So select two spellers, only one of whom can be one of the three who competed in primetime last year (Tim Ruiter, Anamika Veeramani and Neetu Chandak). You will get one point for each word your spellers correctly spell during tomorrow's rounds of the Bee, which resumes at 10am on ESPN. Most points wins; tiebreaker will be whoever has the individual speller going the furthest. While individual spellers can be used more than once, you cannot repeat the same pairing that someone else has already submitted. First come, first served, and the pool will close when the kids start spelling tomorrow morning.
Previous pool winners are Elicia Chamberlin (Close/Hooks), Professor Jeff and Amy (O'Dorney & Thomas/Horton), KJ in 2008 (Mishra/Shivashankar) and Cagey (Shivashankar/Pastapur) last year.
Since it's my blog, I go first, and I'm taking four-timer Neetu Chandak and Canada's Laura Newcombe. Every other pair is up for grabs. Also, a reminder below the fold:
Neetu Chandak and Sonia Schlesinger please.
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter
ReplyDeleteLaura Newcombe
I'm going with Hannah Evans and local boy Neel Mehta, who's representing the same paper who sponsored me in 1983.
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and hometown girl Joanna Ye.
ReplyDeleteI'll take Laura Newcombe and Esther Park. I've got a feeling about Esther.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with Tim Ruiter and Hannah Evans.
ReplyDeleteIf experience counts, it's hard to go against Neetu Chandak and Shanatu Srivatsa.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with Neetu Chandak and local girl Julia Deniss.
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Esther Park (because Shonda already took Tim and Hannah, and I trust Marsha's feeling about Esther. Basically, I'm a big ol copycat). I'm graduating tomorrow so I may be celebrating and not Bee-watching, but my DVR is set. My best friend and I are going to have a belated Bee watching party this weekend.
ReplyDelete<span>Neetu Chandak and wild card David Phan, please</span>
ReplyDeleteNeetu and Esther Park.
ReplyDeleteI am going to my 10 year college reunion tomorrow night. I can't believe I'm going to miss the finals! Tivo set but it's not the same!
Congratulations, Maddy!
ReplyDeleteRuiter/Chemudupaty - that's my pair for this year...
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am so very excited to be done with high school.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your graduation, Maddy!
ReplyDeleteNeetu Chandak and Hannah Evans.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to play! I would like Neel Mehta and George Jose please!! How much fun!
ReplyDeleteHannah Evans, sister of beloved speller Matthew Evans, and Vaidya Govindarajan, because SpongeBob reminds me that they're just kids.
ReplyDeleteI almost picked your 2nd choice. He's from Houston and I live in Dallas. I got burned choosing a hometown person last year so I didn't do it...I might regret that decision. :)p I'm curious why you picked him. Care to share? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'll take Cortez and Newcombe this year (some local rah-rah and a hope that this Bee will crown a non-American finally!)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Maddy! Now she's done and they're calling someone such a familiar name.
ReplyDeleteI almost went with this combo, Sue. Much luck! :)
ReplyDeleteActually, there was a Jamaican champ in 1998. So it wouldn't be a first.
ReplyDeleteI picked Laura as well (plus Tim Ruiter). Laura's won Canspell twice. Only Finola Hackett ever did that before, and I consider Finola to easily be the best speller never to win Scripps. She probably would have won with that performance nine times out of ten, but Kerry Close was just too good that year.
Thanks guys!
ReplyDeleteGah I love those lyrics... and all of his lyrics. I also really enjoy the fact that we have extremely similar tastes in music, Isaac.
laura newcombe and hannah evans
ReplyDeleteIs the pool like the Bee, where once you win you can't compete anymore? If so, I guess I'll have to be content with my fame and/or glory (I can't remember which one Amy chose). If not, count me in for Tim Ruiter and Neel Mehta.
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter & Gina Liu (I like her taste in books)
ReplyDeleteYou're in.
ReplyDeleteI'll take Olathe's own <span>Vanya Shivashankar and Tim Ruiter.</span>
ReplyDeleteVanya didn't qualify for the semis. :-(
ReplyDeleteCongrats! It's such an exciting time---so many options are ahead of you.
ReplyDeleteNo very good reason, I'm afraid: well-rounded, comfortable, likes to read, seems reasonably well-adjusted. That got me partway through last year. I was very close to pulling the trigger for Aberle and changed my mind at the last moment. (Also, I was in a rush. :) )
ReplyDeleteI'll take Anamika Veeramani and Georgia's Julia Dennis.
ReplyDeleteMuch obliged, Adam.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I knew that her last name has two esses. I just mistyped. (D'oh.)
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Dakota Jones
ReplyDeleteI would like Tim Ruiter and Sarah Anne Allen (hometown picks!)
ReplyDelete<span><span><span><span><span>Speller No. 259, Tim Ruiter<span><span><span><span><span><span>Speller No. 80, Modhura Chakravarty</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
ReplyDeleteHmm, that was a wacky copy/paste error. Anyway, Ruiter and Chakravarty.
ReplyDeleteI'd like fellow Nashuan Anjithaan Radakrishnan and Shivani Angappan, who "can be found day dreaming". Let's go ladies!
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Sukanya Roy (hometown pick)
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Anvita Mishra
ReplyDeleteI'm pulling for a couple of underdogs: George Jose because he collects cool shoes and Jeremiah Cortez since he knows the answers to many questions.
ReplyDeleteNeel Mehta because he lives just up the road and Karen Laska because she sings.
ReplyDeleteI would have taken George Jose because he's from Wapakoneta, Ohio -- birthplace of Neil Armstrong and the cutest kid from SYTYCD last night.
Anamika Veeramani and Hannah Evans
ReplyDeleteI will pick Owayne Rodney and Julianna Rodriquez
ReplyDeleteLaura Newcombe and Dakota Jones (I picked Laura because of the reasons stated above and Dakota because I can relate to the fact that his "other interests include anything related to food.")
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Sonia Schlesinger
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Tom Winter.
ReplyDeleteNeetu Chandak and Aditya Chemudupaty
ReplyDeleteChicagoan Minock and Chandak. I will be with my family tomorrow evening, and I am hoping that I will be able to convince them that spelling is a sport because it is shown on ESPN so I get to watch some bee!!!
ReplyDeleteNeetu Chandak and Nicholas Rushlow
ReplyDeleteWork has me too busy to study up on the contestants this year, and I'm too late to get any good pairs anyway. So good luck everyone, and enjoy watching tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteAh, I missed prime picking time. Not sure if this is taken already but Neetu Chandak and Neel Mehta. I probably won't be able to join in the fun tomorrow as I will be at a bachelorette. Enjoy everyone!
ReplyDeleteI nearly went with that combo as well. It was basically a coin flip for me between Aditya and Rushlow.
ReplyDelete<span><span>Sukanya Roy and Anamika Veeramani</span></span>
ReplyDeleteWon't be CoverItLiveing this year, sadly.
Sad to see no Tom Bergeron on the national broadcast, because I always root for the hosts to be cover clueless confused appreciation with suavity, and Tom Bergeron seemed as close as we would get to Fred Willard in Best In Show without being too grating or offensive to the contestants.
Laura Newcombe and Anamika Veeramani
ReplyDeleteDang it, Sarah, you took my pair! I'll go with all foreigners, since I'm not American - Owayne Rodney and Laura Newcombe (because I'm pretty sure they take away my Canadian citizenship if I don't pick the Canadian)
ReplyDeleteOops. That was me picking Rodney and Newcombe.
ReplyDeleteGina Liu (a fellow oboist) and Anamika Veeramani (a fellow Ohioan).
ReplyDeleteI can't believe nobody's taken the Anamika/Aditya combo, so I will - Anamika Veeramani and Aditya Chemudupaty for the win.
ReplyDeletei didn't get to watched yesterday at all, and am picking mostly based on cuteness in the pictures on the site, which means that Arvind Mahankali will win in a landslide. I also choose Tim Ruiter.
ReplyDeleteTim Ruiter and Sarah Gadre.
ReplyDeleteRuiter and O'Donoghue (gotta go with the kid who plays the bass clarinet.)
ReplyDeleteBrandon Whitehead and Tim Ruiter
ReplyDeleteLocal girl Anna Beth Swoap and Neetu Chandak because I remember enjoying her spelling style last year.
ReplyDeletePOOL IS CLOSED.
ReplyDeleteOh man..... I missed the pool!! I'm too late for it to "count", but just for fun, I'm picking Ruiter and Wisconsin speller Andrew Grose.
ReplyDeletesince neither has spelled yet, okay.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was quickly proven to be a bad choice! First up, first out.
ReplyDelete<span>And that was quickly proven to be a bad choice! First up, first out. </span>
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your graduation! Did you ever tell us where you're going to college?
ReplyDeleteHope I don't steer you wrong on Esther...
Mazel tov, Maddy! Enjoy yourself to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteOh, Finola Hackett was terrific.
ReplyDeleteAdam: I couldn't resist looking. I know many people are in it still with "one" person going into tonight. Correct that as of now (still in mid-round 6) that only one person, Bob Loblaw, has 2 people still in it to win it? Just curious. :)
ReplyDelete