Bracketology -- Picks need to be in by Noon on St Patrick's Day

Headlines are screaming about the impending nuclear reactor troubles in Japan, unrest in the Middle East,  Government shutdown still looming, runaway spending by this Administration, and a President who has no clue what to do in Libya but wants to allow the UN to decide.  

With all that going on in the world, decided today the main blog post was going to be about NCAA Basketball March Madness and St. Patrick's Day tomorrow -- everyone needs something to take their mind off what is happening in the world -- cannot think of a better thing than March Madness. It has been amazing over the years to watch 64 teams cut to 32 and then to 16 in one long weekend. The other year in one bracket I got 2 right on the first day and 3 right on the second day. Needless to say that was a horrible -- in fact it was so bad that AOL gave us all a second chance as they had so few people left with teams after the first weekend. Here's hoping for a better outcome this year.

Last night TruTV started off the 68-team tournament which is new this year. Instead of having two play-in games, we have four this year. Also after all the complaints last year of not being able to see a lot of games, the games are all over the place on cable -- truly is check your local listing. If you have cable, you are in great shape but if you have no cable, it is CBS only for your games. Something about watching basketball last night on TruTV made me laugh.

Last night University of North Carolina Ashville beat University of Arkansas Little Rock in overtime in a very evenly matched game. The second game of the night with Clemson beating University of Alabama Birmingham was a blowout and made you question the selection committee on not making Clemson part of the original 60 teams. They looked really good.

You still have time to do your brackets as the four first round play in games do not count in the Bracketology. One of my brackets is a private competition and then I am in four other brackets -- all picks pretty much the same this year. Just don't see the upsets in the first round as prolific this year as some years have been. Four #1 seeds seem to be pretty good -- picked them all to get to the Final Four with Kansas winning in most brackets. Will Kansas disappoint as usual for a lot of us who have picked them to go all the way before? Time will tell if they get that monkey off their back but Bill Self has the team clicking right now after the poor first game in the Big 12 Championship.

Ohio State has been up and down during the last part of the season but expect them to have a strong tournament as well as Pittsburgh and Duke. Will the four first seeds make the Final Four? Very seriously doubt it which means my brackets will be busted but frankly don't see a dominant team this year. Texas was rolling along and then fell apart.

One note about the selection of teams. Two Big 12 teams Colorado and Nebraska were left out of the tournament when most of us thought they would get a spot. But the Big 12 Commissioner Beebee sat on the selection committee and adding two and two together we assume this was payback for both schools leaving the Big 12 early. We know he sent Nebraska to the Holiday not Insight Bowl. Perfect example of consequences for the actions of Colorado and especially Nebraska who has had their nose out of joint at Texas and Oklahoma in football two years in a row in the Big 12 Championship. They lost two year in a row -- get over it! Now they didn't make the NCAA tournament in basketball.

In other local basketball news, the Sooners fired our basketball coach after two losing seasons. We thought he would have another year but in the end this is probably the best as attendance has dropped way off. OU needs a coach who understands that football will always be #1 for the Sooners but that we are a Top 25 program who can win and be in the tournament consistently and is something to build to make it a great program. Our Women's Coach Coale has managed to take the Sooner women's program from the bottom of where it was talked of doing away with women's basketball to several Final Fours where unfortunately we had to meet Connecticut probably the all-time best girls basketball in the Country.

It is important for our next coach to also get along with the other coaches in our program like Bob Stoops and Sherri Coale. Maybe it was just the fact that Jeff Capel came from the East Coast and the elite Duke Program into a Heartland University where football is #1 by a mile. Our coaches over the years have been pretty a-political but Capel supported Obama playing some of his videos for our players. He was a very good player's coach but frankly did not seem to fit in with the powers at be.

We wish Jeff Capel a lot of success in the future -- he is a good young coach but in the end, he wasn't best for our program.

Enjoy March Madness along with St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. If you were in Norman, Oklahoma, tomorrow you could head over to O'Connell's on Campus Corner early in the morning to order up green eggs which have become a tradition. This is the first year that tradition will take place on Campus Corner as their original location has been shut down due to expansion of OU. It is bigger and better. During football season O'Connell's has been highlighted as a must place to eat in Norman. We agree although not up to green eggs first thing in the morning.

Looking forward to a good corned beef sandwich at McNellies Pub on Main Street tomorrow -- everyone who has had one has raved how good they are so off to there for lunch tomorrow. They are from Tulsa where you can get some really good Irish food.

Have terrific day! Weather will be sunny and in the 70's today so outside work is on part of the agenda. After the last two weeks with a family emergency which caused the sporadic posting, getting back to more normal today is a relief.

Make your picks for March Madness and Good Luck!