brohammas' "Heffernan Theory"

Sitcoms are filled with "regular guys" who are married to women who (in the real world) would never even give these guys the time of day.
Jamie Gertz from Still Standing wouldn't even date this dude.

Leah Remini (King of Queens) was hot before she blew up. But this is the "before" photo - when she was way out of Doug Heffernen's league. (In the later shows, they're a more believable match).

Since it was the Drew Carey's show, he decided to get a skinny girlfriend. Although in real life, Mimi would be his girl

Jim Belushi's wife (According to Jim) had three kids and still kept her shape? Maybe this is because the writers' wives all blew up after having their babies. Their fantasy would be to have them retain some sort of sexuality. These shows are just their idealized version of their reality.

Even the eponymous George Lopez Show had to keep the fantasy going. His wife Angie is way out of his league.

In earlier times, a fantasy situation was created to justify a wife who was out of one's league.

Samantha (Bewitched) wouldn't date Darren - she would treat him in a way more similar to the way her sister Sarena threats him.

I guess if you find a scantily clad woman in a bottle - she belongs to you. Again, a fantasy situation is created to justify such a romance.

But these guys have nothing on the video game writers who create characters like this...

Or the graphic novel writers who create women like this.

This fantasy phenomenon is largely lost on Black sitcoms.

Tyler Perry's House of Pain uses actors that are in more realistic relationships.

So did the writers of Family Matters.

Okay, Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris)is no Florida Evans - But she not Stacey Dash or Melissa Ford either.

Yeah... Bernie Mac's wife (Wanda) was hot. But he plays a famous comedian... and the kids are not hers through birth.

Claire Huxtable was (is) the model for many aspirational mothers - even Black ones. But she was a lawyer and Cliff was a doctor. Cliff didn't work for UPS or at some production plant.

Shows like All of Us don't count. Lisa Raye and Vidal (from Out All Night, I forget his real name) were divorced. And Elise Neal didn't last on the show.

Kelsey Grammer (The Game and Girlfriends) seems to be the only Hollywood insider who portrays Black women as more than just fat and dumpy caricatures.

Rent To Own

Times are tough, I understand that.

But have things really gotten this bad?

But if you need a car and you have bad credit - rent to own might be your last option.

http://www.autobyrent.com/

Oh, but you already have a bucket and you just want new rims?

http://www.rent-n-go.com/index.html

I even had a cousin rent a set of gold teeth (grillz).

I guess the economy is worse than I previously thought.

Do Ra Me (Do Re Mi)

RunningMom (Black Shoes White Socks) left this link to a New York Times article about using music in healing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/arts/music/29gure.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

The Game

FreeMan - "If we try to sword fight over the right approach... we defeat ourselves."
brohammas - "ranking the crabs in a barrel does not get any of them out of it"

Yep.
Perhaps I wasn't clear.
The post wasn't meant to suggest that there is some universal answer to all problems.
It was meant in response to those who sit idly by and complain about wrong doings to deaf ears.
Or to those who create the problems they complain about.
Or those who have a theoretical idea of problems - but who lack any "lab" experience.
To be able to properly understand the problems, one must be able to understand the nuances that occur on the most intimate level.

@ FreeMan - I didn't mean for you to infer that everyone has to do the same work - but that the work itself needs to done. There is no point to infinite redundancies.

@ brohammas - Maybe my metaphor, simile, analogy (or whatever) was lacking in clarity.

People who dismiss every problem as... let's say racism, when the real problem is not being prepared - these people lack an intimate understanding of the problem and will likely misdiagnose the problem. These people will likely prescribe the wrong medication (or answer).
This person can come up with a million ideas as to why things are the way they are - but their knowledge is mostly theoretical (or outdated).
(This is the person in the house complaining about having to drink warm lemonade with no ice. This is the one who says, "I'm glad I'm not one of those people".)

There are also people who do no work but blame their position on everyone else.
They might say, "I didn't get the job because I am Black" - instead of realizing that their weight, looks, lack of education or skills, or attitude were more to blame than anything else (shallow, but it happens). This person has stopped trying. Their "job" is to be the infinite victim.
(This is the person sitting under the tree who tells the working men that they're suckers for trying. He also sits back and says, "I be happy dems not me".)

Then we have the people doing the work.
This group varies in age, race, experience, perspective and a long list of other traits.
This is the group that does what the others sit back and talk about doing.
This group is too busy to hate on those who would look down on them for various reasons.
This is the group who helps each other (to varying degrees) and tries to make things better.
This group consists of those who would usually be assumed to be in one of the other two groups.
Their experiences and abilities and their relationships with others will determine how far up and down the scale these people can travel.
(Regardless of race, gender or social status - this is the group who actually "gets dirty".)

Get Dirty

Yeah... these brotha's had to work.
Yeah... there were probably some lighter skinned cats chilling in the big house - sneaking sips of cool lemonade.
And you know there had to be some of the dark dudes sitting under a tree in the shade complaining about how rough "we" had it.

But of these three groups, who actually had a valid complaint?
I'm not talking about those in the house.
They probably complained about how bad "we" had because they only got the second cut of meat and had to wear uniforms.
Or that they had to listen to the massa' talk bad about them.
They were probably a little more articulate - so their complaints were probably taken as those of the whole.

Then we have the shiftless brotha'.
He would complain the loudest because he was trying to avoid having to do any work.
The more he complained, the less he was required to do.
This is the brotha' that would always eff it up for everybody.
He had to rape the massa's daughter, steal the pie from the window or hate on those who were trying to make things better.

But the men in the photo were the only ones getting dirty.
When ish jumped off, they took care of it.
When it was illegal to read, they would hide and teach their kids from pages of the Bible.
When one from the other groups complained, they were the one's punished by having to do more work with less resources.

Are all views valid? Sure, but whose view had a greater positive effect on the whole?
So unless you're down here (I came out of the big house to help those in the dirt, not just talk about it and give directions) in the dirt getting dirty - I don't want to hear it unless you're down here with me - your complaints are almost laughable.
(At least come down to visit sometime to get to know the real issues)

Beauty Is Learned

No, I'm not talking about women like Uma Thurman, Fairuza Balk or Kate Blanchette. Those women can somehow pull off "pretty" even while having a little bit of "ugly".

But in saying that Tori Spelling (and her Frankenhead) and the wrecked Courtney Love are ugly - I'm not being racist. It's just my personal opinion regarding some one's looks.

Being a Black guy and saying such does not make me a racist.

Women play with their hair color and style as if changing their underwear.

Tyra, MJB, Beyonce' and Mariah changing to lighter foundations on their faces does not mean that they are trying to look white.

Check out SeeNew's boy "TurdEye" and his opinions concerning "Black Is Beautiful":

http://byrdeye.blogspot.com/ Just scroll down a bit on his blog... you'll see it.

Is a woman who would buy this thing trying to look "More Black"?
Did this woman really not understand that the ass without the "hips option" just looks effed up?
Did Jessica Simpson try to come across as "More Black" by getting lip implants?

Or a tan and darker hair?

Did Jennifer Garner think that "Blacker (lips) is better"?

There was nothing wrong with Nikki Cox. She was a perfectly serviceable girl.

But maybe she thought "Blacker" lips would look better.

I liked Christina Aguilara as a blond.

Maybe she wanted to go a little more "ethnic".

But the answer to Byrdeye's Micheal Jackson photos has to be THIS!

At least Micheal made Thriller!

Matthew 7:7 ("...seek, and ye shall find;")

Anyone who has seen the movie Boomerang is familiar with the Martin Lawrence character "Tyler".
Tyler always had a theory as to why every action or thought of someone white had to tend towards racism.
His explanation of the game of pool being about - the white ball pushing all of the colored balls around until only the black ball was left. And that the game isn't over until the black ball is off the table.

Yep, it sounds good, even plausible.
But what of other sports?
Are active sports dominated by Blacks because the games are played with big brown balls?

In basketball, the goal of the game is to get the over sized brown ball into the net.

In football, the big brown ball is somewhat deformed. It takes this deformity to enable Peyton Manning or Tom Brady to exert their control.

Is the (mostly) passive sport of baseball a reference to the big brown stick not the little white ball? The pitchers and catchers (whom are usually white) basically try to play a game of Keep Away (from the looming stiff dark bat).

Soccer's ball is both black and white. But the mixed ball just gets kicked around by all races of players in an effort to keep it from entering the extremely wide open white net.

Okay, volleyball has a big white ball. But it's usually considered a woman's (or a wimp's) sport.
And since white women usually play the game, they like to play with big balls too - regardless of color.

Even hockey (with it's small black puck) is a reference to the "shrinkage" that occurs on ice. And the goal of the game is to prevent the black puck from going into the wide white net (Blond hairs?). They even station a large white guy in front of the net to prevent the emasculated black puck from entering this goal. It's the only sport that allows fighting to prevent such a thing from happening.

How true are these observations?

John Quinones and his "What Would You Do" series is a series of social "experiments".
But are they true experiments?
( http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/03/ignore-or-stand-up-to-racism.html )
There are other factors that were not accounted for. Where were the controls?

What about the fact that the woman could be seen as holding her own with the saleslady? Would you help the person who is winning a fight?

Would the people have helped a white patron if referred to as "you people"? Maybe they were just passive people doing what they would have done in any situation.

Would the people have responded differently if the Black woman had engaged in a bit of small talk with the other patrons. One woman said that she didn't help because "(she) didn't know (the Black woman)".

Would people have helped as long as the Black woman didn't bring up race? One guy asked if the Black actor "played the Race card".

The fact that the Black guy was offended (even when it was pointed out that the reason had more to do with the Black actor being seen as from a lower class) makes this a class issue (not race). The issue of race was only projected onto the Black actor by the Black patron.

So all this "experiment" showed was that if you're always looking for racism - you'll surely find it. Not everything concerning people of color is Racist.

IMO -In the case of the football player getting a ticket for running a red light while trying to see his dying mother in law is more of a case of an asshole cop trying to show his need for a citizen's recognition of his authority (as was the case with the pregnant white woman last year in another state). This case was one of a larger set of problems with many police officers.
http://www.aclutx.org/projects/racialprofiling.php

Spend It

No, money doesn't grow on trees.
Some people get it through hard work, some inherit it, while others just get lucky.
(Don't discount luck. When my family had just moved from the 'hood to a suburban area - I attended our elementary school's carnival. I bought a ticket to participate in the Cake Walk. When the music stopped, I was on the winning number. The kids from the old neighborhood complained, "No fair... he's rich.". So I was forced by the teachers to step away from the winning number, one square ahead. But my sister was standing behind me, so she won! Not so fast - the kids complained that she was rich too. We had to step forward one more time until a kid from the old neighborhood won. Is this fair?)
Our economy isn't bad because we spent too much - it's gone south because many have wasted too much (and for too long).

Do you remember Imelda Marcos and her shoe collection of more than 2000 pairs?
Most people couldn't see the rationale of owning so many shoes.

But how was she any different than Kip Riggs ?

Well... she wasn't.

But I doubt that Kip has millions of dollars to buy his shoes, or a palace in which to store them, or servants to keep them clean.

So if Imelda Marcos was bad for wasting so much money on shoes - how much worse are these kids who have closets full of Jordans and Air Force One's?

Spending money isn't the problem - wasting it is.

Fan Boys

Okay...maybe I am a fanboy.
As a kid, I used to love the Silver Surfer.
I also used to like Grendel (No, not the one from Beowulf) - but this chick.

I once went to visit one of my friends at his college dorm.
The guys on his hall would often argue over whether to watch Thunder Cats or Voltron.
Voltron would always be my choice because of one episode -
Voltron had traveled to the end of the Universe and had the choice of going to the other side to paradise - or returning to battle evil (but with more power and abilities).
I had never thought of the Universe as having an end - so this "kid's cartoon sparked an interest.

But pound for pound, the most thought provoking "kids" cartoon had to be Robotech.
Characters were of various races and sexualities.
Was Yellow Dancer a gay guy or a tall woman?
Was Claudia (LaSalle) Grant's relationship with Roy Fokker the first animated inter-racial couple?
How was it that Claudia could be six feet tall and only weigh between 106-130 pounds?
And how did the Invid create the Universe and Mankind?
And who created them?

There are always paradigm shifting moments in popular culture.
For some it was Star Trek. The terminology and science was limited to what was thought to be possible at that time.
For another generation it was Star Wars. Since the environment of the movies roughly paralleled Earth, the concept of a parallel existence came into play.
And later, it was The Matrix. The series went completely to the future by going back to the past.
The Matrix is a great example of movies bringing things (or theories of such things) into being because they bring them to a greater consciousness.
Why doesn't Neo have to flap his arms in order to fly? Because Superman didn't have to a generation earlier.
But if one could fly, why would they even have to take the initial leap? Because Superman did that too.
The Matrix is a good photo of our understanding so far.

Since one has to imagine something before they are able to do it, these comics, cartoons and movies set the pattern as to what actual scientists will be working on in the future.
Or the level of our understanding of how the world (and Universe) actually works.
This language of possibilities communicates concepts and ideas.
These may be our "I am" moments - revealing to us what our next evolutionary steps will be.

Prayer ?

How does prayer work?
Does it work in the same way as Pheromones do for bees?
Or is it the perfect resonance of one's voice(s)?
As in the case of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (or an opera singer's voice breaking a glass), resonance has power beyond what is visible to the naked eye (although the effects of it can be seen).

Everyone has had an experience with a song that inspires, be it - the Theme From Rocky, a Wagner arrangement or a primitive war chant.
Music is also said to soothe the savage beast.
Is it the melody or the perfect pitch that creates this effect?
Is it a prayer to one's inner self?

714 HR / 1330 SO

How can you be remembered more for your successes than your failures?
Buy making sure your successes matter more.
Babe Ruth had a whopping 1330 strike outs - and only 714 home runs.
But how is he remembered?

Victims Of Our Own Sucess

Much of our worry was brought about by our own doing.
In our rush to be more - we may have created problems larger than those we were trying to solve.

I have a neighbor who works sixty to seventy hours a week.
His wife works about the same.
His children were never denied any of their childhood desires.
The family has a nice house, nice cars and all of the things most people work for.

But all is not well in their paradise.
Their only son is in prison for seventy-five years after his conviction for robing some guy and then beating him, and then stabbing him, and the shooting him, and then lighting the guy on fire.
And the guy lived to testify against him.
Apparently all the free time given to him, as a result of his parents working so much, gave him the opportunity to get involved with the wrong crowd (Well, really... to become the wrong crowd.).
His family has spent more than a couple hundred thousand dollars on legal fees, bail and fines.
I wonder if they had worked less and spent more time with their children - would their family be better off?

Their daughter has four children by three different men (one whom is in prison with her brother).
Their daughter has to work a lot of overtime to support these four children - leaving them to be raised mostly by her mother.
The boys aren't bad. Recently, I taught one how to ride his new bike. They always say "Sir" and ask before they do anything.
But the result of all the hours spent alone will probably continue the cycle of their material needs being met instead of their moral foundation being laid.
Sometimes the money made fails to pay for all of the problems created in trying to make it.

Every year, the "fat months" seem to be over a longer period of time.
My fat months (months that I only go to the gym or run when there is nothing else to do) used to be between Thanksgiving and New Years Day.
Since moving to Texas, this period has been stretched past the Super Bowl up until Mardi Gras.
A lay off of just over a month is doable - but three months of partial sloth gets harder and harder to recover from.

We no longer have to worry about working for our meals.
In earlier times, we had to actually expend some type of physical effort in order to eat.
We used to eat for fuel - not just because something looks good or is convenient.
A typical meal at any convenient fast food restaurant usually has enough calories, fat and sugar to last a hard working man a whole day.

Add to these meals; the dyes, preservatives, steroids and antibiotics added to the meat, breads and vegetables - and we get food that may be doing more harm than good.
Add to all this; the fact that we have taken so many nutrients from the ground by over planting - we now need to add synthetic nutrients (fertilizers made from petroleum products) back into the ground to get food that is not as good for us as the food from two generations ago.
Add to this; the harm (financial and ecological) that those petroleum products do.

And we wonder why we have so many illnesses and the inability to properly fend them off.

Our gain is usually someone else's loss.
Maintaining our quality of life usually requires someone else to have to suffer.
My affordable (compared with the price it would have cost if the laborers who made it were paid a livable wage) flat panel TV requires some kid or peasant to be exploited somewhere in China.
The computer on which I'm now typing was purchased at one of the Big-Box stores. That Big-Box store put many smaller businesses... out of business.
The medicines that are advertised on television usually have side effects that are worse than the ailment they are trying to cure.
And on and on...

IMO - It seems that the old idea of "Better living through science" is a mostly subjective view.
"Better" for whom?

Stability - Not Growth

When adding a second floor to any existing structure, one should always be sure that the original floor is solid enough to support any additional weight that the new floor will generate.
If this step is not done, both floors collapse.

I still don't see the use of throwing trillions of dollars at an economy that has a foundation built on the people at the top.
Wouldn't it make sense to secure the foundation and ground floor before worrying about any future growth?
Isn't stability something to be sought before growth?

Our current banking system is just unstable.
Our futures shouldn't depend on whether one or two percent of the population can benefit from their past greed.
http://onlinewsj.com/article/SB123388681675555343.html
While creating new banks from the ground up is a time consuming process - letting smaller profitable banks step in where the Big Boys failed would seem to make the most sense.

So as Obama spins these programs into a nice sounding package - I just have to shake my head in disbelief.
The banks aren't broken - the system of building the top floor first is.

Why Is Abortion Wrong ?

If you're Pro-Life, fine.
If you're Pro-Choice, fine.
But IMO - abortion is just wrong.

Biblicaly speaking?
I don't know. Wasn't some guy struck dead for just pulling out and ejaculating on the ground?
That seems kind of harsh.
So I can't go by the Bible on this one.


I'd had a handful of girls have abortions early in my life.
I sometimes wonder how the kids would have turned out.
I knew that I was a ho.
I couldn't settle down with those women at that time - I would have just cheated on them.


As I was walking an ex to the clinic, some lady with a bottle of fake blood started yelling at me.
When I pointed out that I would take the throwing of the fake blood as a hostile act - and that I would be forced to defend myself - a group of protesters began to surround me.
"Bitch, please", I said to some guy who was trying to show me pictures of a recently performed abortion.
But I listened.
Then I asked how they could be so "Pro-Life" when someone who was obviously alive was sitting right next to them needing help. (A soup kitchen was next door to the abortion clinic.)
Or is it only potential life that is important.


When I got older, women would always ask me how to go about getting an abortion.
Our code words were to "return a pair of shoes".
In Cali. (at the time) one could apply for emergency Medicaid and have the procedure done for free.
After the procedure, I'd take the girls to a carb and iron rich lunch and then talk about something else - anything else.
Sometimes the girls would just cry.


One of the young girls who came to me for advice was a really cute young lady (about 19) who was having problems with her boyfriend.
My advice?
"You'll regret keeping the baby... but you'll regret killing it even more".
With this, she decided to keep her baby.
When her mother heard that I convinced her to keep her kid, the mother was shocked.
"But John's a ho !?", she said.

At the baby's first birthday party, the girl's mother (the baby's grandmother) made sure that her granddaughter had Black Barbie presents.
When I asked "Why?, the mother said that it was so that her grandchild would know that Blacks weren't bad people. (These people lived on the hills in the good part of town and had no prior Black friends).


So why is abortion wrong?
Because even though people say that it's a woman's choice - it can still be a man's guilt.
Because no matter how much I try to say that it was just a bunch of cells - they were my cells.

The Best Job Ever

Where else can you; work only 32 hours a week, get paid vacations, a 401k, medical, dental and visual insurance, money (much of it unreported), and all the hook ups one would want?


I used to be a bartender. Well... that's not quite right.
I was the bartender at the spot in our locale.
But the thing about being a bartender is that everyone assumes that you know "what's up".
Inevitably, you end up knowing what's up.


Regardless of how much it is, the money you make doesn't matter.
If you happen to be the man at your spot, everyone wants to hook you up.
I used to be able to pay my bills for the month in one or two days worth of work.
But spending the left over money becomes a problem.
Why? Because like one's lawyer, doctor or accountant - everyone considers you to be their bartender.
People give you passes to games, concerts, clubs, movies, dinners, or whatever.


I'm not talking about that guy who just hands you a beer and takes your money (that guy is just a cashier).
But the great bartenders act as a concierge. He uses his hook-ups to hook you up.
He knows everybody and everything (but can repeat none of it).
Ballers only like to be served by their bartender.
Even if it's just a beer in a bottle - their bartender has to get it for them.

If I went to dinner, it was paid for before I could ask for the check.
If I went to a club - ropes, lines, cover charges or tabs wouldn't exist.
Bartenders know other bartenders. From the House of Blues to Prego on Canon to the tables at Caesar's - bartenders hook up other bartenders.


But this wasn't the good part.
Since most of one's money goes unreported - you qualify for everything.


I went to the emergency room one night.
I had my insurance cards as well as my information from another carrier.
As I was waiting to be seen, a girl named Sophia happened to walk by.
Sophia worked for Medicaid (the California version of Medicare).
When she saw me in line, she waved me over to sign an application for the service.

Since my pay stubs showed so little income - I qualified for Medicaid at a rate of $5.00 per month (but only for the months I used the service).
Five dollars was less than my deductible - five dollars sounded like a good deal.
Five dollars covered the visits to the emergency room, STD clinic (hey, I was a bartender - at that age and at 2 am, a lot of girls were looking for a one night friend), check ups, follow up visits and medications.
The five dollars was only a one time charge per month. (No wonder California is going bankrupt).

I lived in an apartment complex that had indoor pools, basketball courts and racquetball courts. It also has two weight rooms, an outdoor basketball court, three exterior pool, and twelve tennis courts.
The rent was $1600 a month for a double master (two master suites - not a double sized room) unit.
Since my room mate and I were both bartenders - $800 a month (each) was doable.
But since we were both bartenders, we qualified for the $485.00 (total) affordable housing program.
At $242.50 each, that's even better.

Luxury complexes that use municipal money for financing are required to set aside a certain percentage of their units for low income tenants.
Since most complexes don't really want low income tenants - many recruit tipped employees (bartenders,cocktail waitresses, strippers, etc.) to fill these units.
So we paid cheap rent to live near a bunch of easy women (this is why cheap STD clinics are important).


Every car salesman, writer, promoter, pilot, cop or shop owner the loved attention.
If they thought of you as their bartender - they would always try to hook you up.
Writers would give me concert or game tickets, make sure I got my picture in the paper or give me the promo material from their last story.
Cops would just talk to me, instead of giving me a ticket.
People who worked in the Industry would give me cutouts before the products went on sale.
I met my doctor, lawyer and physical therapist from working at a bar.
Legal fees were waved, prescriptions were filled and rehabs performed - all because they thought of me as their bartender.
It was like being Ed Norton's character in Fight Club.


But the dark side is where the money is.

Strippers tip like crazy.
Athletes, actors and musicians tip less than a successful (reputed) drug dealer.
But when the so called celebrities don't get the attention they're used to - they chill out and try to tip as much as the "regular" strippers and dealers.
More celebs bring in more strippers and dealers - which brings in more celebs - which brings in more dealers and strippers, and on and on.


I loved being a bartender. It's better than being an owner or manager.
I never had to worry about paying a club's bills, or managing a bunch of prima-donna waitresses, or booking talent to perform.
The money was easy and so were the frills.


The down side is that all the money and frills were too easy.
No one should live so well for having to do so little (in terms of work or education).
I think this is why so many who make easy money self destruct.
It just doesn't seem fair.
There has to be something of worth in this life.
There has to be more than money, women, gambling, drinking and parties.


Sometimes I think I'm wasting my time trying to help others.
Sometimes I long for the easy days.
Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice.
But then I remember - that was then, this is now.


(But it is the best job ever.)

Cop Killer

What does the above photo (from the Oscar Grant rally in Oakland, California) have to do with this;
http://mercurynews.com/ci_11972437?source=most_viewed
(Cop Killer Was Depressed About Going Back To Prison, Family Says)?

One is the cause - the other the effect.
But which is which?
In the story, Everstine Martin says it all; "All we want is respect".

Brackets Busted

Vanessa Williams and UNC did alright for me in the tournament.
(UNC over Gonzaga)

And Angela Basset (Now representing Oklahoma) looked pretty good too.

(Oklahoma over Syracuse)

Diana Sawyer and Louisville got a nice scare.

(Louisville over Arizona)

Kansas looked more like the old school Kirstie Alley than the old(er) Kirstie Alley.

(Kansas over Michigan State)

Old school Dixie Carter and Memphis were solid.

(Memphis over Missouri)

Meg Ryan and UConn helped to bust my bracket.

(UConn over Purdue)

Miss America 1999 (I don't know her name) and Pittsburgh repped the Big East.

(Pittsburgh over Xavier)

Duke and Annabeth Gish are my least favorite team still at The Dance for their past team's wins against UNLV and Georgetown back in the 80's and 90's.
(Duke over Villanova)

Of my original picks for this year's Sweet Sixteen, only Louisville, Kansas, Memphis, Missouri, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Oklahoma remain in the tournament. It seems that this year's final dance will likely be between teams from the ACC and Big East conferences.

(Don't hate on the lack of color - I thought there would be more Blacks, Asians and Hispanics from these schools too)