OK, let the madness begin, for real today. No more speculation and hypothesizing, the games tip off for real and don't worry it happens every year, so don't feel bad when your bracket gets "busted" because some school that you never expected to win, pulls off an upset. That being said, here are my upset alerts for the first round:
Arizona to take down Utah, Mississippi State over Washington, Maryland over Cal, although with the Terps being in a power conference, yes fear the Turtle, and it is an upset in seeding regards only. VCU over UCLA, keep an eye on Temple against Arizona State and John Beilein always has his teams prepared well so don't be surprised to see Michigan beat Clemson.
For what it's worth, if you are going to be successful in the "office pool, for recreational purposes only" of course, you need to go out on a bit of a limb and not pick favourites to the final four. Remember only once in the history of the tournament in this current format have all four number one seeds made it to the last weekend and that was last season. I'm not banking on it happening two years in a row.
Here's my final four: Louisville, Memphis, Villanova and Oklahoma. Foul trouble could be an issue for Pittsburgh particularly if they get an officiating crew that is not used to seeing the rough and tumble basketball in the Big East. This is not the NBA and referees don't go with star calls for big name players. A foul is a foul at any time regardless of who you are and what it says on the front of your uniform. Note to people picking "upsets", a nine seed over an eight is not considered an upset in these eyes.
The Toronto Raptors held their annual Red Party last night at Muzik on the grounds of the CNE with all the funds benefitting the Raptors Foundation for Kids. It was a great event to help drive a great cause. The work you put into kids never goes to waste. It may not pay dividends right away but it is never lost as a sound message stays with them for life. Congratulations to the Foundation for a great event and in particular Lori Radke, Executive Director of the foundation, Alanna Rubino and Elanor McDonald of Maple Leaf Sports for putting together such a successful evening.
President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo raised eyebrows briefly until he finished his sentence as it started off with "we're undefeated" and then he finished with "off the court" in reference to the contributions of the organizations charitable arm.
Over the course of its existence, the Raptors Foundation has become one of the NBA's most respected charitable organizations. The "poobahs" in the NBA offices in New York often motion toward Toronto as an example of best practices when it comes to running charitable events. As mentioned in the address to last night's gathering by President of the Board of the foundation, Vijay Kanwar, since its inception the foundation has served 5500 charities in Ontario. They have done everything from renovate the Boys' and Girls' Club in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto to building new basketball courts and providing post secondary scholarships to students overcoming personal challenges and raising over $17 million.
All the players and coaches were in attendance for a different kind of night and for one night at least there was a different focus and the record really didn't matter as there was a different perspective on the organization's accomplishments. The Raptors get back on the court tomorrow against Charlotte.
