The Contest Begins! RULES, GROUPS, and YOUR WRITING PROMPT!

What a great turnout for the contest.  We have 37 people signed up (hopefully I didn't miss anyone - if I did let me know ASAP and I'll slot you in).  Here's how the contest is going to work:

Round 0:

Round 0 will be pool play.  With 37 people, I am going to split the players up into six groups (all groups will have six people except one which will have seven).  The purpose of Round 0 is two-fold.  One, it will give everyone a chance to see how this works and two, it will allow for seeding for the real competition.  Round 0 will open tonight (see the bottom of the post for more details).

Round 1:

Round 1 marks the beginning of the bracket challenge.  As you all probably know, you can make a nice bracket with 2^n people (where n is a natural number).  32 is 2^5 but we have 37 people.  Since no one gets eliminated in Round 0, the bottom seeds will have three people in their bracket with only the top person moving on.  All other slots will be a 1v1 match-up with the winner moving on.  Once we get to Round 2 (or the Sweet 16), all match-ups will be 1v1.  Therefore, while no one gets eliminated in Round 0, you probably want to try your best so that you don't end up in a 3-way competition for a single spot!

Round 0 - The Groups:


I put all contestants into Random.org and shuffled three times.  I then took the first 6 people for Group A, the next 6 for Group B, etc. until there were only 7 remaining which made up Group F.  If by chance I missed anyone (or we get someone who joins late), they will be added to Group E, then D, then C, etc.

The Rules:
1.  You must write a post that somehow ties to the card for your group.  Creativity, humor, or whatever else you can fit in the post are all encouraged.  You may "steal" the card image from my blog for use in your post (this is encouraged as it will probably help your post make a bit more sense to your readers).
2.  Once you have written (and published) your post, leave a link to your entry on the current contest page.  For Round 0, that means you will leave a link to your post on this page.
3.  Once the deadline has passed (and each round will last 2-3 days), I will compile all the posts in a single page for voting.  At that point, everyone (whether you are a contestant or not) will vote.  For Rounds 1 and on, the highest vote getter will move on to the next round.  I will not vote, but my vote will break ties if necessary.  Therefore, bribes might help you.
4.  Once winners are announced, we move on to the next round where the process repeats itself.
5.  The one difference for Round 0 is that the number of votes will be used to determine seeding, not eliminations.  Again, in case of ties (which I expect there will be), I will be the sole tie-breaker.
6.  All decisions made by me are final.
7.  This contest is supposed to be fun.  There will be only one winner - but everyone will get at least two turns at writing something so hopefully everyone has a good time.  Keep it civil.  You may, however, encourage people to vote for you on your blog if you wish - but ALL MESSAGES, COMMENTS, ETC. MUST BE POSITIVE.  If I see anyone posting negative things about other participants, I will automatically disqualify them.  Sorry, but I want this to be fun!
8.  Winner gets either the base set from 2012 Allen & Ginter (cards 1-300, no short prints) OR some other prize of my choice - but the winner gets to choose which option they prefer!

Good luck to all participants!

The Group Assignments and Your Card:
Note:  Make sure you are writing about the card for your group - I apologize if you'd rather write about a different card, them's the breaks!

Here are the random.org results:

And now, here are your card assignments.  Remember, your post is to somehow relate to the card in question.  Creativity is encouraged (and will be especially important in the first round)!

Round 0:
For Round 0, I figured we needed to have cards that would be fair across the groups and yet still offer plenty of room for various ideas.  Since Gint-a-Cuffs is still in full force, Round 0 will be all 2012 Ginter cards - more specifically, each group will have one of the people cards from the Murder in Willow Cove set as their writing prompt.  Good luck everyone!

Group A:
Your prompt:  Joey Furts

1. Alfredo Ortega
2. Josh D.
3. BA Benny
4. Tom
5. Baseball Dad
6. 30 Year Old Cardboard

Group B:

Your prompt:  Lennie Guttman

1. Kirk Jacobson
2. Anthony
3. dkwilson
4. gcrl
5. dhoff
6. Richard Nebe Jr.

Group C:

Your prompt:  Price Laughton

1. Dan
2. Rod
3. Carlos Salgado
4. The Dimwit
5. Skroeker
6. Wilson

Group D:
Your prompt:  Deputy Danny Young

1. Scott Sawyer
2. Jason
3. Spankee
4. Robert
5. opoohwan
6. The Angels in Order

Group E:
Your prompt:  Cynthia Pritchard

1. arpsmith
2. PAB
3. Matt Pederson
4. Eric L
5. Play at the Plate
6. Superduperman99

Group F:
Your prompt:  Larry Mudlin

1. unclemoe
2. Nathan
3. madding
4. Dayf
5. Kyle4KC
6. Mark
7. High-Five Man

Reminder:  Once you have written your post, please post a link on this blog entry to your post.  Good luck.  You all have until 6:00 PM EST on 8/3/12 (Friday) to get your posts done and a link posted on my blog.  Sorry, but late entries will NOT be accepted!

Good luck - I can't wait to see what you all come up with for the opening round.  And for those that are wondering, once the bracket challenge begins you will get "actual" baseball cards...at least for the first round (after that, you'll simply have to wait and see)!

Any Questions?  Let me know in the comments or via email and I'll try to help!