21:37:27

I bet there was a night when Larry Bird didn't come out for warm-ups. It was pre-social media, so nobody knew what was up.  An uneasy anticipation permeating the Garden.....is Larry sick? Injured?  I spent this month's rent and he's not even fucking playing!?!?

I bet the opposing players felt it.  Curious at first, but not getting their hopes up.  Then, 8 minutes left to tip-ff...6 minutes...2.  He's not here! He's not playing!  We've got a shot!!!!

Then the roar.....as #33 jogged to the court.

He probably casually drained a single warm-up shot, an imperceptible nod to KC signalling "i'm ready."  The moment sapping the opposing team's will, with Bird's toughest task choosing whether to emasculate Isaiah or to play left handed, for the hell of it, and drop 47.

Well folks, something similar happened tonight.  And it happened here. 

Entries were rolling in. Sure, a lot of them. But you felt good. And why wouldn't you?  After all, there was no sign of him.

Still, the tournament doesn't start until the day after tomorrow.  So you didn't get your hopes up.   But...still...you let it creep into your head....."he's not here.  I've got a shot!"

The time-stamp says 21:37:27. Did you feel a wrinkle in the force? I bet you did.  Because that's when Stan submitted his entry.

Stan who?

How about Stan Williams?  Winner of the inaugural Shamrock, the Bird in this Garden.  Now you know how those hapless Pistons felt.

He's here folks.  And, like Bird's old running mate Bill Walton, our chances just went up in smoke.

Wow!

Entries are rolling in!

Two father/son combos.

Aunts and uncles.  (and not mine!)

Coaches, programmers, PA announcers, restaurant owners, jewelers, salesmen, coders, vintners, and whatever people who work with injection molding are called.

Basketball players from (at least) Essex, South Burlington, Burlington, Rice, and Colchester.

Point guards & power forwards.  A bunch of shooters, not many makers.

So far, 65 of the 68 teams have been chosen at least once.  The exceptions: a 1 seed, a 3 seed, and a 4 seed.

Get in!

SHAMROCK16

Welcome to Shamrock16

As a Red Sox fan, I'm leery.  Stan Williams won Shamrock14.  Gino Riffle took Shamrock15.

CVU soccer & basketball.

Rice hockey.

Must be a Yankee fan will win this year.

An entry form is on the "rules" page. It makes things very easy, for you and for me.  If you don't understand the rules, or if you've decided to sneak your way to the title by picking Kansas, UNC, and Virginia, well, please take a look at Stan's winning sheet from 2014.  It shows how to pick 1 team from each seed line.

Good luck!

Riffle Skates to Shamrock15 Title

A hockey guy clobbered us.  Three weeks ago, the idea that a hockey guy would capture the most coveted title in basketball seemed as preposterous as the idea that a team called the Omaha Mavericks would make college hockey's Frozen Four.  Turns out, it's not so preposterous.

Congrats to Gino Riffle, winner of The Shamrock15!

In case you haven't heard, Duke won the national championship.  I assume this pleased Yankee fans, Canadien fans, and people who rooted for England in the Revolutionary War.

Thank you all for playing.  I received $470 in entry fees.  Those in the money:

1st:  Gino Riffle
2nd:  Eric Johnson
3rd:  Julie Trono
4th:  Evan Chadwick
5th:  Derek Trono
6th: Jamie Rubin
7th: Tim Perrin
8th: Tom Lewis

Leader after first weekend:  Gino Riffle

Lucky 17th place:  Pat Camp

St. Paddy's Prize: (best score by seeds 3,1,7)  Matt Villemaire.   Matt had Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Michigan State.  So did Gino.  The first St. Paddy's tiebreaker is "not otherwise in the money."

If you're in the money, send me your address or let me know where I can meet you to pay you.

WOW!

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Wisconsin trailed at the half and gave up 45 in the second.  And they won by 10.

Why?  Dekker's Dagger!  Oh, and Frank Kaminsky was okay too.

Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame should be an unreal Final Four game.

Wait, what?  Notre Dame lost?  But, Auguste & Vasturia made every big play.  A 6'5 kid had 9 rebounds.  Stringer Bell's son answered yet another Andrew Harrison tournament bomb with one of his own.  They didn't win?

No, they didn't.  Because Kentucky had Karl-Anthony Towns.

Wow, what a fantastic day of games.

And it leaves us with a national semi-final featuring Ashley Judd v. Olivia Munn.

By the way, how did the tourney champs from the SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Pac 12 end up on the same side of the bracket?

Sleepy 8

Let's see, today we have 1 vs. 3 and 1 vs. 2.  Tomorrow, another 1 vs. 2 and Pitino vs. Izzo in what, really, is a 1 v. 2 in that bracket.  I can barely see my computer screen through the chalk dust.

What happened to the NCAA tournament?

You know, the one with buzzer beaters & Cinderella stories?

The closest thing we had to a buzzer beater was, what?  The air-ball goal-tending at the end of the UCLA-SMU game?  As for Cinderella, was it also UCLA?  Because they took down perennial powerhouses SMU and UAB?  The most exciting end of game play so far might have been last night's multi-million dollar foul shot.  If anyone besides Navin was still watching, I'd be surprised.

Shamrock15 ain't much better.  Did Riffle pick 22 teams?  Not only are Stan's scoring records under assault, but the rest of us are Craig Hodges to Larry Bird.  Move Riffle up a division!!!

Here's to hoping that the relative snooze fest we've seen so far gives way to an electric weekend. I'm not asking for a game to be the greatest of all-time.  But damn!  After what we've seen so far, I sure wouldn't complain.

Oh wait, yes I would.  Give me boring over a Duke win any day of the week.

ps:  Speaking of the '92 Duke-Kentucky Elite 8 game, I had no idea Richie Farmer ended up a felon!

317

The Sweet 16 brings us two huge nights in Shamrock15!

Plenty of you are still alive in the quest for the St Paddy - the prize that goes to the person whose 1,3, & 7 seeds combine for the most points.

The Shamrock's most popular 3 seed: Notre Dame.

The Shamrock's 2nd most popular 7 seed: Wichita State.

One of tonight's match-ups:  Notre Dame v. Wichita State

Meanwhile, there are still a few of us left who chose Oklahoma as a #3.   And who does Oklahoma face this weekend?  Michigan State, the most popular #7 in this year's Shamrock.

So, that's right, the Sweet 16 features not one, but two, 3 v 7 showdowns that will go a long way towards deciding the winner of this year's St. Paddy.