Best of the Week: 3/22/14

Quote of the Week: I don’t care if the Lollipop Guild are guarding her, I can lower that shield on my own. (Regina "The Evil Queen" Mills, Once Upon a Time)

Song of the Week: Nothing Else Matters – Vienna Boys Choir (Crisis)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Brackets Busted Already: This year, Warren Buffett was going to give away $1 Billion to anyone who had a perfect bracket for this year’s NCAA Tournament. But probably about 99% of brackets filled out were already out of the running after day one when two twelve seeds, ND State and Harvard, upset their fifth seed counterpoints. There was also a sixth seed that went down to an eleven. And those brackets that were not busted on Thursday burst on Friday when Duke (3) went down to Mercer (14) and FS Austin (12) took down fifth seed VCU. So now there are no perfect brackets left in the Warren Buffett challenge after just the first round.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"On The Carpet" Archer Vice featuring the voice of Christian Slater, Monday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Woo Hah!!! Got You All in Check – Busta Rhymes (Google Play)

New Album Release of the Week: Out Among The Stars - Johnny Cash

New DVD Release of the Week: The Wolf of Wall Street

Video GIF of the Week: This is now my everything:

Next Week Pick of the Week: Switched at Birth, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: At the end of last season, Daphne got caught blackmailing a state congressman which sent her to do community service at a health center. It may have been worth it for her because it landed her smack dab in the middle of a love triangle. And where Daphne spent most of her time sending her time thinking about two boys, it looks like Bay may be juggling more boys in the season finale. There is current boyfriend, the frat boy with the heart of gold. But her old boyfriend is still in the picture and may need some comforting conserving it looks like he may have gotten Catfished. And she just found out that the other boyfriend that cheated on her was actually faithful and lied about the affair so she would forget about him. But those are just silly school kid crushes compared to Toby whose marriage may already be over after about a month.

Best of the Week - 3/17/12

Quote of the Week: Now I am off to lead a pack of tiny testosterone animals to victory. Got to warm them up and give them my best Friday Night Lights speech about hearts or eyes or some (expletive deleted). (Steve, Shameless)

Song of the Week: King of Rock – Run-DMC (Happy Endings)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: It’s March Madness Baby!: The first round is less about how many games you won but how many teams you have going deep in your bracket still around. And when one half of your Final Four is out on the first day really is not a good sign. Thanks Missouri and Duke. But like it is the last couple years, the big story is Barack Obama’s bracket which surprisingly is not completely chalk this year and even has an eleventh seed in the Sweet Sixteen. Sure his other three regions are pretty much chalk and has the overall top two teams in the finals.

Preview Picture of the Week:

Pretty Little Liars Season Finale

Most Worthless The Walking Dead Character of the Week: T-Dogg (so when they are rounding up a posse to hunt down an armed dude, they choose the ten pound Asian Glen who got trigger shy a couple episodes back over T-Dogg; which begs the question, who else is above T-Dogg in the hunting queue? Maggie? Hershel? Carl?)

Free Download of the Week: Beautiful Day - U2 (Google Play)

New Album Release of the Week: Tuskegee - Lionel Richie

New DVD Release of the Week: The Muppets

Video of the Week: I gave up on spoilers almost a decade ago after finally realizing they were ruining my television experience, but the one concession I make is that I still watch the promos that follow the shows which are like my nicotine patch that keeps me from spoiler site. Granted I should just turn off my television when the credits run because the promos routinely spoil the show anyway or are just misleading. With all the crap I do give to the promo monkeys, the promo for next week’s Justified is the single greatest promo ever in the history of television. “Why wait?” More like “Can’t wait!”



Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: Monday is the big day when we will finally learn who A is on the season finale of Pretty Little Liars. Check out my odd of who is behind the texts here: Oddsmakers: Who Is A?

It's March Madness Baby! 2012 Edition

It is time of year again, that time where you suddenly get that mid-march flu that keeps you bed ridden for four days with nothing but a remote control and a six pack of Shamrock Shakes. Yep, it’s March Madness. Last year was the first time that every game aired on television, so it will still take some time to get used to navigating between games. Of course the best part of the week leading up to the actual games is filling out your bracket (or in many cases, brackets), and here is a guide to what mine looks like (or at least the first one I filled out):

South
Finals: Duke over Indiana
Upset Special: Xavier over Notre Dame

West
Finals: Missouri over Michigan St.
Upset Special: Long Beach State over New Mexico

East
Finals: Ohio State over Wisconsin
Upset Special(s): Harvard over Vanderbilt, Texas over Cincinnati, Kansas St. over Syracuse

Midwest
Finals: Georgetown over North Carolina
Upset Special: Ohio over Michigan

Final Four
Ohio State over Georgetown
Missouri over Duke

Finals
Missouri over Ohio State 69-60

Best of the Week - 3/10/12

Quote of the Week: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. (Lionel Richie, The Voice)

Song of the Week: Time After Time – Cindi Lauper (as sung by Jody, Shameless)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Mediocre Tuesday: I do not know what it says about the candidates that are still in the race, but when I went to the polls this past Tuesday, I ended up voting for Jon Huntsman since his name was still on the ballot. Not that my vote would have meant much either way because there was no knockout punch during the shrinking Super Tuesday. Well Newt Gingrich was all but eliminated and now Rick Santorm now needs about two-thirds of the remaining votes if he was to get the Republican nomination. Of course if they continue to remain the thorn in Mitt Romney’s side that may mean the brokered convention that Hilary Clinton robbed me of four years ago.

Preview Picture of the Week:

Wild Justice, Sunday at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild

Worthless Walking Dead Character of the Week: T-Dogg (Seriously, had I have done this segment since the inception of the show T-Dogg would by far have won this award every everyone else, aside from being beat up by a redneck and cut his arm open, dude’s done nothing)

Free Download of the Week: Can't Go Home – Good Old War (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: $3.99 Albums on Amazon: Every month Amazon releases a hundred albums you can download for $5.00, but if you look closely they actually have better deals than that periodically on their site unadvertised. I do not know how long it will last, but as I write this there is a bunch of albums for only $3.99 including The Black Keys, N.W.A., U2, and the forty song Deluxe Edition of Nirvana’s Nevermind which comes out to ten cents per song by my math.



New Album Release of the Week: Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit

New DVD Release of the Week: American Pie 2 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Video of the Week: I am not sure if we should read anything into Community returning on the Ides of March, but the show will be returning to its 8:00 timeslot this Thursdays. No word yet on if Annie’s Boobs shows up. To honor of the occasion the cast is getting animated and not stop motion animated like last Christmas but more traditionally this time around. Check out all three parts below.







Next Week Pick of the Week: March Madness, All Day, Thursday through Sunday on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV: Brackets are being released tomorrow, so do not expect any work to get down this week on Monday or after noon on Thursday and Friday. Look out for my picks on Monday.

Best of the Week - 3/19/11

Quote of the Week: Yeah, I really got Jewish personed out of that one. (Peirce, Community)

Song of the Week: Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain and Tennille (as sung by Rajiv, Outsourced)

Big News of the Week: Bracket Busted Already: For the first time in over a decade I had one of my Final Four teams go out in the first weekend. Thanks St. Johns. I guess I should have gone all high seeds like BaChalke Obama did yet again this year. Seriously, what self respecting basketball fan picks all number one seeds? At least he didn’t shamelessly go with all swing states like he did last year.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: Young Blood – The Naked and Famous (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Save up to 50% on Hit TV Series: (Weeds, Mad Men, Boy Meets World)

New Album Release of the Week: Hello Fear - Kirk Franklin

New DVD Release of the Week: Ernest Double Feature: Ernest Goes to Camp & Ernest Goes to Jail [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: Not to go all Leave Britney Alone on the internet, but I do not understand the vitriol hate for Rebecca Black’s Friday. Is it horrible, sure, with inane lyrics that for some reason details the sequence of days of the week but is it any worse than anything that Justin Bieber has put out in the past year? And the lyrics could be Dylanesque compared to Katy Perry’s Hot N Cold. So shut up internet and just be happy like I am that YouTube didn’t exist when you were thirteen.

Rebecca Black – Friday


Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: The latest show from ABC Family may have been much more guilty than pleasure, but it did keep me watching all season. Hopefully the girls finally out “A” for the finale, but I doubt that will happen.

March Madness Baby! 2011 Edition

It became very clear this year that the selection committee hate me. My alma mater Kent State University wins the regular season MAC championship, but loses the conference tournament in overtime (one a questionable no call on a would be game winning shot) which apparently made them unworthy to make to the big dance so numerous teams in “big” conferences that were one and done could get at large bids. Then Cleveland State University, where I did graduate work at, had the second highest RPI of teams left out after Harvard but since they are also considered a mid major, they can be left out so lower RPI “big” schools can get that at large bid. Maybe it is time to give two automatic bids for each conference, especially if they continue to expand the number of play in games. But anyway. Here are my picks and some upsets I have in my bracket.


East
Finals: Ohio State over Syracuse
Upset Special: Marquette over Xavier

West
Finals: Duke over San Diego State
Upset Special: Missouri over Cincinnati and Connecticut

Southwest
Finals: Georgetown over Kansas
Upset Special: Georgetown over Notre Dame

Southeast
Finals: Sr. Johns over Butler
Upset Special: Butler over Pittsburg

Final Four
Duke over Ohio State
St. Johns over Georgetown

Championship
Duke over St. John’s 70-65

Best of the Week - 3/12/11

Quote of the Week: You’re like the hillbilly whisperer… put you on Oprah. (Art – Justified)

Song of the Week: Sea of Love – Cat Power (Pretty Little Liars)

Big News of the Week: Sheen off the Charlie: Last week’s media blitz was entertaining with all the tiger blood and warlock talk but that wore real quick when Charlie Sheen went from crazy fun to just crazy. I’ve talked more about Two and a Half Men over the past two weekes than the two season before and now it is time to not caring about one of the least funny shows on television.

Free Download of the Week: Childish Gambino EP (iamdonald.com): Last week I brought you the new video from Community’s Donald Glover’s rap alter ego Childish Gambino and you can download that and the rest of the songs on his EP for free on his website.

Deal of the Week: Blu-ray for Under $15 (Kick-Ass, Sin City, 300)

New Album Release of the Week: Scandalous - Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

New DVD Release of the Week: Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season One, Part Two

Video of the Week: After a decae of making a name for himself on the backs of Beta Males, Judd Apatow’s next film in his production teny will focas on the quintisential Beta Female, the bridesmaid.

Bridesmaids Trailer


Next Week Pick of the Week: March Madness, Starting Thursday at Noon on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV: It’s the most wonderful time of year, Spring, Shamrock Shakes, St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness all happening this Thursday (assuming McDonalds doesn’t run out prematurely like they seem to do every year). Seriously, can we just declare it national holiday because nothing will get done. Or just make next Thursday a half day like we had in grade school? To get geared up, tune into Selection Sunday starting at 5:00 on CBS while ESPN will have a three hour braketology special. And the field gets expanded to 68 teams with the last eight in battle Tuesday and Wednesday during the newly announced First Four round.

It's March Madness Baby! 2010 Edition

March became a little less mad for me this year after my alma mater, Kent State with their first seed in the MAC tournament, managed to lose their first game thus eliminating any change of making the big dance. I did get an e-mail inviting me to watch the Golden Flashes play in the NIT. Um, pass. All will be forgotten around noon tomorrow when hopefully I wioll be coming down with a case of the March Madness. Now keep in mind you may be better off taking advidse from your secretary, but here are my picks for the bracket this year.

West
Finals: Kansas (1) over Georgetown (3)
Upset: New Mexico State (12) over Michigan State (5)

South
Finals: Syracuse (1) over Kansas State (2)
Upset: BYU (10) over Florida (7)

Midwest
Finals: Kentucky (1) over Marquette (6)
Upset: Cornell (12) over Temple (5)

East
Finals: Villanova (2) over Duke (1)
Upset: I pretty much went scratch except 9 over 8 in the first round and 5 over 4 in the second round.

Final Four
Kansas over Syracuse
Villanova over Kentucky

Finals
Kansas over Villanova (62-50)

It's March Madness Baby! 2009 Edition

March Madness seemed a little less mad
this year, or at the very least the brackets did. A lot of mediocre teams from big conferences made it in this year which means trying to pick upsets less fun. At least that was until yesterday’s Pardon the Interruption started calling for Congressional investigation into the NCAA for favoring major conferences over small ones. Hopefully when the tournament we do get some exciting games, but the tournament selection really robbed us of man y potential Davidson like runs this year. Now keep in mind you may be better off taking the advice of your little sister, but here are my picks for this year.

East
Finals: Villanova (3) over Xavier (4)
Upset Special: VCU (11) over UCLA (6)

Midwest
Finals: Louisville (1) over Kansas (3)
Upset Special: Dayton (11) over West Virginia (6)

South
Finals: North Carolina (1) over Arizona St. (6)
Upset Special: Western Kentucky (12) over Illinois (5)

West
Finals: Memphis (2) over Washington (4)
Upset Special: Utah St. (11) over Marquette (6)

Final Four
Louisville over Mephis
North Carolina over Villanova

Finals
North Carolina over Louisville 68-60

I didn’t notice until I wrote this that I have all the 11-seeds out in the first round except the one I have going to the Elite 8. Maybe an already ominous start to my bracket. Or may just be genius. But most likely stupid.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. LXXI

Quote of the Week: I got the premium package. I told you if I don't watch 5 hours of TV a day, I'm throwing money out the window. (Gary, Gary Unmarried)

Song of the Week: Heaven – Warrant (Tool Academy)

Big News of the Week: The Recession Hits Home: When the recession started making stories circa October last year I could care less because it seemed to only hurt morons who bought houses they couldn’t afford and the morons who gave them the money to do so (an a few innocent bystanders). But as we inch closer to a depressions thanks to an administration thinking throwing money at anything will make things better even though the reason why we are in it is because the last one did the exact same thing, the recession actually hit home this week with the announcement that BMG Music is no more. I have taken advantage of their “12 for the price of 1” deals for almost two decades now (my first shipment included Public Enemy, Bryan Adams and Alice in Chains) and would estimate a good 40% of my CD collection came from the service. BMG Music: you will be missed. Luckily Amazon MP3 has cushioned my fall thanks to the MP3 Daily Deal which offers a full album for $2.99 (or less) every day and I have already taken advantage of the deal multiple times this year.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Coalition Links of the Week:
With news of Leighton Meester landing a film role, Buzz wondered which TV actors could shine on the big screen. (BuzzSugar)

This week, Sandie shared the first pictures of Alex O'Loughlin in Criminal Minds. (Daemon's TV)

Vance is loving the new Degrassi kids, meanwhile, some of the old ones are going to Hollywood, while a few in real life are starring in a play in Toronto! (Tapeworthy)

Missing Lost this week? Jace might not have a new episode of the ABC drama to tide you over until your latest fix but he does have video of his interviews with showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and series stars Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Emerson... along with a few spoilers. (Televisionary)

Although not usually one to pick a fight, Dan expressed some annoyance with the portrayal of gay folks on SNL and Bromance. (TiFaux)

Jennifer pondered why there are no big stars on Dancing With the Stars and who will die on Smallville, while Ashley took a swing at TV's best musical moments. (Tube Talk)

Raoul talked to Kris and Amanda from The Amazing Race. (TV Filter)

This week, we listed 5 reasons why Kings could help rebuild NBC's empire. (the TV Addict)


The Big Bang Theory: I may be knit-picking, but Sheldon does that with everything, so it makes it okay. But the opening just didn’t work for me for two reasons. Why would they need more Tivo space so they don’t have to delete Battlestar Galactica? I can’t image between the four of them, at least one has the DVD, and most likely all four have their own version. And why would Sheldon be so adverse to breaking the warranty agreement? Wouldn’t he think he would be able to fix the Tivo better than even the dude who created it. With that said, all of it was still funny. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: I was completely offended by the insults flung around to Ted having a soul patch as I sported one in my youth and had one before there was even a name for such a thing. Okay, the name “soul patch” is kind of Toolish, but having one before it was dubbed that was totally awesome. Then I had the save mine off when someone suggested I stole the idea from the gay dude on The Real World (I want to say New Orleans). You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

I Love Money: I love how The Entertainer and his alliance have gotten so upset that everyone pretty much banded together to out his crew as if no one else is allow to create their own alliance and just sit around waiting to get voted off.

Gary Unmarried: It has become pretty clear that Louis is the new star of the show and the most recent episode just cemented that. Just imagine if she were ten years older and ran into Sheldon. And they should seriously think about adding Martin Mull and Jane Curtain to the cast. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.

Survivor: So J.D. chips a tooth, spits it out, throws it across the playing field, and gets ready for the next round. Man's Game J.D. But I really want the Exile Alliance to work though they are skating on thin ice on both tribes. What really sucks is I don’t think we will get a new episode for three weeks thanks to March Madness with just a Wednesday recap episode in the mean time. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.



Friday Night Lights: I was a little disapointed that the Panthers did not run a little Wildcat. When you have two quarterbacks on the field you have to trow in a trick play or two. And how do you go for it on fourth and long with under a minute? Punt i through the enzone so the cannot have a run back and go into prevent. If he doesn't make a first down, that would have been a fireable offense. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com.



You can also check out my First Impressions of Castle and/or my Final Impressions of Tool Academy.

Free Download of the Week: Pitter-Pat (Acoustic) – Erin McCarley (Amazon MP3): One of the previously mentioned Deal of the Day’s that I have advantage of was the decent debut from Eric McCarley and this week you can get an acoustic version of one of the songs for free.

Deal of the Week: Over 300 Blu-ray Discs as Low as $13.99 (Lost, Tropic Thunder, Reservoir Dogs, Zack and Miri Make a Porno)

Video of the Week: Monday wraps up Christina Ricci’s run on Saving Grace and don’t expect her tenure to end with her completion of her rotation. Nope, Grace finds something about Ricci that brings her stint to an abrupt end. Check out a clip below:



Next Week Pick of the Week: March Madness, Thursday and Friday from noon until after midnight on CBS: Some would argue that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but for me it is March Madness. With four games on at a time, there is a high probability that at least one will be good and they go on all day for two days. Plus it is the only time of the year when gambling is socially acceptable, even teachers pass out brackets to their students for “extra credit” and the boss doesn’t care if you spend the workday hitting refresh on ESPN.com. Sadly 90% of people are all but out of their office pool by the start of the second round while the secretary who doesn’t follow sports sits on the top of the leaderboard.

It's March Madness Baby! 2008 Edition

I am optimistic this year about my chances in the March Madness pool (it has been four years since I have won any money) because I think many of my competitors made their picks after ten too many green beers yesterday. Of course the old adage of the person that knows the least is the one that inevitably wins may have helped their picks. But anyways. Here are my (sober) picks for this year:

East
Finals: North Carolina (1) over Louisville (3)
Upset Special: George Mason (12) over Notre Dame (5); St. Joseph’s (11) over Okalahoma (6)

Midwest
Finals: Georgetown (2) over Clemson (5)
Upset Special: (To avoid jinxing my alma mater, I won’t pick Kent State (9) over Kansas (1) in the second round, instead) Davidson (10) over Gonzaga (7)

South
Finals: Texas (2) over Pittsburg (4)
Upset Special: Temple (12) over Michigan State (5)

West
Finals: UCLA (1) over Xavier (3)
Upset Special: I actually went with chalk in bracket except Drake (5) over Connecticut (4) and Xavier (3) over Duke (2) neither of which are much of an upset.

Final Four
North Carolina over Georgetown
UCLA over Texas

Finals
UCLA over North Carolina (72-68)

Scooter Update: While Barack Obama was busy thowing his grandmother under the bus (seriously, who does that?), John McCain was busy filling out his brakets and you can play against him over at his website johnmccain.com and you can even win a McCain fleece, hat or pin.

March Madness 2007 Update

Well I certainly hope no one took my March Madness advice because I had the worst first round ever. It was so bad that I’m currently sitting in the 11% of all Yahoo brakets. On the bright side I only had one Elite 8 teams and one other Sweet 16 teams bounced so far (Notre Dame, Old Dominion). I actually had a year once where I only lost one game on the first day, but that one lost was a Final Four team which just ruined any chance of winning despite having the best first round score (darn you Stanford). But I’ll pretty much have to run the table to take home any money this year. Maybe this year may be the best time to start up a second chance bracket. But anyways. If your braket is as cooked as mine, you could always participate in Band Madness, with a whopping 512 bands taking on each other. And at least it is St. Patrick’s Day so I have a socially acceptable way to drown my sorrows, time to cue up the Traditional Irish Folk Song.

In other news, Congratulations to Dara for winner her second consecutive Lyrics Quiz putter her in a tie for most wins ever at three. I’m sure being subscribe to this blog is something that has helped her to victory by being one of the first to learn when each post is uploaded helps. So to keep up with her, be sure to click on the orange button on the top of the sidebar and subscribe to your favorite feed reader. And if you don’t have a favorite, I highly recommend Bloglines.

She of course won the Rock and Roll Edition of the Lyrics Quiz. The Hall recently released their list of 200 must have albums. I haven’t talked about them up to know because every time I looked at the list, I’d see something that really irked me (Celine Dion in the top 100, more Dixie Chicks than Johnny Cash, No Paul's Boutique, etc.). But I have since calmed down and here is that list in its entirety with the must own albums that I actually own in bold (42 by my count):

1. BEATLES – SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
2. PINK FLOYD – DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
3. MICHAEL JACKSON – THRILLER
4. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN IV
5. U2 – JOSHUA TREE
6. ROLLING STONES – EXILE ON MAIN STREET
7. CAROLE KING – TAPESTRY
8. BOB DYLAN – HIGHWAY ‘61 REVISITED
9. BEACH BOYS – PET SOUNDS
10. NIRVANA – NEVERMIND
11. PEARL JAM – TEN
12. BEATLES – ABBEY ROAD
13. SANTANA – SUPERNATURAL
14. METALLICA – METALLICA
15. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN TO RUN
16. PRINCE – PURPLE RAIN
17. AC/DC – BACK IN BLACK
18. ROLLING STONES – LET IT BLEED
19. DOORS – DOORS
20. GRATEFUL DEAD – AMERICAN BEAUTY
21. SHANIA TWAIN – COME ON OVER
22. WHO – WHO’S NEXT
23. STEVIE WONDER – SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
24. FLEETWOOD MAC – RUMOURS
25. PINK FLOYD – THE WALL
26. ALANIS MORISSETTE – JAGGED LITTLE PILL
27. NORAH JONES – COME AWAY WITH ME
28. EMINEM – MARSHALL MATHERS LP
29. OUTKAST – SPEAKERBOXX-LOVE BELOW
30. DR. DRE – CHRONIC
31. BEASTIE BOYS – LICENSED TO ILL
32. GUNS ‘N ROSES –APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
33. DIXIE CHICKS – WIDE OPEN SPACES
34. MILES DAVIS – KIND OF BLUE
35. EAGLES – HOTEL CALIFORNIA
36. DEF LEPPARD – HYSTERIA
37. SOUNDTRACK – GREASE
38. MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON
39. BEATLES – WHITE ALBUM
40. SOUNDTRACK – SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
41. JIMI HENDRIX – ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
42. BEATLES – REVOLVER
43. BOSTON – BOSTON
44. BON JOVI – SLIPPERY WHEN WET
45. U2 – ACHTUNG BABY
46. WHITNEY HOUSTON – WHITNEY HOUSTON
47. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN II
48. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND – CRASH
49. ROLLING STONES – STICKY FINGERS
50. GREEN DAY – DOOKIE
51. LED ZEPPELIN – HOUSES OF THE HOLY
52. JONI MITCHELL – BLUE
53. ELVIS PRESLEY – ELVIS AT SUN
54. AEROSMITH – TOYS IN THE ATTIC
55. LAURYN HILL – MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
56. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN IN THE U.S.A.
57. 50 CENT – GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’
58. AC/DC – HIGHWAY TO HELL
59. NOTORIOUS B.I.G. – LIFE AFTER DEATH
60. VAN HALEN – VAN HALEN
61. GREEN DAY – AMERICAN IDIOT
62. BLACK SABBATH – PARANOID
63. EMINEM – EMINEM SHOW
64. JEWEL – PIECES OF YOU
65. COLDPLAY – RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD
66. MEATLOAF – BAT OUT OF HELL
67. USHER – CONFESSIONS
68. KID ROCK – DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE
69. GEORGE HARRISON – ALL THINGS MUST PASS
70. BILLY JOEL – STRANGER
71. EAGLES – HELL FREEZES OVER
72. VAN MORRISON – MOONDANCE
73. REM – AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
74. PHIL COLLINS – NO JACKET REQUIRED
75. METALLICA – MASTER OF PUPPETS
76. FAITH HILL – BREATHE
77. JOHNNY CASH – AT FOLSOM PRISON
78. JOHN COLTRANE – LOVE SUPREME
79. PINK FLOYD – WISH YOU WERE HERE
80. MICHAEL JACKSON – OFF THE WALL
81. MARVIN GAYE – LET’S GET IT ON
82. BOB SEGER – NIGHT MOVES
83. PAUL SIMON – GRACELAND
84. LINKIN PARK – HYBRID THEORY
85. PRINCE – 1999
86. DEF LEPPARD – PYROMANIA
87. JANET JACKSON – CONTROL
88. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK
89. DIRE STRAITS – BROTHERS IN ARMS
90. TUPAC – ALL EYEZ ON ME
91. MATCHBOX TWENTY – YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU
92. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – CALIFORNICATION
93. LED ZEPPELIN – PHYSICAL GRAFFITI
94. NELLY – COUNTRY GRAMMAR
95. CREED – HUMAN CLAY
96. CLASH – LONDON CALLING
97. CELINE DION – FALLING INTO YOU
98. NEIL YOUNG – HARVEST
99. SOUNDTRACK – DIRTY DANCING
100. DIXIE CHICKS – HOME
101. TOM PETTY – FULL MOON FEVER
102. VAN HALEN – 1984
103. SOUNDTRACK – TITANIC
104. CROSBY STILLS & NASH – DÉJÀ VU
105. TLC – CRAZYSEXYCOOL
106. BECK – ODELAY
107. KENNY G – BREATHLESS
108. NWA. – STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
109. SEX PISTOLS – NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS
110. BEATLES – RUBBER SOUL
111. RADIOHEAD – O.K. COMPUTER
112. SIMON & GARFUNKEL – BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER
113. DIXIE CHICKS – FLY
114. METALLICA – AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
115. MICHAEL JACKSON – DANGEROUS
116. MARIAH CAREY – DAYDREAM
117. SOUNDTRACK – TOP GUN
118. ELTON JOHN – GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
119. POLICE – SYNCHRONICITY
120. NO DOUBT – TRAGIC KINGDOM
121. ROLLING STONES – BEGGAR’S BANQUET
122. R KELLY – R
123. TOOL – LATERALUS
124. OASIS – WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY
125. BOB MARLEY – EXODUS
126. JOURNEY – ESCAPE
127. CHRISTINA AGUILERA – CHRISTINA AGUILERA
128. JAY-Z – BLUEPRINT
129. ALICIA KEYS – DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS
130. SOUNDTRACK – O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?
131. CARS – CARS
132. ENYA – DAY WITHOUT RAIN
133. NATALIE COLE – UNFORGETTABLE WITH LOVE NATALIE COLE
134. SOUNDTRACK – FOOTLOOSE
135. LIONEL RICHIE – CAN’T SLOW DOWN
136. SARAH MCLACHLAN – SURFACING
137. BONNIE RAITT – NICK OF TIME
138. METALLICA – RIDE THE LIGHTNING
139. SHERYL CROW – TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB
140. FRANK SINATRA – IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS
141. EARTH WIND FIRE – GRATITUDE
142. ZZ TOP – ELIMINATOR
143. WILLIE NELSON – RED HEADED STRANGER
144. JOHN LENNON – IMAGINE
145. TONI BRAXTON – TONI BRAXTON
146. ETTA JAMES – AT LAST
147. ELVIS PRESLEY – ELVIS PRESLEY
148. CAT STEVENS – TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN
149. SMASHING PUMPKINS – MELLON COLLIE & THE INFINITE SADNESS
150. DAVE BRUBECK – TIME OUT
151. JANET JACKSON – JANET
152. QUEEN – A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
153. OZZY OSBOURNE – BLIZZARD OF OZZ
154. WILL SMITH – BIG WILLIE STYLE
155. PRINCE – SIGN OF THE TIMES
156. PUBLIC ENEMY – IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK
157. BOB DYLAN – BLOOD ON THE TRACKS
158. GEORGE MICHAEL – FAITH
159. BOYZ II MEN – COOLEYHIGHHARMONY
160. DESTINY’S CHILD – WRITING’S ON THE WALL
161. JAY-Z – BLACK ALBUM
162. AVRIL LAVIGNE – LET GO
163. FUGEES – SCORE
164. MADONNA – LIKE A VIRGIN
165. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN
166. STEVIE RAY VAUGHN – TEXAS FLOOD
167. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS – CORE
168. ORIGINAL CAST – PHANTOM OF THE OPERA HIGHLIGHTS
169. JETHRO TULL – AQUALUNG
170. TUPAC – ME AGAINST THE WORLD
171. DAVID BOWIE – RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST
172. SHAKIRA – LAUNDRY SERVICE
173. SOUNDTRACK – FORREST GUMP
174. AL GREEN – CALL ME
175. CURTIS MAYFIELD – SUPERFLY
176. LIVE – THROWING COPPER
177. GEORGE BENSON – BREEZIN’
178. WHITE STRIPES – WHITE BLOOD CELLS
179. LYNYRD SKYNYRD – PRONOUNCED LEH-NERD SKIN-ERD
180. SADE – DIAMOND LIFE
181. FLEETWOOD MAC – FLEETWOOD MAC
182. PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS – BAND ON THE RUN
183. BEYONCE – DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE
184. ANITA BAKER – RAPTURE
185. NAS – IIIMATIC
186. BARBRA STREISAND – A STAR IS BORN
187. EARTH WIND FIRE – THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD
188. ANITA BAKER – RHYTHM OF LOVE
189. JAY-Z – IN MY LIFETIME VOL 1
190. LL COOL J – MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT
191. STEELY DAN – AJA
192. WILLIE NELSON – STARDUST
193. ARETHA FRANKLIN – SPARKLE
194. ANDREA BOCELLI – ANDREA
195. BOB DYLAN – BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
196. LUTHER VANDROSS – NEVER TOO MUCH
197. U2 – ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND
198. RUSH – 2112
199. OUTKAST – AQUEMINI
200. GRAND FUNK RAILROAD – WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND

It's March Madness Baby! 2007 Edition

It's my favorite time of the year, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday, Peeps (during the occasional March Easter), spring training, Shamrock Shakes, and most importantly March Madness. One of my very first ever posts was the rules to follow, a year where I had my best finish ever (check out: It’s March Madness Baby!) I’m a little worried about this year because I’m breaking three of my rules: Rule 2: Never Beat on the Big 10 (I have both Ohio St. and Wisconsin going to the Sweet 16); Rule 3: Duke Always Makes it to the Sweet 16 (I have them out in the second round, granted if I were a man I’d bounce them in the first round); Rule 4: The MAC Is Always Good for a Win (I have Miami losing to Oregon in the first round).

Speaking of the MAC, how sad is it to lose on a last second banked three? I guess that is for the best because seeing Akron in March Madness could be one of the signs of the apocalypse. Seriously, how long has it been Zips? As a whole it wasn’t a good year for mid-majors with only six at large bids, the lowest number in years. So much for the George Mason run from last year helping them out. This is a shame, because the first weekend is much more exciting watching Cinderellas win a couple of games than see the sixth and seventh teams in from the ACC inevitability lose and most likely lose big. Oh well, here are my picks:

St. Louis
Finals: Florida (1) vs. Oregon (3)
Upset Special: Old Dominion (12)

San Jose
Finals: UCLA (2) vs. Southern Illinois (4)
Upset Special: Gonzaga (10)

East Rutherford
Finals: Georgetown (2) vs. Texas (4)
Upset Special: Texas Tech (10)

San Antonio
Ohio St. (1) vs. Memphis (2)
Upset Special: Long Beach St. (12)

Final Four
Florida over UCLA
Memphis over Texas

Finals
Memphis over Florida (75-72)

Aside from March Madness, the month sees the second best sports moment of the year, fantasy baseball draft. If you would like to join one of my leagues (I’m running both an NL Only and Full leagues), shout me a holla, my e-mail’s on my Blogger Profile page or just leave a comment. Drafts are on the next Tuesday and the one after that.

It's March Madness Baby! 2006 Edition

It's my favorite time of the year, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday, Peeps (during the occasional March Easter), spring training, Shamrock Shakes, and most importantly March Madness. I'm actually coming off my best outing ever coming in third in the office pool. So I figured I would pass on my college basketball wisdom on to you. Even though Selection Sunday is still a good two weeks away there are a few rules you can abide by every year without having to see the bracket.

Rule #1 - Duke always makes it to the Sweet 16. Remember last week when everyone said Duke was in trouble? But an ACC title run later, Coach K and crew are back on track. Some people may argue that Duke is an automatic Final Four pick every year, and that would be a good bet most years but Sweet 16 is a guarantee when it comes to Duke.

Rule #2 - Never bet on the Big Ten. It's never a good idea to trust institutions of higher learning that can't count and the Big Ten backs that philosophy up. It's always guaranteed that at the end of the first weekend, when they show the breakdown of how the all the major conferences did, the Big Ten always has the worst record. Then everyone questions why they got so many bids, and then the next year they still get 4-6 more bids to the Big Dance. And that means 3-5 more upset points for us. Yeah, one team may make it to the second weekend, but as a whole avoid the Big 10.

Rule #3 - The MAC is always good for a win. As a product of the Mid-American Conference, I am very aware of this rule. Every year the Mac is overlooked and draws a 10-12 seed then knocks off the 5-7 seed (usually an at large bid from an overrated conference) thus racking up the upset points.
The Gonzaga Corollary - To go a step further on Rule #4, always pick any lower Mid Major seed vs. a 4th or lower from a major conference. Most major conferences do not deserve 4 or more bids and prove with early exits from those teams.

Rule #4 - Home Court Matters. College Basketball is the sport where home court/field advantage is most prominent. Yes, I know there is no home court advantage in March Madness because they play on neutral courts, but when you (or your fans) have to travel less than 50 miles to get to get to the game than you are at a distinct advantage. So when you are filling out your brackets pay close attention where the first weekend games are taken place.

Rule #5 - Ask Your Sister. The most important rule even though it discredits everything I’ve said before. Every year guy spend from 6:00 Sunday until 12:00 Thursday mulling over websites, watching Sportcenter, and taking in all the information from all the blowhards and self proclaimed braketologist. But by the time April rolls around, it’s a chick who took five minutes filling out her bracket who takes home the big prize. So if you want to win this year, just don’t over think everything.

Now onto my picks:

Atlanta
Finals: Duke vs. Texas
Upset Special: NC State

Oakland
Finals: UCLA vs. Kansas
Upset Special: Kent State

Washington DC
Finals: UConn vs. North Carolina
Upset Special: Utah St. (Not that I picked them)

Minneapolis
Finals: Boston College vs. Ohio State
Upset Special: Northern Iowa

Final Four
Duke over UCLA
UConn over Boston College

Duke over UConn 83-76

March Madness (Final) Update

After starting out with a respectful 21-3, the wheels came off my braket Friday night (4-4). Two Sweet 16 go home early including one of my Final Four teams getting upset (thanks Bucknell whoever you are). Ironically the left side (Chicago, Albuquerque) is near perfect, Alabama being the only blemish. So unless UNC and UConn tank it this round, I'm done (go Iowa St. and NC State). Final first round total: 25-7 (four upsets). One final though - go Iowa St. and NC State!

March Madness Update Day 2

Started off the day going 3-1 to bring my total up to 17-3 (3 upsets). Nothing like seeing N.C. state losing by 10 at luchtime, then the next time I check the game they are winning big. Too bad my only los was my upset special, Ohio, lose a close one. Still the MAC was severely overlooked this year. 4 teams with RPI in the top 55 and only one makes the tournament. Only 3 of the top 50 miss the tournament, 2 were from the MAC.

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Another sweep of this set of games. Now 21-3 (3 upsets) overall. Northern Iowa is my lone upset in the next set of games.

(6:30)

March Madness Update

I'm currently 3-1 with all my all my sweet 16 teams still left. The one loss being Alabama, for some reason I thought I had UWM. The is nothing demoralizing than thinking you have an upset, look at your braket and realize you didn't. Luckily they is plenty of green beer to cry in.

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Now I'm at 6-2. Bob Huggins vs. the Big Ten is what hurt me this time. I knew who ever I would pick, I was going to lose. Speaking of losers, here's a quick update of the baseball hearing. McGuire can't speak on anything, oh, and by the way, he' retired. Sosa suddenly can't speak English. Cansaco apparently has a book out. And Congressmen (and women) like to hear themselves talk.

(6:32 PM)

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I was perfect through the last group of games to improve to 10-2 (one upset - granted it was Nevada). The next group is a big one for me with my upset special, UAB.

(9:40 PM)
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Another set of perfect set of games pushing me to 14-2 (two upsets) for day one. With lackluster games to start the toury, they are due for some classics today.

(6:43 AM)

It's March Madness Baby!

It's my favorite time of the year, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday, Peeps (during the occasional March Easter), spring training, Shamrock Shakes, and most importantly March Madness. I'm actually coming off my best outing ever coming in third in the office pool. So I figured I would pass on my college basketball wisdom on to you. Even though Selection Sunday is still a good two weeks away there are a few rules you can abide by every year without having to see the bracket.

Rule #1 - Never bet on Bob Huggins. Cincinnati never seems to get pass the first weekend and I think it is safe to assume Mr. Drunk Driving is the reason why. And since they are usually an 8 seed or higher, Cincinnati is always good for upset points.

Rule #2 - Never bet on the Big Ten. It's never a good idea to trust institutions of higher learning that can't count and the Big Ten backs that philosophy up. It's always guaranteed that at the end of the first weekend, when they show the breakdown of how the all the major conferences did, the Big Ten always has the worst record. Then everyone questions why they got so many bids, and then the next year they still get 4-6 more bids to the Big Dance. And that means 3-5 more upset points for us.

Rule #3 - Duke always makes it to the Sweet 16. Coach K is the anti-Huggins. One guy never sees the second weekend while the other has his hotel booked for his second site. Some people may argue that Duke is an automatic Final Four pick every year, and that would be a good bet most years but Sweet 16 is a guarantee when it comes to Duke.

Rule # 4 - The MAC is always good for a win. As a product of the Mid-American Conference, I am very aware of this rule. Every year the Mac is overlooked and draws a 10-12 seed then knocks off the 5-7 seed (usually an at large bid from an overrated conference) thus racking up the upset points.
The Gonzaga Corollary - To go a step further on Rule #4, always pick any lower Mid Major seed vs. a 4th or lower from a major conference. Most major conferences do not deserve 4 or more bids and prove with early exits from those teams.

Rule #5 - Home Court Matters. College Basketball is the sport where home court/field advantage is most prominent. Yes, I know there is no home court advantage in March Madness because they play on neutral courts, but when you (or your fans) have to travel less than 50 miles to get to get to the game than you are at a distinct advantage. So when you are filling out your brackets pay close attention where the first weekend games are taken place.

Check back later for more rules to be added. Maybe.