President Obama offered his answer to the toughest question facing the nation today when he chose Kansas to defeat Kentucky for the 2010 NCAA Championship. SportsChat has been unable to decide between the two, and we plan on choosing a winner at the last possible minute. It is hard to see DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall not winning it all, but Kansas has the mystique.
Not that UK’s basketball history isn’t every bit as glorious as that of Kansas. But as a sports fan living in Big XII country, SportsChat is used to seeing Kansas make mice of men.
It’s a tough decision, and President Obama displayed the kind of gritty decisiveness this country needs if we are going to make it through these tough times. We thank the President for his leadership.
The Bracket Buster in Chief predicted many an upset in the first round. Some of his picks make it very clear that he follows college hoops closely. He went out on a limb a few times, and once he might even have sprinkled in some Ivy League favoritism.
Not surprisingly, he chose ninth seeded Northern Iowa over eight seeded UNLV in the Midwest. What will it take to get this guy to throw Las Vegas a bone?
Georgia Tech (10) over Oklahoma (7) in the Midwest is a solid pick in a tournament that so often showcases individual maestros conducting bracket busting symphonies. The Yellow Jacket’s Derrick Favors could be one such player.
SportsChat has been in love with his game since the McDonald’s All-America Dunk Contest last year:
Favors averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game his freshman season for G-Tech, but it’s the 6′10 forward’s length that makes him a difference maker. He averages 2.1 blocks per contest, and is a constant presence under the bucket. He is active, athletic and disruptive.
Now it’s true that Favors is not surrounded by much complementary talent. In fact, at times it has seemed like his guards were completely incapable of pushing the ball up the floor. But they looked sharp in the ACC tournament, losing by four in the championship game. Shrewd pick by el Presidente.
Missouri over Clemson is reasonable enough, but SportsChat really likes Cornell over Temple based solely on the fact that Temple is overrated every single year. This has been going on since Marc Macon. Also, didn’t Keith Olbermann go to Cornell? SportsChat smells a conspiracy.
Interestingly, Obama picked the nine seed to defeat the eight seed in all but one bracket. He chose the Texas Longhorns over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the East. While that seems reasonable on paper, the Longhorns have been playing nauseating basketball for a few months now. There is no reason to think that will change. Lucky for Obama, he has the ‘Horns going down to Kentucky in the second round.
The President’s most intriguing pick is Siena (13) over Purdue (4). The lesson here, is that lobbying does work:
It would be delightful to see the President’s Final Four picks pan out, if only to see Kansas face off against Kansas State. K-State is one of those teams that flies under the radar. That is what happens when you are from the version of Manhattan known as “The City that Always Sleeps.” But the President is right to respect these Wildcats. They are athletic and hungry. They can beat any team in the country on a given night. If they get a few bounces, they could go all the way.
The President sees Villanova edging out Duke for a ticket to the Final Four. It does seem to be a Big East year, but on the other hand, Obama liked K-State over the ‘Cuse. Maybe he is just pandering to the heartland.
