February 1, 2019 at 11:44 a.m.
Young, Jordens to vie for River News Pigskin Pick'em championship
Young, Jordens to vie for River News Pigskin Pick'em championship
By Kayla Thomason-
Brian Young of Park City Credit Union and Chef Tom Jordens of CT's Deli are the two contestants remaining.
Young has been on top nearly the entire season, excluding one week, and his strategy was simple: "Go with (your) first instinct. Don't overanalyze."
"This is the third time I've been part of it and I think it's great that people will be part of something that is both fun and benefits local non-profit organizations and/or charities," Young said.
Jordens' strategy was to pick teams he likes, which worked great for him.
"Very unexpected but exciting," he said of his placement in the competition.
He enjoyed playing the game, and it caused him to pay more attention to the sport.
"I really enjoyed it," he said. "For somebody who didn't follow football beyond the Packers, it gave an interest in all the games."
This year's race for the final two was a close one between the top four players - coming down the end of the AFC championship game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. Both Young and Jordens correctly picked the Patriots, who won in overtime 38-31, to earn spots in the final over River News Sports editor, and defending champion, Jeremy Mayo and Dave Mannikko of Boyd Financial Service. Mayo and Mannikko would have been the last two standing had the Chiefs held on to their late fourth-quarter lead.
"I feel bad, representing both the River News and the Rhinelander Athletic Booster Club (Mayo's charity of choice), that I was unable to repeat as Pigskin Pick'em champion this year," he explained. "I gave it my best shot, but needed everything to break perfectly during the conference championship games to get into the finals ... I just didn't get it done. It stinks, but there's always next year. Hat's off to Brian and Tom who did what they had to do to get into the finals.
"Playing from behind in the playoffs forced me to take a few risks, and picking against the Patriots, I felt, was a necessary risk. It didn't pan out, but at least I have a clear conscience this year knowing I was not forced to root for the Patriots in the playoffs."
Both Young and Jordens are riding the Patriots again in the big game against the L.A. Rams. Young thinks the final score will be 31-21, and Jordens thinks 27-24. Because both players picked the same team to win, it will come down to the total number of points scored in the contest. If the combined final score of the game is 51 points or lower, Jordens wins and $500 will go to Camp American Legion. If the final score adds up 52 points or more Young wins $500 for Rhinelander Babe Ruth Baseball.
Young is feeling confident heading into Sunday's game, and had a few tasty words for his rival.
"I love the gyro at C.T. Deli but Chef Tom has to go down," he joked.
Behind Mayo and Mannikko in the standings were Marisa Silvas of Newswatch 12 Today and Rod Ankrom of Calvary Baptist Church. Both finished with the same number of points, but Silvas was awarded fifth place based on a better overall season record.
Rhinelander Mayor Chris Frederickson finished seventh, thanks to a strong playoff run, but earned a dubious distinction along the way. With a 129-135-2 overall record, Mayor Frederickson became the first contestant in Pick'Em Board history to finish the season below .500.
"My placement did not represent my knowledge of football," the mayor said, defending his paltry pigskin prognostication record. "Come Tuesday mornings, because they followed a lot of Monday issues I had very little time to focus on football, even during the weekend, and my constituents and my tax payers will be happy to know I spent a whole bunch more time and energy on the issues at hand. Did not even pay attention to the season, I barely can tell you who is in the Super Bowl now."
One shiny spot for Frederickson was achieving his personal goal of beating River News reporter Jamie Taylor.
Then again, everyone beat Taylor, who struggled in the playoffs and finished dead last.
"I think the mayor should be tested for performance enhancing drugs because of that late run he made in the standings," Taylor quipped. "I was doing everything I could to finish at least ninth with Chris Frederickson bringing up the rear, but it didn't shake out that way under contest rules."
Coming in eighth was The Shadow - none other than Matt Steingraber of the YMCA of the Northwoods.
Ninth place was Lauren Sackett of the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce.
While Mayo's bid to repeat as Pigskin Pick'em champion fell short, as the contest organizer, he said this year's competition was an overwhelming success.
"The contest could not have been more exciting," he said. "Four players entering the final week with a shot to enter the championship and it came down to the last play of the last conference title game to get our two finalists. That's exactly the excitement we hoped to create when we rolled out this enhanced format last year and it delivered yet again."
The new system makes it so every week of the regular season and playoffs matter.
"With our finalists, we got exactly that," Mayo said. "Brian won the regular season title and used those additional bonus points to his advantage in the playoffs. Tom, despite having only the 6th-best record on the board, led the board with in weekly wins, and those extra playoff points were the difference between him making the finals and not."
Mayo thanked all of this year's board members, said he is eager to see who comes out on top in the championship, and is looking forward to next year's game.
Kayla Thomason may be reached at [email protected].
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