Damn Devils

I'm not a Duke hater, although I was a bit peeved over the favoritism they seemed to get at key moments tonight from the officials. What really got my goat (love that phrase) is that I was all set to pick Duke in my bracket selection this year, but went with Kansas at the last second. I changed my mind because of some of the things I had read about Duke being "overrated," and recalling some overpaid ESPN desk-sitters saying Kansas was "clearly" the best team in the tournament.

I usually get into one bracket pool at most every other year, and spend all of five minutes on it. This year I decided to read about ten minutes worth of commentary before filling it out, and despite doing awfully early on (like most), I finished 7th out of 73. Had I gone with Duke, I would have finished third, good enough to cash.

I guess those same experts may have been right that Duke didn't deserve such an "easy" bracket, but that's extremely debatable. Bottom line for me in future pools is to heed some stock market advice I read long ago, from Harvey Mackay (I think): Trust the experts...to be wrong.

I will also not throw away future entries by picking the Gophers in two upsets if I don't really believe they have a chance, now that I know I actually can do all right without the knowledge of the "experts." Those games and a Duke win would have been enough to pay for the golf on my recent trip to Branson.