Every year when I fill out my brackets and begin the speculation; I fail to remeber several key factors which dictate winners and loser in the tourney.
First: Depth is highly overated and may actually hurt some teams. Teams seem to get tight in the tourney, especially in the sweet sixteen and elite eight. When a bad game against a equally talented team can send you packing, coaches seem to shift from a 9-10 man rotation back to a 7 man rotation or even a 6 man rotation with some teams. We saw it with the cards. They have been playing 10 or so all year, but against Carolina they stuck to 6 or 7. I think this in turn can tire out the 6 or 7 guys who are used to get big breathers. Think about it and watch for it because it happens to several teams each year. Even when Kentucky won the NCAA in 96 and 98 they cut their rotation by a few players in the really big games.
Second: A good point guard and a good big man together can beat anybody at any point. Curry and Lovedale from Davidson and the point guard center duo from San Diego is another great example. We are saw how 3 great players surrounded by role players can carry a team in the tourney.
Third: Hansborough, Douglas- Roberts, Love, Rush- You need an All American to win the big dance. Three of these four are first team and Rush could have been a second or third team guy with a full season.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Robert Trent Jones in March
We recently went to Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama for a short 3 day golf trip. Let me say this that we went 10 years ago in June and it was awesome. This time the courses were still awesome but don't go in March. It is not quite far enough south to head go in March.
The fairways were patchy but green. The greens were aerified. The collars were brown and the course were soaking wet- not to metion that we stomached the same storms that blew the top of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Anther issue was the fact that no one had played any golf this year, or since October for that matter. If your doing a golf trip in March- think Gulf Shores, think Orlando, think Jacksonville, think Texas, think Phoenix.
I had a nice eratic 4 round of golf.
88 in a downpouring of rain and a lightning delay
78 at a tough course with 3 three putts.
102 the same day as the 78. I haven't shot over 90 in a few years but definately not over 100. We were having a bit of fun that day. Balls were flying into water hazards and the 3 wood and hybrid took a back seat to the driver many times when it shouldn't have.
The last day was the toughest course and I had a respectable 85 with a whole lot of scrambling. The course was 6700 yards from the middles and it was soaking wet and almost all uphill.
Oh well more golf in the future.
The fairways were patchy but green. The greens were aerified. The collars were brown and the course were soaking wet- not to metion that we stomached the same storms that blew the top of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Anther issue was the fact that no one had played any golf this year, or since October for that matter. If your doing a golf trip in March- think Gulf Shores, think Orlando, think Jacksonville, think Texas, think Phoenix.
I had a nice eratic 4 round of golf.
88 in a downpouring of rain and a lightning delay
78 at a tough course with 3 three putts.
102 the same day as the 78. I haven't shot over 90 in a few years but definately not over 100. We were having a bit of fun that day. Balls were flying into water hazards and the 3 wood and hybrid took a back seat to the driver many times when it shouldn't have.
The last day was the toughest course and I had a respectable 85 with a whole lot of scrambling. The course was 6700 yards from the middles and it was soaking wet and almost all uphill.
Oh well more golf in the future.
The Power of Prayer versus the doubt of a believer?
Three weeks ago we found out that our third child was breeched 5 weeks before my wife's due date. This same situation had occurred with our first child. They determined that their diagnosis was wrong. She really wasn't breeched after the ultrsound proved otherwise. The same situation was happening with our soon to be born daughter. This time two doctors from the same practice examined my wife and said the baby was definately breeched. Again we were asked to have an ultrasound to make certain. Breeched for those who don't know, is when the baby has it's butt or feet down instead of its head- which is the normal position for delivery.
We prayed for a few weeks that Mayson would turn in Ashley's womb to avoid a c-section but each week the doctors said she was still breeched. Our first two children have been natural births (with stuff for pain). I remember late one night, I laid my hands on Ashley's belly and prayed a prayer for Mayson to move and turn. I have a pretty weak faith at times and can be quite double minded (James 1:8), but shortly after this prayer I heard Ashley who was sound asleep, start to groan of an uncomfortable nature. I thought to myself; no it couldn't be the baby moving. I shared the story with Ashley, but our weak faith said, no our God who created the heavens and the earth couldn't make this baby he knit together turn in my wife's womb. What a weak faith we have! A couple days later at the ultrasound the doctors were amazed that Mayson had turned and was head down ready to come into the world.
Either the doctors office likes to make an extra $300 bucks on an uneeded ultrasound (ha!ha!) or we serve an awesome and mighty God. It reminds me of a song on my itunes that starts with the singer saying to the crowd and the Lord "Lord come and do a mighty work amongst us tonight."
We prayed for a few weeks that Mayson would turn in Ashley's womb to avoid a c-section but each week the doctors said she was still breeched. Our first two children have been natural births (with stuff for pain). I remember late one night, I laid my hands on Ashley's belly and prayed a prayer for Mayson to move and turn. I have a pretty weak faith at times and can be quite double minded (James 1:8), but shortly after this prayer I heard Ashley who was sound asleep, start to groan of an uncomfortable nature. I thought to myself; no it couldn't be the baby moving. I shared the story with Ashley, but our weak faith said, no our God who created the heavens and the earth couldn't make this baby he knit together turn in my wife's womb. What a weak faith we have! A couple days later at the ultrasound the doctors were amazed that Mayson had turned and was head down ready to come into the world.
Either the doctors office likes to make an extra $300 bucks on an uneeded ultrasound (ha!ha!) or we serve an awesome and mighty God. It reminds me of a song on my itunes that starts with the singer saying to the crowd and the Lord "Lord come and do a mighty work amongst us tonight."
Do you supplement?
Well do you.
I sure hope so.
I hope you're using a good liquid nutritional supplement to get all the minerals, vitamins, enzymes and essential fatty acids you don't get from our food supply.
If you're still in the four food groups camp, I hope you realize that the ship has left that dock at least 80 years ago.
US government documents and reports from world organizations will tell you that you our soils have been depleted of minerals over the years, and that most farmers don't put them back through fertilizers.
Dogs get 40 minerals in the average bag of dog food.
Rats get 28 minerals to sustain them.
Guess how many are in most baby formulas -usually 11-12.
Why do farmers fertilize the food they give to animals more that that which they grow for themselves?
I believe we have a problem. People are developing degenerative diseases at younger and younger ages. More woman than ever are taking pills for Osteoporosis but more woman than ever are getting Osteoporosis.
It's common sense to me. If you don't put minerals and vitamins into our food supply, then we will not get them into our system and we cripple our body and keep it from rebuilding itself. Let's give God some credit for designing our miraculous bodies. Let's give our bodies some good raw materials. It's hard to fix joint degeneration with Advil, Tylenol and cortisone. I'm not a doctor and nothing I'm discussing will treat or cure any diseases, but I do try a utilize my common sense. Mark Twain said "The thing about common sense is it's not too common these days."
I think everyone would agree that we don't have health care- we have sick care.
If you'd like a copy of Dr Joel Wallach's BS, DVM, ND "Dead Doctors Don't Lie" lecture series then bryce@simplifiedsolutionsllc.com and I'll mail you a copy.
I sure hope so.
I hope you're using a good liquid nutritional supplement to get all the minerals, vitamins, enzymes and essential fatty acids you don't get from our food supply.
If you're still in the four food groups camp, I hope you realize that the ship has left that dock at least 80 years ago.
US government documents and reports from world organizations will tell you that you our soils have been depleted of minerals over the years, and that most farmers don't put them back through fertilizers.
Dogs get 40 minerals in the average bag of dog food.
Rats get 28 minerals to sustain them.
Guess how many are in most baby formulas -usually 11-12.
Why do farmers fertilize the food they give to animals more that that which they grow for themselves?
I believe we have a problem. People are developing degenerative diseases at younger and younger ages. More woman than ever are taking pills for Osteoporosis but more woman than ever are getting Osteoporosis.
It's common sense to me. If you don't put minerals and vitamins into our food supply, then we will not get them into our system and we cripple our body and keep it from rebuilding itself. Let's give God some credit for designing our miraculous bodies. Let's give our bodies some good raw materials. It's hard to fix joint degeneration with Advil, Tylenol and cortisone. I'm not a doctor and nothing I'm discussing will treat or cure any diseases, but I do try a utilize my common sense. Mark Twain said "The thing about common sense is it's not too common these days."
I think everyone would agree that we don't have health care- we have sick care.
If you'd like a copy of Dr Joel Wallach's BS, DVM, ND "Dead Doctors Don't Lie" lecture series then bryce@simplifiedsolutionsllc.com and I'll mail you a copy.
My favorite thing to watch these days....
I have always loved mystery shows and books. It's what intrigued me as a child. I think the only two books I read in my first 8 years of school were two mystery novels. I would love to remember the names as I type, but they escape me. Now that I'm back from my short nostalgic pause, we'll discuss how my pechant for mystery has reemerged this past year.
When I was younger I loved to watch the Sunday night program Murder She Wrote. It seemed that I always watched it at my grandparents home, before my mom would pick me up. Angela Lansbury's deductive skills excited me. I liked the twists and turns in the plot, the suspense of the who done its. I am always looking for a challenge in life. Whether in be sports competition, board games, trivia or solving mysteries; I am and have always been attracted to the works of the great mystery writers.
I first learned of Agatha Christie in High School shortly after reading some works from Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle and his hero sleuth Sherlock Holmes. I believe the novel that jumps out is The Hound of Baskervilles. A few years back when our first child was born, I took advantage of Netflix service and ordered a number of Agatha Christie films. At the time I knew of her book and the accompanying movie- Death on the Orient Express. I had read the book and watched the movie with Peter Ustinov playing the esteemed role of Hercule Poirot. The famous Belgian detective in many of Christie's great books. At the time I rented the movies from Netflix (and a couple from Blockbuster) , I wasn't interested in any version of Poirot except the one played by Ustinov. I knew that the books had been remade with various actors through the years but I was not interested in trying them out. I watched Evil Under the Sun, and Death on the Nile and thoroughly enjoyed them both. One day shortly after Madison's birth, I was burping her after a feeding and I popped in one of my netflix videos. Much to my chagrin, the Poirot in this movie was David Suchet and not Peter Ustinov. I watched a couple minutes to give it a chance and then I quickly popped it out and put something else in. This particular Hercule Poirot was not funny, fat or stammering around. He was very proper, full of order, unemotional and all business.
Well 3 years later, I can no longer watch Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, it must be David Suchet. I have purchased (about the only thing I've bought the last few years beside golf clubs) almost every movie, the entire A&E series and anything else I can find that captured Agatha Christie's great books via David Suchet's portrayel of Poirot. He is truly a pro. I've read that Suchet studied Christie's works for years to develop the particular mannerisms of the perfectionist sleuth Hercule Poirot. Suchet brings out the focus on order, method, and symetry that symbolized the famous Hercule Poirot. From his precise combination of French and English in his speech, to the way he organizes his flat and his processes. He must have his tea at 9:30 and 11:00. He must always be punctual. He thrives on the routine and schedule. This character is a man after my own heart. My wife Ashley laughs at me each time we sit and watch an episode. Its fun to see many of my own strengths and weaknesses in a character like Poirot. He grows very angry when things do not go as planned, or when he fails to achieve his goal. He stubbornly progresses by his order and routine and his keen abilities manifest from this approach.
If you like the art deco period in London right before World War II you'll love these movies and the A&E series that followed. I keep hoping that they'll make more. Once you've watched a mystery you have to give it a good while before you can rewatch it. Over time you'll forget the plot, the suspects and the guilty party. I love the formality of sitting down for coffee or tea. The afternoon and evening post. The use of trains and boats and the small shops and cottage industries. Sometimes I think I was born a few generations too late- that would question God's sovereignty though, so I would say he just has a great sense of humor sometimes.
When I was younger I loved to watch the Sunday night program Murder She Wrote. It seemed that I always watched it at my grandparents home, before my mom would pick me up. Angela Lansbury's deductive skills excited me. I liked the twists and turns in the plot, the suspense of the who done its. I am always looking for a challenge in life. Whether in be sports competition, board games, trivia or solving mysteries; I am and have always been attracted to the works of the great mystery writers.
I first learned of Agatha Christie in High School shortly after reading some works from Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle and his hero sleuth Sherlock Holmes. I believe the novel that jumps out is The Hound of Baskervilles. A few years back when our first child was born, I took advantage of Netflix service and ordered a number of Agatha Christie films. At the time I knew of her book and the accompanying movie- Death on the Orient Express. I had read the book and watched the movie with Peter Ustinov playing the esteemed role of Hercule Poirot. The famous Belgian detective in many of Christie's great books. At the time I rented the movies from Netflix (and a couple from Blockbuster) , I wasn't interested in any version of Poirot except the one played by Ustinov. I knew that the books had been remade with various actors through the years but I was not interested in trying them out. I watched Evil Under the Sun, and Death on the Nile and thoroughly enjoyed them both. One day shortly after Madison's birth, I was burping her after a feeding and I popped in one of my netflix videos. Much to my chagrin, the Poirot in this movie was David Suchet and not Peter Ustinov. I watched a couple minutes to give it a chance and then I quickly popped it out and put something else in. This particular Hercule Poirot was not funny, fat or stammering around. He was very proper, full of order, unemotional and all business.
Well 3 years later, I can no longer watch Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, it must be David Suchet. I have purchased (about the only thing I've bought the last few years beside golf clubs) almost every movie, the entire A&E series and anything else I can find that captured Agatha Christie's great books via David Suchet's portrayel of Poirot. He is truly a pro. I've read that Suchet studied Christie's works for years to develop the particular mannerisms of the perfectionist sleuth Hercule Poirot. Suchet brings out the focus on order, method, and symetry that symbolized the famous Hercule Poirot. From his precise combination of French and English in his speech, to the way he organizes his flat and his processes. He must have his tea at 9:30 and 11:00. He must always be punctual. He thrives on the routine and schedule. This character is a man after my own heart. My wife Ashley laughs at me each time we sit and watch an episode. Its fun to see many of my own strengths and weaknesses in a character like Poirot. He grows very angry when things do not go as planned, or when he fails to achieve his goal. He stubbornly progresses by his order and routine and his keen abilities manifest from this approach.
If you like the art deco period in London right before World War II you'll love these movies and the A&E series that followed. I keep hoping that they'll make more. Once you've watched a mystery you have to give it a good while before you can rewatch it. Over time you'll forget the plot, the suspects and the guilty party. I love the formality of sitting down for coffee or tea. The afternoon and evening post. The use of trains and boats and the small shops and cottage industries. Sometimes I think I was born a few generations too late- that would question God's sovereignty though, so I would say he just has a great sense of humor sometimes.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
My NCAA FINAL FOUR and upset specials
You'll have to trust me on this one since its after the fact. You could always ask my neighbor who has my two brackets. He can vouch for me.
Bracket 1 Tennessee, Georgetown, Memphis, UCLA
Tennesse vs Memphis rematch with a Memphis win.
Bracket 2 Is the same until the sweet sixteen. Final Four is Louisville, Georgetown, Pittsburg, UCLA with a Georgetown vs UCLA final and a UCLA victory.
My upset specials:
I had Villanova versus Siena in both brackets. I actually have the midwest perfect in my first bracket.
Of course I went with the emotions and the Kentucky let me down.
Bracket 1 Tennessee, Georgetown, Memphis, UCLA
Tennesse vs Memphis rematch with a Memphis win.
Bracket 2 Is the same until the sweet sixteen. Final Four is Louisville, Georgetown, Pittsburg, UCLA with a Georgetown vs UCLA final and a UCLA victory.
My upset specials:
I had Villanova versus Siena in both brackets. I actually have the midwest perfect in my first bracket.
Of course I went with the emotions and the Kentucky let me down.
Who will be John McCains VP?
Two words:
Mike Huckabee.
I think the evangelicals have such a bad taste in their mouth for John McCain and they were not exactly favorable for Mitt Romney. Without the southern and midwestern evangelicals, kiss the GOP's chances goodbye. Huckabee carried Iowa and Kansas and did very well in Oklahoma and Missouri. Huckabee has a strong following in Texas and he carried Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and West Viriginia. He has big support in Kentucky and had a great showing in South Carolina.
Mitt Romney could add a more fiscal conservative and a strong business leader to the McCain ticket, but he can only shore up the mountain states and that's about it. He wasn't a player anywhere in the south and doesn't strike a cord with the Christian right.
Ron Paul would be a very cool running mate aside from the little issue of the war.
The governor of Florida has a very good shot at the VEEP. He helped bring McCain Florida and he a young and very well liked.
I've heard the governor of Minnesota is a play because of his swing state and his popularity.
Barber, the governor of Mississippi may have a little too much risk for a VEEP selection.
I think McCains stern character would not even consider Condi or Colin. I'm not sure how conservative either is and how much they add to a war hawk.
Doug Wead has conjectured Kay Bailey Hutchinson will be the VEEP. I'm not going to argue with a guy who served as a white house senior staffer and has been involved in several political campaigns.
Mike Huckabee.
I think the evangelicals have such a bad taste in their mouth for John McCain and they were not exactly favorable for Mitt Romney. Without the southern and midwestern evangelicals, kiss the GOP's chances goodbye. Huckabee carried Iowa and Kansas and did very well in Oklahoma and Missouri. Huckabee has a strong following in Texas and he carried Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and West Viriginia. He has big support in Kentucky and had a great showing in South Carolina.
Mitt Romney could add a more fiscal conservative and a strong business leader to the McCain ticket, but he can only shore up the mountain states and that's about it. He wasn't a player anywhere in the south and doesn't strike a cord with the Christian right.
Ron Paul would be a very cool running mate aside from the little issue of the war.
The governor of Florida has a very good shot at the VEEP. He helped bring McCain Florida and he a young and very well liked.
I've heard the governor of Minnesota is a play because of his swing state and his popularity.
Barber, the governor of Mississippi may have a little too much risk for a VEEP selection.
I think McCains stern character would not even consider Condi or Colin. I'm not sure how conservative either is and how much they add to a war hawk.
Doug Wead has conjectured Kay Bailey Hutchinson will be the VEEP. I'm not going to argue with a guy who served as a white house senior staffer and has been involved in several political campaigns.
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