Only 23 categories were counted this year instead of the usual 24, due to a mistake on the ballot made by the usually impeccable Gary.

The horserace this year was over very early in the evening, as the three front-runners -- Gary, Grandma, and John -- took an early lead and stayed there right to the finish line. Grandma faded in the backstretch, but John and Gary ran neck and neck until the final few categories. With four envelopes left and Gary ahead by two, a win for John became mathematically impossible. A tie was possible, if John made two more correct picks and Gary made two misses. John's final two picks were correct, but Gary missed only one (choosing Mickey Rourke instead of Sean Penn for Best Actor) -- giving Gary the victory in a one-up squeaker.

Gary's and John's correct pick totals were at 17 and 16 respectively. Gary tied Donna's 2006 performance with 17, but Donna's high water mark of 19 correct picks in 2004 remains a record.

John walked the tightrope in the top six categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress), nailing all six! That hasn't been done since 2005, when Paul correctly picked the top six for the first time in our Oscar history.

In the under-18 division, the battle between Olivia, Erika, and Tristen went back and forth throughout the evening, with Tristen in the lead as the finish line approached. Then Erika and Olivia caught up, and Olivia pulled ahead for her first-ever Oscar win over last year's winner Erika.

Thanks to everybody who played along this year. See you next year!

(Number of correct picks out of 23 categories)
17  Gary
16  John
11  Anna
11  Emily
11  Grandma
10  Karen
 9  Marsha
 7  Donna
 7  Lindsey
 7  Olivia
 7  Samantha
 6  Erika
 5  Amanda
 4  Tristen

And totalling all the results of the past twelve years, here are the standings, in order of percentage of correct picks:

56%   Gary       150 right out of 267
51%   John       136 right out of 267
50%   Donna      133 right out of 267
48%   Marsha     127 right out of 267
45%   Grandma    119 right out of 267
43%   Amanda     114 right out of 267
42%   Zachary     36 right out of  86
38%   Karen      101 right out of 267
38%   Lori        56 right out of 148
37%   Samantha   100 right out of 267
37%   Paul        82 right out of 220
35%   Ryan        77 right out of 220
35%   Anna        71 right out of 205
34%   Lindsey     90 right out of 267
31%   Emily       84 right out of 267
30%   Brent       28 right out of  95
25%   Erika       62 right out of 252
25%   Sean        12 right out of  48
24%   Olivia      40 right out of 166
21%   Tristen     39 right out of 189
15%   Teghan      11 right out of  72