2020 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 16

We're getting down to the nitty gritty of the NFL season, and it's crunch time amongst the coalition as well with two weeks to go.

The entire group has come back to around the same level, as just eight games separate first from last place. More important at the top... it has now become very bunched.

It wasn't a great week for me I'd say (I had at least three games I think that I lost by half a point), but it was good enough, as I took five of eight disputed games from Adam to move back into a tie for first place, and Geoffrey is only a game off of the lead. Correct standings, as well as a breakdown of how we've picked in relation to each other, can be found here. 

And despite him having a pretty solid season on the whole on his own merits, Adam finally decided in Week 16, in a tie for the lead, to throw a curveball.

"I had a special guest helping with my picks this week, my son Aiden. He has played in years past, but I forgot to get him set up. Joe and Jim should be happy about that because they would likely be losing to an 11-year-old, *shots fired* haha. Anyway on to my, or should I say, Aiden’s picks. Honestly I agree with most of them, there are a few I would have gone the other way, but I will stick with his picks and make them my own."

And that, dear friends, is how Adam blew an opportunity to break the even year drought (likely jinx). As we set up for what will likely be a photo finish, he and I disagree on six games out of 16.

From all of us at Confessions of a Sportscaster, have a Merry Christmas! Let's get to the picks.

2020 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 15

The coalition soldiers on towards the end of the season, and my triumphant high from last week has come crashing down.

It wasn't a historic loss, thankfully... but Adam swept our four disputed games as my two game lead flips to a two game deficit. Though with 48 to play... anything can happen.

The bad news is, a week after Adam got his ESPN numbers righted... Thursday he screwed up again, so now the only correct number is our margin since I screwed up once earlier in the year. You can view those standings, bearing in mind we each have one more point than we should, here. Correct standings, along with how we've picked in relation to each other, can be found here. The big takeaway from looking at that: Adam is great at hero picks.

This week, he and I disagree on eight games out of 16. Let's see if I can flip the script again!

2020 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 14

The coalition is back as we enter the fourth quarter of the season and... oh hey, look at those standings!

For the first time since Week 7, I'm back in the group lead after taking four of our five disputed games. Adam had another picking error on ESPN this week... but this time it worked out as he wasn't given a point he should have been given, which means his two mistakes have now evened out and his score there is accurate. I, however, still have one more point on ESPN than I should.

You can view correct standings, in addition to how we've picked in relation to each other, here. There's one again a fairly clear dichotomy in the group, as Adam is right behind me, with Geoffrey Clark in the hunt as well. Joe and Jim would need miracles to catch up at this point.

This week, Adam and I disagree on just four games out of 16. Hopefully we have no postponements that could throw the integrity of this off. Let's get to it!

2020 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 13

The coalition is back on its traditional medium this week as we continue our quest to pick NFL games against the spread!

I hope you enjoyed last week's special podcast edition. Adam and I both enjoyed it, and I think it's safe to say we'll plan to bring that format back for future editions. Stay tuned for more details on that.

As for where we stand now, I was correct in that we came pretty close to a split, as I took five of our eight disputed games last week. It should be noted, however, that that margin I won by should probably have an asterisk. Also, Adam was insistent I include the following:

For the record, if you win by 2 or less games, remember the Denver no QB game and the RGIII/Dez Ravens/Pitt game that was played on a Wednesday day. In both cases I absolutely would have picked the other way if I had the information I had at the time we made picks.

I had a feeling that, if we weren't bound by the system we work under, Adam would have gone the other way and we'd have split last week instead (even though he came reasonably close to getting away with it on Wednesday). He still retains the group lead for now, but it's now by the narrowest of margins (bearing in mind that he and I each have one more point there than we should). Correct standings and our picks in relation to each other can be found here.

Following a chaotic week where all 32 teams still played, just all over the place, Adam and I disagree on only five games out of the 15 games spaced pretty far apart. Let's get to it!

2020 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 12

We're approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, which in the advertising world that my day job revolves around means accelerated deadlines to get new commercials started on TV and radio. But in the NFL world, that means we get a full holiday of football to go with food and family. And as such, that means the coalition is back to work!

But also because it's a holiday, I teased last week that I had something special planned for the Thanksgiving week of football. Adam's and my schedules lined up on Tuesday, and so we present our special surprise to you: Week 12's picks are on an all new episode of Confessions of a Sportscaster: The Podcast!

As a point of reference for last week since it was touched on, but not gone over in full on the episode, Adam and I split our six disputed games last week, keeping him three games up with six weeks to go. You can view the ESPN standings here, bearing in mind that both Adam and I have one more point than we should. Correct standings, as well as how we've picked in relation to each other, can be found here.

And so, for your listening pleasure: our Week 12 picks!

90's Youth Life Podcast Special: 1990s NCAA Tournament

College basketball, at least at the highest levels, is on the horizon. Whether Division III will end up getting played, and thus my annual, gradual destruction of my vocal cords will commence, is still very much up in the air. And so, since this is normally the time of year I'd be getting started, I needed my college basketball fix. Thankfully, Geoffrey Clark had me covered.

You may remember him as an occasional contributor as part of the COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em contest, but also as the host of 90's Youth Life, on which I have appeared twice before. I was on earlier this year to simulate a 1990's NBA playoff tournament, and two years prior when I ruined an average Major League shortstop for him forever. But recently, he had reached out about wanting to do a college basketball tournament in March Madness style, and I happily agreed.

We had this whole thing set up, where he had 79 teams that I was going to have to pare down to 64, then get into a good old fashioned March Madness bracket, and I had this whole big idea to make it a D-III style bracket... but unfortunately, my simulator only had 25 teams of the 79 available. So, we adjusted, and we made it work.

And this, dear readers, is the result of our work. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com; box scores are provided below.

2020 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 11

The coalition returns as we advance to Week 11, and I finally got a little bit of momentum again.

After a few weeks of struggles while Adam went on a heater, he cooled off a bit this week, allowing me to take five of our seven disputed games and close the gap. Despite my strong showing, Adam remains in first place in the group, bearing in mind that on ESPN, he and I both have one more point than we should. You can view correct standings, as well as how we've picked in relation to each other here.

We're coming up on Thanksgiving week, which I'm hoping to do something special for, but for now, Adam and I once again disagree on seven games out of the 14 to be played this week.