The Field is Set

Oh yes, it's Go Time. Please do not be concerned about the police detail, they are here to protect you! The smog? Not so much. Thank you for your entries and welcome to the 2008 Olympic Challenge!

We have 26 players in this year’s field, a record for the Challenge, spanning from California to Colorado to Chicago to Indiana to Quebec to D.C. and finally Norway. Payouts will be $85 to first, $40 to second, and $5 to last.

I have attached the full standings excel file, with early results included. Picks were widely scattered in most of the groups, with a few interesting trends. USA and China were popular picks, as only a handful was tempted by the double-dip A2 group… Most went chalk on group B with either Japan or Great Britain. Group C was a potpourri (don’t worry Canadians, the canoe medals are still to come – everything’s going to be ok.) while Kenya was the darling of group D. Group E had typical creativity: Dental Hygenius chose Iceland, whose name does not inspire confidence in a SUMMER Olympic games. Also, 2 of you can’t wait for the big showdown between Uzbekistan and Seychelles in the M 85kg weightlifting event (insider tip: the Uzbek guy can lift what the Seychelle dude can lift ALONG WITH the Seychelle dude himself… wager accordingly).

Curiously, Daniel of the sun and Gharry have identical country picks, so the gold guarantee is definitely in play for them. Halfpoint and Flippy Flyer also have the same picks, which is of particular concern because the last time these two were in the same place at the same time, this happened:

(photo courtesy of flippy flyer)

Speaking of the gold guarantee, it seems there will be many of you watching the men’s 200 m butterfly finals on Aug. 13. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Michael Phelps has swum 9 of the 10 fastest times ever in the event? Maybe? PegLegMeg of course can’t be bothered with swimming, because she’ll be dialed into the coverage of the women’s 25 m pistol competition on MSNBC… Won’t we all, PegLegMeg? Won’t we all?

First update will be coming out shortly on the website. Enjoy the games, everyone!

Poolmaster