College Bowling Has Finished Last Frame

Here is the photo of our winner for the 2006-2007 season, Joey Plaia. It looks like he just found out he won but this is before Christmas with two non entrants, Jackie & Cathy Roche. Joey did not have the best won lost record this year but his confidence points were in the right spot AND he correctly picked Florida to win the National Championship. That and a few other upsets put him over the top this year.

What a season it was too, so many great games, so many upsets and few blow outs. You have to love the Chutzpah of Boise State in beating Oklahoma and how about Oregon State going for two to win the game instead of playing for the tie and playing to overtime. That is confidence and it takes guts to do that. Years ago that decision cost Nebraska a share of the National Championship when Tom Osborne was coach.

It wasn't easy this year with 32 Bowl games and the corresponding confidence points but our top five folks all were at the 90% or better level. Let's look at the results of our top ten competitors.

1. Joey Plaia 22-10 403 points 95.7%
2. Jay Roche 22-10 398 points 94.2%
3. Bryan Bailey 21-11 393 92.4%
4. Windsor Roche (Jay's Alter Ego) 24-8 389 90.6%
5. Mike Roche 22-10 388 90.1%
6. Scott St.Joseph 21-11 380 85.9%
7. Big Jay Roche 21-11 371 80.4%
7. Amy Roche 23-9 371 80.4%
9. Matt Scalici 22-10 356 70.1%
10. Jason Roche 18-14 306 33.7%
10. Susan Bailey 19-13 306 33.7%

It has been fun this year. Most of the games I watched were entertaining, I hope you felt the same way. As for the game with in a game, Matt finally beat Jason at something, Lin never showed up, and there just wasn't enough interest in a money game, which turns Joey's smile to a frown. Maybe next year people will put money down before the cut off date to make this more interesting. Time will tell. Enjoy your summer off from football unless you live in SEC country where it is just beginning again now that Alabama has hired Nick Saban. Should be fun and remember, only 230 more days until we kick it off again!

2006 Season in the Record Books

Well friends, family and neighbors, the 2006 Pro Pickem season is in the books and it was one for the ages. another season that came down to the last weekend to see who would take the top spot. Congratulations to Adam for winning this year and the top prize of $40.00. Not a bad return on your initial investment. This season Adam started out very strong but faded in the middle of the season only to average 10 points per week the last 7 weeks of the season. A very strong finish, not unlike the Eagles of Philadelphia this year. That is Adam in the middle of the picture relaxing with his brother(R) and cousin(L).

Second place was a tie this year and belongs to newcomer, Liz Melby and last years champion, yours truly. It was a close race but Adam just blew away Liz and myself the last 4 weeks in particular. Liz was not unlike the Bengals of Cincinnati who started out very strong only to fade a little in the end of the season but unlike the Bengals, she ended up with a prize. Both Liz and myself get $20.00 for our efforts this year.

Special mention should be made to Jon Beemer who although lead most of the middle of the year faded in the end and actually placed second. He was not in the money game, however, and thus came away empty handed for his strong efforts.

The final standings are as follows:

1. Adam Bailey - 162 points - 99.4% - 2,057th in the country out of over 200,000 entries

2. Jon Beemer - 158 points - 97.6% - 7,890th

3. Liz Melby - 156 points - 96.0% - 13,063rd

3. Mike Roche - 156 points - 96.0% - 13,063rd

5. Susan Bailey - 151 points - 90.4% - 31,057th

6. Amy Roche - 150 points - 89.2%

7. Bryan Bailey - 143 points - 81.4%

8. Big Jay Roche - 142 points - 80.5%

9. Jay Roche - 136 points - 75.1%

10. Scott St.Joseph - 117 points - 67.5%

11. Lin Stokes - GPA 0.0

Well folks it has been a great season, checks and other awards will be in the mail this weekend.

Individual awards are as follows:

Rookie of the Year - Adam Bailey - First year and winning the whole championship. I know he felt the pressure but did not buckle under it. Well done.

Come Back Player of the Year - Amy Roche - Missing one weekend and still in contention down to the last two weekends. The vacation in FL may have cost her some money but I know she had fun down there. Still a very strong showing.

MVP - Adam Bailey - same reasons as above

Bluto Blutarski Award - Lin Stokes - For ceasing all football and fantasy operations less than half way through the season. We may run a special next year where you can pay for the rest of the decade and you don't have to show up for anything. There might even be a discount involved. Stay tuned.

Final Thoughts: 2006 has been a very full year, trip to NYC, Reunion in Humarock, Mom's 80th Birthday, Joan & Jay's 60th wedding anniversary, many of you made the pilgrimage to Notre Dame, the many emails back and forth, the comments on the blog. I have enjoyed writing these and hope that you have enjoyed reading them. As for me in 2007, I think I will take a break from Fantasy sports for a while. Like Bill Cowher, I'm not retiring but going to spend more time with my family. I will be watching form the sidelines and outside the ropes. As my daughter Jackie likes to say, "I will catch you burgers on the flip side."