Greekchat 05 NCAA Tournament Pick'em

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by ISUKappa
I reserve the right to point and laugh at you tomorrow if the Cyclones win.

IF that happens (and it's going to be a battle - Vincent Grier is like Stinson but he's not a whiney inconsistent streetballing chump), then you can bring it if you choose, but I reserve the right to mention:

-the iowa/iowa state game
-football season
-the worst loss in hilton history (research it - it was against the good guys [tied with Arizona, don't bother])

Really, it's up to you.

I picked Minnesota, but it's going to be a great game - it will definitely come down to if the big ugly white guy for UM can stop Homan on the boards. If state gets down early, it might be rough on them - then again, sometimes tasheed carr makes 5 threes off the bench, and then it's hard to lose.

Those guys will drive you nuts (as I'm sure you know).

[ISUKappa]

Like any team, when they're on, they're great. When they're not, I start yelling obscenities at the radio (no TV at work). I wish I could be more like my father -- the eternal Iowa State optimist. He thinks they can win anything.

I miss The Mayor. We need more white boys like him on the team again. Not going to happen anytime soon.

Maybe I'll just laugh once, no pointing.

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by ISUKappa
Like any team, when they're on, they're great. When they're not, I start yelling obscenities at the radio (no TV at work). I wish I could be more like my father -- the eternal Iowa State optimist. He thinks they can win anything.

word - a LOT of my buddies went to ISU, it's hilarious watching games with them . . . what a beating. They honestly are two different teams. Simply the most inconsistent group I can remember - from Homan to Stinson to the bench.

Originally posted by ISUKappa
Maybe I'll just laugh once, no pointing.

ha, fair enough!

[NutBrnHair]

I picked AGAINST Bama (just like any good Tennessee fan would do!)

Yipppeeeee.

Sorry Tide.

[damasa]

Originally posted by NutBrnHair
I picked AGAINST Bama (just like any good Tennessee fan would do!)

Yipppeeeee.

Sorry Tide.

Don't be sorry, a lot of people got burned on that game. Nobody was paying attention to my boys and mothafunkas got burned harsh.

I'm worried about the UWM/BC game though, should be a great one...

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

This seems to be the appropriate place to post this...

link

Warning to Iowa employers: Beware the Idleness of March

By MARC HANSEN

For the first time, Iowa State, Iowa and Northern Iowa have been invited to play in the same NCAA basketball tournament, which means worker productivity across the state could hit an all-time low.

Throw in St. Patrick's Day for good measure, and Iowans have what amounts to a rare four-day weekend - leading into spring break, no less. And you thought Veishea was canceled this year.


Is it too late to wave the white flag, declare Thursday a state holiday - Hoopsgiving? - close the schools and businesses, and focus on college basketball?

Doesn't matter. Thousands of employees across the state will be blowing off work anyway. And the ones who don't will be taking two of the longest extended lunch breaks in Iowa history.

At 1:50 today, Iowa plays Cincinnati. Lunch and basketball.

At 11:30 Friday, Iowa State plays Minnesota. Basketball and lunch.

When you watch the news tonight, pay special attention to the fan stories. The TV stations will head to the sports bars in the afternoon. The cameras will pan to the throngs of cheering Hawkeye fans.

If you don't recognize someone who shouldn't be there, you will recognize several people who know they shouldn't be there. You'll be able to identify them by the way they shun the TV lights. Like celebrities avoiding paparazzi.

Some will slide out of video range with an evasion technique known as the "NCAA Tourney Duck and Roll."

Others will perform the highly effective "Menu Mask Maneuver." While they might look as if they're pricing buffalo wings, they're really hiding from the boss.

My favorite Hoopsgiving Day bust involves the Des Moines man who was allegedly making service calls outside the office while Iowa was playing Kentucky.

Instead of making calls, however, Des Moines Man slipped into a sports bar. As luck would not have it, Channel 8 showed up to file a fan story from the same sports bar.

And guess who was front and center on the news? Hoopsgiving Day fugitives can run, but they can't hide.

Basketball junkies like Des Moines Man aren't the only ones shirking their duties. So are basketball know-nothings who wouldn't know a pick from a roll.

Even the people who couldn't care less about the game from May through February - the ones you really have to watch in the office pool, by the way - are suddenly sloughing off, surfing the Net on company time, foraging for inside information.

Every year during these two weeks, employee productivity tumbles. One research company says the 16 days of Hoopsgiving cost American companies almost $900 million in neglected work.

Barry Griswell, a college basketball player who went on to become chairman, president and CEO of the Principal Financial Group, believes his company will survive the next two weeks.

Does productivity plummet at Principal this time of year?

"Never," he says in an e-mail. "No slackers here. Seriously, employees have the flexibility to use their personal time off however they see fit. Our first priority is to meet customer needs; the work gets done, whether it's NCAA, the holiday season, a snowstorm or a flood.

"We do tend to see more informal department gatherings over lunch or other times during the day to watch games, and that is not a bad thing."

How does Principal feel about office pools?

"Office pools can be fun, and the tournament atmosphere can build morale and camaraderie. The key is to have reasonable guidelines to ensure that it is a fun thing and not an opportunity for serious wagering. In March we remind employees of the Iowa law on athletic event pools and express our expectation that they will comply."

Complying with Iowa code means:

Pool participants must have a genuine social relationship.

All money wagered must be paid to the participants.

Participants are limited to $500 in winnings.

No individual may bet more than $5.

Correct. You know more hardened criminals than you thought.

Like most holidays, Hoopsgiving is a stressful time. So much preparation, beginning the Monday before tipoff when you study the matchups like a med school student cramming for finals.

You must also find time to fill out the brackets and ridicule your co-workers' picks.

On Thanksgiving, people stuff themselves with football. On Hoopsgiving, it's one basketball game after another, from morning until Letterman.

No reason Macy's shouldn't throw a parade.

[JupiterTC]

Wow, it's like North Carolina during the ACC tournament, especially when it's held in Greensboro

[tinydancer]

Well, Texas is one and done. I hate to think what Illinois would have done to us.

(so GO DUKE)

[polarpi]

LSU is going to *kill* me - I had originally chosen UAB and then switched it after watching the ESPN analysts and their supposed lack of upsets in the first round

Creighton and Texas Tech are also close to hurting me, too - but I'm only two points off the lead right now (not SO bad, considering....)

[GeekyPenguin]

I YELLED at Creighton last night in the middle of a bar, it was a little embarassing.

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by damasa
Don't be sorry, a lot of people got burned on that game. Nobody was paying attention to my boys and mothafunkas got burned harsh.

I'm worried about the UWM/BC game though, should be a great one...

I hope they beat the crap out of BC. I would love nothing more (besides another UConn title) than for BC to get bounced in the second round. I'm rooting for your boys tomorrow night, hardcore.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by KSigkid
I hope they beat the crap out of BC. I would love nothing more (besides another UConn title) than for BC to get bounced in the second round. I'm rooting for your boys tomorrow night, hardcore.

Me too, me too.

I have them beating BC on my bracket, actually. That could be a great game.

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
Me too, me too.

I have them beating BC on my bracket, actually. That could be a great game.

You'll hear me celebrating all the way from the east coast if BC loses...I don't know if I've ever wanted a team to lose so badly.

[ISUKappa]

Ha!

[mu_agd]

Originally posted by KSigkid
You'll hear me celebrating all the way from the east coast if BC loses...I don't know if I've ever wanted a team to lose so badly.

Should I be hiding in my apartment either way?