Ugh!

ESPN NFL NFLPA responds with official letter

The NFL lockout continues with no end in sight... If the only issue seperating the two sides is the one billion dollars more that the owners want from the players ans the players are willing to give the money as long as the owners open up thier books to justify thier request, then that begs the question... Why haven't the owners opened their books? The NFL, since Roger Goodell took over in 07, has handled itself with an aire of arrogance when it comes to league matters. They have become too cute in the manner that they have handled things... What other organization launches their own investigations into criminal matters after the authorities close their investigation? The owners refusal to try and work with the players is just the latest example of their arrogance. If the lockout continues into the fall and no football is played, I think the owners are over estimating fans patience. The backlash and fallout from a lost season is going to be a lot more severe than they anticipate. If they are not careful they will loset fans to the NHL and NBA, both of which  have some great young superstars and a decent product. The NFL isn't the only game in town during the winter months, given the opportunity to watch the NBA and NHL in place of the NFL, fans just might see what they've been missing while watching football all this time. Its not like the MLB where, in the summer months, its the ONLY thing going on. People are going to want to watch sports and you can only watch the NFL Network for so long until you grow tired of reruns and want something new.

The Madness that is March

So I think it's safe to say- I love the NCAA Tournament. More specifically, I love the first two days of the NCAA Tournament. All of the upsets, all of the special single game performances, tracking your bracket, kicking yourself for picking the wrong team yet again. I love all of it. Who would've thought that we would have a 12 v 13 matchup in the second round? Guaranteeing that we will have a 12 or a 13 seed in the Sweet 16

A few observations and lessons after the first two days:

There isn't much difference between seeds after the 4th seed. This year especially, there wasn't much that separated the 6 seed from the 11 or the 7 from the 10. I am not quite sure what has lead to this recent parity in College Basketball. Could it be the fact that more kids than ever are recruited from overseas to play for mid-major teams? Could the talent pool of young American basketball players has just become that deep? I have no idea what it is, but something has happened in the ppast 5 years that has closed the gap between the Dukes, North Corolina's, and Kansas's of the world with the George Mason's and Butler's.

I'm done with picking Rick Pitino to go deep. For the second year in a row I picked Louisville to make a sweet 16 run and for the second year in a row, Rick Pitino crapped on me. I've begun comparing Rick Pitino to the ex-girlfriend that always seems to hang around and every few months things start going great, only to crash and burn just as quickly as they started. It's getting pretty ridiculous with him. He will ALWAYS break your heart.

Upsets, while fun to watch, don't really happen all that much. I know I opened this up by commenting on the 12 v 13 matchup in the second round, but other than those two teams,  only Marquette(11), VCU(11), and Florida St(10) were the low seeds to advance. That's 5 upsets by seeding out of a possible 32. So while it's fun to talk about and watch, it doesn't really happen that often. Remember this next year when you are filling out you bracket and you are trying to convince yourself that you shouldn't have 4 1 seeds in your Final Four.

My bracket overall: I went 24 of 32, not bad. My Sweet 16 is missing 3 teams as well, but my Elite 8 is still in tact... Kinda need West Virginia to pull it together against Kentucky to start this round off right.

What a fist session...

WOW!! Today I am reminded why I love the first round of the NCAA Tourney. Today has for sure been a microcosm of what makes this tournament great. Butler wins on a tip-in at the buzzer, Richmond pulls off the 12 seed shocker. Kentucky holds off Princeton. Morehead St. beats Louisville in the biggest upset of the day(as far as seeding goes). Temple bests Penn St. in a great show. San Diego State and Pitt played true to form. Thus far my bracket looks okay, I am 6 of 8. Pretty stoked I took Richmond right now. But Louisville... I am so over Rick Pitino. How many more times do I need to be let down by a coach before I just stop picking him to win?! ugh... More thoughts to come.

The day so far

3 of the first 4 games decided in the final seconds. This is why I wake up and start drinking at 9. I love the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, there's nothing quite like it. Nothing but non-stop waves of excitement all day. So far I am 2 of 4 in my brackets. I should have known better than to go with Rick Pitino. He will ALWAYS break your heart. How do you lose to Morehead St?! As I am typing this Princeton has a 5 point lead on Kentucky with 13 minutes to go... Gonna be a great finish to this as well. The ebb and flow to these games is fantastic. I think that's the best part of March Madness- the roller coaster of emotions. It's not too long after one dramatic finish that you have to move on to the next game. I have Richmond beating Vandy in my obligatory 12 v 5 upset... Stay tuned...

Welcome to Ted's Lounge

What is Ted's Lounge? Ted's Lounge is your one stop blog spot for sports and entertainment. I have a little bit of an alternative view on things so if you like progressive thinking and sites that challenge the norm, this will be an ideal place for you to come. Today is the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and I will be doing updates throughout the day. I figured there wasn't a better day that transcends sports than this one to start up a transcendent sports blog. So, again, welcome to Ted's Lounge, feel free to interact and descuss anything you'd like. I love me some educated debates.