OK, boys and girls — thanks to a record number of entries in the Third Annual Uncle Crappy NCAA Final Four Challenge, I think this is going to end up as the longest single post in Uncle Crappy history.

We start with me:

The Final Four is North Carolina, Georgetown, Stanford and UCLA. North Carolina avenges last year’s loss to the Hoyas, and Stanford avenges that miserable call a week ago to beat UCLA. The Tar Heels prevail in the title game, and as was the case a couple years ago, The Wife will be in bed by halftime, again missing a Chapel Hill national championship.

That last part is true. She mentions it herself:

OK, Final 4 is on the predictable side this year:
UNC
Memphis
Georgetown
UCLA

UNC v. UCLA for final with UNC victorious.
You just can’t go wrong with Psycho T!

Now, besides the Uncle Crappy Pool, I have entered three brackets in two pools and I do have my requisite UNC v. Dook bracket. I have it every year, because it works out every year — something I think the selection committee would like to see happen once too! Anyway — Go Heels!!! P.S. — Yes, Fred, if the final goes too late on a school night, I probably will go to bed before the end of the game, unless it is UNC v. Dook. So before you ask, picture the finger!!!

And the rest of yinz, alphabetically — starting with Carla, a former co-worker and closet sportwriter:

Since I’m not allowed in the GBAPA poll this year, I guess the uc poll will have to suffice … ;)

Let’s go with:

Final four – Louisville vs. Kansas, Texas vs. UCLA
Final game – Kansas vs. UCLA
Winner: Kansas

GBAPA — the Greater Bridgewater Area Press Association. Don’t ask.

Carolina Boy has no Wolverines or Gamecocks involved, so he went this way:

Thanks for the invitation to play ball again this year. My brackets have turned out to be lots of “chalk” (i.e. fairly predictable)

Final Four
UNC Kansas Memphis UCLA

Championship
UNC vs. UCLA

Champion
UCLA

Next is Cindy, who has secret formulas generated during her time at MIT that give her mad fantasy sports skillz:

Here are the official My Brilliant Mistakes picks:

Final Four: NC vs. Georgetown / Memphis vs. Duke

Championship: Georgetown vs. Duke

Champion: Georgetown

Hoyas FTW!

My brother-in-law, Chris, writes from sunny Florida:

North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Duke
North Carolina, Duke
Duke

Dawn, another of my new Pittsburgh friends, is next. Dawn has some kind of connection to the Bluegrass state — I’m not clear on how or why — but that may be an influence here:

Alrighty, so here goes!

Final four: Louisville vs USC; Pitt vs UConn

Championship: Louisville vs Pitt

Champions: Lousiville

This year’s bracket has me seriously torn–I know first hand what Pitt can do in a Tourney, but I also know that Rick Pitino knows a thing or two about the road to the NCAA championship! I know there need to be some serious upsets for this to take place, but hey, here’s to hoping!

Straight outta, uh, Clintonville, is Ethel:

Hello, Crapmaster-

I finally did my bracket last night. Here is my final four prediction:

UNC vs. Kansas / Texas vs. UCLA

Championship: UNC vs. UCLA

Winner: UNC in honor of The Wife

Just for kicks, I decided not to have high expectations of the Big Ten this year. I’d much prefer Wisconsin over Kansas in the final four…

Crapmaster? I am simultaneously pleased and horrified…

We are blessed by the participation of Father Spoon:

Final Four
North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Texas

Final Two
North Carolina & Texas

Champion
North Carolina

Next is Fred, Ethel’s lovely and talented husband. And, apparently, one of their dogs:

while i am doing the typing, the picks were done by my son, spencer – the brown banana…

final 4: UNC, Kent, Marquette & BYU
final: UNC v. Marquette in a replay of ’77
champion: Marquette as in ’77 w/ butch lee in crazy al’s last game as coach…

editorial comments: spencer did not say much, but he did drool a bit and then took a nap.

HP‘s picks. Cleveland’s long, nasty winter may be clouding her brain:

Here’s my picks

Final Four: NC, Vandy, Stanford, Xavier

Two: NC and Stanford

And the winner is: NC

Really no rhyme or reason for my picks, as usual. Although I think the Mrs may like my pick for the winner!

Juan doesn’t have any idea who Phil’s Mom is, but he thinks it’s OK to use her picks.

Final Four: Butler, Gonzaga, Pitt, Drake.

Title game: Butler vs. Pitt.

Champ: Butler

Wow. I don’t even know where to begin.

If the number of colleges one has attended is an indication of intelligence, Kewyson is smarter than all of us combined. And he’s got a formula of his own to prove it:

Okay – here we go – since my track record is piss poor when I actually think about the teams, this year – I’ve devised a pseudo-random selection process –

Giving preferential treatment to the #1 seed in rounds 1 & 2 (selecting them to advance) – I then counted straight down the bracket 7 teams (because 7 rhymes with Kevin) – I select that team. Then I count down 6, and select that team, then 5, and so forth – staying in each bracket until the round of 8, and not counting a team after its opponent has already been selected except when such team has not yet been counted on that round of counting down the bracket (got it yet? me neither) –

Final 4 – St. Joesph’s, Kansas, Kentucky & UCLA
Nation Championship Game: Kansas vs. UCLA with the Jayhawks winning it for the Sunflower State.

All done with minimal synaptic activity.

Large, the only one of us to actually play college basketball:

UNC – I want to stay/get on The Wife’s good side.
Kansas – I can’t get enough of Roy Williams’ angst over leaving KU for UNC
Texas – Home court advantage in the regional final vs. Memphis
Louisville – I got nothing here, I just like ’em.

Kansas – Apologies to The Wife, but the lure of fabulous prizes is too great
Texas – We need a tie breaker game between these to two to settle it once and for all

Kansas – It seems like you can put them in the Final Four every year, once in a while they will win it if for no other reason than dumb luck.

Staying on The Wife’s good side is an excellent idea.

Next, we welcome Robyn, the only one of us who actually has a dog in this fight. She’s about to become a Hoya grad for the second time — if she can stay out of the Brick long enough to finish her thesis:

Alright Uncle Crappy, here we go:

Final Four: Georgetown (duh)

Louisville

Pittsburgh (only because they beat Georgetown do I give them any respect)

Duke

Final two: for a rematch, Pittsburgh and Georgetown.

Champ: Georgetown.

Why yes, you are correct: this bracket has nothing to do with reality, and all to do with my own desires. But what better way of picking a bracket???

Finally, we have the entry from The Sister:

Final Four: Tennessee vs. Kansas; Stanford vs. UCLA.

Final Game: Tennessee vs. UCLA

Winner: UCLA

That’s it, y’all. I’ll post the first official update Sunday night, although I may have a few observations between then and now. Good luck to everyone, and thanks again for entering. Good luck to everyone — especially me.

ERRORS AND OMISSIONS 9:50 p.m.: Mostly omissions. In trying to get this up as quickly as possible, I left off the entry of Mr. Burns, a two-time defending champion of the Annual Uncle Crappy NCAA Final Four Challenge. And that’s especially disappointing because his entry is, uh, a little unique:

Kansas-Ohio St. / Texas-UCLA // UCLA over Kansas

Trying to be helpful, I suggested that while I would have been pleased to see my Buckeyes in the Final Four for a second straight year, it would be a tough thing for them to do as they are playing in the NIT this spring. His response?

I stand by my pick.

There you go.

If I screwed up anything else, please let me know, and I’ll fix it as soon as possible.