Nemmers Scrum

Hello Footballers,

Well, this week was full of craziness.  With the Cincy tie and the stunning Cowboys upset in Seattle (So much for the Legion of Boom!), our pool is starting to see some shake-up.  A quick check of the rules page  (Rule #4) clearly states that a tie is not a win, and counts as a strike.  Sadly, this means that Dana H. has been eliminated, and that Howie and Uncle Bill both have a strike.  I’m betting Dana’s Cross country team qualifying for state (woot!) more than made up for it.  Good luck, Dana!

The Cowboys ended the game for Mary, and gave a strike to a few others.  This leaves Adam and Gerri as the only two players without a strike.  Adam and Gerri?  I’m sure the Hergenrothers and Sherburnes have something to say about that.

Looking ahead:  This coming weekend I am going to be out of the reach of the internet (Don’t laugh, Dianne, I’ll be at a sheep and wool festival), and so Kevin has graciously agreed to put together the sheet and post the picks.  That being said, please send picks to him.   Also, the Thursday game is Jets/Pats – so get your pick in before kick off if that’s the one you want to go with.

Good luck to everyone!

Hello Footballers,

I don’t know if it was the blood moon, or we’re all just busy, but there were a lot of bumps in getting this picks in this week:  people flipped and flopped, people were busy cheering for siblings who were qualifying for state championships, and some people got back from world traveling and figured they might need a personal invitation now that they’re so fancy schmancy (ahem…Bill…ahem).

But, the picks are all in.  Lots of choices this week, all seem pretty safe.  Which means someone will get a surprise, right?  Well, all the best to everyone anyway.

Hello Footballers,

I hope you are having a good week.  I have been distracted by some mighty exciting Missouri-based baseball, and lost track of this post.  I also had to wait to the end of the Monday Night Game, which always throws me a bit off.

Enough with the excuses.  This week everyone won except those of us who put our faith in a team that had a horrible kicker.  The Lions let down Joel, Grandpa Bill, and me.  It was the biggest bummer for Grandpa, as he is now eliminated from the pool.  So so sad to see him be eliminated.  More time to focus on the Royals and Mizzou football, I guess.  With the two of us new to the “one strike” club, we’re down to  7 perfect guessers left.  (Too many of them have the last name Hergenrother or Sherburne…let’s get these guys!).

The results are below.    This week’s Thursday game is the Colts and Texans.  If you want to pick either of these teams, I’ll need to know before kick off.  This plan worked pretty good last week for Paul and Stephanie, so don’t discount the Thursday game.  Otherwise, by end of day Friday.

Thanks for your picks!

Well Hello Footballers,

Yesterday in Dallas was busy….5Ks and pinantas and lots of fun in between…. Needless to say, there were no football picks being posted.

Six different teams are picked this week – including the Thursday night game.  So Paul and Stephanie can rest easy today while the rest of us sweat it out.  Speaking of resting easy –  I hope Gerri is home and resting easy after her hip surgery. Glad to see that it hasn’t inhibited her ability to make picks!   Wishing you a speedy recovery for sure.

Oh, and there are birthdays – Adam and Dana both had birthdays in the last couple of days, and I turned the big 4-0.  (No offense to mom, but I swear I am a lot younger at 40 then she seemed to when I was 10 and she turned 40…I can only imagine how old my kids must think I am – hah!)

And, if you’re wondering, our daily lives are not really being impacted by the whole Ebola thing.  That hospital is only about 5 miles from us, but really, the reasons that half the city shut down last week was because of terrible storms.  Thankfully, we were also not impacted by that, but lots of our neighbors, and schools are still without power.  But, the Manteeth are good.

Ok, here’s the picks.  Good luck to everyone!

Hello Footballers,

Well, this week almost everyone got it right.  Sadly, I didn’t have much fun watching football on Sunday because our beloved Steelers were a bit too unpredictable. The start – a disaster, the 2nd quarter – amazing, the second half: well the slow slide into a loss was just too much to watch.  Beyond my own sadness, it also meant a strike for Tyler and Sydney.  For Sydney, this was the end – strike 2. A bummer to see you go, Sydney.

And, with that we are down to 17 players, 8 of which have one strike.

The Thursday night game for week 5 is Vikings vs. Green Bay.  If you are picking one of these teams, I need your pick by kickoff, otherwise – end of day Friday.

On a side note, this Saturday is the big 5K at the school, so if picks don’t come out on Friday night, it might be late Saturday or even Sunday before you see them.  (If you feel like donating to our cause:  https://www.crowdrise.com/wildcatprowl and Vi is on the Third Grade Team)  Either way, wish us fast feet and nice weather.

Happy Football, everyone!

Well hello Footballers!

+++ Corrections +++  Gerri and Joel Pick INDY – (Cincy was last week, I just looked at the wrong email!).  Please note the corrected form below!

Except for the homer calls of the Leftons (That’d be Gerri and Joel) in Cincinnati, the AWESOME Steeler’s pick by Tyler and Sydney, and the bold choice of the Lions by Stephanie, the rest of us were lemmings in the sea of 13.5 point spreads.  Seemed like a logical guess for so many of us to play safe and go with the Chargers this week.

Also, there’s a programming note on strikes.  The official’s review of last week’s picks revealed that despite Dana’s winning pick of the Eagles in week 3, she had already used that team, so she was given a strike.  The new list reflects that change.

I hope everyone is having a good fall.  The Manteeth are kicking it into overdrive for the next 6 or 7 days, so be patient if things are a little bumpy.  Someone in this house is turning the big 4-0, and then the kids have a giant fund raiser 5K race at the elementary school which has pretty much consumed every ounce of free time.  If you were in town, I would force all of you to run in it!

Anyway, have a great week, and I’ll post results on Tuesday.

Hello Footballers,

With only one person taking a strike this week (Sorry, Stephanie), I think we are all finally getting in to the swing of this season.  Although, I’m sure there was some nail biting going on at some point for everyone except Joel and Atlanta’s Thursday night blowout over Tampa Bay.  And, no eliminations – so yay!

So this Thursday night is New York Football Giants vs. The-team-that-must-not-be-named from D.C.  If you’re gonna go with this game, please have your pick in before kickoff.  Otherwise, I need ’em by the end of the day Friday.

Good Afternoon Footballers!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  We are in school activity super-drive now:  soccer, end of swim season pool clean up, final push for the Elementary School 5k and fundraiser, play dates with kids spread across the metroplex, and a little bit of work thrown in to keep in interesting.  Needless to say, it took a little while this morning to get the pick sheet put together.

But, here it is.  Joel shows his big brain by picking early and correctly with Atlanta on Thursday.  For almost everyone else it comes down to the Patriots and the Colts.  Just seems to me like a team with an emblem of a horseshoe and a QB named Luck should be able to pull off a win.

This is your last reminder to pay up.  After this week, I’m gonna start sending out my local goons to knife your tires or toilet paper your lawn or something.  Just get the $$ to Texas, people.

Have a great week.

Hello Footballers,

Well, week 2 is in the books and we already have some red marks on the pick sheet.  With the surprising losses of New Orleans and San Francisco, lots of people took hits. And, Tennessee losing didn’t help anybody either.

So, we’re saying goodbye to Barry, Charlie N., Jim, Sam and Whoosie.  And, 3 new players have a strike: Bailey, Sydney and Kevin. I’m not sure how the rest of you feel, but it is weird to have Dad (Charlie N) eliminated so early.  How are we gonna play “Get Dad” if he isn’t even in the running? Dark times, man, dark times. If you’ve been eliminated and want to be removed from the emails, please let me know. Otherwise, I’ll leave you in.

Speaking of sloppy, Roger Godell isn’t the only commissioner that has messed up in recent weeks.  I had two BIG, BIG clerical errors this past week that need remedy:  First off, my Aunt Gerri is GeRRi, with 2 r’s.  I had it wrong EVERYWHERE.  And, while it is wrong and I am sorry and will get it right moving forward, the rest of you are on notice for not nicely pointing this out to me before I completely blew it. Sorry, Gerri.

Error two was that when I put in Stephanie and Sam’s picks for week two, I put the wrong pick in for Sam. The sheet said AZ, but really he picked SF, which eliminated him from the pool.  And, like a stand up dude he is; he pointed it out to me anyway.  So again, sorry, Sam. I’ve invited Sam to continue playing for fun if he wants to. The first year playing sometimes can be a little tough, and that’s before the person entering the picks into the system screws it up.

Ok. Week 3 is coming at us. The Thursday night game is Tampa Bay at Atlanta, so if you want one of those teams, make your pick before kick off Thursday.  Otherwise, picks are due by end of day Friday.

Hello Footballers, Here are the picks for this week.  Green Bay and New Orleans seem to be popular picks, which is weird, as they both lost in week 1.  Good luck to everyone.

Because the pool has widened a bit over the years, I thought it might be helpful if I explained who everyone is.  That way, when we say “Ok, everyone cheer against Bill N.”  – you’d know who that is if you don’t already. (But, if you don’t, it’s still ok to cheer against Uncle Bill…)

Originally, the only rule for playing in the pool was that you had to be related to me in some shape or form.  A couple of exceptions have been made over the years, but I am also related to a lot of people, so sometimes it can be a bit confusing.

Kevin and I are the starting point for this picture.  Kevin’s dad is Jim M. (Arlington, TX.  Cowboys Fan).   Kevin’s uncle and aunt (on his mom Suzanne’s side) are John and Margie Sherburne (San Antonio, TX, and since the Spurs don’t play football, they just go with the big spreads).

My siblings that are playing the pool are Adam and Dianne.  Adam (Springfield, MO) is parent to 2 other pool players, Tyler and Bailey, and new addition to the Scrum, Sydney, is Tyler’s girlfriend.  She’s like an extra kid in that family, and that’s close enough for my rules.  Glad she’s on board.

Dianne is married to Paul (Champaign, IL), and their two kids, Charlie H. and Dana play too.  Paul keeps me on my toes because he usually has his pick in by noon on Tuesday.

My dad is Charlie N.  (Columbia, MO).  He likes to send his picks in code, so I am lucky that so far I haven’t screwed one up.

Bill P. (Columbia, MO) is my grandpa.  Don’t let the fact that he’s older than Johnny Unitas fool you – he’s got game.  And, really, this whole pool is so that I have an excuse to call him on Fridays all fall.  Barry O. is grandpa’s friend.  That’s the only other rule now about being in the pool…If Grandpa Bill says you’re in:  you’re in!

Grandpa Bill’s daughter Geri is married to Joel.  They are my aunt and uncle and live in Cincy.  They are the sleepers of this pool.  Before you know it, Joel may have run away with all the winnings.

On the Nemmers side are my dad’s siblings, my aunts and uncles:

Bill N. (Minneapolis, MN).   I don’t like Bill right now because he is going to Portugal and didn’t invite me.  But, maybe he will redeem himself by sending a postcard.

Whoosie (DesMoines, IA).  While her actual name is Virginia, she’s Whoosie to me.  She’s just “retired”, so I am envisioning her pouring over tables and charts of NFL stats each week to make her pick – or just going with the jersey and fan base she likes best.

Mary and Howie Senn (Ft. Collins, CO).  These are the people that introduced me to Kevin.  If you talk to them for long they will try and convince you to move to CO.   Their daughter is Stephanie C. (Florence, CO).  Stephanie was my compadre at the kid’s table for most big family meals of my childhood.  And, she has the best hair of anyone in the pool.  Her son Sam has taken a break from raising prize winning livestock to join in with us too.

I think that’s everyone.  Now, when Barry goes all the way to the end by picking the Browns, you won’t be all like, “Who is that Barry guy again?”

Ok, have a happy Sunday of football watching.