Atwork: Packers*/Ravens/Chiefs
Jimmy V: Ravens/Packers/Titans
Craft Brew: Chiefs/Ravens/Packers
B-Reezy: Rams/Packers/Titans
Roxy Trot: Ravens/Packers/Chiefs
Sponge Mom: Ravens/Titans/Rams
The Bookie: Rams/Eagles/Texans
Big Tuna: Ravens*/Rams/Texans
Woody: Bears/Buccaneers/Chiefs
The Strategist: Chiefs*/Steelers/Rams
Wise Orangutan: Titans/Panthers/Rams
KateTDid: Titans*/Buccaneers/Rams
Little Tuna: Rams/Panthers/Texans
* Denotes home team
Spit Box:
1. Need those icky Packers to lose so da Bears can be number one in the division!!!
2. I would have taken the Browns if it counted as a Hater!
3. Hope this blind dog stumbles across a bone this week.
4. I'm going to be sweating it out with Craft Brew this week!!!
5. I really want to take my home team but I don't want to jinx them.
6. Hoping to do better this week!
7. My fingers are crossed on all 3 games. Certainly Brady needs to prove he is the better quarterback. Haha
8. I'm going for it all!!!
The Results Are (Coming) In:
Atwork: Packers*/Ravens/Chiefs (3 points)
Jimmy V: Ravens/Packers/Titans (3 points)
Craft Brew: Chiefs/Ravens/Packers(3 points)
B-Reezy: Rams/Packers/Titans(0 points)
Roxy Trot: Ravens/Packers/Chiefs (3 points)
Sponge Mom: Ravens/Titans/Rams(3 points)
The Bookie: Rams/Eagles/Texans(0 points)
Big Tuna: Ravens*/Rams/Texans(0 points)
Woody: Bears/Buccaneers/Chiefs(6 points)
The Strategist: Chiefs*/Steelers/Rams(3 points)
Wise Orangutan: Titans/Panthers/Rams(0 points)
KateTDid: Titans*/Buccaneers/Rams(3 points)
Little Tuna: Rams/Panthers/Texans(0 points)
* Denotes home team
Player Haters Picks:
Broncos only (no possible Player Hater combination in Leg 2).
An amicable (and therefore unpleasant) start to the seventh running of the Black-Eyed Analysts! Only a handful of Analysts went for the sucker punch that separates leaders from also-rans out of the gates–and fewer earned a *base* Trifecta!
B-Reezy (6 points, 1 Correct Home Team Pick) jumps out of the gates for the early lead by a nose over Atwork (6 points, 0 Correct Home Team Picks).
In a contest for third place at 3 points each, Woody by virtue of 1 Correct Home Team Pick edges out Wise Orangutan in fourth (2 forced turnovers) and The Strategist in fifth place (1 forced turnover).
Over half of the field struggles on the heavy track and net 0 Trifecta points around the clubhouse turn. KateTDid has sixth place with 1 Correct Home Team Pick, while Jimmy V, Craft Brew, Roxy Trot, Sponge Mom, The Bookie, Big Tuna and Little Tuna are separated by the hairs of their horses’ nostrils [forced turnovers per game] from seventh to last place (not in the order mentioned above).
Trifecta Points
Standings after Leg 1 of Player Haters Preakness VII
Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers after Leg 1 of Player Haters Preakness VII
Atwork: Ravens/Saints/Seahawks Jimmy V: 49ers/Chiefs/Ravens Craft Brew: Bills/Chiefs/Ravens B-Reezy: Bears*/Seahawks/Ravens Roxy Trot: 49ers*/Bills/Chiefs Sponge Mom: 49ers/Chiefs/Ravens The Bookie: Bills*/Eagles/Dolphins Big Tuna: Buccaneers/Dolphins/Colts Woody: Seahawks*/49ers/Saints The Strategist: Chiefs*/Ravens/Seahawks Wise Orangutan: Ravens/Chiefs/Seahawks KateTDid: Titans*/Colts/Chargers Little Tuna: Buccaneers*/Dolphins/Colts * Denotes home team
Spit Box:
1. Cursed Thursday night games or Covid games….crappy choices!!!! 2. No Go on Thursday Night Game. Don’t need the Curse!!! 3. No one on the Bills will want to get too close to the Titans in case they still have covid. 4. Scary picks. 5. I strive for 5!!! 6. Keeping my fingers crossed this week for a trifecta!!! 7. Boo…Woody gave up everyone’s easy hater pick!! 😉
The Analysts have submitted their papers and claimed their Home Teams. The Claim Box for Player Haters Preakness VII is:
Entrants for Player Haters Preakness VII
Slate of Games
Revised Slate of Games for Player Haters Preakness VII
The Slate of Games for Player Haters Preakness VII includes ten (10!) eleven (11!) head-to-head competitions during the month (the first tiebreaker in the race). Leg 1 and Leg 3 (both have 10 games) may prove to be key for the Player Haters! And, Leg 2 has only 7 Games as three Home Teams take a bye and 6 Home Teams play each other. After rescheduling, Leg 1 features 9 games and Leg 2 only 8 games. Leg 3 offers 10 games to choose from, while Leg 4 again features 9 games with four head-to-head match-ups!
Leg 1, the clubhouse turn, features 8 7 un-Claimed teams on the road against Home Teams. The back stretch look challenging: Leg 2 presents only 5 un-Claimed teams against Home Teams. 3 of which are on the road. The most promising Player Haters opportunities appear to be in the near turn: Leg 3 has 8 un-Claimed Home Teams, seven of which host the game (at home). Leg 4 then again has only 5 un-Claimed teams facing Home Teams.
Home teams owned by an Analyst are in bold. The team at the left is the visiting team; the team at the right is the host (playing at home). There are several featured games: two one Thursday nights (TNF), three Sunday nights (SNF), and three four Monday nights (MNF), and a Tuesday night (rescheduled).
Seven Five Home Teams are on a bye-week during Player Haters Preakness VII!
Picks
Remember: Every Analyst has a bias for his or her Home Team and may NOT pick their Claimed team to lose. Analysts do not have to pick his or her Home Team to win, but *bonus* trifecta points are won only if Analysts include the Home Team in a *base* or *lame* Trifecta. See the Preakness Rules for more.
Email picks in private to The Bookie before each Leg (week) of the Race. Thursday Picks are due at 5pm EST / 2pm PST on Thursdays. All Sunday and Monday Picks are due on Saturdays at 5pm EST / 2pm PST. No Picks for games after kickoffs are accepted.
No revisions (Re-Picks) are possible after the Picks have been released to all Analysts by The Bookie.
One Analyst jumped out of the gates with what would prove to be the only Player Haters *base* Trifecta in the sixth running of the Preakness. Heading into the home stretch the Analyst had a comfortable 9 point lead with a favorable Slate of Games to protect his lead. And the winner of Player Haters Preakness VI is….
Atwork! Leading wire to wire, Atwork Wins with 27 points, almost double his closest competitors.
Vying for the Place, The Bookie (15 points) and B-Reezy (15 points) end in a photo finish. On second tiebreaker (Home Team Picks), The Bookie (1) noses past B-Reezy (0) for Place!
No less than six Analysts finished with 12 points, separated by only tiebreakers. Roxy Trot (4 Correct Home Team Picks) edges out the rest of the competition for fourth place. Each with 2 Correct Home Team Picks, Sponge Mom (2.3 turnovers per game played [tpgp]) takes fifth, just nose hairs ahead of Woody (1.3 tpgp) in sixth and Big Tuna (0.8 tpgp) in seventh. With 1 Correct Home Team Pick each, Jimmy V (1.5 tpgp) finishes in eighth place inches ahead of Craft Brew (1.3 tpgp) in ninth place.
Little Tuna (9 points, 1 Correct Home Team Pick) ends in tenth place, just in front of The Strategist in eleventh place (9 points, 0 Correct Home Team Picks). Wise Orangutan runs a desperate race for twelfth place, while KateTDid (0 points) takes les vacances in last place.
Trifecta Points
Standings after Leg 4 of Player Haters Preakness VI
Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers after Leg 4 of Player Haters Preakness VI
Standings after Leg 3 of Player Haters Preakness VI
Atwork has a 9-point lead (more than a *base* Trifecta) on his nearest challengers. B-Reezy and The Bookie currently have a 3-to-6 point lead on most of the field for Place.
The Slate of Games in Leg 4 presents two problems. First, there are only 4 games featuring un-Claimed teams so a Player Haters Trifecta for 12- or 18- points will be less likely. But also, with four head-to-head games and eight games total, a *lame* Trifecta for 3 points may be more difficult for the leaders.
Scenarios
Eighteen points is the maximum possible in a Leg of the Player Haters Preakness, and that is only possible with 3 Player Hater Picks.
For the Win: The Strategist and KateTDid are eliminated.
Atwork is in a strong position due to the Slate of Games and his 9-point lead with 3 Correct Home Team Picks. He can eliminate all Analysts with a 12-point Trifecta (2 Player Haters), but a *lame* Trifecta for 3 points is almost as unbeatable due to Atwork‘s tiebreaker advantages. Only B-Reezy, The Bookie, Craft Brew* and Roxy Trot* can best him and only with a Perfect Player Haters Trifecta (18 points) if he earns 3 points. [*The Packers must lose to the Chiefs in Leg 4 for either to have a possibility to win on tiebreakers.]
If Atwork earns 0 points this week, then…B-Reezy and The Bookie can Win with a 12-point Player Haters Trifecta (two Haters). Craft Brew needs a 12-point Player Haters Trifecta AND the Chiefs to beat the Packers. All other Analysts with 6 points require a Perfect Players Haters Trifecta (18 points) to Win.
For the Place: No Analyst is eliminated.
Atwork is assured of a Place unless two or more Analysts earn Player Haters Trifectas (see above). Otherwise, The Bookie and B-Reezy have the inside rail, while Craft Brew and Roxy Trot have the outside rail. The Bookie currently has the tiebreaker advantage, so she only needs to outscore B-Reezy AND hold onto her tiebreaker advantage (+1 Correct Home Team Pick). B-Reezy needs to outscore The Bookie OR tie her with Correct Home Team Picks (+1) while holding onto the third tiebreaker advantage (turnovers per game played). Craft Brew needs to outscore both by at least 3 more points in order to Place outright or to force a photo finish on tiebreakers (Correct Home Team Picks or turnovers per game played).
The rest of the field needs to overcome the 6+ point lead currently held by B-Reezy and The Bookie. If either scores any points or Craft Brew scores 6+ points, that will require a 12-to-18 point Player Haters Trifecta.
If the these three front running Analysts fail to score more than 12 points total after Leg 4, Place may come down to a photo finish on tiebreakers. A few Analysts have head-to-head advantages over particular Analysts in the event of a tie (first tiebreaker, see full Standings). Otherwise, a photo finish favors Roxy Trot who has the strongest tiebreaker record (3 Correct Home Team Picks and 4.0 turnovers per game played). Several other Analysts have 1 Correct Home Team Pick to their advantage and can add to that this week. The Strategist has the strongest position for third tiebreaker [5.0 turnovers per game played] heading into Leg 4. Tiebreakers are subject to change after Leg 4 games based on head-to-head outcomes, Picks, and turnovers forced by Home Teams.
Several Analysts regain their footing around the near turn to add a *base* Trifecta to their totals. The front runner, however, kept up his pace to build a comfortable lead down the home stretch!
Atwork (21 points) adds a *base* Trifecta to hold onto first place with a 9-point lead over his nearest contenders.
Also notching *base* Trifecta, The Bookie (12 points) moves into second place, nosing out B-Reezy (12 points) in third place with 1 Correct Home Team Pick. Craft Brew (9 points) moves into contention with a *base* Trifecta to hold fourth place alone.
In the middle of the field, seven Analysts are in a tight contest for fifth place with 6 points each. Tiebreakers don’t produce a clear leader, but Sponge Mom and Little Tuna have head-to-head tiebreakers over Jimmy V and Woody, respectively. Roxy Trot leads the midfield with 4.0 turnovers per game (third tiebreaker), Big Tuna and Wise Orangutan lag with 1.0 turnover per game. Too close to call around the near turn!
Trotting around the track, The Strategist is in twelfth place with 3 points while KateTDid trails with 0 points.
Trifecta Points
Standings after Leg 3 of Player Haters Preakness VI
Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers after Leg 3 of Player Haters Preakness VI
Possible *base* Trifecta points (in parentheses) for Three Correct Picks:
The Strategist: Bears/Bills/49ers (6 points)
Craft Brew: Chiefs**/Patriots/49ers (6 points)
Big Tuna: Saints**/Titans*/Broncos* (12 points)
Roxy Trot: Patriots**/Bills/Chargers (6 points)
B-Reezy: Bills/Rams/49ers (6 points)
Jimmy V: Bills/49ers/Patriots (6 points)
Wise Orangutan: Broncos*/Falcons*/Jets* (18 points)
Little Tuna: Cowboys**/Falcons*/Titans* (12 points)
Sponge Mom: 49ers**/Bears/Patriots (6 points)
The Bookie: Bills**/49ers/Chiefs (6 points)
Atwork: Packers**/Patriots/Bills (6 points)
Woody: Broncos*/Bills/Patriots (6 points)
KateTDid: Bears**/Falcons*/Titans* (12 points)
** Denotes home team
* Denotes haters
Spit Box:
1. There is one perfect Player Haters Trifecta this week: J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
2. Need some football loving this weekend!!
3. I am feeling lucky like a punk!
4. We gotta play percentage. We'll try again!
Standings after Leg 2 of Player Haters Preakness VI
Atwork has a 9-point lead (more than a *base* Trifecta) on his nearest challengers. Currently, three Analyst trail him by 15 points and 2 Correct Home Team Picks. As always, full or partial Box Outs may be likely in the final two legs!
Scenarios
Eighteen points is the maximum possible in a Leg of the Player Haters Preakness, and that is only possible with 3 Player Hater Picks. With tiebreakers and a 9-point lead, the following are the risks of elimination for each Analyst if Atwork earns a *lame* Trifecta or better AND remains 2 Correct Home Team Picks ahead:
For the Win:Atwork can eliminate The Strategist, Jimmy V, and KateTDid if he scores 3 or more points than they do this week. Likewise, Atwork can eliminate Craft Brew, Big Tuna, Little Tuna, and Sponge Mom if he scores 6 or more points than they score this week. Roxy Trot and Woody have at least 1 Correct Home Team Pick, so Atwork may need a combination of 6 or more points AND 1 more Correct Home Team Pick to eliminate either. B-Reezy, Wise Orangutan, and The Bookie are safe unless Atwork earns a Player Haters Trifecta (12 or more points).
For the Place: Currently, the race for second is wide open since the leaders are separated from the back of the field by only 6 points.
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