Final Four

Current Standings and your best and worst finishes by entry:  Player Scenarios Report

What a great set of Elite 8 games (well, 3 out of 4 anyway)!  The winners and this year's Final Four are a pretty well pedigreed group (aside from the Badgers to be fair) and certainly let's not overlook the fact that in a supposed "down year" the Big 10 Conference has 2 of the Final Four!  Thus, this is a black and blue Big 10 colored update (anyone know how to get the background color away from white for these updates by chance??).

We may have just a Final Four remaining in the tournament itself, but the Hopski still has 7 entries battling for the title of 2015 Hopski International March Madness Pool Champion, though the leader for the past few updates, Wiltjer's Warriors (Scott Iantosca) has gone the sideline route of the Zags of Gonzaga and can at best finish 2nd now.  Nice run Scott, but really, trusting in Mark Few??!!  If Duke has a glaring achilles year in, year out, it is inside and I only saw the Zags really attack in the post a couple of times with about 10 minutes left in the game (and they were successful with it, but I guess it was boring!).

And down the stretch comes Joey Brackets (Joey Wagoner of Indianapolis and son of my college roommate Jeff) on the strength of a perfect Final Four pick!  Joey was the only entry to pick the entire Final Four correctly and aside from contending for this year's title, it also locked up his 5th win over his Dad (Anyone But Kentucky) out of the 6 Hopskis in which they have both participated.  Geesh Wags, first golf, then basketball and clearly now Hopskis.  Is there ANYTHING left that you can beat him at??!!  Joey needs a Wisconsin victory over Duke to take the Hopski, while ABK (Anyone But Kentucky), Marc Powell of Indianapolis' entry is set to take the title if Wisconsin wins an all-Big 10 final over Michigan State.  Marc has already stipulated in his entry form that IF he wins the pool, he wants his 1st place winnings to go to the Hillary 2016 Presidential Campaign Fund!  What a guy!

Kentucky escaped the Domers on Saturday, much to the relief of the pre-Final Four pool leader, Release the Kraken (Mark Iantosca of NYC and JP Morgan fame).  This has been an outstanding set of picks this year, with just his pick of Iowa State into the final keeping him from running away with the Hopski.  Mark needs a Kentucky vs Michigan State final to take the Hopski title this year, who wins is of no consequence for him.  I guarantee the slowest payout in Hopski history if this happens.  In fact, it will likely take him the cumulative 107 late payment reminder emails that he has racked up in his Hopski, fantasy hoops, fantasy football and any other participation that has required him to make a payment to me in his lifetime in order to collect the Hopski payout!

Also rooting quietly (I hope) for the Wildcats of Kentucky is Pet the Sweaty (Pat Paquette).  Pat is a 11 year Hopski veteran with 5 top 40 finishes in the past 6 years - could this be THE breakthrough year?!

In the Dukies corner is 8th place Hillary's server:  please delete this email (Kent Holding, American expat in Poland and CE&E for quite a few years now).  Kent needs a Duke over Wisconsin final, while Duke over Kentucky will vault 3rd place The Greg Anthony Escort Service from Ron South (Long Islander, Illinois State grad and ex-Madrid/Barcelona expat).

All hail Tom Izzo and his overachieving Spartans of Michigan State.  What a great run this team as had, as back in February, they were seriously on the bubble back in early February and put in some stinker games this year (losing at Nebraska, at home to Illinois and the completely inexplicable home loss to Texas Southern and Mike Davis in December!!).  Sparty are certainly the darkhorses of the Final Four, but a Michigan State championship over Wisconsin will push 4th place My Other Bracket is on My Personal Server and the Big Dog Ron Genty to the Hopski Title.  MORE IMPORTANTLY, we will all get to see the "too risque" for the Hopski wife-censored photo of Ron.

Down the drain so to speak at the other end of the standings, Lubed & Ready and Don Lubreski remains in last place, needing one more Wisconsin win to get out of the Toilet Bowl.  Should Kentucky prevail though, Duke It Out (Taylor Swift fan extraordinaire David Joffe working with a great charity Nourish Now in Washington DC) will slip to the 163rd spot and pick up free entry for the 2016 Hopski.

Speaking of 2016, who wants to takeover the Hopski next year??!!

The 2nd Chance Dance has just one perfect entry so far, that from All Hail the Hopski and Nick Lagattuta, an Illini alum working with the Big Dog Ron and E&Y in Chicago.

Adios -

The Commish

**I am off to the mountains with the kids and Ola for Semana Santa week and thus, the next update maybe on Saturday just before the Final Four.