Throwing Like A Girl- Championship Party

I've successfully turned my friends into basketball-watching enthusiasts and trash-talkers.

I couldn't be more pleased about it, either.

Much to my delight, my Ladies-Only bracket pool leaders are neck-in-neck leading up to the final game. Husbands and boyfriends have complimented me on the idea, and another friend in Ft. Worth even copied it with some friends who live scattered throughout the country.

I myself am currently sitting at No. 17 out of 18 ladies which is pretty typical at this point. The one person I'm ahead of is MK, who threw caution to the wind like she always does and picked Xavier to win it all. I'm ashamed to face facts and admit that Xavier made it further in the tournament than my winner-pick, which was Kansas.

Let's not talk about it. MK is also primed to win the last-place participation award.

I'll be weekend-ing at my parents' home this weekend to celebrate Easter and let someone else decide how to entertain me for two days, but that will also give me time watch the Saturday night basketball games and menu plan. You might not know me at all but those are basically two of my favorite things to do: watch sports and cook for people.

My immediate thoughts turn to things that keep well and taste better after a day, like pulled pork or brisket (for sliders) and sangria wine, which sounds like something a ladies-only party would enjoy.

If you would like to brush up on your statistics for each team leading into the games this weekend, I would recommend checking out ESPN. The great thing is that the explanation of each statistic is provided at the bottom of the screen. Gordon Hayward for example, who plays for Butler, is an 82.7% free-throw shooter on average for this season. (FT% = Free Throw Percentage; .827 = 82.7%).

Hope everyone has a great weekend cheering on whichever teams you need to save face in their respective bracket pools!

And, of course, Happy Easter.

Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath.
-Wilt Chamberlain