Category Archives: Robert

Andree, Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Jason, Jesse, Logan, Lowell, Mark, Micky, Robert, Russell, Shawn Lockner, Willy

Sadness Ensues…

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“When I was a child,
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye,
I turned to look but it was gone,
I cannot put my finger on it now,
The child is grown,
The dream is gone,
I… have become comfortably numb”
-Pink Floyd

It is true, one of the saddest days of the year is upon us. The end of the college basketball season. While it is sad that the college version of the greatest game has ended, there are only 12 long days until Iowa State’s Spring Game. That gives me something to look forward to.

The end of college basketball also means that somebody will be crowned the newest King of the Roudnball Oracles. A person that will reign over the prognostication universe for 1 year. Their opinions held in admiration and their words written down and studied for meaning. Then 1 year from now they will be thrown out in the streets to fend for themselves in what is usually a vain attempt to defend their title. Sometimes, the thought of defending their title is too much and defending champions don’t show back up to try and repeat their glory and double their immortality.

That was the case this year. Lowell Davis didn’t return to defend his kingdom, laid down his scepter, and abdicated his thrown. Don’t think for a second that this was because of some type of cowardice on Lowell’s part. The truth is that he was in Tennessee when the brackets were filled out and he was unable to participate since electricity hasn’t been invented in the Volunteer State yet.

The man that stepped up to accept the responsibility of ruling this kingdom for a year:

 

William McAlpine

 

Mr. McAlpine joined Mark Wolfram as the only other man, woman, or child to hoist the Roundball Oracles Championship Trophy a third time. Which can mean only one thing: the rest of you need to pick up your game next year. We can’t have two people dominating this pool! Their reign of terror must be ended. Hopefully without a dull thud and a head falling into a basket.

Without further adieu, I present the final standings for the 2013 Roundball Oracles NCAA Tournament Pool:

Place Competitor Score Correct Champion Last Year
1. William McAlpine 266 39 Louisville 6th
2. Jason Stensland 253 39 Louisville 8th
3. Jesse Howard 251 40 Louisville 10th
4. Shawn Lockner 247 39 Michigan 21st
5. Jon DeWaard 242 38 Louisville 11th
6. Angie DeWaard 236 36 Louisville 4th
7. Corey Faust 234 38 Indiana 2nd
8. Mark Wolfram 231 36 Indiana 7th
9. Jordan Toot 218 36 Louisville 28th
10. Robert Henning 208 36 Indiana 5th
11. Frank Meiners 206 37 Gonzaga DNP
11. Logan Kahler 206 38 Kansas DNP
13. Sean Clubine 201 37 Miami DNP
14. Derrick Gorshe 200 32 Louisville 12th
15. William Wentworth 199 36 Kansas 15th
16. Jackson Faust 197 35 Gonzaga 14th
17. Toby Sebring 193 34 Kansas 26th
18. Brandon Kahler 189 34 Syracuse 27th
19. Carrie Baier 188 34 Michigan State 20th
20. Jen Ensley-Gorshe 178 34 Indiana 18th
21. Elizabeth Nordeen 176 32 Iowa State DNP
22. Tim Peterson 174 33 Miami 16th
23. Dawn Krause 173 33 Duke 9th
24. Jason Baier 171 33 Miami 3rd
24. Russell Kennerly 171 33 Indiana 22nd
26. Michelle Haupt 170 32 Ohio State DNP
27. Becky Perkovich 166 32 Ohio State 29th
28. Andree Jauhari 165 32 Kansas DNP
29. JJ Baier 163 30 Ohio State DNP
29. Nader Parsaei 163 32 UCLA 13th
31. Michael Augustin 157 32 Indiana 19th
32. Ben Baier 156 26 Butler DNP
33. Your Humble Narrator 139 28 Miami 25th
34. Will Baier 121 14 La Salle DNP


Willy (re)-joins the list of immortals:

Roundball Oracles Champions

  • 2013 – William McAlpine
  • 2012 – Lowell Davis
  • 2011 – Carrie Baier
  • 2010 – Mark Wolfram
  • 2009 – Mark Wolfram
  • 2008 – Mark Wolfram
  • 2007 – Tim Peterson
  • 2006 – William McAlpine
  • 2005 – William McAlpine

I’m already excited for next years tournament.  It is no secret that Iowa State is the rooting team of the grand majority of Oracles, with a few Hawkeye and Kansas fans sprinkled in to mix things up.  Plus a few statistical anomalies, (like a UCLA fan) on top for garnish.  I anticipate Iowa will actually join the tourney field again next year.  Iowa State should have at least  a fighting chance to get back to the dance as well.  We lose a bunch, but some of the recruits coming in are heralded and I wouldn’t bet against Hoiberg going up against a Big 12 that I expect to be down next year.  Plus don’t forget that Michigan will be getting a taste of Hilton Magic next year. 2013-14 should be another great season!  Remember the name Monte Morris.  I’m guessing you will know it very well next year.

Plus, Steve Alford will be choking at an entirely new school next year!  What was UCLA thinking?

I guess some of you are expecting me to defend my dreadful performance in this year’s pool.  I won’t.  The slogan for this year’s pool was: Prophecy, Revelation, Augury, Luck?  Quite frankly 32 people got lucky. I know that my silky smooth jumpshot and my vast array of dribble penetration moves don’t translate into prognostication, but next year, I guarantee you I will finish higher than 33rd. Even if that means I have to limit the pool to 32 combatants.

Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Jason, Jen, Jesse, Lowell, Mark, Micky, Nader, Robert, Russell, Shawn Lockner, Teresa, Tim, Toby, Willy

Roundball Oracles – Year 9

March Madness is upon us once again. Which means it is that time of year when I call upon all would-be-basketball-prognosticators to compete in an NCAA tourney bracket pool for the chance at everlasting glory, immortality, and a trophy.

As always, the Roundball Oracles is open to all interested parties, and yes to even uninterested parties as well. Regardless of basketball knowledge or basketball ignorance. Heck, I might even let my dog enter this year. After all, there is a tremendous amount of luck involved in this competition, so there is no reason for you to be intimidated by how well versed I am in the motion offense. You should only be intimidated by me on an actual basketball court. Even though I’ve admittedly lost a step, but I’m spending the offseason getting that step back, but that is an entirely different story…

As always, there is no entrance fee, but pride and my research indicates that pride is a low calorie snack, so swallow it and get in the game.

The champion will be given a trophy. I would normally at this time insert a picture of last year’s champion hoisting last year’s trophy, but I admittedly, still owe him a trophy.

Last year we had a record 29 prognosticators (as of this writing, 9 people have already signed up). I don’t think it would be too crazy to hope to break that record this year.

2012 Final Standings

1. Lowell Davis
2. Corey Faust
3. Jason Baier
4. Angie DeWaard
5. Robert Henning
6. William McAlpine
7. Mark Wolfram
8. Jason Stensland
9. Dawn Krause
10. Jesse Howard
11. Jon DeWaard
12. Derrick Gorshe
13. Nader Parsaei
14. Jackson Faust
15. Bill Wentworth
16. Tim Peterson
17. Mike Donner
18. Jen Ensley-Gorshe
19. Michael Augustin
20. Carrie Baier
21. Shawn Lockner
22. Russell Kennerly
23. Shaun Kirsch
24. Teresa Kahler
25. Your Humble Narrator
26. Toby Sebring
27. Brandon Kahler
28. Jordan Toot
29. Becky Perkovich

Lowell was able to chisel his place amongst the other basketball immortals that have managed to hoist the Roundball Oracles Trophy.*

Past Roundball Oracles Champions

2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

So the metaphorical ball is now in your court. There are no guidelines for participation. This contest is open to all competitors: men, women, small children and the elderly.

If you are interested and I need the information, you know how to contact me!

Oh… the deadline for filling out your bracket is tip-off of the first game on Thursday morning.

*Technically he has yet to hoist the trophy.

Andree, Becky, Calendar, Dad, Dawn, Derrick, Evie, Faust, Jeff Kewer, Jen, Linda, Monica, Personal Photo Project, Postcard, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shawn Lockner, Slice of Life

Personal Photo Project of the Week #144

This week’s Personal Photo Project is a blatant attempt at commerce. Good old fashioned in-your-face-capitalism.

I’ve been talking to Barb Henning of Everlastings about selling high quality Photography 139 products in her store for several years now, but I have always been unable to pull the trigger. However, I’ve turned over a new leaf and have decided to invest some money in “product” and we’ll see where that gets me.

Starting tomorrow (at least I’m 98% sure) a person can go to Everlastings Flowers & Gifts in beautiful downtown Ogden, Iowa and purchase a couple different products from Photography 139.

The first line of products:



Postcards!

This is not a completely original idea. This idea is both stolen from and an homage to my Dad’s line of Slice of Life postcards. Which incidentally will be incorporated into this line of postcards as well. The picture of the #1385 is my Dad’s picture.

The current pricing structure is thus:

1 Postcard = $.75
3 Postcards = $2.00
5 Postcards = $3.00

Series #1 of the Photography 139 line of postcards consists of 5 different images. My hope is that every 3-4 months, I will release a new series and 5 different postcards. The subject matter will mostly consist of flowers or local interest. Look for Series #2 to be released around February or March.

Thanks to all my Postcard Beta Testers:

Jen, Derrick, and Evie Gorshe
Sara and Shawn
Russell Kennerly
Andree Jauhari
Aunt Linda
Becky Perkovich
Dawn Krause
The Fausts
The Kewers
Robert Henning

The second line of products:



Calendars!

The second product line is a calendar consisting of high quality Photography 139 flower images. The first run of these is extremely limited, so the price structure is a little higher than I would like, but there is a chance that a second run of calendars will be printed and the price might go down slightly. No promises though.

Calendar Price Structure:

1 Calendar = $15.00

But what about the future? I’m also looking into releasing a line of holiday cards. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day. It is somewhat dependent on how the first two lines of high quality products fare in the marketplace. I would consider it highly doubtful that there will be Christmas cards available for this Christmas, but stranger things have happened.

To repeat, these high quality products will be available at Everlasting Flowers & Gifts starting tomorrow.

Everlastings Info:

223 W. Walnut St.
Ogden, IA 50212
Store Hours: M-F 9:30 am to 5 pm; Sat. 9:30 am to noon
Website: http://www.everlastingsbybarb.com/
All major credit cards accepted

These products may come to other venues in the future, but Barb definitely gets to be the launching point for this commercial endeavor.

Yes, you can buy products straight from me, but I don’t accept credit cards at this time. If you need something shipped to you, there would be a shipping and handling fee.

You can find out that info by writing me directly at: bennett@photography139.com

Next week’s Personal Photo Project will either involve trains or mums. We’ll see.

Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Jason, Jen, Jesse, Lowell, Mark, Micky, Nader, Robert, Russell, Shawn Lockner, Teresa, Tim, Toby, Willy

Sadness Ensues

It is the time of year that is filled with sadness. Another college basketball season has come to an end. But despite the gloom that will set upon the land for many more months, it is a time of joy as well. We get to crown a new King of the Roundball Oracles. A new name goes on the plaque of immortals with these past champions:

Roundball Oracles Past Champions.

2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

The latest immortal is…

Lowell Davis

In the closes Roundball Oracle competition ever, Lowell beat Corey Faust on the tiebreaker.

I will be ordering Lowell’s trophy soon and will be presenting it to him in the very near future. I’m sure there will be photographic evidence to back this up presented in this forum in due time.

Another reason why it was a good year for the Roundball Oracles is that we set a new record with 29 combatants. Shattering the previous participation mark by several people.

Without further adieu, here are the final standings of the 8th Roundball Oracles Challenge:

Rank/Name/Points/National Title Choice/Last Year’s Finish

1. Lowell Davis – 275 – Kentucky – 13th
2. Corey Faust – 275 – Kentucky – 6th
3. Jason Baier – 265 – Kentucky – 5th
4. Angie DeWaard – 255 – Kentucky – DNP
5. Robert Henning – 245 – Kentucky – 8th
6. William McAlpine – 236 – Kentucky – DNP
7. Mark Wolfram – 235 – Ohio State – 15th
8. Jason Stensland – 229 – Ohio State – DNP
9. Dawn Krause – 228 – Kentucky – 4th
10. Jesse Howard – 225 – Kentucky – 2nd
11. Jon DeWaard – 222 – Kentucky – DNP
12. Derrick Gorshe – 220 – Kentucky – DNP
13. Nader Parsaei – 216 – Connecticut – 14th
14. Jackson Faust – 214 – Michigan State – DNP
15. Bill Wentworth – 211 – North Carolina – DNP
16. Tim Peterson – 209 – Kansas – 11th
17. Mike Donner – 206 – Michigan State – DNP
18. Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 199 – North Carolina – DNP
19. Michael Augustin – 196 – North Carolina – DNP
20. Carrie Baier – 194 – Michigan State – 1st
21. Shawn Lockner – 189 – Baylor – DNP
22. Russell Kennerly – 176 – North Carolina – 9th
23. Shaun Kirsch – 175 – Iowa State – 16th
24. Teresa Kahler – 173 – Iowa State – DNP
25. Yours Truly – 164 – North Carolina – 7th
26. Toby Sebring – 157 – North Carolina – DNP
27. Brandon Kahler – 142 – Kansas State – DNP
28. Jordan Toot – 119 – North Carolina – DNP
29. Becky Perkovich – 0 – Undecided – DNP

Some people might think that I need to explain why somebody with my nearly infinite basketball knowledge could have fared so poorly, but I will not defend my lowly ranking. Truth is that my goal is just to beat Russell and the fact that I didn’t this year means that I will have to try harder next year. I cannot let RMK get the best of me two years in a row!

Even though the dust has barely settled on this year’s NCAA tournament, I am already very excited for next year’s season. I think that the Cyclones will be even better next season and I can’t wait to see them prove me right. I guess until the season begins anew, I will look forward to the Spring Football Game that is only days away!

Andree, Basketball, Dawn, Frank, Jesse, Linda, Lowell, Mark, Nader, Robert, Russell, Tim

Roundball Oracles Year 8

It is the time of the year known as March Madness. That, of course means it is also time for me to run my annual NCAA Tournament Pool.

It is open to all interested parties (I’ll take a few uninterested parties as well) regardless of their basketball knowledge. After all, this pool was won by a woman last year* and the 3 years before that is was won by a dude living in Taiwan. You couple that with the fact that somebody with my immense knowledge of the greatest sport ever invented has yet to bring the title home to Union Street means that there is a certain degree of luck involved, so you shouldn’t be too intimidated by my intimate knowledge of the pick and roll.

As always there is no entrance fee. The winner does get a trophy. The only thing one has to risk is pride.

Pride, it would be pointed out by C.S. Lewis is the greatest sin, so you are out of excuses for not getting in to the fray with the combatants from last year.

2011 Final Standings

1. Carrie Baier
2. Jesse Howard
3. Linda Toot
4. Dawn Krause
5. Jason Baier
6. Corey Faust
7. Your Humble Narrator
8. Robert Henning
9. Russell Kennerly
10. Andree Jauhari
11. Nate Buckingham
11. Tim Peterson
13. Lowell Davis
14. Nader Parsaei
15. Mark Wolfram
16. Shaun Kirsch
17. Frank Meiners

The pool of entrants atrophied last year slightly, so I hope to garner more participants this year so all you have to do to get in is email me at:

bennett@photography139.com

And I’ll email you instructions and in no time you’ll be on the road to having your name on the Plaque of Immortals:

Previous Champions

2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

*I hope that sounded at least half as sexist as I hoped it would, but already two members of the fairer sex have thrown their hat into the arena.

Formal Portrait, History, Robert, Work

The Archives: Edition Twenty

These pictures come from the following folder: Backup/Old My Pictures/Jones Soda

These pictures might come as kind of shocking. So I better give a small bit of back story.

If there was ever a chance for me to be a cult leader it was when I was the closing assistant at the Boone Outpost of the Evil Clown Empire. It was the peak of my charisma. It was the peak of the power of my sideburns. I was practically a town/county celebrity and for all of the right reasons. People did and said what I told them to and everybody wanted to be in my company.

However, I didn’t use my power, charisma, and sideburns to form a cult. At least not a religious cult. I used them to introduce my love of Jones Soda to the people that surrounded me and to get them to love Jones Soda.

Jones Soda, I say.

You see, I’m not a boring and uninteresting person. I’ve never been a boring and uninteresting person. I don’t surround myself with boring and uninteresting people. Therefore alcohol has never been and never will be an important part of my life. Actually it is no longer a part of my life period.

Sure I know plenty of people that place a premium on alcohol in their value system. I’m sure if I were them I would probably need alcohol to put up with being them too. But I’m not them, I’m me, and I don’t need to medicate away the pain of being me, because I am “amazing”, “wonderful”, my talent “knows no bounds”, and “the bringer of awesome”.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like to get together with a few chums after a hard night of serving what is laughingly considered food to some of the finest white trash in all of Boone County and have a few frosty cold beverages. Only the frosty cold beverages I enjoy are Jones Soda’s Green Apple Soda or their Fufu Berry or their Grape. All divine creations.

So it was on a hot, humid night that the 4 of us clustered into Action’s basement and made these 2 pictures with a webcam.

These two pictures existed because we were sending them to two separate places.

The first picture we sent to Jones Soda to show our love for their superior product.

The 2nd picture we sent to Hy-Vee (at least I think we did or we might have just sent a strongly worded letter that pointed out the economic impact of their poor decision) to show them exactly how we felt about a stocking decision they had made.

Jones Soda makes an energy drink called Whoop Ass! The Boone Hy-Vee decided to stop stocking Whoop Ass! because some old battle axe complained about the name of the product.

The Edge actually sent our letter on to Jones Soda and they rewarded us with a case of Whoop Ass! It was a monumental victory for the little guy!


Hy-Vee never re-stocked Whoop Ass! I’m frankly amazed that they are still in business.

Next week’s pictures come from the following folder:

Backup/Old My Pictures/Labels

Andree, Baier, Basketball, Dawn, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Linda, Lowell, Mark, Nader, Robert, Russell

Roundball Oracles Year 7

“In the end, everything is a gag.”

– Charlie Chaplin

 

When it comes to college basketball prognostication, 2011 will be remembered as the Year of the Woman.

Not only did the Roundball Oracles crown our first ever champion from the fairer of the two sexes, three out of the top four finishers were also members of the female persuasion.

It was certainly a chaotic NCAA Tournament this year.  Consider these facts:

 

  • Before the Final Four was even played, our championship was already secured.
  • Only two people (Jesse and I) even got a single Final Four team right. We both got Connecticut right.
  • Our eventual champion’s national champion lost in the 1st Round.
  • 6 people picked Kansas as their champ, 4 picked Duke, 2 people picked Ohio State, 1 person picked Syracuse, 1 person picked UCLA, 1 person picked Michigan State, and 1 person picked BYU. None of those teams even made it to the Final Four.
  • Our eventual champion finished in last place last year.
  • Our 3 time defending champ finished in 2nd to last place this year.
  • Only Jesse got 1 of the teams in the championship game (Connecticut) right.

So who is the new Queen of College Basketball Divination?

 


Baier Family Photo Shoot - 2009


It is Carrie Baier!

 

The Final Standings

Name – Bracket Name – Points – Correct Games – Last Year

  1. Carrie Baier – Izzo – 100 points -41/63 – 21st
  2. Jesse Howard – MeatThermometer – 94 points  – 39/63 – 13th
  3. Linda Toot – LittleSister – 74 points – 38/63 – 9th
  4. Dawn Krause – Duh Winning – 73 points – 34/63 – 3rd
  5. Jason Baier – Duke the Fifth – 72 points – 35/63 – 7th
  6. Corey Faust – Always Go Top Shelf – 69 points – 34/63 – 4th
  7. Christopher D. Bennett – They Call Me Mr. Bennett – 63 points – 31/63 – 18th
  8. Robert Henning – Losing Bracket – 59 points – 32/63 – 8th
  9. Russell Kennerly – StackinWinsLikeJustinBeiber – 59 points – 31/63 – 17th
  10. Andree Jauhari – Floccinaucinihilipilification- 58 points – 31/63 – DNP
  11. Nate Buckingham – White Magic – 57 points – 33/63 – 9th
  12. Tim Peterson – Dominate Monkey – 57 points – 32/63 – 9th
  13. Lowell Davis – Golden voiced hobo lover – 53 points – 34/63 – DNP
  14. Nader Parsaei – Oscar – 51 points – 29/63 – 2nd
  15. Mark Wolfram – Taiwan Hawkeye – 26/63 – 1st
  16. Shaun Kirsch – Lil_Dog – 45 points – 29/63 – DNP
  17. Frank Meiners – Master Picks – 0 points – 0/63 -4th

 

If I were giving an award for the best bracket name, it would clearly go to Andree, but I am not. Perhaps next year.

 

Carrie’s name now sits in the Hall of Champions with the past greats:

Past Champions

2011 – Carrie Baier

2010 – Mark Wolfram

2009 – Mark Wolfram

2008 – Mark Wolfram

2007 – Tim Peterson

2006 – William McAlpine

2005 – William McAlpine

I already can’t wait for the next college basketball season to start and not only because I expect the Cyclones to return to greatness next year. At least I have the Spring Game to look forward to in a couple of weeks. It is football, but it is something.

Alexis, Becca, Blogging, Brog Frog, Cousin Amy, Derrick, Jen, Music, Photoshop, Robert, Sara, Shannon

Post No. 850

5 Comments

Every 100 or so posts, I like to make a list of the most popular pictures on this blog.

Here is the list of the 10 most popular photos in the Artistic Gallery.


Outburst of the Soul
1. Outburst of the Soul


2. Self-Portrait


3. Jen Relaxing Between Sets

Grizzly McAlpine
4. Grizzly McAlpine


5. Rebecca – Senior Pictures


5. UnHingd Publicity Photo

Piano Ruins
7. Abandoned Piano – McCallsburg

Obama at Mike O'Brien's House
7. Obama

Obama at Mike O'Brien's House
7. Obama

Boone County Fair Photo Contest - 2008
Campanile Self-Portrait

06-11-08
7. Alexis – US 30 Flood

The 10 Most Popular Pictures in the Snapshots Gallery.


The Big Jesus Road Trip
1. Jesse and I with the World’s Largest Cheeto

The Big Jesus Road Trip
2. Jesse eats a Bob’s Dog

The Big Jesus Road Trip
3. Jesse and I at the Surf Ballroom

The Big Jesus Road Trip
4. Jesse Kissing the Blarney Stone in Emmetsburg

Shannon at Backbone State Park
5. Shannon reading map in Backbone

Eastern Iowa Road Trip - 2006
5. Jesse and I in Clinton

The Big Jesus Road Trip
5. Jesse in the Surf Ballroom

Bonne Finken
5. Jen and Shannon making a deal at a Bonne Finken Concert

Bonne Finken
5. Cousin Amy, Sara and Jen at a Bonne Finken Concert

Bonne Finken
5. Sara and Jen at a Bonne Finken Concert

Eastern Iowa Road Trip - 2006
Robert checking out the view in Balltown

If you want to see how this list has changed since the last time I posted it follow this link:



Number 750

I will check this out again in another 100 Journal Entries.

One other thing…

If you would like a Username and Password for either of the galleries, send me an email with what you would like your username and password to be, and I will get you set up.

Having an account to the Galleries allows you to Rate, Favorite and Comment on Pictures. Plus, it allows you access to the “Secret” Albums.

Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Linda, Nader, Robert, Russell, Schmidt, Toby

3Peat

“This is the end,

Beautiful friend,

This is the end,

Of our elaborate plans, the end,

Of everything that stands, the end,

No safety or surprise, the end.”

– The Doors (The End)

Another college basketball season has come to an end. It is a sad, sad day. At least it is only 11 days to Iowa State’s Spring Football Game. 11 long days!

The end of another college basketball season means it is time to crown the champion of year 6 of the Roundball Oracles tournament pool.

This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but a few years back Pat Riley was man enough to patent the word 3peat.  What he wasn’t man enough to do is actually 3peat. He came up woefully short in his attempt to win a 3rd straight championship.

Mark Wolfram is not Pat Riley. Mark Wolfram was man enough to be crowned the Roundball Oracles Champion for the 3rd straight year.  It was a little embarrassing when a guy living in Taiwan won the first time.  Even more embarrassing when he repeated last year. I’m not sure if there are words to express how embarrassing it is that he won for a third straight year.

Hopefully next year somebody will step up and snatch that crown off of his head.  Could be you! Could be me! Although I’ll have to rebound from an extremely pathetic performance this year. At least I finished third and won ten bucks in the pool at work.

The Final Standings

1. Mark Wolfram (Taiwan Hoops) – 81 points

2. Nader Parsaei (Charlie Chaplin) – 79 points

3. Dawn Krause (Dawn’s Dunkin’ Dribblers) – 75 points

4. Frank Meiners (Frank’s Picks) – 73 points

4. Corey Faust (Always Go Top Shelf) – 73 points

6. Dan Dill (dan) – 71 points

7. Jason Baier (JLB) – 70 points

8. Robert Henning (Shot In The Dark) – 67 points

9. Nate Buckingham (Wade Lookingbill Allstars) – 65 points

9. Tim Peterson (Dominate Monkey) – 65 points

9. Linda Toot (JWB) – 65 points

12 – Derrick Gorshe (Derrick) – 63 points

13 – Jesse Howard (ISU Yes McDermott No) – 62 points

14 – Becky Perkovich (A169032477) – 61 points

15 – Corey Schmidt (TakeIt2ThaHole) – 58 points

15. Toby Sebring (Lickliter Is Out!) – 58 points

17. Russell Kennerly (i’m also transferring greg) 57 points

18. Christopher D. Bennett (I See Things) – 56 points

19. Jon DeWaard (Lono’s bracket) – 54 points

20. Bill Wentworth (Bill’s Bracket) – 53 points

21. Carrie Baier (Couragers) – 52 points

21 competitors was a new Roundball Oracles record for participants.  4 female competitors was a record for female competitors!

I am hopeful that next year, both of those records will be broken.