Week 16 Summary

All three remaining 1 loss entries lost on Sunday. Therefore they split the second place pot. You can see this "rule" in the fine print of the first post of the year back in August.

Congrats to Lincoln Barrett, Kevin Kelley, and Matthew Valcho for getting a little money back!

These three will split $410.

Once again thanks for playing. Look for an email in August 2011 to start the 2011 contest!

Week 15 Summary

There are still three in the running for second place....Lincoln Barrett, Kevin Kelly and my brother Matt Valcho.

Out of the running are Chad Swigor and Jeff Fowler. They lost with MIA and TB respectively.

Two weeks to go. If memory serves second place has always been split, let's see what happens this year!

Counts:
1 winner
3 in with a second chance
39 out

Week 14 Summary - We Have a Winner

Yes! we have a winner, and the winner is me! I finally broke through after 12 years and at least 26 entries. I learned a lot over the years and it finally paid off. Here are the rules I follow. It's tough to stick with these and in years past, when I deviated, I lost.

1. Never pick a road team.
2. Never pick a divisional game.
3. Never save a team for a future game.

I stuck with these personal rules most of the year (I played a couple divisional games) and finally reached the top.

There are still five in contention for second place. Kevin Kelley lost this week and he joins four others. Kevin sent an email and indicated he saved ATL for next week, plus he picked a division game (of course my rules are not Kevin's rules, but I wanted to point it out.)

Others who dropped out of second were Charles Semon, Chris Parker and Gabe Cate who lost for the second consecutive week.

Counts:
1 winner
5 in with a second chance
37 out

Week 13 Summary

Three losers again this week. Two from the second place bracket and one out of first place.

Matthew Valcho, my son, is out. He didn't pick much this year, so it's really my fault. I picked both of the loser for this entry. Also out is Tim Swigor, on his second and final entry. Both lost with the Dolphins.

Gabe Cate dropped into second place with the Chargers. The Chargers had been hot but lost to division rival Oakland.

Only two remain for the championship. Kevin Kelley and me.

Counts:
2 vying for first
7 in with a second chance
34 out

Week 12 Summary

There were three losers, all from the second place bracket. Mike Boggs, Judy Williams and Alex Fowler had losers with DEN, PHI, and OAK respectively.

The three leaders advanced, but not without another close call. This week Kevin Kelley had to sweat through OT as PIT topped BUF.

It's tough to find a lock this time of year and next week looks especially daunting.

Counts
3 vying for first
8 in with a second chance
32 out

Week 11 Summary - Living on the Edge Part II

There were no losers this week. But there was almost a loser or two. How about those Jets? They lost a 13 point 4th quarter lead and then rallied for a touchdown in three plays after getting the ball with :44 seconds on the clock. What a thriller!

Counts
3 vying for first
11 in with a second chance
29 out

Week 10 Summary - Cowboys Rise Up

The Cowboys eliminated seven entries. Two were knocked into the second place bracket and five were eliminated in toto.

Say goodbye to: Tim Krisher, Kim Semon, Mike Goslin, Eli Black, and Janna Heermans.

Only three remain for the championship. Previous champion Kevin Kelley, and is contending again. Gabe Cate, who won a share two years ago, and non-winner yours truly.

Counts:
3 vying for first
11 in with a second chance
29 out

Week 9 Summary - Living on the Edge

Two entries had the Vikings this week. The Vikes fell behind by 14 and rallied to win in OT after scoring two TDs in the last 4:39. This coupled with KC last week has two entries "Living on the Edge." The two entries are me and Gabe Cate who survived both of these picks. Gabe and I are two of only five entries remaining in the winner's bracket. The other three are former champions Kevin Kelly and Charles Semon, and first timer Chad Swigor.

There were only five losing picks this week. NE was destroyed at CLE, CHI nipped BUF, and PIT held on against CIN. Say goodbye to my mom Josie Valcho and Steve Taylor. Both played two picks and are out on both. Say goodbye to Ralph Berry, a Steelers fan like me, who obviously got stuck not picking a Sunday game and was forced to take CIN as a last chance.

Dropping into the second place bracket are Chris Parker and Judy Williams.

Counts:
5 vying for first
14 in with a second chance
24 out

Week 8 Summary

Things were interesting in Week 8, in fact we almost had a winner. If KC would have tied in OT, then Kevin Kelly would have won the pot with NE. KC pulled a miracle and won in OT with just 5 seconds remaining. Luckily six entries survived and joined Kevin as the seven left in the winners bracket.

Other than KC and NE every other selected team lost. This included the Cowboys, Reskins, and Jets.

Andy Bardach and Greg Brent lost for the second time and are out!

Five entries lost for the first time.

Counts:

7 vying for first
15 in with a second chance
21 out

Week 7 Summary

Wow, who would have thought that the Browns could beat the Saints? Fortunately most everyone had already taken NO, otherwise this game would have been a blood bath for the contest.

A slew of other entries were saved when BAL ripped away a fumble and beat BUF in OT.

Finally, DEN was trounced by OAK.

The net result...4 first time losers and 4 knocked out. Say goodbye to Paul Bowman (two time champion), Doug Horstman (previous champion), Geoff Mince, and Chris Williams.

Counts:

12 vying for first
12 in with a second chance
19 out

Week 6 Summary

We had five losing picks this week. One lost for the first time and four are out of the contest.

Until this week no one had selected PIT. But this week PIT was used by 23 of the 32 remaining entries. I'm always leery about picking divisional games but this one seemed to be a "no brainer" and it was.

For those not choosing PIT, 4 had NYG, 3 picked CHI, 1 took SD and 1 did not pick. Of course the losers were CHI and SD. CHI might be the worst 4-2 in the league, but it's still hard to imagine they would lose at home to SEA. SD is 0-4 on the road this year (for future reference of those remaining.)

Say goodbye to P Black (playing for the first time), George Melissinos (tied for first last year), Matthew Valcho (my brother does not pick PIT), and Tim Swigor (on one of his entries.)

Counts

16 vying for first
12 in with a second chance
15 out

Week 5 Summary

There were 17 losing picks this week. Lots of upsets. Of the 17 seven lost for the second time and are out. Say goodbye to:

Shane Cheatham
Billy "Taco" Gregory
Andy Guess
Sam Heermans
Nancy MacAskill
Steve Taylor (on one entry)
George Valcho (my Dad)

17 vying for first
15 in with a second chance
11 out

Week 4 Summary

There were seven losers this week. There were many others sweating it out because NO and GB both barely survived winning by two against CAR and DET respectively.

Two losers had TEN, four had IND, and one did not enter a pick. I didn't even realize that IND got beat until I looked at ESPN for the King standings. What a shocker!

Of the seven losers two lost for the second time...say goodbye to Kevin Whatley who was playing for the first time, and one of my Mom's two entries.

27 vying for first
12 in with a second chance
4 out

Week 3 Summary

There was only one loser in Week 3...Nate Taylor. Nate had GB on Monday night.

I usually sign on to the ESPN Group after the first games start to see the picks that appear. Everyone had one of three teams...except Nate. BAL, NE and MIN were the selections. But nothing for Nate.

Finally, on Monday night Nate's entry pops with GB. CHI/GB is tough pick, especially in CHI.

Nate must have forgotten to pick on Sunday and was left with a tough choice. Unfortunately he chose wrong and now he's out because this was his second loss. There's a lesson here for everyone...pick a few weeks in advance and then adjust.

32 vying for first
9 in with a second chance
2 out

Week 2 Summary

There were six losers in Week 2. Five had the Cowboys and one had the Patriots.

What an awful start for the 'Boys. 0-2 and they had Super Bowl aspirations. Paul Bowman, Kim Parker, Josie Valcho, Matthew Valcho (I actually made this pick for him because he forgot about it) and Chris Williams got sucked in by the 'Boys.

Kim Parker must be reeling...Kim lost in Week 1 and again in Week 2 and she is out of the contest!

Shane Cheatham had the Patriots. I'm no expert, you can tell because I've never won this and I picked the Cowboys as noted above, but why take the Patriots against the preseason consensus of the toughest team in the AFC playing at home. It's a head-scratcher and lands Shane in the Loser's Bracket.

32 vying for first
10 in with a second chance
1 out

Week 1 Summary

In every year there has been a loser in Week 1. This year is no different, six entries are now residing in the Loser's Bracket.

Kim Parker was devastated by Pittsburgh's overtime victory. Why pick against the Steelers in week 1 when they had won seven straight openers? Also they have never lost to Atlanta in Pittsburgh. You can find facts like these in online game previews at ESPN and CBS Sports Line.

Billy "Taco" Gregory, who is playing King for the first time, lost with the Dallas Cowboys. I guess all that talk of playing in the Super Bowl at home got the Cowboys big-headed.

Finally, four lost with San Diego. They had to stay up late last night to see how even the NFL has become. Sam Heermans, Nancy MacAskill, Nate Taylor, and Kevin Whatley (who is also playing for the first time) are now vying for the coveted Loser's Bracket money. The young guys with Kansas City played well, and SD got no break with the constant rain. That's what makes a losing pick!

Counts:

37 vying for first
6 in with a second chance

Payoffs

There are 42 paid entries this year.

First Place = $1,260
Winner of the Loser's Bracket = $420

2010 First Winner

My Dad had New Orleans last night. He's the first to advance to Week 2.

2010 Rules

It's that time again...the thirteenth year of King of the Hill.

Please let me know if you would like to participate.

I am collecting money now. The season starts September 9th with a Thursday night game. Then on Sunday, September 12th a full schedule is played. I am running behind this year, but please send your money right away. Please mail a check to me at:

George Valcho
999 Bay Ridge Dr.
Benton, LA 71006.

Picks will be entered on ESPN's Eliminator, just like last year.

To enter you will need an ESPN ID and Password. Once you register at ESPN you go to this link...http://games.espn.go.com/eliminator/en/frontpage. Sign in, set up your eliminator entry and then "Join a Group".

Group: GV King of the Hill

Password: ?????????? (The password will be emailed to you when you let me know you are playing and when you tell me a check is in the mail.)

Here's how it works, each week of the regular season you pick one team to win (no point spread). If your team wins, you advance to the next week. If your team loses, you drop into the loser's bracket. If you lose again, in the loser's bracket, you are out. I will keep track of this because on ESPN you can lose more than once.

Each week you advance, you again pick one team to win. Here's the catch -- you cannot pick a team more than once during the season, even if the team loses. ESPN enforces this selection.

The last person standing with no losses wins and is "King of the Hill", the last person standing in the loser's bracket (one loss) gets second place.

Your picks can be entered right up to game time. And they can be entered weeks in advance. If you do not enter a pick it will be counted as a loss. So here is some advice...pick every week of the year right at the start. Then each week simply modify your picks according to current performance. If you miss a week for vacation, as an example, you will already have a pick entered.

The entry fee is $40. The winner's bracket champion will receive $30 from each entry. The loser's bracket champion will receive $10 from each entry. I hope to have 40 paid entries - $1,200 and $400 to the champions. You can enter more than once, but not more than twice. To enter twice on ESPN you will need two User IDs.

King of the Hill is limited to people I know. If you don't see someone on this list and you think they would be interested, please tell me (most of you know many of the same people I do).

And my favorite rule. I play one pick for free (for all this work).

During the season I will update this blog
(http://www.gvkingofthehill.blogspot.com) at least once a week.

Previous Champions:
King I - Doug Horstman (11 weeks)
King II - Paul Bowman (5 weeks)
King III - Dick Hein (14 weeks)
King IV - Kevin Kelley and Rusty Atkinson (11 weeks)
King V - Ralph Berry (13 weeks)
King VI - Josie Valcho (9 weeks) My Mom
King VII - George Valcho (8 weeks) My Dad
King VIII - Mike Boggs and Tim Swigor (17 weeks - undefeated all year)
King IX - Mike Gilbert (15 weeks)
King X - George Valcho (9 weeks) My Dad again
King XI - Matthew Valcho, Gabe Cate, and Ralph Berry (tied at 16-1)
King XII - Charles Semon, Nancy MacAskill, Paul Bowman and George Melissinos (tied at 16-1)

Tie Breaker Rules - Fine Print
If multiple players remain in the winners bracket and they all lose on the same weekend, they will all drop into the loser's bracket and play will continue (in this situation the winner of the loser's bracket will get 1st and 2nd place money). If there are two or three players in the loser's bracket, and none remaining in the winner's bracket, and they all lose on the same weekend, the pot will be split evenly. If there are more than three players that all lose and none in the winner's bracket, all will continue until a winner is determined. In this situation, the losing team selected cannot be used again.

2009 Champions

We have 4 champions this year.

Paul Bowman is a repeat champion. His entry was aptly named "Once and Future King." Paul hired me at Rapp Collins Worldwide in 1989.

Nancy MacAskill has played this for years and is finally getting a little money back. Nancy and I worked together at Rapp Collins.

George Melissinos has played the last couple of years, after I met him at my brothers wedding. He is the brother of my sister-in-law Gaile.

Charles Semon thinks this is easy because this is his first year. I met him recently in Shreveport where is owns an Allstate agency.

Congratulations winners! Each will shortly receive a check for $430.

Week 17 Summary

9 lost as DEN was upset by KC. Gabe Cate, Ovid Davis, Jeff Fowler, Jana Heermans, Doris & George Melissinos (one shared entry), Chris Parker, Gaile Valcho (sister-in-law), George Valcho (dad), and Josie Valcho (mom) all hung in through the entire season only to lose a second time on the last weekend.

Charles Semon has a pick remaining. He must have the NY Jets.

Counts:
4 alive for first (with one loss)
40 out with two losses

Week 16 Summary

Only one loss. Tim Swigor was knocked out with NYG.

Counts:
13 alive for first (all with one loss)
31 out with two losses