Salute to NCAA College Sports (1 of 3)

Here are the six student athletes pictured: 1) Trevor Moore, men's hockey, Denver; 2) Caitlin Atkinson, women's gymnastics, Auburn; 3) Luke Eddy, men's basketball, Elon; 4) Casey DiNardo, women's lacrosse, UNC; 5) Nick Marrocco, men's hockey, Georgetown; 6) Marissa Beucler, women's gymnastics, Kentucky.......

Canine Nicknames and Mascots Amongst College Basketball Schools

According to a bracketologist for "Slate," the Albany Great Danes, a 16-seed team that lost to the Florida Gators in spite of playing a solid game, would have been the team to win it all based on dog lovers' choices.

But, long before we saw that bracket, we thought of the idea. In fact, we usually post an entry with canine college nicknames every March (we think!).

Here are ten schools with doggie nicknames and doggie mascots:

1) Albany Great Danes.*

2) Univ. of Connecticut Huskies. Jonathan the Husky (pictured top)*

3) Georgetown Hoyas. Jack the Bulldog (former legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson and Patrick Ewing are pictured center)^

4) Boston Univ. Terriers. Rhett the Boston Terrier. (pictured bottom)^

5) Gonzaga Bulldogs. Spike.*

6) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. ^

7) Wofford Terriers.*

8) Washington U Huskies. Harry the Husky.

9) Southern Illinois Salukis.

10) Yale Bulldogs. Handsome Dan.

http://www.slate.com

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

College Basketball Teams by Area Code for Virginia and Washington, DC (1 of 2)

The mascot for the James Madison University Dukes in Harrisonburg, Va., may be our featured image, but there are seven teams from the nation's capital and our beloved home state of Virginia that we are featuring here (interestingly enough two Washington DC schools are hosting teams from Philadelphia this week and two Virginia schools head to Boston for games on Wed. night) :

202 (Washington, D.C)

1. American University Eagles (12-7, Patriot League): Next Game vs. Navy 7:30 p.m., Wed.

2. George Washington University Colonials (16-3, Atlantic-10): Next game vs. LaSalle (Philadelphia) @ 7:00 p.m. tonight.

3. Georgetown Hoyas (11-8, Big East): Next game vs. Villanova @ 9:00 p.m. tonight

4. Howard University Bison (5-15, MEAC): Next game @ Florida A & M on Saturday.

540 (Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Blacksburg)

1. JMU Dukes (7-13, Colonial Ath., pictured): Next game @ Northeastern (Boston, Mass.) on Wed. at 7:00 p.m.

2. VMI Keydets (10-9, Lexington, Big South) @ UNC-Asheville, Tues. at 7:00 p.m.

3. Radford University (13-8, Big South, our alma mater): Next game @ Winthrop (Rock Hill, SC on Wed. @ 7:00 p.m.)

4. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-11, ACC): Next game @ Boston College on Wed. @ 7:00 p.m.

http://www.jmusports.com/

http://www.gwsports.com/

http://www.ruhighlanders.com/

http://www.hokiesports.com/

More College Nicknames- Dukes, Bluejays and Anteaters

Here is our follow-up from yesterday's entry on college nicknames. Perhaps even long-time ESPN college basketball commentator Dick Vitale doesn't know a few of the more obscure ones:

More Smart Schools:

1. California Golden Bears (Cal; Pac-12)*
2. Brown Bears (R.I.; Ivy)
3. Lafayette Leopards (Pa, Patriot League)
4. JMU Dukes (Va; Colonial- pictured top)*

More Angry Birds:

5. Louisville Cardinals (Ky; Big East)*
6. Creighton Bluejays  (Neb.; Missouri Valley)*
7. Illinois State Redbirds (Ill.; Missouri Valley)
8. Kansas Jayhawks (Kan.; Big-12-pictured center)*

Canines and Foxes

9. The Citadel Bulldogs (SC, Southern Con.)
10. Boston University Terriers (Mass., America East)
11. Georgetown Hoyas (Wash. D.C.; Big East- pictured bottom, that is Patrick Ewings' jersey)
12. Marist Red Foxes (New York, Metro-Atlantic)

Best of the Rest

13. UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos (Calif.; Big West)
14. Campbell Fighting Camels (NC; Big South)
15.DePaul Blue Demons (Ill.; Big East)
16. Mississippi Valley Delta Devils (Ms., SWAC)
17. UC-Irvine Anteaters (Calif.' Big West)

My NCAA Brackets....with a Twist

For many years, we have wanted to fill out the NCAA brackets simply based on the teams we liked best, or the teams that we would like to see in the Final Four.

So, this year, I decided to make a 'real bracket,' in which top-seed Syracuse prevails over the 16-seed underdog of underdogs, the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs from the Big South Conference, and one in which the Bulldogs pull the college basketball upset of the century.

There is a dose of reality in my 'fantasy bracket' as I just picked the Bulldogs as the lone 16-seed to knock off a Goliath. In addition, I have the 15-ssed Norfolk State beating the two-seed Missouri Tigers.

Thus, when all is said and done, my Elite 8 comes down to the unlikely match-up of ten-seed West Virginia, with Turkish player Deniz Kilicli, and 12-seed Harvard with Brandyn Curry from Huntersville, NC, in the east region. In the midwest, my dream match-up is not too implausible as it has 3-seed Georgetown taking on the top-seed UNC Tarheels (in the 'real version' two-seed Kansas plays North Carolina).

In the south region, there is a very realistic match-up between one-seed Kentucky and two-seed Duke. But, in the west, we have another fantasy match-up between ten-seed Virginia and 13-seed Davidson, a team that did in fact shock the world and make the Elite 8 a few years ago.

Thus, the 'dream Final Four' pits Harvard against Georgetown, and Duke against UVA. And, the final comes down to Harvard and UVA, with the Ivy Leaguers from Cambridge, Mass., winning it all.

Of course, it would be fittingly ironic if my fantasy bracket turns out to be more true than my 'real one!'

SIDEBAR: A fair number of the 68 teams in the NCAA tournament (actually as of writing, there are 66 remaining), have competitive teams in other sports. In wrestling, from the schools in the field, Ohio State, Misouri, Michigan, Lehigh, UVA and Purdue are all nationally-ranked.

In men's lacrosse, UVA, Loyola (Md), Syracuse, Notre Dame, UNC, Lehigh, Duke and Georgetown are all ranked.

Similarly, in women's lacrosse, UNC, Duke, Florida, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, UVA, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgetown and Loyola (Md.) have teams ranked in the top 20.

Virtual Postcard from Washington DC_ The National Zoo

Since we just got back from Washington, DC, we thought we'd share a Virtual Postcard with you of the National Zoo, even though we did not go to the esteemed zoo; in fact, we've never been there?!

To make this fun for you (thanks for those of you who are reading this in Bulgaria, we walked past your embassy), and quick for me, we thought we'd do a DC By the Numbers entry. We think most of these numbers are at least fairly accurate.

In addition, we threw in figures from some silly things we noticed, like the number of women wearing unseasonable shoes (one was even in flip flops?!), but we did not count the joggers or dog walkers, though a part of me wishes we had.

Here we go:

310- Number of miles between Politcs and Prose, an independant bookstore in Washington, DC, on Connecticut Avenue and The Regulator, an indy book outlet in Durham, NC.

61- Number of people we saw riding bicycles, motorcycles or vespas!

32- Number of museums in Washington, DC, this includes the National Zoo, the National Cathedral and Ford's Theatre

31_ Number of women wearing unseasonable shoes. In addition to the woman in flip flops, there was another woman in sandals.

27- Ah, yes, the annoying cute young couples, one can see them everywhere in DC. One couple who smooched as we were approaching Farragut North on the Red Line really took the cake. The girl looked like a fashion model, the guy looked like a chemistry lab geek. Go figure!

13_ Number of players on the Georgetown Hoyas' men's basketball roster.

10_ Number of Starbucks in Washington, DC, alone

7_Number of Starbucks in the DC suburb of Fairfax, Va.

5-Number of Starbucks in another DC 'burb of Bethesda, Md.

3- Number of animal shelters in DC, according to the search engine we used (ok, so it was Google). We certainly hope Helga, a gorgeous, spayed female black cat who is 5 years and two months old, finds a home soon. It has been reported that many pets, like people, are now homeless in DC. Go to warl.org to find out more Helga and other cats and dogs in the city.

2- The number of hours I expect to actually sleep tonight.

Bill Clinton Spotted at the Big East Tournament

Former American president Bill Clinton was spotted at the Big East Tournament on Friday night during part of a two-game double-header. The first game was between Notre Dame (their star player Luke Harangody is pcitured here) and Pitt. Notre Dame won that game, but lost in the semi-finals. The second game was between the eventual conference champs West Virginia and the Cincy Bearcats.

"The Star-Ledger" newspaper in Newark, NJ, said Clinton was noticed sitting besides his long-time friend Terry McAuliffe, who unsuccessfully ran for governor of Virginia, in the waining minutes of Notre Dame's 50-45 win over Pitt. McAuliffe was drinking a Diet Coke.

Clinton told ESPN that he thinks Syracuse, who was announced as one of the four number one seeds on Sunday, will be the eventual NCAA men's basketball champs. Clinton added that he also likes another top seed Knsas' chances.

The former president added that since he is now a New York resident that he roots for Syracuse except when they play his alma mater Georgetown, which happened to knock off the Orange 91-84 earlier that afternoon.

There's a Safe Haven for Cats in Raleigh, NC

My adorable little sister and I at times seem like two people who grew up in different sectors of the solar system. When we were in high school (I am four years older), she always studiously did her homework usually on the day it was assigned as soon as she was through watching the NBC soap opera "Santa Barbara" (which starred a then unknown Robin Wright, who later became Robin Wright-Penn).

I, on the other hand, actually thought I could finish some ninth grade earth science homework WHILE watching Villanova's historic upset of Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA men's basketball final. The game really irked me because I was a 'Hoyas fan (as I am today though they aren't my very favorite team) and I loved Georgetown's star player Patrick Ewing. Ironically, earlier today, Georgetown was shockingly upset by Rutgers 71-68! Oh, I don't think I ever completed the earth science homework as I did not perform well in that class.

But, Lale, who is now married and residing out west, and I have many similar interests, including Turkish pop music, wine, coffee, comic strips and cats!

As many of you frequent this blog (all four of you) know I love cats and I am particularly found of my tuxedo cat Gizmo even though he scratched me last night!

I was thus delighted to come across an ad for Safe Haven, a no-kill shelter for cats, in "Independent Weekly," a Raleigh, NC, alternative weekly while I was Christmas shopping in Chapel Hill, NC, in early December.

While researching for this entry, I found out that the shelter is located in the northern part of Raleigh and the organization is celebrating its 16th anniversary this year.

The agency also provides what they call an E-Harmony type service for would-be cat owners by trying to match a cat with the traits that someone might be looking for.

There are in fact three categories for cats, and this is not based on the actual color of the cat as you will notice as you continue reading. These include green cats, which are savvy and adventurous, orange cats which make perfect companions and purple cats which are quiet and seek affection. Gizmo, who is actually a black and white cat, actually fits the orange cat mode as he can't still and he loves going after birds in the front yard, much to our neighbor's shock and horror.

Safe Haven also provides adoption services for cats and kittens as well as foster program. They also have a feline spay and neuter service.

On April 16, Safe Haven will hold its annual fundraiser at the Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh on East Harnett Street.

If you live in the Tri-Cities area and would like to adopt a cat or make a donation, Safe Haven (safehavenforcats.org) can be reached at 919-872-1128

The Rock Obama Takes in Georgetown-Duke Basketball Game

It was not the actor The Rock, but rather the subject of his now famous "Saturday Night Live" skits President Barack Obama who joined Vice President Joe Biden along with other members of his inner circle to watch the Georgetown Hoyas upset the visiting Duke University Blue Devils at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, by a 89-77 score this afternoon.

When the game tipped off at 1:00 p.m. eastern time, the DC area did not yet see the incoming snowstorm which had hit much of Virginia and North Carolina (see our entry in The Daily Vampire) including the Duke U campus in Durham, NC.

During the second half, Obama made a surprise visit to the CBS booth where he joked with announcer Clark Kelogg, who was once a Big Ten basketball star, that he might have to replace Kelogg in 'three years or seven years.' Some conservative-leaning media outlets are already making the highly ridicilous suggestion that Obama was hinting that he might not seek reelection.

When the announcers asked if the left-handed Obama ever went to his right, the president again jovially said that he went to his 'right' when he met with Congressional Republicans in Baltimore on Friday.

The Baltimore gathering provided a limelight moment for Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a congressional freshman who represents the Provo, Utah, region-considered by many to be one of the most conservative areas in America.

Lee Davidson of "The Deseret News" in Salt Lake City reported that Chaffetz confronted the president for a number of verbal inconsistencies including a pledge to hold health care hearings in the public arena through C-Span.

Obama responded by telling Chaffetz that:

"That (the hearings) was a messy process. And I take responsibility for not having structured it in a way where it was taking place in one place where it could not be filmed."

Chaffetz told the SLC newspaper that he had a friendly talk with Obama afterwards:

"I think it's positive that we are able to have this kind of dialogue and hopefully move forward."

On his Twitter page, Chaffetz has voiced many political objections to the Obama administration. In one tweet, he said that he was opposed to the discontinuation of the 'don't ask, don't tell policy' regarding gays and lesbians in the military on the grounds that such measures should not be taken when the United States is involved with two wars.

As for Obama, he also met with former president George HW Bush and former Florida govenror Jeb Bush at the White House prior to the Hoyas-Blue Devils basketball game.

NPR said Obama was blackberrying throughout the game, and that he made no indication of which team he was rooting for.

It would have been interesting to hear comments from Duke's Coach K after the game. The long-time Blue Devils coach is a Republican though he is not known to use his position for campaign trail purposes (his long-time rival former UNC coach Dean Smith is a Democrat who vocally endorsed Obama in the North Carolina Primary), but one of the Duke coach's former players is a staff member for President Obama.