All,
Well, if you didn't enjoy Sunday's regional final between Duke and UConn, you are clearly in the wrong place. The overall number 1 seeded Duke Blue Devils held what seemed to be an insurmountable lead - up 15 at halftime and as many as 19 in the game. But the Huskies never relented, chipping away at the lead one bucket at a time. With 29 seconds left, Cameron Boozer worked his way to the basket to score the go-ahead basket. On the ensuing inbounds, it seemed that the comeback was destined to fall short as the Huskies seemed unable to pick up the necessary foul. All of us* assumed as soon as pressure did come, the Blue Devils would go full armadillo and curl up and wait for the game sealing foul. But Duke forced a pass toward the front court - perhaps seeing the uncovered forwards near the basket waiting with one step on the ladder ready to cut the nets down. But the pass did not even come close to clearing the wall of defender at the half court line - and the ball went right back to the Huskies. After a couple of "no you take it" passes, the ball found its way into freshman Braylon Mullins' hands just a whisker past half court. As soon as the ball touched his hands, what would come next seemed a foregone conclusion. The shot sailed through the air and came down through the hoop in the most perfect of all swishes. The net barely even noticed the ball passing through. And with that shot, the mystical basketball scribes sent Mullins, and Indiana native, back home to Indianapolis a hero.
Also, Michigan won.
In the Pool of 42, our heavyweight fight continued, with Kim Huang jumping back in the lead thanks to the Wolverine's 95 points. That prolific output was enough to offset the negative points she received for Tennessee's lackluster 62 point total. The lead is just over 100 ponts, so a lot will be riding on the Michigan-Arizona game, with each entrant having one of the semi-finalists. Perhaps Eric Eckenrode will play spoiler, having both Michigan and UConn remaining. 
The bottom of the field has become a sea of red, with many people out of teams. Luke "I try to get out, but they keep pulling me back in" Schreiber still sits in last place - but that will likely change when is repechage team gets back to action in the national semifinal on Saturday. If Luke jumps out of the way with points from Illinois, then BTP John seems poised to pickup the next repechage team - potentially leaving him to play for the silver medal barring a miracle.
The Day 8 daily prizes go to Neal Griffin, whose 276 points won him the stage and the $20 L'Etape prize, and Matt Solow, who quietly found his way into 87th place good enough for the Switzerland refund prize. Eric Eckenrode currently leads the most "regular points" contest, while overall leaders Kim Huang (Most International Points) and Luke Schreiber (score closest to zero) could add to their riches with consolation prizes as well. Don't forget about the mystery prize as well. Everyone remains in contention - with the details set to be revealed in the Day 10 recap. 
88 entries still have a team remaining, while 13 have two. The Ryan Crouser bonus (scoring 3 times in a row) has earned players that selected it the most points with 285 per game. Second place goes to Table Tennis and the back and forth score changes (273) and Bonnie Blair (layups) with 272. The lowest scoring bonus has been Kerri Strug (scoring after foul trouble) which has yielded its selectors 172 points per game. If you optimize all entries to the best bonus they could have selected given their teams, Big Air (dunks) becomes the leader with 279, followed by Bonnie Blair with 265. Nadia Comaneci would be the lowest contibuting bonus if everyone selected it (190).
Just three games remain - but after that Duke-UConn game it will be tough for the Final Four not to be a let down!
Thresholds kick up again for the National Semi-Final games - with a base of 69 and the following individuals with alternate values:

Kim Huang: 74
Lorenzo Quiogue: 73
Jakub Stosik: 72
Eric Eckenrode: 71
Ethan Deckner: 70

Philip R. DePaul: 68
Purple Tolerance Daddy Kyle: 67
Andrew Limoges: 66
Red Rampage BTP John: 65
Luke Schreiber: 64
Current scores are below with complete standings attached.


Name TOTAL
POINTS
Kim Huang 2021
Lorenzo Quiogue 1920.2
Jakub Stosik 1863
Eric Eckenrode 1855.8
Ethan Deckner 1837.25
Meri Schreiber 1824.8
Patrick Steines 1796.6
Adam Hudnut-Beumler 1796
Steve Savas 1747.4
Neal Griffin 1742
Jomo Thorne 1718.9
Natalie Luftman 1699.5
Connor Gentile-DePaul 1661
Tom Groth 1644.95
Ben Nemser 1638.5
Andrea Pellicciari 1632.7
Mavis Mai 1625.7
Antonio Ayala 1623.3
Michael Miniaci 1616.6
Leo Dorfman 1608.3
Michael Pinbell 1605.5
Sarah Ganton 1599.8
Mario DePollo 1586.8
Bridget Heffernan 1586.2
Kevin Park 1573.5
Justin Pasquale 1571.4
David Luftman 1559
Sean Garahan 1549
Brian Leamy 1545
Josh Meyer 1545
Brian Pierpont 1545
Bob Hopper 1 1538
TJ Cilvick 1535.5
Brian Ganton 1532.75
Victoria Keisler 1531.4
Greg Nilles 1530
Patrick Appello 1523.2
Ryan Flynn 1510
Mark Sanicki 1504.2
Jack Toomey 1502.8
Matthew McTague 1488
Eileen Rosa 1487.75
Kelly C Hirano 1485.5
Will Sargisson 1479
Larry Kriz 1479
Kevin Payne 1470.25
Giuseppe Randazzo 1467.75
Joan Ganton 1464
Ean Steinberger 1458
Wills Kable 1454.85
Juliana Jackson 1454.8
Nick Hurt 1451.75
Daniel Sumner 1450.75
Mike Negley 1445.1
Kaitlyn Pierpont 1442.6
Rhonda Veugen 1439.5
Shubhro Biswas 1439
Michael Schreiber 1436.5
Molly Farrell 1434.25
Zac Favreau Smith 1423
Michael Patti 1418.8
Tom Melton 1417
Patrick Keisler 1416.5
Ed Li 1413.8
Donald DeCaro 1403
Charles Santanna 1391.8
Ben Tobin 1378
John Englert 1374.2
Katie Schreiber 1362.2
Michael Boyan 1360.7
Emma Gibbons 1358.75
Kurt Thiemann 1346.25
Brian Redington 1 1340.1
Brian Redington 1340.1
Mary Ellen DePaul 1340
Kathleen Cahill 1320.2
Omar Azar 1319.6
Vincent Hubner 1305
Max Deckner 1295.95
Mike Bopp 1294.7
Noah Balanoff 1294.6
Dave Pettit 1290.2
Mark Gruber 1284.5
Jim McCarthy 1283
Bob Corcoran 1282.2
Kerri Luftman 1272.25
Matt Solow 1272.2
Brian Bharwani 1271.8
Daniela Randazzo 1264.3
Bob Wagner 1254
Dean Macchi 1247.8
Jack Schreiber 1243.3
Jeremy Schreiber 1243
Killer B's 1240
Caroline Schreiber 1238.75
Bill Scarpinato 1236.75
Steph Dowd 1235.7
Julia Ford 1234.35
Tony Miniaci 1229.75
PAUL THIEMANN 1229.5
Paul Schreiber 1215.8
Salina McLaughlin 1209.25
Christopher Davis 1209
Chris Pierpont 1203.6
Patrick Steines 2 1189
DAVID MILLER 1184
Ray Lacho 1183
Stu Nemser 1163.9
Uncle Jack McDonald 1162.6
Jacob Schreiber 1162.3
Lauren Schreiber 1159.5
Philip G DePaul 1157.75
Kerry Farrell 1156.2
Jay Rosenberg 1150.75
Matthew Schreiber 1149.25
Michael Pinbell 1142.1
Michael Deckner 1141.2
Jillian DePaul 1139.6
Team Thom 1139.4
Thomas Daly 1132
Robert Cappuzzo 1123.3
Corwin Rhyan 1121.65
Bob Hopper 2 1121.25
Mike Vogel 1120.6
Eamon Redington 1112.3
Josh Deckner 1109.2
Dominic Sembello 1084.2
David Marchisin 1079.2
Aunt Cathy McDonald 1075
Sean Farrell 1073.85
Michael Schoendorf 1071.25
Seany Farrell 1059.6
Mike Heffernan 1056.5
Jaclyn Farrell 1036.95
Brian Thiemann 1022
Monica Heffernan 1013
Ryan Heffernan 1003.3
Lauren Gentile 1000
Bill Lynch 998.8
Bobby Robertson 992.75
Lainie Gussman 991.25
Lisa Ito 976.15
Sam Schreiber 975.6
Matt Henrikson 972
jason gaddy 970
Lynn Delaney 969.5
Jason Schreiber 967
Molly Wagner 963.2
Mckenzie Maier 960
Mark Rothstein 958.5
Denis McCarthy 952.9
Ryan Gibbons 940
Pacifist Admiral Tom 923
Derek Landel 907.6
Sidney Schreiber 898.8
JJ Phillips 886
Noah Balanoff 867.5
Nabeel Azar 852.4
Tyler Cross 848
Eric Fishman 822.8
Alisha Schreiber 821.75
Kelly G Hirano 800.3
Ben Benoit 773.6
RANDY RUTHERFORD 764.2
Maryellen Groth 714
Tina Nugteren 699.65
Jaklyn Limoges 668.25
DAVID MILLER 664.65
Tara Rogers 659
Massimo Randazzo 611.1
Brian Redington 2 610.2
Catherine Bopp 607.7
Philip R. DePaul 591.55
Purple Tolerance Daddy Kyle 579
Andrew Limoges 538
Red Rampage BTP John 518
Luke Schreiber 483

* Us seemed to exclude Coach Scheyer and Cayden Boozer who handled that last play like Duke was down 2 instead of up 2