The Sports Animal

Animal Pigskin Picks - Pro

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General Help

1. How does the game work?
2. When is the deadline to enter my picks?
3. What if I don't pick a winner for a game?
4. What are some recently added features?
5. The season has already started. Can I still play?
6. How does the scoring work?
7. How are ties broken?
8. Why doesn't my password work?
9. How often are scores updated?
10. Where can I find the official rules for this contest?
11. To whom do I direct scoring disputes and other questions not answered on this page?
12. Are there prizes?
13. How does the Pro Football Regular Season Survivor Game work?

How does the game work?
You pick who you think is going to win each game of the season.

When is the deadline to enter my picks?
You can pick the winner up to 15 minutes before the game is scheduled to start.

What if I don't pick a winner for a game?
If you don't pick the computer will select the most picked teams for you.

What are some recently added features?
Based on fan comments and surveys we've added the following features in recent years:
1. We drop your worst 4 weeks. This is especially helpful if you started late or if you pick poorly in the playoffs where the games are worth a lot of points.
2. If you don't pick the computer will still pick for you, but you can't win a prize for that week.
3. You have to pick at least 11 of the 21 weeks yourself (just over half) to be eligible for an overall prize.
4. Inside the "Public & Private Groups" we display an asterisk (*) next to players where the computer picked at least one game for them for the week.
The season has already started. Can I still play?
Yes. Your picks going forward will be counted toward your score. We throw out your 4 worst weeks so the top 17 weeks count toward your overall score. If you start before week 5 you'll be fine. If you start after week 5 you'll be behind the others in terms of the overall season, but you could still win a prize (if offered) for an individual week.

How does the scoring work?
The point value for each game is clearly marked. The sum of your best 17 weeks is your total score. So, we throw out your worst 4 weeks.

How are ties broken?
For an individual week:
Fans pick who they think is going to win each game along with the score for the tie-breaker game. The computer then takes all the fans who are tied for most points for the week and:
1. Subtracts what the fan chose as the score for the winning team from the actual winning team's score and squares this value.
2. Subtracts what the fan chose as the score for the losing team from the actual losing team's score and squares this value.
3. Adds 1 and 2 above together to get the fan's "score approximation".
4. The fan with the lowest "score approximation" wins.
If there is still a tie the computer then chooses a random winner from those who are tied.

For the overall season:
Each week fans pick who they think is going to win each game along with the score of the tie-breaker game. The computer then takes all the fans who are tied for most points for the season and looks at the final week's tie-breaker game and:
1. Subtracts what the fan chose as the score for the winning team from the actual winning team's score and squares this value.
2. Subtracts what the fan chose as the score for the losing team from the actual losing team's score and squares this value.
3. Adds 1 and 2 above together to get the fan's "score approximation".
4. The fan with the lowest "score approximation" wins.
If there is still a tie the computer then looks back at the previous week's highlighted game's "score approximation". If there is still a tie the computer goes back each week until the tie is broken. If there is still a tie after going back through all the weeks the computer chooses a random winner from those who are tied.

Why doesn't my password work?
If you're having trouble logging in try our login help page.

How often are scores updated?
Shortly after each game.

Where can I find the official rules for this contest?
Official Rules.

To whom do I direct scoring disputes and other questions not answered on this page?
You can send a comment on our feedback page.

Are there prizes?
No, there are no prizes.

How does the Pro Football Regular Season Survivor Game work?
Beginning with the first week of the season you pick the team you are sure will win that week. If you pick correctly you'll advance to the next week. However, the only catch is that in future weeks you can't pick the same team again. If you're wrong you'll still be in the pick'em game, but you're out of this game within the game. Ties are broken by looking at the players overall score. If there are still ties then the computer looks at the last week's tiebreaker scores. If there are still ties the computer picks randomly from those still in the running.

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