North American employers are set to lose huge sums of money next Thursday and Friday, as the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, as it’s formally known, or March Madness, as it’s colloquially known, is set to begin.
In past years, American businesses have claimed combined losses of more than $1 billion on the first two full days of the tournament (not counting the play-in games) because so many employees skip work or call in sick so they can catch all of the chaotic action.
The reason is, that every year, there are a myriad of unforgettable moments and major upsets by Cinderella schools nobody has ever heard of. Whether or not you’re a basketball fan is irrelevant.
I don’t claim to be a college basketball expert; I just enjoy the hoopla (pun partially intended) of brackets, office pools and trying to outwit your friends in the most unpredictable sports event in the world.
But my record during the last eight or nine years also features no less than five fantasy pool wins. So if you’re a budding bracketologist, or a first-timer, here are a few pieces of advice I’ve collected over the years:
• If you’re going to call in sick to work Thursday or Friday, make sure to plant the seed early in the week. It is essential that you make your developing ailment obvious, including taking medicine in front of your boss early – say Monday afternoon. Make statements about increasing severity as the week progresses. Don’t make any mention about the tournament, the brackets or anything to do with sports.
• If you can’t get out of the office, don’t worry. The tournament has become so popular that CBS, the host broadcaster, in partnership with the NCAA (and Turner Sports this year, don’t get me started…), began offering every game live online in a high-quality format several years ago. And it’s free. If that’s not enough and you’re still not confident, you can get away with watching on your computer, once again don’t worry. The webmasters are so inspired and deceitful that they’ve created an on-screen “boss” button that will take you immediately to a spreadsheet. Check out the pure genius at http://mmod.ncaa.com.
• Not that this will help you for 2011, but for next year start paying attention to games the week before the big dance to see how teams fared in their conference tournaments. Often times, potential favourites lose early on. Whether they will have something to prove, or if they aren’t as good as people think, becomes the big question.
• Two years ago, was the first time all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four, so don’t expect that to happen again. Similarly, a No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed and that shouldn’t change this year.
• Make sure to pick two or three lower seeds, or dark horse teams, to make it to the Sweet 16. In 2008, No. 10 seed Davidson made it to the Sweet 16, while the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky were a No. 12 and also made it to the third round.
• As for this year’s picks (which I can’t fully make until the bracket comes out March 13), I believe Ohio State and Kansas have the best overall teams and could go deep. Don’t expect BYU, despite the hype surrounding senior guard Jimmer Fredette, to make the second weekend.
• In the first round, I always take all four No. 10 seeds over No. 7 seeds and at least one No. 12 over a No. 5. But remember that No. 13’s beating No. 4’s are the new No. 12 over No. 5 and don’t expect anybody lower than No. 6 to go deeper than the Sweet 16.
If you don’t like my advice feel free to give me a call at the office (403-948-1885). My phone will go straight to voicemail as I’ll be parked on the couch and far away from my desk.
After all, I’ve been suffering from a nasty cold all week.
