More online fun

I had done this in the past, but after my last computer died I kind of fell away from it, at least until last month, when I once again took part in the Streak for the Cash game on ESPN.com.  The premise is relatively simple, every day there is a list of games that you pick the winner from and the person at the end of the month that garners the longest winning streak gets a cash prize.  You can play multiple times a day, provided that the outcome of you previous game has been determined, but usually I only pick one game per day, I just don't have the time to sit in front of my computer all day to pick three and four games a day. 

That being said, each entry into the contest lasts for one month, at which point the streak resets and you start again from zero.  Since I managed to get one month in, here is how I did in April;

Record 13-6

Longest winning streak - 5 games

Longest losing streak - 4 games

The longest winning streak looked like this

3/22 Los Angeles Kings over Colorado Avalache (4-3)

3/23 San Jose Sharks over Minnesota Wild (4-1)

3/24 5 or fewer goals scored (Anaheim Ducks vs Vancouver Canucks) (5-0)

3/25 Kansas State Wildcats over Xavier Musketeers (101-96)

3/26 Baylor Bears over St Mary's Gaels (72-49)

 

 

Fantasy Baseball 2010 - The thread

Here to replace the just completed fantasy hockey season is the new fantasy baseball season.  I opted for a different sort of league this year.  Usually there are two major types of leagues, the rotisserie variety where stats are accumulated in categories and then the teams are ranked and awarded points based on how they do in those categories.  For example, in a 12 team league, if you were currently second in a category, say home runs as an example, you team would be awarded 11 points.  You then take the total points awarded out of your placement in all of the categories (most baseball leagues tend to go with a 5X5 format, that is 5 hitting and 5 pitching categories) to determine your overall status.  The other option is a head to head league, where you play one other team from the league over the course of a week.  Like a rotisserie league, you compete in specific categories, but the totals only count for that week and each category you are ahead in at the end of the week counts as a win in the overall standings.  Unlike a rotissiere league where stats are accumulated season long, in head to head at the end of the week the board is efffectively erased, a new opponent for the next week is determined and the process repeats itself for the next seven days.

All of that being said, I opted to try a new format being offered over at ESPN.com, one where it is simply total points accumulated.  Everything a player does can either earn or cost you points and at the end of each day you teams total points gets counted into a grand total.  Because I am not in a specific league there, I am basically just competing against anyone else who is playing the game, meaning my chance of coming in in the top three is almost impossible, there will probably be tens of thousands of people participating in the game, so my goal will be quite simple, do better than average.  Anything above that will be gravy. 

Like the hockey league, I will post weekly updates in the comment section.  They will of course offer some wry, rather unastute commentary from yours truly as well as a few of the leagues basics, such as top score from the week, my score from the week, the weekly scoring average of all teams and my overall rank.  Yes I will pick an MVP, but rather than sit here and try to break down daily box scores because you can change your roster on a daily basis, instead it will simply be the person who had the best game on my best day of the week.  An example from my current week is that on 4/7 my team earned 81 points, and my best player that day was Matt Garza, who garnered 27 points as I had the Tampa Bay pitching staff that day, so he would be my presumptive MVP (though technically for pitching purposes you get the stats accumulated by the entire staff that day, but the game doesn't distinguish between pitchers, you just get credit for the staff effort, I just mentioned Garza because he started that game).

Hopefully that was confusing enough.  Anyway, let the games once again begin.

March Madness - Rounds 5 and 6

If I am doing two rounds at once that can only mean one thing, WVU lost and my last remaining entry in the tournament is gone.  So mcuh for this year, and given the way I did I can honestly say good riddance.

Rounds 5 and 6 (3 games)

Record 0-3

Overall 40-23

Worst round selection - Has to be WVU since they were the last ones I had left and proceeded to not only lose in the Final Four to Duke, but to get blown out. 

Best round selection - None

Overall best selection - I can take little comfort in the fact that I at least had WVU in the Championship Game and had Butler all the way to the Elite Eight.  Sadly for my bracket, one of those underperformed (WVU) while one overperformed (Butler).