Friends in football,

Commish felt it from the moment he saw @Charlotteman1 pick Ravens over Niners in our BIG Survivor 3-way tiebreaker pickoff.

It was the final game of the week. It was a Moxie-fueled move. Of COURSE the Year 15 BIG Title Belt would come down to this pivotal pick.

And it did.

Standing ovation to the man, the myth, and now the immortal legend, @Charlotteman1, for being our BIG Survivor champion. Co-runners-up @Autovhanchilly and @Venez68 put up an immense fight that history will remember very fondly.

RESULTS SUMMARY

The BIG Survivor (BFIG) results

• Champ: @Charlotteman1!
• Best Squad: Blindfolded Dart Throwers claimed our first BIG Squad title

Weekly Pick'em (WeeWoo) results

• Weekly winner: @Brianbaldy somehow went 15-1 in a week we averaged 9-7. He missed only Pats over Broncos. Amazing
• Best Squad: In the race of the year, "Panda Warriors" has pulled ahead of "Bearded Clams" by 3. "Philly EagleDawgs" is just 5 back. Many more are close
• Overall leader: @Sevdog55 holds the lead by 1, after going 11-5

Survivor #2 results

• Champ: @mikulis!
• Best Squad: Stonemarkers hung on for the win

Survivor #3 results

• Survival record: 3 survivors. 3 eliminated
• Best Squad(s): @ChaoticKendyl almost led a scintillating comeback for "Bigdawgs" but fell one win short. That means "Tommy's Teasers" takes the Best Squad title

QB One-and-Done results

• Top passer: Raise your hand if Nick Mullens was on your preseason bingo board! Dude threw 4 picks but also racked up 414 yards for his 96 pickers
• Weekly average: Big week. 283 yards per pick (31 yards above the average QB performance)
• Best Squad: It's a 4-squad race with two weeks to go. "BLOODGATE" is up 239 yards on the pack
• Overall leader: @ShantheWOMAN is up just 18 yards on @RM5589, after our leader got just 218 from Jordan Love. Down to the wire!
• Interval 3 leader: Another new leader. @Griplip313 and @MFreeman509 have both gone Lawrence, Purdy, Browning, Mullens (lol) and co-lead by 22 yards

Loser Survivor Brought to You by The OddsBreakers results

• Champ: @Zeanah!
• Best Squad: Lake Meaders took it home

"All 32" One-and-Done results

• W/L record: 2,589-1,815. Our season-long win rate is down to 64.7%
• Overall leader: @mufc11 took a brutal loss on the Chiefs after saving them all the way till now, but at 26-2, they're STILL up 1 over the pack
• Best Squad: "Ickey Woods All Stars" remains in front by two

COMMISH COMMENTARY

Repeat after Commish: You need a little Moxie to win a SZN pool!

I say it so much because it's plainly true.

@Charlotteman1, our Year 15 BIG Survivor champion, is the latest example.

Vegas made the Niners 6.5-point favorites over the Ravens, despite both clubs being 11-3 and arguably the likeliest teams to represent their conferences in the Super Bowl.

Picking the Ravens, outright, knowing that the holiest honor in the sports pool universe might hinge on that pick? MOXIE.

It paid off handsomely.

@Charlotteman1 went 11-5 in the pickoff, besting @Autovhanchilly by 1 and @Venez68 by 2.

They ALL showed Moxie in their picks - @Autovhanchilly had the early lead by virtue of picking the Steelers' upset over the Bengals - because they all know what it takes to win. They made it this far in large part because of that.

Commish can't wait for BIG Year 16. Every year is a little different. Are you our next champ?

In the "All 32" One-and-Done, our leaders are picking up L's like they're gold on the floor.

This is as predicted, to be clear.

Commish was perhaps too bold in November, by asserting that our All 32 champ would have 4 or 5 losses. But at this point it's clear that 3 losses is likely as good as any of us will do, and it's possible it'll be 4.

Our leader, @mufc11, stands alone at 26-2. They have the Giants, Pats, Cards, and Broncos left. They may still win, but that's probably not gonna produce 30-2.

The question is whether any of the 7 people at 25-3 can run the gauntlet. Looking at their pick histories and who they have left to pick... Commish thinks not.

Will be very fun to watch from here.

Will we see some bold picking in the QB One-and-Done Squad race?

"BLOODGATE" is up 239 yards on the pack. In our "Best Squad" races, a squad's top 3 scorers count. So, really, "239 yards" is more like 80 yards per person.

That type of gap can be made up in one week, if the chasing squads hit on a big - and lesser taken - QB performance.

But lately, things have been going to script. We were big on Flacco this weekend nad he delivered. We even had 91 people take Mullens (the top passer).

Going deeper down the list of "guys expected to throw for a lot of yards" carries risk. But do our in-contention Squads want the glory? YOU WANT THE GLORY!!

Survivor #3 made it to Week 17, which means we get to revel in the chaos of FIVE picks this week.

Since Survivor #3 doesn't start till Week 9, we need to ramp up the picking in order to find ourselves a champ. It's gonna happen. And it's almost certainly gonna happen in Week 17, with its FIVE picks.

Hats off to @Dbhughes16, @zlavalle, and @rm030, who are all about to have some serious fun.

The Golden Spreadsheet, as always, gives some insight into who our survivors might take with their 5 picks.

But it won't give you full insight. Because remember how Commish opened this email, and how he's gonna end it...

You need a little Moxie to win a SZN pool, and I expect Survivor #3 to be no different.

Yours in football,
The Commish