By DSR Staff
DetroitSportsRag.com
January 30, 2014

To make the DSR Worst Detroit Sports Media Tournament even more interesting — if that is possible — we have decided to run a Bracketology Challenge where you can win prizes for filling out the best bracket.

The winner will be entitled to a package that includes a pair of 2014 Detroit Tigers tickets at Comerica Park. We might spice up this top prize in the next few days so stay tuned;but at the very least, you will get a pair of ducats to watch Miguel Cabrera, Nick Castellanos and Ian Kinsler.

Second prize will earn you a $50 gift certificate to Best Buy.

Third prize will get you a Jeff Moss signed copy of “The Great Book of Detroit Sports Lists” authored by Michael Stone and Art Regner.

So here are the rules ….

1) You need to fill out the bracket and email it to DetroitSportsRag@GMail.com. Make sure to provide your FULL NAME, email address and cell phone number on the printable bracket.

2) In case of a tie-breaker, provide what you believe the final score of the championship match will be. For example, if you think it is going to be Lynn Henning vs. Ryan Ermanni, write down something like this ……

Henning 64%
Ermanni 36%

PLEASE make sure the total adds up to 100%. There are some real ‘Marts who follow this websight™ (Terry Foster), so I want to clarify this for them.

3) Here is how the contest works. We are going to use the same scoring that CBS Sports utilizes for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Here it is:

1st Round: 1 point
2nd Round: 2 points
3rd Round: 4 points
4th Round: 8 points
5th Round: 16 points
6th Round: 32 points

The most points wins. DUH.

4) If you pick your bracket 100% correct, you WILL NOT win a billion-dollar prize from Warren Buffett, Jimmy Buffett, or the Old Country Buffet. I repeat, there is NO billion-dollar prize for picking every matchup correctly. In fact, if you somehow ace this thing, that means you are a HUGE LOSER and should immediately light yourself on fire. Or send a very mean email to Chrissie Wyrot of the Detroit Lions, which could lead to “suicide by cop.”

5) You MUST turn in your bracket by 11:59pm on February 2nd. Super Bowl Sunday. No exceptions. Remember, you have to email your bracket to DetroitSportsRag@GMail.com before midnight THIS Sunday. The tourney is going to commence on Monday morning.

6) Any attempt to rig the vote will result in your immediate disqualification and we will be forced to contact Allen Park police. You will only be able to vote ONCE on Twitter or on the DSR Facebook page(s), but any effort to turn this into a Chicago-style mayoral election will result in your bracket being TOSSED.

I am warning you with PEACE and LOVE, this is a very serious tournament and we will not tolerate any banana republic shenanigans.

7) The only people exempt from this contest are Jeff Moss, Justin Spiro and Gregg Schultz. Everyone else is eligible including participants. I really hope Terry Foster sends in a bracket because I have an over/under set on spelling errors.

So those are the rules. Please abide by them and let’s have a good time over the next couple of weeks.

Finally, in an effort to assist you with your bracket, I have contacted Johnny Avello at the Race and Sports Operations at Wynn Las Vegas to set the Tournament Odds. The DSR isn’t a SportsBook — even though Moss’ Great Room kind of looks like one — so you can’t make any wagers based on these odds.

As you can see, Terry is a lukewarm favorite to cut down the nets in February, but his path to the title is extremely difficult. The Eric Pate Memorial Region — where Foster is a #1 seed — is the “Bracket of Death,” or as they say in Spanish, “Soporte de la Muerte.”

Also, we have not included tournament odds for Ryan Ermanni, as we felt that wouldn’t be setting a good example. It’s kind of like how you can’t wager on UNLV Running Rebel games on The Strip. Nothing good can come of it.

Anyway, here is the printable bracket and please tell your friends and spread the word. We know it will lower your odds of winning, but the more the merrier.