Holly Crap, I got in the Go Zone

Look at this.  Just for the hell of it, I tried logging in, and I was accepted on the first try.

Wonder how long this will last.

Omaha

Thoughts from the red-headed stepchild...

I have conversed with our, ahem..., esteeeemed commish, about remaining in the Go Zone.  Both the commish and his brat-of-the-family younger sickling have suggested:  "I should just stfu and send in my picks (and other literary observations) via email to the commish, who, (after taking editorial liberties,) will copy and paste them on the Go Zone."  And furthermore, I should be happy with this arrangement.

Well okay then.

In the interest of family harmony, I will once again take the high road and let these children have their way.  I can still remember Uncle Chappie patting my back and telling me, "with luck, both of them will grow into adults one day and show remorse for the way they've treated you."  Ah but, it seems the more people change the more they stay the same.

But...hope springs eternal.  Like Uncle Chappie, I will remain a pacifist and hope the weight of their misdeeds will one day cause such a burden as to drive them to seek forgiveness.

Omaha

Kevin Chimes In

Kevin wrote in an email:

This is what I say we do. We stick with what we have and Omaha can email his picks to the Commish. He could have just as many problems with a new system. This was supposed to be kind of a way to keep in touch and it is turning in to a Nebraska Nutshow
Kev-Deland

Wayne can see the site and fill out the Picks Form. The only thing he cannot do is post. So we will try to work on that.

Others Options for the Go Zone

It appears this new site "fishes" for members by offering, free, a site that offers little to no service, then counters with a more satisfactory site for a fee.  The ol' bait and switch.   I suspect other issues will come to light after we are hooked and have paid the fee, in advance no less.  My vote is to shitcan this site.  Besides, if I'm going to pay someone, I'd rather it be Mike for buying the trophies, doing the work, and masquerading as an honest and competent commish.

The other problem here seems to be Wayne.  Up until this year, I have very much enjoyed the Go Zone.  I can't explain why the host site suddenly stopped accepting my login and keeping me from participating in the Zone this past season.  It's always been my suspicion it has something to do with our (cough, cough)...honest and competent commish.

Here is another suggestion:  Is it possible to simply create another new site through the same host (gmail, google, whatever it is), give it a different name (O'Gee zone or some other such silly name), and we could register anew with a different login and start out fresh?  Moving to a new host site would require all that anyway, so it's not as much work as it sounds.

Is this workable?

Omaha

Or, maybe we won't be migrating

A glitch has appeared at the free WEBS hosting service. They only allow one page for free sites. This means our pages Season Champions, Rules and Regulations, Season Records, Playoff Rules and Finances would have no place to call home. Also, and this may be important, the free WEBS site does not email members when anyone posts. This means that each member would have to check the site to get any posts made, including the embedded Picks Forms.

We can continue to try the migration and either,

• Go without those pages, or
• Go with the pages and pay a monthy fee of $5.99, or
• Stay with the Blogger account.

Twelve months of the site would cost $72, and they need it paid annually, meaning right away. This would also buy tech support, which right now is restricted to paid sites. Currently there are 13 of us, so 72/13=$5.50 plus or minus. Add in the cost of the trophies, which have been running about $86, and that makes $158.00 or so. That  divided by 13 is about $12 a year.

So, it seems our choices are:

1. Stay the course with the Blogger and lose the trophies and Wayne,
2. Stay the course with the Blogger and pay $6.60 each to keep the trophies, but lose Wayne,
3. Go with the free site but pay $6.60 each for the trophies, but lose the 5 pages,
4. Go with the free site and lose the 5 pages and the trophies,
5. Pay the $5.50 for the site to keep the pages and tech support and but lose the trophies, or
6. Pay the $12.00 a year for the site, the pages, the support and the trophies.

Or maybe we should vote on staying or leaving the Blogger site first. Then vote on the money matters after that. Currently, 3 members, including myself, have joined the WEBs site. To vote now before people had a chance to look over the site seems hasty, so I am asking all members to respond to the invitation to join the Go Zone on the WEBS site so everyone can then make a judgment on it.

Asking members to pay money is a difficult thing to do, so it should be a thoughtful, purposeful decision.  If this is too much of a commitment, we should acknowledge that and simply remain as we have been on Blogger or go to the free site to keep Wayne.  I have bought the trophies in the past, but that is becoming a bit much, so maybe the trophies should be a separate topic in itself.

We might be migrating to a new Go Zone site!

Here is a heads up to league members. I have found a free blog which has much the same benefits as Blogger. Please follow the directions to fill out membership to the new blog. An email should be delivered to you to choose to join the blog hosted by WEBS.

I am asking that you all sign up using your GoZone nickname, although that is not necessary if for some reason you don't want to do that. I would ask that you submit a 25 to 50 word explanation as to why you refuse to do so, but that too is not obligatory.

The new site is heavily business oriented, so the opening page is a standard advertisement that can only be edited by the site owner. In this case, that is I. By clicking on the url for the blog, you can get to what will be our league information page. Currently, there is a pic of Chappie and week 4 results form last year. Note Ed is leading! Everyone should have the ability to post a message here, and I am asking that everyone do so.

Also, because of the "Ghost Rule" after last season's debacle, everyone, even Jo and Ed will have to participate in the blog. No more sons or husbands doing the heavy lifting. Don't blame the Commish, blame the Ghost, who most feel never made one real pic last year.

For shots of my new marina, go to the WEBS blog. Marc did and it was effortless, according to him. He does advise to actually read the questions before answering them though, so it might be a bit harder than he thinks.

Namath on Brady

Via Sports Illustrated:

“No one’s ever been better. No one’s ever been better than Tom Brady, I don’t believe. And I go back to watching the guys earlier in some of the darker days, in the ’50s. One of my first heroes was Otto Graham. Come on, 10 straight title games in Cleveland. He was just spectacular. Bobby Layne was a unique quarterback, really terrific. Getting into the modern era, Peyton Manning has had his wonderful performances. Don’t tell me anybody is better than Aaron Rodgers, either. Better than, better than, better than. The best, the best, the best. To each his own. I have a hard time calling anybody in any sport “the best” because of the changes in the game, certainly, and because of the greats that were ahead of them. But I will say, no one has ever played the game better than Tom Brady. You start looking at numbers, and sometimes statistics tell a story, and sometimes they don’t tell the whole story. It’s such a team game. But Tom has answered the bell. He has answered every challenge. He’s great. He’s great. No one has ever done it better.”

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

I want to thank Wayne league members for the out-pouring of congratulations over the purchase of my 1989 Wellcraft 233 Eclipse. I am humbled by Wayne's so many of you who applauded my decision to sell my motorcycle and buy the boat. Wayne's Your concern for my safety is duly noted and I would like to thank Wayne you all for your concerns.

It is ever incumbent upon the commissioner of a league which boasts such disparity variety of membership to embrace fairness and equanimity in a league which suffers from has both Wayne and Kevin as its patriarchs. It is a fine line the commissioner must walk to keep the league on an even keel.

Speaking of boats, have I mentioned I purchased one recently?

I apologize for the excess of clothing, but it was a rather raw 70° that day, with only 60% sunshine.

I hope the off-season brings joy to all, and in the meantime, happy boating!

Karen and the Future of the Go Zone

Wayne tells me that Karen is improving, but slowly, and won't be home from rehab for a while yet. He hasn't been able to post to the Go Zone because of ongoing verification problems with his sign in protocol. His frustrations are very real and he has decided to drop out of the league rather than fight Google every week.

When this same situation occurred earlier in the year, I investigated other blog offering sites, but found only one with roughly the same characteristics as Blogger. Wayne had suggested Yahoo as exemplary for blogs, but their restrictions on images was so small that the grid would be unreadable on it. Similar problems with other blogs, including restrictions to 6 authors, and inability to process images caused me to renew my efforts to get Google working for Wayne, but that didn't last for long.

If anyone knows of a blog site that accepts large images and has unlimited authors, please get that information to me. But you better use text, because I plan on being out on my boat most of the time.

Did I mention I bought a boat with the money I got from selling my bike? Well here it is:

It would be sad to lose Wayne from the league. Anyone who has a solution, please get in touch.

Congrats to The Ghost

Congratulations are in order for Uncle Ed, aka The Ghost, on winning both the Millie and Chappie awards this football season. Knowing there will be no response from the victor, I wish to congratulate  Patrick for all those picks as well. There is semi-pending an investigation involving the validity of the victor's living presence now known as FateGate. This is not to diminish the fine season completed by The Ghost.
Best to all
Kev and Jo

Hello to Karen

Karen,
  We had no idea that choosing Seattle would affect you like this! Seriously, Wayne's note is great to hear. We are thinking of you and come back strong!

Kev and Jo

Napoli Trolls Sherman

Here are Mike Napoli's two tweets featuring a posturing Richard Sherman:

Hilarious!!!!

Karen improving

Karen had a much day on Tuesday.  Her pain is under control, she's getting better rest, and has been receiving visitors.  She will likely stay in the hospital another day, then transfer to a rehab facility to get her back on her feet so she can go home.

Wayne

Karen in Hospital

Karen is presently in the hospital.  Shortly after the game last night, while talking to her sister on the phone, she leaned against a barstool which tipped over, and Karen hit the floor also.  She was in great pain and unable to walk, so I had to call for an ambulance to transport her to the hospital.

She has a pubic rami fracture, actually more than one fracture.  This is a fracture in the hip/pelvis area, although not on a weight bearing part of the area.  Because it's not weight bearing, surgery will not be required. 

She will be in the hospital for around 3 days, then transferred to a clinic for further recovery and rehab.

There is no truth to the rumor that I knocked her down the stairs for picking the Seahawks.

I will keep you posted during her recovery.

At some point, when things settle down and I can find the time, I will make a post congratulating cousin Eddy, by far the most intelligent member of his generation of the O'Leary clan.  He truly dominated our league this season.

Omaha

Congratulations to Patrick

Congratulations seem to be in order to Easy Ed, aka the Ghost, although perhaps we should congratulate Patrick instead. After all, as far as anyone knows, he made all those picks for Ed.

So, Congratulations Patrick for a season well played. You had the lead from week 1 and held it through the SuperBowl. That is a dominant achievement. And you went out strong, gathering 12 out of a possible 14 points. You beat Sean by three and Kevin by eight.

Kevin scored the same points as last year, 216, and that won him the 2013 Chappie. This year Ed/Pat and Sean raised their games.

As is the custom of the league, the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) will meet this summer and make changes aimed at destroying this year's winner, just as the NFL meets every time the Patriots win the superbowl with the intent of outlawing any strengths they may have gained the past year. Already I am hearing that they will try to outlaw substitutions of any kind, running in strong formations and playing players out of position. It was also suggested that play action passes, a very deceptive play for defenses should be outlawed, but someone came to his senses and claimed foul. That was just going too far.

Again, congrats to Pat/Ed, or maybe we should call them (it?) Ped. Or maybe ePat,

It worked

I'm glad to see my post worked and got most of you talking! Commish thank you for getting me up to date with everyone's accomplishments and whereabouts. Karen you speak your mind , you've been in this crazy family long enough! Way to stick with it,  although KIRK are you out there ??

Final Stats 2014 Season

Superbowl Picks