A Bittersweet Sixteen

I've entered the ESPN Tournament Challenge (both men's and women's), filled out my brackets, and joined two groups. One is a group of my college friends; we do it every year. One is a family group, which is new this year. It's been interesting to see how other people select their choices, especially those who may not follow basketball year-long.

My kids "filled" out a bracket, basing their choices on their favorite mascots. So you get the Florida Gators, the Louisville Cardinals, the Texas Longhorns, and the Oregon Ducks in the Final Four. My pregnant roommate opted for her child-to-be, "N. Utero," to choose teams based on what would be important to a fetus: warm climate.

Taking a different approach, another amiga selected them based on who's got the hottest coach. (I have misgivings about this method, although it would have allowed me to go against my heart and pick VCU over Duke.)

Then there's my aunt, who selected based on religious preference. She gave teams extra points for being from Catholic schools (go Georgetown!). Points off for being from Oral Roberts.

Oh, and did anybody catch the best historical reference in Sportscenter history? During conference tourney week, one of the announcers noted that Oral Roberts needed another 7 points "or God would call them home." HA!