March madness & Alexander the Great

I'm on record as saying that the NCAA tournament is not only one of my favorite sporting events, I think it is one of the the greatest competitions in all of sport, right up there with the European soccer's Champions League, and the annual Penn Relays. I am also proud to say as a huge fan of college basketball, that I have chosen the champion correctly three years in a row (Florida, Kansas & N. Carolina.) I'm hoping to make it four in a row, but this time, I have some upsets going. This is how I see the tournament going:

1st round upsets:
G. Tech over Ok. State, Minnesota over Xavier, Louisville over California and Houston over Maryland

Sure bets:
Purdue will win their first round game, but they won't get out of the second round. Louisville will run Duke out of the stadium in the second round. The Big East will have at least two and I believe three of the final four teams.

Final Eight:
Kansas, Georgetown, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Texas A&M, W. Virginia & Kentucky

Final Four:
Syracuse, Georgetown, Kentucky & Villanova

Finals:
Georgetown v. Villanova

Champion:
Villanova

NCAA is all about superior guard play, and while I do like Kansas, I can't see them getting by a Georgetown team that matches up well strength for strength. Kentucky's team is ridiculously talented, all possible 1st round NBA draft picks, but the best team ever with three or more freshmen was Michigan's Fab Five, and at a crucial moment in the biggest game they lost due to immaturity. Kentucky will lose to Villanova. Scottie Reynolds, MOP.

I saw the hit Alex Ovechkin put on Brian Campbell last week, and yeah it was a hard hit, and warranted a major penalty. My question is this: If Campbell had sent Ovechkin into the boards and to the sidelines for 7-8 weeks (broken collarbone & fractured ribs) would Campbell have gotten two games, or would he have gotten more?

Ovechkin is my favorite hockey player, but he also needs to be mindful of his position as the biggest star in the NHL-yes, bigger than Sid Crosby-and act accordingly. Maybe he should reflect on the last great hockey superstar who liked to play tough guy and ended up being a shell of himself; Eric Lindros.