“mars galenskap”…

…is Swedish for “March Madness.” (hmm…works a lot better with the alliteration, though.)

This year at the last minute, I entered a bracket pool for the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament.  We’re about halfway through it now, and I just want to take advantage of this opportunity to go on record that as of this point, out of 325 members of the pool, I’m leading the pack at #1.

Of course, if you look at the table closely, you’ll see that my lead is probably doomed. I picked Georgetown to get to the Final Four, but they were knocked out last week by this year’s Cinderella team, Davidson, and their star freshman, Stephen Curry. I can still get 2nd place, but I need everything else to go my way, the most important being that Memphis beats Texas. Or even better, if Davidson can keep this going and take out powerhouse Kansas tomorrow, I may still be able to keep the #1 spot. Go Wildcats!

Miami’s Mojo (or, Cities Not Starting with S)

This is another sports-related entry…but it’s short….

What’s going on with Boston and Miami, can anyone tell me?

• New England Patriots: 9-0
  Boston Celtics: 6-0
  Boston Red Sox: World Series Champions
• Miami Dolphins: 0-9
  Miami Heat: 1-6
  Florida Marlins: Last in their division

Has Boston stolen Miami’s mojo?

UPDATE: Hockey fans, I hear you. Well the pattern isn’t as strong there, but I will point out that the Bruins have a winning record (barely) and the Panthers (in Ft. Lauderdale, actually, but pretty close to Miami) have a losing record.

American Football

On Sunday, after the conference, I took the Amtrak back to Chicago to spend part of a day and a night in a bit more bustling of a city. Also on the train was Jenny, a fellow conference-goer and a Berkeley PhD student, who had a few hours to kill before her sister picked her up, so she stashed her baggage in my hotel room in Lincoln Park, and we went in search of some Mexican food — which was really at the top of my list of things to do while visiting the U.S. (isn’t it for every American ex-pat living in Europe?)….

Final post on the Women’s World Cup

The US had an ignominious exit from the World Cup on Thursday, ceding four goals to Brazil and answering with none. One might say the collapse was already in the works before the match even began, as US coach Greg Ryan decided against using Hope Solo at goalkeeper, even though she had so far allowed zero goals this tournament. Yet even Solo couldn’t have stopped the first score, an own-goal by Leslie Osbourne. Brazil followed with three more scores of their own making, two by Brazilian sensation Marta. You can read all the gory details here. So, the US doesn’t go to the Final, but will play in the 3rd-place match Sunday against Norway, who lost to the other finalist, Germany. Germany and Brazil also play the final tomorrow, later in the day.

In the Final, I have to say I’m rooting for Brazil. Of the four semifinalists, they’re the only team never to have won the World Cup, and after following their performances throughout this tournament, it seems they deserve it. But you won’t hear about the Final match, or the 3rd place match, from me; you’ll just have to look it up for yourself (try FIFA’s official tournament web site, here).

US Women Advance to Semis

The American women beat England on Saturday to advance to the semifinals. Could have been a touch match, but shortly after the half, USA made three goals within 10 minutes, easily beating the Brits.