From a lull to a roar! As summer fades into the sunset, the best time of the year in sports is approaching.
Yes, the excitement builds. Locally, junior hockey begins this month; the Prince George Cougars and P.G. Spruce Kings are two weeks away from the start of their regular season.
On the professional scene, NHL training camps are approaching with the Vancouver Canucks in Whistler (Sept 19-22). Major League Baseball is in the home stretch with the regular season scheduled to end September 28. The NBA, with rejuvenated interest thanks to player/executive Lebron James and Kevin Love joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, will start next month. The CFL enters the second half of its season and arguably the best of the bunch, the NFL kicked off Thursday when the Seattle Seahawks crushed the Green Bay Packers 36-16.
Speaking of the NFL, one down and 255 games left (plus 11 in the playoffs)! Amidst the culture of the NFL, many fans compete in a growing trend, where participants speculate and pick weekly winners in a popular contest widely referred to as THE FOOTBALL POOL.
Prince George is no different than most cities as interest in the NFL elevates by participating in a pool. Some, like the one hosted by 94.3 the Goat are free. Others have a token entry fee. I have been involved in football pools since the 1980’s and they are as enjoyable today as back then.
There are wide spectrums of pools that include:
• Time frame: weekly winners or season-long chase.
• Survivor pools: pick one team each week to win, keep going until the last player is left alive;
• Elimination pools: pick one team each week to lose, keep going until the last player is left alive;
• Team-win pools: draft certain teams whose wins count for you during the season.
Like many football enthusiasts, I have had some good years and bad ones in trying to pick game winners on a weekly basis (non-point spread). Sure strategy comes into play. Here are some guidelines that I try to follow:
• Know the line: Vegas odds makers are professionals who know what they are doing when they establish a line. Use that as a gauge. Watch carefully as lines change throughout the week. As a rule of thumb, do not pick any “Major” upsets (underdog of 7-plus points).
• Past reputations: Avoid picking teams living off previous reputations that have not been successful in recent years. Dallas is a prime example. The Cowboys are just 8-8 in each of the past three years and they haven’t won the Super Bowl since 1996, yet many fans get caught up in the Tony Romo hype and how this is going to be his year.
• Maintain Focus: Attention should emphasize on how teams are doing this season, not previous ones. If it is the start of the year, do not place any emphasis on pre-season records. For example, Minnesota went 4-0 in exhibition play this year while Indianapolis went 0-4, yet the Colts are a much better team. If unsure about a toss-up game, go with your gut instinct, home field advantage and/or the team on a winning streak. Do not have a soft spot for one’s favorite team, especially if they are a bottom feeder like the Raiders or Jaguars. Objectivity remains at the forefront.
• Key to Success: The blueprint for winning a pool is “nailing” the games that are close on the spread (three or less points). In this realm, upsets are common. Still, it is important to have some basis for believing the so called better team will lose. To increase one’s chances, know the competing team’s home and away records, key injuries, and importance of the game and recent past history of the two teams.
• Have Fun: Of course, it’s more fun to win each game but do not get discouraged about having a bad week. Standings fluctuate and it only takes a few games to change the direction of the leaderboard.
#
In each of the last 11 NFL seasons, there’s been at least one team go from worst to first in their division. For instance, Philadelphia went from bottom in 2012 to top in 2013. The last place teams in 2013 were Washington, Minnesota, Tampa, St Louis, Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Oakland. In this group, the Bucs and Texans have the best chance while the Rams and Raiders have the least
chance of going from the cellar to division champions.
Did you know that in each of the past 26 years at least one NFL team has increased its win total by five or more games from the previous season? Last year, for example, Kansas City went from two wins in 2012 to 11 in 2013. With this in mind, who will that team(s) be in 2013? My best candidates are Houston (2-14 last year), Washington (3-13) plus Atlanta and Tampa (both 4-12).
It’s a guess in early September about who will win the Super Bowl in February. Denver (5 to 1 Las Vegas odds) is the safest bet since they are in the weaker conference (AFC) but the last three Super Bowl champions (Seattle, Baltimore and N.Y. Giants) were not expected to win at the start of the season. And it’s that mystique of the unexpected, in addition to unprecedented hoopla, that has help elevate the NFL to North America’s undisputed most popular sport.
From the Quote Rack:
Baylor’s new stadium has brick tarp instead of real brick. They hope to replace the tarp soon with the real thing—Dwight Howard’s free throws.
49er fans are breathing a sigh of relief upon hearing that DL Ray McDonald was only arrested for domestic violence—they thought he’d done something serious like fail a drug test.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
The NFL will not fine Ndamukong Suh for roughing Jacksonville QB Chad Henne. Guess they figure they’ll pull in enough money from Suh during the regular season.
The San Antonio Spurs are amongst the teams trying to sign Ray Allen, Guess the NBA champions figure it’s time for a youth movement.
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Denver Broncos receiver Wes Welker has been suspended four games after testing positive for amphetamines that were allegedly ingested when he was at the Kentucky Derby. The league did not test him for “Lasix” or “Bute”.
A Great Dane in Oregon had to have 43 ½ socks removed from his stomach. The owners are now shopping for Wet Sock flavored Milk Bones.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver (http://alwaysfunny.com/)
Scientists at MIT claim they have successfully removed painful memories from the mind of a mouse. They’re still working on the Maple Leafs fan.
Caroline Wozniacki lost a point at the US Open when her pony tail got caught in her racquet. She won the match but may have suffered a tress fracture.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
And in case you missed it:
A study says that 9% of people have no close friends. The other 91% have a subscription to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket.
Jim Barach of WCHS-TV in Charleston, W.Va. http://jokesbyjim.blogspot.com/
Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for radio station TheGoat94.3 His column appears weekly on hqprincegeorge.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller