chalk, seeds, and vowels from SportsWorld

[Laurence Horn]

Update from the NCAA men's basketball tournament:

(1)  There still is absolutely no agreement, if not total confusion,
on whether to refer to a #2 seed as "higher" or "lower" than a #10
seed.  I seem to hear both uses about half the time and often some
self-corrrective phrase (the #12 seed Missouri is "the first seed
that high--or that low, depending on how you look at it--to make it
to the Elite Eight since..."

(2)  "Chalk" is still with us for the favorites.  Not only do
prognosticators "go with the chalk" or "go against the chalk", but
last night we were informed on the ESPN wrap-up show that "the chalk"
(all four #1 or #2 seeds in action) advanced last night.

(3)  On the Northern Vowel Watch:  On that same show, commentator
Chris Fowler introduced his coverage of the games at Madison's Kohl
Center by taking us to (with some exaggeration)

M[ee-uh]dison, Wi[skaen]sin,

with extremely raised and fronted vowels.  The shibboleth is alive and well.

larry