Two for the Final Four and Other Observations

Hi There. Well the Final Four is set. I had two of the four and if wasn't for a great play by Scottie Reynolds of the Villanova Wildcats in the final seconds, I would have had 3. I heard Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio was in attendance at the Federation Tournament of Champions at the Civic Center. If I had recognized who he was, I might have cornered him and said, "Come on now, how could you lose to Cleveland State? Thanks for screwing up my brackets, Dino." Great job by Michigan State in totally controlling the tempo and knocking off Louisville. I like Tom Izzo as a coach. Seems like a good guy. I'll let you know my picks later in the week.
I saw the best commercial during the Oklahoma/UNC game. It's for the new Guitar Hero Metallica and features Bob Knight, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, and Coach K dressed ala Tom Cruise in Risky Business doing the "Old Time Rock n Roll" thing when Metallica sees them, asks them what they're doing and promotes the game. They then proceed to tell the coaches to throw on some pants pops. Knight then says to Metallica, "Who you calling pops" and throws the drum set at them. Now there's a great ad. That was a rib hurting funny great ad.
If you have Directv like I do, you get a monthly programming magazine. On the cover of the April issue is Cole Hamels from the Phillies and Fox Sports' Charissa Thompson. Talk about a WOW! Helllllooo, Charissa.
One more sports note. The golf world is all happy now and the PGA tour universe has returned to normal. Eldrick came from behind and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Pathetic if you ask me.
A big thanks to everyone who showed up Saturday night at donkey basketball at North Warren Central School in Chestertown. The three of us really have a great time doing it and look forward to next year. I don't know if the pie that boys got was any good, it looked delicious. I'm still trying hard not to eat that stuff. I was hoping to see a certain member of the North Warren elementary school faculty who teaches 6th grade in attendance, but she was a "not tonight." Her initials are A.G. if you want to know who I'm speaking of. If Mike had shown up with Dan and Pete instead of yours truly, I think she would have been there. Hey, there's plenty of reasons why he's known as the "Ladies Man"and I'm not. By the way Pete, the Christmas wreath that was on the front door came down as soon as I got home.
Got on the scale Saturday and was down to 217. I've lost 25 pounds since the start of the new year. Just 17 more to go. I'm realy proud of myself, but remember weight loss and becoming physically fit is like competing in the Iron Man Triathlon. You have these stages and the small goals you accomplish eventually add up to the ultimate big one. There's still a lot of hard work and sweat ahead of me. Those last 17 pounds will be tough, but I'm up to that challenge.
The C-TOWN K-DOGS season officially came to an end. I ended up in 6th place in the fantasy hockey league that Dan and I are in. My offense morphed into the Mets bullpen and collapsed the last 3 weeks. I went from being in a battle for first place overall to ending up in the middle of the pack. To quote the governor of California, "I'll be Back."
Hope to see everybody Sunday at Bowl for Kids Sake at Spare Time in South Glens Falls. You can root Team CKM on and watch my mediocre athletic talents on display. We'll be bowling at 12:30
Note to Ned Corini. Good seeing you my friend. We'll make that summer golf outing we talked about happen...Leccese out.

The slipper didn't fit Cinderella

Hi There. Well we're down to the Sweet 16. Of who's left nobody surprises me. To use the horse racing term there's a lot of chalk. 5 Big East, 3 Big 12, the usual two from the ACC. As for my brackets. I took two major hits. Clemson and Wake Forest. Clemson lost a tight 7/10 game that went down to the wire. As for Wake Forest, talk about a shot to the groin. Did Cleveland State bring back Kevin "Mouse" McFadden? Outside of the Vikings, there really was no Cinderella this year. I'm sorry but Arizona and Wisconsin or any other power conference teams that get a low seed doesn't count. Siena, not a Cinderella. They had a great year and the out of conference schedule they played included Pittsburgh, Kansas and Tennessee all on the road. They were battle tested and I wanted them so badly to knock off Louisville. They played a great game. I liked Rick Pitino a lot better when he was coaching at Providence 21 years ago. As I wrote last week, my big concern is some big power conference team who needs a breath of fresh air for it's basketball program will come a courtin' Fran McCaffrey. Don't fall for it Fran. There's an old saying. The grass is always greener my a--.
President Obama filled out a NCAA bracket and the country had a fit over it. You're kidding me right? By the way Mr. President, I'm cordially inviting you to join team 'CKM when we bowl April 5th at Bowl for Kids Sake. I also want to thank AMF300 for coming through for us this year and donating a bowling ball for us to auction off. When the ball comes, we'll let you know when the auction will take place.
While listening to the radio this morning, I heard the U.S. lost to Japan in the semi's of the World Baseball Classic. Wait a second, there was a World Baseball Classic?
The football Giants announced that if Plaxico Burress comes out unscathed from his court appearance on the 31st and doesn't get suspended by Roger Goodell he will be welcomed back to the team with open arms. Note to Jerry Reese and let me spell it out for you: K-E-N-N-Y B-R-I-T-T. Eli needs some tall bodies to throw the ball too. Not only is Plaxico unsure of coming back, but Amani Toomer is not coming back. Giants fans here are your receivers. Steve Smith, Domomick Hixon, David Tyree, Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham. Not the most intimidating group of ball catchers are they?
Well it took about 3 weeks but yesterday I finally had a good Body Combat workout in the new group fitness room at the gym. The floor felt broken in and scuffed enough that I wasn't sliding.
In reading the show prep we use here at the radio station, in a study done by onepoll.com it revealed that 50 percent of men would rather date an attractive woman than a smart one. The main reason being they felt pressure to impress their friends. 80 percent of men said they are intimidated by smart women. Now there's a revelation we've never heard before. I could have told you that. It's simple human nature. You want to impress people and notice you. You've got an attractive girl or boy friend, people take notice. Having a great looking car is another one of those things. You tend to notice the Porsche, Jag, Beemer or other luxury cars over the Malibu or Taurus. My problem is I want them both. The brains and looks in one package. Is there anything so wrong with that?
Two episodes of "How I Met your Mother" tonight...Leccese out.

It's the return of bracketology 101

Hi There. Before we begin to look at the brackets, I've got to give props to Marty Brodeur of the Devils for becoming the all-time leader in wins by a goaltender in NHL history. It's just a matter of time before he passes Terry Sawchuk to become the all time shutout leader. Great guy, classy individual. I don't deny he will go down as one of the top five best goaltenders in league history, however he still couldn't beat my man Richter in a play-off series.
Now on to the tournament. I'll give you my final four picks right now. UConn, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and my surprise pick: Wake Forest. That's three number 1 seeds and a number 4.
I'll start in the East and go West young man. I see Pittsburgh over Villanova in the Final. First round upset: VCU over UCLA (the Bruins are down as well as the entire Pac-10). Overrated: Duke. Teams that may surprise: I'll say Texas and I'll throw in Florida State to give you 2.
In the South. I know UNC is missing Ty Lawson right now, but he'll be fine for the Sweet 16 round. UNC beats Clemson in the final. First round upset. Love the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky to beat Illinois. Syracuse fans you lose to Clemson in the 3rd round. Overrated: Oklahoma. Teams that may surprise: Arizona State and Clemson.
In the Midwest. My surprise final four team. Wake Forest. They beat Kansas in the final. First round upset USC over Boston College. Sorry Siena fans, I'd love to see you make it past the second round, but that 9 seed is a killer. I don't see them beating Louisville I've been saying this to Dan and Clay and some of my other co-workers here. I would have a better feeling about Siena if they were a 10 or 11 seed. My big fear for them is Fran McCaffrey will be just like Mike Deane and Paul Hewitt and leave to take a job in one of the power conferences. Overrated: Michigan State. Teams that may surprise: USC and West Virginia.
Finally in the West. UConn won its two national championships coming out of the west regional. I like them to beat Missouri and make it to Detroit. First round upset. Utah State over Marquette. Overrated: Washington. Teams that may surprise: Mississippi State and Purdue. Would somebody tell John Calipari to stop crying please. You're starting to annoy me like Coach K does.
Last year I was enamored with Nevada. (They took the gas pipe) This year I don't feel the love toward anybody like that this year. If I have to say someone, I'll say Butler. Enjoy the hoops...Leccese out.

They came soooo close and other weekend observations

Hi There. Well let the Madness begin! Between the NCAA's and high school basketball championships coming to town, there's a lot of hoops to be played in the next 3 weeks. Let's start with the field of 64/65. I didn't think the Big East deserved three number 1 seeds. Sorry Louisville, I would have chosen Memphis over you guys. Maryland and Arizona should have been omitted from the field. One more gripe. The Big East and Big 10 didn't deserve 7 teams in the field. Of the 34 at large bids, 30 went to the power conferences. As for Siena, they got screwed. The reward for playing a tough out of conference schedule and having a great year in the MAAC is a 9 seed. You're playing in that 8/9 toss up game and if you advance you play the 1/16 winner. They would have been better off as 11 or 12 seed. One more tournament note. I was that close to celebrating over the weekend. The Duquesne Dukes made it to the A-10 final. If they had beaten Temple Saturday night and made it to the NCAA's, I would have drank heavily like Dubray does on occasion only with better quality beer. Temple played great perimeter defense and here's a name for you to mention if you want to impress people with your field of 64 knowledge...Dionte Christmas. Solid all around player.
For the first weekend I had without high school sports in almost 7 months, I was pretty busy. The garden has officially been planted. The seeds were started yesterday. I made some pasta sauces and bought a new pair of cross trainers and a new gym bag. I'm still not liking the new floor in the group fitness room at the gym I workout at. I'm having a hard time getting used to it. Still a little slick even with the brand new sneakers.
Speaking of fitness, gotta give props to Dan. 41 pounds lost on Weight Watchers. You know I'm not trying to suck up when I say I'm proud of you my friend. In my own personal weight loss battle. I'm at the 220 pound mark. now just 20 more pounds to go. One thing I have given up cold turkey that seems to add the pounds on quickly is ice cream. Every once in a while the Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Brownie Overload or one of those novelties call to me when I'm at the grocery or convenience store, but I will not cross over to the dark side.
Speaking of dark side, Bernie Madoff is going to rot in jail for a long time. I hope he likes the kosher meals in prison.
On a sad note, my own personal sign of the apocalypse occurred. John Pratt told me the news that Cobie Smulders is pregnant. Say it ain't so, Cobie! However it is. Congratulations. I could feel a whole lot better if Megyn Kelly from Fox News came to console me over this devastating information.
Note to the fine columnist of the local paper here in town. Would you please not end every one of your columns that discusses the possibility of pro hockey returning with the same ending over and over again. I'm in the majority of people who are sick of reading that the Civic Center has been without a permanent professional hockey tenant since the Adirondack Frostbite ceased operation at the end of the 2005-2006 season. We've known that fact for a long time. Tell us something we don't know.
I'll run down the brackets later in the week...Leccese out

No trip to Utica for me and other observations from the weekend

Hi There. Well it's official. Another high school sports season has come to an end courtesy of the stick of Marc Flory and the rest of the Pelham Pelicans. You can't win hockey games when your teams' in the penalty box and playing shorthanded. On the bright side, I don't have to go to Utica for the state hockey championships this weekend. Now there's a city that needs to be abandoned entirely or just blown up and re-built from the ground up. Got to thank all the athletic directors, coaches, booster clubs and custodial staff for the amount of co-operation we get throughout the regular season. Ladies and gentlemen, you are the best. We couldn't do it without you. F.Y.I. we aired 36 football, basketball and hockey games on "The Mighty 1450 WWSC" this year. Looking into the crystal ball for next year, we might do a couple more girls basketball and hockey games. Football practice starts up in 5 months and trust me, the time will fly by quickly.
I want to personally take this time to thank Terrell Owens for pre-empting the soap opera, "As the A-Rod Turns." The Buffalo Bills? Wow, talk about being blind sided by Lawrence Taylor coming off the edge on a blitz. If the Las Vegas sports books took wagers on who T.O. would sign with, the guy that put a couple of sheckles down on Buffalo is a very rich man right now. T.O. is one of those guys I shake my head in frustration over. When he played hoops for the Wildcats, I met him on two occasions and found him to be a really nice guy. Seriously, I wish him nothing but the best, just drop Drew Rosenhaus as your agent. He's in that Scott Boras,"I'm a bridge troll" category.
Speaking of A-Rod and his achy breaky hip, it is just me or does he remind you of the kid you knew growing up whose parents didn't give enough attention to or heap enough praise on? It's always, "Hey look what I did" or "Watch me, I can do it too and better than him."
Went to the gym yesterday and took Body Combat in the new group fitness room. The new wood floor was a little on the slick side. I was wearing basketball sneakers so I thought I'd be O.K. It wasn't the case. I was so out of sync. That can really ruin a good workout.
The 2009 vegetable garden officially starts this weekend. Everything's ready and I'll get the tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and herbs going Saturday. I should put that in my personal ad to attract that nice looking female I'd like to go out with. On second thought, maybe not. That would probably scare 'em off and have 'em running for the hills...Leccese out.

Finally, new episodes of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother and other observations

Hi There. It was a weekend for the first time in a long time I didn't have to make the annual trip to the McDonough Center at HVCC to cover basketball games. With so many more sites being used for the boys second round, (St.Rose, Saratoga High, and HVCC) it was nice just going to the Civic Center for the hockey game between Queensbury and Glens Falls. And what a game it was. I thought after Kenny Hand scored that goal that went off Josh Hill's skate and into the net, another blow out was in the works. Give the Indians credit, they scored 2 power play goals and tied it up. They played their hearts out and left everything they had on the ice, but in the end the Spartans pulled it out and hung on.
As for basketball and other sports in general, I have to question the decision makers in Section 2 for allowing teams with losing records to participate in the post season. The post season should be a reward for a good year. Not every team belongs. Look there has been some good stories as we head to sectional semi's and finals i.e Schuylerville, Warrensburg, and Duanesburg, but do we really need to have everybody included?
While looking through the circulars you get with the Sunday paper, a sign of the apocalypse stared right at me more than once. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is out on DVD. Bring out that ice pick right now and stab me in the eye please. Just get it over with. Or worse, make me go see "Paul Blart, Mall Cop."
The NFL free agent signing period is underway and here's a little help for you to understand it better. When you hear the amount of a contract, worry only about one figure. Guaranteed money. NFL contracts are not completely guaranteed. The three other major sports should follow the NFL's lead.
I'm starting to believe just like one sports writer I admire, namely Mitch Albom that Daniel Snyder was adopted and his real father is George Steinbrenner. The way he spends cash, there is no way the Redskins are under the salary cap.
This just in, the Rangers have brought back Sean "What ex girlfriend should I insult next" Avery. Unfortunately Jaromir Jagr isn't coming back, so the Broadway Blues won't be getting any real help they need for that anemic offense.
Jimmy Fallon has taken over Conan O'Brien's spot on the NBC late night lineup. Loved him in "Fever Pitch" and the Barry Gibb Talk Show sketch on SNL. If I ever suffer from a case of insomnia, I may check it out.
U2 has a new release out and their new single "Get on your Boots" is a keeper. U2 was one of those groups I couldn't stand in the beginning, but now they're up their among my favorites.
Finally we had new episodes of "Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother." It's about time guys. I would love to comment on them, but Dan and John haven't seen them yet. Leccese out.