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Sweet 16: V for Villanova, V for Victory

23 March 08
by TMS

Memories of Massimino

Late Friday night I was watching the Villanova – Clemson game. My father went to Villanova and Villanova Law; my brother went to law school there; so did some of my cousins. Although I had picked Clemson in my pool (perhaps in a complex reverse-psychological rooting strategy) I am a Villanova fan, and I was in despair. The Wildcats were not only losing by 18 points; they looked terrible. On offense they would bring the ball down and stand around until someone took a bad shot. On defense they would leave huge lanes to the basket. I was sitting with a bunch of my cousins, most of them Philadelphians, and I found myself spouting invectives. Villanova, I said, was a weak 12 seed, while Clemson was a strong number five. Villanova, I said, didn’t deserve to be in the tournament at all. It was pro-Big East bullshit, I said. Villanova sucks. I went to bed.

Sometimes I am wrong. I admit it. Villanova is in the sweet 16!

It was a balm for the pain in my brackets. By Sunday, the only hope I had left, as far as the pool was concerned, was my long-shot national champion, Georgetown. I had no love for Georgetown. In fact, quite the reverse. The greatest moment in my life was the 1985 Villanova defeat of the Hoyas. To pick them was a sort of sacrilege. But I thought the perversity might be just the thing to lead me to victory. I had a feeling.

So I am always wrong. Georgetown lost to Davidson. Davidson! There are only like 12 students at that school.

Most of you are better off than I. A good majority of your national champion picks are still alive after the first weekend, although this almost wasn’t the case. The most popular champion in The Modern Spectator pool was UCLA (There are 11 Bruins believers among us), who nearly lost to the Aggies of A&M. The second most fashionable pick was UNC with 8 partisans, followed by Kansas (5), Texas (3), and Memphis (3). No one was dumb enough to pick Duke. Some long-shot champion picks: Oregon (Dead Ducks), Michigan State, and Villanova (Go, Dina!).

Congratulations go out to Amparo McDowell and Laura Kelley, the leaders, and to Amparo (again) and Christie Flamm who were leading after the first round. A shout out as well to Jacob Craycroft who knew that Western Kentucky would face San Diego and to Greg Dobbins who scored an incredible 8 upset points in the first two rounds. Bravo.

Standings follow with 1st round results at bottom.


Results After Round Two

Rank Name Points
1 Amparo McDowell 52
1 Laura Kelley 52
3 Ben Cramer 50
3 Connie Reber 50
5 Greg Dobbins 49
5 Joe Kelley III 49
7 Bill Brink 48
7 Jacob Craycroft 48
9 Josh Dean 47
10 Mikey Reber 46
10 Donna Kelley 46
10 Mike Stevens 46
10 Sean Murphy 46
10 Austin Kelley 46
10 Emily Thompson 46
16 Christie Flamm 45
16 David Gendelman 45
16 Sophia Kelley 45
19 Joe Kelley II 44
20 John Grady 43
21 Matthew McKown 42
21 Tony Arroyo 42
21 Sean Janda 42
21 Jessica Cohen 42
21 Brian Schwartz 42
21 Dan O’Hara 42
27 Ben McGrath 41
27 Dina Basile 41
29 Tyson Smith 40
29 Steve McClure 40
31 William Dantona 39
31 Pope Leo 39
33 Sarah Trigg 38
33 Roddy Reber 38
35 Lionel Stander 35
35 Meems Dantona 35
37 Lancelot Brown 32
38 Jonathan Hart 31
39 Marquis de Lafayette 30
40 Lilith Iverson 27
41 Princess Louise 24


Results After Round One

Rank Name Points
1 Christie Flamm 29
1 Amparo McDowell 29
3 Ben Cramer 28
4 Connie Reber 27
4 Greg Dobbins 27
4 David Gendelman 27
4 Laura Kelley 27
4 John Grady 27
4 Josh Dean 27
4 Ben McGrath 27
4 Mikey Reber 27
4 Sarah Trigg 27
13 Bill Brink 26
13 Matthew McKown 26
13 Donna Kelley 26
16 Jacob Craycroft 25
16 Sophia Kelley 25
16 Mike Stevens 25
16 Sean Murphy 25
20 Joe Kelley II 24
20 Tony Arroyo 24
20 Austin Kelley 24
20 Lionel Stander 24
20 Emily Thompson 24
20 Sean Janda 24
20 Tyson Smith 24
27 Dina Basile 23
27 Jessica Cohen 23
27 Joe Kelley III 23
27 Brian Schwartz 23
27 Steve McClure 23
32 Roddy Reber 22
32 Lancelot Brown 22
34 William Dantona 21
34 Pope Leo 21
34 Jonathan Hart 21
37 Dan O’Hara 20
37 Marquis de Lafayette 20
39 Meems Dantona 19
40 Lilith Iverson 15
41 Princess Louise 14

  1. something is seriously wrong if both Matthew McKown and Emily Thompson are above me in this ranking system.

    — no question about it    Mar 24, 02:40 PM    #

  2. seems fishy to me

    — cow    Mar 24, 03:31 PM    #

  3. Don’t worry. Bear Stearns is auditing the results to make sure everything is on the up and up.

    — Austin    Mar 24, 06:41 PM    #

  4. If I win, I’ll sell my T-Shirt for $152.00… Start bidding.

    — Amparo McDowell    Mar 25, 02:27 PM    #

  5. My wife, Laura, who coleads with Amparo, was 4 for 4 on last night’s games. She’s drunk with power.

    She also has Wisco, Horns, Memph, and Kans in the final 8. (Please note that these are the official Noms-de-bracket that everyone should have used for these schools on their pool entries.)

    — Joe    Mar 28, 07:05 AM    #