Madness 2008

Crap, everything that's going on - Spitzer, Wright/Obama, Paterson - can distract us from the really important things. March Madness is back, Baby!

As usual, I have been following basketball fairly closely this year, but I find myself in a very different camp then most of the sportwriters. Stewart Mandel says, this is the year of the favorite. The ESPN guys average Final Four Rank is 1.29 and no one has anyone seeded lower than 2. And even Dickie V. says no chance a 5 seed or lower makes the Final Four.

Hmmmm.

Okay, now I admit I always pick conservatively, but my humble opinion is that ANYONE can lose in the second round. Sure, I think UNC and UCLA are tough, but not unstoppable. And the teams ranked 3 through 6 have some solid players who can pull of the "upset." UConn got torched by Providence and WV (curse you, Joe Alexander), but have an outstanding point guard, a shot blocking god and two very strong forwards. Xavier, USC, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Louisville can all make a case that on any given day, they can win against anyone even if things don't go perfectly. Most importantly, all the top seeds have looked very vulnerable at times.

This may be the Year of the Favorite. More likely, it will come down to the point guard and great defense.

That said, Mr. Wimp picks:

UNC, Kansas, Texas, UCLA with UCLA beating UNC 82-75...