March Madness 2013: Get Your NCAA Basketball Tournament Brackets

You've got to get your pick in to win. Get your printable brackets here.

March Madness is upon us as the annual NCAA Division I men's college basketball tournament got under way Tuesday, March 19. it won't be March Madness without the bracket. (You'll find a handy, printable bracket in the PDF to the right of this text.)  Is yours filled out?  Here is a link to the NCAA basketball tournament website. It's single elimination games as teams complete for the national championship title, and Swampscott Patch wants to know which teams you predict will make it to the final four and which team you anticipate will be the 2013 NCAA Division I champion.  For those unfamiliar with bracketology, USA Today offers tips for those filling out a bracket for the first time and The Huffington Post shares 10 things you should know…

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Big Blue Basketball Standout Competes in National Tournament

Big Blue basketball player Ara Talkov's U16 team won a Nike Invitational tournament in Virginia last week and will be competing in tournaments throughout the US this summer.

Ara Talkov,  a Swampscott High School junior (#24 in photo), participated in the Nike Invitational U16 Basketball Tournament in Hampton, Virginia this past week. She is a member of the Baystate Jaguars, a U16 girls basketball team based in Metro West Boston. The team went undefeated in pool and bracket play winning the Gold Bracket and taking home the U16 Championship trophy. Teams travel from around the US and Europe to play in this tournament and it represents one of the elite tournaments in the country for the U16 age bracket. The team will be traveling to other tournaments this coming summer in Orlando, New York and Chicago.

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Big Blue Sports

Four Blue Hockey Players All-Stars

Meanwhile the team awaits word on its tournament opponent.

  This article was submitted by Big Blue hockey Coach Gino Faia. The annual NEC North/South Hockey All-Star game will be played Saturday at Salem State College. A skills competition will begin at 5:30 pm followed by the game at 6:30 pm.  Swampscott's all-stars include senior forwards Gino Cresta and Matt Videtta joined by junior defensemen Trevor Massey and Chris Carman.  Gino Cresta was also chosen to the NEC South All-League Team at forward, and was voted the South MVP. Trevor Massey joins Cresta on the South All-League Team. Massey was chosen as a defenseman. The Swampscott High hockey team awaits word on who their opponent will be in the first round of the Div. 3 state tournament. The MIAA is expected to announce its tournament …

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From the JCC

Hoops Tournament A Slam Dunk

The JCC remembered a sports hero at a 3-on-3 tournament that drew twice as many participants as did last year's Jimmy Myers tournament.

This article was submitted by the JCC. Nearly 100 hoops fans packed the JCC gym to play and compete in the popular Jimmy Myers 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Monday, honoring the memory of a local hero and raising money for important sports programs. Jimmy Myers was a beloved coach at the J for 25 years, where he mentored thousands of kids about good sportsmanship. He ran youth and adult basketball leagues, coached, refereed and led after-school classes. “It was great to see Jimmy’s legacy alive on the court,” said Andrew Dalton, director of Sports and Aquatics and the J.  “Everyone played their best and had fun – that’s what Jimmy taught us to do.” The annual tourney raised $3,000 for sports and rec programs at the JCC.  Here’s a list of…

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Big Blue Sports

Gallery: Swampscott Girls Hoops Advance to Championship

The Big Blue girls dominated on both offense and defense en route to a big 53-19 win over Malden High School.

The Big Blue girls basketball team dominated on both offense and defense en route to a big 53-19 win over Malden High School on Tuesday. The girls advanced to Wednesday's championship game at 5:30 pm in the Malden tourney at Malden High School.

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Blue Tournament Wrap

Soccer teams and cheerleaders in action in the coming days.

The Swampscott field hockey team's season ended Wednesday at home with a loss, 2-1, to Manchester Essex Regional High School in the tournament's first round. The game was hard fought until the end. The visitors got their second goal with about a minute left in the game. The Big Blue had a successful run. They ended their season at 12-4-3. Three other Big Blue teams will be in action this weekend. The Big Blue cheerleaders will compete in the Northeast Conference Cheering Championship Saturday at 7 pm in Salem at Salem High School. Last month they competed at Ipswich High School in their Ultimate Cheerleading Competition.   The Swampscott girls won 1st place in Division 3 and placed 1st overall against 7 other teams to become Grand …

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Whatcha Catch?

Two Swampscott boys have a good showing, reeling in a couple of keepers during a weekend fishing tournament.

Swampscott’s Dom Codispoti and Steve Santanello have new fishing rods after pulling in a couple of big fish during the Bass Point Boat Club’s annual fishing tournament on Saturday. The club, in Nahant, has been sponsoring the tournament for over 20 years. “We went off my grandpa’s boat,” Dominic said. “We left from the Volunteer Yacht club and caught the fish on Saturday, I’ve been fishing for over five years.” Dominic’s grandfather, Mike Cullinan, is a member of the Bass Point Boat Club, and the boys were traveling on the Sequestered, Cullinan’s boat, fishing the waters off Lynn, Swampscott and Nahant. Using fake lures, Codispoti pulled in a 41-inch striped bass that tipped the scales at over 20 pounds. It took just over 15 minutes to …

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Little League Baseball

Swampscott 12's Pick up First Jimmy Fund Win (Video)

Thomas Pass drives in a pair in the bottom of the sixth and Swampscott nabs their first win in the Jimmy Fund Tournament, 7-6 over Peabody National on Saturday.

The Swampscott 12-year-old Jimmy Fund baseball team picked up their first tournament win Saturday, a walk-off 7-6 victory over Peabody National. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Thomas Pass hit a high, deep fly ball to left field that fell in, allowing the tying and winning runs to come across the plate. Andrew Dove doubled with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Josh Rubin reached on a fielder’s choice, and both came home on Pass’s blast. Peabody National’s second pitcher of the afternoon, Zachary Fucci took the loss. Fucci came on for starter Dylan DeFillippo in the bottom of the third. Spencer Perkins picked up the win on the mound for Swampscott, relieving starter Peter Battinelli to start the fourth inning. “That’s a very …

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