The Clemson-Kentucky game did nothing but inflate the point totals (and egos, no doubt) of our current leaders. Tom Fisch remains on top with 151 points, while there were only superficial changes in the top 5. On to the features:
The Fan Favorite:
A new feature! This one tracks the current fan favorite, based on extensive polling and the latest trends.
Today's fan favorite: Tie between Noah Davis and Steve Ryan.
Noah is the only entry to have an overall record above .500 but be nowhere near the top 10. In 25th place, he's viewed by the people as a gallant warrior who can't catch a break from the high muck-a-muck. They identify with his plight, especially in these tough economic times. He also chose "America" as the winner of the Central Michigan-Troy game (seriously), and when I asked him if he really wanted to sacrifice 6 points (it wasn't even his 1-point game) just to make some kind of statement, he didn't budge from his pick. This sort of mysterious, stubborn decision is exactly what the country needs.
Steve started the pool by going 0-5, and was regularly featured on the Schneid Watch. The rest of the entrants treated him like a big joke, and he stumbled around town not knowing what to do with himself. But he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and has reeled off 5 straight victories to get back to .500 and crack the top 15. It's a classic rags-to-riches story, and the fans absolutely love it. Watch out for Dr. Momentum, as he's now being called in the papers.
The Day's Biggest Winner
There were many, but topping the list are Tom Fisch, Jordan Glickson, and Dan Ryan, each with Clemson-31.
The Day's Biggest Loser
Things keep getting harder for ole Charles Rosen, who takes this honor with an ill-timed Kentucky-23 selection.
The Showdown: Helter Skelter vs. Mr. By-The-Numbers
This feature is changing slightly. It recently came to my attention that one of the entries, Dave Ryder, chose his winners and priorities based entirely on the spread. So he picked every favorite, and the game with the largest spread was his #33 choice, and the smallest was #1. This is in direct contrast with Patricia's Helter-Skelter coin flip/fishbowl strategy (except for the fact that both are, arguably, despicable ways to fill out an entry), and I thought it would be appropriate to check out how they match up. Is it better to pick by the numbers, or flip a coin? This feature will examine that pressing question. Currently, Helter Skelter is 5-5 (as you would expect from a coin toss) with 68 points, while Mr. By-The-Numbers is 4-6 with 62. This one could come down to the wire!
The Schneid Watch
Nick Thomas and Charles Rosen share the lowest record at 2-8, and both picked Kentucky last night. God bless you, boys!
The Brothers Watch
It's heating up between the Fisch and Mooney brothers!
Fisch Brothers, Tom and Joe: 2 entries, 249 points, average: 124.5
Mooney Brothers, Dan and Brendan: 2 entries, 223 points, average: 111.5
Ryan Brothers, Steve and Dan: 2 entries, 178 points, average: 89
Thomason Brothers, Nick and Eric: 2 entries, 136 points, average: 68
Brothers Forsythe, Jeremy and ??: 1 entry, 63 points, average: 63
Young vs. Old
Still uncertain on the youngest member (the circle is tightening), but Tom Cowell is still in the basement, still losing the fight of youth vs. wisdom.
The Over .500 Club
Brendan and Bill are at the top with records of 7-3, while Tom, Spike, Dan, and Noah are all at 6-4.
The Relative Game
Rankings, 12/28: 1, 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 30, 31
Strength of the gene pool: Average-Slightly Below Average
Here are the standings, and below that is my take on tonight's A&M-Georgia game from the other blog. You should not take my analysis or my prediction seriously at this point.
Today's game: Georgia (-4) vs. Texas A&M, 5PM
Even after Kentucky let me down, I still like the SEC over most conferences. That's especially true of the Big-12, who were overrated last year and only got worse in '09. A&M hasn't won a bowl game since 2002, and I don't see them starting now. Georgia had only two bad losses, against Florida and Tennessee, and I'm willing to give them a pass on those. What really scares me is that they fell to Kentucky in the second-to-last game of the year...but then they beat Georgia Tech on the road to finish up. A&M is a strange team; they always win or lose big. But they also seem to give up mega-points almost every week. This is not a gimme, but Georgia should win by about 10.
I Like: Georgia straight up and with the points.
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