The tenth annual internet pool in a row. That is mind-numbing in the evident dedication to the pursuit of idleness and lack of productivity. Here are the rules in the most complex and utterly unwinnable pool yet:
1. NHL playoffs
Pick five scorers, one goon, one goalie, eight teams and a dark horse.
- A point for a goal by a scorer.
- A point for an assist by a scorer.
- A point for a penalty minute by a goon. If your goon is kicked out of the playoffs and thereby the pool, you double the penalty minutes he has achieved to that point. The logic here is that the goon is a nut-bar. The later that he freaks and gets tossed for the balance of the playoffs, the more nut-bar like he is, the more he is the essential goon.
- A point for each thousandth save percentage over .900 by your goalie
- 5 points for picking each of the teams in the second, third and fourth rounds.
- 25 bonus points for picking the dark horse – the team with the lowest regular season points to go the farthest in the playoffs. The dark horse must be seeded in the lower half of their conference.
2. Other Hockey
- Name the winner of the Memorial Cup, Canada’s Jr A Men’s hockey championship. 10 points.
- Pick four scorers in the Memorial Cup. One point for each goal or assist.
- Pick the winner of the AHL’s Calder Cup. Ten points.
3. World Cup Fitba
- Which team goes farther: Togo or Trinidad and Tobago? Ten points. Total goals breaks the tie.
- Who wins the World Cup? Ten points.
- Who wins the golden shoe for top scorer? Ten points.
4. Other Fitba
- Pick the two teams in the English FA Cup Final. Five points each.
- Pick the winner of the FA Cup. 10 points.
- Pick the winner of the Scottish Premier League – not a Cup, #1 in the league table. Ten points.
- Does Morton go up to the First Division of the SFA? Ten points if you are right.
5. Baseball
- Who wins when the Red Sox and Yankees play on 1 May 2006? Ten points.
- Who wins when the Red Sox and Yankees play on 2 May 2006? Ten points.
- Who starts as pitcher for each team when the Red Sox and Yankees play on 1 May 2006? Ten points for each correct pick.
- Which of thse two teams will be ahead of the other in the standings at 9 am 3 May and by how many games? Ten points for correct team and ten points for nearest to the lead in games.
6. Other Sports
- Who wins the One Day International Series on Saturday, 20 May 2006 between teh West Indies v India, held at Jamaica? Twenty points. Guess the final score and you get ten more points if you are within 25 wickets on the score differential. Ten more points if you can explain how you exactly you know the score is what it is.
- Who wins the World Snooker Championship at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England held from 15 April – 1 May? Twenty points.
- Who wins the British and Commonwealth super middleweight title match to be held on May 26, York Hall, London between Carl Froch v Brian Magee. Ten points. Ten more points if you name the exact round that the fight ends.
- Who is the top scorer in the NBA playoffs. Twenty points.
I have to think of a few more questions on international sport. These will be posted in a bit. Get your picks in by 18 April 2006 at a reasonable hour.