Monday, November 7, 2011

Division Semifinals

Chicago vs. Dallas:



I am doing this last-minute; no time to darken or color so the scrambled words at left are HYLACK, NICEMD, ACELLO, ASITES, and the word balloons read "Hey, what did you find out for me about that -------- ----?" and "Just fly to JFK and follow the signs to the AirTrain", respectively. And despite the diligent preparation on the part of Dallas implied by the drawing, I pick Chicago to win and advance.


San Francisco vs. Los Angeles:

I like San Francisco, as they are very solid on the top three boards, by which I mean I think they will be pressing to win up there and are likely to draw where they fail to win. But I don't like them so much as to pick them to advance in the face of the draw odds they are giving. If anybody is keeping score, I pick San Francisco to win the match, because that seems the likeliest among the three (SF wins, drawn match, LA wins) outcomes, but I pick LA to advance, because I like having two chances out of three.


Philadelphia vs. Manhattan:

I like Manhattan's lineup a little better. Of course, as I rationalized above, there is the draw odds and the two-chances-in-three thing, but if that feels like wimping out to me, it must look positively despicable to you. Manhattan to win, then.


New York vs. Boston:

Ok, I think I can finesse this one. I favor New York slightly based on the lineups, and they do have draw odds. When you have draw odds, the other team has to go overboard trying to win, and so they lose more often than they would normally. So, I pick New York to win and advance.

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