st patrick s day

The 2011 NCAA tournament officially tips off tonight with a pair of play-in games -- I'm still scratching my head at UAB and Clemson playing for a No. 12 seed -- but the bracket bonanza for most pools begins Thursday afternoon with the Round of 64. That means we have approximately 48 hours to sort through statistics, break down matchups and finalize our brackets.

Lovers of botched brackets and/or green beer, join me and some of my colleagues from The Baltimore Sun at our March Madness Tweetup on March 17, which conveniently is also St. Patrick's Day. The event is being held at Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium from noon to 3 p.m.