Without further adieu......... FINALLY a HOPSKI UPDATE

                                                               

Yes - even my Mom has been chasing me this week for pool updates (I Wanna Win - Donna Percy, Peru, IN resident but currently snow-birding in Florida)..

What can I say - it has been a busy week for the Commish and yes, this is just terribly in arrears.  A few excuses first................   

obviously DEPRESSION!!

A lot of coaching......

Just a lot of stuff........

WE ALL HAVE THAT THOUGH - SO.......   on to THE HOPSKI!!!

Hopski veterans know that the key to the first weekend is simply SURVIVE AND ADVANCE!  Keep you Champion and your Final Four relatively intact and HOPE SPRINGS!  At this point, 94 entries have done just that with their Champion Pick alive and well and barring some bizarro world outcome, one of those 94 should take this year's Hopski title.

That said, if you cannot win it - atleast get a shout out and we will start at the top of the leaderboard with CantReadCantWriteKentSt#2 from the youngest of the Iantoscas in the Hopski - David (Richmond grad and Chicago resident working now at Aurora Organic Dairy and most importantly - the proud father of two daughters!!).  David racked up 29 underdog points alongside picking a pool leading 11 of the Sweet 16 teams to give him 81 points and the top spot on the podium.  Unfortunately half of his Final Four is gone - but picking UCLA to take the title gives him a shot!!

Trailing by 4 is the Guinness & Whip Cream entry from Joe (-y for me) "Brackets" Wagoner!!  Joe has been in the Hopski since he was out of diapers and the experience is paying off this year!  He is the son of one of my college roommate Jeff Wagoner and an Arizona State grad living in Scottsdale.  This 2nd place spot may be short lived due to the Marquette pick to take it all - but none the less, he is a contendahhhhhh!!!

Joey's entry name inspiration - none other than my roommate (and his Dad) - Wags!

Rounding out the podium positions and in 3rd place is Silicon Banking It Into the Valley from David Lowery!  Despite being a long-time Hopski participant, I do not actually have any background on David - though I am guessing Ted Schulz brought him into the Hopski and David is based in the Atlanta GA area an an Alabama grad.  The Alabama connection is certainly giving him an edge from the podium as they look as good as anyone to win this right now!

At the other end of the spectrum.......

Linda Genty's (Andersen Budi alum from Take Me Home W. Virginia and now North Chicago resident) U who?  WVU, UMiami, UK, IU is taking the flush to a new level this year!!

A motherload indeed!!!  Linda is leaving nothing to chance as she has practically wrapped up the 2023 TOILET BOWL victory before we play a Sweet 16 game!!  Uncanny her ability this year to pick the wrong horse.  This was no strategy of underdogs either (20 first round picks - but only 3 dawg points), just plain old bad luck!  Linda has just 2 picks in the Sweet 16 and only 1 of her Elite 8 alive (forget about the Final Four!).  As a result, there are only 2 entries remaining that can challenge her for this year's Toilet Bowl title at this point!

Well - the allure (or applied analytics) of underdog points combined with some pretty big upsets has led us to the lowest correct pick % in the history of the Hopski!!  A paltry average of 19.5 out of 32!!  60.94%!!  AWFUL!!!!  Seriously??  We may have to make some scoring adjustments for 2024 to get back to the basics (suggestions appreciated and yes - Jack Bell - your idea from a few years ago needs serious consideration before 2024!!).  Just putting everyone on notice and please email me any ideas! 

Saving us from an even lower mark - Kudos to our top picker in Round 1 - Andrew Funk The Aggies from Logan Jeffries!  Logan picked 27 of the 32 1st round games but unfortunately not the BIG upsets.  Still - a 2 winner margin over victory over a few entries that picked 25!  Logan remains near the top for picking % at 73%, but the Most Accurate Picks Leader is Big Ten March Sadness from the Sloth himself, Tom Utroske (Indiana alum, Chicago resident and the glue to our occasional IU tailgate parties!).

GO SLOTH GO!!

Some real slackers out there in terms of entry names...... I suppose MAYBE you could not figure that one out as being the DISPLAY name.   As a result, the Entry Name Committee flagged these entries and gave them some help 

                                    

In case you cannot find your self-marking named entry:  Lance Rantala (Ranting & Raving), Joe Kozlak (Amsterdam Flyer), Bill Carey (Andy Palko (Flounder), Ashley Gift (The Gift That Keeps On Giving), Brian Gift (A Gift Too Far), Darren Kenney (A Trojan No More, Go UCLA!), James Keeley (Shaka, Shaka, Boom, Boom), James Rohn (Sampson's Got Game), Kelly Peterson (J Peterman's Favorite Shirt), William Hardy (Hoosiers..... Hardy Har Har), Victor Szczerba (Shaka's Best Friend)

You are welcome and PLEASE - A BIT MORE EFFORT NEXT YEAR!!!

This post has kept me somewhat challenged (along with harassment from the AIRBNB host from 2 weekends ago in AZ that did not like my review) this morning and now afternoon - so I gotta go!  I am 3 1/2 hours from my Greene Jaguars 6th grade girls team tipping off a semi-final match against local rival Fletcher!  We lost in the regular season but are ready for this Survive & Advance Rematch!!!

Adios!!

Alive and Kicking!

Writing this on my phone after waking up at 4am wondering how my girls team will attack a team we were down 22-0 at the half this morning, before losing 27-15 IF we get a rematch in the final in 7 hours!  

But you know, the more I watch the video the more I think we can beat them!

Thus, this weekend has obviously not been conducive to blogging about March Madness or even watching March Madness but ohhhhh there is sooooo much to discuss!

What a great Friday it was to be a Hoosier ( or anything not associated with Purdue!!).   We were near the end of a 4 hour drive to Pismo Beach for this club tournament when I veered off the highway and into the first building that looked like it had a tv in order to catch the final 5 minutes of the FDU upset over Purdue!   Luckily the pizza place had good pizza and a quick acting employee who got the game on for my girls and I!   I just said (probably with much more urgency than necessary) “history is happening now and we need to see it!”!

Lo and behold FDU delivered and the three of us saw the second #16 upset of a #1 in a pizza place (yes - same situation when Virginia went down 5 years ago!!).  This one though, as it was Purwho, was soooooo much better!!!!

I need to get some sleep   Just wanted to touch base and apologize for other priorities this weekend but the Hopski blog will return in proper form very soon!!

Adios from rainy Pismo Beach!!

The Commish

The Hopski is LIVE and Dancing

2023 March Madness is off and running, well that is unless you are from Virginia as BOTH West Virginia and Virginia have been sent packing early.... along with this year's first bracket busted entry:  Kamran Koochekzadeh's Long Live Spartacus!  That was about all of 2 hours of Hopski madness Kamran - but have no fear, the Hopski 2nd Chance Dance is but 4 days away!

22:05 EST UPDATE:  Had to update this after being away this afternoon coaching and missed last minute of Princeton's upset of Arizona!!  Wow - seriously??  A great win for the Tigers - aka best since 1996 for sure (outing defending champ UCLA in Indy with me on the 6th row in tears!).

8 Entries gained Princeton's 13 point bonus gift - Hopski kudos to each:

AarUpThere (Aaron Jackson)

Better Call Ball, Bing Bang Ow AND Charles Barkley is FAT (Bill Doran with a HAT TRICK!!!)

King Slayer (Keir Novesky)

Running REBel #1 (Palo Alto's Rob Babcock)

Shead Show (Peter Pell - need to check and see if he and Keir are entering off of the same tip site again!)

Meanwhile - 61 entries picked AZ into the Championship game and 11 lucky entrants took an extra 2 hours to join Kamran in the Busted Bracket scrapheap!!

V

So - kudos to the Furman Paladins and JP Pegues for delivering 52 of this year's 139 Hopski entries 9 underdog bonus points with the upset.

If you are receiving this but did not enter this year - no worries - I will update mail chimp late tonight or Friday morning with this year entrants.  On this note though - seriously - TOO BUSY TO JOIN THE HOPSKI???

INDEED YOU ARE!!!  Better luck with that schedule next year Carole!

As mentioned, we have 139 entries but I have not yet received 139 payments and/or confirmations of donation made to Polish Humanitarian Action!  Thus, get those payments in NOW!!  The entry fee remains at $30!! Payment via paypal (markhopski@yahoo.com), venmo (@Mark-Hopper-27) or zelle (3175233988).

I should be able to get an update out Friday morning before heading to PISMO beach

for a hoops tournament this weekend and coaching my daughters' team, so be patient with the Commish this weekend as heck, I am just hoping to be able to watch a few games, let alone post cleverish updates!!  Unfortunately - Pismo will not be resembling the photo this weekend as it is supposed to be around 50 degrees and potential for rain - ugh!!!

Enjoy the games and the Hopski!

The 24th Hopski International Pool is up and running - GET YOUR ENTRY IN!!

Greetings from PHX airport where the Commish is delayed returning to the marshlands of SF Bay due to yet another atmospheric river dumping on California!  

Thus, this announcement will be relatively short and sweet to let you know the 2023 Hopski International March Madness Pool is active and accepting entries.

2022 entrants should have received an invite email from RunYourPool, but accept this as your 2nd (and personal) invite.   Please also feel free to forward this on to friends, family and anyone who will add to the color and pageantry of the Hopski!

To enter this year’s Hopski International Pool, click here for link!

Rules and scoring are viewable on the RunYourPool website, but if need me I am also available for questions via email at markhopski@yahoo.com.  A quick note in this respect, NOTHING HAS CHANGED this year from the past 23 years!!!

Good luck to all entrants and to all teams (expect FURDUE!) - looking forward to some great fun these next few weeks as not only will my family’s eyes be glued to the IU games - we’re also very excited about the women’s tournament and reservations are made for Dallas in hopes of seeing the IU women play in the Final Four.  Unfortunately the reservations for seeing them in Seattle had to be cancelled due to some bad luck in the draw!

All the best-

The Commish

2023 Hopski

 Just a quick post from the IU Roommates & Friends Annual AZ Golf Trip as hosted by Jeff “Big Wags” Wagoner…..

The 2023 Hopski will be ready to roll next week!!!

Prepare yourself!!

The Commish

Hopski is Back, Just in Time to Say Goodbye!

 It is hard to remember when my Spring Break used to be like this:

When now it is like this:

Yep - that is me in the back, or in the case of the Harry Potter VR thing at Universal - with my eyes wide CLOSED!      That is really a shame......but.....

That though is neither here nor there as for the 2nd year in a row, The Commish was AWOL Championship week, out spending Hopski money like.......

errrr, Hopper money that would be - thanks for everyone's patience again this year - ESPECIALLY those owed HOPSKI money!!!

I only received a couple of calls like that though (thank you Tom Wojt - once again a big winner in our annual Big 10 vs Big 12 bet!)!

CONGRATS TO THE 2022 HOPSKI CHAMPION:

UDAMAN from Mike Ching

Mike is a 20 year veteran of the Hopski, previously serving podium time in 2011 when he took home the Silver Medal!  Aside from picking the Jayhawks championship, Ron racked up 43 underdog points - which were the difference makers vs the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place entrants.  A bulk of those points came from his picking the #11 seed duos of Michigan and Iowa State into the Sweet 16!  Mike is the EY OMP in Honolulu, a life-long Broncos fan (and season ticket holder!) and a graduate of Santa Clara.  When contacted on the beach in Honolulu, Mike said:  "I'll just say that I'm honored to finally be a Hopski champion!!  Having gotten close once before.....2nd sucks, so I am very glad the Jayhawks came through!!  I think I first joined the Hopski 20 years ago, so this would mean that the Hopski has been in my life for 40% of my years on this earth....longer than I've known my kids.  That said, this year also makes my 20 year anniversary with the better half, so glad I've got some coin for the big anniversary gift!!  

KUDOS TO THE 2022 HOPSKI RUNNER-UP.....

FAB 5 FINGERS from CHRIS KINKELA

Chris is another Hopski veteran, now reaching the podium for the first time in his 9th year, besting his 7th place finish in 2016!  Chris also won the 2016 2nd Chance Dance with the unforgettable Rock "U" Like A Patrick Kane entry.  Chris is now killing the Real Estate game, side by side with his wife Silvia, in the Central Florida market.  He is a proud Graduate from Central Michigan University- FIRE UP CHIPS, but roots for The Fab Five Finger Slapping Juwan Howard coached Michigan Wolverines in hoops. When he's not watching college hoops, Chris coaches his son's 5/6yr old baseball team and helps as a prop dad for his two daughters' competitive dance team.  He's also famous for getting blocked by multiple athletes on twitter, most notably Arkansas Football Coach Sam Pittman.

Rounding out the podium, 3rd Place Goes to......

It's Late, It's Tate, It's Great from Don King!!

No - not THAT one, THIS ONE.......

Don is a Hopski rookie lives in Rocky Hill, CT.  When not rooting on UConn hoopsters and the Mets (yes - he is an acknowledged METS FAN!!), he works in IT at an Investment Management Company.  For pleasure, he enjoys spending time in the Caribbean (Pic is from Turks and Caicos).  

Don has graciously donated his 3rd place Hopski winnings ($325) to the Polish Humanitarian Action Fund for their continued support of Ukrainian refugees - A HUGE THANKS DON!!!

That rounds out the podium and on to the Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Champion....

Mathurin Child Reunion from Peter Pell takes the 2022 Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Trophy with 144 points, edging out Ted Schulz's Always Believe entry (had to give Ted a shout-out as he was SOOOOO CLOSE this year in both the main pool and the 2nd Chance Dance to some Hopski $$$$ after 20+ years!!!!!).

Peter is the defending Best Entry Name winner from 2021 (No Suggs in the Champagne Room!) and the runner-up in the main Hopski Pool in both 2017 and 2019 (by tiebreaker).  Thus, Peter is one Hopski Toilet Bowl victory away from covering all possible means of victory in the Hopski (Jack - what can we call that??!!).  Peter lives in Long Island (for those of us not familiar with NYC - that would be EAST of NYC he points out!) with his wife and 2 kids and of course a golden retriever.  Peter also has asked that 1/2 of his 2nd Chance Dance winnings also be contributed to the Polish Humanitarian Action Fund - AWESOME - THANK PETER!!!!

Speaking of the Best Entry Name.....

The 2022 Best Entry Name goes to 

Shooter McGavin's Breakfast from rookie Mark Horgan!  I have zero info on Mark - not even sure who intro'd him to the Hopski, but I like the creativity (or atleast his mail-in campaign voters did!!).  Mark can now look forward to free entry in the 2023 Hopski!!

Also receiving votes:

Fab 5 Finger Slap & LONGWOOD....not big enough for the moment (Chris Kinkela)

Put on Your Red Shoes and Dance! (Michelle Johnson)

More Beef Than Kanye and Pete (Bill LaFever)

It's Late, It's Tate, It's Great! (Don King)

I Smell Putin Over Here (David Miller)

Bored Hoosier Yacht Club (Matt Powell)

Big Ol Tytys (Peter Pell)

The Hopski would not be complete without a TOILET BOWL CHAMPION...

This year's winner is long-time (20 years + as well!!) Hopski entrant Julie Grundberg and Play-in Game??  Julie managed to clock just 44 points this year, picking at a 38.1% rate, to just edge out former Hopski Champion Mark Conlon's BUILD BrACKet BETTER!  Julie was the 2019 Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Champion - so she has to be "smellin'" the Podium in her future - certainly a better smell than her current spot :).  Julie is a Hoosier alum that I met in my Chicago days and now she lives in Seattle (I think I have that right!!).

Combining 26 entries with direct donations along with the additional contributions from winnings, that brings the grand total contribution to PAH in support of Ukrainian refugees to $3,768.24!!!  

*as a side note, I take no tax benefit from these donations - even the entry fees that I cover for your private donations - just sayin'!!  Full transparency here at Hopski HQ!

It is a pleasure to be associated with all of you and please continue to push for support of Ukraine in whatever means you have at your disposal!!!!

One last Poland/Ukraine tidbit - if you have 5 minutes - this article is something that I really enjoyed reading today.  A long-time friend, John Lynch wrote and put it out on smerconish.com over the weekend.  It is really amazing what Poland as a country and people are doing - makes me really happy (though feeling really too far removed) to be associated with a great country like Poland!!!

Keep well and have a great Hopski Off-season!  See you in 2023!!

The Commish

**Hopski history & analytics blog post will be circulated shortly this week after work fully attended!!

On Vacation Still!

 A Hopski Championship update will be coming next Monday!   Vacation is going well.  In the meantime a quick congratulations to the 2022 Champion Udaman from Mike Ching!!!!    I am sure that our newest champion appreciates Island (Vacation) time!!

A high recommendation for Hicksville Trailer Park in Joshua Tree btw!  Cool glamping!

Keep well!

The Commish