A New Leader, And We Have Our Final Four!

Well, two of the Final Four teams have advanced in Wichita State (GO SHOCKERS!) and Syracuse... and with that, we're down to our Final Four!

Beth, Gary (Dad), Melissa and Robbie are the only people who can still win the 2013 Young Family Bracket Challenge!

 


Before I get to the scenarios, here are the standings as of today's games... the only person to move was Melissa as she picked Syracuse to get to the Final Four and it was good enough to get her into first place and potentially earn her a Young Family Bracket Challenge victory!

1.  Melissa - 137 points
2.  Gary (Dad) - 135 points
3. Robert - 132 points
4. Teresa - 123 points
5. Jacob - 122 points
6. Heather - 119 points
7. Nathaniel - 115 points
8. Beth - 107 points
8. Matt - 107 points
10. Jeremy - 105 points
11. Allie - 102 points
12. Lindsey - 101 points
13. Joe - 98 points
14. Brad - 95 points
15. Eric - 93 points
16. Jo (Mom) - 63 points

OK... so here are the scenarios!

Final Four: Dook, Michigan, Syracuse, Wichita State: Robbie wins!
Final Four: Dook, Florida, Syracuse, Wichita State: Melissa wins!
Final Four: Louisville, Michigan, Syracuse, Wichita State: Robbie wins!
Final Four: Louisville, Florida, Syracuse, Wichita State: It's down to Beth, Gary (Dad), and Robbie... more details...

FINAL FOUR: Louisville, Florida, Syracuse, Wichita State...
If Louisville does NOT advance to the National Championship game: Gary (Dad) wins!
If Louisville DOES advance to the National Championship game: Beth and Robbie TIE!!!  And they BOTH have Louisville winning the Championship...

SO!  For the first time ever... we may have to go to the Tie-Braeker for the Bracket Challenge... WOW!

Even though the brackets SUCKED this year... it may make for a VERY exciting finish...

We may have a winner on Sunday night... or we may have to wait until next Monday... who knows?!

At least, I think that this is all correct................

Gary (Dad) is still ahead... but not for long...

Gary (Dad) is still in the lead, but not for much longer...

His National Championship selection has been eliminated (Kansas) after Trey Burke hit a three pointer from downtown Ann Arbor (Wow!) to force OT and then win the game versus the Jayhawks.

But Robbie has made a push... and got three of the four correct yesterday and he has three of his Final Four selections still in tact.  Pardon me while I puke... if he wins again...........................................

Pic: Gary in front, Robbie not far behind... muahahaha

Standings:

Alright everyone, Saturday and Sunday night games will finalize the Final Four and we should get a better idea who is still statistically in it and who is not when I get back to work and get my excel sheet that I left there over Spring Break.

Also, I'm sad to say that Jo (Mom) has secured last place this year and Eric has secured 15th place this year as they both are no longer able to tally any more points.  Ouch...

The Bracket Challenge Sucks... Gary (Dad) is winning

I hate the Bracket Challenge.

I hate it.

This year sucks.

How is all of this possible?

This is ridiculous.

The people who created the bracket this year need to be fired.

This is a joke, right?

No?

Screw that.

Well, the #1 and #2 seeds in the East went down last night and now we have a new leader... after Syracuse beat Indiana and Marquette DESTROYED Miami, Gary (Dad) managed to eek his way into first place.  He was one of only three people who picked up two wins last night, as Melissa and Teresa also picked up 30 points and moved into second and third place, respectively.

And there were four people who did not get a single one correct... Beth, Brad, Jo (Mom), and Joe.... blah...

Standings:

1.  Gary (Dad) - 105 points
2.  Melissa - 97 points
3.  Teresa - 93 points
4.  Jacob - 92 points
4.  Matt (Brutus) - 92 points
6.  Jeremy - 90 points
7.  Heather - 89 points
8.  Robbie - 87 points
9.  Nathaniel - 85 points
10. Eric - 78 points
11. Allison - 72 points
12. Lindsey - 71 points
13. Joe - 68 points
14. Brad - 65 points
15. Jo (Mom) - 63 points
16. Beth - 62 points

Worst. Bracket. Ever.

There are four more games tonight, everyone... and the Elite 8 will be officially set and I will have officially began drinking myself into oblivion... getting chocolate wasted.

Mad props if you get the movie reference there.

A Tie for First and the Sweet 16 is Set!

Well, the first weekend of the tournament is officially over and we are down to our Sweet 16!

It has been a really screwed up tournament, am I right?  I said from the beginning that this bracket was ridiculous and man that was an understatement.

In the Midwest we have the #1, #2, #3, and the #12 seeds left...
In the South we have the #1, #3, #4, and the #15 seeds left...
In the East we have the #1, #2, #3, and the #4 seeds left... (a normal one)
And then there is the West... where we have the #2, #6, #9, and the #13 seeds left...

How are we supposed to get that?  This is messed up.  I say we start the entire tournament over again because I'm calling BS on the entire thing.

Last night we witnessed the first #15 seed advance to the Sweet 16 in NCAA history, and LaSalle made the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history as the #13 seed (way to go Doodle for picking them to go to the Sweet 16!).

                   

And with all that said, we have a tie atop the standings after the first weekend.  One-time champion, Jacob, and the reigning Young Family Battle of the Bowls champion, Matt, are tied with 77 points! (Is anyone else legitimately scared for the trash that Matt is about to throw our way and post on Facebook?)

Right behind him is Gary (Dad) and Jeremy tied with 75 and Heather rounding out the top-5 after she got seven of the eight games right on Sunday night!  Way to go, Heather!  She climbed from 13th to 5th!

Oh, and after talking a lot about Brad being second to last, Teresa is now tied in 11th place and Brad has jumped up the 10th.  What do you have to say about that, Teresa??????

Standings:

T1.  Jacob - 77 points
T1.  Matt - 77 points
T3.  Dad - 75 points
T3.  Jeremy - 75 points
5.  Heather - 74 points
6.  Robbie - 72 points
7.  Nathaniel - 70 points
8.  Joe - 68 points
9.  Melissa - 67 points
10. Brad - 65 points
T11. Eric - 63 points
T11. Jo (Mom) - 63 points
T11. Teresa - 63 points
14.  Beth - 62 points
15.  Allie - 57 points
16.  Lindsey - 56 points

Dad, Matt, Nathaniel, and Robbie are the only ones who have all four of their Final Four selections still alive.  Ugh...

So we have a little bit of a break until the next set of games start.  The next ones will start on Thursday night!  And by this time next week we will have the Final Four set.

Pretty much everyone is still in it, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Well, I'm "Shockers"-ed.. The old people are leading...

Well, the first #1 seed goes down tonight... and the old people are leading... Ugh...

The Wichita State Shockers took down Gonzaga tonight and everyone's brackets took a hit.  Unfortunately, we did have one person choose Gonzaga winning the National Championship and that was... Allie.  Sorry, kiddo!

Other than that, the only other upset today was Oregon taking down Saint Louis.  Only Jeremy and Lindsey Doodle called that upset and put them into the Sweet 16.  That's right, half of the spots are filled and the rest will be filled on Sunday night!

Gary (Dad) was the big winner today, correctly guessing SIX of the eight games.  Wow!  A 30-point swing puts him atop the Young Family Bracket Challenge Standings with 50 points.  I'm pretty sure he's cheating.

Jo (Mom) is sitting in second place with 48 points and Jacob, Matt, and Melissa are tied for third with 47 points.  Again, cheating is probable here as well.

Brad is having a terrible challenge!  He is currently sitting in 15th place with 35 points, just above Doodle.  Heather and Eric join the two down in the bottom quarter of the standings with 39 and 38 points, respectively.

And I'm just saying, after her trash talking this morning, Teresa and Joe fell down a bit in the standings... you should keep talking there, Teresa!

Standings:

1.  Gary (Dad) - 50 points
2.  Jo (Mom) - 48 points
T3. Jacob - 47 points
T3. Matt - 47 points
T3. Melissa - 47 points
T6. Jeremy - 45 points
T6. Nathaniel - 45 points
T8. Joe - 43 points
T8. Teresa - 43 points
T10. Allie - 42 points
T10. Beth - 42 points
T10. Robbie - 42 points
13. Heather - 39 points
14. Eric - 38 points
15. Bradley - 35 points
16. Doodle - 26 points

I'm pretty sure this is the most @s$-backward standings I've ever seen in this tournament.  I'm pretty sure that everyone knows why.

There are 8 more games tomorrow... and then we have a few days off!

It's Crowded at the Top!

Well, it's crowded at the top of the Young Family Bracket Challenge after the first round of tournament play!  There is a four-way tie for first place... two of whom, suspiciously, live in the same household.


Eric, Jo (Mom), Joe, and Teresa are all tied for first place in the Bracket Challenge with 23 correct selections out of the 32 games.  I'd say that's a great job, but that's not even close to the all-time record for correct selections in the first round of the Young Family Bracket Challenge (28: Brad Young 2010; and I guess if we're being fair technically Jo (Mom) did the same in 2011).  So, instead, you guys did an "OKAY" job.  Pat yourselves on the back and revel in the mediocrity of not tying or breaking the record. (Editor's note: can you tell I'm a little bitter because I'm doing awful this year?  No?  Wake up!)

Teresa was the biggest winner of the day, correctly selecting 13 of the 16 games yesterday, including going 4-for-4 in the final four games of the evening.

And a big congratulations goes out to Lindsey Doodle for correctly guessing 12 of the 16 games yesterday!  In fact, she was the only one who called the LaSalle upset over Kansas St.!  It's like she's a NCAA Basketball savant!

But nobody seemed to see the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles coming from all the way down from the Florida Gulf Coast (see what I did there?) as they beat Georgetown... wow!  That hurt a lot of people.  I'm sorry that I'm not sorry.

Standings:

1.  Eric Young - 23 points
1.  Jo (Mom) Young - 23 points
1.  Joe Matters - 23 points
1.  Teresa Matters - 23 points
5.  Allison Young - 22 points
5.  Beth Bird - 22 points
5.  Jacob Young - 22 points
5.  Matt Abbott (Brutus) - 22 points
5.  Melissa Young - 22 points
5.  Robert Young - 22 points
11. Lindsey Abbott - 21 points
12. Bradley Young - 20 points
12. Gary (Dad) Young - 20 points
12. Jeremy Bird - 20 points
12. Nathaniel Abbott - 20 points
16. Heather Abbott - 19 points

Aw, poor Heather... she's in last.  I'd ask her if she's sad, but we all know she'll just say that she's so excited the Lindsey is doing well, which is the LAMEST excuse ever... c'mon, Heather, you're just as competitive as everyone else here, we know you've got to be PISSED!

Saturday and Sunday will lock in the Sweet 16!  8 games today and 8 games tomorrow!  Get pumped!

No more ties at the top... it's way too hard to get the pictures right on this new blogger.  Yikes!

An interesting list from CollegeHumor

It's safe to say that each one of these is represented multiple times:

http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6877146/winning-your-ncaa-tournament-pool-know-the-competition

Enjoy.

Blind Bracket Backlash!

Man... Brad told me!! He said Ole Miss would take it and called to arrogantly ensure I was watching them beat Wisconsin. Just had to rub it in...

Oh but wait... minutes later I check the brackets and see what?! Our dear old brother had chose - WISCONSIN!! The call I made after was the greatest of my life.. he he he he... not his :-)

Beth Bird Leads After Day One

Well... Day one is finally over.  And it was a hot mess.

We had two 12-5 upsets on the day (Oregon over OK State; California over UNLV), Harvard managed to beat New Mexico (and nearly made me want to rip up my bracket already), and Gonzaga almost became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed in NCAA history.

Thank goodness it's over.

With that said, Beth probably enjoyed day one a little bit more than anyone else because she (yes, Boo Boo) is in the lead with 13 out of the 16 selections correctly guessed.

Wow.  Did anyone else see this coming?  Because I'm pretty sure she made her selections based on their cheerleading teams.

Brad managed to already lose one of his Final Four selections  (Insert everyone's laughter at me here.  Sound off and berate me in the comments below.  But just realize that you're just jealous!) and is tied for 10th with previous bracket challenge winners Heather and Teresa.  However, a lot of people lost Sweet 16 and Elite 8 picks already...

Does anyone else think that basketball is F*@*ing stupid?

Here are the standings:

1.  Beth Bird - 13 points (pictured above)
T2. Allison, Eric, Gary (Dad), Jacob, Jo (Mom), Joe, Melissa, and Nathaniel - 12 points
T10. Jeremy, Matt (Brutus? - seriously?), and Robert - 11 points
T13. Bradley, Heather, and Teresa - 10 points
16. Lindsey - 9 points

It's Day two today!  Another 16 games today... get pumped!

Brutus?????

I'm sorry... who is Brutus??!!

Matters Preparing for Challenge Victory

Teresa Matters, winner of the 2009 Young Family Bracket Challenge and record-holder for most points ever scored in the Challenge, is preparing to be the first-ever two-time winner.

While reaching out to schedule an interview with the past champion, she finally had the time to respond after a full three hours of waiting.  And respond she did...

"I got distracted from the bracket because I was too busy practicing my acceptance speech," Matters said.  "...And how I will pose with the trophy this time."

If it sounds like she's geared up and ready for the 2013 edition of the Young Family Bracket Challenge, it is because she is!

It was a quick but eye-opening interview.  An interview that ended with a message to Bradley, after his "Keep dreaming, sister!" message was read:

"I'll leave the dreaming to you since I don't see your picture posted in the Hall of Winners."

Burn.

Blindfold Bracket!

Having trouble creating your bracket?  Are the "big" names and ridiculous seedings clouding your judgement?

Check out the Wall St. Journal's Blindfold Bracket!  (click the link)

It'll change the names and show you ratings on each school so you can select games based on merit instead of names!

My Final Four was: St. Louis, New Mexico, Florida, and Indiana.  And then I had Indiana beating St. Louis in the Championship game.  I think I'm going to use my Blindfold Bracket (except I don't think I'll have St. Louis in the Final Four - everything else I'll use).

Check it out if you want!

The nerd is going after the repeat

What's up, family? So the bracket looks rather wonky this year after such a fun and crazy season. I'm just glad I spent a LOT of time watching the games this season. I'm very excited to be gearing up for a repeat of my tremendous performance from last year. The trophy will be staying in my lab during the first games of the Tournament, but until then, it will be displayed at home it all it's glory.

Best of luck to you all. I hope Beth tells us of her new selection strategy this year (I'm hoping she bases it on alphabetical order, just to change things up). Love you all, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

8 Completely Infallible Tips to Filling Out Your March Madness Bracket!

From CollegeHumor.com - Dan Hopper (full article)

1. Randomly decide that one Conference sucks and keep picking against them.Example: “The Pac-10 is totally overrated. Arizona, UCLA and Oregon aren’t going anywhere. Neither’s Gonzaga. Wait, are they in the Pac-10? Whatever, it’s rainy and mild there, I’m counting it.”

2. Pick against one school for arbitrary personal reasons.Example: “Screw Georgetown. That school rejected me plus I didn’t want to go there anyway ‘cause their campus was all stupid and goth-looking. Buncha losers, they might lose in the First Round.”

3. Overrate one team that looked good when you watched them for 10 minutes in December.Example: “You know, I watched New Mexico play USC a little while ago and I’ll tell you, that team is legit. They got some guy, his name’s like… something with a J in it — I saw that dude hit two Threes when I was kinda looking up at the screen at a bar during a work drinks thing. Might put ‘em in my Final Four.”

4. Pick one completely random giant upset then panic at the last minute and put the Favorite back in. Example: “You know what? I think Duke’s going down. I really do. They’re a little overrated every year, and one high seed always loses before the Sweet Sixteen, and I’m not gonna win this pool unless I do something a little bold, so yeah, I’m doing it, I’m PICKING DUKE TO LOSE!” [3 Minutes Pass] “Hey, here’s my bracket. Also, this one spot, where there’s a giant scribble and an arrow to the margin? That says ‘Duke,’ I’m picking Duke. Thanks.”

5. Google the results of the last 10 Championship Games to help you decide on a “Total Points” tiebreaker, even though you’ll be hilariously out of the pool by then.Example: “Oooh, I was only off by 6 points in my tiebreaker! If three of the Four Final Four teams had been different, I probably would’ve won this thing.”

6. Throw some 10 and 11 seeds into Round 2, just make them the correct ones. How hard can that be? Example: “Some of these 5 and 6 seeds have to lose, I mean that’s just sciencemath, but WHO? I don’t know…this one, this one and this one? Cool. Now my bracket’s niiiiice and varied. See how knowledgeable I am? I have a bunch of numbers in places.”

7. Keep tabs on your bracket by putting giant checkmarks by the picks you got right, including the 1-over-16 games, to build up your confidence.Example: “OH YEAH! Michigan over Alcorn State! Lemme just put a check mark by this, and a “+1 Point” marker, and a little smiley face, and I’ll turn that smiley face into a hot cartoon girl with a speech bubble saying “ooooh you’re so good at picking, cutie!” and she’s handing me a little ice cream cone. So far my bracket’s doing REALLY well.”

8. MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL: Do everything exactly the same way you did it last year when you also didn’t win.Example: “Two One-Seeds, a Two-Seed and a traditionally good team that’s a Four-Seed this year in the Final Four, then a One-Seed over a Two-Seed in the Final. Sooo, how am I gonna spend my $360 winnings this year? AHHH Dammit, the Four-Seed just lost. I hate these pools, they’re all just stupid luck.”

It's almost time!

It’s the most wonderful time of the…

Wait…  It’s not Christmas anymore…

It’s even better!

The 2013 Young Family Bracket Challenge is starting!  This is the time of year that even though we’re all separated by multiple states, we can laugh with our family, smile at funny things that our family says, berate our family uncontrollably because we’re so mad, and call each other inappropriate names… Ah, it’s almost like we’re all in the same room!

Selection Sunday is March 17!  Get ready for it… this is the time for conference tournaments so you can see which teams do well under pressure.  I’ll post the brackets as soon as they are announced.

Good luck! (Just kidding)