A Little Break

After yesterday’s long post, I get a little break today with only one automatic bid to write about. However, to fill the space I am posting my first guest entry, which I am very excited about.

Big Sky

Automatic Bid: Montana
Projected Seed: 13 or 14
Probability of Being a Cinderella: Unlikely

The Grizzlies are a very curious case. They have size, but sometimes struggle to dominate in the rebounding department. They have a star player in guard Anthony Johnson, but sometimes rely on him for too much (he is the only player on the team that averages double-digits in scoring), which can diminish his effectiveness. If Montana can put all the pieces of the puzzle together in one game (that is, own the boards, not make Anthony Johnson a do-it-all man, and shoot the three ball well), then they have a chance to catch someone by surprise. However, that is a lot to ask.

This next piece is the guest entry that I mentioned early. It was written by my buddy Neil, who has a passion for rugby. He actually asked me to play on our school team this year, but I decided to politely decline (if you saw me you’d be able to figure out why). Regardless, since I have very little knowledge of the sport, he has agreed to fill you in on another prestigious tournament taking place in March.

Sports fans all over are getting geeked about the tournament, but in Europe they aren’t concerned in the least with March Madness. We’re closing in on the final two weekends of the Six Nations Tournament, the annual rugby tournament that has been contested across the pond since 1883. With bitter rivalries that sound like they belong in the pages of a history book rather than on ESPN, the matches are getting fierce and fiery. Ireland’s last second try on England’s home pitch was an exciting one, and the English-Irish rivalry continues in the standings with the two sides tied for second place. The standings are as shown (with one victory being worth two points):

France: 6 points
England: 4 points
Ireland: 4 points
Italy: 2 points
Wales: 2 points
Scotland: 0 points

The next two weekends will decide the winner, and along with bragging rights – to the victor goes the spoils. We’ve got the Lombardi and that cool MLB trophy, but the Champions Trophy may be even cooler. Compared to the tournament, the actual trophy hasn’t been around long, but it has an interesting past. It was originally made out of $82,000 worth of sterling silver, but after less than five years in use the inside of the cup had to be plated in pure gold due to corrosion. Why was it corroding? Because of the amount of champagne poured into it annually. In fact,
the giant cup was designed to hold 3.75 liters, or exactly 5 bottles of champagne. Don’t expect to see any corks popping after Kansas wins the NCAA, but if you tune into BBC America (TV Schedule) the next two Saturdays, you stand a great chance of seeing some exciting rugby
and some hard Irish partying.

So, there you go. Unfortunately, Neil does not currently have his own blog, so I can’t re-direct you to some page to view more of his work. However, if you like it, you can leave a comment in the comment section for him. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Also, my thanks goes out to Neil, as he is a supporter and follower of this blog.

– K. Becks