March is here

March 4, 2008 12:51 AM

Nothing says spring is near like that first delivery of Girl Scout cookies and conference tournaments starting up.

For the final two weeks leading up to Selection Sunday, I plan to change my posting habits. I intend to write more frequently and about a variety of bracket-related issues. This means you've seen the last of my Best Week Ever posts for this season. Yes, please try to hold back the tears.

Here are a few topics that I hope to address:

• The bubble this year is weaker than the dollar. We'll look briefly at how our at-large selection modeling works and what shows us just how fluid this year's bubble is.
• The number of suitors for the coveted (and not really important?) #1 seeds is dwindling, though far from decided. We'll give an in-depth look at who is still in the running and make the case for and against each.
• There are some factors of the committee's behavior that can't be factored into our model, or in some cases even predicted by human bracket experts. I'll try to identify some of those and how they will affect this year's predictions.
• I've been sitting on a review of last year's results and commentary on the CTD's (and the committee's) performance. I may just post it as-is or review it to see how we can apply the lesson's learned to this year's predictions. Some of those lessons have already been applied.
• I'll also just post randomly on games or other topics that come up.

As a sports fan, particularly one who grew up in the Triangle, I love this time of year more than any other. So sit back, grab that box of Samoas, and enjoy the madness. (And check back often!)