14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Final Four Voting

We came reeeeally close to having no 1 seeds in the Final 4, which definitely would have been a first. Pitt survived Savannah and NOLA beat Cincy in a tiebreak. That leaves us with a Final 4 that is 75% Pennsylvania. I don't even really know what to say about that. A quick rundown from my perspective:

Poconos

Pros: Weather, housing, outdoor activities, the Dome, casino

Cons: Lack of novelty, draft locations, airport locations

Pittsburgh

Pros: Weather, ideal long weekend city, Pirates game, casino, airport

Cons: Housing, it's kind of funny that Pitt has never won despite being a 1 seed at least 10 times

New Orleans

Pros: Returning to probably the best draft location we've been to, Belf organized this one last time so we'll miss Esco even less than usual, it's New Orleans come on

Cons: Weather, repeat draft location

Philadelphia

Pros: Weather, airport, casino, draft grade quotes

Cons: General enjoyment of the weekend, safety, Bennett being way too happy

I honestly think it's anyone's game at this point. For the first time since Louisville vs. Cincy, I'm unsure of my votes.

 

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Elite 8 Voting

 

MADNESS!

College basketball may be super chalky, but here in FALAFEL the bracket is living up to its name. The #1 overall seed goes down via tiebreak, and ALL FOUR 2 SEEDS LOST. Savannah beat Portland via tiebreak, Vegas and KC put up a fight, but Burlington got straight STOMPED. 

We have two repeat locations, a West Coast spot, and somehow 3 different places in Pennsylvania. At this point, Minneapolis has to be the favorite in terms of path to the ship, housing options, lake access, and weather. I can easily see Poconos making the final too, with many of the same benefits. Philly and Scottsdale are the only two cities that seem to have no chance, but they made it this far so who knows?

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Sweet 16 Voting

 

Almost an entirely chalk first round, which is not entirely surprising. If anything the 7-seeds had a better showing than usual. Not sure if that's a reflection of the 2 seeds or what, but this week we have some real contests. The 1950's Northeast Family of 4 Dream (Jersey Shore vs. Poconos), Four potential repeat cities, and some classic also rans. I believe this is the first time Philly has made the second round, but everyone else has been here before.

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - The Bracket

 

Fun bracket this year. There are some prevailing themes to the regions, some random locations (Lesotho was the first team out), and a decent chance for a repeat location for the first time since Ithaca '10. 

• People seem pretty set on going down the shore, not sure if that's to put Esco in a weird spot or not, but I don't see anything stopping the Shore from the Final 4. 
• New Orleans has a tough road. I would have put it as the favorite pre-bracket, but taking down perennial contenders Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Vegas just to get to the Final 4 is daunting. 
• Similar to the Shore, I can't see Minny falling short before the semis. Lake house, not too hot, casino, maybe a soccer game? Seems like the prototypical draft spot.
• I have no idea what to make of the bottom left. Pitt is a 1 seed for what must be the 10th year in a row, but it only takes one person pointing out the Airbnb situation for Charleston to pull an second round upset. Portland, ME had a weird amount of support, so that's my Final 4 pick from that region.

Stevens Bowl XVI Preview

 I know this is coming out after the week has already started, but it's not my fault the NFL doesn't care enough about hyper-specific fantasy football blogs with intermittent posts. Better late than never, and I wouldn't want to deprive Nick of his first Stevens Bowl Preview.

Before we get to the breakdown, I am changing one of my favorite traditions. Fifteen years of Elf Yourself seems like enough, and technology has improved, so we're now enlisting AI for help.

NIJO! ALAN! IT'S THE STEVENS BOWL XVI!

For those who could not view the image:

I can't wait until video AI gets mature and free enough to create some deepfake porn as the preview. Belfer, I will need your help.

STEVENS BOWL XVI Preview: Nick vs. Alan

Note: I am doing this preview as if the Christmas games had not yet occurred, and we did not know that CD is out for the year.

Quarterbacks:
If you had Darnold vs. Purdy as the Stevens Bowl QB matchup, you should probably be in the Stevens Bowl. Darnold has had the better season, has the better weapons, and is playing indoors. Purdy gets to be the MNF hammer. I can't trust Darnold enough to pick him here, so I'll take the copout.
Edge: Even

Runningbacks:
Cook vs. Henry is the heavyweight battle here, but the matchup could easily be decided by the lower card of Hunt/Jones vs. Swift/ETN. I hated when Alan traded for Hunt, and I really hate ETN, so it comes down to Jones vs. Swift for me. I am way less afraid to pick against Jones than I am Darnold, so despite Swift getting more action in the passing game lately, I'll go with Alan.
Slight Edge: Alan

Wide Receivers:
Another heavyweight battle between CD and AJB, but the undercard here is really interesting. BTJ has been an absolute stud this year, even with the Jags being miserable to watch.. Tennessee is a meh matchup, but I expect him to clear 10 points easily. Jameson Williams, as always, is the true wild card. Goose Egg? In play. 200 Yards and 3 TDS? Also in Play. I don't love the big game odds for Jameson outdoors in San Fran in late December, so I'll go with Nick here.
Edge: Nick (Note: This is now a Big Edge with CD hurt.)

Tight Ends:
A total wasteland of a position this year outside of Kittle and Bowers, the Stevens Bowl brings us the immortal matchup of Tucker Kraft vs. Chig Okonkwo. I honestly could care less.
Edge: Even

D/ST:
Alan has been riding the Chiefs for all season and they've been more average than great, but I do like them outside in Pitt with Russ being forced to throw. I expect at least one defensive TD there. Nick has played the streaming game and now gets to feast on Caleb outside in Chicago at night. I don't feel like Seattle's D is anything special, but the matchup is certainly nice.
Edge: Even

Overall:
For the first time ever, Nick has all kinds of karma on his side. The number one reason to root for Alan is to make it difficult for me to find a different personalized chef uniform item. Not a bad reason, but St. Nick has better ones. Before CD got hurt, I was tempted to pick Alan, but now I really have no choice but to #Kurse Nick and his overreliance on the Tennessee/Jacksonville game.
Pick: Nick