Favorite 4: March Madness 2013

Spring is (technically) here again, with the herald of college basketball's annual tournament, the aptly-titled March Madness (though the final game is in April). There's plenty of ways to enjoy the basketball mania from your iOS device. Here's our favorite four apps for March Madness 2013.

NCAA March Madness Live: There's an obvious choice for inclusion in this article, and that's the app that lets you experience the madness live from anywhere. All the tournament's games are available from this app. So watch a scrappy underdog from a tiny college try to beat a team with first-round draft picks working as towel boys. Or watch an additional game to the one on TV. Or get three iOS devices and watch all the games at once, even if it drives you...mad!

ESPN Bracket Bound: The other half of the fun during March Madness is filling out and following your picks for the 64 teams in the bracket. If you use ESPN, their app lets you track your bracket and see how well you're doing. You can also compare your bracket with a variety of other sports analysts, celebrities, and even President Obama. You can also track scores, watch video from ESPN analysts about the games, and track the latest news from the tournament.

SideBets: Of course, anyone can make a bracket full of their wildest picks with no repercussions if they fail, sure. But what about if there was a little something extra behind it? Not real-world gambling because that's illegal, right FBI? But you can legally bet something intangible: your pride. That's what SideBets does, it lets you wager virtual currency with your friends on game results to see who wins. The app features actual gambling lines, so you can get the thrill of gambling on sports without the massive crushing financial losses and broken kneecaps from bookies you owe money to.

StarDunk: All the roundball action might get you thinking that you're gonna want to go out and pound the rock a bit, show those youngsters how it's done. This will probably not go well. Afterward, how about you instead play a game of virtual basketball? And since we're playing virtual basketball, let's go nuts and play a game of basketball...in space. Godzi Lab's classic basketball game features plenty of fast-paced basketball shooting, basketballs with special properties, and online competition to try and take down. Regain some pride if your team gets knocked out or if your bracket gets busted.