The Glimm was made for this moment.
Glimm historians know the story: In the fall of 1991, I was a sports-obsessed kid without a college to root for. Then my sister was accepted to the University of Michigan, so I started watching their basketball team.
And I fell in love. Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson. The most fun sports team I had ever watched.
When March came around, I wanted to share that fun with my friends, so I started an NCAA tournament pool. It was really an excuse to get more people watch this team. And, I hoped, watch them win a championship.
They didn’t. Not in 1992, when they hung close to Duke for a half before fading. Not in 1993, when an ill-fated timeout doomed them. Not in 2013 (Trey Burke’s block was clean, dammit!) or 2018.
Monday night, all those tough losses were put to rest. Goat Cadeau and the 2026 Michigan Wolverines took care of that. Champions.
It was even more special to see my kids fall in love the same way I did 33 years ago, and share the moment with them. When I was in 8th grade in 1992, my parents made me go to bed at halftime, and I listened to the second half on the radio in my room. No such punishment my kids, who jumped up and down with me in the living room as the clock approached midnight on a school night, watching their favorite player — Goat Cadeau — accept the MOP award.
The Glimm was made for this moment.
There were many Glimm winners this year. The pool has a natural Michigan vibe. Seventy people picked Michigan to win the whole damn thing this year, and it wasn’t an emotional pick this time, but it certainly was emotional. We’re feeling all of those emotions right now.
But some of those Glimmers won more than others.
Chris Bowman’s BOCH2 bracket was the big winner. Bowman picked 74.6% of games right throughout the tournament, and was the only person to perfectly predict the last three rounds of the tournament. His 141.5 points was good for first place.
James Smith’s Jhsmith2 finished second with 133.5 points. He picked more games right overall – 79.4% – but had Purdue over Arizona in the Elite Eight. That game was the difference between Bowman and Smith.
Third place came down to the tiebreak — perhaps the closest tiebreak in Glimm history: Both Shannon Ceglinsky and Chris Kern‘s brackets both finished with 129.5 points. Shannon picked 148 total points in the championship game for the tiebreaker — and Chris picked 149. With 132 total points in the game, Shannon is closer by a point, and takes third place.
Bowman, Smith and Ceglinsky now all have a little extra money for championship merch.
In the women’s pool, nobody had much confidence in their picks, and it didn’t matter NBC News digital reporter Rudy Chinchilla’s This won’t end well bracket ended very well – Chinchilla picked 82.5% of the games right, including nailing the Final Four. That put him in first place with 135.5 points.
Jon Lloyd’s best guesses were good enough for second place with 128 points, and Michael Rosenberg‘s bracket finished third with 125 points.
Of note: Seth Rubinroit let emotion cloud his picks. His bracket name told the story: Came THIS close to picking UCLA…but it’s not my brand. The USC graduate couldn’t pick his arch rival. If he had, he would’ve won the women’s pool. Instead, he finished in fourth with 124 points.
Other Glimm winners:
- Kids champions: Clare Kern won the kids championship in the men’s pool with 112.5 points, and Simon Stamm’s the stuffy bracket won it in the women’s pool with 117 points. Both get a free entry to the Glimm next year.
- Owen Lester’s OWL1 won the Glimm Scholarship. With 122 points, he was the top-scoring Glimm family member.
- The Orlov came down to the tiebreak. With 265 entries, the Orlov goes to the person who finished in 132nd place. Jill Gregor’s JGregor and Jason Kaden’s Jiffo1 tied for 131st place with 86.5 points, but Jill’s tiebreak of 139 beat Jason’s of 143 — meaning Jason fell to 132nd place to win the Orlov. He will receive a $5 bill via snail mail for his Orlov prize.
- Brian McGettigan and Ansel Macht finished in last place in the men’s and women’s brackets, respectively, and they each win the Pity Prize. They will each get their $5 entry fee back.
A few of you still haven’t paid your Glimm winnings yet – you’ll get Venmo requests from me today, so we can pay out the winners ASAP.
Thanks everyone, and see you next year!
The leaderboard (final men’s standings here, and final women’s standings here):
| Rank | Name | Score | Pick % | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOCH2 | 141.5 | 74.6% | Michigan (151) |
| 2 | Jhsmith2 | 133.5 | 79.4% | Michigan (170) |
| 3 | Chris Kern | 129.5 | 74.6% | Michigan (149) |
| 3 | Shannon Ceglinsky | 129.5 | 76.2% | Michigan (148) |
| 5 | GDTBATH 2 | 126 | 81% | |
| 6 | rosie posie!! | 123.5 | 74.6% | Michigan (137) |
| 7 | Buddha 2 | 122.5 | 76.2% | Michigan (144) |
| 8 | OWL1 | 122 | 76.2% | |
| 8 | Riot Juice | 122 | 74.6% | |
| 10 | Erin Rosenberg | 120.5 | 66.7% | Michigan (144) |
| 10 | Sean Ceglinsky | 120.5 | 73% |