March Madness Bracket Brawl

I’m going go ahead and just say it, I was filling pretty confident going into the 2008 edition of March Madness. I was the defending champion from 2007 winning three separate pools and had a solid pro fantasy football season from the fall. I felt like was at the top of my game.
I do, however, rarely participate in sports gambling with the exception of the NCAA National Tournament, fantasy football and the Northern Europe Field Hockey League that I watch at 3:30 in the morning on cable channel 317. I have never just been that fond of the idea resting the hopes of my hard-earned money on the shoulders of 19-year old college basketball players who are supposedly majoring in “elementary recreation management” for the one year they are in school before they go pro. But I go ahead and put down my $5 dollars and enter a pool like everyone in America. And everyone in America should enter a pool at their office or school or charity organization. Yes, the research says that millions of dollars are lost every year in lost production from workers spending way too much time checking the latest scores. But the research also says that pool increase team building and chemistry. Come on people what’s more important, paying the mortgage or bonding with all your good buddies over in accounting? Our economy will not get back on track until we realize what we should be focusing on.
Anyway, fifteen people put down their money in my pool this year and I was fairly confident of winning the $70 first prize pot and 14-uluping my investment. Forget hedge and mutual funds, this is how you need to raise the money to send those youngsters of yours to college.
After the first round, I was feeling good sitting in first place after picking 27 of the 32 games correctly, coming only two short of my career record of first round victories of 29 coming at the seasoned age of 11. It was a good start but of course their was plenty of good competition including a good start by the three girls in the pool who I think possibly picked their teams based on whose uniforms they thought were the cutest.
After the second round I maintained my narrow lead and placed 14 of the Sweet 16 teams. But in the second weekend, I was finally caught and fell to third place although I was still in good position going into the final four. All I needed was for both UCLA and North Carolina to win their games to win the pot or for North Carolina to win out and split the pot. I was in great shape. I had picked the hottest team of the tournament in the Tar Heels led by player-of-the-year Tyler Hansbrough and the most experienced in the Bruins who were in their third straight Final Four lead by super-frosh Kevin Love.
But it all blew up in my face as both teams lost on what will go down as “Black Saturday.” In the span of five painful hours I saw the defense of my crown and more championship glory slip through my fingers as North Carolina and UCLA got murdered. It was a disaster and I’m almost considered killing this week’s column. Yeah, I’m dead serious folks (Ha, get it?) It was a tragedy, my hopes of buying a new pair of running shoes with my winnings dashed by the likes of Brandon Rush and Derrick Rose.
I could barely bring myself to watch the championship game. I was pretty much numb when I watched Mario Chalmers hit the buzzer beater for Kansas and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and the rest of the Memphis Tigers snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
To be completely honest, I will need time, like any defeat, to recover form this heartbreak. My creditienls as a sports columnist who makes picks as a profession was damaged and my psyche bruised. Only a victory next year will repair what has happened. Gosh, I hope that Curry guy from Davidson goes pro this year so he doesn’t wreck my chances again. That’s right, get that man an agent and get him drafted. “The Grandeur” is out for revenge.