March Madness

Don't you love/hate this time of year?

I'm in three NCAA pools, and in one I was virtually locked out by Thursday night, thanks in large part to Alabama.

In the second, I was also hosed after Thursday night, thanks to a whole lot of bad picks.

In the third, I was hanging in the middle of the pack after Thursday, and by Friday night I was the leader (results are updated online). I had a smooth 14 out of 16 on Friday, and I even picked Bucknell over Kansas in the first round, which gave me some extra points. I was perfect in the Albuquerque Region, and I was nearly so in the Syracuse Region, missing only one game in the first round.

By Sunday morning, I was tied for the lead, and had the most potential points remaining. All I needed was for UConn to win (my pick for national champion), and to pick up a couple of lesser games, and I would be in good shape. Among Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, and Southern Illinois, I figured if I got three of three, I'd be a virtual lock to win the pool, and even if I got only two, I'd have a pretty good chance.

Sunday. The Wisconsin and North Carolina games were the only ones I won all day, and I think everyone had NC. So I moved way down the list, and I have no chance of winning the third pool.

An entire weekend of roundball overdose, and all I have to show for it are three pool sheets that have more X's on them than a cross-stitched quilt.

I'm looking forward to baseball season, when my beloved Tribe takes the field on their way to the World Series.

Heigh-Ho! Heigh-Ho! Part 2: E-Mail Hell

It was back to work, part time, on Monday.

It took me three days to get through my e-mail inbox. During my absence, I received mail from 348 people. I saved many of the e-mails, but trashed 1685 messages. That should tell you something about the quality of the e-mails I received.