ACSS WORLD CUP DRAFT

This will be our official draft location. Almost everyone has writing ability for the blog, so when its your turn, log on and fill in the team you select. All trash talking and mocking of picks should be done in the comments section. It seems a bunch of us like the idea of starting now and drafting over the next 36 hours.

Along with this idea, we are going to allow trading of picks/teams. Every person is only allowed to have 4 teams. Uneven trades for picks are allowed (2 for 1 or 3 for 2 etc) with person giving away more teams taking over the last pick in the draft. Once all 32 teams have been drafted, no more uneven trades will be allowed. Trading teams will be allowed up until the the kickoff of the first game Friday. At that point, all teams will be finalized. So feel free to do back room dealings or proposing trades in the comments. Let the drafting begin


ROUND 1

1 Dave Weir: BRAZIL
2 Mark Fodor: SPAIN
3 Derek Wilson: ITALY
4 Ryan Parrent: NETHERLANDS
5 Colin Newman/O'Shea: ARGENTINA
6 Steve Noffke: GERMANY
7 Tim Transon: PORTUGAL
8 Dan Noffke: ENGLAND

ROUND 2

1 Dan Noffke: FRANCE
2 Tim Transon: SERBIA
3 Steve Noffke: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4 Colin Newman/O'Shea: CAMEROON
5 Ryan Parrent: IVORY COAST
6 Derek Wilson: MEXICO
7 Mark Fodor: URUGUAY
8 Dave Weir: GREECE

ROUND 3

1 Dave Weir: PARAGUAY
2 Mark Fodor: DENMARK
3 Derek Wilson: CHILE
4 Ryan Parrent: GHANA
5 Colin Newman/O'Shea: SLOVAKIA
6 Steve Noffke: SWITZERLAND
7 Tim Transon: NIGERIA
8 Dan Noffke: AUSTRALIA

ROUND 4

1 Dan Noffke: JAPAN
2 Tim Transon: SLOVENIA
3 Steve Noffke: SOUTH KOREA
4 Colin Newman/O'Shea: SOUTH AFRICA
5 Ryan Parrent: HONDURAS
6 Derek Wilson: ALGERIA
7 Mark Fodor: NORTH KOREA
8 Dave Weir: NEW ZEALAND


With the final pick in the 2010 World Cup Draft, Dave Weir Selects, Mr. Irrelevant New Zealand!!


Mr. Weir also reminded me about payments. Either find me or mail it to the follow address

Stephen Noffke
636 W Waveland
Apt 2F
Chicago IL, 606013

World Cup Draft Order and List of World Cup Teams

I used excel to assign random numbers to determine the draft order and this is what it spit out.



1 Dave Wier
2 Mark Fodor
3 Derek Wilson
4 Ryan Parrent
5 Colin Newman/O'Shea
6 Steve Noffke
7 Tim Transon
8 Dan Noffke


Here are the lists of available teams listed by group

Group A
France
Mexico
South Africa
Uruguay

Group B
Argentina
Greece
Korea Republic (South Korea)
Nigeria

Group C
Algeria
England
Slovenia
United States

Group D
Australia
Germany
Ghana
Serbia

Group E
Cameroon
Denmark
Japan
Netherlands

Group F
Italy
New Zealand
Paraguay
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
Cote d' Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Korea DPR (North Korea)
Portugal

Group H
Chile
Honduras
Spain
Switzerland

Mandel on College Football Expansion

My favorite college football writer, Stewart Mandel, wrote a pretty good piece with lots of excellent links on his thoughts on Expansion.

It seems that this week is the big week for expansion as the Big XII has given and ultamtum to Nebraska and Mizzou about whethere they are in or out and needs an answer by th 15th. The Big XII (mainly Texas actually) needs this answer soon to decide whether the confrence will remain, or if 6 of thier schools will expect an invitation to join the Pac-16.

Mandel goes in much more detail and I recommend everyone read it. He also lists out 16 scenarios (some a lot more realistic then others as he admits) for expansion.

Best Move of the Stanley Cup Finals So Far

This just makes me smile.

World Cup Pick'em

The 8 people are in and the draft time is Wed at 6 CST right here on the blog.

The 8 people are 7 bloggers and 1 former intern

Colin Newman/O'Shea
Derek Wilson
Dan Noffke
Dave Wier
Mark Fodor
Ryan Parrent
Steve Noffke
Tim Transon


The easiest way to draft would be if we could all hop on a chat (AIM, GMAIL, Facebook etc.) but worst case scenario we can just do it here via the posting/comments. Anybody have any great suggestions?

If anybody has any other general thoughts or questions leave a comment below or try and get a hold of me.

UPDATE:

Fodor is all about the repicking while protecting 1 team after the group stage. I am not as thrilled, it should be taken into account while your making your picks. I know none of us are experts but I still have some strategy. What does everyone out there think?

Stakes: 20 to get in with 80 for group round and 80 for the winner. If we want to go higher, again let me know.

World Cup Pick’em

I know we had close to 8 people who we thought would play but now I can’t think of them. Here’s who I’ve got, please let me know who I am missing

Steve
Fodor
Shark
Derek
Dan Noffke
Dave Weir
Ryan (who is in Mexico and will be unable to draft for himself)

Am I missing anyone? I feel like we had our 8.

Well the World Cup starts Friday, and I know Fodor will be MIA after Wed, so I propose we do our draft on Wed, 1 hr before the Hawks game, so 6 CST. Let me know if that time works.

Alright here’s my proposal for the World Cup Pick’em.

Draft

8 guys pick 4 teams

Random order selected with snake order for drafting


Group Stage

2 points for a win
1 point for a tie

The person who’s teams score the most point wins the group round



Elimination Stage

No Repicking teams. Winner takes all


I think it’s pretty simple. Let me know what you guys think.

UPDATE:

I've gotten the green light on time from the following people

Steve
Dave Wier
Dan Noffke
Ryan
Fodor
Derek

Stanley Cup Game 5 Live Blog

Tonight I will be doing a live blog during the Blackhawks and Flyers Stanley Cup game. The game starts at 7 CST and the post will be updated frequently so please be sure to refresh often. I am already ready, I got my lucky Captain Serious Jersey on, a cold drink in my hand and ready to start hearing a lot of this.







Alright, WE ARE LIVE here at La Casa de Steve! We are a mere 7 miles away from the action tonight. To make sure I officially steal everything about Sports Guy's running diary, I will let you know that I am joined by my own Sports Gal Jamie and my animals Hester and Halas. I am drinking some SoCo and Mt Dew, got two brats soaking in beer waiting to be grilled at the 1st intermission. I will be taking drink suggestions as well as any karamatic suggestions throughout the night so please post them as we go along (assuming anybody out there is actually reading. I will be light on links and photo's from here on out, but will do my best. Go HAWKS!

7:03 - After an interview with Duncan Kieth, Dan Patrick makes the first Ducan Kieth is missing teeth reference of the night. Glad we got that out of the way

7:04 - Eddie O is looking sharp as always. The past two years have really been a coming out party for him. He is a strong announcer and glad he does most hawks games with Foley

7:05 - Bets I'm throwing out there off the top of my head

Over/Under First Goal: First Period
Will Kane Score: Yes


7:06 - Great joke on NBC's Stand Up show. "This Girl goes to me, 'you know if you lost 35 lbs you'd be a really good looking guy' to which I responded 'yeah, and if i did all that i'd be over there talking to your friends over there." Jamie: You going to tell that to me if you ever get skinny.

7:07 - Jamie "I need more wine." Haha good start to the game. We have yet to decide if we will participate in the most unoriginal drinking game every, but everyone seems to do it. Shots for every hawks goal?

7:10 - Jamie "I hate when they get the old guys on the ice pretending to play, this is worse then Ditka and the guys on their fake field. Who gave them ice time for this?" I couldn't have said it better myself.

7:14 - UC is the biggest Stadium in the NHL. Always a fun fact, let's see how loud they turn up the crowd mikes. I still don't think it'll be loud as this.



7:19 - Pierre, the bald guy who just interviewed Toews, is creepy, I haven't found anyone who disagrees.

7:19 - Toews "I told the guys to just go out there and have fun, why put anymore pressure on us then necessary" I like his confidence

7:20 - Good showing for the anthem. Question did they show the anthem at any other venues, or just Chicago because of the cheering tradition?

7:23 - 22,000 strong at the UC, and the Hawks win the opening faceoff

7:24 - New lines today. Coach Q broke up Toews and Kane, something i thought he'd never do, but got to try to do something. I think Kane and Sharp work well together (YEAH USA) hopefully they can get some goals.

7:27 - Jamie "So we have the Mcdonalds break down and the Bud Light Powerplay: Advertisements are over the top uneccesary" welcome to NBC "We lost money on the Olympics, we sure as hell aren't losing money on the Stanley Cup" Sports

7:30 - First Comment! thanks Tim, appreciate the love

7:31 - Powerplay had a couple of good looks, had good patience, but no avail.

7:32 - Hawks chances 9 Flyers 0. Good start to the game

7:33 - Sharp has a great shot stopped. The Kane Sharp Kopesky line has looked good so far.

7:36 - Almost done with my SoCo and Mt Dew. Should I change it up? Any Karma ramifications?

7:37 - First Eff bomb on dumb penalty. I hate powerplays, bad for the heart. Hawks led NHL reg season and playoffs in shorthanded goals, so there's some hope. Good look by Philly, but the Hawks were able to clear and and waste about 30 seconds in the Philly zone

7:40 - Hawks kill the Powerplay with Steve yelling "Tripping" and the refs agree. Hawks will be on the powerplay. Jamie on him "I hate him, his red hair, his red beard, there is nothing at all to like about him." Steve "what's his name" Jamie "Gimlley"

7:45 - Great pass from Versteeg to Seabrook and...........GOOOOAAALL!!



7:46 - From the Comments found out that Jordan's there. How did I miss seeing him on the TV. Glad to see him there, I mean, it is the house that he built. I had my celebrity fan column a few weeks ago, and really, he is Chicago's most famous fan. Glad to see him there. I wonder how he feels about the Toews jersey on his statue outside?

7:49 - I hate Crosby. Just had to say it. But speaking of him. We know that Crosby was the youngest Captain in NHL history and that Toews was the third youngest ever, but is the current youngest. If the Hawks win, will Toews be younger then Crosby was last year?

7:51 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! Jamie "So much for the Delayed penalty huh!" Bolland off the goalies skate, wasn't pretty but I'll take it.

7:52 - Worst line of the night

Dan Patrick: "It's getting madder in the Madhouse on Madison"

or

Doc: "Eager was getting more eager on that"

7:53 - Welcome Derrick! Bringing the goals along with your comments!

7:54 - STEEGER!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAALLL!! He's the MVP of the game right now! Madhouse going crazy, This is what the Hawks needed to do tonight.

7:55 - Jamie, "What are the words to Chelsea Dagger besides Da Da Da Da?" They really aren't that exciting


Well you must be a girl with shoes like that
She said you know me well
I seen you and little Steven and Joanna
Round the back of my hotel oh yeah

Someone said you was asking after me
But I know you best as a blagger
I said tell me your name is it sweet?
She said my boy it's dagger oh yeah

I was good she was hot
Stealin' everything she got
I was bold she was over the worst of it
Gave me gear thank you dear bring yer sister over here
Let her dance with me just for the hell of it

and you only get that far in the UC very rarely

7:57 - Couldn't have scripted the first period any better if I wanted to. Three goals from three different players, solid defense all around with only two or three really close opportunities for the Flyers taking the pressure off Nemei. For Karmatic reasons, I might have to keep blogging through all of this game and even game 6. Sadly, I am out of Mt Dew so if we start playing bad, blame the fact that I am changing drinks.

7:58 - Taking a quick break for intermission, be back in a few.

8:20 - A few cleanup items. The Crosby comment was inspired by his awful commercial. I agree with Tim and Fodor that Jordan took the jersey off the statue and is now wearing it. I'd like to thank Derek for taking time off his busy skiing trip to find time to watch the game and an internet connection to chat on ACSS.

8:21 - Philly has pulled their goalie. Don't blame them, got to make a move.

8:22 - I was still finishing grilling and not blogging when Philly scored, I blame myself and only myself

8:23 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAL!!!!!! Great rush by the hawks, and a beautiful pass from Ladd after being stopped and props to Kane to finishing it. Clearly the Karma gods want me blogging while the action is going on.

8:24 - I won both my bets tonight! Not that anyone took me up on my offers, but still, I RULE!

8:27 - Flyers goal. Dannie Brierre puts it in. Ugh, then Eddie O compares him to the Wayne Gretzky and Mario Liemux. Brierre should never be mentioned with two of the top five players ever. Eddie I take back my early complement

8:32 - Buff just destroyed Pronger! More replays please. That was awesome!

8:34 - Hartnell "Gimmley" throws an elbow to the back of Kopeski's head. He's a goon we all know it. Let's send big buff his way

8:35 - PP is looking good, but need to get more shots on net


8:37 - I think that's a bad call, sure maybe he held on to long, but the reason the puck was "thrown" was cuase he was hit from behind. Still, don't want to be in that situation

8:38 - HUGE SAVE BY NEMI!!!! Richards really should have scored there. Great pass from Gagne

8:40 - A terrifying Penalty kill if i have to say so myself!

8:41 - Toews lays out Hartwell, then starts a 2-1 but couldn't finish it. That would have been a huge insurance goal.

8:43 - Commercials! Yay! Inception is the only orginal movie idea this summer, everything else is a remake or a sequel. Hollywood's one job is to be creative, and this is the best they can do?

8:43 - So while we are at this break, what's everybody drinking?

8:45 - Boucher with a big save, no Hawks around for the rebound, and then Hossa hits the post, it's not a question of if the Hawks score again, but when? I see another 3 goals at least in this game.

8:46 - Kane tries to do too much with the puck (One of the reasons Q likes playing on the road, he thinks his players don't try to be as fancy with the crowd against him) takes a nice spin, and loses the puck, but the play does end with Pronger in the penalty box for only the second time this series. I guess I can't complain too much. Let's get some shots on net this powerplay.

8:48 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLL!!!!!!!!!!!! Every Hawk on the ice touches the puck on the power play with Dustin Buff putting it home!!! That was beautiful, and how a powerplay should be run.


8:51 - Tim thanks for the help with that goal

8:52 - I am still not a huge fan of Campbell's giant contract, but he has played excellent this post season since coming back from the AO cheap shot

I think last year Campbell was trying to do too much and live up to his giant contract. This year he has settled into his role, and has worked well teaming with Hjassereljakfjdaklfjadklfjsklsafkldjsflkson (Can you spell that name). Now that I said these nice thing, watch him trip over his own two feet again like last year against Detroit.

8:55 - Versteeg waited way too long, agree with Doc and Eddie, way to fancy. At that point, don't even shoot, pass the puck.

8:56 - Hawks looked a lot sloppier in the 2nd then they did in the first, but they leave with the same lead. Nemi made a big save and the Hawks have looked good since then

Buff's stats line: 1 goal, 2 assists and 5 hits, maybe he's my new MVP.

Alright, another quick break, I promise i'll be back before the start of the 3rd.

9:06 - Dan Patrick on an overhead blimp shot of the Chicago River. "They dye the river green on St Patrick's day, and you can be sure if the Hawks win they will dye it red." Jamie "With the BLOOD OF THE FLYERS!" Wow

9:16 - Back before the start this time

9:18 - BTW, if you want to be lame and follow the Simmons, he's doing a live blog for the NBA Finals he's trying to steal hits from me, that copy cat!

9:21 - Fodor wanted me to look up faceoff percentages. Hawks were 3rd in the NHL at 52.4% and Philly was 13th just over 50% at 50.1%

9:24 - Fodor text, "According to the radio color guy, Kopesky has thick and powerful thighs. that was awkward"

9:25 - Big goal for the Flyers. They are now within striking distance down two. I wouldn't say i'm worried yet, but concerned would be appropriate. Hawks need an insurance goal. (My 3 more goal prediction would also come true)

9:28 - I agree with Tim's comments about Kane being a Sabers fan. Do you think Nemi could name three hawks players before he came over from Finland? Probably not, but he's a big Hawks fan now.

9:30 - Here's another good bet, who will end the series with more ice time, Pronger or Keith? Both are right about 30 minutes a game.

9:32 - Just realized I have listed every goal, but haven't given an actual score update all post. So here's the reset, Flyers 3 Hawks 5 with 10:03 to play.

9:33 - Brierre is bleeding profusely. Always a fun sentence. I wonder if Brierre will bleed as much as Gretzky since you know they are practically the same person.



9:37 - This is a huge penalty kill for the Hawks.

9:40 - That was pretty, good job Hawks, as Doc said, "Only one shot and it was a weak one"

9:43 - I was sooo frustrated with Big Buff all regular season, but I love the insight we just got. He told a teammate to dump the puck in deep just so he could check Pronger. Nice

9:45 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLL!! That was a huge insurance goal by Sharp. Sharp has been playing well all night and finally gets to find the back of the net for his efforts


Flyers 3 Hawks 6

9:48 - Well that was short lived, Flyers score and bring it close

Flyers 4 Hawks 6

9:50 - Flyers pull the Goalie with lots of time left, Versteeg makes a good play, centers it and Buff puts it in from center ice, back up 3 with 2 to play

Flyers 4 Hawks 7

9:52 First team to reach 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals in a decade, The UC is rocking, this was a huge win and a great performance by the Hawks! Big Big Big game for the Hawks. Also, awful jacket being worn by Stan Mikta, just awful

Some final thoughts. I like Tim's stat about Pronger being on the for 6 of Chicago's 7 goals.

The Hawks looked like the better team for most the night, which is how it should be. They need to come out strong in the first period of game 6, take the momentum away from the Philly crowd, cause I know I do not want the series coming back to Chicago.

Big Buff was the 1st star of the game, which is right in my book.

I went three for three tonight on my bets/predictions. Sadly nobody wanted to bet against me so I am no richer for my amazing predicting ability

Live Blog Final Thoughts:

The live blog is a little intense, I don't get to watch the game as closely since i'm constantly looking down at my computer and typing, but it was a lot of fun. The karma gods liked it so maybe i'll bust this out again on Wed. That is assuming that is what the readers want. I know Fodor is going to be pissed with my record setting comments performance after being basically out for a month but this type of column and event encourages it.

Any suggestions on how to make it better. More random thoughts, less random thoughts? More links/videos, less links videos. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I'll put a post up Tuesday with my live blogging decision.