The Queen is Crowned!!

Mary Beck "Make Indiana Great Again!" didn't choose either of these guys.........

But she did choose THIS team in 2017..........

THAT CHOICE was the RIGHT one and makes her the 2017 Hopski International March Madness Pool Champion!!!!!  Congratulations Mary!!!  It appears that the 13 years of basketball knowledge diffusion (married Robbie Beck in 2004) has resulted in a Hopski winner - the 1st Beck to ever do so!!!!

When contacted in Stamford, CT.........Mary had this to say on her victory:  "I feel the way I did after beating Rob at a game of H-O-R-S-E again.  Winning the Hopski gives new meaning to the phrase “One Shining Moment”.  I’d like to thank the Academy, Kirk Willoughby for reminding me to enter, and Lance Gitlin for sitting patiently at five minutes before tip-off while I filled out this magical bracket before continuing our meeting.  Please tithe 1/3 of the pot for Biking for Burundi and send the rest to me secretly to avoid Rob spending it."

Handled like a true Champion!!!!!  Congratulations Mary!!!!

Angelo Iantosca "Throwback" has taken the loss in stride and will likely be reminded repeatedly by Victoria that "I SAID HEELS, GRANDPA!!!!  NOT ZAGS!!!"

The Hopski Silver Medal (well - 2nd most $$$$ at least) goes to I JoSharted from rookie Peter Pell of NYC!!  Peter confirmed this was a renewal of his "athletic" career after it previously apexed at Richmond U with his eleborately choreographed celebration rituals for Lamba Chi's Green Machine hoops squad.  He owes his success in the Hopski to his part Herb Brooks, part Hannibal Lector approach, combining motivation with destruction of morale!  Here's a pic of Peter at the end of his career season with the Bedford Rockets:

After contending the entire tournament, Cheeto-in-Chief from Dylan McGuill slips to 3rd but still takes home some Hopski Money.  A huge Pearl Jam fan (has been to 78 live shows), he credits his 3rd place prowess to picks learned from playing Jeremy from PJ 10 album backwards (that an Uncle Mark's advice!).  Here's a pic of him enjoying PJ at Wrigley!!

A special shout-out to the defending champion from 2016, The Champ is Heeeeeeereeee and David Iantosca who finished in 4th place.  This is the best effort to defend a crowd by any Hopski Champion and it fell just short of the podium!!  Still a great effort though!

The 2nd Chance Dance Championship goes all the West to Hawaii and Hacking My Way to the Championship from Mike Ching!!  Well learned from those 1st two rounds Mike!!! (Genty would not send me any compromising photos unfortunately!)

Another year in the books and I cannot imagine what it will be like in 2018 given our pending move.  Stopping at 19 years seems a bit odd though - so save the Hopski bookmark as the pool will be hosted at that same site likely.  If you find yourself in Barcelona before June 28 - don't call as it is going to be a madhouse between now and then getting out of here.  Do give a ring if you out in Palo Alto sometime in the fall as hopefully we will be enjoying life out there.

Lastly - spread the word about Burundi - it needs the world's attention!!!

Pre-Championship Update - It All Sorts Itself in the End

We are down to the Championship between 2 #1 seeds but the road getting here this year was far from predictable, resulting in just a 58.5% pick % for the Hopski and the 3rd lowest correct picks for the Elite 8 and Final 4 ever in a Hopski.  We are left with two contendahs now for the title......

In the baby blue corner backing North Carolina, we have Make Indiana Great Again from Mary Beck of Stamford, CT, a Cornell graduate that has rocketed up the charts with MLB and MLB Network and somehow along the way adopted, errr, married my college roommate and Best Man Robert Beck, this gal has energy galore and should not be underestimated in the post......

And the challenger, in the red corner and backing the Bulldogs of Gonzaga, we have the Throwback entry of Angelo Iantosca, #1 our hearts and #14 in your programs, who played under Jimmy Valvano while at Rutgers and is now living in Hinsdale, IL running Rana Pasta USA and infamously known in Warsaw, Indiana, Spain and other parts of the world as the father of the Brothers Iantosca (including THE ONLY ENTRANT NOT YET HAVING PAID THIS YEAR'S ENTRY FEE - NONE OTHER THAN THE "GOOD MARK")  Angelo, oh Angelo - where did you go wrong with that boy??!!

vs


It is all down to this and it is all or nothing - loser goes home with no Hopski dough!!!

The battle for 2nd place also has an Iantosca connection as Lonzo Ball Soup and I JoSharted - BOTH from Peter Pell who was a roommate at Richmond of Mark Iantosca's (yes - that one that STILL has not paid) and now is based in NYC as a MD at CSM Capital Corp.  It will be a big choice for the Commissioner as to who will cover this shortfall - Daddy or Peter!!!  Peter is looking like the sure thing as in a Hopski First - he has locked up 2nd place with one of these two entries as they are in 3rd and 4th spots right now and with one having the Zags and the other the Heels, Peter will have one in 2nd place when the dust settles tonight!!

Battling it out for 3rd place tonight are Cheeto-in-Chief (Dylan McGuill, the Iowa Hawkeye now out of Dallas and the nephew of "Uncle Mark" Conlon - our 2006 Hopski Champion) and The Inaugural LaVar Ball 1 on 1 Invitational entry of Scott Hoagland, an Illinois State alum now in Atlanta and also the 2001 Hopski Champion and a perennial contender for the Best Entry Name competition (2 time winner!).

The 2nd Chance Dance has a two way battle for Champion as well between good friends Hacking My Way to the Championship (Mike Ching of Hawaii) and Protest This! from Ron Genty - ex-Budi Big Dawg and E&Y partner now living in Chicago.  These two are long-time friends that will certainly enjoy trash talking this outcome!  Don't worry Ron - if you win - I already know what photo I am posting!!!

TODAY is your last chance to drop an email and vote for your favorite entry name!!

There is NO DEADLINE on sharing my Burundi Blog or making a donation though - so keep it in mind!!!

All the best-

The Commish

Biking for Burundi - GIVE this 5 MINUTES - OK?!

Believe it or not, in the last 3 years Burundi has gotten worse!  Yes, when I first introduced the Hopski to Great Lakes Outreach and Simon Guillebaud, GLO's leader, Burundi was just the 2nd poorest and 3rd hungriest (and probably a heck of a lot happier).  Thanks to their President that refuses to leave office, things are worse.....the economy has come to a virtual stop and they are on the brink of famine.

I am again cycling this year with Simon and others to raise money and awareness for GLO and its 10 projects in Burundi - projects ranging from cows and milk to street kids, orphanages and the top secondary school in the country.  At the end of May (no, this is not the last time you'll be hearing from me probably!) we will go to Rwanda and ride 450 miles while climbing nearly 50,000 feet in elevation.  Rwanda this year as Burundi is not safe enough - THAT is how bad things are getting.

This is A BIG HOPSKI PLEASE for spreading awareness (share my blog or email me and post the above poster at your work, school, church, whatever.......) and/or considering a donation.  $5, $25 or more - the more donations in numbers the better!  It is meaningful to our project leaders and other friends in Burundi not just our amounts, but the fact that more and more people are taking notice of and not forgetting Burundi.  You'll spend my money as well as I am matching all donations.

CLICK TO DONATE:  DONATE NOW!!

 

Thanks - very much!

The Commish

Relocation of Hopski Home Office - June 28th 2017

Just in case you need to update your Christmas Card list or were planning a visit to Spain this summer...................

The Hopski Home Office (and yes - the Hopski clan in its entirety) will be relocating.............

Yes indeed, after 25 years overseas, I/we will return to the US and live in Palo Alto (joining the California Resistance!) on June 28th!  We've been thinking about an adventure for a few years now and the timing seems best right now to uproot for a couple of years (Sitges is STILL home) and give the USA a try.  The PAUSD school system has a good reputation - so a big plus there for the kids.  PA is also quite international / diverse and that gives us a reasonable shot at assimilating :) !  We will also enjoy walking the kids to school as the home we'll rent is nicely located.  We have some good friends out there (Szcerbas - our new landlords!) and will look forward to catching up with others on the West Coast in due course!

The big upside of course is getting to watch next year's Madness at NORMAL hours (though still not sure that I can stomach 5 TV timeouts per half!).

THE DELINQUENTS

I find it really annoying and yes - it pisses me off frankly (grumpy in my old age) - to year after year have to chase the same people to take time from their busy schedule and make a payment via paypal.  It is not only an afront to my time, but an afront to the time of all of us in the pool as 90% of you made payments in a timely fashion.  Thus, feel free to badger these non-payers to date:

The Usual Suspects (seriously - every year!)

• Eric Gates
• Brian Gimotty
• Mark Iantosca
• Brandon Snow
• Darin Townsend

Surprising Oversight

• Kamran Koochekzadeh
• Brian Gift
• Doug Birnie
• Eric Achepohl
• Chris Scandalios

Having to actually figure out who did not pay (since the paypal receipts did not equal $25 X the paying entries) took an hour this morning.  Consider it another nail in the coffin of the Hopski (speaking of which - anyone wanting to take this over next year??!!).

Final Four Preview

Apologies for the delayed update, it is just a swamped week and unfortunately, the next weeks will not change that too much aside from The Hopski not being on the list!!

THE MEDAL STAND TO DATE

FIRST OFF - kudos to our pre-Final Four leader, Cheeto-in Chief (Dylan McGuill, a Hawkeye now living in Dallas??  Sorry Dylan - i need some info from you or at least a reminder!!!).  After picking 29 of the 32 1st round winners, Dylan leads us into the final weekend on the strength of a perfect South Region and a darn near perfect Midwest and West (missing just 2 and 3 winners respectively in each).  He'd be running away with the lead if not for a terrible East region. 

In at #2 is none other than the Defending Champion - The Champ Is Heeeeeeeeereeeee (Dave Iantosca, let's just say a souped up version of his older brother Mark and certainly the best hooper of the clan aside from Dad!  We could give him kudos for picking prowess - but basically he just picked the Carolina blue again this year - unfortunately that will leave him at best in 2nd as Arizona's loss to Xavier ended his repeat chances!).

The #3 is then shared by Streakin' Among the Stars (Robert Curtis, denied in 2010 by Duke's victory over KU yet still finished 3rd, Bob is back in the title hunt.  He is also the only 2-time winner of the 2nd Chance Dance!!!) and Fuqin California Wine Mixer (Eric Gates, what can I say, the Big E is in the top 3 yet picked just 62% - the lowest of the top 20!!  Well done on the upsets, unfortunately, UCLA left you with no title hope).

THE CONTENDAHS!

We are down to the Final Four and the Hopski is down to a Final Five with a chance to take this year's title!!!

• Cheeto-in Chief (Dylan McGuill, yes, he may hold onto that top spot this weekend!!;
• I Miss Barack & The Hoosiers (Julie Grundberg, yes, the Seattle grunge movement has a shot here in the final weekend and many, many years of Hopski futility!);
• Make Indiana Great Again (Mary Beck, MLB Network is spawning some basketball hoops knowledge as well as Mary seeks to go where husband Rob has only dreamt - Hopski Champion!)'
• Streakin' Among the Stars (Robert Curtis);
• Throwback (Angelo Iantosca, former Rutgers player under Jimmy V, somehow dropped the Iantosca brothers upon us all - must be Mama Iantosca's genes! and now resides in the Chicago area as President of Rana USA - looking to become the 1st father/son team to win Hopski titles as son David is the defending champ!)

Interestingly none of those entries is guaranteed the Hopski title just by virtue of a single team winning the tournament - each entry needs the right combo for the title game as well!!

70 entries still have their champion alive, albeit NOBODY picked South Carolina and only 1 entry picked Oregon!

To check your best finish (or worst) possibility this weekend, check out the Player Scenarios report.

THE TOILET BOWL

Congrats to Sheen Baldwin 2020 (Logan Jeffries) who was able to lock-up the Toilet Bowl Title this year quite early - possibly last Saturday night!!  In any event, we'll look forward to next year's free entry for a better performance!!  Logan's 4 underdog points were actually "topped" by a single underdog point from Master Debater (Jeff Luebbert, a Domer alum gone bad in NYC) - the winner of this year's "Mr. Blutarski, 0.00" aware for lowest dog points - the accumulation of which is really quite the point of the Hopski!!




BEST ENTRY NAMES!!

I am thinking we may not get the full scale entry name report from Marc Powell this year - but THE HOPSKI HOME OFFICE STILL NEEDS YOUR VOTE!!!!  DROP A QUICK EMAIL WITH YOUR VOTE FOR BEST ENTRY NAME!!!!!



It is a busy weekend coming up - with Sunday activities making it a challenge to watch the games - especially if I am going to be getting out of bed after a 122km / 2,000m bike race on Saturday (all part of the Biking for Burundi training!).  I will do my best to get something out on Monday previewing the title game!!!

Adios -

The Commish

Down to 6!!

How 'bout those Mighty Ducks of Oregon!!!  What a great game and man oh man I was on edge the entire 2nd half waiting for them to blow it.  Whew!!

 Jordan Bell dominated the paint for the Ducks!!

Only 1 entry has the Ducks picked to win it all - The Coop Dog (Jonathan Cooper of.....Croatia??).  Oh my - it could be a 2nd Hopski 1st in that only one entry picks the champ yet somehow, inexplicably, does not win the title but in this case, does not even crack the top 3 - doh!!!  Kudos though on backing the Ducks!!!

I did not watch the Zags victory thanks to a wake up text from Mark Iantosca making sure that I knew how happy he was for Mark Few!  REALLY?!?!  After all these years I have friends that STILL DO NOT GET that I do not need such updates when planning on watching the next day??!!  Flat out terrible.  If he HAD been contending, trust me, an accounting "error" would have ensured that not being the case!

Moving on to the last 2 of the Elite 8 games, no entry picked S. Carolina to the Final Four, but 4 have picked Florida and their Hopski title hopes are pinned on a Gator victory:

• CGC1 (Colin Crandall, in what has otherwise been a dismal Hopski debut, can at least put his hat on the Florida pick!)
• He Chose......Wisely (Mitch Karam, yes, a wise choice in Florida, maybe not so much with Notre Dame and Louisville!);
• Make Indiana Great Again (Mary Beck - yes, a CONTENDAH, though husband Rob confirmed in an email that indeed, these are his picks and Mary admitted to stealing them);
• No Illini? (Eric Achepohl, the King of the Road Hole);

19 entries still have a shot at finishing this year's Hopski in the Top 3 money slots, includng 8 entries with a chance to win it all!!  If you want to "spoil" the suspense and see your best and worst possible finishes, simply check out the PLAYER SCENARIOS report!


TOP OF THE HOP(SKI)

None other than Eric fuqin Gates (my IU mentor, Scotland 2016 most improved and all-around luvable guy with his Fuqin California Wine Mixer entry) is leading the Hopski, jumping into the top spto and edging out I Miss Barack & The Hoosiers (Julie Grundberg Hoosier and ex-Chicagoan now out of Seattle,WA).  Former Hopski champ Kent Holding (PWC COO living in Warsaw - crap - I was just there last week Kent!) nudges into 3rd position with "My Beautiful $25 Contribution to the Winner".



TOILET BOWL LINE

Bring Alford Back (Michael Hoss, long-time Cubs fan and ex-Chicago AA friend, now in Houston and oh how the mighty have fallen) has set this year's "Mendoza Line" at 59 points.  THAT is the hurdle that 3 entries need to clear to avoid the Toilet Bowl!! 

Those 3 entries attempting to wrestle the Toilet Bowl away from Hoss include:

• I Got Creaned (Dave Foster, IU alum that still loves the Boilers now residing in Oak Park, IL - serves you right for not supporting 1st your alma mater!);
• Sheen Baldwin 2020 (Logan Jeffries.....is this THE Logan Jeffries that lives in Cincy and is a UK grad??)
• VegasCanuck (Doug Birnie, our ex-IU plus league's 2016 Fantasy Football champion used all of his luck for the year I guess.  Doug is yes, Canadian and still adjusting to the Madness, living in Las Vegas)

PAYMENTS
Hopski auditors will be back to work on Monday and will search out those of you yet to pay.  I pretty much know, JUST A HUNCH, Mark Iantosca and Brandon Snow will be on that list - so PAY UP!!!


Most importantly - email me your nominees for BEST ENTRY NAME!!!!  You cannot vote for your own entry - but please do VOTE!!! 
 

3 Great Ones and a Boiler

In fairness, Kansas may be one of the most talented teams left in the tournament and boy did they turn it on after spotting Purdue an eight point lead!!!  Another year with no Final Four since the days of the GREATEST BOILER EVER......

My Childhood Idol.....Joe Barry Carroll!!

 

 Boiler Up became Boiler UpChuck far too quickly last night as the Boilers lost by a gazillion!!!

The other 3 Elite 8 qualifiers last night were thoroughly entertaining - though all buzzer beating shots missed!!!

How about a big Hopski "Hoo-Rah!" for Going to Disney Again (Wes Maciejewski, proud Dad of 3 in Chicago and ex-Warsaw Expat Mayor......Nazdrowie Wes!!!) and Maybe Boeheim Has an Opinion (Mike Doud, a Rutgers grad and SR VP at Robert Half in NY) - Well done Gents!!!  THE only 2 entrants to pick Xavier to make the Elite 8 and both nabbed the big 9 bonus points to boot by picking Xavier over 'Zona in the Sweet 16 game last night!  Mike rode that 11 point gain to a 12 position jump in the standings to 2nd place!!!  Unfortunately - this is as good as it will get for Mike as his champion Duke is long gone.  Still - enjoy this shining moment!!  Udaman and Mike Ching remain in 1st place at the top, picking up 2 of the 4 winners from last night.  

Please drop an email to the Commish with your votes for Best Entry Name of this year's Hopski!!!  Some instant laughers out there - so pick your favorite and VOTE!!

Here are our former winners: 

	BEST ENTRY NAME
2016	Mid-Major Lives Matter (Beth Paul)
2015	John Calipari's Center 4 Kids Who Can't Read Good (Ryan Fazio)
2014	When I Think of You, I Touch Bill Self (Matt Powell)
2013	Winner (Tied) - 2012 NYC Marathon (Ron South)
2012	My Bracket Tebows (Bill Lefever)
2011	Rahm Emanuel's Motherf*cking Bracket (Beth Paul)
2010	Tiger, Show me the Hole! (David Miller)
2009	All Knocked Up and Looking to Dance (Mary Beck)
2008	Spears Family Planning Center (Scott Hoagland)
2007	It's So Good You'll Slap Yo Mama (Derek Ginn)
2006	Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner (Kevin Rockwell)

On a follow-up note, congrats to Alfordstillsucks and Deb Baratz - payment made yesterday and the good karma paid off with a Gonzaga victory, lifting her out of the Toilet Bowl and leaving Sheen Baldwin 2020 (Logan Jeffries) wallowing in last place!!

Adios-

The Commish

Last Chance to Enter Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Pool (btw it's free)

51 of the 163 entrants to the main pool have entered the 2nd Chance Dance Pool as of this morning.

Entry is included in the $25 Main Pool entry fee (that I am sure you have already paid!).

Not a lot of blog coverage for the 2nd chance pool, but the winner takes 5% of the Prize Pool (about $200 this year).

The Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Pool - click here to enter before Thursday night.

Past Champions - including 2 time Champion Bob Curtis!!

	2ND CHANCE DANCE CHAMPIONS	Points
2016	Roundball Round-Up (Bob Curtis)	119
2015	Rock "U" Like Patrick Kane (Chris Kinkela)	122
2014	Going For Three (Bill Carey)	92
2013	Lockeyes (Dave Iantosca)	119
2012	Go Hard in Da Paint (Chris Maloney)	149
2011	G-Dawg (Glen Gregory)	112
2010	You Have Screwed Me Again, Pennypacker (D Heldman)	102
2009	That's Why We Play 'Em (Bob Curtis)	71
2008	Domo Arigato (Linda Genty)	63
2007	Kraken Roller Rider (Donna Percy)	72

Long Overdue 1st Weekend Hopski Pool Report & Sweet 16 Preview

The Commish took a 72 March Madness sabatical to get caught up on some work, cycling and family stuff (fiber optic operational at 300mbps!!) and without further adieu, here is the overdue update on the Hopski results for the 1st two rounds!

OUR LEADERS

Udaman from Mike Ching (ok, upon further review Mike is back in Hawaii, left E&Y and is running publicly traded First Hawaiian Bank.  Given he is a regular in the Hopski, finished 2nd in 2011 AND is leading it - buy, buy, buy!!!!).  Udaman has managed to pick 11 of the Sweet 16, with his only big miss to date being Villanova.  He also nabbed 31 underdog points, most notably Rhode Island, Mid Tenn State & Xavier!!  Here's Mike:

A Bracket Has No Name (Joshua Bailey, an 11 year Hopski alum and I am a bit surprised that I cannot find anything on Josh - that or my mind has fried after all these years as we have exchanged a few emails over the years, but only about payments basically) - what a great entry name BTW!! - is tied with Udaman for 2nd on the strength of 11 of the Sweet 16 as well and also 32 underdog points.

Guts & Glory - The Ricky Bobby Storey (Randy Krueger, a Hopski rookie, so feeling less bad about no info - but I can usually piece things together with a quick google search, alas, not in this case!) held onto 3rd place, led by a pool leading 29 out of 32 in the 1st round (one of a few at 29)!

That rounds out the top 3, but kudos as well to Streakin' Among The Stars from Bob Curtis of Woodstock, IL for nailing 12 of the Sweet 16, along with My Other Brother Darryl (Darryl Feldman).  Nice picking gents!!


VYING FOR THE 2017 TOILET BOWL

Is it just a worrying coincidence that I receive a "problem making payment" email this morning from Alfordstillsucks (Deb Baratz, Iowa Hawkeye grad who obviously is NOT providing a reference for Steve Alford from his coaching days there) AND it just so happens her entry is in last place.....hmmm.......have to put this one on the watch list.  Poor Deb provided a pool low 4 correct picks for the Sweet 16 - something accomplished only 3 other times in Hopski history (there were 3 such efforts in the obviously brutal 2000 Hopski).  The all-time record low by Phil Purevich's "Coin Flip" in 2005 should be excluded (in fact - I just updated the record books) as literally - Phil flipped a coin and should have received a lifetime Hopski ban for such atrocity.  Just sayin......I am sure that entry fee will show up soon - right Deb??!!

Clueless in Washington (Michael Fazio of London - no less the clueless there - a New Yorker and ex-banker that clearly seems to be going the route of the Yankees in this decade - e.g. just not being that competitive!) is battling Deb for the Toilet Bowl, with just 5 of the Sweet 16 winner picked.

Looking at the Projected Standings Report (everyone's best case scenario), it appears that White Lighting (Andrew Whiting) has "set this year's Toilet Bowl bar" at 73 points - his best case scenario as North Carolina over Butler is his entry's only potential points grabber remaining!!
 
Honorable mention in this section goes to 2 Hopski veterans that tried to get a bit too "analytical" with the underdog bonus points and were bit hard in the first round, hitting on just 14 of the 32 first round games - just 1 above the all-time Hopski worst of 13.  I Grabbed Her By the Krzyzewski (Richard Rykhus) and 4 Point Play (Bill Lyon of Schaumberg, IL and ex-Warsaw expat and hoopster).    

Let this be a lesson that analytics should not overtake pride in the Hopski - lest you make me spend more time next year and revamp the scoring rules!!!!


SWEET 16 PREVIEW
How the 8 Sweet 16 games breakdown in terms of teams picked:

• Wisconsin (6 entries) vs Florida (9 entries) - Low Seed Count with a lot to gain from Wisconsin in this one!
• Baylor (13 entries) vs. South Carolina (ONLY picked by Ty D Bol, the dual ex-Toilet Bowl Champions entry from Vicki Maloney and Linda Genty);
• Gonzaga (103 entries) vs. West Virginia (26 entries);
• Arizona (129 entries) vs. Xavier (only Going to Disney Again (Wes Maciejewski) and Maybe Boeheim Has An Opinion (Mike Doud);
• Kansas (126 entries) vs. Purdue (15 entries - seriously??  Purdue is already in nosebleed territory!!);
• Oregon (31 entries) vs. Michigan (35 entries - interesting surprise so many picked the Wolverines!);
• North Carolina (143 entries) vs. Butler (13 entries - GO DAWGS!!!);
• Kentucky (61 entries) vs UCLA (81 entries);

2017 BY THE NUMBERS

Whilst this is not an official figure yet (still have not reconciled payments - so any late payers are getting an unusually extended reprieve period), the 2017 Hopski has tied the all-time record for entries at 163, previously set in 2006:

1st round average correct picks of 23.4 was quite high, especially versus the past couple of years and 3rd all-time vs 2004 and 2000.  Meanwhile, the Sweet 16 average dipped well below recent years and likely due to the #1 (Villanova) and #2s (Louisville, Duke) going home.

Only 17 entries still have their East bracket champion pick alive after Villanova and Duke fell last weekend.  Next lowest number of regional champion picks still alive comes from the Midwest region at 108 entries, driven lower primarily by Louisville's loss.

As a result, just 6 entries have their Final Four completely intact, so a shout out to:

• Frank's Fighting Hawks (Eric Frankberg, a Fighting Hawk from U. North Dakota and working with long-time Hopski entrant John "Hayseed" Springer at Polaris in Minneapolis);
• Glennon is the Future (Nick Lagattuta, a Partner in a Schaumberg, IL law firm - not sure of his connection with The Hopski but hopefully not suing me!);
• I Miss Barack & The Hoosiers (Julie Grundberg, a Hoosier alum and ex-Chicagoan working for Raytheon out in Seattle) even has 7 of her final 8 intact;
• Low Seed Count (Action Jackson - still no idea who this is but with all 8 of their Elite 8 picks alive - we may know more soon!);
• Make Indiana Great Again (Emmy Award winning Mary Beck of MLB Network, savior this past year to one Darin "The King" Townsend who realize he had no passport the night before our 50th Celebration in St. Andrews and married to none other than Rob "I'm Too Busy for the Hopski" Beck!);
• No Illini? (Eric Achepohl, a suffering Illini alum out of Elmhurst, IL - Chicago 'burb, 2016 St. Andrew's 50th attendee and winner of the longest drive competition on the 17th hole - a ball still rolling somewhere on the asphalt of Scotland);

The Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Pool

Floundering on the 3rd page of the standings??

Picked an ACC team to the Final Four aside from the Tar Heels??

A Villanova lover??

Have no fear, your 2nd chance is right here!!

Free entry - chance to apply your knowledge from the 1st weekend of the Dance - over $200 to the winner!!!!

The Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Pool - click here to enter before Thursday night.

Flying through the last of the 6 Sunday games

Well, I have to get through these games quickly - so basically none compelling enough at first glance to consider watching the 1st half - so jumping to the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half to see if close enough to take my time.

First off, MSU vs Kansas.  Seemingly compelling - but really limited time today so jumping to 5 minute mark of all games.  MSU - close but no cigar.

UNC vs Arkansas.  Are you kidding me??!!  Arkansas??  Watching this one from the 4 minute mark and Arkansas is up 65-60. 

That was a waste of time.  Talk about not being prepared to win the game.  Ugh - just upsetting to see a team wet their leg at the sight of Carolina Blue in crunch time.

Rhode Island vs Oregon.  Sorry - I am just having such a letdown after WSU vs UK and really am not excited about watching ANY of these remaining games.  Skipping to the 3 minute mark and even then hard to watch :)  I am full.  I already had the best omelette in the world for breakfast today and anything else (aside from watching Duke lose) is overkill!!

USC vs Baylor.  Somewhat compelling as close and you know that Enfeld's wife is lurking in the stands somewhere.  For those of you not aware, one of the few instances in life where the Coach's wife is hotter than the cheerleaders...............

Ok - that maybe did not deliver the point like this pic..........

Ok - back to basketball.  Baylor wins the game and hey - maybe this is their year to get to the Final Four!!!

I wish I could have a channel showing the coach's pre-game pep talks to their teams!!!  The Arkansas coach's "one heartbeat" thing was outstanding.  Straight from Friday Night Lights....

Now we get Frank Martin's (South Carolina) "I was never good enough to play at this level, you go get it for me"......ahhhhhh - goose bumps!!

Ahhhhh - they are doing it!!!!!  Jumped to the 3 minutes to go mark and they are up 9 points!!!!!!!  YESSSSSSSS!!!!!  Come on Frank the Tankers!!!!!!!!!!  Oh good lord let them play.  A block given to Duke's Kennard and man what a gift of a call.  REALLY??!!  The only thing that can ruin my WSU/UK reverse hangover (good feeling) is a Duke comeback. 

Officials are way to involved here in the final 3 minutes.  Two terrible calls against SC - then it goes back the other way with a reach on Jefferson at mid-court followed by Kennard's 5th foul.  Kennard is actually a very likeable Dukie and man, that was a bad call against him.  I hope this is the last game these officials get to officiate in this tournament.  Quite an "ugh" after the all-star performance from the officiating crew in the WSU/UK game.  I mean - I cannot think of a single thing that was not outstanding in that game!!!!

Oh man - a travel by SC and Frank the Tank somehow remains calm (about broke the scorer's table).  Nice dunk and then oops - they foul on a 3 point attempt.  The team is going and getting it for him, but they put him in the hospital in the process!! 

26 seconds to go!!  Man oh man - South Carolina is really trying hard.  Just held the ball in the corner and got trapped.  man oh man.  First Arkansas gifted the game to Carolina in crunch time and now the Gamecocks trying to given an even bigger gift.  Oh please no!!!

YESSS!!!!!  Frank the Tank's Gamecock's do it!!!  On to the Sweet 16!!!

ACC - looking very, very overrated!!!!

UCLA wins in a strong effort.  Man oh man - that South Regional will be terrific!!!  UNC vs Butler and UCLA vs Kentucky.  Talk about 3 blue bloods and the Bulldogs!!!!  GO DAWGS!!!

Don't come home Steve.  I like you but I love Gregg Marshall!!!

ADIOS!

Unplanned in-game blog for UK vs Wichita State

Goooooooood Morning!!  On a significant delay here as just finished watching the 1st half of Wichita State and Kentucky.  My neighbors are allowing me to use their ADSL feed (Movistar repair folks for fiber line have been promised for about 48 hours now - viva Espana!).

WOW - what a first half.  Just a fantastic battle!!  The officials have stayed out of it and the teams have played well.  Watching this game I realize just how insanely slopping Indiana was this year with both the basketball and in playing (trying) defense.  I am also surprised at Kentucky's ability to defend - on par in that 1st half with the Shockers.  Just flat out well played.

Hopefully the 2nd half can continue as such and the officials stay out of the game.  Also - man oh man - I would love to see the Hoosiers have a coach like Marshall of Wichita State.  He appears to have the team stocked with young talent, so I am guessing he may be out of reach.  That team is certainly well drilled on both ends and would be the type of basketball that would be greatly appreciated in Indiana.  OK - back to the ballgame...........

Wow - in game blog of sorts here - but I am just gushing watching this game.  BOTH teams playing extremely well and as much as I dislike Calipari - this team is playing extremely well and what a battle it is!!!  Oh man - what a great way to start the day!  40-39 Kentucky right now at the 13 minute mark.

Good lord it has only been a minute - but Wichita State tied it up and then had a fantastic defense stand at the other end. Wow - Shaq for WSU really shows great on the picks (hey - Thomas Bryant - you watchin'??!!).

You da man Shaq!!!

BTW - the announcers for this game have been outstanding too.  Way to raise the level of the announcing to keep with the level of the game.  Rafferty - "that is like the wrist grab of the ushers passing around the collection plat" had me cracking up after a Shaq foul!!

Shamet on the bench now for WSU with 3 fouls.  This might be a potential turning point in the game.  Calipari has come out with a press as well (smart move btw).  Careful WSU!!

Yep - Morris just picked up his 3rd and WSU now down 4 and UK has the ball.  Shamat is still on the bench and WSU has had 3 TOs since he went out - 2 from his back-up (#2).  Starting to feel like a Big 10 game with Indiana playing given all of the TOs suddenly by WSU.  Uh-oh, now down 6 with 7:30 left.   Shamet back in a promptly gets a lay-up.

Ooops - 1st lay-up off a TO for the Cats (and maybe even 1st transition basket) and now up 7 with WSU on the ropes.  WSU turning the ball over a bit here in the last 5 minutes and they have so little room for error.   4 minutes to go and UK on the brink of the Sweet 16.

OH MAN!!!!!!!!  THIS IS JUST A FANTASTIC GAME.  THIS TRADING OF 3S AND BUCKETS HERE IN THE LAST 2 MINUTES (55 SECS LEFT - UK UP 1) IS JUST AMAZING.  I AM YELLING AND SCREAMING HERE IN ESPANA!!!

Wow........Wow.......Wow!!!  Kentucky - you deserved that win and played a great game.  WSU - to quote Nigel Hayes "Two great teams and one of them just ran out of time".  The Shockers had their opportunity.  They played a near perfect last 3 minutes and with the ball and 30 seconds on the clock, they did not get the ball in the right hands for the deciding shot.

Kentucky really played well and certainly hats off to Calipari and his coaching (oh that hurts to say!).

Let me wake up one day in the next two weeks to hear that THIS GUY is the new coach at Indiana University!!!!!!

Now, back to reality and WHERE THE HELL IS MY FIBER OPTIC......

ADDENDUM TO THE ABOVE - 16:23 CET (SPANISH TIME)

Gregg - come to IU but leave your wife in Wichita (maybe Enberg's wife would like Bloomington!):

Check out this article:  http://www.aseaofblue.com/2017/3/19/14977890/gregg-marshall-wife-lost-her-mind-cats-beat-wichita-state

Related tweets are just as entertaining - though I think they are embellished as I have not seen any really condemning video yet (though I would bet that Andy Katz of ESPN - seated right in front of her has some great views on it)

Day 3 - Finally some "upsets"

First things first - excellent article on ESPN about how the NCAA and its selection committee need to chuck the RPI and get on to proper analytical analysis as the basis for their seedings.  That Villanova - the #1 overall seed in the tournament - was stuck facing the #32 seeded overall Wisconsin in the 2nd round was not just reward for being the overall #1 seed.  The NCAA has failed this year in its seeding of Wisconsin and Wichita State as well.  There may be other oddities - but certainly these two at #8 and #10 were injustices to Villanova and Kentucky (and normally I am all for injustice to the Wildcats!!).

Only 9 entries tabbed the Badger Cheeseheads and picked up 10 points on the field from that 2nd round game.  Congrats to:

• AMaizeinblue (Brian Gimotty, Ann Arbor based Michigan alum and world renown golfer - atleast at the Gdansk course where he bore most all of it for the owner's wife once);
• Bringing Down the House (that bastard Brandon Snow, back from China to NYC with the NBA);
• Fuqin California Wine Mixer (Eric Gates, IU Read Beck alum and recipient of Most Improved / Best Sandbagger at last year's Hopski Scotland Golf Trip);
• I Won't Acknowledge the Results Unless I Win (Tom Utroske of Chicago, aka the Sloth and along with Gates, part of the dominant Read Beck IU intramural hoops squad);
• Low Seed Count (beats me - all is have for the entrant is Jackson!);
• PapaHoppa (my Dad -  Michael, now of Anderson, IN and proving even the blind squirrels..........);
• Straight Outta Wiscompton (Carol Stephenson, also of Chicago and somehow connected to the Sloth - see above - God help her);
• The Swedish Krzyzewski (Peter Pell, of NYC and a Richmond Spider grad - probably with some good Mark Iantosca stories to share);
• Yugest Hopski Picks Ever, Bigly!!! (Jeff Chamberlin, ex-Warsaw expat now in DC and a member of the Hopski Champions Club - 2014 winner!)

Well done all of you as well as these guys (don't bet against Senior experience in the Madness!):

Aside from the Wisconsin sleeper pick, most of the remaining 1st 8 of the Sweet 16 that qualified on Saturday were not huge surprises - though some Hopski edge points were picked up by those having picked Xavier (31 entries) and Florida (57 entries).

At the top of the Hopski heading into Day 4 is another defending Champion (and just all around good guy) I Hope My Picks Don't Get Hacked (Joe Drozdowski of NYC, Godfather of the I Hate the Yankees Club and the 2009 Hopski Champion).  I Hope My Picks Don't Get Hacked was one of 6 entries that managed to pick 6 of the 8 winners on Saturday, moving this entry up 24 places on the day and into the Pole Position.

Scandy, a creative leap there from Hopski newcomer Chris Scandalios (no info??) checked in a point behind Joe D on the strength of 6 winners selected Saturday, while Udaman (entry from San Francisco based E&Y partner Mike Ching and 2011 Hopski runner-up - also someone who really needs to get on with it and pick a new entry name as this one is as stale as last week's bread) picked 5 and held onto a spot in the top 3 after being our Day 2 leader.

At the back-end of the Hopski at the end of Day 3 is Sheed Baldwin 2020 (Logan Jeffries, a Hopski vet though I have little info on him - other than he was introduced by Mark Iantosca into the Hopski - so probably NYC based and an I-banker ?!).  Logan - really - just 2??  Then again, thanks for keeping Momhopski out of last place (Donna Percy - yep, the Commish's mom and former avid hoops fan out of Peru, Indiana) as Mom has racked up just 1 underdog point!!!  I need to run some numbers on that figure as that could be a record!!!

OK - it is Sunday afternoon and the Commish 1) is losing family points sitting at the computer and 2) cannot stream as the damned fiber optic is still out and I ran out of the back-up 4G capacity this morning after watching the Butler victory and near-Purdue choke job.  How 'bout those Bulldogs!!!  Look out - they could win this thing!!

Next update - Monday sometime after Movistar visits and gets fiber optic going!!

Adios!!

The Commish

Arghhhhhhhhh! Feelling like Charlie Brown here!!

After waiting for 2 1/2 years (neighbor right across the street has had it that long) - I kid you not - to get fiber optic internet (as ADSL here is only 3mbps and you cannot stream) - it was finally installed on Thursday afternoon just in time for the games.  Then - today - inexplicably - nada.  Not working.  Just a flashing red light.  Movistar customer service - yes sir.  There appears to be a problem.  We'll send a technician tomorrow. 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I will be using my last 19gb left this month on 4G en casa - we'll see how long that lasts.

In any event - WOW!  Just finished watching Wisconsin vs Villanova!!  GO BIG 10!!!

No further updates this evening - it will be an early morning update of the standings and then off to church - so probably no blogging until Monday unless fiber comes back.

Sad, just very sad.

A Quick Night for the Commish

7:30 bike ride set for the morning, so the Commish is signing off early after the very enjoyable USC victory!

The scheduler will run and update the Hopski website throughout the evening - though my preferred home page "Leaderboard" is having problems, so just the "Current Standings" will show up on the home page with the top 35 entries.

Enjoy!!

Yes - a change in the entries

Yawn - slow games so far (that or getting to far removed from all of this trying to watch and get my family of euro-gals excited!).

Just a quick note - during the course of today Hopski Auditors found 2 doubled-up entries and they have been eliminated from the pool now.

So - 163 entries this year - tying the all-time record for the Hopski!!

Day 1 - Close games, but didn't feel as if they were as close as they were!

Day 1 of March Madness and 16 games are in the 2017 history books, yet only 2 upsets and certainly neither Xavier or Middle Tennessee State felt they were underdogs (nor did any of us really get goosebumps over these upsets happening).  Certainly Northwestern gave us something to "feel" and Princeton provided some tingles in the spine, but aside from that, yawn, 14 favorites moved into the 2nd round.  Most all of the games were close on the scoreboard and into the second half in most all cases, yet, Cinderella was nowhere to be found on Thursday (Friday morning here in Europe!).  

The most excitement in my house this morning was waking up to our dog Abbie's diarrhea mess on the carpet in the front room.  I mean ok, I can accept a bad stomach and having to go somewhere, but the rug out there is not big, so ample opportunities for places far better to leave a mess and make it easier to clean-up.......arghhhh!!!!  Such sloppiness is a clear reminder why Indiana indeed needed a new coach - over 20 turnovers a game this year.  Sooooo painful to wake up to as well!

Abbie!!!!   Ceramic floor, wood floor, carpet.....and you chose what?!......really????

Some quick kudos out to 2 owners of perfect 16 for 16 picks on Thursday.  Cheeto-in-Chief (Dylan McGuill, an Iowa Hawkeye alum residing in Dallas) and Who Let the Zags Out....WOOF, WOOF, WOOF.......ah you get it...... (Chris Kinkela, a Central Michigan grad and someone worth knowing if you live in the Orlando area as he works for Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits!).  Perfection is never easy....well done!!

At the other end of the spectrum, the KFC entry from Glen Gregory (permanent Warsaw expat and owner of Java Coffee Co), well, this photo says it all about his picks - or the size of.........

Enjoy the Friday morning and recover as Cinderella should join the dance tonight!!
  

Adding just now this article I just came across at Sports Illustrated about how the increase over the last 5 years of transfers from small and mid-major programs into the BCS schools is killing off the Cinderella stories in the tournament.  The whole graduate early and turn yourself into a free agent for your senior year movement has really gained steam.

Worth a read, though a long article:  http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/03/14/college-basketball-transfers-cinderella-ncaa-tournament