oscar.html

14th Annual Oscar Pool ... $3 to play, or two pools for $5 ... Deadline to enter is Sunday, Feb. 25 at 7:55 p.m. ... Fill out your entry today! ... 2006 Co-champions - Rick Reitz and Jen Todd... 2007 Champion - could you be the lucky 14th winner? ...
2007 Oscar Pool

Get ready! The 14th annual Lititz-Ephrata-Malvern-Lancaster Regional Oscar Pool is here!

Click on Oscar Pool 2007 for a printable copy of this year's Oscar pool.

Note that the 77th Annual Academy Award ceremony is still being held earlier than usual, though not in February this year. It'll be on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m.

We had 14 people participate last year. As always, our goal is to get participation in the 20s - or even higher!

The pricing is the same as 2006 - $3 to play, or two pools for $5. (can be husband & wife, you can enter two pools on your own, etc.)

Winner takes 75 percent of the total pot, and second place earns 25 percent of the total pot.

Select one entry from each category. Scoring favors the major awards. Categories are worth one point, except the top eight categories, which are weighted more heavily. Seven are worth 2 points, and 4 points are awarded for best picture). The maximum number of points a person can earn is 30.

If there are co-winners in one Oscar category (i.e., Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler both win the Best Actor Oscar), then each player who selected one of those winners receives full point value.

If there is a tie at the end of the ceremony, the answer to the tie breaker question will determine the winner, starting with the name of the movie, followed by the person who guesses closest to the correct number of Oscars that movie won. If the contest is still tied at that point, the pot will be divided among the co-winners equally.

Return completed form to Rick Reitz with payment no later than Sunday, Feb. 25 at 7:55 p.m. (the night of the Academy Awards). You may also submit your entries and payment to Andy Fasnacht in Ephrata, or Tammi Coxe in Malvern, by 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon (this is to facilitate their schedules).

You can also e-mail your picks to Rick at buzznbea@ptd.net.

Since Rick will compile the standings, in the interest of fair play he will give a copy of his completed form(s) to another participant before the ceremony begins to verify his answers, as is the tradition.

Here are the final results from 2006:

Well, we ended up with a respectable 14 participants in this year's Oscar Pool, and despite a relatively lackluster selection of films nominated this year (all of this year's Best Picture candidates were outgrossed at the box office by the documentary "March of the Penguins"), the competition turned out to be quite exciting, with "Crash" surprising a lot of people and taking the top honors. Had Best Picture gone the way of "Brokeback Mountain," as many pundits thought, Eric Kilhefner and Andy Fasnacht (will win) would've been your likely winners this year. But Jen and Rick both "crashed" into victory circle in the end, and since both had the same tiebreaker selected, will each split this years pot 50-50. Here's how we finished:

1. Jennifer Todd, Ephrata &endash; 23, Tiebreaker: Crash - 4

1. Rick Reitz, Lititz &endash; 23, Tiebreaker: Crash - 4

3. Andy Fasnacht, Ephrata - 22 (should win list)

3. Eric Kilhefner, Ephrata &endash; 22

3. Andrea Johnson, Ephrata &endash; 22

3. Andy Fasnacht, Ephrata - 22 (will win list)

7. Arl Haas, Ephrata &endash; 21

8. Jill Holochuck &endash; 17

8. Scott Holochuck - 17

10. Karin & Erik Seeber, Lititz - 16

11. Howard Whitman, Trevose - 14

12. Connie Buckwalter, Lititz - 11

13. Steve Seeber, Lititz - 7

14. Melissa Seeber, Lititz &endash; 6

The final pot was $39, so Rick and Jen each take home $19.50, if my math is accurate. If you haven't paid yet, you can send the money to me at 37 Laurie Lane, Lititz, PA 17543 (or if you're in Ephrata, give it to Andy.)

Analysis: In the early days of this Oscar pool, the Reitz family had established a sort-of dynasty, winning consistently throughout most of the 1990s. But when the Aughts arrived, their luck dried up. Perhaps it was due to the decline in their moviegoing, or that a new Fasnacht era had emerged. But the last two years has seen the return of the Reitz name to the winner's circle. This year, Rick followed up a second place showing in 2004 to win the entire contest for the first time since 1997. He nailed all the top categories, and only missed 3 categories. However, to win he had to fend off a fierce challenge from another tough competitor, Steve Seeber. Unfortunately, Steve's downfall was his selection of "Downfall" for Best Foreign Film, and the current Lititz Record Express editor once again had to play second fiddle to his former superior.

Good luck with your pools, and let's see where the dominant players are this year. Last year, once again, it was the Malvern contingent taking the top spot. Can the Lititz-Ephrata reclaim the honor this year? Can past victors repeat their glory, or wil we see a new name at the top of the board? Once again, anything can happen!