Our Valley Santa Clarita MergedFile | Page 25

In the second round pretty much the same things happen and again, you have to be a real putz not to get past this round too. The third round requires some brain power and a little bit of luck for you to get past it. For that reason this round is given a real name: Sweet Sixteen. Here is where we lose most of the clueless. Say good bye Trojan fans. The next round is quite exclusive as it has the best eight teams. It is appropriately named the Elite Eight. In Brackology only the very smart and the very lucky remain. Say good bye Bruin fans. The next round is called the Final Four. Personally I would have chosen Fantastic Four, but I digress. Here there is no room for error either on the court or in Brackology. The air in both arenas (courtside and in bars across the country) is electric. The money involved, earlier mentioned as penny ante, is now big time. In some cases it could be more than $100! Players will dive onto the court to save a ball! Brackologists, seeing the action on TV, will dive onto the floor to encourage their favorite players! It’s a war zone out there! Finally, the two surviving teams play a final game. It is appropriately called: the Finals. Everything happens as in the Final Four except even more intensely. I’m exhausted just writing this. So, get ready for the mayhem of March Madness and most of all, have fun! Bill Miranda P.S. Longshots to Pick picks Cincinnati, Gonzaga and Butler. OUR VALLEY SANTA CLARITA PAGE 25