Boiler Down! #16 Farleigh Dickenson shocks #1 Purdue! (Also – Commish goes to 6th tiebreaker to determine 1st Round Winner!)

Well, #15 Princeton’s status as biggest upset winner of the 1st round didn’t last long. #16 Farleigh Dickenson shocked the world with an incredible 63-58 win over #1 Purdue last night, and sending March Madness pools everywhere into chaos. FDU is now only the 2nd #16 seed to have ever won a tournament game, as they join UMBC who took down #1 Virginia as a #16 seed in the 2018 tournament.

Adding to the drama of the whole thing was this quote from FDU coach Tobin Anderson after his squad beat Texas Southern last week to qualify for the tournament:

Unbelievable.

Remember how yesterday I mentioned that my new rule is to take a #15 seed in the 1st round? I think instead my new rule is to take a bottom seed from New Jersey in the 1st round for now on, as #16 Farleigh Dickenson and #15 Princeton follow on the heals of #15 St. Peters’ run in last year’s tourney. The Garden State is taking care of March Madness business these days. Oh, sorry, Rutgers fans. I’m sure that’s a fresh wound still.

Almost joining Purdue in the “heading home early” category was #3 Xavier who, after clawing their way back from a 13 point deficit, needed a block in the final seconds to survive with a 72-67 win over #14 Kennesaw State to the relief of their horrified fans.

Hey, buck up, Musketeer fans. Remember, there’s only one thing that matters in the tournament:

Well, it’s actually “Survive and advance” but close enough, kid. You’ve got enough on

Tiger Kings! #15 Princeton shocks #2 Arizona!

(Note to self: Instead of making sure to take a #12 seed in the 1st round every year, I now need to pencil in a #15 seed.)

Man, what a start. For the 3rd straight year, and the 7th time in the last 10 tournaments, we have a #15 seed, Princeton, taking down a #2 seed, as the Princeton Tigers 59-55 win over Arizona sent shockwaves throughout the bracketology world.

We had excitement right off the bat yesterday, with #9 West Virginia missing a game-tying “3” at the buzzer vs #8 Maryland, and then, as thrilling as that finish was, it was immediately eclipsed by the end of the #4 Virginia vs #13 Furman game. The Cavaliers were leading by 2 in the final seconds and just needed to run out the clock or allow themselves to get fouled, and … OH, NO!!!!

What a great moment for Furman. Not such a great moment for The Commish who had Virginia … along with practically every other day #1 loser, it seemed.

Man oh man, did I ever stink up the joint yesterday. In what was probably an all-time low for me, I ended up going a pathetic 9 of 16 and woke up this morning in 483rd place. I had both Arizona and College of Charleston in the Sweet 16, so my South Region is hot garbage right now.

On the other end of the spectrum was Rebecca Grimes, who finds herself in 1st place with an amazing 15 points, followed by a logjam for 2nd place as 10 people nailed 14 of 16, including card-carrying New York Giants fan Melissa Buchanan:

Rebecca now finds herself with a chance to tie Andy Marquart and Marc Pine for the most 1st round points in GAMM history.

Special shout-out btw to my neighbor, Maddie Hammond, who had BOTH #15

In the words of Taylor Swift …

You can say that again, T-Swizzle!

The Commish would like to welcome everyone to Great American March Madness XXX, where I’m once again pleased to report that we’ve absolutely SMASHED the pool record for most entrants, with an unbelievable 646 participants this year! This beats the previous record set last year by 118 entries!

Note to the aforementioned Ms. Swift … should you ever come across this post while Googling yourself btw, feel free to fill out a bracket! On the house even! Also, Assistant Commish Lauren Dennehy would really, really like to become best friends with you. Oh, and she also wants you to to know she has tickets for both of your Cincinnati shows, so the ball is in your court on the whole BFF thing. (<– see what I did there, guys? “Ball is in your court” … get it? Guys? )

Well, anyhoo, entry fees once again stood firm at $5 for a 30th consecutive year. Uh, actually, when I say “30th consecutive year,” well, I mean, we lost a year due to COVID-19, so the math gets kind of funky at this point. And I guess it also means that it’s not “consecutive” anymore? Or it’s 30 consecutive tournaments, but not 30 consecutive years? All’s I know is this is my 30th March Madness pool in the 31 years that I’ve been running this thing. Make sense?

Eh, whatever. More importantly our $5 entry fee is “Inflation free since ’93!” as Assistant Commish Lauren Dennehy so eloquently puts it. And, hey, if you think about it, that’s a lot better than Ted Mosby’s streak from that year on “How I Met Your Mother”

So, in any event, with 646 entries, the total amount in this year’s pool came in at a ridiculous …

Cry ‘havoc’ and let slip the brackets of March!

Please check your email for your formal invitation to join my 30th annual NCAA Basketball pool (aka GAMM XXX). Contact me if you haven’t received an email. Please note the following before joining though:

1) ALL ENTRY FEES MUST BE PAID VIA VENMO

(see instructions below)

NO EXCEPTIONS, SO DO NOT FILL OUT A BRACKET UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY VIA VENMO!

2) YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO INVITE ANYONE TO JOIN WITHOUT MY APPROVAL!

(Exception: You are however allowed to invite members of your household, or anyone who is a co-worker of mine)

If you haven’t entered previously, to join the pool, you will need to sign up at cbssports.com with your own unique user ID and password and, once you’ve done that, you can then access your bracket by entering our group password, which was included in your invite.

Other stuff you need to know:

• Entry fees once again remain at an inflation-proof $5 per bracket for the 30th time in a row.
• Payouts are as follows: 1st – 60%, 2nd – 30%, 3rd – 10%, Best 1st Rd – $25, Last Place – $5.
• The deadline for entering your bracket is Thursday, March 16th at 11:30 am (games start at noon).
• The deadline for submitting your entry fee is Monday, March 27th.

Pro Tip: Do NOT be late with your entry fee! Delinquent payers will be publicly shamed!

To pay your entry fee, you can either scan or click on the attached QR code:

When making your Venmo payment DO NOT check off that your payment is for “goods and services” (which it is not) as that triggers Venmo to automatically take a cut of the payment.

As always, if you would also like to show your appreciation for all of the Commish’s hard work and add on a little something for “The Commish’s Beer Fund,” well, I’m not a proud man, so be my guest!

Good luck to everyone …

The Commish

BREAKING NEWS: Commish announces one year extension with CBS Sports to host G.A.M.M. XXX! World rejoices as CBS bends the knee!

CBS’ reaction to The Commish’s threat to move to ESPN

(MASON, OH) – In a stunning move, The Commish has announced that Great American March Madness, the legendary NCAA basketball pool that many say is the best in the world today, will remain with CBS Sports for an additional year as host of G.A.M.M. XXX. This follows a tumultuous 2 year period between the parties after CBS made wholesale changes to their site that resulted in unnecessary work for G.A.M.M.’s beloved Commish.

As readers will recall, CBS had made it impossible for March Madness Commissioners to export any of their pool’s data, including even a list of participants, and with G.A.M.M.’s participation exceeding 500 entries the last few years, this created a huge amount of work for The Commish as he was forced to type out each participant’s name into a spreadsheet in order to compare it to his Venmo payment entry fee records. The Commish suspects that CBS suffered a data breach resulting in the Draconian changes to the site, as evidenced by many pool participants being spammed over the last several years by email accounts “spoofing” The Commish’s email.

The Commish, a man who many say showed extraordinary patience and leadership throughout the ordeal, had decided to pull the plug and move his operation over to ESPN as the host site of the extremely popular March Madness pool. However, showing himself to be the prudent, diplomatic leader we’ve all come to know and love over the last 30 years, The Commish opened up a diplomatic back channel with CBS Sports via Twitter DM to inquire if they’ve reformed their evil ways and will finally let March Madness pool Commissioners export pool data. CBS, clearly intimidated by The Commish’s alpha move threat to move to ESPN, blinked and advised The Commish that they had relented and would allow him to export some of the pool’s data, including a list of participants. The Commish, showing his trademark grace, accepted the terms of their surrender and will allow them to host G.A.M.M. XXX, invites for which will be sent out following the release of brackets on March 12th.

As we went to press, CBS Sports could not be reached for comment.

Kansas makes historic 2nd half comeback to win National Championship!

You can say that again, Boy Wonder!

The Kansas Jayhawks are National Champions after defeating North Carolina by a score of 72-69 last night. Kansas, down by as much as 18 in the 1st half, mounted a furious 2nd half rally to clinch the biggest comeback in Championship Game history.

The game went right down to the wire. Kansas, nursing a 3 point lead with less than 5 seconds to play, gave Carolina one last chance when Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. inadvertently stepped out of bounds, turning the ball over to the Tar Heels. Mrs. Commish’s favorite player, Caleb Love, got a great look at a game-tying buzzer beater attempt for UNC but it missed wide, sealing the win for the Jayhawks.

Credit to your beloved Commish for managing to stay up for the entire game, aided no doubt by a 30 minute post-dinner power nap. That 9:20 PM tipoff is a killer, especially considering I’m usually starting to think about heading to bed at the time. Hey, I’m old, sue me!

Congrats to Mike Harnist, whose 131 points were enough to clinch “The Bill O’Keefe Trophy” as the G.A.M.M. XXIX champion! Joining Mike on the winner’s podium were Ian McLean and Robert Beeley. If memory serves though, Mr. Beeley is a Kansas State fan, so he may have some explaining to do for himself with the rest of Wildcat nation.

Here’s how the final leaderboard shook out:

Gentlemen, I’ll be in touch with you later today to discuss payment logistics. As a reminder, here were this year’s payouts:

Down goes Duke! World rejoices as Coach K exits a loser! Commish parties into the night!

To the University of North Carolina, a grateful Commish thanks you. The Tar Heels stunning 81-77 victory last night over their hated rivals, #2 Duke, spared us the nightmare scenario of his supreme arrogance, Coach K, walking off into the sunset with a 6th National Championship. Instead, #8 UNC moves on to the title game, where they’ll face #1 seed Kansas, who were 81-65 winners over #2 Villanova. As for Coach K, he moves on to Del Boca Vista where he’ll be hanging out with the likes of Frank Costanza, Morty Seinfeld, and the rest of the retirees.

I had mentioned in yesterday’s blog that, in the event of a Carolina win, G.A.M.M. nation was welcome to join the Commish at his place for a huge rager. Well, no sooner did the game end when I got the following text from longtime GAMM’er Brandon Powell:

And rage we did, as friends, neighbors, random passers by, the Amazon delivery guy, all coming together to celebrate Coach K getting ousted from his final NCAA Tournament at the hands of his arch nemesis. Here’s a couple of clips from the wild post-game party at la casa de Commish, where Assistant Commish Lauren, and #2 son Matthew, were celebrating Duke’s ouster:

Where’s the Commish, you ask? Oh, he was raging away, friends (especially when the bangers would come on):

What, you guys don’t dress semi-formal for the Final Four? You uncultured swine!

So, in event, taking a look at the standings, the only person happier than the Commish last night had to have been Mike Harnist, who has already locked up “The Bill O’Keefe Trophy” for 1st place and the $1,566 cash prize that comes with it.

Welcome to the blue bloods Final Four!

No, not those kind of “Blue Bloods.” I’m talking about college basketball blue bloods (although, ironically, both can be found on CBS).

You know, “blue bloods” … like, as in late 19th century American aristocratic dynasties. Families like the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Dennehys, Carnegies, etc. Well, in the world of college basketball, the term refers to programs with a long, rich, championship history, schools such as UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, and, well … our Final Four teams this year too. I mean, any list of NCAA blue bloods has to include Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina, with a case being made for Villanova, as well. Okay, a *weak* case being made for ‘Nova, but a case.

Oh, pipe down, lady. There’s no point. It was just a chance for me to use some “Blue Blood” gifs. You know, the show YOU happen to star in?

Jeez, everybody’s a critic.

All right, folks. Here’s the schedule for tonight. Hopefully the Commish is able to grab a nap this afternoon so I’m not nodding off during the UNC – Duke game.

Mrs. Commish just read that last part and is thinking to herself, “What the … ‘nodding off during the UNC – Duke game?’ He’ll be lucky he’s not nodding off during the Villanova – Kansas game!”

Hey, do you guys recall me mentioning the other day how everyone had paid their entry fees as I had already received 528 Venmo payments? Well, guess what … since then I continued to receive entry fee payments, which, you know, made me think someone was a bit off.

Matter of fact, this is my *29th* rodeo, pal!

So, after getting home from vacation and spending a couple of hours reconciling my list of payments with the standings page from that dumpster fire of a website at CBS, I found that a number of people had actually paid their entry fee, but never submitted a bracket.

Clock strikes midnight for St. Peter’s! UNC routs Peacocks to advance to Final Four!

It was fun while it lasted, St. Peter’s. The Peacocks’ magical run came to an end yesterday at the hands of North Carolina as the Tar Heels jumped out to a big lead early on and never looked back, cruising their way to a 69-49 win.

Next up for UNC? Their old friends, the Duke Blue Devils.

Yep, for real. Two of the biggest rivals in all of sports, Duke and North Carolina, will face off against each other next weekend for the first time in NCAA Tournament history, and with a trip to the National Championship Game at stake.

Same, Bev. Same.

Joining Duke and UNC in New Orleans next weekend will be the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas, the last of the #1 seeds, knocked off Miami 76-50 in one of the most humiliating public smackdowns since Will Smith and Chris Rock hung out at the Oscars.

What, too soon?

Taking a peak at the standings, Mike “Rock Chalk” Harnist continues to hold onto 1st place, 1 point ahead of my nephew, Kyle “K-Dog” Mrozinski:

Duke rolls into Final Four! Commish forced to stock up on Tums!

Those sonzabitchez Duke Blue Devils. Coach K is going to do it, isn’t he? In his final season, that (BLEEPING BLEEP) is going to win the whole thing, isn’t he? Ugh! Just take me now, Lord!

Ya know, perhaps it is.

Yep, Duke is heading back to the Final Four again, following their 78-69 win over #4 Arkansas and “The Muss Bus” last night. Arkansas trailed by 12 at the half and even though they mad a bit of a comeback in the 2nd half, you never really got the sense they had much of a chance.

Joining Duke in the Final Four next weekend will be #2 Villanova, who were 50-44 victors over #5 Houston.

Standings wise, Mike Harnist has now moved into sole possession of 1st place with 75 points:

On tap for today, we have #10 Miami taking on Mr. Harnists’s #1 ranked Kansas squad at 2:20 PM, followed by America’s darling, the #15 St. Peter’s Peacocks, going up against #8 North Carolina at 5:05 PM.

A Tar Heel win would set up a Duke vs UNC Final Four match-up, and if the basketball gods have aligned this whole tournament just so Coach K can lose to his team’s most hated rival, thus maximizing his heartache, well, I’m on board then.

A few folks have been asking for pics from the wedding, so here’s a couple of the Commish’s beloved children from the other night:

Purdue’s title hopes are dead as St. Peter’s helps usher the Boilermakers through the pearly gates!

“Whoo-hoo” indeed, Homer!

St. Peter’s has done it again! The East Region’s #15 seed continued their unprecedented tourney run, as they knocked off #3 Purdue last night by a score of 67-64. The Peacocks have now become the lowest seeded team to ever punch a ticket to the Elite Eight.

Next up for the The Jersey City juggernaut will be the #8 North Carolina Tar Heels, 73-66 victors over old friend Mick Cronin and his #4 seed UCLA squad.

Joining St. Peters and North Carolina in the Elite Eight will be #1 Kansas, who defeated #4 Providence 66-61 last night, and the #10 Miami Hurricanes, who beat the #11 seed Iowa State Cyclones in an epic battle of windstorms.

Taking a look at the GAMM standings, we find a virtual sea of X‘s:

While Brian “she’s a brick” Schwankhaus and Chris Miliano are *technically* in 1st place, you have to scan down a bit to Shawn “Assistant TO the Commish” Mather to find the real leader, as Shawn’s Villanova pick is still alive and kicking, and has yet to join Purdue at the Pearly Gates.

Guys, guess what. We have some MAJOR news!

Chaos reigns! Arkansas knocks off Gonzaga! Houston takes down Arizona!

Greetings from sunny F-L-A, oh faithful pool participants! That’s right, your beloved Commish is down here to attend my niece Kristin’s wedding today and, even though I’m on vacation, I’m still up at the ***-crack of dawn blogging away for you.

The grind never stops, as the kids say.

So, as the headline already tipped you off, there were some “developments” last night in the NCAA tournament.

“Developments” is putting it mildly as not one, but *TWO* #1 seeds, Gonzaga and Arizona are OUT! Yep, you read that right, folks. In a bit of a shocker, Eric “The Muss Bus” Musselman’s #4 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks eliminated the tourney’s #1 overall seed last evening 74-68, continuing Gonzaga’s legacy of futility. Not to be outdone, joining Arkansas in the Elite Eight will be #5 Houston, who knocked off the Commish’s pick, #1 Arizona, 72-60.

As if that wasn’t bad enough news, #2 Duke also won last evening, holding off #3 Texas Tech 78-73, as my nightmare scenario of Coach K riding off into the sunset with another championship is suddenly starting to look more and more real.

The other match-up last night saw #2 Villanova put #11 Michigan out of their misery 63-55

Taking a look at the standings, you can see the absolute carnage that last night’s upsets unleashed on the pool, as there’s a whole bunch of little red “x‘s” showing up:

It’s a bad day for America … Duke advances to the Sweet 16!

Longtime pool participants are well aware of my disdain for Duke and Coach K. Heck, since coming up with this shirt back in 2009, I must sell about 150 of them a year through the GAMM online store to kids at Chapel Hill:

Well, I hate to break it to ya, guys, but it is indeed a bad day for America … Duke is through to the Sweet 16. Yep, everybody’s favorite March Madness villains, the #2 seeded Blue Devils, were able to knock off Tom Izzo’s #7 Michigan State squad by a score of 76-65, as the Commish’s GAMM XXIX experience somehow went from bad to worse. It’s like the basketball gods are just taunting me at this point – “Oh, the Commish is having an all-time horrific performance in his own pool? Hmmm, how can we make things worse? Wait, I’ve got it … let’s have Duke make a run!”

Yeah, good one, basketball gods.

In other action yesterday, in what sounds like it was probably the most exciting game of the day, #1 Arizona survived a scare vs #9 TCU as they eked out an 85-80 overtime win. I say “sounds like” because that sh*t was happening looong after the Commish went to bed.

Mrs. Commish whenever I try to stay up late

When all was said and done, here’s how the standings shape up heading into the Sweet 16 as we find ourselves with a 5 way tie atop the leaderboard at 48 points:

No repeat! UNC ousts Baylor in shocker! Commish’s kid remains in 1st place!

Welcome to the Sunday morning G.A.M.M update. Apologies for sending it out a little later than usual as your beloved Commish slept in a bit this morning. And by “slept in,” I mean I got up at 6 AM, as opposed to my usual 4:30 – 5 AM wakeup time that I set for myself so that I can crank out an update for all of you wonderful G.A.M.M. participants.

Yes, that’s right …

Eventful day yesterday, to say the least, as Baylor, the defending National Champion, and the #1 seed in the East, went down in overtime to #9 North Carolina. Baylor almost pulled off a comeback for the ages, as they trailed UNC by 25 points with about 11 minutes to play, before mounting a furious rally to force OT. It appears Baylor didn’t have enough gas left in the tank though, and at $4 a gallon these days, that’s not a good situation to be in as the Tar Heels pulled away for the 93-86 win.

In other action, #11 Michigan pulled off the upset over #3 Tennessee 76-68. In an even bigger upset, Wolverine coach, Juwan Howard, made it through the handshake line without incident!

Not as scary as it was for Vol coach Rick Barnes, Hank!

The biggest surprise of the day though may have been #15 St. Peters, fresh off their stunning win over #2 Kentucky, continuing their magical run with a 70-60 win over #7 Murray State to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Taking a peak at the leaderboard this morning, we find the Commish’s number 2 son, Matthew, continuing to lead the field with 38 points through 3 days, leading Chris “(bleep)ing UNC!” Miliano by a point. Matthew’s Godfather, and GAMM Hall of Famer, John “Screamer” Martin, is also hot on his heels as part of a group of 8 individuals who are 2 back.

The Son Also Rises! Matthew Dennehy wins Best 1st Round!

Apologies to Ernie Hemingway on the title, but congrats to the Commish’s youngest son, Matthew Dennehy, for rising to the top of the standings and winning the $25 prize for Best 1st Round Score! Matthew followed up his 15-1 performance on day one, by going 13-3 yesterday, narrowly edging out perennial 1st round contender Chris Miliano, Heather Storey, 2013 Champ Brian Dawes, and Brian (“she’s a brick”) Schwankhaus.

It’s been quite the year for the youngest of the Dennehy yutes. Matthew, a freshman at Cincinnati, has been using up quite a bit of his allotted 15 minutes of fame this year, including being featured on the Jerry World Jumbotron throughout the entire Cotton Bowl game between UC and Alabama.

Matthews 1st round victory now means I’m the only person in my family not to have won money in my own (bleeping) pool. He joins sister, Lauren, who finished in 1st place in 2010 (Matthew had a near miss that year, finishing 4th), brother Jack who finished in 2nd place in 2015, and Mrs. Commish who won the Best 1st Round in 1999.

March Sadness! Kentucky & Iowa losses nuke Commish on day one!

Live look at The Commish during yesterday’s action

Well, that was quick. Appears your beloved Commish’s 29 year streak of NCAA futility is in no jeopardy of being broken anytime soon, as not just one, but TWO of my Final Four teams went out on the first day of the tournament. In one of the bigger upsets in recent memory, #2 Kentucky, who I picked to go the Finals, was knocked off in overtime last night by #15 St. Peters. It’s only the 10th time in history that a #15 seed has won.

Of course, my hopes had already taken a huge hit earlier in the day when #5 Iowa, my pick to make it to the Final Four out of the Midwest Region, was upset by #12 Richmond 67-63.

Worst performance by a group of Hawkeyes since, well, these guys

While The Commish’s bracket went up in flames, one member of my household had himself a bit of a day, as my youngest son, Matthew, the only one of my 3 kids not to have won money in this thing, hit 15 out of 16 and emerged at the top of the leaderboard in a 2 way tie with longtime participant Allyson Gentil:

Same, Beverly. Same.

Matthew and Allyson’s 15 points mean they not only have a great shot at the $25 prize for Best 1st Round Score, but they technically still have a chance to tie Andy Marquart and Marc Pine for the GAMM record for most 1st round points of 31, set back in 2000. Your beloved Commish, ever the bridesmaid, had 30 that year.

Let the games begin!

The Commish would also like to extend a heartfelt welcome to you all, as well … but to Great American March Madness XXIX, as opposed to, you know, “Squid Game,” a cut-throat game of survival that pits participants against each other in the hopes of winning a huge cash prize. Er, wait, I guess that’s *exactly* what our pool is like, come to think of it. In any event, I’m pleased to report that we’ve once again broken the record for most entrants, with a standing-room-only crowd of 528 participants this year!

With record inflation on the minds of many these days, G.A.M.M. entry fees once again stood firm for a 29th consecutive year at a mere $5 per bracket (aka the price of a gallon of gas in some parts). In these uncertain times, never let it be said that The Commish is not a man of the people, as the attached 2 charts clearly demonstrate:

U.S. Inflation 1993 – 2022:

---

G.A.M.M Inflation 1993 – 2022:

Putting my New Jersey public school math skills to work, 528 entries at $5 a pop means the total pool this year came in at a whopping …

Welcome to G.A.M.M. XXIX!

‌Please note the following before joining:
1) ALL ENTRY FEES MUST BE PAID VIA VENMO (see instructions below). NO EXCEPTIONS, SO PLEASE DO NOT FILL OUT A BRACKET UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO DO SO!

2) YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO INVITE ANYONE TO JOIN WITHOUT APPROVAL FROM ME FIRST (Exception: You are however allowed to invite members of your household, or anyone who is a co-worker of mine)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please check your email for your formal invitation to join my 29th annual NCAA Basketball pool!

If you haven’t entered previously, to join the pool, you will need to sign up at cbssports.com with your own unique “user id” and password and, once you’ve done that, you can then access your bracket by entering our group password, which was included in your invite.

Other stuff you need to know:

• Entry fees once again remain at an inflation-proof $5 per bracket for the 29th time in a row.
• Payouts are as follows: 1st – 60%, 2nd – 30%, 3rd – 10%, Best 1st Rd – $25, Last Place – $5.
• The deadline for entering your bracket is Thursday, March 17th at 11:30 am (games start at noon).
• The deadline for submitting your entry fee is Monday, March 28th.

Pro Tip: Do NOT be late with your entry fee! Delinquent payers will be posted in Hall of Shame!

To pay your entry fee, please send it to me via my Venmo account.

Ah, good question, Jimmy. Here’s a direct link:

Click –> Greg-Dennehy.

Venmo is an easy to use app for electronically transferring money and can be found in both iTunes and the Google Play Store. I am no longer accepting cash, checks, PayPal, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Game Stop stock, the barter system, or any other type of payment.

If you’re old, like me, or just technologically challenged, and have no idea what I’m talking about with all of this Venmo business, ask your kids to Venmo your money to me. Trust me, they know what it is.

Good luck!
The Commish

Baylor routs Gonzaga to win National Championship!

The Baylor Bears are indeed the best kind of bear, especially after the good old fashioned 86-70 ass whoopin’ they administered on Monday to the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs. Baylor wasted no time last night as they came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an early 9-0 lead. Early foul trouble for Gonzaga star Jalen Suggs only contributed to the Zag’s woes as they found themselves trailing by as much as 19 in the first half. Gonzaga briefly rallied back to cut the deficit to 10 at halftime, but Baylor put their foot on the gas in the 2nd half and never looked back on their way to their first ever NCAA Championship.

I’m not sure what was more surprising … Baylor’s absolute annihilation of Gonzaga, or the fact that I was actually able to stay up to watch the whole thing?

Baylor raining hell down upon Gonzaga last night.

In any event, joining Baylor in the winners circle last night were the following GAMM participants:

1. Jordan Smith ($1,482)
2. Mike Lane ($741)
3. Joe Walsh ($247)

I’ll Venmo you guys your money later today. Congratulations on winning what many people are saying is the world’s greatest March Madness pool.

Hey, who am I to disagree?

Here’s how the final standings shaped up, with your beloved Commish mired way, way down in 301st place:

Holy crap! Gonzaga wins on a shot for the ages!

Very, Maximus. Very.

Wow, what a finish to the Gonzaga – UCLA game. Trailing 90-88 in overtime, UCLA gets a put back with just over 3 seconds left to tie things up and send it to double OT. Or so we thought. Gonzaga had other ideas apparently, as the Zags immediately inbounded the ball to Jalen Suggs, who pushed it up the floor and let loose a shot from just outside Fort Wayne that, well, see for yourself …

WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED.

GONZAGA STAYS UNDEFEATED AT THE BUZZER! pic.twitter.com/27I8a2A9DA

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 4, 2021

Unbelievable. History will have to decide where that one stands, but that had some serious Christian Laettner vibes, if you ask me.

And, yes, I got a pre-game nap in so I was able to see it. Number one son, Jack, wanted to make sure though:

Lost in all the commotion was how we got to overtime in the first place, as UCLA fans will argue that final play of regulation to their graves. Tied at 81 in the waning seconds and with UCLA’s Johnny Juzang driving to the basket, Gonzaga star Drew Timme, with 4 fouls on him already, took one of the biggest charge calls in March Madness history. Or was it?

Block or charge? You make the call:

A CHARGE?!

Johnny Juzang gives the ball back to Gonzaga. pic.twitter.com/PvwLnVT9YP

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 4, 2021

Gonzaga moves to 31-0 and will now advance to Monday night’s championship game against Baylor, who routed Houston earlier in the day by a score of 78-59. Interestingly, the two teams were supposed to play each other back in December, but it was cancelled due to Covid. Nonetheless, Vegas has installed the Zags as a 4 1/2 point favorite for the title game.

As for our pool, here’s how things shape up this morning:

Happy “Final Four Day” everyone! (Bonus: another poll today!)

Here we go, guys … the “Battle of Texas” between #2 Houston and #1 Baylor tips off at 5:14 PM, followed by #1 Gonzaga vs #11 UCLA at 8:34 PM. It’s gonna be “lit,” as the kids say! And if it’s gonna be “lit,” you know what that means, right? Yup, it means your beloved Commish is probably gonna try to work in a mid-afternoon nap, because I’m too old for things that are “lit.”

Dude, gimme a break. I told you … I’m old. Sue me.

As a reminder, here’s how the standings shape up heading into today. Despite UCLA’s “team of destiny” vibe, folks needing Gonzaga to lose can’t be feeling too good about things, as an incredible 29 of the Bulldogs’ 30 wins this season have been by double digits. An 87-82 win over West Virginia in December being the only exception.

While UCLA fans can’t be feeling too good about things, you know who is though? Jordan Smith, that’s who. The dude’s got *two* potential pathways to victory. Whoever wins that first game will guide his rooting interest for the second one though, as he’s got Houston over Alabama in one bracket and Baylor over Gonzaga in the other. Either way, Jordan is #TeamTexas at this point.

All the cool kids are #TeamTexas today

Speaking of Texas, congratulations are in order for Coach Eric Taylor of “Friday Night Lights” on winning the “Best TV Coach of All-time” poll from the other day. Rather unsurprising, in my opinion. The guy was not only a great inspirational leader for the kids on his team (“Clear eyes, full hearts …” and all that jazz), but he also got it done on the field. First off, he ended up leading Dillon to the State Championship despite the loss of QB Jason Street (a 5-Star Notre Dame commit, mind you) to a career ending injury in week 1. I mean, he won it all with Matt Saracen at the helm! Matt freakin’ Saracen! He then got pushed out of the Dillon job over politics and went on to take over the program at the start-up East Dillon High School across town. And you know what he did at East Dillon? Oh, nothing much, just ended up helping a young Michael B. Jordan lead the Lions to a State Championship there, as well! Oh, wait … SPOILERS! Sorry about that, guys! (j/k sorry, not sorry. The show ended, like 10+ years ago! You can’t be complaining about spoilers for some show from last decade!)

But, hey, not only was Coach Taylor inspirational and successful, the dude was also straight up funny as hell:

Commish wakes up to find #11 UCLA is going to the Final Four!

After having to fight their way into the NCAA Tournament and barely surviving their “First Four” game, #11 UCLA is now headed to the Final Four. Continuing their stunning ride, the Bruins knocked off #1 Michigan 51-49 in dramatic fashion last night in a game that ended long after my bedtime. Sounds like it was quite the finish, with the Wolverines getting a great look at a game-winning buzzer beater with .5 seconds to play, but just couldn’t get it to fall.

WHAT A BATTLE! 😱@UCLAMBB is headed to the #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/M1xoxT9OYZ

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 31, 2021

UCLA now joins the 2011 VCU Rams as the only “play-in” teams to reach the Final Four and now get the pleasure of taking on the tournament’s #1 overall seed, that unstoppable looking juggernaut of a Gonzaga squad, who blew out #7 USC last night by a score of 85-66.

Here’s the schedule for Saturday’s Final Four match-ups:

• 5:14 pm – (2) Houston vs. (1) Baylor (CBS)
• 8:34 pm – (1) Gonzaga vs. (11) UCLA (CBS)

Heading into next weekend, here’s how the GAMM standings shape up, with Jordan Smith continuing to hold down the top spot:

You remember I mentioned in a prior post how much I loved “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV+? For those who aren’t familiar with the show, Jason Sudekis plays the title character, Ted, an American college football coach who gets hired to manage an English Premier League soccer team and all comedic hell breaks loose. Can’t stress enough how great that show was. In any event, it got me wondering who the greatest fictional coach was in TV history. After much careful research (i.e. – I spent 5 minutes googling “greatest tv sports coaches”), I’ve narrowed the field down to these four and have decided to let you guys put it to the test by casting your vote in the poll below:

Houston holds off 2nd half rally from Oregon St. to advance to Final Four!

Hand up … by halftime I had kind of tuned out the Houston vs Oregon State game. Houston, the Midwest Region’s #2 seed, had gone up by 17 over #12 Oregon State and I had switched my focus to the Islander / Penguin game that I had going on the other TV, figuring it was over. Big mistake, and not just because the Islanders lost. Well, yes, that too, but also because next thing I know, I look up and Oregon State had pulled within 6 points with a lot of time left to play. The Beavers eventually tied things up with about 3 1/2 minutes to play, but Houston was able to right the ship in the final minutes to eke out the 67-61 victory. The win now sends Houston back to their 1st Final Four since 1984, back in their heyday of Akeem the Dream, Clyde the Glide and the rest of “Phi Slama Jama.”

Their opponents in the Final Four will be the Baylor Bears, the South Region’s #1 seed, who I awakened to the news this morning that they had defeated #3 Arkansas by a score of 81-72.

Jordan Smith still remains atop the standings this morning, but a familiar name has now popped up on the leaderboard, none other than The Commish’s big bro, Chris (aka founder of the famed “International Festival de Badminton“) …

Yes, my brother’s been running a backyard badminton tournament, complete with career records, since 1992, a year longer than I’ve been running this thing. It’s become the social event of the summer in north Jersey, with the local paper having been out to cover it, the Mayor of our hometown showing up to throw out the “first birdie,” and annual opening ceremonies that are, well, something else. Case in point, here’s the 2017 opening ceremonies:

Low tide! UCLA rolls over Alabama in OT!

Hey, Forrest … care to take a guess who’s not going to the Elite Eight?

DING!

The #11 UCLA Bruins, “First Four” play-in game winners, continued their improbable tournament run, as they knocked off #2 seed Alabama 88-78 in overtime last night.  UCLA lead through much of the game, but Alabama kept chipping away, eventually leading to several lead changes in the final minutes. Alabama ended up hitting an incredible buzzer beater to force overtime, but UCLA completely dominated the extra session.  The game was a good example of why you need to get out there on the playground and practice those free throws, boys and girls. The Crimson Tide went a miserable 11 of 25 at the line last night and because of that, they’re on their way back to Tuscaloosa this morning.

It’s too bad for Alabama. Had they won, this would have been a strong contender for play of the tournament thus far:

OMGGGGGGGGG

OVERTIME IN INDY 🚨@AlabamaMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/lKRyvWP55I

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 29, 2021

UCLA is now only the 2nd “First Four” team in tournament history to reach the Elite Eight, joining VCU who actually went all the way to the Final Four in 2011, before eventually losing to Butler.  Next up for Mick Cronin’s boys is the East Region’s #1 seed, Michigan, who blew out #4 Florida State 76-58.  The tournament’s #1 overall

Adios, Cinderella! #15 Oral Roberts falls to #3 Arkansas! (Also, big GAMM promo contest announced!)

The dream is over for #15 seed Oral Roberts, who had captivated the March Madness world with stunning upsets over #2 Ohio State and #7 Florida. In what proved to be the game of the day, the Golden Eagles magical run came to an end though vs #3 Arkansas, with Razorback guard Devonte Davis hitting the game winner with 3.1 seconds left:

ARKANSAS FOR THE LEAD! 😱@RazorbackMBB #MarchMadness #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/MZvExSyfAs

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 28, 2021

Oral Roberts would not go down without a fight though, getting a great look at what would have been an all-time buzzer beater. Alas, ’twas not to be:

WHAT A GAME 😱@RazorbackMBB is back in the #Elite8 for the first time since 1995! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/PPDBjN28k3

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 28, 2021

How bad did Kevin Harlan want that thing to go in? His “FOR THE ELITE EIGHT” call would’ve been played on highlight reels for years!

Joining Arkansas in the Elite Eight will be #1 Baylor, who were 62-51 winners over #5 Villanova, #2 Houston, who defeated #11 Syracuse 62-46, and #12 Oregon State, who crushed Sister Jean’s hopes, and her #8 Loyola squad, 65-58.

No, no … not today, Sister Jean!

Here’s the schedule for today, as eight more teams attempt to punch their tickets to the Elite Eight:

• 2:10 pm – (1) Gonzaga vs. (5) Creighton (CBS)
• 5:00 pm – (1) Michigan vs. (4) Florida State (CBS)
• 7:15 pm – (2) Alabama vs. (11) UCLA (TBS)
• 9:45 pm – (6) USC vs. (7) Oregon (TBS)

Checking out the GAMM standings, we find Jordan Smith sitting pretty in 1st place on one entry and tied for 2nd on the other: