THIS PROMOTION IS INTENDED FOR PLAY ONLY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) AND CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC). U.S. LAW GOVERNS THIS PROMOTION.
1. ELIGIBILITY: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Pigskin Pick 'em (the "Promotion")
is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, Washington, D.C., and
Canada (excluding Quebec) who are twenty-one (21) years or older as of the date
of entry, and are registered members of ESPN.com. (Registration is further
described below in Section 4.) Employees of (i) Sponsor (defined in Section 2),
Promoters (defined in Section 2) or their respective affiliates, or (ii) any
entity directly connected with the development, implementation or marketing of
this Promotion, and the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and
children) or household members of each such employee are not eligible. This
Promotion is void in all U.S. Territories, (e.g., Puerto Rico and Guam) and where prohibited by law.
2. SPONSOR; PROMOTERS. This Promotion is sponsored by ESPN/Starwave
Partners d/b/a ESPN Internet Ventures ("EIV" or the "Sponsor")
and is promoted by Miller Lite (the "Promoter"). Additional advertisers
associated with the Promotion, if any, shall be deemed a Promoter for purposes
of these Official Rules.
3. ENTRY PAGE. To access and/or enter the Promotion, log-on to Pigskin Pick
'em Frontpage [http://games.espn.go.com/pigskin/frontpage].
4. ESPN.COM REGISTRATION. To play the Promotion, you must be a registered
member of ESPN.com (or one of Sponsor's affiliated websites, e.g., ABC.com,
ABCNews.com, DisneyOnline.com, EXPN.com, Family.com and Movies.com).
Registration is free. If you are not a member you may register by clicking on
the applicable link on the entry page for the Promotion, and following the
instructions. You will be asked to provide your name, e-mail address, zip code,
birth date, gender and to select a password. You will also be asked if you wish
to receive promotional emails or offers. You do not need to consent to receive
these emails or offers in order to become a member. Even if you consent, you
may subsequently opt-out of receiving such emails or offers by clicking on the
member services link on any ESPN.com Fantasy Game page, then clicking on the
Change Account Information link and following the instructions.
If you are already a member (or if you are a member of one of Sponsor's
affiliated websites), then you do not need to register again. You may enter the
Promotion by logging in on ESPN.com with your current username and password.
You may be asked to answer survey questions or to consent to receive
promotional emails or offers. This is optional. You are not required to answer
questions or to give consent to receive such emails or offers in order to be
eligible to play in the Promotion.
You are responsible for the secrecy of your password. Sponsor, Promoters and
other third parties are not responsible or liable for any actions taken using
your password.
5. TIMING. The Promotion begins on Thursday, September 6, 2007 and ends on
Sunday, December 30, 2007 (or upon the completion of
the U.S. professional football season) (the "Promotion Period").
There is no deadline to join the Promotion. For purposes of these official
rules (the "Official Rules") all times are Eastern Time ("ET").
6. HOW TO PLAY.
- General. The objective of the
Promotion is to accumulate the most points by correctly selecting the
"winning pick" for each U.S. professional football game
during the Promotion Period. Entrants may play selecting either the "Spread
Scoring System" or the "Non-Spread Scoring System".
If you do not select a scoring system, your entry will default to the
Non-Spread Scoring System. Entrant has until the scheduled kick-off time
for any game not played on Sunday, including, but not limited to, games
played on Monday night, to submit a pick. Entrant must submit picks for
all Sunday games prior to the kick-off time of the first Sunday game,
typically scheduled for 1 pm ET every Sunday. On Tuesday morning of each
week Entrant may submit picks for games played during the upcoming week.
Except for weeks 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, all games are scheduled
for Sunday and Monday. (Note: The aforementioned days are subject to
schedule changes.) - How to make your selections.
You may enter your selections online by following the instructions in the - Scoring. From all eligible
entries received, the winners will be determined based on their ability to
use their skill and knowledge of U.S. professional football to accumulate
the most points during the Promotion Period. You receive one (1) point for
each correct winning pick on a valid entry. You do not receive or lose
points for incorrect picks. You accumulate points from the date of your
first winning pick. You may begin playing after the start of the Promotion
but you will not receive any points for the football games you have
missed. For example, if you have no valid winning picks for a particular
week (e.g., because you didn't enter), your point total for that week
would be zero (0). In order to maximize the opportunity to accrue the most
points, register and submit your entry no later than the first kickoff of
the first game of the professional football regular season (Thursday,
September 7, 2006 at 8:30 pm ET). In the event a scheduled professional
football game listed does not occur as scheduled (e.g., a game is
cancelled, postponed, etc.) no points will be awarded. Ties will be broken
in accordance with the tie-breaker procedure below. - Spread Scoring System. What
spread do we use? On Tuesday of each week Sponsor will post a "Spread"
on ESPN.com for the then upcoming Thursday thru Monday Night football
games. The Spread is the expected number of points by which one team (the
"Favorite") is expected to beat the other. Once a spread
is posted online, the Sponsor will not change it unless an aberration
occurs whereas the spread endures technical malfunction due to transfer
and is clearly inaccurate or inversed. Sponsor does not determine spreads
on its own, and may, prior to posting online, add a half-point to the
spread. What is the winning pick? If you choose the "Spread
Scoring System" the winning pick is the team that has the most
points after first subtracting the spread from the total points actually
scored by the Favorite team. In some cases, this will mean that the
winning pick is not the team that wins the game. For example: Suppose it's
Team A vs. Team B and Team A is listed as the Favorite and the Spread is
-13.5 points. If Team A wins the game by a final score of 28 to 21, the
winning pick is actually Team B because subtracting 13.5 points from Team
A's total results in a final score of Team B 21, Team A 14.5. Thus, Team B
covers the spread. - Non-Spread Scoring System. If
you choose the "Non-Spread Scoring System", the winning
pick is the team that wins the game, i.e., scores the most points. - Lock-time. Each week the system
will "lock" to prevent further pick submission. Games on
Thursday, Saturday, and Monday will lock at the scheduled kickoff of each
game. The remaining Sunday games will remain open until the scheduled
kickoff of the first game played on each Sunday, at which time all Sunday
games will lock. Entrant's picks must be submitted, received and recorded
by Sponsor's computer by the scheduled lock-time in order to be counted.
Selections submitted after the deadlines are considered invalid. Sponsor's
computer is the official time keeping device for this Promotion. - Ties. What is the Tiebreaker Game?
Unless otherwise noted the "Tiebreaker Game" is the game
played on Monday night at the end of each week (meaning the game played on
the Monday after the games played on the preceding Thursday through
Sunday). During weeks one (1) and sixteen (16), two Monday night games are
scheduled and the Tiebreaker Game will be the second game of the night on
both nights. Entrants may, but are not required to, submit a predicted
score for the weekly Tiebreaker Game. This prediction is used for
tiebreaker purposes only. If no predicted score is submitted for an entry,
it is given a default prediction of zero (0) points to zero (0) points. It
is possible for a default prediction to break a tie. NOTE: Due to the fact
that no Monday night game is scheduled for the 17th week of the season,
the Tiebreaker Game will be the game currently scheduled for Dec. 31st
between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati at 1 pm.
How are the ties broken? The pool of tied entrants is reduced until
three (3) potential winners remain by applying the rules below in the
order listed. However, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, elect not to
break a tie and instead to award prizes to all eligible winners (or to all
eligible winners then remaining after applying one or more tiebreaker
rules).
OVERALL
TIEBREAKERS:
Tiebreaker #1 - Higher number of points scored for Week 17
Tiebreaker #2 - Higher number of points scored for Week 16
Tiebreaker #3 - Higher number of points scored for Week 15
Tiebreaker #4 - Higher number of points scored for Week 14
Tiebreaker #5 - Higher number of points scored for Week 13
Tiebreakers will continue backwards from week thirteen (13) until week one (1).
WEEKLY
TIEBREAKERS:
Tiebreaker #1 - The entry that correctly predicted the winning pick of the
Tiebreaker Game is considered the winning entry.
Tiebreaker #2 - An entrant's predicted Tiebreaker Game score is compared to the
actual Tiebreaker Game. The differences between the predicted scores and actual
scores for each team are added (positive numbers only). The entry with the
smallest total difference is considered the winning entry.
Tiebreaker#3 - The entrant whose predicted score for the winning team is
closest to the actual score of the winning team without being over the total is
considered the winning entry. Tiebreaker#4 - The entrant with the highest total
overall points is considered the winning entry.
Tiebreaker#5 - The entrant with the highest total points earned one (1) week
prior is considered the winning entry.
Tiebreaker#6 and so on - The entrant with the highest total points earned two
(2) weeks prior is considered the winning entry. Tiebreakers will continue
backwards using each previous week's total until the tie is broken or no
previous weeks remain.
In all
cases, an entry that does not win a tiebreaker is eliminated from
consideration.
7. NO ENTRY FEE. There is no entry fee required to participate in the
Promotion. Three entries per person are permitted. Only entries received
online in accordance with these Official Rules will be accepted. No other forms
of entry - fax, mail, email, phone or other - will be accepted. Entry
materials/data that have been tampered with or altered are void.
Winners will be determined on or about January 8, 2008.
8. PRIZES/WINNER SELECTION/APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE/ODDS OF WINNING.
OVERALL PRIZES:
GRAND PRIZE: The grand prize
package includes the following: A one thousand one hundred dollar ($1,100)
Circuit City gift card (which can be redeemed towards an HDTV), a video game console (Xbox 360), EA video games, and an
authentic helmet and jersey, all specific to the winner's preferred pro
football team.
In each scoring system (spread
and non-spread), the team that has the highest score will be the Grand Prize
winner.
Grand Prize (2):
(Approximate Retail Value of the Grand Prize ("ARV"): $5,000).
SECOND PLACE PRIZE: The second
place prize package includes the following: an authentic helmet and jersey, all
specific to the winner's preferred pro football team, one EA video game and
football.
In each scoring system (spread
and non-spread), the team that finishes with the second highest score will be
the Second Place Prize winner
2nd
Place (2): Approximate Retail Value of 2nd place prize:
(ARV: $500).
THIRD PLACE PRIZE: The third
place prize package includes the following: replica jersey and mini-helmet all
specific to the winner's preferred pro football team, one EA video game and a
football.
In each scoring system (spread
and non-spread), the team that finishes with the third highest score will be
the Third Place Prize winner
3rd Place (2): (ARV: $700).
WEEKLY TOP PRIZE: The weekly top
prize package includes a mini NFL replica Helmet and autograph.
The top overall team in each
scoring system (spread and non-spread) after each week, will win the Weekly Top
Prize. (ARV: $150 per Weekly Winner (including shipping)).
In the event of a tie, the system above to break tiebreakers
will be used.
Odds of winning prizes depend on the total number of
eligible entries received and the relative U.S. professional football knowledge
of all entrants.
9. ENTRY ERRORS/ NO RETURN OF ENTRIES; DISPUTES.
Neither Sponsor nor Promoters are responsible for lost, late, incomplete,
damaged, stolen, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected entries, which will be
disqualified. Neither Sponsor nor Promoters are responsible for any unavailability
of or interruptions to any service or equipment used in connection with the
Promotion, including, without limitation, (1) interruptions to any network,
server, Internet, website, telephone, satellite, computer or other connections
(2) failures of any telephone, satellite, hardware, software or other
equipment, (3) garbled, misdirected or jumbled transmissions, or traffic
congestion, or (4) other errors of any kind, whether human, technical,
mechanical or electronic, or (5) the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry
or other information or the failure to capture any such information.
Once submitted, entries become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be
acknowledged or returned. In the event of a dispute as to any entry, the
authorized account holder, i.e., natural person, of the email address used to
register will be deemed to be the registrant. Potential winners may be required
to show proof of identification. Sponsor may require that the potential winner
provide proof that he/she is the authorized account holder of the e-mail
address and/or password associated with the winning entry.
10. POTENTIAL WINNERS.
ALL POTENTIAL WINNING PLAYS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR, WHOSE
DECISIONS ARE FINAL. SPONSOR SHALL SOLELY DETERMINE ANY FORM OF VERIFICATION.
AN ENTRANT IS NOT A WINNER OF ANY PRIZE UNLESS AND UNTIL ENTRANT'S ELIBIGILITY
AND THE POTENTIAL WINNING ENTRY HAS BEEN VERIFIED AND ENTRANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED
THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE. SPONSOR WILL NOT ACCEPT SCREEN SHOTS, AFFIDAVITS
OR OTHER EVIDENCE OF WINNING IN LIEU OF ITS VALIDATION PROCESS. ANY ENTRY THAT
OCCURS AFTER THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED FOR ANY REASON MAY BE DEEMED A DEFECTIVE
ENTRY AND VOID.
Potential winners will be notified via email (or overnight mail) sent within
fifteen (15) business days following the end of the Promotion Period. It is
the sole responsibility of the entrant to notify the Sponsor during the
Promotion Period if his or her e-mail address has changed. To do so, click on
the member services link on any ESPN.com page fantasy game page, then click on
the Change Account Information link and follow the instructions.
A potential winner will be disqualified and an alternate potential winner
will be selected (i.e., the person with the next most points) if (i) he/she
does not comply with these rules (or is otherwise determined to be ineligible),
(ii) he/she does not respond to the prize notice within five (5) days of its
transmission (or receipt, if mailed), or if the emailed prize notice, after
three (3) attempts, is returned as undeliverable, or (iii) the prize is
undeliverable for any reason. If Sponsor notifies, or seeks to deliver a prize
to or otherwise attempts to contact an alternate potential winner, and such
alternate potential winner is subsequently disqualified then Sponsor shall use
its reasonable business judgment to determine, in its sole discretion, the
disposition of the prize (e.g., may choose another alternate potential winner
in a manner consistent with these rules or donate the prize to another entity,
at its sole discretion).
If a potential winner is a minor in his/her jurisdiction of primary
residence, potential winner's parent/legal guardian must execute all documents
and agree to all obligations and undertakings required of the potential winner in
these Official Rules, both on behalf of himself/herself and the potential
winning minor. Prize may be awarded in the name of, or to, parent/legal
guardian.
Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth
herein. Winners are solely responsible for any and all expenses, (e.g., meals
and gratuities), relative to participation in the Promotion (including
acceptance of any prize) not specified herein. Actual model, color, accessories
and features of all prizes awarded shall be selected by Sponsor in its sole
discretion and may vary from photos used in print, advertising, and in
electronic and web banner advertising including the ESPN.com web site.
No cash or other prize substitution, assignment or transfer
of prizes permitted, except at Sponsor's sole discretion due to prize
unavailability. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize with one of
comparable value or greater value (e.g., Sponsor may opt instead to award the
cash equivalent, up to but not greater than the ARV, of any prize in lieu of
the prize itself). For gift card redeeming information and restrictions visit
THE WINNER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES
ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZE.
Grand Prize Winners should allow up to 6-8 weeks after they return their
signed, notarized affidavit to receive their prize. Prizes returned as
undeliverable or otherwise not claimed within fourteen (14) days after being
sent will be forfeited. All other Prize Winners should allow 6-12 weeks from
the conclusion of the Promotion Period to receive their prize.
All teams contending for overall prizes will be inspected by the league office
for collusion. The commissioner reserves the right to remove teams at its discretion
from the leader board and award prizes to the next highest winner.
11. AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY/LIABILITY RELEASE. As a condition of receiving
a prize, potential winners may be required to complete, sign and return an
Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, and, except where prohibited, a
Publicity Release, within fifteen (15) days of the date stated on the prize
notice.
Except where prohibited, participation in this Promotion constitutes
winner's consent to Sponsor's and Promoters', and any of their respective
agents' use of winner's name, likeness, voice, opinions and biographical
information for publicity, advertising, trade or promotional purposes in any media
or manner, now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, without further payment,
consideration, notice or approval.
12. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. Participation constitutes entrant's full
and unconditional agreement to these official rules and to Sponsor's decisions.
The decisions of the Sponsor in regards to all matters of this Promotion are
final and binding.
Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel,
terminate, and/or suspend the Promotion and to disqualify any individual who
tampers with the entry process, violates these Official Rules, or acts in a
disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner. Without limiting the foregoing, Sponsor
may lock out an entrant who, in Sponsor's sole judgment, has been disqualified,
has questionable eligibility or is otherwise ineligible to enter. CAUTION: A
PERSON WHO ATTEMPTS DELIBERATELY TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS
PROMOTION OR TO ALTER OR DAMAGE A WEBSITE MAY BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL AND/OR
CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND FINES; AND SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES
FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
Without limiting the foregoing,
Sponsor may modify, cancel, terminate, and/or suspend the Promotion if, in the
Sponsor's sole opinion, an incident of any kind occurs to corrupt or impair the
administration, security, integrity, fairness or play (as intended) of the
Promotion, including without limitation: (a) viruses, bugs, unauthorized human
intervention, fraud or technical failure; or (b) earthquake, flood, fire, storm
or other natural disaster, act of God; or (c) labor controversy or threat
thereof, civil disturbance or commotion, disruption of the public markets, war
or armed conflict (whether or not officially declared). In the event that the
U.S. professional football season is postponed, terminated early, or cancelled
for any reason (such as a strike or lockout), Sponsor reserves the right to
award prizes based on scores at the time the season is disrupted, or to
cancel, modify or suspend the Promotion at its discretion. In the event of a
cancellation or termination by the Sponsor the entrant who has accumulated the
highest point total (and who wins any pending tiebreakers) at the time of any
said action will be awarded the prizes, or the prizes will be awarded in such
other manner deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor.
Sponsor reserves the right to
conduct a background check of any and all records of any winner/travel
companion, including without limitation, civil and criminal court records and
police reports. To the extent necessary under law, winner/travel companion
shall authorize this background check. Sponsor may also take all steps
necessary to corroborate any information provided to Sponsor by winner/travel
companion in his/her interview. In that regard, winner/travel companion will be
obligated to provide necessary contacts and information so that Sponsor may
conduct such investigation. Sponsor reserves the right (at its sole discretion)
to disqualify a winner/travel companion based on the background check, and
select an alternate.
13. RELEASE AND INDEMNITY. By participating in this Promotion or receiving a
prize, entrants (and in particular, winners) agree to release and to indemnify
and hold harmless Sponsor, Promoters, and each of their respective related
companies, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees and
agents (collectively, the "Released Parties") for any
liability, injury, death, loss or damages to entrant or any person or entity,
including without limitation damage to personal or real property, caused in
whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by participation in this Promotion
(or related activities) or the acceptance, possession or use/misuse of a prize.
14. GAMBLING PROHIBITION. This Promotion is strictly for entertainment
purposes and may not be used in connection with any form of gambling.
15. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY. The Released Parties are not responsible for:
(1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants,
printing errors or by any of the equipment, hardware, software or programming
associated or used with the Promotion; (2) technical errors, defects, delays or
failures of any kind, including without limitation malfunctions, interruptions
or disconnections in communications lines, Internet or website access, hardware
or software; (3) digital or electronic disruptions, e.g., viruses or other
security breaches; (4) unauthorized human intervention, e.g., hacking; (5)
technical or human error which may occur in connection with any aspect of the
Promotion; (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused,
directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant's participation in
the Promotion, access to, copying or downloading materials from ESPN.com or any
other website, or receipt or use of any prize.
16. DISPUTES/CHOICE OF LAW. Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees
that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or
connected with this Promotion or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually,
without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by state or federal
courts situated in New York county, New York state, i.e., Manhattan; (2) any
and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket
costs incurred, but in no event attorneys' fees; and (3) no punitive,
incidental, special, consequential or other damages, including without
limitation lost profits may be awarded (collectively, "Special Damages"),
and (4) entrant hereby waives all rights to claim Special Damages and all
rights to have such damages multiplied or increased. New York law, without
reference to New York's choice of law rules, governs the Promotion and all
aspects related thereto.
17. PRIVACY. Personally identifiable information that is submitted by
entrants as part of this Promotion will be used to administer the Promotion,
select prize winners and fulfill prizes, and will be treated in accordance with
Sponsor's privacy policy accessible on its website at www.espn.com.
18. OFFICIAL RULES; WINNERS LISTS. For a copy of the Official Rules and/or
list of winners, mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below
(Residents of VT may omit return postage). Requests must be received within
thirty (30) days following the end of the Promotion (i.e., by January 30, 2008).
Pigskin Pickem c/o ESPN Internet Venture Marketing Department 19 East 34th Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10016.
19. ADDRESS; COPYRIGHT. Sponsor is responsible for the Promotion and
awarding of prizes. Sponsor's address is 19 East 34th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016. The Promotion and all accompanying materials are copyright © 2007 ESPN
Internet Venture.