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Week 1 in the books, the top 5 consensus went 3-2 but the overall #1 selection lost to start the season 0-1

Last year it was 6 or 7 straight losses to start then an amazing 6 or 7 in a row right after. We shall see what happens this year.

2 players went 5-0 and won $83 each.
1 player went 0-5 and is in an early hole but it's a long way to the finish.

4 games with the spread was decided by 1/2 point.........AZ,IND,JAX,DEN were the beneficiaries.

Week 2 in the books and the players had a second losing week to start the season. This week going 125-165 for 43.1% and again a 6-8 on the consensus of all games.

The best bet lost for a second week and is now 0-2 to start the season.

Nobody went 5-0 and there will be a carryover going into week 3.

Bob Sparks remains the leader at 8-2 after going 5-0 in week 1.

So you thought handicapping the NFL was easy?

Week 3 and another wacky week of the NFL.

The best bet is 0-3 to start the season and right now is the best fade in the business until it wins.

The players went 140-160 for a 46.67% win rate. The consensus went 7-8 for a third straight losing week. Overall 19-24 44.19%

The 5-0 side jackpot wasn't hit and rolls over into third week!

Bob Sparks still the one to catch at 12-3

Week 4 Completed

They say it's lonely at the top and that's where Bob Sparks has been from the get go. Well he gets some company from Jerseykid7 who powered into a tie with the only 5-0 week in three weeks and took home $498.

The players overall best bet was a winner with CIN and marks the first time this season! Best Bet record is 1-3

A rare oddity took place with the players overall having a winning win % going 154-146 for a 51.33% win rate which was the first time this year it has been a winning week. This is where the oddity takes place, the overall game consensus win/loss was the worst of the year going 6-9 at 40% and marks the 4th straight week the players have picked more consensus losers than winners.

So how did the winning take place, it happened via three outcomes:

CIN 24-3, LAC 13-4 and DET 17-6. Those three games alone accounted for 54 of the overall 154 wins or 35.06%

The DET game put the players in the green overall in the final game of the week.

A rare statistical anomaly in Bad Man !

Week 5 Completed

Players have their best week of the season going 10-3 on the consensus. One of the losses was the top selection and that record stands at 1-4 on the season.

Players went 162-133 overall and it's the fourth week in a row of a better performance than the week before.

The one thing that hasn't changed since week 1 is that Bob Sparks is a top of the leader board and all alone with a 1 game lead over 5 contestants. Bob sits at a sizzling 17-8 for 68% win rate.

One person went 5-0 and the Saints stopped a second contestant from splitting the pot.

Have the players figured this season out or is it Vegas giving back some profits and looking to take it all back and then some?

Week 6 will give us that answer.

Week 6 in the books!

The overall consensus best bet lost again as the record drops to 1-5 on the season. The overall Top 5 consensus after 6 weeks sits at 14-16.

After 5 weeks at the top, Bob Sparks drops from the top spot as a trio of players not sit at the top at 19-11.

Right behind them is 10, yes 10 players at 18-12 and another 6 sitting at 17-13.

At this point, the contest is WIDE OPEN!

Three folks went 5-0 which brings the season total to 7 for the season.

I can't say that I've seen anything like this season so far and I'm expecting a lot of chaos to ensue as we move forward!

Week 7 Complete

Like a hot potato a new leader on top with Go Broncos at 23-12

We had some separation this week as there are only 5 entries one back at 22-13 and only 1 behind them at 21-14

Once again the consensus top selection lost and is now a dismal 1-6 on the season. The top 5 consensus went 1-4 and drops to 15-20 on the season.

Players went 7-6 overall consensus wise but went 133-162 vs the number overall.

GB -2.5 sits as the big loser as only 3 had Houston and 30 had GB. One of those three that had Houston which one by a 1/2 point went 5-0.

Who said the NFL was easy to handicap?

Not I !!!

Another week has come and gone and the leader remains at the top of the mountain stretching the lead to 2 over second place.

Players went 160-140 for the week raising the season win total to 49.16%. The consensus went 6-7 an dropped to 50.46%

Some really odd numbers again this week and for the season as a whole.

Now for the truly bizarre the best bet this season lost again and is 1-7 for the season. What makes this really bizarre is this is the same exact record as last year. The exception being it started 0-7 and won in week 8 all the way through week 14 to go 7-7 at that point. Week 15-18 saw 4 straight losses to close the year at 7-11.

If you include the last 4 losses from last year the players overall best bet has won once in 12 games. You're sitting there going the players had a big winning week but the loser was Green Bay -4.5 with 18 selections.

I've been doing this now for 24 years and have NEVER ever seen anything like this.

My games are loaded before I see anyone else's and I've thought, please don't let me have a pick that is a top selection. When I see 2 or 3 picks in the consensus, I know it usually spells trouble!

Fade or follow in Week 9?

What a difference a week makes. From a two game lead for one contestant to now a three way tie for first.

The overall consensus went 6-6 and 147-153 for the week.

The weekly top 5 consensus went 1-4 and the top selection lost yet again now sitting at 1-8 for the year, losing the last 5 in a row.

Players have gone 1-12 going into last year and faders have made a mint.

Some really bizarre numbers to say the least.

Week 10 and we are back to a crowd at the top with a 5 way lead at 30-20.

The players best bet of the week wins with MN -4.5 but if you faded you lost since the line jumped to 7.5. A little asterisk for the players now 2-8 for Best Bets.

Players had their second best week of the season going 143-122 for a 53.96% win rate. The high was back in week 5 at 54.92%.

This was achieved with the aid of players taking advantage of the line move going 28-1.

One of the 5 players that sits at the top is Fritskie who has gone 5-0 back to back weeks. Can he be the first ever to do it three weeks in a row?

We shall find out this weekend.

Week 11 and chaos ensues! A new leader, a new second place and a handful of people in third.

This week the best bet lost with GB bringing the best bet consensus play to 2-9 on the season and insures a losing season no matter what happens the rest of the way. The overall top 5 picks after 11 weeks sits at 22-33

Fristski's 5-0 streak came to an end but went 4-1 and he sits alone at the top of the heap.

Week 12 in the books.........

Adam Ant sang "There is always room at the top, don't let them tell you that there is not"

Three way tie for first with 36
Three way tie for fourth with 35
Three way tie for seventh with 34

Five more at 33 and four more

Best bet in GB wins to raise the record to 3-9.

As I started updating the DEN win, loss, WIN........... I updated the standings and the song Back for More came on by Ratt. I look to see who the leader is and it's none other than Go Broncos 1 who relinquished the lead a few weeks back to come back for more at the top.

The top 5 consensus plays went 4-1 this week but the top selection in DET lost dropping the season record for top plays to 3-10.

This is really astonishing to me because the public is absolutely killing the books weekly.

The leader has a precarious one point lead with six just one back. This is truly going to the wire.

Stay tuned to see who the leader in the clubhouse is after week 14.

Almost forgot one of Go Broncos other accounts at the bottom of the ladder went 5-0 to scoop a double weeks worth of 5-0 Side Jackpot $$$$

Living the charmed life.......

Week 14 completed and thank goodness it's over.

Players have their worst week of the year and it wasn't even close as this week a full 5.76% below the prior worst week which came in week 2 at 129-171.

Players this week went 108-182 for 37.24%

The best bet of the week lost again and is now 3-11 on the season. Two of those three wins came on lines that drastically changed due to injuries so it could be way worse.

Overall after 14 weeks the top 5 picks sit at 31-39.

We have yet another new leader at the top of the heap in Shark13fan who has a 1 point lead over four others.

A bit of Bad Man history took place in week 14..........

For the first time ever we have two women at the top of the list in Shark13fan in first and Brendris tied for second place. Congrats to these ladies for making Bad Man history.

Could it be the year of Bad Women?

Week 15

Quite the reversal from last week as the players bounced back bigly!

11-3 in overall games which was the best of the season. 154-126 overall which was second best of the season.

4-1 on the consensus but the best bet lost yet again and for the season stands at 3-12. It's truly a kiss of death if you have the top selection and I've never seen anything like this in the history of Bad Man.

5 people went 5-0 which is the most in one week of the season and shows how well the players did.

The ladies still lead but have a dance partner as three sit atop the leader board and 3 sit just one back.

Three weeks to go and this is wide open a 15-0, 14-1, 13-2, 12-3 type finish for any at the top or within a few back could win it all.

Just a note for week 17. We will not be using the Christmas games due to a Wednesday and Christmas Eve on Tuesday. Family comes before football in this contest outside of tradition of using Thanksgiving games on Thursday since the inception of the contest. Shame on the NFL for stealing the NBA's thunder. There's no need for NFL on Christmas and they aren't even on broadcast television! Bahh Humbug!

Week 16

Bad Man is has always been a microcosm of the overall betting markets. When the overall picks lose, the public loses right along with us. When the overall picks win, the public wins right along with us.

This season has seen some swings throughout the season and there was really no idea of knowing if there would be an extended run either way. The last seven weeks have produced six winning weeks and one losing week and it's really something out of the twilight zone.

In week 14, we had the worst week for the season and likely pretty close to the worst ever in Bad Man or at least one of the top few losing weeks at a miserable 37.24%. Then the very next week in week 15, we had the best record of the season going to 55%. Typically that's really about the max we would see because a winning week overall is 52.38% if you look at it from a -110 betting perspective.

So when you hear 55% out of a group of 57 sets of selections that is pretty high.

For week 16 which saw 54 sets of selections we toppled the season high coming in at 56.3%

In a three week stint we had the worst record and then back to back best weeks of the season. This is a script you just can't write and statistically it's a big anomaly.

The best bet in MN -2.5 a winner bringing the record to 4-12. Think of how crazy all of these numbers are.

Overall through 16 weeks we have 2,339 winning picks and 2,299 losing picks for a 50.43% which would mean we would be losing quite a bit of money as we are nearly 2% a break even percentage.

What will throw this all off is that the weekly consensus record of all games excluding games where there was an equal amount of picks on each side sits at 118-95 and 55.4%

Just sit back and digest how these numbers look and you can't make heads or tails of it.

With 2 weeks to go, the co leaders call them the Gal Pals sit at the top with 47 wins. Then there is the five pack sitting at 46, 1 at 45 and three at 44.

I would say anyone within three points still has a shot but would need to run the table. Those at 45-46-47 8-2 or 9-1 the final two weeks might just do it but it's up in the air as we will have to deal with the most unpredictable week to end it all.

A pair of folks went 5-0 and it brought them into contention.

For those in the running, good luck down the stretch. I love reading your comments to me when you send your picks. I must give a shout out to Clarence and Lusky they by far send me the most entertaining messages.

That two point spot looks like it's coming into play in one of the private head to head match ups. Time will tell.

Have a great Christmas and enjoy the games. Lines will be out sometime on Wednesday in between entertaining and being a guest.

Week 17

Players go 6-6 overall for the total consensus 2-3 for the top 5 and the top selection lost bringing the best bet record to 4-13.

Two players went 5-0.

With just one week left and five total selections if you asked me who I thought would win, I'd punt.

This contest is as wide open as it possibly can get.

4 people tied for first with 50 points.
2 people tied for fifth with 49
2 people tied for seventh with 48

Two women and two men tied for first.

This week favorites went an astonishing 15-1 with the only dog to win SU the NY Giants.
Favorites went 13-3 ATS. SEA, IND, LAR didn't cover with 2 of the 3 winning.

Just as a reminder, all pay outs of 5-0 and the main get paid after the season is over.

There's verification period of the main and during that time, the 5-0 pay outs take place in batches. It's broken down by weeks 1-4 then 5-8 etc. All payouts of the block being paid out, get paid before moving on. Those that paid by Zelle are the main priority as they are the quickest and easiest way to pay out. Then those by money order or cash get paid last as those take a lot more effort.

As always take care of the contest host for all the work put into this every week. If you saw how it's done and the work put into it, you'd ask why I do this contest.

First thing I do is on Tuesday I manually enter the schedule into my excel page. I add the lines at that time. On Wednesday I go in and do a line check and make the appropriate changes.

From there I load it on the Bad Man page, then load it into the forum. From there I put together the weekly e-mail and send it out to all contestants. Typically on Friday I start inputting the selections from the e-mails sent in.

It's all done by hand, it's tick marked on the schedule I print out every week then added into the excel spread sheet one by one. I do this for every entry. When 11PM Eastern hits, I change the auto reply. Then it's time to double check to make sure the tick marks match the overall total of selections for each team.. From there I have to load it onto the Bad Man page and then rank the top five selections. Then it's uploaded to the webpage.

Sunday after the 425PM games sometimes earlier, I go in and start grading the games. After the Sunday late game, I go back in and grade that game and start tallying the records for those that didn't use the Monday game. I update the weekly record and the overall standings. Monday night after the game, I go in and grade those picks, update those players weekly records. Get the weekly info record, update the top 5 selected games. Prepare the sheet for the following week. Add in any 5-0 information and how much won by each player for that week. Then it's time to load up the sheet on the website and everything else that gets updated. Then I come here and give an update. Sometimes long, sometimes short, it just depends on how tired I am.

There's a bit more to it but this is the gist of it. You sure you want to run a contest?

While I pay my own entries I do have expenses, paper, printer ink, stamps, checks and of course all the time put into it every week as you see above.

Best of luck to everyone in the running in the final week, should be a lot of cheering, swearing, laughter and tears.

It's been like this every year except this year it's literally crazy how many people are alive.

Week 18 in the books...........

Players BB wins in week 18 and the final ledger is 5-13.
Overall top 5 consensus went 2-3 and the final ledger was 43-47
Overall selections went 2599-2569 for a 50.29% win rate
Overall consensus went 133-107 for a 55.42% win rate.

Two people went 5-0 to end the season.

The overall contest results are unofficial and will go into the verification phase.

Barring any changes the unofficial pay out spots as of now are the following.

First Place, Fasteddiess and Shark13fan at 53-37
Third Place Brendris, Jpearl, Pickempete and Raiderguy101 at 52-28

Three others 51-39
Three others 50-40

The final game of the regular season helped determine three of the final six spots.

Per the rules

15. After the announcement of the final winners, a verification period of five (5) business days will be granted. Any contest-related disputes, including those concerning results or prize allocation, must be formally submitted in writing to FREAK within this verification period. At the conclusion of this duration, the Bad Man results will be officially declared. In the case of a dispute, FREAK's decision shall be deemed final.

Every year without fail someone will dispute the finish, I can't remember there never being one. It's for good purpose though, with records this close it's good to quadruple check everything. There has never been a change in the history of the contest.

We shall see.

5-0 Side Jackpot payouts are underway and you can monitor the pay out thread from here to see where things stand as I'll update it as I go along. Several have been paid already, awaiting to hear from a few to move forward to the second half of the season.

The contest has been declared official.

All Bad Man Main contest payouts have been paid in full.
5-0 Side Jackpot has one person that hasn't responded but everyone else has been paid.