Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Märzen Madness 2025

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I may not be biggest fan of academia’s version of indentured servitude, otherwise known as college basketball, but I do still enjoy the games of March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the fourteenth straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football or baseball. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks beginning right now, with the first games taking place on March 18, which only gives you roughly two days to complete your bracket. So don’t delay, sign up right away and fill out your bracket.

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow the link below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).

To accept the invitation and play Märzen Madness this year, just follow this invitation link.

Good Luck Everybody!

Märzen Madness 2024

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I may not be biggest fan of academia’s version of indentured servitude, otherwise known as college basketball, but I do still enjoy the games of March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the thirteenth straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football or baseball. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks beginning right now, with the first games taking place on March 17, which only gives you roughly two weeks to complete your bracket. So don’t delay, sign up right away and fill out your bracket.

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow the link below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).

To accept the invitation and play Märzen Madness this year, just follow this invitation link.

Good luck everybody!

Märzen Madness 2023

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I may not be biggest fan of academia’s version of indentured servitude, otherwise known as college basketball, but I do still enjoy the games of March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the twelfth straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football or baseball. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks beginning right now, with the first games taking place on March 14, which only gives you roughly two weeks to complete your bracket. So don’t delay, sign up right away and fill out your bracket.

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow the link below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).

To accept the invitation and play Märzen Madness this year, just follow this invitation link.

Good luck everybody.

Märzen Madness 2022

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I may not be college basketball’s biggest fan, but I do still enjoy March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the eleventh straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks beginning right now, with the first games taking place on March 17, which only gives you a couple of days to complete your bracket. So don’t delay, sign up right away and fill out your bracket right away.

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow the link below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).

To accept the invitation and play Märzen Madness this year, just follow this invitation link.

basketball-beer-glass

Good luck everybody.

Beer In Ads #3670: Blorg & Bob Uecker For Miller Lite

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Thursday’s ad is for “Miller Lite,” from 1985. This ad was made for the Miller Brewing Co., and was part of their long-running “Tastes Great!…Less Filling!” advertising campaign. It was created in 1973 by the McCann-Erickson Worldwide ad agency and was ranked by Advertising Age magazine as the eighth best advertising campaign in history. They were primarily television commercials but they did create print ads to support the TV spots. They began with a trend of using former athletes along with a few notable celebrities that continued throughout the campaign. This one features American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current sportscaster, comedian, and actor Bob Uecker and “famous ex-space monster” Blorg. I especially love the text. “Lorgo abnaml ud zemblag. Remplo plivob ivwi subzily og abnaml. And less.”

The Brookston Hitting Derby 2021

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This year, the new baseball season begins on Thursday, April 1, no fooling. So our annual Brookston Hitting Derby auto-renewed, but I only noticed today. We used to call it a Home Run Derby because to keep things simpler, we only counted those, but a few years ago I monkeyed with the scoring (because I generally can’t keep well enough alone) and while it’s still simpler than being in a full-blown fantasy baseball league, there are now more ways to get points. Still, we do it just for fun, and there are twenty spaces available if you want to play along, although we only need four to draft. But the more teams, the more fun, so sign up soon if you want to join us this year.

In order to join the league, follow this link, and I think that’s all you have to do, other then follow the on-screen instructions. If that’s not right, or you’re having trouble, leave a comment below and a way to reach you. Otherwise, see you on the virtual diamond.

NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2020: Pandemic Edition

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This is the fourteenth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last thirteen, so if you love football and beer, consider joining us this year, whether you’ve played in past seasons or are a newcomer. The NFL season begins tomorrow, Thursday, September 10, so you’ve got just a few hours to sign up. And this year is the Pandemic Edition, which just means with so little else to do, everybody should sign up this year. Why not join us?

I’ve again set up two free Yahoo fantasy football games, one a simple pick ’em game and the other a survival pool. Up to 50 people can play each game (that’s Yahoo’s limit, not mine), so if you’re a regular Bulletin reader feel free to sign up for one or even both. It’s free to play, all you need is a Yahoo ID, which is also free. Below is a description of each game and the details on how to join each league and play.

Pro Football Pick’em

In this Pick’em game, just pick the winner for every game each week, with no spread, and let’s see who gets the most correct throughout the season. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, like the last few years, we’ll be able to keep picking all through the playoffs, so the game will continue through to the Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.

In order to join the group, just go to Pro Football Pick’em, click the “Sign Up” button and look for a link or bottom that reads “Join Group.” From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 33460 (Brookston Football Picks)
Password: brookston

Survival Football

If picking all sixteen football games every week seems like too much, then Survival Football is for you. In Survival Football, you only have to pick one game each week. The only catch is you can’t pick the same team to win more than once all season. And you better be sure about each game you pick because if you’re wrong, you’re out for the season. Actually a few years ago they added a new feature and I changed the game so to be kicked out you have to be wrong twice. In that way more people stand a better chance of lasting longer into the season. So get one wrong, and you’re still okay, get a second wrong, now you’re gone for the season. Last man standing wins.

Again, like the last few years, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

This year it’s even easier to join, with a new streamlined sign-up process. Just click on this direct link and follow the instructions from there.

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. In past seasons, I’ve posted the standings on the home page, but wasn’t able to figure out a way to do that recently. Hopefully, I’ll figure out something this year. Anyway, why not join us? Go head to head again me and my team, the Brookston Brew Jays.

Brookston Fantasy Basketball 2019

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basketball-hops

We’ve done March Madness fantasy games in the past, which I’ve called Märzen Madness, but I’ve never done an NBA fantasy basketball game of any kind. Since my son has been playing high school basketball for the past few years, my interest has grown, not to mention our local Golden State Warriors have been a lot of fun to follow lately. So this year, I thought, why not give it a try? Our league is called Hoops & Hops and will last all season long.

Similar to both Baseball fantasy and Football fantasy, in Basketball fantasy you draft a team, play your starters and then earn points for what they do in each game. I tried to keep it fairly simple since I’m both an idiot when it comes to the finer points of basketball (and especially NBA) knowledge and also since this is all so new. Each team has a roster of 16 players, from which you’ll start 10 players each day. Scoring is also fairly straightforward, with 1 point for a free throw, 2 points for a field goal, and 3 points for a three-pointer. Then there’s also points for total rebounds, assists, steals, blocked shots and negative points for a turnover. And there are big points for the elusive double-doubles and triple-doubles, but that’s it. There were a lot of other statistics you can give points to, but I wanted to keep it relatively simple. If you see something you think should be added, say something now, since I can edit the stats before the season starts, but not after.

hop-slam-dunk

The season starts on October 22, so you have about 6 weeks to sign up, which is good since I don’t know what I’m doing and that gives us more time to fix anything. We need a minimum number of 4 teams, but we can have as many as 16, although we have to have an even number. I’m not sure why that is, because you get points just for how your players do rather than going head-to-head against other players, but c’est la vie. So while there’s no hurry per se, the sooner you sign up, the sooner you’re locked in to fielding a team this season. We’ll use the Autopick draft feature, again to make things easier, and once it’s set to “Go” then the draft will run, usually overnight. In order to sign up for a team, you’ll need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one), and then simply follow this link and follow the instructions to join Brookston’s Hoops & Hops. When you sign up, you’ll also get a chance to look over the league settings for rosters and scoring, and please do let me know if you have any suggestions for improving things, keeping in mind my goal of keeping it fairly simple. Enjoy.

basketball-hops

NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2019

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football

This is the thirteenth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last twelve, so if you love football and beer, consider joining us this year, whether you’ve played in past seasons or are a newcomer. The NFL season begins on Thursday, September 5, so you’ve got nearly four days to sign up.

I’ve again set up two free Yahoo fantasy football games, one a simple pick ’em game and the other a survival pool. Up to 50 people can play each game (that’s Yahoo’s limit, not mine), so if you’re a regular Bulletin reader feel free to sign up for one or even both. It’s free to play, all you need is a Yahoo ID, which is also free. Below is a description of each game and the details on how to join each league and play.

nfl-teams

Pro Football Pick’em

In this Pick’em game, just pick the winner for every game each week, with no spread, and let’s see who gets the most correct throughout the season. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, like the last few years, we’ll be able to keep picking all through the playoffs, so the game will continue through to the Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.

In order to join the group, just go to Pro Football Pick’em, click the “Sign Up” button and look for a link or botton that reads “Join Group.” From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 41365 (Brookston Football Picks)
Password: brookston

packers-retro

Survival Football

If picking all sixteen football games every week seems like too much, then Survival Football is for you. In Survival Football, you only have to pick one game each week. The only catch is you can’t pick the same team to win more than once all season. And you better be sure about each game you pick because if you’re wrong, you’re out for the season. Actually three years ago they added a new feature and I changed the game so to be kicked out you have to be wrong twice. In that way more people stand a better chance of lasting longer into the season. So get one wrong, and you’re still okay, get a second wrong, now you’re gone for the season. Last man standing wins.

Again, like the last few years, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

This year it’s even easier to join, with a new streamlined sign-up process. Just click on this direct link and follow the instructions from there.

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. In past seasons, I’ve posted the standings on the home page, but wasn’t able to figure out a way to do that recently. Hopefully, I’ll figure out something this year. Anyway, why not join us? Go head to head again me and my team, the Brookston Brew Jays.

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Märzen Madness 2019

By

basketball

I may not be college basketball’s biggest fan, but I do still enjoy March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the ninth straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks beginning on March 17, with the first games taking place on March 21, which only gives you a short window to complete your bracket.

final-four

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow this instructions below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).

To accept the invitation, just follow this invitation link. For reference, here’s the group information.

Group ID#: 44394
Password: brookston
NOTE: You may not need a password this year if you use the invitation link.

basketball-beer-glass

Good luck everybody.