Bracketology (Or, I Really Have No Clue)

The madness hasn't officially begun yet and my head is already spinning.  Did I really watch and record over three hours of a show called "The Experts" on ESPN Sunday night?  This after watching Selection Sunday on CBS, the commercial volume criticism of Dick Vitale (that upset over Virginia Tech not getting in!) and the seemingly running for office analysis of Digger Phelps.  I'm down to 28 percent space left on my Directv HD DVR.  How many more episodes of Burn Notice are left?

I'm having nightmares thinking about my bracket as if I was runner up in a Skip Bayless look-alike contest.  And the NCAA committee is actually tossing around the idea of expanding the field for March Madness beyond 65 teams.  Stop the crazy talk!  I'm going nuts just tyring to find every scouting report that's out there.  For instance is 6-8 San Diego State freshman forward Kawhi Leonard (12.8 ppg/9.9 reb) stud enough to lead the Mountain West's Aztecs past Tennessee of the SEC in the first round?

Over thinking it?  You bet.  I'm a guy who prides himself on watching way too much sports.  March Madness and the fantasy football season is the only chance I have all year to help offset my satellite tv sports subscriptions.  Win, and I earn the right to give my wife the look.  The one that says don't even think about questioning me over my addiction to sports.  It's the look we guys get when they march off to the beauty salon.

If you're in an office pool, there should be some guidelines, like just one entry per person.  What's up with the multiple submissions?  In the spirit of the games, it should be one and done babeeeee!  Or at the very least, that second and third submission price should hurt your wallet a little bit.  That first sheet is the bandwagon entry.  Kansas to win it all because that's what the majority of the experts are saying.  Those subsequent entries are the let me show people how smart I am with my multiple chances.  Yeah, I knew Siena would give Duke all they wanted.  Or the I told you to watch out for Vanderbilt crowd.  One sheet!

By now, if you've watched every prediction show available, you've been beaten over the head about the history of the 12 versus 5 seeds and how this team or that team got hot down the stretch, their quality wins during the season and body of work.  Unless you've got game film of every team in the tournament, join the rest of us and just bet your hunch or limited knowledge or be like one of my co-workers who picks teams based on uniform color.  You can ask how her bracket is doing if you run into her at the beauty salon.  It's a good possibility she'll still be in the running to win the whole thing.

And I just experienced a nightmare.  I turned on ESPN and thought I'd done a Rip Van Winkle and slept through a few games of the tournament because North Carolina is playing.  I then realized this isn't the dance I care about.