The Root of the Week II

Enter week two, which sees many veteran Swami Pool participants throwing caution to the wind and breaking rules left and right. For the newbies, we will review the Swami Rules for Survival in the text of this week's Taunt -- Swami has a brunch to run to.

The Swami Clan has its usual group working the Pool this season: Swami himself, The Factor, Darth Bennett, Avery of Avalor, and Spawn of Swami.

The first three will look for lightning to strike ever-so-sweetly on the road to singe the slew of Buffalo-based Ta-Tonka. The younger ladies of the latter two will sing with the heavens and hope the fallen bounce back from the previous weekend, and rise again to put the Browns back in their usual column.

Best of luck to those who already feel the shadow of the Reaper.

That is all.

Friday Taunt II

Very little action in Week Two, thanks in large part to a pair of West Coast teams: the Raiders and Seahawks accounted for 79% of participant selections ... to great and glorious success. The remaining 21% took their chances on other squads, mostly victoriously.

Week Two Stats

159 participants

118 undefeated

40 with one loss

1 deceased

Sadly, the Back Nine was not kind to Ben's Bengals, Ice went the Rams, Dem Cowboys did not help D-White, Sleepytime the 26th was rendered comatose by the Tiger Stripes, the Giants were not so Rajdandy, and Lushing must have been inebriated to pick against the Beloveds and on the Chargers prior to Week Six, breaking the two most inviolate rules in the process.

Only one participant has fallen ... and we congratulate D-White 03 on claiming the Mr. Irrelevant prize for 2017. The Reaper welcomes you into black-cloaked arms.

That is all.

The Root of the Week II

In by-gone times, it was virtually unheard of for a participant of the Swami Pool to even consider the course of action that so many participants have chosen this week, Week the Second. Silver and Black? 'Twas not a team to be picked, 'twas instead a comely pair of comic book anti-heroines.

*Yes, these are actual comic characters and, yes, they are slated for their own movie as a spin-off of the Spider-Man cinematic universe. But I digress.

The smart money is coming in fast and furious on the Raidahs, pick after pick in email after email ... Raiders, Raiders, Raiders. There are two teams currently that break up the litany: Seahawks and Ravens also get a little bit of play. But the Raiders take the cake by wide margin.

The Raiders are good, yes, but this is more a statement methinks on the ineptitude of the J-E-T-S than any particular (circle of) excellence on the part of Carr's Company, but still.

Still.

The Reaper sharpens his scythe this week hoping for one, just one of the chosen three to fall ... he will be pleased if the silver and black or the Gang Green or the Edgar Allen Poe's drop-kick a few participants into the double loss, therefore granting just a little carnage this fine weekend in September.

In other news, the Swami will also go with the group in this Week the Second. He will be parking his faith in none other than the beautiful and semi-unimportant.

That is all, faithful subjects. Bid you adieu, until the morn.

That is all.

Swami

The Root of the Week II

There is cute. There is innocent. There is precious. There are those things, and then there is football, which is not cute, not innocent, not precious. Not even close. Nor will the action be such things come the morrow, when the masses place their collective faith in a multitude of teams ... which basically means not one has any clue what is happening. 

The Broncos? Many of you seem to think this is a quality pick. Let us not forget the Swami Rules for survival: #1 - Do not pick a team on the road. #2 - Do not pick a team playing in its own division. #3 - Do not pick the Chargers for or against before Week Six. And so I repeat, the Broncos? A heavy favorite, for sure, but in its own division means never a "for sure" lock.

The 49ers? The biggest facade in the League at present. A desperate Bears team with weapons to spare little resembles a hapless Boys squad held together by Romo and glue. The upset special of the week.

The assortment of single-takers, which include this week the Seahawks, Titans, Saints, Steelers, and (excitingly) even my Beloveds? A few of these bold against-the-grain-goers always get sliced off like fat from a prized steak.

Which leaves but one clear choice for greatness this Week Two of 2014, one clear choice for moving forward unscathed. The Swami shall take this choice, along with a good number of others, and ride the talented arm of Mister Rodgers and the whole of his neighborhood.

So it is written. So it shall be done.

That is all.

Tuesday Taunt II

In a great show of compassion, I have delayed posting the results of this past weekend's action until this moment, to let some of the pain subside.

And, oh, what pain there was.

Like Camden of old, the revolutionaries took defeat resoundingly---64 souls perished on the Patriots in Week Two. Toss in a handful of Raiders, Vikings, Cowboys, and Redskins, and you have 70 participants set to see their shining lights with one more loss.

Six, sadly, are already bathing within it. We say goodbye to the Uno Dos, Adios crew of 2012: Mad Dog 02, J-Ro 01, J-Ro 04, Bubbas 02, Daddy's Long Legs, and Bennett, Not My Son. We bid you adieu.

The Swami himself was a casualty this week, though the Factor and the Spawn move on unscathed. So, too, were at least four recent winners of the Suicide Pool, all perishing at the shoelaces of Stephen Gostkowski. 

Weekend Results
135 participants
57 undefeateds
72 with one loss
6 deceased

Things just got real.

That is all.

The Root of the Week II

I only have one question for the masses of participants on the majority pick this week: is that the red or the white?

Oh, yes, there are a handful of other selections. The Texans again campaign with a few votes in the bag, the Giants and Steelers have a scant handful of admirers, and even the Bengals drew a little love against the lowly Browns--despite that being a divisional game.

Lest we not forget the Swami's Rules for Greatness. There are only three: (1) Never pick the Chargers before Week Six (2) Never pick a team on the road (3) Never pick a team playing within its own division. So good luck to you, Bengals-riders; that Tiger, she is a fickle mistress.

As for my own soothsayings this particular week, the second as it happens to be, I shall leave you with this: the Frost way tends to be one of the surest paths to Suicide loss. Not one to travel once traveled by ways, the path I choose tends to be of my own devising, and yet . . . and yet . . . the spread is 13.

I'll take that any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

That is all.