The SportDork is on the move!  After a joyous eight and a half months in lovely England, it's time to head back to the land of drive-thru burgers and SUVs.  Mrs. SportDork and I decided we had one last trip left in us before our departure, so we took advantage of our last weekend abroad by visiting Amsterdam.  Easter in Amsterdam.  Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  What better way to spend celebrating the resurrection of Jesus than by visiting the land of legalized marijuana and prostitution?  Those two perks, however, are not why I have decided that the SportDorks will eventually be moving to Amsterdam.  This is:

Outdoor urinals.  How can you not love a country that promotes public urination?  Whoever came up with those things needs an award.  I'd like to shake his hand - or maybe just pat him on the back.

So, what will I miss most about living in England?  Drinking beer on the train.  What will I miss least?  Making ice.  I may bring the ice trays back to the U.S. with us and fill them up occasionally just to remind myself what life was like on the other side.  By the way, if any of you are in the market for some pre-owned English electrical devices, let me know.  We have a wide variety for sale:

Hair dryer, coffee maker, toaster, humidifier, Christmas tree lights - you name it, we've got it.  (English to U.S. power converters sold separately.)

While I'm on the subject of our impending move, allow me to jog your memory with a picture that was taken shortly after our arrival last July.  Here is The SportDork lounging on our couch that came with the flat:




Persistent back and neck pain sent us on a trip to IKEA for a new couch in September, and when it arrived in October, Black Beauty was relegated to our bedroom.  A few days ago we successfully sold our six-month old IKEA couch at a fifty percent discount and returned Black Beauty to its original resting place, thus completing the circle of life.  Here I am experiencing a wicked case of deja vu on one of our last nights in England:

Rarely will you see such a combination of comfort and style in one piece of furniture.  You know what?  Add Black Beauty to the list of things I will miss most.


So what does all of this mean for the future of SportDork.com?  Nothing.  Yes, barring the discovery of some winning lottery numbers upon our return to Atlanta, I will eventually be returning to the world of spreadsheets, All-Hands meetings and monthly birthday celebrations in the break room.  But I want to assure my legions of readers that this in no way signals the end of SportDork.com.  If you are one of the ten or twenty people who have joined me on this odyssey over the last eight and a half months, you can rest assured that SportDork.com will go on.  Even if it means reduced office productivity and the risk of termination, I will continue to bring you quasi-sporting observations on a weekly basis.  You've asked for it (well, at least two or three of you have), and I can't turn my back on The SportDork Nation now.  Just do me a favor and remember that I didn't turn my back on you during your time of need when I get laid off and start charging $19.95 a month to subscribe to the site.

Now let's get to something that you didn't ask for, but I gave you anyway.  Last week, in an unprecedented show of generosity by The SportDork, I gave you my bracket.  But I didn't stop there.  Not only did I give you my bracket, I gave you the philosophy behind the bracket.  Disclosing that level of "insider" knowledge clearly sent a shock wave through The SportDork Nation, as evidenced by the fact that I received a single comment during the week, and it made reference only to my poker playing ability.  You were left speechless, and that's ok.  It's a natural reaction to being presented with a key that unlocks the secret to great NCAA tournament riches without even asking.  

This year, however, it appears that the guy at Home Depot who works the key machine spent too much time sniffing fumes in the paint department, because the key to riches that I handed out last week didn't quite fit the lock.  Let's take a closer look at The SportDork's bracket, by region, to see if we can't figure out what went right and what went a little less than right.

South Region

You see lemons, I see lemonade.  First of all, I batted .500 in this region through the first two rounds.  That would make you millions in baseball.  Sure, I had Pitt going to the Final Four and eventually winning it all, and they couldn't even make it past Michigan State in the second round.  But if you had followed my lead and taken them, you'd now be able to enjoy the rest of the tournament completely stress-free, knowing that you've already been eliminated!  And my tip from last week still holds true - ALWAYS pick a team to win it all that you are confident no one else will pick.  If Pitt had found a way to win the title, I'm confident I would have won the pool.

West Region

See what I did here?  Even though I got six out of the eight first round games right, I then managed to pick every second round game incorrectly except UCLA/Texas A&M.  I now have one team remaining in this region, and it just so happens to be the team I have going to the Final Four.  That's tough to do.  I think you could even get away with bragging about that one.

Midwest Region

You may recall my comments last week about Kansas.  ALWAYS pick 'em to go to the Sweet Sixteen, but never pick 'em to win it all.  I am happy to report that this strategy was responsible for two of my four victories in this region.  Yes, four victories.  Twelve games played in two rounds, and I got four right.  That's also tough to do.  I probably cut KU a round or two early this year, particularly since they now have a clear path to the Final Four, but I still don't expect to be watching them in the title game.  (This means that if you have the opportunity, put a large sum of money on Kansas to win it all.)

East Region

I saved the best for last.  Ignore the fact that a monkey could have picked the top three teams in the region to advance.  If that's true, then I'm one happy monkey.  Seven out of twelve games picked correctly - that's over fifty percent!  I am now counting on Bruce Pearl, UT's head coach, to go shirtless for the rest of the tournament to inspire his team.




Go Vols!

Not that you needed to see it, but here is my updated Final Four.
 

Go Panthers!