Sports editor rallies the Leader troops for March Madness

The only thing harder than winning a championship is defending it.

Last year, my family filled out NCAA mens' basketball tournament brackets and, much to the dislike of my brother, I won.

I don't know if it was luck or my vast knowledge of collegiate basketball that won it for me, but now the time has come to defend my title. This year, my family has filled out their brackets and the trash talking has begun.

But, after the intense competition-filled two weeks of the Olympics, I didn't think one NCAA bracket pool would be enough for me, so I decided to start one at the Lake County Leader.

I didn't want to overdo this and join as many bracket pools as i could find. It's like going to a bingo game and having 12 cards. How can one person keep track of all of them?

So I think two might be my limit.

Ten participants representing all areas of the office have joined the competition as the tournament starts March 18 with the championship game on April 5 in Indianapolis.

From editorial, all four of us have researched our picks and are ready to see who wins.

Jenna is hanging her head after Washington State University's performance at the Pac-10 tournament, and really the season in general. She filled out her bracket in memoriam of the glorious season-past, when Tony Bennett ruled Pullman.

"Come back, Tony," is on her wish-list.

"Until the Cougars get their heads on straight, go Griz," she said.

Sasha is staying loyal to his alma matter, Wisconsin. He picked the Badgers to make the final four, with an all Big-ten final match-up between Ohio Sate and Wisconsin.

He also didn't put a single No. 1 seed team making it past the Sweet 16.

David and I have similar brackets, with the same Final Four and champions. Only 10 games are different between the two. Out of the West, he has Xavier making the Sweet 16.

From the sales side of the office, Andi was unable to fill out her bracket before the paper's deadline since she was in Las Vegas. She is looking to carry over her luck from the desert to the mountains and take the title.

Earl went with dark horse Maryland to make the final four out of the Midwest region. In the east, he predicted No. 15 Morgan State to make the Elite Eight but get bumped off by Kentucky.

Representing graphics, Kara stayed true to Montana, predicting the Griz to make the final four but getting knocked off by Sam Houston, the No. 14 seed out of the south.

Laurie also stayed true her colors. She put Minnesota and Montana in the championship game, with the Griz edging out the Gophers.

Dan picked Minnesota and Green Bay to meet in the final, with Green Bay winning 47-0. He only cares about football and is still bitter that the Packers weren't as talented as the Vikings this year.

I'm hoping my success from last year will extend to this year. Unlike Sasha, I have little faith in my alma matter. My bracket shows a win over Xavier in the first round but a loss to Pittsburgh in the second round. I'm looking for an all Kansas semifinal game for an intense rivalry game.

Look for updates every Thursday in the Leader and the "On the bleachers" blog at www.leaderadvertiser.com/blogs.

Final Four calculations

(predicted champions in bold)

Jenna: Kansas, Pitt, Clemson, Duke

Sasha: Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Baylor,

Wisconsin

David: Kansas, Kansas State, Duke, Kentucky

Heidi: Kansas, Kansas State, Duke, Kentucky

Andi: Unavailable at press time

Earl: Maryland, Brigham Young, Utah,

Kentucky

Kara: UNLV, Syracuse, Sam Houston, Montana

Laurie: Kansas, Minnesota, Duke, Montana