Time for March Madness.

It's my favorite time of year in sports. The NHL is headed into the playoff stretch drive, baseball is revving up for an April start and the best sporting event of the year starts this Thursday. I am talking of course, about March Madness. For those of you who don't watch it, you should give it an honest shot this weekend. The first four days of this tournament are the most exciting because that's when all the major upsets occur and the teams you've never heard of become household names. Even people I know who are not basketball fans get into it. The reason it is so much fun is because these teams are playing for school pride and 99.9% of the players know they are never going to get a sniff from the NBA. Their fans go nuts, and neutral fans also start cheering for the underdog in tight games. I would suggest filling out a bracket and entering into an office pool. You will then have a rooting interest in each game because you have picked a winner. In that regard, here are some of my tips on picking your bracket which have been highly developed in the last 18 years without actually once winning a pool.

1. Most upsets occur in the first round. Don't pick against a number 1 seed though. Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 no. 1's are 84-0 vs 16's. And only a handful of 2's have lost to 15's. Betting against a 3 is usually a decent bet for an upset because this has happened a number of times. South Alabama (14) is the best shot for an upset of a 3 this year because Florida (3) has underachieved all year and never plays all that well when expectations are high.

2. There is always a "Cinderella team" in the Sweet 16 (3rd round). That means a team ranked 10 or lower that nobody has ever heard of. A team like Iona (13) for instance.

3. Guards rule college hoops. Forwards rule the NBA. The teams with the best guard play always go deep in this tournament.

4. After the after the second round there is less chance of a big upset. The Cinderella team usually gets killed, and the big boys take over. But don't figure on all four no. 1's making it to the Final Four. It hasn't happened since the field expanded in 1985. And don't be surprised if 1 of them doesn't make it past the first weekend (a potential second round match up for my beloved Dukies against George Washington scares the hell out of me).

5. Don't make fun of anyone's betting techniques. The girl in your office who has never watched a game and picks her winners based on which uniform color she likes better will probably beat you. The girl who chooses by team nickname ("Xavier will beat Gonzaga because a Musketeer would just shoot a Bulldog") will beat you too.

6. Just pick your winners sit back and enjoy the best event in sports. And don't put to much money on it. But if you insist on putting a wad of cash down on who will eventually win it all, my money would be on one of the following: Connecticut, Ohio State, Duke, Gonzaga, or Texas.