Standings after Elite 8

Potential Champ as seen on "Random Shot Monday"

I believe that's some sort of chocolate.


Well the Final Four has been set. I can’t say the same for this year’s ABC Invitational; there are only two people left standing. I’ll get into that a little bit later on. Earlier today, the number one overall seed in the tournament, Louisville, soiled themselves against Michigan State. For those of you who had Ville winning the title, you should have known better. Winning the conference tournament before the Big Dance is almost an automatic kiss of death. That’s not to say that a conference winning team can’t make the Final Four, but winning two tournaments in 4 weeks is a very tall order. There is so much that has to go right for a team to accomplish that feat. There are 3 conferences being represented in this year’s Final Four.

Big Ten – Michigan State
Big Ten Tournament Champ – Purdue

ACC – North Carolina
ACC Tournament Champ – Duke

Big East – Connecticut, Villanova
Big East Tournament Champ – Louisville

I don’t believe that we’ve discussed the payout amounts at this point. This year we have a total of 28 entries. The payout is going to work as follows:

1st Place - $220.00
2nd Place - $50.00
3rd Place - $10.00

Since the Atallian’s wont be taking home any money this year, I’ll get in contact with the winners at the completion of the tournament to figure out how you want to co-ordinate the exchange.

Here are the standings following the completion of the Elite 8:

Nico T 114
Jenna Lawall 101
Boy Pierce 100
Big Mike 99
Mike Smith 98
Jake Hoffman 98
EEB 94
Fritz Ablao 89
Phil Imbesi 89
Chris Woody 88
Shaun Askin 87
Uncle Kermit 87
Chris Fusco 86
Tony K 86
Sports Illustrated 85
Adam Tatz 84
Tom Moffa 83
Little Kermit 83
President Obama 82
Mike Lambros 82
Dosh Whye 81
Mike Y 81
Pat Shields 80
Matt Atallian 80
Brandon Gravett 79
Drew Smith 78
Michelle Folkerts 68
CRO 64
The Dennis 61
Justin Romano 51

Nico again finds himself a top the leader board. He virtually has this year’s invitational locked up. Here are the remaining 8 scenarios in the National Title Game and the resulting winners. You’ll see what I mean when I say Nico is almost unbeatable.

UConn beats UNC
1st - Nico
2nd - Mike Smith
3rd - Pat Shields

UConn beats Villanova
1st - Pat Shields
2nd - Nico
3rd - Mike Smith

Michigan State beats UNC
1st - Nico
2nd - Boy Pierce
3rd - Mike Smith/Jake Hoffman (tiebreaker)

Michigan State beats Villanova
1st - Nico
2nd - Jenna
3rd - Boy Pierce

Villanova beats UConn
1st - Nico
2nd - Mike Smith
3rd - Jenna/Tony K (tiebreaker)

Villanova beats Michigan State
1st - Nico
2nd - Jenna
3rd - Boy Pierce

UNC beats UConn
1st - Nico
2nd - Mike Smith
3rd - Boy Pierce

UNC beats Michigan State
1st - Nico
2nd - Boy Pierce
3rd - Mike Smith/Jake Hoffman (tiebreaker)

So basically, if UConn doesn’t beat Villanova in the Final, Nico wins. I hate this. Last years tournament had 4 people left at this juncture. The fact that nobody had the Final Four correct this year combined with 20 of 28 people have Pitt or UNC winning means that there is limited movement in the standings. The following people have been eliminated as of today.

Mike Lambros – eliminated by All Big East Final 4 – Finally, one of Dennis’ boys goes down. Your South bracket was going so well until you decided Gonzaga was gong to beat UNC and Syracuse was going to beat OU. Questionable calls. I saw a stat that Gonzaga had the 5th most wins without a Final Four appearance. #1? Dosh’s Boston College. Thanks for your entry and keep Dennis in check.

Tony K – eliminated by Pitt – You needed your bracket to go perfect from the Elite 8 on to have a shot at winning this bad boy. Unfortunately, Scottie Reynolds sealed your fate with a game winning lay-up with .5 seconds to go. I have to admit I was partially rooting for Pitt in this game. It always hurts to see your champ go down. Better luck next year Tony Head-of-Cabbage.

Chris Fusco – eliminated by EEB until Louisville lost – Oh yes. This was needed. Every year, you and Jenna have the same picks except for maybe 1 or 2. I think you copy off her. You know she doesn’t know what she’s doing and you roll with it because those people almost always win. I’m also glad you had Louisville winning. No Giants/Yankees fan should be allowed to win this tournament. I will say this; we need a Jews vs. Gents reunion as soon as possible. Please co-ordinate and get back to me. I hate Cutter.

Fritz Ableeblee – eliminated by Nico – Chalk up another loss for Fritz. I want to commend you for your efforts and for charging a pizza to Shaun’s room in Philly last weekend. Maybe one of the funniest things I’ve seen this year. He completely deserved that for bailing on the bar. Let me know when Timothy’s has the mechanical bull again. I’m trying to see Cro get thrown off.

EEB – eliminated by Goran Suton – This probably is the next best thing to Cro not winning. Have EEB as champion would be absolutely insufferable. Especially if Louisville would have won. You were all over T-Will’s junk that you came close to ruining him for me. I know you’re glad you beat Cro, but I am glad you didn’t win the title. I couldn’t take an entire off season of listening to EEB run his mouth. You know what they say when teams professional teams are eliminated from playoffs? Time to work on the golf game. Preferably outside. Golf clubs and chandeliers aren’t friends.

Jake Hoffman – eliminated by Nico – the last of the Hoffman’s has been eliminated! For a second there, I really thought we had another family conspiracy on our hands until I saw Little Kermit had Duke winning. You can take pride in knowing that you beat Chris, your Dad, and your brother. Family bragging rights are important. I have to listen to my brother all year, and I’m not too please about it. Thanks for entering. Hope to see you back next year.

Big Mike – eliminated by Scottie Reynolds – You also needed your bracket to go perfect from the Elite 8 forward to win. Unfortunately, Pitt losing eliminated you. To make matters worse, you were the only person in the field with Michigan State in the Final Four. Mad props for picking that one correctly. Also congrats on beating me and Dennis this year. The family belt belongs to you this year. Don’t worry; I’ll be back next year to claim what’s mine. I’m already removing Dennis from contention. See you downstairs Clown.

Jenna Lawall – eliminated by Pittsburgh – Once again the time has come to rip Jenna on the blog. Being afraid to pick any upsets this year has cost you. While you can still come in second in a few scenarios, you can’t take home the big prize. Your bracket had a grand total of 9 lower seeds winning in 63 games. Your biggest upset was 10 beating a 7 in the first round. Your final four consisted of all 1 seeds. While you may be high in the rankings, you don’t deserve to win if you let the NCAA committee pick your bracket. It wouldn’t be fair to have the ABC Champ win with such chalk picks. Maybe pick an upset or two next year.

This concludes the Elite 8. It’s almost a wrap that Nico will win, but I am making it clear that I am rooting for Shields to pull off the upset. I want this Final Four to be interesting, so go UConn and go Nova.

See you all next weekend.

Matt

Standings after Sweet 16

Hello ABC Contestants. It has been a while since we last spoke. Much has transpired over the past 2 days, making this the most successful Anyone But Cro Invitational in history. Never before has Cro fallen so hard and so fast. I want to apologize for the lack of posts recently. After my 5 day bender which took me up and down New Castle County, my immune system decided it was going to shut down and leave me bed ridden until Thursday. Not really, but I have felt awful all week. And breathing pretty much isn’t an option at this point.

I was attending a Bloc Party concert on Saturday night with follow ABCers Shaun and Fritz, and Cro Himself, when I could feel my body beginning to shut down. I think the boat race in which I came in dead last pretty much sealed my fate. I thought I chugged that adult beverage pretty quickly, but when I had finished everyone was staring at me. Joke’s on me I guess. Anyways, we enjoyed a very good show, and headed to McFadden’s for some post concert drinks. Shaun took a sip of one beer and decided he would rather have a threesome with two cheesesteaks in his hotel room then stick out the remainder of the night. He gracefully left the posse. Only Cro, Fritz and I remained. Fritz decided shots of Grand Marnier were the appropriate way to start the…. “post-gaming” I guess it would be called. I knew it was a terrible idea. I had been drinking since Thursday morning. I was tired. I missed my bed. So of course I took the shot after some arm twisting. As I was trying not to regurgitate all over the bar, some girl approached me and told me her friend thought I was cute. Don’t know how that possible at that juncture since I was soaked in sweat and looked like I was about to get sick. We got to talking, did some dancing, and exchanged phone numbers. Were these girls grade A? Not even close. By that point, I was willing to swallow my pride and just have some fun. I would rather do a little dancing with some girls then stand around in a circle of guys and talk about the same thing we’d been talking about for 3 days at the point. Even if the girls are the hottest in the bar. I stand by the decision. Question it all you want. Fritz played the role of wing man. One of the best I’ve ever had. I congratulate you on your efforts sir. Meanwhile, Cro watching from a distance, as he clearly disapproved of the girls that had selected us as their dancing partners. When we got back to the hotel room, an intoxicated Cro attempted to have a serious conversation with me. The following dialogue ensued:

Cro: “Unk, I want to tell you something, and I don’t want you to take it personally.”

Me: “OK, Cro. Sure what is it? Anything for you Cro.”

Cro: “Next time you go out, how bout you show a little discretion?”

Me: “Interesting you should say that Cro”

Cro: “zzzzz” (Passed out face down on the bed. Shoes still on. No Sharpie in sight. Helplessness overwhelms me, and I go to sleep also).

As you all know, Cro has Memphis winning the tournament this year. He claims he had his champ picked out for about a month at this point. And I’m sure you all know that Memphis lost. So with that, Cro is officially eliminated. We have ONCE AGAIN prevailed in making sure that Cro is not victorious. We have gone a perfect 6 for 6, and can carry on the tradition for another year.

On another note, we have some new leaders in this year’s tournament. Check out the standings below. I will comment on the eliminated people after the standings. If you’re name is mentioned, you cannot finish in 1st place. This does not mean you can’t place.

Here are the standings after the Sweet 16:

Nico T 84
Jenna Lawall 81
Big Mike 79
Fritz Ablao 79
Jake Hoffman 78
Chris Woody 78
Shaun Askin 77
Uncle Kermit 77
Tony K 76
Chris Fusco 76
Adam Tatz 74
EEB 74
Tom Moffa 73
Little Kermit 73
Mike Lambros 72
President Obama 72
Mike Y 71
Matt Atallian 70
Pat Shields 70
Boy Pierce 70
Phil Imbesi 69
Brandon Gravett 69
Mike Smith 68
Sports Illustrated 65
Dosh Whye 61
The Dennis 61
Michelle Folkerts 58
Drew Smith 58
CRO 54
Justin Romano 51

I cannot believe the top 3 standings. How is Nico in sole possession of first place? I knew he’s reading this right now screaming “YESS!!!” and doing a little happy dance in his bedroom. I’m willing to bet my right arm that his laptop is running on AC power and is currently sitting at the foot of his bed. He is laying in his bed with no shirt on and green pajama pants. He is also wrapped up in some sort of University of Delaware blanket of comforter. I’m also willing to bet that he’s wearing UD slippers because his feet are cold. Just a shot in the dark. I could be wrong.

I’m also dismayed at Jenna having sole possession of 2nd place. I’ve talked so many smacks on her in prior years that she only picks favorites to win now. Can’t really knock her though. It’s paid off the last couple years. She used to be the laughing stock of the ABC. Looks like Cro has assumed that role this year.

While it’s embarrassing to be losing to both of those people, I can’t say I’m upset about it. Both of those ABCers have been in this for many years, and both could use some financial rewards. Good luck this weekend.

OK, here are the people that are officially eliminated and cannot place in first. I’m going to start from the bottom of the standings and work my way up.

Justin Romano – eliminated by putting Washington in the Finals – This is more like it! Last year’s Romano bracket wasn’t the same. Way too good. Thanks for delivering the goods again this year. I know your only goal is to defeat my brother, but it looks like he has another notch in his belt. Also, I know you’re mourning the Kansas loss tonight. Just know that I have shed a few tears myself.

CRO – eliminated by “Cro’s Boys and the Big 10” – Cro I still don’t understand your bracket or your NCAA advice given this year. You tell me to pick with your brain, not with your heart. You claim that Tennessee was a heart pick last year and that’s why you lost. Well filling out your bracket and saying this year is all about “Cro’s Boys” leads me to believe you picked with your heart again. When are you going to learn? You also had hatred for Big 10 basketball this year, yet had 2 of them going to the Elite 8. Neither of them were Michigan State. Not sure what you were thinking, but it back fired. Have fun listening to EEB tell you he kicked your ass until next March.

Drew Smith – eliminated by Nico – you still owe me $10, so you don’t get to be commented on.

Michelle Folkerts – eliminated by Nico – Another bottom tier showing! I think you pick UNC every year too. Can’t argue with consistency, but something’s gotta change. Your bracket is like the New York Yankees. You think it’s going to win every year, but you underachieve and come up with some lame excuse about why you lost. Side Note: Keep going to NYG/Eagles games. The Birds always win when you go. Thanks.

The Dennis – eliminated by stabbing KU in the back – One of only 2 hand written brackets this year and boy did it expose you. After what KU did for you and this family last year, you had the nerve to pencil in KU in the Elite 8 and then cross them out. Not for somebody that could actually beat them like Michigan State, but for Boston College. How could you?! That’s the thanks KU gets?! I’m still in disbelief. Type your bracket next year to avoid this mess.

Dosh Whye – eliminated by Jenna – I think you’re on to something with sweetening Bud Heavy with Splenda. A low calorie sweetener means you gotta cut corners somewhere. BC was also your down fall. In the Final 4? You had a death wish filling the bracket out this year. I suppose you have B.J. Raji going #1 in next month’s NFL draft too right? Good luck with that, Fool.

Mike Smith – eliminated by Nico – I know this has got to be sweet for Nico. For some reason, all he wants to do every year is make sure he beats you in the ABC. I don’t know if you looked at him funny or what, but you better apologize. You still have your Final 4 in tact which is respectable, but BC and WVU sealed your fate last week. Thanks for entering.

Brandon Gravett – eliminated by Nico – It was hilarious to see you decked out in Ohio State gear last weekend for the Siena game. I had no idea Kate’s was so pro Siena, or else I would have been there more often. Definitely the toughest loss in the 1st round, and you handled it well. Literally everyone in the bar was cheering against you. And thanks funny to me. Thanks for turning me on to the Purple Haze; however the hangover it produced immediately turned me off. Nice work on topping Cro too.

Phil Imbesi – eliminated by EEB – Still have yet to meet you. Sorry I didn’t get back to your e-mail request this week. Illness left me not wanting to mess with a computer after using one for 9 hours a day at work. I love that your bracket was big on the Pac 10 this year. I told Cro that I was pulling for the Imbesi bracket. He told me that I “didn’t want that.” He said “Phil is a huge nerd. He’s like 6’4””. That’s some messed up smack talk Cro. You’re a short nerd. Get off Phil’s back.

Boy Pierce – eliminated by Nico – I thought the Boy Pierce entry had it this year. Even changing the Cro caption to Asskicker BJ. It was a lock. I don’t know if the Boy Pierce approach is working with the brackets though. Do you ever grow into Pre-Pubescent Pierce then on to Beer Belly Pierce? Or do you just stay Boy Pierce? I wonder what his picks would be like. Certainly Beer Belly Pierce would make it out of the Sweet 16. I think this is worth looking into.

Matt Atallian – eliminated by Wake Forest – I hate you for not following your own advice. This day will not be forgotten. The championship belt has begrudgingly put up for grabs thanks to your idiotic picks this year.

Mike Y – eliminated by Gerald Henderson – I am very pumped to see Mike Y removed from contention. While it hurts to see you beating me in the standings, knowing you had Duke winning the title makes that temporary. Thanks for entering though; it was fun drawing on your entry and listening to you yell at the TV when Duke was getting wiped all over the floor. We’ll meet up again on the fantasy field this fall.

Little Kermit – eliminated by Jon Scheyer – Thanks for entering this year. I hope you don’t take the loss too hard. You had a real nice run at the beginning, but having Duke winning is always a mistake. I hope you come back next year. Also be sure to make fun of Chris for me. I think you’re more mature then he is.

Tom Moffa – eliminated by Fritz – Another frustrating year for Tom Tight Real Tight. Nothing wrong with your bracket this year, you just can’t get past Fritz. Probably can’t get by his stupid huge Mohawk. Glad you entered though. The T-Moff entry has become a staple in this tournament. You are a Cro Hater to the highest degree.

Adam Tatz – eliminated by Jenna – Again refusing to fill out an official ABC bracket has cost you. I think once you make the switch, you’ll begin to unlock your potential. Having an all Big East Final 4 was admirable, but highly unlikely. Hope things are going well at the Martinique. A visit is needed as soon as possible.

Uncle Kermit – eliminated by himself – I know you’re new at this, but there’s a golden rule in the ABC. Cro doesn’t win. And if you have the same national champ as Cro, which means you don’t win either. I know you had no way of knowing, but as soon as I saw that you had Memphis I knew you were toast. Also, I think you look like ex-Phillies pitcher John Lieber, and I think that’s awesome. Thanks for entering this year. I hope the Hoffman’s make an appearance next year.

Shaun Askin – eliminated by Jenna – I don’t know what happened here man. Bracket is in excellent shape. You just can’t pass Jenna because she has the same picks as you from here on out. This means only one thing. If you had Nova beating Pitt in the Elite 8, you’d still be alive. Tough pill to swallow. Sorry boss.

Chris Woody – eliminated by Fritz – This also makes my day to see the King eliminated. If I can’t beat you in fantasy football, this is the next best thing. I know I didn’t beat you in this either, but you can’t win and that’s all that matters.

This concludes a lengthy Sweet 16 post. I would like to congratulate everyone who kept their names off the list for the time being. You still have some meaningful basketball left. There will be another post at the completion of the Elite 8. We’ll have a real good idea of the contenders on Sunday. Good luck to everyone that remains.

Matt

Cro Found Weeping After Round 2

The ABC has found itself in uncharted waters this evening. After the completion of Round 2, Cro has been reduced to playing the role of bottom feeder. He certainly isn’t out of contention, but it is refreshing to see him tied with his arch-enemy EEB. Cro was seen laughing at EEB’s expense after a tough round 1, stating that EEB is always at the bottom of the table. Doesn’t look like Cro has much to say at this juncture.

After 2 days of tournament watching in Newark, the ABC crew packed up their bags and headed north to the city of brotherly love. We were on our way to the Sheraton hotel in Center City when we realized that there were games still being played in Philly, and there could be a possibility of seeing some teams at the hotel. We joked that it would be awesome if UCLA was there due to the fact that they have some of the most attractive cheerleaders/dance team in the NCAA. Sure enough, when we entered the hotel, there was UCLA stuff all over the lobby. They were actually staying at the hotel! As we stood inline to check in, the players were all standing by the elevators to return to their rooms. Alfred Aboya is huge! I tried to get an exclusive interview with some of the players and coaches for the blog, but they said the lack of a press pass prevented them from talking to me. It would have been some NCAA violation that would result in a heavy fine. I don’t know where you get one of these things, but I am getting really irritated that I don’t have one.

There was a shocking upset in Round 1 which saw Wake Forest completely man-handled by Cleveland State. They were down by 20 early, and never really came close to winning the ball game. Their point guard and “leader” Jeff Teague only took 7 shots from the floor. The kind of performance you want from a player in big time situations. I’ve been saying all year that Wake are nothing but a bunch of frauds. They went 7-6 in their last 13 games leading up to the tournament. For whatever reason, I refused to heed my own advice when filling out my bracket. I had Wake losing in the national championship game to Pitt. It makes no sense to me that I would put my bracket in such jeopardy. Now my bracket is pretty much irrelevant after one weekend. I hate myself for that pick. The only consolation could be found on the Cro bracket, as he also had Wake reaching the Final Four.

I would also like to praise the Justin Romano bracket for almost pulling off the pick of the decade. Romano had Siena penciled in to knock off Louisville in the second round. Siena had the lead late in the 2nd half, but Louisville proved to just be too much for the Saints. While most people would ridicule the pick, I think it takes tremendous guts to pencil in an upset of a #1 seed on the first weekend. Congrats to your sir.

Here are the standings after the first weekend.

Jake Hoffman 53
Mike Lambros 52
Uncle Kermit 52
Shaun Askin 52
Tony K 51
Jenna Lawall 51
Chris Fusco 51
Matt Atallian 50
Phil Imbesi 49
Adam Tatz 49
Nico T 49
Big Mike 49
Brandon Gravett 49
Fritz Ablao 49
Tom Moffa 48
Little Kermit 48
Chris Woody 48
President Obama 47
Justin Romano 46
Dosh Whye 46
Mike Y 46
Pat Shields 45
Sports Illustrated 45
Boy Pierce 45
CRO 44
EEB 44
Michelle Folkerts 43
The Dennis 41
Mike Smith 38
Drew Smith 38

Based on these standings, it looks like we have another family conspiracy on our hands. As you might recall, last year’s tournament saw the Atallian household run a clean sweep taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Now, the Hoffman’s are closing in a repeat of history. Son Jake and Uncle Kermit are 2 of the top 3, and Little Kermit is not far behind. Of course, Chris Fusco is in the middle of all of this. He is related to the Hoffman’s and convinced them to enter this year. I’m not sure what to make of this. Last year it was amazing to be apart of such an experience, but now that I’m on the outside looking in, I can’t help but to feel cheated.

Games will resume on Thursday night, with the headliner being the Villanova vs. Duke match up. Check the blog for updates after the Sweet 16.

Good luck and keep Cro down.

Matt

Anyone But Cro Invitational Reaches New Heights

First off, I would like to congratulate each of you for being apart of this record breaking experience. Last year, the ABC entered a new realm with 26 people having their shot at the one we refer to as Cro. This year, we’ve peaked at 28 official entries. While President Obama may have submitted his bracket, it is considered unofficial as his entry fee was waived. If Obama were to take the prize, he has personally assured all of us a visit to the White House. All of us except Cro that is. As a sports fan, Obama knows what it means to defeat someone like Cro.

I am writing this blog on the road for the first weekend of the NCAAs. And by road I mean the Super 8 in Newark, DE. It marks the first time the ABC has taken the journalistic approach away from home. Our team of statisticians and writers were supposed to embark on a journey to Miami for some games and South Beach, but unfortunately our request for a press pass was denied. Apparently you have to be associated to an actual news service to get one of those. The ABC will be recognized by the national media soon enough, of this I’m sure.

Today brought a few intriguing story lines to the presses. The first round of games saw Memphis struggle to take care of business against the Matadors of CS – Northridge. That was definitely not the performance I would be looking for if I were Cro or Uncle Kermit. Of the 28 entries, Cro and Uncle Kermit are the only 2 entries with Memphis winning it all. It also brought a Villanova comeback against the American Eagles (no lie, it’s their actual name). Nova was down 10 at the break, but took over in the 2nd half to win by 13. UCLA also hung on to knock off Colonial Athletic Association winner VCU by 1. I personally hate rooting against CAA teams as they provided us with the Final Four run by George Mason. University of Delaware is also a member of the CAA. Maybe one day UD will actually find 5 guys that can ball together. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I miss the days of Mike Brey.

I know it’s early to be calling people out, but I have a beef with a particular entrant this year. He is a first timer, and may have over-stepped his boundaries without realizing. For those of you who are unaware, I attend trivia at Matilda’s almost religiously every Thursday. One of my trivia teammates is Mike Y. The following question was posed:

“Matches were formed after the discovery that rubbing these two elements together will ignite a flame”.

Naturally, I said sulfur and oxygen. Most people know that a flame needs oxygen to continue burning. I learned this from Bear Grylls on Discovery’s Man vs. Wild. TV doesn’t lie. And he kills stuff with his bare hands. Made perfect sense to me at the time. Anyway, Mike disagreed in such a manner that embarrassed me. He began to wag his finger claiming that a match wouldn’t catch fire if he started flapping it in the air. Was he right? Of course he was. However, Mike has Duke winning the title. I can see a match igniting in thin air more than I can see Duke winning the championship. And the Earth’s atmosphere is 78% Nitrogen. So suck it Mike Y. By the way, the answer was Phosphorous and Sulfur.

Also, I would like to commend Jenna and Dosh for sharing the lead with Cro. Both Jenna and Dosh had a perfect bracket through 8 games, but Illinois and Clemson did them in respectively. Cro tried talking smack, but I’ve written it off as drunken ramblings as he is currently snoring. It took him all of two seconds to fall asleep after hitting the sheets an hour ago. Poor kid can’t hold his booze.

I do not have paper copies of all the brackets at this point, but there was only a couple notable nidges after Thursday. The following people lost Sweet 16 teams:

Brandon Gravett – Clemson
EEB and Boy Pierce – Miss State
Sports Illustrated – VCU and Clemson
The Dennis – Illinois, but did save Clemson. He had them beating OU, but crossed them out.
Nico – Illinois

Again, thanks to everyone for participating. I’m going to hit the sheets as I have a long day of NCAAs ahead of me tomorrow. Keep checking the blog for updates. Here are the standings through Thursday March 19th:

Dosh Whye 15
Jenna Lawall 15
CRO 15
Adam Tatz 14
Big Mike 14
Chris Fusco 14
Mike Lambros 14
Uncle Kermit 14
Matt Atallian 14
Michelle Folkerts 13
Nico T 13
Phil Imbesi 13
Shaun Askin 13
The Dennis 13
Tony K 13
Boy Pierce 13
Chris Woody 13
Justin Romano 13
Tom Moffa 13
Brandon Gravett 13
Jake Hoffman 13
Little Kermit 12
Mike Smith 12
Mike Y 12
Pat Shields 12
Sports Illustrated 12
EEB 12
Fritz Ablao 12
President Obama 11
Drew Smith 10

Catch you tomorrow,
Matt.

Get your red pens ready!

Play along with Matt and cross out Cro's teams one by one.

Scoring

1st Round - 1 Point
2nd Round - 2 Points
Sweet 16 - 5 points
Elite 8 - 10 points
Final 4 - 15 points
Champion - 25 points

Procedures

OK guys, time to run through some procedural things to make sure we're all on the same page. To submit your bracket, click on the "Official 2009 ABC Bracket" link on the right hand side of this page. A pop-up window will appear and ask you if you want to Open or Save the file. You can either view it and then save to your computer, or save directly. Either way, save the file to your machine, fill out your picks, and e-mail it to matt.atallian@gmail.com.

To complete your entry, you need to fork over the cash! In order to do this, click on the PayPal button. The entry fee of $10 is pre-filled. Just sign into your PayPal accout and you'll be on your way.

I'll post all the entries I receive on the site. I'll also send you a confirmation e-mail when I recieve your bracket.

Please make sure your bracket is submitted by 12 NOON ON THURSDAY MARCH 19TH.

NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Good luck to everyone except Cro.

Cro Rumor

Hey did you guys hear about Cro? Somebody told me he goes down to Home Depot and pays the migrant workers to go to his house and choke him in the shower.