ncaa_032102

Well, here we go. The Sweet 16. It don't get no better than this.

Er, unless you're a certain 5 year old Dennehy household resident (code name: Jack) who just found out that Cincinnati's Tom "Lord" Byron has two of those "Jane" pieces from the McDonalds Happy Meal "Neverland" collection. Now, THAT'S something to get pumped about. For coming through, Tom was given the choice of "no mentions in the updates" or "mentioned in EVERY update." He chose ... rank indifference. He doesn't care. I was crushed. The worst part is Tom also has my Oklahoma squad winning it all, so now I have to be nice to him? Newman! Tom, much like his beloved New York Rangers must have been in an unusually generous mood this week.

Speaking of fathers and sons, those very same Oklahoma Sooners are in action tonight in a pivotal showdown with the Arizona Wildcats (a finalist from last year ... which is another old wound I don't want to open, so lets not go there shall we?). Anyhow, some of you may not be aware that Arizona sports a player named Luke Walton, son of legendary NCAA and NBA star turned nonsensical broadcaster Bill Walton. You talk about cringing when you're a kid and your parents say something stupid? Man oh man, try walking a mile in that kids shoes! In terms of fathers, he's got the most unfortunate luck of the draw by a kid named Luke since, well ... um, er, uh ... a long time ago. Thats for sure.

Anybody besides me think "24" has taken a sudden turn for the worse the last week or so? The ending of Tuesday's episode was like something out of Days of Our Lives. If we find out that Keifer Sutherland is really the illegitimate half brother of Ira Gaines ... well, I'm gonna stop watching right then and there.

Thanks to Ron Silva over at the Travelers and the entire Reitzel family down in sunny F-L-A for paying off their debts. Their names are now crossed offf Santas naughty list.

By the way .. saw soon to be former Governor Jane Swift at the ol' St Patricks Day parade on Sunday. She came over to do the old meet and greet with the kids and when she went to shake hands with my 5 year old nephew, Kyle, he recoiled in horror (sometimes kids have a good sense about things). No doubt this helped make up her mind for her. On behalf of Bay Staters from BOTH parties ... thanks, Kyle!

Hey, remember that Sarah Hughes from the Olympics? Doesn't she remind you a little of that girl from "American Pie"? You know the one I'm talking about ....