Sports: A Couch Potato's View

Premier League Weekend Predictions Sept 17-18 2011

2011-09-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

So I am going to put my predictions out for this weekends matches. The predictions that I am giving you are the ones I made at the beginning of the season, so please hold your money and DO NOT bet on this!! I of course will be betting and I expect to wins tons of cash because I am usually right about this. Now I have to admit, looking at my picks I would make some changes based on recent performance and transfers. I will go ahead and let you know what I'm thinking today. Please feel free to comment BEFORE the games are played. Saying I suck after the game makes you sound like a douche. So here is what I have for this weekend:

Saturday, September 17, 2011
Time	Home			Away	Venue
7:45 ET	Blackburn Rovers	1	1	Arsenal	Ewood Park
10:00 ET	Aston Villa	2	3	Newcastle United	Villa Park
10:00 ET	Bolton Wanderers	1	3	Norwich City	Reebok Stadium
10:00 ET	Everton	2	1	Wigan Athletic	Goodison Park
10:00 ET	Fulham	1	1	Manchester City	Craven Cottage
10:00 ET	Sunderland	2	2	Stoke City	Stadium of Light
10:00 ET	Swansea City	2	1	West Bromwich Albion	Liberty Stadium
10:00 ET	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2	1	Queens Park Rangers	Molineux Stadium

Sunday, September 18, 2011
Time	Home			Away	Venue
8:30 ET	Tottenham Hotspur	2	2	Liverpool	White Hart Lane
11:00 ET	Manchester United	1	1	Chelsea	Old Trafford

The first game I would change would be Bolton v. Norwich. As bad as I think Bolton is, I am losing faith in Norwich. I would give them a draw instead of a win. I also have to give Man City some credit for their form. I am afraid that they may just crush Fulham at Craven Cottage. My other concern would have to be Man U V. Chelsea. I still think it will be a draw, but it will be more like 3-3 than 1-1.

2011/2012 EPL Predictions......Liverpool FC Champions!!

2011-09-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well a new English premier league season is upon us and I have spent the last week going through the schedule and making my predictions. The most important prediction is this. Liverpool FC will win its 19 top flight title. I know that may rub many fans raw, but that's just the way its going to be. Here is my entire table:

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Team	Total Wins	Total Loses	Total Draws	Total Goals For	Total Goals Against	Sum of Goal Diff	Total Points
Liverpool	26	3	9	96	49	47	87
Manchester United	24	3	11	101	57	44	83
Chelsea	23	4	11	85	45	40	80
Manchester City	22	5	11	84	50	34	77
Tottenham Hotspur	22	6	10	79	44	35	76
Arsenal	18	13	7	70	57	13	61
Everton	15	8	15	62	52	10	60
Aston Villa	15	10	13	67	58	9	58
Stoke City	13	12	13	63	62	1	52
Wigan Athletic	12	17	9	54	64	-10	45
Newcastle United	12	19	7	56	69	-13	43
Wolverhampton Wanderers	10	17	10	45	65	-20	40
Fulham	9	19	10	46	60	-14	37
Swansea City	9	19	10	53	69	-16	37
Sunderland	8	18	12	49	70	-21	36
Norwich City	9	20	9	38	66	-28	36
Blackburn Rovers	8	21	9	49	75	-26	33
Bolton Wanderers	8	21	9	51	79	-28	33
West Bromwich Albion	8	22	8	42	68	-26	32
Queens Park Rangers	6	25	7	39	70	-31	25
Grand Total	277	282	200	1229	1229	0	1031

The Champs
Liverpool fans have been waiting 19 long years to see a table with their club on top. This is finally the year. Kenny Daglish has put together a team that is deep with veteran stability and young talent. The Scousers biggest Achilles heel over the last few seasons is consistency. Wins over Chelsea and Man U were often followed by losses to Bolton or Blackpool. King Kenny will change all that. He brings a level of excellence that has been missing since he left. His familiarity with the youth team has allowed him to make smart transfer moves that will impact the club both this season and for seasons to come. The midfield that he has assembled is stellar and deep. Pepe Reina is a top 3 Goalkeeper in the EPL. Kenny's greatest coup was getting Luis Suarez for 25 million. Expect him to score 20 plus goals in his first full EPL season. Kuyt will supply the balls to both he and Andy Carroll, who needs to step up this season. The biggest area of concern will be the defense. A mixture of old (Carragher) and young (Kelly) has a chance to be very good but may also make costly mistakes. The other key factor is that there is no European competitions to divert focus. Daglish will put all of his efforts into securing the Premier League title for his fans. So say hello to your 2011/2012 Barclay's Premier League Champions......Liverpool FC.

The Challengers
So the first question is "What about defending champs Manchester United?" Well I have 1 main reason why they will not win the title, or the Champions league, or the FA cup, (I'll give them the Carling cup).   The reason for their demise...Goaltending. New acquisition, Spaniard David De Gea is not ready for the harsh realities of Premier league football. His errors can be covered up when his side scores 3-5 goals a game against the also-rans of the league, but when he gets put into high pressure games against offense clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man City, he will fail. If his troubles continue don't be surprised to see Sir Alex bring in a Premier league vet in the winter transfer window. The clubs strength is its front line. They will score goals, but can they keep out enough? Not quite.
Chelsea will once again be challengers, but sooner or later the revolving door of Managers will have a negative effect on the club. 50 million pound signing Fernando Torres has been a bust so far. 1 goal in 21 appearances is not a good return. The overall club is still very strong. However they lack that special something they need to push towards a title. Their owner has proven that he cares very little about the English title, and his entire focus is on the Champions league. Hopefully for Ex-Porto and Europa League winner Andre Villa-Boas he can capture that Champions League title, or he will probably be out of a job next summer.
Big Spenders Manchester City continue to make waves. However they will likely suffer the same fate as Tottenham did last year. A first trip into the Champions league can easily divert focus from league games. That lack of focus will result in dropping critical points. Look for their matches prior to their group games, especially against Everton and Aston Villa at home to drop points. This team will be a real threat next season, but they need to learn how to balance the ups and downs of a European Competition with the grind of the Premier League..

Relegated
My nominee for for 1 and done is Queens Park Rangers. Even though they flew through the Championship last season, I think they will find things tough in the EPL. However, recent signings may be enough to mess up my prediction and keep QPR up. West Bromwich Albion escaped the drop last year, but the pressure to stay up will likely be more than they can handle this season. Say Bye Bye to West Brom. And my surprise drop is Bolton. The club has been a mid to bottom of the table side for the last 5 years. Their nice run in the Premier league will finally come to an end this season.

Surprises
The biggest surprise would have to be the demise of Arsenal. Losing Fabregas and Nasri among others, and their injury problems will cause Arsenal to have a difficult year by their standards. Don't lose hope Gunners fans. They will be back and better for it because the club is in a much better financial situation than 95% of the other top clubs in Europe.
Norwich and Swansea will both survive to play another year in the Prem. Norwich will fight, claw, kick and bite for every point. They will prove to be a tough team to blow out.  A few breaks here and there and they can stay up.
Swansea plays a very "Barcelona-esk" type of football. It is a possession style game aimed at breaking down defences through short passing and well timed through passes. This style will allow the Swans to pick up key points against the bottom half of the league. Goaltender Michel Vorm will turn some heads this year and don't be surprised if a few of the top clubs come calling at the Winter transfer window (Sir Alex ?).

So overall it should be a fantastic EPL season... especially for you Scousers out there!!

Come back and check out my weekly predictions and recaps. Thanks

March Madness: Broken Brackets and Shattered Dreams

2011-03-24T01:17:00.000-07:00

There was once a gentleman with the dream of correctly picking the winner the the 2011 NCAA National Basketball Championship. He set out to defeat the Irish Girl and his son Soccer Star. These three battled with evil expert Jason King and with the Mascots fighting it out. The result was a rout. SuperDad was laid to waste with his Fighting Irsihmen being defeated early and the Huskies of Washington also going down in a close one. Now Super dad has only 1 pick left in the final 4.

Thats right. ONE!!!! A travesty I tell you. The only team I have left in the Final 4 is Duke. So here are the gut wrenching results from last weekend.

Jason King picked 35 of 48 games correctly with 45 Tourney points. Upset- none.   Big loss-Pitt. JK had them coming out of the Southeast region.

Irish Girl picked 31 of 48 games correctly with 40 Tourney point. Upset- None. Big Loss- Pitt.    IG had Pitt in Final Four, but she still has 3 left including her champ OSU.

Super Dad picked 28 of 48 games correctly with 36 Tourney points. Upset- VCU into Sweet 16. Big loss- Where to start. #2Notre Dame were my pick to win it, #7 Washington was my runner-up pick, and I had #1Pitt in my Final Four.  Bad weekend

Soccer Star picked 28 of 48 games correctly with 32 Tourney points. Upset-None. Big Loss- Pitt in Final Four. He will beat me easily.

Mascot v. Mascot picked 21 of 48 games correctly.with 25 Tourney points. Upset-#11 VCU. Big Loss- Michigan State(winner), Fighting Irish(runner-up), and Mountaineers(final 4) are all out.

So overall it looks like actually watching the games and crunching stats does in fact give you a little advantage when picking games. Who Knew?! We will see who comes out on top and I will continue to update you and give the rest of our picks. Have fun this weekend!!

March Madness: Round 3 Predictions Sat Games

2011-03-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Ok so today I decided to put my picks up early/on time. You would think I have all the time in the world but with to small kids I hardly find time to take a shower in the morning. As I write this I have to get my son ready for his soccer class. So here goes. I put everyones original bracket predictions. Any new picks due to blown brackets will be in red and don't count towards the total score. Just for fun.

East Region
5. West Virginia Mountaineers- SD, SS, MvM
            v.
4. Kentucky Wildcats- IG, JK
                   I had to make a new pick because I had Princeton winning here. SS and Mascot Battle believe that Wildcats lose in a battle to a well trained Mountaineer.

West Region
5. Cincinnati Bearcats- SS, MvM
          v.
3. UConn Huskies- SD, IG, JK
                    Soccer Star and Mascot Battles agree again here. I guess a Wildcat just beats down a Husky in single combat. Everyone else has Uconn moving on

7. Temple Owls- SS
         v.
2. San Diego St. Aztecs- SD, IG, JK, MvM
                     This may be the game that puts Soccer Star apart if Temple pulls the upset. All the other participants have SDSt going deep in the bracket.

Southwest Region
12. Richmond Spiders
         v.
13. Morehead St. Eagles. SD, MvM
                        Nobody had this matchup predicted. I had Richmond winning and MvM had Morehesd St., but not both. However in a second chance pick we will both go with Morehead St. Eagles over the Spiders. SS, IG, and JK abstain from picking here.
Southeast Region
1. Pittsburgh Panthers- SD, IG, SS, JK, MvM
        v.
8. Butler Bulldogs
                     We are all in agreement that Pitt should move on past Butler into the Sweet 16.

5. Kansas St Wildcats- IG, SD, MvM
        v.
4. Wisconsin Badgers- JK
                      The only picks that count here are Irish Girl picking K.State and Jason choosing Wisconsin. I went ahead and chose K. St. and in a MvM battle the Wildcat eats a badger for dinner. SS abstains (He's still sleeping).

11. Gonzaga Bulldogs
          v.
3. BYU Cougers- SD, IG, JK, MvM
                   We all picked BYU except for Soccer Star has no horse in this race as he had St. Johns.

7. UCLA Bruins- SS, SD, MvM
       v.
2. Florida Gators- IG, JK
                  Well I am kicking myself because I am a UCLA fan. But I chose Mich. St. over them because I thought with my head instead of my heart. Well now that I'm out I'm taking UCLA all the way!! Soccer star agrees. Irish Girl and Jason King have the gators moving on, but the Mascot Fights have the Bruins in a close match.

Well that's all for today. We are about to leave for Soccer so I hope you have fun with my predictions and enjoy the games!!

March Madness day 2, Not so Mad.

2011-03-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

The results for the second day of the second round of the NCAA Tournament was not quite as crazy as Thursday. Only 4 lower seeds won on Friday, with most of the other games being blowouts. Not so exciting. The biggest shock would have to be #11 VCU taking out #6 Georgetown or #11 Marquette destroying #6 Xavier. Other than that there was not much to watch. And in my little study, the leader is Yahoo.com Basketball expert Jason King with 25 of 32. My 3 year old Soccer Star, who has picked 24 out of 32 winners is a close second. So here are our totals so far.

25 of 32. Jason King Upset-#11 Marquette & #11 VCU. JK picked both of these upsets. I guess research does help. Big Loss-None. Jason still has all his Sweet 16 alive.

24 of 32 Soccer Star Upset:-None. picked all higher seeds. Big Loss: #6 Xavier, #6 Georgetown. Because of Soccer Star's method of choosing his teams, the #6 seed made it all the way to the Elite Eight in each region. So has now lost 3 of is Elite Eight with #6 St. John's also losing on Thursday.

22 of 32 Irish Girl Upset-None. She had all high seeds picked. Big Loss:None. All of her Sweet 16 teams are still playing.

20 of 32 Super Dad Upset-#11 VCU. One of my many upset picks. Big Loss- #6 Xavier. I had them in the Sweet 16.

17 of 32 Mascot v. Mascot Upset: #11 VCU. Rams knock out Hoyas. Big Loss- #6 Xavier, #8 UNLV. The Mascot Battlers believed that the Musketeers and the Runnin' Rebels would shoot heir way to the Elite 8. Uh ooh!

So what we have learned so far is that picking based on fictional mascot fights might get you a few upsets, but ultimately leaves you hurting, picking a bunch of upsets kills your bracket, and letting a 3 year old pick teams leads to almost as much success as endless house of study and game watching. Can't wait to see what happens next. Thanks for stopping by.

Day 1 Recap: 3 year old Soccer Star in the lead

2011-03-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

After yesterdays crazy first day of the second round(that's what they are calling it now), there are a few things that are obvious with my test subjects. #1 I picked way too upsets. #2 picking based on mascots is fun but not very successful, even though I was able to get #13 Morehead St. Eagles over #4 Louisville Cardinals. and the final thing I have learned so far....... My 3 year old can pick winners.

There is always excitement when a big underdog beats out a top team. It makes it seem like that happens all the time. But if you look closely at yesterdays results, only 3 out of 16 lower seeds beat a higher seed. #13 Morehead St., #12 Richmond, and #11 Gonzaga. All the rest of the games were won by the higher seeded team. So if you picked just the top seeds, you would have gone 13 out of 16. And that's why "Soccer Star" is in the lead. He picked all top seeds in the first round, except for #12 Utah St, which lost to #5 Kansas St. So beware, my 3 year old may just win this thing. Here are the results so far.

12 of 16 Soccer Star. Upset: None. He has all higher seeds. Big loss: #6 St. John's. SS had the Johnny's going to the Elite Eight.

11 of 16 Irish Girl. Upset: None. All of her upset picks failed. Big Loss: #4 Louisville. IG had the Cardinals in the Sweet 16

11 of 16 Jason King. Upset: None. All of his upset picks failed. Big Loss: #5 Vanderbilt. JK had Vandy in the Sweet 16

9 of 16 Super Dad. Upsets: #12 Richmond. Almost had Princeton! Drat. Big Loss: #10 Michigan St, #4 Louisville. I had the Spartans and Cardinals in the Elite Eight., #13 Belmont, #13 Princeton. I had both these Cinderella's in the Sweet 16. Ooops.

6 of 16 Mascot v. Mascot. Upsets: #13 Morehead St. Eagles over Cardinals. Big Loss: #10 Michigan St Spartans. The real Spartan was near invincible in this field and was the overall winner in this bracket. Tough break.

Well we have another day of great matches. I'll post my day 2 picks a little later. Thanks

March Madness: First Round Day 1 Predictions

2011-03-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

The first day of the tournament (with respects to the "First Four") starts today. So I'll give you the predictions and some reasons for Thursdays game. My subjects are myself "SuperDad" (SD), my wife "Irish Girl" (IG), my son "Soccer Star" (SS), Yahoo.com Basketball expert Jason King (JK), and the Survival of the fittest Mascot V. Mascot (MvM). So without further ado, here goes:

East Region

4. Kentucky Wildcats- IG, SS, JK
             v.
13. Princeton Tigers- SD, MvM
       Kentucky has all the talent with very little experience as most of their top players are Freshman. Princeton has some talent with all the experience with their players being Upperclassmen. In a tough fight, a Tiger beats a Wildcat due mostly to a size advantage.

5. West Virginia Mountaineers- SD, IG, SS, JK, MvM
        v.
13. Clemson Tigers
         Clemson comes off a play in game. WV has a strong team which made it to the finals last year. A Mountaineer takes out a Tiger only because he would be well prepared to handle a large animal in that environment. Out on the plains it may be a different story but I gave the nod to human cleverness over animal instincts.

West Region

6. Cincinnati Bear Cats- SD, SS
        v.
11. Missouri Tigers- IG, JK, MvM
          Cat Fight! Another Tiger gets set to battle. A Bear Cat is a smaller mountain cat. The Tiger would easily handle the Bear Cat due to its size and strength advantage. A lot of cats are battling today.

3. UConn Huskies- SD, IG, SS, JK
        v.
14. Bucknell Bison- MvM
           We all agree that UConn should have no problem handling Bucknell. However in a real life battle, a single Bison would have no problem with Husky. Maybe a pack of Huskies could take down one Bison but one v. one it's a no brainer.

7. Temple Owls- IG, SS, JK
       v.
10. Penn St. Nittany Lions- SD, MvM
             Apparently I am going out on a limb picking Penn St, but I'll have to agree that a Lion, Nittany or not, would pretty much take an Owl in one bite. Easy meal.

2. San Diego St. Aztecs-SD, IG, SS, JK, MvM
       v.
15. No. Colorado Bears
             Everyone feels that the Aztecs should have no problem with the Bears in the first round. SD St. has some good scorers and can spread the floor while playing great D. In real life, Aztecs were known to be skilled fighters with command of their environment and able to handle themselves. Despite the Bears' size, the Aztec weapons would give him an advantage.

Southwest Region

5. Vanderbilt Commodores- IG, SS, JK, MvM
        v.
12. Richmond Spiders- SD
              I picked this as my #12 v #5 upset. There is at least 1 almost every year. Vandy has struggled towards the end of the year and Richmond has been here before. In the real life duel, my 3 year old would smash a Spider much less a Commodore.

4. Louisville Cardinals- SD, IG, SS, JK
      v.
13. Morehead St. Eagles- MvM
              We all feel that Louisville has too much quality for Morehead St. This should be close to start but expect L'ville to pull away in the second half. In this classic bird fight. The Cardinal is a small seed eating bird weighing approx 85 grams. The Eagle, a bird of prey with razor Talons and a size up to 14 lbs, would rip the Cardinal to shreds. It would be fun to watch!

Southeast Region

1. Pittsburgh Panthers- SD, IG, SS, JK, MvM
        v.
16. UNC Ashville Bulldogs
               Pitt will have no problem with UNCASh. This may be a blowout. In this Dog v. Cat battle, the larger, faster Panther mauls the slow Bulldog

8. Butler Bulldogs- IG, SS JK
       v.
9. Old Dominion Monarchs- SD, MvM
                 Again I stray from the pack to pick the underdog. This will be a close game decided by tough Dfense which Old D has more of. Any Monarch with any type of power should be able to handle a pesky a Bulldog. And if they can't, well then just order someone else to. It's good to be the King!

5. Kansas St. Wildcats- SD, IG, MvM
      v.
12. Utah St. Aggies- SS, JK
                   Another 12/5 matchup with upset potential. Expert Jason King likes Utah St., as does my 3 year old Soccer Star. This was to ONLY team that he picked on the right side of the screen on Yahoo's matchup center. He gave no reason, he just did it. This is one of the few cases where an animal, Wildcat, defeats a human, Aggie. The reason is that from my research an Aggie would be a short hand term for people who specialize in agriculture. Not great fighters. The Wildcat has a good chance to win here.

4. Wisconsin Badgers- IG, SS, JK
       v.
15. Belmont Bruins- SD, MvM
                   Wisconsin prides itself on tough defense. However you still have to score to win. Belmont can score. 11th in the nation in scoring with an up-tempo game. I pick a big upset here. In the wild, a Bruin would consider a Badger as a mid-afternoon snack. Bye Bye Badgers!

6. St. Johns Red Storm- SD, IG, SS, JK, MvM
         v.
11. Gonzaga Bulldogs
                    No respect for the Zags. we all pick them to get beat by Steve Lavin's Red St John's squad. In an upset a Red Storm would take out the Bulldog because in the wild the Bulldog would not be able to take care of itself and hide from the storm. The storm would cause ocular and respiratory damage to the dog which would lead to its demise. Tough day for Bulldogs today

3. BYU Cougars- SD, IG, SS, JK, MvM
        v.
14. Wafford Terriers-
                    BYU has top scorer Jimmer Fredette. That's all they need to handle Wafford. The Cougar would use the small Terrier as a chew toy. Adios doggie!

7. UCLA Bruins- SS, JK
       v.
10. Michigan St. Spartans- SD, IG, MvM
                    This should be a very good game. Mich St. is good but has been inconsistent. The same could be said about UCLA. It will depend on which teams show up. Though one to call in real life also. The Bruin is a huge animal capable of taking out any regular human. However the Spartan is no regular human. Bred for battle, and trained to fight, The Spartan would use its long reach spear, shield, and training to wear down and defeat the Bruin.

2. Florida Gators- SD, IG, SS, JK
        v.
15. UCSB Gauchos- MvM
                     The over seeded Florida Gators should be able to handle UCSB. They may get a scare but their athletes will beat out the feisty Gauchos. However in real life, a Gaucho would be like a cowboy from South America. Have you ever met a real cowboy that could not handle a Gator. The edge goes the the Gaucho and his rope over the Gator.

Well that's it. I know too long. That's why I am doing 1 day at a time!! Remember you can see these brackets at the following link. http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1

Good luck in your bracket and check back tomorrow for Fridays games.

Happy St. Paddys day!!

Sir Alex BANNED!! Too Harsh? NO!

2011-03-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

So Manchester United's stalwart leader and manger Sir Alex Ferguson has received a 5 match ban from the English FA. The ban was due in part to his post match comments after the recent Man U defeat at Stamford Bridge. He made the following comment to the media about referee Martin Atkinson, "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that." The FA does not look kindly on disparaging remarks about their refs. He was leveled with a £30,000 fine and a 3 match touchline ban. They also threw on a 2 match ban for a similar incident in 2009. So those are the particulars and now the opinion.

Overall, the ban was way too harsh....at first look. He is not the first and will not be the last coach/player to make anti-ref comments after a match. Arsene Wenger and every other manager come to mind. Now while he is not the only one guilty, he is by far the worst. He spends more time in the linesman's ear than Mike "The Situation" spends in front of a mirror. A constant complainer and master manipulator, Sir Alex has routinely swayed ref decisions to favor his club. Just watch about 3 Man U games in a row and you'll under stand. The best American comparison would be Phil Jackson. Everyone hates the fact that the Lakers "get calls." The reason is because Phil won't stop talking until they do. So the refs oblige. The same goes for Ferguson. He does whatever he can to give his team an advantage, however unfair.

This ban feels more like a culmination ban. The FA has a yellow card rule for players. If a player accumulates 5 yellow cards in a season, he is given a 1 match ban. So when you take Sir Alex's various comments about officiating over that last few years I'm sure you could come up with 25 remarks or actions that could be considered unflattering and yellow cardable. I look at it like this. When you are in your 20's you might go out and party and have a great time. You may have even had a few drinks and driven home. You probably were not caught. You may have done this a few times and gotten away with it. Then one day a few years later, you go out to dinner and actually only have to 2 beers, get pulled over, and get busted. You may have been just over the limit, but this is karma. Maybe you did not deserve to get busted that one time, but I'm sure you can think of many times when you did deserve it. Well Sir Alex.......You deserve it. If not for this particular incident them for countless outhers. Enjoy the stands and when you get back on the pitch, just keep your mouth shut and coach.

March Madness: Are you smarter than a 3 year old?

2011-03-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

March Madness!! We all love this time of year everyone gets to pretend that they know anything about college basketball by filling out brackets based on whatever set of criteria is important to that particular person. These criteria range from; in-depth, professional analysis, casual game watching and public information dissemination, good feelings about a team, picking every team that shows up on the left of Yahoo's Tourney Pick em' breakdown (http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/152577), and finally by which team nickname would win in a fight. There are many other ways that one can fill out their bracket, but these are the criteria which I and my unwitting subjects have chosen to use to determine which method really works. The participants to this little Pavlovian experiment are as follows:

Jason King YahooSports.com columnist and college basketball Expert
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/615531
I wanted to use Doug Gotlieb's picks but the Evil 4 Letter charges a fee to become an insider to see his and other "experts" picks so........ESPN FU!

Myself "SuperDad". An avid sports fan with above average knowledge about many sports and teams. I watch sports and enjoy pretty much any sport. I don't play many sports, except bowling or Xbox games, because I am old and very horribly out of shape. This does not stop me from critiquing pro athletes for their shortcomings. And to be honest, I don't stop with pro athletes. I'll critique pretty much anyone.

My Wife "Irish Girl" is an opinionated, feisty, full blood Irish Lass. Born in Belfast and filled with Irish angst and stubbornness, she grew up around sports(especially soccer) and has no problem telling you her views, and she will not be swayed from her opinions despite overwhelming evidence against her. What can you say, shes Irish.

My 3 year old son "Soccer Star" is the kind of kid that just gravitates towards sports. Give him a ball of any kind and he is happy. He can watch any sport on TV and find a way to play it. He loves basketball and had fun making his picks. I pulled up each match up for him and told him to pick a team based on the picture provided by Yahoo. He basically picked every team that showed up on the left side of the screen, except one; #12 Utah St. No reason why just changed it up.

The final participant was completed by my pitting each teams nickname/mascot against each other in single combat. I tried to imagine which would win and that determined the winner. It was purely subjective with only minimal research done but I believe the results would hold up in a real life scenario. Some interesting stats:
68 teams.
41 Animals: Including 4 Tigers, 4 Wildcats, and 4 Bulldogs
21 Humans: 4 Ancient Warriors; 2 Trojans, Spartan, Aztec
2 Insects: Spider, Hornet
2 Plant/Tree: Buckeye, Sycamore
1 Event: Red Storm
1 Humanoid: Blue Devil

I will post all of the picks the day of the games, along with a running scoreboard and commentary for all 5 participants. I'll give expert(or totally irrational) reasons for picks and commentary about the games. You can see our total brackets through the first link and I'll update picks as the tourney continues. So please join me daily and feel free to lob questions or comments. Thanks. See you tomorrow.

SuperDad