MICHIGAN TAKES THE TITLE!!!!!!
DAD TAKES DOWN SON TO WIN THE 2026 HOPSKI CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!
Click Clack Speedy's Back from Tom Wojt took the Hopski, driven by being the ONLY entry this year to pick both teams in the Championship Game! When contacted at his home office in Long Island, Wojt was somewhat somber - feeling a bit sad not for the beatdown of his son Tristan (who finished out of the $$$), but that Tristan will be off to college in the fall and this might be the last Championship Game the two of them take in together for some time (ever?). That nostalgia lasted about 15 seconds and Tom demanded his winnings (not really - but reads well!). Tom becomes the 23rd Hopski Champion (each has their own locker in the Hopski Hall of Champions - we don't go cheap and make them share like Augusta baby!!).
The Final Leaderboard of the 2026 Hopski
Before we get to any further discussions about the Hopski Podium Finishes - please note - your $5 donation per entry as well as the VERY GENEROUS DONATIONS have raised a total of $1,560 for the Polish Humanitarian Fund in their relief efforts for the Ukrainian Refugees. THANK YOU!!!!
BACK TO THE PODIUM!!!
Its Simple. I WIN. Google Me! from your Commish TOOK 2ND PLACE THIS YEAR and enabled a return to the podium and even a Top 10 finish for the first time since 2002 mind you!!
Hmmmm - something else happened in 2002.....
CORRELATION? CURSE?
We celebrated 2nd place with a 8.5 mile family hike on Tuesday, only to reach the summit at The Pinnacles State Park and bip - I get a text from our landlords notifying us they decided to move back into "our" place and we have to be out by June 30th. That was a bit of a jolt - anyway - back to the wonderful world of Zillow - DAMN!!! By the way (for those of you living in caves) - my entry name is from Cignetti's Presser upon being hired as IU's Football Coach 2 1/2 years ago and I absolutely love it. So much that I wear it!!!!
On to third place and lo and behold - we have a 2 Peat for A-Train (Aaron Weller, of Seymour Indiana and one of the dominant forces at the Indiana HPER building where we hooped daily back in the glorious Indiana U days!). A-Train has no explanation for the 3s - but did throw out a tidbit to Hopski fans that he was the still proud winner of the Everett Dean award in 1984 given to the outstanding HS basketball player each year at Salem HS.
Here is Aaron and his son in front of the Everett Dean statue at Indiana U.
FYI - Everett Dean was an all-american at IU, then coached at IU before leaving for Stanford, where he coached Stanford to the 1942 NCAA Championship (I did not know that - maybe there is a statue out here somewhere in Palo Alto!).
As we continue the path of Hopski oddities this year, we get to the Toilet Bowl Champion (last place).
It was a battle to the end (from the end could be more appropriate I guess) as Niparoo10 and Amy Kenney seemingly had a lock on what would have been a hard to believe (because she is trying) 3rd consecutive Hopski Toilet Bowl (we might have had to send her one from Hopski HQ for such a feat!). She was matched by dBar (Deb Baratz) and with both players out of winners before the final weekend - we had to wait for the Monday Night Tiebreaker to decide the outcome and Amy's hold on the Toilet Bowl was broken by WINNING the tiebreaker, leaving dBar this year's Toilet Bowl Champion!!!
Here's Deb - an Iowa Hawkeye alum and currently residing in NYC (she did not tell me where this pic was from but I would guess Italy or Spain maybe?).... Congrats on the Toilet Bowl and you get free entry next year!!
Deb's quote before Monday night's final game "Headbutters don't win championships. Big 10 Nation once again will get it done" came true (thankfully).
Backing up to the oddities comment - dBar not only "won" the Toilet Bowl but also took her first weekend knowledge and turned it around - WINNING the Hopski 2nd Chance Dance!!!! Congratulations Deb on something that has never been done before - finishing last in the main pool and winning the 2nd Chance Dance!!!
Last but not least let's announce this year's voting results for the BEST HOPSKI ENTRY NAME (which garners fame and a free entry for the 2027 Hopski).
Honorable mention goes to:
The Blind Squirrel (Mike Dorsey), Garbage In, Bracket Out (Bryan Mazlish), One Boozer After Another (Joe Seib), Next Year I'm Asking Gronk (Ron Genty) and Rags to Humrichous (Justin Lockhard - the defending champion) - but these entries were nudged out by a 2 vote margin by......
No New All-Time Hopski Records set this year - though 2015 Redux: Making it 6 in '26 (Stan Kwitnieski of Denver, CO) tied the record of 29 out of 32 1st round winners!
The final accounts for the 2026 Hopski
FINALLY - AN UPDATE OF OUR STATS - WITHIN WHICH THIS YEAR DID NOT REALLY STANDOUT TOO MUCH BUT IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR - YOU DESERVE FULL SERVICE SO HERE IT IS!!
It is late here at Hopski HQ and I apologize for the light blogging this year - but it was a surprising busy March Madness for the Commish!!
Bookmark the blog - that is always the easiest way to find the Hopski come March next year when against all common sense the Hopski will ride again!!
Adios!
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