Oh, people.

I have known some Mississippi State sports-related heartache in my time.

There was the field goal that the wind stopped in the ‘83 Egg Bowl. There was the loss to Tennessee in the 1998 SEC Championship football game. There was 4th and goal against LSU last fall. There was the regular season loss (in overtime) to Kentucky’s basketball team about a month ago.

But there has never been a sporting event that just plain ole ripped out my heart out and slung it around and stomped on it and crammed it back into my chest like this past Sunday’s loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. Our boys fought so hard and played so well and had all but won when Kentucky tied the game with .1 second on the clock.

POINT ONE. ONE-TENTH OF A SECOND. AND I HOPE THAT I AM EXPRESSING THESE NUMBERS-RELATED TERMS CORRECTLY, FOR THEY ARE CRITICAL TO MY TALE OF BASKETBALL-RELATED WOE.

Because oh my word. Heartbreaking. A tenth of a second. And everything changed.

We ended up losing by a point in overtime, but I tried my best to see the positive. I really did. It was an incredible game – who knows how many lead changes and both teams playing inspired basketball (if you’re into that sort of thing, you know exactly what I mean). The Bulldogs went toe-to-toe with the number two team in the country and gave them all they could handle. And when the game was over, I was definitely disappointed, but I was mainly just proud of our guys. I felt like in the end the game was going to be an incredible motivator for the Bulldogs in the NCAA tournament.

But therein lies the rub.

Late Sunday afternoon the NCAA Selection Committee announced the 64 teams for the tournament. Mississippi State was not on the list. And y’all? I was ticked. I was really, really ticked. I tried not to act ticked because we were hanging out with some sweet friends and I did not want them to be discouraged or dismayed by my Deep, Festering Aggravation with a bunch of basketball-analyzing strangers, but TICKED, WHY YES, I WAS.

Thank you for asking.

The Bulldogs did get invited to the NIT, and while at first I was not terribly excited about this development, the more I’ve thought about it the more I’ve gotten on board with it. It’s sort of like going to a school dance with a date who’s not necessarily your first pick – but eventually your mama’s wisdom starts to sink in and you think, “Well, at least he thought enough of me to ask.”

That’s how I feel about the NIT right now. It might not be what Bulldogs dreamed of, but the NIT asked us and gave us a number one seed. And they appreciate us. And by diggity, I am getting in the car this afternoon and driving to Starkville and going to our first-round game against Jackson State and cheering my bitter head off.

Be warned, NIT officials: I may arrive with boutonnieres. I think Japanese magnolias are lovely this time of year.

And you can still join our NCAA Tournament Challenge group, by the way. Because even though I have some ish-ahs with the selection committee, I will in no way allow my personal basketball tragedy to interfere with my ability to speculate about the next national champion.

That is my promise to you.

Dear Alex,

You turned seven years old yesterday, and I think you were just a little bit excited about it. I say that because last week we were in the check-out line in Hobby Lobby, and as I was paying for my stuff, you sighed, then ever-so-casually looked at the cashier and said, “Gosh. I can’t wait until it’s my 7th birthday this Sunday.” You know, totally laid-back. Mr. Cool. Shootin’ the breeze. You stopped just short of putting your elbow on the checkout lane and resting your head on your chin.

Cute thing.

Right now you love to read a whole bunch, and it cracks me up that you read with GREAT! EXPRESSION! I can’t imagine where you inherited such a quality. It certainly didn’t come from me, THE PERSON WHO LOVES TO USE CAPITAL LETTERS WHEN SHE WRITES. You also love soccer practice, Mississippi State (your Pappa is so grateful for that and is forever giving you Bulldog-themed gifts), Skittles, mazes, Super Mario Bros., rollercoasters, church on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, any type of meat, cheese grits, baby lima beans, the library, Chipotle, shortcuts, singing loudly in the car, and riding to school with Daddy and Ally. Your best buddies are Luke and Brooke, and you still miss Corbin a lot. Hopefully we’ll get to visit him in Texas soon.

You’re so good-natured and fun to be around, but when you don’t like something, you mean business. You openly oppose broccoli (unless it’s in the broccoli cheese soup at Jason’s), shopping, asparagus, carrots, crafts, roaches, crafts, “girl stuff,” and crafts. Did I mention that you don’t really care for crafts?

You are wild about our extended family, and you pray for them almost every night. You think all of your grandparents hung the moon, and when you and Daddy were at my parents’ house a couple of weekends ago, you walked into their living room, looked at your father, and said, “Daddy? Could you please leave and give us some privacy?” You just adore them. It’s one of the great joys of my life.

Over the last few months I’ve caught myself looking at you and wondering how it all happened so fast – how the chubby-cheeked toddler who bounced up and down to Elmo songs is now such a long-limbed, confident little man. You do your homework without any prompting from me, you feed and walk the dogs, you run your water and take a shower and dry your hair and put on your pajamas. And then you wake up in the mornings and turn on music in the kitchen and sing your heart out while you eat breakfast. You are always – ALWAYS – tickled to death about going to school. And you like to be early.

That’s my boy.

A month or so ago I ordered your first suit for a wedding you’re going to be in this summer. When UPS delivered it I asked you to try it on right away, and seeing you in that grey seersucker suit just about did me in. You just looked so big, and as I checked the length of your coat sleeves, I found myself fighting back tears. It wasn’t because I’m sad that you’re not little anymore; it was because I’m so proud of who you’re becoming. Your daddy and I don’t just love you – we like you so much. You’re honest, tenderhearted, outspoken, friendly, hard-working and funny. You’re more than we ever imagined.

Happy 7th birthday, sweet little man. Life is so much better with you in it.

Love,
Mama

So thanks to my Beloved Bulldogs, I’ve spent the better part of 48 hours trying to keep my blood pressure from skyrocketing. It’s SEC tournament time, and the ‘Dogs have fought through a couple of tough match-ups against Florida and Vandy to secure a spot in tomorrow’s Championship Game. Who will we play? Oh, a little team called Kentucky. You may have heard of them. They are kind of good.

And just FYI: today I stood in my kitchen and watched every single second of our game against Vandy on the little bitty TV on the kitchen counter. There were a couple of reasons for this decision: 1) I am crazy and 2) It’s easier to jump up and down if you’re already standing. I’m sure you understand.

Anyway, obviously I’m mighty excited for my Bulldogs, who have been on the bubble of the NCAA tourney for the last few weeks but hopefully secured a spot with today’s win. I’m hoping for a great game tomorrow, especially since we came so close to beating Kentucky when we played them in Starkville about a month ago.

The last couple of days have gotten me totally excited about Selection Sunday and March Madness, so I thought I’d take a cue from something we did last year and set up a group for ESPN’s Tournament Challenge. Once again our group name is BooMama because I am deeply original and never, ever repetitive. The group is public, so you don’t need a password to join – but you will need to set up an account on espn.com if you don’t have one already (and it’s free, by the way).

Whoever wins our bracket will receive a fabulous prize (Kat won last year). Now granted, I have absolutely no idea what this year’s prize will be, but you may rest assured that it will be as fabulous as fabulous can be. Which means that it will probably be an iTunes or Amazon gift card, because that’s about as fabulous a prize as I can come up with right off the top of my head.

I never claimed to be extravagant, y’all. Or even clever, for that matter.

So. You can join the group now, and as soon as the Selection Sunday show is over, you can start making your picks online. Or you can print out your bracket, analyze each team’s stats and players and then make your picks online.

Me? I typically make my picks based on 1) blind conference loyalty 2) which city I like better between the two cities represented or 3) which mascot would win in some sort of toe-to-toe wrestling match. It’s all very scientific.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments. And if you join, let me know that in the comments, too, so I’ll know who’s who when I look at the bracket. After all, it’s important to know who’s who if we’re all going to be March Madness BFFs.

Oh, I cannot wait for all the basketball fun.

Happy Brackets, everybody!

Given that last week’s episode of “The Office” has made me giggle all week long, I’m more convinced than ever that it was an instant classic. And besides that, I feel like it’s given us so much to look forward to during the last couple of months of the season: Jim and Pam as new parents, Dwight and Angela (round two), Andy and Erin, Kevin and First Lunch, etc.

All righty – here we go:

1. “It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and here in Scranton that is a HUGE deal. It’s the closest that the Irish will ever get to Christmas.”

2. “What do we got here?” // “Mega desk.”

3. “Getting hooked on mega desk was my own fault. I don’t care about assigning blame. All I care about is mega desk. That is all I care about. Getting more mega desk.”

4. “The say that no man is an island. FALSE. I am an island, and this island is volcanic. And it’s about to erupt with the molten hot lava of strategy.”

5. “Whenever I’m sick it goes away in a few hours. Except once when I was in the hospital from age three to six.”

6. “Jo, I have an idea for suntan lotion soap.”

7. “Look at that picture that you drew. Nice job!”

8. “Let’s follow the chain of events: Jo likes Michael. Jo invites Michael to house. Jo doesn’t like Michael anymore.”

9. “I’m not surprised that Dwight’s using my baby to steal my desk. I’m a little surprised that it’s working.”

10. “You’ll probably feel better one you get some pants on.”

11. “Does her family owe your family something in terms of a past injustice?”

12. “Oh! Andy! I’m in my jammie jams!” // “That’s okay. I’m in my workie-works.”

13. “…if you’d like I can swing by your house so your baby can experience a strong male presence.”

14. “Drinks are on me!” (as Michael pulls out two different credit cards)

15. “They call it quad desk.”

All in all, this was nowhere near as funny as last week, but I guess Jo needed a send-off. And granted, the Jo character is charming, but she’s not particularly funny. So I guess it’s good she’s going back to Tallahassee. However, the fact that Andy and Dwight sang a short duet of “Cat’s In The Cradle” goes a long way with me. I’m trusting that next week will be better.

What did y’all think?

- Listen. I’m a nerd. I really am. And maybe that’s part of the reason why I fell head over heels for this interactive vote-for-your-favorite-Oscar-dress thingy. Something about being able to drag and drop each dress into its appropriate place – well, it delighted me.

- This post of Travis’ – well, just read it. That’s all I can say.

- My friend Shaun has a knack for expressing deep truths in ways that make me say, “YES. THAT.” His latest post is no exception.

- I’m still working on my springtime soundtrack, and Tuesday night I bought a CD that’s sure to have a firm place in this spring’s listening rotation: Hymns: Some Glad Morning by Cindy Morgan. It is an acoustic, folksy treasure. Absolutely beautiful.

- I loved Lindsey’s post about blogging the first time I read it. But what I didn’t anticipate is how I would continue to think about it. Great food for bloggy thought.