Week 16 Observations

1. Jo Widens Her Lead. True to form this year (and last year as well), Jo has remained firmly in first place. She gained a point on Marc and two points on Kevin and Judy. Nick stayed 4 points behind.

2. It's Jo against Judy and Marc. Realistically, absent a total train wreck from Jo this week, only Judy and Marc have a chance to seize the Millie. Both are only three points behind Jo and either could have a great week, as Marc, Sean, Ryan and Amy have done recently.

3. The Standings. Jo 169, Judy and Marc 166, Kevin and Nick 164, and Wayne and Mike 160.

4. Put Another Way. Jo has averaged 10.5 points per week, Judy and Marc 10.4, Nick and Kevin 10.3, and Wayne and Mike 10.0.

5. The Secret. Jo has had a great year and she has not had one bad week the entire season. It is a long season and every week counts. Belichick would be proud.

Week 17 Picks Chart

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Week 16 Stats

Merry Christmas!

Sounds like a nice Christmas gift, Mike, enjoy your visit with the boys.

I hope everyone in the Zone had a wonderful Christmas, and wish a happy and prosperous 2017 for everyone.

Wayne & Karen

A wonderful Christmas

Had a great Christmas. Luke called and told me he and Lindsey and maybe Marc were coming down to see the Superbowl. Last time they did that the Pats played the Seahawks, and we all know what happen it that one, Also, Peg saw her son for the first time in 5 years, and Diane Robinson sent me great mementos of the past. Here they are:

Week 16 Picks

Week 16 Thursday Night Picks

Week 16 Picks Chart

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Week 15 Observations

1. An Interesting Week. This week saw a few scoring records broken or tied and a definite tightening of the race for the Millie. The big individual winner is Sean/Ryan, who set a new record for most points in a week. His 15-1 week garnered him 16 points, beating his old record of 15 points back in 2012. That old record was tied by Ryan's 14-2 week, which Marcus also tied in week 13 of this year.

2. Judy on the Move. Judy's 13-3 week got her into second place on point behind Jo's leading 158 points. Judy has steadily been rising in the standings the past 5 weeks.

3. Marcus on the Rise. Marc's 13-3 record and his correct pick of the Panthers on Monday Night has pulled him into third place only 2 points behind Jo, and 1 behind Judy. He too has been steadily on the rise for the past 6 weeks or so.

4. Kevin Loses Ground. Kev's 11 point week got him leapfrogged by Judy and Marc and sent him careening into fourth place, although, at 155 points, he is still within striking distance.

5. Nick Stays Steady. The other contender for the Millie is Nick, who climbed to only 2 points behind Kevin. His steady play not only gives him a chance at the Millie, but also puts him in a good position for the Chappie.

******GG wants everyone alerted to the fact that most of the games will be played on Saturday this week and the deadline for picks is noon on Saturday. 

Week 15 Results and Stats

Week 15 Picks

Corrected Week 14 Results

Thanks to the vigilance of the King of the North, incorrect stats from week 14 have been found and corrected. The King is to be commended for his scrutiny of the stats and his quick and respectful alerting of the central office. It is, of coiurse, every members duty to check the accuracy of the published stats. The big winner in the change is Jude the Prude who is now tied with Deland for second place, two points  behind the front runner The Boss.

Guido Gonzales says the problem could be in a computer glitch, or more likely, a deliberate hack "by the Russians, the Chinese, or by a 16 year old boy living in his parents basement in New Jersey." Guido added that, more ominously, "it could be the CIA."

The corrected results:

Week 15 Saturday Night Picks

ERRORS

Yo Guido, Commish , whoever. I had the Titans over the Broncos. In fact a lot of people did. So I should be 11-5 for the week for a total of 12 points.


I suggest everyone check their stats to make sure they are correct.


Very disappointing.


Sad.




Patrick


King in the North

Guido Has Been Busy; Week 14 Final Picks and Stats

Week 14 stats?

Is Guido so busy with the gambling issue he has forgotten to publish the Week 14 stats?

Omaha

My Girls Lose

Well, it's over.  I have never seen them play with such little fire, failure to back up the block, poor serving, and just general lack of energy, I guess.

It's been a long, pressure packed season, but it was fun to see them do so well.  I can't be upset with making it to another final four, but I was sure hoping the twins could go out with another title.

Texas and Stanford should be a heck of a match Saturday evening.

Omaha

Week 15 Thursday Night Picks

Volleyball picture

As Mike said, I am in that picture.  I was scanning the list of news stories on Yahoo when I ran across a story on the volleyball tournament.

I realized it was a photo of the Nebraska-Washington match for a spot in the Final 4 that I attended this past Saturday, and I quickly spotted myself in the photo.

Surely you folks can find me among the 8,250 fans in the sold out arena.

The Final 4 meet this Thursday evening in Columbus, OH.  Nebraska plays Texas in the 9:30 PM (ET) match on ESPN.  Stanford meets Minnesota in the other match, and the two winners meet for the NCAA Championship on Saturday, on ESPN.

Omaha

Where's Wayne?

Omaha visits the volleyball tourney. Can you spot him?

Hint: He has white hair and is wearing Nebraska red.

Week 15 Picks Chart

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What a sweet Boss

Thanks for your sweet post about my weekend at the volleyball tourney games.  Volleyball is such a beautiful sport, such athleticism, grace and skill.  It's my second favorite sport just behnd baseball.

Nebraska Libero (defensive specialist) Justine Wong-Orantes is incredibly talented.  She saves so many balls, thwarting the oponents attempt at a kill.  How she reacts so quickly keeping the ball alive and with such ball control is just amazing. 

I have been watching these girls for so many years I feel like they are my kids.  Justine and the twins, Amber & Kadie are all seniors.  Amber & Kadie committed to scholarships at Nebraska when they were in 8th grade and winning club tournaments all over the country.  We are going to miss them.

Next up is the final 4:  Texas vs. Nebraska, and Stanford vs. Minnesota, with the winners playing for the championship.  Matches are on one of the ESPN channels Thursday evening, with the finals on Saturday.

Omaha

Say it ain't so, Sis

The latest update from the Honorable Guido Gonzales, Director of  IT Dept., etal.,  and lead investigator for the Go Zone Football League Committee for Purity, etal., is most distressing.

As I feared, it appears one of our members of the weak-minded weaker sex is in violation of the Go Zones rules on professional gambling.  But which one?

I have tried to deny rumors that my rotten fragile little sister, whom I've run protective interference for since her birth, could possibly seek to infiltrate our club and disgrace it by engaging in illegal gambling activities, thereby threatening our amateur association.

Please Sis, say it ain't so.

Omaha

Nice try, Prude

That a nice try, Prude, but the word "solely" in your definition is an add-on to the definition of a professional.

Yes, pros get paid, be they entertainers, athletes, mechanics, or...gamblers.  But there is no requirement that their pay or winnings be their sole source of income.

Be it additional income or sole income, one who bets (gambles) on sports or anything else, jeopardizes their amateur standing by accepting money as winnings.

Omaha

Definition

 The definition of a professional gambler; A professional gambler is someone who makes their living solely off gambling. Phew! That rules me out! Jo?

Investigation Summary

Our esteemed leader and heroic commissioner recently asked me to share progress on my investigation into rumors that one of our league members broke the rules of the league and long established protocols of transparencies by professionally gambling on NFL football games.


This is what I have uncovered so far:

• The heinous culprit is a female. There are currently seven females in the league, not counting the Ghost. Of those seven, Peg and Karen passed the investigation with flying colors. Both have impeccable characters and clean records, with no rumors or innuendo about them at all.
• My investigation finds Diane to be capable of gambling adventures and someone who is not tied to conventions and societal norms. However, as the Boss so succinctly notes in a recent post, if it were Diane she would have a higher score. Rather harsh, but there it is.  Diane is improving each week so that proves that she did not bring a gambling past to the league.
• The case against Brandy is a bit stronger. She has the most Picks of the Week of any one in the league and she is a mathematician, so she understands the numbers and points well. If she had odds on her weekly picks, she would be way ahead in winnings, if not wins. However, phone taps and surveillance has uncovered no connections to Vegas. She is in the clear.
• Amy presents a volatile mix of impulsiveness and competitiveness that begs a closer look at her. Her week 13 record of 13-2 proves to be highly suspicious, given such scores are rare.  To go 13-2 is difficult for anyone, except of course for professional gamblers. A review of her league application reveals a stubborn, if not throw-it-in-your-face competitiveness that takes no prisoners. Luckily for her, the entire town of Westmoreland claimed to know her well and vouched for her character as only small town members can. There are few professional gamblers in Westmoreland.

That leaves two females left. I hope to have the complete evidence soon so we can confront the scurrilous villain once and for all.

I thank the righteous and respected Commish for this opportunity to serve the Go Zone Football League.

Week 14 Picks

The Boss on Omaha's Attendance at NE VB Playoffs

Omaha:  You're a breath of fresh air as you share your intense support and excitement for "your" favorite team. You should still be coaching as you'd instill in your team the desire, drive and will to reach for the stars. I only wish I could have seen your "handsome face and blonde hair" beaming on TV - a sight worthy of instant replay on the jumbo tron.  Being married to another sports enthusiast (Deland) for 43 years coupled with my competitive nature make for one enthusiastic gal - be it sports or anything my kids/partners, grandkids, or relatives are participating in or interested in. For that - I feel thankful!
Live in the Moments!
The Boss

On to the final four

Just returned from Lincoln.  The Nebraska women cruised to a lopsided, 3-set win over PAC 12 champ Washington in today's regional final in the NCAA Volleyball championships.

My girls will play the winner of tonight's Creighton-Texas matchup (played in Texas) on Thursday.  That will most likely be Texas.  This match is on ESPNU as we speak, and Texas won the first set.

The championship match will be next Saturday.

Omaha

What a classic match!

Wow!  Yesterday I saw an absolutely classic match between two great teams.  Penn State has 7 seven national championships and Nebraska has 4, including last year.

Penn State came from behind to win both the first two sets by identical scores of 25-23.

They seemed a lock to complete the upset, leading Nebraska 24-22 in the third set.  But Amber Rolfzen, one of our twins, took charge and not a moment too soon.  First she knocked down a kill, and then she blocked Penn State's top hitter, who had killed us all afternoon, to tie the set at 24-24. 

Our sophomore outside hitter, Mikaela Foecke, knocked down two kills for a spectacular comeback, sending the sellout crowd of over 8250 into a frenzy.  Nebraska won the 4th set, 25-19 setting up the 5th and deciding set.  But Penn State was never the same after having victory snatched from their grasp, and the Huskers won, 15-6.

I had a front row seat, sitting court-side next to the official on the platform at the net.  Karen said she saw me on TV at least 6 times, said I was hard to miss with my good looks and blonde hair...

Going back for today's regional final against Washington.   The match is at 4:00 ET on ESPNU.

Omaha

Week 14 Thursday Night Picks

Inside Info?

Congratulations to those cited by our esteemed Commish for their outstanding picks this past weekend.

I must say though, it appears that Brandy must have had some inside information in her record-breaking picks of the Bills and Panthers over the Raiders. 

I can't speak for the rest of you motley fools, but I'm quite certain I would have picked the Raiders to lose twice had I known they were playing a double-header Sunday.

Omaha

Week 13 Observtions

1. Jo Remains Strong, Kev Stumbles. The leaders remained stable last week with Jo overtaking Kevin, who stumbled to a 7-8 week but still remains in second place. Judy continued on her consistently good picks to grab a share of third place with Marcus. Mike and Nick hold down a tie for fifth place.

2. Marc Surges. Marcus had a 14-1 week, by far the best this year. His 15 point week shot him past Nick and Mike with 130 points, only two points behind Kevin. This is the second best week in the history of the league, bettered only by Sean's perfect 14-0 week in 2012.

3, POW and RPOW.  There were no real Picks of the Week, the closest being the Picking of the Chiefs over the Falcons by Mike, Jo and Brandy. (This was the only game Marc missed this week.) Reverse Pick of the Week goes to Patrick with his pick of the Bengals over the Broncos, Brandy with her pick of the Bills over the Raiders, and Brandy again with her pick of the Panthers over the Raiders. This is the first time a league member has had two RPOWs, a left handed feather in her cap.

4. Congrats to Wayne. Speaking of left handers, Wayne's news of his trip to see Nebraska play in volleyball tournament action this weekend is well received by the Commish. A long time volleyball referee and coach, Wayne is dedicated to his beloved Huskers and I am sure he will have a great time this weekend. The Senior Advisory Council wishes him the best, on a 3-2 vote.

5. Comparison to 2015. A quick look at last year's race shows Jo, Ed and Wayne ahead with 128 points, and  Lucas lurking back with 125 points. Luke would go on to win the regular season Millie. Jo's leading point total of 135 is 7 points better than the 128 that led the league last year. To beat Kevin's all time high total of 188 points, she will have to average over 12 points a week for the next four weeks.

Girls soccer

That's awesome big brother! I know how much you love that! Enjoy love you

volleyball update

The Nebraska girl's volleyball team better win Friday, advancing to the Final Eight match on Saturday.

BECAUSE -- I now have a ticket For Saturday too!

Omaha

To Omaha from The Boss

Awesome - have a blast - but please no 'streaking' involved!
 The Boss

Out of Commission Friday

Just to let you folks know, I will be out of commission on Friday.  Through a friend I have tickets to the Nebraska-Penn State volleyball match at noon eastern time.  The match will be televised on ESPNU.  This weekend's matches are in Lincoln, Ne.

Penn State is a multiple volleyball national champion.  Nebraska has 4 national titles, including last year.  The Huskers are seeded No. 1 in this year's NCAA tournament.  Nebraska won it first two matches last weekend and is now in the sweet 16.

Soooooo,  turn on your TV and watch closely, I may just sprint across the floor...

Omaha

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Week 13 Results and Stats

Week 13 Picks

Embellished

 After reading omah's gagging response and spending time in the bathroom to vomit I have diligently tried to grasp the depth of his psychosis. His memory of all those things that happened in our childhood  have turned around drastically. Fortunately most of you grew up with him  and are still probably laughing and gagging.  I am sure you all know now and understand my dilemma.... all this nonsense because he starts a ridiculous rumor about professional gambling as an excuse  for losing.. I believe the word rigged even came up at one point in one of his posts! He could and should have gotten into politics.  Cousin Diane we need to stick together. I can remember what angels we were.

Omaha, Jude and now Dianne

          The recent exchanges between Omaha and Jude the Prude on their childhood interactions reminds me of the time Ed, Kevin and I spoke at our sister Dianne's retirement roast.

Dianne’s Retirement Roast

         Upon the occasion of Dianne’s retirement, Ed, Kevin and I were volunteered by Ed’s wife Carol to share some recollections of growing up with Dianne. Ed told his story about the time Dianne, as a toddler, wanted to get out of the car as we were slowing down to go into our driveway. Dad told her to wait, and Dianne decided she wouldn’t wait. She opened the door and stepped out. Ed, calm as ever, said, “Dad, Dianne is not with us anymore.” 

          Kevin told about how Dianne really wanted a sister when she heard she was getting another sibling. She was very disappointed in Kevin’s gender, but that did not dissuade her from dressing him up like a girl and attempting to get him to play tea-party with her.

I prepared the following:

So, the topic is what was it like growing up with Dianne, or to be more accurate, growing up in spite of Dianne. What was Dianne like?  Well, the word "bully" comes to mind. Of course, so does the word "terrorist."  That might be too over the top, but it does contain the gist of it. 

To understand the family dynamic you have to understand that, as a girl with three brothers, she quickly became the apple of my father's eye.  Now, Dianne had two characteristics as a child—an incredibly short temper and the willingness to inflict pain on anyone who annoyed her. And everyone seemed to annoy her.  I remember that I always found it wise to know where Dianne was in a room or on a playing field or court. You did not want her to come at you from behind or from the side.

Dianne was quite a good athlete, but as a child she was a bit brittle. I remember that she sustained two injuries in which I was involved. Once she was angry at me for some reason, and I had jumped on my bike to get away. Now, like many wild animals, Dianne took the frontal charge approach, bull-charging her way to many victories. She was three years older than I and many pounds heavier, and because she hit like a guy, it really hurt when she caught up with me. Well, this one time she came at me and tackled both me and the bike, breaking her leg or wrenching her knee or something like that. Later, when Dad was punishing me for "aggravating your sister" and I complained that she had attacked me he said I should have 'taken it like a man." Well, I was only about 5, so that one kind of mystified me.

Another time, she caught me alone inside one day and pinned me against the wall. I didn’t know for what transgression, real or imaginary, I was being punished, but it was clear I was being punished, and it would hurt. I thought I was done for, but she pulled back a bit to get more weight into the punch (and she had the weight to put into punches, if you know what I mean) and I got loose enough to duck her roadhouse right. She ended up missing me completely and hitting the tv, dislocating her finger. Dad was upset with me over that one too. He gave me pretty much about the same speech as before, about how I should avoid aggravating her and “taking it like a man.” Now, until I was 14 or 15, I thought “taking it like a man” meant letting females beat the crap out of you.

I was always mystified by how Dianne got away with things with Dad. I mean he was pretty strict with me, and every time I screwed up, he would be sure to let me have it. Later, in my teens, every time I broke a law he got incredibly upset. Yet with Dianne, he seemed to be mesmerized. For instance, the summer of her senior year in high school, she got a job at an inn at Hampton Beach. Once we went to visit her and she asked my father to buy her a case of beer so she could use it when she shampooed to get the salt out of her hair. Now, I was a sophomore in high school and this set off warning bells in my mind, but, to my amazement, Dad went out and bought her the beer. After we were in her room at the inn for a little bit, visiting and delivering her “Shampoo,” a couple of guys came to the room and hung around. It looked like they were anxious to get to shampooing to me, and it got a bit awkward, so Mom and Dad and I left.

On the way home I brought up the fact that Dianne might be tempted to maybe take a few swigs of that beer before she used it for shampoo and Dad said that she didn't drink alcohol and that she wouldn't do that anyway. It was to get the salt out of her hair.

Of course, Dianne did help me out a few times. For one, she taught me how to smoke. Now I wasn’t more than 8 or 9 at the time and I had a lot of trouble smoking without coughing uncontrollably and getting sick. But Dianne showed the patience that would make her such a great teacher and got me through it.

She also taught me how to be deceptive. We often needed cigarettes, so Dianne taught me how to engage Mon and Dad while she brought a chair over and got a pack of cigarettes from the carton Dad kept on top of the refrigerator.

But she also taught me how to dance, a skill that served me well in high school. 

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So thanks for that Di.

Omaha vs The Prude -- The Boss

I'm still laughing hysterically after reading the last 2 posts and really cannot control my tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks. As the oldest sibling of 5 -- 3 girls first then 2 boys - exactly 10 years from eldest to youngest  - I can appreciate and relate to the renditions of experiences between Omaha and Jude the Prude.  However, as the years press on, do our recollections fade and we embellish our tales or are our memories solid and our recountings accurate?  As a "young" senior, I know my memory is crisp and, therefore, feel all The Go-Zone Seniors recall exact facts from our childhood. Thus, I'll continue to enjoy the sibling banter. Thanks for the laughs tonight - keep them coming!  THE BOSS

Week 13 Thursday Night Picks

Case? What case?

What exactly is "the case" that the Prude purports to make?

You can't believe much of anything the Prude says.  Since childhood she has displayed a -- to be kind and gentle -- propensity for speaking half-truths,  Or, less gently -- outright falsehoods.

I trace her behavior and expectation of entitlement back to her childhood.

I remember back when I was, oh, around 10 years old and the Prude was 7.  She had her heart set on going to see Disney's Alice In Wonderland, and I was the only sibling around that day.  You guessed it.  She cried and cried until Dad gave in and directed me to cancel my baseball game with my buddies and take her to this dreadful movie. 

So we walked the two miles from our house on Pine Street in Newport, NH to the movie theater on the town square.  I held her hand as we approached the railroad crossing near the Flying A (with a halo hanging at the top of the "A") gas and propane company.  After escorting her safely across the tracks we continued to the theater.

About 10 minutes into the movie, after she had eaten all of her candy and half of mine, she started crying she wanted to go home.  Unable to stop her torturous sobbing, I surrendered and we left.

I tried everything I could think of to pacify her and end the flow of tears.  Spent what was left of my paper delivery money on more candy and soda pop.  Now down by Towle high school she began crying again.  She wanted to go back. 

I was successful in convincing the lady in the ticket office that the pain-in-the-ass Prude had left her little purse inside.  The lady smiled said something about my blue eyes and dimples, and let us go back inside.

It wasn't 15 minutes until she again began sobbing loudly that she wanted to go home. 

And so we walked the two miles up Belnap Avenue hill and across Pine Street to our house.  All I could do was sigh and accept the burden of being the older and wiser sibling.

And so -- the moral of this truthful experience is, whatever the Prude says is temporary, and to be taken with a grain of salt.

Omaha

 

Omaha needs our help

Well comrades, as you can see from Omaha's response what I am gently trying to tell you...I rest my case. Please don't be too hard on him.