Obama's Final Four

President Barack Obama unveiled his NCAA Final Four picks: Kentucky, Ohio State, Missouri, and North Carolina. He selected UNC to win the Championship.

Obviously Kentucky is a standard pick to go deep. #1 team in the country, #1 overall seed. They do have Duke in their bracket. But the President is politically savvy enough to know that most people hate Duke. Obama did pick the Blue Devils last year. Then again, he didn't have to run for President last year. More voters hate Duke than like Duke.

Obama might have picked Ohio State because of Fab Melo's ineligibility hurting Syracuse. Or because Ohio has 20 electoral votes and is perhaps the most important swing state in the election. No Republican has ever been elected President without winning Ohio. In other words, Obama winning Ohio blocks the Republican road to the White House

The Missouri pick reflects one of the "sexy" picks to win the tournament. Mizzou's won 30 games and have a good shot to beat Michigan State in their region. Obama lost Missouri by 0.14% in November of 2008. 3,903 votes. The Mizzou Arena holds 15,061 fans. If Obama gets some Tiger fans to switch sides, he could win Missouri in 2012.

North Carolina is a good basketball pick. Obama probably wants to avoid Kansas, too, as he's picked the Jayhawks before and they've been disappointing in tournament play. This is also a good political pick. Obama won North Carolina in 2008, by 0.32%. His margin of victory was 14,177 votes in the usually Republican state. North Carolina will probably return to the GOP column in 2012, but with Obama picking the Tar Heels to win it all, perhaps the Republicans won't be able to cover the spread.

The Horror, The Horror

The Lightning scored 4 goals in the 1st period. The Bruins took 2 shots.

That's all I really need to say about this game.

Hopefully this is rock bottom and the Bruins pull themselves up. Maybe this is the darkest moment before the start of the third act.

Let's not forget that this was just one night. It was a horrible night. But it was just one night. It was a horrible night in a series of bad nights. But it was just one night. The Bruins can change this trend in one game. Skate harder, work for loose pucks, stay within the system, play defense, forecheck, make good decisions.

It can turn around in one night. Hopefully that night comes soon.

Bruins at Panthers Thursday night.

Tom Brady Caught at Lakers Game Not Wearing Celtics Jersey and Red Sox Hat Like He Should Be Wearing

I love when people's little worlds are shattered when they see their town's athlete from Sport A socializing with an "enemy" athlete from an enemy town from Sport B.

The jock sniffers on Obnoxious Sports Fan and Masshole Sports decided to give Brady fashion advice, even joking about Gisele dressing him. I'm sorry, but anyone whose idea of formal wear is their silver Patriots jersey shouldn't be giving attire advice to a guy married to a model.

And how dare he speak to Kobe Bryant. Doesn't Brady know that Kobe is the enemy?

Unfortunately, people don't want to realize that Tom Brady has more in common with Kobe Bryant than he does with any Celtics fan. Or any Patriots fan. Us paying hundreds to see these guys play doesn't make them like us more, it makes them less like us.

I'll stick to criticizing Brady for his mistakes on the field, not for any fashion faux pas or for chatting with a fellow millionaire athlete.

Hockey East Quarterfinals

BC grinded out two very physical games against UMass, winning their 12th and 13th straight games. BC also now has a 10 game winning streak in this tournament. The Minutemen are big and can skate, which forced BC to play out of their comfort level. UMass tried to keep the game along the boards, but they lacked the finishing touches on scoring chances. BC beat them 2-1 then 3-2. BC is in the semifinals for the 8th straight year.

BU needed 11 periods plus 8 minutes to beat UNH in a series that twice went into Double OT. It was a marathon series with 228 minutes of grueling hockey played. Kieran Millan made 68 saves in Game 3. At one point the Terriers were down 4-1, they tied it at 4-4 and the 3rd, and Alex Chiasson won it in the 2nd OT. The series was just the latest in a long series of dramatic events for the BU hockey program this season.

Maine likely eliminated Merrimack from the NCAA Tournament by beating them 2 of 3 up in Orono. The NCAAs only have 11 at-large bids and right now Merrimack is ranked 17th in the PairWise Comparison Rating. Maine solidified their standing, but could use a win against BU to really feel safe.

Providence advanced to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time since 2001 by upsetting UMass-Lowell. The Friars ended the regular season with two losses to UML, but were able to beat them Thursday and Sunday night. They'll play BC, who they lost to twice before losing to UMass-Lowell twice.

The semifinal round will be played Friday night at the TD Garden. The games will be on NESN.

5:00pm - #1 Boston College vs. #7 Providence
8:00pm - #2 Boston University vs. #4 Maine

The Championship game will be played Saturday at 8:00pm.

Also, Harvard beat Yale two out of three to advance to the ECAC semifinals in Atlantic City. They'll play Cornell on Friday.

Bruins Injury Updates

The Bruins have so many names on their injury report that we need a whole post to talk about them.

Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid, and Max Suave (such a porn name) left Sunday's game with various injuries. The Bruins haven't released any details but Bergeron's currently listed with a foot injury. McQuaid has an "upper body" injury and Suave has a "lower body" injury.

Benoit Pouliot also has a lower body injury and seems to be day-to-day.

On the bright side, Andrew Ference returned to the lineup this weekend. Tuukka Rask seems optimistic that he'll be healthy for the playoffs. And Daniel Paille worked out with the team over the weekend.

Pain Filled Weekend for Bruins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the dirtiest team that is never called dirty. From Matt Cooke to Geno Malkin. They play with reckless abandon. And fine for them, but karma will keep concussing Sidney Crosby until the Penguins repent and change their ways.

The Malkin hit on Boychuk probably won't result in a suspension. Brendan Shanahan will make a video explaining how the head wasn't specifically targeted, Boychuk dropped his right shoulder, Malkin's a great guy, and the lack of a center redline was somehow the true culprit.

All that aside, the Bruins didn't respond to the hit. That pissed me off more than the hit itself. I wanted to see Shawn Thornton on the ice the second Malkin was released from the box. Charge him. Crosscheck his Bolshevik face. Malkin remained literally untouched for the remainder of the game. I'm not saying the Bruins should have tried to injure him. But make him pay a higher cost than just the paltry 2 minute minor and the friendly phone conversation he'll have with Shanahan. Make him feel some pain.

The B's felt pain all weekend. And watching them was equally torturous.

Why the hell did Tim Thomas start both games? He's shown clear signs that his energy levels are below 100%. At his best, he moves around the crease with ferocious grace. He's never out of the play because he's so quick to recover his balance. Actually, he never seems to lose his balance, no matter how he contorts himself. Lately, he hasn't been able to recover and make that second save. He needs rest. More importantly, the Bruins need him rested. The playoffs start in less than a month.

If Thomas doesn't get some rest right now, all the Bruins will have plenty of rest in May.

Turco did well. The silver lining of Thomas and the Bruins struggling in yesterday's 1st period was that now we all know Turco isn't a liability. He's a windmill. Before the Bruins signed him, he was working part time as an obstacle on a mini-golf course.

So with Turco, Thomas can rest. There are 15 games left, I'd like to see Thomas play about 8 of them. 10 at the most. This team is finding ways to lose no matter who is in net.

David Krejci's afternoon in Pittsburgh was a good summary of the Bruins' struggles. He scored 2 goals, but his +/- was 0 for the game. His offense was excellent, but he was inconsistent on defense. He got mesmerized by the puck, forgot to cover Kunitz in the slot, and a goal resulted. He won 12 of 22 faceoffs, but was utterly dominated by Malkin (who won 15 of 20). A nice 2 goals, but a costly mistake, and a failure to do some of the little things that win games.

That's been the Bruins since the start of 2012. Occasional brilliance mixed with inexcusable breakdowns.

Maybe the Bruins are tired from playing 107 games last year. Maybe the Bruins are suffering from injury.

The Canucks played 107 games last year too. They have the 3rd best record in the NHL. And the Penguins have been without Crosby for some time. The Rangers are without Callahan. The number of injuries for the Bruins right now is considerable, but when this stretch of poor play started they were quite healthy.

The Bruins were outmuscled yesterday. Worse than that, they're making horrible decisions. They haven't scored a timely Power Play goal in what seems like months. Every good period of play is sandwiched by two periods of bad play.

The Bruins are 2 points ahead of Ottawa with 2 games in hand. And right now those 2 points are the difference between the #2 seed and the #7 seed.

The B's are in Tampa Tuesday night.

Photo Credits:
AP Photo

Peyton Manning is an Excellent Tipper

I was going to write a post blasting Peyton Manning for having other priorities ahead of winning, and for being scared to leave the AFC. It was going to be a post that did quite a bit of reaching, but I'm never one to decline an opportunity to mock Peyton. Then I saw this story. This is a tip Mr. Manning left at the Angus Barn in Raleigh, NC:

The bill was $625. The restaurant charges an automatic 18% gratuity (about $112 in this case). Then Manning decided to leave an extra $200 on top of that. So a $312 tip. Which is about 50%. A 50% tip on a bill that large? Very classy thing to do.

Unfortunately for the waiter, he got fired after he posted the bill onto Twitter. The restaurant probably doesn't like the idea of people worrying about their tips (and the last 4 digits of their credit cards) potentially being posted online.

BRUINS WIN TWO STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a significant improvement compared to Tuesday's win. One 1st period mistake cost the Bruins a goal, but for the most part they were solid in the first and second periods. They were then great in the 3rd.

This game reminded me of some of the Bruins' wins in November and December. Not utterly dominant, but they didn't get significantly outplayed at any point. And Thomas made some huge saves to keep it a 1-0 then a 1-1 game. And eventually, the B's overwhelmed their opponent.

Boy did I miss Johnny Boychuk. He dispensed a few big hits, then scored what wound up being the game-winner. He hasn't scored in about 40 games, and with so many forwards either injured or struggling, the B's need a guy like Boychuk to occasionally contribute on offense.

Speaking of defensemen getting involved, it was Chara who helped trigger the Bruins' 3rd goal. It was just a simple pass to get out of the zone, but with the speed of Lucic, Krejci, and Seguin, a goal soon resulted.

The B's play back-to-back games this weekend. They host 8th place Washington Saturday afternoon, then are in Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Penguins are technically in 4th place, but they have the 2nd best record in the East. I'd expect Turco to start Saturday, then Thomas on Sunday.

The Bruins remain 3 points ahead of Ottawa with 3 games in hand.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo