Beltway Basketball Bonanza- Busted Brackets and Crumbling Cookies...

On the Monday after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament there's always a haze... what just happened? Are we still in? How badly did the upsets burn my bracket?

Fifteen Fury-- Not one but two #15 seeds stole the tournament's heart Friday night... as Missouri and Duke (two of my "folds") went down. While the Blue Devils had been consistently uneven all winter (losing at home to Miami... winning at UNC), one has to be a little more disappointed in the Tigers' tumble. They won the Big 12 going away--I thought they had a shot at a #1-- but were rated the lowest of the #2's because of a soft schedule. I guess we now know why. Major props to the Patriot League and MEAC-- two one-bid leagues that are often cannon fodder the first days of the tournament-- for pushing Richmond '91 further into the background.

Sunday Night Hoops? What used to be a nice exclamation point to the weekend has been changed with Turner's addition to the menu. Instead of squeezing eight games into seven hours on Sunday-- they space them out. Which means we get three games spaced out until 6 (and if it's a rout-- watch out)... and then a flurry of late games on Sunday like a 9:40 Cincy-Florida State. How can I complain about my bracket when I still have to watch hoops? Can we compromise? Give us six games in seven hours and then two prime timers... 7 and 9:30. Please?

Alma Mater Update-- as an alum of a school that's dropped more than a few of these early games-- the Orange gave me plenty to be concerned about before weaseling by UNC-Asheville. They say in order to capture a National Title you have to win one game you obviously don't deserve-- and I think SU has found their "wow- we so escaped a major bullet here" game. Many point to the referees handing the Orange the game... and while this may have merits I would love to have these people listen to my SU buddy "Arkansas Charlie"-- for he believes there's this cabal created to hose the Orange out of every call. Time to move on. Thankfully it's to the regional in Boston.

Georgetown's year ended one step shy of the Sweet Sixteen... as a ten point first half lead turned into a loss to 11th seeded North Carolina State (who were once 7-3 in the ACC with a 20 point lead at Duke). After being picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East, there's no shame in finishing 24-9 after losing to a Wolfpack team just hitting its stride-- but a rough way for seniors Jason Clark (3-11 FG and a last-second miss) and Henry Sims (fouling out with 4 points). And before you jump on the "Can JTIII win here longterm?" ... just remember other coaches have had longer runs of upsets (Lute Olson) and underachieving in the Big Dance before enjoying great success.

Maryland Womens' Window-- the Terrapins tangle with Louisville in a made for TV bracket: Jeff Walz used to be a Terp assistant and his Cardinals bounced Kristi Tolliver and Marissa Coleman in the Elite Eight three years ago. Adding to the sluggishness of Saturday's win there may be cause for concern. IF Alicia DeVaughn and Tianna Hawkins can stay out of foul trouble... and IF Maryland can manage its possessions effectively... we'll see a trip to Raleigh and the Sweet Sixteen.


Now to more important matters-- the 2012 Girl Scout Cookie Rankings. I have my usual supplier whose daughters are still okay with me signing the sheet "Bauer" with the address "CTU-Ballston". This year's field has been truncated to eight-- and thus no "first round".

8-- Savannah Smiles-- Or Dave frowns. This new addition is a crescent shaped lemon wedge cookie with lemon chips and dusted in powdered sugar. Goes great with tea. I'm sure my grandmother has 5 boxes. Even with Che Che rooting em on... feels like one of those schools from the Big South that plays well for a half-- and then loses by 20.

7-- Thank U Berry Much-- Or no thank you. Cranberries and white fudge chunks? Not to mention the bad pun and worse spelling. Feels like a mismatched roster of juco transfers who couldn't cut it at in other cookies' programs. You know there's an NCAA violation waiting to happen... and while this odd conglomeration gets you to the dance, it almost guarantees you an early exit.

6-- Dulce De Leche-- This Latin caramel cookie used to have a caramel topping. Sign me up! Sadly, it was removed because of the high amount of trans fat. Sign me off! Sounds like an eligibility issue-- and unlike the Orange, Dulce doesn't have the depth. But it does offer a great zone defense.

5-- Trefoils-- Naismith would be proud. A traditional shortbread cookie made in the shape of the Girl Scout emblem. Break out the peach baskets. Feels like Gene Hackman should be coaching them with Dennis Hopper in the wings. Fundamentally sound cookie but plays the entire game well below the rim. Hey, Loyola of Chicago once won a title in the 60's too.

4-- Do-Si-Dos-- Peanut Butter Paranoia? Crunchy oatmeal cookie with peanut butter filling. Power in the post. I'm looking for Michael Graham to come out and punch the other cookies in the mouth. A decent cookie... but prone to foul trouble (especially with those ACC refs).

3-- Samoas-- tough call for the top three. The motion offense of cookies is vanilla but coated with caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate stripes. So much style and substance and subtext and pretext-- the perfect halfcourt treat. But can it run and keep up with the others? Having put each of these through the "test"-- it's a challenge to knock down 5+ Samoas in a sitting. Not impossible, but still a challenge.

2-- Thin Mints-- we're talking UNLV 1990. Nobody runs like the this thin, mint-flavored chocolate wafer dipped in chocolate coating. Often goes on scoring/wolfing down runs of 10-15 without any effort. But can TM play the halfcourt game? If slowed down to a manageable pace I see problems rebounding the flavor... over-aggressiveness resulting in easy crumbs instead of steals... and the propensity to force a shot when it isn't wise. I dare you to try to eat one and not a second for 15 minutes.

1-- Tagalongs-- it's all about matchups. Crispy vanilla cookie layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolate coating-- this team can play halfcourt yet run to some degree. One can play inside out (scooping the peanut butter out with your teeth) or just attack the rim. In the fridge or room temperature this option provides more than one shining moment.