2009awards

The Money Winners:

Playoff Champs:

1st- Jason Sperinck - $800

2nd- Janet Bejarano - $240

3rd- Stefanie Lachenauer - $20

Regular Season Champ:

Jason Sperinck - $100

The Non-Money Awards (and other fun facts):

The Brett Favre Award: Brendan Schulke - Despite an average performance this year, Brendan was in prime position to get into the playoffs if he were to make a winning pick in the final week of the regular season. Unfortunately, instead of picking the game he had his eye on, he never made his pick in time and had to be assigned the dreaded auto-pick, giving him -6.25 points and keeping him well out of the playoffs. The pick he was going to make was a winning game and would have put him in. (honorable mention: Jeffrey Esteves, who was a little too late in getting his wildcard picks in and was assigned 4 losing games to start the playoffs)

Regular Season MVP: Jason Sperinck - This award doesn't necessarily have to go to the Regular season champ, but this year, they were one and the same. Jay was in 1st place for essentially the entire season, slipping out only for a week here and there before taking it back the next week every time. (honorable mention: Alex Buccini, who came close to challenging Chris Cantatore's record 12-game win streak set last year with his own 9-game streak before losing by picking the Dolphins).

Comeback of the Year: Kathy Maguire - She was in dead last place in week 8 after starting out the season 2-6, but won 8 out of her last 9 games to get all the way up to 12th place and make the playoffs.

Falloff of the Year: Natalie Bejarano - Natalie was in the orange playoff position for much of the first half of the season, but ended the year with 6 straight losses and didn't get into the playoffs.

The Just Fell Short Award: Craig Grimm - This one goes to the player who finished just outside of the playoffs. Craig was pretty deep down the list when he took a desperation pick of the Chiefs in week 17, which gave him an unexpected 32.5 points. After that huge win, he ended up just a quarter point out of making the playoffs.

"E" for Effort Award: Terry Schulke - This award goes to the lowest ranked participant who kept making picks every week, despite being out of playoff contention somewhat early in the season. I respect your weekly commitment to the pool.

"F" for Barely Any Effort Award: Andrew Zairnowski - Only made it 5 weeks before quitting on the season.

Best Couple: The Vaezis - Kathi and Ali finished in 7th and 10th place, respectively--both making the playoffs. (honorarable mention: Rob Flachs and Vicki Pressler, who also both made the playoffs, albeit at lower spots and they aren't married)

Most Frequently Picked Teams:

1- New York Giants (48 times)

2- Indianapolis Colts (44 times)

2- Miami Dolphins (44 times)

2- Denver Broncos (44 times)

5- Baltimore Ravens (41 times)

Least Frequently Picked Teams:

1- St. Louis Rams (13 times)

2- Washington Redskins (17 times)

2- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (17 times)

4- Seattle Seaheawks (18 times)

4- Cleveland Browns (18 times)

Picked Against Most Often:

1- Pittsburgh Steelers (40 times)

1- Dallas Cowboys (40 times)

1- Washington Redskins (40 times)

4- New England Patriots (39 times)

5- Philadelphia Eagles (38 times)

Picked Against Least Often:

1- Arizona Cardinals (3 times)

2- Detroit Lions (6 times)

3- St. Louis Rams (9 times)

3- New York Giants (9 times)

5- Atlanta Falcons (12 times)