The PYX

[sovanator]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rachelle Sova
E-mail: rachelle@thepyx.net

Date: October 22, 2008



Commissioner Report: WEEK 7

And then there was one.

Linda Dalman didn't get the respect she deserved from the press last week so this week she gets the last laugh. Linda now stands alone as the only undefeated picker in the league. She accomplished this in dramatic fashion with an overtime victory over Steve Harryman of the Metro Brotherhood. Way to go Linda!

Steve Harryman and West Coast picker David Seelye came oh so close to picking up that first win of the season. Both had to take on the very best, league leaders, Linda Dalman and Jeff Nichols. Both games went into overtime with Nichols winning by a field goal (45 to 42) and Linda slamming the door shut on Harryman by correctly picking the exact final score of the Monday Night contest...48 points (Steve picked 52).

Linda remains the only undefeated because Brian Klingenberg REALLY messed up. Brian received such a nice write-up in last week's "Corner" by guest writer, Kevin Haranczak, that maybe all of the attention and notoriety went to his head. Brian almost missed the entire week of picking...he barely got his picks submitted (4:31 pm on Sunday afternoon) and only managed to get credit for 2 correct picks. He was going up against Nate Lucas who grabs victory by posting a 7-7 picking record for the week. Now Brian falls from the unbeatens. Maybe this is the wake-up call that Mr. Klingenberg needs at this point in the season. Remember, this is brand new territory for Brian who in the previous 5 seasons has a 29-51 head-to-head record (.363). He just needs to use this upcoming Bye week to gather himself and focus.

On the topic of staying focused on the season, Gary Bonn posted a great comment in the Forum this week addressing the issue of keeping your head in the game and making your picks every week. This week we saw two pickers fail to submit picks (Bickford and Hazlewood). This not only hurts their own picking record, but it has a domino effect on the entire league. When someone fails to enter picks for the week, it gives their opponent a forfeit. This is a league in which many times simply having a winning record gets you in the play-offs. Looking back in the archives, you'll see that since we've gone to the Head-to-head format 5 years ago, a 9-7 record qualified for the play-offs in 3 out 5 seasons. The point here is that every game is critical and it's crucial that everyone makes their picks each week.

This week the Picker of the Week award goes to TWO outstanding pickers...Rachelle Sova and Brent Van Wieren. Both picked an amazing 12-2 for Week 7. And it goes without saying that they were both victorious in their match-ups. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Looking around the league we are not seeing too much separation in the Divisions. Jeff Nichols, Brian Klingenberg and Steven Nicolet have cushions in their divisions with 3 game leads. But the other divisions are very competitive and very much up for grabs. Even undefeated Linda Dalman has to worry about Mike Colliau who is only 2 games back. Rene Garza has quietly opened up a lead over defending Conference Champion Thomas Van Dyke. Kevin Sandoval has a 5-1 record but is only 1 and half games ahead of PYX Bowl XIII runner-up, Matt Cushman.

The two most exciting divisions are the APC North and APC East. In the North we have a first place tie between Al Nowak and Kevin Rosenau. For some reason the defending PYX Bowl Champion has slipped back 2 games into last place. Will Haranczak pull it together and make a run? The East has Gary Bonn in first place with a 5-2 record but there is Rachelle Sova and Gene Koon all locked up and only a half a game back with 4-2 records. Gary has his bye week this week and we could be looking at a three-way tie in a few days.

Is there correlation between picking percentages and head-to-head records? Are there a few pickers who are getting "robbed"? Peter, Paul and Joe are in the Top 10 for picking percentages but their records aren't as stellar. The strength of one’s schedule comes into play, too.

KEY MATCH-UPS for next week include:


Kevin Sandoval vs. Matt Cushman

Jeff Nichols at Kevin Rosenau

and the Classic: Kevin Haranczak at Al Nowak



Good luck in Week 8!



Steven W. Nicolet
President and Commissioner, The PYX
Durham, North Carolina





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If you would like more information about this topic, or would like to schedule an interview with Rachelle Sova, please e-mail: rachelle@thepyx.net.
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Rachelle Sova
Vice President of Communications