ACF Nationals prediction thread

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ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

Less than 3 weeks away now. :shock:

The field isn't 100% finalized yet, but that will just make your predictions more impressive when they come true.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by bradleykirksey »

I'll bite.

Maryland and Chris Ray win it. No one else's schools will pay for 2 national championships, and they end up walking to pick up their trophies.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

I'll bite.

Maryland wins without Chris Ray.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Papa's in the House »

Let's try this again.

Locks for the top bracket:
UVA A - 10 powers on the finals against IL A? Holy shit!
Yale A
Maryland A

Top bracket contenders:
Harvard - Assuming Graham and/or Steven are on this team, I think they'll make a bid for the top bracket. I don't quite know how the loss of Andy will affect this team in an ACF tournament since last year's tournament was unique in terms of difficulty and Harvard's team composition.
Michigan A - Provided they don't end up in a bracket with 3+ top bracket contenders like what occurred at ICT, I think they'll make the top bracket and continue to upset other top teams.
Penn A - The return of 4-5 gettable science tossups should help science dominant Eric propel Penn to contending the top bracket.
Minnesota - Despite the loss of Rob Carson and Gautam Kandlikar, I think they will easily contend the top bracket. Unfortunately, I think the lack of science knowledge Gautam brought to the table will hurt them against many other contending teams (see their inability to even 10 the last science bonus against IL A at Penn Bowl to win the game).
Chicago A - How will they fare without Shantanu? Probably as well as they did at other tournaments without Shantanu. Now if only one player would stop negging his teammates out of questions against top teams, I might consider this team a lock for the top bracket.

Second bracket (with an outside chance at the top bracket):
Illinois A - This team will pick up some points when Billy plays science questions in a much more friendly format, but that same format causes a roster change and the loss of a 30+ PPG player on the NAQT format. If Ike gets on a roll and encounters a lot if things he has read/studied, this team can certainly make the top bracket.
OSU A - Who knows how seeding will affect this team?
UCSD - Although Auroni is easily the best player on the West Coast, every time I've seen him play at a national tournament, he's been unable to perform as well against top players from other regions. Based purely on ICT performance, it seems that my assumption is correct. Therefore, I'll leave UCSD here.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

That loser Auroni, beating Harvard and barely losing a tiebreaker to UVA for the top bracket!
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by AKKOLADE »

Rice-Auroni, the San Francisco choke artist!

Toot, toot
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Ethnic history of the Vilnius region »

Papa's in the House wrote:Let's try this again.


Second bracket (with an outside chance at the top bracket):

Georgia Tech
I was told Tech wouldn't be coming.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by cchiego »

Cheynem wrote:That loser Auroni, beating Harvard and barely losing a tiebreaker to UVA for the top bracket!
And getting the last 3 TUs to make up a 100 point deficit in the last 2 minutes to beat Penn. Such a choker.

Due to a series of unfortunate events for myself and other obligations for others, we likely won't be at ACF.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Fond du lac operon »

Cheynem wrote:That loser Auroni, beating Harvard and barely losing a tiebreaker to UVA for the top bracket!
Well, it's not like ICT tiebreakers mean that much, since it's a tiny sample size of randomly chosen topics. It's possible Auroni got lucky.

But yeah, I think it's pretty ludicrous to argue that the #1 overall scorer at ICT folds like a lawn chair under the pressure of playing a national tournament, or whatever Charles is saying. (Sorry Charles! You were still a good teammate at GUERRILLA!)
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by grapesmoker »

auroni gupta is a pretty good player
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

just "pretty good," you know like Dan Wilson was a pretty good catcher
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by merv1618 »

I say Yale over Virginia. David Seal's trash knowledge would be zeroed at ACF nats (if I'm correct in saying there is no trash this year), plus the lack of powers could be a factor as well. I'd say Yale has the strongest pure knowledge arsenal out of any team, and ACF nats seems as anti-buzzer race as a seasonal tournament can get, making buzz speed not so much of a factor.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by marnold »

I think David Seal's knowledge will be zero'd by him not playing the tournament.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

I think the world doesn't need another David Seal championship, do you?
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by merv1618 »

Oh. Who's their fourth?
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by The King's Flight to the Scots »

merv1618 wrote:Oh. Who's their fourth?
Daniel. Since as far as I know you haven't really seen either of them play more than once, I'm not sure how you intend to factor this into your prediction, but I'm confident you'll find something to say.

To be a little bit less harsh, I think you may be right that Yale has the more thorough knowledge base. I'm more skeptical of the idea that the lack of powers will really influence much, and I think you're underestimating the number of buzzer races that have historically occurred between top bracket teams at ACF Nationals. This year may be different, but I think we'll both have to see.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by merv1618 »

Nothing more than this, sadly.

You're probably right, I've tracked stats religiously but I'll own up to the fact that I haven't seen that many games actually played.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Nine-Tenths Ideas »

Here is my ranking of how teams will do, based entirely off of how much I have seen them play:

1. Maryland
2. VCU
3. UVA
4. Penn
5. GMU
6. UVA B
7. Yale A
8. South Carolina
9. Harvard
10. Columbia
11. Haverford
12. Ohio State
13. Minnesota
14. Rutgers
15. WUSTL
16. Chicago B
17. Chicago A
18. Chicago C
19. Chicago D
20. Northwestern
21. Carleton
22. Yale B
23. Alabama
24. Michigan A
25. Dartmouth
26. Rice
27. UCSD

I think that this is an accurate rating of how often I have seen these teams play, and therefore how well they will do.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

I don't think I'm spilling any ACF cabal secrets when I say that Nationals will be substantially more accessible this year. Some may be downright disturbed by how many of the answers they will have heard of.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Frater Taciturnus »

Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:I don't think I'm spilling any ACF cabal secrets when I say that Nationals will be substantially more accessible this year. Some may be downright disturbed by how many of the answers they will have heard of.
I have already sharpened my pitchfork!
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

ANSWER: _the letter A_
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Enthusiastic Amatuer Sabermetrician »

I have decided to construct a list of some forerunners based around an advanced statistic of my own construction -- Perceived Affinity with my Preconceived Notions of Mike Cheyne.

1) Maryland
Chris Ray purportedly enjoys candy. Jellybeans are a common form of candy, and were Ronald Reagan's favorite treat. Mike Cheyne is a master of Reaganology. This argument writes itself.
2) UVA
Even though David Seal is apparently not playing, his specter still catapults his team into the 2 slot. Though Mike Cheyne has gone on record as being incredulous about Seal's winning ways, I assume his incredulity stems from his recognition of their affinity and thus his frustration in not meeting Seal's level of success despite their congruency.
Furthermore, I have it on good authority that Tommy Casalaspi is planning to legally change his name to Tommy Tutone in to further his team's reach.
3) Minnesota
Oddly enough, Mike Cheyne scores less Mike Cheyne affinity points than Chris Ray or David Seal.
4) Michigan
Hail from Mike Cheyne's homestate, and have indicated their willingness to perform as a barbershop quarter called, tentatively, the Negtones.
5) UIUC
Though this team has little to do with Mike Cheyne on its face, Ike Jose's tendency to play poodle-dee poodle-doo and Charles Martin's inevitable trajectory of foot to mouth (whether he plays or not) seems the perfect conceit for the type of buddy cop movie Mike Cheyne certainly enjoys.
6) Penn/Yale/Chicago
All excellent teams, but insufficiently Cheyne-like. Might I suggest combining to form a barnstorming baseball team?
Somewhere much lower) Harvard
Unfortunately, Ted Gioa's posting tendencies are the exact inverse of Mike Cheyne's vanity tournament writing policies.

I look forward to the inevitable empirical validation of my methodology.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by AKKOLADE »

Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:I don't think I'm spilling any ACF cabal secrets when I say that Nationals will be substantially more accessible this year. Some may be downright disturbed by how many of the answers they will have heard of.
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by AKKOLADE »

Enthusiastic Amatuer Sabermetrician wrote:I look forward to the inevitable empirical validation of my methodology.
Have you calculated Auroni Gupta's VORMC (Value Over Replacement Mike Cheyne)?
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by grapesmoker »

Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:I don't think I'm spilling any ACF cabal secrets when I say that Nationals will be substantially more accessible this year. Some may be downright disturbed by how many of the answers they will have heard of.
As many as 25% of the questions, even.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Enthusiastic Amatuer Sabermetrician »

Fred wrote:
Enthusiastic Amatuer Sabermetrician wrote:I look forward to the inevitable empirical validation of my methodology.
Have you calculated Auroni Gupta's VORMC (Value Over Replacement Mike Cheyne)?
Auroni is not on my radar. Mike Cheyne, like the Terminator, is both robotic and relentless in his conquest, and thus never chokes. We can talk about Auroni once he has memorized Ben Hecht's filmography and sacrificed all he once held dear to the shrine of the Gipper.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by magin »

grapesmoker wrote:
Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:I don't think I'm spilling any ACF cabal secrets when I say that Nationals will be substantially more accessible this year. Some may be downright disturbed by how many of the answers they will have heard of.
As many as 25% of the questions, even.
Let's not get carried away, Jerry.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by grapesmoker »

magin wrote:Let's not get carried away, Jerry.
Don't ruin the bait-and-switch!
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by ThisIsMyUsername »

Cernel Joson wrote: To be a little bit less harsh, I think you may be right that Yale has the more thorough knowledge base. I'm more skeptical of the idea that the lack of powers will really influence much, and I think you're underestimating the number of buzzer races that have historically occurred between top bracket teams at ACF Nationals. This year may be different, but I think we'll both have to see.
It depends what you mean by knowledge base. I think we have different kinds of knowledge. The statistics seem to show a clear split between our teams: Yale is better at bonuses and UVA is better at tossups, in both cases by statistically significant margins. (I'm not sure: is this an unusual situation? Are the highest PPG and PPB teams usually one and the same?) There is also a clear divergence in playing styles, which may or not be contributing to this: Yale is one of the most conservative, low-neg teams, and UVA is far more aggressive and risk-taking.

Obviously, last year's Nationals played to our strengths: aggression is not rewarded when the answers are mostly unguessable through canon sense, and tossups on very difficult things tend to reward knowledge more similarly to how bonuses do (i.e. not who knows more about something, but just who knows about it at all).

That being said, I'm not sure how much the change in writing philosophy will hurt us. I've always thought of us not as obscurity specialists, but rather as a very "primary source" - based team, which derives its strength from how many of the major poems, plays, novels, mythological epics, philosophical and historical tracts and essays, symphonies, etc. we've actually read between us. This might seem a completely vacuous or self-serving statement, since I think every self-styled "real knowledge" player on these boards (including myself) has at least once argued for tournaments to ask more about the "real canon" of works, with the sneaky underlying suggestion being that doing so would result in their getting so many more points because they've read so much more of this canon than everyone else. I'm not trying to suggest something like that. But I am saying that given what I know of Matt, Kevin, myself, and Ashvin too (whose science knowledge is also primarily derived from the real world), there's no reason to suppose that a more "real" or "canonical" tournament (or whatever adjective people are using) should hurt us as much as most people seem to think it will.

I suspect we'll still have the highest bonus conversion at this tournament, but I have absolutely no idea whether this change in writing philosophy will help us close the tossup gap UVA has created or instead aid you in pulling further ahead. What this tournament seems to be proposing to do is something no hard tournament we've collectively played has done; and so, I have no sure predictions for the outcome and am excited to see what happens.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

The asshole contrarian in me would love to see a non UVA or Yale team win the tournament.

Unless it's UVA B or Yale B, of course.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

ThisIsMyUsername wrote:(I'm not sure: is this an unusual situation? Are the highest PPG and PPB teams usually one and the same?)
I think it was noted a few years back that teams comprised mostly of subject specialists can rack up PPB (as specialists 30 things that are in their field), while teams composed of generalists can rack up tossups. If you have only one guy who can answer a tossup on subject x, you won't get that tossup if he screws up or hasn't heard of the answer, but with generalists you don't have a single knockout point like that.

I don't know how well those descriptions map onto Yale or UVA, though.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by The King's Flight to the Scots »

I'm not sure if I'm being read this way, but in case I am, I wasn't attempting to say that this year's nationals would be unfavorable to Yale. My only claim was "Buzzer races happen at ACF Nats, too."
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by ThisIsMyUsername »

Cernel Joson wrote:I'm not sure if I'm being read this way, but in case I am, I wasn't attempting to say that this year's nationals would be unfavorable to Yale. My only claim was "Buzzer races happen at ACF Nats, too."
No, that was not directed at you. Sorry if it came off that way.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Susan »

John wrote:Are the highest PPG and PPB teams usually one and the same?
Often, but not always.

ACF Nats 2011 (playoffs): highest PPG--Minnesota, highest PPB--Minnesota, winner--Yale (2nd in both)
ACF Nats 2010 (playoffs): highest PPG--Stanford, highest PPB--Stanford, winner--Stanford
ACF Nats 2009 (playoffs): highest PPG--Brown, highest PPB--Minnesota, winner--Chicago (2nd in PPG, 5th in PPB)
ACF Nats 2008 (playoffs): highest PPG--Brown, highest PPB--Maryland, winner--Chicago (2nd in both)
ACF Nats 2007 (playoffs): highest PPG--Chicago, highest PPB--Chicago, winner--Chicago
ACF Nats 2006 (playoffs): highest PPG--Chicago, highest PPB--Michigan, winner--Texas A&M (3rd in both)

ICT 2012: highest PPG--Virginia, highest PPB--Yale, winner--Virginia (2nd in PPB)
ICT 2011: highest PPG--Harvard, highest PPB--Minnesota, winner--Harvard (2nd in PPB)
ICT 2010: highest PPG--Chicago, highest PPB--Chicago, winner--Harvard (2nd in PPG, 3rd in PPB)
ICT 2009: highest PPG--Chicago, highest PPB--Chicago, winner--Chicago
ICT 2008: highest PPG--Maryland, highest PPB--Chicago, winner--Maryland (2nd in PPB)
ICT 2007: highest PPG--Chicago, highest PPB--Chicago, winner--Chicago
ICT 2006: highest PPG--Berkeley, highest PPB--Berkeley, winner--Berkeley
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Ringil »

Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:
ThisIsMyUsername wrote:(I'm not sure: is this an unusual situation? Are the highest PPG and PPB teams usually one and the same?)
I think it was noted a few years back that teams comprised mostly of subject specialists can rack up PPB (as specialists 30 things that are in their field), while teams composed of generalists can rack up tossups. If you have only one guy who can answer a tossup on subject x, you won't get that tossup if he screws up or hasn't heard of the answer, but with generalists you don't have a single knockout point like that.

I don't know how well those descriptions map onto Yale or UVA, though.
I would have thought it should be the opposite as subject specialists tend to have an advantage over generalists on tossups on their subjects and since the subject is usually guaranteed to have a tossup per round, the subject specialist will pick it up. But, there is no guarantee the subject specialist's team will get a bonus that the subject specialist knows; that bonus could easily go to the other team or be not heard as it near the end of the packet.

So, from my perspective, it seems that, sure, specialists can significantly improve PPB, but it doesn't seem to be a very certain thing due to bonus randomization, whereas specialists can usually for sure get tossups on their subjects.

But perhaps I'm making an error that someone could inform me of.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by touchpack »

Ringil wrote:
Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:
ThisIsMyUsername wrote:(I'm not sure: is this an unusual situation? Are the highest PPG and PPB teams usually one and the same?)
I think it was noted a few years back that teams comprised mostly of subject specialists can rack up PPB (as specialists 30 things that are in their field), while teams composed of generalists can rack up tossups. If you have only one guy who can answer a tossup on subject x, you won't get that tossup if he screws up or hasn't heard of the answer, but with generalists you don't have a single knockout point like that.

I don't know how well those descriptions map onto Yale or UVA, though.
I would have thought it should be the opposite as subject specialists tend to have an advantage over generalists on tossups on their subjects and since the subject is usually guaranteed to have a tossup per round, the subject specialist will pick it up. But, there is no guarantee the subject specialist's team will get a bonus that the subject specialist knows; that bonus could easily go to the other team or be not heard as it near the end of the packet.

So, from my perspective, it seems that, sure, specialists can significantly improve PPB, but it doesn't seem to be a very certain thing due to bonus randomization, whereas specialists can usually for sure get tossups on their subjects.

But perhaps I'm making an error that someone could inform me of.
I think the issue is, say you have one person with deep knowledge on a subject, while no one else on the team really has good knowledge of that subject. That one player can easily not have as much knowledge on the particular thing being tossed up, lose a buzzer race, miss a pronoun/get confused, or worst, neg himself out of the question entirely. The argument, to my understanding, is having multiple people with a solid amount of knowledge of the topic will, in the long run, get you more tossups vs most teams (this isn't a 20 tossup round on that topic generalist team v specialist team, there are other teams in the tournament too) since even if one person messes up/gets confused, he knows he has teammates behind him that can still get the tossup.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by grapesmoker »

This discussion is purely academic since the questions won't be about anything you've heard of anyway.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

Did Bruce lie?
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by grapesmoker »

Cheynem wrote:Did Bruce lie?
We're just playing "good editor/bad editor" over here.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by theMoMA »

Tossup prowess comes down to knowledge and playing style (aggressiveness vs. waiting until you know), and bonus performance comes down to team knowledge (and, to a lesser extent, team ability to listen to the right people at the right time). It may be true that some teams of generalists have a playing style conducive to getting lots of tossups, but I think that's largely independent of whether a player is a generalist or a specialist.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Gautam »

grapesmoker wrote:This discussion is purely academic
Yeah all these specialist/generalist arguments tend to overestimate the actual knowledge of people, and assume homogenous ability among each class of player to parse clues, recall answers from memory, etc. May be true on the average, but I suspect the game-to-game observations will be highly variable.

Edit: English...
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Demonic Leftovers »

From the bottom:
Newt Gingrich: I'm joking of course. The actual team here is Chicago D. But I think my political humor is really my best.
Rutgers: I was going to make a Mac-Auroni and Cheese-Ego joke for UCSD, but since they aren't attending I'll use it here.
Virginia B: JR wins the neg prize with 45 negs in 8 prelim rounds. Each neg was "German Unification."
Haverford: I have a friend who used to play lacrosse for Haverford.
George Mason: George Mason runs into trouble when Matt Weiner refuses to accept any of Zach's answers, determined to prove that Zach does not exist.
Chicago C: They manage to give Michigan a surprisingly close game thanks to Jimmy's knowledge of Filipino current events, which he obtained during his time as Manny Pacquiao's double in the Philippine Legislature.
Yale B: When a tu on Fedallah reveals that Moby Dick sinks the Pequod, Yale B leaves in anger over the spoiler. This prompts ACF to institute a policy that all future questions will only contain plot points from the first chapter of novels.
Dartmouth: When Nick Jensen and Bruce Arthur meet things seem to be going swimmingly as they bond over their shared love of dinosaurs. And they are. And a lifetime friendship is formed.
Chicago B: Quizbowl's recent obsession with historical quotes as answers ends up screwing Chicago B over when Matt negs a tossup that requires reciting the transcript from an entire day of Dies Committee hearings.
VCU: A major problem is resolved when the community decides Cody will head edit CO this year during the opening meeting, which results in Evan Adams winning top scorer at CO when he gets 3 questions on Suits every round.
South Carolina: Despite the recent call for more legitimate film questions, the editors refused to accept my freelance tu on the Phil Collins' vehicle Buster, which I submitted as an attempt to get the Four Tops' "Loco In Acapulco" into the canon. That's because South Carolina also submitted the exact same tu.
Northwestern: Which Billy Joel song best describes Northwestern? The answer of course is "Big Man on Mulberry Street."
Carleton: Carleton produces the most exciting upset of the tournament when they defeat Yale A in round 4. Their celebration is short-lived, however, when it is revealed to be a prank set up by a recently revived version of Howie Do It, Howie Mandel's prank show. They in fact beat a set of clones of the Yale team created through a project funded by Howie Mandel's vast personal wealth. During the trophy ceremony the clones are brutally murdered by the editing team. After this horrifying spectacle Magin comes on stage to explain that although we may think the editing team are the monsters, we who watched murders are in fact the real monsters, a stinging critique of quizbowl's culture of voyeurism and glorifying violence.
Columbia: Marnold forces this team to miss three playoff matches when he decides they should film their own version of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's video for "Call Me Maybe."
WUSTL: Charles Hang's patented lineup tricks backfire when Susan forces him to play with her cats, Rexford Tugwell and Zuleika Dobson, as well as one of those fainting goats.
Alabama: Cody and Jake Sundberg's escalating bets about Alabama's finish result in Cody owing Jake 500 dollars. When Cody can't pay the debt becomes the subject of an episode of Judge Joe Brown.
Rice: Henry Gorman's delicate sensibilities doom this team when he faints at Andrew Hart's repetition of his shocking claim that he doesn't care for Scrappy Doo.
Ohio State: Embarrassment strikes when the entire Ohio State team appears in the same Elie Saab gown. They are even more embarrassed by Susan's quip of "Who wore it best? Not Ohio State."
Penn: Eric's an excellent player, but I don't think he has enough support to make a serious run at the title.
Chicago A: A major falling out occurs over lunch when Marshall and Daichi can't agree on dialogue for their Charles Martin/Charles Hang slash fiction. Not to spoil too much but the key debate is over whether to use "FIFTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN" or "POOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEEEER" in a crucial scene.
Minnesota: MIKE CHEYNE SUX!
Illinois: Once again Ike Jose leads his team into the top bracket, but their run to the title is stopped in its tracks by
Harvard: Harvard beats Penn thanks to the new subjective scoring system that Magin implements in round 16. While Penn gets 12 tu's, the moderator and scorekeeper prefer Stephen Liu's classy style of play to Eric's near constant showboating, particularly his habit of yelling "QUACK QUACK QUACK MR. DUCKSWORTH" whenever he gets a tu.
Michigan: Michigan suffers a major setback when Libo is kicked out of the tournament for attempting to stuff the ballot box for ACF Nationals Prom King and Queen. It was a pretty pointless effort as Alex and Deskin aren't even at the tournament.
Maryland: My last Maryland joke was pretty well received, so I'll just post that one again. Maryland loses to Yale despite the packet containing TU's on the Chris Ray Barge photo, the Diary of Chris Ray, MLB reliever Chris Ray, Esteban Cordoza, and a dream Chris Ray had the night before about a world in which Dr. Pepper Ten is not for men but for women.
UVA: Adam Sperber's prediction that my trash knowledge will be zeroed at this tournament is stunningly proven wrong when Daniel is suspended one game for unspecified violations of the code of the car. I telecommute in for a round, during which I am able to get the Robert Andino tu Magin snuck into the set.
Yale A: This time they win.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

I will assign a random 1990's baseball player to each team that I think best represents them. They are all position players.

Chicago D: Bip Roberts. Sadly a bit overmatched, but still entertaining.

Rutgers: Ron Coomer. Lots of hustle, but probably not a ton of wins.

Virginia B: Randall Simon. Plays hard, buzzes hard, likely to assault a costumed sausage.

Haverford: Darin Erstad (playing first base). Like Thomas Littrell, Darin Erstad came from a winning program (Nebraska).

George Mason: Troy O'Leary. Like the old Zach Foster, Troy O'Leary was something of a mystery to me--I was pretty sure he was a fat white guy.

Chicago C: Deion Sanders. Always hot dogging it.

Yale B: Bubba Trammell. Not sure why.

Dartmouth: Todd Hollandsworth. Dartmouth is a good quizbowl fit that I haven't seen around the circuit in a while. It seemed like Todd Hollandsworth would emerge, zombie-like daring some stupid team to play him in their outfield.

Chicago B: Jay Buhner. Intimidating power presence.

VCU: Todd Zeile. I see Todd Zeile as the kind of guy who likes watching USA original programming.

South Carolina: Matt Williams. A consistent program that doesn't get a ton of press.

Northwestern: Rusty Greer. Team that isn't afraid to get dirty.

Carleton: Fernando Tatis. Charlie Rosenthal hits two grand slams in one half.

Columbia: Todd Hundley. Lots of power here, but also the potential for mischief.

WUSTL: Jeromy Burnitz. Like Burnitz, Charles Hang is kind of a polarizing figure.

Alabama: Benito Santiago. This team has an old feel to it, and Santiago always seemed like he was perpetually 35.

Rice: Brady Anderson. I don't wish to impugn Henry Gorman and friends--I see this team with a lot of potential for five tool mayhem, just like Brady--but will it be 1996 Brady or 1997 Brady?

Ohio State: Ray Lankford. Lankford was a good player who never quite got over the hump as a superstar. Is this OSU's fate against a stacked top bracket?

Penn: Mike Sweeney. Like Eric, Sweeney did a lot of heavy lifting on his team and was sometimes frustrated by failure to make the top bracket. Like Eric, he was also an outspoken evangelical.

Chicago A: Edgar Renteria. Improbably always find ways to win.

Minnesota: Travis Fryman. My favorite player growing up, but he didn't win anything.

Illinois: Rico Brogna. I think this speaks for itself.

Harvard: David Justice. Always a winner. I could see Ted berating his fan base much like 1995 Justice, while I could also see Stephen marrying Halle Berry.

Michigan: Jeff Kent. Certain to injure themselves in a comical truck washing fashion, but unlike Kent, this actually happened.

Maryland: Jim Thome. POWER ULTIMATE POWERRRRRRR.

Yale: Brad Ausmus. They're smart. Like Ausmus.

UVA: Derek Jeter. DUH! WINNING!
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Habitat_Against_Humanity »

Cheynem wrote:
Yale: Brad Ausmus. They're smart. Like Ausmus.
Also because Brad Ausmus is from New Haven?
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

Cheynem wrote: Maryland: Jim Thome. POWER ULTIMATE POWERRRRRRR.
I look forward to quizbowl teams employing the shift when sitting down to play Chris Ray.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by The Ununtiable Twine »

Cheynem wrote: Alabama: Benito Santiago. This team has an old feel to it, and Santiago always seemed like he was perpetually 35.
I do believe we are the oldest active team on the circuit, although I may be mistaken. It's not long before we're compared to Jamie Moyer...
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Fond du lac operon »

Man, Mike Cheyne, you couldn't trash-talk Harvard/UVA/Yale/Maryland by comparing them to, like, Scott Brosius?
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Cheynem »

Scott Brosius has three championships.
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Re: ACF Nationals prediction thread

Post by Fond du lac operon »

Cheynem wrote:Scott Brosius has three championships.
Despite not being very good, is my point.
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