On to San Antonio

Loyola Chicago vs Michigan and Villanova vs Kansas (hmmmm - where's the ACC and the SEC I ask!!!) are ready to square off in San Antonio!

The Final Four is set, whilst the battle for the Hopski title still has a final four as well!  A pair of former champions – Mark Noferi (2008) and Joe Drozdowski (2009 Champion with all-time highest point total) are each sniffing a 2nd Hopski Title this year (Mark even has TWO entries with a chance at the title.  They are joined by a couple of entries from owners that have never finished on the Hopski podium – Amaizin Blue from Michigander and former Gdansk, Uzbekistan and Burundi expat - Brian Gimotty and Scandy from Chris Scandalios, another NYC trader from Fairfield University (didn’t Indiana always draw them in the 1st round in the good olds days of the 80s and 90s?).

At the other end of the pool spectrum, A Bracket Begets Just More Brackets from Ola Hopper is the winner of the Toilet Bowl!  Yes – Ola was too uncertain of those picks to take credit directly, hence the Commish’s pseudo-ownership til now…..Brave move on Ola’s part to step forward and claim that Toilet Bowl with 45 points!!

Get those votes in for BEST ENTRY NAME by email to me.

Hopefully a more extended update by the end of the week but do not hold your breath as traveling all week (Portland of all places!).

Adios!

Elite 8 Preview / Sweet 16 in the Books

Somehow it seems like the pool was easier to keep on top of over in Europe.  Not sure why but just cannot seem to get the free space to get these updates in the books.  Given that Loyola and K State are almost at halftime, this is obviously in arrears, but hey - better late than never!!

WOW - THE RAMBLERS ARE IN THE FINAL FOUR!!!  They have become the 4th 11 seed in history and the first since VCU in 2011 to make the Final Four!!!  Go get the title Sister Jean!!!

The Hopski Podium - pretty boring here as no change over the past 8 games!

Docent Darling Returns (from the desert) from Bay Area's Terry Kenney refuses to relinquish the top spot - clinging to a two point lead despite having lost its champion (Virginia) and another Final Four pick (Gonzaga).  Terry needs Villanova and Duke to win tomorrow to retain a shot at the title.  I still have no idea as to the origins of this entry name (a little help maybe.....anyone?!) nor can I locate any pic online.....so Terry remains a bit of a mystery while remaining on top of the Hopski!!

The Unpredictable Kim Jong Nofe from NYC's Mark Noferi, the 2008 Hopski Champion, holds onto 2nd place as well, 2 points back of DDR as both picked 3 of the Elite 8 teams.  Nofe has a Michigan vs Kansas title game with KU winning, giving Nofe a shot at the top spot in advance of Sunday night.

Chasing the top spot still from third place is Lock Sean Miller Up from Ryan Fazio - also of NYC!

Ryan dropped 7 points on the leaders, picking only 2 of the Elite 8 winners.  Ryan's Villanova Championship pick of Villanova still gives him a shot at an in the money finish this year!

Aside from our leaders, another TEN entries are still in the hunt for this year's Hopski title as we head into the Elite 8 games.

This Loyola vs Kansas State has no impact for the pool as no entries have picked either of them into the Elite 8.  A big shout out to the Humpty Dumpty entry from Peter Davinci, the ONLY entry to pick K State into the Elite 8.  Unfortunately for Peter, Kansas is the only other team he picked into the Elite 8 and thus, Humpty Dumpty sits in 50th place and pretty much in a free fall with a max point total of 86....still, nice pick with Kansas State!!   Another big shout out to Louisville's Brothel House from Darin "the King" Townsend (a college roommate of mine and famous not only for consumption at IU but also for realizing he had no passport THE NIGHT BEFORE OUR BIG 50th BIRTHDAY SCOTLAND GOLF OUTING!!!   LBH was the lone entry to pick Loyola's advance to the Elite 8!!  That has done little for the King though as his entry sits in the Toilet Bowl for the moment, hoping that Villanova can win tonight and help him avoid finishing in the Toilet Bowl!

The other 3 Elite 8 games will move a lot of entries up and down prior to the Final Four weekend.  Although no entries have picked Florida State into the Final Four, numerous entries will gain from these five teams advancing to the final weekend:

VILLANOVA - 120 entries
KANSAS - 23 entries
MICHIGAN - 30 entries
DUKE - 57 entries
TEXAS TECH -2 (yes JUST TWO!) entries

Hide Yo Wife, Hide Yo Husband from Grant Quasha (a Kentuckian now based in NYC and CEO of Paringa Resources) and and Panicked Final Picks from Eric Gates (a BIG recovery shout out to Eric's wife Laura who is going through a big cancer battle right now - lots of prayers needed there!) were the only 2 to pick Florida State into the Elite 8!!  FSU powered Grant up to 8th place and with Michigan picked to win it all - Grant certainly with Hopski Champion aspirations this year!  Panicked Picks should not have gone with Purdue as Gates is pretty well over with these picks for 2018.  He should have picked his MBA alma mater as Loyola Chicago is just putting K State away at the moment!!  

TOILET BOWL

Well, yours truly thought that he had moved full circle from the title 20 years ago to the Toilet Bowl this year - but as mentioned - there is still a shot to avoid the enigma of the TB as a Texas Tech victory tomorrow night will leave The King with the Toilet Bowl rather than The Commish.  Oh Guns Up please!!!

BEST ENTRY NAME

NOW is the time to drop a quick email with your vote for BEST ENTRY NAME for 2018!!  Send me an email this week so we can celebrate some creativity.   A few of my favorites include:

One More Year Until the Hopski's Legal (Joe Drozdowski)
Hide Yo Wife, Hide Yo Husband (Grant Quasha)
50 Fades of Grayson (Matt Powell)
#metoomuch (Scott Hoagland)
How Sad.....Very Sad!! (Jay Baum) - my daughter drops this on me all the time unfortunately!!
Three Backboards Outside Warsaw (Kyle Bowers)
Searching For Steve Fisher (Chris Kinkela)
$100,000 Make Ya Hollar (Cat Miller)
It Was A Dark and Stormy Daniels Night (Richard Rykhus)
My Picks Changed More Than Trump's Cabinet (Dave Menzel)
Alright Ramblers, Let's Get Ramblin (Beth Paul - why didn't you pick them to win!?!)
If These Balls Could Talk (David Miller)

PLEASE VOTE!!


PLEASE PAY!!!

I have still not checked payments to entries - but you know who you are and if you have not paid - please make my job easier and get the money in now (Snow?)

Round 2 Update

Are we the sane ones here??  Any of us?!  I mean, year in, year out, we along with 50 million other folks fill out these seemingly straightforward brackets of 64 teams and then, seemingly in days, they are thrown out in the trash.............

Yes, SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG!!!

This year is no different, though certainly we were tossing out our collective brackets in hours and minutes rather than days and weeks this year!  

Let's first start with how many entries have now lost their Champion pick - 66!!  Yes - 45% of the pool have lost their chance (for the most part) at the 2018 Hopski Title after just 2 rounds of games - unheard of!  

Out of those 82 remaining entries......only 22 of them have their final 2 teams still in the hunt!!!

Looking at just the left half of the bracket - containing the South and West regions (e.g. the utter chaos and hell half) - only 5 entries have their regional champion picks remaining!  They have all picked Kentucky to take the South, splitting their East champion votes between Gonzaga and Michigan.  

Out of those 5 brackets - ONLY 2 - YES - ONLY 2 brackets out of the entire 148 entries - have a complete FINAL FOUR remaining.  A Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Hopski kudos goes out to the Rick Pitino Memorial Bracket from the nomadic Julie Grundberg from Indiana, Chicago, Denver, Antarctica and Seattle to name a few options!!  Julie is a double-digit Hopski participant (this is her 11th Hopski) and this year - maybe THIS is her year.  It certainly has some serious potential!  Joining Julie in this Hopski salute is none other than Eric f'n Gates' entry of Boats n' Hoes.  Yes - that would be THE Eric Gates of Valparaiso, Indiana University and for the last 30 years, the Chicago Suburbs!!!  THE Eric Gates that has in a way spawned the Hopski as it was THE Eric Gates that fostered the young and naive Mark Hopper through his freshman year of college at IU - instilling in me priorities such as basketball, music, alcohol and wearing sweatpants all of the time!  Dare I say that looking back on the past couple of weeks - only alcohol seems to be missing (not entirely of course!) from my day to day life these days!


THE LEADERBOARD

Nothing speaks like the podium of the bracket and as in many of years past, that highest on the podium after the first weekend will likely only be moving downward.  Docent Darling Returns (from the desert) - Terry Kenney of ......... (those dots are me searching linked in) - oh my - San Francisco!!  Oh my - the whole Kenney clan lives out here (we need a Hopski party!)......Yes - DDR (from the desert) from Terry Kenney (an independent museums and institutions professional clearly violating all kinds of cultural norms in his profession by participating in this madness) is leading the Hopski with a whopping 42 underdog points (leading that category too) but unfortunately for Terry, he went with the Virginia squad to win it all and faces a hard slog to remain in contention this year.  Alas - for a weekend though - he was the King!!  **On a side note - anyone with any idea on that entry name origin?!  Fill me in - ok?!

There is a 3 way tie for the 2nd spot on the Hopski podium coming out of turn number two this year.....2 of them (Lock Sean Miller Up from Ryan Fazio of NYC, a trader at the Noble Group and The Unpredictable Kim Jong Nofe from Round 1 leader Mark Noferi) have a shot at sticking around for awhile as both have potential scores in the upper 100s and that appears to be the target number at this point for winning this year's Hopski.  Nofe is one of just a few entries picking Kansas to win it all - with a Michigan runner-up no less.  That combo is just unique enough to win this thing.  Joining them on the podium for this one brief moment is 50 Fades of Grayson from fellow '89 Hoosier Grad Matt Powell of Cincinnati!!  Matty P


THE TOILET BOWL

There is a battle at the bottom for now between Where for art thou Romeo (from the King, Darin Townsend right out of A-Town, Anderson, Indiana - one of my college roommates) and Slick Rick's Adidas Escort Service (from David Lowery), however, each of them have their champion picks still alive and thus, their toilet bowl visit is likely not to last.  In fact, let's just say that a LOT is riding on the Purdue vs Texas Tech match-up for Iona Gaels (Kyle Cody) and A Bracket Just Begets More Brackets (The Commish)............irony of all ironies in that I will be rooting for the Boilermakers!


THE HOPSKI SECOND CHANCE DANCE (SWEET 16 POOL)

Get your entries in by tip-off on Thursday night in order to enter the Hopski 2nd Chance Dance!  Entry is FREE due to your main pool entry (paid!) and there is a 5% prize to the winnahhhh!!!


ETC...  ETC....

The Hopski field favorite - Villanova - has survived this bizarre 2 rounds of high seed slaughter - giving the 36 entries picking them to win it all some hope!!

On a side note - something rather unusual in itself - only 23 entries picked the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks to win the Midwest Region, instead picking #2 seed Michigan St (64 entries) and #3 Duke (57 entries).  Just an oddity - basically no one wanted to pick all #1 seeds and Kansas and Xavier were the odd teams out in that respect (only 20 entries picked Xavier into the Final Four!).  

An even BIGGER shock than UMBC!

Yes - the 2nd round report is DELAYED DUE TO WORK and other life responsibilities!!

Hoping to find time tonight (Tuesday) or definitely Wednesday for a proper update.

In the meantime - make it easier on me and get your payment in if you have not already done so.

Further, the Hopski 2nd Chance Sweet 16 Dance is up and running - entry is covered by your entry into the main pool and there is a 5% prize to the winner!

Enter the 2nd Chance Dance here!  Deadline is 1st game on Thursday night (about 6pm EST I think)!

Back to you soon!

Where to start............simply in a state of shock!

Baltimore...................

whose Hopski fame basically amounted to entry names and quotes from The Wire.........

who would have believed it.......maybe THIS guy..........nah.....

a reminder of why this great game of basketball and March Madness in particular are so loved......

Ah heck - we should have seen this coming, after all, this is.......

Finally it has happened - UMBC (aka University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers - yep - had to look that one up during the game) 

- pulled off the upset of all upsets tonight - a #16 seed taking out a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  A historic first since the field went to 64 teams in 1985 - with 135 teams over 33 years falling short of what UMBC accomplished tonight!!  WOWOWOWOW!

Kudos to the UMBC team and Coach Odom (who in a bizarre twist was once a Virginia ballboy)......

Well - there were 4 entries in this year's Hopski picking a #16 seed - however none of them picked UMBC - so the Hopski field went a collective 0 - 148 on this monstrous upset.

The 1st round is complete and out of 32 games, 9 were upsets, 3 though were barely that - being 9s over 8s.  In addition to the UMBC victory, 2 #13 seeds were victorious as well as two 11 seeds.  A pretty crazy 1st 2 days giving the opportunity for a maximum of 49 underdog bonus points to the Hopski field of 148.  Two entrants picked up pool high totals of 34 underdog points - our leader and 2008 Champion - Nofe Disclosure Agreement (NYC immigration lawyer Mark Noferi - fresh off a cerebral angiogram, a matter which is still under review by the Hopski Anti-Doping Council as it has led the Nofe to a 1st place spot for the moment) and I'm A Rambling Man (ex-Warsaw expat/hooper and suburban Chicago teacher Bill Lyon).  At the other end of the spectrum - and maybe they just did not read the rules, were three entries that managed just 2 underdog points over the past two days (you know who you are).

Back the 1st place Noferious entry...a serious Hopski shout out not only for leading the pack after the first two days, but more importantly for a very speedy fix of your brain (Mark was recently diagnosed with a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) - basically a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain.  This may lead to invasive surgery soon - but however it is treated - may it be successful as we need more lawyers (geesh - do not quote me on JUST those 4 words) and people like you dealing at the forefront of the immigration solution!

GET WELL NOFE!!

The other big 9 bonus point upsets in the first round were more fortuitous for some of the Hopski field as 13 entries picked Buffalo's upset of Arizona while 28 picked Marshall's win over Wichita St.......boy we'll miss her expletive filled support for hubby Gregg and Wichita st...."won't we"......  

BOTH of these 9 pointers were picked by of course our two underdog point leaders mentioned previously as well as the Humpty Dumpty entry from Peter Davinci (guessing at the name based upon email address as only Peter was giving - well done whomever you are though!)

A LOT of brackets have been blown apart and virtually eliminated from Hopski contention as 28 entries have already lost their picked champion (Arizona or Virginia).  Ooops!!  Don't worry - the 2nd Chance Dance Sweet 16 Pool will give you new life and a shot at some prize money starting Monday (entry included in the $30 you should have already paid by now).

A few other 1st round notables....Fear the Fork (Joey Wagoner - famed son of my college roommate Jeff Wagoner and even more famous for a pic I saw this year of his date in each hand toga party) and Bruce Pearl Necklace (Dylan McGuill) both picked 26 of the 32 1st round winners.  On the other hand, Justin Robinson for Prez from Chris Maloney had the low pick % at just 14!  And bringing up the rear is Slick Rick's Adidas Escort Service from David Lowery with just 19 total points - though he still has his champion pick (Duke......really?!).


It is getting late here but more to say......it will have to wait though.  Cinderellas are only "crowned" if they get to the Sweet 16 - so Marshall, Buffalo and UMBC still have some work to do - but man - it would be quite cool to have a Buffalo vs UMBC match-up in the Sweet 16!!!  BTW - only 5 entries have either Buffalo or Marshall picked into the Sweet 16 and just one - our favorite Ramblin Man Bill Lyon - has BOTH picked!!  Good luck on that one!!

Adios-

   

The Madness Has Begun!!!

The 20th Annual Hopski International March Madness Pool is off and running, with 148 entries this year from 117 entrants (quite a few hedgers out there!)!  Who has the warning signs??!!  They are running rampant here in The Hopski's Palo Alto HQ.  I have to say that without a doubt, watching games from 9:30am until 9:30pm beats the the heck out of the European all-nighters!!

Day 1 is at the halfway point and there was some excitement but just a single bonus point upset!

Thank you Donte Ingram of Loyola of Chicago!!!  He drained a 3 with .3 seconds remaining to give the Ramblers the first upset of the tournament over Miami (FL)!  These 5 bonus points were not exactly an upset within the Hopski as 110 entries picked Loyola to deliver the goods (we really need to put some thought into altering the scoring for next year - creating a bit more risk to picking a bunch of 1st round upsets......anyone with ideas please offer them up!!).

Despite some very close games for #4 Gonzaga and #5 Ohio State - the seeds won 7 out of 8 so far today.........yawn!!!

17 entries have gone 8 for 8 today - just 11.5%!!!!!  How quickly the "perfect brackets" are blemished!!

16 different teams have been picked to cut down the nets on April 2nd this year - a very big number (dare I say Hopski record).  Leading the pack are Villanova (36), Michigan St (26) and Virginia (25) - all #1 seeds - but only 3 entries picked the 4th #1 - Xavier.  Surprisingly (to me atleast) - Duke was picked 20 times.  To see the full list, click on Report, Champions Summary.

Here's hoping for a few upsets in the 2nd half of today's games.  I will be watching my daughter's game at 6pm and then out to a bar for the last games of the day - so an end of Day 1 update (at least for the standings) will be posted near 11pm PST!

2017 Hopski Best Entry Name.....ahem

In the category of Better Late Than Never.......

The 2017 Hopski Best Entry Name goes to.........

A BRACKET HAS NO NAME!!!!!

YES, Joshua Bailey of NYC and Columbia University has been named the winner after much (and I mean MUCH given it has been almost a year!) deliberation.  His reference to GOT was a great mash-up of hoops and pop culture (wait - did GOT finish??!!).

Strong honorable mention (e.g. others receiving votes) goes to Final Fourgasm (Susan Eslick of Denver, Chicago and Indiana U fame!), I Grabbed Her By The Krzyczewski (Richard Rykhus), 3-5 Million Illegal Picks (Shy Kenney) and Win or Lose I Do Not Live in Iowa (Kyle Becker of Iowa.....just kidding!)!!

Get creative on this year's entry names (really - do not use the same one over and over year after year!!!) and less than 24 hours until March Madness REALLY tips off!!!

Enjoy!

**Joshua - btw - free entry into this year's Hopski!

Let's Get The Formalities Out of the Way (Hopski rules)

The kick-off of the 20th Hopski International March Madness Pool is about 24 hours away, depending upon how busy of a Sunday it is here skiing in Squaw Valley :)

Some basics and the rules:

The website address is the same as it is every year (yet I always receive anxious emails during Championship Week of "hey, I have a new email this year.  Are you still going to do the Hopski this year?"), so simply click here:  HOPSKI INTERNATIONAL POOL WEBSITE after the pairings are announced and create your entry any time up until this coming Thursday at 12:30 EST.

Scoring rules have not changed as there is something to be said for tradition and aside from that - turbo tourney is not so flexible.......

The entry fee this year has been bumped to $30!!  More importantly, so we can all feel somewhat productive or contributory as a result of this Madness of March, $5 of each entry fee will go to Great Lakes Outreach, a charity close to the Hopski heart that is working to build a better Burundi.  If the $5 seems paltry - GREAT!!  Click link to go to the Great Lakes Outreach and make a proper (tax deductible and more than $30-) donation and your Hopski entry will be FREE (just let me know about it!).  Nothing like a bit of ingenuity towards making your Hopski participation tax deductible!!!

If not feeling generous to GLO - not a problem of course!!  Payment of $30 USD (yes - USD and not PLN Igor!) should be made as a "PAYMENT TO A FRIEND OR FAMILY" via PAYPAL.  This is NOT an option for rookies beyond this Thursday midnight EST.  For returning Hopski participants, a 3 day grace period is all that will be accepted - next Sunday Midnight!  NOTE, it is well appreciated if you just make payment along with your entry and do not pull a Mark Iantosca or Brandon Snow on me and force me to send rabid emails for the next 3 weeks to get you to pull the trigger on a $30 payment!!  PLN and EURO options exist - just contact me privately.


Good Dancing.......

The Commish


**Here are the full rules of The Hopski

OFFICIAL RULES

1. HOW TO ENTER: Entries will be accepted by internet (PREFERRED) OR email through the start of the first tournament game, at 12:30 PM EST 15th March 2018.  A fully completed entry will include selections of the winners of all 63 games main bracket games (WE ARE IGNORING THE FIRST FOUR - MEANING YOU MAY WISH TO ENTER AFTER THEY ARE PLAYED SO AS TO DECIDE IF YOU WISH TO PICK THE WINNER OR NOT) as well as a prediction of the total combined points of the two teams in the championship game.  In each round after the first round, the selected winning team must have been chosen as a winning team in prior rounds (e.g. you cannot pick a first round upset and then pick the predicted losing team to win in a later round);

2. ENTRY NAME:  Please provide a fun name for your entry, aside from picking the #13 seed to win it all this is your best chance to enamor the field with your wit, charm and creativity.  Best entry name as voted on by pool entrants gets free entry next year to the Hopski.

3. ENTRY FORM:  PLEASE enter directly on the website, however, any bracketed form is acceptable if received before the deadline.

4. ENTRY FEE & PRIZE POOL:  An entry fee of $30 USD is required for each entry.  Prize Pool is split 60% to the winner, 25% to 2nd place, 10% to 3rd place and 5% for the 2nd chance pool.  $5 of each entry will go as an anonymous donation to Great Lakes Outreach.  Prize pool is 100% of collected entry fees less the Toilet Bowl and Best Entry Name and $29 for software and hosting (NOTHING FOR THE COMMISH - THE "LOVE OF THE POOL" CLAUSE).

5. PAYMENT REQUIRED BY THIS THURSDAY 9PM EST if you are a rookie or an unknown commodity to me!!  If your payment is not received, you will be booted out of the pool - NO EXCEPTIONS.  ALL RETURNING HOPSKI PARTICIPANTS get a 3 day grace period – so payment BY SUNDAY NIGHT!

6. USD ONLY PAYMENTS TO A FRIEND OR FAMILY VIA PAYPAL (WWW.PAYPAL.COM) using markhopski@gmail.com.  DO NOT REFERENCE ANYTHING RELATED TO MARCH MADNESS OR THIS POOL OR PAYPAL WILL SHUT ME DOWN!!!  JUST SIMPLY YOUR NAME as reference point and ensure $30 NET to the recipient - DON'T SHORT THE POOL!). I can also provide a PLN OR EURO account details for bank transfers (when will the US join the world in inexpensive bank to bank transfers, I ASK YOU?!). 

7. SCORING:  Scoring will be calculated on the following basis for each entry:

First round (32 games) 1 point per correct pick; Second round (16 games) 3 points per correct pick; Regionals (8 games) 5 points per pick; Regional Final (4 games) 9 points per pick; Final Four (2 games) 17 points per pick; Championship 30 points for picking the winner;  MAX regular points is 220.

8. CINDERELLA BONUS POINTS:  This will be a VERY wide open year I think.  Ensure that you do not miss out on bonus points and pick a few upsets!!  Bonus points will be awarded for each victory by a team which has a lower seed than the team it defeats.  For example, say a #14 seed defeats a #3 seed:  the entry correctly forecasting this upset will receive 11 bonus points!  These bonus points are awarded for EACH VICTORY by a team with a lower seeding than the team which it defeats.  The bonus point system should make it more interesting for people to pick upsets AND be properly rewarded!!!  Examples of how this works:

Round 1:         #5 Purdue vs #12 Harvard -- John Doe picks Harvard

Harvard wins, John Doe would get points for underdog bonus.

Round 1:         #4 Tennessee vs #13 Colorado -- John Doe picks Colorado,

Tennessee wins, John Doe gets no points

Round 2:         Matchup is #12 Harvard vs #4 Tennessee

John Doe picked #12 Harvard over #13 Colorado.

THERE IS NO UNDERDOG RISK IN THIS GAME. HE IS PICKING A HIGHER SEEDED TEAM ON HIS SHEET therefore even if Harvard beats Tennessee, John Doe will get no underdog bonus points.

9. THE TOILET BOWL AWARD:  You can even win by losing!  The entry with the lowest point total receives free entry in next year's Hopski.

10.  SECOND CHANCE POOL!!  Included within your main pool entry fee is free entry into the 2nd Chance Pool as from the Round of 16.  Details will be on the website and you must enter by Thursday the 22nd at 6pm EST to be eligible!!

11.  ALL DECISIONS OF THE COMMISSIONERS OFFICE ARE FINAL.  I CAN AND WILL BOOT ENTRIES NOT ADHERING TO THE MADNESS CODE OF HONOR (E.G. TRY AND WIN!!).

The 20th Annual Hopski International March Madness Pool......seriously?!

Against my common sense, The Hopski is back again for 2018!

This will be its 20th year and I hope that I am closing in on that 10,000 hour "expertise" as if not, this Madness must end soon!

Being the 20th Anniversary of The Hopski and considering that China is heavy and not big on my list of preferred gifts, I am planning a first...........

A $5 increase to the entry fee, an increase that will 100% go to support Great Lakes Outreach, a charity (if you did not already know this - then clearly you should read my updates once in awhile!!) for the betterment of Burundi that is run by a good friend of mine, Simon Guillebaud.  

If $5 seems paltry - outstanding!!!  Go straight to the GLO website and make a proper (tax deductible) donation and your Hopski entry will be FREE (just let me know about it!).  Nothing like a bit of ingenuity towards making your Hopski participation tax deductible!!!

I trust this will not sway your enthusiasm for the Hopski as we enter a March that promises to be madder and more wide open than ever!!

The website will be up and running in a week's time - 

PREPARE!!!


**Maybe this is your year for the Hopski Hall of Fame!