Baby, it’s below zero outside

Well, the wind chill is anyway. It’s all anyone, including myself, can talk about. My Facebook feed is totally clogged with statuses by cold-lovers and heat-seekers alike.

Through a quick Google search, I have learned that in most parts of the world, it can never be too cold to snow. However, looking out my window, that seems doubtful. The radar says it’s snowing, but I see nothing. All I see is icy ruts in the street, a pristine white blanket on my back yard, and I hear my wind chimes going crazy.

Speaking of my back yard, no, the drift that formed against our back door has not yet melted enough for us to get out there. (Well, I probably could squeeze through there, but not Jonathan.) The drift’s top has melted and frozen and refrozen since it blessed us with its visit two weeks ago.

So the forecast for my area is this:

Today Chance Flurries Hi 15 °F

Tonight Mostly Cloudy Lo 3 °F

Friday ColdHi 12 °F

Friday Night Mostly Clear Lo 0 °F

Saturday SunnyHi 17 °F

Saturday Night ClearLo 5 °F

Sunday SunnyHi 36 °F

Sunday Night Mostly Clear Lo 22 °F

Monday SunnyHi 39 °F

Here’s a link to the NOAA site.

While I’m dishing out links, here is a great story appearing in today’s World. A good read for people who scoff at cold but deep down, it scares them (like me).

To me, cold is cold. Not sure if it’s because I grew up in Texas or what, but there’s a difference between 97° and 103° to me. But 12° and 17°? Same thing.

Thankfully, I have all the hair-crushing hats, durable gloves, thick socks, cozy scarves, robust boots and sturdy coats I need to keep me warm. But apparently there’s a lot of kids in my city who don’t have such necessities, which is one reason why school is closed for the next two days. Many of them must wait at the bus stop or walk to school.

I’m glad school officials are taking the cold weather seriously. It makes me want to donate some of my lesser-used stuff to people who really need it. No one, especially a child, should be out in subfreezing wind chills or temperatures without proper bundling.

Anyway, enough about the cold. Here are some odds and ends that have been floating around in my head because they never formed into full blogs:

*TCU broke my heart. The Horned Frogs looked out of place at the Fiesta Bowl, and I feel really bad for the guy who dropped that sure touchdown. I was glad for Boise when they beat OU in their instant classic, but now I’m tired of them.

*Where do I start on the Cotton Bowl? I’ll save that for another blog.

*I want Texas to win the BCS national championship tonight. By many accounts, Heisman winner Mark Ingram seems like a standup guy, but I’m not rooting for Nick Saban. Plus, conference pride, right? Go Big 12… do something, anything, good this year.

*Gundy suspends Perrish Cox for the Cotton Bowl for breaking curfew. Ford suspends Marshall Moses for Coppin State for marijuana arrest. These situations have generated a lot of chatter, and outsiders (including myself) who spout off opinions about punishments don’t usually know anything about what’s going on behind closed doors. Cox’s too harsh, Moses’ a slap on the wrist? Perhaps. Gundy says even the stars must play by the rules, and Ford says trust me, this kid has run many miles of laps.

*Darren Oliver. WHY. The third time will not be the charm for this guy. His career ERA as a Ranger is 5.28. On paper, he appears to have found success in the bullpen (3.10 ERA as an Angel), but that seems like an anomaly to me. The real question is, can he pitch in his own stadium? Surprisingly, the best baseball Web site ever, baseball-reference.com, didn’t have the answer, but I think we all know it’s no.

*”The Hangover” is the first movie I have seen that truly lived up to the hype. EVERYONE was raving about how it was the funniest movie ever, and it really was quite good in all its gross-out hilarity. I think I read somewhere they are making a sequel about what happened that night. (The characters spend most of the first movie putting together the booze-soaked puzzles pieces of the previous night to help find their missing friend.)

Well, I’m just getting started here, but hunger has set in. I’ve got some of Giada’s lentil soup with beef in the fridge. We’ll be eating it for a week, as it made enough for an army. (Less stock, more lentils next time.)

Stay warm, y’all!

The most wonderful time of the year

Don’t get me wrong. I have forgotten more about pro hockey and baseball than I know about college basketball.

But I do have a growing affection for the most hectic sports month of the year: March. You can’t beat the Cinderella dreams, Selection Sunday, mammoth upsets, overtime classics and of course, the brackets.

Besides, what other time can you turn on the TV at practically any given hour and see a decent hoops game?

Anyway, what a day for Big 12 basketball. Baylor beating Kansas, OSU coming out on top in a crazy Bedlam finish… long day.

Add in the high school basketball state tournaments, a.k.a. gold trophy weekend, and you have a looong week. Really, it’s a long month until all the local teams have been bounced.

I really think that, barring major injuries, OSU could be a Sweet 16 team this year. I wouldn’t have dared think that two months ago, but the surprising Cowboys seem to have really jelled. Marshall Moses gets the title of “luckiest man alive” (he supplants the man who survived jumping into Niagara Falls on Wednesday).

I know he was frustrated over his fifth foul, but there’s no excuse for the naughty language that got him T’d up. OU made 1 of 2 of its free throws on the technical and 1 of 2 on the foul, tying the game at 64-64. Considering the final margin was 71-70, he is very lucky his lack of discipline didn’t cost his team the win. John Wooden would not approve.

OU has further proven that it really is a one-man team. Shut down Blake Griffin, shut down the Sooners. Poor guard play plus 19 turnovers equaled the Bedlam that got away.

Analyzing the game is hard because it was a combination of OU throwing it away with a pesky OSU team using heart to overcome a superior foe. I think OU has been exposed, but I also think the Cowboys got lucky in that they caught the Sooners at just the right time.

All in all, it was definitely a classic Bedlam, no matter which side you are on.

Speaking of classics, how about Syracuse-UConn? Six overtimes?! 102 points scored AFTER regulation?! Those poor guys looked exhausted.

UConn took the loss, but the Huskies might have also gotten the better end of the deal. The Orange has to play West Virginia today with dead legs. UConn gets to rest until the tournament starts.

I hope Tulsa plays well against Alabama-Birmingham today. TU will be shorthanded, as Bishop Wheatley was suspended one game for a flagrant foul committed Thursday against Rice. But the Blazers went to overtime yesterday, which might have worn them down a bit.

The Golden Hurricane is rolling right now, but unless TU beats Memphis (or Houston) for the Conference USA title, it’s NIT City. As of 1 a.m. Friday, TU’s RPI had fallen to 63 on collegeRPI.com. Not good enough. A weak schedule really hurts them.

Well, I’m not sure what to make of OSU-Missouri (RPIs of 18 and 15, respectively). When they met earlier in the season, OSU nearly rallied back from a 19-point deficit, and would have too if not for a suspect foul call during a frenzy under the net in the waning seconds.

I know Missouri prides itself on being the “Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball,” but I think OSU is athletic enough to keep up. And the Cowboys have confidence after the big win Thursday. I just hope they aren’t already emotionally spent.

OSU is a tournament lock. I think it would be OK to lose tomorrow just to catch up on rest and heal up any nagging late-season injuries.

No matter what, it’ll be an action-packed weekend.

Or should I say month?

Mike Singletary: Man on a mission

Wow!! Texas Tech just overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Texas A&M in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Mike Singletary led the Red Raiders with 43 points, breaking the tournament scoring record of 38.

The game ended about 40 minutes before deadline. Go figure the best game of the night is the late game. My heart goes out to my colleagues at work tonight.

I have to admit this game was only on because we were too lazy to change the channel after OSU’s win over Iowa State. That was a good game too, although it was too close for comfort most of the game.

I’m really impressed by Marshall Moses. Finally, OSU has some kind of inside presence. I’m pumped for Bedlam III tomorrow.

You know what they say, it’s hard to beat a good team three times.

P.S. It’s Byron “EE-tawn”. Not “Ea-TAWN”. Stupid announcers.