The Brackets Are In!

Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the brackets are complete.  March Madness has officially begun!  Fill out your bracket here!

I just want to hit on a few topics to get the wheels turning as you consider your brackets before the games start on Tuesday.

Top Seeds

I believe the top seeds are all very deserving.  Ohio State, Kansas, and Duke all won their conference tournaments, and you can't really argue with that.  Pitt also won the regular season of their tournament.  And coming out of the Big East, that is huge.  The question is which one do you think has the best chance to win it all.  I have Pitt taking the title.  I've been a fan of theirs all season, and they are always good.  I feel like this is their breakthrough year.

12/5 Upsets

Their always seems to be a 12/5 upset.  Which will it be this year?  You have UAB or Clemson vs Kentucky, Richmond v Vanderbilt, Memphis v Arizona, and Utah St. v Kansas St.  My pick for the upset is Richmond.  They have a history of upsets in this tournament, and I really don't think Vandy is all that good.  The other 5 seeds I think are pretty legit.  Kansas St had some down time this season, but they are peaking at the right time.  Kentucky is always a solid team.  I'm not as sure about Arizona, but Memphis isn't as good as they have been since Calipari left, so I think they are fine.  So I have Richmond in the upset over Vanderbilt.

Cinderella Team

The Cinderella pick is always the most difficult for me.  The teams that actually qualify as Cinderellas I never know enough about to pick them to go a long way.  I guess the biggest surprises I have are Penn State and Michigan State going to the Sweet 16, although I don't really feel like either one of those is a Cinderella.

So that's my initial evaluation of the brackets.  I haven't had too much time to research.  I'll follow up with my full bracket and maybe some more analysis later.  Have fun filling out your brackets.  Let me know what your picks are.

Jim Tressel Suspended

So, my prejudice against Ohio State may come out a little bit in this, but does anyone else think that Jim Tressel's punishment is the most worthless punishment you ever heard of?  Accused of knowing that his players were receiving improper benefits, he got a 2 game suspension and a 250,000 dollar fine.  Oh...and he has to make a public apology.

So let's consider this.  Jim Tressel signed a 7 year, 17.6 million dollar contract.  That combined with all the BCS Bowl Game bonuses and I'm fairly sure he's not going to miss $250,000.  And the 2 game suspension?  Give me a break.  Marshall and Miami (FL) both at home?  I guess Miami could potentially cause problems since OSU will be without 5 of it's starters.

But let's not forget the public apology...

I thought improper benefits was a serious offense.  Wasn't that what Reggie Bush was accused of?  Didn't he lose his Heisman?  Didn't USC forfeit all wins during his years their?  And Ohio State, who has 5 players accused of this gets a few suspensions.  Maybe their offenses weren't quite as bad as Reggie Bush and USC, but this seems like barely a slap on the wrist when the NCAA has a reputation for for being overly strict for these things.