Debate resurfaces over origin of tournament brackets

March Madness starts tonight, and a debate has come back about who invented the first tournament brackets. Jody's Club Forest, a bar in Staten Island, New York, claims to be the original source of these brackets. Terence Haggerty, the owner, says his father, Joseph "Jody" Haggerty, created the brackets for customers in 1977. According to Haggerty, the first tournament attracted 88 players, each paying $10 to join. The popularity grew rapidly, and by 2006, the jackpot reached $1.6 million. People from all over, including those serving in Iraq, entered the contest. However, Damon Stinson argues that it was his father, Bob Stinson, a postal worker, who invented the brackets in 1978. Bob got the idea from his softball league brackets. Damon says his father's version was more about fun and who knew college basketball best, rather than strict betting. Tonight, the NCAA tournament starts with Saint Francis playing Alabama State in Dayton, Ohio. The defending champions, the University of Connecticut Huskies, will face the University of Oklahoma in their first game on Friday. The top teams this year include Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida. The championship game will be on April 7 in San Antonio, Texas.