Guest Blogger

Every year around this time, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the arrival of spring, St. Patrick’s Day, and my birthday all converge upon the last half of March; and I feel like a kid in a candy store. March Madness eve rolls around and I feel like an eight-year old kid waiting for Christmas morning. It’s now 3:34 a.m. and I can’t sleep, but I have completed my course in bracketology, and feel confident in my picks. Considering it is late and I have a full day of tournament coverage ahead of me I’ll keep this short. Think of it as a blog in news and notes form.

- On the first night here in San Jose, I drove a group of us downtown to celebrate Mark Newhouse’s birthday. I’m pretty sure this city in the heart of Silicon Valley has the least freeway on ramps per capita in the United States. We ended up in the rental car parking lot of the San Jose International Airport at one point. I’m not joking.

-My final four picks include Florida, UCLA, Ohio State and Georgetown. The Gators will be the first repeat champions since the Dukies of ’91-’92, when they defeat Greg Oden, and the rest of the Buckeyes (sorry Mike Sexton) in the national title game. As a result, the state of Florida will feature the most obnoxious fans in college sports history, as they bask in the spring break sun, and dual national titles in football and basketball.

-Bill Edler told our World Poker Tour coverage team one of the best prop bet stories I’ve ever heard earlier tonight. He and Gavin Smith bet $20 that Gavin couldn’t write a four word sentence correctly. Gavin then angrily picked up a pen and jotted down this little gem: “Your a #@!%ing idiot.” Score one for Edler, he only wished he had bet more.

-The young guns of poker took over the Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament during day two. Jeff Madsen is the chip leader, and Joe Sebok is in second place. Both these guys crave a victory in a $10,000 event more than any other player on tour and my money is on one of them to capture it here. They’ll have their work cut out for them, though, because Nenad Medic and Joe Pelton are lurking in the fifth and sixth place respectively.

-Gary did fall asleep; I was there and can attest to the truth! Tony Berns and I did manage to stay up with Newhizzle and Chris McCormack for the screening of their WPT final table. It was a surreal experience to watch these two not only react to their poker play as high-caliber professionals, but also as two average guys, reacting to their first appearance on television.

Good Times!

Ryan “Force” Lucchesi
force@wisehandpoker.com