Now Is The Time: 2008 NFL Pick 'Em

***THIRD UPDATE*** Braves has officially signed on, and we are now settled on 20 members. Our payout structure will be: 200-100-60-40. Stay tuned for week one picks.

***SECOND UPDATE*** What a crazy day for this league. It started with a phone call from Braves (who has yet to confirm his entry), and ended with not one, but two more people joining. Brad Bursa, the older brother of Brandin, called me this evening and will be joining us. Now we have 19 members, and if Braves comes aboard we will have 20 people and $400 up for grabs. That's exciting stuff.

*** UPDATE *** - We have added our 18th member, with Alex Lucius joining this afternoon. We are still awaiting word on Andrew Braverman, and when that is made official, you will be the first to know. If we do get up to 19, I might consider making the top five be involved in the payout.

Love him, hate him, or even if you just don't care, you have to admit that Barack Obama can flat out give a speech. He has a way of holding people's attention, providing enthusiasm and motivating others. With the Democratic National Convention just ending up, Obama came out and captivated the entire audience. What an historical scene it truly was.

I know what you are asking yourself, what does Barack Obama have to do with the NFL? Good question. Well, during Obama's speech he made several references to the phrase, "Now is the time." As I was watching this unfold, I thought to myself that this line is quite fitting. Football season is upon us. The time is now.

Fantasy football drafts are in full swing, the boring and slow preseason games are finished, and college football is entering week one this weekend. The excitement is all around us.

I did not get to completely enjoy this entire preseason football rush last year. It's not too difficult to figure out why. 1) The Indians were on their way to the AL Central crown, and I was in full Tribe mode. 2) I figured the Browns would be awful, and after watching their week one performance in person, that initial thought was an understatement. 3) I quickly found out that Notre Dame's defense was better than their offense last year. Knowing that it is no surprise that the Irish only won three games last year.

However this season it is a completely different story. 1) The Indians have been completely out of the pennant race since June. 2) The Browns won 10 games this year and I have front row tickets to their season opener against the Cowboys. 3) Lou Holtz has said time and time again that ND will win double-digit games this year. I don't believe it, but nonetheless, it gets me a little giddy. So here we go.

It is time for the 2nd annual NFL Pick 'Em. Same rules as of last year, but this season we have more than doubled our membership. Retaining every player from 2007, we have added eleven new players, bringing our total to 20 for 2008. With $20 coming from each player that makes a total of $400 up for grabs. We are paying the top four, with the payout looking like this: 200-100-60-40.

We will have a column out once a week with all of the games as well as the picks and comments from all of the players involved. Special columns this year will be: Kevin's BallBuster Pick, The Maxine Hunt Pick of the Week, Po's Knowledge Dropping, The Promise's Promise (name subject to change), Chew On This (name subject to change), and an occasional Bart's Thought of The Week (I've noticed that Bart can go several weeks in a row without a single thought at all, so it will be 'occasional' at this point). As you can see, lots of stuff will be coming your way. Week one gets underway this Thursday night.

How about a recap from last year. Barnes stormed out to the early week one lead, and held it until week three when Barnes did something that will never be topped. He went 3-13, but his only three wins came via a tie. Despite making a pick for every single game, Barnes was unable to get one game correct. He could not rebound, and even though he tried to fight back, finished just outside of the money in fourth place.

Sara took over Barnes' vacated spot after week three and did not let go for one month. However, yours truly got a little lucky and strung some great week records together to take over the lead in week seven. I did not look back, posting a 150-106 record, and taking first place by 12 games. Kevin, despite his best efforts to foil himself with an unimpressive ballbuster season, came on strong at the end to grab second place, going 138-118 in the process. Sara was able to hold off Barnes, Jeff and Devin for the third spot, putting up a very respectable 136-120 record. Here were the final standings.

1) Luke: 150-106
2) Kevin: 138-118
3) Sara: 136-120
4) Barnes: 130-126
5) Devin: 129-127
5) Jeff: 129-127
7) Bart: 115-141
8) Grothaus: 106-150

Everyone who sent in picks for every week managed to go above .500, which I think is quite impressive. These spreads we are picking against are designed to even the playing field and make picking a winner quite difficult. As for Bart and Grothaus, well, Bart just gave up the final two weeks when he saw he had no shot at winning, while Grothaus killed himself after the Tribe blew a 3-1 series lead in the ALCS. So, he went the last three or four weeks without a pick.

Last year I introduced everyone before we started to make picks, and I will be doing so again here. Odds will be posted after every one's intro. Let me know if you are interested in wagering on yourself, or maybe even on someone else. I will take these on a case-by-case basis. Any ways, here is the preseason look at the members of the 2008 NFL ATS Pick 'Em league. What a lucky bunch.

MEMBERS (in alphabetical order)

1) Matt Barnes - What can I say about this guy that hasn't been already been said? Met this guy the second day of college and we have been great friends ever since. He is currently working in Augusta, GA. where he is trying to work hard enough to get me a pass to Augusta National. He has been writing some great blog posts as of late, so make sure to check out those over on my sidebar. Look for us to combine for a couple of posts here down the road. I give him credit for the name of this entire blog, because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be able to make the claim of "King of Arguments." I've dominated everyone we've had. Moving on, he doesn't have a favorite football team, but I think that might give him an extra edge. He is also determined to make up for last seasons' debacle, so he has the extra motivation working in his favor as well.
Odds to win it all: 14-1.

2) Brian Boesch - The first newcomer to the league. Met Brian back during Spring Quarter of last year as he conducted my interview with the Southern Ohio Copperheads. I must have said something right as he gave me the position. Brian is a huge Cleveland Indians fan, even more so than the Browns, which I find surprising. Brian and I are currently doing play-by-play for the Athens High School Football team on WATH. Boesch has made the comment to me before that he is a baseball guy, so I think he might be at a little disadvantage with this.
Odds to win it all: 18-1.

3) Bart Borer - I have no words. Bart is simply one of a kind. If you have ever met him than you will agree. Bart and I went to high school together back in Tiffin, OH at Tiffin Calvert. Bart was a great football player back in the day, and was the only freshman to start for the Varsity back in 2000. Injuries plagued him too much, but he was an absolute force in the trenches. To this day he still is an absolute force. Bart had some of the best comments last year, including his ongoing reference to the movie "Philadelphia." Bart also made the first provisional pick last season when he wouldn't pick the Vikings if they were wearing their purple jerseys. I expect nothing less from him this year. As far as winning it all, well, if Bart were to win this whole thing, that would be like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays winning the World Series one day (uh oh, here he comes).
Odds to win it all: 22-1.
4) Andrew Braverman - What can I say? Our league just got a lot more interesting with the addition of Braves or AJB for short. Braves was one of my mentors sort to speak, as he was involved with WOUB and was two years older than me. Some of my favorite memories with Braves involve coming up with the term, "reach," doing our live-shot from Gallipolis as Gallia Academy played Sheridan in a titanic high-school playoff contest, and whenever him and Keith Taylor got together. Braves is currently in Tennessee as he is working for a sports-talk radio station. A big Arizona Wildcats and Chicago Cubs fan, AJB brings a distinct flavor to this league. He is obviously knowledgeable with sports, and that will help him out tremendously in our pick 'em. Look for him to be near the top for most of the year, and to develop some on-going banter with just about anyone.
Odds to win it all: 14-1.

5) Brad Bursa - I was very excited when Brad, or Bursa as we call him, told me he wanted to compete against his younger brother in this league. A little sibling rivalry is something this group has never had, and I can not wait to see how it all plays out. I've known Bursa for quite some time, but we became good friends our Freshman year of high school, and we've stayed great friends ever since. Bursa is living out in Denver, Colorado and just completed his second week of teaching high school. He is getting married in December of this year, and marks the first of my good friends to do so, which should make for a memorable occasion. We've had some outstanding memories of our own, including, but not limited to, co-hosting WHEI in the morning, reserving our own parking spots, Hogan's History class, and of course the ceiling bracket. As for this league, he is motivated to oust his younger brother and sounded determined to do so on the phone this evening. However, will that be enough to crack the top five? That is the question of the hour.
Odds to win it all: 33-2 (16.5-1).

6) Brandin Bursa - My little brother from another mother. Brandin is the younger brother of one of my best friends, Brad Bursa. I've spent countless nights over at his house watching all sorts of sporting events. It seems like every time Brandin and I watch a game we have to bet on something, and it usually involves food. For the 2007 National Championship Game between Florida and the Buckeyes, we had to eat a certain amount of Airheads for every touchdown scored. Brandin was on the wrong side of that contest. He is the only member of this league to be currently playing football, as he is the starting WR/CB for the good ole' Tiffin Calvert Senecas. I didn't make it to the first game of the season, but my dad assured me that Brandin played a great game, grabbing two interceptions. Can he win this league? Well, he likes the Lions, so I doubt it.
Odds to win it all: 19-1.

7) Luke Florence - Yours truly. It's always difficult to handicap yourself, because you want to remain humble and not come off as bragging. However, I am the defending champ, and I've always done pretty well in our pick 'em leagues dating all the way back to Calvert. I will offer one piece of advice here, the key to this league is to pick up on trends BEFORE they happen. Last year it was the Packers and the Browns, who knows what team it will be this year? Picking up on these teams before the odds makers and general public will give you a great advantage. Do with this as you will.
Odds to repeat: 27-2 (13.5-1).

8) Devin Frank - My sidekick on Old College Roommates. Devin is another 2004 TCHS alum as there are seven of them in this league (Devin, Hunt, Chewy, Curtis, Bart, Bursa and myself), representing more than one/third of the entire group. Devin went to Ohio University his freshman year, where we were roomies in Washington Hall. After one year, Devin made his way back to Heidelberg where he currently goes to school. Devin is the only Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan amongst us, and was pretty surprised to see them in the playoffs last year. Had he been expecting that, he might have improved on his fifth place position last season. When I get my own podcast, a regular feature will more than likely be me and him talking football, because Devin knows his stuff. His specialty is the Alma-maters of guys in the NFL. With one year of experience under his belt, I like his chances to finish in the money.
Odds to win it all: 15-1.

9) Michael Grothaus - Also known as Monkey. Grothaus went to TCHS, but was one year younger than us. Most of my memories with Grothaus come from the golf course as we were on the golf team together for three years. We entered at the same time and steadily got better at probably the same pace as well. We have had some legendary qualifying matches in the past, and nearly all of them involve me choking a rather large lead with less than two holes remaining. One classic match even went extra distance, resulting in me losing on the third playoff hole with the entire team watching. You have no idea how badly I would like to see videotape from all of those playoffs. Monkey is a Buffalo Bills fan (don't ask me why or how) and when he actually turned in his picks last year was doing pretty well. However, when his Tribe imploded, so did he. This time around, with the Tribe struggling, I expect bigger things.
Odds to win it all: 17-1.

10) Kevin Hunt - KHunt, Lil' Scooter or just simply, Hunt. I have known this guy literally my entire life. We were in the same Kindergarten class, and when we proved we were the only ones in our class who could actually count to ten by ourselves, we were bumped up to 1st grade for Reading and Math. It was almost as if we were meant to be best friends. Moving away from this sappy stuff, Hunt came from out of nowhere the last two weeks to grab second place away from Sara. It was the first time all season Hunt had occupied a spot in the top two, but he picked a great week to do so. Now he is working as a News Producer for the NBC affiliate in Madison, Wisc. Bart and myself are planning a trip up there for the Buckeyes game on October 4th, which could get ridiculous in a hurry. I'm making Hunt my odds on favorite to win it all, because I believe he will carry his momentum he gathered the last two weeks of 2007 right into 2008. Also, I'm not stupid enough to go against the Maxine Hunt Pick of the Week either.
Odds to win it all: 12-1.

11) Shane Kline - The only guy Hunt can say he is taller than. I met Shane during my time spent up at WOUB. Our time up there at the station overlapped for a brief quarter, as I was on my way out and Shane was on his way in. However, I really got to know Shane through Intramural Sports. We worked a couple games as softball umpires, and played on a couple of teams as well. This kid is Mr. Intramural. He is the best racquetball player I've ever seen and is a force out there on the dodge ball court. Kline is also a passionate Browns fan, which is always a plus in my book. I'm tabbing Shane as my darkhorse pick to win it all, because it wouldn't surprise me at all if he came out on top. However, it can't be stated enough how difficult this is for rookies to win.
Odds to win it all: 31-2 (15.5-1).

12) Curtis Kummerer - Curtis was my partner sophomore year in our miniature game of basketball we played up on the top floor before school started. It was a combination of basketball and football, which made Curtis nearly unstoppable. Needless to say, we won it all. He also was the main running back our junior year, helping lead the Senecas to an appearance in the regional finals. Huss and I drove to that game, and it was the coldest game we've ever gone to. Add another die-hard Browns fan to the list, as Curtis bleeds Brown and Orange as well. Will his football talent translate into football knowledge? We will have to wait and see.
Odds to win it all: 33-2 (16.5-1).
13) Alex Lucius - As with Bart previously, I find myself at a loss of words trying to introduce this man. He goes by Big Al, or just Lucius. He and Kevin are the only two guys in this league to go to both St. Mary's Grade School and Tiffin Calvert with me, albeit Lucius being one grade below us. There are so many memories that I could include here for Big Al, but only a few suitable for this blog. Lucius rode shotgun when I allegedly broke into Little Hugo's, he was the lead-off bowler on "Winslow's Soldiers" last summer, and we have gone to the last three Browns home openers (make it four this year). The biggest thing working in Lucius' favor for this league is that he is the only football coach I know amongst us. He is currently the Calvert Junior High coach, but has also conned unknowing girls before to believing he was the o-line coach for the Cleveland Browns (true story). Because of all his football knowledge and overwhelming charisma, I am giving Big Al a decent shot at cashing in.
Odds to win it all: 15-1.

14) Jeff Normand - Also known as Mr. Normand (Sara's Dad), well at least for the first few weeks last year. If you think you are the biggest Browns fan then you don't know Jeff very well. He not only painted his car Browns colors, he made it look just like one of their helmets. It is insane. You can always bank on Jeff coming through with solid picks, as he was Mr. Consistency all season long in 2007. He always gets his picks in on time and always has a comment for each and every game. The world would be a much better place if there were more "Jeffs" out there. Usually Mr. Consistencies don't win entire leagues, but they have a very good chance of making some money.
Odds to win it all: 16-1.

15) Sara Normand - The one and only girl. Don't be fooled, Sara can, and usually does, clean up in these things. Every single fantasy league I've ever been with her, she has ended up winning some money. Last year in this league she was in one of the top two spots for 14 of the 17 weeks. Also last year she was overseas making these picks in Australia, and yet again this season she will be away from the U.S.A, as she will be residing in Ireland (or Scotland, I forgot). She is a big Browns and Reds fan, so maybe its only fair she is good in fantasy, because her professional teams haven't been good for a long time. She is my second choice to win it all this year, just because she has a long track record of cashing in.
Odds to win it all: 25-2 (12.5-1).

16) Ryan Polito - The hated Steelers fan. I met Polito last Winter Quarter as we watched the Buckeyes get stomped by LSU in the National Championship Game. We also watched Kelly Pavlik and the NBA All-Star festivities as well. When you combine our BBG (Big Ben Game) and Court St. adventures, it is safe to say we hung out a lot during Winter Quarter. Polito delivered the "what in the hell were you thinking" moment when he broke his hand playing basketball. He broke it slamming it into the matting after he missed a lay-up (don't ask me why he expected to make it in the first place). I'm looking forward to Po's Knowledge Dropping, and you should be to, because you might be involved. Stay tuned for more details. I expect Polito to be near the top of this league when it is all said and done, which is why I am making him a slight favorite over myself.
Odds to win it all: 13-1.

17) Chris Rapking - Simply known as Rapking. Rapking and I were on a couple of Ohio University Intramural teams (basketball and co-ed softball) our Freshman and Sophomore years. I was able to meet Rapking fairly early in my OU career because he lived in Reed Hall, which is where Hunt lived as well. For an honors dorm, that hall was a little ridiculous. I'm not sure what team is Rapking's favorite, but I'm guessing the Bengals. It seems that every Fantasy League I enter, Rapking is there as well. While his track record is not the greatest in those leagues, he has a chance to surprise a lot of people in this pick 'em league.
Odds to win it all: 20-1.

18) Andrew Reinhart - Father Reinhart soon enough. Andrew, or Chewy as he is known, is the last of the 2004 TCHS graduates in this league. He is currently in the process of becoming a Priest, but don't let that fool you. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to football. Chewy was always a regular member of our pick 'em leagues back at Calvert, and was always near the top. Chewy was one heck of an athlete for the Senecas, placing at states in wrestling (215 lbs) and being one of the best linemen on the football field for a couple of years. I would have given Chewy better odds, but unfortunately, his one flaw is that he is a Denver Broncos fan. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I gave him the odds he probably deserves. Chewy, please forgive me.
Odds to win it all: 29-2 (14.5-1).

19) Justin Whelan - Yet another Cleveland Browns fan. We are well represented in this group, making a grand total of nine, just slightly less than half of the league. Again, Justin and I were on an Intramural Softball team our sophomore years. In fact, my greatest OUIM moment came from that team we were on. Playing, by far, the best team in our league, we were able to come out victorious despite the fact we only had eight guys (taking two automatic outs every other inning). Justin played both first and second base for us, as we won a 9-3 classic. Whelan is a solid basketball player as well, playing on the club team down in Athens. I think he has a very good chance to cash in, and these odds might be a bit too high.
Odds to win it all: 15-1.

20) Jake Young - Mr. Brett Favre. Wrapping up our league is Jake, without a doubt the biggest Brett Favre fan here (unless Hunt has converted during his time spent in Madison). Jake is currently doing the WOUB thing and we met through some mutual friends. Currently Jake is covering the MVL for Gridiron Glory and going live from Zanesville, like yours truly used to do back in the day. He did a great job in his first live shot. Jake has a fantastic blog as well (when he updates it) and you should check it out over on my sidebar. He is a big Green Bay Packer fan (as you may have guessed) and was left heart-broken when the Pack couldn't close the deal against the Giants last year. Will Aaron Rodgers be able to take over the helm? Will Jake do well in these picks? Something tells me that the answers to these questions might be related.
Odds to win it all: 35-2 (17.5-1).
So there ya go, a look at all of our members this year. First game is this coming Thursday, so look for our week one picks relatively soon. Enjoy and best of luck to everyone. Go Browns.

The time is now.

Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."