You just can't predict the madness of March Madness

One game into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and I had already lost out on $1 billion.

Just goes to show you simply can’t predict the dance know only as March Madness.

There isn’t a month-long span in sports that can compare to the tournament. Upsets, Cinderellas, and close calls for many teams that were suppose to breeze right through their opponent.

A No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 16 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament, so when one comes close to knocking off a top seed, it feels like they actually did.

No. 2 and No. 15 seed matchups are the upsets that come with the most drama. Last March, Georgetown lost in the first round to No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast, who made a energetic run to the Sweet 16 before being sacked by the Florida Gators, who is now the top overall seed and heavy favorite to win it all this time around.

Dayton surprised a lot of people, including myself, in the opening game of the Round of 64 by upsetting Ohio St, who I somehow had winning in all five of the brackets I filled out.

Just saying, I only made five brackets to increase my chances of winning Warren Buffet’s $1 billion. That plan didn’t workout too well, though.

More than 11 million brackets were submitted on ESPN.com for before the madness began, only 18 percent remained perfect after the very first game, and only 3 percent remained unblemished after the first eight games.

They say you can’t predict baseball, but it’s damn near impossible to correctly pick ever game of the tournament, let alone 10 games.

Some of the more recent tournament upsets were that of VCU and Butler making Final Four runs a few years back. Butler actually shocked everyone by making it to the championship game the year before, coming a half-court shot away from beating Duke.

At the moment I’m writing this, it’s tough to tell who this year’s Cinderella team might be. It was Wichita State last year, and this year they’re a No. 1 seed. North Dakota St pulled off the upset against Oklahoma, even though I called that one. And the Ivy League smart guys at Harvard, a 12 seed, came out with the victory against No. 5 Cincinnati.

Other than cheering on the Gators to win it all, I could start preparing my bracket for next year’s tournament. Maybe next year I’ll make it past the first game.

Game on: David Beckham announces Miami club to rival Orlando City

David Beckham is bringing his soccer talents, and an MLS franchise to South Beach.

The British soccer legend held a press conference in Miami on Wednesday that included MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade county Mayor Carlos Gimenez to announce that he has exercised his option to buy an MLS franchise.

Even though Beckham's future club won't start taking the field for several more years, with a lot more work to be done -- securing a stadium deal being the top priority -- it set the ball rolling for an MLS rivalry in Florida when Beckham and his club finally get the chance to meet on the field with Orlando City Soccer, Major League Soccer's 21st club that will begin play in 2015.

"I think people maybe were hoping we were going to have the team name [Wednesday], hoping we were going to have the stadium locked down. Those things take time," Beckham said. "The first big decision we have to make, which we'll make in the next couple of months, is the right investors. We have a lot of good people that are coming in to be a part of this and want to be large investors in this franchise."

Shortly after the announcement was made official, Orlando City SC was quick to tweet out the picture above, starting the friendly in-state rivalry a few years early.

"It's always good to have rivals in soccer, but they're not going to be the only one there." Beckham said of Orlando City. "They're not just going to be our only rivals that we'll have. We're going to have rivals around the league, but it's always nice to have someone close to us."

Sure, this rivalry might not start out with the same spice and passion as with others in the league, like the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers, and New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union, but in time, Orlando vs. Miami will be one of the top rivalries worth circling on the calendar, no matter who you're rooting for.

And if the first photo didn't get you fired up about what's soon to come on the pitch, we'll always have this photo that @OrlandoCitySC tweeted out no long after the first photo:

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My 2013-2014 NBA Bold Predictions

Basketball! That's right, the NBA is finally back with the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers tipping off the season at 7 p.m. EST Tuesday night.

Also with them on Opening Night, the Chicago Bulls face-off against the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, from the American Airlines Arena at 8 p.m. EST, followed by the LA Clippers and Lakers at 10:30 p.m. EST.

The last time we saw basketball, the Heat were celebrating their second straight championship, winning the NBA Finals in seven games over the San Antonio Spurs.

Over the summer, we saw Chris Paul stay with the Clippers; Dwight Howard picked the Houston Rockets over the Lakers; and the Brooklyn Nets got a lot older, and became more of a championship threat when they added Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in a trade with the Boston Celtics, who are now fighting for one of the top picks in next summer's draft.

Now to this season: We could be watching the Lakers' worst season in a long time with one of their weakest rosters in a while. The Heat will be going for a three-peat. And, of course, the one, Derrick Rose is back in action for the Bulls.

Here are my bold predictions:

NBA Finals Champion: Indiana Pacers

This isn't a real life thought. This is a bold prediction. And I'm predicting that the very young and talented Pacers club with hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy next June.

Paul George, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert are on the rise as the next big-three, and they're good enough to lead Indiana to where it hopes to go. With David West at the power forward, and CJ Watson as a backup on the bench, this team has all the tools necessary to compete and win.

They came as close as anyone to prevailing over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and I think they have a great chance to finally get over them this year.

NBA MVP: Derrick Rose

He is the one, and he is back. Rose will play in his first NBA game since tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. He missed the entire 2012-2013 season, and now he's finally back, and Bulls fans everywhere have a reason to be confident in their team this season -- they're getting back their best player.

Rose was one of the league's best players when he went down, and it affected the Bulls' chances at the title last season.  Even with the Pacers, I've always thought that the team with the best chances to take down the Heat would be the Bulls with a healthy Rose.

I expect him to come back at the top of his game this season, and prove that he is the most valuable player to his team, and throughout the NBA.

Biggest Surprise In The Playoffs: Detroit Pistons

Yeah, I know. It's been a while since the Pistons last made the playoffs, and I think that this could be the year they get back into the top eight of the Eastern Conference. Detroit is a much better team than they were last season.

They acquired the sharp shooting guard Brandon Jennings over the summer, and though he'll be out for a couple of weeks with a foot injury, I expect him to come back and be a big part of the team's offense.

The starting lineup is expected to include the talented Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince. I don't think the Pistons will finish anywhere higher than 6th, and will most likely be making a first round exit from the playoffs.

Don't be fooled by the past, because the Pistons and here in the present, and they're ready to play.

Who Misses The Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers

That's right, I said it. The Lakers will miss the playoffs this season, and I'm sure a lot of people will agree with me on that statement.

Kobe Bryant will be out until at least December while he recovers from a torn achilles. This roster is terrible, and I can't see any way, even with Kobe, they make the playoffs.

The Western Conference is very strong right now with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Clippers and Spurs. The Lakers aren't going to have too much success against the top teams in the West.

They're going to have a ton of money to spend next summer with players like LeBron and Carmelo Anthony on the market, and LA thinks they might be able to land some big talent, but until then, they're going to suffer in '13-'14. Get mad, Kobe.

Western Conference Champion: Los Angeles Clippers

I've already mentioned it before, and I'll say it again: The Western Conference is very tough, and it's going to take a lot to get through it in the playoffs. I think the Clippers have more then enough to get through to the Finals for the first time in franchise history, and they're going to be a serious title threat.

The Clippers were able to bring back Chris Paul, who is easily their best player. Him and Blake Griffin create a great show on the floor. And with DeAndre Jordan, too, Lob City will thrive once again this season.

Bringing in Doc Rivers to coach the team was a great move. Not trading for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston was an even better move. This relatively young team didn't need to get older, then need to get better.

They've got a good pair of shooters in J.J. Reddick and Jamal Crawford, who give the Clippers more reliable threat from outside.

The Thunder won't be at full strength until Russell Westbrook comes back from a torn ACL, and I just don't believe that the Warriors are there quite yet -- give them time, though, that team has a lot of talent.

Overall Prediction: This will be another good season.

There are so many storylines that we'll be watching this NBA season, and we likely won't get answers to most of them until the season has played itself out.

For now, though, I don't want to worry about what the answers are going to be. I'd rather just enjoy the ride. And you should, too. Happy New Year, NBA fans.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter, and give him your NBA bold predictions.

MLS To Orlando Is Something That Can Only Be Beneficial

When you think of Orlando, Florida, you probably think of Disney -- one of the largest tourist destinations in the United States. The Orlando Magic might also come to mind -- and NBA franchise that's celebrating it's 25th year in the league.

Now you can add one more thing to your list: Major League Soccer.

Last Tuesday, Orlando and  the Orange County Commissioner's Office agreed to help fund a new $84 million downtown multipurpose stadium, which pretty much did all but seal the deal to bring the MLS to Orlando -- hopefully by the 2015 season.

With the move, Florida will be getting it's first MLS franchise since the league shutdown two teams, the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion in the early-2000's. Orlando City Soccer will be the only MLS team in the southeast, and is sure to draw a large following.

"That was an entirely different era," MLS President Mark Abbott said of the failed Florida franchises. "That was over a decade ago. Both the country and the league have changed significantly over that time."

This is a move that Florida soccer fans have been asking for, and it's what they're finally going to get.

Orlando is a city that has a passion for the sports they have, and soccer is one of the sports that they are willing to show up for.

When Orlando City hosted USL Pro Championship game at the Citrus Bowl in September, more than 20,000 people showed up to support the Lions to their second USL championship in three years since beginning play in Orlando.

"When they drew 21,000 fans for the USL Pro Championship game, that really woke up not just us in the MLS, but it really woke up the world of soccer," said MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche.

Orlando City already has a loyal fan base, and Lions President Phil Rawlins is hoping that the team can build on that, and turn the club into something more then just another MLS franchise.

"Our goal is to build a truly global soccer brand. I believe in less than 10 years we will be counted as one of the more significant brands in the world of soccer, not just in the U.S.," Rawlins said. "That's because we have this opportunity of 57 million visitors annually to Orlando."

And Orlando has an advantage over most team because of the tourism that their city attracts. Millions upon millions of people come to Orlando each year, and maybe a good handful of them will go see a game. Maybe they buy a shirt, scarf or jersey while they're at the game. They go back to their homestate, or country and advertise the team worldwide.

So not only is the team benefiting from the worldwide attraction, but the city will benefit from a little more traffic coming for the games.

Orlando City has a deal in-place with the MLS to guarantee the MLS All-Star Game coming to Orlando within the first five years of the new stadium opening -- there's a heavy load of incoming soccer fans.

The new stadium will also host about five US Men's international matches, bringing in a great deal of US supporters.

And coming up in November, the US Women's National Team with take on the Brazilian National Team at the Citrus Bowl -- there's your load of international traffic.

Soccer is undoubtably the world's most popular sport, and it's growing wildly in the US. In a 2011 Poll by ESPN, results showed that soccer is actually the second most popular sport in the US, behind only football, in the age 12-24 demographic.

Sometimes you can look at the decisions people make and say, "Gosh, that was a dumb idea." But in this case, approving the deal for a new soccer stadium to help bring the MLS to Orlando was one of the smartest moves any government has made in a long time.

We are the purple and red. MLS, here we come.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

One Game In, The Rangers Still Have Work To Do

New coach, clean slate, same results. Thursday night in Phoenix, Arizona, the New York Rangers opened up their season to see it play out the same way it ended in the spring when the Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semis – a sloppy loss.

The Rangers, who went 1-5 in the preseason, found themselves playing like it was just another exhibition game, showing off a lot of sloppy play on both ends of the ice, and not many positives to take way in the 4-1 loss to the Coyotes.

“We just made too many mistakes regarding the way we have to play, no matter who’s the coach, that has nothing to do with it,” Brad Richards said after the game. “We want to play a certain way, and we're going to have to work on it if we want to get there.

“We're in the regular season now. There are no excuses.”

With Alain Vigneault behind the bench instead of John Tortorella, who is now in Vancouver, the Rangers didn't show me anything that says they'll be able to have their way for the rest of this grueling eight-game road trip to start the season while Madison Square Garden in under renovation.

Throughout the night, everything just seemed off, and it didn't look like the team was in sync on either side of the floor.

Phoenix scored early in the first period on a bonehead play by superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist when he tried to clear the puck from behind the net, but instead slipped right over to a Coyotes player to setup a one-timer for Kyle Chipchura. The power plays -- which even though it was 1-for-4 on the night -- seemed to be the only thing creating actual scoring chances for the Blueshirts.

Anytime they actually got a good chance to put the puck in the back of the net, Phoenix’s goalie, Mike Smith, was locked in, snagging any loose puck that came his way. Even with Lundqvist on the other side, he was still the night’s best man in goal.

“You have to give credit where credit is due,” Vigneault said, who was making his coaching debut with the Rangers. “Their goaltender handles the puck very well but we’re party responsible, too, because we have to put the puck in the corners, which we weren't that efficient at doing.”

When New York wasn't a man up, they weren't setting up good chances, and passes weren't as crisp as you would like to see. And on defense, Phoenix looked like they should have had a few more goals than they did given their chances early in the game.

“I think we have to figure out when is the right time to be aggressive in our own end,” said veteran defenseman Marc Staal. “There were shifts when I thought we were good at it, but there were other times when we were tired and couldn't get the puck back.

“We're going to have to learn from this.”

The Rangers will have until Monday to prepare for their next opponent, the Los Angeles Kings, get start up the heavy portion of this road trip that include four-games in six nights, with Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim and St. Louis all on the docket.

They had six games in the preseason to get things right, but it still spilt over into the regular season. There are still 81 games left in this quest for the cup, but the Rangers have a lot of work to do if they even want to be a part of the quest.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

Orlando Showed That They Deserve To Host The MLS

Across the globe, there's no denying that soccer is the world's favorite sport. In the United States, it's taken a long time for soccer to be recognized in the ways that sports fans see football, baseball and basketball, but there's no doubt the sport’s popularity is growing rapidly.

With a lot of buzz surrounding the US Men's National Team as it prepares to compete in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil next summer, Major League Soccer is beginning to add on expansion teams, with Florida in mind as the possible landing spot for one of four projected teams to enter the league by 2020.

Of the likely locations in the Sunshine State for this possible team to land, Orlando seems to be the primed spot. And to that, I say this: bring it on!

The City of Orlando easily proved it’s worth Saturday night when over 20,000 loyal supporters showed up for Orlando City Soccer's 7-4 win over the Charlotte Eagles in the USL PRO Championship game.

Coming into the match, Orlando City has a mission to get at least 15,000 fans to attend the championship match, in hopes to show city and county leaders how much the team's support has grown. They more than exceeded their goal, as they had to open up several upper level sections of the Citrus Bowl due to a high demand for tickets for the game.

"Yeah, we've had a week to prepare for this and our fans have been absolutely unbelievable. The media campaign for 15,000 and we've blown through that, expected as much as 20,000 here tonight, and I think that sends a huge message to Major League Soccer. That this city is ready for the next level of soccer here in Central Florida," said team president Phil Rawlins.

Bringing home the championship trophy, Orlando City hopes that it'll show the top-guns at the MLS that they deserve to be a part of America’s fastest growing professional sport, while also building support to construct a new $85 million soccer stadium in order to meet the demands an MLS franchise would need to meet.

In my opinion, $85 million would be a small price to pay in order to continue to build the quickly growing reputation that Orlando, Florida has gained up over recent years as an uprising sports city.

Taking home a championship, and having already signed off the plans for the new stadium that is still awaiting approval by top Orlando officials, Orlando City Soccer is ready bring another pro-team to Central Florida.

Yes, it's true; Florida once hosted a pair of MLS teams -- Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion -- in the early-2000’s, and both of those clubs quickly folded because of terrible financial support. But times are different, and Florida is now considered by many to be a soccer hotbed, as the game of soccer is growing to irresistible numbers.

In a state dominated by nine teams of the four major North America sports, it's time to add a team for the rising fifth. I'm not just thrilled about the idea of planting an MLS franchise here; I'm rooting for it more than anything.

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Fantasy Football: 2012 review, 2013 preview

We're only a handful of Sunday away from actual NFL action, meaning that fantasy football season is almost here. Time to gather up your co-workers, get your league set up, and most importantly, set a draft date!

I'll be honest with you guys, I'm not a fantasy football junkie, but I still enjoy playing the game.

My tactics might not be top of the line, but what do I know? I'm only coming off my second career championship -- first one came in 2007 -- and a fantastic season brought on by some very, very smart draft picks that paid off.

As I mentioned, I'm coming off an 11-2 championship season, so I thought I'd took a little look back to the year that was, while also dishing out some of my secrets of how I do business.

First, the draft:

For many, draft day is huge. Many put in days of planning, mock drafts and pre-draft rankings. My routine, I usually join a league hours before a draft, then join the draft about five minutes prior to start time. From there, I make my picks.

The 2012 draft brought along a lot of tough choices, but I didn't regret a single pick.

To my disappointment, I found myself sitting with the 10th pick -- the last pick in the first round, the pick you'd rather not want to have. My first pick turned out to be my only dud, taking Maurice Jones-Drew, who would later be deemed out for the season after only just a couple of weeks.

Rob Gronkowski was my second pick, coming up big for me all throughout the season, up until he injured his forearm late in the season.

Arguably the biggest steal in the draft came to me in the 3rd round, when I was able to bring in Adrian Peterson to create, at the time, a nice one-two running back punch of AP and MJD. Obviously Peterson fell to the 30th pick because of speculation of how his ACL would fair, but I must say I was lucky to get him.

As you guys know, Peterson would come within just a handful of yards away from breaking the all-time rushing record for a season, and he ended up as the unanimous MVP for my team.

Peterson may have come up as a steal in the draft, but one of the toughest decision I was forced to make came in the 6th round.

Up until the 5th round, I had forgotten to draft a quarterback. As you could imagine, all the top QBs were off the board, so I had to make the quick move to draft the eventual Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco.

But in the 6th round, I knew I had to act fast to grab a backup QB before there weren't any options left, bringing me to choose between a pair of rookies: Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

This was a pick that I didn't decide on until the clock nearly struck zero. It was a difficult pick that took a lot of tough, but in the end, I will always know I made the right choice drafting RGIII over Luck.

Originally, I named Flacco as my starter, but after a slow start to the season, not to mention RGIII was tearing it up on the field, I made the change to start RGII a couple weeks in.

I was able to get a couple more nice players in the draft -- which by the way, my draft plan I usually to just pick the best players available at the position I'm looking for -- but in the end I was pretty satisfied with what I got, hoping for the best as the season came around.

I stumbled out of the gates with a loss in week one. Flacco gave me a nice 19 point opening week to couple with AP's 20 effort. Jones-Drew was the biggest let down in the 108-84 loss, giving me only 8 points.

Weeks two through four fared much better for The ELItes, pounding out three straight victories to help get the ball rolling on my 2012 season.

The lowest point in my championship campaign came in week five, when I played out my worst scoring week of the season, putting up only 55 points in a 94-55 loss, my second and last loss of the season. The weak performances came from everywhere: RGIII, AP, MJD and Gronk all gave me less then 10 points.

But it was all OK, because from there on out, the words "I lost" never left my lips again, as I rattled off eight-game winning streak to help set myself up at the top seed in the playoffs, paving the way to my fantasy football championship.

My run through the playoffs went off without a hitch. A late-season uprise from Russell Wilson, to go with some injury concerns with RGIII, cause me to make the switch to Wilson as my QB, racking up a whopping 39 points in week one of the playoffs.

Wilson's heroic playoff effort helped lead the way to a 67-point blowout, putting me into the championship game against an 8-5 team I was not at all worried about.

For those of you that know, the playoff rounds, at least in my league, lasted two weeks -- weeks 16 and 17. After a 40-point win in the first week, I all needed to do was not lose by 40-points. For some time, I feared it would happen.

Trailing with some time left to go in the final week, I was trailing behind, possibly watching my championship fade away.

But, in the biggest moment of my year, Alfred Morris, a mid-season pick-up on the waiver wire that I saw putting up good numbers with the Washington Redskins as a rookie running back, single-handedly pulled off the comeback, posting a championship performance of 39 point, capturing me the elusive title I was craving.

As I celebrated throughout the off-season, I still couldn't wait the next season to come back around. And now, that season is just about here. Training camps are underway, the Hall of Fame game is this Sunday, and most of all football is back.

In a couple weeks, I'll join another league with random strangers. The only difference is that I'm coming into the season having to defend my crown. Yet, why change anything?

My game plan for the season is already mapped out: Join a league, draft a couple hours later, make the right picks, claim the right waivers, and most importantly, just sit back and let the players do the work.

It worked once. So why won't it work again? I see no reason why it won't.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter to let me know if you'd like to join my league.