NCAA Bracket Challenge

Talk about March Madness. The 2011 Major League Soccer season kicks off tonight with MLS First Kick between the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Real Salt Lake also continues their pursuit of representing MLS in the FIFA Club World Cup with a semifinal match against Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions League at 9:00 p.m. CT on Fox Soccer Channel.

And then there's this little thing called the NCAA Tournament which officially begins tonight with the First Four. People all across America are filling out their brackets and we're guessing more than a few of our fans have picks of their own. Well, now you can participate in the official Sporting Kansas City Supporters bracket group on Facebook to see how your predictions stack up against those from SKC players, staff and fellow fans. The winner will receive a Sporting KC soccer ball autographed by the team...and the requisite bragging rights.

Click here to join the group on Facebook and add your bracket -- deadline to enter is Thursday, March 17 at 10:00 a.m. CT.

Wonder who the players are rooting for? Their alma maters, of course. Matt Besler's Notre Dame (No. 2) takes on Teal Bunbury's Akron (No. 15) on Friday in what could be the first of several clashes between schools represented on the KC roster. Other players' alma maters in the Big Dance include:

• Ohio State, overall No. 1 seed (Roger Espinoza and Konrad Warzycha)
• North Carolina, No. 2 seed (Michael Harrington)
• Connecticut, No. 3 seed (Shavar Thomas)
• Wisconsin, No. 4 seed (Scott Lorenz)
• UCLA, No. 7 seed (Chance Myers)