CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY (& what should be a tear filled night for Boiler Pete!)

Indeed Championship Monday is upon us.......

UCONN VS FURDUE

And the good news is that both Kentucky (end of Calipari Era) and Purdue (end of season) can put their eclipse shades to use tonight and cover up their TEARS!!!!!

SO......  GO HUSKIES!!!!

On the other hand, that is basically rooting for this guy 

Lord Voldemart (He Who Must Not Be Named - being Mark Iantosca - requested lest we tarnish his image).

Back to the Hopski....

The Hopski Championship Comes Down to This:

In the blue UConn corner, none other than In Hube We Trust (Lord Voldemort, the primary antagonist in the Hopski Pool series of 20 years), sitting in the catbird seat with a UCONN victory.  Lord V took control of the Hopski by picking a Pool Leading 3 of the Final Four, missing out only on Alabama and gaining 7 BIG Dawg points from the NC State pick over Duke, moving him to the top of the picked UCONN group.  Joining the Dark Lord on the podium if the Huskies pull it off tonight will be Noferi's Irresistible (Mark Noferi, a 2 time Hopski Pool Champion (2008 & 2018), DC resident and will soon be featured in one of those before and after ads for a healthy lifestyle) and Babylon Chop Shop (Tom Wojt, another of the ex-Warsaw hoops crew, set to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively.  This is Tom's 24th Hopski and with a total of 42 entries - this could be his first podium finish - with his previous best being 8th (out of 30) in 1999.  Oddly - he has finished 78th 4 times!  Tom need the $ from this year as he has lost our annual Big 12 vs Big 10 bet (shockingly) at $25 per win and $50 per head to head match up!!

And just because I originally wrote this up thinking Emotional Damage! (Grant Quasha would finish 2nd if UConn wins (sorry - only a 4th place finish in reality but liked the write up and thus, sharing anyway), a 15 year Hopski vet referred to the Hopski by the Dark Lord when they worked together at Voldemort's Castle (also cannot refer to JP Morgan Chase and don't get me started on the repercussions if I even think of the unthinkable and try to drop a Dimon reference).  Grant lives in NYC with a full scale family of 4 + a dog.  The Emotional Damage entry name is homage to the meme of the guy slamming his shoe - pretty cool after I researched it but lacking hoops / March Madness tie-in!! 

On the other hand, should hell freeze over and the Boilers win tonight, none other than Shut Up and Drive (Melissa Rawlings, my youngest sister, Indy resident and Maui snowbird) will happily take the top spot and 3rd historical Top Ten finish (Matt Powell - seriously??  23 years and not a single top 10!!).  Melissa picked a pool-high 14 of the Sweet 16 this year to lead the "Purdue Pickers" into the Final.  In Hube We Trust (Lord Voldemort) and Baylor Boiler (Glen Gregory, former Warsaw expat and now living in Mexico with his bike and guitar) are set to tie for the Silver Medal if Purdue wins.  Coincidentally in its first year of existence, the tiebreaker change implemented in the offseason this year by the Hopski Committee whereby the earliest payment of entry will come into play and favor Baylor Boiler.  Thanks for the prompt payment Glen - even from Mexico - going the extra mile for the Hopski is always appreciated!

The Hopski 2nd Chance Dance Sweet 16 Pool is coming down to not 2 but 3 contenders for the title!!!  Skibidi Toiler Bowler (Dave Putts, longtime friend and entrepreneur living in Warsaw).  Whilst Duke and Illinois left him hanging in terms of an alumnus, he did not let his heart rule his Sweet 16 2nd Chance picks and will take the 2nd Chance Dance title if Purdue wins.  If UCONN wins though, we will hae a tie at the top between Addicted to Nofe (Mark Noferi) and Tosca1 #2 (David Iantosca, Lord Voldemart's younger and uncorrupted broker, the one most of us refer to as the "Good Iantosca"..... we say the same about you too Scott, and Angelo, and basically the entire clan except for The One.  As the Good Iantosca paid his entry fee in a timely fashion, along with NOFE, the 2nd tiebreaker of total points predicted in the championship game will settle the 2nd Chance Dance - with the Good Iantosca at 148 and Nofe at 152.

SOME HOPSKI STATS!

Generally a pretty average hopski in terms of average correct picks and Dawg points.  With 47 entries having picked UCONN to win, we do have a chance at the 3rd highest number of picked champions, whereas a Boiler win would put this year's pool below average.

FULL HOPSKI LEADERBOARD STANDINGS

LASTLY - LET ME BE CLEAR - REGARDLESS OF TONIGHT, 

PURDUE WILL STILL SUCK!!

(JUST 4X MORE THAN INDIANA INSTEAD OF 5!)

Welcome to the Hopski Final Four!!!

 

Yes - IN HUBIE WE TRUST (From the right honorable gentleman Mark Iantosca) is indeed secure in the #1 position as we enter the FINAL FOUR.  The podium is there for the taking by one of the most upstanding and reputable entrants the Hopski has ever had the privilege of hosting in this Pool, provided anyone but Purdue wins the Men's Final!  

Waiting in the wings in case Hell Freezes Over and Purdue wins.....

 

Shut Up and Drive (semi-retired lil' sis Melissa Rawlings of Indianapolis!) and Baylor Boiler (ex-Warsaw resident Glen Gregory - last seen nomadically wandering Mexico "with his suitcase, bike and guitar" but somehow having the wherewithal to get his picks in and contend for the Hopski Title!).  They are rooting respectively for the Boilers to beat UConn or Alabama in the Final.

To sum it up - either Purdue or Iantosca will win.......

The Hopski Sweet 16 2nd Chance Dance however is pretty wide open with 4 entries still in the running for that title.  Kudos to current leader "What Pick?  There Was No Pick (Rob Babcock, Palo Alto friend, golfer and UC Santa Barbara grad) with the inside track should Jim Valvano's ghost continue to guide NC State to the title!  If You Think UConn, Uconn (Peter Pell, main pool runner-up in 2017 and 2019 as well as the 2022 2nd Chance Dance Champion - Peter is a Long Island resident and perenial Hopski contendahhh) needds UConn to take down NCState, while Addicted to NOFE (Mark Noferi, DC immigration lawyer not just fully recovered but actually vastly improved from a big medical scare in 2018 - thank goodness as the Hopski would not be the same without the NOFE!!!).  Skibidi Toilet Bowler David Putts (friend, Duke/Illini alum and Warsaw entrepreneur) round out the contenders.

A special Hopski shout-out to MAZMAN (entry from Palo Alto friend, investor and assistant coach Bryan Mazlish) for a "special" achievement this year......

Probably not THE Unicorn he was looking for - but Mazman managed to be the only entry to go 0 for 8 on this year's Elite 8 - but he did avoid the Hopski Toilet Bowl!!

BEST ENTRY NAME - THIS WEEKEND IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO VOTE - SO PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR NOMINATION!!

Also wish to share that I had a great evening last night catching up with long-time friend and Hopski entrant Stan Kwitnieski (It Will Be A Bloodbath) in Boulder!  We played a lot of hoops in the Warsaw 90s and it was just like old times (well - we were not yelling at each other!) last night.   

Finally - this year's Hopski DOH Award Goes to none other than The Commish AND it is FINAL FOUR related!

My favorite points credit card (BILT - and if you rent as I still do - THIS IS A MUST CARD - email me for more info!) has big "rent day" promos on the 1st of each month and March 1st was March Madness with lower level Regional and Final Four tickets available at less than face value.  So - boom - I was clicking away on March 1st at 10am and nabbed 2 Detroit regional tickets (ever optimistic Hoosier that I am) as well as 2 for the Men's Championship game in PHX all lower level.  I was pumped, though returned the DET tickets once IU was out.  So earlier this week they sent me the Final Four tix.  I had already bought my flight as well as arranged to golf and go to the Final with Right Lane Wags (Jeff Wagoner, my roommate from IU, PHX resident and all around good guy unless he is driving!).  However, upon actually looking what I bought they were for the semi-finals and not the final - DOH!  As we (Aerospace Engineering Barbie - my graduating senior Natalia) are finishing up college visits, I had no means to get there in time - ARGHHHHH!  SO - SORRY WAGS!   Tickets ended up going to Jon Rogowski - a Purdue friend that is enjoying PHX as I type!

Enjoy the Final Four weekend (Men's and Women's)!!  And oh BTW - that offensive foul call against UCONN at the end of their semi-final loss was sooooooooo wrong at that time.  Really unfortunate to take away their chance on that one.  Officials blew it!!!

THE COMMISH (reporting live from the Denver airport!)

Don't Be So Gullible McIantosca!

Let's start with a simple request.....

THIS IS THE HOPSKI!  

For 25 years (well less - as blog started recently and back in the day it was just an email chain), anyway - the Commish has attempted to provide SATIRICAL UPDATES of the Hopski International March Madness Pool that typically point out the fallacies of its participants prognostications and also, occasionally lauds their accomplishments therein!!  Any such commentary is not dished out with the intention of attacking any entrant

If One is sensitive in respect of said SATIRICAL commentary.....

IF there are any entrants who understand otherwise......

In a follow-up to today's earlier blog post whereby two entries were in a HOPSKI FIRST booted from the POOL in an attempt to rally an entrant to make payment (which was a bit more direct than such casual attempts made to said entrant in each of the 2001 through 2023 Hopskis - which in fact did result in eventual payment in each of those years), please note.....

The Final Four preview is expected to go out possibly early Saturday morning per the Commissioner’s Office (currently in Boulder but returning to PA Saturday midday).

In the meantime - PLEASE take the time to submit to The Commish by either email or posting on the RYP Hopski Pool website YOUR VOTE FOR BEST ENTRY NAME THIS YEAR!

The Commish

 

What's That Sign Say Mr. Iantosca??!!

Rules are Rules

MOST, like Spicoli, learn this at a young age.

This was covered again in Caddyshack

For "our generation" of most Hopski participants, we live a moral life within the confines of these well known rules that were delivered to us in our formative years by such classic memorable films (and I am ignoring Porky's, the entirety of the Bill Murray collection and many, many other 80s and early 90s films of this genre).

I say most of us Hopski participants as one entrant in particular has flaunted the rules of the Hopski (and any other participation in which money or fees are involved) for well over 20 years now and unfortunately, the Hopski Rules Committee has reached a decision to step in now lest such vulgar activity continue to go unchecked.

Thus, after careful deliberation by the Hopski Rules Committee over the past few days, we regret to inform the pool that IN HUBIE WE TRUST (entry of former Warsaw Expat and point guard to the Commish as well as a Richmond/UNC grad - now a high ranking "original reference to place of employment deleted to protect the guilt by association innocents" in NYC) as well as a 2nd entry, THE RUSSIAN JUDGE, have been removed from the pool.  We are releasing this information as quickly as possible to the Hopski Pool Community, noting that a full pre-FINAL FOUR update is pending from the Commish.

 (Mr. Iantosca, aka The Delinquent)

 

(Mr. Iantosca post suspension?)

This decision was not taken in haste nor in respect of a single or even a few oversights on the part of Mr. Iantosca.  This decision was reached as a result of repeated AND clearly willful violations of the Hopski International Pool Rules which state quite clearly:

• 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! 

It is unfortunate that we have had to take this action, however, we believe that this may ultimately have a positive impact on Mark Iantosca as an individual and as a business leader, ultimately making the world a better place as a result of this gutsy action by the Hopski Rules Committee.

In order to ensure transparency, I share the following exchange with Mr. Iantosca after he was informed of his delinquency.   Clearly there is no hint of regret or even an apology.  This appears to be a delusional response towards shifting the blame and completely without remorse.

 

Of course, as what has become somewhat of an annual tradition now, Mr. Iantosca took immediate action when forced to make payment:

However, even within the bigger picture context of the Hopski in promoting support of a worthy cause in recent years such as the poverty in Burundi and the Polish support of Ukrainian refugees, Mr. Iantosca shows little care except to cover his entry fee in hopes of collecting far more in winnings.

Thus, a tough decision has been taken and a line drawn. Hopefully this will lead to a better future for all of us!

Sincerely -

-THE HOPSKI RULES COMMITTEE

The cloud hosting will be updated shortly, but please note the following updated Hopski Leaderboard.  

ELITE 8 PREVIEW - THE CREAM IS RISING!!

And certainly that is the case over the past two days as whilst the Sweet 16 was filled with top seeds, the Elite 8 has had some surprises.  The result being the tide is going out and we have some exposed entries in the Hopski as 59 entries have lost their champion pick and most likely, any chance of winning the 25th Hopski Title!

Rising highest at this point, The Mix for Six (Don King - a newer Hopski regular that I have NO INFO on - please drop me an email as you are a CONTENDAH!). 

The King of the Ring picked 5 of the Elite 8 (pool average was 2.9) to move from 5th place to the top of the Hopski Leaderboard!  Don has both Alabama and Duke picked into the Final Four - giving this UConn Champion entry some upside unique potential!!!   

Caitlin's Court (Josh Bailey) has slipped to #2 in the standings with 122 points (pool ave is 87) but will be falling like a rock now that AZ is knocked out.

Rising up with a start to 3rd on the podium is BAYLOR BOILER (Glen Gregory, long-time American in Warsaw and cyclist)

Glen (btw love the "CLASSY" mask - surprised he survived that "gathering" wearing one!) nabbed 5 of the Elite 8 and is the highest placed Purdue champion (Glen is MUCH SMARTER than this in person - not sure what the heck he was thinking).

BTW - click on reports and Who To Root For to see seriously who you should be rooting most for in terms of your entry's best finish!!  Scenario Generator also under reports will hint at what is in store (e.g. do you have a chance to finish in da money??  Or at least the Top 10 - something that has eluded GONE ZAGGING (Matt Powell of Cincinnati, one of my Hoosiers of '89 friends and HUGE Mike Woodson fan and bourbon afficianado) for 22 years now.  Seriously - 22 years of Hopski entries and NOT A SINGLE TOP TEN FINISH (best is 15th).  Keep on trying Matty!!

A special shout out to Moist (from Darren Kenney - such a long-time entrant but I am at a loss - and am short on time - for background info - PROLOGIS MAYBE??!!), this entry was tops in the pool, picking 6 of the Elite 8, thus racing up the standings to #5!

THE TOILET BOWL

THE TOILET BOWL competition has quickly narrowed to just two entries as Hopski?  No - Hop, Skip and a Jump (Mark Horgan) is sitting in pole position at the moment wiht 42 points, however, NHSJ is simply a hanging turd at the moment and Mark can avoid last place with a victory today by UCONN - which would then drop Niparoo10 (Amy Kenney -  now I do recall that she IS a USC grad - but further Kenney info across the board would be appreciated folks), into the hot seat for the remainder as she managed to not pick just 1 of the Elite 8 teams and her Final Four is eliminated!!  FIGHT ON INDEED!!

HISTORICAL STATS AS A POOL

2023 was basically the worst year in Hopski History in terms of scoring and picking accuracy!   2024 so far is lining up to be slightly below average - but the Sweet 16 average of 10/16 was actually the 4th highest in our history!  Average Dawg Points are pretty strong and certainly if UConn wins the title - the % picking champ will be one fo the highest as well!

ALL-TIME HOPSKI RECORDS

None of these look to be touched this year - on the high side or the low side!!

A FRIENDLY PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

YO - DO NOT CHANGE YOUR MAIN POOL ENTRY NAMES!!!  

IT COMPLICATES THE HEAD OFFICE REPORTING PROCESS AND DELAYS THESE AMAZING BUT INFREQUENT UPDATES EVEN MORE!!!