2024 Reading Challenge: Is It Too Late to Lower My Goal?

GoodReads Book Challenge Status 2024

Every year for the past few years, I've participated in the GoodReads reading challenge. This year is no different, but I'm struggling to keep up with my reading goal. I've read every day, but sometimes it's only a page or two. I initially set a goal of 25 books for 2024, but I'm only at 11 books with November almost over. It doesn't look promising that I'll finish 25 books by the end of December.

Last year, I was at 17 out of 25 books in early November and ultimately completed my 25-book challenge for 2023 (see post). I finished 2023 by listening to many audiobooks and reading shorter books. I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to catch up on my reading for 2024, especially being at only 11 out of 25 books.

I've enjoyed some great books this year. I recently finished "Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, Faith and Forgiveness in a Small Kansas Town," which I found captivating. This book was written by my friend Ernie Webb III from Washburn University. It was Ernie's first book, and I think he did an excellent job. The book kept me engaged and interested until the end.

My plan is to find a few audiobooks to listen to and tackle a few more books from my target list. However, I don't think I can fit in 14 books between now and December 31st. We'll see, though, and I'll enjoy the process.

I hope you are enjoying a challenge of your own whether it be reading, exercise, or exploring the great outdoors. 

March Madness 2024 Tournament Challenge

It is time create your entry for March Madness. It is Selection Sunday.

March Madness Hopefuls group is free to play and you can enter up to three entries. There is no password on the group, so hoping it will be an easy process to join your entries, encourage your family and friends to join, and be sure to come back after Selection Sunday to make your entries.

The directions for joining remain the same from last year. The more people in the group the more fun it is to make your selections. 

1. Visit ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not, sign into the site and then you will be taken to the March Madness Hopefuls group or you can search for March Madness Hopefuls to join.
3. Join the group.
4. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Be sure to submit your entries by 11:00 am CST Thursday, March 21. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:15 am on Thursday March 21. There are play-in games starting Tuesday, but you do not need to enter your picks until the field is set following Wednesday night play-in games. Make sure to enter your picks prior to 

If you have any questions or problems, please let me know.

Good luck and enjoy March Madness!

My Reading Journey from 2023 with a Goal of 25 Books and I Read 25 Books in 2023... Some of my Favorites in this Update

Goal was 25 and Made 25

I met my reading goal for 2023. The goal was 25 books and I read my last book on New Years Eve. On November 5, 2023, I was at 17 of 25 books (see post), so I had to pick up the pace and read every chance I could get. Even reading every chance I could get, it was close as I was juggling multiple books.

I had a fun time reading this year. The majority of the 25 books I read with my Kindle. Some of the books, I did listen to which I know is debated as whether they count or not in some social media circles. I did find that listening to novels does not work well for me unless I am in the car driving and can focus on the audio book. I decided that audio books I listen to in 2024 will be memoirs or autobiographies as they are easier to follow when around the house and doing other things. I did manage to fit in a few autobiographies this year, so that was fun. 

My 25 Books for 2023

 To the right are the 25 books I read during 2023. Here, I will highlight some of my favorites. Starting at the top which are the earliest books I read in 2023, I enjoyed Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of Women of Pan AM by Julia Cooke. This book entered my queue from a bookclub I belong and I found this an interesting read. I was a good book to start my 2023 reading journey and I really enjoyed the history from the book with facts I had not heard previously.

My next favorite book was Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos. My Uncle Charlie had told me about the movie that he saw and that it was good, but it also included a sequence in the movie that was exactly what my Dad went through when he served in the Navy. I really enjoyed the book and could feel what my Dad went through in that scary moment while reading the section of the book. I was able to watch the movie this past week and it went along exactly how I remember the book portrayed the story.

My first audio book of 2023 was The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl. This book was recommended to me by Carrie. Dave Grohl being the drummer from Nirvana and Foo Fighters. I loved this book! It was even better because I heard the book read by Dave Grohl. It was really good and highly recommend that if you want to read this book that you do the audio book so you can hear Dave Grohl tell his story. Excellent!

A few books later and I was reading another biography The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizabeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Butler Greenfield. Once again, an interesting book about the code breakers, women, of WWI and WWII that I found so interesting. This was one of the books I read during 2023 that I found hard to put down. Interesting facts throughout that I had not heard about before. I believe this was another book from the book club I belong, but I do not recall for sure. It was good nonetheless.

I went back and picked up two books by C.J. Box as I continue to enjoy reading the series. I read Out of Range and In Plain Sight. The story continues with about 25 books in the series of game warden Joe Pickett. I will probably read a few more from this series during 2024. Easy reads that move quickly and hard to put down.

Finally after many years and multiple friends colleagues telling me I should read the book, I finally read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Nope! It did not disappoint. I could not put it down and read it fairly quickly for my reading routine. I am so glad that I finally checked it out from the library (e-book of course), waited for it to arrive as there was a wait, and read it thoroughly enjoying the book.

Carrie recommended I listen to the audio book of The Woman in Me by Britney Spears. Once again, hearing the book read by the author was a good way to "read" the book. Once again, I recommend if you want to read this book that you do the audio book to hear Britney Spears tell her story. Worth it!

My final book of the year which also happened to be an audio book was Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. Hearing Matthew Perry read after passing away not long ago (October 28, 2023) was a bit eerie but again it was good to hear it in the authors voice. To start out the book, Matthew Perry says "Hi, my name is Matthew Perry, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead." Eerie feeling as I listened to Matthew Perry speak this on the audiobook. If you have the chance and can get on the waiting list, be sure to listen to the audiobook of Matthew Perry.

Those are the highlights of my books from 2023. I barely made my goal of 25 books for the year. For 2024, I did another goal of 25 books although I hope to be closer to 30 books on the year as it comes to a close a year from now. I make it a point to read every day and so far I have been able to keep that streak going for two years straight. Even on days where I listen to an audio book, I still make sure to open my Kindle and read a page or two from one of my many books on my shelf.

If you have a recommendation for a book based on those I read or referenced above that I said I enjoyed, I would be interested to hear from you in the comments of those post. Of course you can also reach out via social media to share with me too.

Enjoy your reading journey and if we have not connected on GoodReads, please follow me on GoodReads. 

The GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge is Almost Over and I am Behind Schedule for My Goal of 25 Books

Status in GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge

The GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge started and I was doing really well about halfway through the year. I was ahead of schedule on books read, but the past few months I have not read as much. My goal is to read each day which I have done, but some days I was only reading a few pages. The past three or four weeks I am trying to read a chapter a day and most days I have been meeting that goal. 

Books Read for 2023

Currently, I am four books behind schedule to complete 25 books for the year. I am at 17 of 25. I have read some good books this year. My favorite series remains the C.J. Box author. I started reading the series last year and I was reading one after the other, so I decided to mix it up and read some other books this year too.

I am juggling four books currently although spending most of my time reading Malibu Burning which was a free book from Amazon that Carrie got. I am almost done with it at 80%, so I should finish it this week. I hope to get another book or two read before Thanksgiving, but I might have to find some short reads to catch up to my planned schedule.

For someone who used to hardly read at all, the past few years have been a big change for me. Reading daily for enjoyment and not because I have to but because I want to is new for me. I read when I was little, but I would not read for long periods of time; instead, I would tend to read a book and then not read for a while until I found another book sounds interesting. This could be a few months to a few years between when I would read when I was little. This changed about three years ago when I started reading daily. There have been times when I have finished a book that I could easily have stopped reading and moved on to something else, but I kept up and got through the book. 

My list of books that I want to read continues to grow. I am up to 31 on GoodReads I have marked that I want to read and I know I have almost that many on my library app too. I continue to have fun and I enjoy the process of reading where I make the movie in my head. I love it when I am reading and become completely lost in the story where time seems to stand still while I read but as I finish the chapter, thirty minutes has gone by.

I better get back to reading so I can meet my goal. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week! I hope you are able to enjoy some good reading time where you become lost in the book. If you have a good book to recommend, I am always open to suggestions, so feel free to comment on this post or send me a message.

March Madness 2023 ESPN Tournament Challenge

It is time to make your selections for March Madness. 

March Madness Hopefuls group is free to play and you can enter up to three entries. There is no password on the group, so hoping it will be an easy process to join your entries, encourage your family and friends to join, and be sure to come back after Selection Sunday to make your entries. 

The directions for joining remain the same from last year. Group is read and can start getting the word out on joining the group. The more people in the group the more fun it is to make your selections. 

1. Visit ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not, sign into the site and then you will be taken to the March Madness Hopefuls group or you can search for March Madness Hopefuls to join.
3. Join the group.
4. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Be sure to submit your entries by 10:00 am CST Thursday, March 16. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:00 am on Thursday March 16.

If you have any questions or problems, please post a comment to this post.

Good luck and enjoy March Madness!

Completed the GoodReads 2022 Reading Challenge of Twenty Books and Thinking New Goal for 2023

Met My 2022 Reading Goal

A year ago I set a goal to read twenty books for 2022. This was done on GoodReads where I have been a member for a while now. I have tried their challenge a few times setting goals for five or ten books in the past. This is the first time I have completed my goal and actually exceeded my set goal.

The year is not over and I have read 21 of 20 books so far. I hope to be able to complete two more books before the year is finished. I am about halfway through one book and then during the break between Christmas and New Years, I should be able to get another book completed.

I read every day for the past year. There was not one day where I did not read at least a few pages. Whether it was on vacation, at blues festival, or exhausted from a day of work, I found time to read. According to Kindle stats, I have read for a streak of 359 days and 58 weeks in a row which I obviously started before the New Year started a year ago. 

During the year, I have read a few series. C.J. Box is the recent series I have been reading. I really enjoy his books and story. Another series that I enjoyed was from L.T. Ryan about Racheal Hatch. I enjoyed the history of Code Girls that I read through a book group on-line. I want to do more with that book group as it gets me to read books that I might normally read and then interact with others that are reading the same book.

Full details of the books in the image above can be viewed on my GoodReads 2022 Reading Challenge page. I am thinking about my goal for 2023 and while I do not want to go crazy by picking a larger number I could not possibly hit, I do want to do more than twenty books for 2023. I am thinking I will probably increase it by five and go for twenty-five for 2023. I was ahead of schedule during 2022 on my target, but I would have to double the effort to hit thirty books if I go that high. Granted, there were weekends and evenings where I could have been reading but decided to watch television, sleep, or just relax, but it is possible I could increase the time I spend reading which would help me to meet a higher goal. We will see what I select for my new reading challenge.

I have always enjoyed reading when I made time to do so. I enjoy getting into a story and escaping through the story to whatever setting the author is describing. I am happy to say that reading is a part of my regular day that I make sure to complete no matter what and I intend to keep this going through 2023.

What are your favorite books? Do you have one to recommend based on the series I have read? You can connect with me on GoodReads through my profile.

Final Results of the 2022 ESPN Tournament Challenge in the March Madness Hopefuls Group

What a March Madness we had! All kinds of fun games, late nights, and good memories. The final result helped a number of us in the end with Kansas Jayhawks winning. It will be one week on Monday that KU won the national championship. What a run and what a game! But this update is about the top winners in the March Madness Hopefuls group.

The group saw a number of people rise and fall from the top spot from game-to-game and week-to-week. In the end, we had four that finished in the top three spots. Uncle Charlie won our group with a total score of 1,180 points. Followed by yours truly with 1,140 points. Third place was locked in by Betsy Hoke and Shawn Geil with 1,130 points. 

Uncle Charlie had only one entry to the tournament and it ended up clinching the top spot in our group. Meanwhile, I had three entries in this group alone and a total of seven entries overall. Betsy had three entries in our group and Shawn had two entries. So, Uncle Charlie won our group with only one entry. Nice job!

I am sure we will hear from Uncle Charlie during the off season and into next year when the tournament starts how he won it all. Congrats!

It is so exciting to have people playing in our group and entering multiple entries. It makes the tournament fun as we watch the changing leaders following each upset or after each week ends. What a fun time! We had over 40 entries in the group and the average points scored for our group was 555 points.

Great year and looking forward to next year!

March Madness 2022 ESPN Tournament Challenge

It might seem a little early to create your bracket for the tournament, but it will be here before you know it. So, go ahead and create your entry now. No, you will not be able to make your selections until Selection Sunday on March 13, 2022. Get your entry created now so you can focus on making your picks come Selection Sunday. 

March Madness Hopefuls group is free to play and you can enter up to three entries. There is no password on the group, so hoping it will be an easy process to join your entries, encourage your family and friends to join, and be sure to come back after Selection Sunday to make your entries. 

The directions for joining remain the same from last year. After receiving the reminder from ESPN yesterday (February 18), I figured why not go ahead and create it now. Get the group created and start getting the word out on joining the group. The more people in the group the more fun it is to make your selections. 

1. Visit ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not, sign into the site and then you will be taken to the March Madness Hopefuls group or you can search for March Madness Hopefuls to join.
3. Join the group.
4. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Be sure to submit your entries by 10:00 am CST Thursday, March 17. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:15 am on Thursday March 17.

If you have any questions or problems, please post a comment to this post.

Good luck and enjoy March Madness!

Results of the March Madness Hopefuls! ESPN Tournament Challenge #MarchMadness #results

 

So good to have March Madness again this year! We had a good group participating in the ESPN Tournament Challenge. We had 25+ participate in the selections this year. A wide range of picks started out the tournament. The selected winners ranged from a dozen votes to single votes to win it all.

• Gonzaga (12)
• Illinois (4)
  
• Michigan (3)
• Kansas (2)
• Alabama (1)
  
• Baylor (1)
  
• Iowa (1)
  
• Oklahoma State (1)
  
• Villanova (1)
  
• West Virginia (1)
  

Gonzaga had the most votes with 12 followed by Illinois (4), Michigan (3), and Kansas (2). The remaining teams all had one vote each to win the tournament. For the majority of the rounds, Javier G was at the top of the leader board. Going into the championship game Monday night, Javi was leading the group with the most points. Following the end of the game the winner of the group was Dina H. She was the only one in our group to have Baylor winning.

With a narrow margin of points, Dina H beat out Javi G 1,240 to 1,140. Followed by tsh34081. I am not sure who tsh34081 is but they came in third in our challenge. Congrats to Dina on winning the bracket this year with the only one picking Baylor from our league.

How did Dina compare to the entry winning all of ESPN? The winner of the entire ESPN bracket won with 1,690 points. What a fun tournament to watch. There were some heart breakers, some buzzer beaters, and a lot of efforts to watch in March Madness no one was able to enjoy a year ago. We are so happy to have it back and finish another tournament challenge.

Congrats to the winners, Dina H, Javi G, and tsh34081. 

March Madness 2021 ESPN Tournament Challenge

It is good to have basketball again. Be sure to get your bracket created so you can be sure to take part in the 2021 ESPN Tournament Challenge. It is free, it is fun, and you might even win something (from ESPN) if you pick the correct picks. Make your pick today!

Directions for joining are listed below.

1. Visit ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not sign into the site and then you will be taken to the March Madness Hopefuls group or you can search for March Madness Hopefuls to join.
3. Join the group.
4. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Be sure to submit your entries by 10:00 am CST Thursday, March 18. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:15 am on Thursday March 18.

If you have any questions or problems, please post a comment to this post.

Good luck and enjoy March Madness!

March Madness Hopefuls ESPN Tournament Winners

Follow up on who won the ESPN Tournament Challenge 2019. Every weekend was fun with so many good games. But, this post is more about the winners for the tournament challenge March Madness Hopefuls.

Looking at the top four teams that all picked the national champion correctly with Virginia were Dos Try, Crashing the Boards, The B Team, and NastySplash. A narrow margin of victory allows Dos Try to pull ahead in the Final Four and get the win in the national championship game with all four top teams getting 320 points.

Removed the owners from the below listing, but they are left on the links above. Fun March Madness!

Rank	Bracket	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	NCG	Champion	Total	PCT
1	Dos Try	200	260	240	160	160	320	Virginia	1340	98.9
2	Crashing the Boards	240	280	240	80	160	320	Virginia	1320	98.6
3	The B Team	230	300	200	80	160	320	Virginia	1290	98.0
4	NastySplash	220	240	200	80	160	320	Virginia	1220	95.6

Until next year! Have a great spring and look forward to seeing you back for March Madness 2020 next year.

March Madness 2019 Tournament Challenge

Hard to believe it is that time of year again. Short write up with information on accessing the ESPN Tourney Challenge. Same name as last year and hopefully you will share with family, friends, and co-workers so we can get a lot of people in this group. Directions for joining are listed below.

1. Visit the link to ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not signed into the site, you will need to sign in first.
3. Join the group and use the password: haverty (No password is necessary -- Open Group)
4. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Be sure to submit your entries by 10:00 am CST Thursday, March 21. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:15 am on Thursday March 21.

If you have any questions or problems, please post a comment to this post.

Good luck and enjoy March Madness!

March Madness 2018 Tournament Challenge

Hard to believe it is that time of year again. Short write up with information on accessing the ESPN Tourney Challenge. Same name as last year and hopefully you will share with family, friends, and co-workers so we can get a lot of people in this group. Directions for joining are listed below.

1. Visit the link to ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not signed into the site, you will need to sign in first.
3. Join the group and use the password: haverty
4. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Be sure to submit your entries by 10:00 am CST Thursday, March 15. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:15 am on Thursday.

If you have any questions or problems, please post a comment to this post.

Good luck and enjoy March Madness!

March Madness 2017 Tournament Challenge

This is the best time of the year if you are a sports fan! Baseball is well underway for spring training with opening day just a few weeks away, March Madness is in full effect, and for the golf fans, golf is each weekend. There is always something sports related to watch whether through the week or on the weekend. This week is my favorite week of all. Today, the brackets are announced at 5 pm this evening for Selection Sunday. On Thursday, the real madness begins with games starting mid-morning and going until late in the night.

Each year, there are millions and millions of people filling out their brackets. That is after all part of the fun of the madness trying to pick the team that will win it all. Each year, I have put out a bracket and it is open to anyone. The bracket is on the ESPN web site and the winner gets bragging rights for being lucky and picking the most right.

If you are looking for a group to join, I invite you to join the ESPN Tournament Challenge 2017 with the steps below...

1. Visit the link to ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not signed into the site, you will need to sign in first.
3. Join the group and use the password: haverty
4. After the Selection Show, you will be able to make your picks.
5. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Enter your brackets before the first tip-off on Thursday morning. Do not wait until Thursday to enter your entries as sometimes the site gets busy with everyone else who forgot to get their entries entered.

Any problems or questions joining the group, please post in the comments or drop me a message.  Share this information with your family, friends, co-workers, etc. The more entries the more fun it is for everyone.

Good luck with your picks and good luck to your team!

Carrie and John Start Whole30 Eating Finishing First Week

Day 1 done! #JanuaryWhole30 #latestart #whole30 #carrielouloueats @whole30loulou

A photo posted by Carrie H. (@carrieloulou) on Jan 8, 2017 at 7:46pm PST

Carrie and I started the Whole 30 on Sunday, January 8. We are seven days into the first week. It is going very well. I still do not know a lot about the #Whole30, but everything Carrie has made has been delicious!

Carrie had been talking about doing the #whole30 for a while now. We have a friend who has done it a few times and lost a lot of weight. Before we started, Carrie told me I did not have to limit everything as she was doing. I could eat rice, drink a beer here or there, etc., but I told her no, I would do it with her. Much easier for one of us to be on a new eating routine if we are both doing it too.

What does being on the #Whole30 mean, well, for one, no sugar, no rice, bread, etc. Again, I am not entirely sure as Carrie has been doing the cooking and planning for cooking. She is doing a marvelous job.

I had my biggest challenge Thursday with our staff meeting at work where they served a taco bar and then Washburn cake which I absolutely love. I stuck with salad and did not touch the taco bar or cake. On Friday, another challenge going to the Burger Stand where normally I would enjoy a few beers, eat a burger, and maybe a basket of fries. I drank water all night. Friends were asking me on Thursday and again last night why I was not eating or drinking. Kind of difficult to explain #Whole30 when I do not know a lot about it.

I feel better though after a week. No heartburn and I feel like I have more energy. I know the last time I cut out alcohol, I lost a lot of weight. What is the next step in this process, both Carrie and I are planning to start our gym workouts. I plan to go back to the gym to ride the bike and run on the treadmill and Carrie is planning to return to Jazzercise. I am planning to return to the gym this next week. I need to locate my workout gear and get my head phones charged up.

Now, for a few of the dinners Carrie has made this week. Fantastic! These are a few pictures of my favorites. Thanks honey!

#whole30dinner #butsupper #januarywhole30 #VegetableBeefSoup #whole30

A video posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on Jan 8, 2017 at 4:38pm PST

Grilled turkey, baked sweet potato, balsamic green beans & walnuts. #whole30dinner #butsupper #januarywhole30

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on Jan 9, 2017 at 5:50pm PST

Turkey salad in romaine, cucumber. #whole30lunch #januarywhole30 #whole30

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on Jan 11, 2017 at 10:38am PST

Grilled flank steak and sweet potato noodle & apple spinach salad with almond dijon vinaigrette. #januarywhole30 #whole30dinner #whole30 #itsSupper recipe for salad from @foodfaithfit

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on Jan 11, 2017 at 5:31pm PST

Turkey stir-fry & #whole30compliant kimchi. #januarywhole30 #whole30 #whole30dinner #whole30life #delicioushealthyfood

A photo posted by CarrieloulouEats (@whole30loulou) on Jan 13, 2017 at 6:43pm PST

Follow @whole30loulou on Instagram.

Lucky man having Carrie as my wife who is the greatest cook! Even when I do not think I will like something, it is still good. Just give it a try and I might like it.

I told Carrie this weekend will be the toughest of the week (at least for me). Being home, watching basketball, football, and hanging out cries out for a beer in those situations. Nope, not going to do it!

Are you doing the #Whole30 or have you ever done it? Any tips or tricks that you did? Feel free to post comments as I would love to hear from you. I am hopeful next week I will have an update after I have been to the gym a few times.

Second Chance for March Madness Selections

If your NCAA bracket is like my bracket, well, there is not much left of it. Yes, I have a few of the 16 teams still playing in the Final Four, but overall, my brackets are pitiful. The percentages for my brackets range from 56% down to 4%. Ouch! I am not alone as I have read on various social media and spoken to friends. There is still time to put through your second chance bracket. Start from scratch and try making that perfect bracket again.

Start fresh with the Sweet 16 and put through your new bracket. Try to make up for that first bracket and see if you can get a perfect 16 of 16in this second chance. You have until the first tip which his at 6:10 pm CST on Thursday. Below is the information to join the group.

1. Visit the link to ESPN which will take you directly to the “Ok this is the Bracket!” group.
2. Like the first bracket, if you were already signed into ESPN, you can immediately create your bracket. If you are not signed in yet, you will need to sign into your ESPN account.
3. If you used the link, you should be part of the group. If not, you can search for the group using “Ok this is the Bracket!”. No password is required to join the group as this one was left open to anyone to join.
4. Enter as many times as you wish (or you think will be needed to get that sweet 16 bracket).

Enjoy and I hope to see you in the group!

Happy “March” Madness!

March Madness 2016 Tournament Challenge Starts Tonight!

This is the best time of the year if you are a sports fan! Baseball is well underway for spring training with opening day just a few weeks away, March Madness is in full effect, and for the golf fans, golf is each weekend. There is always something to watch whether through the week or on the weekend. This week is my favorite week of all. Today, the brackets are announced at 5 pm this evening for Selection Sunday. On Thursday, the real madness begins with games starting mid-morning and going until late in the night.

Each year, there are millions and millions of people filling out their brackets. That is after all part of the fun of the madness trying to pick the team that will win it all. Each year, I have put out a bracket and it is open to anyone. The bracket is on the ESPN web site and the winner gets bragging rights for being lucky and picking the most right.

If you are looking for a group to join, I invite you to join the ESPN Tournament Challenge with the steps below...

1. Visit the link to ESPN which will take you directly to the March Madness Hopefuls.
2. If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not signed into the site, you will need to sign in first.
3. Join the group and use the password: haverty
4. After the Selection Show tonight, you will be able to make your picks.
5. Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the March Madness Hopefuls bracket, you can have three entries.

Any problems or questions joining the group, please post in the comments or drop me a message.  Share this information with your family, friends, co-workers, etc. The more entries the more fun it is for everyone.

Good luck with your picks and good luck to your team!