The 2026 Winner is...

 Kathy Smith!!!!!

Mother of the current commissioner and wife of the original commissioner! She has played every year. This year she started as hot as I have ever seen with 10 straight wins! She had heavy competition with perennial power Margaret, and even had to fend off granddaughter Analicia. But in the end, she was the champ choosing Indiana for the last game, ending with yet another win, and sealing her championship with a 24 and 14 record.

We may try a different approach next year. I would have had a distinct advantage had I been in it at the end. But, I wasn't so I truly feel we had a fair contest. I'll get working with the rules committee and we will be back better than ever!!! And within three years hopefully, I won't be working and can properly run this pool in retirement. 

Thanks for playing everyone!

Final Game Time

 We have finally reached the end. We have one game left and three players still alive. Kathy leads the pool with a 23-14 record. Only two people can catch her in the final game: Margaret and Analicia. Analicia came out of nowhere to race up the rankings and tie Margaret with a 22-15 record. 

So... I will reach out to the finalists and ask them for their winner and a prediction of the total points scored in the game. IF Kathy loses and either Analicia or Margaret wins, we will go to total points for the tie-breaker. Closest prediction wins. IF Kathy wins, it is moot because she will win the pool. IF everyone loses the game, then Kathy wins. Kathy is definitely in the driver's seat.

End of our Regular Season

 We picked 35 games and still do not have a clear winner. Kathy and Margaret both lose 2 out of 3 on the final day and are still tied witn 21-14 records. Will and Analicia are one game behind with 20-15 records. Alex has a 19-16 record and Tim is on life support with an 18-17 record. All of these players have at least some chance of winning it all with the last three games of the season to be played. So, I will reach out to each player and have them give me picks for the semifinals. The other players have been eliminated and we wish them better luck next year.

 The semifinals feature Indiana v. Oregon and Ole Miss v. Miami. Indiana is a four point favorite over Oregon and Miami is a three point favorite over Ole Miss. Miami and Ole Miss play on Thursday and Oregon and Indiana play on Friday. We will see who will be alive for the final game on January 19th. 

January 1st Aftermath

 The two leaders remained tied. They expanded their lead over yours truly (I picked the wrong upset). We have a really interesting final four teams: Ole Miss, Oregon, Indiana, and Miami. Today will determine our first cut. Unfortunately, some of you won't be within striking distance, so I will not seek your picks for the semifinals and final game. We will have three games today.

By the way, instead of watching football, you should really watch Jack Smith's testimony to the House Oversight Committee. Just watch it.

Here are today's games and odds:

There are four games but we only picked 3, because an all Texas affair of Texas State v. Rice was just not worthy of our contest. Rice is 5-7 for crying out loud, and Texas State? Sheesh, that's where I got my master's degree. Believe me, any school that gives me a graduate degree (with honors) is a degree mill at best. (I kid, but it was called Southwest Texas State when I got the piece of paper.)

The Liberty Bowl features Navy v. Cincinnati. Spread is Navy -7.5! After Texas Tech's performance yesterday, any Big 12 school should be embarrassed to play. Kathy picked the upset, while Margaret has the Navy. Big match up. 

The Holiday Bowl, my favorite bowl for many reasons (see former posts), features SMU v. Arizona. SMU is the slight 1.5 point favorite. Kathy and Margaret both picked SMU, but I picked SMU. 

Another great bowl, the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, NC, features Mississippi State v. Wake Forest. SEC v. ACC. The 5-7 Mississippi State is still a 3 point favorite versus the 8-4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Oh, that's some major disrespect to the ACC. Margaret has Mississippi State and Kathy has Wake Forest.

Wow, today could be decisive. Enjoy your Friday!

New Year's Day

 One of my favorite sports days of the year! We have Championship Playoff games starting mere minutes from now. Thankfully, Texas won yesterday against Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. I watched at a local restaurant and made friends of the waitstaff as I was pretty much the only one there. But, I had a great time watching Arch Manning will his team to victory with an incredible passing and rushing performance!

In our pool, the powerhouse ladies continue to wage their battle. Kathy and Margaret are tied going into today with yours truly one game behind. In a first for the pool, we all picked the losing side in the Vanderbilt versus Iowa game. The Hawkeyes usually win their bowl game so I was surprised no one picked them. The Vanderbilt quarterback is an Albuquerque native so that is why I picked the Commodores. But, for some reason, so did all of you! So we all lost. Duke won a close game. Utah blew Nebraska out, and Miami pulled a massive upset over Ohio State. Overall, we had a poor day of picking, but most of us still sport a record over .500. 

Today we have Texas Tech v. Oregon in the first game. Most of you have Oregon. Vegas likes Oregon by a point and a half.

The next game is Indiana v. Alabama. Most of you have Indiana. Vegas has Indiana by a touchdown.

The last game is Georgia v. Ole Miss. Nearly all of us have Georgia. Vegas has Georgia by 6.5 points. 

The leaders of the pool both have Oregon, Indiana, and Georgia. I have Texas Tech, Indiana, and Georgia. Still a ton of football to be played! After today's games you can send me your semi-final picks. Have a happy New Years Day!