Our 25th Bracket Fiasco champion has his roommate to thank
John Mitchell, our winner. (Photo courtesy of J. Mitchell)
The 25th edition of Bradley’s Bracket Fiasco was won by a 23-year-old college student smart enough to pick with precision and pliant enough to yield to friendly persuasion. John Mitchell wanted to pick North Carolina to win the Midwest Regional, but roommate Ricky Staebler happens to be a Kansas fan. Staebler’s lobbying carried not just the day but the whole darn Fiasco.
“I had to change it around because of the grief he gave me,” Mitchell said Monday. “That was the biggest toss-up to me. Outside influence made the biggest difference.”
Of 5,174 Fiasco entrants, five picked the correct Final Four. Mitchell prevailed on the second tiebreaker, tabbing 11 of the Sweet 16 correctly. This marks the first time since 2009 that any Fiasco participant has nailed the Final Four, which goes to show the difference not having a Butler or a VCU can make.
Mitchell lives in Powder Springs and set to finish college at Kennesaw State after attending Valdosta State. He’s a graduate of McEachern High, and he played football and wrestled his first two years there. Then he got a job at Kohl’s, and that was the end of his athletic career.
Which isn’t to say he stopped watching sports. He knows his basketball. (He describes himself as a Georgia fan, but the Bulldogs were a non-starter in this NCAA tournament.) “I know it’s a bandwagon thing,” Mitchell said, “but I love [Kentucky coach John] Calipari and the kind of players he brings in … With Anthony Davis and [Michael] Kidd-Gilchrist, they have a dominating squad. They’re my pick. I’m riding them all the way to the championship.”
Not that he regards Louisville, which the Wildcats will face in the semifinal, as a walkover. “I like [coach Rick] Pitino. I like [point guard] Peyton Siva. And their center [Gorgui Dieng] is a rebounding, blocking machine. I don’t know about everybody else, but I wanted to see a Kentucky-Louisville matchup … I would probably pick Louisville over everybody else.”
Our runnerup is Chuck Hagenbaugh, 49, who lives in Winder and works for Convergent Media Systems in Lawrenceville. He entered the Fiasco for a fundamental reason: Unlike other online contests and office pools, it’s free. “I don’t watch a lot of basketball because my daughter [Ashley, who's the goalkeeper for Winder-Barrow High] is into soccer,” Hagenbaugh said.
It should be noted that Hagenbaugh is one of the few not picking Kentucky to win it all. He likes Louisville to upset the Wildcats and then lose to Ohio State. “They look hungry enough,” Hagenbaugh said of the Buckeyes, and he happens to be a Buckeye himself. He’s from Akron.
Our champ receives a $1,000 Kroger gift card — “That’s something everyone can use,” Mitchell said — and both our winner and runner-up will get the traditional Final Four sweatshirt/hoodie. At least in prizes, our Fiasco has come a long way from its inaugural run, when the prize was a CBS Sports ballcap. Speaking of which …
The greatest regret I’ve had in our 25 Fiasco years was in not being able to interview our first winner. In the attempt to play long-deferred catch-up ball, I gave him a call Monday. Lou Ricke, now 68 but still living in Woodstock, still enters every year, and he even had the column hailing his 1988 victory made into a plaque.
Sad to say, Ricke didn’t do so well this year. He’s from Sharon, Kans., and he always goes heavy on Midwestern teams. (His ‘88 triumph was paved by the Final Four runs of Kansas and Oklahoma from the league then known as the Big Eight.) He got Kansas again this time, but he whiffed on Wichita State winning the South. For the record, Ricke likes Kansas to reach the final and believes the Jayhawks would have a real shot against Kentucky.
Also for the record: I did try to call Ricke in 1988. But he worked for the Georgia Department of Revenue — the tax folks. “I got a lot of messages in those days,” Ricke said, “and most of them weren’t pleasant. It wasn’t until I saw you’d written about me that I thought, ‘So that’s what that was about.’ ”
Over 25 years, we’ve had a total of 53,236 entrants, and this wasn’t the first time the Fiasco was won (or lost) by someone who, for whatever reason, changed his/her mind. Regarding his Jayhawk-touting roommate, Mitchell was asked if he’d split his thousand dollar’s worth of groceries with Staebler.
“Oooh,” he said. “I don’t know about that.”
Yet again, I’d like to say thanks to all the folks here at the ol’ AJC — Cynthia Daniels-Dubose, Drue Miller, Emily Merwin, Tracy Brown and Ray Cox — who made the contest run smoothly, and thanks to all who’ve entered this or any of our 25 years. And it’s true what they say: Time does fly when you’re having a Fiasco.
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73 comments Add your comment
Rickster
March 26th, 2012
2:13 pm
Congrats to John. Kudos to me?
Mark Bradley
March 26th, 2012
2:18 pm
Indeed, Rickster.
You’re very quick off the mark at the beginning of the work week, I should note.
Rickster
March 26th, 2012
2:19 pm
(You know, wearing the “hoodie” thing might not not be wise at the moment.)
Beast from the East
March 26th, 2012
2:25 pm
What do I win for 1005th place?
Congrats to Mr. Mitchell!
CONservative Johnson
March 26th, 2012
2:27 pm
I guess I didn’t read the rules. I didn’t know it was about getting the Final 4 correct (rather than the complete tourney).
Goldenrod
March 26th, 2012
2:27 pm
So you’re telling me the BIG BAD SEC only has one team in the Final 4? What a joke! Stick to football guys.
UGAg couldn’t even make the NIT, that’s how pathetic that cesspool is.
We all know Kentucky Lies & Cheats and will soon have their titles vacated. Calapari=SCUM just like the rest of the SEC.
Mark Bradley
March 26th, 2012
2:29 pm
That’s the way our little contest has always been, CONservative. I just liked it better this way, and I’ve resisted the urge to change.
George Stein
March 26th, 2012
2:30 pm
Don’t wear the hoodie in Florida.
BigA
March 26th, 2012
2:48 pm
Who is your college Goldenrod?
Go For 2
March 26th, 2012
2:48 pm
Mark: any chance this century you address the issue of Georgia Basketball badly lagging Florida despite the talent pool in state or will you continue to let the program ride (like Georgia Football)? Also, I loved your assessment of the top 5 first round upsets at the begging of the tourney: You left out both Santa Clara over Arizona AND Hampton over Iowa St. (15/2 games)…nice research Mark
Aaron
March 26th, 2012
2:54 pm
Damn 413th. Gotta move up.
Bill
March 26th, 2012
3:04 pm
I was so disgusted with my picks I deleted my bracket bracket after the first weekend when Missouri doomed me.
SAL
March 26th, 2012
3:23 pm
It’s all about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Goldenrod
March 26th, 2012
3:28 pm
I don’t have a college, I am a proud alumni of THE Georgia Institute of Technology and a proud member of the ACC where basketball is king!
SimpleDawg
March 26th, 2012
3:43 pm
Goldenrod…..and there are how many ACC teams in the Final Four?
1 SEC, 1 BIGXII, 1 BIG EAST, 1 BIG10……
Coach Cal Rules
March 26th, 2012
3:43 pm
Listen here Goldenrod, how many teams from the ACC made the Final Four? What’s that sound? Crickets?
GT is a joke on the basketball court as well as the football field.
GO BIG BLUE!
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
3:48 pm
Goldenrod=Jealous douchebag
Kentucky went to the Final Four last year and it was not vacated.
Get some new material Einstein.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:10 pm
@dawginlex-It usually takes a few years to catch up to Coach Cal, but don’t worry, rest assured, he’ll have moved on by that time
Red Rob
March 26th, 2012
4:12 pm
To my boy Big John for taking home first prize!!!
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
4:19 pm
ACE
Explain to me what Cal did at Memphis and UMASS?
I’ll save you time
UMASS-Camby hired an agent
Memphis-rose got someone to take the SAT for him
now you tell me you really believe Cal told them to do those things?
If you do, you are dumber than a bag of hammers.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:26 pm
@dawginlex-You seem a little sensitive. The truth brings out the worst in people. Where there is smoke there is …no fire?
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:28 pm
In 3 years it will come out that Mr Unibrow didn’t even take the entire “Introduction to Basic Cooking” 101 class
Joe Dog
March 26th, 2012
4:28 pm
Hey Goldenrod,
You are an alumnus, regardless of the institution, you and your classmates are alumni. You are an alumnus of THE Georgia Institute of Technology and you’re also stupid.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:29 pm
In the entire history of the NCAA how many coaches have had 2 final fours from two different schools stripped away? Just wondering
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:32 pm
The Kentucky people know if he wasn’t their head coach he’d be a dirty cheater, so whatever.
BigA
March 26th, 2012
4:34 pm
HAHA Goldenrod…How many teams do the ACC have in the Final Four???
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
4:34 pm
ACE
More spewing but no facts to back up your spew
Typical hater troll.
Uninformed
Loser
Jealous
My kid is a student at UK and sees the players all the time on campus and in classes so take your high and mighty BS and shove it
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:36 pm
The ACC only had 1 in the final 8 and 2 in the sweet 16
TybeeDawg
March 26th, 2012
4:40 pm
Hey Rod,
In 15 of past 22 football, men’s & women’s basketball and baseball championships, the SEC has had a team finish in the top 4 nationally. ACC ain’t even close, especially not gt.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:40 pm
@dawginlex-Typical apologist Rose colored glasses wearing, flunkie, blindly following the piper
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:41 pm
dawginlex-How would you feel about Coach Cal if he was @Memphis? Honestly
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
4:42 pm
ACE
give me facts
Show me a link that says Calipari did something wrong.
Are you stupid enough to beleive that the NCAA didn’t try to find something on him?
Just spewing your hater agenda and your opinion is not enough.
It really must suck to be you
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
4:42 pm
I wouldn’t care about him because he would not be up here
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:43 pm
or better yet if he was @ Louisville?
Buckeye
March 26th, 2012
4:44 pm
We’re a fencing school. Just took the NCAA’s!
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
4:45 pm
He is not anywhere else. He is at UK
Pitino wishes he had never left
Especially since he banged Karen Sypher on the table at Porcini’s, got her pregnant and paid for an abortion.
Cal is married with 3 kids. Never divorced. He has never been found guilty of having anything to do with the situations at UMASS and Memphis. Just 2 kids that messed up.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:48 pm
@dawginlex-The fact that you make this an attack on me speaks volumes about the type of person you are.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:49 pm
Actually Ohio State has more varsity sports than any other university.
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:50 pm
And they, unlike Kentucky, have a football team
anonymous
March 26th, 2012
4:52 pm
Mark! I just found my long “lost” bracket underneath the sofa cushions. It’s perfect picks, all the way through. Can I still mail it in?
ACE
March 26th, 2012
4:52 pm
I agree about Petino on both accounts.
DawginLex
March 26th, 2012
4:55 pm
ACE
I could care less what you think about me
But your high and mighty crapola spewed about UK without any basis in fact shows your lack of intelligence so I guess we are even
Go shove it
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
March 26th, 2012
5:09 pm
Well, I guess being No. 1,971 ain’t bad for being a first-timer, huh? So when do I get my Rookie of the Year prize?
ACE
March 26th, 2012
5:16 pm
@dawgin-Well said. For a mouth breather
Beast from the East
March 26th, 2012
6:24 pm
ACE,
Do you speak just as badly about Coach Paul Johnson at GT? His team had to vacate the ACC title from a few years back, just like Calipari’s ex teams had to vacate the Final 4’s. I can’t stand UK basketball, as I’m a Gator fan, but let’s be fair here. I honestly believe that if Calipari had done anyhting wrong, he’d be in the same boat with Bruce Pearl…looking for work outside of the NCAA realm. Hate him because he out recruits everyone or because he’s one of the top 10 active coaches, but to call him a cheater is just BS. PROVE IT!
Paul in NH
March 26th, 2012
6:28 pm
Congrats to Mr. Mitchell on picking all of the FF correctly. He finished 86 places ahead of me – and about 1000 ahead of Mark B.
Beast from the East
March 26th, 2012
6:49 pm
Mark,
Heard anything on Martin to South Carolina? If it’s true then the SEC just got a little tougher.
Red Stick
March 26th, 2012
7:16 pm
Wow Mark your bracket really stunk this year. I thought mine was bad at 1,138.
Red Stick
March 26th, 2012
7:23 pm
Beast, The State newspaper in Columbia is reporting that Martin will take the South Carolina coach.
That’s a really good hire for them.
Red Stick
March 26th, 2012
7:24 pm
I meant he will take the SC job.
ck
March 26th, 2012
8:53 pm
abc
bank
March 26th, 2012
8:58 pm
for Kentucky to hire a coach who vacated two Final Fours at two different schools is ridiculous. I guess win at all cost trumps integrity in the SEC. Calipari says he didn’t know about one player receiving 28000 while at UMASS. But when it happens at the 2nd school Memphis then you have no alibi.
bank
March 26th, 2012
9:15 pm
Pitino’s time at Hawaii was marred by a 1977 NCAA report on sanctions against the program. According to the report, Pitino was implicated in 8 of the 64 infractions that led the University to be placed on probation. The violations involving Pitino included providing round-trip air fare for a player between New York and Honolulu, arranging for student-athletes to receive used cars for season tickets, and handing out coupons to players for free food at McDonald’s. He was also cited, along with the head coach, Bruce O’Neil, for providing misinformation to the NCAA and University of Hawaii officials. Also in 1977, the NCAA infractions committee recommended that Pitino and O’Neil be disassociated from Hawaii athletics. In 1989, Pitino would dismiss the report, saying “I didn’t make any mistakes, I don’t care what anybody says.”[9]
bank
March 26th, 2012
9:16 pm
and Calipari had two Final Four appearances vacated for cheating at umass and memphis. one of his players received 28000. Some character these two are about
bank
March 26th, 2012
9:17 pm
knowing this why would Kentucky hire him? Look the other way and win at all cost
blazerdawg
March 26th, 2012
9:18 pm
Hey, go Blazers! At least someone from Georgia won something related to this tournament.
Big Cat
March 26th, 2012
11:28 pm
Congrats to my boy Big John for beating everyone’s asses…WAY TO GO BRO MONTANA!!!!
jeffrey d
March 27th, 2012
7:22 am
Well that conversation devolved pretty quickly
jeffrey d
March 27th, 2012
7:30 am
-First!
-Congrats John!
-Kudos!
-ACC is the best!
-Nuh uh, SEC is the best!!
-Oh yeah, well your coach is a cheater!!
-Oh yeah?? Well your mom is fat!!!
AzCat
March 27th, 2012
10:50 am
lol @ jeffrey and congrats to Mr. Mitchell.
Rickster
March 27th, 2012
11:24 am
If he won’t share the entire $1,000…. he ought to at least buy the guy the fixin’s for a really nice steak dinner.
Jackets 2012
March 27th, 2012
12:34 pm
2 babes in the tennis coach’s apartment. C’mon man show some patience.
This ain’t A&M where the living is easier as most likely are the babes.
Bad news is it won’t be a he said, she said since her friend was there.
Wonder who got him started on cocaine.
It is the old story of the college sports hero being not quite good enough for a pro career.
Probably listened to the wrong folks that coke would raise his game.
Well he will be done at Tech but I hope he gets off light with required treatment.
Farnsworthy
March 27th, 2012
1:31 pm
Congratulations Georgians: Your state government has been rated the most corrupt in all of the USA.
yo ugly mama
March 27th, 2012
2:39 pm
the reason there is only one sec team in the final four because they put all the sec teams on one side so they would have to play each other for they could get elimanated
southern hope
March 27th, 2012
5:54 pm
this is kind of a naive question but wasn’t the winner supposed to win $1 million and not a gift certificate from Krogers?
BulldogBen
March 27th, 2012
6:19 pm
Frank Martin officially headed to South Carolina.
Mark Fox’s career dissipation light just went into high gear.
Calipari
March 27th, 2012
7:46 pm
I am working on a book. It is called the “Art of Cheating”. The sequel will be a ‘How To’ book for other cheating coaches titled “How to Get out of Town Before the NCAA Hammer Drops”.
bulldogbubba
March 27th, 2012
8:38 pm
Clusters?
Sid
March 28th, 2012
10:52 am
Forgot to enter, wait til next year!
Ramblin"
March 29th, 2012
7:33 am
Was leaving for Asia when time to fill out office braket – so used MB’s picks thinking “who knows better?” Just got back and pardon if I’m late piling on – but – I can have thrown darts with better results. I’ll let my 10 year old pick next year.
Heidi Bales
April 1st, 2012
6:01 am
My daughter, one of the 5 finalists, picked not just the Final Four, but Kansas & Kentucky, as well. Neither of the men in the article did that. Does the contest not recognize winners beyond the Final Four? And if not, why?
Mark Bradley
April 2nd, 2012
10:31 am
The Fiasco’s objective has always been to pick the Final Four. The national UPICKEM contest, with which we have been affiliated the past three years, counts results all the way to the championship game. The Fiasco itself does not.
Why? Because I like our contest the way it is. I wanted it to be different from every other office pool.
Heidi Bales
April 2nd, 2012
1:49 pm
Thanks. She explained that it has to do with total points, so it makes sense now! She sure loved being a part of it. And, of course, if nothing else, she has bragging rights! Looking forward to next year!