WIZARDS OF THE

BIG TEXAS SHOOTOUT

 

  Son, the moral of the story is, pick all the number one seeds to win and while you are at it, just pick all the favorites to win.  Do that and you can win the Big Texas Shootout.

It actually isn't as hard as most of us have made it out to be.  57 of the 260 gurus playing in this tournament corrected picked Florida and Ohio State to make it into the final game.

To prove my point, 10 of the top 25 at this point in the contest are either    or     Award winners.  It really must have been fun for all of them this year.  Remember this technique for next year and you too can have your Wizard privilages revoked.  And to take it one step further, if you picked Florida to win, you are members of the    Society of Spares.

    With only one game to go Earl Shaw of Knightstown, Indiana is in the driver's seat holding the overall lead of the Big Texas Shootout.  Earl has been in the top twenty five after every round of the tournament.  To add to his legacy, he is NOT a Boy George Award winner so since he wasn't one of those he has been awarded Supreme ULTIMATE Wizard status for all the skill he has shown throughout the tournament.  He has Ohio State picked to win it all.

     In second place overall we find TeddyBlue Mushock of Dallas, Texas.  Teddy held the lead going into the games of the Final Four but chose UCLA on his original bracket to win against Florida.  He at least hedged his bet on the 2nd Chance Bracket and changed to Florida to show that he continued to analyze the field.  For that he could have become a Supreme Wizard but that Boy George Award continues to follow him throughout the tournament and CANCELS the Wizardry honor.  He also has picked Ohio State to win it all.

   Tied for third overall is Bob Crisci of Fishers, Indiana and Mark Ludek #1 of Anderson, Indiana.  These two have taken different routes to get themselves into this position.  Bob has put on a performance that has probably never been matched in BTS history.  After the 1st round Bob was in 4th place.  After the 2nd, he was in 5th.  Once the third round was complete, Bob had taken the overall lead only to drop to 6th place going into this weekend.  Now finding himself in 3rd place overall and picking Florida to win Monday night, he finds himself in a position to win it all.  This is quite impressive and skillful.  Enough to earn you Supreme ULTIMATE Wizard status.  Unfortunately, and I don't make the rules, I only enforce them, his previous Boy George Award honor continues to follow and haunt him for the rest of the tournament.  So Sorry! 

The other guru, Mark Ludek #1 took a totally different route to the position he now finds himself in.  Mark started out in 44th place after round one and dropping to 74th place after round two.  He then started his climb to the top by missing only one game all of last weekend on either bracket to pull himself to 35th.  He continued his perfection this weekend and now finds himself in 3rd place and has a chance for the Shootout Championship as he has Florida winning it all.  It will come down to the tiebreaker points between he and Bob Crisci if Florida wins.  Taking this route has it's advantages versus going the safe route.  Because he isn't just a favorite picker, Mark has been awarded Supreme ULTIMATE Wizard status.  Congratulations Mark.

Both Bob and Mark are card carrying members of the Society of Spares   which is enough to embarrass anyone.

  With the favorites winning most of the games this year, turning this into one of the most boring tournaments in years, there will be no more Wizard accreditations given.  Still, we will recognize those that have made it into the top 10, Kristi Downing, Annie Beck, Mike Beck #2, Chris Pardue, Jake Cruzen #2, Gilbert Sima, and Tyrone Walker. 

Additionally, we recognize those in the top 25, Robert Murphy, Tim Reasonover, Tom Cash, Shawn Reasonover, Stanley Macadory, Jamie Martin, Clay Walker, Charlie Daniels, Jabo Cooter, Jeff Dyer, Idgie Threadgoode, Melanie Haden, Austin Lyons, Mark Henry, and Quaye Bealmear.

These lists are littered with Boy George and Clay Aiken Award winners.  If you are NOTone of those, you should consider yourself a Wizard because you played it the right way!  The rest of those award winners know who they are.  They are probably headed back to the closet.

                                                          

Final Game facts...

62 people had Florida winning the tournament on their Original Bracket.

58 picked the Gators on their 2nd Chance Bracket.  Go figure.

62 people had Ohio State winning the tournament on their Original Bracket.

49 picked the Buckeyes to win on their 2nd Chance Bracket.  Makes you shake your head doesn't it.

 

                                                       

To review the Wizards page from the First Round...click here.

To review the Wizards page from the Second Round...click here.

To review the Wizards page from the Sweet Sixteen...click here.

To review the Wizards page from the Final Four...click here.