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March Madness! Day 4

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 08:13:24 AM EST
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Today's picks: Memphis +6 over Virginia, Arizona -6½ over Gonzaga, Kansas -6 over Stanford, North Carolina +1½ over Iowa State, Baylor +3½ over Creighton, Kentucky +4½ over Wichita State, Tennessee -7 over Mercer, Stephen Austin +9 over UCLA.

Open Thread.

< March Madness! Day 3 | Hillary Clinton Still Undecided About Running >

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    March Madness! Day 4 | 35 comments (35 topical)

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    Counter protest (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by MO Blue on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 09:28:57 AM EST
    Westboro Baptist Church Protest Met With 'Sorry For Your Loss' Sign

    Westboro Baptist Church members were met with a notable counter-protest at their first protest since the group's founder died: a sign that read "sorry for your loss."
    ...
    The message didn't get across to all Westboro members.

    "I don't even know what they're saying," Westboro Baptist Chuch member Steve Drain said.



    I think I just heard Bob Schieffer say (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by ruffian on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 09:59:55 AM EST
    that the last time the news media had to decide between two such compelling stories to cover as the missing aircraft and the crisis in the Ukraine was....wait for it.....when tenet were worried that the OJ verdict would come I during the SOTU address.

    Certainly explains the veritable news blackout of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, not to mention the financial chicanery of the '00s.  

    Is there a hash tag for omg the media is an idiot?

    tenet = they! I = in (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by ruffian on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 10:01:01 AM EST


    Parent
    I never understood the (none / 0) (#6)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 11:13:59 AM EST
    High regard for Scheiffer. To me he always seemed like a cross between one of the old muppet guys in the balcony and Andy Rooney without the sense of humor.

    Suddenly everything is blooming yesterday nothing today the forsythias are popping like fireworks.

    Probably snow tomorrow.

    Parent

    Oscar Pistorius' murder trial (none / 0) (#1)
    by MO Blue on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 09:11:06 AM EST
    Expert: Screaming gives Pistorius 'major problem'

    JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Prosecutors at Oscar Pistorius' murder trial have presented a "golden thread" of evidence suggesting Reeva Steenkamp screamed before she died, leaving the double-amputee athlete with "serious questions" to answer and his defense likely hinging on his own testimony, a legal expert in South Africa said. link

    Three neighbors say they heard a woman scream and police ballistics expert testified that based on the sequence of the shots, Steenkamp likely had time to yell out before she was hit by the last two shots.

    IMO the locked bathroom door and the screams is what most casts doubts on Pistorius' version of the events.

    More developments in (none / 0) (#27)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 10:01:13 AM EST
    Pistorius' murder trial

    Pistorius trial: Cell phone texts show tensions

    PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend told the athlete she was sometimes scared of him and complained about what she described as his short temper and jealousy in the weeks before he killed her, according to phone messages revealed at the Olympian's murder trial on Monday.
    ...
    In another message read out loud by police Capt. Francois Moller, Steenkamp said she was sometimes afraid of the athlete: "I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you act at me."

    Locked bathroom door, probability of woman screaming and now emails by the deceased stating that he at times scared her. Hurdles that the defense and Pistorius will IMO have to overcome.

    Parent

    The prosecutor (none / 0) (#28)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 10:36:33 AM EST
    has a reputation for having little "surprises" in his trials, and he's been very successful.  So far in this case, the biggest surprise is that he had a witness list of 107 people and he told the court last week, he may only have a few more to call.  Speculation is, Pistorius' dad is on the list and he hasn't been in the courtroom (as would no witness who is going to testify) - is his dad going to testify against him?

    Parent
    The rest of the prosecutor's case and (none / 0) (#29)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 10:46:03 AM EST
    how defense plays out will definitely be interesting.

    To me the other interesting aspect of the trial is that the verdict will be determined by a judge and not a jury. Hope when all is said and done, she provides enough detail on what were the determining factors behind her decision.

    Parent

    What I think is more interesting (none / 0) (#33)
    by jbindc on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 11:06:38 AM EST
    Is that South Africa has much looser hearsay rules than the US, which means witnesses can tell long stories and narratives, and there are fewer questions and much fewer objections by the lawyers.

    Parent
    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY, vol. 311 (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 09:40:59 AM EST
    I'm pretty sure that big Biblical boat did not have a fiberglass hull. (link)

    v. 310
    v. 309
    v. 308

    My SDSU Aztecs got a kind of sloppy win over North Dakota State yesterday, but a W is a W. Still, their halfcourt offense has me concerned, since it seems to consist mostly of Xavier Thames. Their D, however, is from hell. And that goes away.

    As for my other team...Go Bruins!

    Stephen F. Austin (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 12:14:11 PM EST
    Interesting bet. 9 points seems right on the doubt line for me. That SDSU-NDSU 3-point spread has me spooked. I see the same kind of game. Fairly close for about 25 minutes, then UCLA opens it up. But, again, that's why they play the games.

    I expect high scoring game (none / 0) (#8)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 12:28:33 PM EST
    and those type often have back door covers.

    Parent
    Valid point (none / 0) (#14)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:28:19 PM EST
    I actually put my coins late on UCLA to cover. I needed an exacta box, I fear. Ahem. ;-)

    Parent
    Dang Stanford (none / 0) (#9)
    by ruffian on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 02:00:23 PM EST
    Another half bracket blown

    I'm hanging in there ... (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by ruffian on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 05:38:27 AM EST
    At least none of my final 4 picks have gone down yet, and most of my elite 8 have survived.  Not too far behind the leader in my pool.

    Parent
    I'm hanging in there too (none / 0) (#24)
    by CoralGables on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 07:14:33 AM EST
    I'm at 170 out of 2 million.

    Okay I lied.

    I'm at 170 out of 200 and was dead after day 1, although have 3 of my final 4 still hanging by a thread.

    Parent

    To quote my wife, the Stanford alum (none / 0) (#12)
    by Peter G on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:20:28 PM EST
    Just remember this:  Don't bet against The Tree.

    Parent
    I had both Duke and Kansas ... (none / 0) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 02:33:46 AM EST
    ... out in the first week. Syracuse's loss to Dayton made it a trifecta. Of course, the rest of my bracket is blown to smithereens like almost everyone else's, but hey, at least I still have San Diego State around to pick over Arizona next week.

    And for the record, BTD, I have Florida beating SDSU for all the enchiladas.

    Parent

    When the going gets weird, Kim Dotcom (none / 0) (#10)
    by Mr Natural on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 03:17:33 PM EST
    jumps aboard...  I've no idea what this is about.

    Why Weird? (none / 0) (#11)
    by squeaky on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 03:33:02 PM EST
    Paul wanted Dotcom on the show to ask him why he has served an injunction on Mr Tempero, however the internet entrepreneur would not come on, instead sending us this response:

    I was just told that Wayne was going to be on your show despite that fact that he has signed a confidentiality agreement just like all of our previous and current staff.

    I am not coming on your show because Paul has been extremely hostile to me and didn't want to meet for a chat before I come on his show. If I can't share a bit of background information with him about our situation and the case then it's pointless to do an interview. He wouldn't have the necessary facts.

    link


    Parent

    Something tells me this was (none / 0) (#13)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:25:39 PM EST
    Picked on in school

    Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You

    LINK

    At its most harmless, it is annoying. At its worst, it is deadly, on a massive scale.  The Cool are the termites of life, infiltrating every nook and cranny and destroying it from within. The Cool report the news, write the scripts, teach our children, run our government--and each day they pass judgment on those who don't worship at the altar of their coolness.

    Just one more (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:50:19 PM EST
    This amazon page is a riot.

    in Not Cool, Greg Gutfeld, host of Red Eye and cohost of The Five, and best-selling author of The Joy of Hate, lays out the battle plan for reclaiming the real American ideal of cool (building businesses, protecting freedom at home and abroad, taking responsibility for your actions, and leaving other people alone to live as they damn well please). Not Cool fights back against the culture of phonies, elitists, and creeps who want your soul. It¿s not a book, it¿s a weapon - and one should be armed with it at all times.

    Unpacking that paragraph gives me a headache
    Something tells me Greg was at some point on the receiving
    end of a painful and traumatic wedgie.

    Parent

    Really sorry (none / 0) (#15)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:29:16 PM EST
    LINK

    Parent
    I had never heard of this yahoo (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:48:36 PM EST
    Until I went to the link.  Then I found one of his earlier works there 'The Joy of Hate'.  I'm not sure what to make of him.  First he wanted to be a terrific hater, but now he's pissed because cooler haters are preventing him from lunching at the cool hater table?

    Parent
    Undefeated Wichita State (none / 0) (#18)
    by CoralGables on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 04:56:42 PM EST
    goes down at the hands of 5 freshmen starters from Kentucky.

    And in the year of the weak SEC, the SEC moves to 6-0 in the Tourney.

    And Iowa State wins too. (none / 0) (#19)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 07:06:58 PM EST


    Parent
    And at UCLA (none / 0) (#20)
    by CoralGables on Sun Mar 23, 2014 at 09:07:40 PM EST
    There is no doubt they are very happy with their new coach. The first time they made the Sweet 16 in 6 years.

    Parent
    Helluva thing, ain't it, ... (none / 0) (#22)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 02:43:56 AM EST
    ... when your rabid fan base considers a Final Four berth practically a school birthright? Trust me, give the Bruin faithful time, and they'll turn on him, just like they did on Ben Howland and every other coach who followed John Wooden.

    And yet the sports pundits wonder aloud why former Michigan coach Steve Fisher is perfectly content to remain at San Diego State where he's been since 1999, when as they keep saying, he could've had any of the so-called "big jobs." At San Diego, he is beloved for resurrecting a formerly moribund program, and the fans are just happy that their Aztecs are competitive.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Egypt Redefines March Madness: (none / 0) (#25)
    by Mr Natural on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 09:27:10 AM EST
    In one day and one trial, Egypt sentences 529 to death.

    The alleged supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi were convicted on charges of killing a single police officer, the attempted murder of two others, and attacking a police station in the Nile Valley city of Minya last August. Sixteen others were acquitted.
    Not surprising (none / 0) (#26)
    by CoralGables on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 09:45:29 AM EST
    This message from Malasia Airlines this morning:

    Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia's Prime Minister, new analysis of satellite data suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.
    Still a whole lot questions (none / 0) (#30)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 10:47:56 AM EST
    left unanswered IMO.

    Parent
    Agreed (none / 0) (#31)
    by CoralGables on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 11:01:42 AM EST
    And some may never be answered. But that won't change the outcome for those on board, if in fact the evidence they now possess from a British satellite that put it in the ocean is true.

    Parent
    You are right (none / 0) (#32)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 11:04:23 AM EST
    it won't change the outcome for those on board and will hopefully give their families some closure.

    Parent
    I haven't been following this story (none / 0) (#35)
    by NYShooter on Wed Mar 26, 2014 at 11:47:51 AM EST
    as much as others have, so, my main question may already have been answered. And, that question is, why was there no "Mayday" communication by the pilot/co-pilot? In every crash event I'm familiar with the pilot squawked "Mayday" right up to the moment of the crash.

    The only thing I can come up with is that the pilots were unconscious when the end came (IF "the end," in fact, did come.)

    Parent

    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY, vol. 312 (none / 0) (#34)
    by Dadler on Mon Mar 24, 2014 at 07:05:54 PM EST
    He's the dude with the plan to be the biggest company man. Pfft. (link)

    v. 311
    v. 310

    Happy Monday, peeps. If happy is the right word. ;-)

    March Madness! Day 4 | 35 comments (35 topical)

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