[Chris Hibner]

Joe,

I really like this idea. I would change one thing:

Allow the teams until Saturday morning before they have to turn in their picks. Give a deadline of 8 a.m. or something similar. The computer can then churn out the pairings and they can be announced at 8:15. Alliances then have until 9 a.m. to strategize. Picks can be made on bubble sheets and scanned into the computer for speed.

The reason for waiting until Saturday morning is simple: teams need the time to sort through the scouting data and make a list. If they really want to do it on Friday, I think there needs to be 2 to 3 hours from when matches end until when the lists need to be turned in.