Thursday, March 17, 2022

The 2022 Chippens Tournament Challenge

Greetings, Players!

First of all, congratulations on joining The Chippens Tournament Challenge. You are in for an exhilarating ride! 

Click HERE for player listing, player picks, current standings, projected standings, and more! 

Daily Recaps

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

Friends, another epic chapter begins in the Chippens Tournament Challenge. The storylines are emerging already, and on this first day of competition, hopes are high, and the possibility of glory is still within reach. Read on below to see what to watch for as the games unfold and destinies are determined.  

Another Hero Returns

As I said last year, every year we have at least one player come back out of the wilderness and rejoin the Chippens fold. This year that player is The silver lake hero (M. Fowler). 

"Hero" has three tournament results, the last being in 2009. His A-Frame Awesomeness, as he is known around the lake, finished 38th in 2009, 41st in 2007, and 35 in 2006. Not bad results, but of course the Tournament gets tougher every year. 

Hero has chosen Iowa to be his own hero. He is one of just four players with the Hawkeyes advancing all the way to the title game. Foolish or Hawkeye-like vision? Time will tell. 

Juwan Howard Smackdown

Two players have paid homage, or mockery, to that whole Juwan Howard haymaker incident--Juwan Howard's Right Hook (B. Brennan) and Juwan Howard's Sucker Punch (A. Kelly). These players have personal allegiances to Michigan and Michigan State. I'll let you guess from their respective descriptions of the incident which is which. 

They each have wildly divergent interpretations of the bracket as well. Right Hook likes Kentucky over Arizona with Michigan advancing to the Elite 8 and Michigan State losing in the first round. Sucker Punch has Gonzaga over Tennessee with Michigan State advancing to the Sweet 16 and Michigan losing in the first round.

Will either of these players land a punch? Or will both be swings and misses? Last year Kelly started out strong and faded. Brennan, now in his 13th season, hasn't had a top 25 finish since his rookie campaign. But this year could always be the year!  

Rookies

One of the Rules of the Chippens Tournament is you must be old enough to make your own picks. This year we have two rookies who have met that milestone, Daphne Dooster (D. Corwin) and ThatGuyOverInTheCorvette (W. McCall). 

One thing about the younger players is they usually either go strictly by the book or just go wild, completely uninhibited and undaunted by things like seeding, records, conferences, etc. These two players seem to fit each category, respectively. 

Corvette has the 1-2 matchup in each region in the Elite 8, all four #1 seeds in the Final Four, and an Arizona over Gonzaga final. If the tournament plays to chalk, as they say, Corvette will be speeding out to the front. 

Dooster will need a big booster from Texas. She just seemed to like the name. She's the only player with Texas winning it all. 

5-year Ringers

I always like to point out who's up for their 5-year rings. This year we have Con Man, MonsterTruc, Train, Lanfreak, and Bsnides earning their eligibility for the All Time Records! 

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