(sports) believe the hype

Excepting a small coda three days hence, Rob's NFL pool has come to an end. My conniving half-sister Dahlia made a bold comeback, but in the end it proved not to be enough. From Rob's e-mail of the results:

After week #12, Dahlia "Snuffleupagus" Hawkins was in 8th place and was 8

points behind 1st place.  This would mark the low point of her season, 

never finding herself lower in the standings, in place and in

points-behind-first place.  But over the last 6 weeks, Dahlia did the

impossible, SeaBiscuit-ing her way back into contention and winning a

share of the last two weekly championships![...]

Here's how Dahlia has progressed since week #12:

After:            Place      Points Behind 1st Place

Week #12          8          8

Week #13          6          5

Week #14          6          2

Week #15          6          3

Week #16          4          2

Week #17          3          0

Coupling Dahlia's dramatic surge with Rob "Babycakes" Clark gaining one

precious point on Anne "Smash" Berry, our little pool finds itself with a

three-way tie for 1st place in the final standings!  So, implementing our

"Number of Weekly Championships" tiebreaker, we derive the following final

prize positions:

1st Place: Rob Clark (6 weekly championships) ($180 + Haiku Prize)

2nd Place: Anne Berry (3 weekly championships) ($75 Prize)

3rd Place: Dahlia Hawkins (2 weekly championships) ($45 Prize)

NOW HERE'S THE REALLY BIG NEWS TO WHICH YOU ALL WILL WANT TO PAY

ATTENTION.  After a series of complicated negotiations made between all

relevant parties and major media outlets, the how's and when's of the

unveiling of Dr. Jeremy Freese's "Haiku to the Champion" has been

determined.  At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, Dr. Jeremy

Freese will post his haiku on his weblog!:

http://jeremyfreese.blogspot.com/

This idea is so brilliant and grand (and it is Jeremy's idea), that it

transcends the constraints of linguistic description and reduces me to

uncontrollable babbling.  So why not help bring in the New Year with some

poetry, NFL POOL-style?  With one eye fixed on the dropping ball, and the

other on the refresh button of your computer, this will be a New Year's

bash you'll never forget!