Way back in the early days of the contest, the Alliterative Acchiones plus some of their cohorts declared themselves the "Nova Gang." Other groups sprung up to challenge them, and before we knew it we had a fierce annual Tag Team competition. The Leach Clan was perhaps the most colorful (and least successful) of these groups, but from Arnie's Army of Bridge Players to Whiteside and his Enemies, every year was a contest within the contest.
This year, the top team of taggers was the Former Residents of 12A, who averaged 270.0 points, finishing ahead of the Schlegel Consortium (263.3) and the Friends of DBR (255.8). Finishing behind the leaders but ahead of our more traditional tag teams, Whiteside and his Enemies (252.0) can claim mediocrity ahead of Ripley Believe It or Nots (244.0). And as they have so many times over the years, the Leach Gang finished in the cellar, with a paltry average of 243.2.
In the name game, the best name for pool picking is clearly David (271.7), by a whopping 20+ points over Jeff (251.5), Kevin (249.8), Rick (247.5), Joe (also 247.5), John (246.4), and Matt (245.7). If your name is Mike (238.0) or George (211.5), witness protection might just be for you.
The #metoo movement has been big in the last year, but it's been going strong for decades in our contest and this year is no exception as females (261.1) came out on top of males (247.9) by quite a bit. Truth often comes out of the mouths of babes, and sometimes good gambling sense as well, as children (262.4) were significantly better than adults. The battle of the species gave us a true upset, as both humans (249.7) and canines (239.0) fell ignominiously to lawyers (257.0).
From a regional standpoint, New York City and environs (264.6) was a fine setting for prognostication, ahead of the Beltway area (254.7), greater Philadelphia (250.6), the deep South (244.0), and the far West (239.8). On a statewide basis, Tennessee (280.0) was tops, ahead of New York (270.8), Maryland (266.0), New Jersey (260.5), Illinois (250.7), and Pennsylvania (250.0). If you live in Virginia (249.0), California (243.5), Oregon (232.0), or Florida (220.0), witness protection might just be for you.
Among our favorite universities, Pitt is for pool-pickers (255.5), barely edging Duke fans (255.1), Penn State backers (238.8), Gonzaga aficionados (233.0), and Villanova enthusiasts (228.0). If you root for VCU, witness protection might just be for you (and how long you think that joke's gonna play?).
If you're in sales (236.5), you can try to convince us that you weren't the worst pool-picking profession, but we probably won't buy it. If you're in management (236.8), you might want to delegate the next time you play. If you're a teacher (244.3), your students (264.9) think they know better (and apparently do). If you're in the financial world (253.5), you might want to retire (254.3). And if you're an attorney (270.0), witness protection might just be for you (you knew it was coming one more time, right?).
So that's that. Another tag team tussle is behind us. Tomorrow, we'll wrap up with our Rivals Report and, oh yeah, there might be a basketball game going on. See you then.
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