AK Saves Lead
Making It Count
Sister Jean Spanks Senor Wences
Battle Heats Up For Tic-Tac Milkshake
In a day defined by upsets
that benefited few players, AK was able to win
just enough to retain the lead heading into Monday. He only won three of the
eight games—but no one else in the tournament won more than four. A
stalwart goalie on the hockey rink, AK knows one way to keep a lead is to stop
the other team from scoring.
Unlike SundayÕs slate, the
games Monday have the potential to shake up the standings as more points are on
the line with many of the top seeds still active and many games with lots of
players on each side.
The player who hopes to
top the leaderboard Monday night will have to Òmake it countÓ—and, as it
happens, one player well-positioned to do just that is Make it Count.
Make it Count, f/k/a El
Jefe of Hagstrom Lane, is currently in second place and has the potential to be
counting up many big points come Monday night. His picks of USC, Colorado,
UCLA, and Maryland are worth 20 points in total. That tally would give him a top-of-the-cabinet
lead—hard to reach for the other players.
The Count of Monte
Cadillac, as IÕll call him, could use a good tournament. Now in his 9th year,
heÕs never finished better than 36th—lagging the successes of his
mischievous spawn (theRabbit,
three top 10s), spunky spouse (The Breeze, two
top 25s), delightful daughter-in-law (Mrs JT, three top
20s), and big-timer brother-in-law (Con Man, 23rd
twice in only three seasons).
A Ògood tournamentÓ may
seem hopeless now to the many players who were dealt a blow Sunday by Sister
Jean and her mustachioed miracle workers upsetting #1 seed Illinois.
One such player was Senor Wences, a
ÒlapsedÓ Catholic who tempted fate by boldly predicting an Illinois romp.
ÒIllinois by 11,Ó he said
before the game, followed by some scandalous comments about a bitter Sister
Jean Òwhipping the refs with her rosary.Ó
Later, Senor Wences was
consumed with a familiar, if haunting, guilt. He blamed only himself for the
Illinois loss. ÒI think it was because I said those horrible things about
Sister Jean,Ó he said. ÒI was doomed to suffer a form of Ômortification of the
flesh.ÕÓ
The remorse came in wave
after wave.
ÒBlew up my own bracket,Ó
he said. ÒHoisted on my own petard!!!Ó
While Senor Wences was
self-flagellating, the Loyola win ignited a battle within a battle for a prized
Chippens trophy.
IÕm talking of course
about the ÒBattle For The Tic Tac MilkshakeÓ between Meganmonster, PackAttack, hvporter, and Brackie.
These four fearsome
Chippens competitors go to war with each other every year for the rights to a
Tic Tac Milkshake. Sounds disgusting, but I guess bragging rights are better
with fresh breath.
These competitors all have
impressive Chippens resumes, with multiple top 5, top 10, and top 20 finishes
between the four of them. PackAttack was the runner-up in 2010. Three of the
four were smart enough to pick Loyola Chicago.
Currently, Meganmonster is
ahead, having climbed 43 spots Sunday to 6th place. Brackie is not far behind
in 10th, just one point back. Hvporter jumped 40 spots to 29th. PackAttack
jumped 62 spots to 43rd.
All four players still
have multiple avenues to not only claim the Milkshake, but perhaps even the
Grand Prize T-Shirt to wear while drinking it.
Good luck to all!