March Madness ends tonight -- Thoughts as we move onto April

March Madness will end today, and we'll move onto the Final Four...  As I think about this year's brackets I have some thoughts I want to share...

• Dear Kansas:  I picked you to win it all.  Why?  I picked you this year, because I never pick you.  I always pick with my heart and lose, so this year I mixed it up.  Well, by now, we all know how that turned out.  Your name now appears in Red and the entire right side of my bracket looks like blood shed.  If you're going to lead most of the game, then by all means get a few defensive stops and be smart about your offense.  There's no way that Michigan should have been able to come back.  When you're winning in the tourney and I pick you to win it all,  you need to CLOSE OUT THE GAME.  Annnnnnnnnnnnnd, if you have a chance to tie it (i.e. since you're RIGHT THERE AT THE BASKET), do NOT kick the ball out for a crazy 3-point attempt.  Sometimes you need to play the additional 5 minutes to prevent your season from ending.

• Dear Ohio State:  I didn't watch your game, and from the score, it looks like you may not have even showed up for it until the 2nd half.  I'm sure there's a story regarding officiating and what not, but hearing from my fellow Ohioans about the terrible first half, made me scared about the final score.  At least the final score was respectable...  Oh well, another quartile of my bracket went to hell, but since Kansas broke it first, I can't be too upset.  Now I have Wichita State to watch.  Thanks for a great season Buckeyes, but losing to Wichita State?!?!  Oh well.  That's the tourney...
• Dear Florida Gulf Coast University:  I was hoping you'd beat Florida.  Even though you didn't pull off the upset, I'm still impressed and your school is now on my radar.  Seemingly, out of no where, you graced my TV with 3 pointers, and tremendous inside shots/dunks because you actually did something I rarely see nowadays.  You all were smart enough to follow your shots and rebound.  Brilliant.  Every year, I try to go to Vegas for part of the tournament and my friends from Portland, OR were all over your squad this year.  Why?  Coach Andy Enfield's wife, Amanda (i.e. a former model).  My friends are obsessed with her!  I'm not one to go against the guys in my group, so "For Love of Amanda" we rooted for you until you finally lost. 
• Dear Indiana (Tom Crean): Please pool together some money and drive Tom Crean to get his hair cut.  Alternatively, you guys should just shave his head.  Crean's hair is terrible.  How are you supposed to win a championship, when Tom Crean's hair is such a "distraction"?  Crean looks like Dwight from the TV show "The Office".
• Dear Louisville (Rick Pitino):  I always joke that you're a tough team to bet on because you never know whether Pitino wants to coach or commentate on TV.  Well, this year, I guess Pitino wants to coach.  In previous years, I would've taken you all to the Finals and named you as Champions.  As mentioned above, this year I took a different strategy.  Yeah...  Thanks...
• Dear Syracuse:  First of all I'm convinced the NCAA needs to investigate then for the crazy play and scoring associated with the game against California.  Something wasn't right.  You're the most schizophrenic team in the tournament.  I have no idea what you're going to do when you hit the court.  When you guys were blown out against Georgetown at home in the regular season, all of my friends who are Syracuse alumni, were disgusted.  Now, all of a sudden Jim Boeheim has you playing.  Well, if there's a time to peak, the time is now so I guess you win that battle.  I still don't think you can win the war though...
• Dear Duke: Keep on doing whatever you're doing.  I love it when you win.  I've been to many a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and Duke winning it all, wasn't in my bracket...  Duke basketball winning a NCAA championship is a Tarheel nightmare, but a Duke fan's dream.

THE WIRK

March Madness is here and I'm not ready ~ See you in Vegas

So it's the advent of my return to Las Vegas for March Madness and aside from watching a few conference tournament games, I can honestly say I have no idea what's going on this year.  Last year, I hit the road and jockeyed cities to watch the games.  This year, frankly I don't have the energy to travel that much right now.  Sooooooo, it's just easier and more fun for me to visit with my friends from Portland et al, and sit in a sportsbook to wager.

Based on what little I know and from my past experience here are a few bullet points for what I think:

• I'm not taking Louisville to go far.  There seems to be little incentive for Coach Pitino to win, so I'll look forward to seeing Louisville's head coach on the sports panel(s) commentating as soon as his guys get bounced.
• If I have to pick a 12 to beat a 5, I'm picking Harvard University to pull off the upset.
• If UNC goes against FSU anywhere in the draw (i.e. can you tell I have yet to look at a bracket), I'm taking Florida State University.  The Seminoles are the Tarheels' kryptonite.
• Everyone I'm talking to seem to like the Kentucky Wildcats to win this year.
• I'm not joining any pools this year.  I've been out of the country for about 6-7 months, and you're not getting my "easy money".

I'll add more if/when I think of more.


THE WIRK

You say IZZO, but I say IZNO... They're not the Michigan Cavaliers...

According to Twitter, the Cavs Majority Owner Dan Gilbert and new GM Chris Grant will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. today. You can watch this press conference live on Cavs.com. It's no secret that Dan Gilbert is from Michigan, and that he wants Tom Izzo to coach the Cavs.  Tom Izzo has been the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans since 1995.  I've been an Ohioan all  my life (i.e. regardless where I reside).  Sooooooo, bringing Izzo to Cleveland (for me) is a HUGE faux pas, and NOT the answer to keeping LeBron in Cleveland.  Further, I honestly can't see how Izzo is going to bring a NBA Championship to Cleveland. 

Yes, Izzo has been wildly successful as a collegiate coach.  According to Wikipedia, "Under Izzo, the Michigan State program has been one of the most successful in the country. Izzo has led the Spartans to the 2000 NCAA Division I National Championship, six Final Fours, and six Big Ten Championships in his first 15 years at Michigan State. The winningest coach in school history, Izzo's teams have been invited to the past 13 consecutive NCAA tournaments, in addition to setting the Big Ten record for the longest home winning streak."

Great.  That's fantastic.  However, anyone (i.e. who has love for the game) can tell you that success in the NCAA does not equate to future success in the NBA.  Must I remind everyone of Rick Pitino's stint as a Celtics coach and P.J. Carlesimo's stint as a Golden State Warriors head coach?!?!  I hope not, because I'm almost positive both men would want to forget those career moves. 

As a Cavs fan, I think it might be time to panic.  It doesn't take a genius to realize that this is a stressful time for the cit of Cleveland.  I was just in Cleveland on Friday, and I only saw one billboard/sign that could be inferred as a LeBron please stay sign.  I think that's good, because I liken LeBron's relationship with the city as a boyfriend and girlfriend type union.  Do you respect your partner when they beg you to stay when you say you need/want time?!?!  No, you don't.  I'm glad that Cleveland isn't begging.  OK, I must also confess that I think I read that Akron might be holding a "LeBron please stay day" ~ but they're not sure LeBron will show up.  Like I said, I'm no genius ~ but that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

With management, ownership, season ticket holders, and citizens waiting on LeBron's every sound and trying to read body language ~ if I were LeBron I'd buy one of those old school jackets that has every NBA team's patch and logo on it.  For a man who's being enabled by an entire country of basketball fans and has never been recruited, this is the time to go all out.  However, it'll all be for nothing, if he never wins a championship.

I'm an Ohio girl.  I don't like that the Cleveland Cavs are becoming the Michigan Cavs.  If I were a Cavs season ticket holder, I'd seriously consider listing my tickets NOW ~ to beat the rush (i.e. just in case) before the market gets flooded...  I really wish my team and the city of Cleveland "good luck", but ) I hate to admit that this ship might be sinking...

Ugh... 2:30...  IZNO!!!!! :(


THE WIRK