These Billionaires Are Offering $1 Billion For the Perfect March Madness Bracket

The stakes for March Madness just got a little bit higher.
Quicken Loans, founded by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, and Berkshire Hathaway, run by Warren Buffett, are partnering to give away $1 billion to the lucky -- or clairvoyant -- person who can correctly predict the 2014 Men's NCAA Tournament bracket.
Though the prize is high, the feat is near impossible: the contest rules for the Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge note that the odds of winning the grand prize are one in 4,294,967,296. Last year, USA Today said the odds of filling out a perfect bracket (just using math, no basketball knowledge) were even higher: 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808. They said the the odds were closer to 1 in 128 billion if you do know about the sport.
In the Quicken Loans contest, the grand prize winner would receive 40 annual installments of $25 million or could opt for a lump sum of $500 million. There's also $2 million at stake for creators of less-than-perfect brackets: 20 first prize winners with the closest brackets will receive $100,000 each to use toward buying, refinancing or remodeling a home.
"While there is no simple path to success, it sure doesn't get much easier than filling out a bracket online," Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said in a statement. "To quote a commercial from one of my companies, I'd dare say it's so easy to enter that even a caveman can do it."
As part of the promotion, Quicken will also donate $1 million to Detroit and Cleveland non-profit organizations that work on youth education. The Gawker blog Jalopnik pointed to the discrepancy:
"So if you're stuck in a cycle of poverty, you have to share $1 million between thousands of other kids between two cities. But if you're lucky at basketball, you get a billion. Good to know!"
Further details and official rules will be released when the contest begins March 3. That's more than a month to start strategizing how to create the perfect bracket.

11 Awesome Women To Watch At The 2014 Winter Olympics

Hannah Kearney, Julia Mancuso, Katie Uhlaender, Meryl Davis, Sarah Hendrickson, Winter Olympics, 2014 Winter Olympics, Aja Evans, Female Olympians, Gracie Gold, Gretchen Bleiler, Heather Richardson, Kate Hansen, Sugar Todd, Woman Olympians, Women Olympics, Women To Watch 2014, Women To Watch 2014 Olympics, Women To Watch Olympics, Women Winter Olympics, Women News

Double axels, insane ski jumps and half-pipe moves -- we can hardly wait for the Winter Olympics to start.
During the 2012 Summer Olympics, we fell in love with incredible female athletes like gymnast Gabby Douglas, track star Allyson Felix and swimmer Missy Franklin. Needless to say, we were pretty sad when the Games ended. (It didn't help that we saw a lot less of Ryan Lochte, or as we like to refer to him in our office, "the gift that keeps on giving.")
Luckily, the Winter Games are bringing us a whole new round of inspiring women to be in awe of.
Here are 11 women to look out for at Sochi:

• Gracie Gold, Figure Skating
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  18-year-old Gold won her first title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 12, and is expected to live up to her last name in Sochi. “The Olympics aren’t just another competition, it’s the ultimate dream," she told reporter Brandon Penny. "It’s a life experience that I’ll never forget and I’m so excited to be going.” Twitter: @GraceEGold
• Katie Uhlaender, Skeleton
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  Two-time Olympian Uhlaender has competed in national competitions since 2003, twice winning the women's Skeleton World Cup. When she isn't training for skeleton, Uhlaender raises cattle on her family's farm, and works towards competing in the Summer Olympics -- as a weightlifter. Talk about a woman of many talents. Twitter: @KatieU11
• Sugar Todd, Speed Skating
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  In Jan. 2014, Todd raised $5,500 to fund her parents' trip to Sochi to watch her compete -- and closed donations once her goal was reached despite the thousands of people who wrote in asking to give more. She wrote on her GoFundMe page: "After paying for 15 years worth of coaching, skating equipment, travel to races, and entry fees for competitions; I promise you that every little bit helps them." Could she be any more awesome? Twitter: @sugarmotion
• Sarah Hendrickson, Ski Jumping
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  Hendrickson's Olympic spot isn't entirely certain since she sustained a knee injury four months ago. But the young skiier is determined to compete, as this is the first time women's ski jump has been approved as an Olympic event. "This is special and this is what I set my heart on," Hendrickson told ESPN on Jan. 9. Twitter: @schendrickson
• Kate Hansen, Luge
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  Hansen made the Olympic team despite having raced with a broken foot since October 2013. "I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot about how I work mentally," Hansen told USA Luge in Oct. 2013. "Obviously, no one wants to break their foot, but I'm capable of things that I never thought I would be capable of. I think that's the biggest deal in itself." Twitter: @k8ertotz
• Hannah Kearney, Freestyle Skiing
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  Kearney manages to balance skiing with her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth, which seems pretty incredible to us. In 2012, she told New Hampshire magazine: "A lot of satisfaction in life is cultivated by working towards a goal because you feel organically motivated and truly happy about your choices." You go, girl. Twiiter: @HK_Ski
• Heather Richardson, Long Track Speed Skating
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  Richardson is a 15-time World Cup 1000m medalist and 11-time World Cup 500m medalist who dabbles in volleyball and softball off the ice. She also plans to go to dental school when her speed skating career is over. We love her ambition. Twitter: @Hlynnrichardson
• Gretchen Bleiler, Snowboarding
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  The halfpipe snowboarder was awarded the Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award in 2008. She told Women's Health magazine her tips for staying motivated:
  

  Goals are the secret. I have at least one goal that I work toward each day. It's all about taking hold of the day, rather than letting the day run you.

  Twitter: @GretchenBleiler
• Meryl Davis, Ice Dancing
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  Davis and her partner Charlie White won their record-breaking sixth straight U.S. Championship in ice dancing in Jan. 2014, guaranteeing their place at Sochi. “We’re working to earn gold,” Davis told NBC in Jan. 2014. “We’re working really hard for it.” Twitter: @Meryl_Davis
• Julia Mancuso, Skiing
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  The two-time Olympian has a ski run named after her at Squaw Valley -- "Julia's Gold." But the skiier hasn't let her success and the attention it's brought go to her head. In 2010, she told SparkPeople about her focus on giving back:
  

  I just feel really fortunate for all that I've been given, and to be getting paid to do what I do--the most fun thing in my life. I feel like it's really important to share the wealth and spread the love to people who need it and causes I believe in, like climate change.

  Twitter: @JuliaMancuso
• Aja Evans, Bobsled
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  Evans competed in track and field in college, and only began bobsledding after she graduated in 2010. She scored an incredible 794 out of a possible 800 points on the bobsled "combine test", so we can't wait to see what she does at Sochi. Twitter: @AjaLEvans

2 nabbed at Texas border in credit card fraud case

McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Two Mexican citizens who were arrested at the border used account information stolen during the Target security breach to buy tens of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise, a South Texas police chief said. But a federal official said there was no connection between the arrests and the retailer's credit card data theft.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Monday that Mary Carmen Garcia, 27, and Daniel Guardiola Dominguez, 28, both of Monterrey, Mexico, had used cards containing the account information of South Texas residents. Rodriguez said they were used to purchase numerous items at national retailers in the area including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.
"They're obviously selling the data sets by region," Rodriguez said.
Late Monday, a federal official with knowledge of the case said there currently was no connection between the McAllen case and any ongoing investigation into the Target breach, but would not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was prohibited from providing details about the investigation.
The discrepancy could not immediately be rectified late Monday. Messages left for Rodriguez and his lieutenant Monday evening seeking a response to those comments weren't immediately returned.
Garcia and Guardiola were both being held Monday on state fraud charges. It was not immediately known whether they had retained lawyers.
Rodriguez said he did not know whether these arrests were the first related to the Target breach.
Asked about the McAllen arrests, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in an email Monday that the investigation was active and ongoing.
"I'd have to refer you to local law enforcement there for any questions about their community," she said. The Minneapolis-based company said last week that it has stopped more than a dozen operations that sought to scam breach victims by way of email, phone calls and text messages.
A message left with the U.S. Secret Service seeking more information about the case was not immediately returned.
McAllen police began working with the Secret Service after a number of area retailers were hit with fraudulent purchases on Jan. 12. The Secret Service confirmed that the fraudulent accounts traced back to the original Target data breach from December, Rodriguez said.
Investigators fanned out to McAllen-area merchants and reviewed "miles of video" looking for the fraudsters, he said. From that, they were able to identify two people and a car with Mexican license plates.
With the help of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigators confirmed the identities of their suspects from immigration records of when they had entered Texas in the same vehicle, Rodriguez said. Police prepared arrest warrants last week and waited for them to return.
On Sunday morning, federal officials alerted police the two were at the Anzalduas International Bridge trying to re-enter the U.S. They were carrying 96 fraudulent cards, Rodriguez said.
Investigators believe the two were involved in both the acquisition of the fraudulent account data and the production of the cards.
Rodriguez said investigators suspect Garcia and Guardiola were singling out Sundays for their shopping sprees hoping that the banks would not be as quick to detect the fraud.
He said he expected Garcia and Guardiola to eventually face federal charges.
The Target security breach is believed to have involved 40 million credit and debit card accounts and the personal information of 70 million customers.

Carroll says Sherman sorry rant overshadowed win

RENTON, Wash. (AP) -- Pete Carroll pulled Richard Sherman aside on Monday and made sure his fiery cornerback understood that his rant against San Francisco's Michael Crabtree was overshadowing the Seattle Seahawks reaching their second Super Bowl in franchise history.

Sherman seemed to get Carroll's message.

"He was really clear that the last thing he wanted to do was take something away from our team, what we had accomplished," Carroll said.

Sherman became the focal point of attention - both positive and negative - after Seattle beat San Francisco 23-17 on Sunday to win the NFC championship.

Sherman was already going to be in the spotlight for what he did on San Francisco's final offensive play, twisting his body to deflect a pass intended for Crabtree into the air and allowing time for teammate Malcolm Smith to run over and make an interception in the end zone to clinch the Seahawks victory.

The athleticism on the play was worthy of praise. But Sherman's antics from that point drew praise from some for being honest and unfiltered, and criticism from others for being too harsh and combative.

"This is a very emotional kid and that's what drives him," Carroll said. "We did sit down and talk about it because I want him to present himself in his best light. He's an incredible kid.

"He has a great sense about things and understanding and sensitivity and awareness and he cares and he's a very thoughtful person so when he puts out those kind of thoughts he has to know what he's saying and understand it and I think he's very understanding at this point that he caused a stir that took away from the team."

Sherman had been rarely targeted by the 49ers, with most of Colin Kaepernick's passes being thrown in the direction of Byron Maxwell.

But in the final minute, Kaepernick decided to take a shot to the end zone with Crabtree and Sherman matched up one-on-one.

Sherman won the matchup, staying in position to deflect the pass and have it fall into Smith's hands, similar to a tipped interception from Sherman to safety Earl Thomas in Week 15 against the New York Giants.

Except this was far more meaningful, giving Seattle its second conference championship.

But Sherman didn't let the celebration end with Smith and his teammates.

Sherman ran over to Crabtree and gave him a pat on the backside, then appeared to extend his arm for a handshake.

Instead, Sherman got shoved in the face before picking up his personal foul as his celebration continued. The taunt included a choking gesture in the direction of Kaepernick.

Asked about the incident afterward by Fox reporter Erin Andrews, Sherman lit up Twitter with a rant that began: "I'm the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you gonna get. Don't you ever talk about me!"

And Sherman didn't back down later, apologizing to Andrews but calling Crabtree "mediocre." He said his issues with Crabtree went back to an incident during the offseason.

Carroll said he viewed the situation as a father talking to his son and wanted Sherman to realize some more thought should have gone into what he was saying.

"There's some stuff in there I think you should think about and did you really want it to come out the way it did and talk our way through that," Carroll said. "And he didn't. He didn't feel right about that.

"There were a lot of great things that happened last night and we're talking about some other stuff."

For Carroll, the return to New York is heading back to where he got his start as a head coach in the NFL, albeit a short-lived tenure as the head coach of the Jets. Carroll was the Jets head coach for one season in 1994 before getting fired after a 6-10 season.

"I think my first time in New York as a head coach was kind of in the middle of the circle somewhere or maybe it wasn't even a circle, it might have been some other shape," Carroll joked. "It was kind of a hairy ti