It seems to me that most years it is the offensive side of football that seems to kick in after 4-5 weeks. This year, or at least this week is a bit different. There were a lot of lower scoring, defensive battles this week.
I think that the Broncos are a team that you can pick pretty most weeks this season. They are the type of team that you can count on and will get even more trustworthy this month as they trade away talent for draft picks. Of course, I would suggest that you might do better if you pick them to lose, rather than win, but we are all adults (well, sort of - sorry Beau) so you can decide for yourself. I can state without a doubt that if you take Denver to win as your top pick every week that when they do win you will have quite a headstart on the rest of the pool. Just saying.
Beau The Dope wrote in to me this week about the JetPicker, "Someone should have warned him not to eat those mushrooms." This in reference to JP picking Denver for 100 points to upset KC.
I am having kind of a Beau The Dope week here. I am not sure if Kneel got some good drugs this week (Cialis?) or maybe Muttley took the cone of shame off his head what but he was very chatty and wrote to me on Monday, "It is my opinion that you have not been inclusive enough. In todays society all folks feelings should be considered ahead insignificant factors such as talent, intelligence and plain old outhouse luck. My suggestion is, therefore, that you send out the EOH before the games begin so we can all feel recognised. I hope you take this to heart and become more sensitive to those of us can't figger out the NFL. Beau's Dad, Neil "
I have received comments that the Streak portion of the "Pool Finances" page is difficult to read and I agree. When Franchises begin to be eliminated (Week 10) I will move those who are no longer in the race to the bottom of the page and that should help things. I just found it too much work to rearrange every franchise in order each week. Thank you for your understanting. BTW - remember to check your standing once in a while just in case I have made an error and wronged you.
Even though he is not a Rookie in this pool (seasoned veteran? maybe well seasoned?) Beau The Dope sent in a intro recently."Since Beau (the Dope) has long since met his Maker I thought I would send my own intro. I'm kinda old, 75, and a Yankee import since I married Muttley's mom in 1986. Served in Vietnam in the sixties and, after that, among other things, was primarily a commercial fisherman/crabber from Seattle to the Bering sea and/or a professional musician (Dependant upon the time of year). Got too beat up to fish anymore and decided if I had to pay rent/mortgage I oughta live in the home. Quit the road work. Retired from working in security in 2019 and since then have happily collecting pensions and swimming in Masters competitions. In between that I managed to squeeze in some logging and jail time. Thanks for putting on the pool, it's one of the many pleasures in my life. Be kind to Sandra, she's my only support in the pool." Thank you for your intro Neil and we are glad you no longer have crabs.
The Rotters Report
Two well known songs that don’t mean what they seemI have had the first song rattling around in my pea brain for a couple of days now. Maybe writing about it will get out my mind and seed it into yours.
The first song is the Australian folk song, Waltzing Matilda. No, it is not about someone dancing with an Australian girl named Matilda. First, some Aussie word meanings: a swagman is a hobo; a billy is a tin pot to boil or cook food; a billabong is a deep water pool; a tucker bag is for carrying food; a jumbuck is a sheep and squatter is a rancher/settler. So when you’re waltzing in Aussie land, you are hiking through the bush. If you are wearing a back pack, it is called a Matilda. Hence, you are hiking through the bush wearing your back pack. Now that you know the meaning, click here to listen to the song. Slim Dusty - Waltzing Matilda - YouTube
Note: There is another Australian song with the phrase Waltzing Matilda in it. The song is “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and is about Australian soldiers (and Kiwis) going to and returning from the disastrous WWI battle, Gallipoli. Eric Bogle - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - YouTube
The second song is a Neil Diamond song, Cracklin’ Rosie. The song is not about a woman named Rosie. When Neil was touring in Canada, he heard about a northern indigenous community where the men outnumbered the women 3 to 1. So the men without dates for Saturday night would go to the liquor store and buy a cheap wine named Crackling Rosé. The wine was their date for the night and would make them happy for awhile. Now that you know the meaning, click here to listen to the song. Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie (Live At Madison Square Garden / 2008) - YouTube
Note: "Crackling Rosé" is the name of an inexpensive sparkling wine once produced by Andres Wines of British Columbia, Canada, which was popular among the Indigenous population.
The Email of Hope
TTTMan has surged into the lead in the Email of Hope standings with 10 EoH. There are 4 Franchises tied
for second with 6 Emails of Hope each. They are: Jet Picker; Watt’s Up and Oldhusky.270 and Show Your TDs. For those of you who
wish to see the complete Email of Hope standings, please click
here. Note: the winning dollar amounts are a week behind as the winners are not known at time of writing.
The Monica Award - Brady Bunch almost made it into
the money this week. Also, in breaking news, I almost dated Taylor Swift. For me it was Travis Kelse who scooped me and for Davis
it was the Taints that scored 6 more points than he did. I know how disappointed I was so I can only imagine his pain.
The POW Award - I thought I had an early winner in this week's POW award. Athletes Foot was the lone franchise to pick Cleveland (30 points) while the average value for the 49ers was about 85 points which made this pick worth about 115 per franchise for Kyle and great value for him. I am glad I did not start writing this area before the Jets soared over the Eagles. The Jetpicker had this game for 200 points, (again the only franchise rash enough to pick them) while the average value for Philadelphia was about 62 points which makes this pick worth about 262 points per franchise to Andrew. This is turned Athletes Foot into Foot Fungus and JP easily won the Play of the Week. BTW - Well done on the "Rash" pun Rick.
The Celler Dweller - Jamacia Flava ended up with a bad taste in his mouth this week. Possibly it is the rancid tang of rotten 49er with a bitter tang of putrid Eagle. He did not write in to tell me his feelings about his less then stellar week but somehow I cannot imagine that he is thrilled. In truth he earned almost 400 points so the week was not a total disaster but he lost a bit of ground for sure.
Without further ado, this weeks winners, and we honour and congratulate them are....
1st - TTTMan As always Frank did not respond to his EofH He is our first repeat winner this season.
2nd - Shifty - Fred wrote in to me, "Let's go! Watch out Shifty is shifty." About two weeks ago over breakfast he was cursing me out for getting him in to this horribly frustrating pool. Make up your mind man!
3rd - Geofferson Starship - Geoffery did not respond. This is his first winnings in the pool.
4th - New Orleans Taints - Alan also did not respond. In his second season he is no longer a virgin in the pool. I hope he does better in real life.
This week's quote is from Jonny Carson, former host of the Tonight show who said, "Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president.
'Til next week then...
The Rhino
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