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With one more very important piece (Boobie Gibson) left to plug into the new Cavs roster it remains to be seen how the team will mesh as a whole.  So far it has been up and down, as was expected.  All of that is very exciting, but my attention has temporarily shifted to the NCAA tournament.  It is (arguably) the most exciting event in sports.  I have no personal attachment to any team in the tournament this year, as Ohio State failed to get in.  Thus, how I pick in my brackets, and how I watch the tournament as a whole, is completely objective.  As is the case for me, the tournament will be viewed purely for entertainments sake.

The top tier teams (basically the 1 and 2 seeds plus maybe a couple of 3 and 4’s) this year seem to be better than they have been in while, or at least that much better than the rest of the field.  Which of course suggests that there will be less upsets than we may be accustomed to in the tournament.  In turn, there will probably be more upsets because nothing is concrete when talking about March Madness.  And this, my friends, of course means that I am once again outthinking myself as to how I want to make my picks.

It seems to be the same process every year.  I think the teams at the top are far more exceptional than in previous years, then I conclude that that is reason enough to pick more big upsets, which leads me to botch my brackets along with just about everyone else.  Maybe it was much better to have Ohio State in the tourney to fall back on.  Despite the normal confusion that coincides with the NCAA tournament I have come up with my picks in one sitting.  I will use this bracket, and this bracket only, for any pool I may be in.  And I will not, and have not, wavered from my original picks.  I am showing growth and unwavering maturity this year.

I take back my previous statements regarding not having a team that I am attached to.  Not having Ohio State in the tournament does not mean I have nobody in particular to root for, which is what I thought it meant.  It means I have a rather large variety of teams to root for, but for no reason other than wanting to beat my younger brother in a pool for little or no money.  ESPN’s use of “Bracketology” seems to be dead on.  Making the tournament seem like an educational achievement is pretty accurate.  It is a battle of wits and intelligence.  I want to do well in these pools because it means I have conquered the tournament bracket and all those who have dared to challenge my intelligence by challenging my tournament picks.  In and of itself, winning these pools is just as rewarding as passing just about any class I have taken in college, high school, et al.  Go UCLA!

Tags: cleveland cavaliers, march madness, NCAA tournament