Return of The Football Club for 2018 season

Hello, club members.  And welcome back to The Football Club.  It’s certainly been a long time.  When the club closed its doors at the end of the 2012 season, I thought that it just might have been the final season ever of our friendly competition.  Five full seasons have gone by – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.  And not a whisper from the club with the exception of a few requests here and there from others to reopen the club if possible.  And now here we are six seasons later and I am finally ready to do so.  I am happy to announce that The Football Club is returning for the 2018 season.  This will be the Seventeenth Year Legacy Edition.  The 2018 club will feature a full slate of competitions throughout the season, including the Club Points Championship, Head to Head battles, and Pro Bowl Team battles.  We will most likely not do a Playoff Picks.  If you would like to sign up for the 2018 club, please inform me ASAP as club membership will be limited to between 12-18 members.  We cannot have more than 18 playing in order to have an even number of teams for the Pro Bowl competition.  Since it has been a long time, please refresh your memory by reading the Official Rules page found under the Club Central menu button, particularly Rules #1 and #2, which are important for the club’s successful operation.

You will probably notice some changes with the redesigned 2018 Football Club.  We are using an updated WordPress format for hosting the site.  Of course you found the site and are reading this, so you know that we have a new domain at tunafootball.com.  We also have an updated Club Chat box (seen on the right side when using a computer and seen at the bottom of each page when using a cell phone and tablet).  Please make use of the Club Chat box to talk back and forth with other club members.  Feel free to try it out by first entering an Username and then typing in a message and pressing Send.  Doing so will allow all club members to see your message on the Club Chat box.  (Please note that the Chat Box current discussion may not show up unless you enter an Username and Login.)  If you are using a computer to view this site, navigation will be fairly easy and obvious.  Use the Menu Buttons at the very top of the site to navigate and see the various club pages.   If you are using a cell phone or tablet, simply click on the Menu button at the top right in order to expand the menu and be able to navigate to all the various pages.  If you have any problems trying to navigate through the site, or are wondering where certain pages or information can be found, please let me know.  The Main Page of the club will always contain my update posts.  Some of the pages currently still show information from 2012, but that will be adjusted as our season gets underway.  Right now is a good time to take a look back at all the things that happened during the last year of the club in 2012.  Our 2012 Club Champion was Hoosier Daddy with 394 Points and 8 Weeks at #1.  And our Runner-Up was MJD Hogg with 379 Points.  In the Super Bowl Head to Head final, Bane def. Double-Double 20-15.  And in the Pro Bowl Team final Transformers def. Wild Animals 67-59 in a historic rematch. And who could ever forget The Cat’s Perfect Week during Week 11 of the 2012 season when he got 41/39 Points and 14/14 games correct.  That was only the second time in club history that a Perfect Week had ever been accomplished (with the first being The Rickster in 2004).  More to come soon, but once again, please let me know early if you would like to participate.  The new season officially starts in just under two weeks on Thursday, September 6. -Tuna

I spotted myself during a trip to American Samoa last year. – Tuna

“Yo Grandmama Wins Super Bowl MVP!”

Super Bowl MVP Award Winner–
Yo Grandmama (49 Points)

Yo Grandmama (a.k.a. freespirit) had the best Playoff Picks week the club has ever seen, scoring 49 Points to easily fly away with the Super Bowl MVP Award.  This surpassed MJD Hogg’s Hall of Fame record 47+1 Points week from a few years ago.  And her prediction in the Final Score Challenge of Baltimore 35 and San Francisco 31 is the closest that I have seen anyone ever come.  She was only 1 point off from picking it perfectly.

And the winner of the 2012-13 Playoff Picks is… The Rickster!  Congratulations to The Rickster on winning the only minor title that had previously eluded him in the club.  Well done!  The Top Three– The Rickster, Captain Crunch, and Parkour just proved to be too strong at picking during the Playoff Picks for any of the rest of us to keep up with them.  That’s what is known as domination.

“The Rickster Claims Conference MVP!”

Conference MVP Award Winner–
The Rickster (35.5 Points)

The Rickster did it again.  He won back-to-back MVP Awards by scoring 35 1/2 Points to claim the Conference MVP Award.  Can he hold off Parkour, Captain Crunch, and Drummer Boy and win the Playoff Picks?  We will find out this weekend.

Conference Picks

Here are the winning picks for the Conference Picks Sheet…

Atlanta over
Baltimore under
Game 1– Ryan (46-33), Gore (4.3-3.8), Yes (7), Yes (20 yds), SF (4-2), No (0-0)
Game 2– Yes (36), Balt (121-108), Yes (117), No (0 INT), Balt (31:06-28:54), No (2 sacks)
Most: SF & Balt.  Least: NE

That’s it until next week.  The Super Bowl Picks are not released until the week of the Super Bowl.  To eliminate the suspense until then, The Rickster was the Conference MVP with 35.5 Points.

“The Rickster Wins Divisional MVP!”

Divisional MVP Award Winner–
The Rickster (36.5 Points)

Last week, The Rickster stepped up with some huge picks to send a message to the rest of the club as he scored 36 Points.  The secret to The Rickster’s success, besides brewing a fresh batch of IPA that was ready before kickoff, was correctly picking all 4 Divisional Point Spread Games with Balt, SF, Sea & NE.  The Playoff Picks are considered an advanced pro competition for a reason– point spread games are notoriously difficult to pick, since you can’t rely on the favorite but have to really think about which team will deal with the spread better and come out on top.  The Rickster showed that he can successfully do that with ease with his brilliant picks last week.  The MVP week catapulted The Rickster into 1st Place, but he’s not alone.  Drummer Boy continued his steady and reliable good picking by posting 28 Points of his own, claiming his 2nd Week at #1.  Drummer Boy seems to be on a mission to win the Playoff Picks competition this season and nobody might be able to stop him.  Two players who could have what it takes are Captain Crunch and Parkour.  They are sitting in a tie for 3rd Place with 53 1/2 Points each, only a mere 3 1/2 Points out of 1st Place.  And a friendly rivalry seems to be brewing between these two solid players, who each want to have bragging rights within the family.  We will find out this week which player will have the edge going into the Super Bowl.

Here are the Statistical Challenge Question answers for last week.  Game 1– Yes (4.4), Flacco (116.2-88.3), Den (43%-41%), No (7 points).  Game 2– None (0 yards), GB (7-0), No (66.6%), Gore (119-53).  Game 3– Tate (6 for 103 to 6 for 51 tiebreaker is more receiving yards), No, Sea (28-26), Yes (2 INT).  Game 4– NE (5 for 264 yards to 5 for 182 yards tiebreaker is more yards), Brady (344-343 can it get any closer than that?), No (1 for 0 yards), Yes (1 TD).  Most– SF, Least– Sea & Hou.