MARK'S MADNESS 2025
| Compete for fun, no entry fee. |
 Glory is the only thing available this year. Compete against the pack to prove your college basketball acumen, or just a group of friends. Enjoy the Madness! |
Conversation Board
Holiday Mark 04/07/25-23:53:34 | Player 3 was teased by the Cougar's in the long run and went home unsatisfied. In the last few seconds, ball handling caused his demise. George has captured first place, with a sixteen point advantage. He crushed his opponents. Better luck to us next year. Pool Boy really shouldn't be on the podium accepting his second place glory in those short, shorts. You must honor him for his accomplishments, but it's not necessary to look directly at him. And I was able to scrape and claw my way out of the cellar, and leave Patient Zero there isolated. Forever more. The Bambino arrived this season with a chocolate bar in his pocket and a dreams of fame and fortune. But when he stood at the plate, made the gesture, then when the pitch came. He popped up to the shortstop. Game over. But he has avoided the ultimate indignity. Patient Zero wanders the cellar unincumbered by others. That's it for this years Mark's Madness, good luck to all of you. |
Holiday Mark 04/07/25-20:47:28 | Player 3 stands on the precipice of glory, and the final result is out of his hands. All he can do is sit on his butt and hope for a Houston victory to spare him the humiliation of his choice of Duke as his hero. Now he waits to see if he'll pay for his insolence, or will the Cougar's provide him a happy ending. Pool Boy has third locked in but second place sounds better. While I continue to count on Florida to save my bacon. No stress for Bambino or Patient Zero. They're not going anywhere. |
Holiday Mark 04/06/25-12:15:45 | I fell asleep last night with only minutes left. When I found out this morning that Duke had lost to Houston in those minutes, I remembered. Duke has underachieved once again. Good news for me. Real good news. Let us begin at the top. George has not only taken First Place. He's sporting a fifteen point lead over his next competitor. So he is, and will remain, #1. The championship game is going to have meaning to myself and Pool Boy though. A Florida success would not only give Pool Boy the singular grasp of Second Place. It would place me, Holiday Mark in Third Place in the final tally, by one point. Excellent. It's Player 3 who's got it all on the line. But he has no fear, he's got until tomorrow for that. |
Holiday Mark 04/05/25-20:47:03 | Florida has just made George, myself and Pool Boy very happy with ourselves in this first game. I have risen, and no longer inhabit the underworld. Patient Zero has kicked me out. Now the next question is, will Houston continue our roll. Or will Duke reset the upper tiers of the leaderboard. Leaving it to the championship game to decide our winner. I hope the next game was as good as the last. |
Holiday Mark 04/05/25-17:34:53 | Both games today have the capabilities to rock the leaderboard. Currently George resides atop the legendary Mark's Madness leaderboard with a three point gap from Player 3. The good news for George is that I have the same chosen winners in today's contests, so I can't rise up from the cellar and replace him. But he needs to keep an eye on Player 3 and the Bambino. They both have Auburn and Duke, therefore poised to create enough disruption on the leaderboard that George may be relocated to different accommodations at the last minute. Today's a good day for some popcorn. Let the madness be the 'extra butter'. |
Holiday Mark 04/05/25-17:12:08 | We begin today's festivities on a sad note for Patient Zero. Not only did he suffer the loss of his championship game winner, but also the opponent. Patient Zero is now free of material needs and has entered limbo. He has no way to define his exit, no points to score. Dependent on the losses of others to avoid last place. I, on the other hand have life enough to be hopeful that a Houston or Florida win today will remove the unreasonably rancid stench of the cellar. One can only hope. |
Holiday Mark 03/30/25-19:38:18 | Auburn wins! And all of the Final Four teams are #1 seeds, not something that happens often. George leads the pack, then Player 3 is holding second, with Pool Boy in third. Pool Boy may be vulnerable since they had Tennessee reaching the championship game. But it's going to take a Duke or Florida loss, or both, to upset the leaderboard much. I may be at the bottom now, but I expect I won't be in the end. See you next time. |
Holiday Mark 03/30/25-18:27:26 | Patient Zero has claimed cellar residency. I will now hope to climb farther up the leaderboard with a Michigan St. victory over Auburn. If not, I'm burned. But no one loses a championship game winner in this result. |
Holiday Mark 03/30/25-14:00:50 | It's a big day for Patient Zero and Pool Boy. They both have Tennessee over Houston today and if they are unsuccessful in their quest for the glorious four points at play. They will suffer horrible results. Patient Zero may solidify his residency in the cellar. And Pool Boy will take a ego blow, falling farther away from #1. But still in top three. George, myself, and Player 3 are into Cougar's today. Bambino had Kentucky reaching this spot, he has no question, it will not end well. |
Holiday Mark 03/29/25-11:52:29 | Forgot to mention that Michigan St. was the reason the for entrants gained those three points yesterday. Today, George, myself, Patient Zero and Pool Boy can gather some points with Florida. And Bambino, George, Patient Zero and Pool Boy score three if Duke defeats Alabama. But Patient Zero has Alabama. A success for Patient Zero here would really shake up the leaderboard. Both games today pack serious ramifications if there's an upset. Good luck to you all. |
Holiday Mark 03/29/25-11:41:28 | I got a little sidetracked yesterday and pretty much missed all the action. But before I start, I must step back and use another sports metaphor to describe George's choice of Texas Tech from the previous day. He dropped a three-pointer from the logo, swish. This achieving singular possession of first place on the leaderboard. Yesterday, Bambino, George myself and Patient Zero all picked up three points, leaving Patient Zero and Pool Boy behind. Then Bambino gave up three to everyone else with his penchant for Kentucky blue. Alas, I now have fallen to a fourteen point deficit behind first place and without Duke/Tennessee losses, Florida won't be able to bring me back from the abyss of the cellar. Since George, Patient Zero and Pool Boy still have all their Final Four teams active, my only hope for company down here is that the Bambino is missing two, and just might join me. |
Holiday Mark 03/27/25-22:19:31 | The last game tonight is a George special. No one had a premonition of Razorbacks entering the Elite Eight. But one man alone stands like a beacon of light, blinding you. George had the vision of Red Raiders, and he has Texas Tech as this contests victor. Will he have another walk off homer? I like his odds. |
Holiday Mark 03/27/25-22:09:38 | I'm only eleven points back of the leader, missing a Final Four team and had Oregon playing Duke tonight. But I'm not dead yet. I still got my championship game winner on the board. I got you all right where I want you. And even though I view both Duke and Arizona as perennial underachievers and always have dumped them going into the Elite Eight, maybe Final Four. But I never thought what I would do if they were playing each other. I expect the game to be awful, but Duke will stumble into the Elite Eight. Bambino, George, Player 3 and Pool Boy are Duke fans tonight. We have no Arizona fans. |
Holiday Mark 03/27/25-19:05:20 | BYU vs. Alabama is up first and it's just another opportunity for me to fall further into the cellar. I had Wisconsin moving on to the Elite Eight. The rest of you have Alabama. Wisconsin isn't going to be placing any points in my future. But Alabama may do so. So, in my ultimate pettiness, I hope BYU wins, to make up for my lack of skills. Everyone has Florida. |
Holiday Mark 03/24/25-00:18:48 | ARRGGGH! Oregon loses. I'm still in the cellar and I can go to bed now. Patient Zero is unhappy too. Congratulations to the rest. We didn't get to run up the numbers on the leaderboard much today, but next weekend will be interesting. See you then. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-21:20:58 | Wow! Another error to correct. I stated earlier that New Mexico was playing Michigan and no one had either team. Well, it's Michigan St., not Michigan. And we can all earn a point here or not. But if Michigan St. loses, future damage will be recorded. And the last game of the night is Oregon vs. Arizona. Myself and Patient Zero are big Oregon fans, and this is a good time to expose you to the underachieving tendencies of Arizona (and Duke next round), which I have pontificated repeatedly over the years. You may remember that I added Gonzaga to the list too. An Oregon victory would vault Patient Zero into second place and myself out of the cellar. An Arizona win is unfathomable, so I'll not consider it. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-20:34:09 | My mistake. I mentioned that George has Ole Miss. I got my notes mixed up. He had North Carolina winning this round. So he can lose two points to each of us, but he can't earn more in this game. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-20:26:45 | Both Florida and Duke moved on today and if Maryland loses to Colorado St., it won't damage anyone. But the upcoming Ole Miss vs. Iowa St. contest gives George another opportunity to take two, and leave the rest of us empty handed. He has Ole Miss, the rest of us got Iowa St. Nobody has New Mexico or Michigan, no chance of anything there. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-14:34:43 | Florida survived a tough game against UConn. I had started reviewing the future damage this would cause. It was ugly for three of us. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-11:15:28 | Upsets in the first four games today will cause damage. So don't let the lack of possible leaderboard movement confuse you. They're all big games. Catch you this afternoon, unless I need to update on damage. Good luck. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-11:06:18 | We all have Florida over UConn. Duke over Baylor, Kentucky over Illinois. Alabama over St. Mary's and Maryland over Colorado St. |
Holiday Mark 03/23/25-11:02:04 | George was victorious and walked away with two glorious points no other entrant was awarded. Now he's back in the hunt, tied for second place. And I slightly overlooked a nasty piece of news yesterday when I failed to review the damage from the Wisconsin loss. Me. Five of us may have been shunned points and glory with the Wisconsin loss. I, and I alone have future damage. Wisconsin was a Final Four team. Oh well, I'm not dead yet, even though I currently reside in the cellar. My championship game winner is still alive. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-21:30:37 | Auburn hasn't been looking like a overall #1 seed in their first two games. And now they're going to see Michigan and possibly Michigan St. I'm not convinced they'll make it the Final Four. BYU is playing well, Wisconsin is not. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-20:50:06 | With all of us having picked Houston over Gonzaga and Tennessee over UCLA, the current BYU/Wisconsin contest is our last opportunity today for movement on the leaderboard. If George is victorious with a BYU win, he's in a tie for second place. If the 'Friends of Spock' wins, he's the new cellar dweller. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-20:34:00 | The Red Raiders move on, and the Bambino is experiencing 'the cellar'. George has taken the love of acronyms in his choice of BYU to a higher level. We'd wish him well, but we all have Wisconsin and want that feeling of greatness too. And there's five of us. Remember what Spock said: Something about the good of the many instead of the one thingy. Live long and prosper. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-20:04:16 | Michigan defeats Texas A&M , so no one gets any points, but no more damage will affect us. Texas A&M was not favored to get past this round. Texas Tech looks to be about to present everyone, but Bambino two mouth watering points. I will now share my space at the bottom of the list with him also. Welcome home buddy. We all have Auburn. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-17:41:11 | We all have Texas A&M defeating Michigan. But just one of six entrants didn't have Texas Tech winning this round. The Bambino had Missouri here and so to save himself, he's a Drake fan. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-17:33:36 | Purdue won and gave Player 3 and Pool Boy the points they earned. Nobody got damaged. But then St. Johns loses to Arkansas. Now we have damage. George experienced the least with having them going to the Sweet Sixteen, myself, Player 3 and Pool Boy into the Elite Eight, Bambino to the Final Four and Patient Zero had them in the championship game. The pain has begun. |
Holiday Mark 03/22/25-12:05:03 | The first game today brings us an upset winner (McNeese), and the Boilermakers of Purdue. But only two entrants (Player 3/Pool Boy) new Clemson was a non threat. So the rest of us are just an audience to what is about to happen here. Everyone has St. Johns over Arkansas. So until the remaining games begin on the other networks this afternoon, this is all there is. Either Player 3 extends his lead and Pool Boy rises to a tie for second place or we remain the same until 4pm. See you then. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-19:43:54 | Good night. Nothing happening here. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-19:42:50 | After further research I have discovered that all the remaining games today are competitively meaningless to us. In every remaining game, we all have the same picks. So the numbers will change, but the leaderboard won't. And insult upon injury. The Oregon game is the last one of the day. They better not lose to Liberty tonight. have them knocking Duke out for an Elite Eight spot. But I might not be able to stay up late enough to finish the game. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-18:26:47 | But before I go. I may still occupy the cellar. We currently have entrants holding first, second and third on the leaderboard. Player 3, Patient Zero and Bambino. Congrats. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-18:23:57 | Ole Miss moves on. North Carolina came back from a big deficit, but couldn't seal the deal. The Rebels roll on. Maryland is in control, Grand Canyon is having a tough time. We all have Florida and Kentucky in the upcoming games and since nothing that affects us will be happening for a bit, I'm breaking to make dinner. See you in about an hour. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-17:52:22 | St. Mary's wins. Everyone gets a point. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-17:15:01 | Duke wins. The Mountaineers just didn't have a chance from the beginning. Vanderbilt is giving St. Mary's a run for their money. And it's looking like Ole Miss is going to burst North Carolina's bubble today. That's bad news for George. He's got North Carolina going into the second round. He would join Bambino in having two. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-16:28:27 | Bambino, Patient Zero and Player 3 have a opportunity to make life miserable if Ole Miss can put an end to North Carolina's Cinderella dreams, and jam the leaderboard back up. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-16:23:08 | North Carolina has three fans that have leaned on them to get past the play-in game, and now win in the first round. George, myself and Pool Boy say, what's a tarheel? Who cares, just get us the points. We all have Maryland over Grand Canyon. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-16:17:44 | Colorado St. defeats Memphis. Player 3 will retain top of the leaderboard, Patient Zero has sole ownership of second place, some tied for third. And me, vowing to remove myself from the cellar. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-15:55:45 | Alabama defeats Robert Morris, but it wasn't easy. Colorado St. seems to be in control. PLAYER 3 and Patient Zero can see the glorious end is in sight. Can the Rams get those two the points they desire. Or can Memphis bounce back. Duke is in control. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-15:31:36 | I hope their trip to Raleigh N.C. was enjoyable. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-15:30:19 | Iowa St. beats up on Lipscomb, they're done. Iowa St. moves into the second round. Colorado St. vs. Memphis has been a good game to watch. And Duke is off to a great start against Mount St. Mary's. I hope their trip to Raleigh, N.C. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-14:55:11 | Apologies. Baylor sent Mississippi St. home. Not Memphis. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-14:43:27 | And Player 3 is now singularly atop the legendary leaderboard for his first time. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-14:40:47 | Baylor wins a tight game and send Memphis walking home. Pool Boy and myself will not be enjoying a tasty point. And I myself will now inhabit the bottom of the leaderboard, all alone. Hopefully not for long. We all have Duke over Mt Saint Mary's and St. Mary's over Vanderbilt. Colorado St. vs. Memphis is the only current contest that will shake the leaderboard. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-12:02:04 | We all have Iowa over Lipscomb. Patient Zero and Player 3 are counting on Colorado St. for a point. Bambino, George myself and Pool Boy are 'walking in Memphis' for the point. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-11:56:27 | I did mention that no one suffered badly, but I forgot to mention that I did miss something yesterday. The Bambino took a hit into the second round by Missouri's loss to Drake. With his Clemson connection, is our one and only entrants with two upcoming second round damage. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-11:36:14 | Yesterday wasn't as big of a slaughter fest as usual. Clemson, a #5 seed was the biggest upset, and no one suffered badly. One point on the leaderboard separates us all. In the first game, Baylor is favored by Bambino, George, Patient Zero and Player 3. Myself and Pool Boy require a Mississippi St. win to start our day off right. We all have Alabama defeating Robert Morris. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-00:20:11 | Michigan wins. Patient Zero and I will remain stagnant on the leaderboard as the rest of you all rise. I'm checking out for the night, I'll see if Texas Tech or UNCW move on tomorrow. See you then. |
Holiday Mark 03/21/25-00:08:05 | St. Johns wins. Everyone is happy. UCSD is making a game of it with Michigan and Texas Tech might go home tonight. Still the only game that affects us is UCSD/Michigan. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-23:31:19 | UCSD is coming back. They're not making it easy for Michigan. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-23:30:26 | UCLA wins. And St. Johns is in control |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-22:55:24 | I forgot to mention that Drake beat Missouri, and UCLA is having a good night, Utah St. isn't. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-22:52:55 | Omaha is giving St. Johns a hard time. They're going to have to find another gear if they want to get that train to the Final Four rolling. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-22:50:25 | UCSD is down by ten, Michigan is looking good. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-22:21:38 | The last contest tonight is UNCW vs. Texas Tech. We all have Texas Tech. A boring end to the first day. Go UCSD, not UNCW. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-22:18:38 | UC San Diego vs. Michigan is going to cause some leaderboard turmoil. Patient Zero and myself both chose UCSD. We really like acronyms, and sunny weather. Michigan, not so nice. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-21:42:34 | No ongoing damage from the Kansas loss to Arkansas. All the Kansas fans were hopping off the Kansas bandwagon, to the St. Johns train to the Final Four. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-21:36:37 | The Clemson loss earlier not only cost us all a point, it damaged Bambino, George, myself and Patient Zero into the second round also. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-21:31:16 | Arkansas wins. It was shaky at the last minute, but the razorbacks supplied me with the necessary point to move upward on the board. Texas A&M is about to send Yale home. Drake is still leading Missouri. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-20:57:36 | Tennessee wins. Patient Zero is relieved. And the Arkansas/Kansas game is still competitive with only 7:30 left in the second half. Texas A&M is leading Yale by ten, while Drake is surprising Missouri. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-19:49:13 | Unfortunately, the Utah St. / UCLA game and the Omaha/St. Johns, are both meaningless too. We've all chosen UCLA and St. Johns. Good games are all we can ask for. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-19:36:18 | they are his championship game winner. It's always stressful to watch these picks play badly. No fear here. Arkansas is still alive versus Kansas. And the Yale vs. Texas A&M has begun. But we don't care. Nobody reached out to Yale, we're all A&M fans. Same with Missouri over Drake. (insert Drake rap feud joke here). I'm watching the Arkansas/Kansas game |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-19:30:20 | Tennessee is leading and look solid. Good news for Patient Zero since |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-18:24:36 | BYU is victorious, so George, Pool Boy and Player 3 are basking in the point earned. Alas, Patient Zero, myself and Bambino again, go scoreless. But this one's going to hurt, as we sink on the leaderboard. The impending finish to the Georgia vs. Gonzaga game will soon stop our losing ways. Tennessee is the overall favorite in the next game, but I, and I alone, have decided to place Arkansas over Kansas. Will Holiday Mark soar towards the top, or sink towards the bottom. We'll know soon enough. But first I'm breaking to make dinner. I'll be back in about an hour. Good luck. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-17:45:22 | McNeese just broke a large number of brackets, along with Patient Zero's. And we'll all go scoreless until the next contest ends. And BYU is in control, but so is Gonzaga. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-17:16:18 | Auburn gives everyone another point. Yea! But it looks like McNeese is going to ruin Patient Zero's day and give us all a loss to reflect on. NCAA ranked at 58th, McNeese shouldn't be clobbering Clemson, ranked 22nd. Will it happen here, now? |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-16:27:28 | Writing them off against the NCAA ranked 33rd, when Gonzaga sits at 8th, is a serious premonition. The remaining five entrants hope his ESP has limits. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-16:23:30 | The upcoming BYU vs VCU game is going to split us up. Pool Boy, Player 3 and George have visions of victory via the acronym BYU. But Zero, myself and Bambino believe in the acronym VCU. I wish I could find OSU, but not this year. But that is not all. With a Georgia conquest of Gonzaga, George would be the only contender to benefit. Is it wise to plan on a Gonzaga first round meltdown? I'll admit that I've lost my own faith in Gonzaga |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-16:03:07 | Auburn has a ten point lead at halftime, but their first half was unsteady and Alabama St. remains a threat. McNeese is surprising Clemson and the rest of us. It may be Patient Zero's bracket breaker. He'll have to remove the sumo wrap and put his Scrubs back on. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-15:45:21 | Wisconsin defeats Montana. We all get a point. And when SIU Edwardsville runs out of time against Houston. We'll all get another one. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-15:01:11 | Purdue pulverizes Panthers. And Patient Zero stands alone (in some questionable attire) at the top of the legendary Mark's Madness leaderboard. And he'll be there for a bit. We have all picked Auburn and Clemson in the upcoming games. Not much in the upset category as of yet. But it has only just begun. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-14:32:15 | Creighton crushes Cardinals. Purdue still holding lead over High Point. Patient Zero has taken his sumo stance and is currently staring us down. He wants the unbeaten 2-0 record. But he has no delusions of a perfect bracket. He will remove us from the ring either way. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-13:28:31 | It's not over yet, but Creighton is currently handling Louisville. And even though Purdue got off to a slow start, they seem to be High Point's nemesis today. Patient Zero says: Yes! Everyone has Houston and Wisconsin in the upcoming games. |
Holiday Mark 03/20/25-12:57:55 | And it has begun, but we're missing three regulars and my nephew, so we have a total of six entries and three are mine. So I may dominate the commentary. Unless you actually have more questionable choices than my own. Patient Zero has Creighton, the rest of us chose Louisville. We all have Purdue. |
| Scoring Values | |||||||
| RD1: 1 |
RD2: 2 |
SW16: 3 |
EL8: 4 |
FF4: 6 |
CHMP: 8 | ||
