What, no predictions on the WCHA Final Five College Hockey tournament to be held March 16-18 in St. Paul, MN?

I was pulling for Crash. Matt D. was awesome in his cop role. In fact, the whole cast was excellent. And I was so over the whole gay cowboy/sheepherder thing.

Annie, you're probably right about Gonzaga, but I'm going to pretend to believe until they get bounced in the Sweet 16.

Annie-
Duke is a 1 1/2 trick pony and we'll see if Reddick can shoot and Williams can keep his head for 6 games. Duke catches a break because they'll be - barring some disaster in the ACC tournament - in Greensboro for the ACC tournament and then the opening rounds of the NCAAs. They'd just better hope UNC doesn't get seeded in the Atlanta as well.

Agree on the assessment of others, although not if Alabama is in the Atlanta bracket. I love the way some of the teams around here (GW, George Mason, Georgetown) have played well, but they'll need favorable seed and bracket to have a run. I'd say Memphis may catch a break from losing, they played an unbelievable non-conference schedule and could do well dropping to a 2 seed in Oakland/Minneapolis.

The West (Oakland) bracket is the place for a mid-seed East/South team (2d tier Big East, ACC, or SEC) to do well.

Arizona may not even get in. They finished 4th in the Pac-10 and if they don't run strong in the tourney this week, they may be looking at the NIT.

Go Bears.

Thanks to you, I'm taking on a new appreciation of Goldie's talents. Since she tends to be on the liberal side of political issues, you show your discernment to prevent your political views from interfering with your critical analysis. Good for you!

I believe you would enjoy "The Dish", with a combination of Sam Neill, Patrick Warburton, Roy Billing, and several others. From the directors of "The Castle"...

Hugely diaappointed with Crash, which presented an LA that most lifelong Angelenos I know couldn't recognize. (And I'm not talking about the extensive use of Sherman Oaks, which I know by heart.)

I really think UCLA could surprise this year. But the real stunner all year long for me has been how well North Carolina has played despite essentially starting over from scratch.

Yes, Hugo. For some reason, LA has the undeserved reputation of being a racist city. Compared to what? Skokie? Even San Francisco, that liberal heaven, has neighborhoods of apartheid where my black friends know they should not go if they don't want to be hassled. There is no such neighborhood in LA. I think that kind of integration is due to the entertainment industry. I wonder where the writers of Crash grew up. If in LA, they should know better. People forget that the Rodney King defendants were tried outside of LA. And prosecuted by perhaps the most inept DA's office in the country.

That said, I did like Crash, and it was the only one of the five nominees I saw, so I was satisfied with the award.

Thanks Will. That's what Annika's Journal is all about. Changing people's perspectives. Seriously though, I'm glad to find out that at least some folks are not bored silly by my new Goldie Hawn obsession.

Good call, Hugo, on NC. I tend to just take them for granted. Easy to forget they lost so many pieces.

Where's UConn in you March predictions? I also hope that my other alma mater, Marquette U., gets a spot.

WTF are you two talking about? It's not about the racism of LA. It's about the differences and burdens that we all share in life. We all look at each other, and make judgments that are wrong. Fuck, the detective's junkie mother thought that her little banger wannabe son put the groceries in the fridge! It's a movie about truth, and the truth is that we all suffer. It deserves a handful of screenings, and a lot of thought, but easily the best thing out of Hollywood in a decade.

Crash is about LA racism the way Appocolypse Now is about the Vietnam War.

Rock on, Casca. Well said.

That reminds me of another thing I didn't get about Crash. This idea that LA is somehow different because people are locked in their cars all day. Hell, people are locked in their cars all day in Honolulu. Pretty much every US city is a car culture, with the exception of places like NY and SF. Those are pedestrian cities because it's too much of a hassle to drive anywhere, so people walk or take public transit.

Paul Haggis is from Canada; I've had two of his daughters as my students at PCC.

You've got Goldie, I've got Joe Don. At least we wear our obsessions on our sleeves.

a shame they never collaborated

Arizona will disappoint? Well if thats not the nail in the coffin...