Final thoughts:
- Pour one out to the Poconos, who nearly won two brackets in a row, and will likely never make a Final Four again once the world opens up.
- Asheville may be our most unlikely champion given that it only broke 10 votes once, and had two 9-7 wins. Really showed some grit down the stretch.
- Big thanks to Weissbard for volunteering to plan the weekend with all of his insider's knowledge. At least he gets first pick in the room draft.
- Winter Meetings are next on the list, but I'd like to wait to see how ESPN plans on handling the 17 week season before we vote on anything, as that will likely be the most important agenda item.
- Four months to the draft!
Thoughts on The Finals:
- Despite being a father of two, Gutman's authoritarian sway over this league seems to have subsided for the first time since he beat Luke in the Fiji Presidential election of 2007.
- A late vote switch from Weissbard nearly flipped the Right Side to the Jersey Shore, but Reap's vote sealed the deal.
- Esco flip-flopping to the Poconos over Burlington after his Anti-Poc Propaganda a few weeks ago was a highlight of the bracket to me.
- As for the matchup itself, it's basically convenience vs. an objectively better location. I'm never one to ignore the convenience factor, but there are direct flights from NYC to Asheville in less than two hours, so I don't really think that should be the determining factor. Billy's rant was a good one, and I just think the combination of housing, activities, weather, and relatively lax COVID standards makes Asheville the choice this year.
Final Four Thoughts:
- Down go the 1 seeds! The Right side of the bracket has descended into madness, and the Jersey Shore has made a Cinderella run thanks to an easy road, some Esco propaganda, and the rare Bruno endorsement.
- I honestly don't know what to expect in either matchup here.
- Poconos and Burlington are two sides of the same coin, so I assume that convenience and spite will be the determining factors here. I predict a 9-7 win for the Poconos, but would not be surprised by any results.
- I have to assume that Asheville prevails over the Shore based on people actually wanting to visit the city, but the convenience factor cannot be ignored. A Draft Weekend in Wildwood would either be the best or worst experience we've had, including Ithaca and Baltimore.
Elite Eight Thoughts:
- The Esco HiveMind moves on, with Portland and Burlington seemingly on a collision course in the Final Four.
- Chicago has barely advanced in both rounds, despite being a pretty ideal city to visit in August, so I don't anticipate much of a fight in the Bottom Left.
- Poconos vs. Portland is going to be interesting, as they are the locations with the most combined votes in the first two rounds. I honestly don't see much of a difference between them, with housing likely better in the Poconos, and more of a downtown available in Portland. Convenience is the major differentiator here: Is a five hour drive from NYC or unnecessary flight worth having a downtown for over the 2 hour Poconos commute?
- Austin vs. Asheville is a classic Big Brother/Little Brother matchup. The weather in Asheville is the big Pro in my book, and makes up for the obvious convenience factor with Austin on my end.
- The Bottom Right seems like we'll be going through the motions as I can't see any scenario where the Jersey Shore wins, and this once again doesn't seem like Pittsburgh's year.
