How's your bracket doing?

With the first two exciting days of the NCAA tournament over and done with, are you happy with how your bracket is doing? My answer is somewhere in between "It could be better," and "I'm semi-worried."

While doing alright on Thursday, Friday's upsets didn't really work out for my bracket.

Having lost only three sweet sixteen teams (USC, Drake and Vandy) and none from my elite eight, my prospects don't look so bad. Except for one thing that is. I have the kiss of death working against me. Bill Simmons of ESPN.com fame picked my exact championship outcome: UCLA over Tennessee. I seriously should have changed that at the same time I took USC out of my final four. I really dodged a bullet with that one.

As for the round of 32, I'm feeling confident in Duke going down and some glass (Cinderella) slippers breaking. Siena's looking like the team that's going to go the furtherest out of the possible Cinderella teams. It was good while it lasted San Diego and West Kentucky, who actually play each other next.

Finally, I'm sick of all the "Maybe this year's George Mason will be George Mason!" speak. I'll try to remember not to take them next season.

And in case you wanted to know, I'm currently beating the Intern by 2 points and he's lost 4 Sweet Sixteen teams (Gonzaga, Vandy, Arizona and UConn).

Pryor makes his choice

The number one high school quarterback in the states has finally chosen where he'll go to college. After weeks of deep thought — and much speculation — Terrelle Pryor has picked Ohio State.

Ever since learning Pryor is athletic enough to not only be a top recruited quarterback, but also is talented enough to recruited as a top-end basketball prospect. How could someone that immensely talented not be on of my boys?

Who knows, maybe next year we'll be seeing Pryor lace up his sneakers for Ohio State for the beginning of the NCAA tournament. Maybe he could be coming off leading OSU to Bowl win in January. Now that would be an accomplishment.

A break from your bracket

I have, like many of you out there, have already been slaving over my bracket, analyzing — over-analyzing maybe — the upsets, the favourites and the locations of games. How about a quick break?

So, where will the Rockets incredible winning streak end? Hell, I thought they'd be through playing the Lakers on the weekend, but with Gasol hobbled, they weren't facing that team at their peak.

Their next test comes tonight, at home to the mightiest team in the East, the Boston Celtics. Can they win and keep their roll going? I think so for one reason. Tonight is Boston's second night in a row facing one of the top teams in the league. Last night they had to take on the defending champion Spurs which is never an easy game. They did win but it took some late heroics; how will that translate into tonight's game?

Next up is the Hornets tomorrow night. If the Celtics don't end the streak tonight, Chris Paul will end it in New Orleans tomorrow. Playing their second game in two nights and being on the road is not going to help Houston. The pressure of the streak will only be magnified by those two factors.

If the Rockets can slip by those two tough games intact, Friday night isn't going to be any easier. Playing against the Warriors in Oakland is always tough and with the season winding down, their fans will be even more ravenous.

After that are the Suns on Saturday before finally getting a break by playing the Kings back in Houston next Monday.

It's going to be really tough for T-Mac, Rafer and company to last until that easy Kings game.

The Madness begins

Selection Sunday: the day that kicks off March Madness. Where the brackets are drawn for all to see and for everyone in a pool to start plotting a route to the championship for their team of choice.

I'd be lying to you if I claimed to know anything in depth about all 65 of the teams that qualified for the "Big Dance" so let me tell you what I do know.

— I'm not surprised by any of the number ones. It seemed pretty clear cut this year. North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas were the best in the U.S. this season. Anybody dumb enough to take a 16 seed over a one doesn't even deserve to fill out a bracket.

— There might be something wrong with the system if a team that's one game above .500 (Georgia at 17-16) can get into the tourney. I don't care if you fluked your way into winning your conference, well, actually, it'll be easy to pick their demise in the first round. Thanks for giving me an easy one Georgia.

— Did Duke really deserve to be a number 2 this year? I haven't heard a thing about the Blue Devils and they're usually pretty well covered by the media.

— USC vs. Kansas State should be a great game to watch. Michael Beasley, the potential first overall pick this coming NBA draft, vs. O.J. Mayo, a highly touted scorer. Both are freshmen and both can make or break their teams chances in the first round.

— I'm taking George Mason as my 12-over-5 upset. It's a bonus because that 5 happens to be Notre Dame and I have an irrational hate for the Irish.

— Do not discount the fact that North Carolina is basically playing home games in the first four rounds. You would have to be very bold to go against them before the final four.

— Finally, I'm taking UCLA to win it all. It's not because I love Kevin Love or Darren Collison. Not because they won the tough Pac-10 conference championship. No, it's because I've taken them for the past three years, done fairly well and why change something that's working fine? It's not nearly as fun to cheer on a number 1 seed, but hey, they're my team.

I'll no doubt have more on the tournament as Thursday draws near and I actually inform myself about the teams I've already written off and as i begin to doubt the picks I've already made.