It’s NCAA Tourney Time

As a sports fan this is the most exciting time of year for me. I am one of those fanatics that take off work for the Opening Round! I tried taking off a ½ day but always got stuck at work. I tried working from home, but people always scheduled meetings during the middle of the day, so I would be on the conference call with the game on in the background (on mute of course). Of course that did not work after my outburst in the middle of the meeting because one of the teams I picked to make the Final Four had just loss on the 1st day. So I have just resolved to take the entire days as vacation…..

This year I am interrupted because I have a friend that scheduled his Service Anniversary for Thursday, and I am leaving out for a “Road Trip” to Memphis early Friday morning.

This year’s tournament has already proven to be interesting before any game has been played. For the 1st time I can remember the 4 teams that I thought should be the #1 seeds actually were selected. Mostly due to the fact that all of the Top Teams won their Conference Tournaments making it a little easier for the Selection Committee.

Other Notables:

1) A number of teams from Mid-Major conferences (like Drake, Gonzaga, George Mason) have been seeded to play against each other in the 1st round. I have to wonder if this is an effort to marginalize their impact in the tournament to keep them from knocking out schools from the Power Conferences (like Purdue, Arizona, Villanova), or if it is an effort to try and increase the opportunity for them to advance deeper into the tournament. Of course you know I believe it is the former not the latter reason. The logic does not add up to create more opportunity by ensuring that less Mid-Major teams are eligible to play in the next round.

2) The other is the relative agreement across the nation that the Selection Committee pretty much got it right. The only questionable decision was putting in Arizona over Arizona St, when they played twice this season and loss both times.

3) There has been some talk about expanding the tournament, or getting rid of the automatic bids. I have blogged on this topic before…..

So I will end putting my picks on the line. Last year for only the 2nd time ever I pocked the Final 4 perfectly, but somehow managed not to pick either of the teams that played in the Championship! This year my Final 4 is my team “KU”, Tennessee, TU (Longhorns), and UCLA. As you know if I am picking the Jayhawks to make the Final 4 I have picked them to win it all….

Rah, Rah, Jayhawk, KU! Rock Chalk Jayhawks!!!