Special Edition: Haley’s Picks
Hi everyone! This is Haley, and I’m sneaking in an entry before Mom wakes up.
I don’t want to talk about the food I don’t eat. I don’t want to talk about the bottles I’m now refusing. I don’t want to talk about how I can’t walk yet (I’m trying, that’s for sure!). I don’t want to talk about any of those things. Not this entry. This entry is about the most exciting time in sports: March Madness, and especially the NCAA tournament (for Josh in New Zealand, it’s college basketball, and lots of fun to watch). It’s what I watched all last year while tethered to my crib, and it’s what got me through some very rough patches. This year, I’m enjoying it alot more; I even have my own picks! I didn’t want to say what they were until now, because there were already too many people lending their “expert” opinion. What I learned from last year, and for those who don’t know, is that most of the top seeded teams advance, with an occasional upset. I’m not going to share with you every single pick. But suffice to say that this year’s rankings were pretty spot on. So picking the upset was a bit tricky.
It’s no secret I’m a Georgetown (#2) fan (for what they did for me the first two weeks of life), and luckily they’re good this year. I have Duke (#2) losing in the sweet 16, which normally would be an upset for such a tournament powerhouse. But judging by the last-minute nail-biting, heartwrenching, near-historic game against Belmont (that’s in Tennessee, folks, and they’re one of the lowest-ranked teams. they lost at the last second by one point), I’m not sure Duke is going to make it even that far.
I should have picked Kansas State over USC. That was a tough call. Mom and I went round and round on that one. In the end, I chose USC. I chose wrong. Luckily I don’t have them going far, I should be OK in the standings.
I’m not going to bore you anymore with the picks, but it’s UCLA in the finals, winning it all against UNC. We’ll see how I do. Oh yeah, Georgetown (of course) and Texas also make it the final four. I have pittsburgh in the final four in another bracket, but no way I’ll win that bracket since I also have Butler upsetting Tennessee. Yep, I’m crazy. I guess it’s the Purim spirit in me (Purim is a Jewish holiday, where the Jews were almost annihilated, but fought back and won. Purim is today! Happy Purim!).
OK, I’m done. Oh wait! I forgot! This is a very special announcement! To all college basketball tournament players out there still left standing, please do me these favors: Use that bounce pass, get those offensive rebounds, and for goodness sake, whatever you do, DO NOT PICK UP YOUR DRIBBLE UNLESS YOU HAVE A CLEAN PASS. Please. You’re driving me crazy.
Great call on Duke, and I’m glad you picked Texas to go far. I just looked at the latest results online and I’m stunned about G’town. But Davidson is populated by such nice people. Let’s just root for Texas, shall we? Matthew has a lot of Texas gear that he’ll be happy to share, and he loves to watch the Horns play when he’s with his grandparents.
Please tell your Mommy that Dana Jackson Little and I have kinda sorta met. We have a mutual friend who’s getting married, and I invited Dana to the bridal shower. I didn’t notice the name when I addressed the invitations, but suddenly there was an email RSVP from Dana Jackson Little. I was stunned. I wrote back immediately to see if it was the same one, and of course it was. She and I will meet April 6th if all goes well.
And that reminds me, there’s one team that went all the way, that never looked back, that rallied when rallying was necessary, that crashed the boards on offense, rolled off the pick, and only ever stopped the dribble when the pass was right there– and that’s TEAM HALEY!!
(now eat something for goodness sake!)
March 24th, 2008 | #