Forget Punxsutawney Phil. For me, the real sign that winter is over is the arrival of the men’s NCAA tournament. Every year, I poke my head out of my shop to take in the excitement of college hoops. Now, I don’t follow the college game as fanatically as I used to, but this time of year, I make time to watch as many games as I can, meeting up with friends at a local watering hole to compare and argue about our tourney picks, or even engaging in various forms of trash talking via email or text messages (by the way, Steve, the Terps are NOT going to the Final Four).

Like millions of other folks, I take part in a tournament pool, where I attempt to pick the winners. My method is far from scientific. I often rely on my gut, but when I can’t make a choice, I go to the old standby: the eenie-meenie-miney-moe method of choosing a winner. 

Don’t laugh.

I’m serious.

Anyway, here are my official picks for this year’s tournament, and I take full responsibility for them. If you plan to use them in any way, please read the following legal notice: No animals were harmed in the making of these picks, and results are not guaranteed. Side effects may be blurred vision, lack of productivity during the day, painful shrieks, spontaneous clapping, and frequent visits to the water cooler. Finally, we take no responsibility for financial loss or embarrassment due to these picks.

Enjoy the games!

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