(Residents of VT may omit return postage). Req

Lets look at ESPNs Basketball Power Index?for what to expect this season on some key questions. BPI is a statistical projection system that ESPNs sports analytics team uses to simulate the entire NBA season 10,000 times every day. The BPI simulations provide a window into what to expect as the 2016-17 season unfolds.No surprise that the preseason BPI put the Warriors at the top of the league, or that the most likely NBA Finals matchup is a third consecutive Warriors vs. Cavaliers series (29 percent). Looking more closely at the data, however, allows us to offer some perspective on some of the more interesting questions this offseason has posed:Can the Warriors match their 73-win performance? Not likely. Despite replacing Harrison Barnes with Kevin Durant for Death Lineup 2.0, BPI is projecting the Warriors to win 62 games and gives them less than a one percent chance to win 73 or more games.In no way does this diminish how good the Warriors are going to be, but rather puts last years incredible regular season into perspective. They were a great team, but to get to 70-plus wins, some luck was involved (especially in terms of close games, injuries and scheduling), and there is no reason that everything that went right for the Warriors last season will go their way again this season.Will the experiment in Chicago work? Maybe. The Bulls have assembled a roster that has most people wondering how Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, and Jimmy Butler will play together and if Paul Zipser can have the breakout season that no one is expecting.BPI ranks the Bulls 20th overall and projects them to be below average on both ends of the court. But Chicagos schedule is the eighth-easiest in the league. BPI gives the mysterious Bulls a 42 percent chance of making the playoffs and projects them to win 39 games.What should we expect from the Durant-less Thunder? Another playoff appearance. BPI puts the angriest team in the league squarely in the playoffs (81 percent chance) and ranks them eighth overall.They will likely be carried by a 2000-01 Allen Iverson-type performance from Russell Westbrook. Look for Westbrook to challenge usage-rate records while leading what BPI projects to be the third-best offense in the league.Despite having a defense that is projected to be below average, the Thunder still have a 7 percent chance of returning to the conference finals. That may not seem high, but considering that two of their three best players were replaced by Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova, it would be truly remarkable for OKC to be one of the last four teams standing.Can anyone win the Finals besides the Cavaliers and Warriors? Yes. Collectively, the Warriors and the Cavaliers have a 68 percent chance of being crowned champion at the end of the season. That is the same odds that Hassan Whiteside has of making a free throw -- so it is possible someone else can pull it off.Behind the top two, the leading contenders according to BPI are the Spurs (13 percent), the Celtics (6 percent) and the Clippers (5 percent).BPI gives us a peak through all of the noise of the offseason to get a sense of what we may be about to witness as the 2016-17 season unfolds. Cant wait to see what actually happens.For more analytics content, head to ESPN.com/analytics. Bogdan Bogdanovic Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Caleb Swanigan Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. https://www.kingslockerroom.com/Skal-Labissiere-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Vlade Divac Kings Jersey . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Cory Joseph Kings Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. div .games-story2 li { list-style-type:disc; list-style-position:inside; }College Pickem Official Rules 2016NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. THE FOLLOWING PROMOTION IS INTENDED FOR VIEWING IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ONLY (EXCLUDING PUERTO RICO, OTHER U.S. TERRITORIES AND FOREIGN TERRITORIES) AND SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO UNITED STATES LAW.1. ELIGIBILITY: College Pickem (the Promotion) is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia (EXCLUDING PUERTO RICO, OTHER UNITED STATES TERRITORIES, AND FOREIGN TERRITORIES), who are thirteen (13) years or older as of the date of entry, and are registered members of ESPN.com. (Registration is further described below in Section 4.) The following are not eligible for the Promotion: (i) employees and agents of Sponsor and Promoter and their respective parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, and each of their respective advertising/promotion agencies; and (ii) the immediate family members and/or household members of any of the persons set forth in (i) above. Immediate family members shall mean parents, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings or spouses. Household members shall mean people who share the same residence at least three (3) months a year. Participation in the Promotion constitutes Entrants full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and to Sponsors decisions. The decisions of the Sponsor regarding all matters relating to the Promotion are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. This Promotion is void in all U.S. Territories, (e.g., Puerto Rico and Guam) and where prohibited or restricted by law and subject to all applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws and regulations.2. SPONSOR; PROMOTERS. This Promotion is sponsored by ESPN Internet Ventures (the Sponsor). Advertisers associated with the Promotion, if any, shall be deemed a Promoter for purposes of these Official Rules.3. ENTRY PAGE. To access and/or enter the Promotion, log-on to the College Pickem Frontpage during the Promotion Period and complete your entry by clicking on the Play Now for Free button.4. ESPN.COM REGISTRATION. To enter the Promotion, you must be a registered member of ESPN.com (or one of Sponsors affiliated websites, e.g., ABC.com, ABCNews.com, DisneyOnline.com and Family.com). Registration is free.a. Not yet a Member. You may register by clicking on the applicable link on the entry page for the Promotion, and following the instructions. You will be asked to provide your e-mail address, name, birth date and gender (collectively User Information) and to select a username and password.b. Already a Member. If you are already a member (or if you are a member of one of the Sponsors affiliated websites), then you do not need to register again. You may enter the Promotion by logging in on ESPN.com with your current username and password.c. Survey Questions or Promotional Email. You may be asked to answer survey questions or to consent to receive promotional emails or offers. This is optional. You are not required to answer questions or to give consent to receive such emails or offers in order to be eligible to play in the Promotion.d. Password. You are responsible for the secrecy of your password. Sponsor, Promoters and other third parties are not responsible or liable for any actions taken using your password.5. TIMING. Registration for the Promotion begins on Thursday, August 4, 2016 at 3:00pm Eastern Time. The Promotion begins on Saturday, September 3, 2016 and ends on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 11:59pm (or upon the completion of the last game from that day) (the Promotion Period). For purposes of these official rules (the Official Rules) all times are Eastern Time (ET).6. HOW TO PLAY.a. General. The objective of the Promotion is to accumulate the most points by correctly selecting the winning team for each U.S. college football game offered during the fourteen (14) weeks of the Promotion Period. Entrants may select either the Confidence Scoring System or the Straight Scoring System. If you do not select a scoring system, your entry will default to the Confidence Scoring System.:· Week 1 (Sat., Sept. 3)· Week 2 (Sat., Sept. 10)· Week 3 (Sat., Sept. 17)· Week 4 (Sat., Sept. 24)· Week 5 (Sat., Oct. 1)· Week 6 (Sat. Oct. 8)· Week 7 (Sat., Oct. 15)· Week 8 (Sat. Oct. 22)· Week 9 (Sat., Oct. 29)· Week 10 (Sat., Nov. 5)· Week 11 (Sat., Nov. 12)· Week 12 (Sat., Nov. 19)· Week 13 (Sat., Nov. 26)· Week 14 (Sat., Dec. 3)b. Selections. You may enter your selections online by following the instructions in the How to Play section of the game.c. Scoring. Each week during the Promotion Period, entrants will select the winners of ten (10) Saturday U.S. college football games. For the Confidence Scoring System, entrants will be required to assign each game a confidence point value between one (1) and ten (10). The higher the confidence point number you assign to a particular game, the more confident you are that the team you have selected will win the match-up. Each confidence point number (the whole values one [1] through ten [10]) must be used each Week. Points will only be received for correctly selecting a winning team. Each correct winning pick on a valid entry in Confidence Scoring will receive points equal to the assigned value you have placed on that particular game. For the Straight Scoring System, you receive one (1) point for each correct winning pick on a valid entry. In either scoring system Entrants do not receive or lose points for incorrect picks. Entrants accumulate points from the date of their first winning pick. Entrants who begin participation after the start of the Promotion Period has begun will not receive points for the week(s) they have missed. In the event the scheduled U.S. college football games listed do not occur as scheduled (e.g., the game is cancelled) no points will be awarded. Ties will be broken in accordance with the tie-breaker procedure below.d. Lock-time. All entries will use a rolling lock which allows a player to pick any game that has yet to kick off. You will not be able to re-assign a confidence value that was previously assigned to a game that is already underway or has been completed. Selections submitted after the deadlines are considered invalid, and no points will be received. Sponsors computer is the official time keeping device for this game.e. Ties.Overall Tiebreakers: In the event of a tie between two (2) or more entrants for the Grand Prize, the winning entrant shall be decided by the following:· Tiebreaker #1 - Higher number of points scored on Week 14.· Tiebreaker #2 - Higher number of points scored on Week 13.· Tiebreaker #3 - Higher number of points scored on Week 12.· Tiebreaker #4 - Higher number of points scored on Week 11.· Tiebreaker #5 - Tiebreakers will continue backwards from Week 10 until Week 1.· Tiebreaker #6 - The entrant whose date of entry creation was recorded in the system the earliest.Weekly Tiebreakers: Entrants may, but are not required to, submit a predicted score for the weekly Tiebreaker Game. This prediction is used for the Weekly Prizes tiebreaker purposes only. If no predicted score is submitted for an entry, it is given a default prediction of zero (0) points to zero (0) points. It is possible for a default prediction to break a tie. In the event of a tie between two (2) or more entrants for the Weekly Prize, the winning entrant shall be decided by the following:· Tiebreaker #1 - An entrants predicted Tiebreaker Game score is compared to the actual Tiebreaker Game score. The differences between the predicted scores and actual scores for each team are added. The entry with the smallest total difference is considered the winning entry.· Tiebreaker#2 - The entrant whose predicted score for the winning team is closest to the actual score of the winning team is considered the winning entry.· Tiebreaker#3 - The entrant with the highest total overall points through that week of the promotion is considered the winning entry.· Tiebreaker#4 - A random draw between all remaining entrants to determine the winner. In all cases, an entry that does not win a tiebreaker is eliminated from consideration.7. ENTRY. There is no entry fee required to participate in the Promotion. Two (2) entries per person are permitted. Only entries received online in accordance with these Official Rules will be accepted. No other forms of entry - fax, mail, email, phone or other - will be accepted. Entry materials/data that have been tampered with or altered are void. Overall Prize Winners will be determined on or about Monday, December 5, 2016. Weekly Prize Winners will be determined on an ongoing basis throughout the contest period.8. PRIZES. The approximate retail value (ARV) of all prizes is $8,800. Odds of winning prizes depend on the total number of eligible entries received and the relative college football knowledge of all entrants.· One (1) Confidence Overall Prize Winner - The eligible entrant who accumulates the most season-long points, and wins any pending tiebreaker wins a $2,000 Amazon.com Gift Card*. (ARV $2,000.00)· One (1) Confidence Overall Runner-Up Prize Winner - The eligible entrant who accumulates the second most season-long points, and wins any pending tiebreaker wins a $1,000 Amazon.com Gift Card*. (ARV $1,000.00)· Fourteen (14) Confidence Weekly Winner Prizes - The eligible entrant that finishes with the most points each of the 14 weeks of the Promotion (and wins any tie breakers) will win a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card*. (ARV $100.00 per)· One (1) Straight Overall Prize Winner - The eligible entrant who accumulates the most season-long points, and wins any pending tiebreaker wins a $2,000 Amazon.com Gift Card*. (ARV $2,000.00)· One (1) Straight Overall Runner-Up Prize Winner - The eligible entrant who accumulates the second most season-long points, and wins any pending tiebreaker wins a $1,000 Amazon.com Gift Card*. (ARV $1,000.00)· Fourteen (14) Straight Weekly Winner Prizes - The eligible entrant that finishes with the most points each of the 14 weeks of the Promotion (and wins any tie breakers) will win a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card*. (ARV $100.00 per)TOTAL ARV for All Prizes: $8,800.00No cash or other prize substitution, assignment or transfer of prizes permitted, except at Sponsors sole discretion due to prize unavailability. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize with one of comparable value or greater value (e.g., Sponsor may opt instead to award the cash equivalent of any prize in lieu of the prize itself). THE WINNER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZE. Prizes awarded in the form of Amazon.com Gift Card can only be used for future purchases at Amazon.com or certain of its affiliated websites. Gift Cards are NOT redeemable/exchangeable for cash. Other restrictions may apply. Prize winners should allow up to 6-8 weeks after they return their signed, notarized affidavit to receive their prize.9. ENTRY ERRORS/ NO RETURN OF ENTRIES; DISPUTES. Neither Sponsor nor Promoters are responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, stolen, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected entries, whicch will be disqualified.dddddddddddd Neither Sponsor nor Promoters are responsible for any unavailability of or interruptions to any service or equipment used in connection with the Promotion, including, without limitation, (1) interruptions to any network, server, Internet, website, telephone, satellite, computer or other connections (2) failures of any telephone, satellite, hardware, software or other equipment, (3) garbled, misdirected or jumbled transmissions, or traffic congestion, or (4) other errors of any kind, whether human, technical, mechanical or electronic, or (5) the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry or other information or the failure to capture any such information.Once submitted, entries become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. In the event of a dispute as to any entry, the authorized account holder, i.e., natural person associated with the entry, will be deemed to be the registrant. Potential winners may be required to show proof of identification, and Sponsor may require that the potential winner provide proof that his/her identification matches the User Information associated with the winning entry (both at the time of entry and at the time of verification of a potential winner). SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY ANY POTENTIAL WINNER IF IT DETERMINES, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, THAT ANY USER INFORMATION WAS CHANGED OR FALSIFIED IN ORDER TO MEET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.10. POTENTIAL WINNERS. ALL POTENTIAL WINNING PLAYS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL. SPONSOR SHALL SOLELY DETERMINE ANY FORM OF VERIFICATION. AN ENTRANT IS NOT A WINNER OF ANY PRIZE UNLESS AND UNTIL ENTRANTS ELIGIBILITY AND THE POTENTIAL WINNING ENTRY HAS BEEN VERIFIED AND ENTRANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE. SPONSOR WILL NOT ACCEPT SCREEN SHOTS, AFFIDAVITS OR OTHER EVIDENCE OF WINNING IN LIEU OF ITS VALIDATION PROCESS. ANY ENTRY THAT OCCURS AFTER THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED FOR ANY REASON MAY BE DEEMED A DEFECTIVE ENTRY AND VOID.Potential winners will be notified via email (or overnight mail) sent within fifteen (15) business days following the end of the Promotion Period. It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to notify the Sponsor during the Promotion Period if his or her e-mail address has changed. To do so, click on the myESPN link on any ESPN.com page fantasy game page, then click on the Account Information link and follow the instructions.A potential winner will be disqualified and an alternate potential winner will be selected (i.e., the next highest scorer) if (i) he/she does not comply with these rules (or is otherwise determined to be ineligible), (ii) he/she does not respond to the prize notice within five (5) days of its transmission (or receipt, if mailed), or if the emailed prize notice, after three (3) attempts, is returned as undeliverable, or (iii) the prize is undeliverable for any reason. If Sponsor notifies, or seeks to deliver a prize to or otherwise attempts to contact an alternate potential winner, and such alternate potential winner is subsequently disqualified then Sponsor shall use its reasonable business judgment to determine, in its sole discretion, the disposition of the prize (e.g., may choose another alternate potential winner in a manner consistent with these rules or donate the prize to another entity, at its sole discretion).If a potential winner is a minor in his/her jurisdiction of primary residence, potential winners parent/legal guardian must execute all documents and agree to all obligations and undertakings required of the potential winner in these Official Rules, both on behalf of himself/herself and the potential winning minor. Prize may be awarded in the name of, or to, parent/legal guardian.Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. Winners are solely responsible for any and all expenses, relative to participation in the Promotion (including acceptance of any prize) not specified herein.11. AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY/LIABILITY RELEASE. As a condition of receiving a prize, potential winners may be required to complete, sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, and, except where prohibited, a Publicity Release, within fifteen (15) days of the date stated on the prize notice. Except where prohibited, participation in this Promotion constitutes winners consent to Sponsors and Promoters, and any of their respective agents use of winners name, likeness, voice, opinions and biographical information for publicity, advertising, trade or promotional purposes in any media or manner, now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, without further payment, consideration, notice or approval.12. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. Participation constitutes entrants full and unconditional agreement to these official rules and to Sponsors decisions. The decisions of the Sponsor in regards to all matters of this Promotion are final and binding. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, terminate, and/or suspend the Promotion and to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, violates these Official Rules, or acts in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner. Without limiting the foregoing, Sponsor may lock out an entrant who, in Sponsors sole judgment, has been disqualified, has questionable eligibility or is otherwise ineligible to enter. CAUTION: A PERSON WHO ATTEMPTS DELIBERATELY TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS PROMOTION OR TO ALTER OR DAMAGE A WEBSITE MAY BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL AND/OR CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND FINES; AND SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Without limiting the foregoing, Sponsor may modify, cancel, terminate, and/or suspend the Promotion if, in the Sponsors sole opinion, an incident of any kind occurs to corrupt or impair the administration, security, integrity, fairness or play (as intended) of the Promotion, including without limitation: (a) viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention, fraud or technical failure; or (b) earthquake, flood, fire, storm or other natural disaster, act of God; or (c) labor controversy or threat thereof, civil disturbance or commotion, disruption of the public markets, war or armed conflict (whether or not officially declared). In the event that the U.S. college football season is postponed, terminated early, or cancelled for any reason (such as a strike or lockout), Sponsor reserves the right to award prizes based on scores at the time the season is disrupted, or to cancel, modify or suspend the Promotion at its discretion. In the event of a cancellation or termination by the Sponsor the entrant who has accumulated the highest point total (and who wins any pending tiebreakers) at the time of any said action will be awarded the prizes, or the prizes will be awarded in such other manner deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor.13. RELEASE AND INDEMNITY. By participating in this Promotion or receiving a prize, entrants (and in particular, winners) agree to release and to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor, Promoters, and each of their respective related companies, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the Released Parties) for any liability, injury, death, loss or damages to entrant or any person or entity, including without limitation damage to personal or real property, caused in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by participation in this Promotion (or related activities) or the acceptance, possession or use/misuse of a prize.14. GAMBLING PROHIBITION. This Promotion is strictly for entertainment purposes and may not be used in connection with any form of gambling.15. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY. The Released Parties do not make any representation, warranty or guarantee, express or implied, relating to the Promotion or prizes, and are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment, hardware, software or programming associated or used with the Promotion; (2) technical errors, defects, delays or failures of any kind, including without limitation malfunctions, interruptions or disconnections in communications lines, Internet or website access, hardware or software; (3) digital or electronic disruptions, e.g., viruses; (4) unauthorized human intervention, e.g., hacking; (5) technical or human error which may occur in connection with any aspect of the Promotion; (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrants participation in the Promotion, access to, copying or downloading materials from ESPN.com or any other website, or receipt or use of any prize.16. DISPUTES/CHOICE OF LAW. Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by state or federal courts situated in New York county, New York state, i.e., Manhattan; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event attorneys fees; and (3) no punitive, incidental, special, consequential or other damages, including without limitation lost profits may be awarded (collectively, Special Damages), and (4) entrant hereby waives all rights to claim Special Damages and all rights to have such damages multiplied or increased. New York law, without reference to New Yorks choice of law rules, governs the Promotion and all aspects related thereto.17. PRIVACY. Personally identifiable information that is submitted by entrants as part of this Promotion will be used to administer the Promotion, select prize winners and fulfill prizes, and will be treated in accordance with Sponsors privacy policy accessible on its website at www.espn.com.18. OFFICIAL RULES; WINNERS LISTS. For a copy of the Official Rules and/or list of winners, mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below (Residents of VT may omit return postage). Requests must be received within thirty (30) days following the end of the Promotion (i.e., by January 2, 2017).College Pickemc/o ESPN Internet VenturesMarketing Department56 West 66th StreetNew York, NY 10023.19. ADDRESS; COPYRIGHT. Sponsor is responsible for the Promotion and awarding of prizes. Sponsors address is 56 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023. The Promotion and all accompanying materials are copyright (c) 2016 ESPN Internet Ventures.*Amazon.com is not a sponsor of this promotion. Except as required by law, Amazon.com Gift Cards (GCs) cannot be transferred for value or redeemed for cash. GCs may be used only for purchases of eligible goods at Amazon.com or certain of its affiliated websites. For complete terms and conditions, see www.amazon.com/gc-legal. GCs are issued by ACI Gift Cards, Inc., a Washington corporation. All Amazon ?, ? & ? are IP of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. No expiration date or service fees. ' ' '