The 'Old Man?' Wins Week 2
What can I say, (the ‘I’ being RAK, your host for those new to the Madness) the games just fell in place for me in week 2, hitting 18 of the 21. A new season high I might add even though its only been 2 weeks. I have to give it up to the 1st losers, Danny Molino & JeffVA, who were impressive with 16, but just no match as I had it sewn up before the Sunday night game. Alright, alright that’s enough gloating, I realize it’s just one week. Oh before I go, I won’t mind if we keep this ‘All in the Family’ and another ‘Rakoczy’ wins in week 3… just sayin.
I’ll pay myself & Lil Rak once I confirm the pots good. On to Week 3!
When do you consider yourself Old?
A question I used to ask myself and not wanting to know the answer, until the other day when I think I heard it.
Coming up in Oct it will be 2 yrs being a former employee of AT&T and I thank them every day for making the choice for me. It was time to start enjoying the gradual way down the Bell Curve of Life the same way I did going up and working for AT&T wasn’t it.
At 59 I was still young and healthy enough to start doin what I really enjoy, coaching. Since getting paid wasn’t a factor, being the offensive line coach at a local High School here in Boca fit just fine. This time around, unlike Pop Warner football when I last coached, there aren’t any MPR (minimal play requirements) or Joey’s grandma flew in from Ohio and its her birthday and would love to see him play Tight End. Now the BEST play, point blank period. A coaching environment I’m not accustomed to but am enjoying, I just wish I had more bodies.
Now, every job whether you get paid or not has its challenges and I have mine. Trey, Right Tackle just a Soph-o-more, as the late Kieth Jackson would say breaking Sophomore into each defining syllable, has been my trouble child (in a good way). Trey stands 6’1” and is a Diet Coke away from 250. I don’t know exactly what the Diet Coke reference means, but my Oline coach in Cleveland used to say it to me all the time when I was on the cusp of hitting 300, so I’ll use it. Trey has piled up 8 of the 10 penalties the Oline has compiled in just 4 games this season, 1 penalty being an ejection. I know, I know what you’re thinking “Why is he still playing?” So let me finish, if it weren’t for the fact we only have 7 offensive linemen, 2 injured, he’d be watching the games next to me on the sideline. He’s going to be a good player, he just needs discipline, which I’m working on, but baby steps. “First you need to Connect before you Correct” so I’m connecting…slowly.
Now to the point of this entire story, “When do you consider yourself ‘Old’?
So I’m in the huddle at practice the other day, givin da boyz some coachin, (where do you think I picked up that lingo?) when Trey blurts out, “Hey Coach Rak, what time you got?”
I looked at my watch and say, “It’s 10 to 6”
Trey shook his head, “Why Old People always gotta say it like that?”
I stopped dead in my tracks, I must admit it hit me hard, it was the first time I was ever put in such a group. So, I had nothing, no quick-witted response, I told myself it wasn’t me standing there, so the words just quizzically spilled out of my mouth, “Old People?”
“Yeah… half pass 2, 25 til, quarter pass 3, why not just say 5:50?”
I shook my head and smiled, digital world these kids live in. I guess it’s just too much to make them think. I shook it off and returned to the present and said, “I’ll be sure to keep it simple for you in the future”. So there you have it, I’m Old.
I got home and shared the story with my wife Dana, 61 also not working for pay any longer, and had a good laugh. So for us, I guess 61 must be the number, we’re officially “OLD”. Oh Shit! would you look at the time, it’s quarter to 10, time for bed.
Cullenator Tip of last Week
You all know you can get ‘real time Rak Madness Scoring updates’ but did you know you can get real scoring while a game is in progress?
To access ‘real time scoring’ you need to open the ‘Cullenator’s pick sheet’ located in the upper right-hand corner, hamburger with check mark icon.
Once open, if the game is in progress a Red Dot will appear on the column header, next to Game label, ex. C4, for college game #4. If you want to see the current score of the game and the time remaining, click on it. Game details will appear similar to the sample pic shown from Saturday night’s game between Texas & OSU.
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This pool is a combination of College and NFL football games. A handful of Saturday College games will be included along with the entire NFL schedule. All the college games will involve a spread, while the NFL games are a straight pick, unless they have a spread of 5.5 pts or HIGHER. Entry fee for a season of entertainment - $82.00.
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WEEKLY PICK’EM POOL – This pool is a combination of College and NFL football games. A handful of Saturday College games will be included along with the entire Sunday & Monday NFL schedule. All the college games will involve a spread, while the NFL games are a straight pick, unless they have a spread of 5.5 pts or HIGHER. Entry fee for a season of entertainment remains at $78.00.
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eRak’s (Erik Rakoczy) and lovely bride Diana wed on Friday Oct 11th in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. The venue was charming, the weather gorgeous and the party that followed… a Rockin! Just a great time in NC. Although it was like herding cats, I managed to pull together the largest gathering of Rak Madness members since the pool began in the late 90s for a picture… see below. Great seeing Everyone! and for those of you who thought ‘MomRak’ was my second entry… well she’s real and pictured below. MomRak was in Madness heaven when she got to meet the crew Rubin, Zaversnik, Molino and the famous Will-I-Am Fergie-Son, yes the Will-I-Am that she’s been quietly cursing the past several years for winning too much. 
