3. Home Cooked from Bethesda: The Madness and F1

It's a Tarimcilar buffet as Pop joins the action!

All underlines are links.

It’s March. The real March. Not the mediocre March that started 18 days ago that exists under the guise of spring but really is the fourth month of winter. No, the good March. The best March. THE MADNESS BABY (Dick Vitale voice).

The field of 68 is set for the men and women and action tips off with the First Four on Tuesday & Wednesday. Brackets are officially due by noon on Thursday. Please don’t miss it. It is imperative that you fill out a bracket. Be like my mother and many other purists and print it out and fill it in by hand. Sleep with it under your pillow. Memorize it.

As for how many brackets to fill out - to each their own but here is my plea. Just make one.

The beauty of this one-of-a-kind, single-elimination tournament is that you can feel the drama and the desperation. You can sense the blood, sweat, and tears that every kid has poured into being on that court in that moment. Where is the fun in watching 7 seed Marquette vs 10 seed New Mexico as these kids fight for their lives while you sit on the couch saying, “well in one bracket I have Marquette but in the other I have New Mexico so I guess I don’t really care.” Don’t really care?! Listen to yourself! You should be living and dying by every basket the same way the players are. Be the player! Make one bracket. Treat every pick, no matter if it’s your champion or a second round exit, like it's your baby. This is your One Shining Moment.

Now before I give out some stats and maybe a couple of teams I like, I’d like to make it very clear that I am bad at this. I used to be magnificent. In 2013 I was in the 100th percentile on ESPN heading into the final four. Not 99.9%. 100% flat. In the world. I was a 15 year old wizard. Then I won my bracket pool in 2015. I was well on my way to Warren Buffet’s cash reward.

But ever since…oh how the mighty have fallen. I haven’t correctly picked the national champion in a decade and my brackets have always lacked cojones and inspiration. It is in your best interest to not heed my advice. Just let it rip with your gut. The less you know, the better.

Alas, here are some tidbits for the men’s bracket that can help you feel grounded as you stare blankly at 5 seed Clemson vs 12 seed McNeese.

Early Round Considerations:

• Since the inception of the First Four play in, there has only been one season when a winner of a First Four game has not advanced to the Round of 32. Probably wise to pick one.

• 11 seeds are 29-27 against 6 seeds since 2011 and at least one 11 seed has made the Sweet 16 in 8 of the past 10 tournaments.

• Last year featured every 1 and 2 seed in the Sweet 16. This has only happened a handful of times in the last 40 years. It's hard to pick against a top top seed, but chances are they won’t all make it out of the first weekend.

Final Four/Champion Stats:

• This is the most common one you will see out there. Linking a thread here rather than typing it all out. It is worth a couple minutes as your National Champion should probably come from this group.

• This one is less backed by stats but every National Champion since ‘04 was ranked in the Top 12 of the Week 6 AP Poll. Here is that list. Remember, this was in early December, so I wouldn’t pay it much mind. But stats are stats.

• In 11 straight NCAA Men’s Tournaments, a 5 seed or lower has made the Final Four.

• And just a fun graphic here to remind folks that the best hoopers are in the east.

There is bound to be a season that breaks all the patterns and maybe it’s this year! So only pay these stats as much mind as you please, your bracket is yours and yours alone. That said, here’s a quick fire of a few teams that I find notable.

• Louisville and Gonzaga are criminally underseeded. Louisville is currently ranked #10 in the nation but somehow are 8th in their region of the bracket. Gonzaga hits every major statistical benchmark. But both could see a 1 seed in the second round. Difficult decisions lie ahead.

• The SEC got a record 14 teams in the field this year and Florida just won the SEC Tournament. They are super legit and experienced.

• UNC definitely should not have made it into the bracket but here they are and frankly they are kinda hot. People are big mad about them being in but I bet a lot of folks will pick them to win a couple.

• Yale has a lefty that can absolutely stripe it from deep. John Poulakidas. Potential March darling? I put this in for my momma.

• Rick Pitino has St. Johns and NY Basketball back on the map. They play stifling defense but they leave much to be desired on offense. Bet against Pitino at your own risk.

• Everyone loves underdogs like McNeese, UC San Diego, and Drake. If everyone is picking them…are they really the Cinderella you want? Break the mold. Come on Akron!

• Do something crazy and literally buy stock in Grand Canyon University. Money where your mouth is.

• Duke is great. Boring, I know. But facts are facts.

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PUAS Mandate - fill out a bracket for the women’s side too. Caitlin Clark left a lasting impact on NCAAW. Schools now get rewards for tournament success just like the men’s side. And women’s ratings are through the roof.

The upset action isn’t quite as juicy, as NCAAW is dominated by a set of powerhouses and top seeds often have tournament success. A few thoughts below:

• UCLA is the overall #1 seed and is led by Sidwell Friends’ very own, Kiki Rice. She is a hooper of the highest degree and pairs very well with Big Ten DPOY, Lauren Betts. I’ll be pulling for the Bruins.

• I’m a sucker for UConn. Can't help myself. I love greatness. Also, I like to flatter myself and say that Paige Bueckers (star point guard) is my player comp for my own basketball style of play.

• Juju Watkins for USC is potentially more impressive for me than Caitlin Clark was. Give her a watch.

• For underdogs, I like Iowa State to come out of the First 4 and make some noise. Audi Crooks is a force in the paint. Vanderbilt could give Duke trouble in round 2. And you know I’ll be backing Flau’jae Johnson and my LSU Tigers.

Good luck to everyone! If you read this and win your bracket pool, send me a cut. Even just 25 cents. It will mean a lot to me. I spent too much money last month.

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Shifting gears, pun intended (very nice). Let’s talk some Formula 1. Everyone please welcome a very special guest, my father, and extremely fast driver in his own right, Murat Tarimcilar.

The Melbourne Grand Prix kicked off the F1 season last weekend but Pop wrote this on Friday. Don’t fault him for my procrastination. Let’s all just exist in a world where nothing has happened yet. Over to my old man.

The 2025 F1 season promises to be the most exciting one in more than a decade, with multiple teams and drivers having a chance to win both the individual and the constructor’s championship.

Following single-team domination, first the Mercedes then the Red Bull, that lasted over a decade, the plucky McLaren seems to be the slight favorite this year. But you can never count out Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull to make the necessary adjustments and make a charge over the grueling 10 month season.

A similar story line for the driver’s championship: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren will fight with the best car under them. It will be fun to watch the youngsters deal with a competitive team dynamic and individual ambitions. Many predict chaotic team chemistry on the horizon as they are led by the always annoying team chief, Zak Brown.

Max Verstappen, who won the last four world championships, is always a treat with unforgiving, aggressive, and brilliant driving that may give the tour’s villain Christian Horner, the Red Bull chief, another victory. This would be hard to stomach.

A female fan favorite, Monaco’s own Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will certainly be there at the end of the season as one of the possible champions dressed in Ferrari’s traditional red overalls.

But the main story of the year is Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, formerly of Mercedes, is considered by some experts to be the greatest driver of all time. The 7 time world champion and newly minted Ferrari man is a F1 legend, while being an outspoken activist for all good causes. He has the experience to push for the championship among all the twenty-somethings whose names were mentioned above. Then we are looking at an inter team competition between Hamilton and Leclerc, which will be a sumptuous experience for all Grand Prix lovers.

So many more twisted dynamics in this year’s competition that make it worthwhile to wake up early Sunday morning.

If you want to add a new sport and F1 piques your interest, start with Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. You don’t have to go back to the beginning, Season 7 will be enough to get you hooked.

Thanks, Pop. I personally most enjoyed him taking a quick shot at Zak Brown.

And if you all must know, Lando Norris won the Melbourne Grand Prix. So yeah, the big guy knows what he’s talking about. Here’s a pic of him cooking up some F1 takes and steaks for you guys.

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Thanks for reading. Enjoy a full slate of games from Thursday-Sunday. This is not hyperbole, it's the best sports weekend of the year. Have a feast!

Dinner Dismissed!