Only one person correctly picked the Final Two. Good on you, Tangent! I’m impressed.
Thanks, rockle! 
I’m usually awful at picking these kinds of things, but I’ve liked Jordin from the start and I was surprised that she ranked fairly low in most people’s predictions. Of course, we didn’t have much to go on back then.
Melinda not making the top two really hurt a LOT of people’s chances for big points. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have predicted that Blake would go home last night, with Melinda having a good chance of winning it all. But I guess my initial instincts were correct–the young and hip kids get the bigger fanbase.
Actually, this contest thread has invested me a little more in AI this season than last. It’s fun to root for my favorites, and it’s also kind of fun (in a weird way) to anguish over whether I want my predictions to be accurate if they don’t match my true preferences.
Because of the way the voting is done, I think you’re right. Next time, I’m going to base my predictions exactly on that, rather than on talent.
The elimination of (nearly) everyone’s front-runner gave three points to two players – Tangent and DanBlather both had Melinda leaving us this week.
Awww, damnit…I just finished making the rankings all pretty and everything, and then I had to go and reread the rules. “If your championship guess is…third place [you get] one point”. So, everyone who had Melinda as the winner (who, incidentally, is everyone except for Tangent and DanBlather) gets one point. Yay! Points for everyone! Ok, here’s how we look now:
8 points: Tangent
7 points: Omega Glory
6 points: DanBlather, micahjn and Nutty Bunny
5 points: vivalostwages, koeeoaddi and Diogenes the Cynic
4 points: Sam Stone and Reloy3
3 points: Hal Briston, Queen Tonya, Millit the Frail and The SDMB Average Grouping
2 points: Pleonast, Liberal, yellowval, xnylder and rockle
1 point: Biggirl
As predicted, Tangent shoots into the lead, and it looks to be pretty much insurmountable. Several players can pick up points next week, but Tangent is the only one to have both contestants covered. Nice picking, Tangent! (we’ll save the official congratulations until next week, though)
Lib’ral, we gots two pints! Cheers! […clink…]
Oh my god! I’m totally screwed. I’ve got Melinda and Chris (freakin’) Sligh at 1 and 2. And I had Jordin and Blake at 7 and 5 respectively.
I guess this was before Jordin started to really shine.
Woo hoo! 
[…hick!..]
Got me five points, though I did the same thing with #s 1 and 2 that Nutty Bunny did.
Whooo hoo!
I just like to note an interesting performance point of mine: I had Jordin ranked lower than anyone else in the game, and only one person had Blake ranked lower than I did.
Thank you! I suck!
All done!
Even though Jordin was the big winner, we had a fair amount of players picking Blake for a place in the top three, which makes for a lot of last-minute scoring. Picking up the final points for the season are:
Two points: Millit the Frail, rockle, Liberal, koeeoaddi and Diogenes the Cynic
Five points: Reloy3, Sam Stone and yellowval
And doubling his score with an eight point performance: Tangent
Making our final score tally:
16 points: Tangent
9 points: Sam Stone and Reloy3
7 points: Omega Glory, yellowval, koeeoaddi and Diogenes the Cynic
6 points: DanBlather, micahjn and Nutty Bunny
5 points: vivalostwages and Millit the Frail
4 points: Liberal and rockle
3 points: Hal Briston, Queen Tonya and The SDMB Average Grouping
2 points: Pleonast, Liberal, xnylder and rockle
1 point: Biggirl
Congratulations, Tangent – some fine picking there! For everyone else, let’s remember this for next year: The early favorite never wins!
Way to be penultimate, Blake!
I’ll be happy with my five points!
This might be the finest backhanded compliment I’ve ever heard. You, sir or madam, are awesome.
Woo Hoo!
Thanks **Hal Briston ** for running the contest–it was fun!
See all you losers next season. When I’ll probably fail miserably, but right now I’m a winner!
:does the Church Lady “Superior Dance” through the thread:
Heh…just so you’re aware, as impressive as 16 points is, if Blake had won it all, you’d have picked up nineteen points last night alone, for a final total of 27! :eek: