The refs ... totally FOUL!

Bracket Boy was walking through the revolving doors of the Georgia Dome last night, two hours before tip-off between Georgetown and Ohio State, when he heard a strange but familiar sound.

“Was that a whistle?” our traveling expert said.

“Yup,” the ref said. “We got a foul on BB.”

“Um ... for what?”

“Blocking.”

“Blocking what?”

“Blocking the revolving door!”

Yes, it was that kind of night at the Final Four. Everybody was talking about a great matchup between Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert, but instead, we ended up with that awful music. Too many whistles.

What a bummer. “I think Hibbert picked up his first foul during the national anthem,” BB said, “and Oden got his second for tearing off his warm-up pants. So much for six days of build up, eh? And you wonder why all the good big men can’t wait to get to the NBA.”

Patrick Ewing Sr. had more gratuitous screen shots (two) than Patrick Ewing Jr. had points in the first half (zero). DaJuan Summers was doing his best to shoot the Hoyas out of the Final Four. And if it weren’t for Mike Conley Jr., the Buckeyes might never have scored.

When the refs finally let the two centers breathe for a few minutes, Hibbert probably proved more. But Oden isn’t about to complain. He is moving on to the national championship game.

“And,” BB said, “my pick to win it all lives again!”

Georgetown has to be disappointed in this one, because the Hoyas had this victory within their grasp. Ohio State had the better guards - just as Bracket Boy predicted, Conley put in a game that, should the Buckeyes prevail on Monday, would make him a candidate for the MVP.

Ohio State has now won 22 straight games. “Will it be a lucky 23?” our roving bracketologist asked. “Or will there be an unexpected team crowned on Monday night ... you know, the refs!”

That brought another whistle.

“We got a foul on BB,” the ref yelled.

“Um ... for what?” our guy asked.

“Charging.”

“Charging what?”

“Charging me with being bad at my job!”

“Oh brother.”

Reader mail

BB is glad to see even the Duke fans are still reading. “I did a bit of field work or research while I was at the Garden for the NIT,” Mike “Dookie” Freund writes. “I proudly wore one of my Bracket Boy T-shirts and took a full lap around the lower level, both in the arena and in the concession loop, just begging, hoping, anticipating for one acknowledgement or bit of recognition from a fellow BB follower. Regretfully, I found nothing ... other than my wife laughing at me.”

Bracket Boy responds: “Mike, most of my loyal readers wouldn’t be caught dead at the NIT ... I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

And after taking heat for his Carnac impersonation yesterday, at least one reader was appreciative. “I didn’t think you could outdo your March 21 column on ‘Ancient History,’” writes Crosby Kurkjian of Kendall Park. “But you sure did with ‘Carnac the Bracketologist.’ Also, artist Mike Scott beats them all. If he took his drawings to the Olympics he would have a gold medal.”

Bracket Boy responds: “He actually won a silver in Barcelona but they took it back. Turns out, there were performance enhancing drugs in his pen.”

One last note from Freund, which is just a vowel away being Friend: “Keep up the Great work! Let me know if you want me to have a sit-down with your bosses to discuss a substantial raise!”

Bracket Boy responds: “Thanks, Dookie. While you’re negotiating, see if you can get my contract adjusted for inflation - if Ohio State wins, my head’s going to be pretty damn big.”