By JIMMY D / March madness: Cancer makes Jimmy mad | Jimmy's archive

Sometimes you work hard, do everything the right way and still don’t win.

Indulge Jimmy a paragraph or two of fantasy gobbledegook. He does have a point, for a change.

Jimmy was behind in his head-to-head NBA pool. He needed to make up some points and rebounds on the weekend.

So Jimmy noticed Celtic Delonte West had a mild concussion and figured he wouldn’t play on Friday. And then, because of his roster configuration, West would have been odd man out on Sunday.

So Jimmy scouted out a forward/center position player, someone who would play twice on the weekend in order to maximize our production. He chose Indiana’s Troy Murphy, figuring with Jamal Tinsley suspended and Jermaine O’Neal was hurt, he would get some time. It was a perfect plan. It worked perfectly. Got some extra points and boards.

Jimmy still lost.

That’s the way fantasy sports goes. You do your best, but the end result is never within your control.

My friend Greg MacRae found that reality works the same maddening way.
Yes, March Madness begins today, but it began last week for Jimmy D with the sudden death of his 34-year-old friend – a former hockey star, a cancer camp counselor and cancer support crusader who either founded or served on two multiple myeloma foundations.

Regular Jimmy D readers will recall a November column and website video where Jimmy got his head shaved to raise some cash for cancer and as a show of support for Greg and Jimmy’s sister-in-law, 35, pregnant and also battling cancer.

And here’s the maddening part of March Madness for Jimmy.

Michelle had been undergoing chemotherapy. All seemed to be going as well as expected. She went into the hospital on Monday.

Greg had been undergoing experimental treatments. All seemed to be going as well as expected. He went into the hospital on Tuesday.

Michelle gave birth Tuesday morning to a perfect preemie baby girl. Jimmy’s new niece is appropriately named Faith. Her lower leg is barely longer than Jimmy’s index finger and she squeaks an angry tiny scream when she needs a diaper change.

At another hospital, a day after Faith brought such joy, cancer and its pals were finally succeeding with Greg, almost a decade after they first tried – and failed - to take him out. Medications and drugs had taken their toll on poor Greg’s body.

It was a fight to the death. He did everything right, he fought to the end, but he still lost. So has everyone who knew Greg, whose body was battered and distorted by the disease and the aggressive treatments, but whose positive attitude and jovial spirit was unassailable.

It makes you mad, this type of March Madness. For Jimmy, that anger is tempered by the joy a baby brings and by concern for his scrappy sister-in-law, who continues her fight against a sneaky, persistent foe.

You welcome a new soul to the world one day and lament the loss of another the next.

It’s madness.

Fives alive?

Every year, Jimmy scans the college basketball brackets for potential upsets. It seems the No. 12s always take out a couple of No. 5s and this year should be no different.

Watch Arkansas, who had a nice run in the SEC tournament, before losing to Florida, to give USC trouble. Jimmy also has his eye on Big West champion Long Beach State and their dynamic leader Aaron Nixon. The 49ers were 24-7 on the year and have lost only three games since Dec. 2. They face Tennessee, who won their past four games against ranked teams, including an upset of defending champion Florida.

We don’t see Illinois upsetting Virginia Tech in the West and we think No. 5 Butler will rebound from their Horizon League upset to handle No. 12 Old Dominion in the Midwest.

Last year, Montana and Texas A&M managed upsets of Nevada and Syracuse. This wasn’t quite the way Jimmy imagined it as he picked the other two No. 12s (both of whom lost).

Think Duke will rebound from a poor season to have a great tournament? Jimmy doesn’t. The Devils could get their due in the first game, as they face a tough No. 11 in Virginia Commonwealth. A lot of so-called experts like Winthrop over Notre Dame in another 11 vs. 6 upset possibility.

When filling out your brackets, make sure you don’t mistake Texas A&M (No. 3 in the South) with Texas A&M Corpus Christi (No. 15 in the Midwest). The Islanders were an impressive 26-6 on the season, but it was in the cupcake Southland Conference, so don’t expect them to beat Wisconsin, which spent a week as the top ranked team in the nation.

Everyone looking for a great, free bracket buster contest where nailing winners could put $100,000 in your pocket can visit bracketbuster.thescore.ca where Jimmy D’s company is running the game.

Who will win? History suggests it won’t be Ohio State (the top-ranked school in the nation has won the title just four times since 1978).

History also suggest that Florida won’t repeat as the only back-to-back winners in recent memory were Duke’s 1991-1992 teams. And history suggests that No. 1 seeds will fall, as there has never been a Final Four with four top seeds.

In the meantime, get busy, get lucky and get involved in life. You owe it to Greg and everyone else who lived lives cut short by tragedy.

If Jimmy hears one person complain about the weather or hears someone whine that ‘my ass looks big in these pants’ or any other petty beef, Jimmy might take a swing at you.

Jimmy D