A fresh start. A new day. A clean slate. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.When Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl this past February it signaled the end of the 2009 NFL season, and ultimately, the beginning of the 2010 NFL ATS Pick 'Em League.
It's year four, and by now it doesn't make much sense for me to explain the rules or basic principles behind an Against The Spread League. We should be good to go there. But, we do need to go over some of the major changes to our much beloved league.
For one, I'm no longer in charge of the money. That duty is passed over to our league secretary, Kevin Hunt. The league entry fee will stay the same as always - $20, and the monies can be sent to his address, which is ...
Kevin Hunt
1718 Canvasback Ln.
Columbus, OH 43215
Even I will be sending him money. I did a piss-ass job handling the finances last year, so upon recognizing this, decided that Kevin would be the best person for the job. I'm not setting any deadline this year. Instead, if Kevin doesn't think the money is coming, then that person will be let go. Simple as that.
Two, (and this is a BIG one) we are going digital this year. No more constant e-mails with the spreads attached. Instead, we are going to be using CBS. Their website - cbs.sportsline.com - has an ATS league feature where I can input the spreads we will be using. You will need a CBS account to access it (if you don't have one, get one, it's free). Here is how you find us.
http://nflats10.football.cbssports.com/
Get a CBS account if you do not have one, and then access that pool. It is where I will post the spreads and you can make your picks. Standings will be updated there as well. Any questions, get at me. This will take a tremendous load off my hands. Last year, 60% of my time was spent on updating standings, picks, etc. Now, you will have one hour before the start of the first game of the day to get your picks in. If you miss a Thursday game, no big deal, but if you miss that first Sunday game, you will be in trouble.
Lastly, if you want to make comments, and I hope you do, then here is the e-mail address you will need.
2010nflats@gmail.com
Please, please, please, send your comments in an attachment. This helps me out a lot in terms of editing. We are going to have special sections again, but instead of me editing them, we are going to post links at the end of our column. The link will go to that person's own blog, which hopefully helps give them hits and saves me time formatting.
Now I know we don't have a lot of time, with the first game starting here on September 9th, but we should be ready to go on the KOA's end. Again, any questions at all, get at me.
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
