If you have never filled out a bracket before, or if you haven’t done so well in the past;  use the following NCAA tournament tips to improve your score.

Here is some background information on the tournament that you can use to help. There are 64 teams in the tournament. Those teams are then divided into 4 regions ( East, South, Midwest, and West). Then in the regions, the teams are seeded from top to bottom. The #1 seed plays the #16 seed, the #2 plays the #15 seed, and so on. There are then 7 rounds of games to determine the National Champion. This format of 64 teams had been used since 1985.

Now that you have some background information, grab some friends, get comfortable on the couch in your MSU apartment, and fill out your bracket using the following tips:

1. Do not pick a #16 seed to beat a #1 seed. It has not happened in 25 years of competition.

2. Do not pick a #15 seed to beat a #2 seed. It has only happened four times.

3. When looking for an upset in the first round, look at seeds 9-12.

4. With the #8and #9 match-up, the #9 seed wins more times than not.

5. Pick one #12 seed and one #13 seed to win at least one game. #4 and #5 seeds have been upset in most years of the tournament.

6. Keep in mind, that teams lower than a #12 seed rarely pull off more than one upset.

7. Pick 3 of your #1 seeds to make the round of 8.

8. Pick 2 #2 seed to make it to the round of 8.

9. Pick 1 of your #3 seeds to make it to the round of 8.

10. Pick 1 of your #4 or #5 seed to make it to the round of 8.

11. Do not pick a #7 seed to make the Final Four. It has never happened before.

12. Pick at least one #1 seed to make the Final Four. A #1 seed has made it every year except 2006.

13. The sum of the seed of your Final Four picks should not exceed 11.

14. Two number one seeds in the National Championship game rarely happens, but it has happened the last tree out of four years.

I hope this helps, now get ready to watch some great basketball action in the comfort of your East Lansing apartment. Go STATE!!

– Shaun Holness

-Ernest M

Hey guys,

You may not know this, but The Landings own Mucki Doezema is famous for her great recipes!  Check out her first installment of her web series, “Just Try This”.  Each recipe is something you can make with your roommates in your MSU student apartment.

This weeks recipe:  Mucki’s Famous Guacamole

-Ryan Shaul

-Ernest M.

If you are not in the cleaning mood, how about taking a nice jog or working out. I LOVE the fitness center in my apartment complex at The Club at Chandler Crossings. I work out for about an hour, take a nice swim in the indoor pool, then relax in the hot tub. Not too bad for a Monday!  (A lot better than getting up early and going to class!) Tuesday’s are the perfect movie day, here in East Lansing. They have $5.00 movies tickets all day at NCG Eastwood Cinemas. I’ll probably go see “Brooklyn’s Finest”. I heard that it was a good movie. It has Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes, and those are a few of my favorite actors.

If you are looking to do something on campus, you can visit the Abram’s Planetarium on Michigan State’s campus. Into arts? There is a good art gallery in Lansing’s Old Town District called the Absolute Gallery. So let’s say, you are not into the planetarium and visiting the arts gallery is not what you are interested in. No problem. How about some sports? Aim High Sports Facility is offering a ton of activities to keep you busy. They offer, soccer, hockey, learn-to-skate, flag football, figure skating, public skating among other sports. If you are into sports, then I’m sure you can stay busy there.

MSU students, just because you didn’t get the opportunity to go to some resort for Spring Break, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a good time. Don’t be a couch potato for a week, get up and enjoy life!

-Ernest Madison

How do I participate?

1.  The Census form will arrive in mailboxes mid-March and must be filled out and postmarked by April 1st.

2.  Forms must be filled out in the community where you’ll be living on April 1st.

3.  It’s a short, 10 question form.

4.  All information will be kept confidential by the US government.

For every person counted, federal funds are brought back into the community over 10 years.  Funds are used for things like Dell Grants, public transportation, energy efficient grants, and more!  It’s your duty to participate!

For more information, visit the City of East Lansing’s Census Page.

-Ryan Shaul

There had to be a better, healthier way!

I was given an article by a friend with five morning shake recipes she swears start her day off right.  I was skeptical at first, but after a week of these I am pleased to say they’ve been working great.  Check um’ out!  They may work wonders for you, too!

Pumpkin-Banana Smoothie
1 serving vanilla flavored rice protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 medium banana
Dash of pumpkin pie spice
4 ice cubes

Chocolate Raspberry Shake
1 serving chocolate flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/8 teaspoon orange extract
4 ice cubes

Very Berry Shake
1 serving vanilla flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1 cup frozen mixed berries
A few drops pure vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

Orange Julius Shake
1 serving vanilla flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

Apple Pie Shake
1 serving vanilla flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1 cup frozen apple slices
A few dashes each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

(Recipes from www.sheknows.com)

-Ryan Shaul

Exams…DONE.
Group Projects…DONE.
Ten Page Paper…DONE.
Spring Break…IN PROGRESS!
For those of you who will be leaving your MSU apartment for Spring Break we have some friendly reminders for you:

1.Lock your windows and doors before leaving

2. DO NOT SHUT OFF YOUR UTILITIES. Leave the heat on at about 60 degrees. If you shut your heat off completely your pipes may freeze and burst. Just because you are going somewhere warm doesn’t make it warmer here!

3. Close your blinds before leaving

4. Don’t let trash sit in your apartment for a few weeks

5. If you leave your car unattended for a few weeks make sure you have a full tank of gas so the lines don’t freeze.

6. Don’t forget to have someone pet sit for you! Just kidding. (No, but seriously, don’t leave you puppy unattended at The Village : )

That’s all I can say regarding Team USA Hockey and their Winter Olympic performance.  For two weeks, I was glued to the TV in my East Lansing apartment.  Each shift, I watched a group of young NHL players come together building chemistry with each other and sharing a growing desire to win.

Team USA went in to the Gold Medal game undefeated, due largely in part by the play of former Michigan State star goaltender Ryan Miller.  His ability to stand on his head in clutch moments allowed the USA team to take chances in their opponents zone with confidence.

The Gold Medal game was electric.  A game that was not dominated by either team showed remnants of a chess game with two talented players.  Each time a team would change their offensive or defensive strategy, the opposing team switched also. 

With just 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Team USA scored the game tying goal with their goalie pulled in order to send them in to sudden death overtime.  Every American hockey fan thought this was the sign of the next Miracle on Ice.  Unfortunately, Americans were disappointed when Canadian player Sydney Crosby scored the game winning goal some 9 minutes into overtime.

Though I am disappointed we couldn’t win the gold, I will always appreciate the efforts of this Team USA.  Exceeding every expectation, (including my own), they showed the talent American hockey has to offer.  With a young team, don’t be surprised if Team USA is extremely relevant again at the 2014 Winter Games.

-Ryan Shaul

What do you think of Twitter?

If you are a Twitterholic, follow me @erndollarsign

Until next time Tweeps!

Posted by Ernest M