DiploBall IV, Week 9 Recap: Upsets? Who me?

Well, I didn’t make the leader board this week.  However, I’ll take a 4^th place finish any day of the week as long as I’m head of Jim and VJ.  Plus, the Falcons are 7-0 and the sports media is finally starting to treat them like the real deal.  It’s about time!

This is going to be a quick recap this week.  I’ve been a bit under weather this week.

DiploBall IV, Week 9 Recap:

1^st Place: BigCat

BigCat has made a big move!  Leap-frogging both Jim and VJ in the season standings, landing in 2^nd place over all in the league.  Honestly, anyone who picks Arizona over USC deserves to win the week.  BigCat also picked Miami of Ohio for the win… who does that?

2^nd Place:  EricC

Eric must have sensed it was going to be an upset week in football and most of his gambles paid off.  Not all of his gambles (Duke over FSU?), however, most of them did:  Kent State, Miami of Ohio, University of Washington, and Cleveland.

3^rd Place:  Jeff

What a tremendous showing for 18^th place Jeff!  He made three crucial picks for big points:  UGA, Notre Dame, and Cleveland.  Those three games alone earned Jeff 58 points, while most everyone else lost.

MVP:  Everyone except Robbins, Vnibarger, and Badger

I’m not feeling up to breaking down the NCAA/NFL scores like I normally do… so this week I thought we could come together as a community to point and laugh at the three people who actually picked Philly over Atlanta.  Those poor saps.

Last Place:  Robbins

Well… you were gunning for upsets… however, you picked all the wrong games.

Missed Week Minimum: 98 Points

Once again Robbins sets the MWM benchmark AND Nate and Renegade miss the week.  Nate, you only have one more week to miss before you’re out.

Perfect Week Bonus (Cash-In):  Badger (32 Points – Kent State over Rutgers)

Oh how the mighty has fallen!  After his first dismal week, Badger cash’s in his Perfect Week Bonus to recover a 32 point pick. 

VJ, The Great Usurper, Jp, and RollTide are still have perfect weeks to cash-in.  

DiploBall IV, Week 8 Recap: Third of the Way There!

Eight weeks down and only 14 weeks left to make your move!  I’m certainly having a mediocre season… and I would say I’m upset, but how can you been upset when the Falcon’s are the only undefeated team in the NFL, with a four game lead in their division?  No… life is pretty good. 

DiploBall IV, Week 8 Recap

1^st Place: Jim Schutz

Jim, DiploBall II champion and currently in 2^nd place, squeezed out a victory this week.  However, he was only able to carve out two points from Badger’s impressive lead.

2^nd Place: Badger

Seriously.  You have a 194 point lead!  Take a week off.  Go to Vegas and make some real money!

3^rd Place: Steak N Potatoes

Impressive.  After all the smack-talk and last weeks last place finish, Steak almost pulled out a victory this week, thanks mainly to his perfect NFL week, picking all 13 games correct! 

NCAA MVP of the Week: Ryan

Badger’s smack-talk must have woken the beast.  Not only did Steak step-up his game, Ryan went 20 for 21 in the NCAA games.  Badger still has the top pick and point’s percentage in the NCAA, however there is still time to dethrone him!

NFL MVP of the Week: SchutzJp

Yeah… I’m giving the nod to myself this week.  So what!  I took 2^nd place in the NFL games this week! 

Last Place:  Robbins

Oh my.  I was really planning on ripping into Robbins a little bit; however, I noticed he didn’t weight his games this week.  They ranked are in order from 34 down to 1.  I am terribly confused.  Was this an accident or strategy?  Are you running a fever?  33 points on Arizona State University over Oregon State?  I will give Robbins a little credit though, most of his loses were very close games.  If there had been more upsets, things might have gone in his direction.

Missed Week Minimum (MWM):  190 Points

This is Nate’s 3^rd Miss and Renegades 2^nd.  Time get back in there boys!

DiploBall IV, Week 7 Recap: No Room for Peyton in DiploBall

Remember all those nice things I said about Peyton Manning at the start of the season?  Yeah… well… I take it all back. 

There I was… basking in the glory of San Diego’s 24 point lead… which, incidentally, put me in 3^rd place for week… only to watch my first top three finish since Week 1 crumble before my eyes.

Because of Peyton Manning I fell to 9^th place for the week.  I see how it is Peyton.  Once a Colt, always a Colt. 

DiploBall IV, Week 7 Recap

1^st Place: Pac12Bear

We haven’t heard much from Pac12 this season and he’s currently sitting in 12^th place overall… which begs the question:  Has Pac12 already risen to his level of incompetence?   I don’t know folks… I’ve read Freakenomics… your name can set you up for a life a mediocrity. 

Perhaps I should start calling you Pac1.  That might help light a firing.

2^nd Place: Badger

Seriously?  Come on!  This is getting ridiculous.  Badger has finished in 2^nd place or above four out of seven weeks so far this season and he has extended his lead to 196 points.  He’s to the point that he can take a week off and STILL maintain 1^st place overall.

Badger is officially ravaging the league worse than VJSchutz (my dad) did last season.   

3^rd Place: BeachBum505

Currently in 14^th place overall, BeachBum isn’t having the greatest season… but apparently he had Peyton Manning looking after him this week.

NCAA MVP of the Week: Jim Schutz

9 people picked 16 out of 18 NCAA games correct, however… when it came to wagering points on the games, Jim out played everyone, earning 97% of his wagered points on NCAA games.

NFL MVP of the Week: EricC

EricC is the undisputed winner of this week’s NFL match-ups.  Sure, he tied with Pac1 picking 10 out of 14 games correct… but he also earned more points on the NFL games than anyone else.  A whopping 83 points!  Leading the pack in a week where only four players earned positive NFL numbers.

Last Place:  Steak N Potatoes

I have to be honest.  Back when I started DiploBall, these recaps contained a lot more smack-talk.  However, as DiploBall has grown and matured… er… well, grown, and more and more folks join that I haven’t met personally… I thought I should probably tone things down a bit and not publically question the type of underwear people wear when making their picks. 

However, much to my delight, last week Badger felt compelled to open up a can of whoop-smack on his family!  So… yeah… I think I’m just going to take a step back and let Badger take care of this one for me.

Missed Week Minimum (MWM):  95 Points

Nate was our only missing player this week.  This is Nate’s second miss. 

DiploBall IV, Week 6 Recap

What’s up DiploBallers?  Some folks have been screaming for the recap and I apologize for being so late.  I’ve been swamped and my internet has been down for most of the week. 

By the way… how about them Falcons?

Here we go!

DiploBall IV, Week 6 Recap

1^st Place: Badger

Badger had been sitting in 2^nd place (overall) until last week when he overtook Irishman and giving himself a comfortable 50 point lead in the process.  However, this week Badger wanted to make a statement and solidify his standing at the top of the leader board.  This week’s 1^st place finish has earned Badger a 155 point lead over the rest of the pack… which could be very difficult to catch… even with 16 weeks remaining.

2^nd Place: Ted

Ted’s 2^nd place finish this week has propelled him up the leader board, from 7^th all the way to 3^rd!  And he’s only 6 points behind Irishman (currently in 2rd).  Look out!

3^rd Place: Jim

Although having a good week.  Jim was not able to use week 6 to move him up the leader board.  He remains in 4^th place overall.

NCAA MVP of the Week: Arose

Don’t let her 17^th place standing full you.  Arose rocked the NCAA games this week.  Picking 15 out of 18 correct!

NFL MVP of the Week: Robbins

I’ve said it before.  Robbins likes to play big and throw Hail Mary’s.  Not only was Robbins the ONLY player to pick Indianapolis over Green Bay, he wager 21 points on the game! 

Last Place:  Jeff

Jeff… seriously man.  Put ‘Doctor Who’ on hold until after football season!

Missed Week Minimum (MWM):  95 Points

Rada was our only missing player this week.  

DiploBall IV, Week 5: AFN + TiVo = Awesome

Well folks, I’m unpacked, organized, and my house is 100% networked, which is way more important than having sheets on the bed.

Now, for those of you in the Military and Foreign Service who lament about American Forces Network, I have taken it to the next level and unleashed the beast!  Did you know TiVo is AFN compatible?  It is!  Well… as long as you are using a satellite receiver and getting the full eleven channel line-up.

I discovered this phenomenon while living in Belgrade; however, we weren’t receiving AFN through the satellite receiver, so I couldn’t test it out.  And in Paramaribo, although we had a receiver, we only received three channels… so it didn’t work out there either.

However, in Asmara, I have a satellite receiver with all eleven channels!  And my TiVo is working perfectly!  It automatically recorded the Falcons game while I was at work and when I got home I enjoyed the game commercial (and public service announcement) free.

Seriously.  If AFN is your only entertainment source, you should check it out.  Used TiVo’s are only $35.00 on Amazon… you’ll thank me.

DiploBall IV, Week 5 Recap

1^st Place: BigCat & SEC#1 (tie)

This is a big win for 12^th Place SEC#1, however, it was an even bigger week for BigCat, who jumped from 9^th Place to 5^th Place in just one week.  This is huge. However, there is still a LOT of DiploBall left to come.

2^nd Place: RollTide1

Roll’s second place finish has moved him up to 9^th Place overall.  Oddly enough… Roll tried to cash in his Perfect Week Bonus last week, however I’m pretty sure he was jetlagged because I still don’t know what game he wanted to change.

3^rd Place: The Great Usurper

Sure, the Usurper picked 12 out of the 15 NFL games correct and finished the week in 3^rd Place… however, he still hasn’t been able to move beyond 11^th Place in the Season standings.

NCAA MVP of the Week: Badger

Badger gets the nod this week for coming in 2^nd place on the NCAA games.  And just so you know, Badger is currently in 1^st Place overall.

NFL MVP of the Week: BeachBum505

Beach had the best overall point’s accuracy rate for the NFL games:  77.03%.  This is a great improvement over last week’s horrible showing across the board.

Last Place: Rada

Rada… this is going to be your last week at the bottom, okay?

Missed Week Minimum (MWM):  105 Points

Nate was our only missing player this week.  Enjoy your 105 points!

Eliminated Players:

The following players have missed five weeks of play and are officially out of the competition:

Big Dave, dniBarger, Hess, mBounds, SkiClimb2011, and Tashkent1