The Football Club

I’m sending out e-mails about this, but I just noticed when C Master V turned in his picks a few minutes ago that there was a mistake on the picks sheet.  The correct pick reads like this–

_____ Philadelphia Eagles (-8) at Cleveland Browns _____

Previously, the pick had read Philadelphia +8, which was wrong.  Philadelphia is favored by 8.  I think most of you realized that, but just in case… it’s been corrected.  If you pick Philadelphia, they must win by more than 8 Points.

On another note, I noticed that one of the turned in picks disappeared from my e-mail.  So just for the record, as of Friday night at 7pm the following picks have been received and recorded– Iceman, Fuegoburns, steveluvsal, Captain Insano, Mr. T, MJD Hogg, Hoosier Daddy, Catfish, C Master V, Annie-mal, Drummer Boy, and Captain Jack Sparrow.  If you turned in your picks before Friday and your name is not there, please resend them.  Thanks.  I guess all the sleepless nights with the new baby are catching up with me…

One final note– I turn in my own picks each week on the Club Shoutbox before kickoff of all games.  So all club members are free to view my picks there after they turn in their own picks.  (My Week 1 picks have just been posted).

By the time the NFL season opened on Wed night with the Dallas-NYG game, 7 club members had already submitted their full picks for Week One.  Many more picks, of course, will be turned in before kickoff of the rest of the games on Sunday.  It seems that most everyone trusted the Autopicker, which developed a reputation last season for making bad picks.  The Autopicker’s bad picking trend continued tonight with its failed pick of NYG, thus costing almost the entire club 2 Points.  However, 2 club members wisely e-mailed in and switched their picks from NYG to Dallas and scored 2 Points to take the early club lead.  These 2 brilliant club members are rookie player Iceman and veteran player steveluvsal.  Iceman comes into the club highly touted as an expert football mind, and he is off to a great start.  With that, let’s see what happens this Sunday.

The Week One Picks Sheet has now been posted and thus the club has officially opened its doors for the 2012 season.  The Week One picks feature some very tough games, starting with the Wednesday Night Autopicker Game.  The Autopicker has selected the home team for you, but you will want to do your own research to make sure the pick is right.  Remember, you can change to the road team at any time by e-mailing in your pick before kickoff.  The Games of the Week feature the two match-ups expected to be the most closely contested this week.  And the Sunday Night game features a showdown between Pittsburgh and Denver which should be very interesting to watch.  Finally, we have two outstanding games to pick on Monday night, including San Diego at Oakland.  Remember, your picks are not due until one week from this Sunday (Sunday morning before 10:00am on September 9th).  You can send in your Week One picks anytime between now and then.  But don’t be late.  And remember, you can turn in your picks by e-mailing them to steveinathens@hotmail.com (either copy and paste the sheet and check off your winners or e-mail a list of teams that you picked), texting them to me (this is something a lot of club members started doing last season, if you do this only text me the list of teams you picked or the first three letters of the team name), or by calling me and leaving them on my voicemail.  Whatever works best for you.  Looking forward to a great season (and hopefully a Top Five debut!)

Congratulations, you have found the new home of The Football Club, a yearly NFL picks competition that has been based out of Novato and Sonoma since 1997.  If you are reading this, you probably received an invite by e-mail or were referred to the club by one of your friends.  I am happy to report that The Football Club has officially reopened for the 2012 season.  The Week 1 picks sheet will be posted on Friday, August 31st for games which will be held the following weekend.  If you are a newcomer to the club (what we call a Rookie player), please familiarize yourself with all of our Official Rules and pay particular attention to #2- Contract Rule.  For returning club veterans, feel free to spend the next week getting to know the new official site of The Football Club.  We are very happy that we now have our own domain to host the club.  So what can you find on the new official site?

To navigate through the pages of The Football Club, simply click on the menu links that are located below the main header (the picture of the football field).  There you will find 5 main menu buttons– Main Page, Club Central, Weekly Play, H2H & Team Play, and The Hall of Fame.  As you hover your mouse over each of these menu buttons, you will find that there are sub-menus.  It is in these sub-menu buttons that you will find all of the club pages (both old and new).  For starters, all are encouraged to read the About the Club page and then the Official Rules page.  The About the Club page will explain all of the sub-menu buttons which lead to various club pages.  The Official Rules page gives the current rules that the club is operating under (which has a few updates for the 2012 season including the Bye Week Rule).  Always remember that the Main Page menu button will return you back to this page, which is the Club home page.  It is on this page where I will share my weekly Main Page Column, give regular updates via brief blog posts as necessary, and where everyone can talk to other club members by using the Club Shoutbox.  The new club site is best viewed on a home computer, laptop, or tablet.  But there is a mobile version of the site which you will see if you are reading this with your mobile phone.  If you are using a mobile phone, please press the menu button on the top right of your phone screen.  Next, press on the About Football Club Mobile link that shows up to familiarize yourself with how the club works on a mobile phone.  Enjoy looking over our new site as we get ready for the release of the Week 1 Picks Sheet one week from tomorrow.  If you haven’t already, please send me a brief message or post a quick note on the Club Shoutbox to officially sign up for the 2012 club.

While I have kept in touch with most of you through the off-season, I haven’t talked to a few of you since last season.  So if you’re wondering why the Sixteenth Year of the club is named the Family Edition and why I’m playing under the name Papa Tuna (in honor of Papa Rickster and Papa J-Bird using similar names in the past), it is because our first baby is due this Saturday.  And actually, redesigning the club and making this new site will be very helpful in that regard, as the club uses a simplified format that requires much less time on my part.  In particular, the new Current Standings chart, Head to Head chart, and Pro Bowl charts use a format that will make things much easier by saving all data.  In the past, the charts were pretty much written from scratch each week for the most part.  Be sure and check out the new format we will use for Current Standings by visiting the Current Standings page.  Try hovering your mouse over the new Current Standings box and other charts to see how rows are highlighted for easy viewing.  Additionally, The Hall of Fame has been redesigned and much more information has been added to the Club Archives.  So check that out as well.  See you on the field!

Greetings, club members.  The Football Club is returning shortly with the Sixteenth Year Family Edition.  In honor of this, the club has a new headquarters and new domain.  Stay tuned for lots of club updates in the near future.  We finally have our own home!