February 20, 2015 at 2:05 p.m.
Pigskin Pick'em wrap up: Tight to the bitter end
Pigskin Pick'em wrap up: Tight to the bitter end
Particularly over the course of the second half of the season, front runner Brian Young of Park City Credit Union continued to make pick after pick in hopes of staving off Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dana DeMet who was in hot pursuit.
When the dust finally settled, Young landed at the top of the heap with an overall record of 185-81-1, five games up on DeMet. Young said he was nervous for a brief moment, but ultimately the better prognosticator won.
"I didn't think it was possible, but my focus increased even further late in the year when Dana closed within one game and sent an e-mail saying he was coming for me," Young said. "As the final results show, probably a mistake on his part."
DeMet said Young's quick start set him apart. While he was proud of his picks, there were a couple teams he wishes he had trusted more, most notably the St. Louis Rams and the Cleveland Browns. When time start running out and DeMet was still trailing, he knew he had to switch up his strategy. It didn't work.
"As we got to the middle of the season I realized Brian and I were making many of the same picks," DeMet said. "If I had any chance of overtaking him for the lead, I had to start picking the upsets. That burned me a few times and allowed Brian to extend his lead. You have to play to win though, so I'm satisfied with how things turned out, other than losing of course."
It was an off year for the River News sports department's head honcho Jeremy Mayo. He finished in a distant eighth place with a final record of 167-99-1. He blamed the increasing amount of parity in the NFL today for his disappointing finish.
"Early on it was apparent Brian and Dana were going to be the ones to beat," he said. "I got off to a slow start and tried to make up some ground by picking some upsets, which only put me further in the hole. I'm disappointed with eighth, but those are the breaks. There are so many coin-flip games in the league now, and they just didn't break my way this year. I'll be back next year and expect to be contending for the title."
As this year's winner, Young has earned a place on next year's panel. He still won't give up any hints regarding his strategy, but said he's confident he'll repeat.
"As noted at the beginning of the year, this is confidential and any disclosure would violate my agreements with the Las Vegas casinos," Young said. "I believe my chances are excellent. Hopefully my performance this year will not make it too difficult to find nine other people who want to compete next year. I will let the results speak for themselves."
With the way Young dismantled the rest of this year's panel, DeMet said he's got to be the favorite heading into next year and even offered some career advice.
"Brian, if you ever decide to leave Park City Credit Union, I'm pretty sure there's an open seat next to Adam Schefter at ESPN for you," DeMet said. "You may also want to think about moving out of home mortgage lending and shift over to stock market investing as well. You seem to have a knack for predicting the future."
As the winner, the $500 kitty will go to Young's non-profit organization of choice, the Northwoods Babe Ruth League. He said he's happy to be able to help a cause so close to his heart.
"It feels great," he said. "All joking aside, I think it is fantastic when people come together and participate in any activity or event whose goal is to contribute to a non-profit organization or charity. The Northwoods Babe Ruth League, like all of the fine organizations represented by others on the Board, are very deserving of our support."
Mayo said the money is going to a worthy cause that will continue to be treasure in the community.
"Congrats to Brian on winning the board," he said. "He was clearly the class of the field all year. The Northwoods Babe Ruth League is a deserving charity. They have something going on at Stafford Field seemingly every night in the summer and - as evidenced by their 15-year-old All-star team coming within one game of the Babe Ruth World Series last year - they are putting a good product on the field, while preparing kids to play at the high school level across the Northwoods."
As for this writer, my picks, shrouded throughout the year under the veil of the shadow, came out flat. I put too much faith in the decision making of Eli Manning and Cam Newton early in the season and never recovered. A ninth-place finish, only one spot behind Mayo for office bragging rights, was a heartbreaker.
Despite the poor showing, it was a fun year and I enjoyed poring over the games and making the picks.
Mayo said it was one of the most enjoyable years he's experienced and the quality of participants made the competition fierce throughout.
"I want to thank everyone for playing," he said. "I'd have to say this was the most competitive board we've had since I've been a part of the contest. We had a lot of people who really know their stuff and it was a fun competition this season."
Mayo will return for next year's panel, as will Young to defend his title. This year's online winner, Joe Kantarik, has also earned a spot on the board. He hasn't decided whether or not he'll participate yet, but he admitted the idea is appealing.
"It would be fun to beat all those guys too, and take all their money for a charity," he said.
Over the summer, the final six spots and a new shadow will be chosen and the picks will begin again.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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