Twenty years ago, I was fifteen, and a high school sophomore in Baton Rouge. I had been going to LSU football games for the past five to six years, with the Tigers not doing much on the gridiron worthy of national recognition. Likewise, Skip Bertman still had another five years to go before he would lead LSU's baseball team to their first College World Series win. But in March of 1986, a man named Dale Brown was leading a team of talented but not exceptional basketball players to the height of college basketball: the Final Four. There was no Shaq on this team, no Stanley Roberts, no Chris Jackson. Those players would come later, and without the success of this team. This team had Blanton, Redden, Wilson, Vargas, Jovanovich, and Williams. This LSU basketball team began the tournament of 64 ranked eleventh in their bracket. Twenty years later, they remain the lowest seed to ever make it to the Final Four. I had grown up in Baton Rouge, having moved there when I was five. While only 60 miles away, New Orleans could have been on the other side of the universe as far as Baton Rouge was concerned. When it came to sports, I lived and breathed LSU athletics. I pretty much still do. I remember watching the Tigers' miracle run on television. The joy of the players when they beat number-one Kentucky to advance to the Final Four in Dallas. The tears of Ricky Blanton on the bench as time wound down in their national semifinal loss to Louisville. Coach Brown comforting Blanton and other players after the buzzer had sounded. So close. So far. Three days ago, the Tigers of 2006, a group of talented but not exceptional young men, knocked off number-one Duke. Duke, ranked number one not just in the bracket they shared with LSU, but ranked number one out of the entire field of sixty-four. Last night, they toppled number-two Texas, and on the anniversary of the last LSU Final Four team, find themselves on their way to Indianapolis with a shot at the national title as they take on UCLA. So close. So far. GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Jeff Harrell, on his recent move to the DC area:

They have Chick-fil-a here, which is good. But the sandwiches are like three bucks each or something equally absurd. I mean, I knew Texas was the land of milk and honey where the streets are paved with gold. I didn’t realize that it was also the land of cheap chicken sandwiches. Apparently it’s both.

Dan said it, not me.

"Khaos" has released a derivative piece of art, titled "Forsaken Soul", based on a landscape photo I took on the Big Island of an old lava flow.

Something struck me a few minutes ago: does anyone live in the middle of Missouri? The two most populous cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, are on the eastern and western edges of the state, respectively. You never hear about any other place in the Show Me State, except for Springfield.

The Ozabs saw Anna pop out in to the world from her warm, cozy womb, back on the 19th. What is it with ATPM staffers and early children? Congratulations, Mom and Dad, and welcome, Anna!

I missed blogging about the 300th anniversary of Ben Franklin's birthday, so I knew I couldn't miss today. What's today? Today is the 250th anniversary of the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. While Tom and I agree that Bach is the better composer (and I would rate Handel better, as well), Mozart's body of work is quite an accomplishment, given what he produced before his death at the age of 35. There are composers today, living in to their eighties, who do not produce music with the depth and scope that Mozart did.

Things to think about that you probably have never thought about: Can you cry under water? How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? Why do you have to "put your two cents in", but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? What disease did cured ham actually have? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours? (Jim and Lissa, take note!) If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? Why are you in a movie, but you're on TV? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway. Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural? Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him? Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they asking where the bathroom is? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs! If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner? Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?! Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Why did you just try singing the two songs above? [Via e-mail from my mom.]

HappyNews.com. Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive. As opposed to the typical "if it bleeds, it leads" attitude of the major news organizations, Byron Reese believes, "News should give you an accurate view of the world." It's not all sunshine and roses, but it's not all doom and gloom, either. The site also offers a weekly online lifestyle magazine. [Via Reader's Digest.]

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