The Queen's Cup

Behold:

This thing of beauty is, of course, the inaugural Queen's Cup, a coveted trophy awarded just as March Madness draws to a close to one lucky subject of the Bonanza Queen. You've heard about the Cup, but until now, no one outside of the tudor house has laid eyes on this masterpiece.

I say masterpiece because it is. Hand-crafted by the Queen herself, it is plated with real gold spray paint and topped with a slightly broken glass figurine that was found in the basement walls of our house by the guy installing our man cave bar. The true heart of the Cup, of course, is the authentic pom-pom that i have torn apart and stuffed inside the mason jar that makes up this Pin-spired piece's base. I have slaved over this work of art for months, and finally it is time for the unveiling. It pains me to think that it may not sit on my mantle for much longer.

I had intended to award the trophy earlier in the season, but in case you have been living under a rock, my poor Cats finally stepped up and started dominating in the tournament, and miraculously have made it to the Final Four! So I've had quite a bit of cheering and eating cheese dip to do for the last couple of weeks. But now I've turned my attention to where it should have been all season long: the Cup.

Unlike the Bonanza King, I host a tournament that can really be won by anyone even up to the last minute. (Out of the 961 brackets entered in the Bonanza, only five could still win the top prize, which I won't post here but let's just say it's nowhere near the quality of the Cup.) So, if you find yourself at the bottom of the Bonanza standings, there is still hope for you in the Queen's Corner.

So, how does one win this wonderful prize, you ask? It's quite discretionary, actually. No rules and fine print in the Queen's Corner. I have already awarded points to some people for a variety of things, including but not limited to: watching UK games with me, being a true Cats fan, reading my blog regularly, commenting on my blog (AHEM…I think there have been a grand total of 3 comments to my blog, ever. Is there anyone out there?), and giving me compliments and things. Not surprisingly, Mabel is in the lead at the moment. But have no fear, the rest of the competition is based on your answers to the following questions, and Mabel doesn't have a computer so she won't be much competition in this last and most important phase.

So without further ado, I reveal to you the Queen's Questions. Send your answers to these questions to my Queen's email account -- thebonanzaqueen [at] gmail.com -- or by leaving your responses below.

1. Who is going to win the NCAA Men's Final Four this year, and why?

2. How have you personally helped Kentucky make it to the Final Four?

3. In what ways is the Bonanza Queen like -- or better than -- Duchess Kate?

4. How cute was that picture of the royals and Baby George?

5. Where would you display the Queen's Cup, and how would having it make your life more worth living?

6. Agree or disagree: Marcus Lee (not to put any pressure on you here, but he is the Queen's favorite player) looks dead-on like Doug Funny.

Be forewarned that you should get your answers in quickly, because if Kentucky does not advance to the Finals … ohpleaseohpleaseadvancetothefinals … I may lose interest in the Queen's Cup Competition as well as the tournament itself.

It's been quite a ride, ladies and gents. I'll be back here before you know it with an exclusive, one-on-one interview with the Cup winner and an unveiling of this year's One Shining Moment. If you miss it, I'm sure they'll be showing it on the Today Show every day next week.