2018 NCAA Basketball Pool Opening Notes

There were596 entries this year, up slightly from last year’s 586, for a total pool of $2,980.

Pleasereview the initial composite and let me know if I missed any of your requests or if you think a mistake has been made.

I plan on paying out the top 11 finishers (same as last year):

1st: $500, 2nd: $400, 3rd: $350, 4th: $300, 5th: $250, 6th: $225,

7th: $200, 8th: $175, 9th: $150, 10th: $125, 11th:$100

The remaining $205 will be used to round up odd amount payoffs in the event of ties with the priority beingto ensure that any ties for the last paying position be as close to $100 as possible. Any remaining amount will then be added to the first-place prize, thus the first place payout could be as high as $655.

The Initial Composite is listed in alphabetical order of the entrant’s name, so you can see your initial picks together. Subsequent composites will be based upon total points earned up to that point.

Some miscellaneous notes about this year's pool:

-The hidden commentary was not actually a commentary this year although it was the true definition of hidden. I thought, as most normal human beings did, that Syracuse would not make it to the dance this year as the NCAA usually does not invite teams with 2 left feet. But lo and behold, I see the Big Orange S displayed on the screen as the teams are announced!

-You might remember me mentioning that my sister Florence (soon to be 85 years young) played in the pool for the first time ever last year and came agonizingly close to actually cashing. And she was rumored to even be seen yelling at her daughter Marie’s TV during the games. I didn’t believe that until the next time I went to Marie’s house and saw that she had a new TV. I think her old one was the exact same model that I used to watch Howdy Doody in Black & White on when I was younger. Flo must have screamed so loud it blew out those tubes in that old17” screen. Though I think Marie’s voice had definitely weakened them over the years.

-Not sure if it ends up helping my picks but I have spent the last month at home helping my wife recover from a total knee replacement. Though the recovery is a painful process for her, it does have its benefits (well at least for me). She now has so much hardware in her from surgeries that she was given an “honorary salesman” award by the Lowe’s hardware department. That means I should be able to get a discount on future purchases.

-All of you that have played in this pool for a while know that I always submit an entry for my long-departed friend Roy Burr who was the only member of his family to never win anything in my pool (and yes, I have kept that streak alive for him). Well last year he came the closest ever to cashing, thanks to my ingenious method of using pool balls to make his picks. The one fault in that logic was I was looking at the balls when I shot them. Roy played golf for years without hardly ever keeping his eye on the ball (might explain his unusual # of whiffs). So this year I assigned the 16 balls to the top 16 seeds and just kept scattering them around without looking until they were all gone. The last ball left was assigned as the 10-point team, etc.

This is about as “dumbing it up” as I can get and I think it’s a good fit.

-On a sad note, another friend and original member of the old Salmon Creek golf league with Roy and I also passed away last year. Manny Rodrigues’ battle with what seemed to be a lifetime of medical problems came to an end. Unlike Roy though, Manny cashed in this pool 3 times, including a 3rd place finish in 2010. Hopefully he and Roy are making their own little side bets on the tournament now (both with drinks in hand). Manny, it was a pleasure knowing you and admiring that picture-perfect fluid golf swing. Somethings can never be duplicated and you and your swing are two of them.

-The following section is an excerpt from last year’s opening notes but I felt it was very appropriate:

“As always, I sent my picks to two others in the pool to verify that they were submitted before the deadline.I sent them to Rene Manriquesince he marvels at the spreadsheet I use to create my picks with its E1, M2, W4... codes and formulas used to calculate how many times I have a team picked in the top 2, top 4, top 6, etc. It never helps me win but it is impressive looking. And after submitting his entry online and encountering my new “robot blocker” Rene commented that “no number could prove that he was human”.Truer words were never spoken, my friend.”

Well Rene also passed away just a few months ago. He loved playing in this pool as much as I love running it and I still feel like I should be sending a copy of my picks to him.And knowing Rene, he’s up there cracking a joke like; “what’s the matter Tom, not sure what direction you should be mailing them to: Up or Down?”.

Well now with both founding fathers of the Manripoli: an all-day event that he and Bob Polisseni made up years ago where teams of 4 played games like golf, pool, water volleyball, poker, free throw shooting, etc. with first place going I think to the team that could stand up at the end of the night (oh, did I mention that alcohol flowed freely throughout the day?). I can only assume you and Bob will be starting it up again. Problem is: which one of you gets Roy and which one gets Manny? Wow, what a choice!

-Well I don’t want to turn these notes into strictly a somber affair. We have that good news of Syracuse making into the tournament. You know, that sorry looking team that often looks dead on their feet; that team that makes you want to cry when you think back to some of the previous SU teams; that team that makes you scream ‘no, no, no” as you’re watching them play. Geez, come to think of it, this isn’t much better than my previous comments. But wait, we get to watch them play again Wednesday night against a team that was rated as 1 of the 4 teams you would prefer to play in the first round due to their current downslide. Of course, by the time these notes are published, it will be Thursday and SU will be out of it already. Geez, another downer.
Well not even SU can keep me down this year because my nephew Tim said the Bills are going to the Super Bowl this year (of course, he also said that SU will make it to the Final Four).

News flash: SU beat Arizona St, again making it look agonizingly difficult to put the ball in the basket but a win is a win.

-I did end up sending my picks to one of last year’s co-champions: Brynn Zoltoski. I sent her an email but she “tweeted” back to me something like sending her a “Snapchat” “Instagram” to her “Tumblr” account (she had already lost me at “tweet” so the rest is sort of fuzzy).

This is an example of the high-tech opponents you all face in this pool, making it so difficult to cash. Just look at her, how can we compete? Of course she is 10 years old now.

P.S. I ended up sending my picks to her Dad instead!

-Occasionally I receive some entries in the mail after this sheet has gone out or I just discover I missed reading an email. If they are postmarked before the deadline, I will add them in the next composite. That extra money will be added to my “round up” amount.As you should all know by now, all Composites will be available by downloading them from my website in the format that suits you best. I will NOT be emailing them to you. They will become available as soon as possible upon completion of each round. Just check for the hyperlink “blue-underlined” format to know when they are ready.

Good luck to everyone and enjoy!