NCAA Men's Tournament Brackets - Day Two

No politics today just talking about the NCAA Basketball Tournament - Sooners play San Diego State tonight in Philly and places to find the best hamburger along with great BBQ in Norman

Today is the second full day of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.  Don't think you can beat yesterday for shockers - the biggest one being Harvard over New Mexico which stunned the Nation of brackatologists including this one.  Did get Oregon over Oklahoma State because I thought the Ducks had a seed that was much lower then it should have been plus always pick against Little Brother up North.  All in all I got 12 out of 16 picks and am tied for sixth place in one of my brackets.  If today goes like yesterday one of my regions is going to be blown up.  Almost lost a Final Four pick when #1 Gonzaga came close to getting beat by #16 Southern University in a very close game.  This probably is an omen Kansas could lose - pick them every year to go far and every so often they do, but generally they blow up my bracket.

Harvard celebrates its first win in NCAA Tournament in School History with win over NM

There was one shining example yesterday for the team I have picked to be the eventual champion - Louisville.  They left no doubt they are the team to beat in the tournament as Coach Petrino has them playing great right now.  Looking forward to seeing Miami play today as well as they also seem to also be playing very well at the end of the regular season.  At the end of today, we will know who makes it into Round 2!  Then I can get a restart on one of my brackets, CBS Bracket for Coaches Against Cancer, where you pick by round not the whole bracket!

Today marks the end of Spring Break in Norman and my cutting across campus to get to the other side of town during certain hours.  Walked into our favorite place to go for hamburgers yesterday "The Garage" and could actually find a table with no problem yesterday but usually you grab the first table you can find.  Even found a parking place right out front yesterday for lunch - that hasn't happened in a long time.  BTW, if you are ever in Norman, "The Garage" is the place to go for the best hamburgers (beef, buffalo, or veggie) with some of the best fries I have ever tasted.  They are now spoiling me on ordering hamburgers any place else - everything about the beef burger from the buns to the meat to the way they are cooked with the vegies added is mouth watering.  My brother always orders the buffalo burgers when he is visiting.

Lunch in a short time is going to be at Billy Simms BBQ - the Sooner Heisman winner from 1978 has some of the best BBQ turkey with small baked potato in the area.  Was very happy when Billy Simms brought his BBQ to Norman or as Billy calls it BoomerQ.  Norman has some of the best BBQ places I have seen in our travels - all different types.  Also celebrated when Rudy's BBQ out of the San Antonio area opened here in Norman - we used to go their original one when we lived in Boerne, TX, at Boerne Stage Road off of I-10.  Then there is Ray's Smokehouse BBQ owned by former OU football player Darrol Ray - BBQ is really good voted the best in Norman with great sides and located blocks from campus.  Van's Pig Stand is a local BBQ place who was in Norman when we first arrived - love their sliced brisket with best curly fries ever.  We rotate around for the different flavors used in the BBQ by the various restaurants.  Don't think we have found a true favorite that is heads above the rest as they are all really good.

We need a really good seafood restaurant and my world would be complete as we have some really good Italian restaurants, great Mexican restaurants, some great Greek food, some very good steakhouses and excellent Oriental Restaurants.  Chuys from El Paso, TX, opened here last summer.  When we were in El Paso for the opening football game for the Sooners, the recommended Mexican place to eat by the locals was Chuys - same restaurant that was open in Norman.

Palm Sunday is this Sunday which will be celebrated around the World.  Always loved getting the palms from our Church on Palm Sunday when I was a kid - could never figure out then why the palm wouldn't grow into a palm tree if I put it water.  One thing I miss are the Palm Trees of Southern California and in parts of Texas.  It is too cold for palm trees in Norman except the small ones you can bring inside for winter which I plan to plant in a container this year, I can bring it into the sun porch for winter and think warm when the weather is cold.

Have a wonderful weekend - order some food, kick back and relax to watch basketball this weekend if you are into sports.  You can also go to your nearest sports bar/restaurant to watch the games on multiple screens and cheer for your teams.

Whatever you choose to do, make this a fun weekend and ignore the political chattering class for a few days to get rejuvenated to fight the good fight that lies ahead against obstructionists!

Boomer Sooner!