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One of the best sporting events of the year is almost here, as March Madness is nearly upon us. The annual college basketball tournament technically kicks off on Tuesday night with the play-in games, but it really begins on Thursday with a full slate of games.
We've got the opportunity for you to compete against each other in predicting the games this year, because, let's face it - you all fill out a bracket anyway. Why not enter it in to compete against others on the site?
This year, SB Nation has partnered with Real Time Brackets for the tournament. Basically, what this entails is just like normal to start - you fill out your bracket and make your picks. But here's the catch - with real time brackets, you can change mid-game. So, if the team you picked is losing, you can change your pick in the middle of the game. Of course, you get less points for that, so if you pick the correct team and don't change it at all, then you'll get the maximum amount of points possible.
We set up a league for our site with real time brackets, and I'd recommend trying it out this year. Here's the information you need in order to join.
Group Name: Stampede Blue Real Time
Group Password: Coltsrule
Here's your chance to compete against those of us you interact with at Stampede Blue during March Madness. Bonus points go to whoever picks Notre Dame to win the national championship, since both of the editors here at the site (Matt and myself) are big Irish fans (just kidding about the bonus points). Of course, there are five Indiana teams in the tournament, and they all are in the same region: Notre Dame is the three seed in the Midwest, Butler is the six seed, Purdue is the nine seed, Indiana is the ten seed, and Valparaiso is the thirteen seed. And the Final Four and National Championship games will be played in Indianapolis this year, so that's kind of a big deal too.
So don't delay any further and go ahead and sign up for Stampede Blue's March Madness tournament this year, because in 49 states it's just basketball - but this is Indiana!