They very well could be. The next two days – Thursday and Friday, the first two days of the NCAA tournament – are among my happier days as a sports fan. Non-stop games from Noon until 11 p.m. both days. All of the games available for free. And all the while I will be watching, bracket in hand. It's really the only major postseason tournament for any sport that doesn't have major issues, and for good reason. The setup is perfect and, year after year, the results show it's a system that works.

But you already knew that. And that's not why I'm writing this post. I figured that, after a few days of analysis, coin-flipping and some simple gut feelings, I should share my tournament thoughts. As I wrote a few days ago, I have no clear-cut favorite this year. Though, I've narrowed it down to a group of teams, from which I am almost certain the national champion will come from. That group includes (in no particular order): Louisville, North Carolina, Memphis, Michigan State, Villanova and Pittsburgh. I filled out a number of brackets this year, on Facebook, the New York Times, ESPN and my newspaper office, and (to give myself a better chance of winning one of them) filled each out with a different national champion. Those four teams were North Carolina, Memphis, Michigan State and Louisville.

I still believe Pitt is overrated, though I admit they have the talent of a serious contender. UConn, I believe, has no chance without Dyson. I have Purdue beating them in the Sweet 16 in all of my brackets. That's how confident I am that they will lose. Oklahoma doesn't really do it for me either. On the right side of the bracket (East and South regions), I absolutely love Syracuse and Villanova, both No. 3 seeds. I think they both got relatively easy paths to the Sweet 16 and beyond. 'Nova will handle American in the opening round, then top the UCLA-VCU winner, and after that likely face Duke, a team they match up great with. If they get past the Dukies, that most likely means a date with Pitt in the Elite 8, and in a Big East battle, I'll say that's a toss up.

Syracuse will dispatch Steven F. Austin in the first round, then face the Arizona State-Temple winner in the second round. That could be tough, but I see the Orange getting by either squad. That will likely lead to a matchup with Oklahoma, a matchup I believe they win. Then, ultimately, a date with North Carolina would loom, if the Tar Heels advanced that far.

In the Midwest and West brackets, no real shockers. I love Purdue in the West, they are a legitimate Final Four sleeper. I have West Virginia beating Kansas in the second round before falling to my Spartans in the Sweet 16. I don't think we'll see any Davidson-type sleepers this year, though I think No. 12 Western Kentucky makes its way into the Sweet 16. Illinois does not impress me, and I think they can beat Gonzaga in a close game in the second round.

Of course, everything I just wrote could look completely foolish in a few weeks, so who knows? My pick right now though, is North Carolina. I think.

(Disclaimer: I uploaded a screenshot of my New York Times bracket above. Click the photo, and then click it again when the second screen comes up to see it in a normal size.)