Let the games begin

Well, my favorite time of year is finally here. The NCAA basketball tournament is about to begin (if one ignores the play-in game two days ago, and by the way wasn't that an extraordinary display of sloppy fundamentals and selfish decisions?).

March Madness is, along with soccer's World Cup, one of the best sporting events on the planet. [Now please don't talk to me about the Super Bowl or the World Series. I said "sporting events," not overly specialized and compartmentalized board games with brief moments of robotic athleticism breaking up the extended tedium.]

Any good fan of college basketball thinks he knows how the tournament's going to play out, and I am no different (except in that I am right). So for those of you still looking for the scoop, here are my picks:

• Elite eight: Midwest - Florida, Oregon, West - Kansas, UCLA, East - Texas, Georgetown, South - Ohio State, Memphis
• Final four: Florida, UCLA, Texas, Ohio State
• Championship game: Florida and Texas
• Winner: Florida

Yes, much as I'd love to see UCLA win it all Florida is just too solid all around, and especially on the front line, to be taken down.

I don't expect many upsets this year, although if I was going to pick a darkhorse to go all the way to the final game I'd tab Oregon, they're on a nice roll.

So go ahead and take this to the bank, fill out your brackets, impress your friends with your basketball acumen. I won't tell.