March Madness Bracket Pool 2011

March is here, meaning that there is a new way to qualify for the blog's expert league! Regardless of what sport you prefer to watch, you can't call yourself a sports fan unless you fill out a March Madness bracket. In fact, the addiction is so strong that experts estimate the American economy misses out on $1.7 billion of productivity as workers fill out brackets and watch the games. Be a part of that wasted time and enter the bracket pool sponsored by the blog.

Why, you ask, should I enter this particular bracket pool? Because if you win, you are invited to play in the blog's fantasy football expert league! That means you get to compete head-to-head with the guru himself in a league consisting of the best fantasy football players on the face of the planet. If for some crazy reason that doesn't entice you, the winner also receives a Dick's gift card! Plus, it's absolutely free to enter.

Any individual with an email address is eligible to compete. To enter, simply send an email to 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 on the morning of March 15, 2011.

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.

College Bowl Pick 'Em Challenge Winner

Now that Auburn has won the BCS National Championship, bowl season has come to a close. Thirty five games have been played, giving fans plenty of football to enjoy. The real fanatics never let the bowl season pass without getting involved in competitions. This year, the guru sponsored his own College Bowl Pick 'Em Challenge, open to all contestants. As always, the winner receives an invitation to play in the blog-sponsored expert league.

And your 2010 champion is... Dobby! Congratulations, you are a winner. Dobby correctly chose the winner in 26 of the 35 games, finishing in the 99th percentile of Yahoo! users. What a fantastic performance! The guru looks forward to competing against you in the 2011 expert league.

For those of you looking for more information on the expert league, click on the tab at the top of this page. The link will take you to the Expert League page, where you can find the 2011 invitees and details on how to qualify yourself.

College Bowl Pick 'Em Challenge

After yet another glorious year, we have reached the pinnacle of the college football season. Yes, the bowls are finally here. There are thirty five this year, meaning that there will undoubtedly be some duds. However, this this is the time when we see more inter-conference games than ever, ending debates (somewhat) that have been raging for months as to who has a tougher schedule.

To celebrate, the guru is hosting a tournament. All are welcome to compete in the College Bowl Pick 'Em Challenge, where contestants must predict the outcome of all 35 bowl games. To complicate matters, challengers must rank the games in order of their confidence in the selection. If you correctly predict the winner of the game you ranked highest, then you receive 35 points, second highest, 34 points, etc. However, if you do not choose the winner, you receive no points.

The tournament will be hosted by the fine folks at Yahoo! Sports. To enter, contestants must have a Yahoo! username, which are free and simple to create. Once signed in, navigate to the fantasy sports page. About half-way down the right-hand side, there will be a link that says "College Bowl Pick 'Em: Sign Up Now." Choose "Join A Group," then enter the following information:

League ID: 5593
Password: college

If you have difficulty registering, contact the guru at FANTASYguru37@gmail.com.

As always, the winner earns a spot in the prestigious fantasy football expert league hosted by the guru. Don't miss out on your chance to compete head-to-head with the guru himself.

Trivia Challenge Winner

The time has come to crown the champion of the first ever Trivia Challenge. In order to capture victory, a knowledgeable blog follower must be able to successfully identity a mystery figure from a set of clues designed to trick even the brightest of minds. To complicate matters even further, only one contestant may be awarded victory, meaning that only the first challenger to correctly identify the mystery man receives anything. This adds a level of stress and uncertainty to an already difficult task.

But the reward for winning is great. The champion receives an invitation to play in the 2010 Fantasy Guru 37 Fantasy Football Expert Challenge, the guru's own expert league. Slots in the league are filling quickly, as champions of prior challenges have accepted their positions. Be sure to check back early and often for the next Trivia Challenge, as you too can earn a slot in the prestigious league.

Without further ado, the guru would like to welcome Auz to the 2010 FG37FFEC. Auz was the first of multiple contestants to successfully identify Kordell Stewart as the mystery man. In addition to his trivia success, Auz was also named Gatorade Player of the Week for his performance at the Penn State Advanced High School Hockey Camp, where he captained the Blue Bandits to a 3-0-1 record. Auz has requested an opportunity to recognize his roommate, to whom he attributes his success. Congratulations, from the guru, and unofficially from Kordell Stewart himself.

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Trivia Challenge

You are all well aware of the guru's very own fantasy football expert league. In this league, the guru competes against some of the best fantasy managers in the world. Participation is by invitation only. Don't be discouraged because you too can qualify for admission to the league.

The next slot up for grabs will be filled by the winner of the Trivia Challenge. The guru will give several hints about the identity of a certain player, coach, or a well-known sports enthusiast of a different vocation. More and more clues will be given as the competition goes on. The first contestant to successfully identify the mystery man (or woman) will be invited into the expert league.

To enter, simply send an email to the guru at FANTASYguru37@gmail.com with your guess. There will be a limit of one entry per email address per day, so choose wisely. If you are unable to identify the mystery man at first, be sure to check back later for more clues.

Clue #1

Selected in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft, this player started more than 75 games over the course of his career.

Clue #2

The player was once named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his punting prowess.

Clue #3

This versatile player's career totals eclipse both 1,000 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards, but you won't confuse him with a paint supply store.

Think you know he is? Take a shot and send an email to FANTASYguru37@gmail.com. If not, check back soon for more hints. Good luck to all contestants.

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.