Tuesday, December 29, 2009

12/29: A New Look!

In today's standings, I've added a 'Possible Points Remaining' (PPR) column. While points on the board are always better than potential points, this new wrinkle is pretty interesting. Tom Fisch, for example, remains atop the leaderboard with 181 points. However, of all 32 entries, he has the lowest PPR at 299. For comparison's sake, Brenday Mooney is in 6th place with 123 pionts, but he has 411 PPR. Again, this doesn't mean he'll definitely become the leader; the picks still have to be correct. But it does indicate that Tom has cashed in on a lot of his big money picks already (this is also true for Jordan, Dan, and Spike in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, incidentally), and we can expect him to come back to the pack in the next few days.

On to the features!

The Fan Favorite

Tie Between Brendan Mooney and Jeff Hawkins.

This sudden reversal reflects the impact of the PPR column on the wide-ranging Bowl Pool discourse. With 123 points, Brendan is a brash, young, arrogant up-and-comer who doesn't respect the current power structure. At 8-3, he also owns the pool's best record. But it's his 411 PPR that really sets the fans aswoon; he's pure potential, and the next week could hold big things. The same can be said for Jeff, who sits in 8th with 122 points and 410 PPR. Together, these two are like a tidal wave threatening a lovely sea-side community. The future is a tsunami, ladies and gentlemen; I suggest you all learn how to swim.

The Day's Biggest Winner

Georgia paid off for a lot of folks, but never more than for Tim Reale, who laughed all the way to the bank with his Georgia-32 pick.

The Day's Biggest Loser

To Kevin Francke, who made an inexplicable A&M-26 pick. Yo Kev, that's the kind of nonsense we expect from a Helter-Skelter coin flip, not from a thinking man like yourself! Speaking of which...

The Showdown: Helter Skelter vs. Mr. By-The-Numbers

The Great Randomizer took a hit yesterday with her A&M-21 pick, falling below .500 for the first time. The Spread Robot, on the other hand, hit big with Georgia-24. Dave now holds a commanding 86-66 lead, though Patricia has a significantly higher PPR.

The Schneid Watch

Charles and Nick both struck gold with Georgia last night, and remain tied at the bottom with a 3-8 record. Take what you can get, fellas!

The Battle of the Brothers

The Mooneys take a narrow lead! Oh my! What a thriller!

Mooney Brothers, Dan and Brendan: 2 entries, 280 points, average: 140
Fisch Brothers, Tom and Joe: 2 entries, 279 points, average: 139.5
Ryan Brothers, Steve and Dan: 2 entries, 208 points, average: 104
Thomason Brothers, Nick and Eric: 2 entries, 174 points, average: 87
Brothers Forsythe, Jeremy and ??: 1 entry, 78 points, average: 78


Young vs. Old

We've found our youngest competitor! It's Jake Berkowitz, at 25 years of age. He's trouncing Mr. Experience, Tom Cowell, by a score of 111-42. Will the old man have the energy to finish strong? Will Jake become distracted by women, fame, and money, as young people are wont to do? Is this a classic tortoise-and-hare story? Only time will tell!

The Relative Game

Rankings, 12/29: 1,7,15,16,17,19,20,26,30,31
Strength of the gene pool: Below Average

Keep in mind that tonight's UCLA-Temple game isn't on the docket for the pool, so the only one that counts is Miami-Wisconsin. Game write-up from the other blog follows the standings.



#15 Miami (-3) vs. #25 Wisconsin, 8pm

Hooray, my first chance to pick against the Big-10! Making this one extra fun is that I've watched and enjoyed Miami all year; Jacory Harris is a rising star and incredibly entertaining, and I love Randy Shannon as a coach. This team plays with nuts. Wisconsin? Boring. They can kinda run. If they have the ball 4th-and-inches on the Miami 35, they'll punt. I plan to do a crossword puzzle when they're on offense.

I Like: Miami both ways.

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