The Sports Monitor

This is the fifth version of Bracket Racket, my way of picking the NCAA champion. Last year was a darn good year for the Racket. Heck, let's be honest. It was an excellent year. My formula correctly picked the championship game -- Kentucky vs. Kansas -- and it picked the winner. How do you top it? I guess simply do it again. I've tweaked the equation over the years, and after last year's success, there's not much to update. Here's the path to narrow your picks to one champion: First things first, first-round games are a joke: Honestly, no national champion will emerge from this group. And why does Dayton get to host this every year? The Sour 16: While we're being honest, no 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 seed. Go with history. Capital losses : It's easier to say UNLV instead of University of Nevada at Las Vegas. It still doesn't make them a threat to win it all. Take all teams that use capital letters off your list (UNLV, UCLA, VCU). Let...

There are many ways to pick an NCAA tournament champion. Some might pick their alma mater, others could go for a long-time favorite team while some could pull a name out of a hat. Me? I have a pretty good formula going. It's called Bracket Racket. The success is uncanny. Here's how we go from 68 to 1: First things first, first-round games are a joke: Seriously, the NCAA wants us to think the eight teams playing "first-round" games have a chance while 60 others get a bye into the second round? Missouri Valley State, Western Kentucky, BYU, Iona, Lamar, Vermont, Cal and South Florida all are eliminated. It's not sweet being a 16: Don't be a hero, scratch off the No. 16 seeds remaining. Capital losses : Teams that go by capital letters are outta here: VCU, UNLV, WVU (go home, Mountaineers). Wrong statement : I hate to break it to you, but schools with state in its name won't win it all this year. That means Iowa State, Wichita State, New Mexico...

St. Patrick's day is tomorrow, so it's definitely a day of celebration. But before you go out and have a great time, fill out your college basketball bracket. By the time you recover on Thursday, the games will have tipped off. And before you turn in that sheet, take a look at my Bracket Racket formula. It's picked three of the past six winners, with narrow misses in the years that it failed. Let's get right to it: Eliminate all No. 16 seeds . We start off simple by crossing out a seed that never has won a game. Next, letters spell disaster . A team that goes by a couple letters won't win the couple games it needs to cut down the nets. That means UNLV, UTEP, BYU, Texas A&M, N.M. State and UC Santa Barbra are out of consideration. My wife gets directionally challenged sometimes, and that applies to this year's tournament. Don't bet your bracket on Northern Iowa, North Texas and West Virginia. I know teams like to make a statement , but Sta...