Welcome to the Final Four

Welcome to the final four. Of course by final four we mean Susie, Tim, Diane and Tom.

I know you all think that I should be working on my taxes, but I really have no interest in paying the government money. Since almost all of the Schneider cup participants have, in one way or another, lived off the government dollar I am sure you understand my reluctance to continue sending money to the IRS. Instead, I have been spending my time deciding what has to happen for our final four participants to win the coveted cup, in 2008.

As I see it the following scenarios are the final word:

• If North Carolina makes it to the finals and wins, it is Susie's cup
• If North Carolina goes to the finals, but loses to UCLA Diane gets her 5th cup in the last nine years. (How can this happen?)
• If UCLA wins it all and the final game is against Kansas, Tim wins.
• If Kansas beats UCLA in the final, Susie wins. Tom cannot get enough points from a Kansas win to overcome Susie's points going into the finals.
• If Kansas loses to Memphis in the finals, Susie wins.
• If Kansas beats Memphis in the finals, then Tom ("worst to first") gets his name on the cup for the first time.

Does anyone see it any differently.

Louisville Loss Hurts Joey

It was close, but so far no cigar for Joey who had Louisville beating North Carolina. Joe still has the chance of getting 3 of 4 picks into the final four and even winning the Coveted Cup, but a win by Louisville would have made his day. There would have been dancing in his drive way tonight. Good luck, Joe, on the rest of your picks it has been a long time since your last Cup victory.

Stay tuned for more

Ladies and Gentlemen we have a Horse Race

As we prepare for the Elite Eight, which begins this afternoon, what is developing is an epic battle of the titans. Leading the pack is Susie whose future is tied to the ability of North Carolina to knock off all its competitors. Susie is closely followed by Tim ("I just copy from the USA Today") who will own the Cup competition if UCLA emerges and he will become the first "Thanksgiving Dinner" winner of the cup. Joey has become a strong contender and if the Championship is won by Texas he could pull of an upset. The most interesting case is Tom who is currently in dead last, but has 640 points remaining and is the only person to select Kansas. While not mathematically eliminated (unlike Jeff, Alan, and Barbara) he could find himself having the winning team and still losing the cup on points. For Diane (who had Siena over Vanderbilt, Davidson over Georgetown, and West Virginia beating Duke) you had some unbelievable calls, but you cannot beat Susie or Tim - sorry.

OK, get yourself a cool brew and some nibbles, and get ready to determine the final four. Will they all be #1 seeds for the first time? We will know by Sunday night.

Bad Sweet 16 for Papa Jeff

In the course of the Sweet Sixteen Papa Jeff managed to go from first to what will, no doubt, be near the bottom of the Schneider Cup competition, he saw his beloved Michigan State Spartans lose big to Memphis, and he received a ticket for $186.00 for being in the HOV lane on Route One. I am not sure which he finds the most difficult to live with, but he plans to double up on his anti depressants for the Elite Eight. Let us all say a silent prayer for Papa Jeff's future activities. In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy and tributes can be sent directly to Jeff.

Jeff leads, but for how long

We have reached the sweet 16 and the winner of the cup has not been decided. Although Jeff is in the lead he has too few potential remaining points to think that there is much of a serious chance for him to capture the Cup (Only a Tennessee win will save Jeff). Tim (I got it from USAToday) and Diane (The usual winner) are in a horse race and we might have a decision (between the two of them) by who wins a potential North Carolina/Kansas semi-final game. Susie and Joey are still around and they could both win if either Memphis goes all the way (Susie) or if the final game is Texas/Louisville (Joey). Alan and Barbara are pretty much toast, but interesting enough, Tom who is in last place (with only 390 points) still has 920 potential points so if everything goes his way, for the rest of the tournament (very unlikely), he may cause some trouble.

The following is the leader board going into the Sweet 16:

Jeff 880 remaining 490 current points 99.3 %
Tim 1040 remaining 460 current points 93.2 %
Diane 1040 remaining 440 current points 79.6 %
Susie 920 remaining 440 current points 79.6 %
Joey 1000 remaining 420 current points 60.6 %
Alan 600 remaining 420 current points 60.6 %
Barbara 560 remaining 400 current points 40.0 %
Tom 920 remaining 390 current points 31.0 %

Trash Talking and First Round Results

As the world can see ("Bean and Bee-March 21" http://beanbee.blogspot.com/ ) perpetual winner, Diane, has decided that trash talking about her very close and significant "first" cousin, Alan, is more important than actually winning for a fifth time. She accuses Alan of not being a "true Schneider" since he has not carried the Schneider name, attended a Thanksgiving prepared by Susie, or partaken in a "Pick and Pig". All I can say is "good for Alan" he is healthier and has better genes because of his life choices. Alan is an offspring of the Henry/Gertrude connection and has clear entry into the cup competition. Currently, Alan is in fourth place and he is in a virtual tie with both his cousins Joey and Diane (who also belong to the Sam/Helen, as well as, the Henry/Gertrude group.)

The real problem is that currently in first place (at ESPN's 98.7%) is Tim Dunn who has come to the Schneider Cup competition because he has been eating turkey and ribs with Schneiders for 10+ years. While this makes Tim clearly eligible for the Cup Competition, the problem with Tim is that he made his selections by looking over a shoulder (while on the Metro) and copying them from USAToday. What bothers me is not Tim's methodology, but that he currently leads me by 10 points. I must point out, however, that I still have more potential points and if Tennessee pulls it out, the cup will stay in it's rightful place. Also, if I cannot beat USAToday I do not deserve to win the cup. The only other things of note, thus far, are:

• The Barbara strategy of winning by choosing, low ranked, teams that no one else would ever consider does not seem to be working. Barbara is currently # 2,617,405 in the ESPN Challenge (17.7%) Lets hear it for the wonderful performance of Vanderbilt.
• Tom is looking like a long shot to get his name on the Cup (for the first time), but it is still early.

And now settle in for another 2 days for the remaining 32 teams. Go MSU.

Bean and Bee: The Fury has begun ................

Bean and Bee: The Fury has begun ................