Hibachi! Kathy's cookin' with fire!
K-Dub's late, last-minute picks lead grrrrrrls to the forefront
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Here at Weekly Recap, we predicted that Week 16 would be "Moving Week"
for
the FMNFLP, and we were correct -- but "Moving Week" meant different things
to different people. For Kathy Wyatt, it meant making her picks while
literally moving down the highway. She called Council Member Mike Godsey at
4:56pm on Thursday from her car, and due to the time concerns, she spent 3
seconds on each game, simply shouting out the winner and then ranking them
16 to 1 right down the list, top to bottom. Some people may call that
lucky, but, in the profound words of Gilbert Arenas (who apparently
habitually calls out "hibachi!" when his jump-shot is in mid-air): "When
you
are on fire, you are on fire."
And Kathy is certainly on fire: The last-second hail mary made the
difference of 59 points, and puts her in 2nd place overall. It's her second
straight weekly win, and her third straight week in the Top 2. In those
three weeks, she's moved from 21st place (81 points out) to 2nd place (11
out) in what has to be the most encredible regular-season comeback in FMNFLP
history.
Overall, Kathy was the lead actress of a holiday version of "Girls
Gone Wild." Diane Emerton rebounded from a brutal few weeks -- she finished
in 6th, picked up 17 points on the leader Mr. Emerton, and positioned
herself just 15 points back. Jen Retsek has finished in the Top 7 for 4
straight weeks now, and has improbably entered the playoff race. And Scott
Wyatt (we'll call him the cameraman?) followed his sis-in-law's lead,
finished in 2nd, and moved from 17th to 8th overall.
On the flip side, it was an emasculating week for some of the Old Boys
Club. Two-time Slate winner Money Retsek fell from 5th to 10th, four-time
Slate winner Eric Emerton fell from 7th to 12th, and former Slate winner
Mike Godsey fell from 4th to 11th. All three men spent time near (or at)
the front of the pack this year, but now are fighting for their playoff
lives. "I considered this the first week of the playoffs, and just took my
shots," Godsey said. "But when you can't get the pilot light lit,
you are
not on fire."
The oldest of the old boys also took a hit -- league leader Mr. Emerton
and 2nd place Bill Ellis scored just 65 and 67 points respectively, and lost
their stranglehold on the mob. Last week, only Robert Hassanali was within
25 points of their lead; now four poolsters are within 15 points of the
Slate.
So Kathy made her picks on the move, the girls moved up, the boys moved
down, the mob moved forward, Schussel and Jennings put the "moo" back
in
moving week, and meanwhile Kurt Schwartz thought Moving Week was a good time
to just pack it up. Schwartz didn't bother to make his picks by Thursday,
so he falls from a playoff position to 63 out.
The overall theme for 2006 remains the same, however: It's one of the
tightest races in FunkyHistory. As noted, 5 players are within 15 points of
the Slate (7 players are within 25 points), but also, NINE major players
(Eric Emerton, Mike Godsey, Wego, Sabbe, JLee, the Wyatt brothers, and both
Retseks) are within 10 points of the playoff line, and there's only room for
5 of them. And the two races are not mutually exclusive: You can't count
Tully Wyatt out of the Slate race, for example, and he's in 16th place (just
45 points out of first).
Stats!
*****
This was K-Dub's 13th career weekly win, moving into an impressive 5th
position on the all-time list.
Kathy is 4th only to Mike Godsey, Money Retsek, and Kevin Sabbe on the
all-time "Weekly Wins per year" list (min: 2 years).
Chris Sabbe won money for the 69th time in his career, putting him on top of
the all-time list.
For 5 straight weeks (and 6 of 7), Diane finished in the top 10. Then for
three weeks, she finished 19th, 20th, and 21st. This week she finished 6th.
Kevin Sabbe hasn't finished better than 20th place for 6 straight weeks now.
Chris Sabbe's solo shot (an 8 on Carolina) was the sixth of his career, and
the 8th for this pool for the season.
It has been 82 weeks since Kurt Schwartz has won the week.
For his career, Robert Emerton has no POWs, no COWs, and no solo shots.
Of the 598 points wagered on the Lions to win, 37 points have been returned.
JLee is 2-14 with his 3-pick.
Tully Wyatt is 14-0 with his 14-pick.
Zack Schwartz finally missed with his 16-pick.
Kevin Sabbe and Mike Schussel both put full boats on the Texans over the
Colts. And still finished in 20th and last place.
If Only...
Scott Wyatt would've won the week if his Giants could've won (at home).
Or
the Bengals (at home), or the Cowboys (at home), or the Niners (at home).
Jen Retsek would've won the week with a win from the Home Bills, the Home
Browns, or the Home Steelers.
If the Vikings could've held on, Farnsworth would've won the week, and Zack
Schwartz would be 4 points out of first place.
If the Bengals would've won, all 12 playoff players would be within 25
points.
POW!
Despite Sabbe's impressive 8 on the Panthers (to pull him back to the
playoff race), it was D.Oliver's 14 on the RoadCardinals that earned "Pick
of the Week." The Niner bandwagon has been a tough one to ride this season,
but D.O. got it right this week, and stays in the playoff race as a result.
And in a historic happening, a frisky Dylan Retsek earned his first-ever
pair of floppy shoes after ten years in the pool. He inexplicably
surrendered his playoff certitude due to some random Steeler pride.
Next Week!
Mr. Emerton's Giants at Godsey's Redskins
Adam's Browns at Schussel's Texans
Bills Pack at Money's Bears
Raider Nation at Zack's J-E-T-S
JLee's Niners at Kathy's Broncos
Will Kathy continue her torrid rush?
Which one of the Top 5 are going to make a move at the Slate?
Which Slate holders are going to be left out in the cold?
What the hell happened to our doubleheader Saturdays? NFL Network, what are
you doing?
Are the 5 guys between 24-30 points out going to make the leap to the upper
echelon? Or protect themselves in the fetal position?
Are the old boys just going to let themselves be caught, or are they going
to show some creativity?
FIND OUT NEXT WEEK!!
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