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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Issue # 2.0.2 "Let's Do the Math (That) Counts"
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NIT OFF TO A CRAZY START WHILE NC A&T-LIBERTY PROVIDES DRAMA
Our 3rd First Four for Charity will support MathCounts; Entry deadline is 9 a.m. PDT Thursday
LEXINGTON PARK, MD (smt)- It’s happened, a team has knocked off the overall #1 seed in the first round… except this happened in the NIT as #8-Robert Morris, playing at home due to KY’s home arena hosting NCAA games, knocked off defending NCAA champ #1 Kentucky.  There was also a buzzer beater in the NIT.  Hopefully, the NCAA tournament will provide buzzer beaters, which have been lacking in recent years.  In the First Four, 20-loss (now 21) #16bMW-Liberty nearly came back from a late 7-point deficit thanks to #16aMW-NC A&T forgetting how to hit a free throw.  The one-point victory was a promising start but the nightcap saw #11b-St. Mary’s (CA) roll over the NCAA committee’s controversial pick of #11a-Middle Tenn.

Well, the First Four is important for us as this is the 3rd year we are doing the First Four for Charity.  We got 20 entries on short notice (we had 30 in ’11 and 26 in ’12) raising $40.  A couple generous souls have pushed that total to $51.  The charity I picked is MathCounts, which is an organization that exposes middle school kids to the wonders of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).  STEM skills are sorely needed and just exposing young boys and girls to STEM is a benefit, regardless of what he/she wants to be when he/she grows up.  Even better, I think my company, who is one of the sponsors, will double my contribution.  Doubling would top the $100 I gave to the American Red Cross for the Japanese tsunami and earthquake victims and the $83 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Alhambra.  So thanks to everyone who participated helping raise money for this program.  For those keeping score, 7 went 2-0 with Cliff T and Tom J ahead on point differential (14) while Wendy B was the only one to go 0-2.

Also, you can now view your picks here:  http://www.hwci.com/ncaa/2013/picks.asp which hopefully relieves some of my email responses since I’m tied up most of the day this whole week (though I will be able to check emails during the day, something I didn’t think I’d be able to do).

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools).  As I did for our HWCI Euro Soccer Pool when it debuted, I will post using #hwcincaa mini-updates during the day so you can follow without being on Twitter (and if you are, please use #hwcincaa).  Please join our Facebook HWCI NCAA Pool Group or post comments on our blog.

PAYMENT: You can mail your entry fee (email me for snail mail) or give your $10 (per entry) to someone who will give the money to David or Scott. We are accepting PayPal (check or PayPal funds only) to “hwci<at>hotmail.com” or credit card PayPal payments to “smt0222<at>yahoo.com” (but the entry fee is $10.61 (61 cents in PayPal fees… damn them!)).  Now, you can send money via your smartphone and pay no fees!  Use Discover Money Messenger (your Discover app) or Chase Person-to-Person QuickPay (your Chase app) and send your $10 (per entry) to “hwci<at>hotmail.com” — just make sure you put your NAME and NICKNAME in the notes section. And if you’re having trouble getting your picks in (e.g., you Apple fanboys/girls), take a picture of your bracket with your phone and email it to ncaa<at>hwci.com.

DEADLINE:    9:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday, March 21
ENTRY FEE:   $10.00 per entry (max 3 entries per person)
RULES:       Check http://www.hwci.com/wordpress/?page_id=43 for more info
ARCHIVE:     Check http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa/2013/history.html
BLOG:       Comment at http://www.HWCI.com/wordpress  
NOTES:       All fee money goes back into prizes
             At least four winners (top prize about 40-50%) (if >=100 entries, 5 winners; if>=125 entries, 6 winners)
             Set points are awarded per game (2/3/4/6/8/12 for the 6 rounds) (no upset weighting)

Enter online now! You can also fax your entry to me at (720) 368-0816 or email us for a snail mail address (postmarked by Thursday AM). Make arrangements (such as PayPal) to send in your $10 entry fee(s) by March 23rd. Complete rules and daily pool information can be found on the official site: http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa.

Tids & Bits – When in the bracket form page, if there’s a red X or if the java applet fails to load, click here to download and install the Sun Java Runtime Environment… there have been issues with Macs so try to use a PC or take a picture of your bracket with your phone and email it… the 20 entries received on Monday was an all-time high since we started online entry in ’99… the 40 entries is one short of the record (’12) after a Tuesday… so far, only 3 new people have entered which is pretty low — spread the word!… #11S-Minn is really an odds favorite over #6S-UCLA?  Except for the Bruins and #8W-Colorado St, all other higher seeds are favorite… beautiful weather today in Southern Maryland…

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Liking the late games here on the East Coast…
Scott

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