We have a winner...!! MURRAY S!!

This is Tim S serenading his dog Murray S

Immediately after Duke and Villanova put an end to the hopes and dreams of many a Ganzan Saturday night, Tim and Murray S were spotted on a tropical beach frolicking in the waves, eating pineapple and dog treats, and playing guitar and yelping to the skies. How did they manifest this scenario in paradise so quickly you ask? Well, in the words of Murray, 'To be honest, I knew I had it in the bag as soon as I printed out the picks page on day one. Coach K is a god, and I just had a feeling about Villanova. Kismet, I guess you could say. Fate. The stars aligned in my favor. It was meant to be. And since my keeper Tim S still hasn't won in 31 years of playing this damn thing, I felt it was the least I could do to include him on this trip. Not to mention, I can make life a bit rough on the guy sometimes. Woof!'

Moving on, tomorrow should be fun, as at least one of a #8, #10, and #15 seed will make it to the Final Four... and hopefully knock off Duke en route to a National Championship.

This is Coach K. Again? Really?

If you have not sent money, please do. Let's get this together so we can sent the spoils to the victor ASAP. He's gonna need it, after that tropical vacation.

 8 more down, 7 left!!

This is Marge TG and Lauren B. Enough said.

In yet another night of upsets, UCLA and Purdue both went down, taking 7 more Ganzans with them, and diminishing the chances of numerous others. The night's losers included Dawn F, 3-time past champ Ed L, Rose F, Pappy, 1992 champ Ellen D, Gary C, Frank G, and the Shea kids. Immediately after the last game, Marge TG was heard on Fox so-called News saying, 'St Peter's beating Purdue is great and all, but it's nothing compared to all those January 6 patriots being persecuted as illegal prisoners of war. Where are Antifa and the BLM rioters? They're sitting home getting paid to be lazy by the same government taking away our liberty by making us wear masks!' This was followed by Lauren B joining the conversation, 'What, North Carolina beat UCLA? I'd just like to say, as allergy season gets underway, I encourage everyone to take their allergy medicines so my allergy medicines can work. You know, it doesn't work unless everyone takes it.'

This is St Peter's. The are a 15 seed, and in the Elite Eight.

Of the remaining 7 Ganzans in the running, four (Ryan F, Prune, 3-time champ Andrew C, and Goose) have #5 seed Houston, two (G family comrades Frank and Ryder) have #4 seed Arkansas, and Murray has two #2 seeds left. If #5 Houston beats #2 Villanova we will potentially have a four way tie, UNLESS #2 Duke also beats #4 Arkansas, in which case Goose will be this year's champ. If Arkansas wins and Houston loses, LA Frank G and Ryder G will tie, and a Family Feud playoff will have to determine the 2022 champion. Finally, if both Houston and Arkansas lose, Murray the dog will prevail. 

 W Family Bloodbath!!

This is Flo W, before the night began.

In one of the bloodiest nights in recent years, 19 Ganzans bit the dust. Leading this mass exodus was Flo W, the matriarch of the W clan (Corey W, Tracy W, Lucy/Anabelle) who all went down within a matter of minutes. Josh G is also a part of the W family, but lamely didn't throw his hat in the ring this year. When reached for comment, Flo W said, 'Well this sucks. I obviously failed as a mother and grandmother. At 98, I don't have many of these damn Ganzas left in me either. I really thought this was my year. Fuck.'

The complete list of the night's losers is as follows:

Ganza co-founder Michael S, semi-perennial contender Jon T, F Bomb (failed strategy), Tim S, Mo/Lucas, Davidson C, Darrell C, Tracy W, Eric S, David B, Evan B, Michael F, Lucy/Anabelle, Ganza co-founder and 3-time ex champ Corey W, Flo W, David G1, David G2, Nate W, and Danny M. For clarification, many of these fine Ganzans still had/have teams left, but have been mathematically eliminated from victory because even if their teams made it to the promised land, other people would automatically still have more points than them. 

For the record, 16 Ganzans had Gonzaga, 14 had Arizona, and 8 had Texas Tech. Meanwhile, everybody's favorite team, Duke, moves on to the Elite 8 with an upcoming Saturday night game against #4 Arkansas (who only Ryder G and Frank G (of the famous G family) chose!).

The Picks Page will be updated soon.

This is Clarence and Ginni T. They suck.

In other news, it has come to our attention that Ginni T, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence T, has been in contact with people in the Extravaganza offices attempting to get, among others, Texas Tech's loss to Duke thrown out so she can declare whoever she wants the winner of the Ganza when the time comes. Clarence T has already said he will not recuse himself when this case goes before the Supreme Court, as it inevitably will. 'This is preposterous!', claimed Corey W. 'We've spent 31 years building good will and trust in the proceedings here, and to have someone attempt to undermine this is outrageous! Mark my words, Clarence and Ginni T will never again participate in the Final Four Extravaganza. Assholes.'

        Murray S Leads The Way!!

This is Murray S. Woof!

In an odd turn of events, we finished the first weekend of March Madness with all but two Ganzans still in the running. As previously noted, 2-time past champion Trevor G is out. He has now been joined by 2017 champ Daskull the cat. They are the only two participants to have been eliminated thus far... and only by virtue of having all four of their teams defeated. When asked for his comment, Daskull had this to say, 'Meow. How hard would it have been for me to have even just one team still in this thing? I'm an idiot. I mean, I picked Murray State for gods sakes. Meow.' 

Because there are still teams in every bracket that nobody chose, virtually no-one has been mathematically eliminated yet (not even Darrell C!!). Michael S, Extravaganza co-founder, chimed in on these extraordinary events with this, 'Never in the history of the Ganza have we had so many people still alive at this stage of the proceedings. Enjoy, everyone! Enjoy!'

Led by Murray S, there are 3 Ganzans with all four teams still alive. Joining Murray S is 2019 & 2021 powerhouse Rose F, and F Bomb. Oddly, Mr Bomb chose two sets of two teams from the same brackets, a seldom used strategy rarely seen in these parts. Genius... or idiot...? Only time will tell.

This reporter also reached out to Murray S's owner, Tim S, for comment about his dog's early success, 'He's 17 and half, is an angry old man who pees wherever the fuck he wants to now. If that old bastard wins, I swear to god, he's really gonna be insufferable.'

This is Ron S. He is trying to stifle the Ganza in his home state of Florida

In other news, Governor Ron S of Florida is pushing the Florida legislature to pass and send to his desk a bill that would make it illegal to participate in the Final Four Extravaganza until or unless your picks are personally pre-approved by him. He is also proposing the right for the governor's office to be able to throw out any entries at any point before a winner is announced. When asked why he wants to mess with the Ganza, Ron S simply said, 'You can add the Extravaganza to the long list of things we need to stop for the great citizens of Florida to fully enjoy their freedom. This list includes mask mandates, voter fraud, and a woman's right to choose... and, uh, we must stop the teaching of CRT in our schools! Freedom Florida!!!'

AND THEN THERE WERE 35!

 2 time champion Trevor G. is the first Ganza participant to lose all 4 of his teams. In a year of unprecedented upsets, Trevor somehow managed to achieve the seemingly impossible, in being eliminated prior to the completion of the 1st weekend. When asked about this crazy turn of events, Trevor had this to say, “This year I decided to play my hunches and those hunches were clearly wrong. The highest seeded team I picked was a 10! What the hell was I thinking?”

Well, we here at the Extravaganza wish Mr. G. All the best and we hope to see him back next year.

                                     Awesome! Totally Awesome!

This is Jeff S. He is stoked the Ganza is back!!

Welcome back my friends! The 2022 Final Four Extravaganza is getting underway as we speak. Do your part! In the next two days, pick and submit your teams, send your 'donation', and we'll be on our way. The deadline for your picks submission is this Wednesday night, 15 minutes after the last play in game ends. As always, the rules, the picks page, a printable bracket, and the Hall of Champions list is all on the website for your aid and enjoyment.

This is Mike Hopkins. He is a loser.

In other news, Mike Hopkins is not the savior Washington Husky fans had hoped for. In fact, the Huskies failed to even get invited to the NIT this year. When asked his thoughts on this, Extravaganza co-founder Corey W. had this to say, 'Well, at least I won't be wasting a pick on the UW this year. Now that I think about it, this is actually great! Without that handicap, I could actually win this thing! And what about Duke? I've always loved Duke! Everybody loves Duke! Maybe they can be my new savior!?!'