Author Archives: Scott

Issue # 10.4.1 “Long Time Back to Final Four”

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Watch the awesome Amazing Race Sundays 8/7 Central on CBS or catch the replay on TVGN with Survivor!

GATORS & BADGERS END FINAL FOUR DROUGHT
Bigtenfan2 is our new leader
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #1S-Florida used a 19-3 run to end the first half in coasting to a 62-52 win over Cinderella-wannabe #11S-Dayton.  Florida GatorsIt’s the Gators first Final Four appearance since 2007 when they won the back-to-back championships.  Close calls in the final 3 seconds (a charge and a 50/50 ball out of bounds) put the refs center stage but #1W-Arizona failed to get a shot off in time in losing for the 4th time in the Elite 8 in this same Anaheim arena (’98, ’03, ’11).  #2W-Wisconsin’s 64-63 thrilling overtime win sends them to the Final Four for the first time since 2000.  The 1 vs 2 matchup lived up to they hype.

Wisconsin BadgersDidn’t see any of the Florida game but watched the last part of the second game.  It was nice to see a true big dominate (though listed as a forward, Frank Kaminsky was clutch, getting 28 pts and 11 rebounds) in a trend where finesse and shooting are in the spotlight.  Also, though I needed Arizona to win, Continue reading »

Issue # 9.3.2 “Usual Suspects”

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TRADITION WINS OUT

Beyond Elite 8 goes 3-1 but Hawkeye holding on
9 MILES FROM 5.1 EPICENTER, CA (smt)- For all the talk of the narrowing of the gap between the elite traditional teams and the mid-majors, it’ll be #7E-UConn (2 titles, 4 Final Fours since ’99), blue-blood #8MW-Kentucky (3 titles, 5 Final Fours since ’96), and #4E-Michigan St. (1 title, 6 Final Fours since ’99) going to the Elite 8 and not better seeded #3E-Iowa St, #4MW-Louisville (despite being defending champion), and #1E-Virginia.  Those traditional elite teams played clutch down the stretch while the three losers committed costly turnovers, took bad shots and missed key free throws.  UConn hit 11 of 12 free throws in the last 47 seconds, Kentucky hit 6 of 7 in the last 2:12, and Michigan St. hit 5 of 6 (before missing the last one intentionally) in the last 33 seconds to seal their wins.

In the first game of the day, #11MW-Tennessee had a chance to go up by 1 in erasing a 8-point deficit with 2 minutes left and 5-point deficit with 32 seconds left.  A controversial charge Continue reading »

Elim the Impossible

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As we head into the Elite 8, there are 128 possible outcomes.  If you want to know your exact winning outcome, post a comment here, tweet @HWCI_Pools or #hwciNCAA, or post on our Facebook page.  For example, my Elim the Impossible pick is somehow alive (was 1 in 256, now 1 in 128).  In order for that entry to win 5th place, I need Kentucky to beat Michigan St. in the final with Dayton & Wisconsin in the Final Four.  A little better (not much) chance for my main entry, The Fabone XX.  Here are my 14 winning scenarios (note that I could lose a tiebreaker and get nothing in some “winning” scenarios):

2014 HWCI NCAA POOL INDIVIDUAL POSSIBILITIES      03/28/14
For: The Fabone XX
                                               | Possible Tournament Results |
                                               ||
                                               ||
                    Entry       Place          1st 2nd
------------------------------- -----          --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
                  The Fabone XX   3*           Fla AZ  MiS Ken Day Con Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Fla Ken MiS AZ  Day Con Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Ken Fla MiS AZ  Day Con Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Day AZ  MiS Ken Fla Con Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   6*           Day Ken MiS AZ  Fla Con Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   6*           Ken Day MiS AZ  Fla Con Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   3*           Fla AZ  Con Ken Day MiS Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Fla Ken Con AZ  Day MiS Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Ken Fla Con AZ  Day MiS Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   6*           Day AZ  Con Ken Fla MiS Wis MI  
                  The Fabone XX   6*           Fla Ken MiS Wis Day Con AZ  MI  
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Fla AZ  MiS MI  Day Con Wis Ken 
                  The Fabone XX   6*           Day AZ  MiS MI  Fla Con Wis Ken 
                  The Fabone XX   4*           Fla AZ  Con MI  Day MiS Wis Ken 
                                   * = subject to tie-break

Issue # 8.3.1 “History Repeats… Again”

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GATORS BEST BRUINS AGAIN; FLYERS FLYING HIGH

52 go 3-1 but Hawkeye remains in first 
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- The selection committee wanted this and they got the 4th go-around between #1S-Florida and #4S-UCLA and for the fourth time, the Gators won.  It was very odd in the atmosphere of the arena as even when the Bruins were making a run cutting a 11-point deficit to one, the crowd never got behind the underdogs.  To cap off a bad day for SoCal, #1W-Arizona held off #4W-San Diego St. with a late surge.  In the battle of double-digit seeds, #11S-Dayton is the lone mid-major in the Elite 8 holding off #10S-Stanford (the Pac 12 went 1-2 today).  The Flyers avoided the home game in the First Four and will face the Gators.  #2W-Wisconsin won handily over #6W-Baylor, holding them to 16 points in the first half and will face the Wildcats.

With three top seeds winning, 52 went 3-1 for the day including GoGoGodzilla (46th-T, 87 pts), who was the only one to pick Dayton but Continue reading »

Issue # 7.2.4 “Billion Dollar Time Machine” [Sweet 16 Thoughts]

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Previous Sweet 16 Themes: [ 13 - SportsNation |  12 - Amazing Race |  11 - Year-by-Year |  10 - Health Care |  09 - American Cancer Society | 08 - Who Is The Mole? | 07 - TV Shows | 06 - Awards ]


16 HINTS ON HOW TO START TO WIN A BILLION DOLLARS

And may the odds be ever in your favor!
CERRITOS/EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- After just 32 games, much less the 48 that have been played already, no one in the Warren Buffett-insured Quicken Loans Billion $ Bracket Challenge was perfect.  [ Quicken Loans Billion $ Bracket Challenge ]Of course, the odds up to the start of the Round of 32 was still 4,294,967,296 (4.2 billion) to 1, not accounting that each game has a different probability of winning (e.g., the 4.2 billion assumes each game has a 50/50 chance of either team winning but we know, for example, the #16 seed has basically >1% chance).  So try beating 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 1 (9.2 quintillion) to get all 63 games correct (that number is greater than the national debt of $17,560, 724,125,874 (17.5 trillion).  Even [ National Debt 3/27/2014 ]if you were to weigh each game (e.g., #1 has 90% beating #16, #2 85% over #15, #3 80% over #14, etc.), you still would be about 70 billion to 1.  And for the first 32 games, it’s about 45,000 to 1 (very reasonable and has happened (not in our pool) quite a few times in the past in other national pools).  Over 20 years, we’ve had only 1,559 entries which means sometime in the next 569 years we will have our perfect 32-0 bracket!  If the games were split evenly over the first two days (e.g., two #1 seeds play Thursday, two on Friday), then weighing the probabilities, it’s only 211 to 1 to be a perfect 16-0.  And in our pool, we’ve had 5 perfect 16-0 entries (including 2 this year) which means our actual ratio is 312 to 1, which is close to 211 to 1.  Don’t you love it when the math works out?


Anyway, if you had gone 48-0 by now, the odds are only 1 in 32,768 or if weighted, as good as 1 in 4,114 (it’ll be higher because not all #1, #2, #3, and #4 seeds will make the Sweet 16) to complete the perfect bracket.  Seems reasonable.  So, if I had a hot tub time machine and was able to tell myself how to pick the bracket to get to 48-0 to be on my way to a Billion Dollar bracket, here are 16 pieces to the puzzle.


    

  1. Chalk.  Start with all the favorites (seed-wise).  There were only 14 upsets of the 48 games.
    2. 

  2. N’names.  A couple big schools have some weird  Continue reading »
    3. 


			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Issue # 6.2.3 “You May Be Revived”

						

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 A RECORD $1,380 WILL BE DOLED OUT TO 7 WINNERS

Bonus Prize details; 17 eliminated entries are eligible to win Bonus    
CERRITOS/EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- Thanks to a strong push at the beginning of the week, we received a record 138 entries.  For the fourth straight year, we will have six money spots as we have a record $1,380 to divvy out.  The top prize will be a record $555 which is $15 more than the record in 2012 (and $25 more than last year). The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. So we have those top six spots plus the Bonus.  What’s the Bonus?  Read on…


As it has been the past ten years, the Conference Wins is the Bonus Prize (as detailed below) (aka, Bonus1). However, if no one wins it, the Bonus2 takes effect and the entry who is closest to the Total Points in Final tiebreaker gets the Bonus Prize. This is the 11th year we have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 6 will be eligible to win. Rules follow below…


 Bonus1 – Winningest Conference



When you completed your online entry and saw your picks (to print out), some of you might have been wondering  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Issue # 5.2.2 “Pac 12 Rules Day While Huge Winning Streaks Snapped”

						

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SHOCKERS PERFECT SEASON OVER

Hawkeye now up by 6 and has 70% chance to win money 
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- Two long winning streaks were snapped while the Pac 12 sent 3 teams to the Sweet 16. The conspiracy of getting rid of a strong mid-major (#1MW-Wichita St) worked on the first try as #8MW-Kentucky survived a potential buzzer beater to send the Missouri Valley champions home with their first loss (35-1). #4S-UCLA snapped Stephen F Austin’s 29-game win streak and was 1 of 3 Pac 12 teams to qualify joining #10S-Stanford (who upset #2S-Kansas – so it’s moot when Joel Embid will return) and #1W-Arizona. #1E-Virigina, #11MW-Tennessee (the First Four winner), and #6W-Baylor all won easily.


One of the oddest endings as a great back-and-forth battle between #3E-Iowa St and #6E-UNC saw the Cyclones score the go-ahead with 1.6 seconds left and then  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Issue # 4.2.1 “Three Point Drought”

						

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FLORIDA WINS 28TH STRAIGHT; ‘CUSE 25-0 START FOR NAUGHT

GoGoGodzilla is perfect 8-0 but Hawkeye has 5 point lead 
ALHAMBRA/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #1S-Florida won its 28th straight game and kept the SEC unbeaten (5-0, 4-0 not including First Four). Meanwhile, #3S-Syracuse’s 25-0 start was a lifetime away as the Orange lost their 6th game in their last 9 games falling to #11S-Dayton. The Flyers may have trouble putting games away but Tyler Ennis (of 3-pt buzzer beater vs Pitt fame) of Syracuse hogged the ball in the last seconds taking an ill-advised long jumper down by 1 and then when only down by 2, taking a off-balance long 3-pointer with a few seconds left. As a team, Syracuse was 0-10 from 3-point range and 1 for 19 outside the paint. #5MW-St. Louis also went 0-fer from 3-point range (0-for-15) in losing to #4MW-Louisvlle. #4W-SDSU, #2MW-Michigan, #2W-Wisconsin, and #4E-Michigan St all played tight games before pulling away comfortably late. #7E-UConn put on a show putting away #2E-Villanova.


I was thinking the coach was to blame but then  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Issue # 3.1.2 “Four Point Play and Duke Away”

						

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SFA FORGOT HOW TO LOSE; DUKE BOUNCED AGAIN

Hawkeye & The Rat Pack are tied for 1st 
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- Shouldn’t players be celebrating leading by 4 with only a few seconds left?  Nah, let’s contest a desperation 3-pointer.  On the biggest stage, one of the biggest blunders happened as #5S-VCU’s JeQuan Lewis inexplicitly contested (regardless if it was a foul or not) #12S-SFA’s Desmond Haymon’s attempt fouling him as he swished the shot with 3.6 seconds left.  Cooly, Haymon made the free throw and overtime would ensue and his team would survive.  That wasn’t bad enough  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Issue # 2.1.1 “Overtime & Perfection”

						

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TOP SEEDS STRUGGLE, OVERTIME GALORE

Hawkeye & FC Nordsjaelland are perfect; Record 138 entries received 


EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- Where to begin?  The NCAA Selection Committee should just admit they are seeding to get good matchups instead of actually ranking the teams as most of the double-digit seeded teams held their own making for exciting basketball but one has to question the seeding system.  Just because a #12 has won almost every year doesn’t mean it HAS to.  There were 3 upsets early (#11S-Dayton, #9S-Pitt, and #12E-Harvard) with the latter two not surprising most people.  Top seeds struggled with #1S-Florida, #4MW-Louisville, #4W-SDSU, and #5MW-St Louis all holding on to victories.  Only #2W-Wisconsin, #3S-Syracuse, #4E-Michigan St, #2MW-Michigan, #7W-Oregon, and #2E-Villanova pulled away to easy wins.  The last 8 games saw four overtimes Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Full disclosure, my dear Watson

						

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n2014_SherlocksIn the nickname links are  my two entries in the pool, a hard earned $20 going to someone else.  In celebration of the 20th year, The Fabone XX is poised to give false hope early before crashing down hard.  And Elim the Impossible, with inspiration from Sherlock Holmes (with the great series Sherlock as well as Elementary), figures to either fight for the top or fight for the bottom.  There is no middle.  BTW, you can view your own bracket as well.


Edit:  Dave’s pick, The Mighty Mobelfakta,  just came in!  We now have 121 entries so hopefully we can get at least 14 in the morning to set a new record.

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Issue # 1.0.1 “Double X”

						

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GATORS FINISH TO TAKE #1 OVERALL SEED; SHOCKERS UNBEATEN

  Our HWCI Pool XX could be wide-open; java applet is reaching end-of-life    
EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- S-Florida became the first team to go undefeated in SEC play in the regular season and then topped it with SEC Conference Championship to tap the #1 overall seed.  Despite reaching the Final Four last year and becoming the first to enter the tourney undefeated (34-0) since UNLV (’91), people still don’t understand how MW-Wichita St. is a #1 seed.  Last year’s champ, MW-Louisville played well toward the end but only got a #4 seed.  Ah, the wonderful selection Sunday where there are no right answers but in the end, you still have to beat six teams to win the title, no matter what seed you are.  W-Arizona and E-Virginia grabbed the other two #1 seeds, the latter benefiting from tourney losses by #2MW-Michigan, #2S-Kansas (the only team in all 20 of our pools), and #2E-Villanova.  Local teams both got #4 seeds with S-UCLA, who beat Arizona in the Pac 12 Final, staying close to home in San Diego while W-San Diego St. travels to Spokane.  The other local team, #16aMW-Cal Poly SLO (13-19!), in their 1st-ever tourney, plays in the First Four and hopes to enter the 64 proper.  In fact, CP is one of 13 teams seeking their first-ever tourney win.


With more flexibility in allowing a re-match or re-re-match to happen (a three-re-match not so much) and allowing conference teams to meet a round earlier than usual, the bracket this year better reflects a team’s true seed (except for Louisville fans).  Kansas’ Joel Embid’s injury (out at least the 2nd & 3rd rounds) is of interest but they still got the #2 seed.  The Big 12 (ten teams) got 7 teams in while the ACC, Big 10 (twelve teams), Pac 12, and Atlantic 10 each got 6 teams in.  If you were to combine the old Big East, they got 8 teams (4 new Big East, 4 American Conf).  So I guess this year there are 7 power conferences (vs 6) which meant only 7 at-large bids did not go to them.  If you consider the Atlantic 10 a new power conference, then only San Diego St. and #10W-BYU (controversial as well) got at-large bids.  Oddly, three of the 4 First Four matches are in the Midwest which benefits Wichita St. but that is quickly countered by traditional powers at the 2 (Michigan), 3 (Duke), and 4 (Louisville) lines.


Our HWCI NCAA Pool is no longer be a teenager as we’ve hit our 20th year.   Last year  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
If you didn’t know, one day down

						

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So this is interesting.  We got a record 42 entries on Tuesday, shattering the previous record of 25 (2011).  Maybe the java issues prompted people to enter earlier than usual.  We now have 60 entries, which considering we typically get just 30% of our final total by this time, that would mean we’d have 200 entries.  We won’t get close to that, but we have a pretty good shot of surpassing 2012’s record total of 134.  So keep spreading the word.


Yes, two games were played today (I’m so tired I thought all 4 were being played today).  8 correctly picked NC State and  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
First Four Underway

						

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I think I’ve captured all the email, Facebook chat, Facebook comment, SMS, and Blog comments for the 4th HWCI Final Four For Charity.  We have 22 entries, which is two more than last year (our high was in ’11 with 30).  So that’s $44 I will donate to Friends of Renee.  But there’s at least $15 donated by others in the pool so the total is at least $59.  Thank you.


No one picked all the lower seeded teams (designated away team) and just two picked all the higher seeded teams (designated home team).  Four picked Albany/Xavier/Cal Poly SLO/Iowa.  No one had a larger point margin than 16 in their picks.  15 picked Albany, 14 picked Xavier, 12 picked Cal Poly SLO (they are 13-19), and 12 picked Tennessee.


Below is everyone’s picks followed by the current standing (3-way tie for first) after  Continue reading »

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
Please try again.

						

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Thanks for everyone’s patience with our java bracket. Despite that, we have 18 entries (3 hand-filled (1 jpg, 2 pdf), 1 ESPN screenshot, 10 CBSSports via our alternate HWCI group, and 4 somehow got java to work) which is only 2 off of last year’s pace with a working site. So now, if the java bracket doesn’t show up, the #1 suggestion on the page is to use our new alternate bracket entry. Looks different but should work on all browsers (in fact, I just submitted a bracket on my iPad Air! — yes, I’m not always anti-Apple). You’ll find the link after submitting the info form at Web Entry.  If it’s a wild success, we’ll just replace the java applet with this (reduces 1 click-thru).  Alternatively, you can email (ncaa<at>hwci.com) a copy of your completed bracket (phone picture, scan) with name, email, nickname, and total pts in final.


PLEASE JUST SEND A QUICK EMAIL W/FIRST FOUR PREDICTIONS BY 3:40 PM) I will donate $2 per entry to a charity which will be Friends of Renee (previous were MathCounts (a record $103 donated by myself and others), American Red Cross, and American Cancer Society). Again details can be found on our homepage but basically, reply to this email the winners of the First Four (4 games: Albany vs Mt St Marys, Cal Poly vs TX Southern, NC St vs Xavier, Iowa vs Tenn) and margin of victory of each (e.g., Xavier by 4 pts). 


Lastly, you can now view your bracket (if you emailed it to me or submitted via CBSSports, give me a while). This is important if I entered your bracket, so double-check I didn’t put Tulsa winning it all. Until things are official, nicknames may be funny or slightly off but you should be able to find it in the dropdown box. If you can’t let us know.