“One for the middle finger, you guys!” So proclaimed our champion, adding a third ring and banner to his impressive collection. Matt Cullen’s first title in 10 years puts him in exclusive company along with Kevin C. Wilson and Daniel McClure as our only three-time champs.
It was a wire-to-wire win for Cullen, but did it ever come down to the wire. Brown Joe – long left for dead after a pedestrian start for his bracket – went to the whip late and charged hard. Brown never lost his cool. He hasn’t since toddlerhood. Instead, he waited it out and ended up as the only participant to pick a perfect championship game pairing. That set up a Monday final duel for the ages. For just the second time in our championship’s history, the title came down to the total points tiebreaker. For a moment it looked as if we might have our first opportunity to go to the second-tier tiebreaker (as spelled out in the league bylaws): a live, in-person fistfight. But it wasn’t to be. Cullen picked 134, Brown 144. Final total score: 131.
Charter member Ryan Dardis attempted to stick his nose where it don’t belong – the hall of champions – only to have it pinched in the slamming door as order was restored. You’d like to respect how close he came and the manner in which he did. A perfect Final Four (the only one to do so), including the 7-seed Michigan State Spartans. Rusty also had the Spartans in the Final Four, which leads to the likelihood that Rybo copied Rusty. We’ll continue to recognize Dardis as a fraud until he’s proven otherwise.
Nine of our 12 participants picked the same champion – Kentucky. That’s the most-ever for a common-pick champion. Ten of us chose Kansas in 2010 (f*ckin’ Farokhmanesh). In both cases, it’s the outliers who’ve won. For the second year in a row, nobody correctly predicted the national champion.
It’s important to disclose that participant Brad Likens technically did not submit his picks before tip-off of the first game. Turns out, he thought the tournament started in April even after acknowledging his familiarity with the term “March Madness.” Nevertheless, a quorum of league members was quickly formed and a decision made to allow his late picks to be entered on the safe assumption that they were of no threat. The picks were activated before the first TV timeout of the first game and with the score tied. Likens was also the last to pay. He is hereby on probation.
Let’s roll out the results:
Matt: 80
Joe: 80
Ryan: 73
Jon: 72
Clark: 72
Marc: 72
Dan: 70
Brad: 70
Kevin: 70
Rusty: 68
Trevor: 68
Brennan: 59
And that’s that.
