I'm offering a "Bracket Buster" tournament with modest prizes in conjunction with the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Each participant will select one team from each of the four regions and will earn points based on that team's wins and seeding placement. For example, if you choose Kentucky (#1 seed in the Midwest Bracket) and Kentucky wins all six tournament games you would earn one point for each win for a total of 6 points in this bracket. If your choice in the East Bracket was Oklaholma (#3 seed in the East) and they faced Kentucky in the National Championship game, you would earn 3 points for each of Oklaholma's five wins to reach the championship game for a total of 15 points for that bracket.
Obviously, if you pick lower-seeded teams and they do well you'll earn many more points than picking favorites (however, you also risk earning 0 points in a bracket).
Each member of Stamporama is allowed only one entry (four teams, one from each region) into the contest. You can make your choices irrespective of whether or not a particular team has been chosen by another entrant. However, if you duplicate all four teams another member has chosen the earlier entry will have precedence as far as prizes go. (Ergo, if you duplicate another member's entry you guarantee you will NOT win first place...but you could still place second.)
All entries should be submitted as responses to this message and must be posted no later than tip-off of the first game played on March 19. Note: (the "Play-in" games will NOT count for points earned.) If available, I will try to post a response cutting off entries at tip-off of the earliest game played on March 19. Any interested party may do the same if I haven't posted a cut-off response five-minutes into that game.
Prizes: 1st place can choose any stamp in the scans posted on my trading site, including the "Purple Dot" scans (which are listed in Scott 2010 at a minimum of $10.00. There are many nice stamps available in this group, but don't look for stamps listed at $100 or more as I don't have those on my trading site.
2nd place can choose any "Magenta Dot" stamp (or lower if desired) on the site. These are stamps listed in Scott 2010 at $5.00-$9.99.
3rd place can choose any "Orange Dot" (or lower) on the site. These are stamps listed at $4.00-$4.99.
All prizes will be delivered post-paid; I plan to enter the contest myself, and in the unlikely event I finish in one of the top three places I'll get to retain the stamp!
Good Luck!
Notre Dame and Northeastern have tipped off in the first game of the tournament, so entries to this contest have officially closed....not that there were very many entries anyway! Don't know if his was because: A) not much interest in March Madness among Stamporama folks; B)not too many checks of this particular section of the discussion board in the last few days; C)"prizes" not worth the trouble of picking one from each of four columns.
At any rate, fewer entries increases odds of winning...good luck to all who entered!
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin 19 Mar 2015 01:18:39pm
re: NCAA Basketball Tournament Contest
D) basketball is boring and not worth watching.
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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. -Edmund Burke"
Sports isn't sport anymore just another rip off big business!
Sports used to build character, now it just makes characters! Characters that
cheat to win using drugs, characters that beat on their girlfriends, and soccer
moms & dads that physically assault coaches, and officials. Hail to the gladiators
and the folks that go to those events to see violent behavior and unnecessary
roughness.
That isn't sport anymore it's spectacle!
Additionally if you search the world over for the tallest freaks that you can find,
then it is no longer a shooting game, as you just walk up to the basket and
dunk it in. Just raise the basket 3-4 feet so it will be a shooting game once again.
Actually I very much enjoy watching world cup soccer!
I very much think that giving kids trophies just for showing up and not having
anything to do with performance, is erring in the opposite direction. But social
change always tends to over-correct when it tries to fix something.
Sorry for sounding so hostile, just don't care for sports.
I used to watch baseball with my dad when it was only available in B/W. In those days
they did not work so hard at defense and the game was not so boring as they scored
more runs back then.
I do enjoy watching world cup soccer and I got to see Bubba get out of the woods with
his famous hook shot and win the green jacket.
I was having lunch one day and there was nothing else on TV but football. It was college
ball and the game was tied with less than 1 minute on the clock. The team that had the
ball was going to end the game by kicking a field goal. However the attempt failed, and
the other team (the Christian college I think) caught the ball and ran down-field while
the other team just stood there in utter disbelief. Of course this took everyone by
surprise, and EVERYONE was on their feet to see this. They won the game while the
losers just stood wondering; what just happened?
So any game I watch after that will be a disappointment. So between Bubba and that
college field goal, that is enough of both sports for me.
I also am a big fan of NASCAR and INDY races. I have followed Danica Patrick's career
closely and can't wait to see her kick some good-old-boy ass!!
I guess I like many others like to root for the underdogs.
Had you gotten the Northeastern game you'd have put the contest pretty much out of reach on the first day, Larsdog! As it is, you've accumulated 21 points and still have Georgia playing tomorrow. Noone else has more than 5 points after day 1.
Here are the standings with the first round of games completed:
larsdog 21 (2 teams left)
LarryD 16 (3 teams left)
PastorLeon 15 (4 teams left)
david1367 15 (3 teams left)
AGKING 13 (4 teams left)
carabop 4 (4 teams left)
MDRoth 4 (3 teams left)
After the first day's action in the round of 32, larsdog leads with 31 points. However, PastorLeon, in second place with 20 points, has two teams in action on Sunday and could close the gap considerably with 9 potential points.
"Had you gotten the Northeastern game you'd have put the contest pretty much out of reach on the first day, Larsdog! As it is, you've accumulated 21 points and still have Georgia playing tomorrow. Noone else has more than 5 points after day 1."
Yeah, but my strategy was go big early, and that Northeastern game really hurt. I did get ONE of my Cinderellas into the Sweet 16 (#11 UCLA) and if Iowa can knock off Gonzaga tomorrow so UCLA doesn't have to face them, perhaps I can get some more points there, but I'm really a spectator at this point. Those that picked favorites are just going to keep racking up the points. I think I'm going to need another UCLA win to have a chance.
But no matter what this is tons of fun and thank you very much for setting up the challenge!!!
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
By the way, what is NOT in doubt is Kentucky winning the National Championship! I have Kentucky, Arizona, Virginia, and Duke in the Final Four, so my brackets are OK there so far, and I have Kentucky over Duke 77-71 in the Final. Villanova dropped out one round earlier than I predicted, but that helps my brackets a LOT because many folks projected a Kentucky/Villanova Final, so that loss WRECKS their brackets!
This has been a GREAT year though. I think there were FIVE games (out of 8) on the first day that were decided by ONE point! That is some exciting basketball!
I didn't put Louisville in the Final 4, but now that Villanova is gone perhaps Louisville will get to the Elite 8? I doubt Louisville can beat Virginia, but it would be fun to see Kentucky and Louisville in the Final Four!
Let the Madness continue!
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
Lars,OTOH, Look how close UCLA came to making an exit in their first game (which would have been very beneficial to those of us that had SMU!).
Anyway, glad to see at least a few Stamporama members enjoy March Madness as much as I do.
You're right, and UCLA winning in the 2nd round almost made up for the Northeastern loss, so I can't complain. I just took the 4 longest shots from my brackets and hoped for big enough early results to weather the storm of the favorites racking up points. We'll see how that strategy plays out, but I would be surprised if I didn't need another win from UCLA.
I'm really enjoying this year's tourney because of all of the close games. Thanks again for the contest to make it even more exciting!
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
I'm enjoying the Fighting Irish "streak" so far; not sure how far they will get, but I believe they might tangle with Kentucky round after next. Lars, if so, want to have a friendly bet?
"I'm enjoying the Fighting Irish "streak" so far; not sure how far they will get, but I believe they might tangle with Kentucky round after next. Lars, if so, want to have a friendly bet? "
Sure thing, Peter, but one of the reasons I picked Northeastern in the first round was to knock off Notre Dame. The pundits say the Irish have the best chance of any of the pre-Final 4 teams to match up favorably against UK. I keep hoping they will lose so we don't have to face them. Only Duke concerns me more than N.D.
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
Being born in KY I always have rooted for the Wildcats, but now I'm also pulling for Louisville due to this contest. The contest is an interesting approach since you don't have to only pick the favorites. Don't see how one can view these games as not being exciting- lots of one point games and games won in the last seconds, plus the upsets. True Madness!
David
With the tournament now down to the "Sweet 16," this contest has really gotten tight!
larsdog 32 points (1 team remaining)
LarryD 32 points (3 teams remaining)
PastorLeon 30 points (4 teams remaining)
david13617 30 poinra (3 teams remaining)
AGKING 18 points (2 teams remaining)
carabop 7 points (3 teams remaining)
MDRoth 6 points (2 teams remaining)
If I had this to do over again (or offer a contest again next year), I would change the format somewhat because it's too heavily stacked against high seeds, i.e., you get more points for picking a team seeded 7th or lower that wins one game than you do for a #1 seed that wins the tournament. I think a better format would be to multiply the seeding by the round to determine total points. Thus, a #1 seed would get one point for its first win, two for it's second win, etc., for a total of 21 points for winning all six games required to win the national championship. One would still do better in the contest by picking lower-seeded teams that win multiple games, but high seeds wouldn't have as big a disadvantage.
Lars, Saturday is our day of reckoning as Notre Dame takes on Kentucky!
Friendly bet:
If Notre Dame wins, you must post the words to the ND Fight Song, full version, on this post and promise you will lead your kids in a rousing rendition of the same.
If Kentucky wins, ... I'll let you come up with the terms for that.
"With the tournament now down to the "Sweet 16," this contest has really gotten tight!"
Yea, I told you I would need another UCLA win! That's a tough job against Gonzaga, but the good thing is I have a Final Four bet with my brother-in-law and he picked Gonzaga (I picked Duke), so if UCLA wins that helps me twice!
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
"Lars, Saturday is our day of reckoning as Notre Dame takes on Kentucky!
Friendly bet:
If Notre Dame wins, you must post the words to the ND Fight Song, full version, on this post and promise you will lead your kids in a rousing rendition of the same.
If Kentucky wins, ... I'll let you come up with the terms for that.
Go Irish!
Peter"
OK, and if Kentucky wins, if you enjoy an occasional adult beverage, you must enjoy a Mint Julep before the Final Four ends. If you don't drink, then you can teach Coco to sing "My Old Kentucky Home".
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
"OK, and if Kentucky wins, if you enjoy an occasional adult beverage, you must enjoy a Mint Julep before the Final Four ends. If you don't drink, then you can teach Coco to sing "My Old Kentucky Home".
Lars"
I don't drink, so it will have to be "My Old Kentucky Home" in high pitched Arroooos from Coco. IF your team wins, that is.
Even though I have AZ, Mich St., Wisconsin and Gonzaga for my bracket picks; looks like I'll have to cheer for their opponents now! Of course my brackets took a hit with Nova and Iowa State making early exits.
With the tournament down to eight teams the contest standings are:
LarryD 41 points (2 teams remaining)
david13617 34 points (1 team remaining)
PastorLeon 33 points (2 teams remaining)
larsdog 32 points (0 teams remaining)
AGKING 19 points (1 team remaining)
carabop 10 points (3 teams remaining)
MDRoth 8 points (2 teams remaining)
Coco is pouting. She's a domer and didn't like it when they lost by two points.
So I guess I'll just have to have that mint julep after all. Mind if I make it without alcohol? Or mint? Or sugar? ... I'll raise a glass of good ol' southern tea.
That was a tough one, so a glass of tea would be fine, and you don't even have to say a toast to Kentucky if you toast all our beloved canines past and present. Perhaps that will help Coco get out of her funk.
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
As I type, Coco is going nuts because the arrogant cat from next door is sitting in the birdbath outside, staring at my dog going crazy inside. Cats have a way, don't they?
On topic again, I don't follow basketball as I said earlier but I'm curious where the standings are now among our group.
With the tournament down to the Final Four, the contest standings are:
LarryD 48 points (1 team remaining)
PastorLeon 34 points (1 team remaining)
david13617 34 points (0 teams remaining)
larsdog 32 points (0 teams remaining)
AGKING 20 points (1 team remaining)
Carabop 13 points (3 teams remaining)
MDRoth 10 points (2 teams remaining)
LarryD has enough point to guarantee finishing in 1st, so I won't be parting with any of my Purple Dot stamps!
Pastor Leon can take over sole possession of 2nd place if Wisconsin can beat Kentucky next Saturday. If Kentucky wins, PastorLeon and david13617 will remain tied for 2nd place and both will get their choice of any of the stamps at my trading site (except purple dot stamps). If Wisconsin wins on Saturday, david13617 will finish in 3rd place and can pick any stamp except the purple or magenta dot stamps.
I hope the contest added a little extra enjoyment to this year's March Madness!
Although the final total points have yet to be determined, the "prize" winners can go ahead and select their choices: PastorLeon can choose any stamp in my trading blog that has a magenta dot (or less if desired); david13617 can pick any stamp from the site that has an orange dot (or less if desired). If I offer this contest again next year I'll probably change the scoring so as not to put favorites at quite such a disadvantage. I'll also try to come up with some more interesting prizes. Thanks to all who participated (including those who only chose to kibbitz
I am used, hinged multiple times, OG but not teeth. 05 Apr 2015 10:16:39pm
re: NCAA Basketball Tournament Contest
Larry,
It was a blast. Thank-you so much for organizing this contest. Make a note to contact me next year I would be happy to contribute a little something for the cause.