Hunches, teamwork and luck add up to a March Mania win
Strongsville’s Bob Cackowski picks North Carolina to win it all, takes home 50-inch TV from Bennet’s
Bob Cackowski, of Strongsville, is the 2017 March Mania victor. The winner receives a 50-inch Samsung 1080 HDTV from Bennet’s Appliance & TV in Orrville. Photo by TERRY BRLAS
STRONGSVILLE – Call it a hunch, call it teamwork or call it beginner’s luck. Whatever it is, you can call Bob Cackowski the winner of The Post’s Goal Post March Mania contest.
The Strongsville resident entered March Mania for the first time this year. Cackowski wins a 50-inch Samsung 1080P HDTV from Bennet’s Appliance & TV in Orrville for his effort.
Cackowski correctly picked North Carolina as the winner and had three of the Final Four teams identified, a not-so-easy feat considering two of the four (Gonzaga and South Carolina) had never been to the Final Four and Oregon had not been there in 78 years, when the Ducks won the very first NCAA Men’s Basketball title in 1939. The only Final Four participant that the March Mania winner missed on was defending champion Villanova.
The message is don’t sleep on Cackowski, even if he did so during the title game.
“I fell asleep,” he laughed. “I watched until halftime and then I was out. I heard the result the next day. I’m still in shock that I won.”
So how did Cackowski go about filling out his bracket?
“It was very little skill and a lot of luck,” he said. “I knew Gonzaga was on a roll. They had a really good season and maybe this was their time. Oregon was on a roll too. Last year a lot of the number ones got knocked off. I thought this year it might be different. There was nothing scientific about it.”
Cackowski, who played on the high school basketball team at Cleveland Central Catholic in the early ’70s, missed nine games in the first round. His wife, Judy, was generally the deciding vote when it came to picking winners. That is except when it came to the championship game.
“My wife (Judy) and I were looking at The Post and we decided to give it a shot. We sat down and talked it over. If she felt strong about a certain game she would win,” he said. “She liked Gonzaga. I liked North Carolina. I went with my heart. I thought North Carolina was too tough and after losing last year at the last second they were due.”
Cackowski gave himself an air pat on the back before saying, “You’ve got to give it a shot every year. You never know when you’ll get lucky.”
Other winners in March Mania were North Royalton residents Patti Stroemple, who won the 16-team bracket and a $50 gift card from the Corkscrew Saloon in Medina, and Mary Walker, who won the four-team bracket and a $25 gift card from the Galaxy Restaurant in Wadsworth.
The Strongsville resident entered March Mania for the first time this year. Cackowski wins a 50-inch Samsung 1080P HDTV from Bennet’s Appliance & TV in Orrville for his effort.
Cackowski correctly picked North Carolina as the winner and had three of the Final Four teams identified, a not-so-easy feat considering two of the four (Gonzaga and South Carolina) had never been to the Final Four and Oregon had not been there in 78 years, when the Ducks won the very first NCAA Men’s Basketball title in 1939. The only Final Four participant that the March Mania winner missed on was defending champion Villanova.
The message is don’t sleep on Cackowski, even if he did so during the title game.
“I fell asleep,” he laughed. “I watched until halftime and then I was out. I heard the result the next day. I’m still in shock that I won.”
So how did Cackowski go about filling out his bracket?
“It was very little skill and a lot of luck,” he said. “I knew Gonzaga was on a roll. They had a really good season and maybe this was their time. Oregon was on a roll too. Last year a lot of the number ones got knocked off. I thought this year it might be different. There was nothing scientific about it.”
Cackowski, who played on the high school basketball team at Cleveland Central Catholic in the early ’70s, missed nine games in the first round. His wife, Judy, was generally the deciding vote when it came to picking winners. That is except when it came to the championship game.
“My wife (Judy) and I were looking at The Post and we decided to give it a shot. We sat down and talked it over. If she felt strong about a certain game she would win,” he said. “She liked Gonzaga. I liked North Carolina. I went with my heart. I thought North Carolina was too tough and after losing last year at the last second they were due.”
Cackowski gave himself an air pat on the back before saying, “You’ve got to give it a shot every year. You never know when you’ll get lucky.”
Other winners in March Mania were North Royalton residents Patti Stroemple, who won the 16-team bracket and a $50 gift card from the Corkscrew Saloon in Medina, and Mary Walker, who won the four-team bracket and a $25 gift card from the Galaxy Restaurant in Wadsworth.