Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 9 Roundup

In a day of extreme tension on the pitches of Group A, the fantasy scoresheet featured a few standout performances matched against lots of low numbers.


The top echelon of the Leaderboard is shoring up position, with owners trading a few spots back and forth here and there, and bracing to see which players they'll have on board for the stretch run.  The middle of the pool remains as bunched as ever, while at the low end, we congratulate Kyle S. -  who moved up his second spot in as many days.  If only we were running this thing until September. He might've gone all the way to the top.

Euro 2012 Diary, Day 9 - Win or Stay Home

We've reached Matchday 3 of the Group Stage, which means two teams won't be part of Euro 2012 anymore by this evening. If we're lucky, as fans, our Polish co-hosts won't be joining that group today.

I forget which ESPN commentator it was yesterday who said that the atmosphere around a big tournament finals like this always benefits the longer a host nation stays involved.  I agree that it just seems to engage the neutral fans in every crowd a little more.  After all, they're not just watching, they're scouting!

Sadly, I think Ukraine had their moment in the tournament in Match 1, and I don't see them advancing from Group D. That leaves it to Poland to represent for the hosts and keep that special buzz going for at least a few more days.

There are all kinds of hypotheticals inside of scenarios wrapped up with permutations of what can happen in Group A today.  All four teams are alive, and some even have hopes of advancing with just a draw, but everyone will be playing to win.  If everyone's got a chance to advance, that means everyone's got a chance to be eliminated, too.

I really don't know what will happen in the Russia/Greece match.  Russia should win based on form from the first two games, but history has shown the folly of betting against the Greeks in a Euro.  I'll take Russia but not without reservations...I am fully back in the "Arshavin is Awesome" camp, but I don't know if his teammates will continue playing so well.

Poland probably shouldn't be able to beat the Czechs, they have inferior talent and the Czechs looked like a completely different, much better team in Match 2 compared to Match 1.  It's no stretch to assume them playing their best game so far against the hosts.

But I think we'll see a bit of magic today, with Poland winning their way to survival. I'm tipping Szczesny for a huge bounceback effort, a clean sheet, and elevation to national hero status.

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 5 Roundup

If you were wondering why we have decimal points in our scoring categories, this is why. Just five days into the player pool madness, and only six tenths of a point separate first from fourth.  That means a couple of saves mean the difference between pole-position for a big fat payday at the end of the month and the first-place loser. 

Incroyable!!  The final margin may not end up quite so razor-thin, but you see that this thing is likely to stay very close down the stretch.

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 1 Roundup

Day 1 of the Player Pool was a real eye opener for me and I'm sure for a lot of you.  Not only did I realize just how badly my pre-tourney reads on the Russians and Czechs were (thankfully I was far from alone there), but I also came face to face with the fact that I hate the scoring system for this pool!