Thank You Loyal Readers: I'm Back

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is over, and for a brief moment (hardly a shining one), I thought this blog was over too. There is more to life than March Madness. And while I knew this fact before I began the ambitious endeavour buzzing on the screen in front of you, the project (as well as myself) felt as if it had run it's course. This was meant to be an entertaining creative outlet for myself, as well as a distraction.....and after a little more than a month, that's exactly what this feels like, a distraction. My brackets are horrendous, I'm exhausted, and I'm burnt out.

However...there is something to be said for completing what one starts...and for following through on a commitment that one has made. This blog is not going to "make" my life, and it's not going to change the bigger things taking place in and around my universe. But the parallels between this project and my current world are oftentimes scary. If I cannot demonstrate the simplest forms of commitment, character, and resolve with this blog...how could I possibly expect the same from myself with regard to the actual, moment-to-moment existence that is my life? There is nothing noble in running. There is nothing honorable in simply giving up. When our heart and our gut lead us somewhere, there was probably a damn good reason as to why we ended up at that "somewhere" in the first place. Being frustrated, confused, and exhausted should never be permitted to triumph over one's initial desires and ambitions. There is something to being honest. There is something to staying true. There is something to never giving up. There is something to making a commitment. There is something in following through. And there is something to being there for the people that were there for you all along.

It is for these (and many other) reasons that I am going to push forward, continue with, and finish this blog. Thank you my friends and loyal readers. For the random hits this blog has received from places like Honolulu, Berkeley CA, and Arizona, I thank you. For the devoted readers I've had for awhile but didn't even realize, like Brian in Notre Dame and the person who keeps checking out this blog from Oak Park, I thank you. And a very HUGE and heart-felt thanks to all of the loyal friends who have contributed to this blog, shared comments, and have been reading since the beginning: Annie, Phil, Chaz, Liz, Matt G., John S., and Senator Nate...I thank you.

I'm back. We're down to 16 teams. 15 games left to be played. Let's rock and roll!

Mr. Raftery, do you have anything to say in closing?

Bill: "This blog is going to be followed through to completion.....with ALACRITY!!!"

Thank you Bill Raftery, thank you.

1020 & 8101

Welcome Those Near & Far

In a last (or maybe second to last) ditch effort to have more than 20 people reading this NCAA Tournament project, I've enlisted some friends to pimp this blog for me. I'm tracking the readership of this blog and have hits from as far away as Phoenix and Honolulu. A very special thanks to Senator Nate for his help. You can most certainly count on my vote Senator. I'll admit right now that I've become power hungry. After my humble beginnings with this project, where I didn't care if only 3 people were reading it, I've become obsessed with power and exposure. This is simply the natural course of things because it perfectly sets up my next blog where I'm strung out, exhausted, and on death's door after power and fame have ruined me...only to be encouraged and saved by those loyal and true friends/fans who were there for me in the beginning. My goal is to be ranked in the top 500 blogs on the website where this blog is being tracked I've been in the top 2000 and 1500 without even trying, so a little bit of whoring myself out shouldn't make this goal too difficult. To my new readers, welcome to this wonderful world where I'm literally filling out 30 Conference Tournament Brackets. To my faithful readers who have been there with me and for me all along...I'll only swear you off after I get famous...then come back to loving you after I've hit rock bottom. Seriously though...thank you all for reading. Nothing is going to change here...until ESPN or some other organization dangles a check in front of me. Then I'm completely selling out. Everyone has a price.

Three quick college basketball related note:

• My beloved Iowa Hawkeyes bowed out of the Big Ten Tournament gracefully today with a first round loss to Michigan. Head coach Todd Lickliter (formerly of Butler) is going to be a great fit in Iowa City, it's just going to take some time.
• Bob Knight did a great job yesterday on his broadcast debut for ESPN. Coach Knight was brought in to be a studio analyst during Championship week and throughout the NCAA Tournament. A lot of articles have been written in the last 24 hours bitching about how bland and "corporate" Coach Knight was during his debut (I believe some of these articles were written before he actually went on the air). What the hell do you want people?!? Would you prefer that he goes ape-shit and throws a chair at Digger Phelps? Or maybe you'd enjoy it if he leaned over the desk and choked Rece Davis? The people who are complaining about how Coach Knight's debut wasn't compelling television make me sick. He's not a fucking monkey that's only around to amuse you while throwing temper tantrums and telling off reporters. Coach Knight is a living legend who has won more NCAA Division I basketball games than any other coach. Show the guy some respect. He's not a circus animal. It's a privilege to have him around for the Tournament in any capacity. It goes to show that casual fans, not to mention a large part of the media, are selfish bastards who just want to be entertained to their ridiculous standards until something loud, new, and shiny comes along in 10 minutes. I hate to be arrogant (actually I love it), but I'm completely right on this issue.
• I'll get around to posting my column on the 5 Conference Tournaments that started today. These are the last 5 Conference Tournaments to predict and cover (numbers 26-30)! This process hasn't been as bad and painstaking as I thought it might be. You'll just have to take my word and know in your heart that I filled out these brackets ahead of time. Enjoy the games tonight. Go Pitt and Go Irish! (At least for one more day)