Brains Beer



No March Madness here in Merry Ole on St Paddy's Day, not when the Six Nations rugby was on the telly all afternoon with every game of the deciding Saturday round filling the hours with nail-biting, head-smashing brutality and blood.

What you see in the Six Nations that you won't see in a lifetime of March Madness however, is a team jersey sponsored by a beer company.

That's right. The official jersey of Welsh rugby, good enough to beat England into a pulp in the Saturday finale:



Of course, it was not merely anticlimactic that the entire event was won by the French yet again. In fact, after Ireland had finished thrashing Italy 51-24 at the Stadio Flaminio yet surrendered an all-important try in the dying seconds of the match, France were faced with having to beat Scotland by at least 24 to clinch.

But as even the front page of Le Monde will tell you, La France remporte le Tournoi des Six nations, even if it was only on the last bloody play of the match with the title to be determined by an Irish judge who had to say yes, the final play was in fact a France try and even if it was only on points difference (forget about the fact the French stomped Ireland in Ireland a few weeks before...)

Elvis Vermeulen, hardly your typical French name, came on late to score the decisive try and hand France their fourth title in six years.

So it was exciting even without the basketball and this won't even begin to talk about Ireland St Paddy's Day Massacre of Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup, only the biggest upset in the history of the world cup. Good day for Ireland which, had they not allowed that last Italian try or if Scotland had not allowed that last second France try, would have been an even happier St Paddy's day with a Six Nations title to boot.


*****

MARCH MADNESS



In the Land of Premature Daylight Savings, the day was filled with basketball and further, albeit subtle swings and misses in The Bracket. Ah yes, lads. In The East, we cracked on with the predictable top seed victories in Carolina and GTown advancements. Having backed Oral Roberts, the Vandy victory was a wash. I have Texas over USC in a rematch of the NCAA football title two years ago.

In the South another easy day of picking favourites, Texas A&M and Ohio State both advancing albeit Ohio State only in OT and Texas A&M but the short and curlies, over Rick Pitino and the Cardinals, 72-69. For today, the picks are Memphis and my other darkhorse Long Beach State already took a spill so it doesn't much matter to the bracket if TN or VA win.

In the West, having madly reached for VCU, we took a spill on Pitt but were again redeemed in the favourites category when second-seeded UCLA overcame a boring Indiana's four corners snooze hoops misadventure. I have S Illinois and Kansas in the last two today.

And lastly, the East correctly chosen, Butler over Maryland, barely, 62-59. The remaining games today will require rooting for Florida, Wisconsin and Notre Dame but seeing as how the Irish were out before St Paddy's Day, Winthrop who so few likely had faith in, going another round, just to keep the bracket busters happy.

*****

And what about baseball you say? Well, it's still 14 days to Opening Day and even longer before Roger Clemens makes his decision but there's an interview with him - I learned one nugget from listening: what's the best pitch in baseball?

Strike one.

*****