March Madness!

Oh yes, it is that wonderful time of year, NCAA tournament basketball!!  Every year Team Cartwright gets Meo and Omi to participate in a March Madness pool.  The stakes are low, it's only a dollar a person.  I like to have a bet so people try hard, but I am not a big gambler.  One dollar is plenty to put on the line for me!  We also have Dagger and Meo and Omi's cat, Priscilla, participate.  Cats don't have a lot of money, so the cats get sponsored by someone else in the family.  This year we have our newest teammate giving it a go as well.  Ben's first March Madness!

Meo is sponsoring Priscilla this year.  Last year Pat helped Dagger make her picks.  This year we flipped a coin to see whom would get to sponsor whom.  Pat got Ben, so the boys will be taking on the girls.  Dagger and I have the distinct advantage of not really know what we are doing.  I planned to follow the rules set up by Pat last year, when he made Dagger's picks.  "Rule #1: If the team has a cat mascot, they advance (good for Arizona, Pitt, Memphis and the almighty Pacific Tigers). Rule #2: If the mascot is a dog, they lose (Sorry to Harvard, Gonzaga, Butler, Georgetown, etc). Rule #3: Teams with small birds and rodentia advance. Go Cardinals, Gophers, etc. Rule #4: Predatory Birds are out. Too scary. You're out, Hawks, Owls, Eagles, etc. Rule #5: Weather phenomena, also out. No Cyclones, no Hurricanes. Rule #6: If there is a cat/bird or cat/rodent matchup, the cat always wins. Rule #7: If there is a matchup of similar teams, i.e. cat/cat or bird/bird, always pick chalk."  I tried to follow this.  But honestly I find the faster the better for this type of thing.  If I couldn't easily find out the teams mascot, I just made a pick.  I also know Pat explained to me what "pick chalk" means last year, but I can't be bothered to remember that.  :)


Besides the family pool, Pat and I also have a "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner" bet.  This bet is just him and me, head to head.  The loser has to buy the winner a chicken dinner.  This year we are just using the same brackets to keep things simple.  I don't remember how we stack up exactly, but I know we have both won in the past.  I am hoping to win again this year!

I am commissioner of the Team Cartwright March Madness pool and Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner Bet.  So the next few weeks I will be very busy tallying up points and keeping track of games.  Every year there is a chance someone could lose to not just one, but two cats.  This year people could lose to a baby.  I'm hoping it isn't me.

Pat making picks.

Dagger is very into her bracket.

Ben and Daddy looking over the choices.

Already a sports fan.

-Kim