Most of the week is about basketball, with a taste of corned beef.

First, the easy ones. Whitman College in Walla Walla only lost one game this year, their last one. They were one of the last four teams in the NCAA Division 3 basketball tournament and were undefeated until they came up against Babson College. Do you know anybody who went to Babson? Then there are those Wabash College Little Giants, also from Division 3, who went to no tournaments with a record of 11-15. Finally, there are the Duke Blue Devils. My son (and son-in-law) went to Duke. As a result, I try to monitor my investment for each year the team is in the NCAA Division 1 tournament. Unfortunately, they lost to an inspired South Carolina team in the second round.

Even Pang got into the March Madness. She is the foreign exchange student from Thailand living with us this semester. I filled out a bracket with her, so we have been watching our bracket “blow up.” She picked up a sweatshirt somewhere along the way that is from the University of Louisville because she likes the colors. Frankly, I can’t think of a better reason to support a college team.

However, even with Pang cheering for them, Louisville lost in the second round to the University of Michigan. Many years ago, Louisville’s basketball coach sagely stated, “Most of our future lies ahead!” Awesome.

Now for some good news. The University of Washington women’s basketball team is in the NCAA tournament as the no. 3 seed, and they played over last weekend in Seattle. BJ, Pang and I drove through the rain to Alaska Airlines Arena to join a sold-out crowd watching the team beat Montana State by 25 points in the first round. The Huskies have the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, and the team is a real kick to watch. The first game of the evening featured the Gonzaga Bulldogs playing Oklahoma. One of the highlights of that game was spotting John Stockton in the crowd as he watched his daughter play guard for the Zags in their losing effort. The only downsides were the feeling that the guy sitting behind me had needed a shower for about a month and the fact that the concession stand ran out of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. The game and environment were just bunches of fun with all those enthusiastic and engaged college students. We even ran into six Port Ludlow women from Camber Lane on the ferry from Kingston who were on their way to have tea someplace in Seattle. It probably was a good time.

In my personal support of Saint Patrick’s Day, I had corned beef for about six days in a row. BJ tells me there is still more in the freezer. Some of the best was served at the party at the Yacht Club’s Wreck Room. Tish and Tom Satre put together a wonderful offering of meat, potatoes, cabbage and carrots for more than 60 of the membership. Pang got to meet Buddy Hills, whose mother is Thai, and Karen Hashagen, who has a Thai daughter-in-law and granddaughter. We spent the evening talking with John and Beth Weaver, who also have a Thai daughter-in-law. The whole experience was pretty enlightening for an old guy from Ohio.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!

(Contact Port Ludlow resident Ned Luce at

nedluce@sbcglobal.net.)