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!