Alright so I was wrong (it does happen from time to time). This year’s Final Four was not even close to the greatest of all time. The semi-finals sucked. Save for the brief comeback attempt by North Carolina that really never worried me (as someone who bet on Kansas), there was little drama and little excitement. I enjoyed myself because five of my friends and I grilled and watched the games, and any time you combine these six particular characters and beer it’s a good time. However, anyone who watched the semi-final games alone or with a boring group of people was left sorely disappointed, I’m sure.

Given the lead up to the finals that the 2008 tourney provided, I was very skeptical that we would get a good game on Monday night. Well Monday night’s game turned out to be great. Memphis blew a seven point lead late in the game, largely due to their inability to hit clutch free throws. Who remembers when John Calipari told us all he wasn’t worried about his team’s free throw woes? Those of us who stayed up to watch the end were treated to a phenomenal ending when Mario Chalmers hit a tough three to tie the game and send it into overtime, which Kansas dominated. So the question is, did Mario Chalmers win the game, or did Memphis lose the game at the free throw line? I’m still going back and forth with myself on that one.

In overtime, Kansas, as if mocking Memphis’ ineptitude at the line, went 4 for 4 from the charity stripe to solidify the victory. This led to a highly comical moment that too many people on the east coast missed. As soon as the final buzzer sounded, the Alamodome dumped about seventeen tons of confetti onto the court. So, while weeping over the heartbreaking loss they just endured, the Memphis players were bombarded with celebratory confetti. As my friend Gus put it, “Not only do you lose, but we’re having a party on your head.” You just lost the most important game of your life, but instead of waiting for you to get to the locker room before starting the celebration, we’ll just rain down this brightly colored confetti on you as you cry about your horrible defeat. I know this has happened before after championship games in various sports, but I have never seen such clear shots of players from the losing team covered in confetti, holding back tears, looking totally confused by their surroundings, much like girls in my buddy Rusty’s bed the morning after a blackout (minus the confetti of course). The dichotomy was brilliantly humorous. Kudos to CBS for getting the shots that brought me such joy. And I don’t even have anything against Memphis with their combined SAT score of 2000 (another Gus line). Imagine how much delight it would have brought me if that had happened to North Carolina and I could see that dumb Tyler Hansbrough with his “Wait a minute, this isn’t my third grade classroom” look on his face, tears streaming down, covered in confetti. Speaking of North Carolina…

…Roy Williams was spotted in the crowd with a Jayhawks’ sticker on his shirt. People are in an uproar over this and I would just like to ask, “Why?” The guy spent a good chunk of his career at Kansas, he had some great, memorable times there, and because of all the years he spent there, there are still people associated with the program that he truly cares about. Is it that unreasonable for him to still have a place in his heart for Kansas? I don’t remember Roy saying he’s glad Kansas went to the finals over North Carolina. Do we really expect him sever all allegiance to the school and program simply because he took a job someplace else? I would be surprised if he didn’t root for Kansas in all games not played against North Carolina. It’s like if you dated a girl for years, you lost your virginity to her, and she was your first love. Eventually you grow apart and another smoking hot girl (who you had a crush on since before you met your girlfriend) comes along and you begin dating her. About a year later you come across your ex-chick getting into a fight with a giant, beastly, dumb girl. Don’t you openly root for your ex in that situation? Even though you are totally committed to your new hottie, there have to be some feelings left for your ex given the history you had. Let Roy root for Kansas when the Tar Heels aren’t involved, there are bigger issues to get upset over. Like…

…The game tipping off at 9:21PM eastern. What the hell is up with that? I understand that the East Coast isn’t the only time zone watching the game, but it’s not like I’m asking for a 7:30 ET (4:30PT) tip. With a 9:20 tip the game ends at 11:30ish IF there is no overtime. If it’s a great game like everyone hopes and goes into overtime, now you’re looking at almost midnight before the game ends. Now I stayed up to watch the game because I can get into work pretty much whenever I want (people make those concessions for you when you’re so incredibly important to the organization), but I spoke with six different people at work who had followed the tournament pretty closely through the semifinals and not one of them stayed up to watch the end of Monday night’s game. “I can’t stay up that late anymore” and “I’d be useless today” and “I tried, but I fell asleep in the middle of the second half” were the excuses used. And I don’t blame them, I napped when I got home from work on Monday to guarantee I’d be able to stay up for the game (given I was still recovering from lack of sleep over the weekend). What is wrong with starting the game just one hour earlier? An 8:21ET tip off leads to an expected end time of 10:30ET, and with one overtime we’re looking at 11PM. Completely reasonable.

What about those in the pacific time zone, you ask? That would be a 5:21PT tip off. The majority of people are out of work by 5, so they have 20 minutes to get home and catch the entire game. Those that don’t get out until 6, or live in L.A. and have a much longer commute will still be able to catch the entire second half and overtime. With a 9:21 tip time, a very large number of east coasters were able to watch only the first half before it got too late. As a sports fan, given the choice, which would you rather see the first half or the second half and overtime? Com’on, that’s like asking, “As a heterosexual male, would you rather hook up with Megan Fox or this half-retarded midget with facial hair and three teeth?” (I guess some people have their fetishes) And given that more people live in the eastern time zone than any of the others (and almost three times as many as in the pacific time zone), why are the networks (CBS in this case) inconveniencing us easterners just so those inferior human beings out west can catch the first three minutes of the game? The answer has to be money, yet I can’t imagine more people are exposed to more commercial time with a 9:21ET start than with an 8:21ET start. As I laid it out above - and keeping in mind that the eastern time zone is the most populous time zone - it would seem to me that more people are exposed to more minutes of the broadcast with the earlier start time. I don’t know exactly how the ratings system works, but perhaps they only measure viewers at the beginning of the program? I don’t know, and I don’t really care. The bottom line is I am unhappy with these sporting events starting so late at night and I would like to see a change take place. I mean, what happens if I get a job we’re I’m not as important and I have to actually get to work by 7 or 8AM?

Got comments? Leave ‘em below or email me at mfh@subwaychatter.com. I am especially interested in hearing from anyone residing in the pacific time zone or who knows how the ratings system for television programs works.

Keep the votes coming!!! After more than 1,300 of you have cast your ballots, Carrie Underwood holds a slight 2-percent lead on Hayden Panettiere. Can Hayden pull out the ‘W’ before the buzzer sounds at midnight, or will Carrie hang on to claim the title as the hottest hottie of 2008? Only you, SC Nation, can decide…

(7) CARRIE UNDERWOOD

(8) HAYDEN PANETTIERE

On behalf of MFH, I’d just like to say WE TOLD YOU SO!!!. Hopefully you all followed our advice and won big bucks in your respective pools– I tore down the nets in all three of mine thanks to Mario Chalmers (or Memphis’ choke-job from the foul line, whichever you prefer). And if you didn’t? Well, at least now you’ll where to come before filling out your brackets next year.

Just think– if you all voted the right way, she’d be blowing this kiss to you, SC Nation…

Frankly, I’m just astonished by what transpired in the Foxy Four and, for that matter, in the Regional Finals as well. My only hope is that the actual Final Four will be just as unpredictable because that may make up for the lack of Madness we had this March (save for Stephen Curry). Since I’m practically speechless over the crimes committed against Alessandra Ambrosio, Stacey Keibler, and Marissa Miller– though Miller kinda got what she had coming to her after that dubious win over Double-A (Not to mention the injustices carried out upon Penelope Cruz, Adriana Lima, and Julianne Hough in the earlier rounds. Yeah, I’m bitter. Big woop, wanna fight about it?)– I’ll just introduce the title game participants and be outta here: it’s Hayden Panettiere v. Carrie Underwood. If you want to blame anyone for this somewhat lackluster (both of these chicks are ridiculously hot, so that’s obviously a relative term) matchup, point the finger at the dude from Virginia who voted for each of these chicks more than 400 times. Sorry, we don’t like to call our readers out like that, but if you’re going to waste your entire Friday night voting, and you continue to do it from the same IP address so that we basically know who you are and where you’re voting from, well then you fully deserve to feel the wrath of SC Nation (In a figurative sense; please, we don’t need another crazy here). Championship Game polls stay open until 12AM PST Wednesday and the winner will be unveiled Wednesday afternoon. Get your vote on and good luck to our contenders…

(7) CARRIE UNDERWOOD

(8) HAYDEN PANETTIERE

Keep the votes coming in the 2008 Subway Chatter Tournament of Hotties Foxy Four, but just so you’re all aware– if Carrie Underwood really does advance to the Championship Game and, let’s say for argument’s sake, wins the whole damn thing, the photo tribute page we compile for her is going to be awfully tame. I mean I’m sure enough of you have scoured the internet in a desperate attempt to find racy pics of her and, well, they simply don’t exist. That being the case, at least make our jobs here at Subway Chatter that much more enjoyable by voting for a chick (Marissa Miller) who would give us the opportunity to put together a Championship shrine that featured way more skin and a whole lot more boob-age (somehow I think you’ll all benefit from that arrangement too). Polls close in 3 hours!!!

Hey everyone, be sure to get your votes in for the 2008 Subway Chatter Tournament of Hotties Foxy Four!!! Polls close at 12AM PST tonight.

Oh yeah, and do your part to make sure Marisa Miller moves on to the Championship Game, because if she doesn’t, you’ll only have yourself to blame, SC Nation.

I was all set to write up a Final Four preview, but I have something on my mind that I just can’t shake. Throughout the first 26 ¼ years of my life I have had tremendous respect for my father. Well, that respect has fallen a notch. During a conversation between my sister and mother about American Idol, my father chimed in with his views on who should go now, who should go later, who should be the final two, who actually will be the final two, and who should win. MY FATHER! I don’t even know what’s real anymore. (Speaking of American Idol, make sure to vote for/against Carrie Underwood in the Subway Chatter Tournament of Hotties Foxy Four). And now enough American Idol talk, let’s get to something that actually matters…

This year marks the first time in history all four one-seeds made the Final Four in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. This sets the stage for possibly the most competitive Final Four in the shot clock era. I, like many of you, usually like to see a lot of upsets during the early rounds of the tournament; it makes those first two weekends much more exciting. However, Cinderellas generally don’t fare well once they leave their region, leading the Final Four games to be more disappointing than a Saturday night out in Wayne, New Jersey. This time around, we shouldn’t have to worry about that. This year’s Final Four competitors were the four best teams all season long, and all of them come in playing great basketball. We should be in for three extremely exciting, well-played games this Saturday and Monday - quite possibly the most exciting Final Four ever.

North Carolina comes into the Final Four looking damn near unstoppable. They are playing better than they have all season, and Ty Lawson’s presence (and health) has everything to do with it. Back in my Duke-Carolina round 1 review I mentioned that this is a completely different team when Ty is on the floor, and they have proven me right (we all should be used to it by now) during the ACC and NCAA tourneys. It doesn’t hurt that Tyler Hansbrough is solidifying his Player of the Year chances with the best play of his college career during this post season (even if he does look like the bastard child of Rodney Dangerfield).

Kansas is fresh off their win over tourney darling Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats. Some people are down on the Jayhawks because of the way Davidson was able to keep that game close, but Kansas shot dreadfully from outside the paint in that game which is very uncharacteristic of them. I would not expect a repeat of that shooting performance in the Final Four, especially from Brandon Rush, who was 1 of 5 from three-point-land. Kansas is the best outside shooting team left, and are the most likely to catch fire from beyond the arch. If they do, nobody is going to beat them. Against Carolina they’re going to have to get good performances from Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, and Sasha Kaun, the big goofy Russian, not the petite American figure skater (please don’t write to me that her name is Cohen, I know it is). If these three can handle the boards and defend Rodney Dangerfield Jr. with some success, Kansas should be able to pull out a victory over the Tar Heels.

Just like North Carolina, Memphis enters the Final Four looking nearly unbeatable, making Michigan St. and Texas look like mid-major teams. They are a big, athletic team, and suddenly they can also hit their free throws. It certainly doesn’t hurt them to have the best point guard in the country, Derrick Rose, handling the ball for them. Memphis has looked more and more impressive with each passing game, and if they keep up the trend, my pick of UCLA in the finals will most likely prove false. They will be up against a different type of team in UCLA, as the Bruins concentrate on playing really tough defense. It will be interesting to see how Memphis reacts to the toughest defense they’ve seen all year. I do think they can run on UCLA, but if they are forced to run their half court offense most of the game, that is a huge advantage to the Bruins.

UCLA was the pre-tournament plurality pick to win it all this year because of their talented offense, great defense, and All-American center Kevin Love. After surviving a scare from Texas A&M, the Bruins have looked like title contenders, taking care of, cinderella western style, Western Kentucky, and then thumping Xavier in the Western Region Final. Those who hadn’t seen Kevin Love play this year and thought he was just another overrated white kid have been shown the light in this tournament. Despite that stupid chin strap that makes me want to spit in my hand and then use said hand to slap Love across the face, the kid can flat out play – averaging a double, double this year. At 6-10, 270 he can battle with the bigs, but has a sweet stroke from the outside to complement point guard-like passing skills. He’s the modern day version of Christian Laettner (who you may recall led Duke to back-to-back NCAA titles), right down to the way I expect his NBA career to play out. I look forward to seeing how he handles Joey Dorsey, the big, athletic Memphis forward who will most likely be guarding Dr., I mean Mr. Love.

Pre-tourney I picked Kansas over UCLA in the finals so I have to stick with that now, however their two semifinals opponents are playing fantastic basketball right now. Regardless of the outcome, if this Final Four turns out to be as competitive as it’s shaping up to be on paper, perhaps my father will talk about college basketball again instead of the little fairy kid getting kicked off of American Idol. And ultimately, that is what I am rooting for.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present to you the…

2008 TOURNAMENT OF HOTTIES FOXY FOUR!!!

Get your votes in to see who’ll play in this weekend’s Championship Game!!! Polls stay open until 12AM PST Saturday.

I don’t know which I’m more excited about, the NCAA men’s Final Four –- which tips off this weekend — or the inaugural Subway Chatter Tournament of Hotties Foxy Four, which commences today. The Final Four promises to be one of the best in recent memory, but there’s plenty of time to get to that later in the week. Right now I want to discuss the Foxy Four. You have to hand it to these four gorgeous women– they worked their way through a tremendous field of beauties. Not a single one-seed made it out of their respective region, which is a testament to the parity in the field this year. As I get over the disappointment of super sexy Tiffany getting the boot from Beauty and the Geek, I will go through a quick recap of each participant’s road to the Foxy Four.

Probably the least surprising is Jessica Biel coming out of the movie region. After seeding these hotties, I had an argument with my friend Alvie over who deserved the one-seed in the movie region: Biel or Alba. It turns out Alvie was right (savor the flavor kid ‘cause it doesn’t happen often). It seems Jessica Alba was hindered by the whole pregnancy thing and Ms. Biel took the battle of the Jessica’s in an extremely close one. Apparently SC Nation doesn’t like their chicks impregnated by douchebags. With the exception of the regional finals, Biel’s run through the Movie Region was uneventful. She easily disposed of Natalie Portman and Halle Berry before taking down Elisha Cuthbert in a closer contest. I have to make her the favorite to knock off Hayden Panettiere and advance to the Championship Game.

In the wide open TV Region, our youngest competitor, Hayden Panettiere, turned away WWE vixen Stacey Keibler’s bid for a Foxy Four appearance. I don’t know what it says about our readers that the winner of the TV Region is barely legal, having taken out significantly more mature beauties like Sofia Vergara (aka the bitch who knocked out MFH’s future wife in the first round) and Eva Longoria. I’m not going to lie, I’m very surprised at this eight-seed’s run to the Foxy Four; perhaps we have more sci-fi geeks reading our site than I thought. I think her magic has run out though, as Jessica Biel is too strong for this cheerleader. Hayden may surprise me with a 1985-Villanova-like performance, but I think Biel’s experience should really shine through in these later rounds, while Panettiere’s inexperience will ultimately mean her demise.

The stunning Carrie Underwood capped off a surprising run through the Music Region with a shocking victory over powerhouse and notorious imbecile Jessica Simpson, completing the Simpson sweep. It looks as though I’m not the only one who thinks Tony Romo made a bad choice dropping Carrie Underwood for that dummy (though, full disclosure, I voted for Jessica because I do think she’s hotter). The seven-seeded Underwood began her magical run by disposing of the younger, big-nosed Simpson (you know, the one who sings so poorly you almost wish throat cancer upon her). In the second round, my American Idol pulled off a shocking upset over the 2nd-seeded sometimes dirty, sometimes sweet Christina Aguilera, leading some to speculate that SC Nation prefers their girls somewhat wholesome. The Sexy 16 brought on Shakira, who, with only one name, didn’t stand a chance against Care Bear (it’s my pet name for her…she likes it). Although she already took out one juggernaut, I can’t see her getting past Marissa Miller to make the finals.

SI swimsuit goddess Marissa Miller persevered through the grueling Modeling Region –- by far the toughest region in this year’s bracket -– to get to the Foxy Four. In the opening round Miller easily brushed aside hall-of-famer Heidi Klum, who just doesn’t quite have it anymore. In the second round Marissa took down SC favorite, and Vegas’ Cinderella pick, Paige Butcher, in a closer match-up. After those two difficult wins, things just got tougher as double M went up against many people’s Foxy Four pick, Adrianna Lima in the Sexy 16. Again Marissa was up to the tremendous challenge and squeaked by Lima despite the complaints filed by some readers. Things only got tougher for Ms. Miller as she met up with the unanimous SC writer choice to come out of the Modeling Region, Alessandra Ambrosio. Double M took down Double A in another close one, making me 0-4 in the regional finals.

This promises to be an exciting Foxy Four, however I think there is a clear favorite in each semi-final match-up. Provided the seeds hold and Jessica Biel meets Marissa Miller in the finals, it could be a historic championship event for the 1st annual Subway Chatter Tournament of Hotties. I don’t know who wins out of those two, but I do know of one sure winner in all this: SC Nation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an announcement to make– after random drug tests were administered to all of the Tournament of Hotties Regional Finals participants, it was discovered that Marisa Miller tested positive for a banned performance enhancer called Silicone. As such, Marisa will forfeit all of her tournament victories, and Alessandra Ambrosio will now represent the Modeling Region in the Foxy Four.

APRIL FOOLS!!! (Though I’m not kidding about her nah-nahs, those are actually fake. Sorry if I ruined anyone’s life with that harsh reality.) Check back with us later this afternoon/evening for the unveiling of the 2008 Tournament of Hotties Foxy Four!!!

Thanks for all your votes, SC Nation! After more than 7,000 of you cast your ballots in the Tournament of Hotties Regional Finals, Subway Chatter will unveil the 2008 Foxy Four Tuesday afternoon. (Hint: the chick pictured above will be included in the festivities)

Yes, SC Nation, the Regional Finals of the 2008 Tournament of Hotties have arrived! Unfortunately, there were no Stephen Curry-like performances to speak of in the Sexy 16. The closest thing we had to a Davidson– 13th-ranked Candice Hillebrand– was outfoxed by America’s hottest living jinx, Jessica Simpson, in the Music Region. And 6th-ranked Shakira– who was apparently riding a massive wave of support from guys in their mid-20s who still believe Shakira’s hips don’t lie (hi-yo!)– finally ran out of gas against country cutie Carrie Underwood. And yes, you’re reading that right– it’s gonna be Tony (H)omo’s GF and Ex duking it out to see who’ll be moving on to the Foxy 4!!! Not surprisingly, the other matchups are just as good, with Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel squaring off in the Movie Region, while Hayden Panettiere and Stacey Keibler vie for the title of hottest hottie in the TV Region. The matchup of the Tournament thus far is in the Modeling Region though, where Alessandra Ambrosio and Marisa Miller will meet in a contest that could just as easily double as the Championship Game for the Tournament of Hotties. Alright, enough previewing… (though check out MFH’s breakdown of the Sexy 16 ’cause it’s better than this one) it’s time to vote!!! Regional Finals polls will stay open until 12AM Tuesday.

VISIT THE MOVIE REGION…

VISIT THE TV REGION…

VISIT THE MUSIC REGION…

VISIT THE MODELING REGION…

I know Jessica Biel is hot, but I was holding out hope that Elisha Cuthbert (the future Mrs. MFH if Julianne Hough turns me down) had enough to take her down. Have you all seen The Girl Next Door? At least I did a good job seeding the movie region with the 1 and 2 seeds meeting in the regional final.

I can’t say I’m too surprised with the results of the TV Region, although I did think Vanessa Marcil – who got my vote – would squeak out a win over Stacey Keibler. Let’s face it though, Keibler had a huge height advantage (almost a foot) and that is just too difficult to overcome. Also, being one of the older competitors in this competition, I think Marcil, whom I was hoping to run into while I was in Vegas (did you know the Montecito isn’t a real hotel?), just ran out of gas.

It wasn’t tough to predict that Jessica Simpson would be a powerhouse in the Music Region – the weakest region in this year’s tourney. I was a little surprised by Shakira’s run through the first two rounds, and I’m pleasantly surprised that Carrie Underwood has what it takes to make the erotic 8 (or erection 8, what did we finally settle on?). I do expect Simpson to win the battle of “Tony Romo’s been there” by a fairly substantial margin. Either way I’d like to beat the hell out of Tony Romo just because he has such a better life than I do.

The strongest region this year has definitely been the Modeling Region. I knew Giselle was ripe for an upset and this was the round I was looking for it to happen. Let’s face it, Alessandra Ambrosio deserved better than a 5 seed (someone should have words with the committee over that dropped ball). She has to be the strongest 5 seed ever to partake in a 64 or 65 member tournament. I saw her making the regional final from the beginning and she has not disappointed, with three super strong performances. It’s rare to see a one seed get spanked like Giselle did in the Sexy 16 (yes I did just make reference to Giselle getting spanked). Speaking of spankings, I knew Marissa Miller was tough, but I thought Adriana Lima would put up a little more of a fight than she did. This was really not her best showing, I know she has more in her. This regional final is going to be a dog fight…er, cat fight. My money is on Double-A in a tight one.

Wait, did you think I meant thoughts on the NCAA tournament? I guess I can give you a few of those as well:

I love the way West Virginia plays basketball and I am a fan of Joe Alexander. The kid can flat out play. He actually reminds me of myself in my younger days, except I didn’t have the spring he has (however I would have made the free throw at the end of regulation to put them up one). Even though I had Xavier moving on in my bracket I was really rooting for WVU, mainly because I’d love to see those animals that attend West Virginia burn down half the campus in celebration if they went to the Final Four. This West Virginia-Xavier game was a great game, the kind of game you expect to see in the sweet 16. Unfortunately, this was really the only one this time around.

Western Kentucky hung in with UCLA for a while, which certainly was a surprise to me. They got down big and then came back to make it a game, but you never really got the feeling they actually had a shot to win. By the time there were two minutes left, UCLA was up ten and I was wishing I hadn’t stayed up until 12:30. UCLA looks vulnerable, but I think they match up pretty well against Xavier and they should stroll into the Final Four.

Carolina-Washington St. went exactly as I expected. Wazu kept Carolina’s score low, but failed to score more points than my fifth grade team (Editor’s note: we won the league championship that year, for the record) used to score and got blown out.

Tennessee looked bad in their loss to Louisville. They looked like a compilation of very gifted athletes with very little basketball intelligence. I really like Bruce Pearl. I think he did a good job with UW Milwaukee. He has a good sense of humor about himself and he obviously has a great passion for the sport and for his school. So it pains me to say this: Bruce Pearl may not be that great a coach. If you watched the game against Louisville you saw a very talented streetball team take on the Cardinals, who are coached by one of the best in college basketball. I was baffled as Tennessee constantly looked out of control trying to force themselves into the lane while throwing up blind, acrobatic shots that might go in 2 out of 10 times. Any good coach would have calmed them down and forced them to run an offense. Instead, they continued to look like an And-1 mixtape squad right through to the end of the game. You would think after four straight times rushing down the floor and wildly going at the basket 1 on 3, only to come up empty, an adjustment would have been made. But inexplicably there was no adjustment, and so predictably Louisville ran away with the game. Unfortunately for the ‘Ville, Carolina is well-coached, with more talent than Tennessee.

The Friday games were all blowouts, so there isn’t much to say. How about Davidson though? Stephen Curry is one hell of a player. If I had known he was this good before the tourney began, I would have picked them to go to the elite 8 in my pools rather than having them fall to Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. The kid (and the team) is truly a treat to watch. Too bad for them, they have to play Kansas on Sunday. Kansas is no Wisconsin or Georgetown; the Jayhawks will definitely put points up on Davidson. That said, despite having Kansas winning the whole thing, I would love to see Davidson pull a George Mason. However, I think they get beat by close to 20 on Sunday.

And now time for a little bragging:
Heading into this round I was in the 96.4 percentile on ESPN because of my uncanny ability to pick winners. I didn’t go upset crazy just so I could brag about picking San Diego (which I did not) and Siena (which I did) both right, while at the same time picking ten other upsets that never materialized. I have seven out of the eight Elite 8 teams correct and all my Final Four teams still alive. I hope you’ll keep this in mind next year when you think about ignoring my advice like some of those suckers out in Vegas did when I pushed Siena, Kansas St, and Davidson in the first round and West Virginia in the second round (which sadly I could not, as a Duke fan, put my own money behind).

Leave your own thoughts on either tourney in the comments section down below. Or email me with thoughts, ridicule, praise, or the addresses of any of our Tournament of Hotties competitors at mfh@subwaychatter.com

Another tournament game, another 30-plus-point performance for Dell’s boy, which begs the question– if Davidson fails to knock off Kansas… or UNC… or anyone else between now and San Antonio, will Curry be the first guy to be named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player regardless of whether or not his team is the one cutting down the nets after the Championship game?

Sexy 16 polls close later tonight at 12AM PST!!! Vote for your favorite hotties and then check back with us tomorrow to see who moved on to the Regional Finals!!!

VISIT THE MOVIE REGION…

VISIT THE TV REGION…

VISIT THE MUSIC REGION…

VISIT THE MODELING REGION…

I love March Madness. One of my favorite things to do has always been to park myself on the couch and watch the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Each year I will be watching the tournament, captivated by the dogfights and the upsets, thinking to myself, “it doesn’t get much better than this.” Well I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong (it doesn’t happen often). It DOES get much better. All of those years I could have been watching the game from a pool or a Vegas sports book, surrounded by twelve of my friends, being served free drinks by beautiful women. That’s right, as some of you know, this year I spent the first two rounds in Las Vegas with twelve of my friends. We went out there with one thing in mind— to bet on the NCAA tournament. While we were there, though, we figured we might as well have a ridiculous time. My only regret is that I was unable to stop you idiots from ousting the future MFH, Julianne Hough, in the first round of our Tournament of Hotties. Unlike The Sports Guy, I was too busy having fun to actually take the time to jot down notes on my trip. (And unlike The Sports Guy, I picked Kansas St. to take out USC in the first round while he had the Trojans going to the Final Four.) On the flip side, it’s now practically impossible for me to remember many details from the trip.

One event that does stick out in my mind is the Siena-Vanderbilt game on Friday afternoon. Most of our crew grew up right near Siena and have been rooting for them since we were kids. We all bet them pretty heavy against the spread and on the money line, and then we proceeded to take over a good-sized section of the Palms sports book, many of us donning the Siena Green and Gold. We told everyone who walked near us to bet Siena, “It’s a lock.” We had spent the early part of the day drinking by the pool and at the tables, so we were already a little drunk, but we convinced the cocktail waitress to keep fresh drinks coming our way for the whole game and make the rest of her area an afterthought. We cheered exceptionally loud for every good Saints’ play and shouted down anyone who dared clap for a Vandy bucket. To say we were a little obnoxious is to say Alessandra Ambrosia is mildly attractive. But that is exactly the way we wanted it. By halftime we controlled the entire sports book. We did a couple rounds of shots (that were promised if Siena took a lead into halftime) and mocked Roy, the poor fellow who, despite our warnings, bet Vandy and talked smack to us at the beginning of the game. As the Saints pulled away in the second half behind a phenomenal performance from Kenny Hasbrouck and great shooting by Tay Fisher, my friend Gus and I turned to each other and simultaneously exclaimed, “Oh my god, they’re actually going to do it.” To his credit, Roy hung in there as we danced around him chanting, “The Saints are coming” and other phrases that don’t translate well on paper but drew laughs from the crowd. In the final minutes we received numerous ‘thank you’s’ from the patrons who headed our words and bet Siena, “just because of you guys.” In the end, Siena won by 21, we all scored big on our bets (which we all lost back and then some at the tables), and we had one of the most enjoyable two-hour spans we’ve had in years. (Which was preceded by, and followed by many more of the most enjoyable two-hour spans we’ve had in years. After all, we were in Vegas.)

By the end of the trip, all twelve of us had lost money. One of the crew was detained by the police, one infiltrated a “vagine” that did not cost money, two fell in love with cocktail waitresses who claimed they were married, four had the best dinner ever at N9NE without paying the $450+ bill (thank you, Mr. Underhill), one walked the paparazzi line at Pure during K-Fed’s birthday party, six saw Fuk Yu and Fuk Me, one had the best week of his life twenty minutes into the trip, one went 38 straight hours without so much as a nap, three were turned off from Baccarat forever, four were kicked out of Coyote Ugly three minutes after arriving, one made out with a three hundred pound woman in the taxi line outside of Caesar’s…on purpose, and the following quotes (which could really only be said in Vegas) were either said or heard:

“Next thing I know, she’s makin’ out with my weena!”

And that’s just what I remember. Vegas baby, Vegas.