Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to finally officially welcome all of you to the 2004 Ducey Pool. Well, you know, not all of you, because 38 of you have already been eliminated. But to the other 427 contestants: Welcome! And this: Nearly all of you will eventually follow in the footsteps of the first 38. It's just the nature of the beast. So enjoy it while you can. It's cold out there.

As you can tell, we ended up with 465 total entries. You know how much you paid to do this, so you can figure out the jackpot that could, potentially, be awarded to one lucky soul. Just keep picking winners.

Speaking of picking winners, some people aren't doing that. The biggest disaster of 2004 was Week Two's Green Bay surprise. That week 212 people made a losing pick, over half the pool. This week, the least damage was inflicted to date, with only 61 hits (and only one of them at the hands of the Packers). I like to think that as the season goes on, the remaining players get a little smarter. If you're reading this, that probably applies to you. Now keep pushing forward.

Current Standings:
0 Loss: 76 Players
1 Loss: 207 Players
2 Loss: 119 Players
3 Loss: 38 Un-players

If you have been around for a few years, you know the two most important rules week-to-week. The first is the 10am Saturday deadline. It amazes me that we are five weeks into the pool and seven people forgot to put a pick in this week. What is with you people? Do you actually have lives outside of the NFL? The other rule of import is the no-repeat-picks rule. If you are a returning player, you already know this. If you are a new player, the person who brought you in should have told you this. Either way, don't do it.

Let me go ahead and give you a concrete example: Stambaugh~B picked New England this week. Stambaugh~B has now become the first person in the storied history of the Ducey Pool to ever take a loss from an undefeated team. No one thought it could be done, but she pulled it out. Having previously picked New England in Week Two, this Week Five selection goes down as a loss, dropping her from the wheat back into the chaff. And trust me, the chaff is mighty prickly this time of year.

So that's it for now. Be careful. Be smart. But above all, be yourself. Good luck to you all. But better luck to me.

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