FINAL STANDINGS!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I give you your winner, Mr. Sean "SMORPHY" Morphy. Congrats sir on a well earned pool win! It was a close one, right down to the end. Very impressed with the pool this year.

Here are your final standings:
1st - Sean Morphy - 30
2nd - Rob Blais - 28
3rd - Gus Douvis - 25
Grant Goodwin - 24
Mitch Carter - 23
Mark Nicholson - 22
Colin Lumsden - 21
John Zalud - 18
Mike Lambert - 18
Emma Jackson - 17
Alex Carter - 16
Mel Blais - 15
Laurie Rider - 11

A few notes..
- Sean, as winner of a BM pool, you are now legally obligated to defend when the next pool is undertaken...plus there is a markup on your entry fee of 2X - did we not mention that before hand? My bad...
- Wait, Emma DIDN'T win a pool?!?! How'd that happen...:)
- Another strong showing by Goodwin...that guy is always in the thick of it.
- Helmut Ripper (moi) once AGAIN dominates Lambertuzzi...remember folks, to me and Lambertuzzi the definition of 'winning' is merely beating each other, which I have successfully done many many times...Nice try L...someday you'll get me!

Now the unpleasantness...DA MONEY!!!

As of today, 5 people have paid (the Sons Carter, Mel, Rob and myself). I'd like to get Sean his money fairly quickly, so if you could all mail me/Interac e-mail me the money, I'll make sure it gets to Sean ASAP. I do break thumbs if the money does not come quick enough --- ask Mark, he has been threatened by the Goon Squad! Just kidding...

I'll close with thanks for your interest and dedication to the pool. I know playoff pools are hard to stay motivated for when you wash out early, but everyone always submitted - on time too!

See you next pool!

Colin "Helmut Ripper" Lumsden

Who Selected Who - Stanley Cup Finals!!!

Here is a listing of all those who had* a chance to win the pool.
* Indicates that is was contingent upon those above picking a very specific way...as it stands now, only two can win the pool...Mr. Sean "SMORPHY" Morphy or Gus "G-Man" Douvis.

Pick your fav....The unknown, but lovable, Sean (DUCKS) or the known and loved G-Man (SENS).

Sean Morphy
Ducks

Gus Douvis
Sens

Grant Goodwin
Sens

Rob Blais
Ducks

Mark Nicholson
Sens

Colin Lumsden
Sens

Once all is said and done, I'll work on collecting the $ for the winner. Thanks to all for their participation this year...it was actually a pretty close pool until the 3rd round...nice to see that we had almost half the pool with a chance to win going into the Finals. Shows that everyone has at least some knowledge (or good luck) in picking winners. Kudos all.

Helmut Ripper

Standings as of May 27th

Stupid Detroit Red Wings...:) I made a play to take the lead by going against the grain and taking the Wings. Shot Down...in a Blaze of Glory.

Oh well, gotta risk to win.

Standing didn't change much expect for me dropping like a stone. Did Lambertuzzi grab my leg from the basement?

Sean Morphy - 26
Gus Douvis - 25
Grant Goodwin - 24
Rob Blais - 24
Mark Nicholson - 22
Colin Lumsden - 21
Mitch Carter - 19
John Zalud - 18
Mike Lambert - 18
Emma Jackson - 17
Alex Carter - 16
Mel Blais - 15
Laurie Rider - 11

In case you live under a rock, the Stanley Cup Finals are set for GO TIME on Monday.

Ottawa Senators (4) vs. Anaheim Ducks (2)

Please submit your picks to me by Monday afternoon. I'll post all the picks for all to see as soon as I have them.

Looks like a two pony race, but in reality - if anyone in the top chooses incorrectly, anyone up to myself could still win it...so it is actually much closer than it appears...for half of us anyway :)

Helmut Ripper

Standings as of May 20th

GO SENS GO! OK, I am a bandwagon jumper but we all know the Cup should come back to Canada.

Here are the standings with only one the Wings or the Ducks on the horizon for "Canada's Team".

Sean Morphy - 22
Colin Lumsden - 21
Gus Douvis - 21
Grant Goodwin - 20
Rob Blais - 20
John Zalud - 18
Mark Nicholson - 18
Mel Blais - 15
Mitch Carter - 15
Mike Lambert - 14
Emma Jackson - 13
Alex Carter - 12
Laurie Rider - 11

Helmut Ripper

Who Selected Who - Round 3

Here is a listing of all the 3rd round picks.

Sean Morphy
Sens
Ducks

Colin Lumsden
Sens
Wings

Gus Douvis
Sens
Ducks

Grant Goodwin
Sens
Ducks

Rob Blais
Sens
Ducks

John Zalud
Sens
Wings

Mark Nicholson
Sens
Ducks

Mike Lambert
Sabres
Ducks

Emma Jackson
Sabres
Ducks

Alex Carter
Sabres
Ducks

Laurie Rider
Sabres
Wings

Mel Blais
Sens
Wings

Mitch Carter
Sens
Ducks

Good luck boys and girls!

Helmut Ripper

Standings at the end of the 2nd Round

Only one person was perfect this time and it wasn't me or Gus...it was Senor Sean aka SMORPHY. With his excellent picking he has usurped me and Gus to take sole possession of 1st place overall. DAMN IT!

Sean Morphy - 18
Colin Lumsden - 17
Gus Douvis - 17
Grant Goodwin - 16
Rob Blais - 16
John Zalud - 14
Mark Nicholson - 14
Mike Lambert - 14
Emma Jackson - 13
Alex Carter - 12
Laurie Rider - 11
Mel Blais - 11
Mitch Carter - 11

We now have the East and West match-ups and the start day (Thursday) for the 3rd Round.

EAST
Buffalo (1) vs. Ottawa (4) - starts Thursday

WEST
Detroit (1) vs. Anaheim (2) - starts Friday

Please submit your picks to me by Thursday afternoon. I'll post all the picks for all to see as soon as I have them.

Also, only a few people submitted for the tie-breaker, and given that there are still quite a few left who could win the pool, a tie is quite feasible.

I ask that you please re-submit the tie-breaker. Reminder, the tie-breaker was the total number of goals scored in the Stanley Cup Final (by both teams). If you don't like this one, please make an alternative suggestion for my consideration. One I have heard is that once the Finals are set, everyone in contention to win pick a player from each team who they expect to score the most poitns (goals/assists). We then add up the points by each. Most points overall by both players, gets the tie-breaker. Thoughts?

Helmut.

Standings as of May 6th

Now that the Sabres have dispatched the Rangers...bring on the Sens! Only one series yet to be decided, but it is a big one...If the Wings win, we'll have a new (and exclusive) leader in SMORPHY; Sharks win keeps me and G-Man at the top.

Colin Lumsden - 17
Gus Douvis - 17
Rob Blais - 16
Sean Morphy - 16
Grant Goodwin - 14
Mark Nicholson - 14
Emma Jackson - 13
Alex Carter - 12
John Zalud - 12
Mike Lambert - 12
Laurie Rider - 11
Mitch Carter - 11
Mel Blais - 9

Helmut Ripper

Standings as of May 5th

Sens in 5...Only the 2nd time in franchise history moving to the Conference Finals! Could this be the year? Last Canadian team so lets GO SENS (Yes, I am a Leaf fan, but my second team is the Sens - being from Ottawa and all). Call me Mr. Bandwagon...:)

Colin Lumsden - 15
Gus Douvis - 15
Rob Blais - 14
Sean Morphy - 14
Grant Goodwin - 12
John Zalud - 12
Mark Nicholson - 12
Emma Jackson - 11
Alex Carter - 10
Mike Lambert - 10
Laurie Rider - 9
Mel Blais - 9
Mitch Carter - 9

Helmut Ripper

Standings as of May 3rd

Ladies & Gents...So Roberto Luongo is human after all - who knew?! What a goalie. Can you imagine how owned the Canucks would have been without him?

Colin Lumsden - 12
Gus Douvis - 12
Emma Jackson - 11
Sean Morphy - 11
Rob Blais - 11
Grant Goodwin - 9
John Zalud - 9
Laurie Rider - 9
Mark Nicholson - 9
Mitch Carter - 9
Alex Carter - 7
Mike Lambert - 7
Mel Blais - 6

Next update could be Sunday AM - if the Sens win.

Thanks,
Helmut Ripper

Who Selected Who - Round 2

In case you were curious who those ahead (and behind) you selected, here is a listing of all the 2nd round picks. Can me and the G-man go PERFECT again!? Time will tell.

COLIN
Sabres
Sens
Sharks
Ducks

GUS
Sabres
Sens
Sharks
Ducks

EMMA
Sabres
Devils
Sharks
Ducks

JOHN
Rangers
Sens
Wings
Canucks

MITCH
Sabres
Devils
Sharks
Canucks

ROB
Sabres
Sens
Sharks
Ducks

SEAN
Sabres
Sens
Wings
Ducks

GRANT
Sabres
Sens
Wings
Ducks

LAURIE
Sabres
Devils
Sharks
Ducks

MARK
Sabres
Sens
Sharks
Ducks

MIKE
Sabres
Sens
Wings
Canucks

MEL
Rangers
Sens
Wings
Canucks

ALEX
Sabres
Sens
Sharks
Ducks

Good luck boys and girls!

Helmut Ripper

I love Hockey Season

Bloggin 101

A course maybe I should take...:)
I had thought I had enable everyone to POST, but I had only enabled everyone to COMMENT. My bad. Apologies.
Everyone has now been invited.
Let the chirping begin!
Helmut

Standings at the end of the 1st Round

Two people were perfect 10's...guess who was one of them! :)

Colin Lumsden - 10
Gus Douvis - 10
Emma Jackson - 9
John Zalud - 9
Mitch Carter - 9
Rob Blais - 9
Sean Morphy - 9
Grant Goodwin - 7
Laurie Rider - 7
Mark Nicholson - 7
Mike Lambert - 7
Mel Blais - 6
Alex Carter - 5

We now have the East and West match-ups and the start day (Wednesday) for the 2nd Round.

EAST
Buffalo (1) vs. NY Rangers (6)
New Jersey (2) vs. Ottawa (4)

WEST
Detroit (1) vs. San Jose (5)
Anaheim (2) vs. Vancouver (6)

Please submit your picks to me by Wednesday afternoon. I'll post all the picks for all to see as soon as I have them.

Thanks,
Helmut Ripper

Standings as of April 22nd

Only one game left in the 1st round - Canucks/Stars GAME 7 this evening ...everyone (except Alex) has the Canucks, but I'll post a revised standings update tomorrow AM.

Colin Lumsden - 9
Gus Douvis - 9
Emma Jackson - 8
John Zalud - 8
Mitch Carter - 8
Sean Morphy - 8
Rob Blais - 8
Grant Goodwin - 6
Laurie Rider - 6
Mark Nicholson - 6
Mike Lambert - 6
Alex Carter - 5
Mel Blais - 5

A reminder, we'll need your 2nd Round picks ASAP. Right now the East Match Ups are:
Buffalo (1) vs. NY Rangers (6)
New Jersey (2) vs. Ottawa (4)

West will not be decided until tonight, but you can log on to TSN or anywhere else to find out who it is...I have not found exactly WHEN the 2nd Round starts, but it will be quite soon, so don't forget to get your picks in on time!

Also, only a few of us submitted the tie-breaker. When you have a second (if you are one who has not sent me this information), please let me know the 'number of goals scored in total by both teams in the Stanley Cup Final series'.

Lambertuzzi, nice to see you crawled out of last place! :)

Merci,
Helmut

Standings as of April 20th

Not much change - everyone had Buffalo and only one person didn't have San Jose.

Colin Lumsden-7
Gus Douvis-7
John Zalud-7
Rob Blais-7
Emma Jackson-6
Mitch Carter-6
Sean Morphy-6
Mark Nicholson-5
Mel Blais-5
Alex Carter-4
Grant Goodwin-4
Laurie Rider-4
Mike Lambert-4

Ripper

Standings as of April 19th

Revised 3:30PM EDT. Slight Excel error. Admin apologies.

Things are looking strong for a few of us (myself included):

Colin Lumsden - 4
Gus Douvis - 4
John Zalud - 4
Rob Blais - 4
Alex Carter - 3
Emma Jackson - 3
Mitch Carter - 3
Sean Morphy - 3
Mark Nicholson - 2
Mel Blais - 2
Grant Goodwin - 1
Laurie Rider - 1
Mike Lambert - 1

Lambertuzzi, languishing in last. You like that alliteration!?

I thought you'd put up more of a fight. Get used to seeing my name above yours! You'll be getting owned early and often.

Helmut Ripper

Standings as of April 18th

Now that we have the 1st series winner - we actually have standings!

Alex Carter - 1
Colin Lumsden - 1
Emma Jackson - 1
Gus Douvis - 1
John Zalud - 1
Rob Blais - 1
Grant Goodwin - 0
Laurie Rider - 0
Mark Nicholson - 0
Mel Blais - 0
Mike Lambert - 0
Mitch Carter - 0
Sean Morphy - 0

SMORPHY, don't feel to bad being listed last. It is nothing personal, you are just blessed having a first initial deep in the alphabet.

Why do I use first initial? Well, having a C means there is very limited chance that anyone I tied with will be ranked ahead of me - that is until Alex came along! Shallow of me...perhaps. But I am drunk on power as the Administrator and there is nothing anyone can do about it! :)

It really is too early to start yapping, I guess...once I have a few more wins on Lambertuzzi, then I'll really start chirping!

Helmut Ripper

Who Selected Who??!!

Ladies, Gents & Lambertuzzi :)

In case you were curious who your competitors (or in my case, arch rival - Lambertuzzi) selected, here is a listing of all 1st round picks.

Colin (Helmut Ripper)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Rangers
Sens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Laurie (Yankee Skier)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Thrashers
Pens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

John (Pinky)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Rangers
Sens
WEST
Flames
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Mike (Lambertuzzi)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Thrashers
Pens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Rob (T-Bone)
EAST
Sabres
Lightning
Rangers
Sens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Sean (Smorphy)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Rangers
Sens
WEST
Wings
Wild
Canucks
Sharks

Alex
EAST
Sabres
Lightning
Rangers
Pens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Stars
Preds

Mitch
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Rangers
Pens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Mel (BLAIS!)
EAST
Sabres
Lightning
Thrashers
Sens
WEST
Flames
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Mark (Eagle)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Thrashers
Sens
WEST
Flames
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Grant (Owen Gole)
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Thrashers
Pens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Miss Emma
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Rangers
Pens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Gus
EAST
Sabres
Devils
Rangers
Sens
WEST
Wings
Ducks
Canucks
Sharks

Let the trash talk begin.

Also, can I just say the most pimped out 70's mustache award must go to George Parros of the Ducks. Check him out:


Awesome!

Ripper.

Making Your Picks

In case you are desperate for who to select in the 1st Round - may I suggest help from a Monkey?!
And not just any monkey - Maggie the Monkey from TSN.

Please check the following link for her selections:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=203646&hubname=

She has a good track record - that is one smart/lucky monkey!

Helmut

Welcome to BrainMass' 2007 NHL Playoff Pool!

Hello,

It has been a long time since BrainMass has organized a major Pool, but Grant and I are well rested after our Olympic and World Cup Pool administration and ready to run a new one. NHL 2007 Playoffs! WOO HOO!

Grant and I talked about different ways to run this (drafting players, doing a lottery for a team, etc.), but as we are all busy, we thought that the format below was the most interesting and easy option.

Pool Format: Round by Round Selection of Winning Team.

Each round you'll pick the winner from each series. That is it! Nice and easy and not time consuming (unless you are Emma who studies all the historic playoff/team/players stats to make her picks...just kidding Emma)

So by Wednesday (April 11th) evening (5PM), you need to pick winners from the following 1st Round series:

EAST

Buffalo Sabres (1) vs. NY Isanders (8)

New Jersey Devils (2) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (7)

Atlanta Thrashers (3) vs. NY Rangers (6)
Ottawa Senators (4) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (5)
WEST

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Calgary Flames (8)

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs. Minnesota Wild (7)
Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. Dallas Stars (6)
Nashville Predators (4) vs. San Jose Sharks (5)

Once the 2nd round match ups are set, I'll send an e-mail so you can make your picks.

Tie-breaker for the pool will be the number of goals scored in total by both teams in the Stanley Cup Final series. This is to be selected prior to pool start and should be submitted with your 1st Round picks.

Pool Scoring: Round 1 (1 point for win, 2 for upset win), Round 2 (2 points for win, 3 for upset win) Round 3 (3 points for win, 4 for upset win) and for the Finals (4 points for win, 5 for upset win).

Pool Entry Fee: $10

We are hoping for a total of at least 11 so it is a cool $100 profit to the winner. :)

Let's do this! Any questions, fire me off an e-mail. Invite your friends and colleagues - the more the merrier.

COLIN aka Helmut Ripper