And Then There Were Four!

This is Tim S. playing the blues after Kansas lost to VCU.

In an exciting weekend, Tracy W. had all four games go her way to hang on by the skin of her teeth and join Tim S., Ed L. and Shelby W. in next weekend's tie-breaker. All four contestants had #4 seed Kentucky to trump those with #3 UConn.

Here are the rules:

Since every contestant had the same team coming in, each contestant shall pick a winner and the score in Saturday's Kentucky-UConn game.
If a contestant's newly chosen team loses, he/she loses (unless they all lose, in which case they go to score differential).
If more than one contestant's team wins, we go to score differential.
Example) C#1 picks UConn 95-85, C#2 picks UConn 96-84, C#3 and C#4 pick Kentucky. UConn then wins by the score of 100 to 80. C3# and C#4 are out. C#1 has a 10 point differential, while C#2 has an 8 point differential. C#2 wins.
If two or more contestants tie on point differential, we will have a similar tie-breaker in the final.

Again, in the case of everyone choosing the same losing team, the tie will be broken by the point differential.

Picks and points are due to the Extravaganza organizing committee no later than 12:00 midnight Friday April 1.

Good luck to all... errr... at least Tim S. and Tracy W. (who would be first time winners), and Ed L. (who is not a clown).

Angus Screws the Pooch!

Well, it happened. Angus the Dog's worst nightmare came true today when Butler beat Florida to advance to the Final Four. Angus had picked Butler but in a moment of indecision changed his pick to Florida.

If it weren't for that switch this year's Extravaganza would be over. The photo at right is of Angus' landlord, Goose. Angus owed exactly $1,700 in back rent.

So the dog screwed up. But there are still 5 human beings remaining, 4 of whom have Kentucky. If North Carolina wins tomorrow, long-time Extravaganza participant LA Frank G. will win the dough. If Kentucky and Kansas win, Tim S. will finally prevail.

And if Kentucky and VCU win there will be a four way tie, a situation the Extravaganza Organizing Committee does not wish to contemplate.

And a Dog Shall Lead Us!

In one of the bloodiest evenings in Extravaganza memory, 21 people were eliminated and the big blow was delivered by Arizona as they thoroughly dismantled top-seeded Duke.

Of the 11 "participants" remaining only one has all 4 teams still alive. That "entrant" is Angus, the dog. But wait, there's more. Not only are all of Angus' picks still playing but a pick he changed at the last minute is one victory away from making the Final Four.

Angus was one of the few to get his picks in before the original Tuesday deadline but after the deadline was moved to Wednesday to accommodate the whiners, Angus changed one of his picks.

So, if Butler beats Florida on Saturday and this causes Angus to lose he may well be dragging his tail between his legs for many years to come.

Losers: Michael F., Lucy/Annabelle, Trevor G., Sean L., Julie G., Dawn F., Natalie S., Michael S., Kristin S., Dillinger, Duane D., Ryder/Rowan, Frank G., Lisa L., Rose F., Josh G., David G., Andrew C., David D., Michael B., Corey W.,

One For The Ages!!!

Jon T. sets new Final Four Extravaganza record!

In an extraordinary display of ineptitude, Jon T. is believed to be the first contestant to ever have all four teams go down in flames on opening weekend. While Jon was not the only one eliminated today (Sorry, Charlie F.), he was reported to have been roaming the streets of Seattle looking for someone to lay some hurt on.


-------------------------------This is Jon T. in happier times.-----------------------------

When asked for comment, Jon T. simply said, 'First one eliminated. Disgusted.' After gathering himself further, he added, 'Really, I'm just grateful to god for giving me the chance to compete in this year's ganza, and I'm looking forward to next year and doing the best I can. Thanks Mike and Corey. I love you guys.'

Don't feel bad Jon, many others are on the brink of mathematical elimination with only one team left. For those of you slashing teams from the list, today's losers included Syracuse, Notre Dame, Texas and Purdue.

Michael S. - Down for the count!...?

--------------------------This is Michael S. He only has two teams left.-----------------------------

Day 2 of the festivities wrapped up with one entrant, co-founder Michael S., leading the way to a year of ridicule as potentially being the first entrant eliminated. While he is not yet there, he is the first one to lose two teams this year. His mighty UNLV pick never came within 20 points of the lead in their game, and St john's didn't do much better. What next you ask? On Sunday, Michael will now be forced to route AGAINST his beloved UW Huskies in order to survive the opening weekend. Yes, a travesty it is. He picked UNC over UW. Such a disgrace hasn't been seen in these parts since, well, earlier this week when David G. didn't pick his beloved Arizona Wildcats and Frank G. didn't pick Tennessee (good move, by the way) for the first time in Extravaganza history. If anyone can explain these bizarre happenings coming out of southern California, please respond in the comment section of this entry.

Some other losers for the day included Georgetown, Xavier and Tennessee.

Ganza begins! Winner already declared!!

Huh!?!

Today marks a grave day in Ganza history. While most contestants were rejoicing the loss of Louisville, and Kentucky's near miss (which would've knocked Shelby out quicker than anyone in history), behind the scenes deals were apparently being made to declare this year's winner in advance.


This is Tony S. and his wife Carm. They just 'won' this year's Ganza.

While most Ganza participants were outraged at this news, two prominent Extravaganza organizing committee members were spotted and photographed drinking tea in a Turkish bathhouse outside of Istanbul. See photo below.



When asked for comment, a furious Flo W. responded, "They're gonna having some splainin' to do for this"

Another anonymous contestant replied, "That's it! I knew those guys were gonna try to steal my money some day. I'm just not gonna pay!"

Considering who the declared winner is, this reporter thinks said contestant, as well as everybody else, may want to reconsider that strategy. Just saying.

Prune Quits!

After many years of entering, former Champion "The Prune" , has decided to renege on his commitment to play the Extravaganza "in perpetuity". After much whining and moaning about his busy schedule he failed to get his picks in.

Shelby W., who has known Prune for almost 30 years had this to say, "That guy has never been easy to deal with. I'm not surprised by his actions, although I am greatly disappointed."

Corey W. (no relation), of the Extravaganza Organizing Committee released the following statement:

"When you sign up to participate in the Extravaganza you engage in an implicit contract and that contract states that 'if you win, you stay in'. Mr. Prune has violated the terms of his agreement and our lawyers are looking into the matter. The Extravaganza Organizing Committee takes a very dim view of 'cherry pickers'."

On a related note, this year's pool has only 34 participants. Down 15% from last year. Many are happy about the decrease. Long-time participant Jon T. said, "I figure this gives me a better chance to finally win this damn thing, although I do suspect that part of my disastrous results are due to the Organizing Committee's blatant anti-Asian bias. That being said, I do applaud this move. It sucks having the exact same picks as somebody else. Fewer people should minimize that possibly."

Comments are enabled on this website for those of you who'd like to weigh in on this serious breach of Extravaganza Etiquette.

Cry Babies Rejoice!

Due to an enormous amount of whining about the new deadline the Extravaganza Organizing Committee has acquiesced to popular crying and moaning and agreed to change the deadline for picks to be in.

The new deadline is Wednesday, March 16th at 8pm PDT

Good luck and Go Dawgs!

Isaiah Thomas is God!

And you wish he was playing for your team.

Welcome back everyone to the 22nd Annual Final Four Extravaganza! This year we have much to celebrate. I was in attendance as the Washington Huskies won their 2nd straight Pac-10 Tournament Title and I was in attendance as the Washington Huskies won their 2nd straight Pac-10 Tournament Title!

So, as you can see, there is much rejoicing.

It was perhaps the most incredible game I have ever personally witnessed.

Anyway, moving on to business. This year the games start on Tuesday so everyone must get their picks in by 3pm PDT, Tuesday March 15th.

Good luck and Go Dawgs!