**WNFF MARCH MADNESS 2013 CBS NCAA BRACKET CONTEST - FREE**

[nats2playoffs]

We used this CBS Bracket group in 2012. Go to:
http://wnff.mayhem.cbssports.com

League name: Washington Nationals Fan Forum
Password: zimmerman
League abbreviation: wnff

First Place: Bragging rights only.
Second place:  "I could have won if only..."
Third  place: I got Third Place.

I set this up with the Add Seed Scoring option, which rewards picking upsets.  Examples: If a 12 seed beats a 5 seed, you add 12 points.  If the 5 seed wins, add 5 points to the basic score (which a commissioner can control, unlike ESPN):

"First" Round:      We don't pick the 4 play-in games
Second Round:    5 points
Third Round:     10
Fourth Round:   15
Fifth Round:      20
SemiFinals:        25
Finals:                30
Tiebreaker: Total score in final
       
I just sent Invitations from the 2012 email addresses CBS had on file. 
Entry must be created before the first game this Thursday March 21, 2013. 
You have to set up or log in to a CBS Sports ID.

SEND ME A PM (with a valid email address to use) IF YOU CANNOT SIGN UP WITHOUT AN INVITATION. 

[nats2playoffs]

Pick up today's (Monday) The Washington Post and USA Today for the Special Section, your guide to the NCAA tournament.  They're loaded with statistics. 

The The Washington Post has for each team:
Won-Loss record, Last 10 W-L, RPI, coach name
The heights of the starters and reserves, Fr/So/Jr/Sr, Pts/game, REB/game, Ast/game

ESPN has the results of every game on each team's page.

[Lintyfresh85]

Any idea who won last year?

[nats2playoffs]

Any idea who won last year?

2012 Championship game: Kentucky Wildcats 67, Kansas Jayhawks 59

2012 WNFF winner:
Team Name          Score Correct Picks Champion Pick
1 BerkeleyNat    559   42   Kentucky (140)
2   Barack Obama        553   44   North Carolina (159)
3   Ryan Zimmerman   519   39   Kentucky (153)

Two WNFF members also picked Kentucky, as well as LeBron James and Alex Ovechkin.  (The picks of these real athletes were taken off the Internet and entered for comparison.)

[Minty Fresh]

In.

You nages are all going down.

LET'S  GO  DANES!

[nats2playoffs]

I prefer the printed brackets that show ALL of the locations, so you can see if either team in a matchup is playing close to home. 

This is the first time in memory that Duke and North Carolina both have to travel, with neither playing in North Carolina.

The NCAA said that these two teams were dropped down a seed from where they really wanted them, to make the brackets work (and comply with other predetermined criteria):

Midwest #12 Oregon (Pac 12) - first game is about 8 hours drive, possibly a concession for this seeding drop.
East #12 California 20-11 - first game is in San Jose CA, possibly a concession to this.

http://media.oregonlive.com/march-madness/photo/mensbracket2013bjpg-d6342af543bcbe08.jpg

[nats2playoffs]

In.

You nages are all going down.
LET'S  GO  DANES!

(Image removed from quote.)

HTT's bracket was posted!

The Albany Great Danes have less than a 4-hour drive to play Duke in Philadelphia.  The Blue Devils now have to drive 6.25 hours to get there.

#15 Albany won 11 road games; last appeared in NCAA tourney in 2007.

[Minty Fresh]

HTT's bracket was posted!

The Albany Great Danes have less than a 4-hour drive to play Duke in Philadelphia.  The Blue Devils now have to drive 6.25 hours to get there.
(Image removed from quote.)
#15 Albany won 11 road games; last appeared in NCAA tourney in 2007.

My son's birthday party is that day, but I am trying to convince my wife to let me go to Philly for the game with my boss - we are both Alumni!

[mitlen]

My son's birthday party is that day, but I am trying to convince my wife to let me go to Philly for the game with my boss - we are both Alumni!

Sounds like a father/son road trip.

[nats2playoffs]

My son's birthday party is that day, but I am trying to convince my wife to let me go to Philly for the game with my boss - we are both Alumni!

Get tickets through your school's alumni group for better pricing.  To catch the second session for that day, watch as the prices drop on late Thursday afternoon.  Check with Wanamaker Entertainment for good pricing, as they carry large blocks of seats that they own... but wait as prices drop:


http://www.wanatix.com/tickets/wells-fargo-center/t313054/ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament-strips-all-sessions-tickets.aspx


I've posted the picks of ESPN Bracketology guru, Joe Lunardi, as an entry in the WNFF March Madness challenge.  Get your picks in before noon Thursday!

[nats2playoffs]

President Barack Obama's Baracket announced on ESPN has been posted as an entry in our FREE WNFF March Madness Challenge.  Regardless of how you feel about him politically, his first full round picks (in the field of 64 teams) have been outstanding for the last few years.  He was in the top 98% after the first weekend last year. But he only got two of the Final Four correct, and got the champion wrong. In 2013, his Final Four are:
#1 Louisville, #2 Ohio State, #3 Florida, #1 Indiana, with Indiana the nationals champion.

See Obama's 2013 picks here:
http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/en/entry?entryID=4267886


The video of Obama's 2013 picks can be seen at:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2013/story/_/id/9073386/ncaa-tournament-2013-president-barack-obama-fills-bracket

Send me a Private Message her if you want an Invite to participate.  RobDibblesGhost and ronnynat are submitting brackets, joining HTT, Lintyfresh85, Minty and others.  We use the Add Seed option, where the seed number is added to your score for each match.

[RobDibblesGhost]

Are we just submitting one bracket each?  I see you can submit up to 3, but I don't know if anyone else is doing more than one...

[nats2playoffs]

Nobody normally submits more than one entry, (especially since there is no cash jackpot.) There were 3 entries from one person 2 years ago, but those were separate picks from 3 members of the same family. 

You can submit more entries if you want.  This is a good Challenge for the Add Seed, to test it and maybe change a money pool to that format in the future.  I'm still trying to find Ryan Zimmerman's picks for 2013 on the Internet, to add it.

 

[Minty Fresh]

I did one strictly based upon coin flips.  I'll enter that one too...

[nats2playoffs]

Deadline is 11:59 AM TODAY.  If you have a bracket, but cannot do the setup and input on CBS Sports' site, send me a Private Message (PM) here, and I can use Commissioner power to input your bracket for you.  That's how I entered President Barack Obama's and ESPN's Joe Lunardi's picks. 

 

[CALSGR8]

Not sure if mine made it in on time

[nats2playoffs]

Not sure if mine made it in on time

Assuming you took Georgetown to win the championship, you are currently in first place.  The Best Score reflects the Add Seed option.  WNFF Standings page:
http://wnff.mayhem.cbssports.com/brackets/standings

 

If someone has a bracket that they entered in another Challenge, I can use commissioner power to still add it here.  Send me a link to the bracket. I haven't seen Ryan Zimmerman's 2013 bracket published yet.  I do see brackets for Charles Barkley and ESPN analysts.

[CALSGR8]

I always pick the local team to win!   Hey!   It worked in 2000

[zimm_da_kid]

damn. UNLV and OK state already out.  I had them both in my sweet 16

[nats2playoffs]

In addition to Barack Obama's celebrity Baracket, I added published sports broadcaster brackets for:

Charles Barkley, NBA Hall of Fame and TV analyst
Brian Mitchell, former Redskin and Comcast Sports Network *
Gary Williams, former coach of Maryland U and American U; Comcast Sports Network *
Joe Lunardi, ESPN basketball analyst
                 
* Comcast Sports Network (CSN) has the Buick Bracket Challenge, where if you beat the picks of Gary Williams and Brian Mitchell, you win a free one-topping Papa John's Pizza.  First place wins a big television.  They use a different scoring system, but you can see their picks more easily in bracket form here.

There are brackets from 7 WNFF members, plus 4 people I know. See WNFF March Madness Challenge Standings at:
http://wnff.mayhem.cbssports.com/brackets/standings

[CALSGR8]

GTOWN busted!

[Tyler Durden]

Yeah, my bracket has been busted.  Lots of big-time players have not shown up.  Porter, Smart, Bennett all were basically no-shows. 

[nats2playoffs]

2013 Championship game:
#1 Louisville Cardinals 82, #4 Michigan Wolverines 76



2013 WNFF winner:

Team Name                                  Score Correct Picks Champion Pick
1 Lintyfresh85                   424    35 Louisville (148)
Top Celebrities:
1 Joe Lunardi/ESPN                           470    38 Louisville
2 Barack Obama                                457    38 Indiana
3 Charles Barkley                               456    37 Louisville
4 Gary Williams, former MD/AU coach  428    35 Louisville

HTT also picked Louisville.

[mitlen]

2013 Championship game:
#1 Louisville Cardinals 82, #4 Michigan Wolverines 76



2013 WNFF winner:
(Image removed from quote.)
Team Name                                  Score Correct Picks Champion Pick
1 Lintyfresh85                   424    35 Louisville (148)
Top Celebrities:
1 Joe Lunardi/ESPN                           470    38 Louisville
2 Barack Obama                                457    38 Indiana
3 Charles Barkley                               456    37 Louisville
4 Gary Williams, former MD/AU coach  428    35 Louisville

HTT also picked Louisville.

(Image removed from quote.)

Well done !!

[Lintyfresh85]

Cool!