MeFinal Four Pick 'Em March 17, 2014 9:44 AM   Subscribe

I've started a Metafilter Final Four bracket. Please join in, if you're into that kind of thing.

Here's a link. The password is 'hamburger.'

If you don't know anything about college basketball, don't worry--neither do I.
posted by box to MetaFilter-Related at 9:44 AM (146 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

We had great fun trash-talking last year, and most of us who participated were not very knowledgeable about college ball, rendering the trash-talking infinitely more fun because we were all pretty terrible at both the picking and the trash-talking! I think we all had our brackets busted by the second round so after that it was just increasingly silly fake-insults.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:56 AM on March 17, 2014 [2 favorites]


I love brackets of every variety! I also don't give a damn about college basketball so my selections are always based on things like "I hear that city has a really nice historical district" or "what a hilarious mascot" or "I visited the campus but didn't apply because they seemed dull. I bet they will lose." so obviously I am super great at this whole thing.

My husband and our roommate and I almost always create brackets for March Madness with some sort of stakes like "If I win then it's objectively true that John Adams is the best founding father" (I won and he is) or "This will be the ultimate determiner of which turnstile one should use in the Regenstein library".

Basically yes everyone should join every bracket ever because they are fun times a million.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 10:09 AM on March 17, 2014 [5 favorites]


"This will be the ultimate determiner of which turnstile one should use in the Regenstein library".

Well, don't just hang that out there. Which turnstile?
posted by Etrigan at 10:14 AM on March 17, 2014


Far left as you walk in.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 10:16 AM on March 17, 2014


Thank you for taking up this torch. . .
posted by Danf at 11:01 AM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm in, and my team is a legit contender this year! For once my bracket makes sense! Bear down!
posted by carsonb at 11:03 AM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I don't know what this is about, but I don't think we should ask MeFi to close our parentheses for us (I never would, anyway
posted by the quidnunc kid at 11:06 AM on March 17, 2014


Just to be clear...you guys are talking about the u of c library...in a march madness thread?

The Aristocrats!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:08 AM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


Is it bad that I'm too lazy to make a new yahoo id since I know my bracket will be in Shambles by Friday night?
posted by cashman at 11:59 AM on March 17, 2014


as a west los angeles native, i pick ucla every year and i've been right eleven years in my lifetime.
posted by bruce at 12:52 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I love brackets of every variety!

Here you go!
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:32 PM on March 17, 2014


Right, but what percentage of us just picked whatever Nate Silver told us to (even though he said it was probably wrong this year).
posted by maryr at 2:06 PM on March 17, 2014 [3 favorites]


There are always upsets, and if you can pick one or two of those, you do well. . .
posted by Danf at 2:24 PM on March 17, 2014


I'm going straight chalk and winning a billion dollars THEN I SHALL BUY THIS INTERNET
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:37 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY THEN
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:37 PM on March 17, 2014


That's my secret. I'm always sorry.
posted by maryr at 2:54 PM on March 17, 2014 [2 favorites]


(Sorry.)
posted by maryr at 2:55 PM on March 17, 2014


I'm in. No doubt I will do abysmally, as usual.
posted by gaspode at 3:02 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I will pick according to teams I like. If I don't have a preference, I will pick by seeding, unless it's a 3-14 matchup, in which case I'll go for the upset. This has never worked, and never will. All glory will be mine!

Serioiusly though, Western Michigan is in the tournament this year. Never sleep on the MAC, they usually win at least one game.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:15 PM on March 17, 2014 [2 favorites]


This might take a while. Yahoo so thoroughly doesn't work on iPad. Every time I try to sign up, it bounces me back to the yahoo sign in page. I've actually tried to go directly through yahoo to join the group, which took unreasonable amounts of searching, and just when I thought I'd gotten there, once again, they ask me to sign in, which will just bounce me to their front page. You'd think a giant company built entirely on online use would have some sort of concept of user-friendliness, but then again, Yahoo.

sadly, they tend to have the best, most open fantasy sports. Curses, I guess I'll have to get my lappy going.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:27 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


This is my first year doing this and I have three different brackets going. This should be amusing.
posted by youcancallmeal at 4:32 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


Yahoo so thoroughly doesn't work on iPad.

Look for a dedicated app. I hate their website generally, but their iOS apps are usually much better for fantasy-type stuff at least.
posted by Etrigan at 4:34 PM on March 17, 2014


I've never done this before, in any form, anywhere. So you can't see other people's brackets?
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 4:51 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


So, wait, is there any way around giving Yahoo my phone number now? I'm trying to log in through my computer, but they won't let me past giving them a phone number so they can send me text messages. Is there any way around that?
posted by Ghidorah at 4:59 PM on March 17, 2014


It seems there isn't, which means I'm SOL, as even if I did want to receive automated ads via text, they're only set up for numbers from the U.S., which doesn't include me. Oh well, I would have ruled all.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:07 PM on March 17, 2014


It seems there isn't, which means I'm SOL

Yeah, this just really pissed me off, because they wouldn't accept my Google Voice number, either and I had to give them my actual mobile number. *grumble*

I do like some of the changes they've made to Flickr, so there's that. But I still use the My Yahoo! page as my browser homepage, and it basically sucks and I only use it because of inertia. I haven't seen them do anything that didn't suck in a very long time.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:12 PM on March 17, 2014


I've really only been using Yahoo for my throw away email and fantasy sports (this, and the football pick'em game) so it's not like it's a great loss for me, but it definitely is reason enough for me to avoid them for anything else.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:14 PM on March 17, 2014


I'm in and playing my billion dollar bracket in the mefi pool as well. It will probably end up like last year when I think I had the exact opposite of the perfect bracket.
posted by ndfine at 5:50 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm down with the program!
posted by Renoroc at 6:38 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


So, the reason why they're asking for a phone number is to validate the entry for the Billion Dollar Prize that Warren Buffet is offering. You can turn it off almost immediately. I had the same reaction, because they don't explain it well.
posted by klangklangston at 6:46 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm in, and my team is a legit contender this year! For once my bracket makes sense! Bear down!

Me too!

I guess that makes us sworn enemies!
posted by vincele at 8:19 PM on March 17, 2014


With the completion of my bracket, my inevitable failure is assured.
posted by ursus_comiter at 8:21 PM on March 17, 2014


None of you will out-fail me!
posted by ursus_comiter at 8:21 PM on March 17, 2014 [2 favorites]


With the completion of my bracket, my inevitable failure is assured.

With the inevitable crapout of my team, I will be right there with you. Strength in numbers, and all that.
posted by vincele at 8:22 PM on March 17, 2014


With me in, it will be super easy for somebody else to win! Go team!
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 8:43 PM on March 17, 2014


Is there a way to do this without providing my phone #? I found the bracket page and I clicked on the Private Pool but it's asking for an ID and Password and Metafilter / hamburger ain't working for me.

Or are ya'll afraid of my direct from God bracket?

Go Lobos.
posted by jabo at 11:49 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


Fear my ultimate homer bracket: 3 B1G teams in the final four. (Would be 4, but sorry Ohio, you lose in the first round to Dayton.)
posted by klarck at 5:28 AM on March 18, 2014 [1 favorite]


Done! I also like to pick my bracket with an eye to 1) schools I have attended, 2) schools my loved ones have attended, 3) schools from my state.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:43 AM on March 18, 2014


I had a really good breakfast during my one brief visit to Arizona. I have, therefore, concluded that Arizona will defeat Florida in the final.
posted by Area Man at 6:10 AM on March 18, 2014 [3 favorites]


Is there a way to do this without providing my phone #?

Here is a guide from a Yahoo bracket neophyte and dyed in the wool Yahoo hater.

Tldr is just give them want they want and turn it off after you give it to them.

On giving them your phone number... do it, then text "STOP." You will get a confirmation that you've opted out of further texts.

If you want to be extra sure you're not going to get marketing texts go to the settings and opt out of those. To find the settings, I had to go to google it. You will end up on a help page with a link that opens a help ticket. Tell them to stop sending you texts.

They will send you another text right away to confirm they'll stop.

Now unsubscribe from all the marketing crap. If you don't see this in the settings right away, just google "Yahoo marketing preferences settings disable" or something like that. This is different from bracket texts.

If you accidentally create a cover, you're stuck with it. Keep it unhidden for now. At least for me, the cover profile demanded a phone number when I first opened an account.

But after I created my bracket I was able to remove the phone number. I then was able to give them an alternative non-Yahoo email.

I couldn't do that before a certain point. Maybe it was due to my profile being hidden. Or maybe it was a browser issue... I have no idea. But now my phone number is off the site.

I found the bracket page and I clicked on the Private Pool but it's asking for an ID and Password and Metafilter / hamburger ain't working for me.

On getting into the Mefi group... the link in the post got me there after I opened my new yahoo account.

I think that's how I got enrolled. Navigating there through the Yahoo pages using the password/group name didn't seem to work. But somehow auto welcome emails ended up in my inbox.

I used those emails to navigate to my bracket and create a bookmark. Otherwise I couldn't find it.

Now you can probably hide your cover. I haven't hidden mine because now it contains nothing private and I am afraid of the consequences.

If you sign up for the billion dollar challenge you have to give them your phone number. But then you can opt out of texts and promo materials.

That is a separate googleable endeavor that is much easier than what I described above, because you now know exactly how much Yahoo sucks.
posted by vincele at 6:29 AM on March 18, 2014 [2 favorites]


We recently hired a new person at work who's all into "employee engagement" and has assigned me to the office Fun Committee. (Big mistake. Huge.) She made me start a bracket for the office. I don't do basketball. But I have a bracket.

I spent 45 minutes of my morning yesterday googling and looking at pictures, and I have completed my bracket with my own personal ranking of the relative cuteness of the team mascots.

I have joined the mefi pool. You guys are going down.

In related news, I have learned that this is one of the most horrifying things you can see before your first cup of coffee.
posted by phunniemee at 7:17 AM on March 18, 2014 [2 favorites]


If any of you are interested, I perhaps should add that my bracket name is "Jen's Stupid Bracket" and my picture is of grumpy cat playing basketball. Since it's technically for work I'm not gonna append phunniemee to it.
posted by phunniemee at 7:18 AM on March 18, 2014


You get to see other people's brackets once the deadline has passed. You are not allowed to see them now because everyone would just steal my picks.

This is an exciting year as one of my teams is a #1 (Arizona!) and the other likely missed a #1 by losing on Sunday (Michigan).
posted by mountmccabe at 8:41 AM on March 18, 2014


Ha ha ha, the Providence Friar Boy is a Buddy Christ.

Or would be if he could wink instead of possessing a cold, unyeilding stare.
posted by maryr at 10:58 AM on March 18, 2014 [3 favorites]


I don't know what he is, other than very creepy.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:05 AM on March 18, 2014 [1 favorite]


I did a normal best-guess bracket (Roundball Rock Steady) and then an auto-fill all-chalk bracket (Rock Steady Chalk Steady). I'd like to see how dumb adherence to the Selection Committee's whims does against the rest of the field.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:29 AM on March 18, 2014


Stupid question: can we do more than one bracket? I'd like to try cute mascot theory but the other one has to be serious. Very very serious.
posted by vincele at 12:38 PM on March 18, 2014


Yeah, there is a little plus sign under your first bracket that adds a second bracket. I think decency would limit one to a serious bracket and a silly bracket, rather than the nine (!) that appear to be allowed.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:42 PM on March 18, 2014


rather than the nine (!) that appear to be allowed.
  1. Serious Bracket
  2. Chalk Bracket
  3. Homer Bracket
  4. People I Know Went To These Schools And I Want To Stick It To Their Gloating Bracket
  5. Mascot Bracket
  6. Funniest Names Bracket
  7. Best Uniforms Bracket
  8. What If This Were Football Bracket
  9. Totally Fucking Random Bracket
Of course, it's always #9 that gets you in the top three.
posted by Etrigan at 12:47 PM on March 18, 2014 [3 favorites]


For the final point spread tiebreaker I literally googled "college basketball score," clicked the first link that came up, and scrolled down until I saw the final score. I did this in part because idgaf, and in part because I have no concept of what a final score would look like in basketball. Likewise challenged mefites are free to steal my strategy.
posted by phunniemee at 12:49 PM on March 18, 2014


For my ultra-conventional bracket, I looked up some stats. The average score of the winning Finals team was 74.2 and the average losing score was 64.2 or something. Seems a bit high to me, but that's what I went with.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:22 PM on March 18, 2014


Etrigan: What If This Were Football Bracket

I was intrigued enough by this concept to make a "What If This Were Football" Pool. I will leave it up to someone else to make a "What If This Were Ph.D. Dissertation Defense" Pool.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:41 PM on March 18, 2014


Ahh, yes, the rarely used 0.2-point shot.
posted by mountmccabe at 1:41 PM on March 18, 2014 [4 favorites]


this is one of the most horrifying things you can see

Legitimately shocked that link didn't go to the improbably buff Richmond Spider
posted by troika at 2:16 PM on March 18, 2014


"What If This Were Ph.D. Dissertation Defense"

Well, you've got the Harvards of the East (Harvard) and West (Stanford) in there, but it's pretty hard to imagine either getting very far in basketball. UCLA and Baylor seem like good choices in both, though.

So sure, I'll make that bracket. I'm going strictly by my own prejudices except where I have no idea, at which point I am trying to use US News and World Report rankings in Physical Therapy, because that seems almost relevent to basketball and 3 of the top 5 schools (Delaware, UNC, Baylor) have teams in the tournie. Please feel free to tell me where I've gone terribly wrong.
posted by maryr at 2:53 PM on March 18, 2014


I'm troika's Cat Barbers based on SBNation's incredibly accurate best player names bracket.
posted by troika at 7:26 PM on March 18, 2014


I've got two. One is serious (called I could work or I could pick) and one that's just rigged to make the Heels win it all, while kicking Duke out in the first round (Wishful Thinking). Sadly there was no option to make Weber State lose a billion times, so I could only make them lose once, but if you're a Weber State fan or alum know that I hate you personally and wish you actual physical harm.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:14 AM on March 19, 2014 [2 favorites]


Link doesn't seem to be working?
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 11:32 AM on March 19, 2014


mountmccabe: "the other likely missed a #1 by losing on Sunday (Michigan)."

They certainly did. Go Green. :)
posted by caution live frogs at 12:55 PM on March 19, 2014


troika, I'm surprised you passed on the chance to have your bracket decided by a cat.
posted by maryr at 12:58 PM on March 19, 2014 [1 favorite]


OK I am in. We'll see how my bracket does... sticking with my alma mater like a good little alumnus, but hey, they have a really solid shot to take it. The rest of it is a guess. And I can always fall back on the "but I only really follow hockey" excuse should my guesses be totally wrong.
posted by caution live frogs at 1:19 PM on March 19, 2014


I'm having a little too much fun filling out brackets and I just noticed... Anyone able to get Yahoo to display past entry 50?
posted by maryr at 3:43 PM on March 19, 2014


In! Whee.
posted by julen at 6:39 PM on March 19, 2014


)


*breathes* there.
posted by en forme de poire at 9:45 PM on March 19, 2014


BTW I picked some shit! Probably it is all wrong but it should be entertaining; thanks for posting this, box.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:09 PM on March 19, 2014


I did another one just to do it, after the suggestion of Duke losing in the first round, so all the picks are what would make me happiest if they happened. It's likely to do the worst of any bracket, I'd bet.
posted by klangklangston at 11:07 PM on March 19, 2014


I feel bad that I mostly used Nate Silver's prognostications to make my picks. It doesn't seem entirely fair. Besides Louisville's snub and Wichita State's improbable run, I knew almost none of the team's chances.
posted by lownote at 6:42 AM on March 20, 2014


Okay, having not followed the season at all this year, I picked basically based on my long-standing likes and grudges against various schools. I also did an "all-chalk" bracket and I'm sort-of curious whether my random emotions attached to random schools will beat a straight-up bracket or not!

Your favorite team sucks!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:15 AM on March 20, 2014


Late entry... I'm fairly sure I will end up near the back, but that's ok.
posted by RyanAdams at 8:27 AM on March 20, 2014


I also had problems ipadding my brackets. Finally laptopped it. ESPN, which I generally hate was easy on iPad.

Doesn't matter. Last time I won any pool was when I went contrarian & picked Syracuse the year that Jimmy Boeheim didn't get in the way in the big game.

This year my myopic heart won't let me pick against Michigan State. So I am already ditching my plans to spend Warren Buffetts money. My bracket is sshady51, somehow the Yahoo generated account name stuck with me.
posted by beelzbubba at 9:26 AM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


Speaking of tech, remember back when March Madness happened and the Internet wasn't available everywhere. I was just remembering the first time that I was unable to watch games and results were getting text messaged to my phone and I felt like it was so THE FUTURE!
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:42 AM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


This year my myopic heart won't let me pick against Michigan State.

In my UNC wins it all wishful thinking bracket, I obviously had to rig it so Carolina's path to the title run through Michigan State because that's a team we can always beat.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:06 AM on March 20, 2014


Oh shit. . .Pitt - Colorado. I picked a mild upset and it looks like the wrong guess. . .
posted by Danf at 11:02 AM on March 20, 2014


Eyebrows McGee, I am glad that you entered. So no way I can end up last. :-)
posted by Danf at 11:09 AM on March 20, 2014


Battle of Ohio looks like it must be exciting though - currently 55-55 with 1:10 to go.
posted by maryr at 11:11 AM on March 20, 2014


60-59 Dayton. First upset!
posted by maryr at 11:26 AM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


Dammit. Not even my Michigan homerism could make me dump Ohio in the first round.
posted by Etrigan at 11:29 AM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


I think I did something wrong because I have a Yahoo bracket and it says I'm a member of the group, but it doesn't seem like my bracket is included when I look at the standings. (I am now 2-0 and wanted to brag before Colorado fucks it up for me.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:46 AM on March 20, 2014


What's the name of your bracket, MCMikeNamara?
posted by Rock Steady at 12:00 PM on March 20, 2014


There appears to be something wrong with the Standings page, but if I go into the Members page, I can see your bracket.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:12 PM on March 20, 2014


Thank you, Dayton.
posted by ursus_comiter at 12:22 PM on March 20, 2014


Thanks -- maybe they haven't updated the member list for the standings page because I did join at the last minute today. Who knows?

(Also I apparently picked Pittsburgh, not Colorado as I'd thought, so Buffet doesn't need to turn the truck around just yet.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:32 PM on March 20, 2014


"60-59 Dayton. First upset!"

Ahem. No Ohio defeat is ever an upset.
posted by klarck at 12:32 PM on March 20, 2014


I'm 3-0! Now if only I could bring myself to never again check my bracket or my standings in the pool.
posted by Area Man at 12:46 PM on March 20, 2014


So I filled out my family bracket without realizing how much bonus we got for picking upsets, and I am really hoping that Harvard can pull this off as they were my 5/12 underdog favorite.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:08 PM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


Go smart kids!
posted by Rock Steady at 1:17 PM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


hrm. Why do I see myself in the members but not in the standings?

(and argh, I usually go for Ohio State to lose, but didn't this time. Of course.)
posted by gaspode at 1:19 PM on March 20, 2014


Once again, Harvard has cost me $1,000,000,000.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:34 PM on March 20, 2014 [9 favorites]


Probably the only time I've cheered for Harvard in recent memory
posted by en forme de poire at 1:47 PM on March 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


As a Lobos fan, I sure don't mind Harvard's upset this year like I did last year.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:15 PM on March 20, 2014


Damnit, I missed the window!

grrrrrr!
posted by Brody's chum at 3:25 PM on March 20, 2014


gaspode, I see neither you nor me in the standings.

But then neither of us have missed any yet, amIright?
posted by Danf at 5:24 PM on March 20, 2014


Michigan's win over Wofford puts me at 9/9!
posted by mountmccabe at 6:24 PM on March 20, 2014


Yes! Tied for 54th place! Go sportsball teams!
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:23 AM on March 21, 2014


Ahhhh, this American alum now has a sad.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:37 AM on March 21, 2014


lolbuckeyes
posted by Rock Steady at 6:35 AM on March 21, 2014 [3 favorites]


I would just like to point out that I'm currently in 1st place among the 12 coworkers participating in our office pool. This includes my coworker who won a half million bucks in December for creating a statistical model to predict NFL games.

Feeling pretty smug right now, not gonna lie.
posted by phunniemee at 7:21 AM on March 21, 2014 [2 favorites]


Guys, I'm doing the nerdiest parenting thing but I know MeFites will sympathize. My four-year-old doesn't like to write letters but he DOES like to watch basketball with basketball-loving daddy, so I'm making him track the bracket and compare the scores to see which is bigger and decide who won, and then carefully write the name of the winner in the next spot in the bracket. It is VERY SERIOUS BIZNESS. He had a five-minute conversation about whether he should write "State" or "St" or "St." He decided on "St." because he likes making dots.

(I suppose I could nerd this up even more by looking up the cities and states on maps with him.)

It's making me care a little more about the tournament, but now I would like to go back and repick a bracket based on what teams have names that are the least excruciating to coach a preschooler through writing? Because San Diego St., imma cut you!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:22 AM on March 21, 2014 [13 favorites]


You're just lucky Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis didn't make it in this year.
posted by burnmp3s at 9:51 AM on March 21, 2014 [2 favorites]


Have a good weekend, everyone!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:40 AM on March 21, 2014


Looks like Buffett saved his billion.
posted by Etrigan at 11:44 AM on March 21, 2014


If it comes down to Duke losing in the first round or my bracket getting fucked, I'll choose Duke losing EVERY TIME.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:48 AM on March 21, 2014 [11 favorites]


Yep. Lost a team in the 8; don't care a bit.
posted by LionIndex at 12:04 PM on March 21, 2014


Oops - it looks like in my rush to fill out the Metafilter/Yahoo bracket on time (and before heading to a meeting yesterday morning), I made a "mistake" and filled it out such that I had Duke going out next round anyway.

Everything's coming up MCMikeNamara!
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:16 PM on March 21, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was in a horrendously boring staff meeting,* so I missed the Duke game, but I am so excited. Early round Duke exits are like a warm, comforting blanket; they just make me feel like things are right with the world.

*An improvement over my office's usual mode of staff meeting which is more like a contentious MetaTalk thread.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:32 PM on March 21, 2014


Duke losing fucked up my Blue bracket and my PhD bracket, grrr. It would've fucked up my mascot wars bracket (devils!) if I hadn't decided that Wolverine beats everyone.
posted by maryr at 1:58 PM on March 21, 2014 [1 favorite]


There's something wonderful about the incredibly strong feelings regarding college basketball in people from North Carolina. A UNC grad I work with just keeps shouting "Mercer!" at no one in particular and it's downright delightful.
posted by troika at 2:03 PM on March 21, 2014 [3 favorites]


I've finally come to grips with the fact that not everywhere treats college basketball like North Carolina, not everywhere shows conference tournament games during class in school, for instance, and that might even make more sense than showing them. This reasonable attitude, of course, disappears around this time every year.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 2:34 PM on March 21, 2014 [1 favorite]


maryr, what are the criteria for the PhD bracket? Expert evaluation of a specific program? QS World University rankings? Mean time-to-graduation?
posted by en forme de poire at 3:42 PM on March 21, 2014


My slightly biology flavored personal opinion and, for the schools I didn't know much about, US News & World Report's rankings for Physical Therapy, because hey, that's a kinda kinesiology sports mediciney thing. My final four are Harvard, Stanford, Wisconsin, and the late Duke (Duke had an easy bracket - maybe I should have let UT beat them?). I'm pretty pleased that Harvard and Stanford obliged me with upsets.
posted by maryr at 5:40 PM on March 21, 2014 [1 favorite]


Hah, yeah, I was biased towards places with good biology faculty too, or where people I know have jobs... which is probably why I ended up with Michigan playing Michigan State in the finals.
posted by en forme de poire at 6:07 PM on March 21, 2014 [1 favorite]


MAY THE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN WIN

HA HA HA SEE WHAT I DID THERE

Sorry, it's been a very long day.
posted by en forme de poire at 7:12 PM on March 21, 2014


Thanks to Carolina's narrow win over Providence, I am not in a fight with my Rhode Islander brother-in-law. James Michael McAdoo's free throw shooting is bringing families together. It's a March Madness miracle!
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:29 PM on March 21, 2014


(I suppose I could nerd this up even more by looking up the cities and states on maps with him.)

Added degree of difficulty
posted by Rock Steady at 6:00 AM on March 22, 2014


Will someone explain the concept of "bonus points?"
posted by Danf at 3:28 PM on March 22, 2014


I think it's like when a longer-odds horse wins, you get more money.
posted by en forme de poire at 3:30 PM on March 22, 2014


Well, thanks for the help there Stanford. I don't know how you did that, but you took out freaking Kansas.
posted by maryr at 4:50 PM on March 23, 2014


A long referee review of when the clock started is pretty much the least enjoyable way to end a basketball game, but the delay gave me time to come to terms with what was happening. I'm happy with this season on balance, but being so close? Ugh.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:08 PM on March 23, 2014


The first weekend has just been a trainwreck, for my bracket. I can only hope that I end up dead last. There would be some perverse satisfaction in that, maybe.
posted by Danf at 7:42 AM on March 24, 2014


While I always try to actually build a victorious bracket, it is always my goal to come in dead last. Usually, I come pretty close. Something went terribly, terribly wrong this year.
posted by ursus_comiter at 8:11 AM on March 24, 2014


I'm number ten! I'm number ten!

Ahem.
posted by youcancallmeal at 4:51 PM on March 24, 2014


Hey, maybe you guys can help me. We're getting trophies for the 1st and 2nd place office winners. 1st place trophy looks like this. 2nd place is this doofy little guy.

What should the trophies say? I get 3 lines, 30 characters per line.

I work in a very non-corporate place, so pretty much anything goes. Inside jokes won't work since we don't know who's going to win yet.

THANK YOU.

Thank you.
posted by phunniemee at 1:04 PM on March 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


(company name)
BEST SHIRKER OF ACTUAL WORK
MARCH 2014
posted by Etrigan at 1:05 PM on March 27, 2014 [2 favorites]


I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING would be a good epigram for this year's tourney too.
posted by maryr at 2:14 PM on March 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


PS: That first place trophy is amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing.
posted by maryr at 2:16 PM on March 27, 2014


You realize that you are all losing to someone that picked Providence to win the whole thing, right?
posted by otters walk among us at 5:25 PM on March 29, 2014 [4 favorites]


Wisconsin, I dislike you now more than ever.
posted by Area Man at 8:20 PM on March 29, 2014 [2 favorites]


I've been in first place of my family's tourney (with the same picks I used here) since Round 2.

The bad news is that I picked Arizona to win.

The good news is that everyone else who still had a chance picked Michigan State.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:52 PM on March 30, 2014


Well that was a brutal Elite Eight, went from all of my Final Four picks still being in it to having no chance at any more points.
posted by burnmp3s at 4:17 PM on March 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


Aaayup. So much for my Clash Of The Michigans.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:33 PM on March 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


I'm not sure how this happened, but I'm in first place both here and at work. The last time I watched a basketball game I was 10 that was only because I was playing in it and that was only because when you play for the Y they have to let everyone play. Basketball, guys. wtf.
posted by phunniemee at 6:34 AM on March 31, 2014 [3 favorites]


Hey, I once won a fantasy football league after picking players based on how much I liked their names. Fortunately, Warren Moon was throwing lots of touchdown passes that year.
posted by Area Man at 7:24 AM on March 31, 2014


Well. Now I know why I usually don't put in the effort to torrent games and do the media blackout. The one loss and done thing is just too much agony. Michigan State was thoroughly outplayed, and I spent most of the game shelling at my iPad.

Hanging up laundry, yelling "box out, goddamn it!"

Measuring out spices for making sausage, screaming "take care of the fricken ball!"

Cutting up pork shoulder for said sausages with a twelve inch chefs knife, wondering how the hell the whole Spartans team was gassed, bent at the waist, six minutes into the game.

Yeah, maybe next year, if they can recruit some players who can pass the ball and create space. Gah.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:03 AM on March 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


p.s. This means I'll be getting a trophy that says "Best Shirker of Actual Work". Suc...cess?
posted by phunniemee at 11:08 AM on March 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


Success for me, yes.
posted by Etrigan at 11:36 AM on March 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


Congratulations phunniemee - Mascot-based bracketology was apparently the way to go this year.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:54 AM on April 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


UConn's 1959 logo might be the derpiest derp that ever derped (scroll down).
posted by Rock Steady at 11:00 AM on April 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


Did huskies used to have a reputation for being dogs that were sad or beaten? Because I almost can't even laugh at how miserable the poor guy looks.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:11 PM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


That cannot be real. That's a Simpsons parody of a mascot, right?
posted by Etrigan at 1:38 PM on April 8, 2014


From 54th to 9th. Feelin' pretty good about that.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:43 PM on April 8, 2014


Etrigan: That cannot be real. That's a Simpsons parody of a mascot, right?

Unfortunately, the t-shirts are sold out, Etrigan.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:48 PM on April 8, 2014


I'm #5! I'm #5! (waves foam finger)
posted by en forme de poire at 2:37 PM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh dear god...that derp husky. The best worst? Hilarious.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 3:41 AM on April 9, 2014


en forme de poire: I'm #5! I'm #5! (waves foam finger)

Foam hand, presumably.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:48 AM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


(Or five foam fingers...)
posted by en forme de poire at 11:58 AM on April 9, 2014


Late congratulations to phunniemee!

My other online group only had 14 members. The person that won did so without UCONN or Kentucky; they had both teams losing in the first round.

Using the same scoring system as MeFinal Four this bracket would have gotten 123 points, good enough for 5th out of the 76. They accomplished this by picking a perfect West and only missed four games in the South and East (in the latter getting every game not including UCONN right).
posted by mountmccabe at 8:58 AM on April 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


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