I Told Them So

I gave the Longhorns some advice last week: "Don't make the judge have to think." Last night, they failed to take that advice, and as a result, they will watch the rest of the tournament at home.

It happens that sometimes you will have a referee that can't count to five. I know, I know, it seems like a simple enough task. But you might surprised how many people can't accomplish that single goal - and they're all around you, driving and (shudder) voting.

The fact is: the Horns lost this game back in the first half, scoring a pathetic 25 points. So many games this year, they came out and dominated in the first few minutes, leaving enough slack at the end of the game so that it didn't matter if they had a ref that didn't seem to understand one of the most basic rules there is in the game.

But this time around, they decided to take the first half off and then ride J'Coven Brown during the second half to barely take the lead in the last minute. And that means that the referee's basic incompetency now comes into play, with the result being what happened on Sunday night.

"Don't make the judge have to think." Because more often than not, they aren't really capable of it.

Just Like Old Times

Thanks to a combination of $3.34/gal gas and my running down to the last notch on my fuel gauge, I just had my first $40 fillup since...well, since the last time gas jumped up over $3.00. Of course, back then I had my PT Cruiser GT, which used premium gas, and now I'm back down to regular.

Good Advice

Some griping is taking place about the Longhorns dropping down to a number 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. I do dog obedience training (currently struggling through with the New Fierce Corgi), and the best piece of advice I ever received was "Don't make the judge have to think".

For example, on a retrieval exercise, the dog is supposed to fetch the dumbbell, return to the handler promptly, stop within reach, and allow the handler to take the dumbbell. So....what if the dog stops to look around some? What if I have to lean over a bit to reach the dumbbell because the dog stopped a little too soon? What if...?

"Don't make the judge have to think."

Train the dog to do the correct thing, so that you don't have to worry about these kind of scenarios.

It's the same thing in the tournament. Texas faltered down the stretch, for the second straight year. They were sitting on top of their conference, and on top of the polls, and then they started losing. To teams they shouldn't have lost to.

In short, they gave the conference selection committee an excuse to think. And it cost them.

Maybe sometime, Rick Barnes will figure out how to close the deal with these guys. But it wasn't this year, and now it's cost the Horns.

But...for what it's worth, both Woody Paige and Tim Cowlishaw picked Texas to (gulp) beat Duke in their regional on Around The Horn yesterday. I don't think I'm buying it, myself.

DVD Spending Tab I

My first purchase of the year. I really dialed back last year, but maybe Blu-Ray prices will keep dropping so that even a cheapskate like me will start picking them up.

Memento, 10th Anniversary Blu-Ray, $8.65 at Costco

That's Some Blatant False Advertising

Perusing my Mac news aggregator this morning, I came across an announcement of a new app - CandyLand for iPhone! I've indulged some nostalgia purchases, like The Game of Life, Battleship and Dragon's Lair, so I figured I could probably drop a dollar or two to relive the classic board game for a little while.

Sadly, this is not the original board game. Instead, it appears to be a Frogger knock-off.

Another childhood memory sullied by naked capitalism. Let the lawsuits begin, Hasbro!