Ocular Fusion

March Madness has descended upon us in all its wild and wooly fury. I've filled out my bracket--have you?

If not, then I invite you to join the Ocular Fusion gang pool at USA Today's March Mania. Just register and then go to the "join an existing pool option." The name of the group is "Ocular Fusion Gang" and the password is "2eyesarebetter." You have until noon on March 16th to join and make and/or change your picks, and after that time you'll be able to view everyone's picks and progress as the tournament progresses. Those who are adept at picking the upsets in the first four rounds will be rewarded with bonus points and the winner will receive, well, nothing actually, except maybe bragging rights until next year.

A few of my thoughts at this point:

• A week ago, the talking heads had written Duke's obituary after their end of the season skid and were talking about UConn as if the tournament was theirs to lose. My, how things can change in one week. Today, Duke is the number one overall seed after having continued their annual domination of the ACC tournament and UConn mysteriously checked out in the first round of the Big East. Granted, UConn is deeper and looks better on paper, but the Dookies have found a way to win the close ones all season and my heart, if not my mind, must go with my boys in blue.
• Gonzaga must feel like the Rodney Dangerfield of college hoops this morning. After going 27-3 with player of the year candidate Adam Morrison leading the way, they ended up with a disappointing #3 seed. Tennessee (21-7), on the other hand, was a surprising #2. Although the Vols had a breakout season, I don't think anybody saw them ahead of the Zags. Gonzaga's strength of schedule was a drawback for them, as well as the fact that they struggled to win their conference tournament. But I believe the Bulldogs are going to be carrying some very large chips on their shoulders and several teams are going to feel their bite before the tournament is over. My dream matchup: Duke v. Gonzaga in the semifinal with Redick and Morrison settling the player of the year on the debate on the floor in the Mother of all Shootouts.
• I'm going with an all-Alabama sweep in the first round. The Crimson Tide over Marquette and UAB over Kentucky would only qualify as minor upsets, but the University of South Alabama over Florida? Hehe, I know it's silly, but what would March Madness be without a few fun picks along the way?
• The Minneapolis regional, I feel, is going to be where the major upsets occur, including Villanova's fall against Boston College, followed by an Eagle victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. BC is only a #4 seed, but I was impressed with their effort in the ACC Final against Duke and I think they are this year's charging dark horse that will go riding forth into the Final Four.

Of course, I could be wrong. Finding out is half the fun though, and I invite you to join me along the treacherous and twisting road to the Final Four.

Let the madness begin.