The greatest sporting event in the history of mankind except for maybe the World Cup or what have you is just about upon us!
It’s NCAA Tournament time, and just like last year we shall determine who among us is the literary bracket picking champion OF THEM ALL.
Last year, Jody-Feldman was a UConn victory away from winning the ENTIRE multi-million person ESPN challenge, but ultimately it was Jared who came away victorious.
Who will win this time?
(Probably not me)
Here’s how it works: You’ll fill out your NCAA bracket online by picking the winners of all the games. And I’m offering a better prize this year: The winner with the most points at the end of the NCAA tournament will win their choice of a free partial critique or a book from one of my clients.
Here’s how to enter:
1. Go to the front page of the ESPN tournament challenge: https://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage
2. Make your picks.
3. If you have an ESPN username and password you can log in when you submit your picks, otherwise you may need to create a new user ID and password. But don’t worry, it’s not onerous and you can decline to receive updates in case you’re spam conscious.
4. Hover over the link that says “My Groups” and then click “Create or Join a Group”
5. Search for “Bransford Blog Challenge.” Enter the password, which is “rhetorical” and then click Join Group.
Then you’re all set! You can make changes to your bracket by clicking on it until it locks on Thursday.
Please limit yourself to one entry
This year all updates and trash talking and “I don’t believe what I just saw!!”s will be conducted in this dedicated March Madness thread in the Forums.
Oh, and you don’t have to know anything about basketball to participate. In fact, it’s probably an asset.
Good luck, Chalengees!!
Photo by Rick Dikeman via a Creative Commons license
Is this the one with the baskets up on poles and no goalies?
this post is just made of awesomeness : ) going to join your group later on.
I'm so going to make the time to do this later today.
Your closing comment was inspiring, because I don't know anything about basketball, but I would like to participate. Woot!
the best sport and the best activity on the planet–COMBINED. cannot even fathom. thank you.
Every year I pick my brackets based on the schools that sent me the most mail senior year of high school. Usually it works pretty well.
Ugh, basketball. If we were asked to pick the teams expected to make the baseball playoffs this year, I would be all over that. NCAA basketball? I'm going to have to go with the standard fall back … choosing teams with the best uniform colors.
so, what I am trying to work out is whether I should go with the coin flip method of choosing teams, or stick with selecting the ones with coolest uniforms.
I love this game. It is ON!
ok so i entered. not being american or sporty i really have no clue about any of this so i just picked the names i liked best.
Done and done. Sure glad you don't have to know what you're doin' to participate. I could really use a partial critique right now.
I am British. I have no idea what you are talking about.
@ Alicia: I don't do basketball, either, but I find making picks based on the highest collective GPA or SAT scores to be amusing.
Alicia, go with the best uniforms, and then use coin flip to decide any ties.
this is a really fun idea! i bet my hubby will be happy when i'm actually excited to hear him tell me all about the games.
@Laurel–I hope you don't have Cornell winning the whole thing!
I just joined the group. I was really surprised to find I was already registered there. I've done some fantasy football groups,but thought it was through something else. Oh well, it saved me the time of having to register. 🙂
My picks are almost completely random except for the winner. I had to go with Marquette as it's my dad's alma mater and the first time I was ever interested in basketball was way back in the 70s when I watched the tournamet with my dad. Marquette won that year. (1977?)
Is it cheating to have my dad make my picks for me?
The password made me laugh.
Hey, I'm still learning about football!
😀
G.
It's so going to be KANSAS, btw.
Nice! I'm a huge basketball fan and the Washington Huskies are IN!!! I had to be realistic with my picks though because now I'm motivated to win and send you my partial. Awesome idea, Nathan; love it!
"In fact, it's probably an asset."
Truer words never spoken. Blast all sportology! It has never helped me.
Good, because I don't KNOW a thing about basketball. I'll probably just eenie, meenie, miney, moe it. That sounds like a good way to go about it.
Is it correct in saying you will win a critique OR a book by a client, or is it a critique FOR a book by a client?
or
Great challenge. I'm all signed up. I never win the bracket because I always try to sneak in a few upsets. 😀 I can't control my urge to root for the underdog.
I'm so not into basketball but filled out a bracket anyway. As I'll be in Disneyland during much of March Madness, I'll have to find out who won when I'm back in town — unless Tinkerbell knows the scores. 🙂
I did all of my choices alphabetically.
Cool. I look forward to getting your critique Nathan. I'll just send it now because all of these suckers are going down!
I'm going to have to atone for that horrendous Raptors loss to the Kings (43 points? In a quarter?) by WINNING THIS CONTEST. I'm going to use my vast basketball knowledge to, um, flip a coin for every game.
Dang — why can't you do this for tennis grand slams — something I know about!! 🙂
Good luck everyone, those are some awesome prizes!
Know nothing about basketball so I pressed gleefully pressed buttons at random! 😀 If I get even one right I'll be impressed with myself!
Is that a picture of Kent Benson? I realize Bob Knight's crew went undefeated that season, but, um, why a picture of Kent Benson?
Thanks, I love the NCAA tournament, but wasn't going to pay much attention because my beloved Illini got snubbed. Now I have a good reason to fill out a bracket.
Psyched for March Madness! Way less depressing than watching the Kings. I'll be by to join the challenge!
Can I choose YOUR book when I win? I'm willing to wait =)
You should have something for the People's Sexiest Man of the Year award. My record with picking that winner is astounding.
I totally just picked the teams I liked the schools for, or liked their names. That means I should win the whole ESPN thing, right?
Game On!
I'm pulling for the Kentucky, but I don't think they can get past Kansas.
Would love to see Louisville beat Duke, but I don't think that could happen either.
Sad to say the SEC has a bad showing this year. The Hogs didn't even make the NIT.
Can't you have a bake-off or something? I am SO out of my league with sports. But I really want to win the critique!
A good friend says she can't get into any sport that involves a ball. Well said and I also agree with Valerie… I'd love to pick favorites on a bake-off
*Joanna van der Gracht de Rosado
Excellent. I'm definitely joining – aside from the lure of the prize, I've always wanted to learn how to trash talk.
Not for a character or something, I just want to learn it. Seems like a valuable skill.
So, I hope there will be lots of trash talking, you, uh, not-winners, your team is a bunch of dumb-dumbs. Okay, off to join, now, this is going to be fun.
@ KC_Writer I'm a UW Husky fan as well! I moved out to the east coast recently and had to stay up until 2 AM to watch us seal the deal in the Pac-10 tournament. Worth it!
All due respect Mary McDonald but I hope my Huskies upset Marquette!
I am so joining this instead of working tomorrow.
Yay! —> To the forum to learn about trash talking and Basketball in general (is it much like ruggers and/or cricket…?)
And my picks will be whichever team sounds prettiest because I honestly have no idea about this whole world of sport… Somebody educate me!
A Star Trek fan and an NCAA fan. I think I'm a little in love with you Nathan.
I'm in. But I had a hard time making my picks. I kept looking for Stanford in the bracket, but I couldn't find them. Huh. Go figure.
(Do they have a women's tournament bracket, by the way? I hate to say it, but I think the Appel and the Cardinal will bring home that championship this year.)
As difficult as it seems, I shall attempt to wow you with my blind picks.
Done…wish my Hoosier friend was around to tell me the inside scoop, but I did my best…and picked a certain midwestern team…well, I'm not saying which one….
sounds fun!
YAY MARCH MADNESS!!!!!!! it's not the super bowl, but it'll do.
Question for you, Nathan: Say I fill out a bracket and enter – and then my husband fills out a bracket and enters, too. If he were to win, he'd (most likely) defer his prize to me (unless he's got some novel in the closet he's never told me about). Is that the same as entering twice? 🙂
I suspect that it is, but just wanted your confirmation.