Robert wins the 2012 Young Family Bracket Challenge!

Robert has won the 2012 Young Family Bracket Challenge!

After picking Kentucky to win the National Championship - for which he should be ashamed of - Robert has claimed his very first victory.

He finished with 312.5 points, good enough to land him 3rd all time in Most Young Family Bracket Challenge Points in a season, behind Teresa (333; 2009) and Brad (319; 2009).

Eric, Jeremy, Nathaniel, and Teresa all had Kentucky winning the national championship.

Heather finished in second, followed by Nathaniel, Teresa and Eric to round out the top-5. Mad props to Heather for only losing by 16 points even though she didn't get the National Championship selection correct... she beat EVERYONE else who did have Kentucky winning it... so great job, sister!

Brad finished the tournament with the highest amount of selections correct with 49, followed by Heather and Nathaniel with 46, and Dad with 45.

And unfortunately, Allie-Bug finished in the toilet bowl this year, but it's ok because she chose UNC to win it all and I love her for that! ... we're thinking about getting a toilet bowl trophy that travels too... what does everyone think?

Don't forget to send him his $5... and then he'll get his trophy... until Kentucky has the title taken away for NCAA violations and then we'll decide what we need to do about him... don't think it's not possible... Kentucky's coach is sleeeeeezy and has had 2 other Final Four appearances taken away from him!

Final Standings:

1. Robert - 312.5 points

2. Heather - 296.5 points

3. Nathaniel - 293.5 points

4. Teresa - 275.5 points

5. Eric - 249.0 points

6. Dad - 238.5 points

7. Brad - 228.0 points

8. Jeremy - 227.5 points

9. Matt - 215.0 points

10. Jacob - 150.5 points

11. Beth - 145.5 points

12. Lindsey - 117.5 points

13. Mom - 108.5 points

14. Melissa - 102.0 points

15. Allison - 90.5 points

It's Down to Two... blah...

Heather versus Robert.

Kentucky versus Kansas.

This sucks. Nobody cares...

If Kansas wins - Heather wins. If Kentucky wins - Robert wins.

Matt and Nathaniel were eliminated from contention after Ohio State lost tonight, so just these two are left.

The Championship game is Monday night.

Here are the standings

1. Heather - 296.5 points

2. Robert - 262.5 points

3. Nathaniel - 243.5 points

4. Dad - 238.5 points

5. Bradley - 228 points

6. Teresa - 225.5 points

7. Matt - 215 points

8. Eric - 199 points

9. Jeremy - 177.5 points

10. Jacob - 150.5 points

11. Beth - 145.5 points

12. Lindsey - 117.5 points

13. Mom - 108.5 points

14. Melissa - 102 points

15. Allison - 90.5 points

Alright, use this time to berate these two for sucking. Trash talk is required...

Robb's Top Ten Reasons Why I Should Win

I really hope you all get a kick out of this video. It's the first video I've made. Remember: I'm not as funny as I wish I was. Shout-outs to Nathaniel, Beth, Mom (Jo), and Brad!

Heather's Top 10!

10. I would be making Young Family Bracket Challenge history by being the first repeat champion!
9. I am poor, I obviously will not be depositing any royalties from Brad's new catch phrase, ABH (ANYBODY BUT HEATHER)!
8. I am the only girl to make it this far. And if you had any manners you would know.....LADIES ARE ALWAYS FIRST!
7. It would make me feel like Royalty, and shouldn't every girl feel like a princess.
6. This Bracket Challenge is the most excitement I have all year.
5. I was DQed 2 years ago for "Drug Use", and upon research of the "Drug" list, no one should be eligible to play.....EVER! It was all a ploy to drum up Blog activity. I was robbed!
4. Some say "Technically" I have never won the Bracket Challenge, so "Technically" I need to win this just as much as the other 3.
3. I am one of the BC founders........Kinda............If it wasn't for the fact I made it so much fun for Beth and Brad the 1st year, Brad would have never wanted to do it again and invite the rest of you.........YOUR WELCOME!
2. We didn't have a trophy in year 1, so I have never had it to Love!
1. I would really, really, really hate to have to kick someones butt if I loose.

TOP TEN Reason why I, Nathaniel Abbott, should win this years challenge

10. Because I haven't won yet!
9. Because I could really use that money! I am a poor poor boy!
8. Because I am your Grandson, Nephew, Cousin, brother and son!
7. Because the trophy would look really good in my room next to the Young Family Cup!
6. Because none of you deserve to win as much as I do!
5. Because I want to rub it in all of your faces!
4. Because I picked KANSAS...NOT UNC!
3. Because it would REALLY help me with the Ladies...if you know what I mean! ; )
2. Because I am not being supported by this family, especially UNCLE BRAD who is, according to Facebook, supporting my Dad!!! (Booo Hooo UNC Lost!)
1. Because I am WAY more awesome than any of you!

If I don't win!

I know how much everyone loves my pictures, so I thought I would share! This is what I will be doing if I don't win!!!!

And Then There Were Four...

And then there were four...

The Final Four has been set in the tournament and our Final Four has been set as well.

It's down to Heather, Matt, Nathaniel, and Robert.

Sorry folks, nobody else has a chance.

Here is how it plays out... IF:

Kentucky faces Kansas in the Championship game:

Kentucky wins: Robert wins

Kansas wins: Heather wins

Kentucky faces Ohio State in the Championship game:

Kentucky wins: Nathaniel wins

Ohio State wins: Matt wins

Louisville faces Kansas in the Championship game:

Heather wins regardless of National Champion

Louisville faces Ohio State in the Championship game:

Louisville wins: Nathaniel wins

Ohio State wins: Matt wins

At least I THINK that is how it plays out... if it plays out differently, I apologize... :)

Here we go!

I'm cheering for Matt and Nathaniel!

NCAA Final Four Set

Kentucky, Ohio State, Kansas, and Louisville are the 2012 NCAA Tournament Final Four - and Heather picked them all!

Not only is it crazy that she correctly guess the Final Four completely - this is the second time she's done it! She also did it in 2008 when she won the Young Family Bracket Challenge. Crazy!

I will update everyone on who is still in it and who isn't in the coming days... but in the meantime here are the standings:

1. Heather - 236.5 points

2. Nathaniel - 213.5 points

3. Dad (Gary) - 208.5 points

4. Robert - 202.5 points

5. Bradley - 198 points

6. Teresa - 195.5 points

7. Matt - 185 points

8. Eric - 169 points

9. Jeremy - 147.5 points

10. Jacob - 120.5 points

11. Lindsey - 117.5 points

12. Beth - 115.5 points

13. Mom - 108.5 points

14. Melissa - 102 points

15. Allison - 90.5 points

As you can see Nathaniel has catapulted into the 2nd place! And Robert has made a push into 4th - his highest ranking ever in the Challenge.

I'll tell everyone the situations for who can win and how soon!

Final Four games will begin on Saturday!

Two of the Final Four Punch Their Ticket!

Two games tonight and two teams have punched their ticket to the Final Four in New Orleans!

Louisville rallied late to beat Florida and Ohio State dominated the glass to beat Syracuse.

First, let me apologize. I have been saying that Heather was the only person whose Final Four was still in tact, when actually Matt also had his entire Final Four intact.

Now that it has been cleared up...

Matt and Heather were the only two to correctly guess that both Louisville and Ohio State to make the Final Four therefore got a big jump in points! Because of this, Heather jumps from third to first, retaking the lead from Dad, and Matt jumps to sixth.

Most everyone had Ohio State in the Final Four after I allowed everyone to change their Syracuse selections after Fab Melo was ruled ineligible. You're welcome.

Here are the standings:

1. Heather - 196.5 points

2. Dad - 188.5 points

3. Brad - 178 points

4. Teresa - 175.5 points

5. Nathaniel - 173.5 points

6. Matt - 165 points

7. Robert - 162.5 points

8. Eric - 149 points

9. Jeremy - 127.5 points

10. Mom (Jo) - 108.5 points

11. Melissa - 102 points

12. Jacob - 100.5 points

13. Lindsey - 97.5 points

14. Beth - 95.5 points

15. Allison - 90.5 points

Tomorrow is a big deal... ALMOST everyone has Kentucky advancing to the Final Four and then it's split between North Carolina and Kansas... some people will be eliminated from the challenge after tomorrow's games!

It's pretty close!!!

Elite Eight Set! Dad Take the Lead!

The Elite 8 is set!

Dad and Teresa each correctly guessed SIX of the eight games, tying the Young Family Bracket Challenge record! Don't get too excited... they share that record with four others (Allison, Brad, Eric and Jeremy). However, this is the second time Teresa has tied this record as she also correctly guessed six of the Elite Eight in 2009 - when she won the Challenge... will history repeat itself???

Dad picked correctly for all four games yesterday and took the lead for the first time ever with 168.5 points! Following him is Brad, who cannot win the challenge, Heather (3rd), Teresa (4th), and Nathaniel (5th). Nathaniel has begun to scrap his way into the challenge too. Nathaniel correctly guess five of the eight this year! Way to go, buddy!

Heather is the only person whose entire Final Four is still in the running. Everyone should cheer for Florida when they play Louisville today so that way she can't get all four again!

Here are the standings:

1. Dad (Gary) - 168.5 points

2. Brad - 158 points

3. Heather - 156.5 points

4. Teresa - 155.5 points

5. Nathaniel - 153.5 points

6. Robert - 142.5 points

7. Eric - 129 points

8. Jeremy - 127.5 points

9. Matt - 125 points

10. Mom - 108.5 points

11. Jacob - 100.5 points

12. Beth - 95.5 points

13. Allison - 90.5 points

14. Melissa - 82 points

15. Lindsey - 77.5 points

Way to go everyone... two games tonight and two games on Sunday to determine the Final Four!

Isn't that picture of dad LEGIT?! It's my favorite.

Four of the Elite Eight are set! We have a new leader!

Four of the Elite Eight teams are set! And with that, we have a new leader!

For the first time in the competition, Brad is not sitting atop the standings. I know you're all sad.

Heather has taken the lead as she correctly selected two of the games last night (please enjoy this picture of Heather dancing! :-p). Nobody did particularly well with the four games last night. Only Heather, Dad, Teresa, and Matt got more than one right; and to be honest a handful of us didn't get any of them right!

In second place is Dad (Gary), Brad is holding steady in third place, and Teresa, who has continued to climb the standings, is now in fourth! Has anyone noticed that Teresa never does well in the first few rounds and then comes out of nowhere every. single. year? I'm not kidding, look:

She started out in 14th place. Then jumped up to 11th. Then jumped up to 7th. Fell to 8th. And is now in 4th place. Not to mention, she still has 3 of her Final Four teams in the competition. Unreal.

Here are the standings:

1. Heather - 111.5 points

2. Dad - 108.5 points

3. Bradley - 98 points

4. Teresa - 95.5 points

5. Matt - 95 points

6. Nathaniel - 93.5 points

7. Eric - 84 points

8. Robert - 82.5 points

9. Mom - 78.5 points

10. Jeremy - 67.5 points

11. Melissa - 67 points

12. Beth - 65.5 points

13. Lindsey - 62.5 points

14. Allison - 60.5 points

15. Jacob - 55.5 points

It is worth mentioning that Brad is no longer in the running to win the 2012 Bracket Challenge. Even though he is currently sitting in third place, has three of his Final Four selections still alive, and the two Championship contenders alive; Dad (Gary) has the EXACT same selections as Brad for the remainder of the tournament. So, as Dad is 10.5 points ahead of Brad, he will not be able to pass Dad.

Way to go, Dad, for eliminating me... ouch.

Heather Steamrolls Into 2nd - Sweet 16 Set!

Well, the Sweet 16 is set!

South bracket: Kentucky, Indiana, Baylor, Xavier

West bracket: Michigan State, Louisville, Marquette, Florida

East bracket: Syracuse, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Ohio State

Midwest bracket: North Carolina, Ohio, NC State, Kansas

There are some really interesting matchups here! And quite a few that will decide everyone's fate in the challenge! The biggest game will be the Indiana vs. Kentucky game - a rematch of the most exciting game during the regular season in which Indiana beat Kentucky with a last-second three. It was the only loss Kentucky suffered during the regular season... could be a great game!

In sad news, North Carolina star point guard fractured his wrist in the victory over Creighton - who played unbelievably dirty all game. He underwent surgery this morning and is unlikely to return for the Sweet 16 match-up vs. Ohio. The Heels have already lost his back-up this year and will now look to 3rd and 4th option point guards who average about 4 minutes a game... his loss is a devastating one to the Heels if they want to compete for a Championship. It's so sad... this guy is my favorite Tar Heel of all time.

Now, in happier (kind of...) news, Heather has come out of NOWHERE and climbed all the way into 2nd place! She correctly selected 12 of the Sweet 16; and more dangerously still has six of her Elite 8 in tact. She barely trails Brad, who along with Dad (Gary) and Nathaniel, selected 11 of the Sweet 16. Brad has seven of his Elite 8 still set.

Dad and Nathaniel are tied for third place with 78.5 points and Eric rounds out the top-5 with 69 points.

Could Heather become the first two-time champion? God, I hope not!

Here are the standings:

1. Brad - 83 points

2. Heather - 81.5 points

T3. Dad (Gary) - 78.5 points

T3. Nathaniel - 78.5 points

5. Eric - 69 points

T6. Jeremy - 67.5 points

T6. Robert - 67.5 points

T8. Beth - 65.5 points

T8. Teresa - 65.5 points

10. Matt - 65 points

11. Mom (Jo) - 63.5 points

12. Allison - 60.5 points

13. Jacob - 55.5 points

14. Melissa - 52 points

15. Lindsey - 47.5 points

The Sweet 16 games will be played on Thursday and Friday, so we have all week to recover.

Take this time to wish Kendall Marshall a speedy recovery and to revel in my lead... which I'm afraid is coming to an end.

Come on Dad and Nathaniel! Don't let Heather win again!!!

Our blog goes global!

According to the Bracket stats, our blog has gone GLOBAL.

Here are the numbers of people from each country who have visited our blog...

We're legit. Too legit. Too legit to quit!

I see you, Ukraine!

United States: 408
Ukraine: 8
India: 2
Russia: 2
Germany: 1

Brad and Dad go 8-for-8; Brad maintains lead!

The first half of the Sweet 16 are set! There were zero upsets today but all of the games were pretty exciting!

Indiana rallied late and took down VCU in the most exciting game of the tournament so far! It was pretty intense... Beth was sweating it pretty bad!

Brad and Dad (Gary) both went 8-for-8 on the day! Great minds think alike... I'm just saying...

Eric made a HUGE jump as he correctly guessed 7-of-8 on the day (it's about time!) - as did Nathaniel - and moved from 14th to 4th! And Teresa jumped up a few spots as well as she correctly guessed 6.

Unfortunately, some people fell some spots... Beth fell from 2nd to 11th and Matt fell from 3rd to 8th... don't worry, guys, there is still time!

Hey, did you hear? Dook lost yesterday! :)

Here are the standings:

1. Bradley - 68 points

2. Dad (Gary) - 63.5 points

3. Nathaniel - 58.5 points

4. Eric - 54 points

5. Jeremy - 52.5 points

6. Heather - 51.5 points

7. Teresa - 50.5 points

8. Matt - 50 points

9. Mom (Jo) - 48.5 points

10. Robert - 47.5 points

11. Beth - 45.5 points

12. Melissa - 42 points

T13. Jacob - 40.5 points

T13. Allison - 40.5 points

15. Lindsey - 22.5 points

Tomorrow should be a little different. Mom (Jo), Brad, and Heather have the greatest opportunity to score some solid points as they have 7 (Mom) and 6 (Brad & Heather) of the possible 8 remaining members of the Sweet 16 still alive! No one else has more than 5.

There are some great match-ups tomorrow! Keep watching!

Best. Night. Ever. Brad still leads... and a new #2!

Tonight was the best. night. ever!

In case you haven't heard... Dook lost. To a school called Lehigh. In the first round of the tournament. They are out of the tournament. They will be sitting on the couch watching all of the other schools keep playing because they got outplayed by Lehigh.

I was pretty excited. :-)

Surprisingly, two people predicted that upset: Allison and Mom (Jo). I love you both for taking your hatred for Dook over wanting to win. It makes me so proud! And oh, look... here is Allison wearing a UNC hat...

In other upset news, Missouri also lost a big game to Norfolk St. In the entire history of the NCAA tournament only five times had a 15 seed beaten a 2 seed. Tonight, it happened twice. And congratulations to Doodle for picking this upset correctly!

With all of the upsets - it was not a great day for brackets. But Dook losing made up for it!

So the first round is officially over and Brad is still in the lead! He correctly picked 26 of the 32 games and his entire right side of the bracket is perfect and good enough for third place in the record book for most correct first round selections. However, he did lose a Final Four selection in Missouri.

In second place is Boo Boo... I'm not kidding. Her new strategy seems to have done her some good as she picked 24 of the 32 correctly and Matt fell one spot to round out the top three after the first round.

Here are the standings:

1. Bradley - 28 points

2. Beth - 25.5 points

3. Matt - 25 points

T4. Dad (Gary) - 23.5 points

T4. Mom (Jo) - 23.5 points

T4. Nathaniel - 23.5 points

T7. Jeremy - 22.5 points

T7. Robert - 22.5 points

9. Melissa - 22 points

10. Heather - 21.5 points

T11. Jacob - 20.5 points

T11. Allison - 20.5 points

T11. Teresa - 20.5 points

14. Eric - 19 points

15. Lindsey - 17.5 points

I just have to say how proud I am of everyone. This year, everyone's brackets are pretty solid!

We have eight more games tomorrow and eight more on Sunday to finalize the Sweet 16.

The Heels won pretty convincingly without its starting forward and the ACC defensive player of the year. I just want everyone to keep updated!

Keep following!

Norfolk State Beats Mizzou

I told you today was going to be crazy!

In one of the biggest upsets in College Basketball history... yes, history... Norfolk State played a perfect game and beat Missouri 86-84.

Only one person picked this monumental upset: Lindsey Kay Abbott.

It does hurt everyone's bracket... but it hurts Brad and Nathaniel's brackets the worst as they both had Mizzou in the Final Four.

Way to go to Norfolk State and to Lindsey Doodle!

Day 1 - Brad leads! Still close...

Day 1 is complete! Surprisingly, however, there were not a lot of upsets. So, I'm assuming tomorrow will be complete chaos! There were some close calls though.

Syracuse nearly became the first #1 seed to ever lose to a #16 seed in UNC Asheville. In my opinion, if it weren't for two blown calls by the referees, that game would have at least gone to OT... but I digress. And VCU pulled off the upset in a close game against Wichita St. in what has become the annual #12/#5 upset of the tournament. VCU made the Final Four last year... can they do it again?

Oh... West Virginia got completely blown out. Honestly, it would have been less embarrassing had they just not shown up and said that they forgot the NCAA tournament was going on... way to go, WVU... brutal.

By correctly guessing 14 selections in round one, Brad sits alone atop the Bracket Challenge Standings! However, Matt is right behind him in second place as WVU's humiliating loss placed an additional mark in the loss column for him.

In his first appearance in the Challenge, Dad debuts in third place! Is anybody else re-thinking our decision to keep inviting him? If I lose to him on his first try, I'm going to lose it.

Beth and Jeremy are tied with Dad for third as they were two of the three people who called the upset of Colorado vs. UNLV (Jacob also picked this upset). Jeremy also correctly guessed 14 selections right in the first round! The rest of the standings are below...

Standings:
1. Bradley - 16 points
2. Matt - 15 points
T3. Beth - 14.5 points
T3. Dad (Gary) - 14.5 points
T3. Jeremy - 14.5 points
T6. Mom (Jo) - 13.5 points
T6. Nathaniel - 13.5 points
T8. Heather - 12.5 points
T8. Robb - 12.5 points
T10. Eric - 12 points
T10. Melissa - 12 points
T12. Allison - 11.5 points
T12. Jacob - 11.5 points
14. Teresa - 10.5 points
15. Lindsey - 7.5 points

The second half of the first round starts tomorrow at noon. Be sure to keep updated... if you can't watch the games and have access to the Internet, let me know and I'll send you my username and password for the NCAA.com All-Access TV stream. It's actually kind of cool. It has a "Boss Button" so if your boss shows up you can press the button and make-shift excel sheet and email pops up on the screen. Ha! Too clever...

Still early, folks... only a few points are separating everyone. These points are easily made up for in the later rounds.

Go Heels!

Play-In Games Complete / A Look Ahead...

The play-in games are complete! WKU and BYU mounted incredible comebacks to win their games on Tuesday, and then Vermont and South Florida won their games with very little trouble on Wednesday to finalize the 64-team bracket.

The only people who were negatively affected by the 'First-Four' were Jeremy and Lindsey. They both had California advancing into the second round, and Doodle had them in the Sweet 16. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not compassionate enough during the bracket challenge to wish anyone would receive points. I love you both though.

I won't give a large run-down of the standings, but here is the breakdown. Congrats for adding some extra points, everyone! Also, the standings will be updated on the right side every round - see --->

2 points: Brad and Matt
1.5 points: Beth, Dad, Heather, Jacob, Lindsey, Mom (Jo), Nathaniel, and Robert
1 point: Eric and Melissa
0.5 points: Allison, Jeremy, and Teresa

Alright, now for a look ahead. As has become custom, below you will see a list of everyone's Final Four Selections. You will also see each player's pick for the National Champion underlined.

Allison: Iowa St., BYU, Florida State, North Carolina

Beth: Indiana, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Kansas

Brad: Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio State, North Carolina

Dad (Gary): Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, North Carolina

Eric: Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, North Carolina

Heather: Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Kansas

Jacob: Kentucky, St. Louis, Wisconsin, North Carolina

Jeremy: Kentucky, Michigan State, Florida State, North Carolina

Lindsey: Dook, Virginia, Ohio State, North Carolina

Matt: Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, North Carolina

Melissa: Dook, Michigan State, Ohio State, North Carolina

Mom (Jo): Baylor, Michigan State, Florida State, Georgetown

Nathaniel: Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio State, Kansas

Robert: Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Kansas

Teresa: Kentucky, Marquette, Ohio State, North Carolina

There is definitely some different picks this year! It helps when people have all different selections for the winner of the National Championship!

Tomorrow is the big day! Thursday and Friday are two of my favorite days of the year! You better believe we'll be having and updated blog tomorrow with the stupid teams who got eliminated and essentially screwed up your brackets.

Until then... GO HEELS!

23 Rules for Winning March Madness

Wall Street Journal pieced together a '23 Rules for Winning March Madness' list. It was pretty great, so I wanted to share.

A few of the highlights:

"1. There is only one certainty to filling out a March Madness bracket, and it is this: You will lose to someone who has never watched an NCAA basketball game in his or her life. You will also lose to a 7-year-old, a golden retriever and a lobster." - Amen.
"2. The person at the office who knows every single detail about college basketball, who can name the pets of assistant coaches and spend 45 minutes rhapsodizing about strength of schedule? Out of the pool by Friday at 2 p.m. Every time." - So true.
"3. If this is your first NCAA office pool, a fun thing to do is just fill in every blank bracket with the words "BACON OMELET!!!" You will always beat the guy who picks Syracuse." - HA!
"8. On Tuesday and Wednesday the NCAA holds something called the "First Four." Like that 4 p.m. office "brainstorming" meeting, this is half-baked and utterly optional."
"9. Remember, it's the "Final Four," the "Elite Eight," the "Sweet Sixteen," and the "We Don't Have Anything That Works With 32.""
"17. There's no word that's more exciting to say than "Gonzaga."" - Except nobody in our family can really pronounce it...
"22. Someone will come in Monday and loudly announce that his or her bracket is "totally destroyed." This person is going to win the pool." - Unfortunately, not me...

Check out the article here.

Syracuse star center ineligible!

Syracuse star center, Fab Melo, is ineligible for the 2012 NCAA Tournament!

Whoops!

Syracuse (30-2) played two games without Fab Melo during the regular season. One of those games resulted in their only loss of the regular season.

I hope you didn't have them going to the Final Four.

Ok, to be nice, I'm giving an extension. You have until midnight tonight to make any changes.

Because the games today do not affect Syracuse in any way, if you'd like to change your picks, you may do so tonight.

Dad finally cracks, decides to play!!!

In what could be the biggest story line for the 2012 Young Family Bracket Challenge, Gary Neal Young has finally cracked and decided to play!

After his youngest son began the endeavor by sending a heart-felt email asking him to play and strategically copying the entire family on the email, he finally gave in. It only took 4 years!

As much as I would like to take credit, it was a family effort. Everyone laid it on pretty thick - a talent we all learned extremely well from this man. Here are some of the highlights:

- "We REALLY want you to play the Bracket Challenge with us! I mean, we REALLY REALLY want you to play the Bracket Challenge with us. Who better to trash talk with than the guy who taught it to us all???!??! C'mon supreme e lustrous!" - Bradley Young
- "PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GRANDPA!" - Nathaniel Abbott
- "He's chicken......no guts no glory Dad!" - Teresa Matters
- "Come on Dad......U CHICKEN?????????? Boo Hoo, I don't know anything about Basketball, BooHoo, I will loose...................SUCK IT UP AND PLAY, Beth Does! U SCARED your girls will make u look bad, like we have Brad? =)" - Heather Abbott
- "Daddy, PUH-LEEEEAAASE PLAY!!!!!!!!!" - Boo Boo

And not only did he cave, he was truly happy about how much we wanted him in the challenge.

"I’m in and I have sent Bradley my picks. I will truly love taking everybody's money!!!!!!! Thanks I’m getting old and need all the help I can get!!! HAHA ... Well, I want you all to know that I’m looking forward to this. Thanks for wanting me to join in. Love you all !!!!!"

Here we go, pops! Welcome to the Challenge!

Oh, look... a picture of our badass father/grandpa... and he's wearing a... Tar Heels shirt! Oddly enough, that's the team he selected to win it all! Go Dad! :)

Pick your brackets blindly!

If you're worried that you do not know much about college basketball, or if you're worried about picking teams based on their names and records alone... try the blindfold bracket.

The Wall Street Journal put together a blind bracket where you choose teams head-to-head based on their skills and stats as opposed to their seeding and team names.

Could be helpful!

Wall Street Journal - Blindfold Bracket

(Click here)

2012 Brackets Unveiled!

The time is here! The 2012 NCAA Tournament Brackets have been unveiled.

The #1 seeds are: Kentucky (#1 overall), Syracuse, North Carolina (Go Heels!), and Michigan State.

The brackets were sent to you over email. But if you need it again, email me.

Brackets are due to me by noon on Tuesday. That is when the tip-off of the first game happens. Get them to me.

See the rules if you have any questions about the challenge.

Go Heels! And happy bracketing!

Time to prepare!

Alright, folks, the time is almost here! Selection Sunday is in 3 days! You will receive your brackets and the rules on Sunday night. I have created a new excel sheet for the brackets. You will not have to type anything except for your name! Every selection has a drop-down option.

Like last year, there will be a short turnaround for turning in your brackets. Because there will be four play-in games, brackets will need to be turned in to me via email (or you can call me and I can fill out your bracket over the phone) by tip-off of the first game.

So if you're going to prepare in any way, now is the time! All this week are the conference tournaments. This is the best time to see the teams in a tournament setting. Start prepping now... or, Beth, start looking at which team colors and/or mascots are "prettier". Ha!

Jeremy is the defending champion. The trophy is sitting on his desk. Who's going to take it?

Selection Sunday

Selection Sunday is March 11, 2012.

Get psyched!