After a particularly good play in a game of Scrabble, a certain someone I know - for the sake of anonymity we'll call her "Moozie" - will exclaim that I am autistic. "You are so autistic!" She means it as a compliment, I guess. Its not her fault. Rain Man made it seem like autism was some kind of super power.
But could she be right? 1.4 million people submitted NCAA brackets to ESPN.com, and through the first two rounds, guess how many of them are perfect? Zero. But on CBSSports.com, somebody does have a perfect bracket. Kansas getting upset in round 2? Called it. Cornell into the Sweet 16? Nailed it. Here's your headline: "
The perfect bracket: Autistic teen from Chicago area nails the first two rounds".
If there was ever proof that I'm not autistic, Moozie, its this NCAA tournament. Not only did I not call Kansas getting upset in round 2, but I picked them to be my national champion. Through two rounds, I've got 29 of 48 picks correct. But in the OC Bracket Challenge, where people either listened to my advice or are even less autistic than I am, that's good enough for 4th place out of 12. Here's the Sweet Sixteen update:
Tier 5: I swear we're not related
Rose, 56 potential points
Currently in 3rd place, but its going to be tough to get any more points with all of your Final Four picks already out of the tournament.
Tier 4: Sorry about that national champion pick, everybody
Krun, 90 potential points
Greg, 91
Jesse, 98
Randy, 101
Elisa, 101
Guess what everybody in this group has in common? Hint: it rhymes with Mansas.
Tier 3: Waiting to strike
Bolts, 109 potential points
The Suze, 111
Sam, 112
Jim, 112
Tightly packed, this group needs one of the leaders to slip up to make a charge. The most daring of this group was The Suze, who, in an attempt to not follow any of my advice (including that you should start your bracket by picking a champion), has not picked a winner for her bracket. If I had tickets to the NCAA championship game this year, I would be very afraid.
Tier 2: The Contender
Judy, 126 potential points
Currently tied for 4th, Judy has the second highest potential point total. His surest route to victory is a Syracuse championship. But he currently has a sizable lead on...
Tier 1: The Favorite?
Daytrader, 139 potential points
By far the highest potential total. But currently? Only 31 points, which is tied for last. But with 3/4 Final Four and 5/8 Elite Eight teams left, still plenty of opportunity to climb up the leaderboard. And the jerk didn't listen to my advice. He didn't even have Kansas in the title game! What nerve.