Va.'s Final Four for governor pick similar NCAA Final Fours

By: Jim Nolan | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: March 20, 2009

They say politics makes strange bedfellows.

But when it comes to the basketball court -- instead of the court of public opinion -- and the NCAA picks of the four men who want to be Virginia's next governor, most of them are sleeping together.

The University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina all make the Final Four selections of Democrats Creigh Deeds, Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe and Republican Bob McDonnell.

McAuliffe, Moran and McDonnell also choose Louisville; and Moran and McDonnell include Memphis among the last four teams standing.

Only Deeds, considered perhaps the dark horse in the three-way Democratic race for the Executive Mansion, goes out on a limb, picking Kansas to join the others in the semifinals on April 4, in Detroit.

Perhaps he's appealing to our current governor, Timothy M. Kaine, a Missouri native and devout Kansas Jayhawk fan who also happens to control the purse strings of the powerful Democratic National Committee.

The greater political test for our candidates cum hoops prognosticators came with the issue of what to do with Virginia Commonwealth University.

Two of the candidates -- McDonnell and Moran -- see VCU ambitiously advancing all the way to the Elite 8 of the 65-team field. Deeds and McAuliffe have staked out the politically prudent and basketball-savvy ground of saying the Rams will advance to the Sweet 16.

None of the candidates had No. 16 seed Radford University getting past the University of North Carolina.

Sure, there's an economic crisis, a budget crisis, two wars in the Middle East that aren't going away anytime soon. But March Madness is a time for everyone -- even politicians -- to take a break from the drudgery of the world and enjoy Mr. Naismith's beautiful game. Besides, two of these candidates quit their day jobs and one doesn't need to work.

Will their picks last until the championship?

Let the games begin!

Here's a breakdown of the selections:

Final Four:

McAuliffe: Louisville, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, University of North Carolina

Moran: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, University of North Carolina

Deeds: Kansas, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, University of North Carolina

McDonnell: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, University of North Carolina

The champions: Moran and Deeds like UNC. McDonnell and McAuliffe say Louisville.