The brackets for the NCAA were announced Sunday, and they made a Memphis fan out of me.
Memphis, with a record of 31-3, got relegated to a No. 2 spot on the brackets while three Big East teams (Louisville, Connecticut and Pittsburgh), each with four or more losses on their records, got top spots. Doesn’t seem fair to me.
I wouldn’t pretend to understand the thinking of the committee that makes up these brackets each year, but come on: a 31-3 record? All I can say is: Go Tigers!
- Speaking of madness, did you see the news about insurance giant AIG? The company that (so far) has received $170 billion in taxpayer money announced that it’s paying $165 million in bonuses to top executives. The company says it’s bound by contract to dole out the bonuses, but it’s surely not payment for a job well done. AIG lost $61.7 billion in the last quarter of 2008, the worst corporate loss in history. These doofuses nearly brought down the entire world economy, so, by all means, let’s give them bonuses. I have a suggestion for where they should put that money . . .
- I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to hear that Bristol Palin has broken up with her fiance. Levi Johnston, 19, and Bristol, 18, had announced wedding plans around the time their son, Tripp, was born Dec. 27. Now Johnston says they’re too immature to get married. Ya think?
- My 17-year-old son and I have a ritual every morning as he’s leaving for school. He picks up the local paper from the driveway and tosses it toward the front door so I can retrieve it without putting on shoes. This morning, the paper nearly sailed up onto the roof. “Whoa!” he said. “That’s lighter than I was expecting.” Monday paper’s only 16 pages these days. If you can’t find yours, check your neighbors’ yards. It’s windy today.
- Khong Guan Corp. of Union City has recalled its “essence of chicken” drinks because the overseas origin of the poultry products couldn’t be confirmed to be properly sanitary, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For details, click here. Call me crazy, but if you’re drinking something called “essence of chicken,” you maybe shouldn’t be surprised by anything in the contents.
- How did we wind down from the busy weekend with the Sundial Film Festival? Watched a movie, naturally. “Winter Passing” stars Zooey Deschanel as the mixed-up daughter of two famous writers. She goes home to her crazy dad (Ed Harris) because a book editor has offered her $100,000 for old letters she’s inherited. She finds lots there she didn’t expect, including an amazingly subdued Will Ferrell living in the house. Good movie.
Tips appreciated: Send news tidbits to steveb.anewscafe@gmail.com.
