I am here wearing my George Washington University hat. This hat cost $45,000 a year. GW is the most expensive school in America. THE most expensive. And I'm sending a kid there. How stupid am I? The schools that both my kids attend are in the NCAA. My daughter goes to GW, my son to Penn. That's $88,000 worth of hat. This is why I have jobs on radio and television along with this stupid job. [Cindy: And he can't afford socks. He isn't wearing any.]

I am thrilled to be here, eating pizza. Why am I thrilled? Because Junior isn't here, eating pizza. Last year, as you know, Junior took two full pizzas and brought them into Wilbon's office, which Junior claimed was acting as "his" office, and ate the pizza and did not share with anyone. And when one of the littles asked Junior if she could have a piece of that pizza, as the other 30 workers divvied up the remaining four pies, Junior looked at her coldly and said, "Do you know who I am, little girl?"

tony, do you, tommy lasorda, and chris berman ever hang out together in your swami outfits?

Texas has gone totally cold. They can't hit a foul shot. They can't hit a jump shot. And some kid just dribbled the ball off his foot. Two-thirty to go and Texas is ice. I like Texas because I like that color orange.

No, but I think that Lasorda and I may have visited the same madam.

Did you see the Akron vs. Miami (OH) game last night? Does Akron deserve an at-large bid by virtue of a 26 win season?

GO HOYAS!

Akron deserves it because of their gallantry, their aura and their falconry. And because they're in a conference that isn't a major conference. So they are closer in spirit to the Patriot League than a major conference.

Tony where will U of Maryland land and Georgetown stand. There don't seem to be any real talented teams. More unknowns then ever in my life time. Eat some salid. Pitza is bad for us.

Texas gagged, didn't they? They didn't hit a shot in the last minute of regulation. Didn't hit any foul shots or any baskets in OT -- okay, one measly basket. They gagged. They had Kansas beat. They gagged.

Wilbon just checked in from Sacramento. He'll be on a little later. He'll call and give me a couple of quick hits, then he'll be on around 7 for a couple of quick comments. Then he's writing a column.

After begging to get into tournament, we are waiting in Orangeland to find out which team will beat the 'Cuse in the first round. we haven't been the same since "Steve fron syracuse " left !!

Georgetown can win the whole thing. Maryland can get hot and get to the round of eight. This year, all the better teams from all the major conferences have at least four, five and six losses. So even though Florida has the talent and experience, they are not the decisive favorite they should be.
I like salad, but newspaper offices don't carry salad. The good news this year is that, without Junior, there's pizza. Pizza galore. The bad news is that it's bad pizza.

Tony - think the Tar Heels are a #1 seed?

Tony

Think you can stay awake until the selections are done?

I love Steve from Syracuse and I miss him. I think we're supposed to have Boeheim on "PTI" tomorrow. He's usually very good at picking winners. Did your snow melt???

Here are my No. 1s: Ohio State, Kansas, UNC, Florida. "MNF" taught me I can stay awake for anything. But "MNF" also paid me to stay awake. Nobody in the NCAA is paying me. So I'm going to sleep. How about that goober interview with the Nevada coach and player? That's what I'm staying awake for???
And how about Calipari? He looks like the head poolboy at the Ocean Reef.

How far do you think the Terps will go? As a business owner in PG county, I pray they don't win it all. My insurance policy doesn't cover riots.

George Solomon and I say GO GATORS!

If you're Mattress Discounters, you really don't want the Terps to win. I like Maryland. That's why I think that loss to Miami was so horrifying. But I think the same about Maryland almost every year: they can go out in any round because they don't shoot well and they can beat anybody because they run like crazy and their big guys can catch and finish. I'll probably have them getting to the Sweet 16 at least. But I don't have a bracket in front of me yet. And anyway, Rennie is filling mine out. I don't know where he stands on Maryland.

You sure you want to be in that company, Florida Fan?

The Post's web site seems to be on EST. I'm sure they're doing that on purpose so Mr. Tony won't know it's actually 6:00 PM.

Tony, there will never be a "George Mason" from a major conference. All of the major conference teams pay cash for home games.

I want to buy a Pontiac Solstice. Anybody out there have one of those? What can you tell me about them? They look hot.

The definition of George Mason is a team from nowhere getting to the Final Four. We've now reached the point where, because of George Mason, almost no team is from nowhere.

Hey! At least George writes for the paper every now and then. You just have your face plastered all over the print and web versions. No wonder sales are down.

So I believe I got the No. 1 seeds right, huh? Give me a cookie.

I just yodel, pal. By the way, my niece just graduated from Florida, so get off my back.

Tony, at least your hair is nicer than Packers. No play for Mr. Grey!

Go blog with George. Get out of my air.

Packer looks like a chicken. I am wearing my GW hat or I, too, would look like a chicken.

I can't believe this show is going to last an hour and Greg Gumbel is gonna stretch it out like a rubber band. The only show I committ to for an hour is "American Idol." This show should be 10 minutes long. This stinks.

Ton, good to see you are picking up the slack for Wilbon, some things never change.

Which top 10 team gets bounced in the first two rounds? My vote is for Texas A&M, who is too small up front if they go cold shooting...

I'm 1-0 against Bracket Boy, Joe Lunardi. On Friday, he insisted that, even with two late losses, UCLA would be a No. 1 seed. Wilbon, of course, agreed with him and I emphatically said no. That will be my one victory of the NCAAs. It's all downhill from here.

I still disagree about how you define "pulling a Mason". Teams from traditional power conferences at least have some brand name recognition. When a team makes it to the S16, and people say "WHO ARE THEY???" well...

The Terps are a four seed?!?!?! Going .500 in your conference. Wow

wonder if i'll have to call in sick on thursday to watch the terps or not

Where do you think G-dub will be seeded? I still think they got the shaft last year with their seed.

You know what? You're right about pulling a Mason. But every year one or two Masons get to the round of 16. Mason itself has set the bar so high that I'm sure you'll agree you have to get to the round of eight to get in the conversation. ...
As for Maryland being a four see, I think they were 10-6 in the conference, weren't they? Not .500. No?

Maryland guy, maybe you should talk to George.

See, how can Southern Illinois be a Mason when they're a No. 4 seed? It makes them a Gonzaga.

the west region is BRU-tal!

I went to the Food and Wine Festival today with my daughter and I was drunk by 11:30 a.m. That's really 10:30 a.m. because that clock change is totally artificial. You can walk around and drink all these fabulous wines. That's why they only have it once a year...because it is soooo good.

For a team from a conference like the CAA, just winning one game in the big dance is a big deal. The feeling of getting to a S16 is indescribable. Mason had the good fortune of playing at home, so the "why not" attitude was pervasive.

Mason's two previous trips they were oh-so-close to pulling off the upset. Imagine where the Terps would be now if Jai Lewis didn't let that ball roll between his legs a few years ago?

By food, I just mean, little balls of cheese. So it's really a Wine Festival and they just say "Food" to make you think there'll be something to eat so you won't get bombed out of your skull. But, again, how many little balls of Cabot cheddar can a grown man eat?

Tony, you really should try the curly fries.

Let's go Belmont!

whatever you want think belmont

Let's go Belmont!

I'd love to try the curly fries, but I'm having a Jamocha shake and Bernie Streeter just served it to me.

I guess the comments section didn't get the message about the early change to DST.

No Syracuse? Boeheim is gonna be livid tomorrow on PTI. No Kansas State, after beating Texas Tech by 30? No Drexel after everybody bled for Drexel the last two weeks? And, by everybody, I mean Junior?
But a second team from the Atlantic 10? Doesn't the South Regional look easy for Ohio State?

Mid-major at-large bids are down two from last year and this comes AFTER Mason had that incredible run. Go figure. Doesn't that have to be a reaction to Junior?

NO Syracuse?? But ALbany is a 13 seed! Go Danes, it's on you to give Upstate NY a reason to watch.

It's so wrong for Gary Walters, the head of the selection committee, to wear a Nike warmup jersey on the selection show. It's such a sellout, and for a guy from Princeton it is triply wrong. And, by the way, have you ever seen a guy look more like an FBI agent than Gary Walters?

It's really cheesy to wear a Nike warmup. This guy should be in a jacket and tie. He looks bought and paid for this way. The guy is from Princeton! Princeton, for heaven's sake!

I buy TVs from Belmont.

What's better - D'Acqua or Il Mulino?

What are your thoughts on Virginia getting a four seed? As a UVA student, I'm ecstatic, but they are probably seeded a bit high, right?

Tony,

I can't believe Missouri State did not make the field. The power conferences are afraid of the mid majors since George Mason's run last year and the Selection Committee succumbed to their wishes. Billy Packer should be happy now.

Tony, it seems like a lot of quality bubble teams were left out. Do you think the NCAA should add an additional three play-in games?

Still no Wilbon!

Well, Boeheim may lose what little hair he has left on this one! Nothing else to do here but go out and shovel snow.

I don't understand - the two teams who are competing for the final spot both one there conferences. Why do they have to play the extra game?

Boeheim is too clasyy to blast the selection committee, maybe you can get his wife Julie on PTI to blast them.

Can we get Phil's Mom to roll with Albany?

Tony, who do you think will have a better bracket, You or Cheeseboy? You better watch how you treat our beloved Steinbog, or The Sports Bog Disciples will wage email Jihad against you.

Poke that bear, Cheesboy!

Oh, and Holy Cross will win this tournament. Yes.

What is a Belmont? On, the other hand, WE ARE_ _ _GEORGETOWN!!

Hoya Saxa Baby!!

This Blog Stinks. But Cindy is fabulous. WHERE IS THE EGGTIMER?

Tony, are you actually allowed in to the Post newsroom? I thought they only allowed writers in there.

What's on your pizza?

Tony is busy scribbling his bracket....He's making horrible picks. Should I stop him? Nah.......
God, I hate that eggtimer.

hoya SUCKSa

What pizza did you get it from?

Tracy Tran is a good emailer. And so is David Vair. Thank you all for coming. Drive home safely.

I have to say, I think the Terps are really overseeded. I understand their end of the season run got people excited about them, but a four seed? Teams in the ACC that finished ahead of them in the standings and beat them head-to-head are seeded lower than them. They got swept by UVA, beat by Notre Dame, beat by Va Tech, beat by BC, yet they get the same seed as UVA and a higher seed than the other three.

PS. I realize Notre Dame is not in the ACC, but they are another example of a team that beat MD and were seeded lower.

Umm... Maryland also beat Duke twice and North Carolina in a 6 game span, who did Notre Dame beat at the end of the year? By your thinking "theworkhorse" Clemson should be a 1/2 seed because they started the year 17-0, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Every expert says that the committee always looks at the last 10 games of the season, so what did VA Tech and BC do at the end except lose the ACC regular season title? Also, MD has a top 10 RPI meaning they also played and beat better teams then BC, Tech, and ND did.

Be sure to enter a bracket at http://www.thiswebsitestinks.com

Tony, Dodgeball is on FX again right now, what's your favorite quote of this epic movie?

Ummmmm ... why haven't you updated this blog in three hours. Your only entry is from before the brackets were announced. Tony? Michael? Anyone?

I understand that logic, I just disagree with it. Head-to-head matchups are far too underemphasized. Clemson lost twice to MD, so clearly they would not be ranked higher than MD.

How 'bout the Zags? They get a shot at revenge over UCLA -- any chance of that happening?

George Mason got hosed on the NIT selection. Just sayin'

I'm really bummed Faber College didn't make it in this year. After they fired coach Neidermayer and replaced him with coach Hoover, they really came on. It's tough as an independent that just came off double, secret probation.

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