First Round Bracket Decimation and The Short Story Continues...

Last year, my dog Spot Moskowitz finished in the Top 10 in Ken Cooper's PSU Track Alumni Bracket Madness Pool.

But following his demise, the chore of my picks fell on his namesake, Spott Moskowitz.  I didn't know his political leanings or he was just getting back at me for having him neutered on Monday, as his picks are eerily similar to our beloved President.  He still managed to make it to the top of the Bell Curve, smack dab in the middle of the rest of the rabble.  Not bad for not having thumbs.

From Ken Cooper:

 March Madness never disappoints.  Thrilling first round.  Full results follow and are in the attached.

• There are a record 98 people in the pool this year!
• No one had the seeds to pick Lehigh over Duke.  Party time in Bethlehem. 
• No one had the cajones to pick Norfolk State over Mizzou.
• It was amazing how many nailed the entire East correctly.  So, R.B., you aint that smart.
• 33 people picked VCU over the Shockers of Wichita State
• 16 people picked play-in South Florida over Temple
• 8 people picked Ohio over Michigan
• Jay Bilas is the early leader going 26/32.  Andy Roth, Harry Smith, Tyler McCandless and Mike Buenting (huge Iowa fan) closely followed with 25/32 in the first round. 
• The average number right of 21.10 is the lowest in pool history.  This equals Upset central.
• If you did not request an email of your picks - you can see you picks in the "Players Pick" tab
• Look for the celebrity results of Obama, LeBron James, Dick Vitale, Uhaff Noballs and Jay Bilas throughout the Tourney.

Champ breakdown:

Kentucky 46
UNC  17
Mich St  9
Mizzou  7
Kansas 6
Syracuse  4

Florida St  3
Ohio St  2
Wisc  1
Duke  1
G-Town  1
Baylor  1

Current		Total
Place	Name	Points
1	Bilas, Jay	26
2	Roth, Andy	25
3	Smith, Harry	25
4	McCandless, Tyler	25
5	Buenting, Mike	25
6	Verhoeven, Nick	24
7	Licari, Danielle	24
8	Brownie	24
9	Wimmer, Mark	24
10	Obama, Barack	24
11	Radzwich, Maddi	23
12	Caldwell, R.B.	23
13	Rupe, Gavin	23
14	Adkins, Jeff	23
15	Dubya, G	23
16	Kletter, Ekaterina	23
17	Smith, Harry SYR	23
18	Moore, Ron	23
19	Novak, Jay	23
20	Hansen, Steve LTM	23
21	Clelland, Jim	23
22	CRASH	23
23	Sports Illustrated	23
24	McCarthy, Dennis	22
25	Pruitt, Christopher	22
26	Rupe, Mark	22
27	Cooper, Kathleen	22
28	Carney, James	22
29	Caldwell, Kevin	22
30	Dickey, Brandt	22
31	Smith, Holden	22
32	Hall, Ricardo	22
33	Bisko, Tommy III	22
34	Bisko, Matthew	22
35	O'Reilly Aidan	22
36	Lincoln, Matt	22
37	Boyer, Brian SYR	22
38	Berseth, Kyle	22
39	Miller, Kristin 1	22
40	Ancharski, Frank	22
41	Cannon, Marshall  2	22
42	Morse, Karen	22
43	Noballs, Uhaff	22
44	Moskowitz, Spott	21
45	McCann, Ian	21
46	Dickey, Alex	21
47	Cooper, Kevin	21
48	Strandberg, David	21
49	Hansen, Steve PSU	21
50	Cole, Jason	21
51	Weaver, JudyLynn	21
52	Whittaker, Whit	21
53	Sabel, Douglas	21
54	Kletter, Todd	21
55	Cooper, Kyle	21
56	Jones, Darryl	21
57	Garrison, Chris LTF	21
58	Wood, Kyle	21
59	Cooper, Ken	21
60	Vitale, Dick	21
61	Venne, Lisa 2	20
62	Mangan, Larry	20
63	Walter, Doug	20
64	Munro, Scott	20
65	Radzwich, Bob	20
66	Caldwell, Ryan	20
67	Mangan, Larry 2	20
68	Oliver, Steve	20
69	Will, Sean	20
70	SNAKE	20
71	Gifford, Bob	20
72	Angelo, Peter	20
73	Heitzmann, Colin	20
74	Hardyk, Drew	20
75	Hamer, Bob	20
76	Hamer, Allison	20
77	O'Brien, Kevin Kelly	20
78	Cannon, Marshall	20
79	Wintersteen, Kyle	19
80	Bettis, Lena	19
81	Bodine, James	19
82	Caldwell, Sean	19
83	Bisko, Tom	19
84	Bettis, Lena 2	19
85	Oliver, Owen	19
86	Hutz	19
87	Jackson,Jayson	19
88	Tate, Andy	19
89	Morse, Mike	19
90	Clinton, Joe	18
91	Oppenheimer, Hank	18
92	Garrison, Chris PSU	18
93	Riter, Tony	18
94	Murphy, Patrick	18
95	James, LeBron	18
96	Fat Ass	17
97	Venne, Lisa	17
98	Anderson, Mark	15

And don't forget to keep up with the Penn State Track Alumni Short Story by adding a sentence to the comments below.  The story so far...

It was a dark and stormy night.  He had his entry form for the 11th Annual Coach Harry Groves Golf Tournament filled out and ready to send.  As he sat, intently honing his pitching wedge to a fine edge, his email alert sounded.   When he realized his hands had begun to tremble violently, then bizarrely in step to a favorite song from back in the day.  Somewhere nearby, a dog barked, a door slammed.  Undaunted by the slamming door, he focused on his choice between a medium shirt and an extra-medium.  Extra medium isn't going to work, he thought, I might need a large.  Checking off the space between "extra medium" and "large", he turned his thoughts to who else might be coming to the greatest golf tournament he has ever entered?  As the anxiety of the shirt selection abated, his next chore was to sort through the inventory in his golf bag - where could he get newer range balls in time for the big event?  Ignoring the elements, he decided to break out his pitching wedge and chip a few balls in the back yard.