If you had to pick, and could only choose one, would it be to participate in a hockey pool or a football pool?
Both are incredibly popular in most if not all regions of the country.
I have enjoyed taking part, in one form or another, in both over the last 35-plus years.
At the turn of the century various hockey pools were at the top of my list but now and in recent memory I would choose football if I was forced to make a choice.
While my hockey pools are still about picking players, the football pools I enter offer a wide range of options.
I am not into fantasy football, picking top QBs, running backs, receivers etc. because I want to cheer for teams over a limited season rather than players.
What I like about picking winners in the NFL, is that each game matters.
For example, in Week 1 on Sunday, September 11th, one of the games has Jacksonville at Washington.
Ordinarily, I would not give a darn about who wins between those two have-not teams, but in a pool, my interest peaks.
I am a bit old-fashioned in that the pools I enter do not take point spreads into account, just winners.
With this being the Labour Day weekend, the countdown is on and there is less than a week to go before a marquee matchup begins the NFL season, Buffalo at LA Rams on Thursday.
Do oddsmakers really have the Bills favoured by 2 1/2 points against the defending Super Bowl champions who are at home?
I know the Bills are considered by many to be the top team in the AFC, but I still find that number surprising and usually I am pretty close to forecasting what Las Vegas oddsmakers have as to who is favoured and by how much.
Prince George is no different than most cities as interest in the NFL elevates by competing in a pool.
Some, like the one hosted by 94.3 the Goat is free.
Others have a token entry fee.
There’s a wide spectrum of pools that include:
- Time frame: weekly winners or season-long chase.
- Elimination pools: pick one different team each week to win, and keep going until the last player is left alive.
- Survivor pools: pick one different team each week to lose, and keep going until the last player is left alive.
- Team-win pools: draft certain teams whose wins count for you during the season.
NFL football pool, pick’em, office pool, confidence picks: Back the Eagles in Week 1, 2022
SportsLine’s advanced computer model locked in the top NFL office pool picks for Week 1
— NFL Streams Reddit (@nflstreamsred) August 30, 2022
- Here are some guidelines that I try to follow when picking winners:
- Know the line: Vegas odds-makers are professionals when they establish a line. Use that as a gauge.
- Past reputations: Avoid picking teams living off previous reputations that have not been successful recently.
- Key to Success: The blueprint for winning a pool is “nailing” the games that are close on the spread (three or fewer points). In this realm, upsets are common. Still, it is important to have some basis for believing the so-called better team will lose.
- Have an even keel approach: Do not get discouraged about having a bad week. Standings fluctuate and it only takes a few games to change the direction of the leader board.
Week one is usually difficult picking a team in both an Elimination and Survivor pool.
This year for example 15 of the 16 games have a spread of seven points or less, with a whopping nine of them, four or less.
The only team favoured by more than a converted touchdown is the Indianapolis Colts, who are on the road with a line of -8 at Houston.
Yes, these are the same Colts that lost a playoff spot on the last day of the 2021 regular season when they were beaten on the road by the lowly Jaguars in Jacksonville.
In other words, take nothing for granted.
I generally don’t like taking a road team as a lock.
My best guess for a sure-fire win in Week one would be Tennessee over the New York Giants and yet the Titans are only favoured by 5 1/2 points.
NFL week one odds can be found right here.
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter, 31, announced his retirement from football. Insiders say it was a snap decision.
*Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said the return of QB Jimmy Garoppolo is a ‘win-win’ for both parties. More like, at this point, it’s the only way we can both pretend it’s not a lose-lose.
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Second-year QB Trey Lance, who the 49ers are counting on to take them to the Promised Land, had a sometimes shaky preseason. So it’s really all about Trey when SF fans chant ‘Super Bowl or Bust.’
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
In Case You Missed It:
Did you know the retractable roof at the Australian Open’s Rod Laver Arena moves at about four feet per minute? Or roughly one foot a minute faster than a Tom Brady rollout.
*Western Canadian comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the news and sports director/supervisor plus morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97fm. He is entering his 10th season as the radio colour commentator for P.G. Cougars’ home games. Hartley has been on the Prince George airwaves since 1979 and is the author of You Don’t Say (sports quotes).
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