Actually, Fort’s name is not a new addition to the Hall of Eternal Glory. He won the 10th annual Women’s NCAA Pool in 2007, and tonight, he clinched the 16th annual Women’s NCAA Pool when UConn won the national championship, as he predicted. (Fort had the Huskies beating Baylor; instead, they trounced Louisville, who stunned Baylor in the Sweet 16.)

Fort finished with 331 points out of a possible 477. That’s a bit low by historical LRT women’s pool standards, indicative of the unusual volume of upsets this year, several of them by Louisville. But regardless of point total, Fort is in elite company: he is one of seven two-time LRT pool winners over the pools’ 18 years of existence (and 42 pools in all). The double champions are Jenn Castelhano (2001 women’s, 2002 men’s), Todd Stigliano (2001 women’s, 2005 women’s), Rick Boeckler (2003 women’s, 2006 women’s), Matt Kagan (2004 men’s, 2004 women’s), Gary Kirby (2007 NIT, 2008 NIT), Michael Holtsberg (2009 women’s, 2012 women’s), and now Fort (2007 women’s, 2013 women’s).

Jeb McRary (@tatsumaki4ryu) of Washington, DC finished second with 228 points. Bonnie Stone, my newspaper adviser back in the LRT pools’ Newington High School days, finished third with 321 points, capping off a massive surge from the mid-60s in the 94-person pool just last weekend. She alone predicted Louisville’s run to the title game, and gained a ton of points from that, but fell just short of making up enough ground from her early-round stumbles to win the pool. Kevin Hauschulz, who holds the record for most LRT pools competed in without winning (39 of the 42 pools I’ve done), finished 4th with 320 points. Greg Kagan, who would have won the pool if Louisville had won tonight, and Gary Atkinson tied for 5th at 316.

Rounding out the Top 10: Bob Fisch (313); my dad, Joe Loy (308); 2011 champion and daughter of the national championship-winning coach, Jenna Auriemma Stigliano (306); and my lovely wife, Becky Loy (302), who would have won if Notre Dame had beaten UConn in the semifinals Sunday. Complete women’s pool standings here.

While the women’s pool went down to the final game, the men’s pool was settled on Saturday when Michigan beat Syracuse in the second Final Four game. That clinched the pool championship for Mike Boyd, husband of Karen Torgersen (@vtktorg), who was the only contestant to correctly predict a Michigan-Louisville title game. He also got the champion right — Louisville — but that only served to increase his point total, to 331 points. That’s exactly the same as Fort’s total in the women’s pool, which is a rarity; the women’s pool champ usually scores higher than the men’s pool champ.

Jimmy Smith (@smithadventure), executive pastor at Stapleton Fellowship Church, finished second with 311 points. He would have won if Syracuse, instead of Michigan, had lost the title game to Louisville. Ginny Zak, Becky’s mother, who briefly led the pool after her mascot-based entry successfully predicted the surprise Elite Eight runs by Wichita State, Syracuse and Marquette, finished third with 307 points. Steve Vivier of Connecticut finished fourth with 300, and Lief Olsen of Denver fifth with 293.

The rest of the Top 10: Jerry Palm, the CBS bracketologist and BCS guru, and a Twitter friend of mine, finished sixth with 286 points; Sarah Craddock had 283; Robert O’Brien, 282; and Patrick Cullen, Elizabeth Styles and Kyle Cologne tied for ninth with 279. Complete men’s pool standings here.

Finally, the NIT Pool. That one, like the men’s pool, was decided in the semifinals. Ross Binder (@RossWB), an editor of the SB Nation Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants, clinched the pool when his Hawkeyes beat Maryland in the second semifinal, as he predicted. “Woo! ETERNAL GLORY!” he tweeted afterward, adding, “Hooray! Rampant homerism pays off at last!” Binder also correctly picked the other finalist, Baylor, though he wrongly picked Iowa to beat the Bears. But he won the pool anyway, finishing with 232 out of a possible 317 points.

Steve Vivier finished second with 212 points, making him the only contestant to finish in the Top 10 (indeed, Top 5) of two LRT pools this year (you may recall he was #4 in the men’s pool). Jeff Freeze (@bigfreezer), winner of the 2008 women’s pool, and Daniel Pilz, co-champ of the 2004 women’s pool, tied for third with 207 points. Aaron Kinser (@AaronK_MN) finished fifth with 203 points. Freeze would have won the pool if Maryland had beaten Iowa in that decisive semifinal; Kinser would have won the pool if, in the prior semifinal, BYU had beaten Baylor, and had gone on to defeat either Iowa or Maryland in the title game.

Again rounding out the Top 10: Lauren Fowler (@ndlauren), 198 points; Michael Watkins, 194; Andrew Long, 187; Aaron Woodward, 185; and Andy Hunter, 183. Complete NIT pool standings here.

In the men’s pool, we’re down to a “Final Four” of Kevin Pilz, Jimmy Smith, Joe Wright and Mike Boyd. If Syracuse wins the title, Pilz, a Newington, Connecticut resident whose brother Danny won the 2004 women’s pool, will win. If Syracuse reaches the title game but loses it, Smith, of Aurora, CO, the Executive Pastor as Stapleton Fellowship Church, will win. If Michigan reaches the title game but loses, OR beats Louisville for the title, Boyd, of Raleigh, NC, husband of long-time contestants Karen Torgersen, will win. If Michigan beats Wichita State for the title, Wright, a College of Charleston student and Mid-Majority devotee, will win.

In the women’s pool, with six teams alive (and the last two Elite Eight games tonight), we have a “Final Five” in the pool, and a set of fairly straightforward scenarios. Becky Loy, my lovely wife, will win one of my pools for the first time if Notre Dame reaches the championship game. John Curry of Charlotte, NC will win if Duke reaches the title game. Scott Fort of Warrior, AL, champion of the 2007 women’s pool, will win it again this year if UConn wins title, unless Louisville and Duke both win tonight, in which case he ties Bonnie Stone only if UConn beats Cal in title game. Greg Kagan of Rocky Hill, CT, brother of 2004 men’s champ and women’s pool co-champ Matt Kagan, will win if UConn reaches title game but loses, unless Duke wins tonight and UConn’s title-game loss is to Louisville. Finally, Bonnie Stone of Newington and Old Saybrook, CT, my high school newspaper advisor once upon a time, will win if Duke wins tonight and there’s a UConn-Louisville title game, or will tie Scott Fort if Duke wins tonight and UConn beats Cal in the title game.

Lastly, the NIT semifinals are tonight, and the pool could be decided this evening. If Baylor wins the first semifinal over BYU, Cougar fan Aaron Kinser will be eliminated, and the second semifinal, Maryland vs. Iowa, will decide the pool between Jeff Freeze (Maryland) and Ross Binder (Iowa). If BYU wins the first semi, Kinser will stay alive, the pool will be decided in the title game, either Kinser vs. Freeze (if it’s BYU-Maryland) or Kinser vs. Binder (if it’s BYU-Iowa). Freeze, of Burns Harbor, Indiana, won the 2008 women’s NCAA pool and the 2010 Oscar Pool. Binder, of Minneapolis, is an editor of the Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants.

In the men’s pool, Jon Caplin, a sports statistician in Chicago and Becky’s cousin, led for most of the weekend, but relinquished sole possession of first place when his predicted Creighton-over-Duke upset didn’t come true. Eric Morisset, our friend in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood, tied Jon at that point, and they are the co-leaders heading into the second weekend, with 173 points out of a possible 240. Six contenders are just a point behind at 172: Ginny Zak (Becky’s mom), Jeff Freeze (2008 women’s pool champ), Brian Kiolbasa (2005 men’s pool champ), Joshua Hammond, Ken Stern and Elizabeth Styles. Full standings here. Possible outcomes here.

In the women’s pool, Jon Caplin also led after a 15-1 first day, but tumbled to 61st place with a 13-3 second day and an 11-5 second round. In his place, Lauren Fowler (a.k.a. NDLauren) took the lead for a time, then was tied by Joe Hiegel when #6 Delaware upset #3 UNC — and then both she and Hiegel were surprassed by Scott Anglemyer when #6 LSU upset #3 Penn State. Now it’s Angelmyer, of Shawnee, KS, leading with 196 points out of a possible 240; Fowler, of Smyrna, GA, and Hiegel, of Wisconsin, tied for second with 193 points; and the quartet of Greg Kagan, Ken Wagner, Michael Rosenkrantz and Gary Kirby (2007 & 2008 NIT pool champ) a point behind them with 192. Full standings here. Possible outcomes here.

Finally, in the NIT Pool, Steve Vivier of Connecticut (father of Brendan’s best childhood friend Sean Vivier) and Ross Binder of Minneapolis (editor of the Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants) are tied with 162 of a possible 207 points. Randy Styles (winner of the LRT’s Bowl Pick ‘em Contest and Oscar Pool in 2011), Gidal Kaiser and Michael Watkins are close behind with 159 points each. Full standings here. Possible outcomes here. More details information about “what-if scenarios” will be available after tonight’s games.

Again, for more frequent updates, “like” the pools’ Facebook Page. Also, follow me on Twitter.

Caplin had a near-perfect first day in the women’s pool, going 15-for-16, missing only #12 Kansas’s upset of #5 Colorado. Meanwhile, he surged to the top of the leaderboard in the men’s pool, buoyed by correct picks of surprise Sweet 16 runs by #6 Arizona and #12 Oregon.

Caplin has 145 of a possible 184 points in the men’s pool. He is followed by his aunt, and Becky’s mom, Ginny Zak, with 137 points; Kristy LaPlante with 135; and Mark Riley, Troy Lake and Alison Vargas with 134 apiece.

In the women’s pool, Caplin has 60 of a possible 64 points. He is followed by a nine-way tie for second place at 56 points, which includes his cousin Becky and his uncle Rick Boeckler, among others.

Meanwhile, in the NIT Pool, Gidal Kaiser, Derek McDonald and Josh Knight are tied for first with 124 of 152 points. (Caplin is tied for 58th in that pool, with 83 points.)

Click for complete men’s standings, women’s standings, and NIT standings.

That left Jim Logue, Kristy LaPlante and Matt Tompkins tied atop the pool leaderboard with 100 out of a possible 128 points. Nineteen contestants are tied for fourth place with 96 points and 24-8 records.

Of the major upsets, 33 of 283 contestants picked #13-seed La Salle (or Boise State, if they entered before the First Four); 14 contestants picked #14-seed Harvard; and 11 contestants picked #15-seed Florida Gulf Coast.

More frequent upsets can be found on the pools’ Facebook Page and on Twitter at @brendanloy.

Complete standings here (updating automatically in near-real-time) and after the jump.

People in the standings with “–” for a rank, like Charles Barkley, are for-comparison-only “bogus brackets.”

Rk Entry Name Score Pick Pct.

My NCAA and NIT pools are, as always, free to enter. There is no monetary or tangible prize* — just a chance at bragging rights (or, as I like to say, eternal glory).

Complete rules here. Entry links below. (Also, “like” the pools on Facebook!) Good luck!

Men’s NCAA Tournament Pool:
Live Standings
Live Game Scoreboard
Scoring system: 4-7-11-17-24-33.
View everyone’s brackets: PDF file here

Women’s NCAA Tournament Pool:
Live Standings
Live Game Scoreboard
Scoring system: 4-7-11-17-24-33.
View everyone’s brackets: PDF file here

NIT Pool:
Live Standings
Live Game Scoreboard
Scoring system: 7-10-15-20-25.
View everyone’s brackets: PDF file here

**NOTE: In a late rule change, I have decided NOT TO COUNT the Tuesday & Wednesday “First Four” games. If you think a “First Four” participant will win in the Round of 64 or beyond, pick the alternative pair (e.g., “MTSU/StMry” or “BSU/LaSal”) and you will get credit if EITHER team ultimately wins a game(s) in the main bracket. Contestants who entered the pool before this rule change will not be disadvantaged, as their First Four picks will automatically be changed to the alternative pair. That said, if anyone wishes to change their picks, they can, as always, do so, as long as their revised bracket is received by 12:20pm Eastern Time on Thursday. I will assume that the last bracket I receive from you before the deadline is the one you intend to use, and I will delete all earlier brackets.

*I’ve finally decided to give up the ghost on promising t-shirts that I haven’t gotten around to actually buying for the champs in several years (sorry guys). Besides, by eliminating the tangible prize, I believe NCAA athletes are now eligible to compete if they wish — at least, if the rules about such things haven’t changed since 2002, when I was a USC tutor working with student-athletes, and thus had to deal with that issue. (Please consult your compliance department if this applies to you, though. I don’t know what I’m talking about!) [UPDATE: Confirmed by @IrishCompliance!]

Woods got 72 out of a possible 80 points, missing on just 3 categories: he had Robert De Niro winning Best Supporting Actor (6 points) instead of Christoph Waltz; he picked “Anna Karenina” for Best Production Design (1 point) instead of “Lincoln”; and he had “The Hobbit” winning Best Makeup (1 point) instead of “Les Misérables.” He picked the other 21 Oscars correctly.

But until the Best Director category, Woods was largely “off the radar,” thanks to his error in predicting the first award of the night, Best Supporting Actor. That early mistake meant he had to gradually climb the standings, and until Best Director, was still lurking several spots behind the duo who appeared destined for a wire-to-wire win: Vicki Lopez and Chris Aemisegger.

Lopez, a friend of Becky’s & mine from college at USC, and Aemisegger, my 1L law school roommate from Notre Dame, had identical picks, and led the pool all night until Best Director. They would have finished as co-champions if Stephen Spielberg had won for “Lincoln,” as expected, and the rest of the results had gone the same way that they did.

Lopez’s fortunes are nearly always a major pool storyline, as her numerous close calls, near-wins and heartbreaking defeats have become the stuff of LRT Oscar Pool legend over the years. She fell just short of Oscar Pool victory because of plausible but incorrect Best Picture picks in 2005 (she picked The Aviator; Million Dollar Baby won), 2006 (she picked Brokeback Mountain; Crash won) and 2011 (she picked The Social Network; The King’s Speech won). She also finished second in 2010, narrowly losing out because of incorrect screenplay picks.

Lopez was one of the primary participants in the Oscars live chat all night, and her share of the lead was a subject of much discussion. “Hello again, Vicki! Are you feeling lucky this year?” Kristin Farleigh asked her at the beginning of the chat. “I was until my favorite driver won the Daytona 500,” Lopez replied. “Then I knew I had no shot tonight :)”

But, after Lopez got the first four awards right, including Waltz’s upset, Farleigh wrote: “Whoa, Vicki, this may be your year!” I chimed in: “Or Vicki is setting herself up perfectly for another crushing late defeat,” Brandon Minich added: “This is a great start for Vicki. Buuuut we’ve seen this before.”

Six awards in, as she moved out of the pack and into a two-tie with Aemisegger, Lopez wrote, “Ok, keeping my expectations low is getting harder… damn you, Brendan! I swore I was going to not care this year!”

Later in the night, as the major awards neared and Lopez remained atop the leaderboard, Farleigh wrote, “Vicki, I hope you win.” Lopez responded: “Aww, thanks. Now it’ll be super awkward when I don’t.” Becky chimed in, “I hope Vicki wins too. But we all know it won’t happen!” “Thanks, Becky. Always keeping it real,” Lopez replied.

As it turned out, Becky, Brandon and I were right. In 2006, Lopez had too much faith in Ang Lee, the director of that year’s Best Picture upset victim, Brokeback Mountain. This year, she had too little faith in him.

“WHAT!” Lopez exclaimed in the chat when Lee’s victory for Best Director was announced, dropping her from first place to mathematically eliminated. “I’m actually shocked.”

She added: “I hate everyone, just FYI.” (Heh.) But, a few minutes later, she was more philosophical: “I’m fine with not winning. As I said earlier, I knew it wouldn’t happen after the 48 won Daytona.”

Lee’s win also eliminated me, Brendan Loy, from what had briefly looked like a surprisingly plausible path to victory: I needed Emmanuelle Riva to win Best Actress for “Amour,” which some handicappers believed was a plausible upset possibility, and then the as-expected results for the rest of the way. I realized this scenario existed about 30 seconds before Lee’s win was announced, causing my hopes of a first-ever win in my own Oscar Pool to be raised and then almost immediately dashed.

Taking my place on the Emmanuelle Riva bandwagon was defending champion @juleslalaland, who, like Woods, correctly picked Ang Lee’s win, and like me, incorrectly picked Riva. She would have taken the lead from Woods, and ultimately would have won, if Riva had won Best Actress. But instead, the favored Jennifer Lawrence won for “Silver Linings Playbook,” as Woods predicted.

“I think I just won @brendanloy’s Oscar pool!” Woods tweeted moments after Lawrence’s win.

Not quite. The defending champ’s mathematical elimination left Woods with one remaining plausible challenger: Kristin Farleigh winner of the 3rd annual Oscar Pool in 2007 (under her maiden name of Kristin West). Farleigh — who, like Lopez, was participating in the chat all night — needed “Lincoln” to pull the upset and win Best Picture.

“GO LINCOLN!!!!!!!!!!!” Farleigh wrote in the live chat as the show neared its climax. “I can taste it….SO … CLOSE,” she added as First Lady Michelle Obama appeared remotely to present the Best Picture award, stoking speculation that the White House role might presage a “Lincoln” victory. “Best president, Best picture!”

If “Lincoln” had won, the 15-point boost for getting the Best Picture winner right would have vaulted Farleigh from a sixth-place tie to an Oscar Pool win. But favored “Argo” won instead, dropping Farleigh all the way to 35th place, and giving Woods the victory.

“So I lost @brendanloy’s Electoral College contest on a tiebreaker and won the Oscar pool. Bring on March Madness!” Woods tweeted after clinching the title.

Woods, who started following me on Twitter during Hurricane Isaac last August, did indeed lose the 3rd quadrennial LRT Electoral College Contest on a tiebreaker: he had one of six perfect maps in the presidential race, but was one House seat too low in predicting the Democrats’ House gains, the fifth tiebreaker.

In this contest, his 72 points is tied for second-most all time. Jeff Freeze’s 2010 performance remains the gold standard: 74 points out of a possible 80 (though Freeze actually missed twice as many picks, getting six 1-point categories wrong). Also getting 72 points were Lisa Velte in 2008 (eight 1-point categories wrong) and Chris McLemore in 2007 (six 1-point categories and one 2-point category).

Diana Gonzales (@trojanchick99) finished second with 71 points. Like those prior 70+ point winners, and unlike Woods, Gonzales got all of the “big six” categories right, but erred on a number of lesser categories (including a best screenplay Oscar, worth 4 points each).

Aemisegger and Lopez, who had appeared destined for victory until Ang Lee’s upset, finished tied for third with 68 points apiece. Linda Adriaans was fifth with 64 points. Here are the complete final standings:

1. Scott Woods: 72
2. Diana Gonzales (@trojanchick99): 71
3. Chris Aemisegger: 68
3. Vicki Lopez: 68
5. Linda Adriaans: 64
6. @tatsumaki4ryu: 62
6. @vtktorg: 62
6. Patrick Cullen: 62
6. Ryan: 62
10. Becky Loy: 60
10. Kevin Curran: 60
10. Lisa Velte: 60
13. Jeff Vaca: 59
14. Sam: 58
15. Kathryn Rogers: 57
16. @juleslalaland: 56
16. Amanda Aemisegger: 56
16. Chris Bennett: 56
16. Chris Palmer: 56
16. Tim Stevens: 56
21. Adam Uthe: 55
21. J. Daniel Rollins: 55
23. Mike Wiser: 54
24. Mike Rollins: 53
25. Brendan Loy: 52
25. Jeff Freeze: 52
25. Nathan Wurtzel: 52
25. Scott Fort: 52
25. Tim Sheridan: 52
30. @jacquelinepurdy: 51
30. David Kreutz: 51
30. Julia Prior: 51
30. Michael Greiner: 51
30. Rhett Umphress (@rhettumphress): 51
35. Amanda Rykoff: 50
35. Jeff Aronson: 50
35. Katie Oberer: 50
35. Kristin Farleigh: 50
39. Diane Krause: 49
39. Matt Wiser: 49
41. Igorcharmin: 48
41. Marel Nasinnyk: 48
43. @Crowesq: 46
43. Andy Sorensen: 46
43. Joseph Dickerson: 46
46. @gawlikju: 45
46. Mark Ramos (@MRMark5): 45
46. Tim G. (@novayankee): 45
49. Jeff Morrison: 44
49. Zach Bloxham: 44
51. Mark Grantz; @grantzma: 42
52. @frogkaytee: 40
52. Alexander: 40
52. Victoria Wagner: 40
55. AmyJoy: 39
55. Andrew Hunter: 39
55. Charlotte Smith: 39
55. Marissa: 39
59. @gentleman_jim: 38
59. Jessica Cowans: 38
59. Scott Loomer: 38
62. @thejoshknight: 35
62. Adra Graves: 35
62. Dennis Scott: 35
65. Daniela Altimari: 34
65. Deanah Kim: 34
65. Wobbly H: 34
68. Courtney Tawresey: 32
69. Carolyn Blessing: 31
70. Amy Booth: 29
70. Brandon Minich: 29
70. Randy Styles: 29
73. Barbara Cross: 28
73. Mike Bonfanti: 28
75. Michael Pusatera: 27
76. Eric Boisvert: 26
76. Sally Frye: 26
78. David Roberts: 24
79. Becky Redfern: 23
80. Ian Auzenne: 22
80. Jadon Farleigh: 22
82. Bonnie Stone: 20
83. Leanna Loomer: 19
83. Marty: 19
85. Tywin Lannister: 18
86. Jen: 17
87. @crseger: 16
87. @thepantau: 16
87. Doug Mataconis: 16
90. Ginny Zak: 14
90. MaryBeth: 14
92. Kevin Hauschulz: 9

The chat is right here, in this blog post. To participate, you’ll need to log in below via Twitter, Facebook or OpenID.

The chat will also (if Cover It Live’s tweet import function is working properly) auto-import any tweets with the hashtag #LRToscars, as well as any tweets by, or mentioning, Becky or me.)

I will attempt to live-update Oscar Pool results throughout the evening, though you can expect a bit of a lag around the girls’ bedtimes. Also, there will undoubtedly be some sort of OMG SPREADSHEET #PANIC!!! early in the night, rendering initial results unreliable. That’s really just part of the tradition at this point.

Have fun!

P.S. There was talk last year about doing an Oscars Drinking Game this year in the chat. For various reasons, I regret to announce that I will not be organizing or participating in any such revelry. However, if other Oscar live-chatters would like to do a drinking game, and if someone would like to propose rules, I will be happy to post them in the chat. :) Photos of yourself drunkenly watching the Oscars are also encouraged. Bqhatevwr.

The deadline to enter is Sunday at 5:30 PM Mountain Time. Entering the pool is, of course, free. The prize, as per usual: eternal glory!

As always, contestants are urged to enter using their full name, a Twitter handle, or some other readily recognizable partial name or nickname/pseudonym. After all, what’s the point of “bragging rights” if I don’t know who you are?

The scoring system, once again, is 12 points for Best Picture, 9 apiece for the directing and lead acting categories, 6 each for the supporting acting categories, 4 each for the screenplay categories, 2 each for documentary feature, animated feature, foreign film, cinematography and original score, and 1 per award for everything else.

Becky and I will most likely host a “live blog” and “live chat” Sunday night here on the blog. The chat has a reputation of being as entertaining as the actual show, if not moreso… plus, I will post live, updated Oscar Pool results throughout the show. So, bookmark this page and check back on Sunday!

[UPDATE: I created a Facebook Event Page for the Live Chat. Everyone is welcome!]

Anyway, get in the pool!!!

P.S. Some Oscar-prediction resources:
• Roger Ebert’s predictions (major categories only)
• NYT Carpetbagger predictions (major categories only)
• Nate Silver’s predictions (major categories only)
• Huffington Post Oscar Predictions
• Doc’s Sports Oscars odds
• EasyOdds Oscars betting
• GoldDerby summary of experts’ predictions

You might recall Kyle Whelliston’s ridiculous game of Super Bowl Knowledge Avoidance, “Last Man” (or #lastman), from 2011 and 2012. The object of the game is to go as long as possible without knowing who won the Super Bowl. The purpose of the game is… uh… well, for a certain breed of iconoclasts like Whelliston and some of his followers, it’s an anti-football thing, or an anti-sportz-media thing, or a general act of rebellion or conscientious objection against some aspect(s) the culture at large. For others, it’s just a goofy and nerdy thing to try and do — a personal challenge of an unusual kind, just for the heck of it.

Anyway, this year, I decided to try it for the first time.

Above: I squint at Gmail yesterday, trying to find a specific piece of information via search without accidentally seeing any e-mails about the Super Bowl. (I succeeded.)

I definitely fall into the second category mentioned above: people doing this just for nerdy kicks. As you know, I like football — college more than pros, but the pros are fine too, and I had watched the Super Bowl every year since Wide Right in 1990 (sorry, Becky & other Buffalonians). This year, though, I really couldn’t care less about the particular teams playing in the Super Bowl, so I decided, why not?

In retrospect, I sort of wish I hadn’t picked a year where there was an epic power blackout in the middle of the game (yes, I know about that) for my inaugural attempt at #lastman. I have also picked up hints that it was perhaps a really good game, or at least that some other memorable stuff (aside from the blackout) happened. I sense the whiff of a comeback, maybe, though I’m not sure. I know it was one of the most-watched of all time. But oh well.

Anyway, I’m in the midst of playing #lastman now: 41 hours, 46 minutes without “The Knowledge,” and counting.

Above: The Knowledge, in the form of a Denver Post in the break room, narrowly avoided yesterday and then photographed blindly from across the room.

I am one of six known players still alive in the game. The others are Kyle himself (though he’s about to leave the country, disqualifying him), Sameer Ohri, CNBC analyst John Carney, First Things intern Tristyn Bloom, and the fiancée (name unknown) of defending champ J. Scott Fitzwater. (Scott, for his part, still doesn’t know who won last year’s Super Bowl, but was eliminated early this year).

[WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: We're down to 3 known players: Bloom, Fitzwater's fiancée, and me. Kyle left for Canada, violating Rule Two; Ohri suffered death by Twitter mention (more details); Carney, death by CNBC news meeting. Technically this means I am now the last man standing, and Kyle says women can't play, but I say screw that. Title IX! Equal rights! Female sports fans should be able to complete in #lastman.

Meanwhile, Business Insider published an article about #lastman, in which I am extensively quoted. (The author, Joe Weisenthal a.k.a. @TheStalwart -- profiled here by the New York Times Magazine -- pretty much quoted my rambling, run-on, stream-of-consciousness verbal sentences verbatim. Heh. Yes, that's how I really talk.)

As I joked on Twitter:

Now that @businessinsider has published a piece on #lastman, will @midmajority hipsters desert the game in droves? #toomainstream #sellout

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 6, 2013

Can #lastman corporate sponsorships be far behind? Nike could do a "Keep Running" ad. There could be a #TheKnowledge-free Coke tent. LOLOLOL

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 6, 2013

I'm trolling Kyle a bit. See here and here for some context.

Also, I couldn't resist a few Lord of the Rings-themed #lastman tweets:

"What new devilry is this?" "The Knowledge. A demon of the #sportz world. This foe is beyond any of you. RUN!" #lastman

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 3, 2013

“Always remember, Frodo, The Knowledge is trying to get into your head. It *wants* to be found.” #lastman @findthelastman

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 1, 2013

You may triumph on the field of battle for a day, but against The Knowledge that is risen in the East, there is no victory. #lastman

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 5, 2013

"A great host, you say?" "108 million strong at least" "108 million?!" "It is an army w/ a single purpose: to destroy the world of #lastmen"

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 6, 2013

"The #lastmen cannot win this fight. They're all going to die." "Then I shall die as one of them!" #lastman

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 6, 2013

One does not simply walk into Twitter mentions. There is #TheKnowledge there that does not sleep. And the great @ is ever watchful. @sohri

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 6, 2013

Inside the pictured bag lies #TheKnowledge. ICYMI, here's video- youtu.be/LPZOw7fWe-4?ac -of how that came to be. #lastman twitter.com/brendanloy/sta…

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 5, 2013

Carrying #TheKnowledge around in a bag feels dangerous. Like #It might somehow will itself to fall out, One Ring-style. twitter.com/brendanloy/sta…

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 5, 2013

A day may come when the courage of #lastman fails, when we forsake our fellow #KnowledgeRunners and break all bonds of blissful ignorance...

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 5, 2013

...an hour of woes and shattered dreams, when the age of #lastman comes crashing down. BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!!! This day, we #run!!!

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 5, 2013

By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, #Lastmen of the West!! #lastman

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 5, 2013

Last but not least, I wanted to relate a conversation with Loyette, 5, who has a kindergarten classmate who went to the Super Bowl. First, this: "Daddy, do you want to know who won?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, I'm playing this game where a bunch of people are trying to be the last person to know who won." "Well, Daddy, I hope you win, so you get the gold medal." Aww. Then, a few minutes later, this discussion. Heh. Note how Becky deftly changes the subject to princesses.]

Below, two windows (the first archived, the second live) which together contain all my tweets and replies thereto, as well as all tweets to and from @findthelastman, the account that’s tracking the game (and is my primary source of information about the outside world at the moment). THESE WINDOWS ARE NOT SAFE FOR #LASTMAN PLAYERS, as they are believed to contain #TheKnowledge. I will not be looking at them. Nor will I be looking at comments on this blog post, nor Twitter mentions, nor most other electronic connections to the human race, until I’ve learned The Knowledge and thus lost the game.

LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: I now Know. I have The Knowledge. My #lastman run went for 2 days, 13 hours and 54 minutes.

Here’s how I found out.

FWIW, I’m not mad. I was about ready to be done. I just wanted to lose interestingly, which this qualifies as. Besides:

.@mikebonfanti isn’t even really to blame anyway. He’s just the vehicle #TheKnowledge chose to use. #AlwaysRememberFrodo #ItWantsToBeFound

— Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) February 6, 2013

Image of the #Knowledge-imparting e-mail after the jump (WARNING: contains The Knowledge).

P.S. Some funny quasi-attempts at sabotage earlier in the game by Andy Glockner:

@brendanloy Going to a bar for drinks tonight. Want to come? It’s at 3431 Rayven Swun, just north of your house.

— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) February 5, 2013

Would it be wrong to call the bar @brendanloy is at and have the bartender page him w/ a msg to call Ray Vince at x3431? #TheKnowledge

— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) February 5, 2013

I’m going to die laughing when @denverclocktower is the one who delivers #TheKnowledge to @brendanloy. #lastman #TrustNoClock

— Andrew Bolte (@albolte) February 5, 2013

@albolte @dfclocktower DONG DONG RAVENS DONG DONG DONG 34-31 DONG DONG DONG DONG

— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) February 5, 2013

Andy knew I wasn’t checking my mentions, and thus wouldn’t see those tweets, which is why I say “quasi-attempts.” Regardless, very funny.

Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s Notre Dame-Alabama BCS championship game, Morgan will finish tied in points with Sam Mann (@mannsg28), and will defeat Mann on the first tiebreaker: “Total number of games picked correctly (regardless of how many points each game is worth).” Morgan and Mann both presently have 41 points out of a possible 56, but Morgan’s win-loss record is 26-8 while Mann’s is 24-10.

Both contestants picked Alabama tonight, and the closest Notre Dame pickers are too far behind to catch them. Morgan and Mann will thus finish tied for first place with either 41 points or 45 points, and Morgan will win the tiebreaker regardless of the ND-Bama outcome.

The championship game will determine how the rest of the leaderboard looks, however. Presently, it looks like this: Russ Caplin is one point behind the leaders with 40 points, Steven Smith is next with 39, followed by Stephen Peroz, Zach Bloxham and Mike Wiser, all with 38 points but with records of 24-10, 23-11 and 22-12, respectively. Rounding out the Top 10, with 37 points apiece, are Nathan Wurtzel and Scotty Stout (both 22-12) and Paul Zak (21-13). The entire Top 10 picked Alabama, so if the Crimson Tide win, the order will remain the same, with everyone having 4 additional points.

However, if Notre Dame wins, the final Top 10 will look like this instead: Morgan first and Mann second with 41 points each, and Caplin next with 40, but then Andy Sorensen and Ross Lancaster (22-13) and Rachel Dulitz (21-14) joining the Top 6 with 40 points each. Defending champ Nyghtewynd (23-12) and Rick Boeckler (22-13) would be 7th and 8th, respectively, with 39 points, ahead of Smith (39 pts, 22-11) and Peroz (38 pts, 24-9).

Also finishing with 38 points if the Irish win, but finishing below Peroz on tiebreakers, would be Brendan Loy (11th), Bloxham (12th), Alison Vargas (13th), Mike Wiser (14th), Matt Wiser and Jeff Freeze (T-15th), Mike Brown and Derek McDonald (T-17th). Double Domer Lisa Velte would finish 19th with 37 points, as Wurtzel and Stout tumble from an 8th-place tie to a 20th-place tie.

GO IRISH!!! :)

If Kent State wins, Sam Mann (@mannsg28) will win the LRT contest. If Arkansas State wins, Ryan Morgan (@rpm002) will prevail by tying Mann in points and winning on a tiebreaker.

Although the GoDaddy Bowl is worth just 1 point, versus the national title game’s 4 points, the latter is irrelevant to the contest’s outcome because everyone within striking distance of the leaders picked Alabama. The highest-ranked Notre Dame pickers are Andy Sorensen and Rachel Dulitz, both 5 points behind current leader Mann. Dulitz, Sorensen and Mann all picked Kent State tonight, so the closest Dulitz and Sorensen can get to first place is 1 point behind.

Dulitz had a chance to win until last night, but she needed Pittsburgh to best Ole Miss in the BBVA Compass Bowl to stay alive. Mississippi’s win mathematically eliminated Dulitz, and made tonight’s bowl the de facto championship game of the Pick ‘em Contest.

(Video of the 1st and 2nd annual Bally Drops.)

My wife and I’s daughter just turned 1 year and five months old yesterday so there is nothing to be said to her. Her world remains as it was yesterday, untouched by the unspeakable, perplexing nature of tragedy. But it will not always be that way. Someday, I fear sooner than later, we will be faced by another horror and she will want to know why, what it means, are we safe? I have thought a lot about what I will say as I am sure all of you have. This is what I have. Feel free to take what you need when the time comes and leave the rest.

I will not start gracefully, I can tell you that. I love words and I love speaking them—Lord knows that—but there are moments that I feel so small next to that conjuring even simple sentences seems impossible. So I will stammer and stutter, hem and haw like a near-six feet tall, bald, blue eyed WASP-y Woody Allen at first. Until I do not, until, finally, I push back my own private cloud of despair long enough to reach down through my child’s and take her hand.

I will tell her then that is ok to be scared or angry or confused or sad. I will admit I am scared, angry, confused, and sad all at once. These are natural reactions to moments such as these. It is healthy to feel what we feel. And it is equally healthy when we start to feel happy, funny, or excited again.

I will tell her to beware people with pat answers about why people do wrong. It is never as simple as “video games” or “atheism.”

I will tell her that yes, people with mental illnesses can be violent and yes, Daddy does work with people with mental illnesses everyday. But the violent among them, much like the violent among us, are few and far between. People who do violence may be mentally ill, but mental illness and violence are not one in the same.

Most importantly, I will tell her that, yes, we are capable of such terrible things. There is darkness. And there are moments, moments like this where it feels like all we are capable of is devastation, where that inky blackness feels impermeable. But that feeling, the quicksand of despair and cynicism, that is not reality. That is not truth. That’s our minds playing tricks on us because what else can they do when the blood spilled is so much and so unnecessary.

No, we are capable of so much more, so much better than these moments and the tragedies themselves prove that. As surely as there are villains, there are heroes. They may not wear a cape and cowl or swing around in red jumpsuit and carry a billy club any more than the villains smirk a rictus grin or display a crosshair tattoo. They are heroes just the same.

I will not tell her of Dawn Hochsprung, the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary who ran towards, not away, from gunfire and may have activated that PA system allowing so many to survive with her dying act. I will not tell her of the men and women of United Flight 93 who gave their lives preventing terrorists from meeting their goal on September 11th. I will not tell her of the likes of Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, and Alex Teves who placed themselves between bullets and the women they loved in a movie theatre in Colorado earlier this year. There will be new heroes in the wake of a new tragedy, people who stood and risked their lives for others because that is what people do. I will tell her to look, look at what we can do even when faced with the worst of ourselves.

And if I know my daughter like I think I do, I know she will hear me and while she might not understand how it could have happened—and really who does understand this—she will find some comfort there. She will close her eyes and go to sleep and the next morning things will be just a bit better.

I will go downstairs and weep, like parents do every night in places the world over, be it Newtown, CT or on the other side of the world in China. I will weep for the victims, for lives ended ugly and far too soon. I will weep for monsters who can’t comprehend their monsters, monsters who can but cannot stop, and even those that can stop and choose not to. I will weep for all the horribleness and wonder, the hatred and love, the hideousness and beauty humanity is capable of all at once. And while I’m not one for intercessory prayer, I’m sure I will pray a bit too, though I know not for what. Then I will dry my eyes, hug my wife, call my friends, put one foot in front of the other. Live my life because, in the wake of tragedy, it is what must be done. Produce light so the dark cannot swallow us.

It’s college football bowl season, and that means it’s time for the 8th annual Living Room Times Bowl Pick ‘em Contest! The contest is now underway.

If you entered my 2010 or 2011 Bowl Pick ‘em contest(s), you can log in with the OfficeFootballPool.com username & password that you created previously. (If you forgot your username and password, click here.)

[NOTE: If you tweet, and your Pick 'em contest username is not your Twitter handle, you are encouraged to change your username to your Twitter handle.]

If you didn’t enter my 2010 or 2011 contest(s), then after clicking here, you’ll need to click “NEW USER.” Next, you’ll be prompted to create a “Screen Name” — again, I encourage anyone who tweets to use their Twitter handle — create a Password, and enter your E-mail Address, “First Name,” “Last Name,” and (again) “Twitter Handle.”

You are not required to put your full, real name in the “First Name” and “Last Name” fields (though it’s encouraged), but please give me some way of knowing who you are — what I want to avoid is another situation where I have no idea who the winner is!

As always, the contest is free, and the winner gets acclaim, publicity, and eternal glory here on the blog and on Twitter — but no monetary prize. :) All picks are due by Saturday, December 15 at 11am Mountain Time (10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern), when the New Mexico Bowl kicks off. You can change your picks at any time before the deadline.

You pick the winners of each bowl game “straight up” (NOT against the spread, though the spread is shown for informational purposes only). There are no “confidence points”; instead, each correct pick is worth a predetermined number of points. A grand total of 60 points are possible, broken down as follows:

• 4 points: BCS National Championship Game
• 3 points each: All other BCS games
• 2 points each: All non-BCS bowls from December 29 through January 4
• 1 point each: All other bowls

In the event of a tie in point totals, tiebreakers are as follows:

1. Total # of games picked correctly (regardless of how many points each game is worth)
2. Correct pick of the BCS Championship Game winner
3. Closest to the combined total number of points in BCS Championship Game

So, there you go. Again, sign up here! Have fun! Good luck! Go Irish! :)

P.S. You can also enter by clicking here and then manually entering the Pool ID (67297) and the Pool Entry Code (firekiffin). USC fans may want to use that method just for the satisfaction of typing “firekiffin.” :)

P.P.S. Speaking of “eternal glory“… here are the past winners:

2005-06: Brian Dupuis
2006-07: Ben Sloniker
2007-08: Seth Carmack
2008-09: Amy Booth
2009-10: Doug Mataconis
2010-11: Randy Styles
2011-12: @Nyghtewynd
2012-13: TBD. It could be you! Enter now!