Sick of reading about AIG, bank nationalization and the end of capitalization as we know it?

We sure are. Let the NCAA Tournament serve as a brief respite from the harsh reality that is the economy right now (10%+ rally in the stock market aside).  Join first annual Abnormal Daily Options Report Returns Bracket Challenge!

Adam Warner at the Daily Options Report and the folks here are Abnormal Returns are sponsoring a NCAA Tournament bracket over at CBSSports.com.

To participate you will need a CBSSports.com login, a link to our brackets and the password “lenny”.  That’s it.  Look for periodic updates here and on Twitter.

Besides an inordinate sense of pride there are some prizes for the winner, including a copy of Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha:  A Hedge Fund Manager’s Dispatches from Inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting by Jeff Matthews.

For those of a quantitative bent, below are listed a few resources worth a look when putting your brackets together:

Jeff Sagarin NCAA basketball ratings at USAToday.com

First rounds odds (Thursday, Friday) at Rivals.com

First round upset watch at WSJ.com

2009 Pomeroy college basketball ratings at kenpom.com

There are a number of ways to watch the games, including online and an iPhone app at NCAA.com

Good luck!