Congratulations, Jordan, on summiting to the Championship Throne!

Thank you, All, for participating in the 20th Annual Putnam Family March Madness Tournament!!

See you next March!

Day Ten – Domination

I believe that they will win!! Put two Exclamation Points on the 2023 NCAA Basketball Championship and the Annual Putnam Family March Madness Tournament!! UConn and Queen Christine won in dominating fashion, with the Huskies winning all their Tournament games by double digits and Christine doubling up almost everyone on the final APFMMT scoreboard. The domination was also historical. The Gampel Goliaths won their 5th National Championship and Christine claims her record 4th APFMMT Crown. Congratulations!!

Before we get to our Awards Ceremony, let us have a moment of silence as we bid farewell to Jim Nantz, he of the voice unlike any other. Since his Broadcast News-like ascent from KSL to the nation's top sportscaster, Jim has serenaded us through 32 Final Fours and many Shining Moments. 

I have only one request of CBS - Can they get their puppies organized and retire Bill Raferty? Better yet, send him with Jim to be the color commentator for every CBS PGA broadcast (except The Masters!). Since Sir Nick left the broadcast booth, it's been a bit dull. Raf riffing with Jim on all things golf would be so bodhisattva.

Queen Christine, the engravers are hard at work adding your name to the APFMMT Relic of Fame. Queen Jane took fine care of the family heirloom and had it dusted and polished before returning it. We will schedule the Championship Ceremony when Spring arrives.

Many thanks to all our 19th APFMMT players. 

Now, let's hand out the hardware!

Joshua - Springville Silversmith

Drew - Bronze Bomber

Laura - Alpine Bound

Ryan - Kennel Keeper

Cassie - Should've Copied Mom's Bracket

Stephanie - Second Grade Superbloom

Crystal - I'm Too Young to be a College Student's Mom!

Don - Father of the Groom

Jane - Taking Back the Crown in '24

Clark - Top Kid

Jordan - Turn Champion

Dad - Founder's Trophy

Melody - Glamping Grammy

Seamus - Auto Aficionado

Audrey - Middle School, Here I Come!

Rhett - Let's Ride!

Thomas - Seizing Power in September

Bob - Hey, I'm #19

John - .44 Magnum

Caran - Garden Isle Gal

Liz - Magnificent Multitasker

Emily - Enough Snow! It's Cabin Time!!

Nathan - Thriving Hands

Briana - All That Jazz

Rich - Purple Power

Jack - Julia Picked My Bracket

Sean - Westward, Ho!

Kaley - Ready to Thunder in CC

Day Nine – Grand Slam

It's more than fitting that Houston is hosting the NCAA Championship 40 years removed from what was supposed to be Phi Slamma Jamma's coronation. While UKONG didn't come into the the Tourney with the swagger or media presence of the 1983 Cougars, the marvelous Mushers have obliterated the five teams they've faced and have quickly become the overwhelming favorite to cut down the nets. 

Just like the 1983 Tournament, the first semi-final while interesting, was about which team would win the National Championship participation trophy. Credit to the Fowls and the Monty Montezumas for 32 minutes of entertaining and competitive roundball. 

The final 7+ minutes of the contest went from Final Four to Frozen Four with both teams stuck in the mid-60's. Turnovers, missed shots, and clanked charity tosses nearly turned the game into a chokefest. With frantic FLANTIC up one and the shot clock winding down, 'Down and Out' Davis dove to the tin only to have his shot ejected by 'Dope' Arop, who quickly got the ball to 'M' Lord' Butler for the driving game winner. A shining moment in Sun Diego sports history indeed!

Miami played Louisville to UConn's Houston in the game that really mattered. The Huskies got out to a fast start only to have the Hurricanes rally and tie it at 19. After that, UC Stoors steadily built a working margin and efficiently cut down the 'Canes. With the outcome assured, finding replacements for 'Pick In' Pack's bad sneakers and learning which Lionel Richie cancíon Coach 'Lungs' Larranaga would sing to console his team were the only questions left to be answered. Replacement shoes found and Tonight Will Be Alright.

Congratulations to Queen Christine on capturing her fourth APFMMT Crown! It was meant to be. This is what she read this morning:

Monday night, we'll find out if SDSU can replicate North Carolina State's upset for the ages, hand out the 2023 APFMMT Awards, and get ready to shovel more white concrete.

Day Eight – U Kong vs The New Kids

How many brackets had SDSU playing Creighton? Only rabid fans of the Aztecs and the Jays. In a game that featured the Immovable Object vs the Unstoppable Force, would Sun Diego be able to ground the high flying Blue Birds? Absolutely, but they also needed enough offense to come out on top.

With both teams unable to get it going from deep, mid-range jumpers and tin runners were the only way to put points on the board. In a physical game with only 22 total fouls evenly split among the teams, Team Buffet gave as good as they got from the Western Mountain men. Ironically, the outcome came down to charity tosses after State did its best to give the game away. 

I'm in the camp that Zebras should keep their whistles from deciding a game unless a foul is egregious. Hard to tell if the whistle on 'Ontario' Nembhard crossed into the egregious zone. A tip o' the cap to 'Alan' Trammell for hitting the game-winning FT and sending the MWC's first team to the Final Four.

Without their star Chef, UT faced a tall task in trying to takedown the U. For 33 minutes it looked like the Eyes of Texas would find their way home at last. Alas, it was Miller Time as Jordan bowled a perfect game to lead Miami to the W. Fellow 'Canes 'Osprey' Omier, 'Tall' Poplar, 'Picken' Pack, and Wong 'Chung' were also outstanding for Coach Nightshift. South Beach will be up all night long celebrating its first time in the Last Dance.

While our Leaderboard remains unchanged, only Miami stands between Christine and her record fourth APFMMT crown. 

Tune in next Saturday to see if Joshua can hold on to claim his first APFMMT Title and the Cox Family's second Championship, or if Christine will ascend to the throne once more and add a sixth title to the Beecher Dynasty.

TC

Day Seven – #9 Dream

Was it just a dream? No, it was not. Coach May Day and his potent parliament of Owls are flying to Houston! In the new world of intercollegiate teleportation and NILs, FAU's performance may be a harbinger of Tournaments to come, where smaller schools attract team players that defend, spread the floor, score from any position, and blow up brackets.  

'Big Russia' Goldin, 'Ricky' Martin, 'Diamond' Davis, 'Going' Greenlee, and 'Run' Forrest proved to K State and the national viewing audience that team offense, timely shotmaking, and tenacious defense trumps one-on-five ball. 

Even though 'Last' Nowell went atomic again for Project Manhattan, he WAS the Wildcat offense and the only hope they had of winning. That's why it was so perplexing that he passed the pelota to 'Makossa' Massoud rather than take the final shot that could've tied the game and sent it into stoppage time. 

Win or lose next week, the Boca Raton beach boys have brought good vibrations to dreamers everywhere.

Compared to the scant NCAA resumes of KSU and FAU, Gonzaga and UConn have played in a combined 58 March Madness tournaments. East vs West, power conference vs mid-major, Blue Bloods vs Nouveau Riche, this game looked to have it all. It had it for 19 minutes and 55 seconds.

After the Huskies' 'Caravan' Karaban closed the first half with a 3, the UConn wrecking crew came out of the locker room and absolutely annihilated the 'Zags. Four fouls on 'Out of Time' Timme and only four made baskets outside of garbage time added up to the worst Tournament loss in Kennel history.

With the way the Steely Stoors dominated the West Region, any major dude will tell you that they are the prohibitive favorite to cut down the nets in NRG Stadium and take home the hardware for the fifth time.

Joshua and Drew stay #1 and #2 with Christine moving on up to #3. 

The Eyes of Texas are on Cassie and Melody!

TC

Day Six – No Ones Left

How many scouts were in the stands for the Alabama / San Diego State game? There were many top prospects displaying their NFL potential in Friday night's opener in Louis Ville.

After offensively challenged first and second quarters, both teams started moving the ball up and down the field. The Tide rolled to a 9-point lead late in the third quarter only to have the Axtecs go on a 12 - 0 run to grab a lead they would never relinquish. The SD Chargers used a swarming pass rush and controlled the arc of scrimmage to limit the Tuscaloosa Sabinators to 3 field goals in 27 attempts. Super Frosh, Brandon 'With A Gun' Miller led 'Bama's futility shooting just 10% of his targets and leaving the Oaters Title hopes lying in the rain. 

The Hurricanes blew into Kansas City and turned Houston's daydream of playing in front of hometown fans for the university's first National Championship into a nightmare. All Miami starters scored double digits as the Coral Gables Kids caned the Cougars for a season high 89 points in the Cat 5 blowout. 

Coach Jim 'Nightshift' Larranaga celebrated his team's second straight Elite Eight appearance by air discoing to the Commodores. Lionel Ritchie called to congratulate the coach, but couldn't get through because Marvin and Jackie were on the party line.

Pete Carril had to be smiling from his seat in the Great Hereafter watching the first half of the Princeton / Creighton game. Tigers coach, Mitch 'Kurt' Henderson dusted off his old coach's 1990's playbook and back cut the Bluejays for several easy buckets in the first stanza. 

In stanza two, Bluejays Baylor 'Big Dakota' Scheierman and Ryan 'Macaulay' Kalkbrenner would not leave the basket alone, leading Omaha Mutual to a double digit lead. During a timeout, Coach Kurt called the Wolfman who told him to get out of the man-to-man, switch to a 1-3-1 zone, and have a popsicle. The switch grounded the Birds for a few minutes before they solved the zone, tamed the Tigers, and soared into Sunday's matchup against Sun Diego State.

Texas was not about to be hooked out of a home state Championship try. The 'Horns got off to a hot start, stampeding to a 17-point halftime lead capped off by Timmy 'Swoop' Allen's half court buzzer beater. 

Even with team MVP Dylan Disu 'Chef' on the sidelines with an injury, UT was too much for the outmanned Musketeers. Texas coach Rodney 'Let's Win for Coach Beard' Terry is trying to follow Steve Fisher's path by becoming the second interim coach to win the Championship and get hired as the head coach.

With Alabama and Houston out, only Ryan, Cassie, Melody, and Christine have potential Championship teams remaining in their brackets. Some of our players' APFMMT point totals will remain winter-like for the remainder of the Tournament.

Joshua, Drew, and Laura are 1 - 2 - 3, but need help from FAU and UConn Saturday to hold their leads.

Still looking for Spring....

TC

Day Five – Mobile Garden

Thursday's Sweet 16 opener was a game for the ages as KSU and MSU went mano a mano for 40 minutes and then battled for another five before settling the score. East Lansing's Lizzos and The Manhattan Project turned Madison Square Garden into a long-distance shooting gallery by combining for 24 made 3's. AJ 'Hogwart' Hoggard and Tyson 'Chicken' Walker were sensational for the Spartans and MQ 'The Last' Nowell, KT 'Flyer' Johnson, and Ismael 'Soul Makossa' Massoud were warriors for the Wildcats. K-State finally triumphed on a One Shining Moment play where MQ threw a 40-foot pass to KT at the rim for a thundering reverse jam that rocked the Garment District and Chelsea.

Out in the desert, Mussel's men appeared to have spent too much time on the Strip. From the tip, the Huskies were quicker, faster, and mush better than the sloppy Hawgs. UConn's defense was set at Defcon 1 all game as Arkansas shot a miserable 31% from the field. Jordan 'Hawkeye' Hawkins was the star for Team Stoors as Coach Hurley Dan emptied his bench and even had the team managers pick up some NCAA Tournament experience.

FAU Coach Dusty May 'Day' was right on when he compared Tennessee's defense to a rugby match. Elbows to the ribs, open court tackles, bodies flying, bent rims...this was a game only Jordan and Drew could love. Heck, there were more floor burns than made baskets. Most of the game it looked like they were playing with a rugby ball rather than round cowhide. A tip of the scrum cap to the Owls for finding a way to tally more trys in vanquishing the Vols.

You knew UCLA and Gonzaga would be another classic match-up. These two teams have had some memorable battles and this one was indeed another. The Bruins chose to run with 'Dogs in the first 20 minutes and looked good doing it, scoring 46 and opening up a 13-point lead. Whatever Coach 'The Few, The Proud, The Fisherman' said at halftime sparked the Spokaners to lock down the UCLANs in the second stanza. 

Behind Timme Time's big night, GU caught the Californians and looked to be on cruise control for the win. After denying Jaime 'Hammer' Jaquez and the rest of the Bruins any points from the field for almost 12 minutes, Westworld caught fire in the final 120 seconds, outscoring the 'Zags 14 - 3 to take a one-point lead with 12 ticks remaining. Too bad Coach Mick 'The Knife' Cronin didn't watch the last play of the GU / BYU game as Julian 'Time Out of Mind' Strawther tickled the twine from the March Madness logo to elevate the Pride of the Palouse to the Elite Eight.

Joshua keeps the Day Five Yellow Jersey with Drew a point back. Laura and Crystal make their first appearances near the top of the Leaderboard in third position. Player of the Night honors go to Ryan for putting up 12 points with his 'Zags, KSU, and FAU selections.

For those of us enjoying the beautiful Spring weather in Utah...Happy Snow Shoveling!

Day Four – 16 to NYKY MONV

No doubt about it, in Sunday's opener Miller's Musketeers came ready to swashbuckle the Panthers. Six X-Men rattled the rims for double figures including Adam 'The Man From' Kunkel who tallied five treys. Coach Miller is proving you really can go home again.

The fur was flying in Carolina in the Battle for Wildcat supremacy. Markquis 'The Last' Nowell took over for the Purple Cats in the second half leaving the Cats from Kentucky and Sir Chuck blue. KSU coach Jerome 'Orange' Tang has done a masterful job managing his transfer portal assembled team. 

The Tale of the Tape in the intersectional M & M bout was interesting. Michigan St. couldn't buy a 3, but shot the rock well inside the arc and at the line. Marquette shot better outside the arc, but couldn't find the range inside or at the charity stripe. Coach Lizzo and his Sparty Muppets now motor to Manhattan to take on K. State. 

In East vs. West, UConn's Cylons proved too much for the SMU Galactica. Led by Adama 'By Your Command' Sanogo, the Cylons neutralized St. Mary's offense holding all the morose Moragans to single digits. 

What to make of Creighton? The Bluejays started the season with six straight wins and a Top Ten ranking before tailspinning and losing six in a row. That's ancient history now as Coach Dougy has his Birds flying. Ryan 'Rikki I Have Your Number' Nembhard had the Performance of the Day scoring inside, outside, and at the line to lead Team Buffet over the Texas Bears.

Isaiah Wong 'Chung' made sure Miami had fun Sunday night. Chung rang the bell for 27 in the U's Hoosier caning. Houston vs Miami next Friday to see which team lives or dies in KC.

Sunday night Cinderellas FAU and FDU staged a spirited contest. Alas, FDU used all of its magic felling Purdue. Johnell 'Not Janelle' Davis was outrageously good, leading the Owls of Atlantis with 29. Thanks for the memories, Fairleigh!

Timme Time was too much for TCU in Sunday's coda. With both teams shooting identical percentages from the field and the line, the 'Zag leader was the difference. Next Thursday's contest against UCLA should be another NCAA Tourney classic between the two best teams in the West.

Jane and Seamus joined the busted bracket brigade with Marquette losing. Five of ten championship selections have been sidelined in the first four days of the 2023 APFMMT.  

Joshua jets to the top of the Leaderboard and looks to ride Air Sampson to Houston. 

Many thanks to Mark and Caran for sending us another atmospheric river to celebrate Spring's arrival?!

TC

Day Three – BlueBloodBath

Could Kansas have won if Coach Self had not become medically undone? Probably not. The SawBacks Davonte 'Diamond' Davis and Ricky Council XV were too much for the Block Chalks in this game. In addition to watching their team take down a #1 seed for the second straight year, the Fayetteville faithful who made the trip to Des Moines were treated to Coach Eric celebrating the win by ripping of his polo and flexing his 'mussels'.

Duke, we hardly knew ye. After tearing through the ACC Tournament, the Devils looked like legit title contenders. Not so fast, fellow blue blood! Oliver 'King' Nkhamhoua and his Dreamsicle Court made sure the ghost of Coach K stayed in 2015. Our condolences to Sean who will leave NC without viewing a Durham Championship parade. 

By playing the first two games in their sweet home, Alabama avoided the fates of KU, Purdue, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Crimson Tide toyed with the Terrapins for 25 minutes before washing them out to the Gulf. Could this be the year 'Bama basketball reels in the years and finally gets to the Final 4?

Princeton aced its 2nd round test by mauling Mizzou. The Ivy Tigers have been impressive in their first two games and look to have been totally mis-seeded. If Baylor wins on Sunday, Princeton will have a chance to complete the second leg of the 'Tigers and Bears and Lions' Triple Crown.

Phi Blocka Hamma finally started playing like a #1 seed in the second stanza against Barkley's 'Burn. Houston channeled 1983 star, Larry 'Mr. Mean' Micheaux, by swatting 12 shots and running all over Birmingham's home team. Coach Kelvin and his Cougars can't wait to enjoy some Kansas City BBQ next weekend. Preferably, longhorn will be on the menu.

In other Saturday games, SDSU did in the 'Dins with suffocating defense, balanced offense, and 'Dutch' Dutcher's enigmatic smile. Tyger was tight from the stripe and Jaime had the hot hand in the Bruins negation of Northwestern. And, Dylan Disu 'Chef' had it cooking for the 'Horns as Texas survived a scare from the Pennsylvania Purrballs.

Chaos continues to wreak havoc to the APFMMT brackets with Jordan, Nathan, Crystal, Caran, Grandpa, and Sean seeing their champions sidelined Saturday.

Melody turned her 12-point day into a two-point lead over Drew and Jordan.

TC

Day Two – G.O.A.T. Upset

What in the name of New Jersey is going on in the 2023 Tournament!? Princeton taking out Arizona was amazing, but the Becton Dickinson Lilliputians winning a play-in game and then bouncing the Boilermaker Behemoths??? Absolutely stunning!!! 

Even more stunning is the Knights of Teaneck joining the Legends of March without winning their conference championship by backing into the Final 68 on an arcane NCAA rule that bans former D2 programs transitioning to D1 (NEC champion, Merrimack) from participating in postseason play. I know that was a long sentence, but I was able to write it in one breath.

And, it's not March Madness without the refs putting their thumbs on a few games. Xavier was Friday's beneficiary of Zebra benevolence as two Kennesaw State players were bumped, shoved, and hacked on their final possession with nary a whistle to be heard. It must've been Miller Time.

In our Plays of the Day, even though the first pitch has yet to be thrown in the MLB, Coach Penny was in mid-season form, rocketing a 100 mph water bottle after his team's loss to Del Boca Atlantic. And, in Kentucky's Friarfest, Providence's Clifton Moore managed to balance a charity toss on the back rim. Instead of not counting, he should've been awarded five points and given the game ball.

Other Friday outcomes included Gonzaga zip lining over Grand Canyon, Marquette making maple syrup of Vermont, Miami hated The Drake, UConn regaeled Iona, ASU fizzled out against TCU, and Baylor sent the Gaucho Amigos back to the Custerdome. 

Iowa State displayed its truly offensive lack of firepower by putting up only 41 points in the Psyclones loss to Pitt. St. Mary's did the WCC proud by ramming VCU. IU outshone the Golden Flashes, and the Wildcats out-clawed the Bobcats.

Creighton halted a redux of NC State's 1983 Championship run, and Coach Lizard Izzo won his 54th Tournament game.

With Purdue's loss, Thomas and Rich join Stephanie and Rhett on the bench of bracket uncertainty.

The trio of Melody, Jordan, and Drew are Friday's frontrunners!

TC

Day One – Goin' South

Welcome to the 19th Annual Putnam Family March Madness Tournament! How good it is to be back in the Brackets after a long, wet winter (unless you live in Arizona, Hawaii, Texas or North Carolina). The West has had so much snow and rain this year the Oregon Ducks couldn't find their way into the Tournament. Here's hoping we skip the April showers and go right to the flowers.

Two Thursday Upset Specials sent early shockwaves through the Putnam Family Pool. Virginia and Arizona added further first round infamy to their March resumes as Furman's Paladins bid the Cavaliers adieu and the Princes of New Jersey dispatched the Pac-12 champions.

Teams that impressed included the Crimson Tide rolling over the Islanders corpus, Duke dismantling Verbal Roberts, the JayHawks tearing down Howard Johnson, and Westwood depositing the UNC Bulldogs on the ash heap. 

The Longhorns showed they are all cattle by running roughshod over the Empire State Raiders, Penn State scorched the nets sending the other A&M into a Funk, while Tennessee almost got swamped by the Ragin' Cajuns, and Houston looked nothing like a #1 seed in staggering past the Norsemen.

In other First Day matchups, Mizzou ended Logan's Run, the Terps topped the Mountaineers, San Diego St. danced by Charleston, the Razorbacks exited the Illini, Auburn home-cooked the Hawkeyes, and Evanston U. sent BSU back to the Northwest.

The APFMMT welcomes Seamus Wall to our Brackets and welcomes back Laura and Don!

With the revolving door of the NCAA transfer portal and the fast fortunes of NIL payouts, prognosticating defies pretzel logic and is more speculative than ever. That our 29 players spread their championship selections across 10 teams shows how wide open the 2023 Tourney is.

Grandpa, Briana, Don, Kaley, Joshua, John and Bob are pinning their championship hopes on Houston hosting the Final Four. Drew, Audrey, Laura, Clark, Liz and Emily are expecting Alabama basketball to bring home the hardware. Jordan, Nathan, Crystal and Caran are counting on KU. 

Melody and Cassie are riding the Longhorns, while Jack and Sean are down with Durham Blue. Thomas and Rich are putting their pounds on Purdue in a potential showdown with Seamus' and Jane's Warriors. Stephanie and Rhett will need some magic to resurrect their brackets from Arizona's meltdown.

Ryan is staying faithful to Gonzaga and Christine has UCONN as her unicorn.

Grandpa showed he's still got game by going 13 of 16 to claim the top spot on Day One! 

TC

Day Ten – Historic Selflessness

Quite a capper to the NCAA Tournament tonight. Not the best basketball, but we witnessed the best in basketball. While this game will be remembered for Kansas winning its 4th National Championship in an epic comeback, I'll remember it for the best sportsmanship I've ever seen at this level. 

With Kansas up one with less than a minute remaining, UNC's 'Biscotti' Bacot slipped, re-injured his ankle, lost the ball, and fell to the floor trying to make a move to the basket. Instead of taking advantage of a 5-on-4 and scoring an easy bucket to seal the win, Kansas waited for Bacot to hobble up the floor and the referees to stop play. And if that wasn't enough, KU gave UNC one more opportunity to tie it by turning the ball over on the in-bound play. Selflessness, indeed!

Queen Jane rode KU's epic comeback and sportsmanship karma to also make history by going from last in 2021 to the top of the APFMMT in 2022. Adding to her 2008 and 2017 titles, Jane joins Christine as a 3-time champion. All Hail, Queen Jane!

Thank You, Fellow Hoopsters, for another amazing APFMMT.

Let's pass out the participation trophies!

Craig – Comeback POY

Josh – Top Cox

Drew – Quality Picks

Audrey – Audacious Debut

Crystal – Power Couple Champion

Rich – Route 66

Clark – Newcomer of the Year

Dad – Masters Champion

Ryan – In Gonzaga We Trust

Jace – Twin Winner

Jack – In Dad I Trust

Bob – More Years than Points

Jordan – Double Nickels

Melody – Matilda's Librarian

Briana – Jazz All-Star

Cassie – Did You Copy My Bracket, Mom?

Christine – No. You Copied MY Bracket

Sophie – How Did Jace Beat Me?

Kaley – Nova Believer

Liz – Tulip Queen 

Stephanie – Terrific Teacher

Caran – Who Filled Out My Bracket?

Emily – 2023 is My Year!

Nathan – King of the Grill

Rhett – Enough Basketball…It's Baseball Season!

John – Ground Control to Major Carr

Thomas – A River Runs Around Him

Bella – Bell of the Badger Ball

That's a wrap on the 18th APFMMT!  Until 202Trey!!! 

TC 

Day Nine – Roy's Revenge 

In his many years of coaching at Kansas and North Carolina, Roy Williams found his teams losing to Coach K and Duke more than winning. Coach Roy got his revenge tonight as Kansas wore down a depleted Villanova squad to advance to Monday's National Championship, while North Carolina put a period on Miguel Kruisinart's long and distinguished career.

In tonight's opener, Villanova was valiant, but without starting guard, Moore 'Baskets', and Coach 'GQ' Wright's designer suit, they never really had a chance. Kansans 'Schmicks' McCormack and 'Bayou' Agbagi had too much firepower for the smaller, undermanned Mildcats. KU got its own revenge from four years ago when 'Nova blasted the JHawks in the Final Four held at the San Antonio Thunderdome.

The nightcap turned into a great Final Four contest as UNC and Duke put on a show at Caesars Saladome. It was the Second Battle of 1812 as the teams exchanged the lead 18 times, were tied 12, and heard the crowd's raucous blare throughout. 'Villa' Banchero and 'Howard' Keels were dynamite for the Dookies, but Love 'Machine', 'Dagger' Davis, 'Biscotti' Bacot, and 'Mouth Breather' Manek were even better for the Heels. Congrats to the Powder Blue's first year head coach, 'Sweats' Davis, on restoring North Carolina to roundball relevance!

Which team will cut down the nets Monday night? Who will be crowned our APFMMT Champion? Will Jane join Christine as our second 3-time winner? Or will Drew and the Powder Blue have enough Qual Tricks to claim victory?  

Tune in Monday night as we wrap up the 18th APFMMT and hand out the hardware! 

TC 

Day Eight – DUNK

No underdogs this year in the Final Four. Miami and St. Pete's got our hopes up after the first three rounds, but both ran into reality today. Isn't UNC an #8 seed underdog? Hardly. The Heels ran roughshod over Duke in the final game of the regular season and have taken down Baylor and UCLA in the Tournament. Duke, UNC, Nova and Kansas…That's about as old school as it gets for the National Championship.

Big 12 power was on full display in the Midwest Regional Final. Miami went from Cat 5 McGusty in the first half to dying tropical depression in the second as KU went on a 47 – 15 run to take all the wind out of the Hurricanes. There hasn't been a such a second stanza stompdown since Tark's Runnin' Rebels ran Duke out of Denver in 1990. Coach 'Will I Am' Self exorcised his Elite 8 demons by getting Kansas back to the Final Four for the fourth time under his tutelage. With Villanova starting guard 'Less' Moore out with a torn Achilles, the JHawks appear to be in the Catbird seat for next Saturday's National Semi.

Thursday night seems so long ago for the plucky Peacocks. Like their avian mascots, St. Peter's couldn't get airborne today against the taller, faster Tar Heels. The Kids from Jersey City played dazed and confused most of the first half and could only hold serve in the second. 'Baconator' Bacot was a one-man wrecking crew for the Powder Blue, pouring in 20 points and ruling the rim with 22 rebounds. How much joy we feel to be treated to the 258th rerun of Duke vs North Carolina next Saturday. It's hoops Groundhog Day except we know future reruns won't feature Coach K strolling the sidelines.

Drew is looking good in the Daffodil Yellow Jersey and multi-point leads over his dad and sister as we pause for the pre-Final Four hype and buildup. Jane, Craig, Josh and Kaley have plenty of potential points riding on Saturday's games. 

Join us in April as the APFMMT rolls into the final weekend!

TC 

Day Seven – Two Much

The remaining #2 seeds took care of business in San Towns tonight to book their tickets to NOLA. One game featured two defensive dominators and the other two offensive orchestrators. Both games had legendary coaches going against younger coaches with legendary potential. Guess who won.

The way Houston rolled the #1 seed Wildcats on Thursday had many prognosticators picking the Cougars to repeat the feat against the #2 seed Wildcats. The Kelvinators had the home court advantage, tons of terrific athletes, and a defense Houdini couldn't escape. Wright? Wrong! Coach Jay and his Novas were super in caging the 'Cats offense, holding them to 5% shooting from outside the arc. 'Adams' Samuel and 'Charlie' Daniels supplied just enough buckets to take Villanova back to the Final Four for the third time in six years. 

Coach K's date with the rocking chair was postponed another week so he could attend his 13th Final Four. The Durham Devils were dynamite tonight with four players in double figures and two more with 9 points each. You don't find that kind of balance on a Cirque de Soleil high wire act. For the second time in the Tournament, Arkansas cheerleaders were called upon to give the Razorbacks a boost by dislodging the game ball stuck high above the hoop. The cheerleaders restored the basketball to the floor, but their Hawgs couldn't deny Duke its destiny.

Drew ascends to the top of the APFMMT while the Brothers Putnam enjoy a day in the top 2. Kansas and St. Peter's take center stage tomorrow. One more June day before we return to March!

TC