Sorry for the late post. I wish I could say I've been doing something exciting or that has changed the world for the better, but the truth is Campbell and I have been coloring and binge watching Gotham, and avoiding the nasty weather.

But without further delay.  Alex and Jacob both survived and have both selected Kansas State today. So if K-State survives they move on to pick a Final Four team.  If the holy Cinderella, as I've taken to calling Loyola, wins then they split the pot. (And yes, you can find a picture of anything on the Google machine.)

No offense to either Al or Jacob, but I will be joining Sister Jean cheering for the unlikely Loyola run to continue!

Sweet Sixteen - Friday picks

This will be short and sweet.  Al has the Jayhawks and Jacob is rooting for Nova.

I for one will entertain myself hoping the Orange guys surprise Duke.

Face Off

With the Gonzaga and UK losses late last night our field is down to two.  Jacob and Al go mano e mano to see who takes the money home.

Is prayer the best survivor strategy?

We are down to 19 folks.  Alex and Jacob are celebrating with the Nuns tonight. With everyone else except Jon rooting for Gonzaga . . . another upset could make it a three way race!

Sweet Sixteen - Thursday picks

We enter today with 26 players, but it is guaranteed we will lose at least two folks with picks on both sides of the Loyola/Nevada match-up.  The big favorite - Gonzaga - could take out an unlucky 13 people!

Here are today's picks.  Since I will be up half the night for the UK game anyway, I will post updates.

Gonzaga: Scott, Jared, Johnny, John E, Sue, Michael, Laura, Kuntz, Sara, Ponsoll, Neha, Seth and Voth 2

Kentucky: Jon

Loyola: Jacob and Al

Nevada: Britt 1, Clay 2, Eric 1, Deem, David L, Dan 1 and Terry

Texas A&M: Ad, Tom and Chad

Go Cats!

#2 is the first Loser

This definitely rings true today . . . .With both UNC and Cincinnati falling we say goodbye to five more folks. We are down to 25 players.  The two favorites for the day - K-State and WVU - have yet to play so we could still say so long to more folks . . .

Second Round - Sunday Picks

We kick off today's action with 30 folks still in it to win it.  Chad failed to submit a pick and is out unless he can show that the message went off the rails somewhere.

If the curse of the most popular pick continues then the folks cheering for West Virginia should be very, very nervous. As I have a new mad love for the Marshall coach and his devil make care fashion sense, I will be cheering for the Thundering Herd!

Here are today's picks:

Cincinnati: Klint, Heather, John P and Brent 3

Kansas State: Scott, Jared, Britt 1, Eric 1, Deem, Michael, Tom, David L, Ponsoll, Seth and Voth 2

North Carolina: Vickie

Purdue: Sara

West Virginia: Clay 2, Johnny, John E, Sue, Laura, Ad, Kuntz, Dan 1, Jon P, Neha, Jacob, Terry and Al

Re-VOL-ving Door

Tennessee wiped 28 people out of play yesterday.  Including 9 of us who bought back in after Friday losses only to turn around and go right back out the door.  Tennessee and Florida losses mean the field is down to 31 going into today's games.

Second Round - Saturday picks

I predicted a crazy year and it has delivered.  The first #1 seed loses to a #16 and Wichita's loss diced our numbers.  We start today with 60 people (61 if Greg Edwards can send me proof he submitted a pick for today that I missed).  A total of 22 people exercised the "I did the dumb" clause and bought back in.  That second chance is gone now.  Starting with today's games - you lose and you go home!

The final winner's pot after buy backs is $760.  The puppies and kitties will be getting $210.  A special thank you to Sue and Jacob for donating buy back money that they didn't use to our furry friends.

Today's picks have a few teams that could really shake things up with a loss.  Tennessee leads the way with 28 of our crew singing Rocky Top today!  Here is the full run down and Go Cats!

Duke: Klint, John E, Sue, Tome, Jon P, Heather, Neha, K, Seth, Al, and Brent 3

Florida: Theo

Gonzaga: KT, Jacob, Theo, Al, and Brent 3

Kansas: Deem, Michael, and John P

Kentucky: Scott, Jared, Britt 1, Johnny, Eric 1, Michael, Laura, Kuntz, Logan, and Lesley

Michigan: Amy, Lauren, Casey, Deem, Vickie, Chad, Kuntz, David L, Dan 1, Sara, Ponsoll, Terry, Voth 2, and Josh

Tennessee: Kelley, Patrick B, Britt 2, Brad, Amy, Lauren, Casey, Eric 2, Mac, Jane, Herron, Campbell, KT, PK, Bobby, McClure, John M, Matt, Logan, Charlie, K, Ben, John S, Pam, Voth 1, Brent 1, Josh, and Lesley

Texas Tech: Clay 2, Eric 1, Ad, and McClure

Carnage

Wichita just shocked 22 folks right out of this thing!  Three of those folks were buy-backs and are officially done.  Better luck next year Annie, Mandy and Dan! Theo pre-paid his buy-back so he is still alive.  We shall see how many of the remaining 18 of us decide to try again.

First Round - Friday Picks

Today's picks leave us with a two-headed monster that could take out as many as 38 people!!! A Wichita or Auburn loss would send ripples through this year's pool. Here are all the picks:

Arkansas: Brent 2

Auburn: Annie, Klint, Britt 2, Eric 2, John E, Jane, Herron, Laura, Ad, David L, Sara, Heather, Ponsoll, Pam, Terry, and Voth 2

Butler: James and Dan 2

Cincinnati: Clay 2, Campbell, and Matt

Clemson: Greg, Chad, Dan 1, and Voth 1

Michigan State: Vickie, Mac, and Neha

Missouri: James and McClure

New Mexico State: Rachael

North Carolina: Seth and Jacob

Purdue: Patrick B, Jon P, Brad, Sue, and Heather

TCU: Amy, Lauren, Casey, Chris, Al, and Lesley

Texas A&M: Mandy and Brent 1

WVU: Kelley, Jared, Britt 1, Bobby, Tom, Ben, John M, Charlie, and John S

Wichita State: Annie, Ian, Eric 1, Zach 1&2, Deem, Michael, KT, Kuntz, Little, Dan 2, Brett, Logan, Sarabeth, Jon R, K, Mandy, Theo, David T, Rachel, Brent 3, and Josh

Xavier: Scott, Johnny, PK, and John P

Five of the folks who lost yesterday have decided to buy back in.  Annie, Dan 2, James, Heather and Mandy have all picked two teams for today.  Our winner's pot now stands at $624 and the puppies are set to get $156.  Of course, anyone who hasn't already "done the dumb" can lose today and buy back in.  After today there are no second chances!

Updates to come through the day/evening.  First big game is at 1:30 with 22 of us cheering for Wichita and some 55 others rooting for a Marshall upset.

Sooner or later . . .

We knew someone would fall to a tragic early pick. This year it was as soon as possible! Oklahoma's loss potentially takes four folks out of the mix for this year's money and beer.  Barsotti, Clay C 1, Bruce and Dan 2 have until Noon tomorrow to decide if they want to buy back in.  Remember - when you "do the dumb" you owe another $10 and have to pick TWO teams from tomorrow's games.

First Round - Thursday picks

Sorry for the delay but the field is set.  We start off the 10th Anniversary Danvegas Survivor pool with 84 entries.  So the winner's pot starts off at $672 and the charity pot starts at $168.  I'm predicting a topsy-turvy tournament this year, and I think the fact that folks are burning several perennial favorites early is pretty good support of that theory.  So odds are a lot of folks will be "doing the dumb" and buying back in today and tomorrow.

I will try to report some results as I can, though I have to work tonight which is really throwing a wrench in my basketball and Crossfit Open viewing for the evening, and will likely also keep me from updating much.  Here are the first set of picks:

Alabama: Brent 1

Arizona: Annie, James, Mike N, Heather, Will and Mandy

Duke: Lauren and McClure

Florida: Mac, Herron, Campbell, KT, Little, Dan 1 and Ben

Gonzaga: Brad, Jane, Ad and Pam

Houston: Amy B, Sara O, Jacob, Seth, Brent 3 and Josh

Kansas: Johnny and Charlie

Kentucky: Clay C 2, Zach 1 & 2, Greg, Brett, K, Terry, Chad and Adam V 1 & 2

Miami: Marlo and Brittany

Michigan: Patrick B, Chris, PK, John S and David T

Ohio State: Kelley, Ian, Casey, Eric C 2, Tom, Bobby, Theo and Lesley

Oklahoma: Barsotti, Clay C 1, Bruce and Dan 2

Rhode Island: Klint and Rachael

Tennessee: Scott, Jared, Eric C 1, Sue, Vickie, Michael G, Laura, Ponsoll, Brent 2, Al, Jon R, Kuntz, David, Jon P, Logan, Sarabeth, Neha and Rachel R

Texas Tech: Britt 1 & 2, Deem, John E, John M, Matt and John P

Until I have more to report I will merely note that I don't really need an excuse to root against Tennessee and their gosh awful school song, but the fact that a Vols exit would potentially knock out 19 folks right off the bat is certainly added motivation! So go Wright State!

Danvegas Survivor: 10th Anniversary 2018 Edition

It doesn't seem possible to me - mainly because I'm wondering how in the heck I let myself get talked into starting this when I had a 9 month old at home . . . but it's year #10 for the Danvegas Survivor Pool!!!  So before I get down to the business end of this first post of the year - a little fun and games!

The traditional 10th anniversary gift is aluminum (or tin back in the old days) so to celebrate the 10th Anniversary winner I will be adding 10 cans of the winner's favorite brew to the prize this year. If by some chance the winner is a teetotaler with better drinking habits than Alex Wagner, then I will be more than happy to supply 10 of their favorite non-boozy beverage.

Now down to business. PLEASE READ THE RULES BELOW! I try to be fair and catch mistakes when I can, but shocking as it is for you to hear, I am not perfect, so you are ultimately responsible for your own stupidity if you do not read the rules and get disqualified.

This year's charity will be the Danville-Boyle County Humane Society.

First pick is due by NOON on Thursday, March 15.  Anyone submitting a pick after the tip of Thursday's first game will be subject to the "I did the dumb" clause including paying an increased fee to play. 

As always the more the merrier so feel free to share with friends and family. Please make sure they know to read the rules!

Cheers and here's to another great year!

The Rules

The Survivor Pool is a twist on the classic NCAA bracket challenge. Pick a winner each round, win some money and help out some puppies and kitties all at the same time!

How to Play:

• Entry fee is $10 - $8 goes to the winner's pot, $2 goes to the charity pot.  Additional charitable donations are accepted. Entry fee, first day's pick and charity must be in by NOON, March 15! Anyone who hasn't paid by tip of the Sweet Sixteen will be disqualified!
• Pick one winner from each day's games for the first six days of the tournament.  If your team wins, then you rinse and repeat for the next day's games. If your team loses you are out. Those surviving until the Elite Eight will then start picking one team per ROUND. So one pick from any Elite Eight games, regardless of day. Then one Final Four team and, of course, the champion. (A full listing of picks is below.)
• Here's the kicker: You can only pick a team ONE TIME per entry! If you pick Kansas in the second round and they make it to the final game, you cannot pick them again. If you do not have a viable pick for a round, then you are out!
• Each day's picks are due by NOON! Entries may be submitted via email or text. If you have multiple entries please clearly state which team goes with which pick. (Krista1 - Kentucky; Krista 2 - Gonzaga)
• The last survivor standing takes home the winner's pot.  If there is more than one person left standing then the pot will be split evenly.
• The charity gets 20% of the pot - this year that charity is the Danville-Boyle County Humane Society.
• Multiple entries are allowed.  However, there is no frequent shopper discount - $10 to play. Period. 
• The "I did the dumb" reset button: If you lose in the first round (Thursday or Friday games - March 15 or 16) you may buy back in ONCE for another $10, but you must pick TWO teams from the next day's games and both must win for you to advance. 

How to Enter:
Entries may be emailed or texted to Krista. Entry fees can be delivered in person to Krista (Centre College Alumni House) or mailed to 1017 Middlebrook Drive, Danville.  If your money is not in by tip of the first Sweet Sixteen game on Thursday, March 22 you will be eliminated!

2018 Submission deadlines:
First Round/Thursday pick: Noon, March 15
First Round/Friday pick: Noon, March 16
Second Round/Saturday pick: Noon, March 17
Second Round/Sunday pick: Noon, March 18
Sweet Sixteen/Thursday pick: Noon, March 22
Sweet Sixteen/Friday pick: Noon, March 23
Elite Eight pick: Noon, March 24
Final Four pick: Noon, March 31
Championship pick: Noon, April 2

If you feel like jinxing yourself you may submit multiple days worth of picks at once but you are responsible for clearly labeling which pick goes with which day.  Pool administrator (aka Krista) is not responsible for confused submissions! Likewise, if you pick a team you've already picked and do not notice before tip of the game you are out!

Results:
Each day's picks and results will be posted here. In order to make my life easier - I will NOT be emailing a full list of picks and results.  I will do my best to upload each day's picks by 1:00 PM. However it's track season so on Saturdays that may get delayed a little.

Players are responsible for checking the posts here to ensure that selections are accurately recorded before halftime of the day's first game. Any errors not reported (and documented) within 90 minutes of the list going live will not be changed. Periodic updates of those moving on or being eliminated will also be posted here.