NCAA bracket update

Well, having the girls make my picks based on which mascot they liked best was at best a bust. It became quickly apparent they their undying devotion to the feline type of mascot was trouble. I put each bracket in on ESPN's website so I could track them. At this point there are a couple of things to note:

• Ruth picked the loser of 75% of the first round games, and Louisville was the only winner she picked from the second round. This is why she was the "control" for tournament randomness in the combined bracket.
• Mary and Kate ended up with a similar score. Kate got all her points from the first 2 rounds only. She didn't have anyone left after that. Mary took 2 teams much deeper, but she's also done.
• Emma's undying devotion to the Jayhawk, at least to this point, did good things for her bracket. I'm still not sure that she knows what a Jayhawk is, or what she would do with one should she find one, but she wins the award for the most correct points among the girls. When I get back, I will let her pick something out of the prize box. (Yes, we have a prize box. You want a prize, come over and do a load of dishes, or some laundry. I'll give you a prize.)
• Tara, who just made her picks, not worrying about which mascot she liked better, but using some other picking method, is in the 22% nationally. I've only been higher than that once at this point in the tournament. The bracket I did for work, is only 3 1st round picks better than Tara's bracket, and has the same teams and same result lined up for the rest. Our end game was just about the same. That's still not saying anything, I'm currently in 20th place out of 28, and the guy in 28th place forgot to make his picks.
  
• Long story short, this method was no better than the one I used last year. It wasn't any worse, just not any better. I'll need to think something different up next March.

On another not totally unrelated note, this is the Cubs year to win the World Series. You heard it here. Just remember that. (I said this last week at work, someone asked if the baseball season had already started, I said "No, but that's usually the best time of the year to announce that the Cubs are gonna win it all...) In 2 1/2 days I will be at Yankee Stadium.