Our Generosity

Posted on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 by Scott

A few new things this year in the tournament in general — the NCAA released an early projection of the top 16 teams back on February 11 for the first-time ever and the Ivy League now has a conference tournament (though just 4 teams qualify). It’s interesting that much has changed in the top 4 seeds but hopefully UCLA improves on their four seed and hoping USC sneaks in ~~as a First Four team, as they have done well from that position~~. Now, instead of the Ivy League regular season champion being the first automatic bid in the tournament (if there’s no extra game tiebreaker) to one of the last, as the final is on Sunday (though next year it will move up in the week).

This is an early heads-up as after the brackets are released, we will have our 7th HWCI First Four for Charity contest. This is where we took the headache of having 68 teams (instead of 65) and made it into a fundraiser. More than $556 has been donated to six various charities or efforts. There is no fee to enter and you just pick the four First Four winners and margin of victory of each. I will donate $2 per entry (remember, the entry is free and you don’t have to play in our normal $10 pool so friends and family are welcome!) and usually by the end of the tournament, my fellow players will donate a matching set or more! Luckily, no major disasters this season so I’m open to suggestions for charity options.

My fallback will be a donation to the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference — the flagship IEEE Conference focusing on innovation, deployment and adaptation of Technology for Humanitarian Goals and Sustainable Development. For nearly all technical conferences, you have to pay to access papers, sometimes even your own! At this conference, it’s Open Access — that means the papers are free to anyone so that the ideas can be shared with the most people because the goal is IMPLEMENTING the technology to those in need in the fastest way possible (boots on the ground).

Until then, Sunday is coming up fast!

Issue # 8.3.1 “Chalk!”

Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 by Scott

Issue # 2.0.2 “Be a Force For Change!”

Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 by Scott

First Four Blowouts

Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 by Scott

A yawner to begin the tournament as #16Ea-FGCU trounced #16Eb-Fairleigh Dickinson by 30 31 and #11Sb-Wichita St knocked off #11Sa-Vandy by 20. But the good news is that 21 people entered the HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity meaning that at least $42 will go to Star Wars Force For Change (currently: $46). BTW, have you checked on the SW:FFC activations, which is the UNICEF Kid Power program where you can buy your kid a fitness device that will help unlock food packets to kids in Africa. I saw a presentation on this at the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference last year in Seattle and it’s an interesting concept.

Fifteen got both games correct (16 picked FGCU, 18 WSU) but with the blowouts, Mike M leads with a large 34 point differential. Two went 0-2 with Sam S in the rear with a 58 point differential. Today, 12 are rooting for Holy Cross and 17 for Michigan.

6th HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity (Due: 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday)

Posted on Monday, March 14, 2016 by Scott

Inspiring people to make a positive impact on the world around them.

While you decide who will win the tourney, for the 6th year I’m doing the HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity, where I will donate $2 per entry to a charity, this year to Star Wars: Force for Change, which is inspiring people to make a positive impact on the world around them. This First Four for Charity is free and you just have to submit (you can comment on this post to enter, email, post to Facebook, tweet @HWCI_Pools) who the four First Four winners will be and by what point margin. For example: Vandy by 3, FGCU by 6, Tulsa by 1, and Holy Cross by 15. The four games are Vanderbilt vs Wichita St, Florida Gulf Coast vs Fair. Dickinson, Michigan vs Tulsa, and Holy Cross vs Southern. Get your entry by 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday. As a bonus, in the end, if we top 161 entries this year, I’ll donate an additional $25. Also, invite your friends and people can enter this charity contest but not our main pool.

Thank you for your support

Posted on Monday, April 13, 2015 by Scott

I just made a $122 donation to the Dr. Susan Love Foundation (Breast Cancer Research) as part of our 5th HWCI First Four for Charity process. Thanks to the generosity of our pool champ Darryn B (Big Luther), Bob S (Shibai44), Yoh W (The Rebounding Dead), Jeff2 H (Pac Attack), and Charles D (Sisyphu86), $75 more dollars were added to my $47. I appreciate it very much!

First Four for Charity – Day Two

Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2015 by Scott

Final Standings

#16aS-North Florida started off strong but eventually, like in their conference final, #16bS-Robert Morris chipped away and pulled off a 4-point win, 81-77. That meant Wendy B and Kevin T were tied at 2-1 with Kevin holding a 2-point lead in the point differential tiebreaker (18 to 20). Home-team-wearing-road-uniforms #11Eb-Dayton took the lead, trailed late, and eventually came back to pull off a 1-point win, 56-55, thanks to a no-call-that-is-usually-called on a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt by #11Ea-Boise St. That margin gave Kevin T the HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity title, holding off Wendy B by 3 points (3-1, 22 to 25 differential). The Flyers win also meant Scott T (10th) and Eric C (last) didn’t go 0-4. Elizabeth W, despite being 50 points off in her picks, finished 8th. North Florida will be a footnote in our pool as only teams who make the 64 are counted in our pool. So only 4 new teams made it.

So thanks for playing but we’re not done yet. In addition to the $22 (11 x $2) I will be donating based on the entries to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, I should be getting at least $15 from other generous people, and, since we look like we’re passing 138 entries (see below), I’ll be chipping in another $25. So at least $62.

As of 2:15 am, we have 133 entries (from 91 people, 18 who are brand new!), well on our way of breaking the 138 we had last year (I still have 2 entries and we have 2 mail-in entries (yes, mail-in!)). We had a record-breaking 72 entries on Wednesday, shattering the old record of 63 in 2013 and ended with 123 which blitzed by the old record of 110 set last year. We have also set a record of 32 people entering more than one entry (we had 26 in 2012 and 25 last year) which may reflect the balancing point of picking Kentucky and not picking Kentucky.

First Four For Charity – Day One

Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 by Scott

We had 11 brave souls enter picks in our 5th HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity (the others must be really trying to figure out who can beat Kentucky). So that’s at least $22 going to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation but with other commitments, I hope to write a much bigger check! But on to the standings… below .500 Hampton rolled over Manhattan winning by 10 while ~~a year~~ a few years after BYU staged a 25-point comeback in the First Four, Ole Miss staged their own 17-point comeback against… BYU. Hampton was only picked by Kevin T while Ole Miss’s 4 point win was picked by just 3. As a result, there is a 4-way tie for 1st with Kevin T holding the Points Differential tiebreaker at 15. Boy, this doesn’t bode well for a lot of us, going 0-2 already.

37 hours after the bracket was announced, at midnight we have received 51 entries (from 39 people – 8 who are brand new to our pool), which is the 2nd most at this point in time (60 in ’14). Still lots of time to get your entries in.

Issue # 1.0.1 “Of Legal Age!”

Posted on Monday, March 16, 2015 by Scott

5th HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity (Due: 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday)

Posted on Sunday, March 15, 2015 by Scott

While you decide who will win the tourney, for the 5th year I’m doing the HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity, where I will donate $2 per entry to a charity, this year the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation for breast cancer research which rates high on spending donations responsibly. This First Four for Charity is free and you just have to submit (you can comment on this post to enter) who the four First Four winners will be and by what point margin. For example: Hampton by 3, BYU by 6, North Florida by 1, and Dayton by 15. The four games are Hampton vs Manhattan, Ole Miss vs BYU, North Florida vs Robert Morris, and Boise St vs Dayton. Get your entry by 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday. As a bonus, Continue reading »

First Four Underway

Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 by Scott

I think I’ve captured all the email, Facebook chat, Facebook comment, SMS, and Blog comments for the 4th HWCI Final Four For Charity. We have 22 entries, which is two more than last year (our high was in ’11 with 30). So that’s $44 I will donate to Friends of Renee. But there’s at least $15 donated by others in the pool so the total is at least $59. Thank you.

No one picked all the lower seeded teams (designated away team) and just two picked all the higher seeded teams (designated home team). Four picked Albany/Xavier/Cal Poly SLO/Iowa. No one had a larger point margin than 16 in their picks. 15 picked Albany, 14 picked Xavier, 12 picked Cal Poly SLO (they are 13-19), and 12 picked Tennessee.

Below is everyone’s picks followed by the current standing (3-way tie for first) after Continue reading »

Please try again.

Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 by Scott

Thanks for everyone’s patience with our java bracket. Despite that, we have 18 entries (3 hand-filled (1 jpg, 2 pdf), 1 ESPN screenshot, 10 CBSSports via our alternate HWCI group, and 4 somehow got java to work) which is only 2 off of last year’s pace with a working site. So now, if the java bracket doesn’t show up, the #1 suggestion on the page is to use our new alternate bracket entry. Looks different but should work on all browsers (in fact, I just submitted a bracket on my iPad Air! — yes, I’m not always anti-Apple). You’ll find the link after submitting the info form at Web Entry. If it’s a wild success, we’ll just replace the java applet with this (reduces 1 click-thru). Alternatively, you can email (ncaa<at>hwci.com) a copy of your completed bracket (phone picture, scan) with name, email, nickname, and total pts in final.

PLEASE JUST SEND A QUICK EMAIL W/FIRST FOUR PREDICTIONS BY 3:40 PM) I will donate $2 per entry to a charity which will be Friends of Renee (previous were MathCounts (a record $103 donated by myself and others), American Red Cross, and American Cancer Society). Again details can be found on our homepage but basically, reply to this email the winners of the First Four (4 games: Albany vs Mt St Marys, Cal Poly vs TX Southern, NC St vs Xavier, Iowa vs Tenn) and margin of victory of each (e.g., Xavier by 4 pts).

Lastly, you can now view your bracket (if you emailed it to me or submitted via CBSSports, give me a while). This is important if I entered your bracket, so double-check I didn’t put Tulsa winning it all. Until things are official, nicknames may be funny or slightly off but you should be able to find it in the dropdown box. If you can’t let us know.

4th Annual HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity Contest

Posted on Monday, March 17, 2014 by Scott

For the 4th straight year, we’ll be using the First Four games as a little friendly competition for charity. For every entry (1 per person but it’s free so invite your significant other or friends and family), I’ll personally donate $2 to a charity. This year, we’ll be helping a fellow participant (Eric F) raise money to cover his friend’s enormous medical costs due to the effects of chronic Lyme disease, which if you don’t know you have it, is hard to detect and treat early. The Friends of Renee committee (mission statement below) helps bring awareness of Lyme disease, which is the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States. I remember going on a hike in Sequoia National Park and my wife’s sister was warning us about ticks. I thought it’s just a bug bite, but she pointed out they carry diseases such as Lyme disease and I never thought of hiking in forests the same way again.

Last year, $103 was donated (odd number due to additional donations by generous people) to MathCounts. In 2012, $83 was donated to the American Cancer Society. In 2011, $100 was donated to the American Red Cross for the tsunami and earthquake relief. It’s easy to enter. Just comment to this post or send an email to scott(at)hwci.com with the 4 First Four winners and the winning margin. Example: Albany wins by 4 points, Texas Southern by 15 pts, Xavier by 1 pt, and Iowa by 8 pts. Simple. Here are the First Four matchups (deadline 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday):

#16S Albany vs Mt. St. Mary's

#16MW Cal Poly SLO vs Texas Southern

#12MW NC State vs Xavier

#11MW Iowa vs Tennessee
 Continue reading »

Cliff T wins First Four for Charity!

Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 by Scott

Cliff T and Tom J both got all four games correct but Cliff’s 1-pt margin in both games sealed the tiebreaker with a point differential of just 16 vs. 28 for Tom. 17 of 20 picked James Madison U. while 8 picked La Salle (yesterday, 15 picked NC A&T and 11 picked St. Mary’s (CA). Vi N and Wendy B both went just 1-3 but Vi took last with a point differential of 55! Cliff joins ’11 winner David A (only person to go 4-0 (+ 30)) and ’12 winner Michael C (1 of 2 to go 4-0 (+15)). Right now, the current donation total is $56 (thanks Tom J!) to MathCounts!

#	FIRST	LI	Wins	Pts Diff
1	Cliff	T	4	16
1	Tom	J	4	28
3	Eric	F	3	21
3	Kevin	T	3	26
5	Roy	W	3	34
6	Neil	P	3	35
7	Justin	P	3	36
8	Charles	D	3	40
8	Deven	K	3	41
10	Sam	S	3	44
10	Ron	E	3	45
10	Albert	H	2	36
13	Ken	B	2	36
14	David	A	2	40
15	Keith	J	2	42
16	Eric	C	2	52
17	Scott	T	2	54
18	John	C	2	55
19	Wendy	B	1	38
20	Vi	N	1	55

Update #2: Let’s do the Math (that) Counts