Welcome to the Sixth year of the Sports Gambling Decathlon!
The events are listed below. The cost is $100, payable at the *end* of the *first* event
(April 7). After we find out who is
interested, we'll decide how many finishers will get payouts. In all likelihood it will be the top five at
the end of the year, plus an additional $50 paid to the winner (or split
amongst the winners, in the case of a tie) for each of the 10 events.
Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested or if
you'd like more information.
-- Bingo.
There will be 10 events in which you can earn points.
Minimum score rule:
In any given event, each entrant will get at least half of the highest
point total earned in the event, assuming the entrant turned in a timely legal
entry.
==========================
Event #1: NCAA
Basketball
==========================
2003 Deadline: March 20
Prior to the beginning of the NCAA tournament, fill out a
complete entry selecting the winners of all the games (a typical NCAA tourney
pool entry. You receive 20 points for
each correct winner that is chosen (regardless of the round). You receive an additional 20 points for
picking the overall winner.
Maximum points for the event: 1280
================================
Event #2: Major
League Baseball
================================
2003 Deadline: March 30
To complete an entry, pick one team in each of the six divisions. Those will be your teams for the entire year
and the playoffs. You receive 4 points
for every win above the first 50 wins during the season. Additionally, you get 10 points for each
team that makes it into the playoffs, an additional 10 points for each team
that makes it to the league championship, an additional 25 points for each team
that makes it into the world series, and an additional 50 points if one of your
teams wins the world series.
Maximum points for the event: 1999
===================
Event #3: PGA Golf
===================
2003 Deadline: April 9
Prior to the Masters, pick five golfers. You receive the following number of points
based on each golfers' finish in each of the four majors:
(51 - finish)
This amount is the same regardless of tie. For example, if 4 golfers tie for 5th place,
they all get 46 points. If the
tournament ends in a tie for first, all golfers
going into the additional rounds/holes get 50 points, but only
the one who wins gets the additional 30 points mentioned below.
You get an additional 10 points for each major the golfer makes
the cut, and an addition 30 points for each major that the golfer wins. If a golfer doesn't make the cut or doesn't
enter the tournament, you don't get any points from that golfer for that
tournament.
Maximum points for the event: 1320
==========================
Event #4: NHL
Playoffs
==========================
2003 Deadline: April 8 (tentative)
A total of 16 teams make the playoffs -- 8 in each of the
conferences. The teams are seeded as
shown below. To complete an entry, pick
5 teams whose seeds add up to *at least* 17 points. Note that the 5 teams can be from any conference. For example, you could take the 1st seed
from both conferences, the 4th seed from both conferences, and the 7th seed
from one of the conferences, and your entry would be valid (1 + 1 + 4 + 4 + 7 =
17). Or, you could take the 2nd through
6th seed from one conference, and that would be valid (2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 20).
You get 20 points for every game that any of your teams win,
an additional 100 points if your team wins the Stanley Cup, and an additional
40 points if your team finishes as runner-up to the Stanley Cup.
Maximum points for the event: 1340
==========================
Event #5: NBA
Playoffs
==========================
2003 Deadline: April 17 (tentative)
A total of 16 teams make the playoffs -- 8 in each of the
conferences. The teams are seeded as
shown below. To complete an entry, pick
5 teams whose seeds add up to *at least* 17 points. Note that the 5 teams can be from any conference. For example, you could take the 1st seed
from both conferences, the 4th seed from both conferences, and the 7th seed
from one of the conferences, and your entry would be valid (1 + 1 + 4 + 4 + 7 =
17). Or, you could take the 2nd through
6th seed from one conference, and that would be valid (2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 20).
You get 20 points for every game that any of your teams win,
an additional 100 points if your team wins the Championship, and an additional
40 points if your team finishes as runner-up to the Championship.
Maximum points for the event: 1440
==========================
Event #6: NASCAR
==========================
2003 Deadline: April 25, June 20, August 1, October 3 (all
dates approx)
A total of 43 drivers are entered in each race. Prior to each race, pick five drivers. In each race, you can pick any *five*
drivers, as long as their "seeds" add up to at least *50*. The "seeds" come from Winston Cup
standings prior to the race.
You get 90 points for having the winning driver, and for
the other drivers, you get two fewer points for every spot they finish behind
the leader (2nd-88, 3rd-86, etc.).
You get bonus points for having drivers with the four best
starting positions after qualifying -- 10 points for the pole sitter, 5 points
for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, and 1 point for 4th.
You get 10 bonus points for each driver who leads at least
one lap during a race, and an additional 10 points if you have the driver who
leads the most laps during the race.
Maximum points for the event: 1668
==========================
Event #7: Triple
Crown
==========================
2003 Deadline: May 3, May 17, June 7
Prior to *each* of the three triple crown races, pick 5
horses. You are limited by the total of
the "seeds" of the horses you select. On the Wednesday or Thursday before each race, I will send out a
list of the horses entered in the race, and the "seeds" I have
assigned. Note that once I send
them out, these "seeds" won't change, even if the
odds, etc., change, or if there is a scratch.
The "seeds" of your five horses must add up to 25.
You get points as follows:
Finish Points
====== ======
1 150
2 120
3 100
4 80
5 60
6 40
All other finishers 20
Note that "coupled entry" horses are treated as
one for our selection, similar to actual betting at the track. Whichever of the coupled horses finishes
higher,
you get points for that horse. You get no points for the other coupled horse.
If one of your horses is scratched on or near race day, you
can call in changes in your selections at the last minute. Just leave a message on my work voicemail,
at (213) 356-6222.
Maximum points for the event: 1530
==========================
Event #8: Tennis
==========================
2003 Deadline: May 26
A total of 64 men and 64 women participate in each of the grand
slams. Pick 3 male tennis players and 3
female tennis players. We only use the
French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon to tabulate points.
You get 10 points for each match that your players win (if they
win the tournament, they will have won six matches). You get an additional 20 points if the player gets into the championship
match for the tournament, but loses.
You get an additional 50 points if he/she wins it all.
Maximum points for the event: 1320
================================
Event #9: College
Football
================================
2003 Deadline: August 23 (tentative)
To complete an entry, pick one team in each of the six major
conferences (Pac10, SEC, Big10, Big12, ACC, and Big East). Additionally, pick four "at-large"
teams, which can be any Division I-A team.
Those will be your teams for the entire year. You receive 7 points for every non-bowl win. Additionally, you get 10 points for each
team that wins their conference title, even if it isn't one of the five conferences
listed above. You get an additional 10
points for each team that makes it into a bowl, an additional 25 points for
each team that wins a bowl, and an additional 25 points if one of your teams
wins the national championship (AP only).
Maximum points for the event: 1315
================================
Event #10: NFL
================================
The NFL will be a three-stage event.
*** Stage One:
2003 Deadline: September 7
To complete an entry, pick one team in each of the six
divisions. Additionally, pick 2
"wild card" teams, which can be any NFL teams, but must be in
different divisions. Those will be your
teams for the entire year. You receive
5 points for every win. Additionally,
you get 10 points for each team that makes it into the playoffs, an additional
25 points for each team that makes it to the Super Bowl, and an additional 50
points for a team that wins the Super Bowl.
Maximum points for stage 1: 720
*** Stage Two:
2003 Deadline: January 4 (tentative)
A total of 12 teams make the playoffs -- 6 in each of the
conferences. The teams are seeded as
shown below. To complete an entry, pick
5 teams whose seeds add up to *at least* 14 points. Note that the 5 teams can be from any conference. For example, you could take the 1st seed
from both conferences, the 3rd seed from both conferences, and the 6th seed
from one of the conferences, and your entry would be valid (1 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 6 =
14). Or, you could take the 1st through
5th seed from one conference, and that would be valid (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15).
You get 40 points for every game that any of your teams win,
an additional 10 points for each 2nd round game any of your teams win, an
additional 30 points for each 3rd round game any of your teams win, and an
additional 50 points if one of your teams wins the Super Bowl.
Maximum points for the event: 630
*** Stage Three:
2003 Deadline: February 1, 2004
Prior to the Super Bowl, pick the winner. If you are correct, and your team wins by
1-6 points, you get 50 points, if they win by 7-13 points, you get 75 points,
if they win by 14-20 points, you get 100 points, if they win by 21-27 points,
you get 125 points, etc.
Maximum points for the stage 3: unlimited, but let's say
200.
Maximum points for the event: 1,550