A runner-up finish ought to carry a season. Kevin Oberding found the exception.
His October card was elite: the Dodgers returned 105, the full slip printed 169, and 250 placement points put him 2nd. A 57th in NCAAF and seven straight correct March picks for 66th suggested there was enough support.
But the misses did not bend; they broke. The Georgia CFP ticket landed 236th with 16 points, the NFL postseason brought 221st, and the NBA board stopped at 219th.
The World Cup returned 156.5 points from 95th and the majors only 98 from 154th, enough for the middle but not the race. The season's verdict, a share of 178th on 1131.5 points, turned the second-best October into an isolated marvel instead of a foundation.