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RotoGuru's Football Pickoff Rules - 2009

  1. First, you must register for the game. When registering, you will need to choose a unique entry name and a password, which you will use to log in with each time you visit the game site. You may register up to three separate entries for this game. There is no fee to enter.
  2. Each week, you have the opportunity to pick the winner in each of the NFL games. You may also elect to skip any game. By skipping a game, you will score no points for that game - positive or negative. You may select or change your pick for any game at any time prior to the lockout time for that game, as defined below:
    • The lockout time for games played on Thursday-Saturday is the scheduled kickoff time for the earliest game of the day.
    • The lockout time for all games played on Sunday and Monday is 1pm Eastern time on Sunday.
    • The lockout time for all playoff rounds is the scheduled time of the first kickoff of the weekend.
    Unless there is a technical failure, all picks should be logged using this game site. In the event of technical difficulties, a set of new or updated picks may be emailed to footpick@rotoguru1.com. You may also use the site's "GuruMail" facility to submit emailed picks. Emailed picks must be sent prior to the appropriate lockout time.
  3. Each week, you may choose to double the points for one game, specified in advance. It is not necessary to double a game.
  4. Points will be awarded based on the outcome of each game, and also based on the percentage of entrants which picked each team.
    • If you pick a winning team, your points will be equal to 100 minus the percentage of entrants who picked that team. (Skipped entries for the game will be ignored in calculating the percentages.) For example, if you picked a winning team that was selected by 90% of all entrants, then you get 10 points (i.e, 100-90).
    • If you pick a losing team, you lose points equal to the percentage of entrants which picked the losing team. For example, if you picked a losing team that was selected by 40% of all entrants, then you lose 40 points.
    • If a game ends in a tie, then no points will be awarded for that game.
    • If you select a game to be doubled, then your points earned for that game are multiplied by two, whether positive or negative.
    • Bonus points are awarded if you successfully pick a sufficient number of winners for any week. For weeks with a full slate of 16 games, bonus points begin with the 13th correct pick. For weeks with less than 16 games, the bonus point hurdle is three less than the total number of games. If you correctly pick 13 (or 11 or 10, depending on the week) winners, you receive 50 bonus points. For each correct winner beyond the threshold, you receive an additional 50 bonus points. The maximum bonus points available in any week is 200. Bonus points are not subject to doubling.
    • This game will continue throughout the entire regular season as well as the playoffs. Bonus points will not apply during the playoff rounds.
    Your weekly score is the sum of your game scores (including bonus points) for the week. Game standings will be based on your cumulative weekly scores.
  5. Information on the pick percentages is continuously updated as new picks are made or changed.
  6. You may elect to join a Division. Divisions provide a convenient means to rank your score against a subset of other entrants (e.g., family members, co-workers, friends). Division rankings have no relevance to the game scoring, and prize winnings are not impacted by Divisional membership.
  7. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the season, including both cash (or gift certificates) and merchandise. No more than one prize will be awarded per person. Prize determinations will be made in the order of the following prize list. Once a contestant has won a prize, other entries from the same contestant will be ignored in determining subsequent prize winners.
    • Grand prize: The entry with the highest cumulative score for the entire game will win $100* plus an item of RotoGuru merchandise. The grand prize winner also qualifies for inclusion in the RotoGuru Hall of Fame.
    • Midseason prize: The entry with the highest score from week 9 through the Super Bowl (i.e., excluding weeks 1-8) will receive $50* plus an item of RotoGuru merchandise.
    • GuruPatron prizes: The top five finishers who are GuruPatrons will win an item of RotoGuru merchandise.
    • Midseason GuruPatron prizes: The top three finishers from week 9 through the Super Bowl (i.e., excluding weeks 1-8) who are GuruPatrons will win an item of RotoGuru merchandise.
    • Playoff GuruPatron prize: The top finisher for the 11 playoff games who is a GuruPatron will win an item of RotoGuru merchandise.

    *In lieu of cash, the grand prizes may be awarded in the form of a gift certificate to an established merchant of sporting goods that maintains a significant online presence. This substitution will be made at the discretion of RotoGuru.net.

    Actual RotoGuru merchandise awarded will depend on availability at the time of the award, and will be determined by the Guru. Eligibility for GuruPatron prizes will be limited to those persons (including immediate family members thereof) who have financially contributed under the GuruPatron program at any time prior to October 1, 2009. GuruPatron prizes have no alternative cash value.

    In the event of a tie, prizes will be equitably split among those tied.

  8. Employees of Uncommon Cents, LLC (the operator of RotoGuru.net) and members of their immediate families are not eligible for prizes. In the determination of prize winners, their entries will be ignored.
  9. In the event of a sustained server failure, or any other abnormality which interferes with the normal operation of the game, rules adjustments may be made to promote fairness. (Brief server outages will not be considered a reason for adjustment, even if they occur immediately in advance of a selection deadline.) All decisions regarding interpretation of the rules and the administration of the game are the Guru's sole responsibility, and will be decided in the best interests of the game.

RotoGuru is produced by Dave Hall (a.k.a. the Guru), an avid fantasy sports player. He is neither employed by nor compensated by any of the fantasy sports games discussed within the RotoGuru site, and all opinions expressed are solely his own. Questions or comments on this game are welcome, and should be emailed to Guru<davehall@rotoguru2.com>.

 
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