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Week 9 MVP Award Winner –
Captain Jack Sparrow (31 Points)

When Captain Jack Sparrow docked the Black Pearl in order to drop off his Week 9 picks at Club Headquarters, he declared: “This is my week.  I hope.”  Having dealt with some rough currents and stormy seas this season, Captain Jack was hoping to steady his ship and deliver a huge week.  And that’s exactly what he did as he scored 31 Points to win the Week 9 MVP Award.  With the cannons firing off in celebration, he ordered Saints players to scrub the decks of the Black Pearl, but cut them some slack by not requiring them to walk the plank (see Club Chat for more details).  The key to Captain Jack’s success was being 1 of only 2 players in the entire club to correctly pick Jacksonville with Triple Jeopardy.  He also got both Games of the Week, the Double Stakes, and the Monday night game correct.  Speaking of the Monday night game, had New Orleans won, Slick Chick was lined up to win the MVP Award.  Even though she didn’t get it, we are still happy to see Slick Chick moving up the standings and posting strong weeks.  It is always a delight to read her posts on Club Chat along with the posts of others who chime in from time to time.  We had a three-way tie for the Week 9 MVP Award Runner-Up between Mr. T, Nighthawk & Roadrunner.  All three players scored 28 Points and all three managed to pick both Games of the Week correct and find themselves moving up the standings as a result.  Moving into 1st Place for the first time this season was Double-Double.  Double-Double has a 2 Point lead over his main rival Stinkerbell who finds herself back in 2nd Place.  Rounding out the Top Five, we have #3 The Rickster (4 Points back), #4 Drummer Boy (6 Points back), and #5 Rad Dad (7 Points back).  But not far behind them are #6 Hoosier Daddy, Mr. T & My Wife Loves Jimmy G (all 9 Points back), and #9 Nighthawk (12 Points back).  Now that we are exactly halfway through the season, those players further down in the standings outside of the Top Ten will be looking to turn the page and start making better picks from this point forward.  On a personal note, I will be taking Young Tuna to his very first football game this Sunday.  We will be attending the Sunday night game featuring LA Chargers @ SF 49ers.  With apologies to The Rickster, we will be cheering on the 49ers for this one.

Qualifying for the Pro Bowl Tournament took place last week, and we had some interesting results.  The #1 seeded team is Gridiron Guardians, who combined to score 81 Points.  It was only two years ago when Gridiron Guardians, led by team captain Rad Dad, won the team title to become the 2020 Pro Bowl XVII Champions.  Defending 2021 champs Wild Animals struggled a bit in qualifying, posting 65 Points to claim the #5 seed.  With qualifying completed, here are the First Round matches taking place this week:  (7) Daddy & His Boys at (2) McTriple Play, (6) Tough Puffins at (3) Tuna Generations, and (5) Wild Animals at (4) The Hulkamaniacs.

Here is a copy of the Week 9 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 9. Captain Jack Sparrow wins the MVP Award with 31 Points. And three players tie for the MVP Award Runner-Up with 28 Points: Nighthawk, Roadrunner & Mr. T.

Week 9 full picks now posted.  (Sat 11:20pm).  All players are welcome to view my picks once they have turned their own in for the week.

Week 8 MVP Award Winners –
The Rickster & Rad Dad (26 Points)

The Rickster and Rad Dad created upheaval at the top of the club as they both scored 26 Points to share the Week 8 MVP Award.  I don’t think we’ve ever seen a week like this where the two players at the top of the standings (who had some separation from the pack) both struggled greatly while the next five players below them all had huge weeks.  The end result?  A complete shake-up at the top of the standings and a wide open race for the Club Championship at the halfway point in the season.  The Rickster completed a month for the ages and has been named the October Player of the Month Award winner.  Two weeks ago, The Rickster was sitting in 8th Place being 21 Points behind the 1st Place player.  Now after winning back-to-back MVP Awards, he has taken over 1st Place in the standings and become the player to beat.  Rad Dad’s huge week also brought him back into the Top Five for the first time in a month.  Rad Dad is now in 5th Place, only 6 Points behind The Rickster, and also a clear threat to win the title.  The Rickster & Rad Dad’s keys to success were getting the Triple Crown and Double Stakes, 2 of the 3 Point Spread Games, and wisely avoiding picking Triple Jeopardy on a dangerous week to do so (they both had NY Jets with no TJ).  The Week 8 MVP Award Runner-Up was shared by Double-Double & Fearless Tuna, who both scored 23 Points.  For Double-Double, this was the 3rd consecutive week that he was the MVP Award Runner-Up winner.  In fact, if not for The Rickster’s stunning feat, Double-Double would have been awarded the Player of the Month.  But I guess you could say he was the Runner-Up for that as well.  One thing he does not want to be Runner-Up for is the club title at the end of the season.  He is now in 2nd Place, only 2 Points behind The Rickster.  And he is no longer the runner-up when it comes to his personal rivalry with Stinkerbell, as he has moved 2 Points ahead of her in the standings.  This is the first time since Week 1 that he has managed to get ahead of her.  But as she teasingly said on Club Chat: “Double double I am going to try my hardest to toast your buns this season.”  So this battle is not over yet, it is just getting started.  Fearless Tuna had his first good showing of the season, as he shared the MVP Award Runner-Up with Double-Double.  And while I did have a really bad first half of the season, The Rickster has given hope to the rest of us down the standings that anything is possible.  Remember, The Rickster was 21 Points back 2 weeks ago and now he is in 1st Place.  Right now, I am 25 Points out.  So his huge success shows that the rest of us might be down, but we are not out.  The current Top Five consists of #1 The Rickster, #2 Double-Double (2 Points back), #3 Drummer Boy (3 Points back), #4 Stinkerbell (4 Points back), and #5 Rad Dad (6 Points back).  Drummer Boy had such a surprisingly bad week with only 11 Points that I’m wondering if he just wanted to give the rest of the club a chance and keep things interesting.  He has been playing at such a high level for such a long time that we kind of just take it for granted that he’s the best player and on his way to holding up the Rhapsody Ralph trophy once again.  But there is still a lot of football to be played and he is going to need to get his drum kit tuned for the weeks and battles ahead.

Finally, the Pro Bowl Tournament starts this week with the Qualifying Round.  Here is how it is going to work.  All 7 teams (check the Pro Bowl Tournament 2022 Page for team assignments) will play in Week 9 (this week) for tournament seeding.  Then, in Week 10, the First Round of the Pro Bowl Tournament will be played, with only the #1 seed earning a bye week and automatic entry into the Final Four.  Defending champs Wild Animals will be hoping that they can earn the #1 seed as they start their title defense.  Can they do it?  Or might a new team like The Hulkamaniacs or Tuna Generations step forward to claim it?  We will soon find out.