Kaput - NCAA picks
Paulie Brading
The series of losses by the NCAA tournament's top seeds over the weekend have once again dashed my fantasy of winning the "Pop Kelly" pool. Pop Kelly is in his 90's and hails from Connecticut. He and his 7 grown children, their spouses, children and grandchildren make up the vast majority of the participants in the pool. I was invited into the pool by one of his children 20 years ago when I worked in the Nutmeg state. For 20 years I've received a handwritten note from Pop inviting me into the pool. His handwriting is a little shaky and apparently there isn't a Kinko's around the corner to make copies. Each year his invitation means he's still with us and that is a very good thing.
This year was different. As an Obama delegate at the National Democratic Convention in Denver I was secretly more than a little pleased to be voting for a man who loves his basketball. When President Obama made his NCAA picks public I had already sent mine to Pop. Our brackets matched pretty closely.
With identical picks for the Final Four, we are victims of a series of losses by the tournament's top seeds. Wins by Michigan State and Villanova, along with Missouri's upset earlier wrecked our chances. With only one pick intact (North Carolina) will we win? Your thoughts?
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10:39 a.m.
Mar 30, '09
I had my picks, too. And tended to go with favorites. But I've nothing invested in the outcome, so I now find myself cheering for the underdogs. Don't we all love long-shots, in sports and in politics.
10:59 a.m.
Mar 30, '09
I do two brackets every year--a long-standing version with a good friend for bragging rights, and a larger pool organized by a certain tech-y political blogger I know. I've never won the former, but finished in the money twice in three years in the latter (you throw in a ten-spot; winner gets 2/3s, second place 1/3, last place gets a refund). Somehow money hones my mental accuity.
But this year I'm screwed in both brackets. As a Big Ten guy, I'll be delighted to root for Tom Izzo's kids next weekend in Detroit. Go Spartans!
1:20 p.m.
Mar 30, '09
I love you Jeff Alworth. Go Spartans! It's all we have.
1:51 p.m.
Mar 30, '09
I have been filling out brackets since I can remember. I never do well in pools, but I have a pretty good knack for picking a national champion. This year I only have UNC left in my final four, going on to win the championship (which all hinged on the health of Ty Lawson, so far so good). Deep down I am rooting for Villanova to win it all. I like upsets more than being right.
<h2>On a side note, being from an alum from an Atlantic 10 school. I am disappointed in the performance of the 3 schools sent to represent. Xavier and Dayton should have gone further. Temple only got in because they won the A-10 tourney.</h2>