Friday, March 28, 2008

THE SWEET SIXTEEN (CREAM OF THE CROP)....

The NCAA Sweet Sixteen tipped off last night with two doubleheaders; The first one had North Carolina playing what was essentially a home game, against Washington State University. Up until this point in the tournament, the Tar Heels have pretty much steamrolled over their competition. Washington State University had been playing great defense up until this game, so something had to give. As it turned out, the Tar Heels had what it took to get past the WSU's stingy defense and ultimately pull out a 21-point victory and a berth in the "Elite Eight".

They will face the Louisville Cardinals, who in a mild surprise, defeated the #2 seed, Tennessee Volunteers, 79-60. This game wasn't all that close for the most part, as the Cardinals and their high-speed offense was too much for the Volunteers. They now face their stiffest test in the nation's #1 team on Saturday.

The other doubleheader had U.C.L.A. facing a feisty upstart team in Western Kentucky. The Bruins had control of most of the game until the Hilltoppers mounted a fierce comeback to make things interesting. However, the Bruins showed why they were the #1 seed in the West by holding serve when it counted, winning 88-78.

The Bruins will face Xavier, who defeated West Virginia in the night's most exciting contest. Both teams battled each other throughout the game and it took overtime to finally determine a winner, as Xavier was able to muster a come from behind four point win.

Half of the Elite Eight is set; the second set of doubleheaders take place tonight. Should be a doozy.

While all of this was going on, the bar had its own share of entertainment. For starters, it turns out we had a rare situation where all of our female bartenders found themselves hanging out all at the same time. Imagine this scenario:

F.I.T. Girl, BLONDE CHATTERBOX, BABY GIRL and WINNIE COOPER, under the same roof and on the same side of the bar....

"DEBAUCHERY RULES!"

Between them and the usual antics of CUSACK/AFFLECK/STIFFLER and AMERICAN PSYCHO, if you were an outsider looking in, you couldn't help but to be amused by what you saw.

The highlight of the evening, by far, was the weird couple of the night. Separately, these two individuals are bizarre enough on their own. However, when they somehow got together last night, it was "love at first sight.... bizarro style".



He: A serious psychopath who also happens to be a HUGE Wisconsin fan.

She: A nutter who has a thicker mustache than me, and smells like a funeral parlor. Not really sure that she's a woman, to be honest with you.

Love knows no bounds. Seriously.

The night in general had more than its share of weirdos, but sometimes it's folks like that which makes the bar the place it is. They are great fodder for material and I can never have enough of that.

The end of the night found us celebrating the birthday of THE ITALIAN STALLION (when he finally decided to show up) and from all of us here at THIRD and LONG, we wish him a very happy 28th birthday!





WEEKEND HAPPENINGS

FRIDAY: "After-Work" Happy Hour (5pm-1opm). $4.00 All beers, mixed well drinks and house wines! NCAA Sweet Sixteen games, beginning at 7pm.

SATURDAY: "Kick the Keg" Saturdays (12pm-8pm). $2.00 mugs, ALL BEERS ON TAP! NCAA Elite Eight games. NHL Hockey all night long!

SUNDAY: "Sunday Fun-Day" (with yours truly behind the stick); $4.00 Domestic Drafts/ Mixed Well Drinks all day long!



Nuff Said