Gil Pound: Pound for Can you pick 'em?

Aug. 16—Who's ready for a little friendly competition?

College football season is rapidly approaching, and with it comes our newspaper's annual Pigskin Pick 'Em Contest where you can pit your knowledge of the game against everyone else's.

Yours truly did pretty well last year, finishing tied for 13th just five correct picks behind the winner. I lost to overall winner and former U-R sports editor Don Carswell, battery man Josh Lassiter, and Baldwin County Recreation director Traci Bowden, to name a few.

But that's not really how I judge my performance. No, my own personal measuring stick is whether I beat my boss, Mr. Keith Barlow, and my fellow competitors in the "expert" category. Poor Keith finished six games behind me, God bless him. That's at least two years in a row where my college football expertise has reigned supreme over his. I'm not even sure how he can show his face around town with a tied for 42nd place finish.

As for the expert pool, it's a good thing our local high school and junior college football coaches are good at their jobs because they won't be making a living in Vegas anytime soon. John Milledge's three-time defending state champion head football coach J.T. Wall came closest at three games behind me. GMC JuCo's Rob Manchester was a game back of Wall while GMC Prep's Lee Coleman brought up the rear.

Thank you, gentlemen. To the winner went the spoils of Buff Bucks for downtown restaurant Buffington's. Those burgers sure were tasty. And free, making them taste all the better.

Now's the part where I ask you all to sign up for this year's tilt so you too can win prizes (weekly and overall) as well as bragging rights. Come join coaches, businesses, and the community at-large to see how you stack up. Get your family members in on the fun. Talk a little trash and win some cool stuff.

Registering to play is easy. Visit unionrecorder.football.cbssports.com and register for an account, then send an email to football@unionrecorder.com. You will then receive an email invite to join the pool. Last step is the easiest. Games appear each week for everyone to pick. Straight up, no Vegas lines or odds.

Now that you know how, nothing at all is stopping you from signing up. I'll see y'all out there.