Commissioner Tadros Press Conference,
The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
Brighton, Michigan

Brent Van Wieren finally gets the monkey off his back.  Brent defeats Matt Cushman in PYX Bowl VIII.  It was one of the most exciting PYX Bowls in history.  Matt and Brent both picked Indianapolis...so it wouldn't matter which team actually won the Super Bowl.  But Matt picked 49 points and Brent picked 44.  If the final score was 47 or higher, Matt would win and if it was 46 or lower then Brent would win.

It looked great for Matt in the first few seconds of the game!  The Bears ran the opening kick-off in for a touchdown.  By the end of the 1st quarter, there were already 20 points scored.  The game was on pace to be 80 total points!  Brent was in trouble.  But then the turnovers began.  And the defenses kicked in.  And Rex Grossman was on Brent's side.

The point total reached 46 in the 4th quarter and Matt only needed one more score...by either team.  He began cheering for Indy to get a safety.  Then he cheered for Chicago to get a touchdown or field goal...and after the last interception...Indy had the ball deep in Chicago territory!  They were in field goal range!  It would take rare circumstances for Indianapolis NOT to kick a field goal on 4th down deep inside the Chicago side of the field.  But that's what happened.  Matt's jaw hit the ground...he was perplexed as to why they never tried a field goal??

But on the other side of the field, Brent was grinning from ear to ear as he watched the clock tick by.  And then Chicago had one final try at scoring...it came down to the final seconds of the game...but that was it!!  The score remained at 46 points.  Brent had finally won the PYX Bowl---and he won it by one single point!  An extra point...hmmmm...The great Vinateri couldn't possibly miss an extra point!?

CONGRATULATIONS, Brent!  The third time is indeed the charm.

And so the Hamilton Dynasty continues.  PYX Bowl I = Hamilton, PYX Bowl II = Hamilton, PYX Bowl III = Hamilton, PYX Bowl V = Hamilton and now after a two season hiatus, Hamilton takes PYX Bowl VIII.

As we look back at the 2006-07 season we can all take great pride in the accomplishments of the PYX league. 

1. New web address - www.thepyx.net

2. Cleaner website - A white background -easier to read; all links on all pages fixed.

3. Eliminated the java applets - navigation on all pages is written in basic HTML for smaller files and quicker downloads.

4. Created a new PYX Forum - eliminated the old Trash Talk page and opened up communication within the league.

5. New quick & easy mass e-mail system for administration. Sub groups were formed as well.

6. Pickers have a short profile within the Forum; websites, contact info and avatar icon can be attached.

7. Banning is now possible. If there is an intruder into the PYX, we can easily ban that IP address.

8. Voting and polling now work securely. In order to cast a vote, a user must be registered and logged in (password protected).

9. All PYX members receive a complimentary e-mail address which is their first name @thepyx.net (NOTE: if there are more than one picker with the same first name, then it is the first and last name with no spaces @thepyx.net).

10. The PYX Store offers over 50 different items to purchase with the PYX logo professionally attached. The items range from clothing & apparel to coffee mugs and teddy bears. The proceeds from all purchased items go directly into the PYX Annual Fund.

11. The PYX Annual Fund was created. All financial records will be made public to members of the PYX. Revenue will be distributed to the areas of greatest need. This includes the annual cost to run a quality website. We plan to purchase a traveling trophy for each Annual PYX Champion.
 

There were also many personal stories to tell.  The Nicolet's had a new baby, the Van Wieren's, The Tadros', and the Hazlewood's will all welcome new additions to their families as well this year.

Nate Lucas and his family had to evacuate their home during the season, yet he still never missed a week of picking!

Many pickers took vacations and still found a way to get those picks in (Dalman's, Garza, Chauv and Nichols).

David Seeyle expanded the PYX from California up to the State of Washington, stretching the PYX over 3 time zones.

The Trash Talk will be memorable...lead by Don Zysk, Matt Cushman and Gary Bonn!  Al Nowak, Big Dog Landry, Zander Firlik and Rachelle Sova made their voices heard, too!

And the great picking achievements must be noted.  Starting with Jay Zink who had his greatest season ever in the PYX.  Jay actually debated about coming back to the PYX this year.  He made the right choice as he compiled the best record and #1 seed in the league.

Then there was Linda Dalman, who took the #1 seed in her conference and becoming the first female picker ever to achieve this. 

There was Ryan Thome who was the only picker to pick over 160 correct picks during the regular season.  Thome grabs his first picking title in doing so.

And then there is the improbable Cushman story.  He had to lobby and campaign just to be re-admitted to the league.  He narrowly was permitted admission after a vote by the PYX Supreme Court.  He goes and wins his division (a division of previous PYX Champions), he pulls an upset of Thomas Van Dyke, pulls another upset of defending PYX Bowl Champion Gay Bonn, and in the biggest upset of the year, he defeats #1 seed Jay Zink who had the best record in the league.  He goes on to be runner-up in PYX Bowl VIII.

Thank you to everyone for making this season one of the greatest ever!

 Your Commish,

Peter Tadros
The Commissioner & CEO
The PYX