"Welcome to the final post of The Football Club 2011-- Fifteenth Year Trophy Edition!  The regular season has now come to a close and with it, The Football Club is closing its doors until September and the 2012 season.  I got a few e-mails in that some club members are disappointed that we are not doing the Playoff Picks this season.  But the fact is, the Playoff Picks have not always been a consistent feature of the club.  We did hold the Playoff Picks from 2005-2010 and they will possibly return next season.  I have a few other projects that require my attention during the month of January.  Thanks for understanding.  This is my year end review column, in which I take a look back at all players and give my thoughts on their accomplishments and memories from the 2011 season.  We start with some news about The Hall of Fame, which has been fully updated with our showcase of 2011 Club champs and new record holders.  Section 1 of the Hall of Fame features our 2011 Club Points Champion, Pro Bowl Team Champions, Super Bowl Head to Head Champion, Rookie of the Year, Sportsmanship Award winner, and Comeback Player Award winner.  Section 2 of the Hall of Fame features some new record holders.  Hoosier Daddy earned yet another spot in the Hall of Fame as he tied Captain Insano's 2006 record for Most Double Stakes in a Season with 11 picked correctly.  Hoosier Daddy actually had a chance to break the record in the final week but the favored Detroit Lions were upset by the Green Bay Packers backups, thus costing him a new record of 12 Double Stakes.  But still, he tied the record and now shares it with Captain Insano.  Caveman also earned an exclusive spot in the Hall of Fame, as he set a new record for Most 6 Point / SNF Games in a Season with 14 picked correctly.  The previous record holders were Dark Knight and Shelby's Dad, who had each picked 13 correctly in past seasons.  But they lost their spot to Caveman, as he absolutely dominated in picking these tough games correctly.  It's amazing that Caveman did this despite being at a disadvantage due to the somewhat new Flex-Scheduling Rule, which makes the 6 Point game each week the tougher one of either the Sun night or Mon night games.  Congrats on your new records, Hoosier Daddy and Caveman!  The three most cherished records in the Hall of Fame were not threatened this season-- The Rickster's Perfect Week in 2004, Captain Jack Sparrow's Highest Score in a Week with 42 Points in 2006, and Dixie Slick's 5 MVP Awards in a Season in 2010.  If there had been one more week left in the season, then Dixie Slick would have started to get nervous, as Caveman secured the Week 17 MVP Award with 29 Points to win his 4th MVP Award of the season.  My personal most valuable record is my Iron Man Streak for Top Five Finishes, as I was able to secure a 6th consecutive season this year by ending in 3rd Place.  However, I readily acknowledge that I have a small advantage in making picks since I design the picks sheet each week and place games into their respective categories.  I do try to even things out for everyone by posting my own picks for all to see, usually several days before the games start.   But advantage or not, I still am faced with the challenge of picking the games right, which as many of you know, it can be very tough and frustrating.  And as I was telling Double-Double this week, we have had 15 years in the club with 42 Major titles available to date (15 Club Points, 14 Super Bowl, 13 Pro Bowl), yet I only hold 1 Major title out of all of those (2006 Pro Bowl).  So I'm definitely not as good at picking games right as most of you are.  Either that, or I'm just too loyal to the teams I like sometimes.  Getting back to the Hall of Fame Section 2, we are happy to announce our 2012 Veteran Inductees.  The three club members who earned a spot in the Hall of Fame this year are (1) Red Ant- Kathy Dudgeon, (2) Caitie Pie- Caitlin Hanson, and (3) Bob the Builder- Jeremy Olivas.  These three players all have had excellent seasons playing in the club in years past and thus earned an exclusive permanent spot in the Hall.  Their logos and stand-out years have been added to the Veteran Inductees part of Section 2.  Finally, we have updated the Career Points Leaders in Section 2 of the Hall.  The Rickster has become the first club member to make history by surpassing the 4,000+ Career Points mark.  The Rickster continues to be in 1st Place all time with 4,030 Points.  Players with 3,000+ Career Points include Fearless Tuna with 3,844 Points, Double-Double with 3,767 Points, The Cat with 3,139 Points, Hoosier Daddy with 3,025 Points, and Captain Jack Sparrow who comes it at No. 6 all time with 3,003 Points.  Be sure and check out the list to see where you place on it, if you have played long enough in the club.  In order to qualify, you must have earned at least 1,000 Career Points.  Also, the 2010 and 2011 complete season recaps have been added to the bottom of the Section 2 Page.  At this time, let's now take a look back at the memories that our 19 club members had during the 2011 season.

(1) Captain Jack Sparrow is our 2011 Club Champion and he won the title in style.  He first achieved the top spot back in Week 4 of the season and then took over for good in Week 11.  By Week 12 he had established a 13 Point lead and there was no looking back.  The keys to Captain Jack Sparrow's 20 Point margin of victory were his 2 MVP Awards, league leading 6 Triple Crowns, and Highest Score of the Year back in Week 3 with 39 Points.  The Runner-Up this season was (2) Double-Double, who finished 20 Points out but still had a fantastic season.  Double-Double logged 7 Weeks at #1, which was only 2 weeks less than Sparrow.  Double-Double also won his 5th Career Major title when his team Wild Animals won the Pro Bowl Team Championship.  Double-Double's only achilles heel was failing to win an MVP Award, which could have helped inch him closer to the club title.  (3) Mean Tuna produced some mean picks to once again finish in the Top Five, but he has to be disappointed with finishing so close, yet so far away once again.  Providing some compensation was the fact that he won 2 MVP Awards and logged 1 Week at #1.  (4) AnnieSweetSweet returned to the club after a long absence and dominated, to the surprise of many.  She pretty much sat in the Top Five all season and refused to make a week of bad picks.  With 1 MVP Award and a 4th Place finish, surely she made a wise decision to return.  Rounding out the Top Five was (5) Captain Insano, who battled fiercely to finish in 5th Place.  Even though he couldn't figure out how to pick AFC West games, he did figure out how to return to the club after a long absence and be an impact player.  Captain Insano also had the best percentage of picking Triple Jeopardy games correctly, with 7 out of 9 picked correct.  The 2006 Rookie of the Year Award winner has to be happy with his strong finish.

(6) Caveman was one of the most dominant players this season.  Despite narrowly missing out on the Top Five by a mere 2 Points, he walks off the field with some great accomplishments.  There was his new Hall of Fame record of 14 SNF/6 Point Games, which is the most in club history.  He also had 23 Games of the Week picked correctly, which was the most in the club this season.  And he had 4 MVP Awards, which was double the best that anybody else did.  (7) Drummer Boy had an extremely successful second half of the season.  He really stepped up his game as the season began winding down, winning an MVP Award in Week 16 and claiming a Peak Position of #3.  That's a lot of positive momentum heading into next season.  (8) Bob Swerski returned to the club after a one year layoff and poured all of his energy and focus into defending his Super Bowl title from 2009.  And he played excellent in Head to Head matches, making it all the way to the Conference Final before being beaten by the eventual champion.  With his son and 2008 Club Champion Nighthawk returning from Bethel a short time from now, we will see if they both return to the club next season.  Perhaps Captain Jack Sparrow and Nighthawk can resume their great rivalry.  (9) Dixie Slick was our 2010 defending Club Champion and she followed up her Hall of Fame record setting season by finishing inside of the Top Ten.  Dixie Slick also made the Conference Final for the 2nd consecutive season.  Although the pressure of defending her title (and possibly the bad play by the Bears) negatively affected some of her picks early on, she rebounded strongly and was one of the most dominant players during the second half of the season.  I'm sure she will return stronger than ever next season.  (10) Hoosier Daddy was our Club Champion two seasons ago and he won his 4th Pro Bowl Championship last season.  This season, he had some highs and lows.  But he did reach a Peak Position of #2 and he tied the Hall of Fame record by correctly picking 11 Double Stakes.  Anytime you can earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, your season was successful.  Also making the Top Ten with the same final score as Hoosier Daddy was (10) The Cat.  The Cat was off on secret missions during the second half of the season, which he asked me to not make fun of in the club.  So I'm only mentioning it because he was doing something important and actually facing persecution and trials while carrying out these missions to help others.  While doing this important work, The Cat was able to also bring his team Wild Animals another Pro Bowl Championship, which he was surely happy about.  Thus, The Cat earned the 2011 Sportsmanship Award.

(12) The Rickster was also on the Pro Bowl Championship team Wild Animals.  Winning the team title saved his season.  The Rickster now is the only player in club history to surpass the 4,000+ Career Points.  He also now has 3 Club titles, 3 Super Bowl titles, and 3 Pro Bowl titles.  If he keeps on playing, which we hope he does, he will surely be the first player in club history to reach 10 Major titles.  And it will probably happen next season.  (13) Rad Dad really had a season to remember.  He went on an unforgettable run in the Super Bowl Tournament and beat 4 really good players.  It all started with his stunning 15-15 tie with AnnieSweetSweet.  After barely escaping with his tournament life, he made the most of it and won his next three matches to become our 2011 Super Bowl Champ.  Rad Dad will probably be a Head to Head force for years to come.  (14) MJD Hogg started off the season extremely strong, logging the first 2 Weeks of the season at #1.  He then slowly dropped down the standings.  Even so, any player would be happy being able to reach a Peak Position of #1 and having 1 MVP Award.  So by all counts, MJD Hogg had a successful season.  Another player who had a successful season was returning player (15) Brother Prince.  Brother Prince peaked in the prestigious Top Five and saw his Pro Bowl team High Flying Birds have some success as a rookie team.  Because he did so well despite not playing since the 2006 season, Brother Prince received the Comeback Player of the Year Award.  Tied with him in 15th Place, were family members (15) Shaylene & Martin.  In the spirit of Mr. & Mrs. J-Bird, Shaylene & Martin decided to play as a duo, instead of as separate club members making their own picks.  That's the ultimate spirit of togetherness.  And they managed to peak inside the Top Ten and win 1 MVP Award along the way.  Shaylene of Shaylene & Martin won our Rookie of the Year Award for this season in view of her outstanding play.

(17) Prince Agis may not have had his best season in the Points Standings (he finished in 4th Place in 2007, 5th Place in 2005, 2nd Place in 2004, and 3rd Place in 2003), but he still did very well in other aspects of the club.  He finished in 2nd Place in Division Three of Head to Head Weekly and led Mighty Megalodons to five strong wins in Pro Bowl Weekly.  (18) Pider Man made an amazing run through the Super Bowl Tournament all the way to the Super Bowl Final, before finally losing.  Along the way he shocked defending champion The Rickster by beating him in the Wild Card Round.  And he followed that win up by beating The Cat and Dixie Slick.  (19) The Beav struggled a bit this season, but he still did manage to land 1 MVP Award and also lead his team Transformers to the Pro Bowl Final Four.  So those are the memories and accomplishments of our 19 club members this season.  Thanks for playing, everyone, and we look forward to playing once again next season in the sixteenth year of the club.  Enjoy the off-season!"-- Mean Tuna

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Real names of players this season-- Double-Double (Dave Pariani, Omaha Nebraska), Prince Agis (Anthony Gordon, Glen Ellen), Mean Tuna (Steve Hall Jr., Glen Ellen), Dixie Slick (Marsha Ziff, San Rafael), Brother Prince (Lowell Hall, Mill Valley), MJD Hogg (Matt Dougan, Novato), AnnieSweetSweet (Annie Linden, Petaluma), Captain Insano (Brian Olson, Glen Ellen), Shaylene & Martin (Steve Hall Sr. & Sally Hall, San Rafael), Drummer Boy (Joe Diorio, Redding), Hoosier Daddy (Billy Dougan, Novato), Bob Swerski (James McGrath, Santa Rosa), Pider Man (Brandon Kennedy, Georgia), The Beav (Scott Kennedy, Georgia), The Rickster (Rick Lachmiller, Sonoma), Captain Jack Sparrow (Rich Contreras, Glen Ellen), Rad Dad (Mike Calles, Glen Ellen), Caveman (Steven Calles, Glen Ellen), The Cat (Gary Kennedy, Georgia).