It’s that time of year. Basketball fever is in the air. Within a few weeks, my heart will be broken as the Blue Devils make a premature exit from the tournament on account of their inconsistent defense and overreliance on the three point shot.

My sister Lindsay reminded me last night that it was time to launch our yearly Idiots’Books bracket challenge. Thank, you Lindsay.

As usual, we will use the ESPN Tournament Challenge.

As usual, subscribers, blog readers, and several perfect strangers will join in spirited head-to-head bracket picking competition. As usual, sporadic bursts of trash-talking will erupt in the comment field. As usual, you don’t have to know a thing about basketball to play or even win this thing. Robbi makes her picks according to which mascot she prefers. And, using this approach, she often does better than I do.

So if you want to participate (and of course you want to participate), here’s what you do:

1) Go to this site.

2) Create your entry (if you played last year, your entry should still exist).

3) Join our group, which is called Idiots Hoopla.

4) Make your picks. (Note, you cannot make your picks until late Sunday night, when the field is announced. I’ll post to remind you when it’s time.

If you have trouble figuring any of this out, ask someone younger than you for help, even if that person is two. Kato knows his way around my iPhone much better than his mother does.

As usual, the winner will get a free yearlong subscription to Idiots’Books.

And, as an added incentive, anyone who beats August (who is, by all indications, a canny prognosticator) will get a copy of Build Your Own President.

Why is August smiling?

Because he knows you cannot beat him.

Or maybe you can.

There’s only one way to find out.