Chalk up another win!

Elite 8 | Detroit, Michigan | Davidson

After hearing all of the hype about Stephen Curry, I wasn't really sure what to think. After seeing him perform, my respect for him grew. Giving up a last second shot to his team-mate was a tough call for him to make, but he did it. As two defensive-minded Jayhawks zeroed in on Curry with just a few seconds left, he had to throw it all out there. The ball landed in Jason Richard's hands and he threw up a three-pointer.

If it goes in, Davidson wins and earns their piece of the Final Four. If it misses, Davidson loses by two points, and the Jayhawks advance as the fourth #1 seed in the Final Four.

Glancing off the left side of the rim, the ball misses the hole and the Jayhawks win!

That was one of the most agonizing games that I have seen in a while. It just looked like the 'Hawks weren't ready to play. Careless mistakes by the guys and questionable calls by the referees (equally bad on both ends of the floor) lead to a very low scoring Elite 8 game.

The 'Hawks came out on top though, winning by two, 59-57.

Leading the Jayhawk attack were Mario Chalmers and Sasha Kaun. Chalmers hit key three-pointers when no one else could make them in the first half, and Kaun gave the 'Hawks that much needed spark several times throughout the game. They each ended the game with 13 points and the Midwest Regional Final trophy.

Bill Self has earned his first Final Four appearance and now has the monkey off of his back. Let's hope that transfers into Kansas dominating and winning its first National Championship in 20 years.

So the Jayhawks will face off against the Tar Heels of North Carolina on Saturday just before 8pm. This will be a huge game for the 'Hawks, and may be equally as big as the actual National Championship game. If we come out swinging like we did against Texas in the Big 12 Tournament, it will all be fine.

Good luck 'Hawks and ROCK CHALK!

How Sweet, the Sweet 16 can be!

Tip-Off was at 8:57 or so on Friday night. In Detroit, KU was facing Villanova in the Sweet 16 game of the 2008 NCAA tournament. It was a bit nerve-wracking going into the game, but our worries were soon put at ease when the Hawks came out swinging.

I believe there were four alley-oop dunks within the first 8 minutes of the game by KU, and by four different players. Nova came out doing their best, but the first half ended with the score of 41-22.

The second half came and was out of Nova's hands for quite a while. There were spurts made, but the spurts were just not strong enough.

Each team had three players with double figures for scoring. Scottie Reynolds just didn't contribute enough with his 11 points, while KU's Brandon Rush led all scorers with 16. Coincidence, I think not.

The Sweet 16 ended Friday night with the Jayhawk win, 72-57. With Davidson knocking off Wisconsin in the earlier game, they will meet their demise facing KU on Sunday in the Elite 8. The tip-off is at 4:05pm CST and the winner will go to the Final Four in San Antonio.

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, GO KU!

Do you have what it takes?

This got past around my office earlier this week and it is too much fun not to share.

"If you can go longer than 18 seconds you are phenomenal. It's been said that the US
Air Force uses this for fighter pilots. They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes.
Give it a try but be careful...it is addictive!!"

It may seem like a simple game of move the red square and don't get hit, but it is so much more.

Check it out. My personal best is a bit over 20 seconds.

How did you do?

SMX Social Media - Long Beach, CA

Coming up in just under a month is SMX Social Media. This conference is put together by Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan, quite a big name in the Search industry. I saw Danny at the Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago and was very impressed with him. He is a down-to-earth guy and not just some intelligent stick-in-the-mud.

Key components to SMX Social Media will be learning how to harness the powers of popular sites now such as Facebook, Wikipedia, Reddit, StumbleUpon and more. For more in-depth program information, visit the agenda of the conference on the SMX Social Media website.

Located in Long Beach, California this year, the April 22-23 conference is sure to be a hit. This is a premier event for the social realm, as the SES conference I attended last year spoke very little about this medium.

Are you going to SMX Social Media?

And then there were 32...

The basketball game on Saturday evening proved to be a great exhibition of KU's talent. The vast majority of the game was not shown on tv. Due to the Stanford vs Marquette game going into overtime at the begining of the Kansas game, and the drubbing that KU was laying on UNLV towards the end of the game, CBS opted to show the other games at that time.

Mario Chalmers led the team again, knocking in 17 points. Robinson and Rush followed suit scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. KU laid down the law with the Runnin' Rebels beating them 75-56.

That ends the 1st weekend of action for the Jayhawks in Omaha.
Friday will match the Jayhawks against Villanova in the Sweet 16 in Detroit. With a win, KU will make the Elite 8 for the second straight year and be put up against the winner of the Wisconsin/Davidson match-up that will occur earlier that night.

Tip-off will be at 8:40pm on Friday night. All you can say is Rock Chalk, baby!!!

First Round of the NCAA Tournament

Didn't get to watch KU's game today, but I was able to listen to it on my old school Sony Walkman radio. I barely had enough reception to hear anything, but I made due.

The opening rounds are in Omaha, Nebraska for KU and today's game tipped off at 11:25am versus Portland State.

From what I could tell, it was lop-sided from the beginning. KU pulled away to an early lead, and was up by 23 at halftime, 49-26.

Same situation in the second half, KU dominated and won by 24 points. The final score was 85-61.

Brandon rush led all scorers with 18 points. If he keeps playing the way that he's played in the last few games, we'll be unstoppable!!!

Now we'll play the UNLV Runnin' Rebels on Saturday at 5:50 in Omaha. This should go as well as the first round game and then we'll be in the Sweet 16.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Fritz's Railroad Restaurant

On Saturday for lunch, we decided to go to Fritz's Railroad Restaurant in Crown Center. It was a short drive from downtown, only a few blocks, but it took several minutes because of the Big XII traffic.

We arrived at Crown Center and were pointed in the direction of the kids. Yes, the line at Fritz's was packed with kids and their parents going out for a nice saturday family lunch. My wife and her mother were not very excited about going to it, but her dad and I were pumped.

It was the first time that any of us had ever been there, and I can for sure say that I am excited to go back.

Once we were sat down, we looked at the menus and put together our order. Instead of ordering from a waiter or waitress, we ordered from a telephone. Each booth had a phone rigged up so that you could place your order.

I ordered Fritz's famous burger. The name has escaped me, but it was a double patty with ketchup and mustard and hashbrowns right in between the buns. A bit greasy for sure, but it was delicious. An order of krinkle fries accompanied my burger. My wife had a grilled cheese sandwich and onion rings. She wasn't too impressed with her sandwich but her dad and I were loving our burgers. Her mom got a chicken sandwich and a bowl of meat, I mean chili. Her sandwich was good but the chili was only meat, and not soupy at all.

It was $40 for four people and so that wasn't terribly expensive. The atmosphere was worth it for sure.

When the food arrived, it came by train. A track was set up a foot away from the ceiling and when the train came out, it dropped the food off at the proper table and lowered it down. You really have to be there to understand it, but I have a video that will show it as well. Hopefully I can get that uploaded to here.

All in all, a great experience. Definitely one for the kids, but the young at heart will enjoy it too.

Next time I am getting a conductor's hat!!!



Another Video, when our food is arriving.