Armed with a selection of regional microbrew beers, Doug Zeigler rambles his way during the best sports day of the year: Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament
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Editors’ Note: Now in the thick of The Tournament, we take a look back one week at one man’s Day 1 of March Madness:
12:00 PM – Welcome to year two of my Day 1 of my March Madness running diary! And if that first sentence didn’t confuse you, don’t worry…the rest of my rantings will.
A little background: I’m self-confessed college basketball junkie who also has a thing for great microbrew beer. So last year, I thought, “Why not combine the two?” You know, since the opinion of a middle-aged white guy getting progressively more inebriated is something we need more of in our lives. Am I right? So, my approach is to get beers from the region the games are being played, not for each team. If I did that, I’m pretty sure I’d die, or my liver would explode. The games are being played in Pittsburgh, PA, Louisville, KY, Jacksonville, FL and Portland, OR. I tried my best to get beer from those areas and mostly succeeded. As always, I should also warn you I am a big Kentucky homer, so I may slant that way a bit (or all the time) in this diary.
12:20 PM – Annnd we’re off! First up, Northeastern and Notre Dame. Honestly, Notre Dame scares the crap out of me. As a UK fan, they are one of the few times built to beat them. Small, quick, shoots tons of threes and doesn’t care about height. The only thing I know about Northeastern is that they’re a good hockey school. Or ‘Ockey, as my Canadian friends say it.
12:22 PM – Since this game is in Pittsburgh and I refuse to drink Iron City beer, I decided to go with a Pennsylvanian beer, Troegs Jovial Beligan Dubbel Ale.
It’s 7% ABV, and smooth as can be as a Beligian Dubbel is. Actually is kind of light for a Belgian. Pretty good way to start the day.
12:52 PM – They just flashed the Iowa State-UAB score, which is 12-4. Inauspicious beginning for the Blazers.
12:58 PM – Just saw Mike Golic in a Bass Pro Shops commercial. Is there absinthe in this beer?
1:04 PM — Quincy Ford! Man he has glorious hair.
1:05 PM – Halftime, and the Irish are up 31-27. Time to switch games!
1:07 PM – “Turns out, Miller Lite is one of the hardest beers to brew. Because they have no heavy flavors to hide behind.” Or no flavor. Yet another reason to never drink Miller Lite. EVER.
1:25 PM – While we’re on the ISU – UAB game, which is being played in Louisville, let’s switch it up to the beer I managed to find from Kentucky (which is pretty damn hard to find. Seriously, Kentuckyites, can you make more than just moonshine and bourbon?), Against the Grain Brewery’s Kentucky Ryed Chiquen.
At 8.6% ABV, it’s a strong beer. I’ll let them describe it:
“An amber ale brewed with rye malt and aged in rye whiskey barrels. Our first barrel aged beer here at Against the Grain is the Kentucky Ryed Chiquen. Named so because it was made in Kentucky, has a lot of Rye in it and was aged in rye barrels and it’s not Chicken. As we all know (or should know) Chiquen refers to anything that is not chicken.”
Well, OK then.
1:43 PM – OK, this is a REALLY sweet beer. I’m not meaning in the “Dude, that’s sweet!” way. More like, “My teeth hurt after having that” way.
1:45 PM – In a bizarre twist, Rebook is bring back their “Pump Up” shoes. Really hoping Converse follows suit and brings back the Weapons.
1:47 PM – The Irish somehow are up 9 and the Huskies’ best big man just picked up his 4th foul. Very bad news for Northeastern.
1:50 PM – Sign as a head coach that you feel like your team is in trouble: you bring the big guy that just picked up his 4th foul back in with 9 minutes left. Makes me think of this.
1:56 PM – A scrum for the ball that leads to a dazzling few spin dribbles by Jackson with a gorgeous assist to Zach Auguste. You can sense the Irish starting to pull away now.
1:57 PM – A flash to the Baylor – Georgia State game, which Baylor is up 16-6. To put that in perspective, Georgia State won their conference title 38-36. Baylor in less than 10 minutes has almost half of what Ga State gave up in their entire last game.
2:10 PM – I spoke too soon! Northeastern only down 4. THIS is why I love March Madness.
2:14 PM – Missed free throw by Jackson and a missed three by the Huskies and a putback to make it a 2 point lead! This is awesome.
2:18 PM – STEAL!!!
2:19 PM – Wow…and Northeastern can’t get a shot off. Loses the ball and fouls. 2 seconds left.
2:21 PM – Auguste makes the first, putting the Irish up 3.
2:23 PM – Makes the second, and Northeastern’s long last shot misses, and the Irish advance. What a game to start us off!
2:38 PM Enormous 3 to put UAB Robert Brown! Uh oh…my bracket is already in jeopardy..
2:42 PM – A missed 3 to tie it…and a UAB knocks the miss into the basket to put ISU down one with 0.4 seconds left. Could that have been the best accidental basket for the opposite team ever?
2:43 PM – UAB wins, and my chances of going 64-0 are down the tubes.
2:48 PM – Just switched over to Arizona – Texas Southern and the Wildcats have almost doubled Texas Southern’s score. Quite a difference from the first two games. Yeah….I’m switching to something more competitive like curling.
2:55 PM – Back to Florida and I can see Georgia State plays defense like the Baltimore Ravens when they won the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer as their QB. Hard, aggressive, and just a bit scared because they know their offense is a bit suspect.
3:04 PM – ALL the momentum to Georgia State right now! Few things better than a big underdog going up on a favorite. The madness is where it’s at, folks.
3:14 PM – Oh! Since I’m watching a game being playing Jacksonville, I guess I should unveil the next beer. Don’t worry, folks, I’m not tipsy or anything. Not one bit. Everybody, let me introduce you to Cigar City Hotter Than Helles Lager.
It comes in at 5% ABV, keeping in line with the Helles style, which literally means “light colored” in German. It’s smooth and light, which is a nice change of pace from the heavier fare earlier.
3:37 PM – A LONG three from RJ Hunter, coach Ron Hunter’s son. About damn time.
3:39 PM – GSU down 7 with a minute and half. LET’S DO THIS GSU!
3:41 PM – Steal on the inbound…3 point game! That actually made me clap like a giddy 6 year old.
3:43 PM – OK, TJ Shipes…you and your headband holding back your locks needs to make this.
3:44 PM – DAMMIT, TJ Shipes!
3:46 PM – What just happened??? A 3 on 1 break by Baylor turns into a break for GSU and a foul on Baylor? Man…this is nuts.
3:48 PM – HOLY SHIT! Hunter makes a 30 foot three for the lead! GSU up 1. That was my first jump out of my seat and scream moment of the day. My heart is RACING.
3:50 PM – Georgia State ends the game on 13-0 run and becomes the SECOND 14 seed to beat a 3 seed today. My brackets are wheezing.
3:55 PM – I’m still on a high. Three GREAT games to start this tournament. And people wonder why I think this is the best sporting event on earth.
3:57 PM – Now on the UCLA-SMU game. What the hell is that dark blue band around the waist of the UCLA players? It’s super distracting. Maybe they are trying to take over for Baylor, since they lost in the “we’re going to distract you with our awful uniforms” tactic.
4:05 PM – Texas bench is currently winning the “bench full of guys who never play who get excited for their teammates” contest.
4:10 PM – The ONLY game so far that hasn’t been close is Arizona-Texas Southern. I don’t think you can ask for more than having 7 of the first 8 games being competitive.
4:31 PM – You know, I took SMU based on their coach, Larry Brown, who is in multiple Halls of Fame as a coach. I wish I had remembered that I’ve always really disliked him before I picked his team.
4:32 PM – I’m waiting for Eric Dickerson to show up in his goggles on the court for SMU.
5:00 PM – Well, looking like 3 of my picks are already out unless Texas can stage a miracle.
5:04 PM – SMU now has the lead. Fucking Larry Brown. You are too unpredictable. I loathe you.
5:07 PM – It’s official…I have 3 losses on the first day. YIKES. Thanks Texas.
5:10 PM – Confession time: I have a soft spot for VCU because I have a friend who used to be an assistant coach there. Plus their head coach’s name is Shaka Smart. I mean, how can you not root for that?
5:15 PM – Switching around games, and I get back to UCLA-SMU. Steve Alford’s kid has 7 three pointers. A chip off the old block there!
5:16 PM – Breakaway dunk by SMU. Starting to pull away a bit…
5:18 PM – Maybe not! UCLA makes to free throws and then SMU turns it over. What is going on today???
5:21 PM – Wait…did they just call a basket interference on a three pointer? That is HORRIBLE. Not to mention another loss in my bracket.
5:23 PM – I have never seen that happen. A team lost an NCAA tournament game on a goaltending call on a three pointer that had no chance of going in. SMU got robbed.
6:00 PM – After a dinner hiatus, I’m back! So what did I miss?
6:03 PM – Not much. Xavier whupping Ole Miss and VCU-OSU being a point apart. Thanks for your help, everyone!
6:09 PM – I really wish BYU would have beaten Ole Miss. They were really fun to watch, and would have given Xavier a tough out. Alas…that’s the thing about March Madness. The lament of what may have been.
6:15 PM – Now that I *just* realized that the VCU-OSU game is in Portland, Oregon…time to unveil my last beer of the day (although not the last beer I will drink all day. Let’s not get carried away). Without further ado, Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout.
I was a bit worried about this one. I can handle some spice, but not a great deal. Turns out, this one is just a smidge spicy, but really is smoky more than anything else. At 5.7 ABV, it’s not high in alcohol, but it has a complex flavors. If you enjoy chili beers, you’ll like this one.
6:23 PM – As a video game nerd, I am really looking forward to Pixels, almost as much as I was looking forward to Wreck It Ralph.
6:27 PM – Speak of video games, Doug Brooks for VCU is entering “NBA Jam on fire” mode.
6:37 PM – This Rams-Buckeyes game is good. Back and forth, and D’Angelo Russell is tremendous and only a freshman. If he stays, watch out.
6:47 PM – Suddenly this game is a rock fight. Lots of calls and non calls that are kind of shady. At least it’s not favoring one team or another.
6:50 PM – That elbow by Doug Brooks seems like a flagrant 1. What’s weird is in real time, I thought the OSU player fouled him.
6:54 PM – Queue heartburn from Sriracha beer in 3…2…1…
6:57 PM – Watching the Lowes commercial where the wife comes home and husband is painting the room, in real life, what are the chances the wife doesn’t blow up on him for not asking her what color should go in there? 1 in 100? 1 in 1000?
6:59 PM – It’s another one point game! This day has just be a stellar day of basketball.
7:04 PM – Man, that was some questionable offensive execution by VCU. First OT game of the day!
7:06 PM – A quick switch over to the Villanova-Lafayette game. Battle of two Pennsylvania teams. Problem for Lafayette is that Villanova maybe the most balance team in college basketball. At least they have a cool mascot. Go Leopards!
7:12 PM – Shaka Smart is a very smartly dressed man. Does he have a stylist?
7:14 PM – Two crucial/killer turnovers by VCU. Their execution at the end of regulation and in OT has been horrible. I like Shaka Smart, but that goes back to coaching.
7:20 PM – Cripes…another upset? VCU is about to go down. People’s brackets must be in shambles now.
7:29 PM – I didn’t even realize Cincinnati-Purdue was on! My favorite coach in the tournament is on, Mick Cronin, head coach of Cincinnati. By favorite, I don’t mean that I think he’s a great coach. I mean that he seems like the guy you play with at the Y who takes the pickup game WAY too seriously, and thinks he knows more about basketball than anyone else. Have I mentioned that he might be 5’4”? It’s comical to see him yell at his players.
7:36 PM – Again with the weird midsection stripe on Cincinnati’s unis. PLEASE STOP THIS. It’s hideous.
7:44 PM – Just remembered I can use PIP. Am I morphing into my dad? Because technology seems to be eluding me as I age.
7:49 PM – Poor Lafayette. The pride of Allentown, PA is getting pummeled by Villanova at half. At least they’ll always have this.
7:56 PM – Almost 8 hours in, and I’m hitting a wall. This is what marathoners go through, right? Except without all the running and taped nipples.
8:36 PM – Watching Tommy Amaker, Harvard’s coach, you know he’s really itching to knock off UNC. Sadly. He just does not have the horses to do so.
8:41 PM – UNC’s size is just too much for Harvard. They’ve gotten more offensive rebounds than I can count this half.
8:44 PM – Finally looping over to SF Austin-Utah. I’ve seen so little of Utah, so it’ll be an education in that respect, I guess. You can feel my enthusiasm, can’t you?
8:52 PM – My takeaway from the Utah-SF Austin game? Since it’s a 26-19 game at half, I’ll just say that I think both teams are exceptional defensively. Yeah. Let’s go with that.
9: 11 PM – Only two minutes left in this dumpster fire of a game between the Bearcats and the Boilermakers. It’s actually only a five point game, but good luck to Cincinnati scoring that quickly. I’m more likely to wake up in John Malkovitch’s brain.
9:15 PM – True to form, a Bearcats guard steals a pass and misses a largely uncontested layup. That would have cut it to 3.
9:20 PM – A good call reversal by the refs! Cincinnati capitalizes on it with a drive and a free throw. Bearcats down one.
9:25 PM – Well, that turnover by Cincinnati was a pretty fitting way to end that game. UGH.
9:27 PM – Shit! Watching this crapfest, I didn’t realize the UNC Harvard game was close. UNC pulls it out by two. WHY DIDN’T I PAY ATTENTION??????
9:40 PM – I am not commenting on this OT because I protest this atrocity on offensive basketball. Especially since this awfulness is holding up the Kentucky game. The homer is coming out!
9:45 PM – Last comment on that poorly played game. Really a synopsis of it all: down one, the Purdue player doesn’t push the ball, takes an almost leisurely pace, and then launches a long three and misses. YOU ONLY NEEDED A TWO POINT SHOT TO WIN. Thank gawd that is over.
9:49 PM – Oh goodie! Another high octane offensive shootout between Utah and SFA. 6 minutes to go and the Utes are up 44-40. I’ve been spoiled by the earlier games. I mean, sure, its close. But is it too much to ask for some cohesive offense to watch? Apparently so.
10:17 PM – Been watching the end of the SFA-Utah game, and I may have been too harsh on their offenses. Both teams shoot free throws really well, so perhaps it was just great defense by both teams. I still won’t give a pass to Cincinnati-Purdue game. That was still atrocious.
10:22 PM – I was really worried that UK was going to come out with the midsection striping on the unis. I can breathe a sigh of relief.
10:24 PM – Hampton has a one point lead on UK! Wait…never mind.
10:31 PM – LSU had 40 points in the first half. That was almost as much as both Utah and SFA each had in their whole GAMES.
10:36 PM – Considering how small Hampton is, they’re playing well against Kentucky. It’s not sustainable, but still.
10:39 PM – Back to LSU-NC State. LOVE the pace both teams have, they push, then pull back if the break isn’t there, then run their offenses crisply. The game itself is still a double digit lead for LSU, but at least it’s fun to watch.
10:47 PM – Tiny Wofford is only down 2 points to Arkansas. They clearly aren’t afraid of the Razorbacks, even though that is pretty scary animal. Tusks and stuff! Although it looks like the Razorbacks coach is Hermain Cain. Is he running for office again?
10:52 PM – Just realized that the Arkansas-Wofford game is a 5-12 matchup. There’s always one 12 seed that wins the first weekend. Could this be it? Another half to find out.
11:02 PM – All of the sudden, my lids are getting heavy. Will I stay up until the end? Will I fall asleep, laptop on my lap? Will I manage to be up long enough to see the end of the LSU-NC State game? Will….I….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
12:54 AM – Since I feel asleep like a 5 year old trying to stay up on New Year’s Eve, here’s the recap of the games I missed while in La La Land: Kentucky pummeled Hampton 79-56 (Thank goodness for that!), Georgetown pulled away late to beat Eastern Washington 84-74 (I saw absolutely none of that game, but my dislike of Georgetown runs deep from my days detesting Reggie Williams and Patrick Ewing makes me kinda wish they’d lost, even if I picked them in my bracket to win that one), And the little engine that (almost) could, Wofford, lost by only 3 to a really athletic Arkansas team. Wish I’d been conscious to see the end of that game.
Despite my sleepy-headedness, I really enjoyed watching these games and sharing my spastic observations. Now bring on Day 2!
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Photo Credit: AP/File
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