I just checked out the usually lame gophersports.com and they have some new videos they are posting around Spring practice. Seriously, if you're not excited for football season or the start of the Jerry Kill era - please watch these immediately...and you will be ready to go out and take someones head off.
Day 1
http://www.gophersports.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=8400&id=762422&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=&SPID=&DB_OEM_ID=8400
Coaches Profile
http://www.gophersports.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=8400&id=763912&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=&SPID=&DB_OEM_ID=8400
Paste these links in your browser, if that doesn't work go to gophersports.com and you'll see them on the front page. They are called webisodes and they are awesome.
Go Gophs!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
It's been nearly 4 weeks...
So it's been nearly 4 weeks since the last post on the Football Challenge blog. I've switched categories at work and become infinitely more busy for the time being. But there is too much going on to go any longer with some kind of communicado.
1. MM Pool - 4 men entered, and I will keep the cash. Final tally:
JR-67
AW-64
JG-61
SS-61
JG was the only one to even hit 1 F4 team, but he had UConn losing so no more points are possible. Thanks to all of you that made the trip a couple of Saturdays ago - tons of fun as always. I think the next event will be the June golf outing, when we're all getting amped up for football season!!
2. SPRING PRACTICE!!
3 days of Spring ball down for the Gophs. All practices are open to the public this year - a nice touch when you are trying to get more people interested. The Gophs have also made the switch to KFAN for their Saturday broadcasts, which shouldn't hurt their coverage either. So far with Spring ball the headlines have been as follows:
a) Marquies "Q" Gray will be the QB - he's the most advanced on the new schemes and overall ability - physical and mental.
b) Jerry takes no shit from anyone. It sounds like a night and day difference from what the Brew Crew looked like during practice the last 4 years...this is a good thing. Kill sprints around the field encouraging and teaching in a high energy mode all the team. Everything is detailed and fast to get the right pace and the most out of every minute of practice. Bottom line - this is what a real football coach does, which we haven't seen around here in a while.
c) Minnesota Loafers - Kill hammers the guys that aren't giving max effort at all times, so far only 2 are wearing these "Loafer" shirts throughout practice...Michael Carter, not a shock, and a young OL named Eggen. It sounds like during practice these guys don't even really participate and just push around a sled and do brutal drills the whole time - that should be enough motivation to put in the effort I guess.
d) We are slow. Jerry said it after about 2 days of off-season conditioning, we are slow and need to get faster everywhere. I think that is priority #1 beyond learning the schemes this Spring.
e) Spring game is APR 23rd - come check it out. I know there are tickets still available for some of you loyal Purple guys. Odds are we will not see much from that club this year so pick up some Gopher tix, come find us in the tailgating lot, and jump on this bandwagon before it's full in about 3 years!!
JG is heading to VEGAS for a week - be sure to send him every tip you have so the guy can come back with more money than he left with for once in his life!!
Hopefully work will be quieting down over the next few weeks and I'll be sending out more garbage like this.
1. MM Pool - 4 men entered, and I will keep the cash. Final tally:
JR-67
AW-64
JG-61
SS-61
JG was the only one to even hit 1 F4 team, but he had UConn losing so no more points are possible. Thanks to all of you that made the trip a couple of Saturdays ago - tons of fun as always. I think the next event will be the June golf outing, when we're all getting amped up for football season!!
2. SPRING PRACTICE!!
3 days of Spring ball down for the Gophs. All practices are open to the public this year - a nice touch when you are trying to get more people interested. The Gophs have also made the switch to KFAN for their Saturday broadcasts, which shouldn't hurt their coverage either. So far with Spring ball the headlines have been as follows:
a) Marquies "Q" Gray will be the QB - he's the most advanced on the new schemes and overall ability - physical and mental.
b) Jerry takes no shit from anyone. It sounds like a night and day difference from what the Brew Crew looked like during practice the last 4 years...this is a good thing. Kill sprints around the field encouraging and teaching in a high energy mode all the team. Everything is detailed and fast to get the right pace and the most out of every minute of practice. Bottom line - this is what a real football coach does, which we haven't seen around here in a while.
c) Minnesota Loafers - Kill hammers the guys that aren't giving max effort at all times, so far only 2 are wearing these "Loafer" shirts throughout practice...Michael Carter, not a shock, and a young OL named Eggen. It sounds like during practice these guys don't even really participate and just push around a sled and do brutal drills the whole time - that should be enough motivation to put in the effort I guess.
d) We are slow. Jerry said it after about 2 days of off-season conditioning, we are slow and need to get faster everywhere. I think that is priority #1 beyond learning the schemes this Spring.
e) Spring game is APR 23rd - come check it out. I know there are tickets still available for some of you loyal Purple guys. Odds are we will not see much from that club this year so pick up some Gopher tix, come find us in the tailgating lot, and jump on this bandwagon before it's full in about 3 years!!
JG is heading to VEGAS for a week - be sure to send him every tip you have so the guy can come back with more money than he left with for once in his life!!
Hopefully work will be quieting down over the next few weeks and I'll be sending out more garbage like this.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
March Madness & Cards
WHAT: March Madness viewing/gambling party
WHERE: My house (Chanhassen, MN)
WHEN: March 19th - SATURDAY (times TBD)
Bring your cash and some booze and let's wish the winter away together. I'm expecting a lot of cards to be thrown and plenty of side action on the numerous hoops games that Saturday (8-2nd round games running throughout the day).
Put it on your calendar - I'll send out more specifics when I have them. Hope you can make it.
WHERE: My house (Chanhassen, MN)
WHEN: March 19th - SATURDAY (times TBD)
Bring your cash and some booze and let's wish the winter away together. I'm expecting a lot of cards to be thrown and plenty of side action on the numerous hoops games that Saturday (8-2nd round games running throughout the day).
Put it on your calendar - I'll send out more specifics when I have them. Hope you can make it.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Football Challenge - 3 years of improvement
So we've had 3 official years of the Football Challenge in its current form (able to pick from all of the games each week and not a select list), we did a select list of 10 games each week for the 1st 2 years from the NCAA only. I am only truly counting the last 3 years...here's how we have done:
2008 - 48.9% correct (46.5% NFL, 50.4% NCAA) - we only had the original 4 in this season, and we pretty much sucked.
2009 - 51.1% correct (50.5% NFL, 51.5% NCAA) - improvement in all areas including diversity (up to 8 players), which helped our odds. Biggest jump was in NFL success +4%)
2010 - 52.4% correct (54.7% NFL, 50.7% NCAA) - continued improvement with 9 players overall. Our total accuracy jumped an extra 1.3%, and the NFL picks made another astonishing 4.2% improvement. However, we have seen our 1st glimpse of leveling off as NCAA picks dipped .8% down to 50.7%.
For 2011 (not 2012 as I mentioned last post...I'm retarded sometimes), can we hit 58% in NFL games...I'd have to start charging people for this site at that point! NCAA I think a lot of newcomers learned throughout this year and our % will bump back to the 51-52% range for 2011.
WINNERS
The bar has been set at what you need to hit to win this thing...55.6% has been the championship % the last 2 years. In 2008, ROE beat the sad and sorry group of JR, JG, MK with a dominating 51.8% accuracy rating. The winner of our contest wouldn't have even made money in Vegas betting all these games (which you need to hit 53.5% I believe to be in the black). But ROE in 2009 and HEINERT in 2010 both hit at 55.6%...so if you're looking to win it all next year I think that should be your goal. Note - both of these guys had at least 1 year under their belt before hitting this achievement...so all of you who struggled a bit in your 1st year, maybe 2011 is your time.
WORST TO FIRST
We also saw HEINERT go from a dead last 8th place finish in 2009 to Champion of the World in 2010 - it can be done.
LIFETIME RECORDS
Since we've all been involved for a different number of years, this is a % based thing as well.
TOTAL - MR is our all-time winner, not a surprise, at a 54.2% lifetime clip for 3 years.
The 2 newcomers from 2010, RO and SS, are 2nd and 3rd respectively at 53.2% and 52.4%...yikes, these guys could be odds on favorites for next season.
Here's the complete list.
Yep, that's yours truly coming in dead last on the list at 49.5%...awesome. I turn it on in the post-season I guess.
NFL
For total lifetime NFL records, SS is by far our leader at 55.8% (1 year). Here's the complete list:
NFL W %
SS 58 55.8%
AW 122 53.5%
RO 55 52.9%
MH 120 52.6%
JR 169 51.5%
MR 168 51.2%
JG 167 50.9%
MK 114 50.9%
MC 114 50.0%
GR 112 49.1%
TN 0 0.0%
So I am in last overall lifetime records and GR, my Dad, is in last overall for the NFL as the only guy under 50%. MR, JG, and I have all been at this 3 years and have totals of 167, 168, 169...crazy.
NCAA
Finally, here are the lifetime records for NCAA picks.
NCAA W %
MR 252 56.4%
RO 78 53.4%
MH 151 51.7%
MC 151 51.7%
GR 151 51.7%
MK 154 51.2%
SS 73 50.0%
JG 219 49.0%
JR 215 48.1%
AW 137 46.9%
TN 0 0.0%
MR is the dominator in this area...and that's why he has won 2 of the last 3 years. RO has the makings of a challenger for MR's crown in the NCAA, and after MH's big championship year in 2010 I think ROE's cushion might not be safe for long. Bomb is pulling up the rear in this area, with me being a huge 1.2% above him.
Kind of fun stuff. Or is it just stuff I do with an extra hour to burn before leaving for a volunteer event for work...you decide.
2008 - 48.9% correct (46.5% NFL, 50.4% NCAA) - we only had the original 4 in this season, and we pretty much sucked.
2009 - 51.1% correct (50.5% NFL, 51.5% NCAA) - improvement in all areas including diversity (up to 8 players), which helped our odds. Biggest jump was in NFL success +4%)
2010 - 52.4% correct (54.7% NFL, 50.7% NCAA) - continued improvement with 9 players overall. Our total accuracy jumped an extra 1.3%, and the NFL picks made another astonishing 4.2% improvement. However, we have seen our 1st glimpse of leveling off as NCAA picks dipped .8% down to 50.7%.
For 2011 (not 2012 as I mentioned last post...I'm retarded sometimes), can we hit 58% in NFL games...I'd have to start charging people for this site at that point! NCAA I think a lot of newcomers learned throughout this year and our % will bump back to the 51-52% range for 2011.
WINNERS
The bar has been set at what you need to hit to win this thing...55.6% has been the championship % the last 2 years. In 2008, ROE beat the sad and sorry group of JR, JG, MK with a dominating 51.8% accuracy rating. The winner of our contest wouldn't have even made money in Vegas betting all these games (which you need to hit 53.5% I believe to be in the black). But ROE in 2009 and HEINERT in 2010 both hit at 55.6%...so if you're looking to win it all next year I think that should be your goal. Note - both of these guys had at least 1 year under their belt before hitting this achievement...so all of you who struggled a bit in your 1st year, maybe 2011 is your time.
WORST TO FIRST
We also saw HEINERT go from a dead last 8th place finish in 2009 to Champion of the World in 2010 - it can be done.
LIFETIME RECORDS
Since we've all been involved for a different number of years, this is a % based thing as well.
TOTAL - MR is our all-time winner, not a surprise, at a 54.2% lifetime clip for 3 years.
The 2 newcomers from 2010, RO and SS, are 2nd and 3rd respectively at 53.2% and 52.4%...yikes, these guys could be odds on favorites for next season.
Here's the complete list.
| TOTAL | W | % |
| MR | 420 | 54.2% |
| RO | 133 | 53.2% |
| SS | 131 | 52.4% |
| MH | 271 | 52.1% |
| MK | 268 | 51.0% |
| MC | 265 | 51.0% |
| GR | 263 | 50.6% |
| AW | 259 | 49.8% |
| JG | 386 | 49.8% |
| JR | 384 | 49.5% |
| TN | 0 | 0.0% |
Yep, that's yours truly coming in dead last on the list at 49.5%...awesome. I turn it on in the post-season I guess.
NFL
For total lifetime NFL records, SS is by far our leader at 55.8% (1 year). Here's the complete list:
NFL W %
SS 58 55.8%
AW 122 53.5%
RO 55 52.9%
MH 120 52.6%
JR 169 51.5%
MR 168 51.2%
JG 167 50.9%
MK 114 50.9%
MC 114 50.0%
GR 112 49.1%
TN 0 0.0%
So I am in last overall lifetime records and GR, my Dad, is in last overall for the NFL as the only guy under 50%. MR, JG, and I have all been at this 3 years and have totals of 167, 168, 169...crazy.
NCAA
Finally, here are the lifetime records for NCAA picks.
NCAA W %
MR 252 56.4%
RO 78 53.4%
MH 151 51.7%
MC 151 51.7%
GR 151 51.7%
MK 154 51.2%
SS 73 50.0%
JG 219 49.0%
JR 215 48.1%
AW 137 46.9%
TN 0 0.0%
MR is the dominator in this area...and that's why he has won 2 of the last 3 years. RO has the makings of a challenger for MR's crown in the NCAA, and after MH's big championship year in 2010 I think ROE's cushion might not be safe for long. Bomb is pulling up the rear in this area, with me being a huge 1.2% above him.
Kind of fun stuff. Or is it just stuff I do with an extra hour to burn before leaving for a volunteer event for work...you decide.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Final Year Results
Well, another season of the Football Challenge has come to an end. Our winners this year are as follows:
HEINERT - $320- regular season champ (I will bring you your cash tomorrow Mark if you are around)
ROE - $40 - regular season runner up
G.ROLLINS - $160 - post-season champ
ROE - $20 post season runner-up
*Best part about ROE taking 2nd in both of these is that he only had to pay me $40 to cover the $100 he owed from picking the Hogeyes on the moneyline over the Gophs at 5:1....never ever put anything of value on the Hogeyes is the lesson here.
Anyway, thanks for another great season. I think we'll be at a strong 10 members (or more if you have them) for next year. I consider this my part time job in the fall, so I'm not going to put a cap on how many people we can get going on this thing. More people = more $$$ = more fun.
If you have any suggestions as far as format or points system or anything around the entire contest, please shoot them over. I don't think this is a perfect system, so I'm always looking for ways to make this more interesting for everyone. I'm thinking of maybe finding a way to try and keep it interesting until the end for everyone in the regular season by having some kind of weekly contest...thoughts?
Also, please let me know if you have anyone else who would like to be involved, I have 1 new member from Steve already that I will add to the list after this post. Or if you aren't interested in playing anymore, that is fine too...please let me know.
I am still working on organizing a March Madness / Cards gathering likely sometime in the opening rounds of the tourney - hope you all will be available for that. Then it will be hitting the Links this summer and losing our money through our lack of golfing skills rather than lack of intellect on picking football games!
As most of you who have been doing this for a while know, I will continue to post things year tound outside of the Football Challenge season. If you're annoyed just delete them...sorry. We'll start to get things kick started again around August (6 friggin' months away!!) for Football Challenge 2012...unless I come up with a better name by then, which really shouldn't be hard to do (open to suggestions there as well please).
Congrats to the winners - hope you all figure out what went wrong for next year!
HEINERT - $320- regular season champ (I will bring you your cash tomorrow Mark if you are around)
ROE - $40 - regular season runner up
G.ROLLINS - $160 - post-season champ
ROE - $20 post season runner-up
*Best part about ROE taking 2nd in both of these is that he only had to pay me $40 to cover the $100 he owed from picking the Hogeyes on the moneyline over the Gophs at 5:1....never ever put anything of value on the Hogeyes is the lesson here.
Anyway, thanks for another great season. I think we'll be at a strong 10 members (or more if you have them) for next year. I consider this my part time job in the fall, so I'm not going to put a cap on how many people we can get going on this thing. More people = more $$$ = more fun.
If you have any suggestions as far as format or points system or anything around the entire contest, please shoot them over. I don't think this is a perfect system, so I'm always looking for ways to make this more interesting for everyone. I'm thinking of maybe finding a way to try and keep it interesting until the end for everyone in the regular season by having some kind of weekly contest...thoughts?
Also, please let me know if you have anyone else who would like to be involved, I have 1 new member from Steve already that I will add to the list after this post. Or if you aren't interested in playing anymore, that is fine too...please let me know.
I am still working on organizing a March Madness / Cards gathering likely sometime in the opening rounds of the tourney - hope you all will be available for that. Then it will be hitting the Links this summer and losing our money through our lack of golfing skills rather than lack of intellect on picking football games!
As most of you who have been doing this for a while know, I will continue to post things year tound outside of the Football Challenge season. If you're annoyed just delete them...sorry. We'll start to get things kick started again around August (6 friggin' months away!!) for Football Challenge 2012...unless I come up with a better name by then, which really shouldn't be hard to do (open to suggestions there as well please).
Congrats to the winners - hope you all figure out what went wrong for next year!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Super Bowl Picks
Here's what it comes down to:
PIT cover =
MC - 1st
JR - 2nd
Regardless of what happens in the props.
GB cover =
GR - 1st
MR or MC - 2nd
It would come down to props...here's the differences (MC would need to win 2/3 of these to take 2nd)
- MR-over/MC-under
- Halftime MR-GB/MC-PIT
- 1st to score MR-GB/MC-PIT
Corcoran and I picked exactly the same on all 6 bets, so I have zero chance of catching him...damn. I thought I was going against the grain with my under pick and taking PIT on every team prop...but I guess not.
Good Luck Guys!! Go Steelers!
PIT cover =
MC - 1st
JR - 2nd
Regardless of what happens in the props.
GB cover =
GR - 1st
MR or MC - 2nd
It would come down to props...here's the differences (MC would need to win 2/3 of these to take 2nd)
- MR-over/MC-under
- Halftime MR-GB/MC-PIT
- 1st to score MR-GB/MC-PIT
Corcoran and I picked exactly the same on all 6 bets, so I have zero chance of catching him...damn. I thought I was going against the grain with my under pick and taking PIT on every team prop...but I guess not.
Good Luck Guys!! Go Steelers!
Need Picks from...
Just waiting on picks from Mr. Corcoran, our leader.
Send them over and I'll send out the final weekend preview of the year.
Send them over and I'll send out the final weekend preview of the year.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Final Pick(s)
The time is now. I need everyone to send over their Super Bowl pick(s) by the end of the week...so I guess you have another 36 hours or so. In case you missed it, here's what I need picks for this weekend:
PIT
GB -2.5
46 over or under?
Who's ahead at halftime? GB/PIT
Will there be a defensive/special team TD? Yes/No
1st team to score? GB/PIT
Last team to score? GB/PIT
Coolest prop bet I've heard is this, and I'm pissed I didn't add it to the list.
Total sum of the digits in the final score OVER/UNDER 12.5?
(for example, 17-14 = 13...OVER, 21-20 = 5...UNDER)
The coolest part about this one is that it could drastically change on every score...tons of fun.
My picks are locked, and I have picks from JG, AW, and SS...but the rest of you need to send them over.
STANDINGS
MC-95
JR-92
GR-90
RO-85
MR-80
SS-74
MH-72
AW-71
JG-58
Super Bowl is worth 16, and each prop is worth 1 for a grand total of 21 available this weekend.
Also, I know it's National Signing Day, but honestly between Jace getting pneumonia this week and trying to wrap up work before a week in Mexico - I really don't have the time to throw together the usual giant recap...not saying I won't at all, just not this week. Maybe it will be my Valentine's gift to all of you.
So send over the picks and let's end this miserable football season!!
PIT
GB -2.5
46 over or under?
Who's ahead at halftime? GB/PIT
Will there be a defensive/special team TD? Yes/No
1st team to score? GB/PIT
Last team to score? GB/PIT
Coolest prop bet I've heard is this, and I'm pissed I didn't add it to the list.
Total sum of the digits in the final score OVER/UNDER 12.5?
(for example, 17-14 = 13...OVER, 21-20 = 5...UNDER)
The coolest part about this one is that it could drastically change on every score...tons of fun.
My picks are locked, and I have picks from JG, AW, and SS...but the rest of you need to send them over.
STANDINGS
MC-95
JR-92
GR-90
RO-85
MR-80
SS-74
MH-72
AW-71
JG-58
Super Bowl is worth 16, and each prop is worth 1 for a grand total of 21 available this weekend.
Also, I know it's National Signing Day, but honestly between Jace getting pneumonia this week and trying to wrap up work before a week in Mexico - I really don't have the time to throw together the usual giant recap...not saying I won't at all, just not this week. Maybe it will be my Valentine's gift to all of you.
So send over the picks and let's end this miserable football season!!
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