'Tis the season... for hockey pools!
Yes, it's pool time, and I'm trying for a new record (to break the one I made last year); four wins in a row. The last three years have seen me win two regular seasons and then tie in last year's playoffs (tho' I made it to the winning total first).



One thing I have to say about this year's pool... OK, a couple of things... it was fucked! I designate it as such for a few reasons:

1. The two brothers hosting the pool ended up "randomly" picking first and second.
2. Their dad kept feeding the willing (ie, me, Neal, Neil, and Ricky) generous rum and cokes, thereby rendering us half-cut or better, and therefore possibly leaving us unable to pick at our highest level.
3. People who usually pick retardedly (players from a fave team, or just witless picks) picked (shockingly) sensibly, or were absent and had someone (more) sensible pick for them.
4. Picks that could usually be safely left until the 14th or 15th rounds (out of 15 rounds) as a "cagey pick" were being picked mid-pool, thereby further disrupting the order of things.

(Jules would say I'm fucked)

So, as you can see, for these reasons (and possibly more), the whole thing was a clusterfuck. In previous (winning) years, I picked a rookie as a 15th pick. Other poolies generally did not do such a thing. This has served me well in the past, getting me folks like Staal and Zetterberg. This year, I had a few rookies picked out, like Wolski, Penner, and Kopitar. By about the 9th round, the first two were gone! I was shocked. I said something to the effect of, "This is fucked. I'm going to have to start picking retardedly just to keep up," and that's just what I did. I picked Kopitar in the 9th round, just to make sure I got my one good rookie. Then, five rounds later, I picked another one. I also picked a youngin' or two. I don't know how this'll all pan out. This year's pool was totally unpredictable, and blown wide open. Sixteen of us picked, through 15 rounds. I had a TON of people I wanted badly taken right from under my nose. I was (am) pissed. At least I'm still half-cut from the rum, so that helps to balance it out for now. Here are my picks in order:

1. P. Forsberg
2. S. Gagne
3. P. Demitra
4. B. Boyes
5. M. Svatos
6. R. Whitney
7. J. Pitkanen
8. W. Redden
9. A. Kopitar
10. M. Handzus
11. J. Pominville
12. D. Legwand
13. S. Mellanby
14. R. Craig
15. A. Zhitnik