Final picks are in.

Hi Idol freaks.  Thanks to all who decided to join.  It warms my heart to know that 17 people will have their lives enriched by this process!

In what has to be the most ridiculously sophisticated spreadsheet in American Idol Pool history, I have attached your picks. (click here) I've labeled this preseason period as Week 0, so at this point everybody has zero points and 90 potential points.  Of course, that will change starting tomorrow night.

Please double check the rankings I entered for each of you as well as the spelling of contestant names.  I had misspelled Siobhan's unusual name as Siobahn in dozens of spreadsheets before I realized it.  Anyway, it's important that the names are spelled consistently or you'll lose points because points are looked up in a another spreadsheet by name.  No, I'm not kidding, It really does.

So, another cool thing about this year's spreadsheet is it will keep track of your potential points - at least I think it will.  Thus, you could be winning in the short term, but because you picked somebody to win that's already out, you'll get beat up near the end.   So, as the contest develops, you'll see your weekly score, your current total, and your potential pints should every one of your picks pan out as the season goes on.

Again, if you haven't joined the blog, it's at stevesidolpool.blogspot.com .  You will need a gmail account to join. Once you join, you will be able to post articles and appear as moronic as me.  You will also be able to ridicule others' picks as you see fit by commenting on other stupid remarks. Only mild profanity allowed.

Not exactly sure how I'll post the results each week yet.  I'd like to use blogspot.com, but it doesn't appear well-suited for big-ass, spreadsheet web publishing. Oops. Example of mild profanity.

If you haven't sent your money yet, please try to do so by the end of the week. Mail to Steve Joiner, 1 Muirfield Greens Cove, Lakeway, TX, 78738.  If you work with me you may hand it to me in person. Also, you can PayPal to steve@thejoiners.us. No I don't take Visa.

Some initial analysis of our picks.

Favorites as established by our 17 member experts: Crystal (8 picks), Siobhan (4 picks), Big Mike (3 picks), Lee (1 pick), Aaron (1 pick)

Least respected: Poor Tim Urban.  Nobody picked Timmy boy to finish higher than 8th. 12 of 17 picked him to go home this week. Why? Maybe because it's R&B night and there are few on the planet with less soul than Timbo "Peter Brady" Urban.  Plus, we've seen his other attempt at music primarily produced by people of African descent, the awful reggae version of Under My Thumb.

Most respected: Crystal.  Everyone had her in the top 3.

Most puzzling:  One person had Lee winning, another had him 7th. Go figure.

Enjoy the show!  I'll try to post results sometime on Thursday, but to be perfectly honest it sometimes goes to the weekend.