March Madness Finale: NCAA Tourney Teams with Women's Gymnastics Programs

We conclude our five entries dedicated to the NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness, with a look at ten schools who made the Big Dance that also happen to have women's gymnastics programs. In total, 30 schools of the men's basketball field have women's gymnastics team. Of the ten teams listed here, only three are still in the tournament:

1) Florida Gators * (pictured top: Florida gymnast Kytra Hunter. Amazingly enough, the Gators are ranked number one in both sports)

2) Nebraska Cornhuskers (The team's mascot Lil' Red is pictured center)

3) Western Michigan Broncos ^ (We couldn't find an image we could use of the basketball team, so we went with an image of the Broncos' hockey goalie Lukas Hafner instead).

4) Ohio State Buckeyes. ^

5) Arizona State Sun Devils

6) UNC Tar Heels

7) Michigan State Spartans *^

8) Michigan Wolverines *^

9) Oklahoma Sooners (The Sooners have a solid chance of winning the NCAAs in gymnastics)

10) North Carolina State Wolfpack.

*-Teams still in the NCAA Tournament

^- Teams that also have men's hockey programs

http://www.collegegymfans.com

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

Feline Nicknames and Mascots Amongst College Basketball Teams

Zappa the Family Cat lives in New Haven, Conn., but he roots for the Princeton Tigers instead of the Yale Bulldogs because of the Tigers' nickname (actually, unlike ESPN, we are not based in Connecticut).

Here is a look at ten schools with feline nicknames and the names of the mascots, not all of these teams made the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

1) Pittsburgh Panthers. Roz the Panther*

2) Auburn Tigers. Audie the Tiger (pictured top)

3) BYU Cougars. Cosmo the Cougar (pictured center)*

4) Cincinnati Bearcats. (pictured bottom)

5) Villanova Wildcats. Will D. Cat.

6) High Point Panthers. Prowler the Panther.^

7) Princeton Tigers.

8) Kentucky Wildcats. Blue the Wildcat*

9) Arizona Wildcats. Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat.*

10) Houston Cougars. Shasta the Cougar.

*-Teams which made the NCAA Tournament

^-Teams which made the NIT
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/mens-tournament/

More College Nicknames- Bulldogs, Purple Aces and Explorers

We should point out that Tyrone Garland (pictured bottom) is actually in the NCAA tournament even though the Virginia Tech Hokies, the team I grew up with, is not. This is because Garland transferred to La Salle, the Philadelphia school in the A-10 won their play-in game over Boise State. Today, the La Salle Explorers face Kansas State in Kansas City, Mo, which is a mere two hours away from Manhattan, Ks., which is the home of the Kansas State Wildcats.


Here is our look at this and other college school nicknames:


More Smart Schools:

1. Radford University Highlanders (Va., Big South)#
 2. UCLA Bruins (Cal; Pac 12_ pictured top)*
3. Cal Poly Mustangs (Cal; Big West)
4. UNC Tarheels (NC, ACC)*

More Angry Birds:

5. Ball State Cardinals (Ind.; Mid America)
6. Elon Phoenix (NC, Big South)
7. Southern Utah Thunderbirds (Utah, Big Sky)
8. Fla Gulf Coast Eagles (Fla; Atlantic Sun)*

Canines and Wolves:

9. Gonzaga Bulldogs (Wash; WCC)*
10. Washington Huskies (Wash.; Pac-12)
11. UM-Baltimore Retrievers (Md., America East)
12. Michigan Wolverines (Mich., Big 10-pictured center)*

Best of the Rest:

13. Cal State Northridge Matadors (Cal.; Big West)
14. Cleveland State Vikings (Ohio; Horizon)
15. La Salle Explorers (Pa., A-10)*
16. Evansville Purple Aces (Ind., Missouri Valley)
17. Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (Mo., Summit)

#- Radford is my alma mater, so I put it in as a smart school as a bit of a joke. The New Jersey Institte of Technology which is unquestionably a smart school has the same nickname.


*- Teams which are in the NCAA 68-team field

http://www.goexplorers.com

NCAA Nicknames_ Birds and Cats

Thanks to those of you in Latvia who are checking us out. Today is the start of the NCAA division one men's basketball tournament, and it is traditionally the day in America when the least amount of work gets done, which means Dilbert may take a long break to check out the score of the Davidson-Marquette game.

Here is a look at various NCAA division one team nicknames; most of these schools did not actually make the 68-team field.

Smart Schools

1. Harvard Crimson (Mass.; Ivy League, pictured top-the team's mascot is John Harvard)#^
2. Bucknell Bison (Pa; Patriot League)#
3. Stanford Cardinal (Calif.; Pac-12)*
4.Wake Forest Demon Deacons (NC; ACC)
5. VCU Rams (Va.; A-10)# @

Felines

6. Kentucky Wildcats (Ky;SEC)*
7. Clemson Tigers (SC, ACC)
8. BYU Cougars (Utah, WCC) *

9. Cincinnati Bearcats (Ohio. Big East, pictured center)*@
10. High Point Panthers (NC; Big South)
11. South Alabama Jaguars (Fla.; Sunbelt)

Angry Birds

12. South Carolina Gamecocks (SC; SEC) @
13. Oregon Ducks (Ore.; Pac-12, pictured bottom)*
14. UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (NC; Colonial)

15.Virginia Tech Hokies (Va; ACC) @
16. Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (Texas, WAC)
17. Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (Ohio, Mid-America)^


#-Schools which are in NCAA Tournament
*-Schools with Div. I women's gymnastics programs
^-Schools with Div. I men's hockey programs
@-Schools that were once in the now defunct Metro Conference

Kudos to the Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes

Kudos to the Miami (Fla) Hurricanes for coming into the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC, and winning the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament last week.

The 'Canes defeated the UNC Tarheels 89-79 in the ACC final on Sunday. They also beat another North Carolina school the North Carolina State Wolfpack 81-71. In the first round, the 'Canes won over Boston College 81-71.

ESPN analyst say that the 'Canes have weak offensive rebounding which could make them vulnerable to an early upset in the NCAA tournament.

The 'Canes will first face Pacific University, the Big West Tournament champs from Stockton, Calif., in the first round of the NCAAs.The team's mascot is the beloved Sebastian the Ibis (pictured above).

But, it was not a bad week for all North Carolina schools. The North Carolina A & T Aggies won the MEAC Conference with a win over Morgan State, a Maryland school, in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday.

Yesterday, the Aggies defeated Liberty University, the Big South champions from Lynchburg, Va., in the preliminary play-in game 73-72 in Dayton, Ohio. They fill now face the Louisville Cardinals, the overall number one seed in the NCAA tournament.


http://www.twitter.com/CanesHoops


http://www.greensborocoliseum.com


http://www.ncat.edu

Colleges Nicknames- Wild, Wild Horses

Today, we conclude our looks at the nicknames of 96 different colleges, most of which will be going to post-season play in a sport besides college basketball (I'm making fun of an ad for the NCAA which shows most student athletes going on to become chemists instead of becoming NBA superstars).

The three schools pictured here are the Boise State Broncos from Idaho, which have a highly touted football and women's gymnastics program, the Bucknell Bison from Lewisburg, Pa., which has a competive wrestling team and one of the very few water polo teams on the east coast, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, from the Big Ten.

In addition to Boise State, there are two other teams from the Mountain West Conference, including the San Diego State Aztecs, which is nationally ranked and a virtually certainty for a NCAA bid in men's basketball, and the Colorado State Rams, which are predicted to get an at-large bid.

Here are the teams, all of which are related to horses, knights, cowboys/cowgirls and Native Americans:

1. Army Black Knights, Patriot, West Point, NY.

2. Boise State Broncos, Mountain West, Boise, Idaho

3. Bucknell Bison, Patriot, Lewisburg, Pa.

4. Colorado State Rams, Mountain West, Fort Collins, Colo.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes, Big 10, Iowa City, Iowa

6. Illinois Fightin' Illini, Big 10, Champaign, Ill.

7. Oklahoma State Cowboys*, Big 12, Stillwater, Okl.

8. San Diego State Aztecs, Mountain West, San Diego, Calif.

9. Southern Methodist University Mustangs, C-USA, Dallas, Tex.

10. UNC-Greensboro Spartans, Southern Conference, Greensboro, NC

11. University of Southern California Trojans, Pac-12, Los Angeles, Calif.

12. Utah Utes, Pac-12, Salt Lake City, Utah.

*-Oklahoma State's women's basketball team is nicknamed Cowgirls

NCAA School Nicknames- Angry Birds

Yes, this might be one of the zaniest things we've done in a long time, well perhaps not, but since March Madness is descending upon us (for those of you in Latvia or Bolivia, March is the month when both men's and women's college basketball teams play for championships here in America), we thought we would put together some lists of several colleges with unique nicknames.

Please note, most of these teams are not actually going to playing in the NCAA tournament, which will be announced on Sunday. But, from this list, we can guarantee that the Creighton University Bluejays from Omaha, Neb., will be at least one of the teams representing the Misouri Valley Conference as they won their conference tournament.

Both the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds play in their respective conference tournament title games tonight. Lehigh will face Bucknell in the Patriot League, while LIU-Brooklyn faces Robert Morris in the Northeast Conference title game.

The logos for the two teams here are for the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks and the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners.

All of these teams have nicknames pertaining to birds.

Here is the list:

1) Air Force Falcons. Mountain West Conference. Colorado Springs, Colo.

2) Ball State Cardinals. Mid-American Conference. Muncie, Ind.

3) Boston College Eagles. ACC. Boston, Mass.

4) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Big South. Conway, SC.

5) Creighton Bluejays. Missouri Valley. Omaha, Neb.

6) Delaware Fighting Blue Hens. Colonial Athletic. Newark, Del.

7) Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Patriot League. Bethlehem, Pa.

8) LIU-Brooklyn. Northeast Conference. Brooklyn, NY.

9) Marquette Golden Eagles. Big East. Milwaukee, Wisc.

10) Oregon Ducks. Pac-12. Eugene, Ore.

11) Texas-San Antonio. Southland. San Antonio, Tex.

12) UNC-Wilmington Seahwaks. Colonial Athletic. Wilmington, NC

For more nicknames with fowls, check out our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

My Cousin Mike Picked Butler to Make it to Final Four!

I must profess that I laughed at my cousin Michael, who is an alumnus of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, the school that beat my alma mater Radford University to win The Big South Tournament in Myrtle Beach (well, Conway, SC, is close enough) a few weeks ago, when he told me that he picked the Butler Bulldogs to make it to the Final Four.

I asked him point blank: "How would they beat Syracuse?"

He said: "I don't know. I just think they just will."

And, by a score of 73-69 Butler did just that!

My lone Final Four pick which made it to Indianapolis, where Butler is, happens to West Virginia University. I am especially happy for their Turkish basketball player Deniz Kilicli who made his debut for the Mountaineers this year (that is not him pictured here).

We are also happy for 'the local team,' The Duke University Blue Devils though I live some 90 miles away from Durham, NC, which is also home to the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team. Coach K's team downed Baylor this afternoon which had to have really ticked off a friend of mine in Wilmington, NC, because not only is he a Tarheels fan but he also had the Bears from Waco, Tex., in his Final Four!

The last team to make it is Michigan State. They beat the Tennessee Volunteers 70-69 while I was shopping at Pet-Smart. I almost adopted a kitten today, but there were a few complications. Oh well, there is a next year- well except for those players who are seniors or leaving college early to make a zillion bucks playing for a team like the Minnesota T-Wolves in the NBA.

Shakespeare Likes the Wildcats, the Wildcats, the Panthers and the Blue Devils

The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., began this cheeky campaign last year to say which team William Shakespeare would have picked to win the Final Four.

Since their pick, The University of North Carolina Tarheels, proved to be correct, they are at it again this year, but much to the probable chagrin of 'Heels coach Roy Williams they are assuming that The Bard would pick their rival team Duke to make it to the Final Four.

The stage company, which is currently producing "Twelfth Night" as one of their four on-going productions (the play ends April 3rd), also projected that the Northern Iowa Panthers, Kansas State Wildcats and Kentucky Wildcats would make it to the proverbial 'final act' (we couldn't resist!).

Among the performers in "Twelfth Night" are Sarah Fallon (Olivia), Benjamin Curns (Sir Toby) and Miriam Donald (Viola).

The Bard will pick 'his' national champion next week.

March Marchness with Mapquest (for Thursday Games)

This could arguably be one of the craziest series of posts I've done in a while (the sister entry is on our other blog 'Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time.')

For this particular entry, we will focus on the distances between the towns of the college teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 for the Thursday night sessions.

The Syracuse-Butler game will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, as will Kansas State-Xavier (Ohio) game.

The other two Thursday games will be held in Syracuse, NY, where Syracuse University will ironically not play. But, nearby Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, will face top-seeded Kentucky in Syracuse which also where West Virginia University will take on the University of Washington.

To figure out the distances, we arbitrarily found some nifty places on the web in each of the college towns. Should the University of North Carolina have qualified for the NCAA Tournament, we would have mentioned Chapel Hill Comics in Chapel Hill, NC, where my friend Andrew Neal will find you the latest issue of....well, we better not make any promises.

As one might fully expect West Virginia University located in Morgantown, WV, also home of the Sahara Bar (a hookah lounge), is 2,596 miles from the Cherry Street Coffee House in Seattle, the city which is home to the University of Washington. According to MapQuest.com, that makes for a 39 hour, 13 minute drive. At least for Mountaineer fans, the trek to Syracuse is much closer!

As for Syracuse University, the city of Syracuse is 647 miles from Indianapolis, which is the home of their opponent Butler University. Of course, Salt Lake City where they will play the Sweet 16 game is much farther for both schools.

Syracuse is also the home of Syracuse Stage which is currently producing the acclaimed play "Almost, Maine" (alas Syracuse is also quite far from Greensboro, NC, where I live or I'd go up there to see the play!). And, Indianapolis is a city which features the Claddah Irish Pub (part of a regional chain) located at 234 South Meridian Street downtown. We should note that we believe the image here is of Syracuse player Wes Johnson.

There is no actual radio station called WKRP in Cincinnati which was where the late'70s/early '80s sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati" took place (the show is a personal favorite of my friend Moviezzz's who has a great blog on tv and movies). But, there is a WKRQ in Cincinnati (also known as Q-102.

Cincy is also home of the Xavier Muskeeters. Though they will face the Kansas State Wildcats in Utah, Cincy is 713 miles from Manhattan, Kansas, where one can also find Kite's Grille and Bar at 615 North 12th Street.

Lastly, Ithaca- home of the Cornell Big Red is 682 miles (a virtual 11 hour drive) from Lexington, Ky. In Ithaca, one can probably find a J.D. Salinger novel at Autumn Leaves Used Books. While in Lexington, one can probably find a nice oak desk at Blue Grass Antique Market on 801 Winchester Road.

My mother incidentally sells antiques in Lexington, Va., at Duke's Antique Mall, but I'm not sure if she has a big oak desk and if she did then advertisiting it here might be a conflict of interest (not that we really care about such things!)

The Smart Boys from Cornell Are in Sweet 16

Until yesterday, probably half the country, myself included, wasn't exactly sure what the nickname for Cornell University Athletics was. The answer is in fact: Big Red!

I knew the school in Ithaca, NY, was renown for its academians including the late astronomer Carl Sagan, but this year Cornell's men's basketball team became the first Ivy League team to advance to the Sweet 16 since the Penn Quakers in the late
'70s (a team which ended up going to the Final 4).

Cornell got their proverbial ticket punched yesterday when they defeated the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers by a 87-69 margin. The Big Red won the game, which was played in Jacksonville, Fla., through the efforts of senior Louis Dale (pictured here) from Birmingham, Ala., who scored 26 points.

Senior forward Ryan Wittman added 24, and senior Jeff Foote and sophomore Chris Wroblewski scored 12 points each.

Dale told Ann Ju of the Cornell University student newspaper "The Chronicle" that the win was a team effort:

"We have so many unselfish guys on this team," Dale said. "Nobody really cares how it gets done and we come out and make big plays."

Cornell will play top-seeded Kentucky which destroyed our local team Wake Forest by a 90-60 margin on Saturday night.

Here are my picks for the Sweet 16 games, but keep in mind, I picked Georgetown to win it all, and apparently do did political commentator David Brooks of "The New York Times."

No. Iowa over Michigan St.

Tenn. over Ohio St.

Syracuse over Butler

Kentucky over Cornell

Duke over Purdue

WVU over Washington

St.Mary's over Baylor

Kansas St. over Xavier (Ohio)

Ohio University Messes Up My Brackets

A few days ago, I disclosed publicly on this blog that I was picking the third-seeded Georgetown Hoyas to meet Villanova in a rematch of the 1985 NCAA final which has been deemed a classic though former Hoyas center Patrick Ewing who played in the the game that the Wildcats won (in a major upset) says he refuses to watch the game when it's on ESPN Classics.

Well, there will be no 2010 Georgetown-Villanova final after all as The Ohio University Bobcats from Athens, Ohio, knocked off the Hoyas 97-83 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament in Providence, RI, last night. Villanova barely escaped an upset themselves as they narrowly beat Robert Morris University from Pittsburgh in overtime.

The Bobcats were lead by Armon Bassett (we believe he is pictured here) who scored 32points and D.J. Cooper who added 27 points.

It is the school's first NCAA win since 1983. The will next face Tennessee who advanced by beating San Diego State. The Ohio-Tennessee game will take place on Saturday.

Hopefully, President Barack Obama who picked Kansas to win it all (see earlier entry) will have better luck with his brackets though assuredly he is more concerned about on-the-fence Democrats such as Cong. Tom Perriello (D-Va) supporting the current edition of the health care bill.

President Barack Obama Makes His Final 4 Picks

President Barack Obama has once again filled out his brackets and chosen his Final Four. Even though I voted for him, we only chose one team in common-the Villanova Wildcats.


Interestingly enough, three of the four teams Obama selected are nicknamed Wildcats, including Villanova, Kentucky and Kansas State.

The lone exception is the team he is picking to win it all: The Kansas Jayhawks (mascot pictured here) though even if they win, I would expect that since Kansas is a very red state (though they actually have a Democratic governor) they will go for Sarah Palin in 2012. (I will not!)

Obama picks the Jayhawks to beat Ashley Judd's beloved Kentucky Wildcats in the final. Former President Bill Clinton told ESPN that he also likes the Jayhawks' chances, but his pick to win it all is Syracuse- a top-seeded team which Obama did not put in his Final Four.

Last year, when Obama picked the University of North Carolina to win it all, he was criticized by right-wing talk show host Bill O'Reilly for going public with his picks. Of course, if Obama had not chosen to disclose his brackets, O'Reilly would have found another reason to bicker.

In order to preserve a remote sense of journalistic objectivity, I checked Newt Gingrich's Twitter page to see if he made any picks in the NCAA Tournament, but he is more concerned about federal dollars potentially going to women who want/need to have an abortion.

MY NCAA Final Four Predictions

This will come as a shocker to all college basketball insiders like ESPN's Dick Vitale, Bobby Knight and Jay Bilas, but I am going to go out on the proverbial limb and predict an all Big East Final Four, which is scandalous considering that as North Carolina residents we should all be pulling for Duke University (the notable exception are those who live in Chapel Hill), which is one of the four number one seeds.

But, I see a rematch of the 1985 NCAA final classic between Georgetown University, the Big East tournament's runner-ups, and Villanova University, but this time I think the Hoyas will prevail and pull off a shocking national championship run!

My other two Final Four teams are West Virginia University and Syracuse University, whom Bill Clinton has picked to win it all.

Of course, Georgetown will need to defeat 14-seeded University of Ohio in Providence, RI, first, while West Virginia will face a tough Morgan State team out of Baltimore, which deserved better than a 15th-seed.

Syracuse will face Vermont in Buffalo, NY- a team that upset them once in another NCAA tournament and Villanova will face Robert Morris University in Providence.

As for Duke, they will face the winner of the Winthrop University-Arkansas Pine Bluff game. I would love to see them face the Winthrop Eagles from Rock Hill, SC, since that is my cousin Mike's alma mater and they beat my alma mater The Radford Highlanders in the Big South Tournament!

I Beat Barack Obama on My Final Four picks

I actually got more teams in my Final Four than Barack Obama did!

Yes, I did vote for him, but I am still smitten by the fact that I got two of the teams I picked in my Final Four, and he only got one.

In fact, I almost got all four of Final Four teams in there, but alas both Pitt and Missouri lost in the Elite Eight.

Obama did pick the UNC Tarheels to win it all though and they face Villanova at 8:47 p.m. on Saturday in Detroit.

Since I picked Pitt to win it all, I may as well join Tarheel Nation, at least for the weekend, though they did beat my alma mater Radford University in the first round.

William Shakespeare's Final Four Picks

The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., has weighed in on which teams that playwright/poet William Shakespeare would have chosen as his Final Four, based on passages from many of his plays, including my personal favorite "Othello."

They have apparently decided that those teams would be Michigan State, the University of Connecticut, Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina.

Everyone in North Carolina is talking about the Sweet 16 today as Duke faces Villanova tonight and UNC plays Gonzaga tomorrow night. Both games tip at 9:57 p.m.

I think both the Blue Devils and Tarheeels will advance, but I'm picking Syracuse to upset Oklahoma and Missouri to upset Memphis, but when it comes to picking b-ball games, I'm not exactly Dick Vitale or Digger Phelps, but perhaps Will Shakespeare is!

UPDATE: Wow_ it looks like William got three out of the four picks right!

UPDATE TWO: The Bard is apparently now picking UNC to win it all.

The Turkish Connection

Previously on this blog, we have talked about the men's basketball team from my alma mater Radford University in Radford, Va.

The RU Highlanders will be playing the University of North Carolina at 2:50 p.m., on Thursday, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro.

The assistant coach of that team Ali Ton happens to hail from my late father's country, Turkey.

Ton is credited brining the Highlanders' star player Art Parakhouski to Radford from Belarus by way of Southern Idaho University.

The Highlanders are a 26-point underdog, but having watched the team play, I think Tarheel fans who expect a major route are in for a big surprise.

But, Ton will not be the only Turkish person trying to get his head to advance to the second round in Greensboro.

University of Texas guard Dogus Balbay (pictured here) is a 20-year-old basketball player who helped guide Turkey to an under 16 European title in 2005. Balbay also played for the Fenerbahce team in Istanbul.

The Texas Longhorns will play Minnesota in the first round of the tourney and the winner would likely meet second-seeded Duke, whose campus in Durham, NC, is a mere 45 miles from the Greensboro Coliseum. But, Texas is a team which ESPN analyst Digger Phelps says could be dangerous in the tournament because of their size and depth.

Texas coach Rick Barnes said that Balbay is vital for the Longhorns because he provides quality depth at the point guard position.

We wish Ton and Balbay well at the NCAA Tourney.......if only tickets weren't (yikes!) $160*

*-that's how much someone I know paid to see both rounds in Greensboro on Thursday and Saturday. He maintains that it is a 'bargain.'

Here is My Final Four

I have watched an unholy amount of college basketball game this year. I even saw each of the six overtimes between Syracuse and Connecticut last week. But, I would not call myself an expert.

Nevertheless, I am in the process of putting together my bracket selections.

And, my Final Four has Michigan State ( a two-seed) playing Missouri (a three-seed) and two number one seeds Pitt and UNC playing each other in the other Final 4 game in Detroit.

I am also picking Pitt to beat Michigan State in the final game. I must profess that one of the main reasons why I am picking the Spartans to lose in their home state is because my Facebook friend Timothy Heyer of Charlotte, NC, who is an ardent right-winger (we have exchanged our differences!), happens to be an alumnus of Michigan State.

Given the way Republican Senators have been blocking President Barack Obama, it seems like choosing Michigan State over Pitt is just not something I can do....at least, not this year!

Happy Birthday, Lale Lovell

My sister Lale Lovell turns 35 today........

Since today is her birthday (yes, she is a St. Patty's Day baby), I will not mention that neither of her schools, Virginia Tech or the University of Colorado, got into the NCAA tournament but my beloved Radford University Highlanders are in baby.

Alas, we have to play the University of North Carolina in Greensboro....how is that a 'neutral court?'!!!!!!

At any rate, I sincerely wish Lale a happy birthday. I hope she likes the Chia Pet I sent her in the mail!

Radford University is in the NCAA Tournament

After a week-long hiatus, we return to The Daily Vampire. I've had a major setback in my personal life, but we don't discuss such matters here.

But, I will talk about the Radford University men's basketball team, which go by the nickname of the Highlanders.

The RU Highlanders, who won the Big South tournament over VMI on March 7, will play the UNC Tarheels in Greensboro on Thursday. The tip-off time is 2:50 p.m.

I am excited that the game is close to home, but of course, there are some factors which are seemingly going to prevent me from going the game, including work, ticket prices/availability and parking. Hmmm...there are probably about 15 more which I left off.

All of which proves I'd almost be better off if they were playing in Boise, Idaho (which is another first round tournament site).

The Highlanders, who are a 16-seed this time around, last got into the tournament a decade ago when we lost to Duke in the first round.

For my part, I hope to post a series of blog entries about the Highlanders team and the game this week.

Next week, we shall 'return to our regular program.'