Nemmers Scrum

Hello Footballers,

I sure hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  Somehow between the turkey, pie and all the other stuff, the Texas branch of this pool never really sorted out what happens if no one is eliminated before the playoffs – so would some of you go on and lose already?

This week, our fearless pickers have eschewed flyover country and stuck with states that border the the country:  Bills, Giants, Dolphins, Saints, Raiders and Seahawks.  And, Paul squeaked in his Dallas pick – and was happy for a Daksgiving on Thursday with the Cowboys impressive win over the Redskins.

Anyway, enjoy the games.  I hope you all are still full and happy from Thursday!

With the Giants win over the Bears this past weekend, many players advanced.  Celia wasn’t as lucky, as Cincy fell to Buffalo and she’s been eliminated.

For those keeping score, there are 11 people still standing. The strongest contingents remaining are the Senn Clan – with Howie, Mary, Stephanie and Sam still all in it, and the Hergenrothers with Paul, Dianne and Dana all going strong. Somehow, Bill is still without a strike, and then Tyler, Charlie N and Gerri round out the crew of players still in this thing.

As there are so many people left so late in the year, AND we have no Texas players left in the pool, AND said Texas players will all be hanging out together the next couple days,  Kevin, Jim, John, Margie and I are going to kick around some ideas to see if we can come up with a fair way to break a tie if there is one.  You should all know that going in to this discussion, Margie’s suggestion was, “Let’s just buy more trophies!” and Emily’s was, “Let’s see who can do the most push ups.”  Hopefully the guys will bring some insight.  But, if you have any ideas, feel free to share when you send in your picks.

Speaking of picks – 3 early games this week, so you might want to make a decision right away. Thursday games include:  Vikings/Lions,  Redskins/Cowboys,  and Steelers/Colts.  Picks need to be in before kick-off…..although I might not respond much tomorrow – I’ve got a bird to cook.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody.  Of the many wonderful things I am thankful for, this  silly football pool is near the top.  Just hearing from all of you each week is great…it makes me feel like we are all connected even being far away.  I hope you all get lots of turkey and pie and laughter and peace over the next couple of days!  Love you all!!!!

Hello Footballers,

I hope you are having a good weekend.  Do you know right where your stretchy-waist pants are, here in time for Thanksgiving?  As I was typing this I was thinking about   Thanksgiving 2015.  Aside from tons of family and a bit of rain, we also awarded the Football Pool Victory Trophy.  Yeah, that’s right.  Last year at this time we were DONE – and this year, we’ve still got 11 people in the pool.

But, this week 5 could meet their end, and 2 get their first strike with a Bears win over the Giants. In one amazing comeback, Jay Cutler could wipe out our football pool.  Jay Cutler.  Just saying!

And, just to keep in interesting, Stephanie’s game pick (Oakland) doesn’t play until Monday night, so we’ll all be in suspense until then.

Thanks for playing!  Go Steelers!

Hello Footballers,

This was an exciting week of football, but if you are a Steelers fan – it was exciting for all the wrong reasons.  That fake intentional grounding/touchdown play to take the lead was awesome. (“Shades of Marino!” says Buck).  Stupid Cowboys.

Anyway, this week the pool sadly says goodbye to Whoosie.  Hey – at least you got the Cubs, right?  And, with her bold pick of the Chargers, Dana takes her first strike.  Stephanie, Paul and Bill are still picking perfectly.  It gets harder every week, but they seem to just get smarter to go along with it.  Nice work, guys.

Ok, the Thursday game this week is Saints and Panthers.  If you are going with that game, I need your choice by Kickoff.  Otherwise, by end of day Friday. This week you need to get your picks in without reminders.  If you are one of the people that I am tracking down every Saturday – set yourself an alarm – right now – to put your pick in on Friday.  Really, I know you can do it!

I am headed to Salt Lake City for work in the morning – word has it that it is going to snow when I am there.  For someone who has been in Texas for 20 years, snow in November seems really weird.  But, not as weird as Bill leading the football pool.

Hello Footballers,

Here we are at week 10 and still have more than half the pool still standing.  And, for Paul, Dianne and Howie, they can rest easy tomorrow as Baltimore’s convincing win on Thursday puts another one in the win column.

For others of us – this is a big week – The Steelers vs. Cowboys.  Will Rothlesburger deliver?  Will Dak Prescott feel the weight of the Steel Curtain?  Who can say?  But, I am glad that no one picked that game this week.

Happy Footballing!

And, just like that….there are no more Texas residents left in the football pool.  With the Green Bay loss this past weekend, Jim and Charlie H have been eliminated.  Being born in Austin, I was claiming Charlie H. as part of our Lone Star contingency….but I guess that doesn’t count for much now.  Mary Senn also got her first strike.

So, he we are, 9 weeks of picking under our belts.  10 have been eliminated, but impressively 4 don’t have a single strike.  Hats off to Dana, Paul, Bill (wait, what?) and Stephanie.  Double hat tip for Steph, who gets her picks in every week with military-like precision.

Tonight’s game is Browns/Ravens.  If you want that one – then I need your pick before Kickoff.  Otherwise, take a gander at this week’s lineups and get those picks in by end of day Friday.  With the World Series and the election behind us, I finally have time to focus on football…..too bad I’m not in the pool to do anything with that knowledge.

Hello Footballers,

We’re all running a little late this weekend….but here you go.  6 different pics, but Dallas, Kansas City and Green Bay are the games that have the chance to make the biggest impact.

Oh, by the way – Cubs Win!!!!!

Hello Footballers,

Well, we had some shakeup in Week 8. And, with it we saw the end of the run for Kevin, Joel and Chad.  I feel especially bad for Chad, as a tie is the worst way to go.  Thanks for playing, fellas.  We’ll see you in 2017.

And, with the Bears victory over Minnesota on Monday night, Whoosie and Jim both pick up their first strike. A tough blow for Whoosie, who picked against her Bears only to have them win….and a tough blow for Jim, who impressively hadn’t had a strike since week 2 of 2015.  His impressive streak of 16 games has come to an end.  Sorry, Jim.

Did anyone else catch the Bears/Minn game?  They honored Dick Butkus, which always reminds me of the story of when Bill and my dad were kids and were measuring their calves to see if they had muscles as big as Dick Butkus.

Ok, I digress….

Thursday night this week is Atlanta at Tampa Bay.  If you’re going with that one, then I need your pick by Thursday night kick off.  Otherwise, by end of day Friday.

There are  5 people with a perfect record this year….and two of them have the last name Hergenrother.  Well done to Paul and Dana, as well as the other perfect-pickers: Stephanie, Mary  and Bill (wait, what? Bill? That can’t be right. Uh, I guess it is.)  Well done!