What March Madness Has to Do With the NEA

Admit it: your NCAA tournament bracket is in ruins. Your alma mater lost in the first round, you picked the wrong upsets, and you had Duke going all the way. Now is when you can shift allegiances, rooting for teams not because of the "science" that is bracketology, but for purely emotional reasons. How about this one: the mother of two of the stars of the tournament-twins Brook and Robin Lopez of Stanford-is an NEA member.

We first told you about Fresno, California, high school teacher Deborah Ledford and her sons who were destined for college basketball stardom in January 2007 (weren't we prescient?!) The seven-foot twins averaged in the double digits for the regular Pac-10 season this year, and they've been on fire in the post season. On Saturday, they helped the Cardinals overcome a Marquette challenge to win 82-81 in the semifinals and advance to the Sweet 16. In the tournament, Brook leads his team in scoring (18.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.2 per game.) Robin follows at 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

And mom Deborah even got a little face time on CBS, shown rooting in the stands for her boys during the game. The math and German teacher is a Stanford alum herself, but we're guessing that she'd cheer for the Cardinals, regardless.

--Cynthia Kopkowski