The suspense was ended on Saturday when Florida was eliminated, making The Law Firm of Revis, Browner & Chambo the 2014 Hopski International March Madness Pool Champion! Jeff Chamberlin was close before as back in 2012 his Respect the Drag Bunt entry led the Hopski until the final game when KU let him down and Kentucky snatched the Hopski Championship away from him. Now in 2014, Jeff Chamberlin wears the Hopski crown! Jeff now lives/works in the DC area for the US Department of Energy (Nuclear Nonproliferation) after growing up near Boston, going to Boston College and spending his formative Hopski years on the hoops court in Warsaw, Poland in the last 90s.
When contacted, he commented that "I owe it all to my close Indiana U ties - with his mom, aunt and cousins all being Indiana grads. He wanted to thank 2010 Hopski Champion Mark Noferi for his unending support through this years Hopski rollercoaster and for "Nofeing" it this year as well as 2-time Hopski Champion Kyle Bowers for teaching him what is means to be a true Hickory Husker as the Law Firm of Revis, Browner & Chambo was all about the fundamentals.
Well done Jeff - the 2014 Hopski Title is yours!
Florida's loss ended the Hopski title hopes of the Godfather of Green Bay, Mike Dorsey. Mike has recently returned to Wisconsin after an 8 year stint in Denver. When contacted, he said "I owe this year's Hopski success to a lack of hoops watching this year due to fatherhood, as Mike and his wife had twins in August last year." His Hopski winnings will of course be going towards shoes, as in "babies needs new pairs of shoes"! Here's Mike on the slopes (pre-fatherhood of course):
Grabbing the last of the 2014 Hopski medals is Attack of the Clones and John Springer! His Cyclones let him down this year, but his picks did not. Big John will of course be spending his Hopski winnings on chew!
The Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Championship came down to the tiebreaker and luckily, I noticed over the weekend that both "finalists" had the same tiebreaker, so that was modified and by virtue of picking 133 points in the final game (vs 139 by the tough luck runner-up Charles Peligro's THIRD Chance from Richard Yunis), Going for Three became Champion! Bill Carey was also the 2007 Hopski Champion and this year's 4th place finish gave him a 4th all-time Hopski Top Ten. Bill knows how to pick 'em (then again, he has benefitted greatly from his "homer" picks of the Florida Gators too!!).
Best Entry Name for 2014 is…………………………
When I Think of You, I Touch Bill Self, from THE Matthew P Powell! Matt resides now outside of Cincinnati, but his heart and home is Kokomo, Indiana! Matt is one of my best friend's from my IU college days and after 14 years of futility in the Hopski Pool, he at least gets free entry in next year's pool with this year's entry name winner!
And so ends another Hopski pool with my new mantra of "never again". Yet, check back at this blog site or the standard pool internet site next March and yep, it will probably be going yet again.
Please do once again consider a donation for the Great Lakes Outreach effort in Burundi for whatever reason best moves you to action!!! Click here: BURUNDI DONATION I managed to ride 191 miles in the past few weeks of the tournament in preparing for my fundraising ride in May, so not all time was spent managing the Hopski! Donations of the same $25 for the Hopski would be well used and greatly appreciated, so do not overlook what might be considered a small token donation!
As always, March Madness and the Hopski are great opportunities to get in touch with many of you that unfortunately we are not able to be in as regular contact these days. It is also a great opportunity to introduce many of you and to meet new entrants as well. Take care.
The Commish
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