Metro Football Pool

That was a wild Sunday… first time in history we had 2 OT games! The 1st game will be remembered as a bit sloppier and highly controversial while the 2nd game will always leave us wanting more time. Despite how anyone “feels”, the Patriots were the favorite to win that game. The regular season goes out the window and it’s simply about conducting business in the post season (unless you have bad officiating), which the Patriots continue to be prepared for time after time. It’s why you don’t bet against Brady unless you’re hedging… which a lot of folks wisely did yesterday. Mahomes is undoubtedly the future and will have his handful of rings shortly. He could very well evolve the QB position and take it to the next level. In my humble opinion, that was the Super Bowl. Amazing game!

So let’s taco bout some stuff. All Super Bowl picks have been accounted for in total points and rankings. As a refresher, if you pick one team correctly… 10 points… both teams… 30 points. This year we had multiple offenders that actually picked both teams correctly. Meghan was one of those, so she turned her week 20 frown upside down and now sit-ith on top of the leader board once again. PT pulled a similar move but went all-in on his picks. With a monster week, he’s now in the prime hot tub seat… which is generally where the jets hit your vertebrae and/or sides in just the right spots.

I’m an advocate of finishing strong until the end once you start something, but here’s the spoiler: (1) If you have less points than Danita in the main pool, you don’t have the opportunity for a pay day :(. (2) If you have less points than Rob in the hot tub… you’re finished (yea, I missed the cutoff by 2 points). For those in the money race, this season will likely be the closest finish to date!! Good luck!!!

I know the minority of us really appreciated Seattle’s early present. Thanks for all the warm wishes and hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Maybe us bottom feeders can finish the year with a strong Week 17 before playoff wagers begin… which could be very interesting this season! Also, another recommnedation for the New Year… it’s time to pay or surely you’ll be on the naughty list next year. The football pool naughty list is only second to the World’s Most Wanted… not a good spot. If there isn’t an “x” by your name, you haven’t paid to play the game. Good luck this week and hope everyone has a happy New Year!

I know it’s been another 4 weeks. I genuinely miss everyone. Lee Nelson, your emails are read. They always make me smile as well as want to fully understand what drugs are available at your house on a day to day basis. Sometimes, I have to use google translate which ends up computing “ish no think so”. Whatever that means. The truth is that Meghan gets really nervous about being in 1st place for most of the season and doesn’t want me to jinx it by doing weekly blogs :). A lot has happened (the Cowboys are good again) and much has stayed the same (the Bucs are not that good at all really). Also… Brady loses another to the Dolphins?

Winter does tend to remind us about Snowflake Hourigan’s capabilities and he is once again creepin’. He’s a past Champion and had a good run during the 2014-2015 era. Those simpler days seem like such a long time ago. Sigh.

Sean and Dylan are certainly wishing for better days. Low scores for 3 out of the past 4 weeks. No bueno mis amigos. Meanwhile Lori and Gary are making everyone look foolish in the Hot Tub… and it’s kinda ridiculous.

There’s always a possibility that it will be another 4 weeks until we meet again… so just in case, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year!

In week 7, I was pleading much like Old McEli and Ace Ventura… “I’m ready to go in, Coach, just give me a chance. I know there’s a lot riding on it, but it’s all psychological. Just gotta stay in a positive frame of mind. I’m going to execute a button-hook pattern, Super Slow-Mo.” And thanks to Eli… I’ve made zero progress (which the same can really be said for the Giants). However, Hytree, Davidson, and Draper (HDD – the future of TV) have all climbed up the rankings. The leaders are holding tight but it’s getting extremely close to shake up… how about those Nelsons!

I’ve always been a George Michael fan… RIP you sexy & inspiring beast that had a voice like a roaring choir of baby angels. I mean look at this guy… he was a man that Tomsley could have comfortably stood next to during a photo shoot. While Chris and George are unrelated,  as a ‘Father Figure’, my main advice is you gotta have ‘Faith’. ‘Don’t let the Sun Go Down’ and give this thing ‘One More Try’. You might be able to ‘Heal the Pain’ by ‘Spinning the Wheel’ to help you with your picks moving forward. ‘The Strangest Thing’ is that you can’t do much worse than going 2 for 4 as the low score. Well, I guess you do have the ‘Freedom’ to pick nearly every game incorrectly like Kyle did in Week 9.

I know many of us are ‘Waiting for that Day’ when the Hot Tub starts… ‘I knew You Were Waiting’, Phillip. For those of us wanting to turn ‘A Different Corner’, WEEK 12 (next pick sheet / aka Thanksgiving Week) kicks off the reset button so make sure you let me know that you want to make the switch to warmer waters when you submit your next pick sheet.

‘Careless Whisper’ (top 1-ish all time greatest song)

Ok… so my consistency might rank a tad lower than that of Tom Brady. The new wager dili this year is causing mayhem. Tons of Ricky Bobby’s (1st to last / last to 1st) are manifesting in the pool. Some fun facts:

• Cassie has moved up 25 spots from her low point and now sits in 1st place. She does have some fierce competition with Meghan… could be a weekly battle.
• Danita has moved up 14 spots from her low point and is currently in the money in 4th
• Thee Nelsons… yes, I tripled checked this… have moved up 18 spots from their low and are in striking distance from the leaders.

Sandie actually helped with week 5 and I never got around to posting so here’s a consolidated recap…

Zach was the Drew Brees of week 5. While Drew is setting passing records (now the all-time leader with 72,103 yards; roughly 41 miles), Zach is attempting a Cassie like comeback with highs in weeks 4 (see Kenny G below), 5, and almost 6. The only thing he likes more than winning is pondering the idea of a Kenny / Buble collaboration album next to a roaring fire.  Mark, Cassie, and McD actually tied for the week 6 high, which catapulted Cassie into the overall lead (“for now” according to Meghan). McD came to play this year, but not so much his Giants.

The lows. Kyle (week 5 with a 23) and Chris Michael (week 6 with a 35) have buffered Phillip from back-to-back embarrassments. Phillip thanks you both and only asks that you just keep doing what you’re doing.

“If you work hard you can do anything you want.” – Brees. Sure… sounds great. Good luck this week!

I know how Earl feels… every time I update the standings I make the same gesture (most of the time with both my hands).  Some catch up…

• Fitzpatrick flamed out… we all knew it was coming as the Bucs reverted back to helping other teams post NFL records against them. The Bears had roughly 1,100 yards of offense and 13 TDs in that game. Our pool flame outs for week 3 and 4 (respectively) are… Lori Price (with a Tiger Woods-ish 27) & team Tomsley (with a Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup-ish 42). The 27 is by far the lowest score in the clubhouse this season, but I can’t say much since she’s still 7 spots ahead of me. Tomsley is essentially the only one helping me sleep at night… I wish everyone else was like them/him!
• As for our winners… Faulkner posted a solid 101 in week 3. He’s been very calculated and realized that Tampa’s first two games were actually the statistical outliers for this season. It will be interesting to see how long he can stay atop the leader board… he’s already lasted longer than Fitz. As far as week 4, Zach’s dart throwing paid off with a smooth 116. All it took was a little focus, a closed door, and some sweet Kenny G in the background.

Good luck this week to only those folks sitting in 28th-32nd… really just 28th… and to Kenny (the original G)… whatever he might be doing right now.

So not to quote myself… but 2nd sentence of the 2nd point in the inaugural 2018 post: “why would I set the week 3 wager game as the Monday night game (Steelers @ Bucs). Basically any other game that week would be a better one.” So yea… I went ahead and set the wager game to that one… and I’m actually not really sure it’s going to be a good game for Steelers fans (Tomsley?).  Bizarre times in the Wizardly word of Ryan McGregor.

I’m so pumped to have Sandie’s help… what you’ll probably notice is that when she participates in the blogs, they’ll be much better, more thorough, and also offer statistical insight.

So two lessons for this week…

1. Go Big or Go Home

Go Big – The big catch – Keelan Cole’s absurd and crazy one-handed fingertip catch is being called the best catch in the NFL since O’Dell Beckham’s in 2014. And he finished the drive by catching the touchdown pass, tossing the ball to the crowd, and running into the player tunnel.  Jacksonville beat New England 31 – 20. Speaking of gaining… Cassie & Gary were our league BIG GAINERS this week moving up 14 spots… they did ok, but mostly just benefited from a lot of folks having garbage picks in part thanks to the garbage Giants.

Go Home – Vontae Davis – The Bills are so bad that dudes are just starting to retire at halftime… like “hey, it’s not going to get any better the second half of this game or the second half of this season… so why not?”  The Bills are down 28-6 at halftime so he walked into the locker room, said “I’m done,” changed his clothes and went HOME! Silver lining… a spot opened up for Dylan.

Bill Hytree, the lesson is – don’t be a quitter! Yes, you were the loser this week sliding down the ladder 17 positions and posting the low score right behind Huey (Ryan to be specific)… but hey you’re not in last place, sorry Zach.

There’s still hope for you guys just like Browns fans hope for a new kicker. They weren’t the only ones though, I read there was 19 missed kicks this weekend! Did they move the goal posts and not tell them?

2. We all just Have to Stay Humble

FitzMAGIC was back again this weekend! The second best quarterback in the NFL throwing 402 yards and 4 touchdowns! A handful of brave souls picked the Bucs for a point or two… a few daredevils rolled the dice with a 4 pointer. Hmm well they pulled it off…27-21 win over the reigning Eagles! Fitzy also wins the best photo in the NFL this week! Superstars dress like this, not back-ups!

The best lesson and best dressed of the week goes to our league leader Dylan – Grow out the beard, dress cool, borrow some chains, but always remember to stay humble and drink the chocolate milk! He’s off hunting now, but said that he’ll be submitting this week’s picks via an owl that he’s training in the forest… he’s going to stain his selections on elk skin parchment.

Good luck and you never know what will happen next week!

Week 1 is in the books… highlights:

• The reappearing act of Fitz-Magic (aka the David Copperfield of the NFL)
• The Packers didn’t trade the guy who wanted a big contract… a good decision for them… a not so good one for the Raiders.
• Le’Veon Bell is sad and makes people around him sad. Tomsley.
• What would it take for Nathan Peterman to convince the Bills that he’s simply not good at football? If he turned in a resignation letter, would they accept it?

Meghan tops the leader board with a mack-ed out week 1 performance (also, everyone is a winner in a tie). A la Rodgers, she’s looking to get paid this season, which I completely respect and appreciate. She’s already inquired if her proceeds can be given in amazon dollars… the future of all currency. However, it’s no surprise she’s found a way to juggle accurate predictions with the 100 other things that she has in the air at any given moment. Some of them try to rhyme but they can’t rhyme like this… nicely done!

Apparent closet Gruden fanboys, Z & John took huge gambles against one of the best teams in the league. They both generally make good/calculated bets… this one not so much. As Jon Gruden once said: “All it takes is one coach that believes in you.” I still believe in you guys. Believe in yourselves and good luck this week.

As a reminder… when you email me your picks on Thursday, please submit your guesses for which AFC team and NFC team will meet up in the Super Bowl. I’ve added a section to the bottom of the Week 2 pick sheet to make this easy for both of us… wah-wah-wee-wah wowwee-wow! This will be your first and only opportunity to submit guesses for the big bonus points! Also… please send $$ if you still owe.

The long await is over and the greatest time of year is upon us!! While the Metro Football Pool has never quite had the same rules as “Fight Club”… it looks like this year, we could be in store for a huge jump in participation… translation: more money! We’re also making a couple changes…

1. I’m going to have a little much needed help in keeping the blog squeaky fresh… goal being weekly updates. Thank you Sandie!
2. Regular season wager games are going to vary some… dealer picks between prime time Sunday Night and Monday Night (basically whichever game appears to be the tougher one on paper). For example, why would I set the week 3 wager game as the Monday night game (Steelers @ Bucs). Basically any other game that week would be a better one.
3. Going to revisit playoff points when that time of year rolls around… want to keep things fair but also potentially more interesting.

Week 1 Pick sheet has been posted and is due prior to kickoff on Thursday 9/6. We look forward to having everyone back along with some new frenemies. Good luck this season!!

The playoffs were chaos. However, like the flight of Foles, Lee Worley soared like a condor in the final weeks of the football pool. He easily ousted me from 2nd, came within striking distance of 1st… and then went Rocky style for the final upset. Zach had been cruising in 1st for the better half of the season and then in an all too familiar fashion to last year… the Patriots struck again. If you recall, Zach gambled on the other birds in the Super Bowl last season which left him finishing in 3rd (vs. 1st). You need to get this s#@^ right already. Congrats to both of them for top honors and big paydays (yea… we’re only doing candy bars this year).

Theee Huey rounded out 3rd. He becomes the only participant with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Hot Tub victories. We call this the quadruple crown. It’s the most superior achievement and representative of a true badass. In the pool bylaws, the winner of a quadruple crown receives all the money for that particular season. Kidding 🙂

Chris May ended up in 4th… he’s probably just as surprised as we all are!! I guess he only needed to pass Ed McD which is about as difficult as turning off that commercial with Eli Manning holding up ODB in that sweet Dirty Dancing embrace. McD will receive a poster of that Eli/ODB image as a consolation prize to replace the life size Ole Miss Eli which currently resides over his bed. Congrats to both of you guys!

Faulkner crushed the Hot Tub this season. He had already taken everyone’s money before Super Bowl kickoff. Nicely done!

Thanks again to everyone for making it another great season and playing till the end!! And now… sadness for a while as we grasp to fill our Sundays.