March badness

[NOTE: For those who are neither American nor have ever lived in the States, this post may appear to be utter gibberish...kind of like how a post about cricket would be to me.]

This is how crazy things have been for us these past couple of weeks: for the first time that I can remember, I didn't enter my usual pools for NCAA March Madness. Needless to say, we've had other things on our minds lately, but I at least completed a bracket on my flight home Wednesday night. By the time I had enough time on Thursday to enter my picks, however, the deadline had passed. That's probably for the best since with the exception of one year where I think I was in the top 3, I have an abysmal record. Still, participating in a pool is right up there with voting in terms of civic obligations that I take very seriously and would only miss under extreme circumstances.

In my case, I at least kept my paper copy and went 25-7 in the first round. That's nothing spectacular, but for the first time ever, all of my Sweet Sixteen teams are still alive after the first round. That NEVER happens, but like they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

For the record, my Final Four: Florida, UCLA, Georgetown and Texas A&M, with UCLA beating Georgetown in the final...