League Rules

Standings

BowlPicks.xls

I'm speechless. . . I don't know where to start!  I want to thank Jesus Christ, my Lord
and Savior!  I want to thank my Mom and Dad, and the rest of my family for supporting me.  I want to thank  ESPN commentators for confusing me with all their useless information! And lastly, I want to thank my good friend Eric Schalk, for convincing me to enter.  Eric, if it wasn't for you man, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this e-mail.  You're the man!  This prize is dedicated to you!

1/3/2005

Give the Hokies credit for trying a comeback in the last 3 minutes, but the onside kick fell short, and so did the winning dreams of a few folks. And now, your leader board going into the last game:

266       Catwoman
264       Eric Schalk
254       Martin Oravets, A. Tony Perry
251       Ravishing Renee
247       Jeff Hannan
246       Tiger Thomas
244       Bryan Bentley, Andrew Patzert
241       Lemmonhead, Windy City Chick
236       George Wessells
...
129       Madre
107       Andrew Bedell

And now...who wins all comes down to the 27th of 27 games. Truly amazing!
If USC wins:
276       Ravishing Renee
274       A. Tony Perry, Jeff Hannan  [Jeff would take 2nd on the tiebreaker; 76 v. 59 -- combined score for the tiebreaker game was 99]
266       Catwoman
264       Eric Schalk
261       George Wessells
259       Steve Foster
254       Brian Fontana
253       Andrew Patzert
248       Windy City Chick, Tiger Thomas

If Oklahoma wins:
281       Catwoman
266       Eric Schalk
255       Martin Oravets
254       A. Tony Perry
252       Brian Bentley
251       Ravishing Renee
247       Jeff Hannan
246       Lemmonhead, Tiger Thomas

And regardless of who wins:
Andrew Bedell has won the coveted Refund Prize. Andrew, if you e-mail me your snail mail address, I will put a check for your $10 in the mail immediately!

NOTE: The above listings are not guaranteed, but it's my best calculation.

Good luck to all...and GO TROJANS!!!!!!!!
b. dog

1/2/2005

For those of us who are Spartans, we just can't cry too much over UM's loss...another in a long string of disappointing bowl performances.

But that loss and Utah's win (which most people picked) have our leader board all shook up again!! Twenty-five games down, two to go, and the winner is far from decided. Our leaders:

263       Erick Schalk
247       Jeff Hannan
246       Tiger Thomas
244       Andrew Patzert
241       Catwoman, Windy City Chick
240       Bryan Bentley
233       A. Tony Perry  [if only you'd bet on Texas  :( ]
229       Martin Oravets
225       Ravishing Renee

Now, only four people chose Virginia Tech over Auburn, so it's a matter of rankings for Monday's game!! And I can guarantee one thing if Auburn wins: The leader board will change again quite dramatically.

As a matter of fact, I actually can predict that if Auburn beats Virginia Tech Monday night, there's gonna be one happy Cat! But even I cannot predict who the pool winner will be yet. But after Monday I can give you a pretty good idea! Once again--with 27 games (more than ever before)--we are going down to THE LAST GAME!

Monday, 8 p.m., ABC, Auburn (12-0) vs. Virginia Tech (10-2) in charming N'awlins!! Good luck to all! And in parting...I cannot help myself
 

1/1/2005

As most of you surmised, the "great intrastate rivalry" of Florida v. Miami was a total flop. Miami
pretty much had their way with Florida. And that changes our leader board once again:

207       Tiger Thomas
193       A. Jeff Perry
190       Jeff Hannan
178       Andrew Patzert
171       Travis Dennee
170       Catwoman
167       Windy City Chick
161       Eric Schalk
157       Ed Ozga
152       Ravishing Renee

Other notable scores after 19/27 games include:
131       Leftie Solak
124       Lemmonhead - world-famous nude bridge player
111       Gambling Dave
105       Blackdog & 104 General Custer's cousin Cindy - notorious in the bridge world
103       Matt Solak, who is playing the pool from Beijing

Today will pretty much tell the tale of who, at least, has a shot. There are six games today (see below). After that, there will be one game Monday night (but most everyone has picked Auburn) and one game Tuesday night for the championship--and that one's split down the middle. So we're probably going right down to the last game again this year!

Today's Schedule:

11:00, Fox, Tennessee vs. Texas A&M in urban Dallas [Unfortunately, as of halftime, A&M hasn't yet shown up.]
11:00, ESPN, Wisconsin vs. Georgia in Tampa [Georgia leading]
12:30, NBC, Florida State vs. West Virginia in Jacksonville
1:00, ABC, Iowa vs. LSU in Orlando
5:00, michigan vs. Texas in Pasadena
8:30, Utah vs. Pittsburgh in Tempe

Good luck!
b. dog

12/30/2004

Yep indeedy...the Huskies of Northern Illinois just wore out the Trojans of Troy. FYI, Troy State University is in scenic Troy, Alabama, with branches in Montgomery and scenic Dothan (been there, nice town).

And now...with 15 of 27 games in the ball bag, we have a fairly new leader board:

183       Tiger Thomas
163       A. Jeff Perry
162       Jeff Hannan
144       Travis Dennee
136       Andrew Patzert, Eric Schalk
132       Ed Ozga
123       Bryan Bentley
122       Steve Colone, David Meyer
121       Catwoman
120       Zack Gerulski
119       Kristie Gerulski, Ravishing Renee, Windy City Chick

Now let's talk about tomorrow, NY Eve. We have four fun-filled games coming your way:

Noon, ESPN, Minnesota v. Alabama in Nashville
2:00, CBS, Purdue v. Arizona in sunny El Paso
3:30, ESPN, Boise State v. Louisville in Memphis (This is gonna be a shootout!)
7:30, ESPN, Florida v. Miami of Florida in Atlanta

I will try to get you results after the first three games before I toddle down to the corner bar for NY Eve...like anyone there cares--we just want to watch the football game.

Of 58 of us, Jeff Hannan has the best record to date with 11 out of 15! Way to go!

Tomorrow's outlook: Rain (since it's already tomorrow and it's raining)
No, in terms of the game picks...
* About 2/3 of you picked Alabama over Minny.
* Only 9 people picked Arizona State over PU.
* Twelve picked Boise State.
* Eleven picked Florida over Miami.
So it does look like we're going to have some big changes again tomorrow.

Good luck! And have a VERY safe NY Eve!
b. dog
 

12/29/2004

Okay, now let's all figure this out:
1. The game is played in beautiful San Antonio, where there are far more Cowboy fans than Buckeyes.
2. Oklahoma State was favored.
3. Ohio State's #1 QB is suspended and cannot play.
4. Ohio State's #2 QB played most of the game with a hamstring pull.
5. For a goodly bit of time, their #3 QB played.
6. Ohio State does crappy in bowl games traditionally.

So who were those Cowgirls dressed in guy's uniforms??? I think I'd stay in Texas rather than try to get back into Oklahoma!

And lordy, does this shake up the ratings. Our leaders now are:

138       A. Jeff Perry
126       Tiger Thomas
121       Travis Dennee, Jeff Hannan
107       Zack Gerulski
100       Eric Schalk
99        Ed Ozga
98        Kristie Gerulski (oh so confident & ranked the Nuts 27)
96        Andrew Patzert
93        Steve Colone
91        Windy City Chick
90        Mike Gerulski (There's a lotta Gerulskis up here), David Meyer

Four big games tomorrow...and by tomorrow night 15 of 27 will be done--and we will be close to knowing who's in the running still. You are split down the middle on NC v. BC and on Navy v. New Mexico, most everyone chose Cal, and quite a few took Troy. So after tomorrow's four games we'll have a doggone good idea.

1:00, ESPN2, Boston College vs. North Carolina in, uh, Charlotte (I think this is a gimme for NC with that crowd)
4:30, ESPN2, New Mexico vs. Navy in San Francisco
8:00, ESPN, California vs. Texas Tech in San Diego
11:00 (p.m.), ESPN2, Troy State vs. Northern Illinois in San Jose [Trojans vs. Huskies...and you can bet I'll have a good line about that game :) ]

I will do my best to get you an update after game 2, since those two games are hotly contested among us.

Good luck!
blackdog
 

12/28/2004

After one-third of the games, I don't think we'll have to worry about any ties this year! Tonight's two games were split down the middle...some going 0-2, 1-1 and 2-0--especially our leader. And so, with only 18 games left, the standings now are:

117       A. Jeff Perry
97        Tiger Thomas
93        Jeff Hannan
92        Andrew Patzert
91        Travis Dennee
90        Zack Gerulski
88        Ed Ozga
80        Bryan Bentley
78        Dave Havlin
75        Eric Schalk

But even those of us down in the 50s know it's far from over. One game can turn it around. Look at Andrew Bedell!

And so we look forward to tomorrow's games:

4:30, ESPN, Texas-El Paso (UTEP) vs. Colorado in sunny Houston
8:00, ESPN, Oklahoma State vs. Ohio State in even sunnier San Antonio

I absolutely guarantee that in game 2 OSU will win! [Thanks Lemmie!]

Good luck, and may the best man, woman, dog or can win!
b. dog

12/27/2004

Well, for those of you who thought the Huskies of UConn were a bunch of eastern pansies, which was most of us, guess again!! In what was a surprising turn of events in downtown Detroit tonight, UConn's Huskies whomped the Toledo Rockets 39-10. It's hard to say what would have been the outcome had Toledo's star QB been able to play the entire game, but since both teams' QBs had a better than 70% passing percentage...one can only imagine! At least Toledo doesn't have a long trip back to think about it.

This, of course, changes the standings once again rather dramatically. Our leaders now are:

85        Zack Gerulski
83        Jeff Hannan, A. Jeff Perry
81        Tiger Thomas
68        Ed Ozga
64        Steve Colone, Dave Havlin
63        Bryan Bentley
61        Andrew Patzert
59        Bulldog, Travis Dennee

On a sad note, however, Mike Gerulski's six-game win streak has ended. It looks like Chelsea's 13-game streak is safe for yet another year!

To: Andrew Bedell
Fear Not! There are 20 games left!

Tune in tomorrow for two more exciting games:
6:30, ESPN, Iowa State v. Miami of Ohio in snowy Shreveport, Loosiana
9:45, ESPN, Notre Dame v. Oregon State in chilly Phoenix, Arizona (if you call 50 chilly)

Can the RedHawks beat the Cyclones in Shreveport? You are very split down the middle!
And will the Beavers gnaw on the Fighting Irish? Most of you think so. If so, I suggest they start
         with that idiotic leprechaun.

Until tomorrow!

12/25/2004

In what would turn out to be the final performance in college's greatest quarterback career, Tommy Chang went on a tear last night, leading Hawaii to a 59-40 victory over UAB. Having no defense, Hawaii needed a good QB performance, and they certainly got it.

This again rather dramatically alters the standings. Our new leaders after five games:
83:       A. Jeff Perry
81:       Tiger Thomas
61:       Zack Gerulski, Ed Ozga
59:       Steve Colone, Travis Dennee
57:       Dave Klonowski
55:       Catwoman, Jeff Hannan, Rich Solak

Enjoy the holiday weekend. Our next two games are on Monday, and should start to separate the wheat from the chaff, with very mixed picks for both games!

2 p.m., ESPN, Fresno State v. Virginia in scenic Boise, Idaho

5:30 p.m., ESPN, Toledo v. Connecticut in much less scenic downtown Detroit

Good luck. We hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas Day and holiday season!

12/24/2004

Two games, two upsets. But the big surprise of the bowl season was Wyoming's huge victory over the heavily favored UCLA Dropsies! The Bruins were Shoo-ins, but five of you sniffed that mountain air and picked the Cowboys. Cincinnati won simply because they wanted to stay in Fort Worth and celebrate. The city is buried under snow and ice!

And did this change the standings. Your leaders now are:

60:       A. Jeff Perry
54:       Tiger Thomas
49:       Dave Klonowski
48:       Kristie Gerulski
47:       Steve Colone
39:       Zack Gerulski, Jeff Hannan, Dave Havlin, Ed Ozga
37:       Bryan Bentley, Mike Conlay

Congrats to the few who picked the Cowboys: Jeff Hannan, J. Robb, Mike Gerulski, A. Tony Perry and Nancy (at last) Solak.

Tune in Friday, Christmas Eve, 7 p.m., ESPN for UAB vs. Hawaii in lovely Honolulu.

Note: Your recap after the Christmas Eve game will go out Saturday morning (Christmas Day). The next game after tomorrow night won't be until Monday afternoon.

Until then, have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with best wishes from your Bowl Pool Elves: Brian Kreklau, Catwoman and, yours truly, Blackdog!
 

Of 58 entrants, only one has picked the first four games correctly--Mike Gerulski. This is the first time in the 18-year history of the bowl pool that we have come down to only one person picking correctly after only four games.
 

12/22/2004

Hey gang,

You gotta be tough if you can survive the blizzard that is blanketing the entire state of Ohio as you read this!! But it looks like Memphis just sort of fizzled out by the fourth quarter. Must have been the heat!

Our leader board has been shaken up again, with the top folks now being:
43:       A. Jeff Perry
39:       Steve Colone, Ed Ozga, Tiger Thomas
37:       Mike Conlay, Dave Klonowski
33:       Catwoman
32:       W. Terry Thomas
31:       John Lindley, Stan Nunn, J. Robb

And we are down to only five who are still sitting at 0.

Note: The Update sheet is a bit different this year, thanks to the Cat! Instead of keeping a running total in each column, your score for each game is noted in the columns, with the cumulative total shown to the far right. That prevents me from making any mathematical errors--which we have noticed in the past is quite common!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's hot schedule:
6:30 p.m., ESPN, Cincy (which is under more than a foot of snow) v. Marshall in Fort Worth.

9:45 p.m., ESPN, Wyoming v. UCLA in Las Vegas.

Remember that you can always view the recap sheet and daily updates at:
 

12/21/2004

Please make one change on your recap sheets.
Under Andrew Bedell, for his pick of Alabama (bama), please change it from 20 to 19.
No other errors have been reported.
Thank you!
f

Remember, it kicks off tonight in Orlando with Georgia Tech v. Syracuse at 7:45 on ESPN!
Good Luck.

12/20/2004

First, and most important, the recap sheets are attached. Sorry they take up four pages, but they keep adding bowl games every year.

Please check YOUR entry on the recap sheet to ensure it is correct!! If there are any errors, e-mail me immediately, I will correct them (after checking your original submission) and send out new recap sheets!

This year's motto is spread the wealth. There are two parts to that: 1. I have already written checks to cover the entire $560 payout. However, I do not have the entire $560 yet. I am missing about $50. It would behoove you to pay up ASAP. I get testy when I have to pay money out of my own pocket. 2. The payouts are a bit different this year, and I hope more to people's liking. We have precisely the same number of people as last year. But we now pay:
#1:  $350
#2:  $100
#3:  $ 50
#4:  $ 30
#5:  $ 20
and, of course...#58: $10

I really wanted to pay the top five, and we have just enough entrants to do so.

Now, the fun facts:
* Don't worry about tie-breakers! The picks and the rankings are all over the place.
* There are three games with 54 picks for one team: UCLA, Hawaii and California. Utah was picked by 55 entrants, and Auburn was picked by 53 entrants. The rest are all over the board.

As usual, there will be daily updates (as long as there is a game, that is), with my usual pithy remarks. Thank Catwoman for making that easier now!!

And, finally, lest you wonder why I don't pay the winners by PayPal, I do not want to submit them to a service charge. I get two free entries to offset the incoming service charges. If all 56 paid entries were done through PayPal, that would cost me $33.04 in service fees. But since some folks have paid by cash and check, that knocks it down to about $10 that I have to eat. I do not mind. I enjoy doing this. But I don't want you to have to eat a service charge on, say, the first-place prize of $350. As noted, the checks are already written, waiting only for YOUR name to go there. They go in the mail the morning after the last game, i.e., January 5.

Good luck to all!
blackdog