NCAA Bracket

So here's the deal. I accidentally screwed up in my spreadsheet for calculating who will win this thing by taking the average of the wrong two columns, which adversely affected my bracket where it mattered the most. Unfortunately I discovered this about 15 minutes ago, too late to do anything about it. Since I'll likely lose because of this, I've decided to blog it here so I have a record of me being 100% right on the bracket this year.

So here are my picks!

MIDWEST

1st round winners:
Louisville
Ohio State
Arizona
Wake Forest
West Virginia
Kansas
USC
Michigan State

2nd round winners:
Louisville
Wake Forest
Kansas
USC

Reg. Semis winners:
Wake Forest
Kansas

WEST

1st round winners:
Connecticut
BYU
Purdue
Mississippi State
Marquette
Missouri
Maryland
Memphis

2nd round winners:
Connecticut
Mississippi State
Marquette
Memphis

Reg. Semis winners:
Connecticut
Memphis

EAST

1st round winners:
Pittsburgh
Tennessee
Florida State
Xavier
UCLA
Villanova
Texas
Duke

2nd round winners:
Pittsburgh
Xavier
UCLA
Duke

Reg. Semis winners:
Pittsburgh
Duke

SOUTH

1st round winners:
North Carolina
LSU
Illinois
Gonzaga
Arizona State
Syracuse
Michigan
Oklahoma

2nd round winners:
North Carolina
Gonzaga
Arizona State
Oklahoma

Reg. Semis winners:
North Carolina
Oklahoma

--

Reg. Finals winners:
Wake Forest
Connecticut
Duke
Oklahoma

Nat. Semis winners:
Wake Forest
Oklahoma

Champion:

Hard to say, these teams both have strengths and weaknesses, but I'd give it to Oklahoma though. I'd change my stance on this one as the tournament goes on, but I'm positive it's these two in the finals.

Mock Draft

Tonight is the NBA Entry Draft. As usual, I'm super excited about this entire process, even though Toronto doesn't even have a pick!

Here's my mock draft:

1. Portland: Greg Oden.
2. Seattle: Kevin Durant.
3. Atlanta: Barring a trade, Al Horford.
4. Memphis: Mike Conley Jr.
5. Boston: Yi Jianlian
6. Milwaukee: Jeff Green
7. Minnesota: Joakim Noah
8. Charlotte: Corey Brewer
9. Chicago: Brendan Wright
10. Sacramento: Spencer Hawes
11. Atlanta: Acie Law (Raptors: Julian Wright)
12. Philly: Al Thornton
13. NO/Okla: Julian Wright
14. LA Clippers: Javaris Critteton (Acie Law if Toronto traded in)
15. Detroit: Rodney Stuckney
16. Washington: Nick Young
17. New Jersey: Jason Smith
18. Golden State: Morris Almond
19. LA Lakers: Sean Williams
20. Miami: Tiago Splitter (Javaris Critteton)
21. Philly: Daequan Cook
22. Charlotte: Thaddeus Young
23. New York: Wilson Chandler
24. Phoenix: Marco Belinelli
25. Utah: Alando Tucker
26. Houston: Rudy Fernandez
27. Detroit: Taurean Green
28. San Antonio: Derrick Byars
29. Phoenix: Josh McRoberts
30. Philly: Jared Dudley

Spurs in 4?

I haven't really watched too much of this series because the Spurs are a boring team to watch. They're methodical and effect, but just boring. Plus I never really thought Cleveland had a chance. I didn't think they were even the best team in the East, they just got lucky behind some pretty terrific play by Lebron James. In fact, I think any of the top 8 Western teams would have a pretty good shot of beating Cleveland in a 7 game series. You think of Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Golden State, Utah, Los Angeles, Denver.. all these teams could probably beat Cleveland if they had made it to the finals. And since the Spurs beat all of them.. I mean it's not rocket science.

I'm not a fan of either team. However I can't help but cheer for the Spurs because of Matt Bonner, the former Raptor who was a fan favorite in Toronto. The Red Rocket, as he was nicknamed because he liked to take the TTC to work, was just a hard working forward who had a knack for hitting open 3s. In terms of basketball smarts, he never really had any but it was his hustle that got the fans behind him.

So the Red Rocket is going to win a championship ring. How great is that?

Another reason to love the Spurs is Eric Williams. This guy, supposedly the centerpiece of that ill-advised Vince Carter trade, this so-called great model role player who ended up whining and complaining about not getting enough playing time, when in all honesty got more playing time than he really deserved, *was* a San Antonio Spur at the start of this season. But the key is he's no longer. And you just have to laugh because somewhere out there he is sitting there watching this series and pondering what might have been.