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Vol.
10 No. 1 - Oct. 8, 2005
Football Happenings
(
or... welcome back my friends...) |
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Current Standings at a glance
as of 10-12-2005
|
Name |
W |
L |
Pct |
GB |
1 |
Rob
Tringali |
48 |
26 |
.649 |
- |
| 2 |
James
Howell |
42 |
30 |
.595 |
4 |
3 |
Bob
Shupp |
42 |
32 |
.568 |
6 |
3 |
Dawn
Bunting |
42 |
32 |
.568 |
6 |
3 |
Jess
Ruble |
42 |
32 |
.568 |
6 |
3 |
Mikey
Joyce |
42 |
32 |
.568 |
6 |
|
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In
This Issue:
Happy
New Year!!
The season begins
(without us)
 Happy
Rosh Hashanah, everyone! It’s fitting that the first issue of
FBH for 2005 comes out at the turn of the Jewish New Year (number
5766 if you’re scoring at home) -- the celebration of date the
Torah says Adam and Eve were created. I don’t know how they
figure these things out. Maybe Andy Rooney was there to report it…
he certainly looks old enough.
My first
of what is sure to be many digressions over the coming football season
now aside, I’d like to extend a hearty welcome to all you fine
folks, appreciation for your desire to be part of our very special
20th season of Football Happenings. I’m hoping
everyone has an enjoyable and successful year and that what will make
this season “very special” is not the fact that Ralph
and I will only be publishing one issue per month.
We have
a couple of new and returning members this season...
[ First,
my beautiful sister and 1994 FBH Champion Dawn Bunting
is back to demonstrate her expertise.
[ This
year, Dawn’s amazing 10-year-old daughters Heather
and Jess will be competing for the first time.
They are already showing their respective genius. Hey, nothing like
teaching the kids to gamble at a young age.
[
Mike Carothers, who recently became engaged to
our defending champion Ron “Juggernaut” Hade’s
daughter LeAnn, has signed on to do battle with his future Father-in-law.
We already had our quotient of Eagles fans, but we made an exception
to let Mike in because he seems like an otherwise solid guy.
[
It’s also good to have my Uncle Bob “Cheech”
Marin back again this season. Uncle Bob’s always
rooting on the Giants between rounds of golf and boat trips out
onto Long Island Sound. Plus, you can never have enough Bobs.
[
Last but not least, the ranks of our international contingent grows
again as Wouter van Zutphen, hailing from Amsterdam,
The Netherlands, comes into the fold. Wouter has been a member of
Bob’s fantasy football league for the last few years and is
a die-hard Amsterdam Admirals (current NFL Europe World Bowl XIII
Champions) fan. Other than Mike “If it ain’t
Scottish, it’s CRAP!” Hogg, Wouter may be the
only member of FBH who knows the difference between Kurt Kittner
and Jon Kitna.
But Wouter, despite only having seen one NFL game in person
(to my knowledge) and only getting infrequent NFL TV coverage at
home, has truly endeared himself to me by way of his enthusiastic,
unflagging devotion to the New York Jets. This is possibly because
they were once the New Amsterdam Jets, I’m not sure. More
likely, it’s because he didn’t have to suffer through
the Rich Kotite era.
You can read more about the Champion Admirals at: www.admirals.nl/english/index.html
Welcome
to all our new competitors! Ralph (our Assistant Commissioner and
web site magician) will make sure your names are added to the pull-down
menu on the “Picks” page. Just let us know (Ralph@footballhappenings.com)
if you have any questions.
Overall
Standings
The way things look so far
First and foremost, thanks to Ralph for compiling
four weeks worth of picks in one day this week. It was a heroic effort.
Sadly, it appears that he has produced standings from some “Bizzaro”
world. Case in point, Rob “NFL Photographer Guy”
Tringali is in first place with an outstanding 39-21 record.
Despite Rob’s opportunities to be “Up close and personal”
with pro football players over the years, and a good lifetime picking
percentage, I don’t recall him leading the FBH pack in the past.
This is an obvious error.
The other
evidence that the standings are somehow inverted is I somehow have
the worst record in America! This must be due either to a strange
statistical anomaly or further proof that computers have, indeed,
taken over the world and that, in general, something is seriously,
seriously wrong.
I can’t
remember a worse start than 22-38 (.367 winning percentage). Thankfully,
and quite graciously, Wouter has launched his FBH
career with a 21-39 tally, so I’m spared the dubious distinction
of being in last place, at least for another week.
And spurious
reports to the contrary notwithstanding, I will NOT be attempting
to break the 9- year old record for futility held by Dave
“Dane” Schwade. Dave uncorked a 97-142-1 record
for a .406 winning percentage in 1996.
Okay, enough
fun. I’ve got to tip my hat to the outstanding FBH performers
so far this season. Dawn “Dute” Bunting
has resumed her excellent FBH career where it left off, already 10
games over .500. Dute is joined in second place – only 4 games
off the lead – by Jame “There’s only one”
Howell, 1999 FBH Champion Mikey “Almond”
Joyce, and Jess “Rosebud” Ruble.
The esteemed Miss Kimba is alone in 6th place, five
games back.
Ralph has
created a handy chart showing the week-by-week results for our entire
FBH family. Please check your record and make sure it agrees with
your notes. (If you didn’t submit picks for a certain week,
you were assigned the home teams for that week unless you have standing
orders with Ralph to the contrary.) If not, let Ralph know. Ralph
will be adding a way to report your standing default selections (home,
underdogs, alphabetical, etc.). Once you’ve done that once,
it will be set until you advise him differently.
From that
chart, I notice several performances of distinction. It looks like
the best showing for one week so far was a whopping 13-3 in week 2
by Angelo “Sheehy” Forgione. Boy, could
I use a couple of those right now. We had several 11-win weeks, accomplished
by Alex “Bassinette” Bunting, Kelly
“Lovie” Howell, Dute, Mikey, Jess, and Rob (who
was extra fancy, doing it in a 14-game week).
Remember,
no divisions or quarters this season, just a head-up charge to the
finish. Good luck to all!
Oh
Where, Oh Where Has My Quarterback Gone?
Oh where, oh where could he be?
Argh! The season has gotten off to a rocky start for my heroes, The
New York Jets. I was fortunate to attend the Jets/Jags contest in
week 3; a game Jacksonville narrowly won but in which we tragically
lost our number 1 and number 2 quarterbacks, Chad Pennington and Jay
Fiedler. When your top two signal callers have to carpool to noted
orthopedist Dr. James Andrews’s office, it’s safe to say
it’s not what Ed the Fireman and the Jets Nation had hoped for.
Most disappointing,
though, is the loss of Fiedler. While Pennington is the offensive
spiritual leader of the team, he was still coming back from off-season
shoulder surgery and was showing that he was either not yet at full
strength or, worse still, that he would permanently be a shadow of
his former self. Fiedler, while not among the NFL elite, is quite
a capable and gutsy QB and can certainly lead a pro team to victory.
As Chad’s 2005 season was still in question, Fiedler provided
a ready contingency plan; one that The Mighty Jets might be all too
quick to need. And there was a real sense of relief and hope in the
stadium crowd when Jay trotted onto the field early in the second
half of the Jax game.
After the
Jacksonville tilt, it became time to play that wonderful game: “One
of these things is not like the others”:
(a) Trent Green
F Kurt Warner
+ a Rams Super Bowl
(b) Drew Bledsoe F
Tom Brady + 3 Patriots Super Bowls
(c) Chad Pennington F
Vinny Testaverde + ???
Meet the
new boss…same as the old boss.
Yes, Vinny
Testaverde, who is literally 14 months younger than I am, is back
in charge of the Jets huddle. But have I given up? Not on your life.
Like my friend Wouter, I’m “all-in” emotionally.
I realize the current occupant of our #1 skill position is 13 years
older than the Texas Rangers GM, and that we’re off to a 1-3
start with a rugged schedule to come, but I’m just getting back
to work, recharging the batteries for Tampa Bay this Sunday…
just like Coach Herm Edwards is.
And to the
Jets fans and the local media I say it’s high time to get more
positive. I know we haven’t seen a Jets championship in 36 seasons.
But 15 of the NFL’s 32 teams have NEVER won a Super Bowl. And,
arguably, we won the biggest one of them all. Surrounding the team
with negativity and a fatalistic attitude, especially when we have
made the playoffs in 6 of the past 8 seasons – unprecedented
success for the franchise – cannot be doing anyone any good.
We’re going to get a lot farther expecting to win than we are
waiting for “inevitable disappointment.” It’s time
to buck up and say, “GO JETS!”
NFL
Happenings
Where did September go?
 Hi
folks, as you can imagine, it's been a rough several weeks for me.
I've decided to take a break with the NFL photos in an effort to get
this thing published before another several months go by. Please forgive
me. This feature will certainly return in the very near future.
The 2000 and 5 NFL season has been a whirlwind for me. Week 1 found
me in New Jersey, watching the Jets get crushed by Kansas City alone
before heading to the hospital to see my Mom. Week 2 was better, as
I hung out with Ron Hade watching the Jets win and
watching him lose his first 8 picks that week. Week 3 was spent at
the Meadowlands, suffering thru a tough OT loss to Jacksonville in
the company of Bob, Roy, Dave
and my Dad. I hadn't been to a football game with
my Dad in over 20 years, so it was special for that at least. Week
4 and I was back in Texas, as my head exploded in "Roy's Sports
Den". Ken Davis, Dyalan and
I were treated to a larger-than-life, 8 games at-a-time, projection
on the wall and a regular TV with random looks at the Jets, Cowboys,
and Baseball's regular season final day, all while "stat-tracking"
both our Yahoo Fantasy Leagues.
While
it was a "September to Remember", it was also one I'd just
as soon forget. Filled with good times and bad, happy times and sad.
I know I speak for all the Shupps (and Shupp off-shoots)
when I say thank you all for the kind words, thoughts,
and prayers as we said good-bye to the most important woman in our
lives. Our family is strong, and we'll persevere. Meanwhile, it's
great to be back here, with all of you, our FBH Family. God bless
you all.
P
on the PP
A Month Full Of P
Is it because we
here at FBH-HQ really care what you, the reader, is thinking? No.
Is it because we're genuinely curious to get your thoughts on the
hot topics of the day? Don't be silly. Is it just filler on the Picks
Page, another feeble attempt to bring humor to an otherwise ultra-serious
part of our lives? Could be! Never-the-less, the PPP has become an
FBH tradition. One that refuses to go away. So accept it, embrace
it, or continue to ignore it. (Hey, that could be our next PPP question:
"The PPP: Do you, A) Accept it. B)
Embrace it. C) Ignore it". I'm guessing C
would win hands down, but how would we know, since those who ignore
it wouldn't answer in the first place? Hmm... quite the conundrum.)
Week
#1: We asked, what year is this? This question still
lingers because I haven't gotten around to changing the graphic at
the top of this and most every page of Football Happenings. Four people
said it's 2005, four others said it's 2004.
While 13 people said "this is the year I win FBH".
You know all of you are wrong, as the correct answer to such a stupid
question was of course, "Huh?" (5 votes).
Week
#2: We asked, what was the biggest surprise from the week
before? Most of you didn't know we decided to make FBH a
no-cash prize event this year. This might take some of the lustre
off our fine league, but collecting and disbursing funds has become
an even bigger chore for Roy and I than putting together a new webpage
every week (or two, or three). Checks come in sporadically, as people
either forget, or wait to see if they might win a QTR, or are owed
for past victories and were never properly compensated. Over the past
few years, FBH has slipped into the financial red (or is it black?
whichever the bad one is, that's where we are), and we've come to
realize that while the money is nice, it's more about community, and
family, and bragging rights. And let's face it, winning a QTR and
getting $25 for it isn't going to change anyone's life. Maybe First
Place this year should win a full tank of gasoline. That's gonna be
worth a few hundred dollars by January 2006. Actually, we have a few
other ideas floating around for prizes at the end of the season, including
medals, awards, and maybe even home-made FBH t-shirts. C'mon, who
wouldn't trade $25 for an FBH t-shirt?
So
what was the biggest surprise from Week #1? Eight people said the
Stinky Jets was a bigger surprise than the Saints
dramatic victory (4 votes), and the No Cash Prizes
(7 votes). But 3 people got the answer correct when they said that
Sam Mitchell taking the fall for the murder of Den Watts
was the biggest surprise of all. As any EastEnders
fan knows, Den was a bastard who screwed over everyone he ever met,
including the poor but beautiful Samantha Mitchell, who along with
Zoe Slater and Den's own wife Chrissie joined in on a plan to "call
Den out" in front of his beloved daughter Sharon. While Zoe dealt
what she thought was the "death blow" to Den's head, it
was Chrissie who really put the final kybosh on Den's skull, while
poor Sam stood by and watched. Yet Sam got arrested while Zoe fled
the country and Chrissie pretended to be the grieving widow. That
b*tch Chrissie has got to pay for what she's done. Free Sam Mitchell!!
Free Sam Mitchell!!
Week
#3: We asked, what's the most exciting race? Yankees-Red
Sox Pennant race got 9 votes. The race away from the Gulf
of Mexico in fear of Hurricane Rita got 3 votes.
Bob versus Roy/Ken in our Yahoo League got 2 votes
(neither vote came from Bob, Roy, or Ken, oddly enough). Thankfully,
at least 1 person other than me got the joke and answered Caucasian.
Week
#4: We asked, what would happen before the FBH website got
a full update? It's less than comforting to know that 6 people
thought the Pennant Races would be decided, 4 people
thought Barry Bonds would come out of the Steroids closet,
8 people thought Vinny Testeverde would lead the Jets to SuperBowl
glory, and 2 people thought that Pigs would fly
before FBH got updated. Ye of little faith. Roy and I would like to
thank the rest of you who seemingly refused to believe we would allow
ANY of those things to happen before we updated your beloved FBH Website.
We beat them all, so... BLEH!!
Extra
Points
Maybe the best 3 minutes in Football Happenings?
[
What have you poor people been doing without your frequent Rutgers
updates? To catch up, the 2005 Scarlet Knights are 3-1 and are just
a second-half comeback by Illinois away from being undefeated. Last
week, the Knights knocked off the talented Pitt Panthers. This week,
they host rival West Virginia in the Big East game of the week. Red
Team Upstream! Etcetera.
[
The New York Giants lead the NFL in most points scored this season.
Let me repeat that. The New York Giants lead the NFL in most points
scored this season. Still doesn’t sound right, but it looks
like Eli Manning is the real deal and that has got to make those Giant
Boys happy.
[
However, I’m wondering if the NFC East is just a bit overrated
right now. Surprising 2005 note, part 2: The Redskins are 3-0. Real
or aberration? With all respect to Coach Gibbs, it’s not even
an aberration – it’s an apparition. They beat Chicago
(ho-hum) in week 1, beat Dallas on a Monday night miracle and dodged
a bullet on a late Seattle FG miss.
[
Speaking of that MNF embarrassment, all there is to say is I don’t
ever want to see Danny Snyder dancing in his luxury suite again. Or
outside of his suite for that matter. As my amateur comedienne niece
Heather would say, “That wasn’t dancing,
that was a cry for help.”
[
And while we’re at it, it’s time to change the team name,
Danny Boy. I’m okay with The Atlanta Braves and I suppose even
The Cleveland Indians. At least those cities can make the claim that
naming their team after an ethic group was done because they admired
the qualities that group represents (like bravery, loyalty, honor,
wisdom, etc.) Plus, Native-American tribes are a large part of the
local history of those regions.
But the
Red Skins? Just stop and think about that for one second… Red
Skins. Celebrating America’s nefarious history of racial intolerance
and an ugly time period when we stopped just short of full-blown genocide
by using a derisive nickname for one of our highest-profile professional
sports teams is absolutely ludicrous.
If we’re
okay with that, why not just change name of the Patriots to something
more insightful like “The New England Uptight White A**holes”?
(Hey, I’ve already written them a cheer: “All the way,
UWA!!!”) To me, that would be equally offensive. Hey, it’s
just a descriptive term, why’s everyone getting all upset?
And all
of this happening in our Nation’s capital? Are you serious?
You really can’t make this stuff up. Hey, at least they’re
no longer adding to the indignity by playing in a stadium named for
one of this Country’s most famous civil rights proponents (Robert
F. Kennedy).
With all
the thinly-veiled yet vicious neo-con demagoguery coming out of the
Beltway, perhaps this team being located there makes all the sense
in the world. Pretty sobering thought.
[
And now for some comic relief – The Cowboys will beat the Eagles
this weekend. I’ll give you a second to collect yourselves then
I’ll tell you why. Ready? The Eagles are no doubt one of the
NFL’s top teams, but they’ve lost a little somethin’
somethin’ this year. They had some key defections you don’t
hear about, there are a couple of key guys injured, and there’s
just a weird vibe going on. Coach Parcells’s team has played
solidly, not always great, but certainly well enough to surprise a
team coming off of a big road win like the Eagles are. There is certainly
no love lost in Valley Ranch neither for Philly nor their star Terrell
Owens. The ‘boys will be up for this one. The Dallas game plan
will call for a low-scoring field position game (a Parcells specialty)
and if the offensive line can gel a little so Julius Jones can gain
enough yardage to control the clock, and the defense can prevent the
big play from happening, the seemingly impossible will be possible.
I’m calling for Dallas to win 20-17.
[
Then again, my season record is abysmal. But this just could be crazy
enough to work.
[
Did you know that the State of California charges 10% of the salary
road team players earn while playing games in their state? I hear
teams even getting gigged for practice time out there. Do they have
to pay for thinking about the game in their spare time? Voodoo economics
aside, honestly, that's being pretty proud. California isn't even
that nice! I mean, just look at where the Raiders play. You have to
pay 10% AND eat infield dirt?
[
An Admirals reprise – RB Jarrett Payton, who helped lead Amsterdam
to the World Bowl title last season and son of the great Walter “Sweetness”
Payton (the NFL’s second all-time leading rusher), will back
up Chris Brown in the Tennessee Titans backfield this week. The Titans
owned Payton’s rights before sending him over to garner European
glory and they are obviously pleased with his progress. (This move
was made necessary when the Titans’ regular backup RB, Travis
Henry, was given a 4-game suspension for violating the NFL’s
drug policy. Ironic that he’s being replaced by a guy from Amsterdam,
huh?)
[
A quick baseball note – San Diego Padres pitching ace Jake Peavy
fractured a rib during his team’s celebration after they clinched
their division and made the playoffs. Since the rest of San Diego’s
pitching rotation contains two Texas Rangers cast-offs, this effectively
extinguished the remote chance the team had for post-season success.
The injury itself is bizarre enough, but the Padres finished a pedestrian
82-80 record to win the weakest division in baseball and the race
wasn’t really closely-contested (aka, The Padres title was a
foregone conclusion for months). Why were they celebrating so vigorously
in the first place? In this era of pitching specialists (long reliever,
set-up man, closer, set-up man for the set-up man, left-handed match-up
specialist, etc.), do we need to add “celebration substitution”
to the list?
[
Speaking of “America’s Pastime” this year’s
fantasy version just came to a conclusion. For the first time, co-Champions
were crowned as Boobie’s Cherry Blossoms
made a 1951 New York Giants-like comeback over the season’s
last month and caught the dominant Big Train engineered by Ken
and me. It was another exciting finish that was in doubt until the
last three games of the MLB season. It was a return to the top for
Bob, who had already won at least twice in my memory (Los Bastardos
in 2001 and 2002). Ken and I are still counting it as a three-peat
and certification of our official dynasty status (2003 Rocket Scientists,
2004 Tom’s River Adventure, 2005 Big Train). Congratulations
also to Dane’s Third World Debt which finished,
appropriately enough, third. (Insert self-fulfilling prophecy comment
here.)
[
Happy
belated Birthday to Angelo “Sheehy” Forgione,
a true wise man who walks among us. May all good things flow to
you and yours in the coming year, my friend.
[
Our FBH
family lost two dear people this season. Rob Tringali’s
Dad, Bob, passed away earlier this month after a long illness. Bob
was one of the pioneers in sports photography, especially with the
NFL, and Rob carries on his legacy with his fine work. The only
time I met Mr. T. was when he and Rob were shooting the torch bearing
ceremonies leading up to the Olympics a couple of years ago. You
could sense the intensity and focus he brought to the job. Rob told
me he has received many calls from Bob’s friends and even
just acquaintances located all over the country who felt moved to
relate stories of how much they liked and admired his Dad. Our best
wishes to Rob and his family at this time.
[
As many
of you already know, Pearl Shupp passed away on
September 19th. I knew Mrs. Shupp since I was a boy and throughout
all that time it was impossible to be around her and not immediately
become infused with her happiness and excitement about life. She
was always the first one to offer help or a caring idea to make
things easier for someone else. I’m sure I speak for our entire
FBH family in extending our heartfelt condolences to her husband
Skip, Bob, Ralph, Ellen, Ron and the entire Shupp family. While
we will miss seeing Pearl from time to time, her unbounded love
for her family and friends will forever be felt. I’m feeling
it now as I write.
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