And now for something completely different:
Here are the leagues and pairings for the 2011 McCarthy Cup. We had 40 teams sign up this year, and probably would have had several more if the PM function still worked on the BT website. Still, it’s a really strong field and should make for some great matchups.
League placement relied on average score for this year according to Don Denton’s website. The top ten teams became the top seeds of ten leagues, and then a serpentine placement for the rest (#11 went in league 10, #12 went in league 9, #13 in 8, etc.).
UPPER CLASS TWIT LEAGUEThe Fellowship of Damon’s Twinsburg, OH
8th Street Grill, Minneapolis MN
Adam’s Mill, Manchester CT
BWW Ridgeland, MS
SPANISH INQUISITION LEAGUEIn The Zone, Tampa FL
Holiday Inn Vancouver BC
Henry Hudson’s Grill One, Oklahoma City OK
Clancy’s Crab Broiler, Glendale CA
LUMBERJACK LEAGUEGrand Slam, D.C.
BWW Ironton, OH
Blue Goose Sports Cafe, Cincinnati OH
Four Corners, Chapel Hill NC
SPAM LEAGUEDanny K’s Café and Billiards, Orange CA
Average Joe’s Sports Bar, Lethbridge AB
O’Brien’s Irish Pub, Wichita KS
Old Town Tavern, Goleta CA
BRUCE LEAGUETailgate Sports Café, Minneapolis MN
Teaser’s, Chicago IL
BWW Evansville, IN
Meridan AOH, Meridan CT
PIRANHA BROTHERS LEAGUEJilly’s, Ellicott City MD
Houlihan’s Brick, NJ
Gators Pub and Eatery, Tigard OR
Applebee’s Halifax, NS
IT’S… LEAGUEBWW Tallahassee, FL
SRO OT, Houston TX
Hokie House, Blacksburg VA
Woody’s on Brunette, Coquitlam BC
CHEESE SHOP LEAGUEMad River, New York NY
Concert Pub, Houston TX
BWW Lewisville, TX
Duke’s Sports Grill, Scottsdale AZ
MINISTRY OF SILLY WALKS LEAGUEFletcher’s Pub, Kalamazoo MI
New Edinburgh Pub, Ottawa ON
Touch of Class Gaming Room, Edmonton AB
West Park Station, Cleveland OH
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN GLADYS STOATPAMPHLET AND HER INTREPID SPANIEL STIG AMONGST THE GIANT PYGMIES OF BECCLES, VOLUME 8 LEAGUEHoulihan’s Westbury, NY
Coaches Sports Grill, Albuquerque NM
Toucan’s Tiki Lounge, Palm Springs CA
Stadium Café, Addison TX
The Round-Dead-Parrot phase commences on March 8, with each team playing every other one in its league according to the following schedule:
Week 1:
1 vs. 4
2 vs. 3
Week 2:
1 vs. 3
2 vs. 4
Week 3:
1 vs. 2
3 vs. 4
As stated earlier, all league winners get the top seeds in the bracketed phase according to descending cumulative score during the Round-Dead-Parrot phase. The six wild-card slots will be awarded to the six teams among the rest with the highest cumulative scores. Standard brackets (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc.) will apply.
There is not much more to say, except that in response to certain queries I've received, the trophy will absolutely NOT be awarded according to the rules of the All-England Summarize Proust Competition. Shame on you for even thinking this.
Let the games begin.