After a small hiatus, I'm brack(et!)

I know that the people who read this have been dying for another entry, so here's one for both of you! It is time again for the March Madness and man, do I feel good about my picks! So far, I've looked up what the crap VCA and BYU stand for, chuckled over the word Gonzaga, priced out flights to Memphis, and performed an Amazon search for Cabbage Patch Kids. Hey, don't SyraCUSE me of not being invested....IT'S MARCH MADNESS BABY!

**Just so you know, my picks are in red!

Louisville/Play-in Winner What if I don't like the Play-in Winner? Ghost teams are tricky, I've always said it.

Ohio St/Siena
I think Mark Willis likes Siena? Or is it Sierra? I know he likes Ciara, the singer (raaandom). Whatever, let's just say I wouldn't have picked Siena on my own. Sienna Miller is a homewrecker and I never want homewreckers to win bracket contests.

Utah/Arizona
I got my tattoo in Utah and those Mormons messed. it. up. Plus, I'm still like, what a freakshow that Elizabeth Smart story was, right?!


Wakeforest/Cleveland St
Our valedictorian went to Wakeforest and she played basketball, so why not? She has a baby now and doesn't play ball anymore, so I thought I'd give her glory years a shout-out. (Sorry Colleen).


West Virginia/Dayton
Eh, kind of a snoozefest matchup, right?! I could have gone either way, but I googled both schools, and Dayton's rec center is called the RecPlex! Sounds like a funny dinosaur.

Kansas/N. Dakota St
I was Dorothy for Halloween when I was in first grade and all the other Dorothys (and there were a lot) just had plain red shoes. My dad not only spray-painted my shoes red, he also doused them with sparkles to make them totally authentic. Everyone was so jealous and that is why Kansas will win this game.

Boston College/Southern Cal
I live in Boston, so I want to support our schools. I also originally thought that Jordan Cavanaugh (of Crossing Jordan) attended BC, but upon further Wiki exploration, I found that she is a BU alum. My choice still stands though, because I'm pretty sure she could have gotten into BC if she'd applied.

Michigan State/Robert Morris
The only pool that invites me to play the brackets is full of Michigan State graduates. I feel as though it's only fair that I support their team for awhile (especially since it's a number two seed!) In other news, Robert Morris is named after a Revolutionary War American who was called "The Financier of the Revolution" for his financial assistance during the movement for freedom.

Connecticut/Chattanooga
This was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in awhile. Who wouldn't root for an adorable college like Chattanooga?! But if I'm going to be smart about this, I've got to look at the seeds. And to make myself feel better, I'll think of Chattanooga as a slow moving train that wouldn't have won anyway- even if they'd had my support. Chattanooooooga! I still secretly want you to win.

BYU/Texas A&M
BYU is Brigham Young University, FYI. And the A&M ( after Texas) used to represent the institution's original name, Agricultural and Mechanical College, but no longer stands for anything. I like that they're honest about the (now) random letter attachment, and I love the state of Texas.

Purdue/Northern Iowa
Easy. I love chicken. Doesn't everybody?!

Washington/Mississippi St
So difficult. The ex-Bachelor (who I have a mental hit out on) is from Seattle-yuck. And I have put my feet in the Mississippi River (best day of Becca's life)- hooray! And apples do give me wicked reflux- blech... but I'm going with Washington on this one. I do like Washington Irving.

Marquette/Utah St
I usually go against Marquette, because I hate chicken croquettes and marionettes, but as I mentioned before, I have unrelenting anger towards Mormon tattoo artists.

Missouri/Cornell
When you're going up in the St. Louis arch, they put you in little pods and you feel like a Jetson. I found that to be pretty neat and don't think Cornell can top it.

California/Maryland
California wasn't kind to Jessica with taxes and I'm really in the mood for crabcakes.

Memphis/CS Northridge
CS stands for Cal State. Boooring. They should have it be CSI- Cal State Institution. Anyway, I'm choosing Memphis. Because I love, love, love it there.

Pittsburgh/E. Tenn. St. 

Blech!  The Steelers uniform is dreadful, but it's nice that Pittsburgh won the Superbowl. I'll support a city I've never been to because I love my home state! Seriously though...serial killer uniform.

Oklahoma St/Tennessee
Because I feel guilty about abandoning Chattanooga...

Florida St/Wisconsin
I love doing the fancy gator chomp cheer! And though I love cheese, it does not love me. I generally wouldn't hold it against the entire state, but I don't think Wisconsin has a fun cheese cheer to make me feel better about my dairy issues.

Xavier/Portland St
Cabbage Patch, Cabbage Patch, Cabbage Patch! If my parents would have signed Xavier on Becca's butt when she was little, she could've passed for one. Easily.

UCLA/VCU
VCU stands for Virginia Commonwealth University and I let my coworker, Alie, pick this one. She knows that she'll accept full blame for an undesirable result.

Villanova/American
I support my PA teams. Plus, I knew a girl in high school who went to American and she was somewhat of a sexual deviant. I mean, it's her life, but if she thinks I've forgotten what I've heard, I haven't.

Texas/Minnesota
You DON'T mess with Texas. Everybody knows that. I had the best steak there in 2002.

Duke/Binghamton
The Carolinas are where I live in my wonderworld of imagination.

North Carolina/Radford
Obviously North Carolina! If not for the beauty of the state and the basketball uniforms, how about the fact that my fave, Andy Griffith, went to UNC Chapel Hill?! He donated a bunch of his memorabilia to the university too...what a guy.

LSU/Butler
Even though Britney's back, y'all, I had to go with Butler on this one. Streaks on your china... never mattered before... who cares? Also, our landlords have been pretty decent.

Illinois/Western Ky
Why, you ask? Not a clue. Can't remember my rationale behind this one... especially since I don't think Westky's going to win this one. But I have to be true to my initial decision.

Gonzaga/Akron
Gonzag-a! Gonzag-a! Gonzag-a! YES! Aside from the fact that gorgonzola cheese doesn't bother my stomach, I despise Akon (the singer).

Arizona St/Temple
Scary campus, I hear. But maybe that means the players are fearless on the court. At the beginning of each game, if I were Temple, I'd lower the lights and boom, "Welllllcome to the Temple of DOOM!" So...

Syracuse/S. F. Austin
What a toughy! S.F Austiners call themselves the LUMBERJACKS! Love it. But Syracuse won a tricky game in a buttload of overtimes last week and I'm like, yeah, you've got my vote, SARAHcuse.

Clemson/Michigan
Everything about the word Clemson sounds so southern to me. I just picture students lounging under a large tree, with their fab accents and a glass pitcher of lemonade, and it sounds lovely. This obviously means that their basketball team should win.

Oklahoma/Morgan St
I don't know...Morgan Freeman hasn't been on his game recently and I wonder how much of that is Morgan State University's fault. Maybe a lot, maybe not at all. Either way, they shouldn't win and, memo to Morgan Freeman--- pick better movies! Geez.

Oh, and Memphis will obviously win the whole thing!