Seattle ties San Francisco 2-2
Boston over Carolina 2.5-1.5    WRONG
Baltimore over NY    2.5-1.5    WRONG
Dallas over Philly   2.5-1.5    WRONG
Tennessee over Miami 2.5-1.5    EXACT!  +3 pts

Season Total: 45

Seattle ties San Francisco 2-2  WRONG
Boston over Carolina 2.5-1.5    WRONG
New York over Baltim   3-1      WRONG
Philly over Dallas   2.5-1.5    WRONG
Miami over Tennessee   2.5-1.5  WRONG

Season Total: 48

Appropriately, the three leaders in the MVP race all
play for teams on the playoff bubble. In the old days
of sports, when the regular season was followed
directly (or at least closely) by the championship,
the prejudice was in favor of players from
league-leading teams. Nowadays, if a team does too
well it is argued that its star can not well be deemed
“most valuable”, as the team was probably good enough
to scrape along as a wildcard contender even without
him.

	
   With Ehlvest out of the lineup, New York has a big
advantage. The danger is that Charbonneau may press
too hard if he gets a drawish position. But with
Miami’s later start, I’m guessing he will see the MVP
race as out of his hands, and let the team position
guide him. New York by a point.

   If Baltimore doesn’t make it through, it won’t be
because they didn’t bring enough rating points to the
board. They clearly would like to send a message to
the coasting division champs. Boston, for its part,
might well be hoping for a drawn match, because that
would remind the Fishers just how big an advantage
draw odds gives a team. I think the Blitz will get
their wish. 2-2.

  I suppose Carolina is either eliminated or needs to
win 4-0 while everyone else loses 4-0. I therefore
expect to see Paris Gambits and Macho Grobs on every
board. Something does tend to go wrong somewhere in
these cases, though, so I pick Carolina to win by 3-1.

   San Francisco looks better than their average rating,
while Miami looks better than their won-lost record.
Those things just about cancel out, so one must look
elsewhere for inspiration. The tubist (that’s a tuba
player—bet you didn’t know that) who played the “Jaws”
theme died recently, which seems symbolic of the
Sharks’ reduced menace this season. I’ll pick the
Mechanics to prevail by a point. 

   The Destiny do not control their destiny, though they
are assured of the final playoff berth with a drawn
match. This is because destiny is out of our control
by definition. If I am reading the stars correctly,
though, we are in for a 2-2 tie here. Of course, the
big city is not the best place for studying the night sky.

Ron's Picks:

(45 pts)

New York over Philadelphia: 2.5-1.5
Baltimore ties Boston: 2-2
Carolina over Tennessee: 3-1
San Francisco over Miami: 2.5-1.5
Dallas ties Seattle: 2-2


Arun's Picks:

(48 pts)

New York over Philly       3-1
Baltimore over Boston    2.5-1.5
Carolina over Tennessee    3-1
Miami over San Francisco 2.5-1.5
Dallas ties Seattle        2-2