Spear
March Madness -- 2019 Edition


Saint Mary's Gaels

Saint Mary's Gaels

Michigan State
Michigan 
State

Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia 
Cavaliers

Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State University

Duke Blue Devils
Duke Blue Devils



Andy Dolich -- 2015



What's in a name?

By Andy Dolich


We are all going hoop crazy and bracket bonkers. This is the time of the year where American worker productivity grinds to a halt.

Since all you bracketologists have already picked the winners I thought it might be worthwhile to look at the nicknames of all participating schools for future handicapping since your brackets are already smithereened.

Heaven & Hell
Blue Devils -- Duke
Sun Devils -- Arizona State University

History
Knights -- Central Florida, Prairie View
Spartans -- Michigan State
Braves -- Bradley
Seminoles -- Florida State
Norse -- Northern Kentucky
Cavaliers -- Virginia
Sooners - Oklahoma
Rebels -- Mississippi
Gaels -- Saint Mary's, Iona
Monarchs -- Old Dominion
Vols -- Tennessee
Tar Heels -- North Carolina
Pirates -- Seton Hall
Aggies -- Utah State, New Mexico State

Toothpaste
Colgate -- Raiders (I guess you can put them in the history list above.)

Forces of Nature?
Flames -- Liberty
Cyclones -- Iowa State

"Huh?"
Hokies -- Virginia Tech
Billikens -- St. Louis
Racers -- Murray State
Buckeyes -- Ohio State

Animal Kingdom
Bisons -- North Dakota State
Rams -- VCU
Bulldogs -- Mississippi State, Yale, Gonzaga
Terrapins -- Maryland
Tigers -- LSU, Auburn
Golden Gophers -- Minnesota
Bears -- Baylor
Bulls -- Buffalo
Wolfpack -- Nevada
Wolverines -- Michigan
Grizzlies -- Montana
Runnin' Bulldogs (as opposed to non-runnin'
    Bulldogs) -- Gardner-Webb
Bruins -- Belmont
Panthers -- Fairleigh Dickinson, Georgia State
Badgers -- Wisconsin
Wildcats -- Kansas State, Villanova, Kentucky,
     Abilene Christian 
Anteaters -- UC Irvine
Bearcats -- Cincinnati
Huskies -- Washington, Northeastern
Catamounts aka Cougars -- Vermont
Cougars -- Houston
Terriers -- Wofford

Strong Drink for an Industrial Tradesman
Boilermakers -- Purdue

Orange is the New Orange
Orange -- Syracuse
Red Raiders -- Texas Tech
Red Storm -- St. John's

Birds with Talons
Cardinals -- Louisville
Golden Eagles -- Marquette
Owls -- Temple
Hawkeyes -- Iowa 
Jayhawks -- Kansas

Waterfowl
Ducks -- Oregon
It's just Miscellaneous Madness
Wildcats vs. Wildcats: Kentucky vs. Abilene
     Christian

Quarterfinal sites:
Anaheim, CA: No. of California teams:
Two -- Saint Mary's, UC Irvine

Kansas City, MO: No. of teams from Missouri
One -- St. Louis

Washington, D.C.: No. of teams from the
     District of Columbia
None

Louisville, KY: No. of teams from Kentucky
Four -- Kentucky, Louisville, Northern Kentucky,
     Murray State

Semis and Final sites
Minneapolis, MN: No. of teams from
     Minnesota 
One -- University of Minnesota

Last team to win from West of the Mississippi
River?
Arizona in 1997

Hibernation
Belmont Bruins, In. UCLA Bruins, Out

Teams with the following nicknames have won three or more NCAA titles since 1939:
Bruins -- 12
Wildcats -- 11
Tar Heels -- 6
Hoosiers -- 5
Blue Devils -- 5
Huskies -- 4
Jayhawks -- 3
Cardinals -- 3

Odds of filling out a perfect bracket?
1 in 9.2 Quintillion

Estimated number of brackets filled out this year?
75 million

Estimated loss of U.S. corporate productivity during March Madness?
$6.5 billion dollars

Official ladder of the NCAA used to cut down the nets?
Werner ladders

Official scissors to cut down nets?
Fiskars

Official Nets?
No clue

Number of schools that have both men's and women's teams in March Madness 2019?
25

Name the University on the men's/women's side which is named after a Rapper?
Drake

One Shining Moment
The late Luther Vandross recorded this classic for the Tournament broadcast. The New York-born singer went to Western Michigan for one year. The Broncos have appeared in four NCAA tournaments in 1976, 98, 04 and 14.

                      
3-25-19 - Oregon
Oregon

3-25-19 - UC Irvine
UC Irvine

3-25-19 - Syracuse
Syracuse

3-25-19 - Gonzaga
Gonzaga

3-25-19 - Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas

                                                        *          *          *          *

Andy Dolich has over five decades of leadership in the sports industry, including executive positions in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, pro soccer and lacrosse. Presently Dolich is COO of the Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL) and teaches sports business at Stanford's School of Continuing Studies. Dolich is also co-author of the new book:
Pops
3-6-17 - Pops

Michael King (left), with an associate from USF (center), and Karla Granadino-King, are pictured at the Olympic Club in San Francisco,  proudly sharing with the world their  Pops Premium Rumpopo. A King family secret, Pops Premium Rumpopo is a  delicious rum cream liqueur recipe brewed in the family tradition.  The award winning recipe is a Belizean family favorite and now available at all Total Wine & More stores in California and Bay Area retailers.
For more information, visit https://www.bzecheers.com/rumpopo

Pops - Original
Pops Back Label