Marching Through Your Head

I'm a big sports fan, but I've never been a huge college hoops fan. Still, every time March rolls around, I've filled out an NCAA tournament bracket. Not because I ever thought I had a chance to win, but simply because the tournament's a lot of fun. I literally watch no games during the regular season, so all I have to go on is an article or two I read before I make my picks.

This year, I read a Sports Illustrated article about the underdogs who have a good shot to pulling off upsets in the first round, so I incorporated some of those into my bracket. And sure enough, I was doing pretty well after the first set of games. But it wasn't the underdogs who did me in, it was the heavy favorites that I picked who one by one were eliminated. I was tied for first in my work bracket going into Thursday night's games, but I had already lost half of my Final Four teams and my runner-up, so I knew I wouldn't go far. I had picked Syracuse to win it all, but they were knocked off Thursday night. And just like that, I'm officially done.

It's not a big deal. You have to be really lucky to win one of those things and I'm just not emotionally invested enough in it to get upset about it. Sticking with college sports, the NCAA hockey tournament has begun and my alma mater UNH is already making some noise. They had stumbled in the Hockey East playoffs, getting shutout by Vermont twice to lose in the first round. They still got an invite to the NCAAs and went up to Albany last night to knock off Cornell 6-2. If they can beat RIT tonight, the Wildcats will make it to the Frozen Four, which would be a nice achievement for a team nobody expected much from this year.

I have been pleased with the recent effort of the lowly Maple Leafs lately, who since the Olympic break have been playing some good hockey. Granted, they have no shot of making the playoffs, but with GM Brian Burke completely turning over the team, they're suddenly the youngest team in the league and are winning games. They still have trouble scoring, but the goalies and defense have been good and suddenly the Leafs are winning games in overtime and the shootout. There's only one guy, Tomas Kaberle, who was on the team two years ago. And Burke may trade him in the offseason for some more offense. Right now, the team's hoping to move up a couple of spots in the standings so Boston (who the Leafs traded their first round pick this year and next for Phil Kessel) doesn't get a top three draft pick.

And don't look now, but the baseball season looms on the horizon. The Blue Jays are in a similar position as the Leafs: lots of young talent, not a lot of proven veterans. They also have the disadvantage of playing in the AL East with stacked (and rich) opponents like the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays. Oh, and they traded the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay, after the end of last season. Most folks think they'll win 75-80 games this year and I can't disagree with that assessment, but they have some good young starters, so maybe they'll surprise a few people.

At any rate, I've got to start preparing for my fantasy baseball draft, which I'm hosting here at the world headquarters next Saturday morning. I have done zero research so far and I'm going to see the Drive-By Truckers play the night before, so I should be in good shape.

Burnin':