Join Cubs Insider’s Bracket Challenges for a Shot at Free Swag

I know a lot of you out there couldn’t care less about roundball now that Spring Training is moving along in earnest. I, however, have a deep and abiding love for basketball that will never go away. For me, the insanity of the NCAA tournament is the ultimate manifestation of that affection. It’s got nothing to do with the gambling aspect, though I love filling out bracket after bracket in order to get the picks just so. No, it’s more about the frequency and intensity of the competition, of knowing that anything could happen in any given game.

I’m dialing back the overall number of entries I’ll submit this year, mainly because I realized how futile such an endeavor is in the end. Many of you are no doubt in the same position, though perhaps you only ever fill out one bracket. Maybe it’s for money, maybe not. But whether you fill out one or one hundred, spend lots of money on entries or only get in if it’s free, I think I’ve got some good options for you.

In the interest of good, old-fashioned fun, I’ve set up a couple different bracket pool over at Yahoo and ESPN. Both are free to join and I’ll throw in a prize for the winner if the pool size for either gets over 25 individual members (not entries, since I’m allowing up to 5 in the Yahoo bracket). My thought right now is a free Cubs Insider t-shirt (from the selection of those $26 and under), which I guess might actually be a deterrent to some folks. Still, not bad to join for free and then end up with some super soft swag.

You could even enter both, win twice, and walk away with a whole new wardrobe. If, that is, two shirts comprises a wardrobe.

Yahoo pool: Pick ‘N Roll (if it asks for login, the pool and password is “bracket”)

ESPN pool: Insider’s Outsiders