Hungry Hungry Hunger Games

**Movie Review! Movie Review!** If you don't give a damn about my opinions regarding the film industry, this post might not be your cup of tea.

Over the weekend, the fiance and I went to see "The Hunger Games". Some men would suggest I was forcibly drug there.  Au contraire, mon frère . I was just as interested to see the film adaptation of this story as she was. (And if you're one of those tough guys who swore he'd never see it because he doesn't "follow trends" or "read books and see movies that interest teenage girls" well, then, your horizons aren't very broad. I'm sorry you're missing out.)

I read all three books about six months ago. I must say, it was a series I had trouble putting down. In general, I'm the kind of guy who reads things like 'Dracula', 'Lord of the Rings', Sherlock Holmes stories, and pretty much anything Stephen King writes. But I will also I read every 'Harry Potter' story with much vigor. It was easy to read but still had an engaging story-line.

If you're not aware of the plot, basically, it goes a little somethin' like this. Post-apocalyptic America has been ravaged by civil war. After the uprising, the country was left as 12 fenced-in districts, ruled over by the Capital. Each district is far away from one another, so they cannot work together to rise again. The districts each do a certain specialized job, such as farm, mine coal, or make clothes, and their products are sent to the Capital. In turn, the Capital provides a little of these products for the districts to keep them alive. The Capital lives a life of decadence, while the districts basically live- if they can at all- in poverty. As another way to keep the districts in check, the Capital instituted an annual event called the Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games, a girl and boy between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen at random from each district to compete. At the prescribed time, the 24 competitors are trained, then put into a pre-created arena to battle to the death. 24 children enter, only one can leave alive.

Our story follows Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year-old girl from District 12. District 12 is the mining district, where Appalachia used to be. Her father died in a mine explosion. She has resigned herself to take care of her mother and little sister any way she can. Because of power outages, the fence surrounding District 12 is almost never electrically charged. She takes to the woods with her hunting partner, an older boy named Gale, where they are able to catch enough wild game and pick enough fresh fruit to live on or trade for the supplies they need.
At this year's Reaping, where they choose the competitors for the Hunger Games, Katniss's 12 year-old sister is chosen. Obviously, feeling her need to protect her sister, Katniss volunteers to take her place.
I think the film did a good job of setting all this up and not being overwhelming, while still closely following the storyline. I've read many books, then seen movie adaptations, and walked away from the film thinking "That's not how the book went at all". The settings were very well done. (I believe the movie was shot in North Carolina for the "District 12" portions of the movie). Unlike a fake set in Hollywood, I felt like we were really in a desolate Appalachian mining town.

The futuristic Capital was clearly a computer-generated location, but it wasn't overwhelmingly computery, like "Beowulf". I really enjoyed the way they costumed the characters in the Capital, who were described opulent and overly flashy. They looked how I assume it would look if you threw every Dr. Seuss character into real-life in one city.

The action sequences within the arena were well-done. I felt like they showed what needed to be shown to get the point across, without being overly graphic (remember the target audience is still a 15 year-old girl). But at the same time, they still had enough to keep a blood-thirsty 24 year-old man interested as well. I especially enjoyed a scene in which Katniss gets stung by Tracker-Jackers (genetically altered bees who's sting causes pain and halluncinations). We see an awkward sequence through Katniss's eyes where she stumbles through the woods, not sure what she is seeing, and what is in her mind. All the while, the camera is drifting in and out of focus, and we get a shuddering effect, as if the film is getting hung up on the reel. The whole scene is very jarring.

The character development followed pretty close to the book, which I was happy with. However, the noticeable difference is that the book is told from Katniss's point of view, so we often get her internal feelings, especially about her fears for her family and her ongoing struggle to decide her feelings about Gale and Peeta. We're able to see some of that in her acting and reacting with Peeta in the lead up to and in the arena. We only get a few glimpses of how she feels about Gale before she leaves. But I assume these issues will be more addressed the second and third movies. We are also shown more situations from the Capital, during the games, which Katniss would never have known about.

**NERD ALERT** If you've hung with me so far, bare with me a little longer. I went to school for movie-making. So I always watch a movie a little different than the average person. I really enjoyed the way they lit the movie. Lots of imitated natural light. Especially moonlight. No reason to over-blow anything. I also thought the music choices were very well done. Everything seemed to marry the action very well. I always think the best lighting and music are the ones that make sense in the moment, but that you don't really notice if you're not looking for them.

Overall, whether you've read the books or not, I feel like anyone young or old, man or woman, can find some way to enjoy this movie. Obviously there will always be some people that don't like it, but I think a majority of people who like a good movie with a deep story, a little action, a little romance, and that "underdog against the world" feeling can dig on this movie.

In Memorium

Sorry I've been absent a few days. I knew that things were going to get hectic this week. I moved into a new apartment with my fiance, and we've been trying to get our stuff and new furniture in there to get set up. But on Tuesday, I got some terrible news while we were at IKEA.

I found out that a very old friend by the name of Tommy Grady had passed away that afternoon. He had been involved in an accident while riding his motorcycle. We kept in touch from time to time, and I had actually just seen him two weeks ago where he told me about his new purchase; that very same motorcycle.

Tommy and I had been friends for nearly 20 years now. Along with Craig Buschle and Kurt Olding, the four of us were put on the same baseball team in first grade. We all quickly became friends, and by extension, so did our families. It always seemed like all four of our dads were involved with coaching our teams, so when it came to picking teams each year, we all seemed to end up on the same team. Our families became so close that it became a monthly tradition that we go to one of the four of our houses. The adults would play party games or watch movies and yammer, while the kids would go and play. There were always video games, board games, Legos, and of course, sports.

We loved to run. We loved to play. Each person's house offered different opportunities to explore. Kurt's house had woods behind it. Tommy had a cul-de-sac for stick-ball. Craig had lots of kids in the neighborhood to play team games with. And none of my neighbors have fences, so we had plenty of room for hide and go seek. Plus, we were always playing make-believe. We couldn't help but let our minds imagine pretend adventures we could go on. Craig was always the leader. Kurt had the muscle. I was the problem-solver. And Tommy was, unsurprisingly, the daredevil. There was nothing Tommy wouldn't climb, run into, or jump off of.

We were always so different, but at the same time, always drawn together. I think from the ages of 5 to 12, there was nothing we looked forward to more than those Saturday nights once a month where we were all together. It was a simpler time. Unfortunately, in 6th grade, things got a little less tight. Tommy was by no means an unintelligent person. He just had a different way of learning than most, and the teachers at our grade school didn't have the right tools to help him. They recommended that Tommy repeat 6th grade. So instead of doing it all over again, his parents decided it was time to move him to public school, where he remained a grade behind us for the rest of our school career.

When we hit high school, it seemed the get-togethers were less frequent. We began to find that the things that used to bind us together were no longer there. We had different friends. We had different interests. Our lives were headed in different ways. So slowly, but amicably, we seemed to part ways. Our parents are all still friends. We get regular updates on what the others are doing. But with our busy lives, we've had difficulty staying in touch ourselves.

I had to hear of Tommy's passing from my mother. I had heard on the radio that there was a wreck on Glenway that afternoon, but could never have fathomed that anyone had died, or that the person that was gone was a long-time friend.

It's never fair when a person dies before they have a chance to experience all the best parts of life. It's worse when it's someone you know personally. Tommy always lived his life full-go. He never had any quit in him, and if you needed help, he'd be there for you, giving it all he had. It's going to be tough for a while to think about the fact that I'll never run into him at the gas station again or that any reunion we have will never be quite whole.

But I plan to live my life a little fuller from now on. Tommy would have wanted that. He always thought I was a little bit of a wet blanket, but I guess I had to do it to keep him in check. And he got me to do things I would have never done on my own. The four of us used to rub off on each other that way. We will miss Tommy and his gung-ho, give-it-everything-you-have style, but we will never, ever forget him.

Where Did Winter Go?

I decided about halfway through "winter" to start checking out the highs and lows each day. If you live in the Cincinnati-ish area and nearby, you've probably noticed its been a little warm. And we haven't seen much of that white stuff. No, Lindsay Lohan, the frozen white stuff. Someone with more eco-knowledge or meteorological savvy might know what to do with this data and find some sort of correlation to... you know, melting polar ice caps or tsunamis or some interesting stuff like that. I just have a thing for statistics and trends. So here are the highs and lows for each day since winter began on December 21st.


                 High       Low

12/21         60           48 

12/22         48           40

12/23         40           34

12/24         41           26

12/25         52           29

12/26         45           24

12/27         40           35

12/28         38           28

12/29         52           31

12/30         55           44

12/31         46           37  

1/1             55           32  

1/2             33           19  

1/3             27           15  

1/4             40           17  

1/5             50           23  

1/6             59           40  

1/7             52           37  

1/8             45           29  

1/9             51           33  

1/10           54           28  

1/11           49           37 

1/12           45           16 

1/13           20           15 

1/14           29           18  

1/15           32           11 

1/16           55           25  

1/17           58           31 

1/18           32           22

1/19           37           22  

1/20           29           16 

1/21           30           24  

1/22           53           26 

1/23           58           39  

1/24           39           29  

1/25           38           28 

1/26           51           35 

1/27           41           34 

1/28           41           30 

1/29           46           24  

1/30           57           20  

1/31           60           47  

2/1             62           46

2/2             54           35

2/3             55           33

2/4             47           39

2/5             48           32

2/6             50           23

2/7             39           28

2/8             36           31

2/9             36           28

2/10           33           27

2/11           32           14

2/12           35           13

2/13           35           16

2/14           37           31

2/15           48           33

2/16           49           38

2/17           51           27

2/18           51           28

2/19           39           27

2/20           45           19

2/21           50           32

2/22           57           36

2/23           56           33

2/24           51           32

2/25           37           22

2/26           51           21

2/27           60           31

2/28           59           28

2/29           67           49

3/1             55           37

3/2             62           39

3/3             45           33

3/4             40           27

3/5             38           25

3/6             63           24

3/7             69           42

3/8             61           36

3/9             47           32

3/10           54           27

3/11           68           36

3/12           64           52

3/13           74           56

3/14           78           47

3/15           76           57

3/16           67           54

3/17           76           53

3/18           79           57

3/19           81           58

Anything below freezing in the 30's is highlighted in yellow, below freezing in the 20s is green, below freezing in the teens is blue. And as you'll notice, we didn't have a low in the single digits all winter. At least not according to The National Weather Service, where I got all my information. I hope it's right. It sounds right. It felt like the temperatures those days. You'll also notice we had a mere 8 days where the high was below freezing.

Any temperatures we had above 60 I highlighted in orange, and any in the 70s were highlighted in red. Like I said, these numbers might be a little inaccurate by a few degrees, but I'd be willing to bet they're pretty darn close. And again, this isn't some sort of eco-attack or anything. Simply an interesting observation of the warming trend and lack of frozen precipitation we saw all season. I wonder how this will affect the rest of the year. Could this be a year we set all kinds of high temperature records? I hope not, cause I just leased an apartment with a window unit air-conditioner in it, and I can't afford a high electric bill.

Today's Twitter bio goes to: @DopplerTim @JohnGumm @Bouts12 and @ScottDimmich

I planned on getting to the Local 12 Weather team at some point. This seemed like a good time to do it. All four members of this team do a great job getting the best, fastest, and most accurate weather information to the viewers. They're constantly and tirelessly working to be better than they already are. (Trust me, they're always asking for new equipment). But to their credit, they don't let any of their skills or equipment go to waste.

The day we had the huge, massive crazy weather day (which happened to be my birthday) They worked round the clock to get the most important and up-to-date information to those most affected. They were also able to use some of their most state-of-the art gadgets, like the app from the iPad, to help better inform viewers.

If you need weather information, which will be gained most quickly from Twitter, look no farther than the Weather Authority Four. I can nearly guarantee that should you need to know about a big weather event in the area, at any time of the day, at least one of them has tweeted about it in the past hour or two. Also follow the @Local12Alerts page for even more up-to-date weather alerts. There's a reason they're the Weather Authority. They're very good at what they do.

Tourney Time:Weekend Recap

What a whirlwind of opening round action in the Big Dance. Who could have predicted before the tournament started we'd have the 16 teams left that we do now. Right now, I'm going to break down the number of teams left by state.

Texas-1
Kansas-1
Michigan-1
Indiana-1
New York-1
Florida-1
Wisconsin-2
Kentucky-2
North Carolina-2
OHIO-4

A quarter of the Sweet 16 from the Buckeye state is just unbelievable. The next four days will be nothing but battle talk between Cincinnati and Columbus, with the UC-OSU match-up. It's going to be explosive. And to have both Cincinnati teams still in the tournament is great. I hope that this helps repair the image of the figurative (and in Kenny Frease's case, literal) black eye the city has gotten since the Crosstown Shootout. Of course, Shootout II is still a possibility, however slight.

Other marquee match-ups (they're all marquee at this point, idiot) include UK taking on the only team to beat them in the regular season, the plucky team from Bloomington Indiana. OU gets the distinction of now being the lowest-seeded team left in the tournament. But they have a tough test in big, bad North Carolina this week.

Bonus Breakdown, teams by conference:
Big East- 4
Big 10- 4
Big 12- 2
SEC- 2
ACC- 2
Atlantic 10- 1
MAC- 1

My bracket isn't as torn up as I thought. I'm at 45 of 68 possible points. I've got 7 of 8 Elite 8 left and 3 of my Final Four, and my finals and winner are still intact. But I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't be upset if I lost 3 bucks and the locals kept going. What a cool ride that would be.

Excuse me sir, can I offer you some....ratings?

This is the line I used as I passed the News Director's office on the way in to work today. CBS has gotten the UC-OSU game on Thursday and both Xavier and UK's games on Friday. I posed the thought that we could do Bengals-like numbers. He hoped the same. Tune in folks, its gonna a wild ride to New Orleans. Hopefully some local teams can make it there too.

Today's Twitter profile: @Dan_Hoard

Dan is the play-by-play man for the University of Cincinnati's basketball and football teams. He also recently started calling the Cincinnati Bengals games on the radio. Dan is always excited when he calls a game. Regardless of who the opponent is, he always seems to feel as if the 'Cats and Bengals can win. Listening to some announcers can lull a person to sleep. **Take two Jim Nantz and call me after the Masters.**

But if you're looking for an upper, don't reach for a Red Bull. Just flip on a game Dan's calling. I was able to catch the last 10 minutes of UC's game last night on the way home from work. Every shot the Bearcats made was poetry. Hearing Dan call it made me feel like I was there. I didn't even go to UC, and I found myself punching the air every time Sean Kilpatrick hit a 3, and got goosebumps when Hoard called Dion Dixon's steal and dunk. Dan's got a verbiage only rivaled by Marty Breannaman and my pal Brad Johansen.

And Dan tweets how he calls a game. Always excited. Dan is full-throttle UC and Bengals. He really loves what he does and it shows. He also tweeted me back last night after I tweeted about my goosebumps. It's a little thing to do, but when you only have 140 followers, its neat when someone with nearly 6,000 gets back to you. Check him out for all your Bearcat and Bengal needs.

Tourney Time Day 4

I did surprisingly well yesterday. I got Kentucky, Indiana, Baylor, Louisville, Marquette, Syracuse, Wisconsin and Ohio State right. But those were the teams everyone expected to win. Although, I will admit, since my bracket is so messed up, I did find myself rooting for the underdogs a lot. But like my friend Chris said on Twitter the other day, "You gotta have some expected teams win. No one wants to see two Cinderella teams play each other. Nobody cared when David beat up his little brother."

Today's slate is less certain. This is round number two for the "Crazy Upset Teams". Xavier is somehow the higher seeded team. We'll see if they can steal Lehigh's Cinderella mojo tonight at 8. I think if they play with the same fire they had against Notre Dame, they might have a good shot. And since I had Duke in that part of the bracket, I won't mind if Xavier gets to go to Atlanta next week with Kentucky, Indiana and Baylor. Tu Holloway is again going to have to be big. The difference is, if they move forward, they're gonna need more scoring out of Lyons, and more rebounding out of Frease. But who knows where this team could go if they're feeling good.

Cincinnati is in a bit of a different situation this time around. They're going up against the only team this year to beat both Duke and North Carolina. And not only did they beat both teams, but they beat both teams TWICE. That's a stiff challenge. But the 'Cats weren't exactly slouches this year. I like the way they match-up here, and I think if their 3-point shooting is on and Gates and Mbodj can stay out of foul trouble, I'd like to hope this will remain a tight game. I postured a match-up with Ohio State in Boston before the start of the Big Dance. It now seems possible. And, dare I say it, should they both run the table...the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout Part Deux?? Only time will tell.

We did lose Murray State from our 3-state, 9-team collective. But with Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State and Louisville moving on, we'll have plenty of representation in the Sweet 16...but should Cincinnati, Xavier, Purdue and Ohio do their jobs, we can own half the 16 team field. Who would have called that before the tourney started?

It's gonna be difficult for a lot of people to keep an eye on these games though, as the finale of 'The Walking Dead" is on tonight. I won't have that problem, because I'll be at work til 11:45, so I'll miss it all. But don't ruin "The Walking Dead" for me. Or I'll make you one of them.

On a side, personal note, I got the keys to my apartment today. The bed is being delivered Tuesday. And I got some stuff to sort out with Cincinnati Bell and Duke on my FiOptics bill. And I haven't even gotten to enjoy it yet. "Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it." -Monica Gellar, 'Friends'

Twitter bio profile of the day: @yourvinylsiding

This is the twitter account of my good friend, Ryan. If you're wondering about his Twitter handle...well, so is everyone else. But that's Ryan's personality. He's an eccentric guy. But it's never a dull moment. He also throws down his own blog, where he plans to review over 2000 musical albums. If that's you're thing.

Ryan also has many opinions on sports, politics, and other such popular culture matters. And if you really want a laugh, ask him about the Harrison Open Invitational.

Tourney Time: Day 3

One word. Busted. As in, most of the brackets in the entire country are...busted. But I will trade my 3 dollars in the office pool for the games we saw yesterday every year. That was a magnificent day of college basketball. Not only were Cincinnati and Xavier able to pull of pretty good wins, we saw 2 #15-seeds upset 2 #2-seeds in the same day. It had only happened 6 times since 2001 before that. We also still have 2 number 12s (South Florida and VCU) and a 13 (Ohio U) still alive in the tourney.

As people, I think we all root for the underdog because it makes us feel like we could have a chance to make it ourselves, in whatever it is we're trying to do. Sadly though, the tourney, much like life, often reminds us as well, that the big guys still hold the keys to the castle. So if they underdogs want a chance at the throne, they have to sneak in and steal them. And at the point, my bracket is so screwed, I don't care. Go underdogs!

Also, can we address something else? Is it just me or is the Cincinnati area the Mecca of basketball this year? Check out the 2 maps I made last night of the teams knocked out of the tournament (This one with red markers) and the teams still left playing for the championship (Markers in blue). Remember, when you have the map zoomed out, there are 2 teams in Cincinnati still left. There are 8 teams in about 150 mile radius or so from Cincinnati. Someone said yesterday that the states of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana were 10-2 in the tournament. The only reason there were 2 losses was because Xavier (OH) played Notre Dame (IN) and Kentucky played Western Kentucky.

Now I know they didn't have a lot of games out west this year, and that could have contributed to this oddity, but then again, there weren't that many teams in the tournament from out west. It's like when they set up the sites months ago, they knew it would be mostly east coast and Ohio River Valley teams playing in the later rounds. Obviously this is strange oddity that really has nothing to do with how things will from now, but its a neat tidbit that we can take local pride in here in Cincinnati. The more teams you have left, the better chance that someone in your area can bring home the trophy.

Yesterday I went a stellar 7-9. Which brings my overall total, counting the play-in games, to 21 of 36 correct picks. Not bad considering what happened yesterday, but Missouri was in my Final Four. Youch.
Today, we'll have Ohio State and Kentucky on CBS. However, UC and XU tomorrow got bumped to TruTV and TNT. For now, back to the games. Back to the Madness!

Today's Twitter bio profile is: @Bob_Herzog

If you already know who Bob is, chances are you wake up earlier than me. Bob and I work at the station together. You may know him from his morning traffic reports, Saturday morning hosting spot on the morning news, or perhaps a little-known segment he does on Fridays...something about flailing around like a maniac. Insane Dude...no. Wild and Crazy...that's not it. Oh yeah, Dance Party Friday! Not to mention a host of other things he does that you don't know about.

Bob's multi-talented. At one time, I know he was a lawyer and a teacher and probably some other stuff I don't know about. But he gave it all up for the glitz. You may remember his from his work as the guy who did all the commercials between movies on Saturdays with Jen Dalton on Star-64, then later the CW. I personally got to work with Bob on a shoot for a Cincinnati Library promo in the middle of May. And the air-conditioning at that particular branch was broken. We all thought we were gonna pass out. But Bob remained a pro the whole time. Oh, and did I mention he's a riot? Give him a follow for all your traffic needs, and a good laugh. Just try not to hold the fact that he's a UK fan against him.

Tourney Time: Day 2

Man, Charles Barkley doesn't know which way is up. He says he went 10-2 yesterday. The fellas remind Charles that there were 16 games yesterday. That's Auburn math folks. Get after it. I personally did decent yesterday. I went a respectable 12-4, missing Iowa State against UConn, VCU beating Witchita State, Gonzaga beating West Virginia, and my "Harvard upsets Vandy" pick didn't pan out. Luckily none of the teams that lost I had going any farther, so I'm still looking ok.

It's a big day in Cincinnati. Today is tip day for both UC and Xavier. One would hope that blue and red would be set aside for today and that Cincinnati will unite as one to root for both teams. I like the way UC has gelled since the Brawl. Those jersey accents are abusive to look at, but nothing like Baylor's highlighter yellow. My bracket has UC beating Texas, Florida State, before being beat by in-state rival Ohio State in the Sweet 16. I think they've got the ability to match-up with these teams and play good, exciting games. This should be a good weekend for Cincinnati.

Unfortunately for Xavier, they got a tough draw in Notre Dame. I think they'll hang in there for a while, but unfortunately, I just couldn't pick them to get past the Irish. Had they gotten someone else like Virginia, perhaps they could have made it to the next round.

However, I would sacrifice my bracket to root for the local guys to go far. It would be really enjoyable to see them make it far, and dare I say it, see an all Cincinnati Final? (Very highly unlikely, but a guy can hope.) Unfortunately, for Xavier to make it there, they'd have to get through locals like Kentucky or Indiana and UC would have to take down Big Brother Upstate, Ohio State, and possibly have a rematch with big, (not so bad without Melo) Syracuse.

We'll hope for the best. Go Cats. Go Muskies. Hopefully the whole city is dressed in red and blue today.

Today's Twitter bio profile is: @ConnorBarwin98

Connor is a former Bearcat football star and now a member of the Houston Texans. But as you may also remember, Barwin was a member of the UC basketball team. It's rare these days to see a guy do two sports, let alone do two sports well. Connor is a stellar athlete and seems like a genuinely good guy.

On Twitter, Connor is one of the most entertaining people I follow. He loves Houston, but always remembers how he got there. Barwin is always mindful of what the 'Cats are up to. He's always showing up to random sporting events when he can to root for the guys. And when he's not playing or supporting his teams, he's just an overall funny guy. Love seeing what he has to say.

Tourney Time: Day 1

I'm 2 for 4 on Play-In games. (I have no idea what the First Four are.) I'll give you my picks, then update how well I'm doing tomorrow and so on. I'll also keep tabs on how well I'm doing in the office pool. I could sure use that extra moolah.

Like I said, I only did one Master Bracket. So my picks for the first round are:

Kentucky, Uconn, Witchita St., Indiana, Colorado, Baylor, Notre Dame, Duke, Michigan St., Memphis, New Mexico, Louisville, Murray St., Marquette, Florida, Missouri, Syracuse (I refused to change it, despite Melo issues), Kansas St., Harvard, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Florida St., West Virginia, Ohio St., North Carolina, Creighton, Temple, Michigan, San Diego St., Belmont, Saint Mary's, Kansas

My Sweet 16 has:
Kentucky, Indiana, Baylor, Duke, Michigan St., Louisville, Marquette, Missouri, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Ohio St., North Carolina, Temple, San Diego St., Kansas.

My Elite 8 are:
Kentucky, Baylor, Michigan St., Missouri, Syracuse, Ohio St., North Carolina, Kansas.

Final Four comes down to:
Kentucky, Missouri,, Ohio St. and North Carolina

and the Finals:
The Rematch: Kentucky vs. North Carolina. And I had the same result...Kentucky wins.

I didn't necessarily want it that way, because I'm not a huge Kentucky fan. But I just think they can do it this year. Of course, this is the tournament. Anything can happen. My bracket could be screwed by tomorrow.

Today's Twitter bio profile of the day: @InTheGap_

As I mentioned yesterday, these folks make some sweet shirts. But they also do it for a good cause. They donate a portion of their profits four times a year to charity. They don't donate to anyone specifically, but rather spread the wealth around. As the name suggests, their products are based around baseball. They also have some neat designs for In The Gap itself. If you have a chance, check out their on-line store.

In addition to following @InTheGap_ itself (they often do cool giveaways and such), you'll also want to follow the personal accounts of the creators @BgRedRedemption @KMartindale72 and @ValentineSmiles. They're just 3 quality individuals who want to do something good for the world, and get you some quality threads while doing it.

Video Game Memories

Today, I went on a little excursion. I actually got some productive things done. I paid for my new bed which will be delivered to my new apartment on Tuesday. I set up the meeting with apartment manager for me to do an inspection and get the keys on Sunday. I applied for a Target credit card.

Then I got off track. I went hunting for something. Something very special. All along we've been saying we want our wedding cake topper to be something cool and different. And I thought I had found what we needed. Star Wars action figures. Han Solo and Princess Leia to be exact. The problem is, I haven't been able to find Leia anywhere. Apparently, a female action figure is not that popular, especially one that hasn't appeared in a movie in nearly 40 years. So, I scoured nearby toy stores to no avail. But I had a second revelation. Who else would have action figures from a beloved sci-fi classic? Comic Book Nerds. So began my search.

The first shop yielded decent results. I found a Han and a Leia, but not from the same series, and they were different sizes. The next store I checked was fiercely pro-DC Comics and everything else was of lesser importance. I found no Star Wars characters of any kind there, though I did find the comic book version of "The Walking Dead".

SIDEBAR: This got me to wondering how different the comic book is to the TV series. Unlike "300" and "The Watchmen", "Walking Dead" is a series, which may have many plot twists. If purchasing comic books wasn't so expensive, I may consider it. But it's an addicting habit that I cannot currently afford. Anyone out there know if the comics and the show are in any way similar? END SIDEBAR

My trek then led me to the Northgate Mall, where I know of a sci-fi shop. The clerk there told me they didn't carry them and he didn't know any shops that did. (I chose not to argue the point with him. It seems guys who work at comic book stores are awful pretentious. NOTE TO SELF: One day help the comic book store owners of the world with people skills.) He then suggested I check the internet. So as soon as my newly applied for credit card arrives, I'll do so.  Then I'll pay my whole bill on time, like a responsible person.

BRIAN!!! THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE IS ABOUT VIDEO GAMES!!!

I'm getting there. So, I'm at the mall. And if there are 3 things I must do at every mall, its 1. Get an Auntie Anne's pretzel; 2. Stop in at the local Lids location to see if there are any hats that interest me; 3. Check out the movie/video game store for some cheap deals. And my friends, I found the best game I ever played in my life.

I personally never owned it; a friend did. So we played it whenever we were at his house. But now, I own a copy. ToeJam & Earl, for the Sega Genesis. Yes, I dust off the old directional pad with the A,B,C buttons from time to time. I also grabbed 2 South Park N64 games. One is a racing game, and the other is an adventure game.

But back to ToeJam and Earl. If you're not familiar with the game, the guys are aliens. ToeJam is long and tubular, has 3 legs and a gold medallion. Earl is a rather portly fellow who wears a backward baseball hat and sunglasses. They crash-landed their space ship here. Your mission is to help them find the missing pieces and get home. The pieces are on various free-form exploratory levels--although you are in a third-person view, so its easier to see-- which seems to be a floating island. If you were to fall off the edge of say level 7, you'd end up on level 6 and have to make your way through again. The game board map is shrouded however, until you visit that area. Once you've seen that part of the level, you can see it on the map. There are many obstacles to avoid, including bees, men with lawnmowers, hula women who entrance you, and a man in a carrot suit. You may even see the boogeyman. Once each piece is found (there isn't always a piece on each level, but the tell you when there is), you then have to find the elevator to the next level. There are also may power-ups along the way. Hot fudge sundaes, decoys, money and rocket skates are just some of thing mystery presents you'll find.

It's possibly one of the most entertaining games I've played. And it was made for Sega Genesis. They got it right early.

So what are some other great video games from the past? I'd love to have some comments and feedback.

Twitter Bio profile of the day: @MrLeCure

That's Reds pitcher Sam LeCure. Now I'm not sure if this post relates to him cause I'm not sure if he's big on video games or comic books or Star Wars, but he just seems like an all-around cool guy. So he seems like he wouldn't mind.

Sam's twitter is always awesome. A mix of baseball-related things, inspirational things (without being overbearing about it), and just normal person things like hanging with his family. I'm sure a lot of the people that follow me also follow him, but tell some friends who don't. He really is great, and seems like he'd take the time to talk to anyone at any time. Also, the fellas at In The Gap Shirts have done several shirts for him, which he's helped with. I'll get to the ITG guys in later posts more related to baseball. But for now, as Sam would say, be easy everybody.

My Love/Hate (Bracket) Relationship

March Madness always stirs up in me mixed feelings. So, today I will list the things that I simultaneously love and loathe about this time of year.

LOVE
Teams I rarely get to see during the regular season, getting a shot at the Big Kids


LOATHE
The fact that if one of these teams wins, it's somehow a miracle. These guys know how to play ball just like the guys on the other side. They may not have as many scholarships, but on any given day, unless you have some freak of nature on your team, I think any team could have a shot to beat any other.

LOVE
Seeing the local teams make the Big Dance. I feel like it reflects well on the area. And we sure could use some good PR after what the boys in Clifton and the boys on Victory Parkway did to each other earlier this season.

LOATHE
Having to pick against said local teams when it comes to my bracket. When I fill out my bracket, I always want them to win it all. But then I have to let my head take over and be realistic.

LOVE
The idea of giving more teams a shot to make the tournament with the First Four games.

LOATHE
That all four games aren't games to make it in at 16. So USF and Cal are both considered to be a 12, yet one of them will not get to play in the tournament? One of them could have been a 13.

BONUS LOATHE
That they're called the First Four. Call them what they are. Play-in games. 


LOVE
How quickly people get behind their team. The tournament gives people from non-front-running schools a reason to dig their gear out.

LOATHE
How so few tickets are actually available to students and alumni for these games. Aren't they playing in college arenas? UC had 50 student tickets available for the game. Of course, all the big money donors were taken care of first. (Rant for a different day)

LOVE
Buzzer-beaters. Is there anything more exciting in sports than a 10-seed being down 1 or 2 against a 2-seed with 10 seconds left and seeing them run the perfect play to drain the winning shot? Or even better, see them drain the most imperfect, improbable shot ever to win the game.

LOATHE
Bad officiating at the end of a game that directly affects the outcome. Now, I know, someone's bad officiating is someone else's good officiating. And if there wasn't bad officiating earlier in the game, then we wouldn't be in this situation. But people remember the end of the game. And if officiating at the end affected the game-play, people go crazy. I just hope its mostly clean this year.

LOVE
That for the next few weeks, my job will be to watch these games. While other companies (according to the studies) are losing time, productivity, and money, I'm actually doing my job while watching them.

LOATHE
Having to get pulled away to do actual work while the games are on. **Fist shakes** Not really, cause there's pretty much a TV in every room at the station. So I'll hardly ever miss any action.


Today's Twitter bio profile is: @theworldofdale

Dale was on my list of people to meet at the ballpark a few days ago. So, as you may guess, we've never met. But that's the beauty of Twitter. We live in the same city and have never met, yet converse often. She runs a blog on the Enquirer's website with two other ladies called Dames on Games. She controls that twitter handle as well. It's @damesongames. As you might assume, this blog is dedicated to the female view of sports.

Dale is an interesting follow. Sometimes she's very insightful. Sometimes she's off-the-wall. And sometimes...well sometimes she gets into fights with Alec Baldwin. Dale is not originally from Cincinnati, but we don't fault her for that because she has embraced Cincinnati sports. However, she does still have an allegiance to the Tigers and Knicks. (She really liked my idea that the next Lin/Tebow player would come from the Tigers, owing to their uniform colors). So if you think you'd like to follow a woman who can talk whether not to continue the Crosstown Shootout after this year's ugliness and how she thinks Mat Latos will pitch in GABP, but also thinks the dark circles under Devin Mesoraco's eyes are cute, this might be a good follow for you. Also, she'll make an occasional poop joke or try to get Arian Foster to say something to her.

What's in a Bracketology?

How do you fill out your bracket?

• Some people do heavy research. 
• Some people work solely on gut. 
• Some have mathematical formulas. 
• Some people base it on the fierceness of the mascot. 
• Some literally flip a coin. 

It's intriguing to see all the different ways people decide to find that national champion. I also would like to know, with the number of brackets that are filled out each year, and the exponential number of combinations that can be made, how many complete strangers have come up with the exact same bracket. And even more rare, the complete same exactly right bracket.

I personally use some different ways to come up with my bracket. Last year, I spread my picks around. I had probably about 8 different brackets floating around. This year, I'm taking it seriously. There will be one master bracket. I will not waver in my picks. I will sink or swim with the teams I'd say my picks are usually about 60% gut-feeling about a team regardless of match-up, 30% research, and 20% eyeball test while looking at the bracket. I know that's 110%. I factor in that I lose about 10% of quality due to my lack of ability to see all the teams involved play in actual games (I'm looking at you Norfolk and Lehigh).

So, I'm filling out my bracket now. I only won't tell you because I don't know, not because I don't want you to see. That's the other thing I find intriguing. No matter how much you like or dislike a team's chances, you'll never change your bracket because of what someone else has filled in. Off to bracket I go. Enjoy the madness everyone! We'll check back in later in the week, and I'll let you know how the Master Bracket is doing.

Today's Twitter bio profile is: @breakingbaum

That's another pal from high school, Adam Baum. He is now a contributor for The Enquirer. You can usually catch him covering high school sports. Baum himself was a member of the football team, and one of only 2 guys our sophomore year to be pulled up to the varsity team, eventually earning a state championship ring. He went on to be a captain our senior year. Off the football field, it seemed Adam had a hand in everything. From organizing a pep rally, to participating in a blood drive, and everything in between, Adam was there. He rarely excluded anyone, and almost always has a smile on his face.

Adam is also a big Walking Dead fan. He's obviously big into sports, especially statistical oddities like me. He even slides some political commentary in there. And everything he has to say always seems to have an air of comedy about it. Even when talking about himself. Give him a follow for all your entertaining sports and TV needed.

Let the Madness Begin

So the seeds are set. I don't want to think about who will actually win right now. The first thing I always do is look for intriguing match-ups and through-lines for local teams each tournament. The "Wouldn't it be great if they played against", the "wouldn't it really suck if they had to play", and the "boy that would be a funny game" scenarios always pop into my head.

UK

The Wildcats get the #1 seed. The most obvious thing here is that the Cats get to play in Louisville. In the first play-in game, Mississippi Valley State takes on Western Kentucky. So obviously the Bluegrass state would be aflame if UK plays WKU in Louisville. In the round of 32, they could have a rematch from last year's Final Four with Connecticut. The Cats could also see a rematch with Indiana in the Sweet 16.

XU

Many Queen City allegiances will be tested for Xavier's first round game. Lots of folks in town not only root for either the Musketeers or the Bearcats, but often there is a strong Fighting Irish contingent here. Xavier fans will obviously swing to the Blue. But will the UC fans back the Muskies or the Notre Dame? Or simply the team that will help their bracket the most? Obviously a Blue on Blue match-up in the Elite Eight is a little far-fetched, but I suppose not totally out of the question. The 4 A-10 teams were each sent to a different region, so there's no possible match-up there til the Final Four or Championship.

UC

First, the Cats get to play in Nashville, which has been good to Cincinnati teams in post-season play this year. Should the Bearcats get past the Longhorns, they could have a shot at St. Bonaventure, who beat Xavier for the A-10 championship...although highly unlikely. What could be more likely would be a Sweet 16 match-up with big brother up north, Ohio State, or possibly old Big East foe, West Virginia. Looming in the distance, as an Elite Eight match-up could be the last team UC beat, Syracuse, or the same team the football team in the Liberty Bowl, Vanderbilt.

OSU

The Buckeyes in Pittsburgh will mean a big following. However, in the round of 32, they could lose any home-court advantage they may have in the first game, as West Virginia will most likely play them. The Cincinnati match-up in the Sweet 16 is still waiting there. Also in the Elite Eight, OSU could meet up with the Wisconsin team they split the regular-season series with.

Also things to note:

UNC and Duke are as far away from each other as possible.
Michigan State is as far away from either Ohio State or Michigan as it can be.
There are 2 Big East teams in the South, 3 in the East, 2 in the West, and 1, but potentially 2(South Florida in a play-in game) in the Midwest.
Norfolk State and South Dakota State are making their first tournament appearances.
Harvard, the country's oldest college, is making it's second appearance. Their first was in 1946.


Today's Twitter Profile is: @CraigBuschleJr

As the name suggests, that's my pal Craig Buschle. He's been one of my oldest friends. We went to elementary and high school together. We took a majority of the same classes together for the better part of 12 years. We spent as much time, from the ages of 6 to 15, at each other's houses as we did our own.

He's also one of the toughest SOBs I know. I've never broken a bone. He's busted several. I get seasonal allergies. He's spent half his life at either an allergist or an emergency room for his nasal issues. He's had more sinus infections than I can count. I once saw him tear his leg open on a chain-link fence to the point where I could see nerves. And worst of all, a few years ago, he found out he had testicular cancer. But he fought it off, and has been in remission. And through all the chemo, the bald heads, and countless doctor visits, the guy kept it positive. He smiled that bitch-ass cancer away.

So if you're looking for an off-the-wall guy who talks about the Walking Dead, Mario Kart, sports (especially the Reds, Bearcats, and UNC), and having a good time, give him a follow. He also recently got a job doing what he wants to do with his meteorology degree, so if you like weather stuff, he knows all about that stuff too.

Backboards and Turnovers

Welp, some of the weekend went well for some teams, not so well for others.

The Good


UK had a little more trouble than I originally assumed in getting past Florida. But on to the SEC Championship with Vandy, and most likely a 1 seed in the tournament. On the other side of the spectrum, OSU took it to a lot harder Michigan than I was expecting. Metaphors about red-headed step-children come to mind. The Buckeyes will meet Michigan State for the Big 10 title, with the possibility of a 1-seed on the line for the winner.


Xavier was able to get past St. Louis, and will now get to challenge St. Bonaventure for the A-10 title. I was convinced the win Friday cleared the way for the Muskies to make the Big Dance. However, it seems some analysts didn't agree. But I would think that regardless of the outcome of today's game, they should be in.


The Bad

Both NKU teams are now done with division-II. The men's team fell to Findlay last night 50-49. They were just not able to find their three-point shooting. The Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship for division-II will feel a little hollow without the host school participating.
The Bearcats came up short in their big for the Big East title against Louisville. The whole game seemed sloppy on both sides. However, UC just couldn't hit foul shots to close the game out. They're going to need to rectify that heading into the tournament, or they won't last long. I assumed the 'Cats could have been as high as a 3 if they had won. I'd imagine them to be a 6 or perhaps a 7-seed now.


Twitter

I really enjoy Twitter. And unless you found my blog randomly, you have to know this, because its the only place put the links. Recently, I found out Brandon Phillips (@DatDudeBP) stopped following me. Sadface. I'm not sure why he stopped, but it was fun while it lasted. That's the fluid nature of Twitter. I currently have 135 followers, but I'd be willing to bet I've had about 400 people who followed then unfollowed me for whatever reason. I'm actually more intrigued by why people I've never met want to follow me in the first place. But I suppose I wonder the same about this blog.

I know why I follow people I don't know on Twitter. They're either funny, informative or both. Lots of it has to do with sports. Some of it is movies. A few news and political things (so I can look classy and well-informed), and the rest are people I know. I don't think I've ever followed a non-famous person that someone else didn't recommend I follow.

Some of the people that I have the most conversations with (outside of my personal friends and fiance) are people I hope to meet at the ballpark this year. These people I know better from their twitter handle than their real name. People like @theworldofdale, @BgRedRedemption, @kelimepie, @redsfacts, @jluckhaupt, @RedTardation, some mysterious guy named @ElHalconRojo1, and one of the baseball wives I would assume would be least likely to be on "Baseball Wives" @DallasLatos.

I'm not gonna name off all the people I know personally so that you can follow them. You can scroll through my follower list if you really care. But I will put in a special section for my fiance Amanda. You can find her at @uhmannduh. Feel free to follow her and see how sane and normal she is compared to me. Or ask her. She'll tell you I'm nuts. Actually, don't. She might not marry me if she figures out how friggin' crazy I am.

Weekends and Odds 3/10

Ok, so it's a little more difficult to churn one of these out each day when I have to go to my actual job. So I decided I'll do a hodge-podge of things that have happened and things to come for the weekend.

UC


The 'Cats are playing like their pants are on fire. No, wait, sorry. Those are their new Adidas-provided uniforms. In any event, the Bearcats were 3-point underdogs to Georgetown, The Orange were favored to win by 7.5, and now the Louisville Cardinals are assumed to win by 2. Sounds like an "us against the world" scenario, which I'm sure Mick loves. And the way they won both games was fantastic. Edge-of-your-seat, wild buzzer-beating action that makes other teams take notice. This team will scrap for a full 40 minutes.

I know they didn't play the first 2 rounds of the tournament because they were seeded so high, but if the 'Cats can knock off the 'Ville tonight, I feel like this team is gonna have last year's UConn vibe around it. They don't have a Kemba Walker...but they've got enough guys that, if they're on, can shoot the lights out from behind the arc. I feel like UC bumped itself up from say an 11 or 12-seed at the start of the tournament to at least a 6 in the NCAA tourney. There's no telling where they may get placed if they take down Louisville again.

XU


I didn't get to catch any of Xavier's game last night, but a win is a win, even if it's only 1 point right? I feel like if X was a bubble team before the tournament, that was cleared up last night. There aren't too many bracket busters this year. And as a whole, this seems to be a down-year for a lot of the power conferences as well. Of course, this is all a moot point if Xavier can keep winning. They will face a tough test today in St. Louis, whom they've lost to twice this year, by 5 at home and by 11 on the road. Should X advance to the A-10 title game, they'll get either St. Bonaventure or UMass. UMass knocked off top-seeded Temple last night. And UMass also beat both St. Bonaventure and Xavier in regular-season play. So it's still going to be an uphill climb for the Musketeers, but if Holloway can put together a few total package games, there's no reason they can't still win the A-10.

I'd like to hope the Muskies have gotten their heads back on straight. They've had their ups and downs through the A-10, but it really is intriguing how different they've been since the Brawl. It seems Holloway's game is directly affected by his ability to swagger. And it seemed that in the games immediately following the Punchout, he became reserved, possibly fearing he'd get technical calls against him that he wouldn't have gotten prior. I think winning the A-10 tourney would do a lot for his, as well as the rest of his team's, swagger.  

OSU and UK


Both are in action today. OSU had little trouble with Purdue yesterday, but they face a tougher test in Michigan, who beat them in regular season play. OSU is still fighting to secure a top-seed in the tournament. Syracuse losing to Cincinnati has opened the door to whomever wins the Big 10 tournament to possibly steal that 1-seed. After Michigan, the Buckeyes would still need to get through Wisconsin, whom they beat at Wisconsin, or Michigan State, with whom they split the regular season series.

UK had a little trouble getting past LSU on Friday, but all they need to do is win. With their near-spotless record, it would be hard to see them knocked out of the top-seed for the tournament. And if Anthony Davis plays at even 80% of what he's capable of, the Wildcats are still in good shape. today's opponent, Florida, gave them little pause in the regular season. And unless Vanderbilt or Andy Kennedy's Ole Miss teams know something we don't, I would have to imagine the 'Cats will steam-roll their way to an SEC Championship.

NKU


You know I couldn't get away without doing any NKU stuff. Unfortunately the women's team fell to Quincy last night in the first round of the D-II tournament. So, that's it for the women's team in Division Two. Next year, on to the Atlantic Sun Conference, even though you can't see the Atlantic, and rarely the sun, from Highland Heights. The women finish with 6 regional championships and 2 D-II national titles (2000, 2008). At the time of the most recent win, NKU was the only school to have 2 women's national championships in the same sport, at any division level, in the state of Kentucky. Nancy Winstel will take her traditions and tenacity with her to Division One.

The men meanwhile play this evening against Findlay. This is not the most talented group of NKU players that has ever graced the court. But they seem to play like a team. And they find ways to win. When they need to shoot threes, they do it. When they need to slow the game down and play defense, they have that ability. With NKU being about 150 miles closer to Louisville than Findlay is, I hope that the support for the team will be large. Bellarmine has reported that the tickets for the first session is sold out. NKU has only lost 6 games all season. And this is the same team that beat West Virginia in exhibition play. This is the last chance at a D-II championship for the Norse. They have never won one before. And if they do it this year, it would be on their home court, which would be awesome.

Reds

I don't want to say much on the Reds now...as I haven't been able to see anything yet. But as always, I'm stoked for the season. Opening Day tickets sold out in 40 minutes. Aaron Boone is the grand marshall of the Opening Day Parade. Barry Larkin is going to Cooperstown (And the Reds will most likely retire #11). Plus, ya know, the World Series and all that. I think this is the year.

Peyton

What a weird press conference. You don't usually see the player at the press conference when the team is releasing him. So awkward. I hope Peyton's still got some in the tank. I'm not gonna speculate where he'll end up. But whoever gets him is gonna get an immediate boost. And if he can't go right away, he'll probably be a pretty good mentor for someone else. My fiance is upset that he will no longer be within driving distance to see play.

It's Gonna Cost How Much?!?

Ok, rant time. I'm deviating a little from the March Madness, Spring Training, etc, today because this is making me loose my mind a little. A buddy of mine moved to New York. His girlfriend is doing graduate work, and he foolishly thought he could find journalism work there. I hope he does...he just hasn't yet. I'm not gonna use his name, unless he wants me to. But people who know him personally will know who he is.

This guy also happens to have type-1 diabetes. For those that aren't sure of the difference, type-1 is something that is detected in childhood, possibly even at birth, when the pancreas is basically non-functioning. The pancreas produces insulin to break down all the sugars you eat during the day. Without insulin, a person can become very depressed or overly energetic, if their blood-glucose levels are not regulated. If severely unregulated, it could put a person into shock, a coma, and you can obviously die from it. It's a very serious and complicated illness. My friend has to check himself regularly throughout the day, and during mealtimes, to keep tabs his levels. He then has to carefully regulate what he eats and drinks, so as to keep his blood sugar stabilized, or if it gets too high, inject himself with artificial insulin. Type-2, on the other hand, is developed later in life from poor eating habits consisting of far too many sugar-laden foods and drinks. These people have perfectly fine pancreases, but they've overwhelmed and over-worked them to the point that they shut down. However, unlike type-2, where some proper diet and exercise can bring back down your sugar levels and restore your pancreas to working order, type-1 is currently incurable. For the rest of his foreseeable life, my friend will have to prick himself, and inject insulin into his body about 4-6 times a day.

Now he probably wouldn't want me writing this, but then again, he's never been the type of guy to ask for anyone's help. When he tells people he has diabetes, they look at him funny and say "but you're not fat". He then has to go on to explain the things I just explained in the previous paragraph. He ran cross-country in high school. I'm sure he still exercises quite often. People who run competitively seem to continue to do it, even after they're no longer on a team. But here's there heart of my rant. He went to the doctor a few weeks ago. New city, new doctor. When he went in, he had to get his insurance checked out and all that goofy stuff. Well, they told him it had been accepted. Except they failed to mention, however, that it would not actually be accepted UNTIL he had a referral from a previous doctor. So when he found out later that he needed the referral, he contacted his doctor in Ohio, who was supposed to take care of that for him. He then assumed his insurance would cover the majority of his visit, as it always had. Without his previous doctor's referral, he could not prove that his diabetes was a pre-existing condition. And a NEW prescription for insulin shots isn't cheap.

So you can imagine his surprise when he received a bill from the New York doctor that had 4 numbers before the decimal place. Apparently they never got the referral that would ensure that his insurance would actually take care of most of his bill. I off-handedly suggested that if he were trying to get birth control instead of insulin, then someone important might care about his plight. We then went into a back and forth "what would Rush Limbaugh have to say about this" spoof. Seriously, not to take away from the birth control issue, because I believe its a very important thing-- and trust me, I would much rather help pay for your whatever-priced (I'm sorry I don't know the figures, don't go nuts on me ladies) birth control a month, than for your possible welfare baby for the next 18 years-- but this is a little bit more of a life-threatening issue.

But in the end, to a degree, the birth control issue and my friend's insulin/doctor problem is a part of the same issue. Why is the quality of life of one person more valuable than another? Why is it that I, a perfectly healthy white male, get some sort of preferred treatment when it comes to my bill than other people? Because I don't have any pre-existing conditions, I'm deemed as less of a risk to insure and treat, and therefore, don't cost them as much money. And the woman who is having a baby gets all the preferential treatment in the world, but the one who doesn't want to irresponsibly have one right now is a monster. And a guy whose had diabetes before he could walk is a risk and needs a referral from a previous doctor to prove, in fact, that he has had this disease all his life?

I get my insurance from my employer, and I'm grateful that they make it available to me. But it still freaks me out that without a phone call or a fax from someone you trust as deeply as a doctor doesn't come, that it becomes a big financial burden. And if your insurance company, if you have one, that you've been paying all that money to, doesn't come to help, all that burden would fall on you. And sometimes, that's too much weight for one person to hold up.

Marching to the Madness in Highland Heights

Apologies for the lateness of this post. (Like you were on the edge of your seat, waiting.) I had some business-like issues that had to be addressed this morning.

So the selection shows for the Division-II NCAA basketball tournament were last night. Both the men's and women's teams at NKU have once again made the Big Dance. Both teams had earned a bye in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament. The women fell in their first game in the tournament to eventual champion Maryville. The men beat Kentucky Weslyan and Missouri-St. Louis before falling in the finals to the University of Southern Indiana.

Early on in the GLVC championship game, it seemed as if the Norse were in complete control. They were shooting three's at will. The halftime score was 27-17, with the Norse on top. However, the second half was an entirely different story. The Screaming Eagles closed the gap out of the break, and totally erased the 10-point deficit. For the next 10 minutes or so, the game was back and forth. Both teams had the same amount of made field goals, as well as the same amount of made three-pointers. However, the difference was the foul shooting. Southern Indiana finished the game with 12 made foul shots, compared to the Norse's 2. At one point, USI got so hot they were actually up 11. However, in the closing minutes, the Norse nearly made it a game, climbing to within 2. However, late fouling and missed shots were the Norse's downfall, ultimately ending the game with USI taking home the 60-56 victory and the GLVC trophy.

But with the Selection Show came renewed hope for both teams. The women's team will be a 4 seed and face GLVC rival Quincy in the first round. They have not yet faced Quincy this year. The men's team is also the 4 seed and gets a match-up with GLIAC foe Findlay.

Of course, my bias toward these teams makes me think they're going to advance in the tournament. But both teams have single-digit losses during the season. The women's team features GLVC player of the year Casse Mogan, and they have not lost 2 games in a row all season. The men's team has a very balanced offense, going inside or shooting threes when necessary.

Should they advance, the Lady Norse could get top-seeded Ashland...or perhaps the team that knocked them out of the GLVC tourney, Maryville. Maryville, despite winning the GLVC trophy, was seeded 8th because of their 19-11 regular season record.

And if the men were able to get past Findlay, it could set up a match against 8th seed Lewis, whom the Norse took down twice in the regular season. Or it could create a marquee match-up with 2011 NCAA champion Bellarmine, who despite being upset by USI in the semis of the GLVC tourney, were awarded the top seed. The Norse would be looking for revenge, as the Knights took the W's in both meetings during the regular season. An extra incentive for the men's team: should they advance all the way to the Elite Eight, they'll have much more support the rest of the way, as the quarter and semi-finals as well as the NCAA Division-II championship will be held at the Bank of Kentucky Center. So regardless of the teams involved, Highland Heights will see late-season basketball games. But I'm sure there would be many more fans if the team in black and gold was still playing.

Norse Madness

We're 4 days into March, so it's officially time for The Madness. I plan to do some stuff about the other local teams and their chances in their conference tournaments, as well as their ability to get into, perform well in, and ultimately chances of winning The Big Dance. However, for the next few posts, I want to bring to light a team very dear to my heart that gets a little less coverage than UC or Xavier.

I went Northern Kentucky University. We had no football team. So when basketball season rolls around in Highland Heights, I always got a little more amped. I had all this pent up sports energy waiting to use. I was spoiled coming out of high school. I went to a high school (Elder) that had a very high-octane sports following. In my 4 years there, I missed one varsity football game, and that's because I couldn't get a ride to Cleveland. I saw 2 football state championships. I did 85 on on I-75 to get to Dayton my junior year to get to Dayton to see the baseball state championship, having taken the SAT that day. (Surprisingly, I did better that time than the previous September when I had taken it). My senior year, I was on the pep rally committee and a cheerleader--If you don't know about the GCL South, all 4 schools are all-male. So when we say cheerleader, it's a guy dressed up goofy with a big megaphone who literally yells cheers at the cheering section that they repeat-- and during basketball season, I was the play-by-play man on the internet/radio broadcasts. 

So you can imagine my shock, when upon entering my first college basketball game for a school that has no football team, I saw a half-empty guy that would be lucky if it held 2000 people and a cheering section made up of about 12 students lounging in the stands. I was a bit disheartened. However, I had a job to do. A few weeks before the season had started, an e-mail had been sent out that the sports department was looking for a new person to play the mascot. I sent in my "resume" as I laid it out for you, plus many more points. Unfortunately, the one thing I was missing was, ummm, mascot experience. So the job went to someone else. However, the director of athletic marketing created a new job, just for me. With my crazy enthusiasm for all things sport, he made me the "Arena MC".

'What, Brian, is an Arena MC?' you ask. Well, have you ever been to a minor league baseball game, or a hockey game? You know that guy dressed goofy with the microphone making people do funny things during time-outs to get prizes and gift cards? Botta-bing. There were no parameters for my costume. It was clearly something of my own design. 

My first night on the mic was a little forced and awkward. But the more I saw the same people at the games, the more comfortable I became. I began to have fun with it. I became friends with the cheerleaders, dance team, pep band, and of course the guy who played the mascot. During the game, it was the athletes time to shine, but during TV time-outs, all eyes were on me. But still the atmosphere wasn't quite there.

As the season wore on, we did theme nights, door prizes and giveaways, and I even resorted to going to class in my costume, just so people asked what my deal was, and I could convince them to come to the games. Our efforts, combined with the stellar play of both men's and women's teams my freshman year began to draw crowds. Senior phenom transfer Steven Wright putting on an offensive show didn't hurt either. It was a great season. My dad, a friend and I drove to Evansville, Indiana to see the GLVC tournament. The same friend and I rode a bus up to Findlay, Ohio to see the men upset the host Oilers.

It was a great freshman year for me. I got really involved in all the sports after that, attending a lot of games. But after that semester, the marketing director left the school, and no one else in the department thought my job necessary. It was okay though, because by that time, I was becoming involved with more broadcasting projects, including shooting the sporting events, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything. As the teams gained more acclaim, the crowds began to come, and with the opening of the Bank of Kentucky Center, people swarmed in. It's a beautiful arena and a grade A facility, but it'll never compare to the memories I have of that little gym barely bigger than where a high school would play.

If you have a chance, the Norse men's team plays today at 4:30pm for the GLVC championship against Southern Indiana. They're almost assured a bid to the Big Dance (selection show is tonight on NCAA.com, I believe around 10 or 10:30.) but a win would get them the GLVC automatic bid. It would be great swan song to take the final GLVC tournament they will ever participate in. The women will likely get an at-large bid based on their regular season record as well. I plan to do a post about the game, the tournaments, and moving to Division-I tomorrow.

Good Night, after a Bad Day

Those that read my previous blog posts know that March 2nd was my birthday. Invariably, there always seems to be severe weather on my birthday. Whether it be torrential downpours, blinding snowstorms, or in yesterday's case, storms that create tornadoes. Since I work at a TV station, I feel a little more linked in with the things that are going on all over the viewing area. We had a feeling we would be cutting into network programming a few times between when the noon news ended and the 4pm news started. However, I don't think many of us anticipated what was actually going to happen.

It was a regular Friday for me. Technical direct the noon news, have some lunch, then start on my projects for the day. This particular day, they had me terminating some ethernet cables. Around 1:30 they came and got me because we were going to do a cut-in to let people know the bad stuff was on the way. That only lasted a few minutes. After that, I considered all the rest of my jobs on hold. I was needed in the control room until my relief showed up. Things could happen at a moment's notice and we needed to be ready to go on. Well, around 2:45, we did...and we didn't stop til 7:30.

After my relief arrived, I was kind of in limbo. But that didn't last long. Tim Hedrick, Michelle Boutillette and Scott Dimmich were all in to work on this storm. They had a special camera set up in the weather center. And they were trying to use their new technology, an app on the iPad. Unfortunately, for some reason, the iPad kept going to sleep. I was called in to try to fix the problem. If you were watching and heard Tim say on the air "I need an engineer to fix this," that was me. I thought I had solved it, but all I did was delay the sleep. So for the better part of 3 and a half hours, I stood in the studio and kept the iPad awake, and handed it to them when they needed it.

As a result, I learned a lot more about the weather than I would have if I had been doing anything else. The pattern was long, but really was made up of smaller, cellular shapes. This worried Michelle. She said any time weather patterns are shaped like that, there's always the potential for cyclonic flow, causing a tornado. And she was right. As the day wore on, we began to get reports of tornado touchdowns, destruction of major portions of some small towns, and sadly, the loss of a few lives.

We got reports in from the field. Dan Spehler was in Piner, Kentucky at a truck stop. At this point, I believe this is where we saw the greatest loss of life. Rich Jaffe was new Moscow, Ohio, where he said many buildings were leveled, and trees looked as if they had been clear-cut by a logging company. Deb Dixon was in Holton, Indiana, the first place we heard about of an actual tornado touching down. As afternoon became evening, and the reports of damage and loss of life came in, I could see it begin to wear on the weather team. Every confirmed death made them sink a little lower in their chairs. But they soldiered on, because information needed to be given. People in the Eastern sections of the viewing area were still being affected. It was a fantastic job by all involved to get this information in. As the meteorologists reported on the air, every reporter and producer in the newsroom was taking calls and e-mails about what was happening. The camera people kept everything on the studio floor calm and manageable, and the control room had all the pieces of the puzzle ready to put on the air. It was total team effort.

Before all of this started, I had planned to go out with my friends for my birthday. Unfortunately my fiance is out of town. She's running a half marathon in New Orleans tomorrow. God bless her, I get tired after running more than 2 miles. So the plan was to get some fish for dinner, then it was up to me what I wanted to do. Well it had been far too long since I had been laser-tagging, so that's what we did. We grabbed some dinner at Morgan's Roadhouse on Pedretti, then it was off to Scallywag tag. Our start time was set for about 15 after we got there, so we played some arcade games to pass the time. Somehow, I got the high score in skeeball, pop-a-shot, and won air hockey. Knowing my friends, I doubt that they were letting me win, so I must have been on some kind of roll. My laser-tagging wasn't so good. But there were apparently some kids there who spent an inordinate amount of time there. After we finished our 2 games, we headed over to BW-3's for some post-tagging merry-making. 

It was sad though, to think that while I was celebrating my birthday, some people were going to be forced to sleep on a cot in a community center that night. That for the next few weeks, they would be have to go back to their once lovely homes, and dig through the rubble for prized possessions and hope to find some of them undamaged. It's a tragic event that reminds us all just how quickly life can change. I'm thankful that my house was not anywhere near the most severe storms, and that all of my friends and family were safe, but it always tugs at me a little when I hear of these small towns, who didn't get enough warning, and they lose everything. It's a shame that the awesome force of nature could give me a good night, after giving the people affected by the storms, such a horrible day.

I Wanted To Make A Funny Title, But This Is For Charity

It was nice to be back in Regent't Hall again. For the first 2 years of my college life, NKU played its home games in a gym not much bigger than one some high schools use. But it had a homey feel about it. You didn't get lost in the grandeur and focused on the important things at hand. When it was NKU, the most important part was the game. But last night, the game took a backseat.

Zach Wells really did put together a great event. Though it was in its inaugural year, Zach was able to find some quality names to fill out the rosters. I hope that should this event continue, more people take notice and attend and help out a worthy cause. As I said in previous posts, the event was organized to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis research. I'll try to update this later, when I talk to Zach and try to get some figures in here. There were raffles and silent auctions. Some of the items included a UC Tony Pike jersey, a UC helmet, an NKU gift basket, 4 tickets to a UC football game, and a Bengals gift basket, including a Domata Peko jersey.

Game action was intriguing. You had guys from 3 different sports, 5 respective teams, a wide range of ages, not to mention 2 broadcasters in the mix. So needless to say, the play was...to use a nice term...inconsistent.

I arrived a few minutes after the opening tip, as I was at my paying job til then. I'm not sure how the teams were chosen, but it seemed to me that the white team had a decided advantage, as they had Brad Johansen, Tony Pike, and Andrew Taylor. I didn't do scientific measurements, but I'd be willing to bet the black team's tallest player was David Fulcher, and he was a good 4 inches shorter than any of those guys on the white team.

What the black team lacked in size, they made up for in spunk. There were a lot of turnovers. I mean A LOT of turnovers. I'm pretty sure there was a 4 minute stretch where neither team scored, they'd just steal the ball, go on a fast break, then the other team would steal it back. However, when they took the time to get set, these guys could really run some offense. There was ball movement. There was some stop-and-go dribble-drives. There were step-back threes. There were "so far back, I can't even see the arc anymore" threes. There were a few fouls called. But for the most part, the teams kept it clean...or at least the refs didn't call too many.

As the game began to wear on in the first half, you could see certain players begin to fatigue as they would call their own substitutions, rather than allow the coaches to do so. Tony Pike began heating up behind the arc, and as I said, with his decided height advantage, was difficult for anyone on the black to contain him. The first half closed with a flurry of scoring, as the white team held a 51-35 advantage. Brad called it a night, as he had to get back to begin writing for the 10 and 11pm news, while Bob Herzog had to hurry home to fall into bed, as he would be doing the morning show a mere 8 hours later.

There were some nice contests for the kids during halftime, giving away some gift certificates. Also, guest celebrity announcer, Reds PA announcer Joe Zerhusen reminded those in attendance that the raffles and silent auctions would close shortly after the second half began.


With the broadcasters safely out of the way, the athletes seemed to take on a little bit more serious tone. Joe Z. put forth a challenge that if former XU guard Pat Kelsey (he of 5'9" stature) were to score a basket in the half, Joe would himself donate $100 on the spot. And of course the next 3 possessions- some of them more brief than others- went to Kelsey, so that he may get a quick layup. A few minutes later, Kelsey called for a seat on the bench, which he was granted. To which Zerhusen remarked comically on microphone "I see. Kelsey gets his 1 basket and he needs a break."


Late in the game, the white team seemingly had things in hand, as Pike was still hot and getting a healthy low-post contribution from former XU standout Michael Davenport. With 12 minutes to go, white team coach Mike Mathis began asking black team coach Alex Meacham if he needed to "borrow one of their white jerseys...you know, to surrender with?" Meacham was not amused and goaded his players to make a comeback, that he may rub it in Mathis' face. At the 5 minute mark, to further jab at Meacham, coach Mathis implored his team, "if the shooter is left-handed, just step back and let them shoot." Despite a valiant late-game shooting spree from former NKU sharpshooter Shannon Minor, the black team comeback fell short, as the white team ended the game with a 105-93 win.


Throughout the entire game, there was a lot of jabs and jawing back and forth, but it was all in good fun and all for a great cause. A few players hung around to take pictures with fans. David Fulcher and James Brooks even signed a few autographs for some folks who came prepared. It was a really cool, laid-back atmosphere, but still a great event. And of course, through the whole night, Zach spent his entire time thanking everyone for coming and helping out however they could. I hope for the sake of Cystic Fibrosis research he's able to make this an annual event. It can only get better.