For the 4th straight year, we’ll be using the First Four games as a little friendly competition for charity.  For every entry (1 per person but it’s free so invite your significant other or friends and family), I’ll personally donate $2 to a charity.  This year, we’ll be helping a fellow participant (Eric F) raise money to cover his friend’s enormous medical costs due to the effects of chronic Lyme disease, which if you don’t know you have it, is hard to detect and treat early.  The Friends of Renee committee (mission statement below) helps bring awareness of Lyme disease, which is the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States.  I remember going on a hike in Sequoia National Park and my wife’s sister was warning us about ticks.  I thought it’s just a bug bite, but she pointed out they carry diseases such as Lyme disease and I never thought of hiking in forests the same way again.

Last year, $103 was donated (odd number due to additional donations by generous people) to MathCounts.  In 2012, $83  was donated to the American Cancer Society.  In 2011, $100 was donated to the American Red Cross for the tsunami and earthquake relief.  It’s easy to enter.  Just comment to this post or send an email to scott(at)hwci.com with the 4 First Four winners and the winning margin.  Example:  Albany wins by 4 points, Texas Southern by 15 pts, Xavier by 1 pt, and Iowa by 8 pts.  Simple.  Here are the First Four matchups (deadline 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday):

#16S Albany vs Mt. St. Mary's

#16MW Cal Poly SLO vs Texas Southern

#12MW NC State vs Xavier

#11MW Iowa vs Tennessee
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