All Hail Mike and Dana!!! Final Standings for Pool 2006

Dear ones,

Another tourney has come and gone. It's sadder than I can say aloud. We've left so much undone, unexamined. Why is Bill at Eton? Why won't Diana play anymore? What about Jules Prown? Why only one Prown-Coleman kid in the pool? How many more children will Matt "Mr. Virile" Peterson and his lovely wife, Liz "Fecund to Nobody" Rambeau, produce just so that they can have more pool entries? How're things at Rancho Lavendara? Will Scott Silet's new bride join us in the pool next time? Could Dave beat up David, or would David mop the floor with Dave? Will Jonathan still insist on backing Big 10 teams? A million questions, and there are a million more I'd like to ask.

No time for that crapola now. Pool's over. I'll continue to check this blog, and even to post here, if anyone else will. It'd be nice to stay in touch in months other than March.

But now, for the business at hand. This year's winner, in a walkover, is Michael Mike Miguel Wrinkler Quibbler Winkler, who can add his pool victory to his only other life accomplishment worth noting, succeeding in winning the hand of the lovely Eileen. Now he has two things for his resume. Congrats to Mike, who led more or less wire to wire. It was a trouncing, and the rest of us should take a moment to hang our heads in shame...that's enough. Mike will be receiving the inaugural Pool Traveling Trophy, as soon as I figure out what it should be. Don't hold your breath, Miguel.

Another genius deserves a mention here. Of the 27 of us in the pool, only Dana (whose hoop picking skills have been much maligned over the years) picked the Gators to win the whole shebang. Good on ya, Dana. Tell us, did you know something? Did you scout the teams? Were you impressed by the ball handling abilities of their frontcourt? Or did the school colors remind you of happy family dinners at Howard Johnson's? Now that was petty, I apologize, Dana. You're a genius, and that's that.

Here are the final standings:

1. MIKE - 71
2. Ruth - 67
3. Maggi - 62
4. David - 61
4. Eileen - 61
4. Matt - 61
7. Dana - 60
8. Scott - 59
9. Dave - 58
9. Sophie - 58
9. Steve - 58
12. Dayle - 57
12. Sarah - 57
14. John - 54
14. Knott - 54
16. Bill - 53
16. Calvin - 53
18. Dykes - 47
18. Gena - 47
20. Hank - 46
20. Liz - 46
22. Ben - 44
23. Acy - 41
23. Jonathan - 41
25. Willow - 40
26. Ellie - 29
27. Alexander - 28