... for this year.

I have set up a private group in the ESPN College Football Bowl Pick 'Em contest. Get there by going to:

http://games.espn.go.com/bowlpickem/frontpage

Once you have logged in, our group is:

Group Name: Oski's Golden Bears
Group Motto: Go Bears
Group Password: Beat Stanford

The contest includes the 25 biggest bowl games -- skips the first few and starts with the Christmas Day games, so there's lots of time to enter. Scoring is determined by assigning points to each team inversely to the number of players who select the team to win (that is, if you pick an underdog correctly, you get more points; picking a favorite correctly gets fewer points). Total points (rather than total number of correct selections) will determine the result.

The contest entries "lock" just before the start of the Christmas Day games. Picks can be changed any time up until then -- and the point values for each team can also change until then.

Our rules will be simple:

1. Each entry puts up a $5 casino chip (any chip OK, but if current should be in excellent condition). No "non-genuine" chips please!

2. Anyone who wants to have more than one entry is welcome to do so (the contest will require you to log in under a separate name). One chip for each entry.

3. Prize distribution will depend on the number of entries. I will announce this just before the contest locks.

4. Side bets between individuals are not only okay, but encouraged. Feel free to post information and snide comments about your side bets in this or any related thread.

5. Players will mail chips individually to the winner(s) when the contest is over.

That's it.

BTW, I may have some non-chipping family members in the group, too. They will not count in our contest. I will identify them separately when I post the prize distribution.

Good luck. ----- jim o\-S