Santa's March Madness Picks

It is that time of year again... March Madness! This year I'm going to drop in for a few of the late round games. I am not sure exactly where yet but if we get to a Memphis vs. UCLA or Memphis vs. Gonzaga match-up in the regional championships, you can look for me in Oakland. That will be some exciting basketball to watch! But fo rthese early rounds, Jingle and some of the guys are going to hang out in the den here at the house and watch games all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I've ordered the March Madness package on DirecTV so we'll be flipping through all the games. We'll kick back with some good traditional ballgame food [you know -- pizza, hot wings, popcorn, jalapeno poppers, bbq ribs, M&Ms, etc. -- the healthy stuff :-)], plenty of drinks, and a big screen tv. It should be a blast. In case you are wondering, Mrs. Claus is just getting out of town with all of us invading the house for a four day hoops marathon. She's going to visit family in Norway today through Thursday and then she's meeting some friends in Australia for the weekend.

Anyway, back to the hoops... every year I get letters asking about my picks. I will tell you up front, I may know if you are being naughty or nice but that doesn't mean I can tell the future. I also don't get to watch a lot of basketball, particurlarly the early season games in November and December. So my picks are that great historically... but here goes...

My Final Four: I think this is going to be the first time since going to a 64-team field that all four #1 seeds make it to the Final Four. Duke vs. Memphis and Villanova vs. UConn. If any of these four #1 seeds fail to make it, I regret to say it will be Memphis. I'm rooting for the Tigers this year since they are the #1 seed with the least respect but I also think they are the most susceptible to lose focus. The Tigers played a weak schedule with only one or two big wins against really good teams. And while they played Duke, Texas, and UAB tough, they did ultimately lose. And I'm not so sure they won't start reading their own press and thinking they don't have to play hard. But I'm still picking them to advance because 1) I like them, 2) Caliapari has traditionally done a good of getting them ready for tournment play with several long runs in the NIT, and 3) they are in the weakest bracket by far.

My Champion: UConn. Duke will beat Memphis. Memphis will just be excited to be there and Duke's experience in the big games will pay off. Memphis' athleticism will keep them in the game but it won't be enough. But Duke will fall short against UConn. The Huskies just have too many match up advantages.

My First Round Upset Special: A traditional 12 seed over a 5 seed. It seems to happen every year... at least one 12 seed pulls off an upset. I'm picking Texas A&M over Syracuse.

My Cinderella Run: I'll pick two on this one. The first is Alabama. The Crimson Tide may only have 17 wins and are sitting at a 10 seed but they played an incredible schedule. Look for them to win twice this weekend - over Marquette and an over-rated UCLA Trojan team that played a soft Pac-10 schedule - and find themselves in the Sweet 16. Wisconsin is the second one. This is a longer shot as they would have to beat top-seeded Villanova in the second round, but it has possiblities if you're looking for that long shot.

However it works out, it is going to be a lot of fun. I'll check back in with you and let you know how my brackets are looking. In the meantime, enjoy the tournament. And Happy St. Patrick's Day too!

Editors Note: Neither North Pole, Inc. nor Santa Claus endorse wagering - legally or illegally - on sporting events. Santa's picks are for entertainment purposes only.

Comet & Twinkle's Baby Named

Comet and Twinkle want to tell you all thank you for your suggestions in naming their beautiful new baby. There were some great names but ultimately they settled on Haley Star for the full name but will call her "Haley". I tell you... that is one strong reindeer. I think she is going to grow up to be a star (no pun intended). Give her 4 to 5 years and she'll be competing for a spot on my reindeer team.

Speaking of competing for the reindeer team, the initial 60-day try-outs for the two additional slots are scheduled to begin next month (See the December 15, 2005 Posting in the December 2005 archives). It will be three Christmas Eves hence before we add the two new reindeer but the top 10 reindeer from the 60-day camp will just be beginning their journey. I have been very busy these last couple of weeks as I have been out scouting for talented reindeer to recruit for the camp.

I apologize for not updating the blog sooner. As I said, I've been busy with the scouting trips but also Mrs. Claus and I have also spent much of our "off-time" working with our favorite charities. We've held several fund-raising dinners, provided toys and food from our stock (we always try to build surplus leading up to Christmas so that we have enough on-hand inventory to allow us to bring joy to needy children year-round), and spent some time doing volunteer work. February and March is our peak for this type work as the North Pole doesn't really get back to full operations in preparation for Christmas Eve 2006 until April. But we'll keep up the work all year long. The need for kindess and mercy never takes a holiday.

We were able to take some time to watch the Winter Olympics. We watched much of it on satellite tv; however, we did make a 3 day trip to Torino and were able to watch some of the events live. It was incredible. As you know, I'm a huge sports fan and am looking forward to the NCAA Basketball tournament in the US as well as the FIFA World Cup in Germany. In fact, look for my NCAA picks later this month and my World Cup picks in June. Mrs. Claus and I will definitely take some time off to watch those events and may try to slip into to the crowds to watch some of the games live.

Again, thank you from myself, Mrs. Claus, Comet, and Twinkle for helping name little Haley.