Oh Yeah, the Other Bracket Thing. The BHGP Bracket Challenge will wrap up tonight. Should Duke (now a 7.5-point favorite) win, the title of BHGP Bracket Challenge Champion, and the corresponding free t-shirt, will go to a baby named Colin for his bracket named "Todd's Revenge." Should Butler pull the upset, longtime frontrunner Maddogmag will take home a free t-shirt. All BHGP shirts are guaranteed to get you chicks, so they have that going for them. Unless you're a baby. We don't have baby sizes.
For those of you wondering how your hosts and moderators fared in this year's contest, Jacobi would finish a respectable sixth place should Duke win tonight (a reprehensible selection, to be sure). The rest of us, not so much: HS is currently ranked #111, RossWB is at #131, HFMR is #151 (clearly by design), and StoopsMyAss is a mere eight spots from last place at #159. If you didn't already realize we know nothing, this should be your first sign.
Speaking of Chicks, SPRING GAME BABY WOO! As we said last week, BHGP is planning the second biannual Black Heart Gold Tailgate for April 17, immediately prior to Iowa's "spring open practice and scrimmage-type substance that shall not be called a game under any circumstance." The UI published some more info late last week:
The west grandstand and south grandstand will be open for spectators. Gates A, B, and E will open at 11:30 a.m. There is no admission charge, but fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for donation to the Johnson County Crisis Center.
The Official Iowa Hawk Shop will stage its annual clearance sale on the southeast concourse from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fans interested in that activity will enter at Gate M. The Hawk Shop sale will move into the east concourse in the event of rain.
Parking will be available in all University parking lots adjacent to Kinnick Stadium. Fans with recreational vehicles will be able to park Friday after 7 p.m. Please note: Normal daily parking rates will be in effect in the two parking ramps adjacent to the UI Hospitals and Clinics.
Fans are reminded that Iowa City ordinance prohibits the consumption of any alcoholic beverage on UI and public property. As in the past, this ordinance is in effect on the day of the annual spring football practice.
The ordinance prohibiting booze on public property is in effect on gamedays, too, and is generally unenforced unless you're carrying a homewrecker of vodka or live at 707 Melrose. With that said, the spring non-game is a different entity; proceed with caution, grasshopper. That means sticking to private lots and keeping your beer inconspicuous as you're running through traffic. Which reminds me, we will need a place to park for the BHGP Tailgate. If anyone has a spot within a 10-minute walk of the stadium that they would recommend or volunteer, email or Twitter me.
BULLITZ:
- Butler's run to the NCAA Tournament Final has prompted numerous pieces gushing about Todd Lickliter's effect on the Bulldogs. In particular, this piece from East Lansing's State News on Lickliter consulting with Brad Stevens on how to handle Michigan State (LOL) and Hlas on the Butler seniors who entered in Lick's last season with the school are worth looking at.
- A Kentucky fan takes to Facebook in the wee hours of Sunday morning to rip NBA-bound benchwarmer Daniel Orton. Hilarity ensues. Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems he's just using Orton as an escape goat.
- Your daily music fix: Phoenix, whose 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the musical definition of cool, released a free download of a recent concert in Sydney, Australia. It's worth the 57MB.
- It is with a heavy heart that we bring you the saddest news of the day: Mr. McMahon is dead. Long live the king.