March Madness. This is my favorite sports week of the year. From the moment they unveiled the brackets on Sunday, half the country, myself included, became obsessed with breaking down the tournament and filling out their pools.  If you walk into any random office, you will see a copy of the tournament brackets on everyone's desk, even those who haven't watched a single game all season (of course, they are the people who win these pools, typically because a school like Wright State, for example, makes a deep run, and they are the only one's who've picked them, usually because a third cousin went to law school there or they read some story about how the coaches grandmother died and he dedicated the season to her. Ridiculous) The best day of this first week of the tourney is Wednesday.  I usually haven't checked my email or voice mail since Monday. I'm frantically filling out my seventeenth bracket.  RPI , Power Rankings and pictures of Joe Lunardi are strewn all over my desk. I'm wracking my brain,certain the Southern Illinois/ VCU second round match up is the game that will make or break all my pools.  It's about then a government study gets released stating "NCAA office pools lead to a 33% decline in the national work force's productivity". I always find that funny for some reason.  
I watch a ton of college basketball, but since I'm usually eliminated from every pool by late Thursday afternoon, it's become painfully obvious I know more about Chloe than I do Creighton, and more about Bauer than I do Butler, so we are all better served by me breaking down the "Madness" that is "24".

Washington Region:
The Washington Region, historically one of the toughest and most compelling, is by far the weakest this year.  No one has stepped up and dominated.  Preseason favorite, Palmer A&T, never seemed to get on track while trying to escape the Wooden-like shadow of his brother. Just as his season seemed to be turning around, he got bombed at home, effectively putting an end to any hopes of cutting down the nets this year.  
While Daniel's University has an relatively easy path in the tournament, with Lennox College offering little or no resistance, clearly he is the most vulnerable of all the #1 seeds.  Although he has by far the biggest arsenal at his disposal, inexperience will most probably be his downfall come crunch time. I'm going to go with the University of Karen Hayes as my Cinderella out of this bracket.  After being stomped by Lennox in an earlier season match up, UKH threatened to leave and join the Pac-10, but a short sabbatical seems to have recharged her batteries.  UKH has been here before and although I've only seen her recently in short glimpses and previews, I have a feeling she is ready to make a magical end of the season run.
Prediction: UKH  

Middle Eastern Region:
When the season started, it looked like an epic battle between the University of Fayed@Beruit and Assad Terror Teachers College, with everyone else fighting for second place.  With ATTC's season coming to a explosive end( in a stunning loss to Hamilton that sent shock waves through the sport), and Marwan in the midst of a rebuilding year, UFB looks virtually unstoppable at this point.  His dominance is such that after having every early season tilt shown as part of "Big Monday" we rarely see any of his games televised anymore.  It's almost as if he was lost in the story-line while everyone's attention was diverted to tiny Gradenko College, the former D1 power, who for brief time shelved it's program due to severe economic issues and drastic changes in leadership ( many of Gradenko's faculty formed their own schools, making recruiting much more competitive. Case in point, the "Drones" haven't landed a " Mr.Moscow"  in the past 17 years.)  When they meet in the regional final, despite their experience playing under pressure filled, Cherynobl-like conditions , look for the much older, slower Gradenko to be terrorized by the younger, hungrier UFB.
Prediction: UFB

Meadow Creek Region:
Obviously the three top seeds, The University of Logan at San Quentin,  Martha A &M,(by the looks of her, much more "A" than "M", unless the "M" stands for Milky Ways) and Aaron Community College are the only schools with a chance of emerging from this bracket. Until last night, I would have had my money on ULSQ to represent Meadow Creek in the Final Four, but the Fighting Heffer of A&M, despite looking slow and out of shape, unleashed her  "40 minutes of Insanity" style of play and knifed her way for a key score down the stretch to take out the top seed in dramatic fashion(allow me a quick break from the brackets here. Before the show, they hyped this as being the most shocking moment in "24" history. Seriously?  Does Terri being killed in Season 1 and Chase having Jack chop off his hand in Season 3 ring any bells at all?)  I'm thinking once they decide to take off the handcuffs, Martha's offense will continue to improve and in the final, despite playing away from the friendly confines of "the Bungalow"  she will run roughshod over a star struck Aaron , who although looking very fit, has obviously lost a step, and most of his hair, this season.
Prediction: Martha A & M

Los Angeles Region:
Without a doubt the deepest region in the tournament.  It all starts at the top, with perennial #1 seed, Bauer University once again the favorite. The "U", shaking off the rust from being "yellow shirted" the past two years, came on strong after getting his door's blown in the previous week.  Despite a hostile road environment that caused severe communication issues, he was able to hold off a determined Markov, proving he still has a lot of fuel left in the tank.  The only question remaining is whether Bauer can shake off his nagging shoulder injury and get through the torturous road ahead. Time will tell.
Bauers toughest opponent will be the second seeded Chloe School of Computer Science & Modeling. CSCS&M is still, by far, the most visually pleasing team to watch in the region. Her style of play, while occasionally ambivalent, is marked by a beauty and gracefulness seldom seen in this sport, and she will prove a handful for any opponent. Many fans think CSCS&M has been under-utilized this season and believe she is capable of one more "Shining Moment" (Thank you, I had to work that in somehow.)
Buchanan, Morris, an injury plagued Milo and tournament newcomer Mike Doyle round out the field. In any other bracket, each would be a favorite to come out alive, but the Los Angeles Region is just way to strong.  Doyle, a bubble school who received the last at-large bid is the x-factor of this group.  From the little we've seen, he can definitely shoot, but can he control his emotions in a big spot, keep his hands to himself and avoid early the early foul trouble that hindered him against Morris.  We know he's been the "Champ" in other sports, and despite having the same haircut for the past 18 years, it remains to be seen whether he can throw any of his wrinkles at the top seeds.

Prediction: Heart over head on this one. CSCS&M slips past  Bauer U

(Now you see why I never win these pools)