Nemmers Scrum

Hello again! We one close contest this weekend and two runaways.

The Texans and Jaguars met up in London. Our pool loved the Jags, but the win went with the minority. Four geniuses looked past the hype and picked against the grain with the winning Texans.

In Green Bay, the Cowboys squared up against the Packers. Three of us decided to be bold and take the Cowboys. That turned out to be a foolish folly. Dallas looked helpless while Green Bay looked like a playoff contender. The Packers ran away with an easy win.

Finally, in our warm London Pub the players debated which would be a more welcome companion, an angry bull or a hungry jaguar. Obviously with just a litter box and many plates of fish and chips, you could turn the hungry jaguar into the pub house cat. But cold hard facts speak otherwise, as it turns out an angry bull would be more at home. Further comments from the Peanut Gallery:

• “The size of the bull would be a disservice to his fighting in a bar, so I would rather be trapped in the bar with the bull as I could get into some small spaces that he could not.”

• “Angry bull! A couple drinks will cool him off”

• “I think when deciding to be stuck with a bull or a jaguar I have to decide if I’m brave enough to take on the animal or if I’m a coward. I am a coward. If a bull was charging I think I could safely hide behind a counter and it would not be able to sniff me out. Therefore I choose the bull.”

The Bull wins 12-5.

The weekend concluded with two players with perfect scores. Congratulations to Emily and Fletcher! And somehow, I ended up sitting alone at the bottom – again! I need to spend less time on these words and more time researching.

Three weeks into the season and the standings are still pretty tight. Violet and John stand at the top, but only six points separate them from the bottom. With Emily and Fletcher’s big weekend, they vaulted themselves from the bottom and into the mix. Well done!

For next week’s match-ups, we first travel to Baltimore on Sunday afternoon for the Bengals and Ravens. Then Sunday night, we go to Seattle to watch the Chiefs take on the defending champ Seahawks.

Our hypothetical this week is straightforward. Seattle is known for its exquisite coffee and cafe culture. Kansas City is known for its barbecue with slow-cooked meat and plenty of sauce. Which do you prefer – a good cup of coffee or a good plate of BBQ?

Week 7 matchups:

• Bengals at Ravens
• Chiefs at Seahawks
• Coffee vs Barbecue

Thanks to everyone for sending in your entry fees. I have it all secured in an underground vault in our backyard.

Picks are due Friday night. This means you!

Kevin

Welcome to week 6. Here we go for our third round of picks!

The weekend kicks off in London on Sunday morning. The lion share of the players went with the Jaguars over the struggling Texans but a handful of people smell an upset. Perhaps their recent addition of Marvin Harrison Jr will add the spark they need.

Even more lopsided were the picks for the Packers to win the battle of the inconsistents. Only a few people picked the Cowboys to have one of their “on” weeks. Will one team lay an egg? Or will they both play to their talent levels? We will have to tune in Sunday night to find out.

Finally, the most important challenge is addressing which creature would be better to be trapped in an English Pub with – an angry bull or a hungry jaguar. Here are compelling arguments for each:

• “I think the confinement of the space would work against the bull. While it would be mad, it would be kind of stuck. Hop behind the bar, or in a pub bathroom, and you’re safe”
• “A jaguar is the better companion. He’s hungry with a bad attitude, but you have an endless supply of fish and chips to win him over. There won’t be much grass in the pub to calm an annoyed bull.”
• “Bull. I am short and can stay way below the bulls eye level and little enough to scoot around confusing him and getting behind others for the bull to focus on. And I would not wear red but would bring red scarves for others in the pub. Great distraction from me”
• “Jaguar- I saw Ricky Bobby control the fear by driving with a jaguar in the passenger seat.  If you’re not first you’re last.

Hmmm… tune in next week to see the results.

Kevin

Hello again! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. We had a good time seeing some of the crew in Kansas City.

Another week is in the books! The Bears hot streak cooled off dramatically while the Packers remembered they have a good team. The Packers rolled over the Bears which upended the pool as only two smart players picked Green Bay. The Bills beat the Rams in an overtime nail-biter Monday night which was a very fun game to watch. And finally, the Ice Bowl won by a landslide (avalanche?) over the Fog Bowl 14-3.

Here are a couple more comments in favor of the Ice Bowl

• “If I was going to watch one of these two games, the only one that I could truly see would be the Ice Bowl. No one SAW the Fog Bowl!“

• “… and STOP, collaborate and listen… ice, ice, baby”

Here are the results from Week 5. We had two players battling for the perfect score last night and Calvin won out. Congratulations on a fantastic week!

Unfortunately, your friendly commissioner and son were both delivered stale donuts for two fat zeros. What a bummer!

Two weeks through, the standings are still fresh a few people have risen to the top. The rest of us have some work to do this week.

For week 6 we have three new matchups to pick. We will do the Sunday morning game which features the Texans and Jaguars from London UK. Then we’ll catch the inconsistent but talented Cowboys take on the inconsistent but talented Packers in Green Bay on Sunday night.

Our unfortunate scenario of the week pays homage to the London game which features Toro the bull from Houston and Jaxson deVille the jaguar from Jacksonville. We set aside the puffy mascots and will use the live animals. If you found yourself trapped in a locked English pub with one of these animals, which would you prefer? An angry bull or a hungry jaguar? Bulls like to charge. Jaguars like to hunt. Neither option is ideal for the average tourist.

Match-ups:

• Houston @ Jacksonville (London)
• Dallas @ Green Bay
• Trapped in a pub with one… angry bull or hungry jaguar? Why?

Get your picks in by Friday night. Thanks to everyone who have sent in their ten bucks. If you are still sitting on a crisp Hamilton, it’s time to pay up!

cheers!

Kevin

Hello from Kansas City! We are traveling this weekend, hanging out with Adam and family for his milestone birthday. It’s been a fantastic time with more good times ahead.

The picks are in! In the first matchup, the picks are a lopsided in favor of the Bears and their backup QB to take down the struggling Packers at Lambeau. I’m honestly not sure what to expect from this game, but the tide of the pool will shift one way or the other with the result. 

The second game was more evenly split across the players. This should be a very interesting game to watch and will likely break up our standings a bit.

The most important match up of the week was a hypothetical of which would be a better TV watch: a replay of the Ice Bowl or the Fog Bowl. Rather than zany responses, I received stories with the picks this week. I love that. Here are a few:

• “I would rather see a repeat of the Ice Bowl, because you would not be able to see the field in the Fog Bowl. Also there is a sentimental reason:  In 1967, when I was too young to care about the NFL, Jim made us all watch the Ice Bowl at the Donna Bell house.  Of course he did, it was the Dallas Cowboys.”  (editor: apparently I was a baby in the room and also present for this event)

• ““I remember watching the TV in fascination as the fog creeped onto the field in the middle of the Fog Bowl. We didn’t know what we were in for. By the second half, the scene was so surreal and you could hardly see anything. Yes it was hard to watch, but it was so cool – I’d happily spend a few hours seeing something like that again!”

• “I remember that game at Soldier Field! I was on a plane flying over it on the way to O’Hare. The pilot mentioned that it was going on while he was commenting about the fog. It was one of the weirdest landings I’ve had as you couldn’t see anything coming down. Only the bump of the wheels gave away the fact we landed. As for the Bears, the fog was a brilliant way to win a game—and for years after people would wonder if maybe they should buy a fog machine to help out their offense.”

• “Ice Bowl because I remember watching that game with my Dad”

We will see whose wishes were valid and which were wrong in two days.

I hope you’ve had a great time celebrating National Hug-a-Kevin Day today. It’s a true celebration of life.

cheers

Kevin

Our first week of the 2026 scrum is in the books! There are some people celebrating the new format and some people shaking their heads. Either way, I’m glad you’re all here for the ride.

The DEN-SF game did not end up as close as we expected. But the Raiders showed up and put a lot of picks at risk. Even though I picked the Chiefs, I found myself rooting for the underdog Raiders to pull off the upset and upend the pool. Alas, reality set in and the Chiefs won again.

But the biggest drama of the weekend was the battle between Thunder/Miles and Sourdough Sam. I received a lot of opinions and good justifications, but a 10-7 vote means it is now a fact… Thunder would in fact run over Sam in a showdown.

Additional comments for the Thunder/Miles supporters:

• “Obviously, the horse is going to win.  Sam would be on the ground before he even managed to raise his pick-axe.  Absolutely no way the horse doesn’t win”
• “Thunder has 900 pounds of sheer muscle that will make a panini out of Sourdough in one easy romp down the field.”

I guess they were right.

Six contestants came away with perfect scores and praise the new format. An equal number came up short and are shaking their fists toward us in Dallas.

We move on to NFL week 5 with the next round of contests:

• Bears @ Packers
• Bills @ Rams
• Pick your modern day rematch… Ice Bowl or Fog Bowl?

For the wacky pick, if you were fortunate enough to watch a modern rematch of either of these playoff spectacles on TV, which would you choose?  The legendary Ice Bowl featuring the Cowboys at Packers in -46 degree wind chill conditions on a frozen field or the haunting Fog Bowl featuring the Eagles at Bears in fog so dense you could hardly see the players? Please include your rationale when you reply!

Stories about the games below (top two!)

https://weather.com/sports-recreation/news/2025-08-28-top-ten-nfl-weather-games

Who ya got? Picks are due Friday night!

cheers

Kevin

p.s. if you haven’t sent in your ten yet, now is the time!