Nemmers Scrum

Hello Footballers,

Clearly this is Molly’s world and we are all just living in it. Congrats to Molly and Dana on their perfect 5 point picks this past week. I am impressed by their excellent guessing, and baffled by my own continued struggles (third week of 3 wrong games for me).  With her repeated success, Molly has pulled ahead even further and now has more than a week’s lead on the rest of the pack.  I’m not sure what the Scrum term is for “The leader is lapping the rest of the pack,” but this is what is happening.

So…what can we do but try again next week.  The picks for week 6 are:

Jaguars v. Colts
Bengals v. Saints
Bills v. Chiefs

As for pictures this week – we’ll send a Happy Birthday to Charlie N with this cute picture Adam sent me a couple weeks back (I hope you get lots of kisses from Mom), a Happy 3rd Anniversary to Tyler (and Sydney), and a Happy “Holy Crap I just hugged Jerome Bettis!” to Dianne and Paul.

Have a great week! GO STEELERS (They need all the help they can get.)

Hello Footballers,

Well, if the NFL is anything like Major League Baseball, we are in for a crazy weekend.

What I did notice is that Molly and Paul have the EXACT OPPOSITE picks.  So, either Paul closes the gap, or Molly pulls ahead. I’ve got the same picks as Paul, so I know who I am pulling for.

Also – a tiny administrative update – last week I shorted Dan a point.  That has been corrected, and he is now represented correctly.  Sorry about that, Dan.  This is probably a notice for everyone else to make sure to check my work each week.

This weekend, Kevin, Violet and I came up to Missouri to visit Fletcher and have been enjoying the glorious fall weather and wandering in a campus town.  So fun to be a college kid. Here’s a couple pictures from our adventures

Hello Footballers,

When the Bills v Ravens game ended in a crazy double-bonk field goal miss, Celia texted me, “How do you pick these games?”  My formula isn’t too scientific: a little bit on the spreads, game timing (no Thursdays, try not to do Monday night), teams we haven’t had to choose from in recent weeks, and teams I like to cheer for.  But Bailey has it all figured out, in a kind of Slumdog-Millionaire-Everything-Is-Related kind of way.  This week’s example, “Bills…because I want those dolla-bills.” Makes sense to me!

Congrats to the perfect pickers in week 4: Madison and Heidi. It was a tough week full of surprises, so nice work! And lots of people with solid 4-point weeks as well. The pool is still being shook up. Week 5 will be no different. In the meantime, Molly continues her domination, even a week at zero can’t hold her back.

This week will be the following games:

Chargers v. Browns
Lions v. Patriots
Dolphins v. Jets

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  We’re excited at our adventures ahead.  GO STEELERS!!!

Hello Footballers,

I think fall has finally made it to Dallas. Kevin and I sat out last night and had a drink with friends last evening and I had to put on a sweater.  A sweater!  It’s happening!!!!!

Anyway….football. Lots of good picks all over the board. We’ve got 4 of the 6 teams chosen as the super pick, with about half of us going with the Bills v. Ravens for the heavy hitter.  Lots of variation near the top of the pack too…so there will be some shuffling in one way or another when it is all said and done.

Also – thanks to so many for the birthday wishes with the picks (and thanks Dad for the shout out).  We had a great evening out for a fancy dinner and home for delicious cake on Friday.  Here’s a picture of me at my book club this week where we celebrated with pie AND cake.  Yay for me!

Also – happy birthday to Adam and to Dana, who both officially celebrate tomorrow.  Here’s a pick of Adam in his role as Pops with Brooks, and Dana on her adventures this summer in the Philippines.

Have a great weekend and week, everyone!  Go Steelers!!!!

Hello Footballers,

Well it was quite a week.  Major congrats to Stephanie and Fletcher for the first perfect picks of the season.  And – yay for me for finally getting at least one game right.  Despite all of the successes mentioned above, Molly and her impressive 4 point play managed to keep a stranglehold on First Place.  Woo Hoo – way to go Molly. There are a few people on her tail, but still an impressive 3 point lead.

This week, I’m sorry I am so late getting the picks out.  On my list, I had the KC / Tampa Bay game. And I was waiting a little to see what happened with the hurricane.  Rather than wait any longer, I am going to pick another game.  Patrick Mahomes will have to wait another week to be in our pool.

So…for week 4, the games are:

Vikings v. Saints
Titans v. Colts
Bills v. Ravens

The Vikings / Saints game is super early on Sunday (maybe in London), so please make sure to get your picks in on time this week.

Good luck to all, and GO STEELERS!!!!

Hello Footballers,

It should be an interesting week for our third contest.  Five of the six teams were picked as power pick – proving that we once again don’t really know what we are doing.  What we do know is that this was a tough week to pick.  Lots of comments coming in that it was hard this week. We’ll see if Molly can hang on to her impressive 3 point lead, or if Emily can even manage to get on the board.

We’re also a few weeks in, so it is probably time to introduce, and re-introduce the changes in our line up of players this year.  First up, welcome back to Bailey.  Now living in Springfield and crushing it as a graphic designer, she has agreed to come back if for nothing more than to talk smack with her dad and Kevin.  And, I am here for it. Ages ago, when Kevin won the tournament, he gave Bailey a photo of himself laying on the pile of cash as a christmas present.  So anything she dishes his way is well deserved.  hahaha.

Also new this year is Duck.  Formally known as Robert Nemmers, Duck is Bill’s son, my cousin, and nephew to many in this pool.  He lives in Flagstaff, AZ, and in addition to his usual carpentry and general contracting work, he’s helping his business partner to build a house in Pegosa Springs (pictured below).  We got a chance to catch up at Bill’s birthday party in Milwaukee this past June. Duck has been at the kids table with me from our earliest years, and I’m glad we get to have him be part of all this silliness.  The only picture I could find of Bill and Duck isn’t from this past summer, but from 2015 when we were all in San Antonio for Judy and Charlie’s anniversary party.

His building skills might be a little bit genetic, as Grandpa Nemmers was quite the builder, and so is Bill – as is evidenced by the furniture he’s been building in his fancy schmancy new loft in Milwaukee.

With the Steelers game already over this week, I don’t have a cheer – but I hope everyone has a great Sunday and a fantastic week!

Hello Footballers,

Well that was a doozie of a week. Who knew that the Dolphins would use their magical powers to blow up the football pool? I kept hoping that if I waited, that the scores would improve.  But nope, we all pretty much tanked it.  Except – EXCEPT! for Molly with her 4 point domination, and Bailey with her genius counter-move of making the Dolphins her power pick. Way to go ladies!!!

To celebrate, here’s a picture of Molly from last spring’s prom…because not only is she better at picking football, she may also be moonlighting as a movie star…so glamorous!

On the flip side  – I still haven’t managed to pick a single game correctly. Grrr….

Let’s just move on, shall we?

The picks for week 3 are as follows:

Falcons v. Seahawks (The battle of the BIRDS!!!!!)
49ers v. Broncos
Cowboys v. Giants

Get those picks in by end of day Friday.  Go Steelers!!!!!

Hello Footballers,

Lots of common picks here in week two. I’m not sure if my subtle cheers for the Steelers are working, or you all finally have come around to believe- but the Steelers are the clear favorite for this crowd.  Let’s just hope they can deliver. And, not for nothing, all eyes will be on Baltimore – as they were the runaway favorite as the top pick this week.  Maybe Molly will prove us all wrong with her bold MIA pick.

Another small note – I had an administrative error on Tyler’s week 1 picks – I had the wrong one listed as his super pick.  That has been corrected, and he’s now at the front of the pack with all you other smart pickers.

This week, we are celebrating  back to school with some photos of our kiddos who are still working on their education:

Dana and Molly having breakfast together on their first day:

Madison in France (because that’s way cooler than school) but it is her Senior year – go Maddie!!!

Lillegard Girls and Manteeth kiddos at the Rodeo this summer (because it could loosely be described as an educational experience)

Fletcher on his first day

Vi on her first Day

Calvin does not ride a horse to school, but I bet it would be cool if he tried.

Enjoy all the games today.  And thanks for sending all the pics!

Hello Footballers,

Well, for almost everyone, we got off to a pretty good start. No perfect picks here in week one, but a giant helping of 4 point players.  Well done to all you excellent (or maybe just lucky) pickers. And don’t be fooled that Bill is in first place – he just happens to have the letter of his name closest to the front of the alphabet.  Unless we’re talking about advanced age – then yes, records do indicate that Bill is first.

On the flip side of all those amazing 4 point players are the low scores. The only thing worse than my picks this week was the clang of the football ricocheting off the upright in overtime of the Steelers game. At least they went on to win it.  Fingers are crossed that me and Dana both manage to right the ship this week.

The tricky nature of the picking continues in week 2.  I’ll try to keep picking teams we haven’t picked as long as the point spreads cooperate.  You guys keep picking against each other, and we’ll all have a good time.

The games for week 2 are:

Commanders (Redskins) v Lions
Patriots v Steelers
Dolphins v Ravens

Please send your selections by the end of the day on Friday.

While you are mulling those choices, here are a few pictures from our group to see what everyone has been up to.

Dianne and Paul in Bermuda clearly struggling with how to handle having an empty nest for the first time in a quarter century.

Bill’s 80th birthday party – proving that sashes and tiaras aren’t just for beauty pageant contestants. 

And a stop at Pisa on Sherburne’s European Summer Cruise –  making up for missed COVID vacations in the most glorious of locales.

More pictures to come in the weeks ahead. You guys were awesome to send some great stuff.  But, feel free to send more along as the mood strikes you!

Go Steelers!

Emily

Footballers,

It’s fall. We made it.  And now, we get to get along with lots of football, family, and maybe a little bit of trash talking. The picks are in, and it’s great that we have all six teams selected as the “pie-in-the-sky” picks.  (Thanks to Bill for always have a clever name for our power pick) Way to start off strong, guys.  I’m sure it’ll be an interesting season.

First up – let’s one more time celebrate last year’s champion – Gerri Lefton! With 2 wins in the last 4 seasons, she’s as close as it gets to a dynasty around these parts.  May it also serve as a reminder that she may look like a cute and cuddly grandma – but really, she’s a football betting shark, and she will take. you. down.

Next up to our players who are joining us for the first time in awhile, or ever. Welcome back to Tyler and to Bailey – giving some additional power to the cheering block in Missouri.  And welcome to Duck, it’s great that we’ll have you on board: Arizona has now entered the chat  (youngest cousins unite!).

We are also sad that Jim is not here to make picks with us this year.  It won’t be the same around these parts to not get his perspective and strategy each week.  But, I am sure he is picking all Cowboys all the time from his lazy-boy recliner in heaven.

Thanks to everyone who has sent along pictures. There are so many great ones.  I promise to get organized and get more good stuff to you.  But for now, here’s my favorites from the Nemmers reunion at the lake this summer.  Sending good vibes to everyone this fall.  Thanks to everyone for letting football be the glue that keeps us all connected.

GO STEELERS!!!!!!