Open Chat: NCAA Tournament

While my biggest sports rooting interest is in a world of hurt, my second-biggest rooting interest is the classy well-oiled machine of college basketball, the Stanford Cardinal.

Sure, the Stanford men's basketball team has gone 62 years without winning a national championship, and sure, its regular-season greatness in recent times has ended in tourney disappointment, like the Atlanta Braves (with one exception). But they sure do a lot of things right, making them a pleasure to root for.

Perhaps Mike Montgomery mutters, like Billy Beane, "My s--- don't work in the playoffs."

Anyway, this is a resilient Cardinal team that doesn't blow out many opponents but might just have the extra gear (or coping mechanism) that Stanford has lacked in previous years to go all the way. So, with apologies to Dodger Thoughts reader Dan Reines, here's hoping.

In fact, for the first time in about 20 years, I'm not filling out a March Madness bracket. Instead, I'm channeling all my mental energy toward rooting for Stanford. (I'm putting in practice my aversion to fantasy baseball here - not that that has served me well.) No diversions with hoping my upset pick of a No. 13 seed comes through. No picking an opposing No. 1 seed to the Final Four, only to be torn when that team does make it and faces the Cardinal.

I'm watching just for the sport and the psychosis of being a Stanford fan.

Meanwhile, if there are any other college basketball fans of any sort among the Dodger crowd, I'm opening the door. I realize there isn't much local interest in the tourney, but consider the comments below your March Madness chat room.