Week 2 - MNF Update

2 men remain alive for the title of Week 2 Champ heading into the MNF double header tonight.

 SCENARIO 1
Bomb wins with a BAL cover or tie (-6) in game 1 of the double header.
SCENARIO 2
Hammer stays alive with a CIN cover in game 1, and would have to sweat out the late nighter and SD -1 at OAK to try and take home the cash for Week 2. If both the Bengals and Chargers don't cover, then Bomb will be our Week 2 champion.

I'll send out the complete recap tomorrow along with updated standings for the season and Week 3 lines.

RIGHT & WRONG

Here's a quick breakdown of where I was good and where I was bad in regards to the preview picks for this week:

NFL
RIGHT
STL - should have beat the Kittys, but still held on for a cover. Call your friends who had DET in a suicide yesterday and make sure they survived the dreaded 1 and done in their pool.
PHI - I knew they would be flakey as an 8 point road fav but didn't have the balls to pick CLE. 1/2 credit I guess on this one.
SF/GB - I knew the 49ers would be able to put the clamps down on the high powered Paaacker offense, but I didn't expect the 49ers offense to play so well.
TB - loved this game all week, and it played out pretty much as expected. Cam was over hyped and the TB D was underrated once again. Along with my guy Josh Freeman doing just enough to pull out a win.

WRONG
IND - liked what IND offense could do but forgot to consider that the main reason they were terrible last season was that D. Playing against a really good looking Bears offense was not considered in my +9 Indy pick, and that's why it wasn't close.
RG3 - wow. Maybe I'm wrong about this guy. Winning your first career game impressively at NO, which is a top 3 toughest place in the league to play, is very impressive. Not sold yet, but I'll be watching a lot closer next week.
BUF - hated my pick about mid day on Sunday as I read/heard everyone else jumping on BUF as well. NYJ were getting no respect and needed this one way more than BUF did. I still expect BUF to have a better season, but for Sunday I was very much on the wrong side.
PIT - they were lacking a bunch of players due to injury, which I didn't realize. But they just got outplayed. DEN is a tough place to win, but I was surprised at how well the DEN D played. Peyton looked like he hadn't missed a beat - DEN could be team to beat in west.


NCAA
RIGHT
IOWA - that was a tough game to watch. If ISU had a clue they could have scored 2-3 more TD's and made it a laugher. Even with all of the breaks Iowa received, that offense was sooooo inept that they couldn't even see the endzone. The offense looks uncreative and slow...and I love it.
WIS - my friends to the south looked awful, but I think my friends to the east take the cake for worst performance of the week. What the hell happened to this Baaaadger club? They can't run, they can't pass, they can't really do much of anything. The always calm and collected Bert Bielema is preaching patience and stay the course....errr, wait, how about Bert's quick reaction on firing brand new OL coach only 2 games into the season!! Wow...panic button engaged!!
MN - the Gophs actually impressed me and played even better than I had hoped on Saturday. Defensively dominant throughout the game - running the ball at will, and throwing it better than last Thursday. The end results was as comfortable of a win as I have experienced in quite some time with this team. Good stuff.
FLA - this one played out as I expected with the Gators surviving the early rush from the up tempo Aggies and leaning on their D and running game to win it when it counted.
LSU/WASH - what a beatdown. Maybe Sark would be better off saving the theatrics and animal importing for weeks where they play a team that isn't LSU.

WRONG
AUB/MISS ST - AUB offensively seems to be awful. I didn't watch much of their opener and assumed they could put some points on the board. Well, looks like I was wrong. MISST and TE Timmy are undefeated and beat someone from the SEC West not named Ole Miss for the first time in forever.
UCLA - Husker nation couldn't keep up with the Bruins on Saturday night. I thought it might be a scary game, but the athletic ability that UCLA showed on offense was impressive. I knew they had the athletes, always have, but it appears as if Mora is finding the right way to utilize that speed and win some games in LA. NEB wrapped up an awful showing for the B1G in week 2.
GEO - they put the gas down in the 4th quarter and showed MIZZOU what it's like to play SEC football vs. cruising against KAN and TT every week. GEO D went on lock down and the potent offense started to light it up late to help the Dogs put MIZZOU in the cellar to start the SEC season.


All in all it was quite possibly one of the most fun weekends of football in recent memory. Gophers impress and house a bad team for the first time in forever. Iowa and Becky look completely awful and lose a non conference game. Purple looks shaky, but actually doesn't lose a close game in the end, and GB goes down to the 49ers at home. If the next 20 weeks resemble anything close to this, it's going to be a really fun year in 2012.

Week 2 Preview

Not sure about you guys, but nothing says 2012 NFL Kickoff quite like No Doubt. What year is it again? How bizarre was that choice last night? 


Week 2 signals the true start of the Football Challenge with the NFL starting things up for the season. It's interesting to see the different strategies with the game breakouts that each player is going with. A lot of guys seem to gravitate to playing 10 NFL and 5 NCAA, while some do the reverse. I don't necessarily set limits on either when doing my picks and just try to find as many good plays as I can, regardless of the league. But I've never come close to sniffing 1st place, so who knows. With that, here are your previews for the biggest games of the week.

First, here are the most popular picks (5-10 last week):
WIS, NE, DET, NEB, STAN, NYG (L), BUF, BAL, OAK, MIN, ATL, OHIOST, PHI, GEO, HOU(nfl)

Based on last week's results from this group, the less your list looks like this the better off you'll be.

We have 2 early leaders after 1 night, MS and MM picked DAL last night. 10 of you were on the NYG and have started Week 2 in a hole.

MIAMI at KANSAS STATE (-7)
I didn't like Miami last weekend at BC, but the Eagles and their brutal turnovers managed to give that one to the Canes. Miami did look explosive on offense, but defensively I think they are full of holes. I also don't like their chances playing consecutive road games to start the year. KST is solid, I don't think they are 10 win good like last season, as flukey as it was, but I think they are a well coached team that can exploit teams like Miami. I like KST in this on 33-21.

AUBURN at MISSISSIPPI ST (-3)

If you haven't heard, our legendary former leader TE Timmy got a job a couple of weeks ago coaching WR's for Mississippi State in the SEC. Do you think it's a coincidence that in their first game this year, the Bulldogs came out and tripped over their smoke machine and started a giant pile up before even reaching the field for their first game? I don't. I've been waiting for MISS ST to make their big move in the SEC for the last couple of years, and frankly, I'm not convinced it will happen in 2012. Auburn doesn't look like anything special, but they really have owned the Bulldogs the last few years. In fact they have beat them 4 times in a row, including the classic 3-2 victory in Starkville in 2008. That one set football back a few years, and I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that again this season. The only concern I have with AUB is coming into a hostile environment after a tough loss to CLEM last week. But AUB has won here 5 times in a row, and I won't believe in MSU until they prove it to me. AUB wins 13-10.

IOWA STATE at IOWA (-4)

Those of you who have been with us in the Football Challenge for a couple of years know what this is. The "rejected before anybody ever even won it" Cy-Hawk trophy. No matter how many times I see this, I can't help but laugh. Was this trophy supposed to go as a reward to the winner? I think a better use would have been for the loser to be forced to display it for a year in embarrassment. Anyway, this trophy never stuck, but it lives on in my heart every time this game is played. This year's version of the Cy-Hawk game should be interesting...if you're into that sort of thing. The 'Clones looked pretty good against Tulsa last week in what is expected to be a pretty rough season for Paul Rhoads and the boys based on their killer schedule. The mighty Hogeyes had a struggle against NoILL last weekend in game that they really should have lost. Based on what I saw, Vandenberg won't even make it to the B1G season healthy because that line was getting whipped repeatedly by a down NoILL team. Iowa's D played okay, but once again they struggled with a running QB. So what do I expect this week, well, the Hogeyes traditionally struggle with their little sisters from Ames, so it will probably happen again. Honestly, I'm not really sure who the better team is this year. I honestly think the Clones may have an edge offensively, but playing at Kinnick could be the difference. I think a costly turnover or 2 by Iowa's 6th string RB (who is now their starter) costs them late and the Clones start the year 2-0 before losing 9 of their last 10. Clones win 16-12.

FLORIDA at TEXAS A&M

A&M gets to open their SEC slate with a home game against a vulnerable FLA team. I really thought the SEC would be more evil than this to one of their newcomers, but how about this gift...a major program that's a little down and being coached by a man who was supposed to be coaching at A&M's #1 rival right now? This looks like a perfect storm for those in Aggieland...in theory. However, we still have to play the games, and when you look at the matchup it might not be so rosy for the Aggies. So yes, FLA has their problems on offense and appears to not be able to throw the ball much at all with their rotating QB's, but their defense is freaky loaded with athletes and Muschamp can coach D. The Aggies are playing their 1st game of the year after the cancelled tilt last week in Louisiana, so they are a bit of a mystery. We know Kevin Sumlin is their first year coach and he's going to come in and implement the crazy throw it around 75 times kind of offense that he had at Houston. They are also starting a Freshman at QB in this offense. I'm not sure about you, but no matter where this game is being played, I don't want a Freshman leading a team with a brand new throw it every down offense against a defense like Florida. I think that has nightmare written all over it, and will be the difference maker in the game...GATORS 34-21.

WISCONSIN at OREGON STATE (+8)

 

I thought we were going to have a great start to the season with WIS and IOWA going down in week 1, but they both pulled out ugly victories. However, I think the whole world understands that team Becky is no where near the level they have been at the last 2 seasons (but will still get to the B1G title game, damn you OHIOST!). Bert the donkey lost his OC and with that a ton of the staff followed Paul (Jesus) Chryst to PITT, so Bert had to start over with a lot of new coaches this year. A new season also means some new free agent shopping for a QB since Bert is not capable of actually recruiting and developing his own players at the most important position. Bottom line, offense isn't the same, QB isn't the same, team isn't the same. Oregon State is kind of a mysterious team this season. They were terrible last season, but Mike Riley is a good coach and always seems to get this team into a bowl game when you least expect it. Corvallis sounds like a nasty place to play, and Riley has had a lot of success there in the past few years. WIS as an 8 point favorite on the road against a competent opponent seems like a bad bet right now. I'll go Beavers to cover, but Becky narrowly escapes 28-27.

WASHINGTON at LSU (-23.5)

 

I kind of believed in Steve Sarkisian as a decent hire at Washington 3 years ago. But after reviewing his record (19-19) and his latest attempt at motivation (bringing in a bengal tiger to practice because they are playing the Tigers...see what he did there) I have to say he's really just looking like a train wreck. The team has, in my opinion, under achieved since his arrival. And stunts like this are just plain stupid (see Brewster, Tim). The guy seems a lot more rah-rah than a good coach should be, and that could mean disaster in the Bayou this weekend. LSU is loaded. They toyed with NTEX last week and didn't cover but dominated completely when the 1st and 2nd strings were in there. I think LSU's D will dominate...shocker, I know...and the Huskies will end up like Siegfried or was it Roy...whatever. LSU wins 45-14.

NEBRASKA at UCLA (+5)

This is a tough one for me. I really didn't think much of UCLA coming into the season, but they looked impressive last week. They way they beat Rice was better than any performance I can remember from the entire Neuheisel era. So I'm wondering if maybe things are turning the corner. They have players, they can recruit with anyone, but they need leadership and coaching to turn the ship around in a hurry. NEB comes in off an impressive win over SOMISS in which Uncle Rico threw for over 300 yards. However, they lost Burkhead and he looks very questionable for this week. I don't think you can replace that guy, and they won't be able to depend on Rico to throw for all those yards and TD's again this week. However, I can't jump on the UCLA band wagon until they prove something...so I go Huskers 35-24.

GEORGIA at MIZZOU (+3)

Another SEC opener at home for the newbie Tigers...again, I don't get it. GEO looked like crap last week, believe me I watched it intently in Vegas (may have lost a 2nd half wager on it...maybe). MIZZOU, in my opinion should have better luck in year 1 of the SEC because they have a system in place and a coach with experience. I don't think they'll do great, but I kind of like them in this one. This one looks like a total coin flip to me. I don't trust GEO's defense, and I'm not sure I love their running game either. You know the MIZZOU crowd will be ready for the SEC opener, so I think I'll take a doggy on this one and go Tiger in a stunner 24-23.

NEW HAMPSHIRE at GOPHERS (??)

Oh boy, it's that time of year where we welcome in an FCS opponent that is pretty solid and pray to god we don't lose again. Stop me if you've heard this before, but I think this could finally be the year we beat an FCS team like a B1G school is supposed to. Apparently, NH runs a crazy quick tempo offense similar to OKST or ORE without the athletes. I honestly think our defense is improved and we can contain something like this. I know, it's kind of a stretch, but based on the performance I saw in Vegas last Thursday, I think this team has improved. What? 3 OT's to beat UNLV and we're better? Yeah, I think so. You guys know I'm glass half full guy when it comes to my club, but I really can't remember watching us dominate a team running the ball and stopping the run like we did last week. If Gray completes only 1 or 2 of the deep ball misses he had and we don't have the 2 ugly turnovers I think that game could have been very ugly. Obviously, good teams don't do those kinds of things, so we'll see if we can get there...but my hopes are high. This weekend's game will probably be tight, but I think a good start is critical. We should be able to run the ball all day on these guys, so hopefully demoralizing them with that will do the trick. I'll go out on a limb and say GOPHERS 38-20.

NFL - here are some quick hitters in the NFL for Week 1...not nearly the passion around it like I have for NCAA, but I do a hell of a lot better on picking winners in the big leagues!!

IND at CHI (-9): kind of afraid of this one, but taking an underrated Colts team getting 9. Scary thing is an aggressive Bears D could cause some problems, but I think INDY will be better than we think.

JAC at MIN (-3.5): might be the only time all year you can take Purple Team as a home favorite. JAC is a wreck, I know Purple is too, but come on man...Purple win 9-3.

BUF at NYJ (-3): loving me some Bills in this one. I'm not sure how they are getting 3 here...NYJ are not a good looking club and will be a disaster this season. BUF looks like a potential playoff team to me.

MIA at HOU (-12.5): never ever give this many points this early in the season. I know it's a total mismatch, but 12.5 in the NFL is not a good call in week 1. I'll take HOU is I'm forced to pick someone, but I think you're playing with fire if you're betting more than pride on this one.

NE at TEN (+6): a possible live home dog in week 1. NE is great...duh...but I think TEN could be a sneaky play in this one. NE could start slowly and TEN could exploit their D on the ground. I hate Jake Locker, so I didn't put it in my picks, but I'll take TEN if forced to pick a side.

STL at DET (-8): one of my best bets for the week - STL. I really think they are an improved team and I love Fisher as a coach. DET will be a good team, but they aren't good enough to be more than a TD favorite against a potentially decent team like STL. I'll take Rams in a cover.

WAS at NO (-8.5): no matter what you all think, I'm not sold on the legend of RG3. Why? Well, look at Art Briles, his coach at BAY, history with the top NFL picks his QB friendly system has produced...Andre Ware and David Klingler...wow, that's historically bad. He doesn't impress me. NO at home, no matter who is coaching, is a lethal weapon and 40 points waiting to happen. I'll take the 'Aints.

PHI at CLE (+8): large home dog in week 1, another dangerous spot. PHI can be flakey, so I avoided this as a play. But CLE is really awful looking. I'll take PHI.

ATL at KC (+3): another dangerous home dog. I don't think much of KC as a team, but they always play well at home. ATL is notorious for over-hype and bad starts to seasons, so this looks like a tricky spot. However, I'll take ATL.

SF at GB (-5): not sure what to think on this one. I believe a lot of people like SF again this season and they do have a great defense. However, GB at home is very tough. Even though the Pack plays no defense, I'm not sure the 49ers have the power to exploit it. I'll take SF in a grinder to cover 21-20.

SEA at ARI (+3): this is definitely the game, even with free Sunday Ticket for week 1, that I don't think anyone in their right mind should watch. SEA is starting Russell Wilson...k. ARI is starting John Skelton...oh boy. Well, I guess someone has to win, so I'll take the home dog Cards.

CAR at TB (+3): love the Bucs in this one. Only thing going against them is hiring Schiano, but I think they can overcome that to put the first dent in the over-hyped Panthers this year. Really vegas? Cam Newton makes them good enough to be a 3 point fav on the road in a division game in week 1? I don't think so. Give me TB and 3 Cam picks.

PIT at DEN (-1.5): I'm not sure the right team is favored here either. DEN has obviously upgraded a lot at QB, but the rest of the group still isn't that impressive to me. PIT is still a top 3 or 4 AFC team and a nightmare to play against. PIT with points seems like an easy money winner here.

CIN at BAL (-6) I, like most of you, went with the Ravens here for the tiebreaker. I just don't think that much of CIN and I like BAL every year. 

SD at OAK (+1): no a big fan of either of these 2, but I'll take OAK at home getting a point.

9000 words later I finally wrap it up. The first full weekend of the Football Challenge...enjoy it everyone! Good Luck!!

 

Week 1 Recap

Here are the Final Standings from week 1:

• The popular card from last week would have gone 5-10, not exactly in the black.
•  The average score was 12.8 points (6-9 record).
•  In total, we went 167-208 last week for a 44.5% win total. Pretty brutal start by the group as a whole. 
•  9 of the 26 guys finished over .500 (8-7 or better)
•  Only 3 guys were correct on the tiebreaker game, even though it didn't come into play.
• Mike Thomas has built a 6 point lead after 1 week 

I have had a couple of questions about updates throughout the weekend game. I will try to get them out there as frequently as possible, but that is also part of the reason why I give you all the games on the Thursday Preview - so you can score at home if you'd like. I will try and send out an update during the day and at the end of the day on Saturday and the same for Sunday if I am able. Obviously, it won't work out that way every weekend, but I'll update you all via email as much as I can so you can know where you stand.

Week 2 starts tonight - many have submitted picks already, but they are all due by NOON TOMORROW (Thursday).

I don't have an official pick tonight...but I might have a lean against these guys!!

 Good Luck!

Week 1 Preview - Vegas Baby!!

Finally, week 1 is here and I'm off to beautiful Las Vegas in about 12 hours. But before then, let's see what Week 1 of the Football Challenge has in store for us this year. Last year, Tait Nelson dominated his first ever FC Week 1 by going 13-2 and setting a record for the greatest single week in FC history. This may lead you all to believe that week 1 is easy...I guess we'll find out. PAYOUTS $50/week to the winner Reg Season 1st - $800 Reg Season 2nd - $300 Post Season 1st - $300 Bowl Champion - $200 The consensus card for the week looks like this (Top 15 selected teams)(7 way tie for 15th place so I listed them all) ALA OHIOST SC MN STAN NAVY NW ORE MIA PSU FLA TEX MSU NEB BYU WV ISU GEO CLEM OK VT

Each week I'll throw out my thoughts on the big games of the weekend, so here we go: SC AT VAN +7 Vandy is starting to look like a real club that actually can play in the SEC lately. SC is one of the most popular public plays this week, and that should be enough to scare you off. However, 13 of us still went with SC vs. only 4 on VAN this week. I love VAN and think that they have a chance to win it outright. I'm not 100% convinced that Lattimore is back at full-strength, and I think VANDY's home field will provide an edge. I think VAN scares the crap out of an overrated SC team and covers...SC wins 19-17. GOPHERS at UNLV +8.5 11 on Gophs, 4 on Rebels. I'm a believer, once again, that the Gophs are going to start the turnaround process this season and get back to a 5-7 win team that competes with everyone. UNLV should be improved, but it's still a B1G team vs. a MWC team, so one would think if the Gophs play well they can handle this. I think the offense impresses, the D causes a few concerns and Gophs win and cover 31-21. WASU at BYU -13.5 Pirates at Mormons - interesting battle. BYU is pretty solid year in and year out, so I think they have the edge here. Leach and his band of misfit Pirates will be breaking in a brand new system, which usually takes a little time to catch on. I'll take Mormons winning a high scoring - no defense kind of game, 44-28. TN vs. NCST +3.5 in ATL Tennessee has been down, Dooley is on the hot seat, they just dumped a stud WR from the team...one may think this club would respond with an inspired performance. However, I think NCST has some real sleeper potential in the ACC and will play a very solid and fundamental game in true Tom O'Brien style. Tyler Bray will continue to show his struggles, but TN's defense will keep it close. I like NCST to win outright 27-23. Boise at Sparty -7 Boise is a very difficult team to bet against, but with the heavy losses and breaking in a brand new QB against probably the best defense in the B1G looks like a very tough spot to me. Both my Sparty guys are betting on BOISE, which means I like my Sparty pick even more. The new QB Maxwell doesn't scare me because they have a great running game and they always seem to play well in B1G games under Dantonio. I like Sparty 33-23. ND vs. NAVY +16.5 Irish have suspended pretty much half the team for this one and are breaking in a new QB. Oh yeah, and the game is in Dublin and being played in the morning at 6am Vegas time. Who would you expect to handle this unique situation better, a group like ND or a group like NAVY? Exactly. NAVY plays them tough and makes it an easy cover. ND wins 23-17. CLEM vs. AUB +3 at ATL Another game in ATL, and another game where I like the dog. CLEM is without their best player, WR Sammy Watkins, and I feel like they are overrated after the crazy season they had last year. AUB is probably laying in the weeds a little bit after a down year. The AUB defense will be better, it's still an SEC defense. The question is can AUB score points. I think yes, they have a runner back at QB, which can only help the offense. I'll take AUB to win 26-23. MICH vs. ALA -12.5 in Arlington Lots of Bama love from this group, and I agree. MICH is another team riding their success of last year and in my opinion they are overrated. They still don't throw it real well, and good luck trying to just get by with running it against ALA. I know it's a new D with a lot of new faces, but it's still Saban and Smart and this is still a group with about 20 5-star guys on their 3 deep roster. I think ALA will have a plan to contain Robinson and should not have a lot of trouble scoring against MICH. ALA in a laugher 37-14. GT at VT -7 Lots of VT love in this one, our tiebreaker for week 1. I am on the other side of the fence here. I love VT at home in most cases, but not this week. With GT, you know what you're going to get, tough D and the triple option. VT had a nice year, has a pro QB, but they need to rebuild their entire offensive line and replace all relevant skill position players. Their defense should be outstanding, like it is every year, but I don't know if that's enough to beat GT. I think Paul Johnson pulls out a couple new wrinkles in this game to take away the "time to prepare for the option" perceived advantage and puts enough pressure on Thomas to make him buckle as he searches for who his help will be this year. I don't love GT enough to call for a win, but I think it will be very close...VT 19-17. Those are my games of the week. Lots of big lines and non-exciting matchups, but at least Football is back and we're off and rolling with the Football Challenge 2012! Good Luck to everyone - I'll send out a recap on Sunday with where we sit. Below is the grid with all the picks for everyone. They are ordered by gametimes.

Lock in your picks for Week 1

Your time is almost up - in the next 24-26 hours I need your picks in my inbox. So far I have received 3 of the projected 26 entries for this year. DUE BY NOON WEDNESDAY - send me your 15 teams for the week plus your pick in the tiebreaker (GT at VT -7). Good Luck!

*Week 1 Lines*

Here are the official lines for Week 1 of the Football Challenge. This week is unique since we only have NCAA Football going on and no NFL. So we will be picking 15 NCAA games against the spread. Here is how to read the games:

SC  --->road team
VAN  7 -->home team getting 7 points (+7)

If VAN was favored it would be listed as a -7. Top team is always the road team, however some games are neutral site - that will not be called out and up to you to figure out.

The lines are current as of this morning on PINNACLE. The lines in this email will hold, no changes happen in between now and game time for our purposes.

WHAT I NEED FROM YOU:
Send me a list of the 15 teams you want to take for week 1. You cannot take both sides of the same game. Shoot me an email with your 15 teams BY WEDNESDAY AUG 29TH AT NOON. Late entries will not be accepted and you will not have picks for the week. Last year we accepted a few stragglers, but that won't happen this year as many members felt it was unfair for the late guys to have any extra information when making their picks. I will send out a reminder each week if I have not heard from you.

SCORING:
2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss....most points wins the week. Most points for the season wins 1st place.

ENTRY FEE:
Still waiting to hear from these guys on entry fee - for those of you who have already paid or notified me that you are playing and the check is in the mail...THANK YOU. The rest of you...well, let's figure it out by the time next week rolls around. I don't want to be hunting anyone down mid-season. You're big boys, let's figure this out on time.

OGE - need $60
LUKE W
CORCORAN
ROE
KOBOW

Please let me know if you plan on playing and send over your entry fee now.

Finally...here are the lines for Week 1 - good luck gentlemen!!

The NCAA Football season will be kicking off in only 17 days!! What does this mean for you...well, a couple of things:

1) Get me your $100 entry fee in the next 2 weeks if you want in the FC for this year. Here is a list of who has paid:

Matt O'Groske - in for $40 (from last year)
Jeremy Hammon - in for $50 (from last year)
George Thomas - PAID
Steve Schuft - PAID
Cole Peyton - PAID
Jared Groehler - PAID
Chris Stone - PAID
Tony Weber - PAID
Mark Ossanna - PAID
James Rollins - PAID
Greg Rollins - PAID

That means I need payment from a lot of you over the next couple of weeks, here are the guys I have on the list to play but have not paid:

Mike Thomas
Mark Heinert
Mike Setnicker
Rob Olson
Luke Wendlandt
Adam Wendlandt
Mike Corcoran
Mike Roe
Tait Nelson
Joe Adams
Mike Kobow
Mike Mallak
Rod Swenson
Rich Mornson?
Paul Thaden?

2) The lines for week one are already available and moving, but I will send them out to you NEXT WEDNESDAY (AUG 22nd). This will give you one full week to get them in to me. I will be heading out to Vegas on Thursday the 30th, so I'll get the first preview out there before I take off for the weekend. The typical schedule after the opening week will be sending the lines on Tuesday and I'll need them back by EOD Thursday before the Thursday night kickoffs.

Thanks guys.

Football Challenge 2012 - 1 month away!

One month from today, AUG 30th, the Football Challenge will begin for 2012. If you are getting this email it means you are on the list to play this year in FC2012 (please let me know if you will not be playing). I've sent out the rules to all of you already, and now it's time to start getting in the entry fees and get this thing going.

You have 1 month to get me your $100 entry fee for the season. I want to have all of these collected before that opening kickoff on AUG 30th. You can get me cash/check/paypal/or whatever else works for you.

This is the only fee for the entire season and post-season worth of football picks. All money is returned to the players with weekly and season long contests. Those dollar values will be released once we have a complete list of entries for FC2012.

Get entered and start studying!! Only one more month to go!!