Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2012

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football
This is the sixth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last five, 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 Wednesday September 5, so you’ve got about five 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.

Standings for both leagues will be listed at the bottom of the Bulletin’s right column.

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. I’ve added a new wrinkle this year. Since we’re all very busy, and you (or I) might screw up at least one week, you can now throw out your lowest week. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, like last year, 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 (or “Create or Join Group” if you are a returning user). From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 11630 (Brookston NFL Pick To Win)
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 last year 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 last year, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

In order to join the group, just go to Survival Football, click the “Sign Up” button and choose to “Join an Existing Group”, then “Join a Private Group”. Then, when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 4804 (Brookston Survival League)
Password: brookston

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. Beginning after the first weekend of the regular season I’ll post the standings on the home page (at the bottom of the right-hand column) and then each Monday after that through the season. Why not join us?

Play Brookston Home Run Derby

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baseball
Over the last few weeks I’ve been trying to figure out if I could have a fantasy baseball game this season — similar to each football season and March Madness — but haven’t really had the time to figure it out. A regular baseball fantasy league seems like too much work, especially as my actual knowledge of current players is so thin. Every year I’ve played in one, I come in dead last, which is not my idea of a good time. But I may have figured out at least something to try, even if it is last minute, what with opening day of the baseball season tomorrow.

This year, Yahoo Fantasy Sports is offering a number of fantasy baseball games, and one caught my eye as potentially a lot of fun but much easier to play, in terms of time commitment and knowledge necessary. It’s called Home Run Derby, and you draft a team and get points only when one of your players hits a home run. You have a roster of 15 players, and each day you have to field a player at each infield position, plus 3 outfielders and a “Util” (utility) player from any position, to round it out to nine (and since pitchers won’t really count for much in this type of game), leaving six players for your bench. Each time one of your players hits a home run, you get a point. If one of your players hits a grand slam, you pick up four points. Whoever racks up the most points over the season is declared the winner, with all attendent bragging rights.

Currently, Yahoo allows the maximum number of teams in a league to be 20, and I already gave a slight preference and invited everyone who played last year or played Marzen Madness. So far, we have six teams, so there are 14 spots left. If you want to play, sign up now. As soon as we reach 20, I’ll turn the league status to “ready” and the auto draft should begin within 24 hours. So we may miss the first day or two of the season, but the settings give me the impression that it may go back and assign retroactive points, so we’d all get the points we’re due anyway. If not, we’re still all in the same boat.

Below are the instructions if you want to play Brookston Home Run Derby this year, but hurry up so you don’t miss out. If it won’t let you sign up, check to make sure we’re not full yet. If we are, sorry about that, there’s always next year. I’ll post the standings throughout the season and update them at least weekly, if not more often.

In order to join the league, follow this link or go to game front page, click the “Sign Up Now” or “Get Another Team” button and follow the links to “Join a Custom League”. When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.

League ID#: 144900
Password: Homer

We will send you a confirmation with further details once you have completed the registration process.

brookston-baseball

Marzen Madness 2012 Reminder: Sign Up Today To Play

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basketball
With the first tip-off tomorrow, today is the last day to sign up to try to pick the winners for this year’s March Madness. I’ve again set up 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 before March 15, which is when the first games take place. I’ll post and update standings each day there’s games played until a winner is declared.

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#: 10019
Password: beer

Good luck everybody.

Marzen Madness 2012

By

basketball
While not the biggest fan of college basketball, I still enjoy March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the second 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 before March 15, which is when the first games take place. I’ll post and update standings each day there’s games played until a winner is declared.

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#: 10019
Password: beer

Good luck everybody.

NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2011

By

football
This is the fifth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last four, 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 8, so you’ve got a little over two weeks 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.

Standings for both leagues will be listed at the bottom of the Bulletin’s right column.

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. I’ve added a new wrinkle this year. Since we’re all very busy, and you (or I) might screw up at least one week, you can now throw out your lowest week. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, a new feature Yahoo added is the ability 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 (or “Create or Join Group” if you are a returning user). From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 21527 (Brookston NFL Pick To Win)
Password: brookston

Survival Football

If picking all sixteen football game 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 this year 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.

Yahoo also added the new feature to this game, too, where we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

In order to join the group, just go to Survival Football, click the “Sign Up” button and choose to “Join an Existing Group”, then “Join a Private Group”. Then, when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 8850 (Brookston Survival League)
Password: brookston

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. Beginning after the first weekend of the regular season I’ll post the standings on the home page (at the bottom of the right-hand column) and then each Monday after that through the season. Won’t you join us?

Marzen Madness Reminder: Sign Up Today To Play

By

basketball
If you’d like to play along and try to pick the winners for this year’s March Madness, I’ve set up 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 today and you can make your picks when the field is announced on Sunday, March 13. The first games begin on March 17, so that’s a four day window to make your picks. I’ll post and update standings each day there’s games played until a winner emerges.

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow this link. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one), And you may, or may not, need the following information about the group information.

Group ID#: 20210
Password: beer

Should be fun. Good luck everybody.

Play Marzen Madness 2011

By

basketball
I confess I’m not the biggest fan of college basketball, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying March Madness every year. Similar to fantasy football, I’ve set up 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 by March 13. I’ll post and update standings each day there’s games played until a winner emerges.

To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow this link. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one), And you may, or may not, need the following information about the group information.

Group ID#: 20210
Password: beer

Also, if you know more about the NCAA Tournament than me — which odds are you do — weigh in about the best scoring method. There are three we can choose from, as follows.

  1. Do Not Use Bonus Points: Let your predictions speak for themselves. Works with any scoring system.
  2. Use Upset Pick Bonus: Bonus points for upset picks add importance to early rounds. Works best with Progressive and Straight scoring.
  3. Use Seed Difference Bonus: Seed difference multipliers put heavy emphasis on big upsets in early rounds. Works best with Yahoo! Default Scoring.

Post a comment here after you sign up and let me know which scoring system you favor. I’m pretty sure I can change it before March 13, so I’ll update it with the most popular choice on March 12. Good luck everybody.

Shameless Bragging: Winning the Russian River Invitational Washoe Tournament

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washoe-washer
I love the game of Washoes, a game that Tomme Arthur from the Lost Abbey introduced into the brewing community almost ten years ago. I’ve been known to play for hours, given the chance. Almost every small brewery along the west coast has a set of boards, and you see them fairly frequently at events, too. So I was thrilled to be invited to play in the first annual Russian River Invitational Washoe Tournament last night. My partner was Dave Keene, owner of the Toronado. We’ve played together on numerous occasions, but never in a tournament like this. There were nine teams playing in a round robin double elimination tournament. Dave and I — “Team Toronado” — managed to go undefeated through the first three rounds, earning ourselves a bye going into the finals. Since we hadn’t lost a game, the other team had to beat us twice in order to prevail. But we never gave them the chance, and won the first game in short order to win the tournament. What great fun. There definitely need to be more organized washoe tournaments.

To learn more about the rules of Washoes, check out Washoe Rules, a web page put up by Vinnie Cilurzo with the agreed-upon brewing community’s rules. The game exists in many variations around the country, and most likely originated somewhere in the Midwest, but this is the set of rules by which we played.

P1010500
Dave Keene and me after our washoe victory.