Kato let out an ear-to-ear grin today around 6:05pm.

Not because he got to hang out with Christian the other day.

Not even because he got to hang out with Lauren the other day (a thing that is easily three times more smile-inducing than hanging out with Christian).

No, Kato is smiling because Duke has earned its first 1 seed since 2006.

For those of you who live on other planets, I’m talking about the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, the seeds for which were announced today. In spite of their many detractors, Duke won the ACC tournament this afternoon, earned the third best overall seed in the tournament and, apparently, has a cupcake walk to the Final Four. Have a look at the bracket and see if you agree.

If I’m correct in guessing that you are just as excited about March Madness as Kato is, you will be happy to know that I have just created the first ever Idiots’Books bracket group on ESPN. That’s right. You can make your picks and compete against other Idiots’Blog readers for ultimate glory and a rather nice prize: a free, full-year subscription to Idiots’Books. You heard me right: a full free year of Idiots’Books goes to the person who wins the first-ever Idiots’Books bracket challenge.

Why am I being so generous, you ask? Because I have already filled out my bracket and know for a fact that I’ve picked all the games correctly. The free subscription will be going to me. But if you’re feeling frisky and still want to try to best me, here’s what you do.

1. Go to: ://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/
2. Log in. Create your entry. Follow the directions. Do not be frustrated.
3. Join group “Idiots’Bracket,” and enter the password “thebarn”
4. Watch as the teams you picked lose, and the teams I picked win. What could be more fun!?

Kato has not yet made his picks, citing the need to visualize the matchups for a while before committing to a bracket.

But I can tell he hesitates out of fear. He knows that I have picked the perfect bracket. He knows that he cannot possibly win the free subscription.

Given that this contest is impossibly stacked against the rest of you, I offer an easier route to glory: anyone who earns a higher final score than Kato will win a free copy of Nasty Chipmunk, a very nice book about family values.

Happy picking.