The Football Club

Week 12 MVP Award Winner –
Rad Dad (29 Points)

Rad Dad has entered title contention once again by scoring 29 Points to win the Week 12 MVP Award.  As our defending 2022 Club Champion, Rad Dad started off the season much as he did last year, with a bit of struggle.  Last season, Rad Dad found himself in 13th Place at the end of Week 3.  This season, he was in 13th Place at the end of Week 4.  So things were not looking good early in the season.  But Rad Dad has shown that he picks up momentum as the season goes along and is a much better second-half player, which is when it really counts.  Keep in mind that nobody has ever repeated as Club Champion and won the title in back-to-back seasons.  Drummer Boy’s incredible run during 2021 and the first half of 2022 was the closest we have ever seen anyone come to repeating.  But with the pressure of 17 other players chasing you down, all past champions have crumbled and failed to repeat.  Rad Dad is trying to reverse that trend and change history, but we still have a long ways to go with 6 full weeks left in the season.  The Week 12 MVP Award Runner-Up was shared by Stinkerbell and Young Tuna, who both scored 28 Points.  For Stinkerbell, she is currently on a trip to New York.  And when she turned in her picks, she mentioned that this was the fastest she has ever completed them.  That goes to show that sometimes you can overthink your picks.  I think retired club legend The Cat was someone who did that.  The Cat once told me that he spent more time on his picks than studying his WT (which is something I strongly do not advise doing).  Young Tuna is someone who never overthinks his picks.  He usually fills them out and submits them to me in an average of 5 minutes.  In fact, as I’m writing this column he just handed me his completed Week 13 picks.  For Young Tuna, he really needed this huge week to get himself reestablished as a serious contender.  I have much more anxiety about his picks instead of my own.  In fact, I find myself to be more happy when he gets his games right rather than me getting mine.  A lot of times we do not agree on key games and he is usually the one who gets them right.  The November Player of the Month Award winner is none other than Drummer Boy.  His 2 MVP Awards and rise to the top of the charts showed that he clearly deserved the honor.  Well done on your success, Drummer Boy!  You made some outstanding picks in November that really paid off.  The Current Top Five consists of #1 Drummer Boy (2 Weeks at #1), #2 Young Tuna (1 Point back), #3 Rad Dad (8 Points back), #4 Roadrunner (13 Points back), and #5 Shaylene (22 Points back).  Also, there are currently only 9 Points separating the 10th Place player from the 5th Place player.  So a secondary battle is taking place between players trying their hardest to get into (and stay) in the prestigious Top Five.  In another development, Triple Jeopardy legend Captain Insano made his return to picking TJ last week for the first time this season and was successful.  I’m still waiting for Mr. T to make another attempt this season at picking TJ so he can remove his winless 0-6 record.  Will he attempt it this week and pick against my NY Jets?

Head to Head Weekly wrapped up last week and we now have our four Division Champions.  They are: Drummer Boy (8-2) (Division One Champion), MJD Hogg (6-4) (Division Two Champion), Rad Dad (7-3) (Division Three Champion), and Viking Blood (7-3) (Division Four Champion).  Congratulations to these four outstanding Head to Head players who had great success and showed their skill over the past 10 games.  But now, the real competition begins.  The 2023 Super Bowl Tournament begins this week with the dreaded First Round.  Our two First Round matches will be (9) Hoosier Daddy (2-8) at (8) Captain Jack Sparrow (3-6-1) and (9) Shaylene (3-5-2) at (8) The Rickster (4-6).  Two of these four players will be eliminated and not survive to play in the Wild Card Round which starts in Week 14.  Nobody ever wants to be sent packing in the First Round, so I’m sure all four players will bring their A-game this week.

Here is a copy of the Week 12 Current Standings for those who are having trouble viewing it on their screens (usually due to viewing site on cell phone or tablet). Remember that there is much more detailed information that can be read on the actual Current Standings Page (but using a computer is necessary due to the tables).

Here are the club’s picks for Week 12. Rad Dad wins the Week 12 MVP Award with 29 Points, while Young Tuna & Stinkerbell share the MVP Award Runner-Up with 28 Points.

Week 12 full picks now posted (Sat 9:30pm).  All players are welcome to view my picks once they have turned their own in for the week.

Week 11 MVP Award Winner –
Drummer Boy (30 Points)

Drummer Boy is back at it again, picking up the tempo and showing the dynamics of making great picks.  You could say that he is no longer playing ghost notes in a soundproof room, but is jamming loudly outdoors in full view of everyone.  And by so doing, he has broken the club streak of 10 straight weeks with different MVP Award winners.  Drummer Boy did this by scoring 30 Points to win the Week 11 MVP Award, his second of the season.  This allowed him to snare 1st Place and hit the kick drum to bump Young Tuna down into 2nd Place.  Drummer Boy’s outstanding week was nearly perfect as he only missed two games – the Chargers and the Chiefs.  It was definitely a week to remember and the club congratulates him on his success.  Back in Week 4, Drummer Boy was 22 Points back.  But he has now made up all that ground and taken a 6 Point lead at the top.  And he has scored a combined total of 106 Points in the last 4 weeks.  The Week 11 MVP Award Runner-Up was MJD Hogg, who impressed with a strong 28 Point performance.  The Hoggster had really solid picks despite being 1 of only 2 players who bailed on the Autopicker on Thursday night and lost that game.  He is now only 8 Points away from getting into the Top Five and has picked up some huge momentum.  Despite their great weeks, both Drummer Boy and MJD Hogg joined 12 other club members in making the abysmal decision to trust the LA Chargers with Triple Jeopardy.  In fact, this may have been the worst Triple Jeopardy week in club history.  14 players missed TJ and nobody at all got it right.  However, there were 4 smart club members who did not select TJ and thus avoided losing 2 Points.  They were Captain Insano, Double-Double, The Rickster & Mr. T.  Well done, players!  In looking at the Current Top Five, we have new #1 Drummer Boy, #2 Young Tuna (6 Points back), tied for #3 Rad Dad & Roadrunner (14 Points back), and #5 Captain Insano (20 Points back).  As you can see, the Tuna dynasty from the first half of the season has completely fallen apart, with both Fearless Tuna & Shaylene sent packing from the Top Five in recent weeks.  And Young Tuna & Roadrunner are dropping down the standings.  Perhaps one or more of them can recover this week and make a comeback before it is too late.

This is the final week of Head to Head Weekly and there are two division titles on the line.  Drummer Boy has already clinched the Division One title and Viking Blood has clinched the Division Four title.  That leaves us with MJD Hogg vs. Fearless Tuna (for Division 2 title) and Rad Dad vs. New York City Sewer Rat (for Division 3 title).  But there are other important matches to be played as well, with players battling for positions within the final standings in order to avoid playing in the dreaded First Round of the Super Bowl Tournament which starts next week.  So be sure to check out where you currently stand and try to post a win this week to help your seeding in the tournament.  Over in Pro Bowl Team Weekly, there are still three weeks of play left.  The current top two teams are Wild Animals (6-2-1) and Daddy & His Boys (6-3).