Monday, April 11, 2011
2011 Five Teamer Wrap-Up
Our winner is Big Daddy Spick. I've since learned Big Daddy's real name is Paul Pachuta. Congrats Paul! As a result of a slight mix-up in his emal address Paul never got any updates or spreadsheets to track how he did in the pool until he won. So as surprising as his comeback was for us, it was probably more so for him. Our worst player is Martin Tyson who gets the booby prize of getting his entry back. I think next year, if the last place player doesn't get over 100 points, his $25 will go to second place. Martin Tyson stalled on 99, and he joins a very small list of players to not recoup their 100 win investment. Martin is an online poker player so I'm sure he'll readjust his strategy next year. It took a while for UNC to become the team many of us thought they were going to be but it up ended up being an important part of Paul's winning formula. Paul also scored with Arizona and Florida. Geoff Perry had a solid performance to close out the season in 2nd. He tied with Rory, but as he had the eventual national champion, a 14 game improver, I think we got to give him the tiebreaker. They both win. Nothing. So who really cares who was second and who was third. As usual the worst picker was a newcomer; Martin Tyson. As much as being new to the pool is a good excuse, considering another newbie took the whole thing down, we may have to reevaluate. Tyson had the 2nd worst pick on the board taking 18 win Loyola Marymount who only won 11 games. If he had picked UCONN, instead he would have finished in the middle of the pack at 120. Of note, had Paul Pachuta picked UCONN over Creighton his victory margin, 9 games, would have been an even more crushing 18 games. Baylor was the worst pick, winning 10 fewer games this year, than last. Me and my wife loved them to our detriment. Wonder who influenced her opinion? Michigan State and K-State were also bad selections this year.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
New Leader in the clubhouse
Is he in the clubhouse? I guess not... but let's go with it. Rory has caught and passed Stephen Gerztoff. Team Ro-Ro has been carried to the finish line by the stand-out play of George Mason and UCLA. While the CAA may get three bids this year, GMU has been tearing that conference up like the University of Richmond used to do. UCLA plays in the Pac 10, which may get two bids this year... ugh... and has been basically enjoying being slighty better than the little sisters of the poor.
College basketball is sometimes like poker in that you don't even have to be a good poker player to make money, you just have to be better than everybody else in the game. UCLA, with the exception of Arizona, is just better than the Pac 10. I don't think anybody is banking on them winning too many games in the NCAAs but the conference season is a lot longer than the tournament.
Steve and Rory share Pittsburgh and Illinois. Pitt despite winning 25 games last year is only one win away from tieing that mark. Illinois has faltered of late in the arduous big 10 and looks to be the anchor of both players slates. Stephen's combo of Arizona/Georgia is right there with Rory's selection of UCLA/Mason. With Arizona a little bit than UCLA and Mason a little better than Georgia.
Which means the pool may be decided by how well Stephen's Mizzou does against Ro-ro's Florida. Personally, I like Rory as Florida should have an easier conference tournament and a higher NCAA seed.
Meanwhile, Big Daddy has also emerged as a viable contender. He's is the third player to cross the magical 100 win mark and like Rory and Stephen is all profit from here on out. BD's first year in the pool has been significant. He has three teams than neither Rory or Stephen has so his focus will be on Memphis regrouping, Creighton getting hot, and North Carolina emerging as a high seed in a weaker ACC.
Behind Big Daddy is Georff Perry who is two wins short of 100. He shares no teams with Rory and two with Gerztoff, and only one with Big Daddy. Fairfield, Conneticutt, and Michigan State are all his own. Perhaps the best possible scenario for Perry would be for Conneticutt to catch Pitt in the Big East, Fairfield to keep winning (they could get to almost 30 this year), and for Michigan State to head to the N.I.T. and go deep.
Izzo is a master of tournament performance, though his team with a low seed in the NCAAs would have a battle every game. They likely would be the class of the second tier tournament. Wonder if he'd have too much pride to play in the N.I.T.
On the other side of things, Martin Tyson has his work to do just to reach 100. It's been some time since a player fell short of "profiting" from one year to the next. With two teams 10 wins shy, and one 6 wins shy it'll be an uphill climb.
The rest of us? We are a whole bunch of mediocre.
College basketball is sometimes like poker in that you don't even have to be a good poker player to make money, you just have to be better than everybody else in the game. UCLA, with the exception of Arizona, is just better than the Pac 10. I don't think anybody is banking on them winning too many games in the NCAAs but the conference season is a lot longer than the tournament.
Steve and Rory share Pittsburgh and Illinois. Pitt despite winning 25 games last year is only one win away from tieing that mark. Illinois has faltered of late in the arduous big 10 and looks to be the anchor of both players slates. Stephen's combo of Arizona/Georgia is right there with Rory's selection of UCLA/Mason. With Arizona a little bit than UCLA and Mason a little better than Georgia.
Which means the pool may be decided by how well Stephen's Mizzou does against Ro-ro's Florida. Personally, I like Rory as Florida should have an easier conference tournament and a higher NCAA seed.
Meanwhile, Big Daddy has also emerged as a viable contender. He's is the third player to cross the magical 100 win mark and like Rory and Stephen is all profit from here on out. BD's first year in the pool has been significant. He has three teams than neither Rory or Stephen has so his focus will be on Memphis regrouping, Creighton getting hot, and North Carolina emerging as a high seed in a weaker ACC.
Behind Big Daddy is Georff Perry who is two wins short of 100. He shares no teams with Rory and two with Gerztoff, and only one with Big Daddy. Fairfield, Conneticutt, and Michigan State are all his own. Perhaps the best possible scenario for Perry would be for Conneticutt to catch Pitt in the Big East, Fairfield to keep winning (they could get to almost 30 this year), and for Michigan State to head to the N.I.T. and go deep.
Izzo is a master of tournament performance, though his team with a low seed in the NCAAs would have a battle every game. They likely would be the class of the second tier tournament. Wonder if he'd have too much pride to play in the N.I.T.
On the other side of things, Martin Tyson has his work to do just to reach 100. It's been some time since a player fell short of "profiting" from one year to the next. With two teams 10 wins shy, and one 6 wins shy it'll be an uphill climb.
The rest of us? We are a whole bunch of mediocre.
Monday, February 7, 2011
What a Long Time it's been...
Maybe it has been since before Christmas since the last update. Taking a break from updating my poker news website I'm finally posting on this blog again. BTW, speaking of poker, Blake took a piece of me in a tournament last year, and won the Lock of the Week prize which was 5% of me in another tournament. Anyway, dude won $50 as I cashed in that event. So congrats to him.
Not that he's in this pool... but I will be selling pieces of myself again in the Spring Break event at the Beau Rivage this year again. I'll pick one tournament and try to sell most of myself. Let me know if you want a piece. On to our regularly schedule program...
Anyway, the spreadsheet shows Pitt still has the most wins of any team in the pool (helped by their win on Monday night which I think already hit ESPN standings... wins after I did the update won't count. Wah, wah). Marist still has the least amount. Marist also got a 1/4 of its wins since the last update. That would be 1.
Some trends to notice from the delay in updating. Newcomer Big Daddy Spickard (who is not Rory's father in law) is pushing the vets and has slotted into third place behind Stephen Gerztoff and Rory Obrien. Rory is only one win behind Stephen. Rory's success is partly due to George Mason who had the most wins since the last update: 9.
Rory loves him some Goo Moos in a down CAA. Rory's eating his Mac and Cheese with a tall glass of shut up juice as he cheers for the Green and Gold. George Mason is also the team with the highest win total from last year to already have surpassed it. 17 to 19.
Fairfield's decimation of thier league (8 wins since last update) has enable Geoff Perry to get in contention. Perry is running fourth which is kind of a big deal for him. Fourth is like first to Geoff, at least that's what his mother would say when she'd make a ribbon for his fourth place finish in the sack race despite there being four entrants. Considering more than four are playing this unchartered waters.
The Pac 10 is down. UCLA and Arizona have hit their stride beating up on the cream puffs (AZ 8 wins, UCLA 7 since last update). This is really the part of the pull that changes gears on players. It's a tale of two seasons (three when you count the postseason), as early on some teams like say Illinois look destined for greatness and others mediocrity, such as UCLA, but this year the Big 10 is loaded and the Pac 10 not so much.
As schools like Minnesota (4), Illinois (3), and to a lesser degree Michigan State (3) because they weren't on track in the nonconference, are finding out it's hard to win games in the big 10. Suddenly, without Illinois pacing Stephen others are in contention.
North Carolina, like Duke has won 7 games since last go round, and are enjoying the ease of the ACC. Don't tell that to NC State who have come unglued and only won twice. The Big 12 is beating up on each other like the big 10, with KState finding only four wins, Mizzou 5, Texas 7 (not bad), and Bayl0r 5.
Florida's seven wins contrasted by LSU's two probably indicates in the SEC good teams win and bad teams don'. Only the aforementioned Marist and Loyola Marymount (also 2) won as few games as LSU. UCONN is trying to keep pace with Pitt and 7 wins means they've been strong.
Smaller conference teams that were supposed to have an easier go in conference but haven't include Houston 3, American 4, Cal SB 5, Creighton 5, and Nichols State 5.
6 teams have surpassed last years win total. American is 5 ahead (16 vs. 11), Arizona 4 ahead (20 vs. 16), Marist 3 ahead (4 vs. 1), Georgia 2 ahead (16 vs. 14), UCLA 2 ahead (16 v. 14), GMU 2 ahead (19 v. 16).
Nichols State has broken even 11 and 11, so too UCONN 18 and 18. The team with the most work to do is Michigan State (-15) 13 vs. 28. Then Duke (-14) 21 v. 35, Baylor (-13) 15 v. 28, Kansas State (-13) 16 v. 29.
Whoa... hold up, just discovered an error in my spreadsheet. Pool Rookie Martin Tyson was getting credit for Fairfield's wins instead of Loyola Marymount. Fixing it, that puts him dead last and gives Geoff Roswick a chance to save face. Tyson, has two teams in the single digits in terms of wins--the only two teams in the pool. Ughh.
Course Geoff, though five wins ahead of Martin Tyson, is the only player in the pool without a team with more than 17 wins.
Okay... you guys keep an eye out for any other errors that might be hidden in the spreadsheet. Normally, somebody catches that but normally I update a little more often.
Not that he's in this pool... but I will be selling pieces of myself again in the Spring Break event at the Beau Rivage this year again. I'll pick one tournament and try to sell most of myself. Let me know if you want a piece. On to our regularly schedule program...
Anyway, the spreadsheet shows Pitt still has the most wins of any team in the pool (helped by their win on Monday night which I think already hit ESPN standings... wins after I did the update won't count. Wah, wah). Marist still has the least amount. Marist also got a 1/4 of its wins since the last update. That would be 1.
Some trends to notice from the delay in updating. Newcomer Big Daddy Spickard (who is not Rory's father in law) is pushing the vets and has slotted into third place behind Stephen Gerztoff and Rory Obrien. Rory is only one win behind Stephen. Rory's success is partly due to George Mason who had the most wins since the last update: 9.
Rory loves him some Goo Moos in a down CAA. Rory's eating his Mac and Cheese with a tall glass of shut up juice as he cheers for the Green and Gold. George Mason is also the team with the highest win total from last year to already have surpassed it. 17 to 19.
Fairfield's decimation of thier league (8 wins since last update) has enable Geoff Perry to get in contention. Perry is running fourth which is kind of a big deal for him. Fourth is like first to Geoff, at least that's what his mother would say when she'd make a ribbon for his fourth place finish in the sack race despite there being four entrants. Considering more than four are playing this unchartered waters.
The Pac 10 is down. UCLA and Arizona have hit their stride beating up on the cream puffs (AZ 8 wins, UCLA 7 since last update). This is really the part of the pull that changes gears on players. It's a tale of two seasons (three when you count the postseason), as early on some teams like say Illinois look destined for greatness and others mediocrity, such as UCLA, but this year the Big 10 is loaded and the Pac 10 not so much.
As schools like Minnesota (4), Illinois (3), and to a lesser degree Michigan State (3) because they weren't on track in the nonconference, are finding out it's hard to win games in the big 10. Suddenly, without Illinois pacing Stephen others are in contention.
North Carolina, like Duke has won 7 games since last go round, and are enjoying the ease of the ACC. Don't tell that to NC State who have come unglued and only won twice. The Big 12 is beating up on each other like the big 10, with KState finding only four wins, Mizzou 5, Texas 7 (not bad), and Bayl0r 5.
Florida's seven wins contrasted by LSU's two probably indicates in the SEC good teams win and bad teams don'. Only the aforementioned Marist and Loyola Marymount (also 2) won as few games as LSU. UCONN is trying to keep pace with Pitt and 7 wins means they've been strong.
Smaller conference teams that were supposed to have an easier go in conference but haven't include Houston 3, American 4, Cal SB 5, Creighton 5, and Nichols State 5.
6 teams have surpassed last years win total. American is 5 ahead (16 vs. 11), Arizona 4 ahead (20 vs. 16), Marist 3 ahead (4 vs. 1), Georgia 2 ahead (16 vs. 14), UCLA 2 ahead (16 v. 14), GMU 2 ahead (19 v. 16).
Nichols State has broken even 11 and 11, so too UCONN 18 and 18. The team with the most work to do is Michigan State (-15) 13 vs. 28. Then Duke (-14) 21 v. 35, Baylor (-13) 15 v. 28, Kansas State (-13) 16 v. 29.
Whoa... hold up, just discovered an error in my spreadsheet. Pool Rookie Martin Tyson was getting credit for Fairfield's wins instead of Loyola Marymount. Fixing it, that puts him dead last and gives Geoff Roswick a chance to save face. Tyson, has two teams in the single digits in terms of wins--the only two teams in the pool. Ughh.
Course Geoff, though five wins ahead of Martin Tyson, is the only player in the pool without a team with more than 17 wins.
Okay... you guys keep an eye out for any other errors that might be hidden in the spreadsheet. Normally, somebody catches that but normally I update a little more often.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Happy Holidays Edition of the 5 Teamer Update
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Bon Chance.
This year we have a guy far in front of the pack and one way in back of it.
Gerztoff, who has yet to pay, (incidentally, if I were to rule out everybody that hasn't paid, I'd be solely in first. It's something I am considering doing even as I type this, less for the winning and more for the shitfit it would stir) is in first place with a whopping 62 wins. The pack is bunched behind him with Rory at 56, Eric at 55 tied with me, Perry, Big Daddy (nice showing in your first year), and Melissa at 54. The laggards are John Price, my wife, and Martin Tyson. The roadkill that's been left for dead is Geoff Roswick. He stands 17 games behind Gerztoff.
When I was updating the spreadsheet it's not a good sign if I haven't done it for a few weeks and I'm only adding one to the win total. Two of Geoff's teams fell into that category. Ugh.
Martin Tyson's pairing of Duke-Marist is still taking shape. Combined the two teams have 17 wins (14 for Duke and 3 for Marist). They cost him 36 wins (35 for Duke and 1 for Marist). People are talking about Duke going undefeated... I don't think they are quite that good but who knows. You could probably make a case for Marist going defeated from here on out (they won't but they'll probably won't break double digits either).
A good comparison would be to match Tyson's pair with say Big Daddy's Arizona and UNC (16 and 20 wins last year) and track them. At this point, UNC (12) and Arizona (10) have 22 wins combined. So, Martin's only five games behind with his gambit. Postseason will either pay him off or bite him in the butt if Duke can ride their way to another conference tournament and national championship. This may be the only year, taking a 35 win team works, as it is possible Duke could go undefeated and gets (?) 40 wins. Let's say Marist creeps up to 10, that would give Martin 50 wins for two teams, +7 for each.
Still, he's got a mountain to overcome as Gerztoff is 12 wins ahead of him. That's tough to make up. To be critical of Gerztoff slate, besides Pittsburgh, he doesn't seem to have too many teams that look like they'll be good for more than two wins in the Big Dance. Georgia, was a front loaded selection, in my opinion. They'll have Kentucky and Florida twice in a loaded SEC.
Georgia is three wins short of their total from last year. They'd be third fastest (and baring 1 win Marist, second fastest) to that total if they don't slow down too much. American should beat them there as they won 11 last year and are at 10. Congrats to Geoff Roswick for that. If the Patriot League is soft, he could recover. I think he was banking on conference play with American, Webber State, and Cal SB so let's see if he can make it respectable.
This year we have a guy far in front of the pack and one way in back of it.
Gerztoff, who has yet to pay, (incidentally, if I were to rule out everybody that hasn't paid, I'd be solely in first. It's something I am considering doing even as I type this, less for the winning and more for the shitfit it would stir) is in first place with a whopping 62 wins. The pack is bunched behind him with Rory at 56, Eric at 55 tied with me, Perry, Big Daddy (nice showing in your first year), and Melissa at 54. The laggards are John Price, my wife, and Martin Tyson. The roadkill that's been left for dead is Geoff Roswick. He stands 17 games behind Gerztoff.
When I was updating the spreadsheet it's not a good sign if I haven't done it for a few weeks and I'm only adding one to the win total. Two of Geoff's teams fell into that category. Ugh.
Martin Tyson's pairing of Duke-Marist is still taking shape. Combined the two teams have 17 wins (14 for Duke and 3 for Marist). They cost him 36 wins (35 for Duke and 1 for Marist). People are talking about Duke going undefeated... I don't think they are quite that good but who knows. You could probably make a case for Marist going defeated from here on out (they won't but they'll probably won't break double digits either).
A good comparison would be to match Tyson's pair with say Big Daddy's Arizona and UNC (16 and 20 wins last year) and track them. At this point, UNC (12) and Arizona (10) have 22 wins combined. So, Martin's only five games behind with his gambit. Postseason will either pay him off or bite him in the butt if Duke can ride their way to another conference tournament and national championship. This may be the only year, taking a 35 win team works, as it is possible Duke could go undefeated and gets (?) 40 wins. Let's say Marist creeps up to 10, that would give Martin 50 wins for two teams, +7 for each.
Still, he's got a mountain to overcome as Gerztoff is 12 wins ahead of him. That's tough to make up. To be critical of Gerztoff slate, besides Pittsburgh, he doesn't seem to have too many teams that look like they'll be good for more than two wins in the Big Dance. Georgia, was a front loaded selection, in my opinion. They'll have Kentucky and Florida twice in a loaded SEC.
Georgia is three wins short of their total from last year. They'd be third fastest (and baring 1 win Marist, second fastest) to that total if they don't slow down too much. American should beat them there as they won 11 last year and are at 10. Congrats to Geoff Roswick for that. If the Patriot League is soft, he could recover. I think he was banking on conference play with American, Webber State, and Cal SB so let's see if he can make it respectable.
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