Monday, March 25, 2013

March Madness Weekend 1 Update

It's snowy as shit here in Philly and that pretty much sums up how I feel about this morning. No March Madness. Pre-Easter Break exams this week. Life is not ideal.

So I'm going to live in the past and recap the weekend in Bullets Blog Fantasy. (But just the one that I'm winning, because I'm allowed to.)

The Knockout Pool
This brings a smile to my face. Chris and I both went perfect on day one:

  • Jason: VCU (1/1) and St. Louis (2/2)
  • Chris: Butler (2/2) and Arizona (2/2)
And then day two was where the men were separated from the boys:
  • Jason: Creighton (3/3) and Illinois (4/4)
  • Chris: Wisconsin (2/3) and NC State (2/4)
Because of the way the game is set up, Chris' two incorrect picks meant he had to pick four the next day:
  • Jason: Michigan State (5/5) and Arizona (6/6)
  • Chris: Syracuse (3/5), Michigan (4/6), Michigan State (5/7), St. Louis (5/8)
And thus three more for Chris on day four:
  • Jason: Florida (7/7) and Ole Miss (7/8)
  • Chris: Florida (6/9), Ole Miss (6/10), San Diego State (6/11)
I should have known that Marshall Henderson was going to be the asshole that ruined my streak. Oh well. I have three picks to make for Thursday's games and Chris has four. Here's who we each have left on the board (teams playing each other in the Sweet 16 marked with a slash between them):
  • Both: 
    • Midwest: Louisville/Oregon, Duke 
    • West: WSU/La Salle, Ohio State 
    • South: Kansas, FGCU  
    • East: Indiana, Marquette/Miami
  • Jay: Michigan (South), Syracuse (East)
I think we're going to have to make March 30-31 (Elite 8 going down to Final 4) one pick per day but I will talk to Chris. 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Bullets Blog March Madness Knockout Pool

March Madness is the best. We did Cereal Madness. We're doing a traditional fantasy game with teams of 8 players (it's way more complex than that). We are obviously doing brackets.

And now, our final March Madness contest for 2013 (maybe):

The Bullets Blog March Madness Knockout Pool

It works a lot like a standard knockout pool. Here's a quick rundown of the rules:

  • You have to pick two teams every day (not round) to win
  • Obviously, picking two teams in the championship round is impossible so we cut that base number from two to one  for the championship, Final Four, and Elite Eight (you're welcome)
  • You can not pick a team to win more than once (duh)
  • If you reach a point where you have already picked all of the teams left in the tournament, you are done
  • For each pick you make that does not win/advance, you add one pick to your total for the next day
  • Every day's base number is either two or one (see first two bullets)
  • But as the tourney goes on, you could be picking six games a day (if you suck)
  • For us, Chris and I are going head to head and saying that the best win percentage at the end of it all will determine the winner. There is definitely the potential to turn this into a game for cash. You guys can figure that one out
Feel free to play along with us on Twitter! @bulletsblog @jaylike @cmalone20

Obviously, this may need some changes as we go. But that's a good start. 

Our day one picks:
  • Jay: VCU and St. Louis
  • Chris: Butler and Arizona

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Cereal Madness

Well it's been a long time since anyone has posted on the ol' Bullets Blog but it's mid-March which means it's the most wonderful time of the year for everyone with a blog: March Madness! Obviously, everyone will be filling out NCAA brackets and losing $5 or $10. But we are all about brackets. Last year, we did a candy bracket. This year, I'm doing the same thing (except you put these candies in milk because kids don't like to eat the Full Irish). 

Here it is, Jay's 2013 Cereal Madness! (Link here for the original, which is also where the seeds came from)


A couple quick bullets:

  • The seeding is atrocious. In the first round, there were eight matchups (out of 32)(!!!) that included two cereals I have no desire to ever eat. And then I had to knock out Golden Crisp (not that mad), French Toast Crunch (not that mad), and Count Chocula (not that mad).
  • I allowed Wheaties and Cheerios to advance because they have good marketing campaigns. And I allowed Fiber One to advance because they make pancakes (really a stretch, but like I said, the seeding...). 
  • And while I'm not mad about those three first round exits, the second round knockouts are far too impressive to be knocked out in the second round: Reese's Puffs, Cocoa Pebbles, Cocoa Krispies, Frosted Mini Wheats, Crunch Berries, and Cap'N Crunch. That is outrageous and unacceptable.
  • But I'm not re-seeding everything. 
  • I'm pretty content with my Elite Eight: Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Lucky Charms, Corn Pops, Honey Comb, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Cookie Crisp.
  • The obvious weak link there is Cookie Crisp. I'd have rather seen Trix or Fruity Pebbles or Honey Nut Cheerios. But what can you do. I'm taking cereal-sized cookies over boring Cheerios every day of the week. 
  • The other 3 Elite Eight matchups were really hotly contested and I don't really know how I chose any of them. I guess it was a collection of all of the feelings I've felt about cereals throughout my life. 
  • My feelings chose Apple Jacks. 
  • (4) seed wins it all.
  • That is a good sign for Michigan, Wisconsin, St. Louis, and Syracuse. 
  • Because of karma, I imagine that means Cuse is winning the title. 
  • God damnit.