Welcome

By: Luke Florence

July 26th, 2011 was a big day. Yes, it happened to be Matt Barnes' 25th birthday, but believe it or not there was even bigger news out there. Thanks to the NFL lockout ending, July 26th marked the starting point for the 2011 NFL ATS Pick 'Em. We will have football and with it comes the fifth year of our prestigious league.

Hard to believe this will be our fifth season. We have certainly come a long way since 2007. Every year we have tried to add a new and exciting element and this season is no different. Let's get right to it.

NEW ADDITIONS

1) Well if you are here reading this post you have realized that no longer will we be using The King of Arguments for this pool. While this may be a somber moment for some, it's going to open things up for everyone else.  A brand new blog for a brand new year. 

2) No longer will I be posting a massive column with everyone's comments. Those days are behind us. Instead, this blog will serve as a public forum. Every league member will be allowed to post their own columns. We will still have all the major awards, but it will create less work for me (and at the end of the day, that's really what it is all about).

2a) Similar to how the Court Street Cup's blog looks, multiple people will be posting on this blog. So instead of sending me an e-mail with your comments, you can turn that e-mail into a column and post it right here. Feel free to come up with weekly columns/ideas/top ten lists/etc. The more the merrier. All I need is an e-mail address to send you an invite to post. Do it to it.

3) For the first time in league history we are raising the yearly entrance fee. Instead of the one-time annual payment of $20, we are going to go with $30. This is our minimalist effort to stimulate the economy. Specific payouts will be finalized once our league roster does the same.

4) As part of the $10 increase we will be offering a weekly best-record prize. The extra $10 will go in the weekly pot which will then be divided equally by 17 (one for each week, thanks for staying with me). If we get 30 members the weekly pot would be $17.50. This way more members will be inclined to continue to send in picks even if they don't have a chance of finishing in the money.

4a) However, the weekly winner has to win the week outright. If two tie then all tie ... skins style. When a tie occurs we will carry-over the money to the following week where everyone will have a chance of winning it. This should create even more excitement to an already exciting league.

4b) If a tie happens on week 17 for the best week-record (and it probably will) then the entire league will compete in the playoffs for the pot. More details on how this will work the closer we get.

5) I've made the upcoming declaration previous seasons but I really want to have a year-end banquet. Now I know not everyone will be able to attend, but I still think it would be cool to have more exchanges like the one that happened recently at Huntfest ...

Erik "Smitty" Smith: "Hey, is that Barnes from our picks league?"

Me: "Yeah."

Smitty: "Cool."

Now that may not be an exact transcript and I'm not doing the moment justice, but for all those involved it was very much a "cool" experience. What's wrong with wanting an entire night full of those "cool" moments?? Let's make it happen.

Those are just all of the additions, we will still have the following from year's past.

1) CBS will again host our league. On it you can make your picks, find updated standings, and see everyone's picks with live Gametracker. It's free and only requires a CBS account. Just send me your e-mail if you haven't gotten an invite and would like to join.

2) Awards will actually be present this year. One of the great travesties of 2010 was failing to hand out hardware for our league. This will not happen again ... book it.

3) Luke Vs. The League will also be coming back. The podcast where one league member guesses the spreads against me will return. Week one is booked, but every other week is available. Feel free to make your reservations now. Spots will go on a first-come, first-serve basis. Don't be shy.

4) Kevin Hunt will once again serve as league secretary. His address is currently in the process of changing, so once he gets settled in we will update it.

5) As always, feel free to invite family, friends and foes to join. This league started with eight in 2007, increased to 20 in 2008, jumped to 26 in 2009 and then bumped up again to 28 last year. This can only happen through positive word-of-mouth. Much appreciated boys and girls.  Just need their e-mail address to send them the invite. 

So there you have it ... the framework and foundation for the 2011 NFL Against The Spread Pick 'Em. Football season is upon us and I couldn't be more excited.

Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."