EA Sports game
sparks Madness
TWO MINUTES FOR
CROSSCHECKING
J_
PETER HOCKADAY
Have you ever played that
word association game,
where someone (usually
your psychologist) says a
word, and you fire back the first
word that pops into your mind?
March. Madness.
Tournament. Bracket.
Buzzer. Beater.
Final. Four.
Aahhhhhhh March. Spring
break, golf, CBS all day, every day.
I even watch the soap operas in be
tween the Madness. Days of Our
Lives? You know it.
So, of course, you want to know
who I’m picking for the Final Four.
Doesn’t everybody? (Sarcasm peo
ple, learn to recognize it).
Well, if you go by the video
game, EA Sports’ March Madness
2001, that fellow sports staffer
Adam Jude and I played the other
day, Boston College and Arizona
will square off in the champi
onship game.
Unfortunately, Jude is a video
gaming God, whereas I am still try
ing to figure out the controls of my
original Nintendo, so he (playing
with Boston College) spanked me
(playing as Arizona) around in the
final two minutes and took the
game by 10 points or so. Also un
fortunately, our other two Final
Four teams were Duke and Califor
nia, who both happen to be in the
same regions as our finalists (we
obviously played this mock tour
nament before the actual tourna
ment pairings were released. We
may be dumb sportswriters, but
we take our March Madness seri
ously).
Even though I lost the game on
the scoreboard, I won it in spirit
and heart, which is why I’m pick
ing Arizona to win it all. Go ‘Cats!
No, seriously, I really do like
Boston College going all the way to
the title game. The Eagles are the
quintessential Cinderella’s, com
plete with the glass slipper coming
off at midnight, which is exactly
why the Wildcats will topple BC
in the final.
As for Arizona, yes I hate them
too, but they have so much talent
that it will be impossible to deny
them once they fire up the VlO en
gines. Arenas, Woods, Gardner,
Jefferson and Olson all on fire at
the same time? The thought sends
chills down my spine.
The rest of my Final Four is
completed by Stanford coming out
of the West Regional, and, in a
shocker, Oklahoma coming out of
the South.
Why Stanford? They have talent
up and down the roster and at
every position, a coach, Mike
Montgomery, that has a hoops IQ
so high I’m surprised his head
doesn’t explode basketballs and a
longball assassin in Casey Jacob
sen, who, when he’s on, is unstop
pable. The Cardinal’s bench is de
pleted, however, which is why
they will fall to BC in the semifi
nals.
Why Oklahoma? If you saw the
Big 12 title game, or any part of the
Big 12 Championship, you know
that the Sooners are hotter than a
fire poker. They have long-ball
precision and play with passion
and heart. They will do what Okla
homa State cannot — harness all
their emotion on the court, and up
set a few teams on their way to
Minneapolis.
It’s insanity.J^’s craziness. It’s
March. ' T
Madness.
Peter Hockaday is a sports reporter for the
Emerald. He can be reached at phocka
day@yahoo.com.
Final 4 Picks
Jeff Smith, sports editor
Men: Arizona, North Carolina, Boston College, Maryland
Champ: North Carolina
Women: Connecticut, Okalahoma, Iowa State, Tennessee
Champ: Oklahoma
Scott Pesznecker, assistant editor
Men: Arizona, Stanford, North Carolina, Duke
Champ: Stanford
Women: Duke, Tennessee, Connecticut, Notre Dame
Champ: Tennessee
Peter Hockaday, sports reporter
Men: Arizona, Oklahoma, Boston College, Stanford
Champ: Arizona
Women: Notre Dame, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Tennessee
Champ: Connecticut
Robbie McCallum, sports reporter
Men: Arizona, North Carolina, Stanford, Duke
Champ: Arizona
Women: Rutgers, LA. Tech., Tennessee, Notre Dame
Champ: Tennessee
Adam Jude, sports reporter
Men: Arizona, North Carolina, Maryland, Boston College
Champ: Maryland
Women: Tennessee, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Connecticut
Champ: Notre Dame
Jack Clifford, editor in chief
Men: Duke, Indiana, Florida, Arizona
Champ: Duke
Women: Tennessee, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Connecticut
Champ: Tennessee
0113331
Buy any foot long sub at regular
price and get a 1/2 size FREE!
Select from 1-15 sandwiches!
CORNER OF 17TH & PEARL ST. • 302-12141
‘NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFER
Oregon daily
emerald
worldwide
www.dailyemerald.com
Your Bracketville Dance Club.
Jiggles
2165 W. '
Help Is Just Around The Comer...
010174
■ Ju%l head to the store with no long lines, the best
advice around and service l|ke it ought to be!
mm7nMl/MueHARDWARE
2825 Willamette • 342-5191
VISA