Lig, you are a rare combination of pastor, scholar and athlete, with a broad knowledge of sports. What a detailed forecast of tournament play you have provided for us! We are a unique full-service blog, are we not? Where else can you read conversations about the gospel interrupted by insightful predictions about the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?

Now, before I reveal my final four, I think it is important for me to state that I have not employed the gifts of the Spirit in the process of determining my picks. That wouldn’t be fair to my cessationist friends. So, my predictions are solely the result of my observation and not the fruit of the Spirit’s unique influence. The following picks were finalized before the tournament began:

• Boston College
• UCLA
• Connecticut
• I can’t bring myself to type the name of this last school. Let’s just say, I won’t ever buy a Chevy.

And I am predicting, right here and now on the T4G blog, that Boston College will win it all. Now, Lig, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that is a stupid pick. (Although, you wouldn't say this, because you are a humble and kind man.)

I understand your thinking. This is a stupid pick, or at least it appears to be. But look, any fool can pick UConn or that other team with the coach selling cars during commercials (Can anyone say, “Unfair recruiting advantage”?). But, if you go crazy and pick Boston College and they win, well, you look like a genius. So that’s my strategy. Actually, I just want any school to win other than the one school I don’t want to win. And even though I have tried again, I simply cannot bring my fingers to type out the name of this school.

Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, let me inform you that I’m in 7th place (out of nine) in my own family pool. My oldest daughter, Nicole, knows nothing about basketball, but she picked George Mason because she lives in Fairfax, Virginia and Georgetown because it is close by. My wife, Carolyn, is ahead of me because she picked Florida where she grew up and West Virginia because we have vacationed there. So, it appears to me that those with little or no knowledge of basketball have an advantage over those of us with a vast knowledge of the game. That is just another reason why it is appropriately called March Madness.