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I do not watch much college basketball during the regular season, and every year when it’s time to fill out my brackets, it’s like that reoccurring bad dream. You know what I’m talking about. The test you have to take for the class you never attended.
Tonight, eleven of the sixteen I selected are moving on. You would think that I’d feel pretty damn good about that percentage given that I didn’t hand in one iota of homework the entire school year.
But the second seeded Michigan State team that I picked to win the National Championship tanked in the first round. I wish I could say, “It isn’t so,” Tom Izzo. You, me and a million other poor schnooks never saw Middle Tennessee that close in the rear view mirror.
Of all the brackets in the world, why did one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history have to walk into mine?
My game plan every year is to take more risks, but a fifteen seed beating a two? That’s like being the lucky gladiator who bet David over Goliath.
I gambled a little with Gonzaga over Seton Hall, but didn’t go with my gut when it came to Syracuse. USC tugged at my heartstrings causing heartbreak, and although I would have loved to see the Long Island boys at Stony Brook get past Kentucky Wildcats, I let my brains talk me out of that one.
The Hoosiers knocked out Calipari’s kids, so not much brilliant bracket work there, which now leaves two of my final four put out to pasture.
I have Kansas over Villanova, and Oklahoma over Oregon, against the prayers of my two brothers who live in Portland. Sorry guys – it’s bracket business.
And it ain’t pretty – especially for me, knowing that I’ll be watching the final game on April 4th at home, just like the team I picked to win the whole damn thing. And you can bet the bank that I’ll be back next season for yet another round of reoccurring bad dreams.
About The Author
suekolinsky
Sue Kolinsky is a writer/producer whose career began as a waitress in Manhattan. After a cynical remark got her fired, she took her humor to a place it would be appreciated – The NY Improv, which is where she launched her 20-year stand-up career.
After much time spent performing at clubs, colleges and numerous tours with the USO, along with appearances on The Tonight Show and Bob Hope’s Young Comedians Special, she replaced her microphone with a Mac computer and began writing and producing TV.
She has written on “Brotherly Love,” “Sex and the City,” and “The Ellen Show.” In 2001, She got a call to be a producer on the groundbreaking reality series, “The Osbourne’s.” She had no idea a new phase of her successful career was about to unfold. After garnering her first Emmy nomination, she went to produce a new MTV show called, “Newlyweds,” a reality series that documented the early-married life of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.
In 2009 she landed a job as supervising producer of the highly touted culinary competition series, “Top Chef.” She eventually became co-executive producer, garnering two more Emmy nods.
Adding to her many hats, Sue also co-hosted a morning radio talk show with Steve Mason, on NY’s iconic WNEW. Having the dubious honor of going up against Howard Stern, the show was cancelled after sixteen months, but her partnership with Mason paid dividends. When he returned to his prior radio sports talk gig in LA, he gave Sue a featured segment on the show.
Sue’s love of sports surfaced at the age of 10 when her older brother turned her on to baseball, and her hero, “The Say Hey Kid,” Willie Mays. While she still followed the Giants, her uncle’s box seats at Shea Stadium made her a Mets fan, and to this day, she’s still chasing the high of ’86.
Sue’s love of writing about sports began as a daily analysis of the World Series on Facebook. Due to popular demand, she has created this blog. As if that’s not enough she just completed producing the past season of Last Comic Standing, and is writing an animated feature.
Sue lives in Long Beach, California with her husband and two grown dogs.