Week 2 - Jeremy the Prophet Speaketh

This week:

1. Jeremy (11-5 + 3.5 bonus) - 14.5 points
2. Jarrett R. (9-7 + 1.5 bonus) - 10.5 points
2. Joel (9-7 + 1.5 bonus) - 10.5 points
4. Jarrett M. (8-8 + 0.5 bonus) - 8.5 points
5. Bob (8-8) - 8 points
5. Jonathan (8-8) - 8 points
7. Patrick (7-9) - 7 points
7. Nathan (7-9) - 7 points
8. Roger (5-11) - 5 points

"Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet..." (Matthew 27:9, KJV).

After surveying the 16 games of the NFL's second week, Jeremy declared, "The Panthers shall smite the Saints." No one in the pool agreed, but, of course, Jeremy was right. The prophet announced, "Give me the Colts against the Vikings." Again, he was correct. And then in a mighty voice he shouted, "The Broncos shall fall prey to the Falcons." Right again. The four-time champ is back!

Week 2 notes: (1) For the second straight week, Jarrett M. had a loner pick. This week he correctly picked the Rams to beat the Redskins. (2) There was one unsuccessful loner pick this week: Jarrett R. incorrectly picked the Browns to defeat the Bengals. (3) Jarrett R. forgot to submit a pick for the Thursday night game. Sources indicate that he would have picked the Packers.

So far:

1. Jarrett R. (21-11 + 4.5 bonus) - 25.5 points
2. Jeremy (20-12 + 3.5 bonus) - 23.5 points
3. Jonathan (20-12 + 2.5 bonus) - 22.5 points
4. Joel (19-13 + 1.83 bonus) - 20.83 points
5. Jarrett M. (17-15 + 1 bonus) - 18 points
6. Patrick (17-15 + 0.33 bonus) - 17.33 points
7. Roger (15-17 + 0.33 bonus) - 15.33 points
8. Nathan (15-17) - 15 points
9. Bob (8-24) - 8 points

Week 1 - Beginner's Luck?

This week:

1. Jarrett R. (12-4 + 3 bonus) - 15 points
2. Jonathan (12-4 + 2.5 bonus) - 14.5 points
3. Joel (10-6 + 0.33 bonus) - 10.33 points
3. Patrick (10-6 + 0.33 bonus) - 10.33 points
3. Roger (10-6 + 0.33 bonus) - 10.33 points
6. Jarrett M. (9-7 + 0.5 bonus) - 9.5 points
7. Jeremy (9-7) - 9 points
8. Nathan (8-8) - 8 points
9. Bob (0-1) - 0 points

For the second straight year, Jonathan invited a Jarrett to join the Football Pool. Last year's Jarrett finished last. The new Jarrett is off to a quick start, taking top spot in week 1. Is this a case of beginner's luck, or will Jarrett R. be a Football Pool powerhouse? Time will tell.

Week 1 notes: (1) There were two successful loner picks, both by Jarretts: Jarrett R. picked the Cowboys to beat the Giants, and Jarrett M. picked the 49ers to beat the Packers. (2) There were two unsuccessful loner picks: Patrick picked the Chiefs to beat the Falcons, and Jeremy picked the Browns to beat the Eagles. (3) Bob may have forgotten to send in his picks. If so, Joel might give him credit for all the games we were unanimous on, which would give him a 5-9 record.

Jonathan's 2012 Predictions

Here are my Patriots-biased 2012 NFL predictions.

AFC East: Patriots
AFC North: Steelers
AFC South: Texans
AFC West: Broncos
AFC Wild Cards: Ravens, Bills

NFC East: Cowboys
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Falcons
NFC West: 49ers
NFC Wild Cards: Eagles, Saints

AFC Champions: Patriots
NFC Champions: Packers
Super Bowl Champions: Patriots

Coach of the Year: Chan Gailey
MVP: Tom Brady
Offensive ROY: Andrew Luck
Defensive ROY: Chandler Jones

Football Pool Hall of Fame

Today the Football Pool Blog is excited to announce the creation of the Football Pool Hall of Fame.

Former and current members of the pool will be eligible for enshrinement. Candidates will be evaluated based on their success in the pool and their contributions to the pool. Only one person per year will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Who will be the first inductee? The voting begins soon.

The 2011 Football Pool Awards

Ever since I revealed the creation of the Football Pool Awards, people have been coming up to me on the street asking, "When will the awards be announced?" The time is now. (Full disclosure: Some of the more foolish awards have been eliminated.)

• Gold Medal: Given to the person with the most points during the season. Winner: John. 
• Silver Medal: Given to the person with the second most points during the season. Winner: Patrick. 
• Bronze Medal: Given to the person with the third most points during the season. Winner: Jonathan. 
• Win-Loss Record Award: Given to the person who picks the most winners during the season. Winner: John.
• Bonus Points Award: Given to the person with the most bonus points during the season. Winner: Patrick. 
• Point Differential Award: Given to the person with the best points for/against record during the season. Winner: Jonathan.
• Comeback Award: Given to the person who improved the most from the previous season. Winner: Patrick. Patrick went from worst in 2010 to second in 2011.
• Rookie of the Year: Given to the person with the best performance in his first season. Winner: Jarrett. Should we mention that Jarrett was the only rookie in 2011?
• Best Fan Award: Given to the person whose favorite NFL team performed the best this past season. Winners: Jonathan and Jarrett. Once again, the Patriots had an excellent season. If Welker had caught that ball in the 4th quarter, it would have been another Super Bowl victory for New England. (Will anyone be silly enough to not pick the Patriots to win the AFC East this season?)
• Best Brother Award: Given to the person with the best record who also has a brother in the pool. Winner: Jonathan.  
• Comments Award: Given to the person (other than Jonathan) who contributed the most undeleted comments to the Football Pool Blog. Winner: Patrick. 
• Annual Football Quiz Award: Given to the champion of the Football Quiz. Winner: Jonathan. There were actually two official quizzes this past season. During the Conference Championship weekend, Jonathan defeated Patrick in a quiz created by John, testing Jonathan and Patrick's knowledge of their favorite teams (New England and Jacksonville).  And on Super Bowl Sunday, Jonathan defeated John in a quiz created by Patrick. (Pictures of the prizes from both quizzes can be seen below.)
• Double Crown Award: Given to the person who wins the pool and whose favorite team wins the Super Bowl in the same season. It was last won by Bert Kuehner in 2010. Winner: No one. We're not even sure if John has a favorite team.
  
  

Jonathan's prizes: medallion and Starbucks card

Who's In?

Pre-season football has already begun. Soon the start of the NFL season will be here. One question: Who's in?

Sources have confirmed that John Couch, last year's champion, is leaning toward a one-year hiatus. The reason given was busyness due to university courses and Halifax Mooseheads season tickets. However, one source suggests John is looking for the "Favre treatment."

If John does not join the pool this year, it would be the second straight year that the pool champion did not defend his crown. (Word is that Bert is enjoying his time away from the pool but could possibly be coaxed out of retirement if Joel issued an apology for not officially recognizing his championship title.)

There were rumors that Commissioner Joel, more elusive than Bigfoot, was in Atlantic Canada recently. This writer did not see him and is starting to wonder if he's still alive. Probably, though, we'll finally hear from Joel two minutes before kickoff.

Questions

Throughout the ages, men have wrestled with many perplexing questions. For example, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

A new question has entered into the minds of men--especially two men: Bert Kuehner and John Couch.

"If Commissioner Joel doesn't announce the winner of the Football Pool, does anyone actually win?"

For two years in a row, no one has heard from the reclusive Joel after week 17 of the NFL season. What are we to think of this? Is the Commissioner shirking his duties? Is this the real reason for Bert's retirement? Ah, questions, questions, questions.

***UPDATE***

Bert responded via his Facebook page.

"I think you've done a good job bringing much needed attention to a serious defect in the pool's management system. I don't understand why we go through the stress of competing for 17 grueling weeks only to have things end as though they didn't even transpire."