Alum-inating II

Well I know you've been eagerly awaiting for the products of the other 8 schools in the Sweet Sixteen. So here it is, the almumnists of Wichita State, George Mason, Connecticut, Washington, Villanova, Boston College, Florida and Georgetown.

The D.C. Region:
Will start with the Wichita State Shockers. I'll start first with some sports realted alumni. Well first off the "Big Tuna" himself, Bill Parcells, is a Shocker alum. It has also produced some NBA studs like Antoine Carr, Cliff Levingston and of course the greatest of them all, the X-Man, Xavier McDaniel. Known for his deadly turn around jumper, the X-Man had a solid career and with his skills slowly declining he would head to my squad, the Celtics. He finally retired in 1998 and currently sits by the phone awaiting his call from Springfield. But alas, the one of the greater contributions to our society came form two other Shockers. Dan and Frank Carney co-founded Pizza Hut, which has revolutionized the whole pizza industry with the likes of stuffed crust, popables and of course the P'Zone. They truly are innovators.

At George Mason, they had a young Karl Rove roaming the campus. Rove of course is President Bush's senior advisor and is often referred to as "Bush's Brain", which is not something I'd exactly be throwing on a resume. They also produced CSI's Archie Kao and Weather Channel President Debora J. Wilson. Where would we, as a nation, be without an all weather network and constant storm tracking? Honestly. Tell me, I wanna know.

Out in Washington they have produced some interesting characters. You already heard about Speaker of the House Tom Foley, but did you know the king of elevator music Kenny G., and current Family Feud host Richard Karn were also Huskies? Or how about the developer of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee? That's right, star of Enter the Dragon, Lee studied philosphy at Washington. Famed children's author Beverly Cleary also attended the University of Washington. Perhaps this where she started developing ideas for Mouse and the Motorcycle and the brilliant Ramona Quimby series. And last but certainly not least is one this country's greatest thespians, Patrick Duffy. Star of Dallas and Step by Step, Duffy was a true performer, only out to give the gift of entertainment to others.

Over in Storrs, they can boast about educating the son of Ted Kennedy. He received a Juris Doctor Degree, whatever that is. Now he's not an alum, but Sam Pickering, the inspiration for Robin Williams character in Dead Poets Society, has taught at UCONN for quite a few years. At least that's something. Sorry there was not a lot of non-athletic UCONN alumnists.

Minneapolis Region:
We'll start this region with Georgetown. Now this esteemed institution has developed many a politician and lawyer including four Supreme Court Justices and former President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton. The most fascinating former Hoya I came across was none other than Mitchell Hurwitz, writer and creator of the best show on television, Arrested Development. HAZAH! Hurwitz also contributed to the John Laroquette show and Golden Girls.

Which leads us nicely into Boston College alum, David R. Anderson, who is the President of St. Olaf College. You may remember, that Rose on the Golden Girls was from none other than St. Olaf, Minnesota. Another fun tourney tie-in from a BC alum, is Charles William Lyons. He was the former president of not only Boston College, but Gonzaga and Georgetown as well. He tops Tom Foley, by being connected to three Sweet Sixteen teams! Other of note from the school on Chestnut Hill, include Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy and famed beetnik, Jack Kerouac.

Villanova was not exactly abounding with stellar alums that aren't or haven't played pro basketball, like Kerry Kittles or Ed Pickney. But the singer-songwriter Jim Croce, not to be confused with 76ers exec, Pat Croce, attended Villanova. Croce is known for such songs as "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mess Around with Jim". Both classics.

The final piece of the puzzle is the University of Florida. This is a dandy. Famous Gators include Buddy Ebsen, aka Jed Clampett, Stephen Root, most known for his roles in NewsRadio and Office Space, and Mr. Fix-it himself, Bob Vila. But the best alum, no it's not Gatorade, but Melinda Lou Thomas. Stumped? Well I'm sure her nickname will help. She is better known as "Wendy". Yes, THE Wendy! She is Dave Thomas' daughter for whom the fast-food chain Wendy's was named. Now that's good stuff.


Well there you have it! A look at what kind of people the final sixteen schools can produce. Hope you had enjoyed. This blog was sponsored by Diet Mr. Pibb.