Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe wrote that Vermont’s basketball team, the Catamounts, has drawn Syracuse in the opening round. Quoth Bob, “Niagara has a better chance of beating Oklahoma than Vermont has against the ‘Cuse.”
I know this is a literary blog, but Niagara is my dad’s alma mater, so I’ve got them penciled in for the Final Four. My nephew attends Vermont, dear Catamounts, so with apologies to Sam Lipsyte, they have to find a way to get past Syracuse. Maybe the Orange will be snowed in…perfect on St. Padraig’s Day, resulting in a forfeit.
So we’ve got Niagara and Vermont in this mythical final four along with Pacific and SW Missouri State. Remember this is a lit blog; after the ‘Mounts deal with Syracuse, Duke and Carolina, Niagara will be waiting for them in a battle of the…bands, maybe?
By the way Bob Ryan uses Town Car as a verb when discussing the Fighting Illini, as in Illinois will town car its way through the tourney; maybe the Catamounts can Vee-Dub their way to St. Louis.