By beating Houston tonight, I believe UTEP wrapped up the No. 6 seed in a three-way tie with Marshall and Tulsa. If I understand the tie-breaking procedures correctly, the brackets for next week’s C-USA Tournament will be as follows:

Marshall (8) vs. Tulane (9) = winner plays Memphis (1)
Tulsa (7) vs. East Carolina (10) = winner plays UAB (2)
UTEP (6) vs. SMU (11) = winner plays Houston (3)
Southern Miss (5) vs. Rice (12) = winner plays Central Florida (4)

We’ll know for sure tomorrow when the league releases the bracket and game times.

When my wife and I bought our first house in Phenix City, Ala., one of the nicest parts of the whole process for me was being able to hang a bird feeder anywhere I wanted.

No kidding, that was a big deal for me.

I’ve always enjoyed backyard birding, and there aren’t too many opportunities for it when you live in an apartment.

I hung several feeders the day we moved into our house, and I started my life’s birding list a couple of days later.

A few months later, I added the checkmark I’m still most proud of. It was for a painted bunting (pictured here).

Painted buntings are beautiful little birds, even if they do look a little strange. They have so many colors in so many places that it almost looks like they’ve been doctored up by a young kid with a giant box of crayons.

That bird stayed at my feeder for two days, and I haven’t seen one since.

I have, however, checked a few other interesting birds off my list.

I once saw two roseate spoonbills at the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge the same day I saw a flock of wood storks and an indigo bunting.

I saw my first bald eagle on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala., and I once helped officials from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources trap and band an albino ruby throat hummingbird near Columbus, Ga.

I was on a snow goose hunt in northern Missouri a couple of years ago when I saw a duck that the other hunters in my group referred to as a blonde mallard. Those birds are so rare that you can’t even find much information about them with a Google search.

As for birds I’d still like to check off my list, I would love to see a blue-footed booby or a summer tanager. I’d also love to see a vermillion flycatcher or any kind of true wild tropical bird like a toucan.

How about you?

What have you seen? What would you like to see?