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!

It’s time to get this party started! Welcome to the 2026 Nemmers Scrum football pool!

This season we have 17 players signed up. Late additions could still come as long as they get their picks in before the weekend.

This season we are mixing things up to bring the fun. We will pick three games each week – 1 close game, 1 TV game of the week, and 1 wacky pick. Thank you for participating in my diabolical experiments.

Here are your contests for this first week of the pool (NFL Week 4)

• Chiefs @ Raiders
• Broncos @ 49ers
• Mascot rumble: DEN Thunder (Miles) vs SF Sourdough Sam

That last match up is a hypothetical battle between the Denver and San Francisco mascots. In a head-to-head battle, can a short gold rush digger with a pick axe take down a charging bronco? Or would he be trampled before he could get out of the way? Tell me your pick on who wins this contest and why. I will share the results and the rationale after the weekend. There will be an absolute winner to this silly contest.

Reminder: 1 point per victory and 2 bonus points if you win all three.

Picks are due Friday midnight.

Let’s go!!

Kevin

Hello everyone! We are getting a late start this year due to too much travel. We are back from down under and ready to relaunch the football pool! I hope you are with us again this season.

This year, I am shaking things up adding some emphasis on the Fun & Easy and to see if we can keep more people alive in the game throughout the season. The goal is simple picks and more fun. It will be an experiment, but I hope everyone will join in.

We are doing a variation of our 3-pick pool with a few significant twists. I will send out a list of 3 games each week. We each make our 3 picks worth 1 point each. If you get all three correct, you receive 2 bonus points for the week. The three games will be based on:

• Pick #1: a TV game of the week
• Pick #2: a tight game
• Pick #3: one crazy pick. The latter will be a ridiculous semi-football-adjacent question. Trust me – this will make sense and be fun

The season will be 12 weeks long starting in NFL Week 4 (Oct 1). Like your favorite game shows, scores will double after 9 weeks, and triple on the final week.

The Rules:

• Pick winners in 3 designated matches each week. I will send out the game list early in the week.
• 1 point for each win (zero points for a tie)
• 2 bonus points if you pick all three winners (weekly max 5 points)
• Game points will escalate at the end of the season (rising stakes) with double scores in NFL week 13 and 14, triple scores in NFL week 15
• Person with most points at the end of 12 weeks wins the pot and a shiny trophy. 
• $10 to play the season. 

The football pool starts on October 1 (next week). 

Interested? Send me an email or text to get you on the list and then shoot me a crisp Hamilton ($10) or beam it via the interwebs using PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle. I excel at accepting money, so I’ll take whatever method you choose.

I included a long list of family in this email, but I don’t have email addresses for everyone. If someone in your household wants to play, they’re invited. Forward the email or have them give me a shout.

I’m excited to see how this season unfolds. I hope you’re all with us!

So… are you in? Reply back and lemme know!

cheers

Kevin

We’ve made it to the finish line for the 2025 season! When I switched to this format, I expected a lot of people to be done by week 6 and for the pool to be decided between weeks 12-14. I did not expect three survivors to be battling it out in the final two weeks. I especially did not anticipate the tie breakers to come within a single family!

Going into week 17, we had two players with zero strikes and one player with a single strike. I added extra picks to week 17 to shake things up and delivered one strike off that third selection. Coming into week 18, the Sherburne family knew a trophy was coming to San Antonio – but whose name would it bear?

For week 18, Remi and Margie were tied with one strike and each chose a different path. The Vikings pick panned out nicely for Remi, but Margie’s Cowboy pick was a dud as the team shut itself down at the half. John, on the other hand, had visions of a utopia where three Sherburnes held the trophy together in family bliss. He picked the worst team possible to ensure a sacrificial first strike and family tie. BA cynic like me knows these things never work out as planned. His Raiders knocked off last year’s AFC Champion Chiefs to close out the season. In the end, Margie was eliminated, Remi survived the pool with one strike, but John prevailed as the undefeated winner.

Somehow, he managed to keep a clean sheet even while trying to sabotage his own game. It was that kind of season. His research and analytics are superb and I expect a 10% cut of his winnings if he applies his strategy to the bigger gambling sites next season!

Here is the final standings. Congratulation to Remi for surviving the season and biggest accolades to John for becoming the Nemmers Scrum Champion of 2025! A trophy and a giant pile of $20 bills will be headed to your mailbox soon.

Thanks everyone for participating. It was a surprising and crazy season. We will likely mix up the format in some way again next year. Stay tuned and keep those suggestions coming!

Happy new year!

Kevin

Happy new year! The commissioner’s health took a turn upon reentering Texas, so I’ve been a little slow on the pool updates. 

I forced the Sherburnes to pick three teams for week 17 to try and break the tie. My beloved Steelers collapsed and served Margie her first strike. That leaves John in the lead with no stikes with Remi and Margie close behind.

This week is complicated since so many teams are sitting starters or tanking in the final week. The teams left trying were used long ago. Therefore, the Sherburnes opted to issue a single pick this week rather than letting this get too random. They each picked a different team, which makes it more interesting.

Good luck Sherburnes!

With two teams in play, who would have guessed that the 14-point favorite Texans might struggle against the Raiders and the lowly Saints would be the powerhouse to run away with an easy victory?

We roll forward with yet another (yawn) quiet week in the scrum. The Sherburnes are just too good at this game.

It is time to spice it up! But first, here are the current standings.

WIth two weeks remaining to declare a winner, we will now up the stakes. For week 17, each player will pick THREE teams ranked in order of preference. After the games, I will evaluate everyone’s top pick first for strikes and then move to the second and so forth. Perhaps this will force a couple riskier picks and help shake up the standings. Assuming players survive the weekend, next week we will have the ultimate showdown with each player ranking another handful of picks to determine a winner. A player may slot their bye in any position, if desired.

Picks are due Thursday morning before kick-off if you’re choosing any of the Christmas day games. Otherwise, the usual Friday night works.

Good luck!