2010 HWCI World Cup Pool Update

Thursday, June 10, 2010
Issue # 2.0.2 "Will They Be Bafana Bafana or Men?"
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WHAT IF THIS WAS THE NCAA TOURNAMENT?
Poised to break entry record as deadline of 7 am PDT Friday approaches

CERRITOS, CA (smt) - Just over 24 hours until the world's most popular sport takes center stage and teams are still playing exhibition matches to get ready. Portugal and Spain won easily Tuesday and Japan plays Mozambique (who lost to Portugal) today - not a good sign for my homeland. Ivory Coast's one-armed Didier Drogba may yet make an appearance after all. And after a couple of stampedes during a ticket giveaway, South Africa will either show us they're ready to put on a spectacular show or give FIFA a black eye. At the very least they'll contribute to the mass noise pollution with their vuvuzelas.

Since some our new people entering our pool have played in our HWCI NCAA Pool (16 years and running), what can we make of the World Cup? There are the major confederations (like conferences) of UEFA (Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America). The mid-majors would be CONCACAF (North & Central America, Caribbean) and CAF (Africa). The low majors would be AFC (Asia) and OFC (Oceania). No team outside the major confederations have won the Cup. The Netherlands and Spain are teams that always have a chance to win it all, but never do. If you look at the years we have been doing the tournament, this would be teams like Kansas (before 2008), Stanford, Illinois, or Memphis. Some mid-majors always seem to do well such as Mexico and every eight years, the USA (this is year 8, BTW). Gonzaga-like fan favorites Cameroon and Australia will try to get far. And FIFA is just as greedy as the NCAA.

Well, with one day left to enter our pool, we have 36 entries and should top our record of 44 in 2006. For those who are having trouble with the java applet, feel free to email your Round of 16 picks to me. For those who have trouble filling out the java applet, check out the blog entry on some tips. Speaking of the blog, the blog is up and running and should be the one-stop shop for the latest timely updates on the pool. Also, Sam's Pando! or Gordo? is now four issues in with the latest one found here.

Recapping:

Here are the basics:

WHAT:        	4th HWCI World Cup Soccer Office Pool
FEE:         	$10.00 per entry
DEADLINE:    	7:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, June 11th (if by mail, then postmarked by Thursday night)
WHO:        	Anyone with ten bucks!  Invite friends!  No more than three entries per person
REFERRAL:	For those who participated in 2006, refer 5 new people to enter and get a free entry with one paid
SOC STAT:	Italy is the defending World Cup champion
PREVIOUS WINNERS: 1998- LE BIX (Fernando B) $115
		2002- PUNA (Tina M) $110
		2006- ELASTIGIRL (Cynthia S) $220

For more info, see the "Rules", "How to Enter", and "FAQ" sections. Then please enter online using our Web Entry page.

SIDES 'N KICKS: Of the 36 entries, 20 are returning entries... our Relay for Life team Rice Around the Clock raised over $3,100 for the American Cancer Society and the 36 Alhambra teams as a total raised over $41,000... the USA advanced to the Round of 16 in 1994 and 2002 and had dismal failures in 1990, 1998, and 2006 (all in Europe); so 2010 should be a great year!... supposedly, those with Verizon will be able to watch the games live on their smartphone via VCast; although it costs money, it's free for 30 days which is the length of the World Cup (make sure you cancel!)... also, if you're on one of the internet services that offer ESPN3, you can watch all the games for free on your computer...

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Getting the USA shirts ready, but I have to wear a suit today...
Scott