85

That's how many days it's been since I've had one of these:

Weiss Family March Madness Challenge - Day 4

My wife is amazing. I know you've heard me say that before, but these past few days have made me realize it on a whole new level. This woman, who has watched less than 5 college basketball games this season, picked 15 of the Sweet 16 teams. Her only miss was Arizona.

So, since I only picked 12 of the Sweet 16 teams correctly, it's a pretty safe bet that I don't stand a chance to win this challenge.

It's painful, but only because I can't figure out why I don't do better at this stuff. Now, I didn't watch a lot of college basketball this season, but I did some research. I took a pretty good look at the teams I was completely unfamiliar with. I went out on a limb picking Wake Forest to make it to the Final Four and it is costing me, but that was my only real gamble. I am in two other bracket challenges and am failing miserably (14th out of 19 and 18th out of 20) in both.

I don't think there's anybody I know who loves this tournament more than me, so it's kind of sad I'm so bad at picking the winners. The only good thing is that it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the actual games. I always start the tournament pulling for the teams I picked, but then reach a point where my bracket is so bad that I just start picking a team to root for in each game (usually the underdog). So, it doesn't matter how bad I'm doing I still love March Madness.

All that to say, here's the standings after the first two rounds of the tournament:

Katie 38-10
Dan 34-14
David 22-26
Hanah 20-28

Weiss Family March Madness Challenge - Day 3

I can feel my chances getting thinner with each day that passes. Katie was perfect Saturday, increasing her lead to 2 games. On top of that, one of my Final Four teams is already knocked out. Ouch.

Katie 31-9
Dan 29-11
David 19-21
Hanah 17-23

Weiss Family March Madness Challenge - Day 2

Well, I'm catching up a little, but Katie's still leading. Here's the standings and above is a picture of the wall in our living room where we keep track of everyone's picks.

Katie 23-9
Dan 22-10
David 17-15
Hanah 16-16

The Weiss Family March Madness Challenge

Every year (well, starting last year) my wife, kids and I make our NCAA Tournament picks and see who gets the most right. It is a pretty fun thing to do with the kids because they don't know much about basketball but they still get really excited to pick the teams.

I read aloud the two teams playing against each other, including full team name and mascot, and they choose one. We go through the whole tournament that way and they normally end up with some very interesting choices.

Some of the kids' favorites this year included Ohio State Buckeyes, Memphis Tigers, Binghamton Bearcats, American Eagles and the Cal State Northridge Matadors. This year, unlike last year, both kids have a fairly reasonable choice for their national champion: Hanah picked Ohio State and David picked Memphis.

After the first day of the tournament, here's the standings:

Katie 13-3
Dan 10-6
David 7-9
Hanah 6-10

Guys, don't worry, I'm OK with losing to my wife. I'm used to it. When you marry a former All-American athlete (NAIA and NCCAA volleyball) you better accept the fact that you're not gonna win 'em all!

Tell Me About Me

You know all those notes people write on Facebook where they answer questions about themselves? Well, I like reading those sometimes, but don't often enjoy filling them out.

So, I have an idea for a note that will tell everyone a lot about me, but that I don't have to write.

Here's how it works:

You tell me things about me that I may not know, such as phrases I overuse, nervous habits I don't realize, annoying things I do. Anything you know about me but think I may not know is free game. I mean anything! Well, except really embarrassing stuff. So, fire away! Just leave a comment or go over to my Facebook page where I'll post this same note.

I can't wait to learn all about me!

The 2009 Simpson Bracket

Back by popular demand, here is the 2009 edition of the Jeff Simpson NCAA Tournament Bracket.



For those of you who might not remember, last year Jeff Simpson asked me if I could make a color-coded bracket that also included each team's mascot. So, I obliged, and now I'm making it an annual tradition.

The Simpson bracket also proves itself useful for when my wife, 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son get ready to make their picks. So, Jeff, you're in good company!

Another Mithing Tooth

Sorry for the poor quality, I took these with my phone. Our camera is dead.

Hanah lost her other front tooth Wednesday night. This is the first one she was scared to take out. She thought it would hurt but it didn't and now she's loving the gap and all the fun stuff that comes with it (squirting water, talking funny, etc.)

What I'm Listening To

It's been awhile since I've found any new music that has really hooked me. But it happened yesterday.

One of my favorite podcasts is The BS Report with Bill Simmons. The podcast has a pretty cool intro song and I've always wondered who that song is by. A quick search on YouTube quickly revealed the answer.

A guy named Ronald Jenkees wrote and performed the song. He also provides some commentary during the podcast intro. This guys is very unique and if you watch the video below you'll probably want to watch more - which I encourage you to do. You'll probably have some questions about him after watching him, but if you go to his website he's got a pretty good description of himself.

So, without further ado, enjoy Derty by Ronald Jenkees ...