Well the deadline has passed for entries into the Group Break and I must say, I was quite happy with the turnout. Of 15 available slots, 14 slots were filled. We only had 1 spot left at the end that went unfulfilled but that's quite alright with me as I only anticipated about 10 people getting on board with this. Sooooo...Thanks to all of you that decided to give this a try.
Since we need to random off some teams, I decided to use that Random.org site that everyone seems to use for these types of things. Then I decided to do the randomization 3 times each for both participants and teams. Why three? I don't really know. I guess I have seen everyone else do it and no one complained. At any rate, the numbered order for the participants will correspond to the same number of the random team (ie., You are #5 and #5 on the team list is the Kamloops, that's who you get [it would also mean the randomizer is broken]).
Here is the participant order...
One Time...
Two Times...
Three Times...
You'll notice there are 14 entries, two of which are Dave H because he paid for two teams so he gets two randoms. I'm on there too because technically I paid for all the teams that are left so I should at least get one of them.
Now the team randomization...
One Time...
Two Times...
Three Times...
So there you have it. The official random team pairings for the Group Break are complete. You will notice that 15 and 16, Tampa and Nashville are left without a participant. They stay with me until the end when I will decide what to do with them. Who knows? I may keep 'em.
In case you can't read the lists I will type them out along with a link to everyone's blog (assuming you have one...and I know about it)
1. Casey from Drop The Gloves - - Boston Bruins & Los Angeles Kings via trade from BA Benny
2. Me from The Real DFG - - Pittsburgh Penguins & Dallas Stars
3. Sal from Puck Junk - - Chicago Blackhawks & Minnesota Wild
4. Captain Canuck from Waxaholic - - Detroit Red Wings & Florida Panthers
5. 1967ers from Diamond Cuts & Wax Stains - - Toronto Maple Leafs & Carolina Hurricanes
6. Dave H from Wax Stain Rookie - - Ottawa Senators & Washington Capitals
7. BA Benny from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet - - New York Islanders & Phoenix Coyotes via trade from Drop the Gloves
8. Dave H from Wax Stain Rookie - - Columbus Blue Jackets & Calgary Flames
9. Brad from Brad's Blog (which I'm not sure exists) - - Philadelphia Flyers & Anaheim Ducks
10. Jason from Jasonvorhee's Blog - - New York Rangers & Buffalo Sabres
11. Michael from Collecting For Kicks - - Vancouver Canucks & Tampa Bay Lightning via trade
12. Alfredo from The Cardboard Don - - New Jersey Devils & San Jose Sharks
13. Kevin O. from Kevin's Collection - - Colorado Avalanche & Edmonton Oilers
14. Nick B. from Part's Unknown - - Atlanta Thrashers & Montreal Canadiens
Now if anyone wants to trade their picks, I don't have a problem with that but both parties have to agree and you should probably let me know at some point as well. That is another one of the reasons that I posted links to all the web pages. Communication amongst collectors and bloggers is a good thing.
Can you feel the excitement people? I know I can. I was playing around with the camera tonight and realized that no matter what I do, it isn't a good camera. What I may do is use my phone's video function to open these. I think it has a better resolution than my webcam. I hope to start busting these tomorrow as long as things go as planned. Lately though, nothing has gone as planned so we will see.
Until then, leave a comment if you are planning a trade. Also leave a comment and let me know what you want me to start with. The highest vote will get broken first.
Stay tuned.