At half time will someone in the band get to dot the "i"?

It’s a good thing that March Madness is almost over seeing as how, well, it’s now April.

I’m not much of a basketball fan, either pro or college, but I’ll be watching tomorrow night’s final game between Ohio State and somebody else. Is it Florida? I’m not rooting for Ohio because I lived there back in 1974 and 1975. No, I’m currently their biggest fair-weather fan because I blindly picked them to win in a pool Rob and I play in every year. And if Ohio wins, Rob says I have 2nd place in a pool of 67 entries. He seems to have a lock on 40th place.

Rob’s been in this pool for probably 17 years. I eventually decided to join in the fun when I realized this excuse to sell advertising and sports magazines was going to be a part of my life every year so I may as well play along.

The first year I entered, I did OK. Not poorly enough to embarrass myself or Rob in front of his sportsy friends. Ever since, with my trusty system honed over the years, I’ve managed to embarrass only Rob. Just about every year, I spend a few minutes scribbling in my picks while Rob spends some quality time researching online, reading the sports pages, and listening to sports talk. And just about every year, my picks beat out Rob’s. Last year I came in 3rd place in our annual pool and a few years ago, I won. I think it was Syracuse. Are they the orange and blue team? I’ve told Rob my system and he keeps rolling his eyes and yet…

If you have no idea what March Madness is, PERFECT! Google it next February and then keep your ears open for people using words like pool, brackets, picks, seeds, and tourney. Ask if they are talking about “that basketball thingy” and if you can play, too. If gambling were legal -- which it's not -- their eyes would then get real wide while telling you the entry fee and handing you a piece of paper with a pretty pattern of horizontal lines on it. Even without the gambling part -- because, of course, we are not gambling here -- you then put the following system to work and plan to look really confused when you end up in the Top 10.

• If you’ve never heard of the team, they must not be any good. So don't pick them.

• Look at where the game is being played. Pick the team who will be dealing with the least jet lag. We need perky, rested players.

• Still thinking about the location of the game, pick the team who is likely to have the most fans able to make the trip to cheer them on. Crowd support is critical.

• Build in at least 2 upsets in the first round, just for fun.

• Try not to pay much attention to the rankings (the little numbers in parentheses). They only seem to get in the way most years.

Good luck! And go Ohio….Buckeyes? Yeah, Buckeyes! Love them Bucks!