Portland, Oregon

Edit: I had some problems with the photos showing up correctly, so I've had to re-add them and re-publish.

Warning: Travelogue ahead.

My next trip was in March of this year to Portland, Oregon for the round of 64 and round of 32 games in the NCAA tournament.  I still call them the first and second rounds, but technically they are now the second and third rounds now that there are 68 teams involved.

The games were at the Rose Garden Arena (where the Trailblazers play), which turned out to be quite a comfortable arena.  It's been so long since the tournament that most of you have probably forgotten who even won the national championship (it was the Kentucky Wildcats, by the way).

We saw some great games, including 3 of the 6 determined by 3 points or less.  The teams that we saw were: New Mexico, Long Beach State, Louisville, Davidson, Wichita State, Virginia Commonwealth, Indiana and New Mexico State.

On the Friday between the games, we headed up the Columbia River Gorge to see the waterfalls.

The first falls that we visited were Wahkeena Falls, where I went log riding.

Next we visited the beautiful Multnomah Falls followed by a short hike to Bridal Veil Falls.

After the waterfalls, we turned the car west and headed out to Astoria, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.  We ate lunch in a small seafood joint out over the river before we turned south down the Pacific Coast.

We stopped at the cheese factory in Tillamook, sampled the cheese and had some ice cream before turning back to Portland.

On Saturday we spent the morning walking around downtown Portland, with our first stop at the famous Powell's books (where I purchased A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson).  We spent an hour or so at the Portland farmer's market before heading over to the Rose Garden for the final two games of our NCAA sessions.

Another awesome NCAA trip in the books!  Here's a list of the tournament rounds I've been to:

1997 - Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT - First and Second Rounds
2000 - Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT - First and Second Rounds
2003 - Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT - First and Second Rounds
2004 - Key Arena, Seattle, WA - First and Second Rounds
2005 - McKale Center, Tucson, AZ - First and Second Rounds
2006 - Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT - First and Second Rounds
2007 - Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA - First and Second Rounds
2008 - Honda Center, Anaheim, CA - First and Second Rounds
2009 - We didn't get drawn for tickets (lottery system)
2010 - EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT - Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight
2011 - McKale Center, Tucson, AZ - Second and Third Rounds
2012 - Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Or - Second and Third Rounds

Tourney 2012

Who doesn't love a little friendly competition?

1. Go to ESPN's tournament challenge page.

2. Login or create an account

3. Click on create or join a group

4. Search for the group "Tyler's Choir" (without the quotation marks)

5. Type in the supersecret password "rad"

6. Fill out your bracket and prepare to be embarrassed (probably by Alison)

Typically only play for pride, but if you're lucky then I might be able to convince Alison to ante up for a prize.  Good luck ya'll.

Cavs Win!

I saw this clip this morning on SportsCenter and had to pass it on.

First

I have a feeling that this isn't going to last through the weekend so I'm going to gloat in my greatness right now. Remember that ESPN bracket I invited ya'll to join? Well, by way of a stunning comeback, I am now solidly in first place (by 40 points, mind you). Alison is right on my tail so we'll be cheering wildly against each other for these last three rounds. Isn't March Madness the best?

Let the games begin!

I'm a little slow in getting this posted, but everybody is invited to join my NCAA Tournament group on espn.com. This year appears to be particularly exciting with the Utes back in action in the tourney, BYU getting a second chance at the Aggies of Texas A&M and Utah State playing their games a short 4-hour drive from Logan. To be a part of this yearly tradition:

1. Visit the group's homepage at espn.com

2. Join or search for the group "SmartyPants"

3. Enter the super-secret password "red" (without the quotation marks, of course)

4. Create your bracket

5. Be embarrassed as I destroy the competition, simply because I chose Utah to go all the way...

As usual, there will be no prizes aside from the losers pride unless Alison decides to chip in a few bucks. Feel free to invite your friends and remember that you only have until Thursday morning!

Bring it On!

Everybody knows that I love this time of year (I've been looking forward to it for the past 49 weeks!). Now that the brackets are out, BYU fans are complaining about their seeding..., everybody is arguing over whether the great Bulldogs of Gonzaga can take down the Davidson Wildcats and it's time again to fill out your brackets. Just follow these simple instructions and you'll be all set:

1. Go to ESPN's tournament challenge page.

2. Login or create an account

3. Click on create or join a group

4. Search for the group "2H2H" (without the quotation marks)

5. Type in the supersecret password "utah"

6. Fill out your bracket and prepare to be embarrassed (probably by Alison)

There's no fee for joining, and in return the most that you win is pride (unless Alison decides to ante up for a prize). If I inadvertently offended anybody with my short anti-BYU rant, then please accept my apologies. I'll be in Anaheim watching them in person and they better represent (I'll be the guy in all the Aggie gear). Best of luck everybody!

So You're Saying There's a Chance...

Utah just beat New Mexico in the late night game at the Mountain West Conference Tournament. What I love about college basketball is that almost* every team has a chance to win out and take the title. Granted, the odds are slim (next to impossible?) for crummy teams like the Utes, but it gives players and fans something to dream about. 8 more wins to the championship!

* The Ivy League Conference doesn't hold a conference tournament, therefore, the only teams entering next season with a win streak are the National Champion and a few teams from the Ivy Leagues...

On my mind

Here are a few things that have been on my mind lately:

• While the Shaq trade hasn't worked out as well as the Phoenix Suns had hoped (unless their sole purpose in acquiring him was to allow them to beat the Spurs), here's what the Onion had to report about the Shaq trade (read the whole article, it's great):

"Claiming he was initially excited at the prospect of playing for a legitimate championship contender, new Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal admitted Monday that, upon reading about the phenomenon of massive stellar explosions popularly known as supernovas, he is now terrified of the entire organization."

• There have been two performances on American Idol that I loved. One is by a 17 year-old boy from Murray, David Archuleta who is incredible singing "Imagine" and the second is David Cook singing Lionel Richie's "Hello":

• I don't think that I've shared this video here before either, but it's a good one. Presenting Charlie (not the unicorn again):

Good Day for Ballin'

Tonight was a good night for basketball teams from Utah. First off, the Utes came away with (arguably) the best win from the Jim Boylen era, taking down the UNLV Rebels. The Rebels were the #1 team in the conference (holding the tiebreaker over BYU) and had beaten the Utes 5 straight times. Utah has struggled against teams that they should have beaten (most recently Wyoming at home) and has shown much of the same inconsistencies that plagued them last year. They have shown a huge improvement in their defense though - leading the league in many defensive stats. They are giving up almost 20 points less than last year and holding teams to 12% worse shooting (and an amazing 18% worse from beyond the arc).

This win was not only a statement win for the Utes but a welcomed win from Cougar fans as well. BYU (having beaten TCU this evening as well) now has sole possession of the top spot in the conference. That obviously won't last as the Utes have to play in Happy Valley on the 20th. But, nonetheless, you're welcome.

Now onto the Jazz. The Jazz played the Denver Nuggets tonight in a dirty division game. Both teams were called for numerous fouls and a couple of players fouled out on the Jazz, while Carmelo Anthony fouled out on the Nuggets. I had to turn away from the game for a bit because I was getting so worked up over it. Boozer had a horrible night, but Deron Williams and Kyle Korver more than picked up the slack. The game was played in Denver, decided in overtime and ended up being their 10th straight win (the last time that they won 10 straight games was almost 9 years ago!). Like I said, a good night for Utah basketball teams.

Go Jazz Go

If the playoffs had started yesterday morning then the Jazz would not have made them. They were the 9th team in the west (and only the top 8 go to the playoffs). After beating the Spurs last night, if the playoffs were to start today, the Jazz would have a 4th seed. A 5 spot jump in one night, not bad...

The Jazz have been playing very well. Since going 4-11 in December, the Jazz have gone 11-2 in their last 13 games. Andre Kirilenko is playing lights out, Boozer & Williams are playing like all-stars and Okur and Korver are finally hitting their threes. The last few months of the season should be pretty exciting.

Frustrating Falcons

Utah played Air Force on the hardwood yesterday and ended up beating them 58-36. While the final margin of victory was pretty large, Utah didn't pull away until the end of the game. Air Force is one of those teams that just rubs me the wrong way. Pretty much, Air Force is to Tyler as the Spurs are to Alison (1,2).

Utah had a hard time getting points from inside the 3-point line. In the first half, their only points came from the free throw line or from behind the arc (all courtesy of Johnny Bryant, going 5-5 in the half - but they did have 5 assists on those 5 buckets). Their first 2-point bucket came 4 minutes into the second half.

What was really bothering me was the flopping (remember how I hate flopping?) and one official. At one point in the game, this hated official made 8 or 9 out of 10 calls against the Utes (7 in a row, nonetheless). Overall the officiating seemed pretty fair but there were at least 2 make-up calls made for the Utes by the other 2 officials after the hated one made a couple of pretty bizarre calls (anybody who tells me that there are no make-up calls doesn't watch enough MWC basketball). The other frustrating thing was not only the flopping in the lane by the Falcons whenever Utah was attacking the basket, but the Falcons were using the "flop shot" from behind the arc. After just about every three pointer that the Falcons took with a Ute player within a yard was followed by landing on their butt or their back. They were all "flop shots" - luckily the Falcons only came away with a foul once using this strategy.

I'm glad that Utah only has to play the Falcons once more this year and I pity all of the other teams that still have to meet them more than once. They make me so mad!

Good Luck Charm?

Al and I have gone to two Jazz games in the last 8 days. The first game was against the Dallas Mavericks the day after Christmas. Previous to this game the Jazz had lost 9 of 11 so the outlook was not good. While Dallas has been playing nowhere near the level that they were playing at last year, they are still a rather formidable opponent. Luckily, The Blonde Bomber (Nowitzki) was only 3-10 from behind the arc and Jason Terry finished the game with a big goose egg going 0-10 from the floor. The Jazz started the game on a 16-0 run, but the lead was all but gone by halftime. The Jazz eventually came away with a win 99-90.

We again went to a Jazz game on New Year's Eve (Al gave me tickets for Christmas). This time around, the Jazz had to play the streaking Trailblazers. They came into the game sporting a 12 game winning streak (with 2 of those wins coming against the Jazz). After beating Dallas, the Jazz lost games against the Lakers and Celtics. This second game was more exciting than the first because it was a pretty close game for most of the time. It's hard to say how the Blazers are so good. Greg Oden (#1 draft pick from last year) is out rehabbing his knee, and I think that I read somewhere that the Blazers are the 3rd youngest team in the NBA, of ALL time (I cannot cite where I read this, and I am not going to do the appropriate research to verify it, so take it for what its worth). The highlight of the game was the play of new Jazzman Kyle Korver (acquired in a trade with the 76ers two days before). Almost everybody agrees that he is an improvement over Giricek and it will be interesting to see how he fits in Sloan's system. The Jazz played a very balanced game (with 6 players in double figures). They again came away with a win 111-101.

Obviously Alison and I are a bit of a good luck charm for the Jazz. LHM, how 'bout some free tix?

Browsing my thoughts...

Here's a few things that I've come across the last couple of days:

1. Alison's brother Spencer sent me this link of the breakdown of the final regular season football coach's poll. I've found it fascinating to look out how the votes are distributed (alphabetically, of course, but more so geographically). Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia's coach is obviously a genius. He voted Utah 20th (remember how they have 4 losses?). Take note of where BYU's votes came from as well. Most of their highest votes came from the west (you think these guys get the mtn?). Take note as well of the two coaches that didn't put BYU in the top 25. Indiana's coach and Washington's coach (Ty Willingham). As Spencer asked, do you think BYU will remember this when they play Washington next year? (Not to dive too deeply into the crap we call the BCS, I think everyone should check out these articles linked from the Millar's blog.)

2. I took my Nuclear Engineering Final Exam today. I had the option of taking it today or Monday. I don't think that I will be any smarter come Monday. On that same note, do you realize that you can buy uranium ore on amazon.com? Take note of the section "Customers Who Bought Items Like This Also Bought" and be sure to read the customer reviews. They are very clever. **Update** I forgot to mention that the fuel for the nuclear reactor here at the U arrives via FedEx. Think about that for a minute...

3. Are you looking for somewhere legal to download your music on the cheap? Look no further than grooveshark.com. They are having a sale during the 8 nights of Hanukkah and on Christmas Day. During those days all songs (DRM free or I wouldn't be recommending it) sell for a measly $.29. Do you realize that you can get 17 songs for under $5.00 at this price? I'm not sure if you still need an invitation to join or not. If you do just let me know. I've got tons. Alison and I dropped $9.86 on 34 songs the last time that they had a sale like this. Highly recommended!

4. 363 days of the year I'm an Aggie fan (USU Aggie that is). Tonight was one of the night's that I wasn't a fan. Utah played them at the Huntsman Center and totally destroyed them. They started the game 11-0 and I don't think that the Aggies ever got closer than 9 points. Nevill was getting pushed around in the paint (which is good for him - what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?) and the officials were very, VERY inconsistent in their calls (on both sides of the ball) but it was a great game if you're a Ute fan.

5. My sister Cheryce sent me the following clip. This guy is one creepy singer (On another note [pun intended :)], I saw this similar video on dooce.com):

The Art of the Flop

I took Ada to the second half of the Utes home basketball game yesterday. It was simply awful. The team had no consistency, toughness or heart during the game and they ended up losing by 15 point to Santa Clara. Somethings got to change if they want a winning record at the end of the year.

And now, you decide 2007: Who's a better flopper, Baron Davis or Robert Horry?


Why does it always have to happen against the Jazz?

The NBA Finals

The NBA Playoffs are upon us and Alison and I are both cheering loudly for Cleveland. Here are our picks for the Finals.

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers

Alison: Spurs in 5


Tyler: Cleveland in 6 (I haven't picked against the Cavs yet and they haven't let me down ;))


Round 1 Predictions
Round 1 Scores
Round 2 Predictions
Round 3 Predictions

Just wait till next year...

First of all, congratulations to the Jazz for getting as far as they did this season. They exceeded expectations and it was a bunch of fun to watch them play. The best news of all is that as long as the bulk of the team stays intact over the summer (and maybe they find an upgrade at SG) then next year and the years beyond sure look exciting.

I certainly can't blame the refs for the Jazz losing to the Spurs. The Spurs are just very good and they execute flawlessly. It is high time for the NBA to get rid of the "Manu flop" though.



Here's a Raja Bell version as well.

In my opinion, the NBA's "greatest" floppers are (There are obviously more than just these fine fellows):
Manu Ginobili
Shane Battier
Raja Bell
Steve Nash
Derek Fisher
Anderson Varajao
Robert Horry

NBA Playoffs Scoring Update II

Alison has an uphill battle if she wants to win this thing. We'll see how it turns out.
Round 1 Predictions
Round 1 Scores
Round 2 Predictions
Round 3 Predictions

Conference Finals Predictions

Alison and I are ready to make our conference finals picks available to all. (You can see our first round picks here and the second round picks here). The updated scores will be posted soon!

Eastern Conference

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (1) Detroit Pistons

Alison: Detroit in 5


Tyler: Cleveland in 6 (I'm going way out on a limb here...)

Western Conference

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz

Alison: Utah in 6

Tyler: Utah in 6 (I guess we're both going out on a limb here - and predicting with our heart).

Link Dump

Here are a few random links (yes, I posted this earlier, but I made a few changes):

• The coolest site for basketball stats. Check out this gameflow chart of the Jazz game from last night. The +/- column on the far right shows you who was the most and least productive players of the night.
  
• Something like this could only happen in Utah. Enjoy an FM100 traffic report.
• The homeless get a lot of pizza.
  
• Track a flight or see all of the airplanes in the air right now. Visit http://flightaware.com/.
• For those of you bloggers that want millions of visitors, here's 101 steps to becoming a better blogger.
  
• Learn about any country in the world (at least what the CIA thinks about them). The Central Intelligence Agency's "The World Factbook" has the answers.
• There are a ton of good radio/music sites but one I've been enjoying lately lets you pick your music according to your mood. http://www.musicovery.com/.
• Set up a temporary e-mail address for use when you have to give out your e-mail address on a website. http://spambox.us/ (I use this for free Redbox rentals).
  
• 15 Firefox tricks.
  
• E-mail files of up to 100 MB using http://www.mailbigfile.com/.
• And as a climax, Cows With Guns.

NBA Playoffs Scoring Update

As you can see I am holding a slight advantage over Alison for Round 1. Lets see if she can make up ground during Round 2.

Round 1 Predictions
Round 2 Predictions