"Barack"etology – President Obama Picks Kansas to Win His March Madness Bracket
March 16, 2011 -- If you are looking for a daring NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket full of upsets and bold picks, turn your attention away from the one filled out by President Obama.
For the third straight year, Obama filled out an NCAA bracket for ESPN, displaying his extensive hoops knowledge while at the same time opting for a rather cautious bracket that has all four top seeds advancing to the Final Four.
Like last year, when the president filled out his NCAA bracket just days before the final vote on his health care reform bill, this year's March Madness comes with breaking news out of Japan, in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, and continuing unrest in the Middle East.
The president acknowledged "incredible changes all around the world" and urged Americans who are filling out their brackets online to also take a few minutes and do some good.
"This is a great tradition, we have fun every year doing it -- but while you're doing it, if you're on your laptop, et cetera, go to…usaid.gov, usaid.gov, and that's going to list a whole range of charities where you can potentially contribute to help the people who have been devastated in Japan," the president told ESPN's Andy Katz. "I think that would be a great gesture as you're filling out your brackets."
"And since I know everybody is going to be optimistic about winning their pool, they'll have a little extra money they can help out some people who are really going through a tough time," he said.
Then it was time for hoops, and Obama stuck with the safe picks. His projected Final Four is comprised of all of the no. 1 seeds: Ohio State, Duke, Kansas and Pittsburgh.
"It's never happened," he said. "I've never picked all number one seeds."
Obama admitted that his attention has certainly been elsewhere.
"Although I haven't had a chance to focus on a lot of games recently, I'm hoping that I can make some progress," he said.
He went with a familiar championship pick, selecting Kansas to win to win it all, just as he did last year. (the Jayhawks fell short in 2010)
"I'm picking Kansas, just because I think they're deeper," he said. "I think that Kansas has more firepower [than Ohio State]."
