MARCH! MADNESS!

In about two hours worker productivity in the U.S. should become muffled by the phenomena of March Madness. We’re in the midst of a minor Depression so good working girls & boys will be minding their p’s & q’s, but make no mistake that those lucky enough to be following over the internet on the sly will be more preoccupied than usual. I theorized to a hedge fund manager friend that the high of the week on the indexes would take place yesterday partly because I knew from experience Wall Street traders are amongst the worst offenders of becoming distracted by the men’s college basketball tournament. The guise of settling positions and staying away from the potential volatility of a quadruple witching this Friday is just the elegant professional cover needed to eye the hi-def TV instead of stock screens; CNBC viewership will temporarily plummet.

Over the course of March Madness I am also happy to announce that the Paper Horticulture blog plans to introduce its first guest contributors.  Although not college basketball experts per se the writers are outstanding sports generalists. Unfortunately, I think this is a function of being acutely aware, as yours truly, that nobody would ever care much what we could do ON the field.

Without further ado, our final four selections:

Paper Horticulture

• East: (1) Pittsburgh
• South: (1) North Carolina
• Midwest:  (4) Wake Forest
• West: (11) Utah State

Champion: North Carolina over Wake Forest

UNC was the unanimous pre-season #1 team for a reason: The core squad, more than capable of winning last year, returned to the Chapel Hill campus intact on a mission to complete unfinished business and build on the already staggering Tar Heel basketball legacy. Of course, a big reason is that the four aspiring pros in the starting lineup don’t project to be anything special in the NBA, but when playing at their collective best has the potential of embarrassing any collegiate opponent. Without the artificial pressure of maintaining a pristine record, or a letdown from winning an emotionally draining ACC tournament, I think the conditions are ripe for the best team in the nation to rip through a final 6-game winning streak. PG Ty Lawson sitting out round 1 should be a non-event, although his play will be critical to bring home some hardware.

Dark Horse: I project Utah State reaching the final four due to my forecast of an unlikely string of favorable matchups, including an encounter with BYU in the 4^th round. 

Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (nom de guerre of my choosing)

• East: (2) Duke
• South: (1) North Carolina
• Midwest:  (1) Louisville
• West: (1) Connecticut 

Champion: Connecticut over North Carolina.  [Editors note]: I can’t penalize someone who is picking with his heart and not his head when it comes to Coach Jim Calhoun’s Huskies program.

Dark Horse: Midwest (6) West Virginia. “I have them beating both Kansas and Michigan State and reaching the Elite 8 before getting tired and falling to Louisville.  I think Louisville is vulnerable, but they happen to be in a weak bracket. As for West Virginia, as much as I hate having to root for Bob Huggins, the Mountaneers play tight defense despite some size problems, and have some quality wins this year over Pitt and Villanova. They've also been toughened up by their ridiculous schedule, which is much tougher than what Michigan State or Kansas had to go through. I think the bracket shapes up well for them until Louisville. Now watch them go lose in the first round.

The Shogun Ill Emperor (www.roadtothecup.com)

• East: (1) Pittsburgh
• South: (2)Oklahoma
• Midwest:  (1) Louisville
• West: (2) Memphis

Champion: Pittsburgh over Louisville.  [Editors note]: From experience, I can attest that the Shogun is not a chalk player. However, despite the romance of the Cinderella team that has made this tourney so popular, there is no reason not to expect a 1- or 2- seed not to take the championship.

Dark horse: East (11) VCU. Sometimes it’s best to let others speak for you: "VCU, I think, has been playing strong, and I hate to say this, because my brother-in-law [Craig Robinson, Oregon State] is in the Pac-10 right now, but the Pac-10 has been looking pretty weak this year," said President Barack Obama. "I like that as an upset." It also helps that this little known program features potential NBA lottery picks in 2009 (PG Eric Maynor) and 2010 (F/C Larry Sanders).

Good luck!