Floyd's Pick'em Manifesto

    Contest
    - Picking college football games
    - The schedule of games is determined by who entered the contest. If you
      enter, then your favorite (Division IA) teams' games are put on the schedule.
    - This is the script's second year, so it should be fairly stable. However, I'm
      still making updates/enhancements, so don't be surprised by strange behavior.
    - There is no prize other than self satisfaction, bragging rights, and maybe
      some worthless trinket, if you're lucky.

    Rules
    - Trash talking is encouraged but keep it somewhat clean - this is family game.
    - All picks have to be made by the game's kickoff time. I've coded some checkers
      into the script but I wouldn't say it's "bulletproof". Users are NOT encouraged
      to attempt to defeat my code.

    Picks
    - Players try to come as close as posible to the actual score of each scheduled game..
    - A spread may be provided. This spread is only used to assign bonus points
      for picking underdogs. The spread is NOT used to calculate winners. (See the
      "Scoring" section below)
    - If no spread is provided, a dash "-" will appear in the "Line" column on the pick
      submittion page. This is the same as a spread of zero, meaning no underdog bonus.
    - The player "Floyd" is actually the average of all the picks for that week. Don't
      be offended by Floyd's comments. After all, he's just a pig and doesn't know
      any better.
    - If two high ranked teams play each other, it may be added to the weeks schedule
      of games. This is determined on a week by week basis.
    - The scoring algorithm is detailed below (See "Scoring" section).

    Interface
    - Picks are made from an html form on Floyd's web site
    - The html forms sends picks via email. Ensure that the computer you are making
      your picks from is setup to send email. If you've sent up your email and are 
      still having problems submitting picks, send me an email: scleary@austin.rr.com
      with your picks and info on your setup. I'll enter them manually but be advised
      this is not a long term solution.
    - Identity is confirmed by a password. This is not a secure means of communication
      so don't use any of your real passwords, something simple will do. This is just
      to ensure that no one "accidentally" changes someone else's picks.
    - The script looks for new picks and ftp's updated html to the web server every
      5 minutes. So if your picks doesn't show up immediately, check 5 minutes later.
    - A reminder will be sent on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday if you haven't made
      your picks yet for the week. Once you make some picks, you'll get no further
      reminders for that week. The reminder email will provide added warnings for
      Thursday or Friday games as they occur.
    - If you change you mind on a pick or comment, you can resubmit anytime before
      the game starts. On the resubmission, you only have to fill in the fields that
      you're updating, the other ones can be left blank. However, if you're updating
      a score, fill in BOTH the visitor and home scores.

    Scoring
    - The scoring system challenges you to come as close as possible to the actual
      score of the game. A sliding scale is used to assign point values to the picks
      relative to the actual score.
    - The scoring is as follows:
      100 points maximum per game
      50 points for picking the winner
      30 points for picking the margin of victory
      10 points for picking the home team score
      10 points for picking the visiting team score
      + Bonus a variable bonus for picking underdogs
             Scoring Details:      
    - You get fifty points for picking the winner. Remember the spread has no berring
      on this.
    - Point values for the margin of victory are as follows:
      +/- 0 = 30 points
      +/- 1 = 27 points
      +/- 2 = 24 points
      +/- 3 = 21 points
      +/- 4 = 18 points
      +/- 5 = 15 points
      +/- 6 = 12 points
      +/- 7 = 9 points
      +/- 8 = 6 points
      +/- 9 = 3 points
    - Point values for the visitor/home scores are as follows:
      +/- 0 = 10 points
      +/- 1 = 9 points
      +/- 2 = 8 points
      +/- 3 = 7 points
      +/- 4 = 6 points
      +/- 5 = 5 points
      +/- 6 = 4 points
      +/- 7 = 3 points
      +/- 8 = 2 points
      +/- 9 = 1 point
    - Bonus for picking underdogs is calculated as follows:
      You get 5 points * the spread for picking an underdog to win (and they actually do win).
      For example. TeamA is favored by 9 points over TeamB. If you pick TeamB to win and
      they do win, you get 9*5=45 bonus points.
    - Scores double when two "affiliated teams" play each other (i.e. (Score+Bonus)*2).

    Results
    - Results are posted on Floyd's web site.
    - All calculations and results are updated as soon as game results are provided
      to the tool.
    - I'm trying to implement some code that will auto-magically grab the scores from
      the web. As this capability matures you might see some strange behavior and some 
      incorrect scores. Don't be alarmed. Eventually, the scores will be righted..

Good Luck!

-Floyd