THE Kevin P. Davis Official 2007 NCAA Bracket Projection

So I've decided to try something new this year and include pods as well as regions. I'm pretty sure it'll blow up in my face, but since when I have I ever turned down a bad idea? I also want to say that I think this might be the most uninspiring tournament field I've ever seen. Practically every team seeded from 9 on down is indistinguishible from any other; this also includes the supposed "snubs". So basically the bubble is as fluid as I've ever seen it and I really wouldn't be surprised if we see some big surprises later today on the selection show.

First the number one seeds (which are ranked from 1 to 4 overall):

1: THE Ohio State University (Midwest Regional)
2: North Carolina (East Regional)
3: UCLA (West Regional)
4: Kansas (South Regional)

which means the Midwest champ meets the south champ in one semifinal and the west champ meets the east champ in the other. Um...so this could get completely screwed up if texas wins the Big 12 tourney and Wisconsin (God forbid) wins the big ten tourney, but I'm on a limited time frame here.


Here are the matchups in the each region. The full bracket is posted below.

Midwest (St. Louis):

Lexington

1: THE Ohio State University
16: North Texas

8: Arizona
9: Xavier

Winston-Salem

5: Notre Dame
12: New Mexico State

4: Virginia Tech
13: Holy Cross

Columbus

6: Boston College
11: Air Force

3: Texas A&M
14: Miami OH

New Orleans

7: Butler
10: Syracuse

2: Memphis
15: Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi

South (San Antonio):

Chicago

1: Kansas
16: Play in winner (Florida A&M/Jackson State)

8: Vanderbilt
9: Michigan St

Lexington

5: Maryland
12: Stanford

4: Louisville
13: Pennsylvania

Spokane

6: UNLV
11: VCU

3: Oregon
14: Long Beach

New Orleans:

7: Creighton
10: Georgia Tech

2: Florida
15: Niagara

East (East Rutherford):

Winston-Salem

1: North Carolina
16: Central Connecticut

8: Villanova
9: Texas Tech

Sacramento

5: Nevada
12: Davidson

4: Washington State
13: George Washington

Columbus

6: Tennessee
11: Illinois

3: Southern Illinois
14: Oral Roberts

Buffalo

7: USC
10: Indiana

2: Georgetown
15: Eastern Kentucky

West (San Jose):

Sacramento

1: UCLA
16: Weber State

8: BYU
9: Kentucky

Spokane

5: Marquette
12: Gonzaga

4: Texas
13: Wright State

Buffalo

6: Virginia
11: Old Dominion

3: Pittsburgh
14: Albany

Chicago

7: Duke
10: Winthrop

2: Wisconsin
15: Belmont






Last four in:
Air Force
Illinois
Old Dominion
Stanford

Last four out:
Drexel
Kansas State
Purdue
West Virginia

Woohoo!! Minneapolis!!!

So my beloved Buckeyes have a chance at making it to Minneapolis after all. Kudos to the committee for that; unfortunately its about the only thing they did correctly. I really do not understand how they decided that Utah State and Air Force were more deserving than Cincinnati. I love underdogs and "mid-majors" as much as anybody else, but even I think thats a stretch. I also think that the committee deliberately went out of their way to exclude Missouri St because they had such a good rpi, almost like a nice "fuck you" to everyone, like myself, who tries to predict what they should do.

Speaking of fuck yous, George Washington received a massive one today. "Nice job going 26-2. Here's an eight seed. Go fuck yourself." I think Tennessee as a 2 is a stretch as well, and I really do not understand how George Mason could possibly be more deserving than Hofstra.

Oh well. Time to tally up the results and compare with the other "experts"

The Official 2006 Bracket Projection


Washington D.C.

1. Connecticut
16. Play in game (Southern vs. Hampton)

8. Wisconsin
9. Kentucky

5. Washington
12. Texas A&M

4. Florida
13. South Alabama

6. West Virginia
11. UAB

3. North Carolina
14. Northwestern St

7. Nevada
10. Cincinnati

2. Illinois
15. Belmont


Oakland

1. Memphis
16. Davidson

8. Arkansas
9. Arizona

5. Syracuse
12. Hofstra

4. Boston College
13. Xavier

6. Oklahoma
11. San Diego St

3. UCLA
14. Montana

7. Marquette
10. Bucknell

2. THE Ohio State University
15. Pennsylvania


Atlanta

1. Duke
16. Albany

8. California
9. Southern Illinois

5. Kansas
12. UW-Milwaukee

4. Pittsburgh
13. Kent State

6. Michigan St
11. Bradley

3. LSU
14. Pacific

7. Indiana
10. Northern Iowa

2. Gonzaga
15. Winthrop


Minneapolis

1. Villanova
16. Monmouth

8. Wichita St
9. UNC-Wilmington

5. George Washington
12. Seton Hall

4. Tennessee
13. Murray St

6. Georgetown
11. Missouri St

3. Iowa
14. Iona

7. NC State
10. Alabama

2. Texas
15. Oral Roberts


Notes:
- The late games (Big Ten, Big 12 Championships) should not really affect seeding.
- For whatever reason the Southland Conference decides to hold their championship on the same day as the big boys, which kinda pisses me off cause it holds up the bracket. Northwestern St is just the projected winner for now (UPDATE 3:18 PM: They did win, so its official.)
- Since I'll be at the Minneapolis regional this year, my heart really wants Ohio State there, but my head doesn't seem to agree.
- Speaking of Ohio State: the competition for the 4th #1 seed is pretty fierce. The buckeyes won the nation's #1 conference (check the RPI), but Memphis's non conference schedule and performance is just too impressive to overcome
- Gerry McNamara's successful fusion of Tyus Edney, Bryce Drew, and Michael Jordan this week paid off big time for the 'Cuse
- I like my DC region; lots of name firepower
- I think the committee should match up Iowa and Iona in the 1st round
- I think the field is pretty solid, but my last team in (Hofstra) is certainly debatable. There are about five teams with essentially equal merit gunning for that spot


Last four in:
Missouri St
Texas A&M
Seton Hall
Hofstra

Just Missed the cut:
Michigan (lost 7 of 9 to end season)
Florida St (one big win just isnt enough)
Creighton (MVC getting 6 teams? Highly doubtful)
George Mason (Lost twice to Hofstra)

Kevin P. Davis Bracketology Returns!

Try to contain your excitement...

Fallout

Overall, I'd say the committee did an excellent job this year. I'm truly impressed. I still don't think Northern Iowa really did enough to be a tourney team, but its hard to argue against a 20 win mid major team when the next best option is a team that finished 4-6 in its last 10 games. By the way, the committee really looked down on teams who ended poorly. UCLA, Pittsburgh, Kansas, and the non-inclusion of Notre Dame are great examples of this. Louisville is seeded too low and Connecticut too high, but I can't think of anything else that really stood out to me.

And yet again, I proved to be just as good as the resident bracketologists for the big guys
Me: 64 right, 36 seeds correct
Lunardi (ESPN): 64, 38 (only because he did a last minute update to account for today's games, and the somewhat expected move of Washington to a #1 seed after Kentucky's blowout loss)
Mandel (SI): 65, 34
Meija (cbsports): 65, 36
Lazurus (foxsports): 64, 33

Just for kicks we'll throw in Andy Katz (63 out of 65, didnt seed) and Dickie V, who somehow managed to have Depaul as both a last team in and a last team out and projected (surprise, surprise) 3 ACC teams to get #1 seeds...he did get 64 right though.

As always, the lesson is that I never spend my time doing anything productive. All these other guys get paid to do this stuff; I guess they have the last laugh.

My bracket projections:

So of course, as soon as I mention that things were going somewhat smoothly, things fall apart. Last night did not exactly help alleviate bracket confusion on bubble teams. In a way it's fitting that Utah State got the auto-bid out of the Big West, since they got screwed last year by the committee, but their win last night absolutely removes one at large spot that would have been reserved for a bubble team. Buffalo losing a stomach puncher last night in the MAC championship did not help matters either. Buffalo has a better resume than Ohio and will actually challenge for an at large spot, whereas Ohio would not have. These factors certainly make the bubble much less clear than it was as late as last evening. With that said, here are my bracket projections (again with the assumption that late games today do not matter...that is, a Big 12 tourney championship for Oklahoma State and a loss by Kentucky might be enough to warrant swapping of seeds but the Big 12 tourney championship is too late in the afternoon to influence the committee.)

Chicago Regional (Note: Chicago vs Albuquerque; Syracuse vs Austin in final four):

1. Illinois
16. Montana

8. Charlotte
9. UCLA

5. Villanova
12. Old Dominion

4. Florida
13. Vermont

6. Pittsburgh
11. UAB

3. Arizona
14. Niagara

7. Georgia Tech
10. UTEP

2. Oklahoma State
15. Winthrop

Albuquerque:

1. Kentucky
16. Farleigh Dickinson

8. Iowa State
9. Nevada

5. Michigan State
12. Ohio

4. Connecticut
13. Wisconsin-Milwaukee

6. Texas Tech
11. Creighton

3. Boston College
14. Louisiana- Lafayette

7. Cincinnati
10. Minnesota

2. Wake Forest
15. SE Louisiana (Note: updated at 3:00 PM with game result)

Syracuse:

1. North Carolina
16. play in game...Oakland/Alabama A&M

8. Stanford
9. Texas

5. Alabama
12. George Washington

4. Gonzaga
13. Penn

6. Wisconsin
11. New Mexico

3. Kansas
14. Central Florida

7. West Virginia
10. Iowa

2. Washington
15. Eastern Kentucky

Austin:

1. Duke
16. Delaware State

8. Southern Illinois
9. Mississippi State

5. Utah
12. Notre Dame

4. Oklahoma
13. Bucknell

6. LSU
11. St Mary's

3. Syracuse
14. Utah State

7. Pacific
10. North Carolina State

2. Louisville
15. Chattanooga

Bracket notes: Syracuse cannot play in the Syracuse regional, Texas cannot play in the Austin regional, and New Mexico cannot play in the Albuquerque regional.

Last four in:
Iowa
St Mary's
UAB
Notre Dame

just missed the cut:
Depaul
Buffalo
Northern Iowa

At the last minute, I decided to replace Depaul with Notre Dame, mainly because Notre Dame, while inconsistent, has shown they can play with and beat very good teams and they finished above .500 in what I consider the toughest conference (top to bottom) in college basketball this season. I'd be surprised if the MAC got two teams, given that there were 6 teams that finished 11-7 in conference play, 1 12-6 team, and 2 10-8 teams; there's just not enough separation there and no big marquee non-conference "scalps". We'll revisit this after the selection show.

The Madness Returns

Well folks, it's time for another wonderful edition of Kevin P. O'davis's Bracketology. It's been a pretty exciting last few days in college hoops, with seemingly nobody wanting to be a #1 seed in the tourney. First Wake goes down, then UNC, Illinois played like absolute crap today against Minnesota, and Kentucky barely escapes. On the other end of the spectrum, the bubble teams are actually separating themselves pretty nicely in my opinion, pending the results of tonight's championship games. Check back tomorrow for my NCAA bracket predicition. Duke sucks.

The Ten Best Songs You've Never Heard:

(in no particular order)

1. "Baseball" - Ozma
2. "Beautiful Girl" - Last Week
3. "Apple Blossom" - The White Stripes
4. "Dirty Nursery Rhymes" - 2 Live Crew
5. "Here We Go Again" - Riddlin Kids
6. "Get Over It" - OK Go
7. "Summer Wind was Always Our Song" - The Ataris
8. "Would You Be Willing?" - Dog's Eye View
9. "See You in Hell" - Monster Magnet
10. "Tequila" - A.L.T. and the Lost Civilization

The Ten Best Songs You May Have Heard:

1. "Open Road Song" - Eve 6
2. "It Ain't Me Babe" - The Turtles
3. "I Will be Hating You for Christmas" - Everclear
4. "Hellbound" - Eminem feat. J-Black and Masta Ace
5. "Hear You Me" - Jimmy Eat World
6. "There Is" - Boxcar Racer
7. "Fightstarter Karaoke" - Dropkick Murphys
8. "Golf Shirt" - Nerf Herder
9. "Take this Heart" - Richard Marx
10. "Smash" - The Offspring

Just needed something to do while dinner was in the oven. Really though, these are all good songs...you should listen to them.

Things I've learned in the past few days

- You can never be everything to everybody. Try as hard as you want, but you'll always end up leaving someone behind

- If you just meet adversity head on, things generally work out in the end

- Ron Artest was punished for being human. Are you telling me you wouldn't flip out if some drunken asshole was throwing stuff at you? He didn't even throw a punch until the fat idiot in the wallace jersey came out on the court (my opinion: on the court, you are fair game).

- Regarding the fight: the look on the face of the guy Artest first went after was priceless. In the Pantheon of faces, it was only slightly below the Steve Spurrier "I'm way overmatched in the NFL face". Also, Jermaine O'Neal clocking the aforementioned idiot on the court is hysterical every time I see it.

- Regarding Ron Artest: Did you know when he was with the Bulls, he actually applied for a job at Circuit City (or some other major electronics store) so that he could get a discount on merchandise? He listed his GM, Jerry Krause, as a reference. How could you not like this guy?

- Be thankful for all that you have, especially friends and family because they are the ones who are still there when you are not even sure where your own self is.

- And finally, never underestimate the power of a good book; a used bookstore is perhaps the cheapest form of entertainment available.

I know its not how the saying goes but...

The way to a man's heart may possibly be through his DVD player.

Oh yeah, and making me dinner doesn't hurt either.

With apologies to Eminem

And suddenly it seems that my shoulder blades have just shifted. It's like the greatest gift you can get. The weight has been lifted.

David, I'm going to be honest with you: you're short.

We have a new member to the pantheon of quality programming brought to us by the fox broadcasting company. That's right, the channel that has given us life changing television events such as Man vs. Beast (in which analyst Carl Lewis listed "must realize it's a race" as the key to victory for the zebra and olympic gold medalist sprinter Shawn Crawford actually claimed the zebra false started after he lost said race), Celebrity Daredevils (which brought us the classic moment when Dennis Rodman was nearly killed as he swung violently into the side of a cliff), and The Littlest Groom (a bachelor style show for midgets, during which the "groom" was made to choose from a pool of dwarfed and regularly sized females) may have outdone itself with its latest offering...My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss.

Anyone who knows me knows my disdain for the "profession" of business executive, and in an incredibly humourous fashion this show has exposed these lowlifes as the fake, arrogant brown nosers that they truly are...and this was accomplished within the first 10 minutes! Everything else is just icing on the cake. I truly loved the moment when "expensive" champagne and hors d'oeuvres were served...which were actually cheap bottles of bubbly from the local convenience market and treats made with oscar meyer bologna, cheez wiz, and yes, even spam. All of the business savvy contestants were raving about the quality (one went as far to say the champagne definitely tasted expensive and another couldnt believe the taste of luxury he had just experienced...ah the mighty power of sucking up)

So here are my questions:

1. Every business major I ever knew (or at least the somewhat competent ones) were obsessed with money and the people who have more of it than they do. They knew the Fortune 500 companies and they knew the billionaire CEOs. So how is it that these successful business people could possibly believe that there is a multibillion dollar corporation that none of them have ever heard of? According to Forbes, there are only 313 billionaires in America, surely this guy didnt go unnoticed for all these years, did he?


2. How funny is it to see a guy who thinks he was fired because he wore a "too expensive suit"? How sad is it that he remarks as the show goes off of the air, that if he knew that the boss had such a problem with custom suits that he would have dressed down a bit? I hate to sound like Holden Caulfield but, can anyone possibly be more phony?

3. And finally, why would anyone ever trust a FOX reality show again?

I can answer that one: because people are idiots

When did I start caring about this shit?

Well I'm pretty sure this is a hoax, but its still pretty funny anyway, and probably has at least some truthful roots.

http://attenuation.net/files/iq.htm

Perhaps the more frightening stat is that Hawaii has the 6th highest mean IQ among states. Are there even schools in Hawaii? How is this possible...of course not surprisingly Mississippi is last.

I bid thee goodnight with a family guy quote:
"Yeah America's great, isn't it?...except for the South."

And then there were none...

Friendship is the ultimate unselfish act. Friendship is not only being there for someone when they are down, but wanting to be. Friendship is a two way street, you must be able to give of yourself in order to reap the benefits. Similarly, those who do not make an effort do not deserve to be rewarded. Friendship is giving a little of yourself in order to spur a relationship that will benefit both on a larger scale. The self-absorbed, inconsiderate, and unappreciative need not apply.

To all my friends in Ohio:

Good job, your state just ruined the next 4 years of American leadership.

Rob Neyer Part Deux:

I feel the need to clarify one thing, since I left the idea of team representation wide open. The guidelines for assigning a player to a team were as follows:
1. The player must have spent the majority of his career on the team.
or
2. The player must have had his best seasons as a member of the team and played an extended period of time for said team (at least 5 years generally)

That said, this is why Joe Morgan does not qualify as an Astro, and why, as you'll see in a bit, the Devil Rays were nearly impossible to pick a rep for (Wade Boggs sadly does not count)

So without further ado here are the American League Alltime Allstars:

Starters:

C: Yogi Berra - New York Yankees
1B: Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees
2B: Eddie Collins - Chicago White Sox
3B: George Brett - Kansas City Royals
SS: Cal Ripken Jr. - Baltimore Orioles
OF: Babe Ruth - New York Yankees
OF: Ty Cobb - Detroit Tigers
OF: Ted Williams - Boston Red Sox
SP: Walter Johnson - Minnesota Twins (Washington Senators)

Reserves:

C: Ivan Rodriguez - Texas Rangers
1B: Jimmie Foxx - Oakland (Philadelphia) Athletics
1B: Frank Thomas - Chicago White Sox
2B: Charlie Gehringer - Detroit Tigers
2B: Roberto Alomar - Toronto Blue Jays
3B: Wade Boggs - Boston Red Sox
3B/OF: Aubrey Huff - Tampa Bay Devil Rays
SS: Alex Rodriguez - Seattle Mariners
OF: Rickey Henderson - Oakland Athletics
OF: Tris Speaker - Cleveland Indians
OF: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson - Cleveland Indians
OF: Mickey Mantle - New York Yankees
OF: Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees
SP: Roger Clemens - Boston Red Sox
SP: Lefty Grove - Oakland (Philadelphia) Athletics
SP: Cy Young - Boston Red Sox
SP: Nolan Ryan - California Angels
SP: Pedro Martinez - Boston Red Sox
SP: Ed Walsh - Chicago White Sox
SP: Addie Joss - Cleveland Indians
SP: Jim Palmer - Baltimore Orioles
CL: Dennis Eckersley - Oakland Athletics
CL: Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees

Well, thats it. Now I just sit back and wait for ESPN/Fox Sports/MLB/etc. to contact me for my vast knowledge...or I finish my NMR homework...ugh

My Best Rob Neyer Impression:

May as well make it two days in a row, since I am sick of staring at NMR spectra for the evening. This is something I put together this summer during a weekend spent at the lab. Being the huge baseball fan and historian that I am, and given that it was around the all-star game, I decided a good way to kill the time would be to come up with all-time allstar teams for both the National and American Leagues. Groundrules are the same as current allstar teams: Roster size is 32 and every current franchise must be represented (Note that the franchise is what's important...thus Washington Senators (the 1st version) count as Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Athletics as Oakland A's, etc. So here they are, my alltime allstar teams:

National League:

Starters:

C: Johnny Bench - Cincinnati Reds
1B: Mark McGwire - St. Louis Cardinals
2B: Rogers Hornsby - St. Louis Cardinals
3B: Mike Schmidt - Philadelphia Phillies
SS: Honus Wagner - Pittsburgh Pirates
OF: Willie Mays - San Francisco Giants
OF: Barry Bonds - San Francisco Giants
OF: Stan Musial - St. Louis Cardinals
SP: Christy Mathewson - San Francisco (New York) Giants

Reserves:
C: Mike Piazza - New York Mets
C: Gary Carter - Montreal Expos
1B: Todd Helton - Colorado Rockies
1B: Jeff Bagwell - Houston Astros
2B: Jackie Robinson - Los Angeles (Brooklyn) Dodgers
2B: Joe Morgan - Cincinnati Reds
3B: Mike Lowell - Florida Marlins
SS: Ernie Banks - Chicago Cubs
SS: Robin Yount - Milwaukee Brewers
OF: Hank Aaron - Atlanta (Milwaukee) Braves
OF: Frank Robinson - Cincinnati Reds
OF: Roberto Clemente - Pittsburgh Pirates
OF: Tony Gwynn - San Diego Padres
SP: Bob Gibson - St. Louis Cardinals
SP: Sandy Koufax - Los Angeles Dodgers
SP: Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown - Chicago Cubs
SP: Grover Alexander - Philadelphia Phillies
SP: Steve Carlton - Philadelphia Phillies
SP: Tom Seaver - New Y0rk Mets
SP: Randy Johnson - Arizona Diamondbacks
SP: Warren Spahn - Atlanta (Milwaukee/Boston) Braves
SP: Greg Maddux - Atlanta Braves
CL: Bruce Sutter - Chicago Cubs

Wow that took way longer than I thought it would...I'll do the American League tomorrow

Back from Oblivion

You know, I would be spending my Sunday afternoon watching football, except this week the doubleheader game is on CBS which means I don't get it. (Yes I went through the trouble and expense of purchasing a 27 inch flat screen TV, but still remain too miserly to even get basic cable). Basically because my antenna is a piece of crap, I get three stations well: Fox, Pax, and MTV2 (dont ask). With quite a bit of effort and awkward positioning I can get CBS to the extent that I can hear the announcers and I see moving figures on the screen, although it often seems like I am watching three football games at once. So basically, theres only so much of that I can take until i get a headache, which is why, given no alternative, I've finally decided to return to the mecca of internet nerdiness: the blog.

Speaking of no alternatives: did anyone else watch the debate on thursday and immediately dread the next four years of American leadership? Now I'll be the first person to admit that I don't know all that much about politics and really don't give two shits about the whole system, but even I cringed when GW was speaking. What an idiot! How has America not gone up in flames the past 4 years? Did anyone else laugh out loud when he exclaimed and I quote: "Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that!"...Way to go George, we're all really impressed. Want a cookie or a medal? Perhaps 3 purple hearts?

And other than proving that John Kerry can hold his own in a public forum, what did the entire thing accomplish? Kerry clearly won the debate in my opinion, but what does that really indicate? I mean there were points in time where I thought Homer Simpson could have beaten Bush ("Extended warranty! How could I lose?!") . Did we actually learn anything? Well, here's what I learned:

1. Being president is "hard work" (Did anyone else think Bush sounded like the class idiot making excuses for bombing every exam? Of course its not easy, but there have been 41 other men who have done an adequate job or better...strap on a pair)

2. Kerry will ruin all of our relationships with world powers. Can you believe he forgot Poland when listing the nations that came to our aid at the beginning of the Iraq debacle?! Poland! What is this world coming to, when a possible Commander in Chief neglects a country as important as Poland? Really John, get with the program.

3. Debate moderators don't really wield any power over the candidates. Did you see how GW interrupted practically every Kerry rebuttal before being granted his 30 seconds extra. Weren't you just waiting for Jim Lehrer to tell him to shut the hell up? Or perhaps better yet scold him for speaking out of turn. I propose that Ray Lewis be the moderator at the next presidential debate to teach these punk politicians a lesson. Nobody would fuck with him.

Yeah thats about what I got from it. After a while it became awfully repetitive (I heard "Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time" so much I thought I was listening to a Fatboy Slim song), but I'm glad I watched and am looking forward to the next one...if only to see our brilliant leader once again stun us all with his dizzying intellect.

And as usual I will leave you with a Simpsons reference, this one naming two other world superpowers that Kerry can ruin our relations with.

From an advertisement for a soccer match:
"This match will decide once and for all which nation is the greatest on earth: Mexico or Portugal!"

That kid is back on the escalator!

So on Sunday morning Allison and I volunteered to help with registration for Race For the Cure (our official title was "Welcome Liason"). Our job was to check people in when they showed up, and hand them numbers for either the 5K run, 5K walk, or 1K walk. Some of the runners were on teams, and due to the magic of Microsoft Excel, some of said team names were cut short, with hilarious consequences (keep in mind that at 5:30 AM lots of things are funnier than they normally would be). My personal favorites were "Healthy Ho", "Valley Hos" and on the opposite end of the spectrum "Team Prude".

Also, Sunday morning provided me with one of the finest moments of physical comedy I've ever been witness to. This kid, probably between 5 and 7, decides it would be a good idea to run up the down escalator to get to the floor above him. After watching him struggle for a bit, then finally get the hang of it, I turn to Allison and remark about how he thinks hes got it down, but that the dismount at the top is always the most difficult part. Immediately after I finish my statement the kid totally biffs it right at the top of the escalator (he wasn't hurt). Hilarious! He went down hard too, but managed to crawl his way off of the escalator and onto the floor. As soon as he stands up, he begins to look around like something is missing; it's at this time that I notice an adidas sandal sticking up out of the escalator heading downward. The kid lost his shoe and had absolutely no idea where it was, never even occured to him that it may have gone down the escalator. So what does he do? He just takes off without it. So basically in order to save myself from eternal damnation from laughing at this kids misfortune, I decide to be the "hero" and return him his sandal. Very funny stuff though, definitely the highlight of my day.

Thought I'd switch it up this time so I'll leave you with a Family Guy quote:

"It's OK to lie to women, they're not people like us."

These Go to Eleven

So in the computer lab today, we were looking at upcoming shows in the Twin Cities area and it turns out Southern Culture on the Skids is playing here next week. I didn't know they still existed, but I was reminded of their wonderful contribution to the canon of rock and roll, the ever-impressive "Camel Walk". You know, the song that begins with the classic line: "Baby will you eat that there snack cracker in your special outfit for me, please?" The amazing thing is that I actually own one of their albums, although it's a pretty safe bet you won't be seeing me at their show. However, the sheer wizardry of "Camel Walk" begs the question...what are the most underappreciated songs of all time? Believe me, I could write for days on this subject. In fact the question is so open-ended that it may require more clarification. Perhaps the best way would be to define different catergories of "underappreciatedness":

Category 1: One-hit wonder
This is not your ordinary one hit wonder; its a song so good, you wonder why they never had another hit.

Examples: Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Take on Me - A-ha
New Age Girl - Deadeye Dick
The Freshmen - The Verve Pipe

Category 2: Overshadowed
This is the type of song that perhaps was overshadowed by a bigger hit from the same band, or perhaps is on an album so good that it gets lost in the shuffle

Examples: Lump - Presidents of the United States of America
Motorcycle Drive By - Third Eye Blind
Pretty When I'm Drunk - Bloodhound Gang
Muzzle - Smashing Pumpkins

Category 3: Songs most people have never heard
This is my favorite, given that my poor taste in music has led me to some awfully obscure songs/bands in my 22 years on this planet. These are songs that I would strongly bet you have never heard unless I have played them for you

Examples: the afforementioned Camel Walk - Southern Culture on the Skids
The Neden Game - Insane Clown Posse
Meat Sandwich - GWAR
I Walked - Wanderlust
Anger - Downset
I could go on and on....

So I've decided I'm going undertake a huge project: Determining the top twenty underappreciated songs of all time...in my opinion. At the rate I'm posting, I'll probably have it done sometime by Christmas

And to honor the great Tiffany Funari, I leave you with another Simpsons reference:
Superintendent Chalmers:"I thought we were having steamed clams."
Principal Skinner: "Oh, no I said steamed hams. That's what I call hamburgers."
Chalmers: " You call hambugers steamed hams..."
Skinner: "Yes, it's a regional dialect."
Chalmers: "Uh huh...what region?"
Skinner: "Uh...upstate New York?"
Chalmers: "Really...Well i'm from Utica and I've never heard anyone use the phrase 'steamed hams'"
Skinner: "Oh no not in Utica. It's an Albany expression"


Who's up for some steamed hams tomorrow?