Who Needs a College Football Playoff...

...when you've got The Second Annual Graziano Brothers College Bowl Game Point Spread Bonanza? (A gloriously complex pool in which contestants pick all 34 college bowl games against the spread and can earn bonus points for practically anything.)

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year -- Five Bowls' Worth

Hoping 2009 brings nothing but the very best for all of you. And that maybe I might pick some games right this year...

Outback Bowl
11 am, ESPN
Iowa (-3.5) South Carolina

This is a 5-point game and is required for three bonuses:

-The Happy New Year Bonus, because it is being played on New Year's Day. Everyone remains eligible for this bonus, and anyone who correctly picks all five of today's games will earn nine bonus points.

-The Bobby Bowden's Belly Bonus, because it is being played in the state of Florida. Jim, Jon, Ed, Nino and Steve all remain eligible for the Bowden Bonus. Four of today's five games are Bowden Bonus games.

-The Homer Simpson Bonus, because its sponsor has to do with a food product. Chris and Yohan are the only ones still eligible for this bonus.

PICKS:

Dan: Iowa -3.5
Jim: South Carolina +3.5
Jon: Iowa -3.5
Mark: South Carolina +3.5
Ed: South Carolina +3.5
Greg: South Carolina +3.5
Nino: Iowa -3.5
Chris: Iowa -3.5
Yohan: South Carolina +3.5
Rob: Iowa -3.5
Sal: South Carolina +3.5
Steve: Iowa -3.5

Capital One Bowl
1 pm, ABC
Georgia Tech (-7.5) Michigan State

This is a five-point game and is required for the Bowden Bonus (it's in Florida), the New Year Bonus (it's New Year's Day) and the Hank Paulson Bailout Bonus (because its sponsor is a bank). Jon, Ed, Greg, Yohan, Rob, Sal and Steve all remain eligible for the Paulson Bonus.

In addition, Greg has designated Georgia as his LOCK pick, and Jim has designated Georgia as his SUPER-LOCK pick, which means Greg gets five bonus points and Jim gets 10 if the Bulldogs cover the 7.5.

PICKS

Dan: Michigan State +7.5
Jim: Georgia -7.5 SUPER-LOCK
Jon: Georgia -7.5
Mark: Georgia -7.5
Ed: Michigan State +7.5
Greg: Georgia -7.5 LOCK
Nino: Georgia -7.5
Chris: Michigan State +7.5
Yohan: Georgia -7.5
Rob: Michigan State +7.5
Sal: Georgia -7.5
Steve: Georgia -7.5

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
1 pm, CBS
Clemson (-2.5) Nebraska

This is a five-point game and required for the Bowden and New Year Bonuses. It would have been eligible for the Damp Basement Bonus because it's in a city (Jacksonville) that sits at or below sea level, but we've all been eliminated from that one.

PICKS

Dan: Nebraska +2.5
Jim: Clemson -2.5
Jon: Clemson -2.5
Mark: Clemson -2.5
Ed: Clemson -2.5
Greg: Nebraska +2.5
Nino: Nebraska +2.5
Chris: Clemson -2.5
Yohan: Clemson -2.5
Rob: Clemson -2.5
Sal: Clemson -2.5
Steve: Clemson -2.5

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi
4:30 pm, ABC
USC (-10) Penn State

This is a five-point game and required for four bonuses, as follows:

-The When Bowls Were Bowls Bonus. This is the first of the When Bowls Bonus games, thus everyone remains eligible.

-The Happy New Year Bonus.

-The Hank Paulson Bailout Bonus, for which (as mentioned earlier), Jon, Ed, Greg, Yohan, Rob, Sal and Steve all remain eligible at the moment but need to win the Capital One Bowl to remain eligible at 4:30. It is the LAST of the Paulson Bonus games, which means that anyone from that group who gets the Capital One and Rose Bowls correct today will earn seven bonus points.

-The Pete Carroll's Tan Bonus, because it's being played in the state of California. Ed, Yohan, Rob and Sal are the only ones still eligible for the Carroll Bonus, and this is the LAST of the Carroll Bonus games, which means anyone from that group who correctly picks this game will earn 7 bonus points.

In addition, Ed has designated USC as his LOCK pick and Mark has designated USC as his SUPER-LOCK, which means Ed earns 5 bonus points and Mark earns 10 if USC covers the 10-point spread.

Big game for Ed. If he gets the Capital One Bowl correct, he's in a position to earn a total of 29 points off of this game alone. By picking USC. Which I know makes him ecstatic.

PICKS

Dan: USC -10
Jim: USC -10
Jon: USC -10
Mark: USC -10 SUPER-LOCK
Ed: USC -10 LOCK
Greg: Penn State +10
Nino: Penn State +10
Chris: Penn State +10
Yohan: Penn Sate +10
Rob: Penn State +10
Sal: USC -10
Steve: USC -10

FedEx Orange Bowl
8:30 pm, Fox
Cincinnati (-1.5) Virginia Tech

This is a five-point game and required for four bonuses -- Bowden, When Bowls, New Year and the CC Sabathia's Wallet Bonus (because it's being played at Dolphin Stadium, a venue that regularly hosts baseball games), for which Jim, Jon, Ed, Greg, Nino, Rob and Steve remain eligible.

PICKS

Dan: Cincinnati -1.5
Jim: Virginia Tech +1.5
Jon: Virginia Tech +1.5
Mark: Virginia Tech +1.5
Ed: Virginia Tech +1.5
Greg: Virginia Tech +1.5
Nino: Cincinnati -1.5
Chris: Cincinnati -1.5
Yohan: Virginia Tech +1.5
Rob: Cincinnati -1.5
Sal: Cincinnati -1.5
Steve: Virginia Tech +1.5

And again, a very Happy New Year to you all.

Posted by Dan at 7:03 AM  

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Scoring Rules

BASIC SCORING RULES

-Games held between Dec. 20 and Dec. 21: 1 point each (5 bowls)

-Games held between Dec. 23 and Dec. 28: 2 points each (7 bowls)

-Games held between Dec. 29 and Dec. 30: 3 points each (5 bowls)

-Games held on Dec. 31: 4 points each (5 bowls)

-Games held between Jan. 1 and Jan. 2: 5 points each (8 bowls)

-Game held on Jan. 3: 2 points (1 bowl)

-Game held on Jan. 5: 5 points (1 bowl)

-Game held on Jan. 6: 2 points (1 bowl)

-Game held on Jan. 8: 7 points (1 bowl)


LOCKS AND SUPER LOCKS

Each player shall designate one of his 34 picks as a “Lock” and another as a “Super Lock.” Should a player correctly pick either or both of those games, against the point spread, he would be awarded bonus points as follows:

-“Lock” game: 5 bonus points

-“Super Lock” game: 10 bonus points

These bonuses pertain no matter how many points you receive for the game under the basic scoring rules. For example, if your “Lock” game is the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, a 1-point game, and you pick it correctly, you will receive 6 points – 1 under the basic scoring rules and an additional 5 because you designated it as your “Lock.” If your “Lock” game is the FedEx Orange Bowl, a 5-point game, and you pick it correctly, you will receive 10 points – 5 under the basic scoring rules and an addition 5 because you designated it as your “Lock.”


ADDITIONAL BONUS POINTS

In addition to the basic scoring rules and the Lock/Super Lock points, a player may earn bonus points for picking many different combinations of games. These combo bonuses, which range from three points to twelve points depending on the number of games included in the combo, are detailed under the BONUSES tab above.

FINAL STANDINGS

Steve Politi 102
Yohan Sengamalay 90
Jon Graziano 81
Ed Price 74
Mark Feinsand 66
Jim Graziano 65
Sal Sabatino 63
Chris Sabatino 63
Greg Lester 60
Nino Canino 57
Dan Graziano 50
Rob Biro 50