11th Annual TMMPF Pick Six Game

It's time for the 11th Annual TMMPF Pick Six Game! For those who have played before, welcome back. If you are new, the game is incredibly simple. We divide the preseason AP poll into five quintiles:

A: Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State, Southern Cal, Clemson

B: Penn State, Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State

C: Michigan, Auburn, Louisiana State, Stanford, Georgia

D: Louisville, Florida, Miama, South Florida, Kansas State

E: Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Texas, Washington State, Tennessee

You pick one team from each group, plus one unranked team. The goal is to have the highest ranked teams in the final AP poll (the one that comes out after the national championship game). Points are awarded thusly: No. 1 ranked team = 25 points, No. 2 = 24 points, down to one point for the No. 25 team. 

NEW THIS YEAR: You can submit all your information via an online form. Use this link: 

https://goo.gl/forms/TfqSLlgA4iVIjtIt1

Or if you prefer good ol' email, send your six schools, plus your team name, to tmmpf (dot) blog at gmail (dot)com by the deadline of the first games, which is Thursday, Aug. 31, 5pm Central. Technically there are games this Saturday, two of which feature ranked teams, but we'll ignore that. Game recaps and the updated scoreboard will be sent weekly.

If you played last year, you can keep your team name. If you're new, welcome, and be sure to include your team name along with your six picks. If you don't declare a name, I'll assign one to you of my choosing. Probably a character from "The Big Lebowski."

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Use this link to share the game with your friends: 
http://tmmpf.blogspot.com/2017/08/11th-annual-tmmpf-pick-six-game.html 

Any questions, leave 'em in the comments or email me. 

Good luck, and enjoy the games!

--MPF004

The Ninth Annual TMMPF Pick Six Game!!

GAME ON! Watch the viking kitties to get psyched up....

The release of the Associated Press preseason poll means it's time to play the TMMPF Pick Six game! If you've never played before, or somebody sent this link to you, it's really easy....

HOW TO PLAY: The AP college football Top 25 is divided into five groups: 1-5, 6-10, etc. You pick one team from each grouping:

A: Ohio State, Texas Christian, Alabama, Baylor, Michigan State
B: Auburn, Oregon, Southern Cal, Georgia, Florida State
C: Notre Dame, Clemson, UCLA, Louisiana State, Arizona State
D: Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin
E: Stanford, Arizona, Boise State, Missouri, Tennessee

Then pick one unranked team. Those are your teams for the whole year. The goal is to have the highest ranked teams at the end of the season. The game ends with the final AP poll after the national championship game. 

The game is so easy, anyone can play. And in fact, kids, cats, dogs, neighbors, etc are all invited to submit an entry. 

HOW TO ENTER: Submit your six teams (don't forget your Pick Sixth), your entry name and your bonus picks (see below) to tmmpf 'dot' blog 'at' gmaildotcom. The deadline is 5pm Central on Thursday, September 3, which is the first game of the season. If you played last year, you can keep the same name or pick a new one.

THE PRIZE: The winner gets something kitschy and college football themed. IMPORTANT: if you live outside the Midwest and find something goofy like a University of Alabama wall hanging made of felt or a 1998 UCLA poster with Cade McNown, acquire it and send it to me. I will be eternally grateful. 

TELL YOUR FRIENDS! We've set attendance records for three years straight, and it would be great to keep that up. The more people you know playing, the more fun it is. If you are on "the social media," spread the word to any real friends, Facebook friends, Twitter pals, co-workers, anyone who enjoys picking one of five things randomly. You can share this link: http://bit.ly/1Jqk8hW

BONUS POINTS! If you read this far, congrats! After the success of the bonus question last year, we're bringing it back. You can win five free points by getting either of these two questions correct:

Who will win more regular season games: Tennessee, Arkansas or the same? 

Who will win the Pacific 12 South division: Choices are: Southern Cal, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado.

There is no penalty for guessing wrong. If you get both right, you only get five points total.

ANY QUESTIONS? Ask away in the comments or via email. Thanks and good luck!

Do it for America. Do it for  Sam. Play the Pick Six.  

I'm A Man

I'm ... you know.

Pick Six 2014: Calling All Entries

The AP preseason poll came out Sunday, and that means it's time for the Eighth Annual TMMPF Pick Six Game. 

If you've played before, you know the rules. If you are new, it's real easy. The AP Top 25 is divided into five groups: 1-5, 6-10, etc. You pick one team from each grouping: 

A: Florida State, Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio State

B: Auburn, UCLA, Michigan State, South Carolina, Baylor

C: Stanford, Georgia, Louisiana State, Wisconsin, Southern Cal
D: Clemson, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Kansas State

E: Texas A&M, Nebraska, North Carolina, Missouri, Washington

Then pick one unranked team. The goal is to have the highest ranked teams at the end of the season. The game ends with the final AP poll after the national championship game. 

Grab a cold one. Research makes you thirsty.

SAME AS LAST YEAR: 

1) The scoreboard will be updated on Sunday evenings, or Monday morning usually at the latest. 

2) College football now has a four-team playoff. While this may make the on-field action more interesting, it doesn't affect the Pick Six. We still use the final AP poll.

NEW THIS YEAR: 1) I will send out occasional email updates to replace the weekly blog report. You'll always have access to the latest scoreboard. 

2) Free Points: I will award eight bonus points (in honor of the 8th annual game) if you correctly pick the winner of the wide open ACC Coastal Division. No penalty for incorrect guesses, so have at it. The teams are: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pitt, Virginia, Virginia Tech. 

THE PRIZE: 

A college football-themed piece of kitsch of my choosing. Past prizes include a Tennessee beer coozie, an Alabama flag and a Texas finger puppet. 

Cuddle up to a prominent Group F nominee. 

WHAT TO DO:

Submit your six schools, bonus ACC pick and team name to tmmpf (dot) blog at googlemail by the deadline of Thursday, August 28 at 5pm Central. Picks needs to be in before the first game of the year, which is 8/28. If you played before, you can keep your team name or choose a new one. Don't write "OU" for Group A or I will give you Oglethorpe University. 

It's more fun when those in your household play too, so be sure to invite your spouse, kids, etc. Dogs and cats can play too! Quigley the cat won in 2010. 

Any questions, write to me. We look forward to another fun year, and good luck!

MPF004

P62013: The Winner

The national championship game was three weeks ago tonight. The poll came out, I updated the standings ... and forgot to write the final post of the Pick Six game.

Well tonight I can finally announce what you might have already known if you checked out the link above. And if you're asking yourself, did I win?

Nope, I'm a Frayed Knot.

Because "Nope, I'm a Frayed Knot." dominated the 2013 game, finishing with 119 points. He was 10 points ahead of "No F'n Clue," the only other player above 100 points.

The standings are color-coded: green means the team won the bowl game, red means lost, black means didn't make a bowl.

Thanks again to everyone who played. I hope you had fun. Frayed Knot, your prize will be in the mail shortly.

BEST OF MPF 2013

BEST DAY: July 14. On my last day in Rome, I spent the entire day walking around, with Tina and by myself, seeing the sights and churches I hadn't visited yet. Runner-up: March 7. I was in New York City for the first time since leaving in 2007. I went to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, walked the streets, saw my old boss Zach, and flew home to Chicago.

WEIRDEST WEEK: Boston Marathon. There was a race, a bomb, a whodunit, a manhunt, a game of hide and seek, a capture and a cathartic Red Sox game. (April 15-20)

BEST WEEK: Rome. We spent five days in the Eternal City, seeing churches, ruins and great restaurants. It is an amazing and incredible city. (July 9-14)

This is my favorite of the pictures I took in Rome.

BEST SONG: "Royals" by Lorde (you can watch the video clip here). Runners-up: "Sirens" by Pearl Jam, "Supersoaker" by the Kings of Leon.

BEST ALBUM: Would you believe I didn't buy that much music, and almost nothing released this year. I haven't even listened to two new records I got for Christmas. So based on the two songs I've heard, I'll say "Lightning Bolt" by Pearl Jam.

BEST TV SHOW: "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox). Runner-up: "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" (PBS).

BEST MOVIE: I didn't see any movies made in 2013.

BEST PICTURE: It's usually me and one other person, but of all the great photos of my kid, I loved this one.

BEST WATCHING OF OKLAHOMA: The musical at the Lyric Opera (May 11).

WORST WATCHING OF OKLAHOMA: The Sooner beating the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium (October 28).

BEST BEER: Gumballhead by Three Floyds. Runner-up: Celebration by Sierra Nevada.

BEST CAT STORY: The cat sanctuary in Rome. Feral cats are taken in, fixed, and adopted out. They also have an awesome URL: romancats.com. Runner-up: The cat who got lost 200 miles from home and made it back safely.

BEST PRESS: My involvement in a high school band competition got written up in the Knights of Columbus magazine.

BEST COMMERCIAL: Bill Hader and his crappy smartphone (T Mobile, I think). A very close second: Mr. Met and the Phillie Fanatic (MasterCard).



BEST CONCERT EXPERIENCE: Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field. The band played for an hour, then we sat through a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay. The band started again around midnight and played until 2am. (July 19)

BEST NEW SPORT: After being fascinated for the last few Olympics, I finally had the chance to play curling. It was as much fun as I thought, possibly more (Feb. 18).

WORST SIGN OF THE DECLINE OF PUBLISHING: The Onion stopped printing its newspaper in the last few remaining cities, including Chicago.

Peace and best wishes in 2014! --MPF004.

TMMPF P6 Bowl Preview

The bowls start this Saturday (Dec. 21). A few of these 35 bowls will undoubtedly affect the outcome of the Pick Six game. But which games should you watch? I'm here to guide you through the bowl schedule from the P6 perspective.

The games fall neatly into three categories:

YOU MUST LOVE BOWL SEASON TO WATCH THESE
New Mexico Dec. 21 Colorado St vs. Washington State
Idaho Potato Dec. 21 Buffalo vs. San Diego State
New Orleans Dec. 21 Tulane vs. UL Lafayette
Pizza Pizza Dec. 26 Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh
Military Dec. 27 Marshall vs. Maryland
Texas Dec. 27 Minnesota vs. Syracuse
Armed Forces Dec. 30 Middle Tennessee vs. Navy
Music City Dec. 30 Georgia Tech vs. Ole Miss
AdvoCare V100 Dec. 31 Arizona vs. Boston College
Liberty Dec. 31 Mississippi State vs. Rice
Heart of Dallas Jan. 1 North Texas vs. UNLV
GoDaddy Jan. 5 Arkansas State vs. Ball State

Among these, the best matchup for football fans is Arizona/BC. Both feature awesome running backs: Kadeem Carey (great surname for an RB) and Andre Williams, who quietly had such a good year he got invited to the Heisman ceremony. The Liberty may be fun to watch if only to see Rice, who is excited to spend New Year's Eve in Memphis.

THE ROOTING INTEREST IS FAIRLY OBVIOUS
Note: the numbers in parentheses are the number of Pick Six players with that team, NOT the Associated Press ranking. 
Las Vegas Dec. 21 Fresno State vs. USC (14)
Beef O Brady's Dec. 23 East Carolina vs. Ohio (1)
Poinsettia Dec. 26 Northern Illinois (3) vs. Utah State
Belk Dec. 28 Cincinnati (1) vs. North Carolina
Holiday Dec. 30 Arizona State (4) vs. Texas Tech
Pinstripe Dec. 28 Notre Dame (24) vs. Rutgers
Chick-fil-A Dec. 31 Duke vs. Texas A&M (19)
Fiesta Jan. 1 Baylor (10) vs. UCF
Compass Jan. 4 Houston vs. Vanderbilt (1)

You can be guaranteed no one in the Pick Six game will be cheering against you in these games. The most intriguing matchup is likely Northern vs. Utah State in a battle of conference championship losers. Who will be motivated to get the win? Baylor and A&M should be huge favorites. Notre Dame is favored by two touchdowns; that game is played in a baseball stadium in New York.

NOW THINGS GET INTERESTING
Hawaii Dec. 24 Boise State (12) vs. Oregon State (9)
Fight Hunger Dec. 27 BYU (1) vs. Washington (1)
Russell Athletic Dec. 28 Louisville (11) vs. Miami Fla. (4)
Buffalo Wild Wings Dec. 29 Kansas State (11) vs. Michigan (17)
Alamo Dec. 30 Oregon (9) vs. Texas (7)
Sun Dec. 31 UCLA (12) vs. Virginia Tech (5)
Gator Jan. 1 Georgia (7) vs. Nebraska (15)
Capital One Jan. 1 South Carolina (18) vs. Wisconsin (20)
Outback Jan. 1 Iowa (5) vs. LSU (12)
Rose Jan. 1 Michigan State (7) vs. Stanford (3)
Sugar Jan. 2 Alabama (27) vs. Oklahoma (15)
Cotton Jan. 3 Missouri (2) vs. Oklahoma State (7)
Orange Jan.3 Clemson (9) vs. Ohio State (20)
BCS Title Jan. 6 Florida State (16) vs. Auburn (1)

All 14 of these games feature P6 vs. P6 matchups. The most "interested" matchup is the Sugar Bowl, with 42 of you/us caring about the outcome. The runner-up is Wisky vs. Cocky, with 38. And, if you're rooting for chaos, you want the leaders' teams to lose. So that means rooting against Alabama, South Carolina, Florida State, Oklahoma, UCLA, Baylor and Michigan State. You'll definitely get a loser in the Sugar Bowl. Root for Oklahoma, because since Bama is favored, they will fall more if they lose. Florida State and Baylor are big favorites so don't expect a loss there.

Most importantly: gorge on the 35 games because when it's over, there's no more football til September.

Good luck! The following clip is true, and also a good reason why you shouldn't let your kids read/listen to this blog: