Shades, This Is For Your W(h)ine

In response to Mr. Shades views of our weekly side bet...

1. I am not excited about winning $5. I am excited about winning 40 weeks in a row, at $5 a pop.

2. Your comments are exactly what "making excuses" are. Half my points came from Vijay? Ha! Ok, drop Vijay's 4500 points from my total. I still have you beat!

I love it... one week in, and the smack/trash talk has already hit full stride!

Weekly Side Bet

Looks like I bitch slapped Shades this week... my boys came through for 7909 Fed Ex points to his lowly 2259. Yikes. That's a $5 hole you are in son. I am not looking back either. Good thing you didn't want to do an overall or segment bets.

Da Bandit had a respectible 6511 points. "Bozos" came in with 3866. Which of you guys is "bozos?"

If anyone else wants to join, let me know and I will "invite" you to the league. It is free and kind of fun. You pick 5 players each week with salary cap limits on the picks.

Why Tiger couldn't play in the Mercedes Tournament.

Just another reason I can't pull for Tiger. I have trouble pulling for a guy who plays only 15 events and wins $9 million. Yes, he earned it, but I can't pull for him when he is too busy pushing cars for Buick rather than playing in tournaments that got him that opportunity. If he's not playing a tournament because of his family or is gearing up for a long season with another event in mind, that would be fine. That simply wasn't the case this week, unless he has family in the greater Detroit area.

I want to pull for PGA Golfers that play golf. 15 events is not enough for the top golfer in the world. Tiger is just a rock star that happens to be the best golfer in the world. What a shame for the PGA tour and the game of golf.

I guess if you want to see the greatest golfer in the world, you have to go to the Detroit Auto Show.

From ESPN Golf Insider

Just a few tidbits of useless information.

Holmes on the range: I could just tell J.B. Holmes was in for a tough second round at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Watching the super soph on the range before the day started, I told a fellow scribe that it looked like J.B. was blocking most of his drives to the right and seemed to be struggling with his swing.

Goes to show how much I know. Though Holmes did take a while to warm up, making bogey on his first hole en route to a front-nine even-par 36, he went low on the back with five birdies to finish with a tournament-best (so far) 68 for the day.

Backing out: I was greeted by the AP's Doug Ferguson this morning with a sarcastic, "Good job." Figuring he was blaming me for the torrential rain, I apologized, but he was instead chiding me for putting an apparent hex on Arron Oberholser, the subject of this week's Hot Seat interview.

Turns out Arron suffered a back injury and was forced to withdraw from the Mercedes prior to Friday's second round. At least, he contends it was a back injury. But you and I both know he was too mentally drained from those tough questions to continue competing. Of course.

Rob da "Gambler"

Speaking of betting, and thanks to da Bandit's suggestion, here's a shot of Robbo at Johnny V's Monkey Hill Bar in New Orleans. He's looking at a TV after a triple by Scott Spiezio in the Cardinals-Mets series. Da Rodent was on his way to lose another baseball bet, this one to me! Those wanting some betting action are hereby advised to contact Rob, it's like money in da bank (just ask Joel).

Duffer Award

My first decree ever as Commish... Let's hope the power doesn't get to my head like it did with our Former Commish and his meetings with the so-called "Central Committee". Since we were going to give $100 back to the last place finisher anyway, I think this will be reasonable.

THE DUFFER AWARD - 2007

The FPGPer with the lowest point total at the end of this year will get a "free roll" into next year's FPGP.

So it is written; so it shall be done.

Can Axley make the cut?

Sure he can. There is no cut this week. Gulp!

All Picks Are In...

Robbo made it in just under the gun. Thirteen total players this year, a record high!

I am sending Jeff the spreadsheet so he can adjust our sidebar and whatnot, so you should be able to see everyone's picks in the next day or so. Again, in the interets of transparency in this administration, here are Jeff and my picks:

My Regulars: Dimarco, Els, Furyk, Kuchar, Leanord, Na, Perez
My Shorts: Durant, Wetterich

Jeff's Regulars: Axley, Couch, Gutschewski, Hoffman, Kuehne, Na, O'Hair, Perks
Jeffs Short: Micheel

We have an interesting first time phenomenon (as far as I can remember) this year. Three players were both shorted and picked as regular picks. This could create some intersting fireworks. The players were Wetterich, Axley, and Leanord.

In the original rules, I indicated that if we had 15 players, we'd give $100 back to the last place finisher... the so-called "Duffer Award." We did not meet that number, but I would like to suggest that we institute the Duffer Award anyway, but rather than take $100 out of this prize pool, this year's Duffer just gets a free entry into next year's pool. If anyone has a problem with that, speak up. Otherwise, I am making it so.

Let the games begin!

PGATour.com Fantasy League

I just sent a few of you invites to play on a weekly PGATour.com fantasy league... it is simple to use and easy to understand... for those who are more interested in a "fantasy" experience where you juggle your roster from week to week, this will be a nice addition to our FPGP experience. If anyone else is interested, let me know.

Have You Seen Me?

The Diddler is living up to his nickname... everyone else has their picks in, with the exception of MG's friend. If any of you Floridians have contact with Robbo, get him to turn his picks in!!

Greetings, Happy New Year, Etc.

OK FPGPers, we have most of the picks in now... still waiting on Robbo (what a shock), MG's friend, Stan (who is dutifully working on his picks in the office next to me) and Shade's brother in law. If anyone can scrape up a few more players, that would be great, otherwise I think we will have 12. Not shockingly, Fraser sent me an email indicating that he was not going to join...

In the interest of transparency, I'll post my picks to the blog on Wednesday night. It will take me a little longer to get the others put together in a spreadsheet so that Shades can change the side bar, and I don't want to be accused of cheating...

I thought I'd ring in the new year on the FPGP with a Bobby Knight instructional video. Some bad language (shocking, right?), so if you are at work, turn down the volume.



A class act all the way...

JG Has Some Skills...

Congrats on winning the skills challenge JG... I noticed that you did all the hard work and left that little wedge shot to Marino.

Now that you've got a little extra ching-ching make sure you take the wife out to some place nicer than The Sizzler, and get a "friend" to play the FPGP!

FPGP Open 2007

I am proposing the first ever FPGP Open.

When: April 26-29
Where: Dallas, Texas
Why: Play Golf, Watch Golf and meet the other FPGPers.

Anyone interested? Any suggestions on a better date and location. Florida works for me too.

2007 Rules

Welcome to the FPGP X!!!

Below are the rules for the 2007 version of the FPGP. Veterans, please note there are some changes, as we “discussed” earlier this summer. As always, the rules are posted in a Q&A format.

Do you have an incredibly cool blog that allows FPGPers to view updates, rankings, etc. as well as chide each other on a regular basis?

Yes. All pool information is posted to our blog at http://fpgp.blogspot.com/. This is done to ensure that email InBoxes are not filled with rants and raves about our picks. If you are interested in the chatter, you can go find it; if not, you can ignore it. I suggest everyone gets a blogger ID so they can post comments and blog posts, as this was a great source of fun in 2006.

How much is the entrance fee?

The same amount as always, $100 US dollars (no inflation in the FPGP!). It's a small price to pay for a year of fun and aggravation. Further, veterans of the FPGP will receive a $10 discount for each new player they get to enter the pool. The goal is to have as many entries as possible. First year players are not eligible for the discount, but if they come back in 2008, they can cash in on new player discounts at that time.

What’s the timeframe?

The FPGP officially starts with the Mercedes Championship beginning on January 4th, 2007 and ends on November 4th, 2007, or the day of the final round of the Walt Disney World Resort Classic. Even though the Fed Ex Cup is completed earlier in the Fall, there are several official PGA Tour events from September thru the Disney, and all of those will be counted in the standings.

What’s the format?

• Each FPGP participant selects 9 PGA Tour players from the men's 2006 Money List (you can click the link provided or see the money list at the bottom of this document). To be as clear as possible: you may not choose a player who is not on this list. So, no picking Michelle Wie. No picking guys who made it through Q-school, but who did not have official earnings on the PGA Tour in 2006.

• Once again, TIGER WOODS is off the board. If there is a player that EVERYONE picks, I will drop him from the picks and allow everyone a re-pick so we can get some variability like we did in 2006 with Ernie Els.

How are points earned in the FPGP X?

There are two types of picks which we call “regular” and “short.”

REGULAR PICKS

For “regular” picks, you earn points based on:

1) Positive (i.e. improvement) changes in the PGA Money List rankings from 2006 to 2007.

2) Actual money earned on the PGA Tour in 2007

Assume you select our FPGP blog buddy Jason Gore, who finished the 2006 season ranked 118th on the money list. Now assume that Jason Gore finishes the 2007 season ranked 50th on the money list. Such movement would earn you 68 points. However, if Jason Gore fell to 150th on the money list you would LOSE 32 points for that pick.

With regard to the “earnings points” you gain 1 point for every $100,000 that your "regular" players earn on PGA tour in 2006. Again, if you selected Jason Gore and he earned $1,243,332 next year, you would gain 12 points under his earnings. Please note that points are rounded up. For example, a player earning $551,000 will earn you 6 points, while a player earning $549,000 will get you 5 points.

So, let’s put it all together… assume you pick Jason Gore at 118th , and he finishes the 2007 with $954,323 and at 62nd on the money list. You’d gain 10 “earning” points and 56 “ranking” points, for a total of 66 points.

As a reminder, you can pick anyone from the list at the bottom of these rules… Q-school graduates are fine, AS LONG AS THEY ARE ON THIS LIST. That is, you can pick a guy who did not keep their card but re-earned it at Q-school, but you cannot pick players that did not make the list last year. The obvious reason for this is that such players have no “starting” position in the rankings.

SHORT PICKS

The so-called “short” pick name derives itself from the stock market. The idea here is that you are able to pick player(s) who you think had a better than average year in 2006, and you anticipate they will fall in the rankings (i.e., get worse) in 2007.

For “short” picks, points are based on:

1) Negative changes in the PGA Money List rankings from 2006 to 2007.

2) Actual money earned on the PGA Tour in 2007, only in this case you LOSE points as that player earns money.

Again, to illustrate, assume that as a short pick you take Chris DiMarco, ranked at 53rd on last year’s money list. Further assume that he falls to 100th on the 2007 money list. That fall would GAIN you 47 points. Conversely, if he finished the 2007 season ranked 20th on the money list, you would LOSE 33 points. Needless to say, you root for your short pick(s) to have bad years.

Also, for every $100,000 your “short” pick(s) earn, you LOSE one point. So, let’s say you picked DiMarco as a “short” and he earned $1,000,000 and finished 61st on the money list. You would lose 10 “earning” points for the million in earnings, and gain 8 “ranking” points, for a net of -2 points for that selection.

To see more examples of how points work, click here to see an update spreadsheet from the 2006 season.

What is the David Gossett Rule?

If a player fails to make a single cut, their earnings are set to $0, and their “ranking” is set to the last player on tour plus one. For example, one of last year’s picks, Paul Casey, did not earn any official money on tour. Because there were 263 players (David Berganio was #263) who earned some money on tour, Paul Casey’s “ranking” was set to 264. Note that the only dollars that count in this pool are official PGA Tour dollars. Paul Casey made plenty of money, and he did so in some events sponsored by the PGA Tour, but because his primary membership was on the European Tour, he did not have any official money in this country.


CONSTRAINTS ON REGULAR AND SHORT PICKS

1. You may take as many as two short picks, but you have to have at least one. So, your line up is either 8 regular and 1 short pick, or 7 regular and 2 short picks.

2. The short pick(s) must meet the following conditions:

1. They had to finish in the top 125 on the 2006 PGA Tour Money List. That is, they must have FULL STATUS ON THE PGA TOUR. NO NATIONWIDE PLAYERS CAN BE USED AS A SHORT PICK.


2. They may not be over the age of 50, or turning 50 this year. That is, you can’t pull a 2006 Loren Roberts, and have your short pick playing on the Senior Tour all season, thus earning virtually no PGA Tour Money despite having full status on the PGA Tour. Simply put, you can’t short Fred Funk, although if you want him as a regular pick, knock yourself out.

3. Only 4 of your picks can be players in the Top 30 on the money list.

TRADES

One trade is allowed and it'll cost you a grand total of $20!! If you make a trade, the points that your new player earns will be counted from that point forward, and the points from your original player will be eliminated whether they are positive or negative. Trade details:

• The trade must be for one of your “regular” picks!!! That is, you cannot trade your short pick(s).
  
• Trade Window. Also known as the Greg Owen Rule, trades will only be allowed between March 5th and May 28th. Trades are registered when I receive notification of the trade via email, and are officially consummated when I receive funds for the trade. If funds are not received within a week of notification, the trade will be null and voided, and the FPGPer will not be allowed another trade. There will be NO discussion on this.

• The person you trade for must be ranked lower than the guy you traded. For example, if you want to trade Ben Crane and, he was ranked 58th at the end of the 2006 season, the trade must be for someone was ranked 59th or lower (worse) at the end of the 2006 season.

How do I ante up?
Checks must be post-marked by Wednesday, January 3, 2007 or you can't play. Send checks to:

Steve Tuholski (stevetuholski@hotmail.com; just email me for my address and I will send it back. I have no desire to have it hanging out there on the internet).

The preferred method of payment is paypal, which can be sent to my hotmail address above. It is quick, easy, and saves me a trip to the bank.

What’s the payoff?

If 15 or more FPGPers are entered, we will award a “duffer prize” of $100 to the last place finisher. The intent here is to keep everyone interested in the pool throughout the year, even if your picks suck.

For the people who make good picks, the awards are as follows:

1st Place = 70% of prize pool (all entry fees and trade dollars, minus the $100 duffer award if applicable)
2nd Place = 20%
3rd Place = 10%

How do I enter?

Send me your picks via e-mail (stevetuholski@hotmail.com). Please send them in the following format to make my life a little easier:

PLAYER NAME 2006 MONEY RANKING REGULAR OR SHORT


Good luck everyone… let the games begin!

No Wie

Michelle Wie appetite for playing in men's tournament shows no sign of abating and she will kick off 2007 by competing in the PGA tour's Sony Open on her home island of Oahu.

Sony, one of the 17-year-old's key sponsors, granted Wie an exemption to play in the early-season event for the fourth straight year. FULL STORY

Tommy "2 Gloves" - Q School round 2

"2 Gloves" will be playing his 2nd round of Q-School in Florida. Round 2 starts Nov. 16th. Get the scores and see who else is at this location HERE.

Question

Does anyone know if that Nextel... er, FedEx Cup money is going to count towards official money next year? JG?

Your Winners

From left to right: Da Boca Bandit, Steve V., . and Johnny V

Thanks to Stevie V. for providing this recent photo of our 2006 FPGP winners... he wanted me to point out the irony that the photographer was Da Rodent.

FINAL UPDATE

And the winners are.......

407 .... Da Bandit
379 .... Stevie V.
342 .... Johnny V.
-------------------------------
And the also-rans...

301 .... Shades/Jeff
263 .... Robbo
262 .... Vic/Talonflier
250 .... Tiger Philp
245 .... Steve / New Tex
180 .... Stan the Man
-------------------------------
Deserving his own category....

-169 .... Fraser

Congratulations to the three winners... and as for the rest of us... well, we just suck ass. Here is the final tally for dollars to be awarded.

We had 10 players, at $100 per player for $1,000. Plus, 9 made $20 trades, for an additional $180 in the kitty. So, our grand total is $1,180, to be awarded as follows.

Da Bandit, $826
Stevie V., $236
Johnny V., $118

Winners, if you want me to hold back $100 for next year's pool (which I'd appreciate as it will mean three fewer people to chase for next year) let me know. Also, if anyone wants to see the spreadsheet and the formulas that were used to derive the final scores, let me know and I will email it to you. I'll leave this request up for about a week, and then I am sending checks...

I am going to be out of town for about a week, this wednesday until next wednesday... then, the following week, I am getting hitched and will be gone for a while on honeymoon. I'll be back and fully blog-ready the week of December 3rd. I want to initiate some incentives for bringing more people into the pool, and I will post those either before I take off for the wedding stuff, or immediately thereafter. It seems to me that this pool/blog will be even more fun if we get more people involved, and also, as the "founders" of such pool, we should get a little discount / incentive for bringing in more players... I am thinking that we keep the entry at $100, and also offer a $10 discount for every player that is brought in... so, if I bring in 3 new guys, they all pay $100, and I pay $70. If this makes sense, let me know... if not, we can scrap the idea.

And no one gets credit for bringing in JG or MG for next year, although they can get in for $80, since Jeff and Stevie V. each owe them $10 from the "Wie/Trahan" bets. Also, since they've been loyal bloggers, I'll extend the discount program to them as well...

Thanks for a great season everyone... I hope the blog was as enjoyable for everyone else as it has been for me.


Da Bandit, singing to a packed crowd after learning of his FPGP 2006 victory.