So don’t expect many posts.  I’m busy.

The editors of Bachmannalia are well-known and rabid fans of Mr. Jefferson’s University.  We have praised Sean Singletary as a gifted point guard and Dave Leitao as a fantastic coach.  That being said, we were both surprised and a little leery of the NCAA bracket announcement today.

The Cavaliers came in as a 4-seed.  Bachmannalia’s resident basketball editors had picked them as a 6-seed, whilst holding out hope for a 5-seed.  When Tennessee was listed as the last 5-seed, the editors fell silent, feeling for sure that Virginia would be headed for a dreaded 7-seed.  But then the Wahoos came up on the screen, in the 4 spot.  Great news, right?

Well, yes and no.  Seasons of disappointment have jaded our editors, and they have expressed fear that Albany will bounce Virginia in that most hated of terms for a favorite, “Upset.”  Are the Hoos overrated in this spot?  As much of a set of fans as our editors are, they concur that the answer is “yes.”  Singletary and Reynolds are special, and if they were a season younger each with the maturing crew supporting them, we would be more hopeful for the future, and for some bizarre reason more accepting of the present situation.  Should they live up to the billing, it would be a huge boon for the program.

But are the editors still hopeful and rooting for the Cavs (and have already picked them to make the Sweet 16)?  Heck yes.

March 1st will go down as a great day for the editors of Bachmannalia.  Why?

(1) UVa defeated arch-rival Va. Tech to take 1st place in the ACC going into the final weekend of the regular season.  One more win will seal the championship.  This is a huge statement from a team that no one expected to be better than mediocre.  Bachmannalia directs our regular readers to the blog of compatriot DoubleWahoo for more in-depth analysis.

(2) The head editor and his wife got to see their favorite live band, “Guster,” at the 9:30 Club.  The show was great, punctuated by text messages from our friends with score updates (don’t worry, we watched most of the game before we left) and an incredibly funkdified version of “Airport Song.”  They always, always put on a great show, full of interaction and fun.  They ended with a horrific (but horribly amusing) version of 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Going On.”

(3) Spring training games have started, and in fine fashion, with a great pitching and batting effort by the Tribe in a 13-2 rout of Houston.  Ah, I can almost smell the spring flowers…

March 1 is a great day.

I have recently taken the game up again after a hiatus of approximately 13 years.  I have played off and on during that span, but haven’t played nearly as consistently as I have in the past few months.

There is honestly little else in the world that makes me as happy as strolling around on a well-landscaped golf course playing a relaxing round.  Of course there are things that can quickly change that.  A partial list:
(1) I play poorly:  Which occurs most of the time.  Knock off 6 out of 10 rounds.

(2) People crowd me:  I can’t stand it when groups bunch up behind me.  It makes me nervous and contributes invariably to point 1.  Knock off 1 round.

(3) I have to play with people I don’t know:  I like playing with my friends and family because they know I lack sufficient talent and are therefore cool.  Random people don’t know that and are either (a) better than me or (b) annoying.  Knock off 1 round.

(4) Sweat ruins my game:  Sweaty hands that make the club spin in my palms.  Sweaty forehead that drips over my sunglasses.  Sweaty shirts that cling to my arms.  All bad news.  But that is more a summer thing.  Contributes to point 1.  Knock off 1 round.

Well there you have it.  I usually enjoy about 1 round out of every 10.  But that’s enough to keep me coming back, since I’m a glutton for punishment!

And that pisses me off.

On an "up" note, the wiff and I head to Germany this weekend – WORLD CUP!!! 

The Indians have been going through an awful stretch.  After starting the season with high hopes and a quick 6-1 record over divisional opponents, they have struggled.  Most notably the pitching staff has been terrible – starters left games early, the bullpen couldn't hold a lead, injuries across the board – it was a real mess.  Especially considering that this team was ostensibly built around pitching.   The hitting was quite good but has cooled off recently.

Going into last night the Tribe was carrying a 6-game losing streak and a grudge against the Royals, who despite carrying one of the worst records in the league has thusfar torn the Indians apart.

But that changed last night!  Three scoreless innings from 3 different relievers, including the just-back-from-the-DL Betancourt.  Byrd was solid if not spectacular in his start, but he kept us in the game.  Casey Blake continued his tear with another homer.  Michaels gunned out a runner from left field and Broussard snagged a liner for another double play.  And it was all capped off by Sizemore tying the game in the 9th with a homer, followed by Hafner's walk-off home run shot to win the game.

That is how you win.  I really hope this is a sign of things to come.  Let's keep it going Cleveland! 

My wife and I played some mini-golf today. It was a lot of fun – sunny day spent outside, putting my way to glory. I won, though it was quite a tough match.

I just wanted everyone to know that.

Oh, and it reminded me of what a friend of mine told me once. He told me that this guy we went to high school with had decided to go "semi-pro" at mini-golf. Semi-pro. How the heck do you do that in mini-golf? I mean, the time and technical skill that goes in to avoiding the spinning windmill and the treacherous annoying child from the group ahead of you who thinks it's funny to grab your perfect shot midway to the hole.

Seriously.