Day 8 Results

Kentucky tried very hard to lose their game tonight against Michigan State and in the end they succeded. Their loss puts Arial out of contention and out of possible points.

After looking at all the possibilities, here is how the final games break out. If UNC loses to Michigan State, Carla wins the whole thing. However, if UNC wins then Carla is eliminated. It would then come between GOILLINI and Snap it. If UNC wins the championship game then Snap it wins but if the other team wins (either Illinous or Louisville) then GOILLINI wins.

Here are the numbers.

Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Carla_________71_____119
2_____2________mwz picks_____64_____112 ELIMINATED
2_____4________GOILLINI______64_____128
4_____5________Arial_________63_____63 ELIMINATED
5_____3________Matt’s Picks__59_____107 ELIMINATED
6_____6________Snap it_______55_____103
6_____5________smashpanic____55_____55 ELIMINATED

Scenarios:
G1__G2__Ch
ILL_UNC_ILL__GOILLINI
ILL_UNC_UNC__Snap it
ILL_MS__ILL__Carla
ILL_MS__MS___Carla
LOU_UNC_LOU__GOILLINI
LOU_UNC_UNC__Snap it
LOU_MS__LOU__Carla
LOU_MS__MS___Carla

Key:
G1 = ILL vs LOU
G2 = UNC vs MS
Ch = Championship game

mwz

Day 7 Results

There was only one game today that mattered to us. That was Illinois close win over Arizona. That helped everyone but Arial and Snap it, both of whom picked OK St to beat Illinois. The gist is that nothing changed except everyone gained 8 points on those 2.

smashpanic is now out of possible points.

There are no more players named Herber (pronounced Air-Bear) left in the tournament either.

Ordered by Points:
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Carla_________71_____119
2_____2________mwz picks_____64_____112 ELIMINATED
3_____4________Matt’s Picks__59_____107 ELIMINATED
4_____5________GOILLINI______56_____136
5_____6________smashpanic____55_____55 ELIMINATED
5_____3________Arial_________55_____119
6_____6________Snap it_______47_____103

Ordered by Possible points
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
4_____5________GOILLINI______56_____136
1_____1________Carla_________71_____119
5_____3________Arial_________55_____119
2_____2________mwz picks_____64_____112 ELIMINATED
3_____4________Matt’s Picks__59_____107 ELIMINATED
6_____6________Snap it_______47_____103
5_____6________smashpanic____55_____55 ELIMINATED

Day 6 results

Another day done. Nobody was eliminated today but it has become clearer what teams people need to be cheering for.

Ordered by Points:
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Carla_________63____119
2_____2________mwz picks_____56____112 ELIMINATED
3_____7________Arial_________55____119
4_____3________Matt’s Picks__51____107 ELIMINATED
5_____6________GOILLINI______48____136
6_____5________Snap it_______47____103
6_____3________smashpanic____47____55 ELIMINATED

Ordered by Possible Points:
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
5_____6________GOILLINI______48____136
1_____1________Carla_________63____119
3_____7________Arial_________55____119
2_____2________mwz picks_____56____112 ELIMINATED
4_____3________Matt’s Picks__51____107 ELIMINATED
6_____5________Snap it_______47____103
6_____3________smashpanic____47____55 ELIMINATED

Carla is still in sitting at the top with 63 points, 7 points ahead of the next team and 8 points ahead of the next team that can actually beat her. She was hit pretty hard tonight with Dukes loss. She only has Illinois left in her final four but fortunately for her she picked them to win it all.

mwz picks is in second, forever stuck 7 points behind Carla.

Arial had a big, big night. All of her picks won tonight which launched her from her stable position at 7th place all the way up to third. She made big ground on the Michigan State win over Duke as many had Duke going to the final game. Also, Kentucky easily pulled off their win.

Matt's Picks is in fourth, forever stuck 5 points behind mwz picks and 12 points behind Carla.

GOILLINI is in fifth after overtaking Snap it and smashpanic. He could easily take the tournament if Illinois beats UNC in the championship game. He (among others) really dodged a bullet tonight with UNC beating Villanova (which was a close game).

Snap it may be tied in the cellar but he still has a chance to win it all. If UNC wins the tournament AND Illinois or Kentucky lose before playing UNC, he will shoot straight to the top.

Unfortunately for smashpanic, the best he can do now is fifth. He only has one pick left (Illinois in their next game). The tournament will soon be over for him. He has shown a lot of guts down the stretch after losing Wake Forest. Keep him in your prayers.

Well, that's that.

Mom mentioned that I post these so late in the evening. That's true but keep in mind that the time stamp says what time I started writing and that it is Central time.

mwz

Day 5 Results

Well, two more teams are out of contention for the top spot. The best mwz picks can do is 2nd and the best that Matt's Picks can do is 3rd. Not a good day for the "Picks" teams.

Ordered by Points
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Carla_________55_____147
2_____3________mwz picks_____48_____140 ELIMINATED
3_____1________Matt’s Picks__47_____135 ELIMINATED
3_____4________smashpanic____47_____83 ELIMINATED
5_____4________Snap it_______43_____127
6_____6________GOILLINI______40_____140
7_____7________Arial_________39_____119

Ordered by Possible Points
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Carla_________55_____147
2_____3________mwz picks_____48_____140 ELIMINATED
6_____6________GOILLINI______40_____140
3_____1________Matt’s Picks__47_____135 ELIMINATED
5_____4________Snap it_______43_____127
7_____7________Arial_________39_____119
3_____4________smashpanic____47_____83 ELIMINATED


By picking correctly the three games that mattered (everyone had Wake Forest in the fourth), Carla has taken the top spot all to herself. On top of that, she has assured domination of mwz picks and Matt's Picks. She is looking good toward the finish with the most points and the most possible points.

mwz picks is out of contention. Missing one of the three games (the Washington upset) has put him behind Carla and since they share the remaining picks, he will never catch up.

Matt's Picks are similarly dominated by Carla. I think he may have actually been eliminated at the end of last week but I missed it. Well hopefully he enjoyed his week of believing that he had a chance.

smashpanic is still riding in the middle of the rankings after being the first to be eliminated. He is showing incredible heart. The best he can do is third to Carla and mwz picks.

Snap it comes in next. The OK St loss really hurt him as he picked OK St to go to the championship game. His picks are different enough though that he still has a shot at the title. He'll be rooting for UNC and rooting hard against Illinois.

GOILLINI has a lot of potential left in him. He wasn't much affected by todays games, other than being glad that the Illini won. He'll be rooting for UNC, Kentucky and of course Illinois.

Arial still at the bottom, still with a chance to win. She lost OK St today like a lot of other people but she has her hopes pinned on Kentucky. That hasn't changed since the last time I pointed that out.

Well, that's that. Three down, four to go.

mwz

Space

I was planning to write a quick post on Monday about how with no basketball until Thursday, there would be a dearth in things to post about. That was supposed to prod you all into posting.

Unfortunately, I was too lazy to post that. I'll just point out that there is going to be a big empty space between this tournament and the football season that you guys can help fill.

Mrk, Mtt and Arial have all posted, the rest of you can too.

mwz

Day 4 Results

I'd like a moment of silence for smashpanic, today his hopes of taking the top spot have ended.

Ordered by points:
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1______2_______Carla_________43_____147
1______1_______Matt’s Picks__43_____139
3______6_______mwz picks_____40_____144
4______2_______Snap it_______39_____147
4______5_______smashpanic____39_____83
6______4_______GOILLINI______36_____144
7______7_______Arial_________35_____147

Ordered by possible points.
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1______2_______Carla_________43_____147
4______2_______Snap it_______39_____147
7______7_______Arial_________35_____147
3______6_______mwz picks_____40_____144
6______4_______GOILLINI______36_____144
1______1_______Matt’s Picks__43_____139
4______5_______smashpanic____39_____83

Carla has moved into a tie for first in points and points possible. With only two of her final eight and final four eliminated, she is in a great position to take it all.

Matt's Picks has lost his lead over Carla but all of the first place teams are still under the same roof. With the upset of UConn, this one-time favorite has seen his possible point total has fallen behind (although not by a whole lot). Can he recover his former glory.

mwz picks has risen from 6th to 3rd and is pleased with that. He is in a strong position as long as UNC loses before the championship.

Snap it is now tied for 4th, although only one point behind third place and has a strong points possible. He is still r ooting for UNC and they are looking strong, only having to beat either Wisconsin or NC State to get to the final four, darn them.

smashpanic is has risen to a tie for fourth. His dream of being the champion has been dashed but he can still take 2nd (I think). Maybe that goal can motivate him to stick with it... and... um... well... watch the rest of the tournament.

GOILLINI has dropped to 6th place after losses from Georgia Tech and Florida. Don't feel too bad for him though, he still has a good shot at the championship. He'll be rooting for UNC to make it to the final game. I still don't know how someone can root for UNC and still sleep at night.

Arial is creeping up on the number 6 spot. One point out but is tied for first in points possible. If things start going her way, she can still win big.

Well, that's day four of the tourney. If there are any factual errors let me know. It's hard to keep track of what games were played when sometimes (especially when those times are after midnight).

No more basketball until Thursday.

mwz

Day 3 results

Day three is in the bag. It was an interesting day, culminating in the double overtime win of West Virginia over Wake forest. That hurt everyone equally except it hurt smashpanic more equally than the others.

Here are the standings.

Ordered by points:
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Matt’s Picks__35_____161
2_____2________Snap it_______31_____155
2_____4________Carla_________31_____149
4_____3________GOILLINI______30_____154
5_____5________smashpanic____29_____99
6_____6________mwz picks_____28_____158
7_____7________Arial_________23_____153

Ordered by possible points:
Place_Last Day_Team__________Points_Points Possible
1_____1________Matt’s Picks__35_____161
6_____6________mwz picks_____28_____158
2_____2________Snap it_______31_____155
4_____3________GOILLINI______30_____154
7_____7________Arial_________23_____153
2_____4________Carla_________31_____149
5_____5________smashpanic____29_____99

Matt's Picks have continued to be consistant. He lost Wake Forest from his final four just like the rest of us. That's all I can say about that.

Snap it stays in the number two spot by tieing Carla. He is still looking good with 31 points in the bank and the third highest points possible. He was the only one to pick TT to get to the next round. He'll be rooting for North Carolina but I don't know how someone can root for them.

Carla is in second in points total but has dropped to 6th in points possible. That happened yesterday but I missed it. Nothing terrible happened to her today.

GOILLINI dropped to the 4th spot. He seems to have lost 20 points possible today so somebody must have lost for him but I can't seem to spot it. Oh, there it is. He lost Gonzaga, Oklahoma and Wake Forest. Can't really blame him there.

smashpanic got hit hard with the Wake Forest upset. He had picked them to win. There are still scenarios that he can win but they are much fewer now. Maybe he can come back, like West Virginia.

mwz picks still doesn't want to talk about it other than to say that if the higher seeded teams win out (and NC doesn't make it to the championship game) he will rise from the bottom and win.

Arial is in the basement now but she has a chance to come back. if Kentucky takes it all, she will have a great chance at doing the same.

Well that's all for day 3. According to the "Scenario Generator" everyone still has a chance to win the whole thing. It's not over for anyone.

mwz

Day 2 results

Note: I know that the formating is all messed up. I really don't know why. I don't think I will try to use tables next time. The first round is finished. Yahoo has finally gotten on the ball and fixed its glitches (I hope). If you see a discrepancy let me know.

Ordered by total points earned.

Place Last Day Team Points Points Possible 1 1 Matt’s Picks 27 179 2 3 Snap it 25 175 3 3 GOILLINI 24 174 4 2 Carla 23 167 4 5 smashpanic 23 171 6 6 mwz picks 20 178 7 6 Arial 19 171

Ordered by Points Possible.

Place Last Day Team Points Points Possible 1 1 Matt’s Picks 27 179 6 6 mwz picks 20 178 2 3 Snap it 25 175 3 3 GOILLINI 24 174 4 5 smashpanic 23 171 7 6 Arial 19 171 4 2 Carla 23 167

Matt's Picks has really come out strong, only missing five picks in the first round. Iowa and Kansas losses hurt him but his consistency is paying off as he is on top with points and possible points. Snap it has moved a spot up to number two. Going for Iowa teams has only panned out with Iowa St. He has lost five out of the next round but none past that so I doubt he's worried. GOILLINI has stayed at the number three spot (possibly stuck there eating some lasagna. He's still perfect in Albequerque but the Kansas loss removed a team from his elite eight. Carla dropped 2 spots which isn't hard to do this early. She's only a point out of third and two points out of second. The Kansas upset hurt her the most by killing one of her final four teams, dropping her from the top spot in possible points to last in possible points. Tied with Carla, smashpanic is looking competitive, although he has lost LSU and Kansas from the elite eight. With his oracle like prediction of the Vermont win over Syracuse, he is looking good. mwz picks would prefer not to talk about it, other than to point out that he has a lot of potential. Arial has graciously decided to pick all the wrong upsets and not pick any of the right upsets. She is still in it with all of her elite eight. Well that was the first round. mwz

Day 1

Well, I grew tired of waiting for the stats to come up, so I just figured them out by hand (you can see all your wins and losses on the "printable bracket"). The math may be wrong, so if you spot anything that incorrect, let me know and I'll fix it.

Team Points received
Matt’s Picks 14
Carla 13
Snap it 12
GOILLINI 12
smashpanic 11
mwz picks 9
Arial 9

Team Points Possible
Carla 187
mwz picks 185
Matt’s Picks 184
GOILLINI 184
Snap it 182
smashpanic 181
Arial 179

1. Matt's Picks took an early lead by only missing 2 teams. Unfortunately for him, he picked Iowa to win 3 games. I very nearly didn't pick Iowa to win the first game (but my stupid loyalties won out).
2. Carla is #2 in the total points but #1 in points still possible. This late arival is showing to be a contender for the title.
3. Snap it and GOILLINI tied for third. Snap it made the mistake of choosing Iowa to win 2 games and has lost 3 teams from the next round. GOILLINI would be winning if not for the Chicago region. Maybe it's good that he got out of Chicago, it doesn't seem to be very good for him.
4. (actually 5 but I don't want to fool with the html) smashpanic faired okay in the first round but lost LSU from the round of 8 which has cost him in potential points.
5. mwz's picks only has 9 points but he is #2 in possible points. This shows a profound wisdom for not advancing teams that lost in the first round.
6. Arial is not out of it by far but she had a hard first day, losing 3 teams from the next round while only picking equal to mwz's picks.

So that's that. I have discovered that my "Commisioner's Powers" do not include changing my picks to reflect what actually happened. I'm not quite as omnipotent as I should be.

mwz

Waiting

I was going to get up this morning, check the results and write some witty commentary about them. However, Yahoo is being very slow with calculating everyone's score.

Currenlty it lists Carla in first with 13 points and mwz (I guess I'm supposed to talk about myself in the third person for these) in second with 9 points. Everyone else has 0.

I can assure you that mwz is not in second place. He may very well be in last place, although he hasn't lost anyone from his sweet sixteen.

I'll post later, when they have updated the stats.

mwz

NCAA Tournament Roster

Tomorrow the tourney starts. I suspect that everyone who is going to sign up has signed up. As "commissioner" I can see who is who. I thought it might be more fun for everyone else if I wrote them out.

So here they are (in order of signing up):

1. mwz picks: That's me. You might think that the sentence form of this name was due to me forgeting the apostrophe "s" at the end of the mwz... okay, that's pretty much what happened.
2. Arial: It's Arial, my wife. The only female to enter this competition. This is no longer true.
   
3. smashpanic: Everyone should know that this is mrk.
4. Matt's Picks: Having mastered the apostrophe, Mtt has gained the courage to expose the vowel in his name.
5. Snap it: Apparently Dad made the agonizing desicion to keep the football related name. Brand loyalty is important.
6. GOILLINI: This is Bren's husband. Since he is not currently a member of this blog, I don't know what to call him. I'll call him Steve until he takes a name. If you haven't figured it out, "GOILLINI" isn't the name of his favorite Italian restaurant, it's the phrase "Go Illini".
7. Carla: I'm pretty sure that this is Carla but it could be Bren disguising herself.
   

Things appear to be set for a good time. I'm happy about the turn out.

The morning after each day there are games, I'll try to post something about it (maybe more often depending how well I'm doing). You all are welcome to post as well. Steve will have to get an account first.

Remember, the deadline to change picks is Thu Mar 17 12:15pm EST.

UPDATE: Added Carla. Yea!

mwz

NCAA Tournament

Hey all,

We have set up an NCAA bracket at Yahoo. So far four people have signed up and three have completed their brackets.

You should sign up too (If you are in the family). You should have recieved an email invite but if not, email me.


(here's the part where I try to increase the excitement).
Who will you pick to win? Which family member will win it all? If you don't check your email, are you really reading this blog?

Sign up and get the answers... or not.

mwz

Open Ended?

Hey, Frances (our baby) can now stand on her own, without support, for a second at a time. Its amazing.

She has also made the "B" sound.

Now you can all tell us what a wonderful baby we have.

mwz