Jose Canseco

The way I see it, Canseco is sorta like baseball's ex-wife. You figure that he's probably just bitching and moaning because he feels like he was done wrong and is owed something by the one he cheated on to begin with. But you also have to keep in mind that, even though his actions are perceived as wrong, perhaps there are two sides to the story. Any woman that is creeping around on her man with another guy will surely be frowned upon. But if the guy's at the strip joint four nights outta the week can you really blame her?

Yeah, so Canseco was squeezing more syringes than a RN during flu season throughout "The era". But why should he take the blame when he was just one of hundreds doing the same thing (according, more or less, to the Mitchell Report). At least, that's probably how he feels. So I don't find it surprising at all that he has villified some of the game's other big names on his way to rock bottom. I think it's easy for some to forget how big Caseco was during his time ... and I'm not just talking about his upper-half. The guy was the guy. In his eyes Clemens, A-Rod, McGwire ... these guys have been getting a pass, even vaulted upon a pedestal, despite committing the same crime. While it's hard to know for sure just how much of his allegations are true, Canseco passed the test, in my eyes, with the publication of Juiced, his first book. He said then, and appears to be standing by that now, that there were untold numbers of players involved. And, what has happened? A new, completely unexpected name drops. Slowly, but surely. Just like Canseco has said all along.

The federal government has known about the mafia all along. Still, they can't stop its shenanigans because of the intricate nature of the crime, rights to privacy and loopholes in the system. The same holds true with baseball and the steroids problem. No one knows how many, or how high into baseball's front office the siutation goes. There's no way to eliminate the problem overnight, or even in a reasonable amount of time. But like it or not, it's rats like Canseco that provide the only option of getting to the bottom of things. Better listen up, people.

Not so fast...

Well perhaps my bracket isn't so terrible after all. As it stands, Davidson is paying HUGE dividends. Enough, in fact, to cover the debauchery of taking UConn in the Final Four and K-State i the Elite Eight. In one pool of about 140, I'm sitting in a three-way tie for seventh, just six points out of the lead. I'm in the 86th percentile on Yahoo!. Not too bad, all things considered. I have 12 of 16, six of eight and three of four remaining, so I obviously need to stay hot to be in the money. But the way I see it, if Carolina tops Texas for the title, I'm rakin' in $735 for first place.

Good thing no one peed in these kids' cornflakes

OK, this is just insane. This is bigger news than any upset in NCAA history. Surfing the Web this morning, a little hungover, I find this. I don't know which is more astounding, the fact that two kids who aren't even old enough to drive past 9 p.m. actually thought an Illinois-shaped Corn Flake was worth saving and selling, or that some fool payed $1,350 for it!

Monty Kerr of Austin, Texas told the Associated Press that he intended to put the item on display at a traveling museum.

"We're starting a collection of pop culture and Americana items," Kerr said. "We thought this was a fantastic one."

I don't know what this guy is putting in his Corn Flakes, but if I were to roll up in his museum and find that the main attraction was Illinois-shaped Corn Flake, I would demand a refund.

Only in America...

I'm out of toilet paper...

But worry not my friends, I printed out my bracket. And after UConn coughed up a choke-job against San Diego, I'll be able to wipe my ass with it. Good call, Staton.

This beef ain't over...

Each year I take every college coach's advice when filling out my bracket: "We're just trying to take things one game at a time... ." Unfortunately, that's about the only cliche that works come tourney time. But while some teams might look ridiculous in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8, if you just go a game at a time, sometimes things don't seem so crazy.

So here is my rendition of the Final Four, which are the four teams that make my bracket better than yours, seeded in order:

(4) Texas. They come in as my No. 4 because I'm guessing that there are plenty of people out there that are probably seeing this the same way I do. Texas heads to Little Rock, Ark. for its first and second round match-ups. Since it's hard to see them having any problems whatsoever with (15) Austin Peay or (7) Miami, that brings them back in state for the duration of the tourney. Texas is good as it is. With a home court advantage, I have them headed to the championship final.

(3) Davidson. Probably one of the most talked about first round games (besides Kansas State and USC, which we'll get to in a minute) out there. I think that Davidson is too good to lose in the first round. The only managed a 10-seed, but they played a suicidal schedule. I love it. Knowing that you're playing for a tournament spot from day one and not being scared to take on the big dogs. For me, that's gonna pay off. Not only when they top Gonzaga, but really when they upset Georgetown in Raleigh to head to the Sweet 16.

(2) Connecticut. San Diego? No brainer. Drake? Not exactly going out on a limb. UCLA? That's balls, buddy. Haven't seen any statistics, but I would think that UCLA would be one of the most popular picks to go all the way. The way I see it, if you want big rewards, you have to take big risks. That's why I have Connecticut pulling of the huge upset and following it up by knocking off Xavier on its way to San Antonio.

(1) Kansas State. Can't win if you don't have a sleeper. I admit, K. State/USC is a crap shoot, and certainly set up on purpose. Should be a great game considering the talent on display. I see Michael Beasley out-dueling O.J. Mayo and getting on a roll. From round one, they'll ride that confidence to a second round upset of Wisconsin to meet Davidson in the round of 16. And in one of the most exciting games of the tournament Kansas State will outlast Davidson, setting up another meeting between Kansas and Kansas State. That will give Beasley one last shot to put his money where his mouth is. But I'm not going that far. Putting them in the Elite 8 shakes my bracket up just fine, thank you. Kansas should win easily to join North Carolina, Texas and Connecticut in the Final Four.

March Madness

Well, it's been about a month since the last post ... sorry to my plethora of readers. But what better time to come out of retirement than the Blogger's dream scenario? Nah, I didn't agree to a 6-year deal. And, as best as I can tell, no one has signed on to read any of this jargon. But it is time for the madness. My bracket is ready to roll through the pools. Of course, I have the Tar Heels taking the title. Bias? I honestly don't give a shit. This is my blog, not the DTH. In all honesty, I think there are quite a few teams that could claim the crown, but North Carolina simply has the most guns, despite the fact that they got shafted in the region. I filled out two brackets. One on Yahoo!, where a perfect bracket wins a $5 million--straight cash, homey. The other at joe-james.com, a site referred to me by a friend. That one has me in a pool of about 130. You can go there to see my picks (I'm on tab 3, under "Brandon S", next to last column).

I'll use another post to break it down...