If I lost, my pride would be wounded and my confidence shaken. If I won, I would be that guy. You know who I'm talking about. He may be the know-it-all in your office that blathers about the upcoming NFL draft and what the Niners should do, or maybe he's an uncle that doesn't know when to shut up in front of a significant other you've just introduced him to.

Well, my friends, this experiment took all of one week of games to prove that my basketball knowledge is not as vast as I thought, and, quite frankly, is irrelevant when compared to the innocent and unblemished minds of my fellow co-workers. Or to put it another way, these women have ripped my heart out and there are still two more weeks left of this godforsaken tournament.

The only gloats in this office will be coming from the ladies' side.

Entering the round known as the Sweet 16, I currently sit in a tie for fifth place with a very nice lady named Kelly Sinon. This is somewhat ominous of my chances of winning considering Kelly had Duke beating Georgetown in the finals, as well as Notre Dame making the Final Four. All three have been eliminated, as I will be soon.

According to our scoring system - which gives one point for a first-round win, two points for a second-round win and on and on until six points is awarded for getting the championship team correct - I would need UCLA to beat Tennessee in the final, Stanford to make the final Four and Memphis and Kansas to get lost on the way to their Sweet 16 games.

Even then, my chances are grim. Below are the brackets in order of the current standings. It should give you an idea of just how bad my chances really are.

Let the madness continue.