Thursday, March 20, 2008

O the Madness! It begins

If you're missing this post due to a bout of the common disease "March Madness," I understand.
I'm watching the games as we speak right now.

O wow. Xavier was just down 11 in the 2nd half, now they've taken a 52-49 game. This is clearly the game of the morning, as Kansas and Mich. St. are both polishing off their opponents. What's sad about Georgia being in such a competitive game is that Illinois coulda been in the exact same situation if they just had completed their miraculous run in the Big Ten tourney, getting a 14 seed and beatin a 3 seed. Altho, looks like georgia will prolly drop this game now. Cinderella hasn't come to the ball yet.

Watched Big Brother and Survivor last night. CBS is prolly my fave TV station, w/ my reality shows on there all the time as well as pretty good comedies like Two and a Half Men and How I met your mother. Also the NCAA tournament ( good segue, huh? )

Anyway, I was sorta sad to see Matt go. Not because he has a charming smile, not because he's a ripped roofer, not because he wanted to win some dough from his momma, and definitely not cuz he's from boston. What I like is how much he cared about the game. So many times in reality TV i'm just pulling my hair out watching these apathetic people "playin' the game," not making the best of the opportunity and sometimes ( GASP) even quitting. Maybe i'm just a really competitive person, but I see Big Brother, Survivor, or Amazing Race as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove myself against others, to play in a game on national TV and try to win competitions to preserve your life in the game, also use social relations to get ahead in life. I guess for me it's almost a microcosm of life, in how to get ahead and work with others as well as against them to get the best solution to yourself.

And of course I love games similar to Mafia, where there's mind games and tons of strategy, unlike chess, with real people.

Anyway, Matty had been the guy who really cared about staying in the house, and he did what I woulda done if I were in teh house: He got screwed/ "backdoored" in the house, which is a pretty low move when the guy who nominated him had already promised him not to put him up. Instead of really gettin pissed and blowing up, though, Matty really sucked it up, understood that it was part of the game, and went about trying to save himself. He was really in a no-win situation, cuz his own physical presence hurt him: He had a great handle on making everyone in the house feel comfortable w/ him, but in a game where strength is weakness, and weakness is strength, his social advantage worked against him. He did a great job appealing his case, too, but just didn't get his archnemesis ( james ) to keep him in the game.

Possibly one of my fave reality TV contestants ever ( or at least one of the most passionate).

Looks like Xavier is running away w/ it. Figures, they have more experience and better talent. Simply the better team. 59-51 now.

Other teams i'm hoping to win but not really counting on it:

Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Butler, all the 8 seeds of course, and my upset special:

#13 seed Siena over Vanderbilt. Again, don't count on it.

Andrew Bynum coming back before the playoffs? Don't count on it, don't pick it up, and definitely don't expect him to produce at the levels he was before injury.

Pau Gasol is out for the lakers, so the purple and gold are basically the same team they were pre-Gasol that Kobe was complaining about. However, the difference is confidence. They beat dallas on the road w/o both bynum and gasol, that's saying something.

VC put up a lebron line last night, 39 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts, and a blk. NO TURNOVERS? Wow. I didn't know he had this in him at this stage of his career. Give whoever was guarding him an assist.
Miami with FIFTY-FOUR points last night? Unacceptable. You'd think w/o shawn marion or dwayne wade OR Jason Williams somebody'd step up to be fantasy worthy, but w/ 54 points i would just ignore that team completely besides matrix if he decides to come back. Just to be fair to Ricky Davis for last year's 2nd half, I'd look at him too, but that's it.

Did Houston hit a peak? They've lost 2 a row now after the 22-game winning streak, granted it was vs. Boston and @ New Orleans, but just 69 points last night. Also let ex-teammate Bonzi Wells dump 25 pts, 2 stls, and 3 blks on them n just 26 minutes.

Cannot say enough about Philadelphia's meteoric rise. Beat Denver at their own game last night, winning w/ high score of 115-113. 12 asts for andre miller coupled with 28 points, veteran presence on a young team baby. Also, if your point guard is playing denver on any given night, expect a lot of assists. Except if you have a point guard from miami. ( see above)

Fantasize on,
Robert Yan

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