First, in the “news that you already knew” category, we can now officially anoint TripsterMatilda as the Brandy award recipient for the 2019 pool. With a current and possible score both equal to 44, at this point this entry from the land down under has nothing left to cheer for. Other than perhaps that the Fremantle Dockers will continue their meteoric rise in the AFLW division, currently in 4th place in the standings after last year’s disappointing 14th place finish. Cheer along with Matilda as the Purple Dockers take on the Gold Coast Suns tonight (10:40 PM pacific time. datelines are tough). While Matilda is hoping that the hat adorned referees will favor the purple, she can take solace in her entry NOT being particularly bad in the echelon of Brandy award recipients – 44 is only the 2nd lowest scoring entry in the past 8 years!!
Looking at the less dreary side of the standings, we see that creatively named “Gerald 2” and “DWG3” entries share an equal “probability” of finishing in first place with 18 remaining outcomes each where they do so. Perhaps the lesson here for the rest of us is to spend “less time being creative with entry names, more time being correct with bracket picks”. Those outcomes are, of course, NOT equally probable – but we ARE in the part of bracket play where each game’s outcome is getting closer to a toss up. The fact that in reading this you instantly object with the thought “Blimey, Michigan State has as much a chance against Duke as Theresa May has to solve the Brexit problem” is exactly why you should read the possibilities report with a grain of salt (or perhaps a with a crumpet and a cuppa tea if that’s actually what you thought).
If your entry does still have a chance to finish in first and you don’t know which team to root for (other than Purdue if you want to see pool administration become hopelessly giddy, each of us for different reasons) – log in to our pool on the hoopness site, pull up the possibilities report there, and click on your entry (it doesn’t have to be your entry) – our staff will quickly kick their HP-41s into action and provide you with a list of the final four outcomes that the entry needs to finish in first!! While this will bring up a tediously long list of outcomes for both Gerald 2 and DWG3, if your entry is dfs you will have a much less odious task – only 1 line!! No need to guess…