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Here's another random Fannish 50 column and this one is about (surprise, surprise) hockey. It's one of my favorite days of the hockey year- the annual NHL Draft Lottery.
For many years, the drawing had been done in secret and then two years ago, ESPN effed up throwing to commercial break by knocking out a team that hadn't even been knocked out yet, and everybody screamed fake, so now they do it live.
And it is even more compelling now to watch it play out in real time. The group of 16 non-playoff teams is on the board in order of finish. Teams at the top (Vancouver wound up last, so they're first on the board) get the best odds. Each team is assigned a series of four two-digit numbers by the computer and there are roughly a thousand combinations possible. These numbers are on ping pong balls that are randomly spit out by a machine as we watch. So when the first ping pong ball comes out, all teams without that number come off the board, same with the second, third, etc. There are two draws.
There is some drama at the end as to who gets the first overall pick, but for the life of me I can't remember it right now (I'll edit it later tonight). Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly does get to do his card-flipping thing before it, so that's cool and brings a sense of historical continuity for geeks like me who watch every year.
There's always an interview with the number one projected pick and usually one with the winners, so it does pad out the time. It is an event after all.
There are a couple of rules. Teams cannot move up more than 10 spots, so if you're favorite is 12-16, you won't be getting the number one overall pick anyway. Also, a team cannot "win" the lottery for more than two years in a five year span.
Here's a fun game you can play if you'd like to see how things shake out, brought to you by the folks at Tankathon.
The lottery is tonight broadcast on ESPN, SN, TVAS at 6pm CDT.
For many years, the drawing had been done in secret and then two years ago, ESPN effed up throwing to commercial break by knocking out a team that hadn't even been knocked out yet, and everybody screamed fake, so now they do it live.
And it is even more compelling now to watch it play out in real time. The group of 16 non-playoff teams is on the board in order of finish. Teams at the top (Vancouver wound up last, so they're first on the board) get the best odds. Each team is assigned a series of four two-digit numbers by the computer and there are roughly a thousand combinations possible. These numbers are on ping pong balls that are randomly spit out by a machine as we watch. So when the first ping pong ball comes out, all teams without that number come off the board, same with the second, third, etc. There are two draws.
There is some drama at the end as to who gets the first overall pick, but for the life of me I can't remember it right now (I'll edit it later tonight). Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly does get to do his card-flipping thing before it, so that's cool and brings a sense of historical continuity for geeks like me who watch every year.
There's always an interview with the number one projected pick and usually one with the winners, so it does pad out the time. It is an event after all.
There are a couple of rules. Teams cannot move up more than 10 spots, so if you're favorite is 12-16, you won't be getting the number one overall pick anyway. Also, a team cannot "win" the lottery for more than two years in a five year span.
Here's a fun game you can play if you'd like to see how things shake out, brought to you by the folks at Tankathon.
The lottery is tonight broadcast on ESPN, SN, TVAS at 6pm CDT.
