My picks: UCLA +5 over Florida, Arizona -7½ over San Diego State, Dayton +3 over Stanford, Baylor +3½ over Wisconsin.

Go Gators!

Open thread, sort of.

I'm scared to death:

UCLA is on fire right now. The Bruins have beaten five NCAA tournament teams in their last five games, two of which are in the Sweet 16 (Arizona and Stanford). Florida has been great all season and the Gators have also recently beaten two Sweet 16 teams (Kentucky and Tennessee). But anybody who saw the three-game stretch of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Albany knows the Gators are far from the dominant force you’d expect a no. 1 overall seed to be.

Florida’s bread-and-butter is its defense, but UCLA’s offense has the weapons to defeat it. Anderson is a real problem, and Florida will be forced to work hard to neutralize him. Anderson alone might not be enough to top the Gators, but when you add Adams’s 17.4 points per game, Powell’s 11.5 points per game, and the versatility of the Wear twins, the Gators will have their hands full. If the Bruins can find success against Florida’s defense, they’ll force a Gator team that is susceptible to scoring droughts to keep up with them, and there’s no telling how that might turn out.Maybe UCLA doesn’t pull out the win, but the signs point to this being a great game, and the Bruins could be a bounce or two away from ending Florida’s 28-game winning streak[.]

That seems a fair assessment. Open Thread.

I'm really nervous about the Gators tomorrow. UCLA has a great offense.

Open Thread.

End of a long day. While I catch up on the news, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Today's picks: Memphis +6 over Virginia, Arizona -6½ over Gonzaga, Kansas -6 over Stanford, North Carolina +1½ over Iowa State, Baylor +3½ over Creighton, Kentucky +4½ over Wichita State, Tennessee -7 over Mercer, Stephen Austin +9 over UCLA.

Open Thread.

My picks:

Wisconsin -5 over Oregon, Michigan State -7½ over Harvard, Villanova -3½ over Connecticut, Syracuse -7 over Dayton, Louisville -9 over St Louis, Pittsburgh +6½ over Florida, Texas +5 over Michigan San Diego State -3 over North Dakota State.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

A bit late with this, but Scout's honor, these are my investments today:

Eastern Kentucky +14 over Kansas, Kentucky -6½ over Kansas State, Oklahoma State -3 over Gonzaga, Iowa State -8 over NC Central, Memphis -4 over George Washington, UL Lafayette +14 over Creighton, Wichita State -16 over Cal Poly S.L.O., North Carolina -4 over Providence, Tulsa +8½ over UCLA, Virginia -20½ over Coastal Carolina, Stephen Austin +6½ over Va Commonwealth, Baylor -4 over Nebraska, Mercer +14½ over Duke, Tennessee -5½ over Massachusetts, New Mexico -3 over Stanford, Weber State +20 over Arizona.

Open Thread.

Main draw begins play today.

My picks today: Michigan -16 over Wofford, Cincinnati -3 over Harvard, Connecticut -4½ over St. Joseph's, Michigan State -14 over Delaware, Pittsburgh -6½ over Colorado, BYU +5½* over Oregon, Ohio State -6 over Dayton, Wisconsin -13½ over American, Syracuse -13 over Western Michigan, Albany NY +21 over Florida, Arizona State +2* over Texas, Wisc-Milwaukee +16½ over Villanova, Oklahoma -3 over North Dakota State, Louisville -16½ over Manhattan, San Diego State -7 over New Mexico State, and NCState +3* over St Louis. (Asterisk indicates lower seed outright winners.)

Go Gators!

Open thread.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

There hasn't been much news on "El Chapo" Guzman the past week. But on Friday afternoon, his lawyer filed a new request for a writ of amparo to prevent his extradition to the U.S.

This article today says the cases in Mexico are all for organized crime, not drugs. I wonder if that means he won't have a double jeopardy argument against extradition. Apparently, there was one drug case but it was reversed as to a co-defendant because the courts found the witnesses non-credible, so it's unlikely he'll be convicted in that case.

These articles are in Spanish, and Google Translate wasn't a huge help, but that's what I took from it. At least I was able to track down the docket in Mexico for both the new filing and the earlier ones(start here).

Speaking of Spanish, I found a new and free way to learn Spanish online (or one of 60 other languages)-- Mangos Languages --all you need is a library card as hundreds of libraries have partnered with them. [More...].

Our last open thread is full, here's a new one. All topics welcome.

Time for an open thread. All topics welcome.