- Players will pick a football game’s winner with or against the favorites (as posted on Covers.com) in games involving teams listed in the ESPN/USA Today top 25 poll.
- Correctly choosing the winning team with or against Covers favorites is worth 1 point. Incorrect choices are worth 0 points. Whomever has the most points at the end of the season wins.
- If a player misses a week of picks, he or she will be spotted the lowest score from that week in the season standings.
- Picks must be submitted by midnight EST the evening before a game is scheduled, including mid-week games. Players who miss mid-week games can still submit picks for Saturday games, but will receive 0 points for the mid-week game or games they missed.
- Players can enter picks in the comments section simply by noting which games they think oddsmakers are wrong about, i.e. — “I’ll take the favorites except for X game and X game.â€Â
- Results and new favorites to pick against will be posted no later than Tuesday the following week unless I give prior notice otherwise. Posts will contain abbreviated results and links to detailed results in PDF format. If I think it’s necessary because of time constraints, I will make up a line for a game or games for people to bet against, with a footnote attached notifying players that I did so.
- There is no entrance fee to play, or restrictions on who can play.
- Players cannot enter separate picks under an alias (I’m looking at you Patrick). If I find out someone has done so, I will disqualify their highest-scoring alias.
- The prize at the end of the contest will be a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com, paid for by me. If I win, whoever places second will receive the certificate, but I will retain bragging rights.
- Rules may be added as the contest progresses, though it’s not likely. In the event of a tie at the end of the season, players not involved in the tie can suggest and vote on potential tiebreakers.
UPDATE: Clarification to Commandment 5 added: “comments” is now “comments section.”
UPDATE 2 Clarification to Commandments 1, 2, 5, and 6: “odds” are now referred to as “favorites” to avoid confusion.
Sounds simple and fair my friend. Good deal. I told Ken the Corporate Cock to check it out again. He, the wife, and I all love the new theme. I’m getting fired up. It’s almost here.
are teams(i.e. father-son)ok??
Aaron,
If you and your dad want to be on a team, I’m okay with that.
[...] It’s round 1, let the trash talking and whining begin! Anybody is welcome to participate and it won’t cost you anything. See this post for rules (how to submit picks, etc.). See this post or leave a comment or email me if you have any questions about just what the hell this contest is. Remember, there’s a $50 Amazon gift certificate at stake, so choose carefully! [...]
If I may be so bold as proffer my opinions as a degenerate gambler…
Since we aren’t betting ATS and money line differentials aren’t a concern, there is no real penalty for choosing incorrectly. The only loss is the loss of potential gain. This, of course, ensures that the wagering remains manageable for you and is straight-forward enough for The People.
It also ensures there cannot be someone who is unmatched in their ability to be a spectacular loser. I was hoping to be such a loser if I cannot be the winner. I’ve always preferred to fail tragically than to succeed trivially.
So, here’s the suggestion. This requires a certain amount of honor systemishness. We all try to win. Until week 7 or 8. Then you can start trying to lose if you see that you have no real chance of winning. Then, its all bets off (ha!) and you can try to be the biggest loser. You’d have to make your announcement at whatever week it is that you choose, but the race for the purple or green ribbon of consolation will be on like donkey kong. On like donkey kong, compadres.
You don’t win any prizes, but you can say, “hey! I chose to fail and I failed spectacularly. I failed, like the failing failure that I am, and I am owning my failurehood.” It will be like a bit of therapy for abortive childhood relationships, too!
Does my capacity for righteous fucking ideas know no limit? I dunno, let’s ask her.
My Capacity For Righteous Fucking Ideas: Limits? Limits? What are these limits? Tell me more about these…these limits.
Okay, I’ve fulled prepared myself for you to shoot it down. Do not pity fuck me and implement it as a nice gesture. Not that I suspect that you are the pity fucking type, just saying. I don’t need your pity or your charity, Rusty, for fuck’s sake.
Hey hey hey….I told you from the moment I put that in there I wasn’t going to count the second entry unless it won
Melissa,
I do think offering some sort of non-material “toilet bowl” award is a fabulous idea, though I hate to encourage people to race to the bottom.
[...] The field is still open, so you can still jump in! You’ve got ’til midnight tonight to enter a pick for Arizona State-Temple, and until midnight Friday to enter a pick for most of the others (except Miami-FSU, which you can hold off on until Sunday at midnight). It bears repeating that there’s a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate at stake, there’s no entry fee, and the field is open to anyone. See the rules for more details. [...]