Trav's Thoughts

It's live from Hollywood!



Our 11 remaining couples dance either Lindyhop or Argentine Tango this week. Both dances are new to the competition.

Argentine Tango is a mix of styles, originating in Argentina before moving out to the rest of the world. The dance is characterized by dancing in hold, either close or open at arms length, with the Lady alternating her weight from foot to foot and the Gentleman leading through the patterns with silent communication. Argentine Tango lives and breathes, and should look as though the patterns have been made up on the spot. We turn once again to Strictly Come Dancing for our demonstration. These are the pros, with Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace.


Lindyhop is all about joy and exuberance. It is an African American dance based on the Charleston, infused with jazz and tap. Lindyhop is danced on the edge, with movements that look barely controlled such as the swing out. A great Lindyhop should look wild. This clip is over 7 minutes long, but if you take the time you'll see 5 couples rip it up. It's worth it. This is Lindyhop! The couples' names are on the video as they dance.


Well! Let's see if our pairs can measure up to that.

David and Kym dance Lindyhop. They had some tough tricks in that dance. David was very careful on the lifts, which he should have been. But the pauses to do the tricks kind of messed with the exuberance and character of the overall dance. The steps didn't flow into the tricks and the tricks didn't flow back into the steps. It didn't have the wild and chaotic feel to it. Still, they did a great job. The choreography was intricate and it was full of classic Lindyhop moves. Judges say 8,7,7 for a total of 22.

Lil Kim and Derek dance Argentine Tango. Kim is coming on strong. She's got a lot of talent, and Derek is channeling it into some really first rate performances. The footwork in this dance was most impressive. There were moments when she looked like a pro. She's still a bit lazy with her legs. We'd like to see more sharpness and extension. But other than that, there was nothing wrong with that Tango. Derek's choreography was amazing. It was enticing and sensual. Outstanding! Judges say 9,8,10 for a total of 27. We didn't think it was perfect, but good for Kim and Derek to get the first 10 of the season!

Chuck and Julianne dance Lindyhop. That was enjoyable. Although again the tricks didn't flow from the steps and to the tricks and then back to the steps. The choreography suited the two of them very well. But he's still missing just a bit on musicality, although he's doing well with steps and showing his personality. Whether he can step up remains to be seen. In the faster dances, he has to work on smoothly connecting the moves so everything is seamless. Judges say 8,7,7 for a total of 22.

LT and Edyta dance Argentine Tango. Alec Mazo helped out this week with character from a man's perspective. We're impressed each week with LT's frame and posture. He has learned to use his size very well. He is a strong lead. He used his power to control the dance. Although there were one or two clunky moments with footwork, and it wasn't as sensual or passionate as we would have liked. There was more power than there was passion. Still, overall that was a fine effort. Judges say 7,5,7 for a total of 19. Len is harsh.

Ty and Chelsie dance Lindyhop. Ty says only doing well at ballroom and not at Latin styles is like only expecting a bull to turn right and not left. HA! You have to be prepared for both. And oh my goodness! He's really come out of his shell. He had the quick kicks going and he was keeping up with the music and with Chelsie. Plus his strength on the lifts and tricks was terrific. We can't believe this is the same guy from the first week. Well done Sir! That ole cowboy was a'dancin'! And brava to Chelsie for incredible choreography and excellent teaching! Judges say 9,8,8 for a total of 25.

Steve and Karina dance Argentine Tango. Hearing Karina squeal during last week's results show was worth having Mr Geek Feet around for another week. And I got to see the bit of fabric Karina wrapped herself in and called a dress...YEOWZA! There was a bit too much with the chair to start with. The dance itself wasn't very good. The best we can say about him is that he tries and enjoys what he's doing. The choreography was classic Tango and he made an attempt to do the steps. Although the dance wasn't horrible, it helped to be able to look at Karina. Judges say 4's across for a total of 12.

Melissa and Tony dance Lindyhop. HA! Tony stuck toilet paper to her foot and told her to kick it off. Now that's how you teach a Lindyhop kick. Tony's choreography was brilliant. That was a professional level dance. That is how the steps flow to the tricks and back to the steps. It was danced seamlessly and performed as though it were on Broadway. It was fun and frolicsome and energetic from start to finish. And it was full of every classic Lindyhop move you could want. Wow! We had our first 10 earlier in the show, and we could see a couple more on this dance. Judges say 10,9,10 for a total of 29. There you go!

Holly and Dmitry dance Argentine Tango. Holly struggled with injured ribs this week. And then she got off to a rough start with the stool. But her awkwardness is less apparent when she's in close hold. And that trick they did toward the end was terrific. This was a decent performance. The slower dance and the close hold hid a lot of the problems she had. Dmitry made an excellent dance with plenty of classic Tango steps. Unfortunately, he also did the majority of the dancing. She's trying, but she's just not coordinated enough to improve as quickly as she needs to stay in the competition. Judges say 5,6,5 for a total of 16.

Steve and Lacey dance Lindyhop. This is a tough dance to do healthy, so I can't imagine doing it with a bad back and a tweaked ankle. It wasn't great, but it wasn't the worst we've seen. He managed the steps pretty well, but it was more clumsy than it was controlled chaos. He was having fun, but he wasn't feeling the music, his timing was off, and he wasn't well synchronized with Lacey. Lacey's choreography was right on, but the performance was just off. Judges say 5's across for a total of 15.

Gilles and Cheryl dance Argentine Tango. And Pam's wish has come true. She says the Lindyhop would have been fun, but she wanted another week of sexy. And she got it. That dance was HAWT y'all. Smooth but with fire, sizzling and sensual, powerful and precise. Another professional level effort. The choreography was excellent and the performance was so dramatic. Gilles was fiercely in control of that dance. He took Cheryl's choreography to an amazing level for a celebrity dancer. Brava to Cheryl and bravissimo to Gilles. We bow. We stand. We cheer. Judges say 10's across for the first perfect 30 of the season. Well deserved!

Shawn and Mark dance Lindyhop. She should do well with this. Lindyhop incorporates so much of her gymnastics training. She can be all silly and wacky and just let loose. Woooooooooooo! She throws a little tumbling run at the top of the dance. But while the tricks were great, there were a couple of spots where she seemed to loose her steps and her footwork was just a bit heavy. The performance was tremendous, but to make maximimum use of her strengths, Mark's choreography left out some dancing. Judges say 8,8,9 for a total of 25.

Now let's have a big hurrah for the music! There are usually a couple of questionable choices, but this time every music selection was completely appropriate to the dance styles and choreography.

Here's our leader board.

30 Gilles and Cheryl
29 Melissa and Tony
27 Lil Kim and Derek
25 Shawn and Mark
25 Ty and Chelsie
22 David and Kym
22 Chuck and Julianne
19 LT and Edyta
16 Holly and Dmitry
15 Steve and Lacey
12 Steve and Karina

I'm going to have to choose soon, but not yet. It's still a 3-way split for me between Melissa, Shawn, and Gilles. Pam actually split between Gilles and Melissa. Although her favorite is Mr Sexy, she said she had to throw votes to Melissa because she and Tony should have had a perfect score as well for their Lindyhop.

In preparation for tonight's skeery double elimination, the following gratuitous cuteness is brought to you by the LOLCats.



I'll have encores and results tomorrow. Boys to Men are in the ballroom.

Later babies!

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at the Manic Monday blog. Today's theme is Bird.

Yes, I have managed to take today's MM word and turn it into a sports post. HA!

#1 seed UConn jumped out to an early lead over #3 seed Missouri in Saturday's West regional final. The Tigers stormed back behind a ferocious pressing defense. But the Huskies withstood the frenetic pace and methodically ran a poised and balanced offensive attack to become the first team to advance to this year's Final Four.

#1 UConn beats #3 Missouri, 82-75

#3 seed Villanova used its superior quickness to take down #1 seed Pittsburgh. I had picked Pitt as my national champion. Instead, the pesky Wildcats not only took out my beloved Duke Blue Devils, but they also put the ultimate bust on my bracket. Villanova becomes the second team, and the second Big East team, to advance to this year's Final Four.

#3 Villanova beats #1 Pittsburgh, 78-76

#2 seed Michigan State went bird hunting today, picking off overall #1 see Louisville. The Spartans expertly handled the Cardinals' vaunted pressure, controlling tempo and forcing Louisville into a half court game. The Cardinals were unable to adjust and force tempo, and so Michigan State becomes the third team to advance this year's Final Four.

#2 Michigan State beats #1 Louisville, 64-52

Player of the Year Blake Griffin didn't get enough help from his Sooner teammates, and #2 seed Oklahoma just couldn't keep up with #1 seed North Carolina. The Tarheels were too balanced, too tough, and too good for Oklahoma. And so UNC becomes the last team to advance to this year's Final Four.

#1 North Carolina beats #2 Oklahoma, 72-60

My bracket was busted on Saturday when Pittsburgh, my pick for national champion, went down to Villanova. And just to make sure, Michigan State took out Louisville which was my pick to play Pitt in the final.

Still, even though I only correctly picked one of the Final Four teams, I'm pleased with how my bracket went this time around. It's usually busted way before regional finals. I'll end up picking 45 of 63 games correctly.

Here are the games for next Saturday.

#2 Michigan State vs #1 UConn
#3 Villanova vs #1 North Carolina

If you've been visiting here for any length of time, you know how much I love my kitty Mr Tucker. But like with any relationship, there are things he does that annoy me.

I'm sure I do things that annoy him too. But this is my blog. He doesn't have thumbs, so he doesn't get a chance to type out the 10 or 12 thousand things I do that bug him.

HA!

Anyway, here are a couple of specific things he does that drive me nutty.

First, I give him Friskies Indoor cat food. He loves this stuff. But he crunches the pieces all over the floor, so every day there's a little pile for me to sweep up. And then when I give him his canned Friskies for dinner, he takes it off the dish and puts it on the floor to eat. This creates a gooey mess for me to clean up every night.

Second, for reasons passing understanding he must dig away the litter in his box so he can pee directly onto the plastic. Then he covers it. So I end up having to scrape the bottom of the box and change the litter way more often than should be necessary.

Do any of your kitties do this kind of stuff? Or is it just my quirky guy?

Today is Vote Earth Day. What does it mean?

In a nutshell, turn off all your lights and unplug any unused appliances for one hour today at 20:30 EDT, or 17:30 PDT. You can learn more by clicking here.

I learned about this from my good friend Meribah at The Puppy's Place. And I'm going to take it a step further by keeping my lights off all day. I'm just going to have my laptop and my tv going, and the fridge. Everything else gets turned off and unplugged.

Whatever you think about global climate change, a vote for conservation is never wasted.



Well, North Carolina was healthy and way too much for Gonzaga. The Zags could only hang with the Tarheels for about 8 minutes or so, and then UNC took control of the game and won big.

I did get the other 3 picks correct, which makes me 7 out of 8 for the last two days. All of my picks to make the Final Four are still in it too. I've got #1 Louisville vs #1 UConn on one side and #1 Pittsburgh vs #2 Oklahoma on the other side.

Here are last night's results.

Midwest region

#1 Louisville beat #12 Arizona, 103-64
#2 Michigan St beat #3 Kansas, 67-62

South region

#2 Oklahoma beat #3 Syracuse, 84-71
#1 North Carolina beat #4 Gonzaga, 98-77

So our regional final match ups go like this...

Saturday

West region: #1 UConn vs #3 Missouri
East region: #1 Pittsburgh vs #3 Villanova

Sunday

Midwest region: #1 Louisville vs #2 Michigan St
South region: #1 North Carolina vs #2 Oklahoma

Edit: So DrillerAA pointed out that I'm an idiot, although he did it in his characteristically nice way. I rushed this post late last night, and mis-counted and mis-identified teams and conferences. It's actually 4 from the Big East, 2 from the Big 12, 1 from the ACC, and 1 from the Big 10. Still no party crashers this year.

So #2 seed Duke is out of the tournament. The game against #3 seed Villanova was a classic case of a bad match up for the Blue Devils. The Wildcats were quicker and more athletic. Duke couldn't defend against dribble penetration and they couldn't beat the Villanova guards off the bounce. The Wildcats completely frustrated the Blue Devils, never allowing Duke to get into its offense and contesting every pass and every shot.

So I'm a little sad about that, although I hadn't picked Duke to advance past last night. It's still tough when your team goes out.

I want to say congratulations, thank you, and best of luck to the Duke seniors.

Jordan Davidson
David McClure
Greg Paulus

And to junior Gerald Henderson...I hope you come back to school for what should be an outstanding senior year. But if you choose to leave school for the NBA, I wish you the best.

I can report that I picked all 4 winners last night.

West region

#1 UConn beat #5 Purdue, 72-60
#3 Missouri beat #2 Memphis, 102-91

East region

#1 Pittsburgh beat #4 Xavier, 60-55
#3 Villanova beat #2 Duke, 77-54

Tonight's action is in the Midwest and South

Midwest region

#12 Arizona vs #1 Louisville
#3 Kansas vs #2 Michigan St

South region

#4 Gonzaga vs #1 North Carolina
#3 Syracuse vs #2 Oklahoma

In case you were wondering...my picks are Louisville, Michigan St, Gonzaga, and Oklahoma. Yes, I picked the Zags in an upset. I'm not convinced that Carolina is healthy. But this is more of a wish pick than anything else. Gonzaga has a terrific team, but all the stars must align for them to upset the Tarheels.

Sorry Mimi and Lee! I gotta go with the boys from the pacific northwest, even if it is a bit of a crazy pick!

I have many encores for you today, ranging from what I thought were the best performaces to the ones I thought were most charming.

First up, I have to recognize Ty and Chelsie. Ty has improved dramatically, and but for a couple of slips this was a well danced Foxtrot. Chelsie has done a wonderful job, taking advantage of the ballroom styles to give him some confidence. Click here.

Sometimes a style just fits the dancers, and such was the case with this Foxtrot from David and Kym. She did a stellar job of making a dance to take advantage of David's Broadway roots. And he did the rest. Click here.

Shawn and Mark are getting overshadowed just a bit, but I still find her balance and posture so elegant. They danced a magnificent Foxtrot. Click here.

Not only do I enjoy the way Melissa dances, but I appreciate the little extras she puts into the performance. A shoulder shrug here, a pop of the head there. Tony took full advantage of her ability and made an outstanding Foxtrot. Click here.

So that leaves the dance of the night to Gilles and Cheryl. All that's left to say about this Samba is Wow. Click here.

Good stuff eh?

Here's our leader board:

27 Melissa & Tony
27 Shawn & Mark
27 Gilles & Cheryl
25 Lil Kym & Derek
24 David & Kym
23 Ty & Chelsie
23 Chuck & Julianne
20 LT & Edyta
17 Holly & Dmitry
16 Denise & Maks
15 Steve & Lacey
10 Steve & Karina

We'll have another dance off for judges' scores, which will replace Monday's scores and be combined with vote totals to determine who goes home.

Right to results. The first four to be safe are...

Melissa and Tony
Gilles and Cheryl
Shawn and Mark
Steve and Karina

A Steve makes it...many thought this would be the end for a Steve. And the next four to be safe are...

LT and Edyta
David and Kym
Chuck and Julianne
Lil Kim and Derek

Hall and Oates in the ballroom performing Maneater, accompanied by Maks, Tony, Dmitry, and Karina. Excellent!

Adele sings Chasing Pavements. I didn't know who this was, but then I checked for the video on youtube. I've seen it before...it is amazingly well done. And I liked the song too. Her voice is very intriguing. Alec Mazo returns to the ballroom to dance with Edyta in another stellar performance from our pros.

You know gang, if you love dance you should be watching the results show because there is some fantastic dancing going on.

And are the two safe couples?

Steve and Lacey
Ty and Chelsie

Look at that! The other Steve defies predictions and makes it through. So that means Holly & Dmitry and Denise & Maks will dance off.



Brief interlude: Mr Tucker caught site of his Friskies food on tv. He jumped over to the coffee table and stared intently at the screen. When the commercial was over, he started looking for where the kitty went with his food. And then he told us all about it. HA!

Now we dance!

Holly and Dmitry go first with their Samba from Monday. She needs to bring the performance and not be afraid of the dance. Just dance it baby. She's just not musical. She doesn't feel the music, leaving her completely disconnected from it. And her lack of coordination really hurts. That was a bit better than Monday and she looked a little more relaxed. But it still wasn't very good. The judges gave her positive notes. Judges say 6's across for a total of 18.

Denise and Maks dance their Samba from Monday. Part of Denise's problem is that she's too timid. She lets her nerves get the better of her. Like Holly, she just needs to relax and dance, and stop worrying so much about the steps. She's got to try and have fun. She's smiling this time and she looks like she's enjoying it. And because of that she's dancing better. She conquered her fear and entertained that time. Whether she stays or not, she can be happy with that if it's her last performance. Again, positive notes from the judges. Judges say 6,7,7 for a total of 20.

Who goes and who stays?

Holly and Dmitry make it through, and that means that Denise and Maks are out.



Next week it's the return of the skeery double elimination. Yikes!

The dances are Lindyhop and Argentine Tango, which are two new dances to the show. I love Lindyhop! My gram taught me how to do that, and Jitterbug, when I was a kid.

Later gang!

Yup...it's live from Hollywood!

Our dances this week are Samba and Foxtrot.

Samba is the party dance, characterized by rhythmic hip action and vertical bounces. Dancers should be on the balls of their feet. Experienced dancers may go for the Samba roll. This clip is short, but very illustrative. This is Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagorouitchenko from 2008 Manhattan Dance Sport.


Foxtrot is a smooth and elegant dance characterized by long and continuous flowing movements. International style is done mostly in close standard hold, while the American version allows for dancing apart and side by side. Think Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Or think Marcus and Karen Hilton. I return to them again, because they are simply the most elegant and best examples I can find. This is from 1998.


That's the pros. Let's see how our 12 remaining couples fare.

Denise and Maks dance Samba. She's very unsure with her steps to begin. She didn't look like she even wanted to dance that. It was awkward and clunky. That just was not her dance. She was too worried about steps. She was afraid of the Samba instead of just going for it and not worrying about mistakes. This is the first time in awhile that Maks hasn't been able to make progress with his celebrity. She may be more suited to the ballroom styles than the Latin. Judges say 5,6,5 for a total of 16.

Chuck and Julianne dance Foxtrot. That was much smoother than expected based on the last couple of weeks. We're still not really feeling like they have a connection to each other. Although this is a much better effort, it's still lacking spark. He put his feet in the right places and Julianne made a classic Foxtrot. Chuck was a much stronger partner in this dance. He's getting his feet under him. With their fanbase, they just might stick around long enough for him to continue to improve. But he'll have to show the same improvement in the Latin styles. Judges say 8,7,8 for a total of 23. The 8's are a bit too high.

Holly and Dmitry dance Samba. Samba is a party dance and a fun dance, but it's also an intimidating dance. Holly had a lot of trouble. She let her fear of the dance get to her. Her lack of basic coordination was really exposed this week. The best we can say about this is that she got through it without falling down. Her footwork was very clunky. This is such a tough dance to learn in just a few days, especially when you don't have any experience. Judges say 5,6,6 for a total of 17.

Steve and Lacey dance Foxtrot. That looked like it hurt. He danced with a grimace on his face. That couldn't have been easy to do with a bad back. He gave it his best effort, and Lacey choreographed a classic Foxtrot. The dance started well, until he missed a step. After that the whole thing just fell apart. He really did try. Then on the last move he lost his balance and skidded into the bottom of the steps. It looked like he jammed his ankle. We kind of feel bad for him. As stupid as we think he is for the Jackass crap, we respect what he's trying to do and that he's not making fun of the show. Judges say 5's across for a total of 15.

LT & Edyta dance Samba. We really like his work ethic. The man gave up his golf game to rehearse and get the Samba. HA! And the big man gets his groove on! That was really terrific. He hit all the steps of a basic Samba, his musicality was good, and once again he was a strong lead. You know what that dance was? It was a man's Samba. He's not a natural showman, but he does have an easy charm. He worked the steps and had a good time with the dance. He's starting to get over his fear of looking silly. Judges say 7,6,7 for a total of 20. The 6 from Len is too low again.

Shawn and Mark dance Foxtrot. She just makes us smile. And wouldn't you like to have guns like hers eh? HA! That was quite the classy and sophisticated Foxtrot. She's very impressive for a 17 year old. She and Mark tell a story together each week. The dance was smooth and fluid. She gets better every week. They did seem to float across the floor. It was like dancing on a cloud. Mark is a great partner for her. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27. Yeah!! Well done my dear.

Gilles and Cheryl dance Samba. Hang on...I have to get the drool towels. OH. MY. WORD. That man knows how to play the crowd. He is sex on a stick! Woooo Mr Sexy! That was HAWT! Hey! Gimme that keyboard back. Sheesh! OK...so that was Pam's review. Here's mine. He is fantastic. He is ready to be held to a professional standard. He had every step and every hip roll, every bounce and every shake. Cheryl gave him some tough choreography and he rose to the challenge. Well done Sir. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

David and Kym dance Foxtrot. This should be a great dance for him. He should really be able to use his Broadway experience to perform. He's still got a touch of lean to his posture, but overall the dance is smooth and fluid as it should be. They really connected in this one. He didn't look like a character this time...he looked like a man enjoying a dance with his partner. We really enjoyed that. His technique was tremendous, but that dance was all about the performance. Kym did a fantastic job on the choreography. Well done! Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.

Steve and Karina dance Samba. The Woz now has a hamstring injury to go with his fractured foot. You know, he's doing ok for an older geek with a bum foot and a gimpy hamstring. He even got down on the floor and did the worm. You know, Samba is a party dance and he had fun. But let's face it...he's entertaining but he's just not a dancer. It really was a bad dance. The best we can say is that he got out there and did it, despite the injuries. And that deserves our applause. Judges say 4,3,3 for a total of 10. Ouch.

That's not the lowest score ever by the way. Rapper Master P and Ashley Delgrosso scored an 8 in season 2. But that guy didn't ever try.

Melissa and Tony dance Foxtrot. There you go...Tony described the woman's frame as like a martini glass with her head as the olive. You can picture that, can't you? Wow that dance was great! The choreography was difficult and sophisticated. She is charming, graceful, elegant, and classy and that dance was outstanding. Her background as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader gives her an understanding of how to perform, and Tony is teaching her how to dial down big movements and hold them within a frame. She's learning that lesson well, and she's got our attention. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

Lil Kim and Derek dance Samba. She ought to do very well with this dance. She's got the stuff to shake, and she is shaking it. Derek had several classic Samba moves in that dance and she was on every step through the middle. We were expecting a Samba roll too, but he didn't go that far. But then it looked like she got lost toward the end. That's too bad because she was on it right up until about 15 seconds to go. Everything else up to that point was excellent. Judges say 8,8,9 for a total of 25. She deserved to be just a knotch below the top 3, but if she doesn't make the mistake at the end she would have tied with a 27.

Ty and Chelsie dance Foxtrot. We're so impressed with how well he does the ballroom styles. It's too bad Chelsie got caught in her dress and slipped. But they didn't miss a beat in the performance. Dangit...then they tripped again. Despite the two trips, that ole bow legged cowboy was smooth and graceful. He's becoming a strong lead in ballroom. And how about some props for rookie Chelsie eh??? What a great job she's doing. That was really some elegant choreography. If I were a judge, I'd pick that for my encore to give them a chance to dance it without the slips. Judges say 8,8,7 for a total of 23.

Here's our leader board:

27 Melissa & Tony
27 Shawn & Mark
27 Gilles & Cheryl
25 Lil Kym & Derek
24 David & Kym
23 Ty & Chelsie
23 Chuck & Julianne
20 LT & Edyta
17 Holly & Dmitry
16 Denise & Maks
15 Steve & Lacey
10 Steve & Karina

Gotta say it...we really enjoyed the show last night. There were a couple of clunky performances, but for the most part everyone did very well. I'm still split three ways with voting between Shawn, Melissa, and Gilles. Pam, as I'm sure you could infer from her review, threw all her votes to Gilles.

Now we didn't realize that the dance off was going to continue. But we like the idea for each week, just to give the judges one more look.

Hey gang! Hall & Oates are in the ballroom for results tonight! Wooooooooo! Check back here tomorrow for encores and results.

Later babies!

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at the Manic Monday blog. Today's theme is Wet.

In 1919, the 18th Ammendment and the Volstead Act made the sale of alcohol illegal in the US. Prohibition was in effect, making this a dry country on the surface and providing the impetus for organized crime and underground speak easy clubs.



On 22 March 1933, FDR signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act to levy federal tax on all alcoholic beverages. In December of 1933, the 21st Amendment was passed to repeal Prohibition.

Wetting one's whistle was once again legal.

There are some basketball pronouncers that I enjoy. They all use the typical sports cliches to describe the action, but some do it with a bit more honesty and a lot less live-or-die seriousness.

Jay Bilas is one I enjoy. During the game this morning between #6 seed UCLA and #3 seed Villanova, Mr Bilas said something with which I have to agree. He said that a team's performance in the tournament doesn't validate or invalidate its inclusion in the field of 64.

Many said Arizona didn't belong. And then when they beat Utah, many said that they must belong after all. But if that's so, then by the same logic every team that won in the first 2 days belongs, and every team that lost didn't belong.

There were 31 teams that gained an automatic bid by winning conference tournaments and 33 that got in with at large invitations. Or 34 if you count the play in game, which I don't. According to the RPI ratings, there are 343 college basketball programs. Only 64 of them are going to have the opportunity to play for a national championship. Realistically, there are only about 8-10 of those teams that have a shot at winning the tournament.

And only one team is going to cut down the nets as the national champion.

This tournament is about opportunity. It's about Cleveland State seizing the opportunity to beat Wake Forest. It's about rooting for the underdog, and hoping that underdog isn't putting the screws to your favorite team.

This tournament is about dreaming that the match ups are in your favor, and the other team's best player maybe has an off shooting day, and a break or two goes your way...and you find yourself upsetting a higher seed.

And this tournament is about the reality and the finality of a college athlete's career. Because when the match ups are not in your favor, and the other team's best player is an All America who performs to his potential, and the breaks go against you...you find yourself as a senior who has just played in his final game. And you can't remember your achievements over the last four years because the only thing in front of you in that moment is that it's finished.

It truly is about the opportunity. And if you get the opportunity, whether people think you deserve it or not, it's what you do with it that matters.

And since only one of the 64 teams is going home as a winner, you take the opportunity and make your moment.

That's why I love this tournament.

One Shining Moment
by David Barrett

The ball is tipped
and there you are
you're running for your life
you're a shooting star
And all the years
no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows...
(in) ONE SHINING MOMENT, IT'S ALL ON THE LINE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, THERE FROZEN IN TIME

But time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
ah that moment's gone
And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED DEEP INSIDE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE

Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it's more than a contest
it's more than a race...

And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED FOR THE SKY
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU WERE WILLING TO TRY
ONE SHINING MOMENT....

In 1985, the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams. Since then, no #1 seed has lost to a #16. It didn't happen today, but East Tennessee St made Pittsburgh work for the win, and it took #1 seed Louisville some time to take control against #16 Morehead State.

#1 seeds remain unbeaten at 100-0 since 1985, but the day is coming when a #16 will pull off that monumental upset. I won't be surprised when it happens either.

There was a big upset today, although I won't go so far as to call it major. #11 seed Dayton picked off #6 West Virginia. That puts a bit of a bust on my bracket though. I had the Mountaineers making it through to the third round.

And #12 seed Arizona fought off cries that they didn't belong in the field of 64, upsetting #5 seed Utah.

There were a couple of terrific games in the evening session that both went to overtime. #9 seed Sienna hit a 3 point shot at the end of the first OT against #8 seed Ohio State. Then the Saints hit another 3 pointer with 3.9 seconds in the second OT to beat the Buckeyes. And #12 seed Wisconsin trailed virtually the entire game before making a late run against #5 Florida State. The Badgers scored on a bucket and a foul with 2 seconds to play in OT to beat the Seminoles. And that's two more upsets.

#13 seed Cleveland State scored the major upset of the day over #4 seed Wake Forest. I say major because this was no buzzer beater. The Vikings dominated, winning by 15.

My Midwest bracket is busted as the #12 and #13 seeds advance, although I do have #1 seed Louisville as my Final Four pick out of this region.

Here are the day's results.

Midwest bracket

#1 Louisville beat #16 Morehead St, 74-54
#12 Arizona beat #5 Utah, 84-71
#11 Dayton beat #6 West Virginia, 68-60
#3 Kansas beat #14 North Dakota St, 84-74
#10 USC beat #7 Boston College, 72-55
#2 Michigan St beat #15 Robert Morris, 77-62
#13 Cleveland St beat #4 Wake Forest, 94-69
#9 Sienna beat #8 Ohio St, 74-72 2OT

West bracket

#6 Marquette beat #11 Utah St, 58-57
#3 Missouri beat #14 Cornell, 89-59

East bracket

#1 Pittsburgh beat #16 East Tennessee St, 72-62
#8 Oklahoma St beat #9 Tennessee, 77-75
#4 Xavier beat #13 Portland St, 77-59
#12 Wisconsin beat #5 Florida St, 61-59 OT

South bracket

#6 Arizona St beat #11 Temple, 66-57
#3 Syracuse beat #14 Stephen F Austin, 59-44

So I finish the first round at 24-8. Not too bad. Based on lower seeds beating higher seeds, we've had 10 upsets in 32 games. Last year there were 8 upsets in the first 32 games.

Now the field is at 32, looking to go to 16 by Sunday evening.

Happy Madness!