Day One is over -- Boo Boo is in the lead!

Well, Day One and half of the First Round is over and Boo Boo is in the lead.
Out of the 16 games, Boo Boo predicted 15 of them correctly. Her only misprediction was by Clemson. Clemson dropped a heart breaker to Michigan after Terrence Oglesby -- Clemson's top guard -- was ejected after throwing an elbow in the second half. So, thanks a lot, Terrence. You screwed up MY bracket... oh, and some others as well, I guess.

So, here are the standings after Day One:

1. Boo Boo -- 15 points
2. Joe -- 14 points
2. Melissa -- 14 points
4. Bradley -- 13 points
4. Eric -- 13 points
4. Heather -- 13 points
4. Jeremy -- 13 points
8. Ali -- 12 points
8. Nathaniel -- 12 points
10. Matt -- 11 points
10. Mom -- 11 points
10. Robert -- 11 points
13. Teresa -- 10 points
14. Lindsey -- 7 points

Don't get down if you're low in rank, it's still very, very early!

16 games down today... 16 more tomorrow!!!

Tournament Notes:
-Way to go UNC for beating Radford. The Heels posted 101 points as their starters were benched with 8 minutes to go in the game. Ty Lawson will be playing in the next game.
-Way to go, Villanova, for pulling out a tough victory over a pesky American team!
-Sorry, Illinois for being victim of the #12 seed over the #5 seed tradition...
-Duke -- you suck.

Also, as an added bonus. NCAA has released this commercial that I wanted to share. This is what would happen to me if I were to be driving in Champaign, Illinois. .

Hoops and Hops for Eric Tonight!

Off the the neighbors garage ~ 7 PM to play some ping pong and then watch the ILLINOIS versus W. KENTUCKY game tonight. Doing the brackets with y'all and having the BLOG to follow will make things extra fun this year!

7 for 7 so far today....(I know, it's early!)

Memphis survives -- barely

Memphis trailed by as many as six points in the second half but was able to pull out the win against Cal State Northridge in the first round of the NCAA tournament. As a heavy favorite by over 90% of the country to advance to the Elite 8, if not the Final Four or National Championship, it begs to wonder exactly how good Memphis is coming out of a weak conference.

Will Memphis be the big upset in the tournament? From the looks of how they played today, I wouldn't be surprised. Talk about a Bracket Buster! Only one other upset today thus far, Texas A&M (9 seed) dropped BYU (8 seed) handily.

I'll keep you all updated on any major upsets or huge Bracket Busters for us... stay tuned.

And let the Bracket MANIA Begin!!!

...the 2009 NCAA Championship has officially tipped off at 12:10 p.m. (ET) as Butler and LSU tipped off!

And here we go!!!

Young Family Bracket Challenge Preview

With T-minus 1 hour before March Madness and the Young Family rivaly (and trash talk!) begins, I thought I'd give a little preview of the brackets to everyone to see what they're up against. Obviously you will all see each others brackets when I have them all turned in and send them out at noon (that way they are final versions), but I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at each participants Final Four Selections:

Allison: Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, UCONN
Louisville vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Boo Boo: Kansas, Pittsburg, North Carolina, Memphis
Memphis vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Bradley: Wake Forest, Villanova, North Carolina, UCONN
UCONN vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Eric: Michigan State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, UCONN
Michigan State (Champion) vs. North Carolina
Heather: Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Memphis
Louisville vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Jeremy: Kansas, Villanova, North Carolina, UCONN
UCONN (Champion) vs. North Carolina
Joe: Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, UCONN
Michigan State (Champion) vs. North Carolina
Lindsey: Siena, Tennessee, North Carolina, Memphis
Memphis vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Matt: West Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Memphis
West Virginia (Champion) vs. North Carolina
Melissa: Michigan State, Duke, Illinois, UCONN
Michigan State vs. Illinois (Champion)
Mom: West Virginia, Xavier, Clemson, UCONN
UCONN (Champion) vs. Clemson
Nathaniel: Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, Memphis
Memphis vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Robert: Louisville, Villanova, North Carolina, Memphis
Louisville vs. North Carolina (Champion)
Teresa: Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, UCONN
Michigan State vs. North Carolina (Champion)

A lot of North Carolina picks! I sure have brainwashed my family well! The one matchup I'd really love to see is Siena taking on UCONN in the Final Four... but that's just me.

Injury updates -- as far as I know that would affect everyone's brackets. Ty Lawson -- PG, North Carolina and ACC Player of the Year, is not playing in the first round game unless he is needed. Coach Roy Williams wants to rest him and make sure his injury is clear before the big haul. He will play in the tournament. Chester Frazier -- PG, Illinois, will not be playing in the NCAA Tournament. Frazier has been the leader on the team and hands down their best player.

So that's my update -- will keep posting today as the games begin! Good luck to all of you whom have chosen North Carolina to win the Championship. Good luck to the others who didn't, as well, I guess ;-).

BREAKING NEWS: Jacob Young not cleared for 2009 Tournament

It has been brought to the attention of the Young Family NCAA Bracket Challenge 2009 media department (cough, Brad) that Jacob Young will not be available for participation in the Bracket Challenge for 2009.

Jacob Young, a heavy-favorite to rank highly in the Challenge this season, has not been cleared by his doctors following surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids.

I received notice from his father, Eric, as he immediately replied to an email regarding the eligibility of Jacob for the 2009 Challenge.

"Yeah - he is out this year!" says Eric Young.

The Young Family NCAA Bracket Challenge administration will sorely miss Jacob's presence during this year's tournament but trusts that he will be back in prime condition next year.

Having to drop out of the challenge would have left this year's playing field down to 12 participants. However, late additions by Joe Matters and Matt Abbott (on behalf of his family) has now brought the total number of participants to 14.

The Challenge begins, Thursday, March 19, 2009. The first tip-off begins at noon.

Catching up with Lindsey Kay Abbott

This evening, we caught up with Lindsey Kay Abbott to talk to her about her 2009 NCAA Bracket.

Here is a glimpse of Lindsey's bracket:

Elite 8: Siena, Michigan St., Texas A&M, Memphis, Tennessee, Binghamton, North Carolina and Stephen F. Austin
Final Four: Siena, Memphis, Tennessee, North Carolina
Championship: Memphis vs. North Carolina
2009 National Champion: North Carolina (Final score 5-2)

Brad Young: So, Doodle, are you excited to participate in the NCAA Bracket Challenge this year?
--Lindsey Abbott: Yes, because it is fun. It was fun to pick North Carolina.

BY: Why was it fun to pick North Carolina?
--LKA: Because I like that place.

BY: So, I noticed you chose Siena to make it all the way to the final four. Why?
--LKA: I don't know. Because they cry.

BY: Crying makes you go to the Final Four? If that's the case Duke would be there every year.
--LKA:I don't know. He he.

BY: You've also got Tennessee going to the Final Four, what do you like about them?
--LKA: I chose them because it starts with the letter "T".

BY: You like the letter "T"? You think it's lucky?
--LKA: Yes.

BY: You have North Carolina winning it all. Are you excited to see the Tar Heels win a National Championship?
--LKA: Yes

BY: You think they're going beat Memphis, 5-2 -- that's a low scoring game. What made you choose that score?
--LKA: I don't know.

BY: The games star tomorrow. Are you going to be watching all of the games?
--LKA: I hope so!

BY: Do you have anything else you want to say?
--LKA: I hope I win and GO NORTH CAROLINA.

Alright, so there you have it. Lindsey has a serious Cinderella story in Siena and Tennessee. Something that not a lot of participants in this challenge have. So, yes, Lindsey's bracket is unorthodox, but it may be brilliance and we're just yet to see it. Let's see if she puts us all to shame!