It was pitch dark this morning when I woke up. Must be Spring.
Spent an hour this morning sweating over a bracket. Must be March.
If you want to come have a beer and talk hoops and maybe punch me in the face, I'll be at area Hooters when the NCAA Basketball Tournament tips off later this week. Ah, March Gladness. In conjunction with the good folks at 105.3 The Fan, your friendly Dallas Observer is hooking me up to be at the Hooters in Frisco Thursday night, Lewisville Friday night and Denton Saturday night. (Stay tuned to this channel for next week's itenerary.)
By the weekend my bracket will likely be toilet paper, but for now it looks pristine. Need a cheat sheet?
Okay, how about some pointers at least?
*Though all four No. 1 seeds have made the Final Four only once (2008), last year the top three seeds in all four regions made the Sweet 16 last year. In other words, pick upsets early but go with the chalk late.
*Much as it makes sense, don't pick Arizona, UCLA, North Carolina or Connecticut. They're all four out of the tourney for the first time since 1966.
*Kansas has been the best team all season; Kentucky's John Wall the best player.
*I'll argue that Baylor is the most athletic team in the tourney.
*Texas? Meh. After a 17-0 start, the Longhorns went 7-9 down the stretch and fell from a No. 1 ranking to a No. 8 seeding. Wow.
*Beware Syracuse. Lost its last two games and its best big man (Onuaku) to a leg injury.
*At times Duke will have four white dudes on the court, including the latest incarnation of Bobby Hurley-Steve Wojciechowski-J.J. Redick, named Jon Scheyer.
*When in doubt, flip a coin. Or ask your girlfriend, who'll pick a bracket on mascots or colors and probably beat yours. Don't tell me it hasn't happened.
