2011 CWS Contest, Phase II

In case you haven't noticed, I've been running a little contest here for the past two weeks that revolves around the College World Series. Twenty-five people have already entered and have a tiny head start. But, it is not too late to get in on the action. There are plenty more points to be earned and no one is even close to locking this thing up yet. So here is all you have to do- fill out a College World Series bracket.

Keep in mind that this bracket is nothing like filling out a March Madness bracket. The reason for that is because of the loser's bracket. But, I am going to try to make this as simple as I can. Here is my homemade bracket. Click on it to hopefully see a bigger view.




Just for clarification, Vandy=Vanderbilt, UNC=North Carolina, A&M= Texas A&M, and USC=South Carolina. If you are unsure about any of the others, just ask.

Here is a how the bracket breaks down. There are two groups in the bracket- A and B. Each group has six games is it. All you have to do is guess who is going to win each of the games as they advance towards the championship round.

For instance, group A has Vandy and UNC squaring off in game 1 and Florida and Texas going in game 2. Pick who is going to win each of those games and then those two teams will square off in game 3. The losers of games 1 and 2 will then square off in game 4. Then, the loser in game 3 plays the winner of game 4 in game 5.

At that point, there will be one team left in the group that is 2-0 (winner of game 3) and one that is 2-1 (winner of game 5). Those two teams play in game 6, which is an elimination game. If the 2-0 teams loses, they play a game 7 and the winner advances to the championship. If the 2-0 team wins game 6, they go straight to the championship without game 7. BUT, for the sake of this bracket, I am going going to count it as one game. Just pick who you think is going to advance. It doesn't matter how they do it. I am going to call it game 6/7.

After that, you should have a team advancing out of group A. Do the same for group B. Those two teams are your final teams. In the CWS, they play a best of three series for the championship. Pick who you think will win it all and if they will win it in two games or three. Then, for a tie breaker, guess how many runs will be scored in the championship series (the final two or three games), without going over.

It might be easier for you to fill it out on paper first. But to enter the contest, leave a comment looking something similar to this.

A1: UNC
A2: Texas
A3: Texas
A4: Florida
A5: UNC
A6/7: UNC

B1: Cal
B2: A&M
B3: Cal
B4: USC
B5: A&M
B6/7: A&M

UNC over A&M in two games, 17 runs scored.

For the sake of the tie breaker, do not pick a number already chosen by someone else. Even if your teams don't make it to the finals, the tiebreaker will still apply to you in the event of a tie.

If you guess every game right, including how many games will be played in the finals, you can come out with 22 points. There will be a winner and a runner-up. They will have some things to spilt up amongst them. As for what kind of things, I do not know for sure. But, here are a few things that will be up for grabs in some way, shape, or form. I know it may not look like much now, but I always come home with some loot from Omaha. It is going to be a little different this year with the new ballpark, but I am hoping that the AT&T Fanfest tent is still the place to be.



The CWS begins at 2:00 PM, eastern, on Saturday, June 18. So, all entries must be in by that point. If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me at zman40 at hotmail dot com. Or, just ask in the comments. Good luck!

I will post the standing through the Super Regionals at a later date. But, the leaders have six points and there are a few people that didn't pick a team that made it. But, I will get into that tomorrow (hopefully).