NHL Playoffs Bracket Pool 2010

The NHL regular season is winding down, meaning the playoffs are near. Because such high level hockey deserves great attention, the guru is organizing a NHL Playoffs Bracket Pool. As with the March Madness Bracket Pool, the winner will receive an invitation to compete in the 2010 Fantasy Guru 37 Fantasy Football Expert Challenge.

Any individual with an email address is eligible to compete. To enter, simply send an email to FANTASYguru37@gmail.com with the following information: an alias/pen name (optional), your picks, and the tiebreaker (more on that later). I would appreciate it if you formatted your picks in the following way to make scoring easier. List every team you predict to advance from the first round in one paragraph. Do the same for each subsequent round until only one team is remaining. Indicate that this is the team you predict to be the Stanley Cup Champions. Be sure to include the tiebreaker.

You will receive 1 point for each correct team in the quarterfinals, 2 for the semifinals, 4 for the Conference Finals, and 8 for correctly predicting the Stanley Cup Champions. Tiebreaking procedures are as follows:

1. Correctly identifying the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy, given to the MVP of the playoffs.

2. Closest to the number of games the Stanley Cup Champions will play in the entire playoffs. (This includes all four series. Must be between 16 and 28.)

3. Closest to the number of games played in the Stanley Cup Finals. (This only includes the final round. Must be between 4 and 7.)

*The formula for determining the closest to the number of games is as follows:

X=/(actual number of games) - (predicted number of games)/

There is no charge to enter the pool. Sending money will not increase your chances of winning. Only one entry per email address. In the case of multiple entries, only the first entry will be scored. All entries are due by 6:00 PM (1800 hours) on the evening of Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

The winner will receive a special invitation to compete against the guru himself in a highly competitive fantasy football league. Good luck to all challengers. Remember, only the best and brightest gain access to the FG37FFEC.

**Note that the NHL reseeds the bracket after each round, meaning that the highest remaining seed will play the lowest remaining seed in their conference every round.

March Madness Bracket Pool 2010 Champion

The guru has spent the last 24 hours feverishly scoring brackets in order to crown a champion as soon as possible. This diligence was to expected; the guru does not rest for his followers. Pausing only to watch Tuesday evening hockey games, (Reminder: Another spot in the expert league is up for grabs with a NHL playoffs bracket pool.) I have determined a winner.

Before announcing the victor, I would like to thank all competitors for their participation and encourage them to partake in future challenges. As expected, the guru himself did not perform admirably. Many of you were able to beat him, still quite an accomplishment despite his limited knowledge of basketball. Without further ado, the guru would like to congratulate...

D-Money!!!

My devoted followers (They are great in number.) are undoubtedly feeling a slight sense of familiarity. This is because D-Money has appeared on this blog before. In fact, he is the esteemed bracketologist whose picks the guru asked to display. Before the tournament, I was quick to laud D-Money for his vast knowledge of college basketball. As March progressed and this expert had only correctly predicted one Final Four team, I was the first to voice my disappointment in D-Money's picks. The guru forgot his own advice that thou shall not "underestimate the wisdom of D-Money." He is now eating his words and would like to offer D-Money an apology, and a spot in the 2010 Fantasy Guru 37 Fantasy Football Expert Challenge.

The performance of all contestants was admirable. The guru would like to acknowledge the following participants for their efforts. The chart below displays the challengers alias, round-by-round, and final scores.

1...D-Money..................28...18...12...8...16...32...114

2...Hay May..................20...12...16...8...16...32...104

3...Mac Attack...............23...20...24...16...0...0...83

4...Ronstar....................20...16...12...16...16...0...80

5...RyRy........................21...16...20...8...0...0...65

6...Fantasy Guru 37..........24...16...16...8...0...0...64

7...Gyro.........................20...18...12...8...0...0...58

8...JZ............................23...18...4...0...0...0...45

I would like to extend a final exhibit of gratitude to all competitors. Be sure to come back and test your skills in future challenges. To those of you competing in your fantasy hockey league championship, godspeed.

March Madness Bracket Pool 2010

I'll be quite honest with you. The guru knows little about the world of basketball. Realizing that the winner of a March Madness Bracket Pool would add a new dynamic to the 2010 Fantasy Guru 37 Fantasy Football Expert Challenge (2010 FG37FFEC, for short), he set up such a pool.

Any individual with an email address is eligible to compete. To enter, simply send an email to FANTASYguru37@gmail.com (got that RyRy?) with the following information: an alias/pen name (optional), your picks, and a score for the Championship Game. I would appreciate it if you formatted your picks in the following way to make scoring easier. List every team you predict to advance from the first round in one paragraph, preferably in a logical order. Do the same for each subsequent round until only one team is remaining. Indicate that this is the team you predict to be the National Champions. Include a score for the Championship Game, in which you indicate the scores for both the winning and losing teams.

You will receive 1 point for each correct team in the first round, 2 for the second round, 4 for the regional semifinals, 8 for the regional finals, 16 for the semifinal, and 32 for correctly predicting the National Champion. Tie-breaking procedures are as follows:

1. Closest to the total score (sum of home and away scores) for the Championship Game.

2. Closest to the score of the winning team for the Championship Game.

3. Closest to the score of the losing team for the Championship Game.

*The formula for determining the closest to the scores is as follows:

X=/(actual score) - (predicted score)/

There is no charge to enter the pool. Sending money will not increase your chances of winning. Only one entry per email address. In the case of multiple entries, only the first entry will be scored. All entries are due by 8:00 AM (0800 hours) on the morning of March 18, 2010.

The winner will receive a special invitation to compete against the guru himself in a highly competitive fantasy football league. Good luck to all challengers. Remember, only the best and brightest gain access to the FG37FFEC.