Schedule and Sports Fans

Dear Sports Fans,

It's time to start to starting looking at the NFL schedule for week Roman Numeral One. 
Here is the link to the schedule: http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2012/REG1

Nothing jumps out at me. 

The following Sports Fans are paid in full:
• 2011 champion Indianapolis-based Jeremiah T. Cunningham*
• Hawaii-based Dick Webster*
• The Administrator*
• New York-based Steve Dixon, who gave me a 20 spot on the southbound E train* 
• Atlanta-based Amy Platter*
• Kingston, N.Y.-based Jim Reynolds*
• Chicago-based Catherine Stephany*
• Catherine Stephany's brother*
• Doylestown, Pa.-based Matthew Weintraub*
• 2010 co-champ Staten Island-based Jim Lynch*
• Amanda Moore of Vince Lomabardi, Ill.*
• Augie "the check really was in the mail" Venezia*
• Metuchen, N.J.-based Cathy Tardosky*
• Great Barrington, Mass.-based Gary Casarsa*

• Metuchen, N.J.-based Ken Hausser*
• Ramsay, N.J.-based Dan Mills*

The following have pledged, and for all intents and purposes are in: 
• Metuchen, N.J.-based Andy McCadden
• Kevin "Coop-a-Loop" Cooper
• Michigan-based Mark VandenBosch
• 2009 champion Tom Garda, official Godfather of the Administrator's son
• Philadephia-based Sean "Reliable" Tallman
• Philadelphia-based Mike "Reliable" Trudgeon
• Myotek CEO Robert McMahan
• Dan Clark, official brother of the Administrator
• 49-year-old Jim Brose
• Manhattan-based Damon Chapman
• Tennis-Dad Dan Gross
• Connecticut-based Alex Tomas
• The Schleck Family of Metuchen
• The Matulonis Family of Edison, N.J.
• All the guys who play for The Elvises in the 40-and-over league
• Bunch of other guys

*Paid in full

Good luck to all Sports Fans!

The Administrator

Discourse on impact of pre-season

Dear Sports Fans,

The fun begins Sept. 5. When the Dallas Cowboys come to the Administrator’s home state of New Jersey to play the Giants in Met Life Stadium.

Ladies and gentlemen, don’t forget to submit picks for Week I before Sept. 5. Also, don’t forget to send your checks to the Administrator.

# # # Discourse on impact of preseason # # #

Conventional wisdom holds that preseason success is next to worthless as an indicator of regular season success. But a careful examination by the Administrator reveals these shocking findings:

* Three teams went winless in preseason last year: OAK, KC and ATL. Oakland finished 8-8, Chiefs were 7-9 and Atlanta went 10-6 into the playoffs!

• Super Bowl champion Giants of New Jersey finished 2-2 in preseason last year!

• The two teams with the most wins last year -- the Packers and the Patriots -- were 3-1 and 2-2, respectively, in the pre-season!

It’s clear from the above that maybe success in the pre-season matters, maybe it don’t.

# # # BONUS PRE-SEASON ANALYSIS # # # 

Also, during a recent pre-season game, the Administrator watched an Eagles Tight End catch a ball with two hands, turn 180 degrees and then take a hit that forced the ball out of his hands. It happened very quickly. But still, that’s a fumble in my book, and the Patriots scooped up the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown.

Loud-mouth, seldom-wrong-never-in-doubt TV announcer John Gruden screamed: “That’s an incompletion!” 

Sadly, the scab/replacement refs on the field, after further review, agreed with Gruden.  

I just thought I’d mention it, because something tells me that that won’t be the last time this season the refs will get it wrong.  

# # # CELERBRITY SIGHTING! # # # 

At a trade show in Chicago’s McCormick Place last week, the Administrator saw eliminator pool standout and 2009 Pro Dealer of the Year Augustus “Augie” Venezia of Fairfax, Calif.! 

Here’s an actual quote from Augie: “The check is in the mail.”

Augie is the father of easy-on-the-eyes Southern California Fantasy Football Commissioner Christina Venezia. Let the record show: a family that plays the Catskill Golf & Poker Club NFL Eliminator Pool together, stays together. 

At the same convention, the Administrator ran into former Sports Fan Andrew Pantiledes, who made a deep run in this pool in 2009, despite his Canadian heritage that limits his understanding of the Made-in-the-USA pastime.  

If Pantiledes pays 20 Loonies, he will be welcomed back with open arms. 

# # # NEW SPORTS FAN ALERT # # # 

The Catskill Golf & Poker Club NFL Eliminator Pool welcomes rookie Amanda Moore.

“I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good Master Amanda.”

-- Nick Bottom the Weaver

Little is known about Amanda’s background, other than she has some connection with the College of DuPage. It is believed she is a friend of Catherine Stephany and Catherine Stephany’s brother, a brother-sister combination that very much resembles Dee and Dennis from the Administrator’s new favorite, non-Shakespeare, non-football TV show: “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

Good luck to all Sports Fans!

Sincerely, 

The Administrator

p.s. Do you have a favorite non-football, non-Shakespeare TV show? Tell us. 

Make thee prosperous! Send in your check

Dear Sports Fans, 

"God in thy good cause, make thee prosperous! Be swift in the execution, and let thy blows doubly redoubled fall like amazing thunder upon the casques of thy adverse pernicious enemy! Rouse up thy youthful blood, be valiant and advance!"

-- John of Gaunt

[Explanatory note: the term “casques” refers to Elizabethan England’s equivalent of reinforced concussion-mitigating Riddell helmets with double-strap mouth guards.] 

In other words: let the 2012 Catskill Golf & Poker Club NFL Eliminator Pool, sponsored by Miss Margie’s Metuchen Day Care, begin!

Let us state the rules clearly: 

Rule 1. Pick a winner in Week I. Any team. Point spread don’t matter.

Rule 2. Winners move on to Week II.

Rule 3. Players cannot pick the same team more than once. 

Rule 4. Keep going until we have a winner, or a tie.

Rule 5. Ties split the pot. (Last year's $1,260 pot went to Indianapolis-based Jeremiah T. Cunningham.)

Appendix I: Picks must be submitted before the week of competition begins, regardless of the actual time and date of the game played by the player's pick. For instance, when the Cowboys or Giants kick off at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5, Week I will have officially begun for everyone -- even those players who didn't pick the Cowboys or Giants.

Appendix II: The Administrator is final arbiter of all disputes, including -- but not limited to -- hurricane-delayed games, violations of rule no. 3, and entry-fee controversies.

Addendum: The point spread does NOT play a role in the Catskill Golf & Poker Club NFL Eliminator Pool. (But savvy veterans often refer to the spread for informational purposes.)

# # # AMDINISTRATIVE NOTE: IMPORTANT NEW TWIST # # # 

A new twist this year, the official picks and official results will no longer be broadcast via e-mail. They will be published online, here at this site, www.CatskillEliminator.blogspot.com

You can send your picks to the Administrator’s e-mail, or you can post them to the blog and put the league on notice of your boldness. Or you may wish to lull other Sports Fans into a false sense of comfort with your conservative picks in the early going, and then shock them out of their game in week six or seven. Your call.

# # # BONUS PRE-SEASON PREDICTION # # #

The Administrator predicts that, at least once this season, a desperate team in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter will score a touchdown after successfully executing multiple laterals all over the field!

# # # Participation update # # #

It’s $20 to play. The following sports fans are paid in full:

1) Indianapolis-based Jeremiah T. Cunningham

2) Hawaii-based Dick Webster

3) The Administrator

4) New York-based Steve Dixon, who gave me a 20 spot on the southbound E train just a few moments ago! 
5) Atlanta-based Amy Platter
6) Kingston, N.Y.-based Jim Reynolds
7) Catherine Stephany
8) Catherine Stephany's brother
9) Doylestown, Pa.-based Matthew Weintraub

10) Staten Island-based Jim Lynch

The Administrator's mailing address is 56 Voorhees Place, Metuchen, NJ 08840.

"Now let it work. Mischief thou art afoot. Take thou what course thou wilt."

-- Antony

Good luck to all Sports Fans!

2012 Eliminator Pool Promotional Video

Pre-season Catskill G&PC NFL Eliminator Pool promotional video

"This story shall the good man teach his son!" 

-- Henry V

On this day, Tiger Woods basked in his first victory since 2009. Tim Tebow held a record-breaking press conference in Florham Park, N.Y. And Bucks County, Pa.-based Sports Fan Matt Weintraub took sole possession of first place in the ultra-competitive Future Owners of Philadelphia NBA Fantasy League!

Also on this day, the Catskill Golf & Poker Club NFL Eliminator Pool released its official pre-season promotional video. Watch it here. 

I hope it fires you with enthusiasm for the upcoming campaign.