67 games later, the madness has come to an end. There were a few surprising twists along the way, but all told, this year’s tournament ended as most suspected: with the University of Kentucky winning its eighth championship and all five of its starters likely headed to the draft.

As much as it hurts my heart to see Kentucky lift the trophy, someone in this household is smiling this morning.

August might not have won the pool, but he did correctly pick the winner, which is more than I can say for either of his parents.

Enough of the preamble. Time for the drum roll.

The winner of the 2012 Idiots’Bracket Challenge is the wise and alluring…limint83

And here are the final standings:

Because of limint83’s cryptic and unhelpful handle, I can tell you nothing about him/her. Nevertheless, I hope you will join me in issuing a rousing round of applause for his/her accomplishment.

As for our other prizewinners:

Coming in second (and third) it seems (we did not expressly forbid multiple entries, I now recall), is mikeman123567. It is difficult for me to believe that there were 123566 other mikemen already signed up when ours decided to create his entry, but there you go. This is a very popular game.

And then there is rosebabyrose, coming in third (or fourth), depending on how you feel about mikeman claiming two spots.

August came in fourth (or fifth). Not bad at all, considering he cannot yet turn over.

All mentioned above should write me an email with your real names and mailing addresses so that I can send you your prizes. liminit83 wins a yearlong subscription to Idiots’Books while mikeman and rosebabyrose both win a copy of Build Your Own President.

August’s mother and father finished 39th and 29th respectively (and I didn’t even pick Duke!).

As for the rest of you, thanks for making this the biggest (and surely best-looking) Idiots’Bracket group to date. We will return again next year.

With any luck, the University of Kentucky will be officially declared an NBA franchise between now and then so that none of us has to endure the unwholesome thought of a repeat.