Breaking News

Fab Melo, starting center for Syracuse, has been declared ineligible for the tournament.

Anyone who wishes to revise his/her bracket has until noon on Thursday, 3/15/2012, to submit a new one.

I am not suggesting that you do so, but if you feel that not having him on the team is important, then you may make the change.

Please mark it revised so that I don't use the wrong one.

Update

The brackets are out and I made the same mistake that I did last year.

The "play in" type games are two #16 seeds, a #14 seed and a #12 seed. You don't have to pick the winners of those four games, but if you think that any one of them will beat the team that they play in the field of 64, you just have to write in the seed number.

Here are some bracket links:

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-men/d1/2012
http://madness.nbcsports.com/
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/124/join

You will have to copy the address and paste it in your browser.

Good luck.

Just to Let You Know

I'm adding names as entry fees come in. After Sunday, I will add names as brackets come in.

Sunday at 6:00 PM on CBS is selection time.

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead.

One Final Time To Honor...

...last year's winners:

1st Place -Jason
2nd Place - Marc
3rd Place - Andrew.

We hope you enjoyed your time at the top because the rest of us are taking you down this year.

It's Been a Year

March 2011 and our last edition of March Madness seem like they happened just yesterday.

What has everyone been up to in the past year?

2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament

The basketball tournament is just around the corner. The rules are as follows:

• The entry fee is $10 per bracket. You may play as many brackets as you wish. Each will cost $10. Mail the fee(s) with your completed bracket(s) or, if you e-mail your bracket, I must have the money by the end of the day March 21, 2012. (You will be dropped from the tournament if I don't have the money by this date.)
• Pick all of your projected winners for the entire tournament.
• The brackets have to be e-mailed to me or postmarked prior to the start of the Second Round games on Thursday, March 15, 2012.
• You do not have to pick the winners of the First Four/First Round games on March 13-14 for the 61st-64th seeds. It's a freebie. If you think that one of these teams will beat a 1 seed, you don't even have to pick the specific team that will win. Just write in #16 and you can carry that team as long as you like, just as you would with any other pick. (For those of you who have never done this, a 16 seed has never beaten a 1 seed.)
• Write on your bracket or in your e-mail the total number of points that will be scored in the championship game. This is the tiebreaker. In case of a tie, whoever is closer, over or under, wins.
• Matt told me that msnbc.com has a bracket that allows you to click on each winner and it will automatically move that team to the next round. I will provide a link.
• Brackets should be e-mailed to mcwpaw@msn.com

Scoring by round:

First round (First Four) - No picks, no points
Second round (Round of 64) - 1 point for each winner
Third round (Round of 32) - 2 points for each winner
Regional semi-finals (Sweet Sixteen) - 5 points for each winner
Regional finals (Elite Eight) - 10 points for each winner
National semi-finals (Final Four) - 25 points for each winner
National championship (Championship Game) - 50 points for the winner
Tie breaker - Total score of the two teams in the final - whoever is closer.
Tie breaker tie breaker - Coin toss by Pam.
Payouts:
First place - 60% of the total pot
Second place - 25% of the total pot
Third place - 15% of the total pot
Last place - I am going to personally kick in ten bucks and mail it back to you.
I will try to keep scores as up to date as possible. Any questions - call or e-mail.
Keep track of your own scores. Mistakes happen.

I will probably post comments about how everyone is doing - good and not so good comments. If you don't want your name mentioned, e-mail me at mcwpaw@msn.com and I will keep you out of it.

I Did It! I Did It! I Did It! And Now...

I am done.

Pam and I were in the East Berlin Summerfest 5K today.

We both completed the run.

No walking.

The feet may not have been moving very fast, but it was a run for both of us.

Pam - 34:18. Mike - 33:59.

My last 5K.