Imagine shooting an airball from the free-throw line with money at stake. Then imagine shooting an airball from the free-throw line repeatedly for two days straight with money at stake. There you have my NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket.

My hopes of winning a modest pool or exhibiting my (admittedly limited) prognostication powers disappeared Thursday and Friday, as upsets I predicted never materialized and ones I did not foresee occurred.

Reflecting on the red lines scratching out my tournament failures, I wonder what masochistic urge drove me to fill out a bracket. I mean, I watched one (!) entire NCAA basketball game all season — UNLV’s early season upset over North Carolina.

My lack of college basketball knowledge plus my weakness for underdogs and mid-majors made this year’s bracket a landmine. Ironically, my bracket bloodbath will undoubtedly allow me to enjoy the tournament more the next two weeks because I will root for upsets, with no regard for how they impact my bracket.

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