The Dougout: Residents needed for NFL picks contest

The Dougout: Residents needed for NFL picks contest – Wicked Local Belmont

As they say before big UFC fights, it’s time.

Last year, residents from Arlington, Belmont, Billerica Burlington and Lexington faced off in the first ever Dougout NFL Picks Challenge.

In a thriller that came down to the Super Bowl, Burlington won a tight race, edging out Billerica.

Bryan Brothers of Burlington was the overall champion.

The way the picks work is simple.

Participants pick the winner for every NFL game each week without a point spread and assign confidence points to each game. The game you think is the easiest pick of the week? That gets 17 points where there are weeks without a bye and then the points decrease until you put one point on the pick you trust the least.

We’re looking for three new competitors in each town.

There are no gender, age (a middle school student from Belmont participated last year and finished 10th) or team-loyalty restrictions and there are two added bonuses. On a regular basis, the results and standings appear in the newspaper and on www.wickedlocal.com and you also get to compete and pick against me, sports editor Doug Hastings. Despite leading the pool late in the season and sitting in the top three for most of the season, a few risky picks to try and win the title placed me eighth at the end of the year. Think of a hockey team pulling its goalie and losing by two goals instead of one.

I shoulda been a contenda.

If you like football, think you know how to pick ‘em and wouldn’t mind seeing your name in lights (or at least on the newspaper’s website, in the pages of the paper and on a bunch of people’s mobile devises), please email ([email protected]) or call me (781-674-7724).

The top overall point scorer and the top town will receive gift certificates to a local restaurant and we’re coming up with prizes for anybody that bears yours truly.