2008 Woodie Awards
The joy of a last place bracket after the first weekend
By: Bill Bordewick
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Sports Commentary
So how many of you out there still have working brackets as we enter the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament?
Most of you still should be pretty good as all the No. 1 seeds are still alive and two out of the four No. 2 seeds are still alive. Now if you had Georgetown vs. Duke in the final game, I feel sorry for you.
Yes, there were upsets but most of the upsets were not of the bracket-crippling variety that have seemed to shape NCAA Tournaments of yesteryear.
Hell, even I am still alive in my pool and I am currently in last place after the first weekend - that's what happens when you listen to Bobby Knight and start sipping on the Pittsburgh kool-aid (further proof for me to hate everything about the city of Pittsburgh).
Now this is where everything gets interesting when it comes to winning that beloved bracket pool.
The points really start to matter and you begin to watch out for teams that could potentially burn you.
For whatever reason, I went with Kansas to win it all (even with the fact that Bill Self has about as much success in the later rounds of the NCAA Tournament as I do) and UCLA, Louisville and Pittsburgh to round out the Final Four.
Clearly, I was drinking heavily when I made those picks.
Yes, UCLA is pretty much a lock because they have a bunch of children's choir teams masquerading as men's basketball teams in the West Regional with them (but knowing my luck, Western Kentucky is going to hit another miracle shot to take out my Bruins).
But my two iffy picks are really starting to come back to haunt me. The Pittsburgh good-for-nothings pulled a Duke and have already been eliminated by Sparty before even reaching the Sweet 16, and Louisville is in a region with North Carolina.
That could be a big problem for the 'Ville as UNC looks like they could beat a few NBA teams right now (and no, I'm not counting the Heat as a real NBA team because we already know UNC could crush them at their current state). The Tar Heels are just straight kicking tail and taking names.
Most of you still should be pretty good as all the No. 1 seeds are still alive and two out of the four No. 2 seeds are still alive. Now if you had Georgetown vs. Duke in the final game, I feel sorry for you.
Yes, there were upsets but most of the upsets were not of the bracket-crippling variety that have seemed to shape NCAA Tournaments of yesteryear.
Hell, even I am still alive in my pool and I am currently in last place after the first weekend - that's what happens when you listen to Bobby Knight and start sipping on the Pittsburgh kool-aid (further proof for me to hate everything about the city of Pittsburgh).
Now this is where everything gets interesting when it comes to winning that beloved bracket pool.
The points really start to matter and you begin to watch out for teams that could potentially burn you.
For whatever reason, I went with Kansas to win it all (even with the fact that Bill Self has about as much success in the later rounds of the NCAA Tournament as I do) and UCLA, Louisville and Pittsburgh to round out the Final Four.
Clearly, I was drinking heavily when I made those picks.
Yes, UCLA is pretty much a lock because they have a bunch of children's choir teams masquerading as men's basketball teams in the West Regional with them (but knowing my luck, Western Kentucky is going to hit another miracle shot to take out my Bruins).
But my two iffy picks are really starting to come back to haunt me. The Pittsburgh good-for-nothings pulled a Duke and have already been eliminated by Sparty before even reaching the Sweet 16, and Louisville is in a region with North Carolina.
That could be a big problem for the 'Ville as UNC looks like they could beat a few NBA teams right now (and no, I'm not counting the Heat as a real NBA team because we already know UNC could crush them at their current state). The Tar Heels are just straight kicking tail and taking names.
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