Nimreitz

Personally, this is the most difficult bracket for me to pick ever. I think there are some very good teams this year on the 4-8 lines that could make life miserable for the higher seeds. Here are a couple things:

1) The 8/9 game. With the exception of the aimless Hoosiers, the 8 seeds in each game look much better than the 9 seeds. Statistically, an 8/9 has very little shot at knocking off a 1, and if I remember correctly, the 9 seed is the only underdog that wins its first round game more than it loses. So one bracket trick is to take all 9's in the first round game, get the upset bonus points, and then bounce all of them in the second round. Well this year, I just can't do that. I think BYU is better than TAMU, I think Mississippi State is far better than Oregon, and I think UNLV is better than Kent State (in fact, I think the Runnin Rebs could knock off Kansas). Very interesting, although I do think TAMU and Kent have decent shots in the first round, so maybe I'll stick with the strategy (except for Miss. State).

2) Wisconsin vs. USC/Kansas State (probably USC) is going to be a very interesting game. I can't take my homer glasses off here (I'm actually in homer "the sky is falling" mode), so I want to solicit some opinions. Should be a great second round match up though.

3) Davidson vs. Gonzaga. That's just awesome. Should be a great one, and my professional bracketeer advice is to take Davidson because of the upset point.

4) George Mason is in the 5/12 game. Come on!

5) Butler might have a legit gripe with the 7 seed, but assuming they beat South Alabama, we should have an interesting game between them and Tennessee. They'll take the Vols out of their comfort zone with a slower pace, and they were great last year in the Tournament. Remember they got bounced by Florida because of Florida's great front line; that will not be the reason Tennessee beats them this year.

6) From a semi-homer's perspective, the bracket sets up remarkably favorably for Marquette. UK and Stanford just don't seem like teams that can disrupt Marquette whereas both UK and Stanford are exactly the type of teams that Marquette can cause all kinds of havoc for. I think Texas shouldn't have much of a problem with them though.

7) I was wrong about Butler last year, and I'm probably wrong about this, but I adore Western Kentucky as a 12 seed over 5 seed Drake.

8) Sticking in the West, I think this is the best bracket for upsets. Purdue or Baylor look like they can knock off Xavier (I think it'll be Purdue, and do NOT underestimate the young Boilers). Duke is also in some trouble in the second round. I think West Virginia should get past Arizona (in a great game), but Duke can't feel supremely confident against either UWV or Arizona. I think the Mountaineers knock them off and set up West Virginia vs. Purdue for a trip to the Elite 8 to play UCLA.

9) I'm having a HELL of a time picking between Clemson and Villanova, but whoever wins that, I think has a great shot against Vandy in the second round.

10)

My first run through the bracket has my Final Four as: Louisville, Georgetown, Memphis, and UCLA. UCLA over Louisville for the title. Not confident about that pick, but as much as I like Louisville, I just cannot in good conscience take someone over UCLA in the Final; they just have the most talent.

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Speaking about his use of the veto pen to eliminate wasteful spending, [McCain] declared, "I will veto every single beer [. . .]"

Obama '08! Because the stakes are too high.