body. Very Nice.

1. Techmo Super BowlFirst great sports game. Great game play for nintendo, plus stats and season mode. Warren Moon, Rodger Craig, Bo Jackson, Randle Cunningham, Ronnie Lott and much, much more

.

2. Zelda II the Adventure of LinkGreat RPG, introduced a lot to the genre. How important was it to keep perfect health to shoot that shiney beam out of your sword? And that horse guy in the first castle, man. Talking to the towns people was always a laugh. And the music is still engrained in my memory

Shire Bracket

Gandalf gets to stay in the relative friendly confinds of the Shire. Will that help him out? We shall see. Very top heavy bracket


1. Gandalf: White or Grey, dead or alive, Gandalf is pretty amazing. He is a warrior, a general, a wizard, a mentor. Yes. And he beat the Balrog.

16. Uncle Owen: Won the play-in-game with Aunt Veru. Enjoy it while it lasts. Uncle Owen was pretty much a grump, not letting Luke join the Academy, lying to him about his parents and not letting him go to the Toshi Station to pick up some power converters.

9. Jabba the Hutt: Fat and Powerful. Just look at his crazy posse.

8. R2-D2: Just a little robot who can't talk or walk really, but saved the day for Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie multiple times.


5. Elrond: Pretty much the main man, or main elf. He was there when Isildur struck down Sauron. He is wise and smart and just has everything on lockdown.

12. Denethor: Pretty much an ass and a bad leader, but he did go out in a blaze of glory.


13. C-3PO: Gay robot.

4. Princess Leia: Quite the feminist at times- taking control on the Death Star and on Endor. But she did make out with her brother. Hmm?



3. Legolas: Pretty baller with that bow and arrow. And he's an elf, so he's good at pretty much everything. Probably the coolest action scenes in the movies.

14. Hoth Yeti: Hoth Yeti, least screen time for any of the tournament contestants.


11. Lobot: Another one for the hardcore Star Wars fan. Lobot was Lando's assistant at Cloud City. I don't know why, but I like him. I also remember the Doritos holographic disc of Lobot. Pretty much all it did was open his eyes. I mean he is connected to the computers and all.

6. Merry: Another hobbit. This one was a bit more hardcore, not afraid to fight and even take on the Witch King.

10. Faramir: Kind of weak in the movies, but better in the books, smarter too. Kind of sucks to have to be compared to his bro and the whole thing about his father wishing he had died instead was kind of rough. The suicide mission of Minis Morgol was pretty cool and he ended up with Eowyn in the end.

7. Pippen: "Fool of a Took", inclined to making mistakes as seen in the waking of the Balrog in Moria and looking into the Palantir. But he made up for it by saving Faramir, or at least getting Gandalf to save Faramir.

15. Biggs Darklighter: Luke's boyhood friend and wingmate in the first death star run. Dead, but nice 'stache.

2. Chewbacca: Yeah, the Wookie. Everyone's Favorite Star Wars alien.

Endor Bracket

Here we go, the start of the tourney. Luke and Han in the same bracket. Wow. Some good matchups - Count Dooku/Lando, Bilbo/Admiral Akbar, Sauron/Isildur rematch. Check em all out.


1. Han Solo: Bad-ass smuggler turned Rebel Alliance hero. Slick beyond measure. I really don't need to say much more about him.

16. Mon Mothma: She was the leader of the Rebel Alliance seen briefly in Return of the Jedi. She also provides an answer to the question "Were there lesbians a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?"

9. Lando: Another badass turned hero. Lando turned Han, Leia, and Chewie over to Darth Vader, but then helped them escape and was the leader of the assault on the 2nd Death Star.

Best Smile in the Galaxy

8. Count Dooku: Sith Jedi who took Anakin and Obi-Wan to task in Episode II. He's a pretty powerful Jedi, with the blue lightning bolts coming out of the hands thing going on. His fight with Yoda was one of the coolest in either trilogy.

5. Sauron: The evil of all evils in Lord of the Rings. This is a tough one because he was so evil and caused so much destruction and war multiple times, but he didn't really have a physical form in the movie. I mean the Eye is scary, but how scary.? To give you a better idea, here are some of his alliases: Gorthaur the Cruel, Sauron the Deceiver, the Lord of the Earth, the Enemy, the Master, the Dark Power, the Dark Lord, the Lord of Mordor, the Dark Lord of Mordor, the Power of the Black Land, the Black Master, the Black One, the Lord of Barad-dur, the Lord of the Dark Tower, the Shadow, the Great Eye, the Red Eye, the Eye of Barad-dur, the Lidless Eye, the Evil Eye, the Unnamed, the Nameless. Yeah.

12. Isildur: LOTR king from the old age, the one who defeated Sauron (REMATCH) cutting the ring from his hand with the broken sword, but did not destroy the ring while he had the chance.

13. Greedo: Gotta watch out for the blaster under the table.

4. Anakin Skywalker: As you can see, I'm not going with the pod-racing-little-boy-Anakin or the crazy-red-eyes-wanting-to-kill-Obi-wan-Anakin. I'm going more for the just-slaughtered-the Sandpeople-not-just-the-men-but-the-women-and-the-children-too-Anakin.


3. Sam: Sam pretty much did all the work getting the ring to Mount Doom. He literally carried Frodo. Samwise the Brave. Followed him into the river eventhough he couldn't swim and came back to Frodo after he sided with Gollum. "A promise Mr. Frodo, a promise"

14. Jar-Jar Binks: I'm not even gonna put up a picture of this cat.


6. Bilbo Baggins: The Hobbit who started it all.

11. Admiral Akbar: Pretty freakish, but led the Battle of Endor. Could help playing on home turf. "All Forest"

10. Wedge Antilles: Here is one for the hardcore fan. For those of you that don't know, Wedge is a Rebel Pilot that was in all three movies! He survived the first Death Star, Hoth, and the Second Death Star. The only man to survive both Death Star runs. While Luke was off playing with Daddy, Wedge hit the shot that allowed Lando to take down the Second Death Star. Wedge is my darkhorse here, kind of like Davidson. He just has that everyman quality. He is also responsible for one of the most famous lines in the movie, when first approaching the Death Star: "Look at the size of that thing." (That's what she said)

7. Gimli: He doesn't like to be grabbed by his beard or be tossed.


15. Bail Organa: Jimmy Smits. (that guy in the background seems to have a thyroid problem)

2. Luke: Wait who was he? Oh yeah, the one who always saved the day.

Star Wars/Lord of the Rings Madness

Wow, it's already the last day of March. To continue the March Madness theme, I've decided to put together another bracket. This time, it's a non-holds barred, 64 player throwdown. It is also by far the dorkiest thing I have ever done. I mean, I've called myself out before for being a dork, but after this, there is no doubt, no hiding from it, no ever, ever denying it. In fact, if there was a dork convention I might be president.
Welcome to Dorksville, USA Population: Me

But c'mon, it kind of makes sense. Right? A huge bracket with characters from two of the greatest movie franchises ever. People have often tried to compare Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. It's a tough task. But how would Aragorn fair against Han Solo? or Gandalf against Obi-wan? or Merry vs. Pippen? These are important (Grade-A dork) questions. Nows the time you can help develop the answers.'
It's pretty simple. 64 characters in single elimination "matchups" to determine the best character of the bunch. Vote for who you like best I guess, not who would win in a fight, just who you think is the best character. Again, vote by posting or by email. I'll try to mess with some poll stuff for later rounds. 4 regions are Endor, Hoth, Mordor, and the Shire. My coolness never ceases to amazing. So vote, have fun, pick some upsets, but definitely check it out because this is by far the most work I have ever put into a post.

March Madness Thoughts

So, today is the last day of March. I was fully engulfed in March Madness until Friday when Stephen Curry and a bunch of white boys were raining threes from everywhere to beat my beloved Badgers. So another year, another disappointment, but that is part of the Madness.
I've decided to share a few thoughts on the first two weeks of the tournament.

- I'm pretty sure I could make Stephen Curry Cry with one hard foul.
- All #1 seeds - great teams, but kinda boring
- Memphis is not overrated
- Pretty much every year I regret filling out brackets, one because I always mess up badly, two, because it makes me root for teams I don't want to. Case in point UCLA/Texas A&M
- Joe Alexander is pretty sick
-My new favorite player (for like a day) is (was) Jamie Smalligan of West Virginia. Just look at him. Great. Horseshoe.
- My new favorite player as of Thursday night- James Keefe of UCLA. He is a bench player who had a career high in points and rebounds in the Sweet Sixteen, 10 points more than his previous college high and 5 more rebounds. And then he followed that up Saturday with a 0 point 1 rebound performance. And he is one of those players that announcers LOVE. Verne Lundquist was on his nuts. He was player of the game despite Kevin Love's 30 points/14 rebounds. Hustling white boy, pretty sexy plus he's got the James Bond-esque chest hair sneaking out of his jersey. Definitely what March is all about.
- Gus Johnson and bill Rafferty are vastly entertaining. Much, Much better than Jim Nantz and Billy Packer. I wish we could get Raffery or Johnson for the Final Four.
- A lot of cheerleaders look like they're about 12 years old.
- Duke sucks
- there is nothing like college basketball

Nintendo Madness Final Four

So. we've finally made it to the final four. We got 4 quality games here. Again, it was my sister's vote for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II that allowed it to advance. All she picked was that and Tiny Toons "all the way"
Four very different games. Pick your horse.


1. Super Mario Brothers 3

You got P-wings, frog suits, tails, memory games, big world, ice world, warp whistles, tons of great levels. Level 8 was extremely difficult. Plus, in this game you could go forward and backwards. And who can forget the king of each level being turned into some sort of weird animal? Great

VS

3. TMNT IIThe classic arcade game in your own home. Who could want more? Well, you got Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Thousands of Footsoldiers, Shredder, and Krang in his giant, scary robot body. Very Nice.



1. Techmo Super Bowl

First great sports game. Great game play for nintendo, plus stats and season mode. Warren Moon, Rodger Craig, Bo Jackson, Randle Cunningham, Ronnie Lott and much, much more.

vs

2. Zelda II the Adventure of Link




Great RPG, introduced a lot to the genre. How important was it to keep perfect health to shoot that shiney beam out of your sword? And that horse guy in the first castle, man. Talking to the towns people was always a laugh. And the music is still engrained in my memory

Vote.
Sorry about that last post, sometimes I inexplicably get serious.

Nintendo Madness Round III

To be honest, the bracket only seems to have one plump matchup- the 2/3 Zelda II vs Super Mario Brother/Duck Hunt. The others looks pretty cut and dry. But that's why we play the game (vote)


1. Super Mario Brothers 3
4. Base Wars

3. TMNT II
10. Ice Hockey


1. Techmo Superbowl
12. Super Mario Brothers 2

3.Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt
2. Zelda II



Nice. All Marios still in it. Mario pretty much IS nintendo. 3 sports games still in it. That is a bit more of a surprise. I guess this predated the time where there was a new game for everything each year that made the previous year's version absolete. One RPG (a really tough, long one for a little kid) and one straight arcade, level style game. Nice. Final Four will be posted Monday morning.
Vote.

Nintendo Madness Round II

Just a quick explanation of my seeding and picking criteria. 1.) I only picked games I've often played and ones I've owned were much easier to seed higher. Games like Mega Man and Metroid I never really played, so they were put in here based on the word of others. 2.) High seeding went to games I still would play. If you had a working nintendo today and played it over Wii or PS3 they must be some damn good games. 3.) Leaving out Double Dragon was a mistake. Don't know how I forgot them. That is my only apology.

Notable First Round Results:
15 seed Karate Kid defeats 2 seed Tetris. Wow. A huge surprise there. Two people refused to vote because they hated the games, one calling for both to "die". I think it was the ice chopping level that did it for KK
13 Blades if Steel beats Super Dodge Ball easily. I guess you guys never played Super Dodge ball because it is great.
Classic 12-5 upset with Super Mario Brothers 2 beating Dr. Mario and Ninja Gaiden beating Paperboy
My sister's vote for Tiny Toons broke the tie versus Track and Field
Two ties had to be decided by the seeding committee, Base Wars over Metroid and Ice Hockey over Battletoads. Good stuff.

Round II

1. Super Mario 3
9. Excitebike

4.Base Wars
12. Ninja Gaiden

3. TMNT II
6. Mike Tyson's Punchout

10. Ice Hockey
15. Karate Kid



1. Techmo Superbowl
8. Tiny Toons

12. Super Mario 2
13. Blades of Steel

3. Super Mario/Duck Hunt
6. Mega ManII

7. Contra
2. Zelda II (gold cartridge)

I like those 3/6 matchups.
Voting will be open until Wednesday morning.

Nintendo Madness

I got the bracket fever baby. Everything should be in tournament form.
We're starting with Nintendo games. I'm talking about the 8-bit original NES, jumping up and down when you got it for Christmas, blowing on the games, playing til your hands hurt from the rectangular controllers. Yes.
Now I wasn't one of those rich kids growing up. I got nintendo a few years after most people and I didn't have many games, but it was still great.

I guess to vote, or to question my selections, just post or email me. Just vote on the ones you want. Not really sure what the best system for this is yet. Next round will be posted Tuesday. (company ski and/or get drunk weekend trip) Once we progress I'll and pictures and game descriptions and stuff. Have fun.

1. Super Mario Brothers 3
16. City Connection

8. Micro Machines
9. Excitebike

5.Paperboy
12. Ninja Gaiden

13. Metroid
4. Base Wars

3.TMNT II

14.Rampage

6.Mike Tyson's Punchout
11. World Cup Soccer

7.Battletoads
10. Ice Hockey

15.Karate Kid
2. Tetris




1.Techmo Superbowl
16. Mappy-Land

8. Tiny Toons
9. Track and Field

5.Dr. Mario
12. Mario Brothers 2

13. Blades of Steel
4. Super Dodgeball

3. Super Mario Brothers/ Duck Hunt
14. PC Pro AM

6. MegaMan II
11. Duck Tales

7. Contra
10. Castlevania II

15. California Games
2. Zelda II