128 ÍODE
ÒOUNDBALL ÒOUNDUP
ÂY ÍARK ÊORDAN

ÌAST SPRING É ONCE AGAIN JOINED THE LEGIONS OF BACKYARD HEROES WHO FILLED OUT AN ÎÃÁÁ BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET IN HOPES OF PICKING THE MOST WINNERS. ÌIKE GOING ONE-ON-ONE AGAINST ÌARRY ÂIRD, IT'S A FORMIDABLE TASK: 64 TEAMS ARE INVOLVED AND ONE MISS IN THE EARLY ROUNDS CAN COST YOU DEARLY.

É'VE TRIED VARIOUS METHODS OF MAKING MY PICKS, FROM INTUITION (FORGET THAT) TO CHOOSING THE TOP-SEEDED TEAMS (BETTER) TO CONSULTING THE LAST POLL OF THE SEASON (BETTER STILL) TO GOING HI-TECH. ÈI-TECH IN THIS CASE MEANS READING ÕÓÁ ÔODAY'S COMPUTER RANKINGS BY ÍÉÔ GRAD ÄANNY ÓAGARIN. ÉN THE LAST THREE YEARS, HIS RANKINGS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEATEN THE OTHERS.

ÏË, SO AN ÍÉÔ GRAD WITH A ROOMFUL OF COMPUTERS CAN RATE TEAMS BETTER THAN COACHES AND SPORTSWRITERS, BUT HOW ABOUT A SMALL LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE GRAD WITH A Ã-128? É WROTE THIS PROGRAM TO FIND OUT. ÉF YOU PICKED ANY TEAM BUT ÄUKE TO WIN THIS YEAR'S ÎÃÁÁ CHAMPIONSHIP, YOU NEED THIS PROGRAM.

ÒOUNDBALL ÒOUNDUP GIVES EACH TEAM A POWER RATING OF .500 TO BEGIN THE SEASON. ÔHE RATINGS CHANGE AS WINS AND LOSSES ACCRUE BASED UPON TEAM STRENGTHS, WINS, POINT SPREADS AND HOME-COURT ADVANTAGES. É'VE FOUND THAT EVEN WITH THIS LIMITED INFORMATION, THE PROGRAM PRODUCES RESULTS COMPARABLE TO ÓAGARIN'S.

ÙOU START BY CREATING A LEAGUE WITH UP TO 400 TEAMS. ÓELECT ÔEAMS FROM THE MAIN MENU TO ADD TEAMS. ×HEN YOU'VE FINISHED, PRESS THE LEFT-ARROW KEY AND RETURN. ÒECORD EACH GAME'S RESULTS BY SELECTING THE ÓCORES OPTION. ÃURSOR THROUGH THE TEAM LIST AND PRESS RETURN TO SELECT THE FIRST TEAM. ÕSE THE CURSOR KEYS TO ENTER THE SCORE: CURSOR UP/DOWN CHANGES THE SCORE BY TEN POINTS, CURSOR LEFT/ RIGHT BY ONE. ÐRESS RETURN TO ENTER THE SCORE.

ÒEPEAT THE PROCEDURE FOR THE OPPOSING TEAM. ÏNCE YOU'VE ENTERED BOTH SCORES, SELECT THE HOME/AWAY TEAMS, AGAIN USING THE CURSOR KEYS AND RETURN. ÙOU'LL BE GIVEN ONE FINAL CHANCE TO EDIT. ÄON'T RUSH THROUGH THIS STEP! ÏNCE INSTALLED, YOUR RESULTS CANNOT BE EDITED.

×HEN YOU'RE FINISHED ENTERING SCORES, PRESS ESCAPE TO RETURN TO THE MAIN MENU, AND SELECT ÒANK TO CALCULATE THE TEAM STANDINGS. (ÕNLESS YOU'VE TYPED IN SOME SCORES, THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE FOR RANKING THE TEAMS.) ÙOU CAN VIEW, PRINT OR SAVE YOUR RESULTS ANY TIME. ÓAVE OFTEN. ÙOUR LEAGUE LIST IS ALWAYS PRESENTED IN ALPHABETICAL, RATHER THAN RANKED, ORDER. ÅACH TIME YOU SAVE, THE PREVIOUS RESULTS WILL BE SAVED AS A BACKUP WITH THE FILE EXTENSION .BAK. ÁLSO, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ADD THE PREFIX RK. TO YOUR FILENAMES. (ÔHE PROGRAM PROMPTS YOU TO DO SO.) É'D RECOMMEND YOU EXPERIMENT A BIT BEFORE TYPING IN THREE HOURS' WORTH OF SCORES.

ÙOU CAN ALSO USE ÒOUNDBALL ÒOUNDUP FOR BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL. ÙOU DON'T NEED A FANCY DEGREE, A ROOMFUL OF TECHNOLOGY, OR EVEN A PAIR OF ÁIR ÊORDANS TO PREDICT THIS SEASON'S WINNERS. ÁLL YOU NEED IS ÒOUNDBALL ÒOUNDUP.