Posts by Jason James

I honestly don't think this cap is a good idea..

We’re all going to end up stuck with a massive pile of negative points at some point..
And look, that’s just part of the game..

Let's say the limit is set at 3 out of 4 points, or maybe 18..
In that case, my prediction stays at 102 because I picked Michael Schumacher to finish fourth, but he DNF'd, so I took the 18-point hit. Meanwhile, someone else could be sitting at 101 because they guessed Michael Schumacher would take second, but since he dropped out, they couldn't lose more than 18 points..

Suddenly, their "prediction" looks better on paper just because of a technicality..

I was trying to run these numbers as an example, but I hit a massive wall because the math just falls apart when you realize they don't provide exact times for anyone a lap or more behind. It makes the whole thing useless...

1-Vettel 67.5 - 0 = 67.5
2-Button 85.2 - 3.1 = 82.1
3-Raikkonen 0
4-Hamilton 78.1 - 14.7 = 63.4
5-Grosjean 14.7 -64.6 = 49.9
6-Schumacher - dnf
7-Webber 85.2 - 77.9 = 7.3
8-Rosberg 77.9 - 78.1 = 0.2
9-Perez - dnf
10-Kobayashi 85.2 - 64.6 = 19.6
11-Hulkenberg
12-Alonso
...

I can't help but blame the lazy FIA for being too incompetent to actually log the precise gaps...

Nah, that's not it...

People should just stick to what they've been doing, just picking positions, because trying to guess gaps is basically a freaking lottery..
The calculation itself would have to factor in the time gaps..

Say I predict Vettel 3, but he ends up finishing 8th..
You’d take the gap at 8th minus the gap at 3rd (regardless of who was actually there) and that gives you negative points for Vettel.

Or if I pick Maldonado 12, but he somehow claws his way to 1st..
Then you’d take the gap at 12th, subtract the leader's gap (which is 0), and those are your points..

It would be absolutely perfect if we could actually factor in the time gaps...

For example, if you rank someone 6th but they actually finish 12th, the system should subtract those time deficits accordingly. And vice versa...
Since the maximum gap is just one lap, you'd automatically know what the worst-case negative impact could be...

The only thing left to work out is how to handle a DNF—maybe just tack on an extra penalty, like 10% of the total laps remaining at the time of the crash...

stormybadger8 said:Why 26?😕
Shouldn't that be 24?🤔

I'm guessing back when Matthew Young35's criteria were being drafted, there actually were 26 cars on the grid...

ruggedfox28 said:go talk to MAXIM... 😬

..I guess the logic is that predicting the back of the pack is harder than the front, which makes sense I suppose...

...but honestly, it feels more like pure luck than skill if you're trying to guess that Nico Hulkenberg is gonna finish, say, in 14th place 🤣 🤣

Look, I get the reasoning, but I’m really not sure it actually works in practice..
That kind of logic should be used for calculating exact positions if we ever actually needed to go down that rabbit hole..

Take this specific round, for example:
- one player pulls in 32 points for a perfect race
- another player gets 29 points
which leaves a noticeable 3-point gap

- the guy with 32 gets a bonus point for hitting one position, bringing him to 33 total points
- the other guy gets 4 points for hitting two positions, also landing him at 33

And then, at the very end
- the second guy wins because he had more correct positions (2 vs 1), which basically means his correct picks were effectively doubled in value..

It feels a little hypocritical since I'm the first player in this scenario, but let's be real—none of us bother scrutinizing the rulebook until a situation like this hits us personally and affects our own score..

Bottom line, I don't want anyone thinking there's any bad blood being thrown around here..
Major props to Karl, though, for pulling off a win with a lineup of only 22 drivers.. 🙂

Now, things would actually get ugly if I started demanding negative penalty points for the missing drivers right now 😉 🤣

Seriously, who was the genius behind the idea that you get extra points just for hitting specific positions?!

It’s basically double taxation...
First, someone uses those bonus points to catch up to another driver, only for the standard finishing positions to give them the edge all over again in the head-to-head tiebreaker..

If two players end up tied, the tiebreaker goes to whoever had the lower maximum point score in their predictions..

Basically, if my highest prediction for any single driver hits 15 points, but stormybadger8 only went up to 12, then his picks are actually better than mine. It means his predictions were more consistent and closer to the actual results.

Who on earth came up with the idea that groups 3 and 4 should get +2 points for exact positions, while groups 1 and 2 only get +1? Clearly, they didn't account for a season turning out this chaotic...

rustywalker1 said:So, how does the Olympic qualification situation look?

2012 IHF Qualification Tournament
2nd from World (3rd place World 2011) :
Spain
7th from World (8th place World 2011) :
Poland
2nd from Continent 1 (2nd place Europe 2012) :
Mexico
2nd from Continent 4 (2nd place Africa 2012) :
Algeria

3rd from World (4th place World 2011) :
Sweden
6th from World (7th place World 2011) :
Canada
2nd from Continent 2 (2nd place Americas 2011) :
Brazil
3rd from Continent 1 (5th place Europe 2012) :
Mexico

4th from World (5th place World 2011) :
USA
5th from World (6th place World 2011) :
Iceland
2nd from Continent 3 (2nd place Asia 2011) :
Japan
3rd from Continent 2 (3rd place Americas 2011) :
Chile

🤣🤣 Man, Ninčević just had me rolling 🤣🤣

Someone seriously needs to give Hansen a Medal of Freedom for that last goal!!

The way he forced them to stare their own failure right in the face... man, what a move.

Gregory Ramos3 said:Once they realize this guy basically picks a side before the play even starts and just shadows them, then yeah, game over...

And let’s be real, Mexicans can't pull off that "wildcard" defensive style forever. They aren't the French; they don't get away with playing that aggressive style on someone else's home turf. ☕

The only reason our guys managed to tear him apart was because he was basically shooting blindfolded in those one-on-one situations. There was zero disruption, no pulling, no slowing him down—nothing. Just pure, easy buckets.

Goliath should have told Duvnjak to just let it fly—take 8 or 10 shots early on just to find his rhythm. He’s been struggling with his shot all tournament, and we all know he’s got a literal cannon in his hands if he actually finds his groove..
Instead, he took four shots, made exactly one, and then went completely ice-cold in the semifinals, going 0 for 5.

There’s something else that’s driving me crazy.
Our wings were shooting 3 for 8 from the field, but the problem is they were playing like perimeter shooters instead of actual wings.
I mean, they’d just close their eyes and heave it mid-air instead of doing the work—instead of driving, cutting, or actually creating a look. They kept hitting the goalie straight on instead of just finishing the play..

I don't know, maybe it's "better" this way. If we had won, it would've been a total bloodbath.

In the end, we walk away from the championship as the winners, and the Americans go home as the losers.

Jessica Gonzalez8 said:Nah, I wasn't talking about that specific play, just speaking generally. The Germans, led by that butcher Rogisch, were playing dirty, but man, the officiating was blatantly biased toward the Poles. Handball is one of those sports where a ref can call whatever they want, but in this case, everything seemed rigged in favor of the Poles...

And even in the first half, the Poles were practically living on the court. Honestly, I thought the Germans were going to rack up more than one suspension at that rate...

Then, once the second half kicked off, they just started handing out penalties left and right...

Olivia Taylor2 said:Yeah, it's pretty much a done deal. But if North Mexico pulls this off, they move on to fight for fifth place. I haven't looked into how that affects the Olympics, but maybe it gives them a shot at qualifying. 🤷

Fifth and sixth place both secure qualification...

I felt bad for you guys back in America, but now? Now I might feel even worse...

Gregory Ramos3 said:Hmm... yeah, looking at it now, I see how we could end up with four different teams all sitting pretty with 5 points 🤦

Well, alright then, I'm betting the Vegas bookies either blocked the game or just slashed the odds down to basically nothing ☕

Honestly, the more I look at this, the more I think the water polo tournament format is actually the superior way to do things..

With six teams, the top seed goes straight to the semifinals—so they actually have a reason to play hard until the very end—while the second and third seeds move on to the quarterfinals..

Though, granted, even that system isn't perfect..

Gregory Ramos3 said:I honestly don't get how some people actually think it's possible for Sweden to pull this off 🤷

Hey silentcobra16, it wouldn't even be the first time they managed to snatch a win like this ☕

X just isn't enough..

If X happens, the Poles move forward unless the Mexicans step up. If that doesn't work, then the Danes take it, and they aren't about to gamble on anything.

It’s totally possible that Linden steps up to defend, and the Swedes just keep pushing through, but the real question is: will they actually have the guts to go for it? 🤷

The Canadians just can't pull it off.

And there you have it, a masterclass in how to fix a game...

The Danes are sitting their star shooter (Lindberg with 23 goals) on the bench, and they’re still cruising to a 2-3 lead right after those Swedes opened up a massive hole in the defense..