Last Rites is rather unofficially sponsoring a FIFA World Cup 2010 prediciton game. I am putting up a prize of $20 to the winner. Here is how the game works:

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WORLD CUP 2010 FORECAST GAME

OBJECTIVE: Predict the entire 2010 World Cup tournament and gain more points than everyone else.

PRIZE: $20 USD. Winner will be contacted to arrange details for payment. In the event of a tie for top prize (which I doubt will happen), I will split the prize between the winners.

HOW TO PLAY: The tournament is separated into two parts: i) the Group Phase and II) the Knockout Phase. The second page gives the layout of the tournament.

Group Phase: Predict the top two teams in each Group. IMPORTANT: It does matter who you pick as first place and second place! Pick wisely!

Knockout Phase: Populate the Round of Sixteen with your predictions from the Group Phase. Predict winners for each match to predict the Winner.

POINTS: Points are awarded as follows:
Group Phase:
5 – Correctly predict a team continuing to the Round of 16
5 – Correctly predicting the position of a team continuing to the Round of 16 (picking the team as first place vs. second place)

Knockout Phase: There are two parts to the Knockout round score: i) Raw Points and ii) Group Phase bonus factor. Raw points are given based on how well you predict which teams advance to the next round of play in the Knockout Phase. The Group Phase bonus factor is a number that is multiplied to the raw points from the Knockout Phase to get the final Knockout Phase points. The bonus factor will be a number between 1 and 1.35 that reflects how well you performed in the Group Phase: If you did not predict any teams in the Round of Sixteen, you get a 1; if you predicted all of the teams in the Round of Sixteen AND in the right position, you get a 1.35.
Raw Points:
30 – Correctly predict a team into the Quarterfinal
80 – Correctly predict a team into the Semifinal
200 – Correctly predict a team into the Final
480 – Correctly predict the Winner

HOW TO SUBMIT: Only one entry per person. When you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you are happy with your prediction, send your prediction in a coherent form to: lastriteschristianmetal (a) yahoo.com. I will not accept changes to your predictions after you submit them. Please, also include an alias (handle, screenname…just something) so that I can identify your prediction. I will also use your alias in the leaderboards and graphs during the World Cup. I reserve the right to exclude an entry (or entries) if I believe that there is fraudulent behavior involved (also known as cheating). DEADLINE IS JUNE 10, 2010!

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If you are interested, I have a package that might more easily explain how this game works and the organization of the 2010 world cup. Send me an e-mail at lastriteschristianmetal@yahoo.com if you want me to send you a package (a couple of PDF files). If you want a look at the groups and the layout of the tournament, check out:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/

I am probably going to be putting all of this on myspace in a little bit, but in case you are tracking the WC and thinking about it, I have a zip file for you. It has Instructions for the prediction game, Worksheet for your "brackets" and a sample "bracket". The zip file can be found here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?tq0zymmrtwj