Villanova! What a game!

Congratulations, Roger and Casa do Caminho. What an amazing tournament! Came down to a tiebreaker on points scored in the championship game, and by FIVE POINTS, Roger beat Dennis.

Every year a new charity wins, which is one of the best parts of this thing. I can't wait to see who and what charity wins next year!

Thank you everyone who made this a success. 15 people this year, plus one generous benefactor, equals $250 dollars raised for the winning charity. I'm very proud of everyone.

Maybe next year I can actually win this thing...

Cincinnati Got Robbed

So, today is a poster day for why BETTING ON MARCH MADNESS IS STUPID.

Also, I'm never going to win my own charity pool.

Michigan State... huhuhuhu 😭😭😭😭

But, the real question is this: Did Cincinnati actually lose???

If you didn't watch, Cincinnati was down 76-78 when a player dunked the ball at the end of regulation. It originally counted (tying the game 78-78) but the referees watched replays and eventually waved off the basket. 

However, here are the official rules about shooting a basketball for NCAA Men's Basketball:

Section 33. Goal
Art. 1. A goal shall be made when:
a. A live ball that is not a throw-in enters the basket from above and
remains in or passes through; or
b. A free throw enters the basket from above and remains in or passes through.
Art. 2. Whether the game clock is running or stopped shall have no influence on the counting of a goal.

Section 71. Try for Goal/Act of Shooting
Art. 1. A try for field goal is an attempt by a player to score two or three points by throwing or tapping the ball into his or her basket.
...
Art. 3. The try shall start when the player begins the motion that habitually precedes the release of the ball on a try. The ball does not need to leave the player’s hand. The arm might be held so that the player cannot throw; however, he or she may be making an attempt.
Art. 4. A try shall end when the throw is successful, when it is certain the throw is unsuccessful, when the thrown ball touches the floor or when the ball becomes dead.
Art. 5. A dunk attempt is a try.

Section 4. Basket
Art. 1. Each basket consists of an 18-inch ring, its flange and braces, and appended net through which players attempt to throw or tap the ball.

Section 5. Basket Interference
Art. 1. The ball shall be considered to be within the basket when any part of the ball is below the cylinder and the level of the ring.

It looks to me like the dunk was good, because 1. A dunk is a try, 2. a try ends when it is successful, 3. success is when a live ball enters the basket and remains in, and 4. that happens when any part of the ball is below the cylinder and the level of the ring -- regardless of whether he had let go or not. Cincinnati got robbed.

NRG Stadium Sucks the Energy out of Basketball

VERY interesting given that the Final Four will be at NRG stadium next year.

Watching the Elite Eight there a few years back, I can attest, it's a horrible venue to watch basketball, and, putting myself in players' shoes, I would hate to play there.

The backdrop is all black, but it's shades of black based on shadows and curtains, which makes it hard to tell how far away is the basket. There is also a ledge around the raised court that just screams accident to someone sliding off the sides.

See Ken Pomeroy's data on three pointers.

Never Bet Against Michigan State

If the tournament this year has taught me anything, it's reminded me to NEVER bet against Michigan State, and that truly anything can happen.

Yet again, Tom Izzo has taken a Michigan State team with a middling record, and had them peak at the right time - "overperforming" in the tournament and making the Sweet 16 for something like 7 out of 8 years.

This will be Michigan State's fourth straight appearance in the Sweet 16 and its 11th since 2000.

 To see the second point, one needs look no further than #5 Utah. If Utah makes the finals (granted, that's a long shot), and Michigan State defeats Oklahoma, then my son, currently DEAD LAST in our 16-bracket pool, will win the whole thing - even if Kentucky wins the tournament (whom over half of pools picked to do so). Crazy.

So, watch the games tonight. A loss by Gonzaga or Duke weeds a lot of brackets out. Fun times.

March Madness Underway

Congrats to all who joined the pool this year. Looks like we will be down from last year - some attrition due to babies born recently, etc., but well over $100 will be raised regardless. And that's wonderful.

The first round (I don't count the First Four as a separate round) has proven NOT to disappoint. Gone our the "traditional" 5-12 upsets and now we have 4-13 upsets! Hopefully, that killed my bracket just as much as anyone else. And the ONE guy who actually got the entire first round correct.... crazy! (not in our pool)

Here is the current leaderboard:

As always, your's truly is NOT on the list. But, most of the 16 brackets in the pool are very close together - anything can happen over the next few days - especially if the officials keep blowing calls at the end of games or giving technicals to coaches for no reason.

I also enjoy seeing the variety of charities chosen this year. Every year I learn about wonderful groups doing good work that's woefully unrecognized. Polaris and Camp Spike and Wave are only two examples this year.

If you haven't chosen a charity, pick one now and change the name of your bracket (or tell me). Watch the games. May the best bracket win!

March Madness Charity Pool 2015 is Here!!

Play. Win. Give.


It's that time again!! Come join the annual March Madness charity pool where people choose a charity to play for and the winning charity gets the pot. Some of you remember playing last year (Congratulations, Baton Rouge Child Advocacy Center).


No knowledge necessary. You can donate online or come visit me in Houston. I'd love to have y'all join, have some fun, and help out a worthy cause.

If you'd like to join, this is what to do:1. Go to http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2015/en/ and join/login

2. Create a bracket (named for your charity).

3. Join the group "TBE Play For A Cause 2015"
4. Donate $10 per bracket via the paypal link at http://thebleedingear.blogspot.com/p/tbe-play-for-cause.html or somehow send it to me.
5. Selection Sunday is March 15, 2015
6. Fill out the bracket between March 16-18, 2015.
6. Watch the games starting March 19, 2015 and root for your teams!


The winner's charity gets all the cash, and you are entered into ESPN's $10,000 prize pool also!!


Let's have some fun, and help others in the process. 

Abuse, the NFL, and Due Process

Recently, you can't go anywhere, read or watch anything, and not hear about the National Football League and its abuse scandal. Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancé. Greg Hardy beating up a woman. Adrian Peterson accused of child abuse by disciplining with a switch.

Somehow, this has turned into a societal referendum on discipline - spanking, specifically - and safety nets for abused partners.

This has made the American people into experts on abuse lately. The cynic in me says "This is wonderful," because, in my four years of taking care of abused children that came to the hospital, we were ALWAYS woefully understaffed with people that could properly tell abuse from non-abuse, and do a good forensic exam, or forensic interview.

The civic organizations we worked with for psychiatric care for patients and parents, the police and state who prosecuted perpetrators, were always horribly underfunded.

I see roughly one patient per week in the ICU with serious injury (or death) from physical abuse. But now, we have almost an entire nation who can accurately perform a forensic interview and examination via the internet. No more CPS write-ups, forensic exams, brain death exams, worrying about serum sodiums or intracranial pressures, getting ophthalmology to come in late at night, etc., etc.

The reality is, we have no increase in experts, on another example of America's penchant for self-righteous indignation without education. I am all for the discussion, when people take the time to educate on the situation, American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations, etc.

But most people don't.

And as a doctor who sees this at least once a week, we must do our job to prove that what we see came from actions alleged. If we jump to conclusions, we do the child a disservice. I've seen more than one child come in with bruises consistent with abuse only to find underlying bleeding issues no readily apparent on a routine CBC.

So if people in positions to report or make decisions are going to highlight this, let them truly become educated too. It's better for the child and future children.

Secondly, I have serious concerns about our society over the last 1-2 weeks. "Innocent until proven guilty," must apply in ALL scenarios in this country, or we end up in the same situation the NFL is currently in - creating arbitrary punishments for crimes not properly vetted.

How many people have been exonerated from death row sentences by DNA evidence? Or new evidence? Or findings of police misconduct?

As much as we may feel certain that Ray Rice knocked out his wife, or Adrian Peterson abused his child, we must let the system play like it's supposed to.

Holding second grand juries is scary - because it's almost double jeopardy that our constitution forbids. If you are a strict constitutionalist, you should definitely oppose Adrian Peterson being tried again. Can we suspend or fire everyone in America when a crime is alleged? There are many spurious allegations out there, or ones done in good faith that still end up being wrong.

No, as much as it might hurt us to be patient, in a case like this we MUST be patient and not crucify the alleged perpetrator until the system runs its course so that the system is infallible, and justice without caveat can be served for the child and safeguarded for the next child. Otherwise, we're all just a modern mob with torches storming to Frankenstein's castle.

Finally, as an organization, the NFL has made a huge mistake with Ray Rice. In his case, the system has played out, he was convicted and given a sentence for a first time offender. Then, the NFL made it's suspension. Yes, it was woefully too lenient (IMHO), but when the video came out, you can't, as an organization, go back and produce arbitrary punishment again. That's where Goodell has major problems. he's just made his justice system COMPLETELY arbitrary. No, the NFL must stick with the punishment it doled, take egg on the face for doing it wrong, and set something correct up for the future.

My concern is not the child defended - yes! let's do that. CPS can take Peterson's child out of the home. We have a court system. Heck, it's here in Houston that it's happening. BUT, if America "educates" itself without true knowledge, then we are worse off than before. I'm glad people are talking, but the media needs to talk correctly. And due process must be observed or the next child isn't protected.

2014 TBE Play For A Cause Winner: Baton Rouge Children's Advocacy Center!!

I'm incredibly sorry for the long delayed post. Congratulations to all who played in the TBE March Madness pool this year. It was a great tournament that hinged on an Elite Eight game. If Arizona had beaten Wisconsin, many possibilities would have remained alive. However, Wisconsin won, and that sealed the deal for Dr. Z and the BRCAC. Congrats!!

Below is the press release.

***Dated: May 9, 2014***

Congratulations to Dr. Zeretzke and the Baton Rouge Children’s Adovocacy Center!

The Bleeding Ear’s Play For a Cause March Madness charity pool (“TBE Play For a Cause”) was started in 2008 as a way to funnel a good time into good deeds. Two years earlier, while volunteering at an orphanage in Vietnam, I saw how much $100 – a relatively small amount in America – could do for needy children.

That first year we raised $100 for Heifer International. Every year we’ve had an increase in players, money, fun, and watched some excellent tournaments. This year we have raised $260 for the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center. Congratulations to all involved.

The Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center (BRCAC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “lessen the trauma experienced by child victims when abuse allegations are investigated, and to provide support during any subsequent proceedings within the criminal justice system.”

The BRCAC:

•Protects children who have been sexually and/ or physically abused and helps prevent further abuse.
•Provides therapeutic counseling during the time of disclosure and thereafter.
•Maintains and reconstitutes a healthy family by healing the scars of abuse
•Enhances community safety by preventing the perpetration of sexual/physical abuse.
•Coordinates the prosecution of the criminal cases

In 2013, BRCAC served 312 children who were sexually abused, physically abused, or had witnessed a severe crime.

We cannot be more proud to help support the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center.

Thanks,
The Bleeding Ear

Largest donation in the history of TBE Play For A Cause

Butler Wins. BYU Cold.

What a wonderful time to live in Baton Rouge! I got tickets to the Southeast Regional only one hour away to see my alma mater BYU play.

They played Florida on Thursday and lost, but it was close - went to overtime. BYU shot 35% for the game - couldn't hit the road side of a barn. And it wasn't due to Florida's defense. One thing I've learned this weekend is that Florida plays mediocre defense at best. Shots just weren't falling. And when you have a cold night, you better have more than one go-to guy. All BYU had was Jimmer, had he couldn't Jimmer his way out of it.

The second thing I learned is that Jimmer gets unfairly slighted for playing a rough and tumble brand of basketball. I bet Dwayne Wade feels similar since he has a similar style of play in the NBA. There were many calls today in the Butler v Florida game that never got called for Jimmer on Thursday. A hack per shot was let go, and only if egregious did something get called.

Third, all three games went down to the wire. What a great regional! No blowouts like Other regionals. Unfortunately, with all these close games, and close calls, the NCAA doesn't allow replays in the arena. Boo! What a horrible decision by the communist NCAA. They censor things so we can't see when refs do things wrong. They look the other way when a father sells his quarterback son to the highest bidder. They allow athletes that sell merchandise to play in bowl games. Corruption almost as bad as FIFA - and that's saying something.

Finally, although it's only the Elite 8, our TBE Play For A Cause pool is down to the final four: Roger with SOS Charities, Julie with Ovarian Cancer Alliance, Amanda with Ronald McDonald House, and Nate with Harvesters. Good luck to everyone. The fates of these four charities hangs on the results of Kansas v VCU and UNC v Kentucky tomorrow. By the time the Final Four is set, our winning charity might be set too.

March Madness 2011 ... Go!

My favorite time of year is here - March Madness. In fact, you could say Opening Day is my second favorite holiday (behind Halloween of course).

On twitter, @RossTuckerNFL, a sportswriter for ESPN, said

My parents used to let me stay home from school on first day of NCAA tourney if my grades were good. That's just stellar parenting ...

Awesomest. Parents. Ever. (sorry mom & dad. I still love you.)

Excepting the new "First Four," which stunk worse than a hog pen with diarrhea, this year has done nothing but live up to the hype. Four of the first five games ended on last second shots. The rest were close for a good ways. BYU is still in it.

And of course, we have a new pool. This year has 11 people, and would have had two more but a few stalwarts missed the deadline to submit brackets. So, I can't say we've increased our numbers every year. BUT ... we added a lot of new people this year, so the fever is growing.* With help from my brother, next year will be on its own webpage with easy to use brackets and tax deductible donations!

So, congratulations to those surviving the first day of upsets in the lead.

*I've got a fever. The only cure for it is MORE COWBELL!

Selection Sunday 2011

Today is one of the biggest days in Sports, and few real games happen. Crazy, huh?

On that note, here's a crazy view of Selection Sunday.

Get ready to fill out your brackets!

FIFA Presidency

Anyone who half-follows soccer, and even those who only follow it every four years during the World Cup, probably know two things:

1. FIFA international soccer is corrupt, and
2. FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, is a moron.

Corruption was nowhere more evident then in the recent bidding for the rights to host World Cups 2018 and 2022. Spain/Portugal was accused of colluding with Qatar, some FIFA ex-co members were dismissed for bribery, and Qatar won the 2018 bid due to shady, probably "technically legal" (emphasis on the quotation marks) actions, including promising to subsidize public works in home countries of voting members.

Sepp Blatter is a moron because he continues to fight against umpire transparency and instant replay like an ostrich who sticks his head in the ground at first sight of progress. His allegation that the game at the top needs to be the same as the game in the poorest part of Africa is about as intelligent as a sea slug commenting on Freakonomics. The NFL doesn't play exactly like high school football because the realities and exigencies are different. There's more money on the line. There's an ability to do more. The players move faster and hit harder. Although the framework of the game is the same, the paradigm is much different. It'd be like me treating all my pediatric patients as if they were standard 70kg adult males. Malpractice.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this video on Sports Illustrated from Grant Wahl lobbying for FIFA presidency. Although partially (mostly?) done in jest, it draws attention to the absurdity of FIFA, and media coverage is just what we need to continue to pressure FIFA for reforms.

Ultimately, I'm too cynical to think anything will change - heck, this sport encourages corruption from the ground up with players faking injuries all the time - but the video is funny and gives me a ray of hope.

Super Bowl XLV Commercials

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers for an enjoyable victory over the Pittsburg Steelers. After jumping to a 21-3 lead early in the 2nd quarter, I thought it might be a sleeper, but the Steelers made a game of it. If "Big Ben" Roethlisberger hadn't sucked it up on football's grandest stage, the game might truly have been epic.

But that fits, because the commercials - for which the Super Bowl has become known for almost more than the game itself - were just as underwhelming. In fact, most commercials worthy of watching once (let alone again) were aired in the first quarter, and definitely in the first half, of the game. The last quarter was an absolute snoozer.

Below is my top 10 of Super Bowl commercials:

1. Audi Rich People Jail
There will always be debates with these top 10 lists, but I went with this commercial for two (three?) reasons: car commercials are usually extremely boring (and this wasn't), car commercials are usually very hackneyed (which this wasn't), and for #3, they had a great line about Kenny G.

2. Doritos' Resurrecting Crumbs
This is almost 1a in my book. Doritos has a string of Super Bowl hits over the last couple years, and should win an award for "lifetime achievement" at Super Bowl commercials. Plus, they should give their marketing department a huge bonus. The take on resurrecting grandpa was classic. Just classic.

3. Doritos Finger Licking
This is what makes Doritos so amazing - their second commercial is almost better than their first while taking a totally different comedic tact. The guy sucking his coworker's finger was both the most disgusting thing I've seen in a long time (and I deal with buttock abscesses people) and hilariously funny.

4. Motorola Xoom Tablet circa 1984
Many people might not have this commercial rated as highly as I do, but let me explain before you bash. Apple has an iconic touchscreen tablet that rules the market. Apple also busted onto the scene years ago with an iconic 1984-themed commercial taking down Microsoft. Motorola now is repeating the favor with a break-the-mold 1984-themed commercial as it tries to break into the iPad world. Genius.

5. Coca-cola Border Guards
Drawing the line in the sand around the Coke bottle and then rubbing the old line away with his foot brought back flashes of Col. William Travis drawing the line in the sand at the Alamo. Perhaps if the Texans had Coca-cola at the time and shared it with the Mexicans, everything could have been resolved peacefully (see honorable mention Coca-cola Dragon commercial for possible results of said action).

6. Pepsi Max Jealous Girlfriend
I'm on the fence about whether this is truly #6 or somewhere around #26. But the man trying to hide his good tasting but fattening food spoke to me. Perhaps I'm living that as well. And when his wandering eyes cause his girlfriend to throw the Pepsi ... well, that was classic.

7. Volkswagen Passat Darth Vader
To be honest, I had this one lower on my list at first also, but the sheer number of people who like Star Wars and cute commercials had me reconsider it. Some of my fondest smiles come when I make my son's eyes light up. Good commercial.

8. Teleflora Nice Rack
This was probably the best of the two or three email themed commercials. Personally, I've always been in favor of telling it like it is. Girls feign disgust to such responses, but in my experience, they typically are flattered that you find them attractive so they come around and you get the date. Plus, we all know that girls like jerks.

9. Coca-cola World of Warcraft Dragons
Amazing commercial because it brought back thoughts of WoW and Avatar (the fight between the Northern Water Tribe and the Fire Kingdom anybody?). Plus, it was cool to see how they turned it "warm and fuzzy" when it was a war-themed.

10. Groupon Tibet
I love Tibet, and this "Tibetan culture is fading" theme got bonus points even though Groupon twisted it to their nefarious coupon-hawking machinations. Score one for being civic-minded.

Belated Congratulations

... to the Forever Young Foundation and Tuan for winning this year's Play for a Cause.

This year we raised $120 for the Forever Young Foundation (FYF), an organization that uses sports to provide opportunities and learning experiences to disadvantaged youth. Pretty cool idea, if you ask me. Also, it was started by Steve Young, the hall of fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, and one of my personal favorite NFL players.

Part of the reason for my tardiness was a delay in receiving all payments. Another is my busy life. I went to Vietnam during April, graduated in May, moved in June, started residency in July. By the time I got all the money together and donated it, June was ending and I was jumping into my residency. Hence no time to report back to you that, yes, it was done.

However, I want to say how proud I am of everyone. For three years now, we have all given a little to help others. The variation in winners - Heifer international, Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation, Forever Young Foundation - belies are innately different likes and personalities, but each program achieves the same goal of helping our fellow, less fortunate, brothers and sisters.

Who will win next year? I can't wait to find out. Congrats again to Tuan and the Forever Young Foundation.

Argentina

From this article on Messi:

The easy conclusion, of course, is that the country is mad. Yes, anyplace can seem bizarre to a stranger, but let's agree that Argentina's lunacy is more obvious than, say, Denmark's. Argentina is, after all, the nation with the most psychoanalysts per capita; the country whose still-feverish devotion to a long-dead First Lady resulted in a town, Ciudad Evita, built in the shape of her head; the land where citizens fearlessly consume beef for breakfast or with afternoon coffee and erupt in street protests for any reason at all. On an April afternoon, for example, picketers halted rush-hour traffic on the highway into Buenos Aires, expressing outrage over the damage caused by a recent hailstorm. "Protesting the hail," said a lifelong resident with a shrug. "Of course."

Wonderful.

Yea Duke! Boo Duke!

Congratulations to a small private school for shocking the basketball world and defeating another shocking, small private school.

Yes, I was rooting for Butler. But, it was a great game and that's what really matters for my non-partisan self. The real championship came in Duke vs West Virginia. That's not because I think WVU is better than Butler (they're not), but because the winner of that game determined the winner of TBE Play For A Cause 2010... and THAT is far more important.

So, the final came down to David and Teach for America or Tuan (Vince) and the Forever Young Foundation. Unfortunately, WVU decided not to show up. Duke won, and so did the Forever Young Foundation. It was a hard fought victory.

With the rules valuing later round wins, even though David came within one game of winning the whole pool, he didn't even finish in the final top 3. That would be Tuan, Dennis (Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation), and Matt O. (Avon Walk). Fourth was Roger (LDS Charities). Dennis deserves special note because he came in second this year after winning last year, and clearly has performed the best overall during the 3 years of this event. Everyone watch out for 2011!

However, it does me great pleasure to note that for the third year we have a new winner. This shows that 1) everyone has a chance to win, no matter how much you know or don't know about basketball, and 2) we get to learn about a lot of good charities we might not have known about before, and 3) we get to help people. What a wonderful life we have.

So, without furthur ado, congratulations to the Forever Young Foundation. the $120 pot is the most raised in this pool to date, and I'm sure it will go to a worthy cause. See everyone next year!

Kentucky or Duke?

... or West Virginia or Kansas St or Baylor?

The Sweet Sixteen finished yesterday with a whimper. St. Mary's showed up to their game at halftime, and couldn't dig out of the 29 point hole their fill-ins put them in. Tennessee and Michigan St. ensured that someone outside the top 3 in a region will make the Final Four, but that's not really surprising since (outside Kansas), they're probably the two best coached teams in that region, if not the tournament.

Of much more interest is that the establishment of the Elite Eight has also whittled down our pool to our "Super Six" - the six charities that have a chance of winning it all.

Yes, my charity is not super. In fact, it's second from the bottom.

So, without further ado, here are the 2010 TBE Play For A Cause "Super Six":

Star of Hope (Blake)
Jesus House (Matt)
Avon Walk (Matt O.)
Teach For America (David)
Phú Mỹ Orphanage (Julie)
Forever Young Foundation (Tuấn)

Below is a spreadsheet that lists all possible outcomes of the Elite Eight and the winner of our pool. This was much easier than expected because nobody chose Tennessee, Michigan St, or Butler to reach the Elite Eight, and only two chose Kansas State. That said, those two soothsayers happen to be among the Super Six, so the Kansas State game holds big ramifications.



Today there are two games: Kansas State vs Butler and Kentucky vs West Virginia. The Kansas State game is easy. Both Matts (Jesus House and Avon Walk) picked K-State. If you root for either of those charities, you'll want K-State to win, because it helps your cause tremendously.

Kentucky vs West Virginia holds a lot more weight. Essentially, if Kentucky wins, we're guaranteed that the pool winner will be Star of Hope, Jesus House, Phú Mỹ Orphanage, or Avon Walk.

However, if West Virginia wins, we've got the cadre of Teach For America, Forever Young Foundation and Avon Walk. Choose your sides!

Obviously, Avon Walk is in the driver's seat, especially if Kansas State wins today. This is because if West Virginia beats Kentucky and then makes the final, Teach For America wins UNLESS, Kansas State wins and Duke wins their elite eight game.

So, pick your side, Kentucky or West Virginia, and may the best charity win.

18 Strength or 18 Charisma?

Poor, poor Cornell. I really liked those future rulers of humanity (or at least financial planners for the people that defeated them). Cornell played an ugly game, but it was the right game. The problem was, they went through a period of about 10 minutes in the first half where they forgot to play defense, and Kentucky ran up and down the court - scoring inside at will.

Once the second half started, Cornell brought the pace to a halt and brought the game within reach, but just couldn't get over the chasm they had allowed in the first half.

Then there's Kansas State. Cornell's brains are juxtaposed with K-State's tatoos. It all kinda reminds me of Dungeons and Dragons. When you were 12 and were creating that awesome character for your quest (and yes, you did play, even if you deny it now), you were always stuck, because you had only so many attribute points and you had to divvy them up between the basic attributes. If you wanted 18 strength, you were sure to have a low score somewhere else, but if you gave yourself all 10s, you character was pretty average - literally and personality-wise.

(Now, some people tweaked the rules, and rolled 3 dice for every attribute, allowing the possibility that your character could be the mythical all 18s super-God, but that wasn't how it was really supposed to be done.)

Cornell reminded me of that conundrum last night. They have Intelligence of 18, and obviously Charisma was pretty high too. But compared to Kentucky, Strength and Dexterity was too low to overcome. Meanwhile, schools like Kentucky have clear one-and-done athletes destined for NBA greatness. But all of that effort on basketball makes their scholastic endeavors farcical.

And so, in the arena of sport, 18 Strengths and 18 Dexterities will always beat those who put the time in to develop other attributes. A school with 18 Intelligence may never win the dance, but at least I can dream. Who knows? Perhaps someone will come along who bent the rules, and has all 18s. That would sure make things interesting.

Editor's Note: For those of you who really didn't play Dungeons & Dragons, each attribute score was randomly generated by rolling 3 six-sided dice and taking the total. 18 is the highest possible (natural) score a character could have (and obviously 3 is the lowest).

SO, at least 1 #1 seed is still alive and on to the Elite Eight. Kansas was slain by Northern Iowa, and last night Butler showed its muscle and decapitated Syracuse. Duke plays tonight it what could eviscerate the remaining brackets in our pool.

Here are the updated futures on each charity listed by possible points remaining:

Charity: Points + PPR = Possible Total
Avon Walk (J. Lamp): 430 + 840 = 1270
Forever Young Foundation: 490 + 760 = 1250
Jesus House: 430 + 760 = 1190
Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation: 450 + 680 = 1130
Teach for America: 460 + 640 = 1100
LDS Charities: 410 + 640 = 1050
Star of Hope: 550 + 280 = 830
Pazapa Center for Handicapped Children: 420 + 400 = 820
Action For Healthy Kids: 420 + 400 = 820
Phú Mỹ Orphanage: 450 +360 = 810
Doctors Without Borders, USA: 390 + 400 = 790
Epilepsy Foundation: 320 + 0 = 320

After the Sweet 16 is over, I'll take a more in-depth look at who's mathematically in it to win it, and who's hanging out with the Epilepsy Foundation.

Will the Madness Subside?

Well, March Madness really was mad. Round 2 was not as crazy as round 1, but there are some significant bracket busters into the Sweet 16. All that has made this year's 3rd Annual TBE Play for a Cause the most crazy one yet.

For example, I thought I was pretty safe with Kansas to win it all, and my gamble was BYU to the final four. If BYU could get past Kansas St., they would have the next two games in Salt Lake City, and would have a really good chance of going to the final four. Unfortunately, BYU laid an egg over the last 10 minutes of the first half against K-State and never recovered (It didn't help that the refs allowed K-state to basically mug players on the court). I suggest investing in firearms and personal bodyguards the next time someone has to play those thugs.

Because of Kansas' early loss to Northern Iowa (can you have a North & South if your state is that small?) and Villanova playing like scrubs, and my gamble failing, most of my future points hinge on Kentucky making the championship game. But they're playing Cornell, who I love, so I'm forced to root against myself.

All this craziness has Star of Hope in the lead, followed closely by Teach for America and the Forever Young Foundation. However, when we look at possible points remaining (PPR), we see some interesting things:

Charity: Points + PPR = Possible Total
Star of Hope: 430 + 400 = 830
Teach for America: 420 + 800 = 1220
Forever Young Foundation: 410 + 840 = 1250
Epilepsy Foundation: 320 + 40 = 360
Phú Mỹ Orphanage: 410 +520 = 930
Pazapa Center for Handicapped Children: 380 + 440 = 820
Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation: 370 + 800 = 1170
LDS Charities: 370 + 960 = 1330
TBA (MGO_Undecided): 350 + 960 = 1310
Jesus House: 350 + 840 = 1190
Doctors Without Borders, USA: 350 + 480 = 830
Action For Healthy Kids: 340 + 600 = 940

The race has really narrowed to the six charities in italics above. LDS Charities has the most total points possible.

Unfortunately, the Epilepsy Foundation takes this year's Lovable Loser award (yes, I made it up right now, for the first charity mathematically eliminated). You get a pat on the back, and a suggestion to never, NEVER choose Temple to win it all.

Crazy Day 1

A very crazy day 1 is in the books. ESPN said they had over 4.8 million brackets in their contest, and after yesterday, only 56 were still perfect. Insane.

On the good side, my BYU won. It took them coughing up a 13 point lead and two overtimes, but they finally shook that first-round-loss monkey off their backs. On to the final four!

I made an error this year with the competition. I told everyone the deadline was Thursday at noon, because I thought that was when the first game started. However, I forgot that ESPN locked the brackets in the morning. So, at least 4 people who told me they'd play didn't get to sign up. I have brackets from 2 of them, filled out before the first game's result was known. I will link to them once they are digital so everyone can see them. Transparency. Amazing isn't it.

Congratulations to Tuấn (Vince) for winning the first day. You get nothing. Sorry. But I do wish you continued success in the tourney. These first round games really set the tone for what comes later.

Finally, thanks again to everyone who's playing this year. We'll raise the most money ever in TBE's Play For A Cause lifetime. Hopefully, by this time next year you'll be able to go to an official website for my new non-profit organization, Play For A Cause - as I try to expand this idea to other people and other events.