I’m generally a mild-mannered, modest kind of guy. I don’t
usually like to gloat or talk myself up too much.
But, I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty good at picking a solid NCAA
Tournament bracket.
I’m generally a mild-mannered, modest kind of guy. I don’t usually like to gloat or talk myself up too much.
But, I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty good at picking a solid NCAA Tournament bracket.
The Tar Heels of North Carolina made a winner out of me on Monday night when they defeated Illinois 75-70. And, let me tell you, it went down to the wire. Just about everybody had Illinois winning the final game, including new Dispatch sports writer Ana Patejdl, who is an Illinois native. Ana was only two points behind me going into Monday’s game and it was making me nervous.
No, I don’t have any problem at all with losing to a girl. Patejdl knows more about sports than most and all of us in the 14-person pool we had going here at the office – played for meager, non-cash prizes of course – and we were closely watching her picks as the tournament played itself out. Heck, she not only went to the University of Illinois, she actually used to watch Roger Powell and James Augustine play ball in high school.
That said, I don’t know if I would have been able to come to work on Tuesday had I dropped one to anybody from Illinois.
As a fan of the Green Bay Packers and someone who spent a number of years living in Wisconsin, that’s just unacceptable. We Wisconsinites take the rivalry with our southern neighbors pretty seriously. Forget peace and quiet in the office, there would have been some bad blood around here had those guys in the hideous orange uniforms won on Monday.
Obviously, I’m kidding around here. Just having some fun with my third-straight win prognosticating the tournament bracket.
Three in a row. Pretty sweet. But, I have to admit, the last two were basically a fluke. Take last season, I didn’t watch a whole college game all season long. I was living alone and couldn’t really afford cable given the little amount of time I had in which to actually watch television. All I knew was that Connecticut was nice.
Emeka who?
But, just like this year, those scrappy little Wisconsin teams made my bracket work. Last season it was Marquette. This year, it was the Panthers of UW–Milwaukee and of course, the Badgers.
Illinois was obviously the smart pick for the overall winner, given the team’s record on the year. I just couldn’t bet against the Heels. Of course North Carolina had a solid team this year behind coach Roy Williams but they certainly didn’t look like a lock to make it to the championship game.
The thing is, every time I think North Carolina, I think Michael Jordan. I know it’s stupid. It’s been how many years now since No. 23 hit that incredible shot from the corner to sink Houston? I can’t help it, though. If the Tar Heels are even looking like a team that might get out of the first round, I’m picking them to win it all.
