Announced first were the #1 seeds…
- North Carolina
- Kansas
- Virginia
- Oregon
Did not see that last one coming…
And here are the Regions
The South
The West
The East
The Midwest
podcast
‘One Shining Moment’ of the Day: 2012
Final Four:
(1) Kentucky, (2) Kansas, (4) Louisville, (2) Ohio State
National Championship:
Kentucky over Kansas, 67-59 at the Superdome in New Orleans
Most Outstanding Player:
Anthony Davis, Kentucky
Fun Fact:
Two 15 seed teams advanced past the first round as Norfolk State upset (2) Missouri and Lehigh defeated (2) Duke.
Check out our discussion on this year’s tournament and who to keep in mind when filling out your brackets. Subscribe to The Piffcast on iTunes here.
Follow along for more on Facebook or Twitter.
<< Previously 2003
>> Next 1997
‘One Shining Moment’ of the Day: 2003
Final Four:
Syracuse, Kansas, Marquette, Texas
National Championship:
Syracuse over Kansas, 81-78 at the Superdome in New Orleans
Most Outstanding Player:
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
Fun Fact:
Syracuse beat four Big 12 teams on their way to a National Title: Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
Check out our discussion on this year’s tournament and who to keep in mind when filling out your brackets. Subscribe to The Piffcast on iTunes here.
Follow along for more on Facebook or Twitter.
<< Previously 1994
Next 2012 >>
‘One Shining Moment’ of the Day: 1994
Final Four:
(1) Arkansas, (2) Duke, (2) Arizona, (3) Florida
National Championship:
Arkansas over Duke, 76-72 at the Charlotte Coliseum.
Most Outstanding Player:
Corliss Williamson, Arkansas
Leading Scorer:
Khalid Reeves (Arizona) – 137 points/27.4 ppg.
Fun Fact:
Then Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton, was in attendance at the Final Four, as well as the Regional in Dallas the week before. It just so happened his brother had a wedding nearby, so it worked out.
Check out our discussion on this year’s tournament and who to keep in mind when filling out your brackets. Subscribe to The Piffcast on iTunes here.
Follow along for more on Facebook or Twitter.
<< Previously 1989
Next 2003 >>
‘One Shining Moment’ of the Day: 1989
Final Four:
(3) Michigan, (3) Seton Hall, (1) Illinois, (2) Duke
National Championship:
Michigan over Seton Hall, 80-79 at the Kingdome in Seattle, WA
Most Outstanding Player:
Glen Rice, Michigan
Leading Scorer:
Glen Rice – 184 points/30.6 ppg.
Fun Fact:
Two #16 seeded teams (Princeton and East Tennessee State) came within one point of upsetting #1 seeds (Georgetown and Oklahoma). All four #11 seeds advanced to the second round (Minnesota, Texas, South Alabama and Evansville).
Check out our discussion on this year’s tournament and who to keep in mind when filling out your brackets. Subscribe to The Piffcast on iTunes here.
Follow along for more on Facebook or Twitter.
< < Previously (2006)
Next 1994 >>
‘One Shining Moment’ of the Day: 2006
Final Four:
(3) Florida, (2) UCLA, (11) George Mason, (4) LSU
National Championship
Florida over UCLA, 73-57 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN
Most Outstanding Player:
Joakim Noah, Florida
Leading Scorers:
Glen “Big Baby” Davis (LSU) and Joakim Noah – 98 points/16.3 ppg.
Fun Fact:
6 double-digit seeded teams (#11 and over) won big upsets, including #14 Northwestern State over #3 Iowa.
Check out our discussion on this year’s tournament and who to keep in mind when filling out your brackets. Subscribe to The Piffcast on iTunes here.
Follow along for more on Facebook or Twitter.
<< Previously 1999
Next 1989 >>
Piffcast: The Fifth One – March Madness
This month, college hoops takes center stage. What better way to get you prepared for March Madness than talk to a pro that knows everything going into the tourney? Scott Phillips from NBC Sports and I talk about the elite teams, stars who should shine, the bubble teams, potential Cinderellas and more. (Interview starts at the 30:35 mark if you want to jump ahead)
TJ and I also get into some TV talk, the Ballpark Foodie series, and tease next week’s “Selection Monday” show for our TV Character Madness Tournament. We also introduce the Piffcast Cork Board for those of you who have a project, event or cause you’d like to promote. Listen to find out more about it.
Join the conversation by interacting with us on Facebook or Twitter!
Piffcast Book Club: The March Reading List
As promised to listeners of The Piffcast (and an effort to bring people of similar and different interests together), we’re kicking off the first of multiple show “clubs”.
This one…?
The Piffcast Book Club!
Here’s a list of recommended reading material for you to choose from. At the end of the month, those in the Chicagoland area can meet up with me for some pizza and brews while others can join us digitally…either by Twitter tChat or a possible livestream chat on this site. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, let me know which books you choose to read on either Facebook or Twitter.
Midnight Sun
by Jo Nesbo
A fugitive Norwegian hitman attempts to find himself in the Arctic wilderness.
Released: November 5th, 2015. Can order on Amazon here.
Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers
by Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman, aka Ron Swanson from ‘Parks and Recreation’, humorously highlights twenty-one figures from our nation’s history, from her inception to present day—his personal pantheon of “great Americans.”
Released: May, 2015. Available on Amazon here.
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel
by Michael Chabon
A detective story set in an alternative history version of the present day, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Sitka,Alaska, in 1941, and that the fledgling State of Israel was destroyed in 1948.
Released: May, 2007. Available on Amazon here. (Recommended by Johnna Silver)
Songs of a Dead Dreamer
by Thomas Ligotti
Short-story collection, acknowledged as one of the seminal collections of modern weird horror fiction, that shows the influence of Ligotti’s literary idols of horror such as H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe.
Released: March, 2010. Available on Amazon here. (Recommended by Andrew W.K. on The Piffcast)
A Just Cause
by James H. Holzrichter Sr.
When a seemingly ordinary and seriously underestimated family man discovers evidence of potentially massive mismanagement and fraud on the part of the US defense contractor he works for, his desire to help the company itself and his need to protect his newly healing family and newfound sobriety crash headlong into the seventeen-year-long corporate assault on everything he holds dear for knowing too much and refusing to ignore or help bury the truth.
Released: May, 2013. Available on Amazon here. (Recommended by Dan Doherty)
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
Despite their differences, sisters Viann and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Viann is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Viann finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her.
Released: February, 2015. Available on Amazon here.
Blood Brothers
by Randy Roberts & Johnny Smith
Based on previously untapped sources, from Malcolm X’s personal papers to FBI records, Blood Brothers is the first book to offer an in-depth portrait of this complex bond between he and Cassius Clay. Acclaimed historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith reconstruct the worlds that shaped Malcolm and Clay, from the boxing arenas and mosques, to postwar New York and civil rights–era Miami.
Released: February, 2016. Available on Amazon here.
Slammed
by Colleen Hoover
Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she’s losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.
Released: September, 2012. Available on Amazon here. (Recommended by Libbey Hanley)
Risk Savvy: How To Make Good Decisions
by Gerd Gigerenzer
In this age of big data we often trust that expert analysis—whether it’s about next year’s stock market or a person’s risk of getting cancer—is accurate. But, as risk expert Gerd Gigerenzer reveals, most of us, including doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors, often misunderstand statistics, leaving us misinformed and vulnerable to exploitation…Here, showing how ordinary people can make better decisions for their money, their health, and their families.
Released: March, 2015. Available on Amazon here. (Recommended by Jamie Duff)
Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA
by Joe Nocera & Ben Strauss
Fans have begun to realize that the athletes involved in the two biggest college sports, men’s basketball and football, are little more than indentured servants. This is the dramatic story of a loose-knit group of rebels who decided to fight the hypocrisy of the NCAA, which blathers endlessly about the purity of its “student-athletes” while exploiting many of them: The ones who get injured and drop out because their scholarships have been revoked. The ones who will neither graduate nor go pro. The ones who live in terror of accidentally violating some obscure rule in the four-hundred-page NCAA rulebook.
Released: February, 2016. Available on Amazon here.
It’s. Nice. Outside.
by Jim Kokoris
An ex-basketball player, husband, english teacher and author is secretly planning to do something to change his family forever. Funny, heartbreaking, and generous..This story asks: What happens when you have to let go of the person who has been holding you up?
Released: December, 2015. Available on Amazon here.
Beatlebone
by Kevin Barry
It is 1978, and John Lennon has escaped New York City to try to find the island off the west coast of Ireland he bought eleven years prior. Leaving behind domesticity, his approaching forties, his inability to create, and his memories of his parents, he sets off to calm his unquiet soul in the comfortable silence of isolation. But when he puts himself in the hands of a shape-shifting driver full of Irish charm and dark whimsy, what ensues can only be termed a magical mystery tour.
Released: November, 2015. Available on Amazon here.
Let me know what you choose to read on Facebook or Twitter. Feel free to make recommendations for April’s list too.
The Piffcast – Ep. 3 – Andrew W.K. & The Chicago Pizza Summit
The King of Partying, Andrew W.K., joined The Piffcast to discuss the Old Style Chicago Pizza Summit (taking place April 3rd at The Chop Shop in Wicker Park) where he’ll be a keynote speaker. The event sold out in 3 minutes after tickets went on sale, but we have some important info that you’ll definitely be interested in.
If you wish to jump ahead, the interview starts at the 15:15 mark.
Along with epic PARTY insight and advice, Andrew also contributed to our new Piffcast Book Club Reading List. Listen to how you can participate and win some pizza too.
Feel free to react as you listen on Facebook or Twitter!
Subscribe on iTunes here.
The Piffcast: The Second One – Second is the Best
This week, FanDuel sportswriter Jessica Kleinschmidt joins us to talk about the NFL offseason and where the best places would be for big free agents to land…from a Fantasy perspective. We also preview the upcoming MLB season a little bit as well, because pitchers and catchers are reporting! (Jump ahead to the 11:55 mark to here Jessica right away)
Then People Magazine TV editor and writer Aaron Couch jumps on to discuss Better Call Saul and the “Better Talk Saul” podcast he hosts. We also get into The People vs. OJ Simpson and the effect Deadpool’s success will have on Marvel and DC films going forward. (52:20 mark, if you want to jump ahead)
All that, plus some catching up, an epic Chicago Pizza Party and ANOTHER delicious social media contest. Don’t miss out!
michaelpiff 