It’s time once again for the three week extravaganza of basketball known as March Madness, and for the concomitant tradition of winning glory through some combination of savvy prognostication and dumb luck. Welcome to the 2019 Avocado bracket pool!

Last year’s winner was Rex Reilly, with Dan Pierce taking second and MJKELLY26 in third.

http://fantasy.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2019/en/group?groupID=2535275

Our private group can be reached using the link above and the password austinfreak. Scoring is standard— 10 points for the round of 64, 20 points for the round of 32, 40 for the Sweet 16, 80 for the Elite 8, 160 for the Final Four, and 320 for the championship game.

This year, I am going to try something new. I am adding a special “First Weekend” award for the player with the best overall record after the round of 32. Each win will be worth one base point, but a win by a lower-seeded team will be worth two points, and a win by a team seeded four or more seeds lower will be worth three points. If this doesn’t work, we can call it the “Zanoni’s Folly” Award!

Picks must be entered by the start of the round of 64 (this Thursday). One entry per player.

I will start a new thread for each round of the tournament with updated standings, beginning this Thursday. Best of luck!