More than half of his life, Ryan Barlage has filled out a NCAA bracket for some type of contest. Until this year, the 29-year-old Miller City resident had yet to win even a bag of peanuts.
“Usually by the second or third round, I’m done, and I’ve been playing easily 15 to 20 years,” Barlage said.
Things changed this year.
Barlage can’t remember how many contests he entered – “I usually do eight to 10” – but he finished in the top 99 percentile in the national ESPN contest and was leading the CBS Columbus TV bracket heading into the Elite 8. The early demise of Duke came back to haunt him in the Columbus bracket. “I had them going all the way,” he said.
Still, the high finishes stroked his ego with one more chance left – The Lima News Bracket Breakdown contest.
To qualify for a prize drawing, a person had to produce a bracket that was better than the ones entered by the six newspaper departments at The Lima News. Only eight people from the hundreds who entered could claim they were smarter than The Lima News, and Barlage’s name was the one yanked for the grand prize.
His prize package from The Lima News included two tickets to a 2012 Ohio State football game; two tickets to a 2012 Cleveland Browns football game; a basketball; a Lima News fleece jacket and a framed Ohio State basketball poster.
He didn’t say if his wife, Jennifer, would be accompanying him to the games or a buddy from his job at Pro-Tech in Leipsic. Instead, he was focused on the Browns tickets.
“I’m a Steelers fan,” he explained. “The only thing I like about the Browns is beating them.”
On the hand, he was thrilled with the Ohio State tickets.
“I could enjoy watching the Buckeyes win ever day.”
First Prize
Two tickets to a 2012 Ohio State football game
Two tickets to a 2012 Cleveland Browns football game
NCAA basketball
Lima News fleece jacket
Framed Ohio State basketball poster
Winner: Ryan Barlage, Miller City, 155 points
Second Place
$25 gift certificate to the Beer Barrel
Voted Best Draft Beer Selection
by readers of The Lima News
Framed Ohio State basketball poster
Winner: Hugh Rinehart, 153 points
Third Place
Two dozen donuts from
Pat’s Donuts and Kreme
Voted Best Bakery by
Readers of The Lima News
Framed Ohio State basketball poster
Winner: Sherry Ebbskotte, 145 points
The other geniuses
Framed Ohio State basketball poster
James Lewis, 152 points
Douglas Stumbaugh, 150 points
Brian Jenkins, 148 points
Doug Carpenter, 147 points
Jeff Jacomet, 146 points
