And the Winner is..........

Patrick Neville - 2013 Champion

Congratulations to Patrick Neville...the overall winner of this year's Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse!  Patrick was one of only two people out of 75 in the contest to have Louisville playing Michigan for the NCAA national title and he successfully predicted that the Cardinals would be the winner which meant that he'll snag the coveted Outback Steakhouse gift certificate as he ran away from the competition with 1370 points.

Ryan Workman and Joe Rinehart tied for second place behind Patrick with 1200 points each as they will both also snag a Bloomin' Onion thanks to the generosity of Outback, who allowed me to pick a few extra winners above and beyond what we originally agreed to.  (Really that's how they always operate....exceeding expectations at every turn!)

Patrick Neville's winning bracket

Additional Bloomin' Onion winners as selected by me are: Brian Vinson, who finished in third place with 1160 points, Mike Schreiber, who was one of only two people to have picked Michigan to win it all, Rob Oller, who only got 18 of the first 32 picks right but still made it all the way to a tie for fifth place for the entry with the biggest comeback, and James Mummert because he finished dead last and there are no losers among my friends.

One other winner was Greg Rhoads, who along with Mike had picked Michigan to win the national title, as he tied with Patrick by getting both Final Four winners correct on Saturday.

Thanks again to my 75 friends who jumped in and played.  Some have done it every year and for some this was the first time you ever filled out a bracket.  Let me know if you enjoyed it.  And, make sure to drop Outback a thanks on Facebook or Twitter.

Down to the Final Four

Well, the second week of the NCAA men's basketball tournament provided more drama, upsets, and buzzer beaters as well as new winners and leaders in the fourth annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse.

On the first day of the Sweet Sixteen last Thursday, 11 of the 75 people correctly picked two of the eight winners while two of the group's predicted champions went down with losses by Indiana and Miami (Fla.).  The Indiana loss affected the most brackets as 21 of the 75 people in the contest had them winning the whole thing with a good portion of the remaining people having them in the championship game.  Thursday's winner of the Bloomin' Onion courtesy of Outback is Darren Mahan, who vaulted into a tie for the top spot with Nate Okuley in the overall standings.

The second day of the Sweet Sixteen saw another predicted champion go down in Kansas and also saw Nate's run atop the leaderboard finally come to an end.  There were 14 people in our contest who correctly picked three of the eight winners right.  Friday's Bloomin' Onion winner is Jace Wolford, who can use it for fuel when he runs the Boston Marathon in a little over a week, as he moved into a tie for the top spot overall with Ryan Workman, who continues to lurk as a possible winner of the overall grand prize.

Darren Mahan and Jace Wolford

On Saturday, the Elite Eight got under way and only two people out of 75 got even one of the four games picked correctly with George Hartz and Mike Schreiber each picking one winner.  Ohio State got knocked out of the tournament and with the loss there were 16 more contestants who lost their eventual predicted champion.  George took over the top spot in the contest with his one correct pick, so that earned him the coveted Bloomin' Onion for the day.

On Sunday, the Elite Eight wrapped up with six people correctly picking two of the four winners.  My bracket officially went in the dumpster with Duke's loss, but I wasn't the only one as now 33 of the 75 people have officially been eliminated from title contention with no more possible points remaining from their picks.  Eric Smith claimed the Bloomin' Onion for the day as he moved to the top of the leaderboard, but that reign will be short-lived unless Wichita State and Syracuse both win on Saturday as he has no possible points remaining either.  Patrick Neville is just 10 points behind hoping for a Louisville national championship to add a steak dinner to the Bloomin' Onion he already won.

George Hartz and Eric Smith

The action will resume on Saturday when Michigan takes on Syracuse and Wichita State tries to shock Louisville.  Very few people nationally picked this improbable Final Four, but here's hoping for two more close games and then a lot of shining moments in the championship game on Monday.

Heading to the Sweet Sixteen

Well, the Sweet Sixteen will start this evening with four games on tap as we start the second week of March Madness.  How is your bracket faring these days?  I'm in the middle of the pack tied for 48th place out of 75 people in the Six Degrees of MVNUSID contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse.

The two days of the round of 32 last Saturday and Sunday saw lots more excitement with more upsets and now three teams who had been picked as eventual champions sent home in Georgetown, Memphis, and Gonzaga.  On Saturday, nine people correctly picked six of the eight winners and to choose the Bloomin' Onion winner I went with the person who got the most correct in a row and that is my twitter pal, Ali Schwanke, who went 6-for-6 on the day before finally stumbling.  It helped her jump way up in the standings.  Then, on Sunday, one person, the always entertaining Patrick Neville, correctly picked seven of the eight results to jump from 18th place all the way up to fourth.

Ali Schwanke and Patrick Neville were the round of 32 winners

Nate Okuley, who at one point got as high in the ESPN national bracket contest as 125th, continues to lead in the overall race with 490 points although he will be taking a few hits in the next couple of rounds as he already lost some of predictions.  Ryan Workman, one of my sports information friends, is right on his heels with 480 points just waiting for him to stumble.  The two of them have different champions picked, so it will get interesting to see what happens as the games continue.

Here's hoping that the excitement of the tournament continues with more great games and buzzer beaters.  Good luck!

And Then There Were 32....

Matt Schreiber

With only four upsets on Thursday in the first big day of March Madness, we should have all known that the upsets would be more plentiful on the second day and that's what happened as Freaky Friday ensued to shake up the Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest.  Six upsets took place in all with five of them being by double digit seeds including No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast shocking No. 2 Georgetown, No. 13 LaSalle knocking off No. 4 Kansas State, No. 12 Ole Miss sending No. 5 Wisconsin packing, No. 11 Minnesota bouncing the Bruins of No. 6 UCLA, No. 10 Iowa State ending the luck of the Irish by downing No. 7 Notre Dame, and No. 9 Temple getting past No. 8 North Carolina State.

First day winner Nate Okuley continued to do well as he followed up Thursday's 14-for-16 performance by going 13-for-16 on Friday to maintain a 20-point lead on the nearest competitor, Ryan Halley, who has been in second place both days.  However, Nate's bracket took a hit with the losses by Georgetown and Wisconsin as he had them in the Final Four and Elite Eight respectively.

Five other people joined Nate in correctly picking 13 of the 16 games on Friday.  Of the six people, Matt Schreiber, one of my running friends, has the most possible points remaining as he jumped from 27th to third place in the standings.  So, Matt is the Day 2 winner of the free Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion.

Matt Schreiber's Bracket

I managed to hold steady in the standings despite just going 11-for-16 on Friday.  It was good enough to move me from 12th place to seventh place as the standings shifted a bunch.  And interestingly enough, I actually have the most possible points remaining of anyone in the contest with 1,560.  That won't happen, but it's fun to speculate while I can.

The round of 32 action is tipping off and things should continue to get interesting as more upsets are bound to happen.  We already had one person lose their predicted eventual champion yesterday when Georgetown went down, and I'm guessing some others will follow the way this crazy season has gone.  Enjoy the ride!  And enjoy some Outback Steakhouse!  :)

First Day of March Madness is in the Books!

Nate Okuley

Well, the first day of March Madness is in the books!  There were a couple of upsets and some close games, but all in all things went pretty much as planned with only two games that wrecked much havoc on the brackets as No. 14 seed Harvard upset No. 3 seed New Mexico and No. 12 seed Cal knocked off #5 seed UNLV.  No. 12 Oregon over No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Wichita State beating No. 8 Pitt were the other two upsets although most people didn't have Oklahoma State or Pitt going much farther.

Greg Rhoads, Justin Ross, Bruce Petersen, and Hannah Gibbs went the longest out of the 75 people in the Six Degrees of MVNUSID contest with a perfect bracket as they each survived the first 11 games before the UNLV loss knocked them all out of the ranks of the unbeaten.  My only loss through the first 12 games was when No. 14 seed Davidson blew a nine-point lead in the final 5:23 to lose 59-58 to No. 3 Marquette as I stood at 11-1 as well.

The final four games of the night proved to separate the field a little as when all the dust settled one person stood alone at the top after day one - Nate Okuley.  Nate is one of my former student workers and a great guy and he went 14-2 on day one with his only blemishes being the losses by Pitt and New Mexico.  He correctly picked the other two upsets and then went with the higher seeds the rest of the way.  He has a 10-point lead on 10 other people who each went 13-3.  I'm in the next group tied for 12th after going 12-4.

Nate's Bracket

No one lost their eventual champion on the first day although one person did have New Mexico playing in the final game.  Of the 75 people, 23 picked overall top seed Louisville to claim the title, 21 went with Indiana, and 16 chose Ohio State.  I'm one of only two people to have picked Duke.

My guess is that things will get a little more interesting as the action tips off today on the second day of action with 16 more games on tap.  It will be interesting to see how things stand at the end of the day.  Enjoy!

A big thanks to Outback Steakhouse for sponsoring the bracket.  Nate will be enjoying a free Bloomin' Onion to celebrate his successful day one.  

It's March Madness Time, Baby!

It's that time of year once again for the annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID men's college basketball March Madness bracket contest!  You can check out the results from the inaugural event, the second year, and then last year when Jim Clark beat out 68 other people to grab the coveted Outback Steakhouse gift certificate and bragging rights for the year.

March Madness is a great time of year for college hoops junkies and even the casual fan. One of the best ways to follow the action is to fill out a bracket and then root for your picks to advance. Go the safe route and pick all the higher seeds or be the one person to take an underdog Cinderella team to the big dance. Either way, it's lots of fun to participate and bragging rights as well as some good food in this case are up for grabs.

That's where my contest comes in. For the fourth straight year, my contest is free to enter so there is no excuse not to get on board. The overall winner will receive a $20 gift certificate courtesy of my friends at Outback Steakhouse. And, they have been gracious enough to throw in free Bloomin' Onion cards for the winner of each round, too. So, the steaks (er...stakes) are high and you need to sign up today!!!

To enter, just follow this link to the private group that I have set up for my friends on ESPN's site. The group name is 6 Degrees of MVNUSID if you need to search for it and the password is MVNUSID. (If you need the back story on my history with Outback, you can read it here.  They've also helped me celebrate my last two birthdays in style - 40 and 41 - if you want to click on those links.  I would also encourage you to follow them on Twitter at @Outback.)

I'll look forward to having you join in on the fun. Your entry (only one per person) must be submitted before the first game tips off on Thursday around noon ET. The First Four games are not picked in this contest.

And The Winner Is.... (Part II)

Below is the acceptance speech that I received from Jim Clark as the winner of this year's Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse. Enjoy! :)

I had a dream!
By Jim Clark (NCAA GURU)
April 4, 2012

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration of NCAA basketball prognostication in the history of our nation and the Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse.

Several weeks ago, a great American named Dave Parsons, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, sent out an email with an invitation to join the Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to many who had been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to avoid the flames of withering injustice and to correctly pick the 2012 NCAA Tournament Champion. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long nights of our captivity.

But many years later, there are many who still have not won the big prize. Many years later, the life of many in our group is still sadly crippled by the manacles of improper selections and the chains of poor decision-making. Many years later, there are Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse members living on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity which includes ownership of the Outback Steakhouse Gift Card. Many years later, Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse members are still languishing in the corners of American society and finding themselves an exile in their own land of misfortune. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to cash a check (or claim an Outback Steakhouse Gift Card). When the architects of our Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest wrote the magnificent words - “please join my group”, they were signing a promissory note to which every one of us was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men and a few women, yes, men as well as women, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of an Outback Steakhouse Gift Card.

But there is something that I must say to you my friends who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining your rightful place you must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for an Outback Steakhouse Gift Card by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have never, ever come close to winning the Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for greatness left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of ridicule.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I had a dream. It was a dream deeply rooted in the quest for greatness as well as humility.

I had a dream that one day I would rise up again and live out the true meaning of the creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men (and women) are not created equal when it comes to predicting basketball games."

I had a dream that my three little granddaughters will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by whether their Grandpa won the Six Degrees of MVNUSID Bracket Contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to my office with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair an Outback Steakhouse Gift Card. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of the Six Degrees of MVNUSID into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that one day maybe each and every one of us would be privileged to redeem an Outback Steakhouse Gift Card.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

Let freedom ring from the rolling hills of the village of Cedarville!

Let freedom ring from Mount Vernon Nazarene to Cedarville University!

Let freedom ring from every Outback Steakhouse in the USA!

Let freedom ring from everyone eating a delicious Bloomin’ Onion.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of us as God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "I have won an Outback Steakhouse Gif Card, I have won an Outback Steakhouse Gift Card! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last!"

And The Winner Is...

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of this year's Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse is Jim Clark.

Jim, who is the assistant sports information director at Cedarville University, made his move after the Elite Eight round. George Hartz maintained his lead heading into the Final Four as he was one of 12 of the 69 entrants in my contest to pick three of the final four teams in the field correctly. He held a 950-920 lead over both Troy Current and Chris Bean at that point with Troy joining him in picking Ohio State to win it all and Chris having had his predicted champion, Duke, eliminated back in the first round. For his performance, George earned the coveted Bloomin' Onion card for that round.

In the Final Four, Jim joined eight other participants in correctly picking Kentucky and Kansas to advance to the national championship game as he claimed the Bloomin' Onion card for the round. At that point, it came down to who would win the championship game to see who would take home the grand prize.

In the title contest, Kentucky prevailed to give Jim the title, bragging rights, and the $45 voucher that Outback Steakhouse so generously donated. (Yes, originally, it was supposed to be $25, but they are so cool that they upped the ante.) I'm also throwing in a Bloomin' Onion card for runner-up, Jay Stancil, who only entered because Outback was involved, and I drew one more name from among the people who correctly picked Kentucky as the champion and that Bloomin' Onion card goes to Amanda Rykoff.

And for those wondering how bad my wife, Carla, beat me this year...she finished 12th out of 69 people with 1290 points, while I was a distant 22nd with 1200 points.

A big thank you to Outback for sponsoring the prizes for this year's contest. It would be great if you each took the time to follow them on Twitter and dropped them a note. Also, thanks to everyone who played along as this was the biggest field of participants yet. Here's hoping that even more people will join in on the March Madness next year.

Bloomin' Winners in the Bracket Contest

Well, NCAA March Madness is heating up as the Elite Eight games started today with half of the Final Four field determined. I've been on the road with our baseball team for most of the past two weeks and it's time to catch everyone up on what's been happening in the Six Degress of MVNUSID bracket contest sponsored by Outback Steakhouse.

The first day of action a week ago Thursday in the round of 64 saw a lot of people do extremely well as there were 11 of the 69 entrants tied after the day ended with 14 correct out of 16 games for 140 total points. I selected Adam Jackman as the Bloomin' Onion card winner out of the group that was tied since he went the longest without missing a game as he correctly picked the first 11 games before missing one. Ironically, Adam informed me that this was the first time he has ever entered a March Madness contest.

The second day of action saw the upsets begin to happen and that also led to a new leader atop the contest standings. Eric Smith claimed the second day Bloomin' Onion card after not only picking 13 of the 16 games correctly, but also taking over the contest lead in the process with 260 points total to edge Adam for the top spot as the round came to a close.

As the action moved to the round of 32, two entries rose to the top - Jace Wolford and George Hartz, who both correctly picked 13 of the 16 games for 260 points. George vaulted to the top of the contest leaderboard with 500 total points, while Jace made up for a sluggish first round (190 points) to jump into fourth place with 450 total points. I selected Jace as the Bloomin' Onion card winner based on the fact that he bounced back so well from his slow start. As a runner, he knows well that it's not how fast you start but how strong you finish.

The Sweet Sixteen saw 11 of the 69 contest entrants correctly pick six of the eight teams to advance as they each scored 240 points in the round. George stayed atop the leaderboard with 610 points followed closely by Chris Bean as they were two of the 11 people to correctly pick six of the eight winners. I selected Chris as the Bloomin' Onion card winner in exchange for the fact that he was the only one out of the 11 who has already lost his pick to win the entire tournament - Duke. Hopefully, the solace of a Bloomin' Onion will mask the pain of losing your champion, Chris. :)

That sets the stage for the Elite Eight which got under way on Saturday with Louisville and Ohio State both advancing. 15 of the entrants have now lost their predicted champion, and Kentucky reigns as the team picked the most to win it all - 30 times or by nearly half of the entrants. We'll see how the rest of this plays out and whether or not George can hang on to win the coveted Outback Steakhouse grand prize - a free dinner and bragging rights! (George's bracket is below.)


On a side note...it's now official. After a rare victory over my wife in last year's contest, she has already locked up the title in our house in this year's contest as we both have all the same picks remaining and she's got a huge lead on me. That mean's that she has prevailed in 11 of the last 20 years since we started competing against each other. Congratulations, Carla!

March Madness is Back!!!

It's that time of year once again for the annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID men's college basketball March Madness bracket contest. Two years ago, my wife, Carla Parsons, won the inaugural event, and last year Steve Wilging beat out 67 other entrants to claim his championship.

March Madness is a great time of year for college hoops junkies and even the casual fan. One of the best ways to follow the action is to fill out a bracket and then root for your picks to advance. Go the safe route and pick all the higher seeds or be the one person to take an underdog Cinderella team to the big dance. Either way, it's lots of fun to participate and bragging rights as well as some good food in this case are up for grabs.

That's where my contest comes in. For the third straight year, my contest is free to enter so there is no excuse not to get on board. The overall winner will receive a $25 gift certificate courtesy of my friends at Outback Steakhouse. And, they have been gracious enough to throw in free Bloomin' Onion cards for the winner of each round, too. So, the steaks (er...stakes) are high and you need to sign up today!!!

To enter, just follow this link to the private group that I have set up for my friends on ESPN's site. The group name is 6 Degrees of MVNUSID if you need to search for it and the password is Bonzer - well, 'cause that's what Outback is. (If you need the back story on my history with Outback, you can read it here. I would also encourage you to follow them on Twitter at @Outback.)

I'll look forward to having you join in on the fun. Your entry (only one per person) must be submitted before the first game tips off on Thursday around noon ET. The First Four games (played in Dayton on Tuesday and Wednesday) are not picked in this contest.

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to Steve Wilging on claiming the coveted title as champion of the second annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest! Steve, who is wrapping up his junior year at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and is a member of the Cougar soccer team, beat out 67 other determined competitors to claim the top spot thanks to his predicted champion, UCONN, winning the NCAA national title.

Steve successfully edged out runner-up Wade Foley, who ironically is a senior teammate of his on the MVNU soccer team, by 20 points. Wade also chose UCONN to win it all and had a 20-point lead on Steve after the first round when he correctly picked 24 of the first 32 games to Steve's 22-for-32. However, Steve had one more correct pick in the Sweet Sixteen round than Wade and that's what eventually won him the title.

Niki Murray, who serves as the community relations manager for the Washington Nationals, also had a great finish as she was the final person in my contest to correctly pick UCONN as the national champion. The Huskies' title vaulted her to third place in the contest just ahead of George Hartz, who had led the way heading into the Final Four.

While I finished in the top third of the contest in a tie for 18th place, I do have reason to celebrate as for only the ninth time in the past 19 years I was able to beat my wife (and the winner of the inaugural Six Degrees of MVNUSID contest last year), Carla Parsons. At some point in the coming days, I'll be enjoying a trip to Outback Steakhouse as she pays up. (Honestly, agree with me that a trip there is really a win for both of us.) :)

Well, thanks again to everyone who participated. I'm going to keep working on sponsors for future years to help me award more prizes. I think having a bracket contest makes the games even more fun to watch and brings more people together in a common bond. I just wish the final game would have lived up to the excitement and intrigue that the rest of the tournament contained.

Home Where She Belongs

Well, I'm a little tardy on this update, but I am pleased to report that my grandma has now been home for a little over two weeks after eight weeks in a rehab facility following her fall that required surgery for a broken femur.

While Grandma is still a long way from being fully recovered and is using a walker to get around, she is very happy to be back in the cozy confines of her own home, sleeping in her own bed, eating her own food, and petting her dog, Molly. She got home in time to watch her Ohio State Buckeyes play in the NCAA hoops tournament (albeit too short a stay for her liking) and her Cincinnati Reds get off to an exciting 3-0 start to the new season as they begin defense of their NL Central title.

As I mentioned in my last update about Grandma a month ago, I cannot even begin to say thank you enough to all of my friends, Twitter followers, and total strangers who have taken the time to drop Grandma a card. Through the wonders of social media, she has received more mail than I ever thought was possible.

In the last update, I mentioned some of the amazing things she had received from colleges, pro sports teams, and media personalities. After that update, she also got a signed commemorative basketball from Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest women's basketball coach (see above). Seems appropriate with the NCAA Women's Final Four going on to post a picture of that since Tennessee has been a frequent member of that group over the years.

However, the package that Grandma received that may have caused the biggest stir came from the star of tonight's ABC Secret Millionaire episode, Diane Heavin. If you have been following this story from the beginning, Grandma, who turns 89 later this month, broke her femur when she fell on her way to Curves for her 250th visit. Well, Curves posted my initial blog on their Facebook page and contacted me several times to check up on her throughout her rehab, so I knew that they were up to something.

Well, it turns out that Diane, the co-founder of Curves along with her husband, took the time to personally put together a package of Curves goodies to send to Grandma. Along with a water bottle, a towel, a bag to carry her workout stuff in, a necklace, some magazines and other items, there was a Curves' 300 visit shirt!


Now, Grandma and I had joked around after the initial accident that maybe if Grandma worked hard at her rehab that maybe Curves would count those daily rehab visits in the nursing home towards her Curves' visit total. Well, now that the 300 visit shirt was in her hands, she told me during one of our nightly phone calls that she was afraid that she couldn't wear it because she hadn't earned it. I decided to play dumb and asked her who the package came from. When she told me, I let her know who Diane was. Without missing a beat, she replied like only my feisty grandma can - "Well, I guess it's ok to wear it then!" :) She has also reiterated over and over and over again how glad she is that she joined Curves and how much it meant to her before the accident and how much more it means to her now. She really could be the poster child for the company.

Grandma still has plenty of work ahead of her and continues to work with a physical therapist who comes to her house as the next step is to get her using a cane instead of the walker. She is hoping to be up to taking the Buckeyes up on their offer of attending the annual spring football game on April 23 when they have generously offered to let us watch the game from the pressbox. If that happens, I'll get to make my first-ever visit to the 'Shoe with the lady who instilled my love of sports and the Buckeyes into me.

Again, I can't say thank you enough for your letters, cards, prayers, and encouragement. You have all made a big difference and my grandma, my family, and I can't show our appreciation enough!

Final Four is Really Final Two

As Butler and VCU got set to tip off the Final Four action in Houston tonight, the road to the Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest title is winding down. In fact, when the final horn sounds in the Kentucky-UCONN game, the champion of my contest will be crowned. More on that later.

Once again, the NCAA Tournament has not disappointed with all the upsets, buzzer-beaters, and great performances. Whoever the marketing genious was who coined the term March Madness, deserves extra props this year as for the first time ever there are no No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in the Final Four. And, we are guaranteed that a true Cinderalla will play in the championship game on Monday with No. 8 Butler and No. 11 VCU battling it out in the semifinals for a chance at their One Shining Moment.

Taking a look at the latest standings in my bracket contest, George Hartz is still in the lead with 60-point lead or more on the rest of the 68-entrant field. George added to his lead by getting five of the eight picks right in the Sweet Sixteen games and then joined 22 other entrants in the contest to get one of the Final Four teams correct.

However, based on the possible points remaining and the current standings, there are only two possible winners remaining in this year's contest. Looking to pass George to claim the $25 gift card and the coveted bragging rights that go with it are either Josh Wood or Steve Wilging. Josh is currently in second place right behind George and has been among the leaders the entire contest. He can lock up the victory tonight if Kentucky, who is his pick as the national champion, can advance past UCONN. Matt Hannaford also picked Kentucky to win the title, but he's too far back in the standings to pass Josh.

The other person vying for the title is Steve, who has UCONN as his pick to win the title. Steve is a junior at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and a member of the men's soccer team. If UCONN beats Kentucky tonight, he will move ahead of George and Josh. Steve, Wade Foley, and Niki Murray each picked UCONN to win the national title, but Steve is currently ahead of the other two and would win it all.

So, just like most of the experts would say about the second semifinal tonight, it's for all the marbles when UCONN and Kentucky tip off at 9:23 p.m. ET. However, while the Six Degrees of MVNUSID winner will get determined tonight, don't count out those Butler Bulldogs on Monday night when they get their second straight shot at national title after coming up just inches short on a game-winner at the buzzer last year.

And Then There Were Eight...

Well, the madness has continued and now we have reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. There continue to be plenty of great games, surprising upsets, and dominating performances along the way. And, it’s starting to take its toll on the brackets.

After breezing through the early rounds unscathed and moving up to as high as 24th overall out of 5.9 million entries worldwide, Six Degrees of MVNUSID contest leader and WBNS Channel 10 weatherman Josh Poland who had at least a 50-point lead on the rest of the field after the first two rounds saw his bracket begin to evaporate like dew on a summer morning. He went 0-for-4 on the first day of the Sweet Sixteen before finally getting two picks right on the second day, but it was enough of a hit that it dropped him back into fourth place – 70 points behind the top spot.

Speaking of the top spot, we have a new leader atop the standings. George Hartz, one of my running buddies and the captain of the Mount Vernon Police Department, correctly picked five of the Elite Eight winners to blow past the rest of the field and take a 60-point lead on his nearest challengers. Although he has a passion for Krispy Kreme donuts (see the photo from his 40th birthday party), he told me that PF Changs would be his restaurant of choice if he won. And who can blame him…their lettuce wraps are amazing!

However, George is going to have to be perfect the rest of the way as his predicted champion, Ohio State, along with 11 other contestants in the current top 20, was knocked out by Kentucky on a last-second shot last night. Here's a look at George's bracket below:


That leaves the door open for several people to possibly move into the top spot as the Elite Eight games begin on Saturday. Nate Okuley, one of my former student workers and a current MVNU admissions counselor, and Josh Wood, another former MVNU student and WNZR sports announcer who has stayed around the top of the leaderboard for most of the contest, are currently tied for second place. Nate has the best chance to win the overall title with a whopping 880 possible points still remaining in his bracket and North Carolina as his predicted national champion. Josh still has his predicted champion, Kentucky, on the board along with 560 possible points remaining.

Well, as the games continue on Saturday, we've also reached the point where 18 of the 68 people in the contest have already been eliminated due to having either no possible points remaining or not enough to catch the current leader. There are still 17 entrants with their predicted national champion still alive, and amazingly even the person in 67th place right now, Niki Murray, has a chance to win it all since she has UCONN still alive as her champion. Stay tuned to see what happens!

The Near-Perfect Three-Day Forecast

Well, we are three days into the NCAA Tournament and the second annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest is pleased to have one of the nation's best amongst its ranks.

Josh Poland, a meteorologist from WBNS 10TV in Columbus, has just flat out rocked his picks so far. He went a blazing 29-for-32 in the first round with his only misses being Temple and UCLA (where he picked upsets to happen) and Virginia Commonwealth (which ended the perfect bracket chances for even the final two contestants in the overall ESPN contest as they went 31-for-32).

Then, on the third day of the tournament, Josh continued his hot streak by going 7-for-8 to improve to 26-for-40 overall. His one miss on day three may prove costly, though, as Butler's upset of No. 1 seed Pittsburgh cost him not only that game, but one of his Final Four teams. However, Josh has done so well that he entered the fourth day of action ranked 31st out of the more than five million people who entered brackets on ESPN.com.

However, as you can see by Josh's bracket (below), he's still got plenty of good picks left. His total of 430 points is 60 points higher than first-day leader Jake Wood and my running buddy Chad Sims, who both currently check in with 370 points. Four more people are right behind them with 360 points. I also need to give a belated shoutout to Columbus Dispatch sportswriter Rob Oller (27-for-32) and Davenport University sports information director Aaron Sagraves (26-for-32), who were second and third respectively after the end of the first two days of the contest.


Through three days of action and thanks to some upsets, two people (Kristin Adams with Georgetown and Patrick Neville with Pittsburgh) have already lost their predicted champion. I'm sure that several others will be joining that list soon as the journey to the Final Four continues on Sunday.

Well, it's time to sit back and enjoy some more games. What have been your favorite moments so far? And what are your thoughts of having all the games available on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV?

As for Josh, who tweeted "The forecast calls for scattered tears from everyone whose butt I whoop!" prior to the contest, he did not want to take anything for granted when I asked him what his winning restaurant would be. Instead, he took the more Coach Thad Matta-like approach of "Don't want to think that far ahead...we just take each game one at a time."

That's exactly how I plan to enjoy the rest of the tournament.

"The Ball is Up...."

Well, the action got tipped off in a big way on Thursday as March Madness and the NCAA Tournament got under way. Upsets, buzzer-beaters, comebacks, and Cinderella shoe-fittings all began to take place as a national audience watched.

My second annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest got under way as well with a record 68 entrants - the same size as the tournament field - all vying for a $25 gift card to the restaurant of their choice and bragging rights.

Well, it only took one game to wipe out the perfect bracket chances of 13 of those prognosticators and then by the time the second game was over we were down to just 30 perfect brackets left. By the time that Morehead State finished off their upset of Louisville in the third game of the tournament, only WBNS 10TV meteorologist Josh Poland and Central Methodist sports information director Kelcey Zutavern were left with perfect brackets.

After the dust had settled from the day's 16 games, Jacob Wood (also known as "Gator" due to his love of the Florida Gators) stood alone at the top of the heap as he correctly picked 15 of the 16 games. His only blemish came with the Morehead State upset, but less than 5% of the people nationally who filled out the brackets had seen that one coming. Gator (above), who is a former student worker of mine while he attended Mount Vernon Nazarene University, is hoping that his picks can continue to pan out so he can enjoy his winnings at Chick-fil-A. You can see a copy of Gator's bracket below:


Hot on Gator's tail are Josh Poland, Rob Oller, and Josh Wood, who each correctly picked 14 of 16 games on the first day. Rob is a sports writer for the Columbus Dispatch, while Josh is Gator's brother as the Wood family combined for a great showing on the first day.

Well, it's about time to get comfortable for another 12-hour journey of ups and downs, dunks and 3-pointers, old favorites and new heros to take the spotlight. Enjoy the ride!

March Madness is Back!!!

One of my favorite times of the year is back...March Madness! I love college basketball and tonight tips off three weeks of hoops nirvana with the release of the 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket.

Nothing complements March Madness any better than entering a bracket contest, too. So, for the second straight year, I am looking to connect all of my online friends from Twitter and Facebook to enjoy the games together. To encourage you to enter and also check back with my blog, I'm going to award a $25 gift card to the winner to the restaurant of his or her choice. So, you have nothing to lose and lots of bragging rights and a free dinner to gain.

Last year's contest was a big success with 52 entrants and a lot of fun with several different people taking the lead along the way and getting featured in the blog before my wife, Carla, did what she does to me pretty much every year in this contest - she won! She beat out 51 other people including several sports information directors, sports PR experts, a sports reporter from a major newspaper, and a TV news anchor to claim the inaugural crown.

All you need to do to enter is to go to the private group that I've set up on ESPN's site under the title Six Degrees of MVNUSID. The password is MVNUSID. Get your bracket submitted before tip off of the first game on Thursday (approximately noon ET) and then check back with the blog each day as I highlight who is winning after each round of games. I'll look forward to reading your comments, too, as you have the opportunity to tell the world that you called the big upset as it happens.

Good luck and enjoy the Madness!

Grandma Goes on the DL

I started this blog so that from time to time I could share about the people who have influenced and impacted me whether over many years or just by dropping into my life for a short time. Relationships are really what makes life so much fun, and I enjoy seeing how they all weave together.

Last Wednesday, I got a phone call from my cousin, Robert, that I was not ready for. Grandma Mahaffey had fallen in my uncle's driveway and was being taken to the hospital. Robert wasn't sure what the extent of her injuries were, but he knew that she was in a lot of pain. Immediately, my heart sank because I knew that this could be really bad. But, more on that later.

Grandma will turn 89 in April. She and I have a special relationship because I'm the oldest of her nine grandchildren. However, our relationship goes much deeper than that as she may be one of the single biggest influences on why I'm doing what I'm doing as far as my career goes.

Grandma grew up near Athens, Ohio. She graduated from Ohio University in 1948 and taught school. She later helped Grandpa run a Maytag appliance business while taking care of three children. Grandma and Grandpa also moved to Florida for nearly a decade where he served as a maintenance man in a retirement tower and she worked as a housekeeper. They moved back to Ohio in the late 1980's as Grandpa's health began to deteriorate, and he passed away in the spring of 1990 the week that I graduated from high school.

Grandma's influence on my career path started at an early age as I can always remember her listening to the Cincinnati Reds and the Ohio State Buckeyes on the radio. She used to save me the baseball cards that came on Hostess boxes and bought me my first packs of cards when I was just six or seven years old. My early childhood memories were of her talking about the Big Red Machine (pictured below) or Archie Griffin. She definitely got me hooked on Marty and Joe calling all the Reds' action and I'm a die-hard Buckeye fan as well.


One thing that really helped Grandma right after Grandpa passed away in the spring of 1990 was following the wire-to-wire run in first place that her beloved Reds had as they captured the World Series title with a sweep of the A's. She was so excited, but definitely wished that Grandpa could have been there to see it. Chris Sabo and Jose Rijo were two of her favorite players on that team.

To tell you how close Grandma and I are, how many college freshmen do you know that would offer to drive their grandma and her sister to Florida for spring break to see one of their other sisters. Well, that's exactly what my roommate and I did and we had a great time - even if we did have to strategically cover the speedometer as we drove so they wouldn't see how fast we were going. :)

The following year on spring break, my best friend from high school, Brion, and I basically camped out for a week at Grandma's to watch all the March Madness college basketball games with her. She had a two-liter of pop for each of us and made us all the grilled cheese sandwiches or hamburgers that we wanted as we watched games from noon until after midnight each day. She is a huge college basketball fan and always knows all the story lines. She loved to watch Bobby Knight coach and get fired up and he was special to her because he was a former Buckeye. She also loved to make fun of Gene Keady's crazy comb-over whenever Purdue would come on and she always wondered if he ever had fun coaching since he never smiled. But, most of all, she loved to pace back and forth when her Buckeyes were playing. She cheered them on and got excited when they were doing well, and she got frustrated when they struggled.

As I headed into my senior year of college, I got the opportunity to work in the sports information office at Mount Vernon Nazarene. I never knew that this type of job existed and I really had no formal training for it, but the love of sports that Grandma had instilled in me made this job one that I knew I wanted to pursue. Now, 17 years later, I'm still doing that job and consider myself very fortunate to get to spend pretty much every day watching some kind of sporting event. Lots of times, I envision myself sitting on the couch in Grandma's living room. She's still the first person I want to call after a big Buckeye football or basketball win or when the Reds are playing well. I can still remember how excited she was in the wee hours of the morning in 2003 when I talked to her on the phone minutes after Ohio State beat Miami in double overtime to capture the BCS national title.

Well, back to the infamous phone call from last Wednesday...When they got Grandma to the hospital, they found that she had broken her right femur above her knee. This was a pretty serious injury that ended up requiring surgery later that day to insert a rod from her hip to her knee. She came through the surgery as well as could be expected and finally this afternoon was released to a rehab facility that will now be her home for the foreseeable future as she cannot put any weight on that leg for at least eight weeks.

When I had a chance to talk to Grandma after the surgery, in typical fashion she told me what had happened. Like she does most days, she was headed out to go to Curves with one of her friends. (Yes, for all of you who have struggled with starting some kind of fitness program, take it from my 88-year-old grandma that you CAN do it. She really should be a spokesperson for Curves as she plans her trips out of town based on whether the place she is going has one or not.) She was extra excited because this was going to be her 250th visit. At Curves, you get a shirt every time you reach 100, 200, 300, etc. visits. Well, Grandma was so excited that she hurried down the driveway so her friend wouldn't have to drive up it. Unfortunately, she hit a slippery spot and went down hard.

When I told Grandma that her rehab would be like another form of a Curves' workout, she quickly responded with "I wonder if each day that I do it if Curves would count it as a visit." I just started laughing. I told some of my running buddies about this and they instantly knew where I got the drive that has me setting a goal of trying to run at least one mile every day in 2011.

As I tried to ask her how she was doing, Grandma changed the subject to sports. She excitedly told me all about Joey Votto's new three-year contract and how he's her favorite player because he's such a "nice looking and clean-cut young man". Doesn't hurt that he had an MVP season either. Then, she changed gears and started talking about the Buckeyes' basketball team. She had been a little frustrated that she had to miss their first game as the No. 1-ranked team because that's when her surgery took place on Wednesday, but she was happy that they took care of Iowa in fine fashion without needing her cheering after all.

Well, you can see why I love my grandma and why I love sports. She is just a very special person in my life. And, that's why I am still very concerned about the days, weeks, and months of rehab that are ahead for her. Since I work with college athletes, I see the struggles that injuries can cause for them. They have good days and they have bad days. The nice thing for them is that they are young and they have their teammates and coaches around them for support.

Grandma has a long road of recovery ahead of her. While she is young in spirit, this will not be an easy process for her. I know that she will do her best to work at it, and I know that her goal is to get back to Curves and continue working towards that shirt for visit No. 300. However, it is not going to be easy.

That's where you and I come in. We can all play the role of teammates and cheerleaders for her. If you are reading this blog, you know me or someone who knows me has forwarded this to you. As a personal favor, I wonder if you might possibly consider taking the time in the next month to just pick up a card or write a note of encouragement and send it to Grandma. Yes, she might be a total stranger to you. It doesn't matter. Just tell her to hang in there and keep working hard. Who knows...there may come a time in your own life where you'll need that kind of encouragement from others to help you get back on your feet again.

Anyway, if you are willing to do this, I would be extremely humbled and grateful if you could send a note or card to her at:

Olive Mahaffey
Chesterwood Village
8073 Tylersville Road
West Chester, Ohio 45069

In addition to your cards, notes, and prayers, I'm hoping that following the rest of what has already been an exciting season of Ohio State basketball and then getting ready for the tradition that is Opending Day for the Reds will be just the medicine that Grandma needs to make a complete and speedy recovery.

And the Winner is.......

Carla Parsons! Yes, my wife successfully defeated all 52 challengers to win the inaugural Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest. While it is no shock to me that she won since she has now beaten me in 11 of the past 18 years, it has been very funny to watch all of my other friends and so-called experts (numerous sports information directors and other sports PR people, a sportswriter from a major newspaper, and a TV anchor) fall by the wayside to her picks this year as well.

Carla finished with a total of 1,230 points as she correctly picked Duke to win the 2010 national championship. She has been a fan of the Blue Devils for a long time now, and that loyalty paid off for her in this year's contest. One final look at her bracket (below) shows why she was able to finish in the top 3.4% of ESPN's contest as she finished 21,043rd out of 4.8 million brackets that were posted this year.


I also want to give a special shoutout to Mike Schaffer and Toby Boyce, who finished second and third with 1,120 points and 1,060 points respectively as they also both correctly picked Duke to cut down the nets in Indianapolis.

Well, if you are like me, you really enjoyed this year's tournament. From the exciting first round that included a bunch of upsets to Butler's near-miss at the buzzer in a classic national championship game between a David and a Goliath, I am hard-pressed to remember a tournament that I enjoyed more from start to finish. I also think that a large part of that enjoyment came through interacting with all of you through social media and the bracket contest, which again fits with the premise of this blog that we are all connected. It's sad to think that next year's event may get watered down with the expansion to a 96-team format, but I'm going to chose to remember this year for what it was and not fret over another bad decision by the NCAA just yet.

Thanks again for participating. I'm sorry that I don't have video of Carla's happy dance when she locked up her win, but I may be able to sneak a picture of her enjoying her winning dinner tonight before we go to the Daughtry concert in Columbus.

And Then There Were Three...

Yes, I know that if you have been following this blog for the past couple of weeks as we've traversed through the madness that has been March and the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament you are thinking to yourself that I must not have passed my basic math classes.

The Final Four is now set in Indianapolis this coming Saturday with the likes of perennial powers Duke and Michigan State welcoming a long-awaited return trip from West Virginia and new kid on the block Butler, the hometown favorite who will be playing just 19 miles from its campus.

The journey from 65 to 4 has been a fun one to watch along the way and I would love to read your comments as to what your favorite memories have been so far and also what clips you expect to see in the new version of One Shining Moment when the 2010 champion is crowned on Monday night.

One thing that has made this year's tournament a lot of fun for me personally is having the Six Degrees of MVNUSID bracket contest in full effect with 52 of my friends and colleagues along for the ride. It has actually been the ideal way for me to kick off my blog and the premise behind it as I've introduced you to some of the people in my life using the avenue of sports to do it. The $25 gift card prize is a small price to pay to bring people from all walks of my life together.

Speaking of the bracket contest standings (and relating them back to the title of this blog entry), we are now down to three possible scenarios to determine the winner.

Before we get to scenarios, though, here is a quick look at the leaderboard. My wife, Carla (above with our two girls), is not only beating me handily...she is on top in the standings with 750 total points. She was one of three people to correctly pick two of the Final Four teams along with Eric Smith and Stacey Deal. She currently holds a 20-point lead over both Stacey and Sara Williams, who sit at 730 points. Alex Connell is a close fourth at 720 points.

Now, on to the scenarios. The only teams anyone in our bracket contest has remaining are Duke and West Virginia, who will play each other on Saturday night in the national semifinals. If Duke wins that game, then Carla (see her bracket below) will win the bracket contest regardless of who wins the national championship game on Monday since she picked Duke to be the national champion. Several other people picked Duke to win the national title, but none of them can catch Carla in total points.


If West Virginia beats Duke, that opens the door for either Stacey (Stacey's bracket) or Julie Burke (Julie's bracket) to win the overall title. For Stacey to win, she needs West Virginia to lose in the national championship game, while a Mountaineer national title would not only send West Virginia native Julie into a couch-burning tizzy, but also would provide her with some restaurant eating options courtesy of the $25 gift card since she picked WVU to cut down the nets. Michael MacEachern also picked West Virginia to win the title, but he would finish 10 points behind Julie in second place if that happens.

So, while most of us can now throw our brackets out and root for our favorite team left in the tournament, there is still some excitement left as we head into the final weekend of college hoops action. It's been a great journey and I'm glad that each of you has been along for the ride.