NFL Predictions

 AFC (-8)

East (-8)
Buffalo 12-5
New England 10-7
NYJ 5-12
Miami 3-14

North (-7)
Cincinnati 11-6
Baltimore 11-6
Pittsburgh 6-11
Cleveland 2-15

South (+3)
Jacksonville 11-6
Houston 11-6
Indianapolis 7-10
Tennessee 5-12

West (+4)
Denver 11-6
LA 10-7
KC 10-7
Vegas 4-13

NFC (+8)

East (-1)
Philadelphia 11-6
Dallas 9-8
Washington 7-10
NY Giants 5-12

North (+12)
Chicago 11-6
Green Bay 11-6
Detroit 10-7
Minnesota 8-9

South (-12)
Tampa Bay 7-10
Carolina 7-10
New Orleans 7-10
Atlanta 7-10

West (+9)
LA 13-4
Seattle 12-5
SF 10-7
Arizona 3-14

Playoffs

AFC
BYE: Buffalo
#2 Cincinnati
#3 Jacksonville
#4 Denver
#5 Houston
#6 Baltimore
#7 LA Chargers

Cincinnati over LA
Jacksonville over Baltimore
Denver over Houston

Buffalo over Denver
Jacksonville over Cincinnati

Buffalo over Jacksonville

NFC
BYE: LA
#2 Philadelphia
#3 Chicago
#4 Tampa Bay
#5 Seattle
#6 Green Bay
#7 San Francisco

SF over Philadelphia
Green Bay over Chicago
Seattle over Tampa Bay

LA over San Francisco
Seattle over Green Bay

LA over Seattle

SUPER BOWL
Buffalo over LA

TSB X

 TSB X

My 10th TSB tournament took place on Sunday afternoon (from roughly 12:30-4:30pm) on 2/1/26

There were 8 human teams (though 2 teams were shared) and a 'computer' opponent as well

Each team started by playing the computer. This was intended to help each human participant familiarize or re-familiarize themselves with the game and its controls. Each game was Buffalo (human) vs. Denver (computer). The results of these games were also used to establish the divisions. Here are the results of this preliminary stage.

1. Matthew 56-0
2. Jordan 56-21
3. Joe 35-3
4. Steve 28-14
5. Owen 27-14
6. Jeff S 27-21
7. Nick 27-21 (OT)
8. Matt/Hudson 9-24 

Based on these results, 2 divisions were formed (4 teams each). Each team randomly selected 4 NFL helmets. Each participant had to use each of their NFL teams once before using them again (in potential medal round).

Division 1 results

1. Matthew 3-0 (+55)
2. Matt/Hudson 2-1 (+21)
3. Steve/Leo 1-2 (-1)
4. Owen 0-3 (-75)

Division 2 results

1. Joe 3-0 (+74)
2. Jordan 2-1 (+18)
3. Nick 1-2 (-13)
4. Jeff 0-3 (-17)

Next, the top 2 teams from each division were placed in a playoff bracket with the top seed from division 1 set to face the bottom seed from division two and vice versa. 

Joe defeated Matt/Hudson 58-13
Matthew defeated Jordan 14-13

Finally, we did the medal round

BRONZE: Jordan defeated Matt/Hudson 28-7
GOLD: Matthew defeated Joe 31-17 (KC over Buffalo)

FINAL RESULTS
GOLD: Matthew
SILVER: Joe
BRONZE: Jordan

....

Extra details of divisional play

Matthew defeated Steve 20-14 OT, Owen, 21-7, and Matt/Hudson 42-7
Matt/Hudson defeated Owen 44-7, Steve 28-9, but lost to Matthew 7-42
Steve/Leo defeated Owen 31-7, but lost to Matthew 14-20 (OT) and Matt/Hudson 9-28
Owen lost to Matthew 7-21, Steve 7-31, and Matt/Hudson 7-44

Joe defeated Jeff 42-3, Nick 28-0, and Jordan 14-7
Jordan defeated Nick 14-7, Jeff 14-10, but lost to Joe 7-14
Nick defeated Jeff 22-0, but lost to Jordan 7-14 and Joe 0-28
Jeff lost to Jordan 10-14, Nick 0-22, and Joe 3-42

Thanks to everyone for playing. It was another fun tournament!

All Time TSB Tourny Records

(Listed by winning %)
93% Matthew 52-4 (8 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
69% Jordan 18-8 (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)

64% Joe 28-16 (7 silvers)
63% Mike P 5-3 (1 gold)

50% Steve/Leo 2-2

47% Nick 15-17 (3 bronze)

44% Steve C 8-10 (1 bronze)

40% Cayvon 2-3 
39% Nathan 7-11 (2 bronze)
33% Jon B 5-10 (1 bronze)

33% Matt W/Hudson 2-4
33% Jon W 2-4

33% Aiden 2-4
33% Dominic H 1-2
33% David K 1-2
28% Jeff S 5-13

27% Jeff G 3-8 (1 silver)
22% Owen 2-7
20% Computer 3-12

10% Brian D 1-9
00% Cameron F 0-2

00% Nate W 0-2

00% Cameron O 0-5

00% Leo C 0-6

TSB I
TSB II
TSB III
TSB IV
TSB V
TSB VI
TSB VII
TSB VIII
TSB IX
TSB X

Gameday 48

 The Gameday 48

The Bills kick off their new season on Sunday evening and I thought it'd be fun to try and predict which 48 players will be 'active' for Buffalo against Baltimore

QB (2) Allen, Trubisky
No explanation needed

RB (3) Cook, Davis, Johnson
No explanation needed

FB (1) Gilliam
It'll be interesting to see how the presence of Hawes (TE) affects Gilliam's usage

TE (3) Kincaid, Knox, Hawes
I think they are very excited to use Hawes in power formations

WR (5) Shakir, Coleman, Palmer, Samuel, Shavers
Elijah Moore has missed practices this week for personal reasons. Shavers seems good on special teams.

OT (3) Dawkins, Brown, VanDemark
OG (3) Edwards, Torrence, Anderson
C (2) McGovern, VanPranGranger
You have to have 8 OL active or the 48 switches to 47

TOTAL OFFENSE: 22

DE (4) Rousseau, Bosa, Epenesa, Solomon
I'll take Solomon over Landon Jackson at this point in season at least

DT (4) Oliver, Jones, Sanders, Walker
Carter went to IR. No need to use up a practice squad promotion

LB (5) Milano, Bernard, Williams, Thompson, Andreeson
Some will be used for special teams

CB (5) Johnson, Benford, Strong, Ingram, Lewis
I'm assuming Tre White misses this week

S (3) Rapp, Bishop, Hamlin, Franklin
Cam Lewis is available here too from CB group. Franklin is for ST

TOTAL DEFENSE: 22

K (1) Bass (or Prater if Bass is hurt)
P (1) Robbins
LS (1) Ferguson
Returner (1) Codrington

TOTAL SPECIAL TEAMS: 4

INACTIVES FROM 53
C. Lundt, E. Moore, L. Jackson. J. Hancock, T. White
Some tough calls here. I could easily see the Bills making any of these 5 active. Lundt could replace VanPranGranger. Moore could replace Shavers. Jackson could replace Solomon. Hancock could replace Franklin or Lewis. White could replace Strong, Ingram, or Lewis.

TSB IX

TSB IX

My 9th Tecmo Super Bowl tournament took place on Sunday afternoon. There were 11 participants. We added the computer as a 12th team to make 3 divisions with 4 teams each.

Division 1: Matt R, Jeff S, Jon W, Computer
Division 2: Jordan R, Steve C, Owen H, Dominic H
Division 3: Joe W, Nick W, Cayvon H, Leo C

Each participant chose a random NFL team helmet to find out what team they would be for each game of the round robin stage.

Results after round robin:

Division 1
Matt R 3-0 (+66)
Computer 2-1 (+53)
Jon W 1-2 (-33)
Jeff S 0-3 (-86)

Division 2
Jordan 2-1 (+36)
Steve 2-1 (+4)
Owen 1-2 (+0)
Dominic 1-2 (-27)

Division 3
Joe 3-0 (+71)
Cayvon 2-1 (-22)
Nick 1-2 (-13)
Leo 0-3 (-22)

The 3 division winners received automatic bids to the playoffs. Originally, we were going to award 1 wild card position to the team with the best remaining record (With point differential tie breaker), but when we realized this would be the computer (the new ROM definitely seemed to increase the computer's quality!), we decided to have a play-in game between the computer and the next best participant.

Playoff team selection was made via a snake draft with the highest seed picking first.

Playoff results:

Play-in game:
Steve (Buffalo) defeats Computer (KC) 10-8
#2 Matt (Baltimore) defeated #3 Jordan (Detroit) 28-7
#1 Joe (SF) defeated #4 Steve (Cincinnati) 27-24

Bronze Medal Game
#3 Jordan (Minnesota) defeated #4 Steve (LAC) 20-7

Gold Medal Game
#2 Matt (Washington) defeated #1 Joe (Philadelphia) 14-7

It was a great time to hang out! Thanks for all who participated or just came to watch! And thanks for all who brought food and helped to clean up! Already looking forward to TSB X next February! ...

Round robin scores

D1
Matt defeated Jeff 45-0, Jon 31-17, Computer 17-10
Computer defeated Jon 34-14, Jeff 47-7
Jon defeated Jeff 7-6

D2 Jordan defeated Steve 21-3, Owen 21-13
Steve defeated Dom 28-10, Owen 18-14
Owen defeated Dom 38-26
Dom defeated Jordan 31-28

D3 Joe defeated Nick 35-14, Cayvon 42-0, Leo 22-14
Cayvon defeated Leo 21-7, Nick 13-7
Nick defeated Leo by forfeit

Dominik Hasek

 Dominik Hasek

Matthew Hall of Fame Inductee: Dominik Hasek

TSB VIII

 TSB VIII was played on 2/4/24 from about 1:00 until about 5pm.

There were 11 participants. We made the computer a 12th team to give us 3 divisions of 4. For each division, the lowest seeded team chose their preference for an NFL direction (NESW) which meant they could choose to play their games from any of 8 teams (For example, if one picked the EAST, one could pick from the teams in the AFC or NFC east). The highest seeded team was left to pick the last remaining NFL direction. Teams played everyone in their division. The 3 division winners plus 1 wild card team (point-differential) made the playoffs. The highest seeded playoff participant was allowed to pick any NFL division to choose teams from. Throughout the tournament, you could only be a team once per NFL draft.

The divisions/results were as follows

Division 1: Matthew, Aiden, Jeff S, David K

Matt (2-1, +45)* S
Defeated David 28-14
Defeated Jeff 46-13
Lost to Aiden 23-21

Jeff (2-1, -20) N
Defeated Aiden 30-20
Lost to Matt 13-46
Defeated David 24-21

David (1-2, -4) E
Lost to Matt 14-28
Beat Aiden 34-21
Lost to Jeff 21-24

Aiden (1-2, -21) W
Lost to Jeff 20-30
Lost to David 21-34
Defeated Matt 23-21

Division 2: Jordan, Nathan, Steve, Computer

Jordan (3-0, +28)* S
Defeated Computer 42-38
Defeated Nathan 17-7
Defeated Steve 35-21

Steve (2-1, -6) E
Defeated Computer 35-30
Defeated Nathan 17-14
Lost to Jordan 21-35

Nathan (1-2, +15) N
Defeated Computer 35-7
Lost to Steve 14-17
Lost to Jordan 7-17

Computer (0-3, -37) W
Lost to Jordan 38-42
Lost to Nathan 7-35
Lost to Steve 30-35

Division 3: Joe, Nick, Jon W, Leo

Joe (3-0, +67)* S
Defeated Jon 44-0
Defeated Leo 30-14
Defeated Nick 28-21

Nick (2-1, +33)*WC N
Defeated Leo 39-13
Defeated Jon 28-14
Lost to Joe 21-28

Jon (1-2, -34) E
Lost to Joe 0-44
Lost to Nick 14-28
Defeated Leo 48-24

Leo (0-3, -66) W
Lost to Nick 13-39
Lost to Joe 14-30
Lost to Jon 24-48

Playoff Results
#1 Joe picked NFC West
#2 Jordan picked AFC North
#3 Matthew picked NFC East
#4 Nick picked AFC East

Round 1
Jordan (Cincy) defeated Matthew (Dallas) 42-14
Joe (LAR) defeated Nick (Miami) 30-10

3rd Place game
Matthew (Philly) defeated Nick (Buffalo) 35-21

Championship Game
Jordan (Baltimore) defeated Joe (SF) 24-17

TSB VIII RULES

 TSB VIII RULES

We are using Wii systems with updated rosters

You may use a Time Out to change 1 play in playbook or change 1 position player

If 4 players show up then each player drafts an NFL division. The first pick in the draft will be the person with the lowest winning % in past tournaments and then next lowest until all players have selected. Ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old drafts sooner). Each player plays every other player once (3 games) using none of the teams in their division more than once. Playoff seeding will then be ranked 1 through 4 with head to head and then point differential being the tie breakers. The bottom 2 teams will play against each other for the right to play the #2 seed. Then those 2 teams will play each other for the right to play the #1 seed in the championship game. During the playoffs, once again, you can only use each team from your division once.

If 5 players show up then each player drafts an NFL division. The first pick in the draft will be the person with the lowest winning % in past tournaments and then next lowest until all players have selected. Ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old drafts sooner). Each player plays every other player once (4 games) using none of the teams in their division more than once. Playoff seeding will then be ranked 1 through 5 with head to head and then point differential being the tie breakers. The bottom 2 teams will play against each other for the right to play the #3 seed. Then those 2 teams will play each other for the right to play the #2 seed. Then those 2 teams will play each other for the right to play the #1 seed in the championship game. During the playoffs, once again, you can only use each team from your division once.

If 6 players show up then each player drafts an NFL division. The first pick in the draft will be the person with the lowest winning % in past tournaments and then next lowest until all players have selected. Ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old drafts sooner). Each player plays every other player once (5 games) using only 1 of the teams in their division more than once. Playoff seeding will then be ranked 1 through 4 with head to head and then point differential being the tie breakers. Seed #1 will play Seed #4 and Seed #2 will play Seed #3. The winners will meet in the championship game. During the playoffs, once again, you can only use each team from your division once.

If 7 players show up then each player drafts an NFL division. The first pick in the draft will be the person with the lowest winning % in past tournaments and then next lowest until all players have selected. Ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old drafts sooner). Each player plays every other player once (6 games) using only 2 of the teams in their division more than once. In this setup, there are no playoffs. The champion is the team with the best record at the end of the schedule. Should 2 teams be tied and the same team won both the head to head AND the point differential, then that team is the champion. If the team that lost the head to head had a better overall point differential, then a rematch will be played using the preferred team from their NFL division.

If 8 players show up then each player drafts and NFL division. The first pick in the draft will be the person with the lowest winning % in past tournaments and then next lowest until all players have selected. Ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old drafts sooner). Players will be placed in 2 (4 team) divisions based on draft order (1-2-2-2-1). Each player plays every other player once (3 games) using none of the teams in their division more than once. The top 2 teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs with head to head and then point differential being the tie breakers. Seed #1 will play Seed #4. Seed #2 will play Seed #3. The winners will play for the championship. During the playoffs, once again, you can only use each team from your division once.

If 9 players show up then the 'computer' is added to the tournament as a 10th player. The 10 teams are then placed into 2 divisions (5 teams each). The computer is the #10 ranked team by default. Division one will include seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, and 9. Division 2 will include seeds 2, 3, 6, 7, 10. This seeding is based on past tournament winning % and ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old being the 'lower' seed. The 5 teams in each division will then draft an NFL division (starting with the lowest seed and working up to the highest). Obviously, the 2 divisions can/will draft some of the same NFL divisions. Every player will then play every other team in their division without using any of the NFL teams in their drafted division twice (4 games). The division runner ups will play for 3rd place. The division winners will play for the championship. Tie breakers are determined by head-to-head first and point differential second. In this scenario, the computer team draft and team decisions are determined by tournament organizer. 

If 10 players show up then the 10 teams are placed into 2 divisions (5 teams each). Division one will include seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, and 9. Division 2 will include seeds 2, 3, 6, 7, 10. This seeding is based on past tournament winning % and ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old being the 'lower' seed). The 5 teams in each division will then draft an NFL division (starting with the lowest seed and working up to the highest). Obviously, the 2 divisions can/will draft some of the same NFL divisions. Every player will then play every other team in their division without using any of the NFL teams in their drafted division twice (4 games). The division runner ups will play for 3rd place. The division winners will play for the championship. Tie breakers are determined by head-to-head first and point differential second. 

If 11 players show up then the 'computer' will be added to the tournament as a 12th player. The computer is the #12 ranked team by default. The 12 teams are then placed in 3 divisions of 4. Division one will include seeds 1, 6, 7 and 12. Division two will include seeds 2, 5, 8 and 11. Division three will include seeds 3, 4, 9 and 10. This seeding is based on past tournament winning % and ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old being the 'lower' seed. The 4 teams in each division will then draft an NFL direction (North, East, South, West, starting with the lowest seed and working up to the highest). To clarify, drafting an NFL 'direction' means you get the corresponding AFC & NFC divisions related to that direction. Obviously, the 3 divisions can/will draft the same NFL divisions. Every player will then play every other team in their division without using any of the NFL teams in their drafted divisions twice (3 games). The 3 division winners and 1 wild card team will qualify for the playoffs and re-draft 1 NFL division each, but this time with top seed picking first and the lowest qualifying team picking last. Tie breakers are determined by head to head and then overall point differential. Seed #1 will play Seed #4. Seed #2 will play Seed #3. Losers play for 3rd place. Winners play for championship. During the playoffs, players may NOT use a team from their new NFL division twice. In this scenario, the computer team draft and team decisions are determined by tournament organizer. 

If 12 players show up then players will be placed in 3 divisions of 4. Division one will include seeds 1, 6, 7 and 12. Division two will include seeds 2, 5, 8 and 11. Division three will include seeds 3, 4, 9 and 10. This seeding is based on past tournament winning % and ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old being the 'lower' seed). The 4 teams in each division will then draft an NFL direction (North, East, South, West, starting with the lowest seed and working up to the highest). To clarify, drafting an NFL 'direction' means you get the corresponding AFC & NFC divisions related to that direction. Obviously, the 3 divisions can/will draft the same NFL divisions. Every player will then play every other team in their division without using any of the NFL teams in their drafted divisions twice (3 games). The 3 division winners and 1 wild card team will qualify for the playoffs and re-draft 1 NFL division each, but this time with the top seed picking first and the lowest qualifying team picking last. Tie breakers are determined by head to head and then overall point differential. Seed #1 will play Seed #4. Seed #2 will play Seed #3. Losers play for 3rd place. Winners play for championship. During the playoffs, players may NOT use a team from their new NFL division twice. 

If 13, 14, 15, or 16 players show up, there will be 4 divisions of 4 (with up to 3 computer controlled team being added to each division as necessary to make 16). Division 1 will include seeds 1, 8, 9 and16. Division 2 will include seeds 2, 7, 10 and 15. Division 3 will include seeds 3, 6, 11 and 14. Division 4 will include seeds 4, 5, 12 and 13. This seeding is based on past tournament winning % and ties are determined by age (player furthest away from 42 years old being the 'lower' seed). The 4 teams in each division will then draft an NFL direction (North, East, South, West, starting with the lowest seed and working up to the highest). To clarify, drafting an NFL 'direction' means you get the corresponding AFC & NFC divisions related to that direction. Obviously, the 4 divisions can/will draft the same NFL divisions. Every player will then play every other team in their division without using any of the NFL teams in their drafted divisions twice (3 games). The 4 division winners will qualify for the playoffs and re-draft 1 NFL division each, but this time with the top seed picking first and the lowest qualifying team picking last. Tie breakers are determined by head to head and then overall point differential. Seed #1 will play Seed #4. Seed #2 will play Seed #3. Losers play for 3rd place. Winners play for championship. During the playoffs, players may NOT use a team from their new NFL division twice. 

Bill Murray

Bill Murray

Great
Groundhog Day
What About Bob?

Good
Space Jam

Average
Lost in Translation
Scrooged
Ghostbusters

Bad

Current Total: 7 points

Weird Al

 Weird Al

Matthew Hall of Fame Inductee: Weird Al

TSB VII

 TSB VII was held Sunday afternoon, February 5th, 2023

There were 8 participants. We created a 16 team playoff bracket with one side made up of AFC teams and the other side made up of NFC teams. Each participant was in control of 4 total teams (2 from each conference). Teams were drafted youngest to oldest in a snake draft. 

Participants: Matthew, Joe, Nathan, Steve, Jordan, Aiden, Owen, Cayvon

AFC Results

1st Round

Steve (Miami) defeated Cayvon (Houston) 37-0

Nathan (Vegas) defeated Owen (Pittsburgh) 27-0

Joe (Jacksonville) defeated Aiden (Tennessee) 60-0

Matthew (Cleveland) defeated Jordan (Baltimore) 28-0

2nd Round

Nathan (Denver) defeated Steve (NYJ) 21-7

Matthew (Cincinnati) defeated Joe (LAC) 14-7


AFC Championship

Matthew (Cincinnati) defeated Nathan (Denver) 31-6


NFC Results

1st Round

Jordan (Arizona) defeated Steve (NYG) 35-0

Joe (SF) defeated Owen (NO) 42-6

Aiden (Minnesota) defeated Nathan (GB) 43-35

Matthew (Seattle) defeated Cayvon (Detroit) 63-7


2nd Round

Joe (Dallas) defeated Jordan (Chicago) 37-7

Matthew (Philadelphia) defeated Aiden (Atlanta) 42-14


NFC Championship

Joe (Dallas) defeated Matthew (Philadelphia) 21-17


Championship

Matthew (Cincinnati) defeated Joe (San Francisco) 21-6


INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

Matthew 6-1 (220-57, +163) GOLD
Joe 4-2 (173-65, +108) SILVER
Nathan 2-2 (89-81, +8) BRONZE
Jordan 1-2 (42-65, -23)
Steve 1-2 (44-56, -12)
Aiden 1-2 (57-137, -80)
Owen 0-2 (6-69, -63)
Cayvon 0-2 (7-100, -93)

Medical Log

Documenting my covid case for posterity

I finally tested positive for covid-19 in late January 2023. 

Below is my timeline and notes:

FRIDAY, January 20th

I did not feel 'sick' until late Friday night

My symptoms included general body ache and dizziness

SATURDAY, January 21st

I experienced a little bit of deliriousness over night

I felt a good bit better in morning and was preparing to return to normal activities

But since I had a service to do in evening, the result was a quick/thick line for positive

A bad cough developed accompanied soon thereafter by a sore throat

Still, I slept reasonably well

SUNDAY, January 22nd

The cough didn't seem quite as bad

Body aches very mild now

Mild headache, still congested

General tiredness/boredom


MONDAY, January 23rd

Minor cough  (worse at night)

Mild headache, still congested

Energy levels returning to normal


TUESDAY, January 24th

Minor cough (worse at night)

Still congested


WEDNESDAY, January 25th

Cough wasn't quite as bad overnight

Less congested


THURSDAY, January 26th

Same as Wednesday

FRIDAY, January 27th

Throat a little bit more sore

Cough a little worse again

SATURDAY, January 28th

Didn't cough over night at all

Tested Negative in AM


Thus concludes this medical log

Rick Jeanneret

Matthew Hall of Fame Inductee: Rick Jeanneret


When I was a kid, I wanted to be the next Rick Jeanneret.


I’m glad I didn’t wait.


Jeanneret was already about 50 years old when I started really getting into sports. At the time, 50 seemed old! I would never have guessed that he’d still be announcing Sabre games when I was 40 and he was on the brink of turning 80. For 30 years of my life, RJ has been announcing, and sometimes creating, my favorite moments as a fan of the Buffalo Sabres.


I remember all the same calls that many of you remember. He scooooores! May Day, May Day! Tis the season, FaLalalalaLalaFontaine! Alexander the Great! Who says this guys’ afraid to fly… he left a vapor trail! Top shelf where momma hides the cookies! Are you ready Legion of Doom? Holy mackerel role the highlight film! Now do you believe? These guys are good… scary good! Hasek with a miraculous save… we are not worthy! Call the cops, he robbed him blind!


In a time when many announcers try to call a nice, balanced, unbiased game, Rick Jeanneret was an un-apologetic homer. He was a fan like us. He was a fan for us. He said things in a way we wished we could. By attaching audio to our visual memories, he burned amazing hits, fights, saves and goals into our hearts and minds forever.


TV? Radio? Wherever I needed to go to listen to Rick, that’s where I wanted to go. From puck drop to quadruple overtime if need be (I remember listening almost all night to that game), Sabre fans found their representative voice in RJ.


I’m so glad I had opportunity to go to RJ night on April Fools’ Day, 2022. Only a fool would fail to realize he’s been as big a part of Sabres’ hockey as anyone. His name now rightfully hangs from the rafters with some of the names he helped become legends of the game.


Additionally, I’d be a fool not to put Jeanneret in my personal Hall of Fame. From wanting his job when I grew up, to being glad he still had it when I did, Rick Jeanneret did something the team he cheered on never could… he reached the pinnacle of his profession.


HOF Category: Sports
HOF Object: Banner from RJ Night

The Matthew Hall of Fame

I have decided to create a personal HALL OF FAME. My Hall of Fame will consist of people, places, and things that have played a significant part in my life. However, I'm banning from my HOF people that I actually know (that would get messy).

Beyond that, there is no set criteria to make my HOF. With each new inductee, I will try to share an entertaining post explaining the rationale for the induction and how the inductee has played a role in my life. I will also try to acquire (if necessary) something to represent the inductee on a shelf in my office.

I plan for my HOF to be very picky (no easy entry). I will proceed in the coming weeks/months in no particular order. Links to each inductee will be found below.

Rick Jeanneret

TSB VI

TSB VI was held Sunday afternoon, February 6th, 2022. 

There were 9 participants. Our goal was to create a 16 team playoff bracket with one side made up of AFC teams and the other side being made up of NFC teams. Each participant was to control one team on each side of the bracket. Since we had 9, we did a PLAY-IN game on each side of the bracket. The 4 most inexperienced participants participated in the play-in game, but everyone was guaranteed at least 1 team in the bracket tournament. We drafted NFL teams using a snake draft (AFC --> NFC). 

AFC SIDE

Play-in: Jordan beat Nate (26-10)

1st Round

Jordan beat Joe 17-14

Nathan beat Steve 21-14

Nick beat Jeff S. 35-14

Matt beat Cameron F. 37-7

2nd Round

Nathan beat Jordan 17-14

Matt beat Nick 13-7

AFC Championship

Matt beat Nathan 31-0

NFC Side

Play-in: Jeff S. beat Cameron F. 28-7

1st Round

Joe beat Jeff S. 58-21

Jordan beat Steve 49-7

Nick beat Nathan 37-17

Matt beat Nate 38-0

2nd Round

Jordan beat Joe 17-14

Matt beat Nick 10-7

NFC Championship

Matt beat Jordan 17-13

SUPER BOWL

*Not applicable since Matt won both brackets

Silver Medal Game: Jordan beat Nathan 21-20

Participant Profiles

Matthew 6-0 (146-34 +112)
*Arizona & Cincy

Beat Cam 37-7

Beat Nate 38-0

Beat Nick 10-7

Beat Nick 13-7

Beat Nathan 31-0

Beat Jordan 17-13

Jordan 5-2 (157-99 +58)

*Minn & Buffalo

Beat Nate 26-10

Beat Joe 17-14

Beat Steve 49-7

Beat Joe 17-14

Lost to Nathan 14-17

Lost to Matt 13-17

Beat Nathan 21-20 (Silver)

Nathan 2-3 (75-117 -42)

*GB & Cleveland

Lost to Nick 17-37

Beat Steve 21-14

Beat Jordan 17-14

Lost to Matt 0-31

Lost to Jordan 20-21

Joe 1-2 (86-55 +31)

*SF & LAC

Beat Jeff S. 58-21

Lost to Jordan 14-17

Lost to Jordan 14-17

Nick 2-2 (86-54 +32)

*TB & Baltimore

Beat Nathan 37-17

Beat Jeff S 35-14

Lost to Matt 7-13

Lost to Matt 7-10

Jeff S 1-2 (63-100 -37)

*NYG & Indy

Beat Cam F 28-7

Lost to Joe 21-58

Lost to Nick 14-35

Steve 0-2 (21-70 -49)
*Dallas & Tenn

Lost to Jordan 7-49

Lost to Nathan 14-21

Cameron F 0-2 (14-65 -51)

*KC

Lost to Jeff S 7-28

Lost to Matt 7-37

Nate W 0-2 (10-64 -54)
*LAR

Lost to Jordan 10-26

Lost to Matt 0-38

Hess Road Pickle Ball Tournament

 I wanted to log the information for our first church pickle ball tournament. For this tournament we did a semi-random partnering of all participants. We had 20 participants, so we played 2 play-in games and then a 16-bracket tournament. Here are the results:

Play in games: (to 15)

Mary-Lou & Ben K advanced over Steve C & Aiden P

Tommy H. & Serena H advanced over Nathan M & Preston T

Tournament games Round 1:

Ted A & Adam K advanced over John S & Ruth S

Mary-Lou & Ben K advanced against Sheila H & Owen H

Matthew R & Tom K advanced over Tommy H & Serena H

Kelly K & Betsy C advanced over Cheryl D & Katie R

Tournament games Round 2:

Ted A & Adam K advanced over Mary-Lou & Ben K

Matthew R & Tom K advanced over Kelly K & Betsy C

Championship result (best of 3 to 11)

Ted A & Adam K advanced over Matthew R & Tom K

NHL 95 Sega Tournament

 6 guys got together for an NHL 95 Sega Tournament. The only rule was that you couldn't use the same NHL team twice during the tournament.

This post exists for the historical record

Standings after round-robin stage:
Nathan 4-1-0
Joe 3-0-2
Matthew 3-2
Steve 1-3-1
Jeff 1-3-1
Aiden 0-3-2

Playoff Results:
Aiden defeated Jeff 1-0
Aiden defeated Steve 3-2
Matthew defeated Aiden 8-0
Matthew defeated Joe 2-0
Nathan defeated Matthew 1-0

Gold: Nathan
Silver: Matthew
Bronze: Joe

5 Points on the Pandemic

I’m going to share 5 big-picture points regarding the pandemic. I share these points NOT because I think they are especially insightful (unlike most of you, I’m not an epidemiologist!), but because I think my future self (with 20/20 hindsight, of course) will be interested to know my 2020 thinking (thanks Facebook memories!).

POINT #1

Life is fragile. Of course, we knew this already (I told you these points wouldn’t be especially insightful!). On the other hand, we have tried REALLY hard to avoid facing the fact that life is fragile. In the modern world, we’ve been socially distancing ourselves from death for decades, but 2020 has forced us to take the blinders off. The media’s obsession with Covid-19 death tolls is maddening mostly for the inconsistency of its sounding of the alarm. About 60,000 people die every week in the United States. The pandemic certainly did produce an excess of deaths. This virus was and is real. But we’ve been infected with a deadly disease all along insofar as we are mortal. The fact of our fragility should, in my opinion, cause us to urgently ask the big questions about life, death, and the possibility of life after death. One of the tragedies of our times is our willingness to live our lives without asking those questions.

POINT #2

Our immune systems are amazing! What if I told you that there existed, way back in March, a universally free survival kit for covid that was about 98% effective? That’s exactly what we’ve got! For those under 60 years old, the case fatality rate for this viral infection is less than 1%. The ‘infection’ fatality rate is even lower. How is this possible without a vaccine? Well, the answer is, of course, that our bodies already have built-in systems to fight off stuff like this. Perhaps a majority of people infected with this virus haven’t even realized it! The pandemic has given us the opportunity to learn more about our innate (I’d say God-given) ability to fight off disease and what we’ve learned has been astounding. Sometimes we lose our sense of wonder at the fact that we can be significantly wounded, and yet, within weeks, the evidence is sometimes gone without treatment. This sort of self-healing happens internally all the time. We take it for granted. We shouldn’t.

POINT #3

Numbers can be manipulated and used to manipulate. There have been plenty of different opinions about covid-19. At one end of the spectrum we’ve had people saying the whole thing is a hoax. At the other end of the spectrum we’ve had people predicting incredible death totals which proved to be more panic-provoking than prophetic. But here’s the thing: Both ends of the spectrum had numbers to back up their claims. Numbers were EVERYWHERE and they all looked neat and tidy (and they were all declared to be ‘the science’). One thing we should be learning through this pandemic is the importance of understanding CONTEXT for the numbers we’re being shown. Too often we’ve allowed narratives to be driven by a small number of people choosing which numbers to show us and when. They place the arrow where they want it, draw a bullseye around it, and then draw our attention. I strongly recommend that everyone figure out a few key data points to pay attention to, and then pay attention to it no matter what the politicians and/or media choose to focus on during a given news cycle.

POINT #4

A virus is going to do what a virus is going to do. With this point, I don’t mean to come across as if I’m saying that there’s absolutely nothing we can do in response to a global pandemic. But I also think we have severely over-estimated our ability to stop a virus (at least a virus like this one). I’ve spent hours and hours looking at charts and statistics. Country by country. State by state. Each entity having its own set of mitigation procedures. Some locked down. Some stayed open. Some mandated masks. Some didn’t. You know what? I simply haven’t seen a ton of difference. The viral waves rise and fall despite our defenses. The bottom line is, we’re in the ocean of this virus and we’re all going to get wet. Some of us will get knocked off our feet for a while. Some of us will drown. It’s the nature of this beast. It might feel better to blame someone or something, but almost certainly that someone or that something couldn’t have stopped the virus from doing what this virus was going to do.

POINT #5  

Flowing directly from my previous point, I’ll share one more. We’re addicted to something that we can’t possibly possess. And that is CONTROL. Since we can’t actually possess it, we’re just addicted to the feeling of being in control. This is true of governors who insist that their policies slowed the spread of the virus (and then blame increasing spread on the failure of the people to abide by their policies). This is also true of the conspiracy theorists who insist that you have to follow their connecting-of-the-dots to truly understand (and take back control) of what’s going on. Here’s the thing: We are NOT in control. This world is full of surprises and many of them are bigger than our ability to manage them. Lacking control, we need to learn to adapt. We must be flexible. We must grieve our losses. We also must celebrate our victories. Our lives should not consist of an endless pursuit of control, but an endless pursuit of love amidst the chaos. In other words, we are better off praying the serenity prayer than grasping at the wind.

TSB V

TSB V was held on 1/31/20

There were 5 participants
Matthew R
Nathan M
Steve C
Jeff S
Jeff G

We used the updated 2020 rosters. Each participant chose 6 'helmets' randomly from a bag and were allowed to use each of those teams once during the tournament at their discretion.

Here are the round-robin & playoff results

Matthew
defeated Nathan 14-3
defeated Steve 21-3
defeated Jeff S 51-7
defeated Jeff G 28-10
defeated Nathan in semifinals 47-0
defeated Jeff G in final 35-0

Nathan
lost to Matt 3-14
lost to Steve 7-16
lost to Jeff G 9-17
defeated Jeff S 14-10
defeated Jeff S in wild card 35-28
lost to Matt in semifinals 0-47

Steve
defeated Jeff S 35-7
defeated Nathan 16-7
lost to Matt 3-21
lost to Jeff G 7-10
lost to Jeff G in semifinals 0-6 (had to leave/forfeit)

Jeff S
lost to Steve 7-35
defeated Jeff G 21-0
lost to Matt 51-10
lost to Nathan 10-14
lost to Nathan in wild card 28-35

Jeff G
lost to Jeff S 0-21
defeated Nathan 17-9
defeated Steve 10-7
lost to Matt 10-28
defeated Steve in semifinals 6-0 (Steve had to forfeit)
lost to Matt in final 0-35

Poem from Jerry Walls

TO BORROW A TOMB
A tomb is not the sort
Of thing you borrow
Unless you have power
To banish its sorrow.

No, a tomb is never
Merely to borrow
Unless you descend
Into hell to harrow.

So take, Lord, this tomb
You need only borrow
And return it empty
Day after tomorrow.
--JLW