The Packers have hit on a Hail Mary and a “Half Mary” the last two weeks of the playoffs. That’s impossible to top, but the latest winner in the Fantasy Index Open is at least a working pastor. The Reverend Richard Loppnow is affiliated with the Our Savior Lutheran Church in Ephrata, Wash.
Loppnow was able to outperform 221 other entries at the tight ends position of this competition. Vince Corbin, a manager from Naperville, Ill., and Richard Jackson, an attorney in Berkeley, Calif., were the other medalists in this category.
We’re at the halfway point of the competition, and the overall winner takes home a really huge and really cool trophy from the team at Affordable Trophies. They’ve been partnering with us on this contest for years.
The winner and the runnerup also earn berths in the Experts Poll in the magazine, competing in a similar contest in a 20-man field composed mainly of industry experts.
In this kind of competition, success isn’t determined by a single draft pick. We score all 20 choices on each of the entries – the higher you rank a player, the more he counts towards your score. And using our complex scoring matrix, Loppnow was the only contestant to finish with over 30,000 points.
Usually with this style of competition, there are a couple of picks that really stand out. Not the case this time. Loppnow’s top 5 is pretty typical: Gronk, Olsen, Kelce, Walker, Reed. The money picks seem to be 10 and 11, where he went with Kyle Rudolph and Martellus Bennett (on average, they were the 19th and 16th tight ends). Loppnow was lower than most on Tyler Eifert and Ladarius Green (who got hurt just before the picks deadline). And probably his best pick was ranking Julius Thomas 20th. Thomas was in the top 11 on most entries and had a lousy year.
Anyway, when you score all 20 picks on all 222 entries, Loppnow is the winner.
Mike Whitla of Ottawa had the most unusual entry. He ranked Rob Gronkowski 17th. Only one other entry didn’t have Gronk in the top 5, and with Gronk getting hurt, Whitla outperformed everyone dramatically in that area, putting him in position to win this category. But Whitla didn’t do enough with that opportunity. (He also didn’t include Kelce in his top 20 and finished last of the 222 in this category.)
Coming later in the week: QB, RB, WR.
FANTASY INDEX OPEN, TIGHT ENDS (top 10 percent) | ||
---|---|---|
Name | Occupation | |
Richard Loppnow | Pastor | 30,321 |
Vince Corbin | Manager | 29,566 |
Richard Jackson | Attorney | 29,535 |
Chris Durham | Teacher | 29,464 |
Mark Becker | Marketing | 29,462 |
Grant Hubbard | VP Sales | 29,376 |
Chris Weber | Pharmacist | 29,368 |
Steve Moyer | Investment Realtor | 29,363 |
Eric Gustitus | Title Searcher | 29,355 |
Ponce Hatch | I.T. Consultant | 29,351 |
Larry Weinhauer | Self Employed | 29,219 |
Mike McIlraith | Mechanical Engineer | 29,212 |
Scott Sachs | Headhunter | 29,205 |
Dave Cohen | Sales | 29,188 |
John D. Smith | Warehouse Manager | 29,166 |
Tom Overberger | Guidance Counselor | 29,124 |
Shane Scott | Teacher | 29,112 |
Jason Pilon | Office Grunt | 29,111 |
Tom Morande | Real Estate | 29,100 |
Ray Calisto | Pharmacist | 29,094 |
Bob Adelman | Sales | 29,093 |
Jeff Zwiers | Hoof Trimmer | 29,059 |
FANTASY INDEX OPEN, TIGHT ENDS (alphabetical) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Points | Rank |
Aaron Green | Maple Grove, Minn. | 28,718 | 43 |
Aaron Lance | Yakima, Wash. | 29,045 | 23 |
Adam Bergeron | Salem, N.H. | 25,350 | 216 |
Adam Holtz | Rochester, Minn. | 26,271 | 201 |
Adam Locke | Lynnwood, Wash. | 28,209 | 89 |
Adam Renzoni | Buffalo, N.Y. | 27,235 | 172 |
Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 26,789 | 192 |
Adam Taylor | Media, Pa. | 25,298 | 217 |
Adam Thygeson | Oregon City, Ore. | 28,143 | 96 |
Allen Martirossian | Ashburn, Va. | 25,964 | 207 |
Andrew Leahy | Audubon, N.J. | 28,536 | 55 |
Andrew Southworth | Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | 26,781 | 193 |
Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 27,516 | 153 |
Anthony Difranceisco | Turnersville, N.J. | 28,308 | 75 |
Arden Vos | Edmonton, Canada | 27,597 | 146 |
Barry St Peter | Pittsfield, Mass. | 27,720 | 132 |
Ben Weisner | Wausau, Wis. | 26,900 | 188 |
Bill Dallesandro | Huntington, N.Y. | 27,041 | 184 |
Bill Rehor | Culver City, Calif. | 26,954 | 185 |
Bob Adelman | St. Louis, Mo. | 29,093 | 21 |
Brack Varnon | Houston, Texas | 28,271 | 82 |
Brandon Barnes | Portland , Ore. | 28,735 | 41 |
Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 28,038 | 107 |
Brett Watts | Florence, S.C. | 28,080 | 104 |
Bruce Alwine | Havertown, Pa. | 27,690 | 138 |
Bruce Boase | Ogden, Utah | 28,423 | 63 |
Charles Raifman | Short Hills, N.J. | 27,345 | 166 |
Chris Brooke | San Diego, Calif. | 28,258 | 85 |
Chris Durham | Yuma, Ariz. | 29,464 | 4 |
Chris Erickson | Sparta, Wis. | 28,268 | 83 |
Chris Hertzberg | Austin, Texas | 28,265 | 84 |
Chris Sullivan | Ottawa, Canada | 26,853 | 190 |
Chris Weber | Appleton, Wis. | 29,368 | 7 |
Chris Winder | San Ramon, Calif. | 25,932 | 210 |
Chris Wright | Lynchburg, Va. | 27,311 | 167 |
Craig Barltrop | Adelaide, Australia | 27,684 | 139 |
Craig Leedy | Sacramento, Calif. | 28,230 | 86 |
Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | 27,717 | 133 |
Dale Gander | Sun Prairie, Wis. | 28,737 | 40 |
Dan Martinez | Yuba City, Calif. | 28,096 | 101 |
Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | 28,391 | 66 |
Daniel Bowman | Liberty, Mo. | 27,746 | 130 |
Daniel MacDonald | Torrance, Calif. | 28,093 | 102 |
Darrell Sooy | West Chester, Pa. | 27,769 | 128 |
Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 29,188 | 14 |
Dave Pizzica | Springfield, Pa. | 25,759 | 211 |
Dave Renstrom | Apple Valley, Minn. | 27,854 | 116 |
Dave Sjogren | Vienna, Va. | 28,872 | 31 |
Dave Wilde | Mukwonago, Wis. | 26,807 | 191 |
David Battersby | Bellevue, Wash. | 29,016 | 24 |
Dennis Thomas | Watsonville, Calif. | 27,750 | 129 |
Dominic Romeo | Sacramento, Calif. | 24,886 | 221 |
Don P McKendry | Orland Park, Ill. | 27,741 | 131 |
Don Pavelka | Plainview, Minn. | 28,793 | 35 |
Doug Brown | Fort Gratiot, Mich. | 28,471 | 57 |
Dr. Billy Friedrich | Raleigh, N.C. | 28,340 | 71 |
Drew Englebright | London, U.K. | 28,301 | 76 |
Ed O'Hair | Katy, Texas | 27,138 | 180 |
Edward Burke | Philadelphia, Pa. | 26,326 | 200 |
Ellis Kilgore | Von Ormy, Texas | 28,163 | 94 |
Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | 29,355 | 9 |
Eric Titus | Port St. Lucie, Fla. | 28,664 | 45 |
Fabrizio Danova | Los Angeles, Calif. | 27,200 | 174 |
Frank Read | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 28,121 | 97 |
Frank Rotella | Sewell, N.J. | 28,300 | 77 |
Frank Shinnick | Milford, Mass. | 26,457 | 198 |
Gary Allen | Charleston, S.C. | 26,762 | 194 |
Gary Borges | Toronto, Canada | 27,672 | 140 |
Gary Fortier | Marietta, Ga. | 25,084 | 220 |
Geoff Greggs | Roy, Wash. | 27,496 | 156 |
George Taylor | Moosup, Conn. | 27,538 | 151 |
Gerald M. Hoehn | West Liberty, Iowa | 26,900 | 189 |
Grant Hubbard | Rochester Hills, Mich. | 29,376 | 6 |
Greg Heminway | Sacramento, Calif. | 28,206 | 90 |
Greg Resin | Hermosa Beach, Calif. | 27,137 | 181 |
Henry Goers | Bartlett, Ill. | 27,696 | 137 |
Ian Allan | Seattle, Wash. | 28,787 | 37 |
Ian MacEwen | Akron, Ohio | 28,470 | 58 |
Jacob Floriolli | Chico, Calif. | 27,824 | 122 |
Jacob Wilson | Crandall, Texas | 27,708 | 134 |
Jacques Dugger | Westland, Mich. | 28,722 | 42 |
James Carvin | Mt. Laurel, N.J. | 28,314 | 74 |
James Frauel | Walworth, N.Y. | 26,080 | 205 |
Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 27,812 | 125 |
Jared Smola | Rochester, N.Y. | 28,362 | 70 |
Jason Flatley | Cohoes, N.Y. | 28,387 | 67 |
Jason Mattern | Wintersville, Ohio | 27,428 | 159 |
Jason Pilon | Roseville, Minn. | 29,111 | 18 |
Jay Harding | Portland, Ore. | 28,065 | 106 |
Jay Wimmers | Lincolnton, N.C. | 28,185 | 92 |
Jeff Friedrich | Greenville, N.C. | 27,250 | 170 |
Jeff Zwiers | Bellingham, Wash. | 29,059 | 22 |
Jeremy Marzofka | Seattle, Wash. | 27,309 | 168 |
Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | 26,953 | 186 |
Jesse McGuigan | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 25,732 | 212 |
Jim Costello | Portland, Maine | 27,368 | 163 |
Jim Coventry | Chicago, Ill. | 27,140 | 179 |
Jim Kovac | Tucson, Ariz. | 28,452 | 59 |
Joe Loeb | Aloha, Ore. | 26,661 | 196 |
Joe Pizzica | Wynnewood, Pa. | 27,496 | 157 |
John D. Smith | Willow Grove, Pa. | 29,166 | 15 |
John Dent | Ann Arbor, Mich. | 28,823 | 33 |
John Duggins | Greenville, S.C. | 25,560 | 214 |
John M. Smyczynski | Buffalo, N.Y. | 27,791 | 127 |
John Moore | Sea Isle City, N.J. | 27,862 | 115 |
John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 28,879 | 30 |
John Whitney | San Jose, Calif. | 27,669 | 141 |
John Yarsinsky | Marlton, N.J. | 28,817 | 34 |
Johnny Bazzano | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 28,286 | 79 |
Jon Hansen | Reno, Nev. | 27,826 | 120 |
Jonathan Mora | Chicago, Fla. | 28,452 | 60 |
Josh Shupien | Tacoma, Wash. | 27,456 | 158 |
Ken Norman | Chanhassen, Minn. | 27,502 | 154 |
Ken Valis | Gaithersburg, Md. | 28,900 | 29 |
Kenneth Jones | New Orleans, La. | 26,913 | 187 |
Kenneth Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 27,883 | 113 |
Kent Stewart | Poplar Bluff, Mo. | 27,696 | 136 |
Kenzie MacNeil | Halifax, Canada | 28,201 | 91 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Concord , Mass. | 26,425 | 199 |
Kevin Smith | Philadelphia, Pa. | 28,078 | 105 |
Kirk Kennedy | Beulaville, N.C. | 27,618 | 143 |
Kyle Soppe | Bristol, Conn. | 27,557 | 149 |
Kyle Wells | Lynnwood, Wash. | 27,804 | 126 |
Larry Weinhauer | Andover, N.Y. | 29,219 | 11 |
Marc Mayfield | Longview, Texas | 27,916 | 110 |
Mark Becker | Los Angeles, Calif. | 29,462 | 5 |
Mark Burns | Runnemede, N.J. | 28,112 | 98 |
Mark Christie | Fairport, N.Y. | 28,751 | 38 |
Mark Maloney | Andover, Minn. | 27,400 | 162 |
Mark Stoecker | Mansfield, Texas | 27,605 | 145 |
Matt Menghi | Niantic, Conn. | 25,960 | 208 |
Matty Strothman-Evans | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 28,535 | 56 |
Michael Crow | Orion, Ill. | 27,285 | 169 |
Michael Kolton | Green Bay, Wis. | 27,992 | 108 |
Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | 27,882 | 114 |
Michael Menke | New Berlin, Wis. | 27,501 | 155 |
Michael O'Brien | Lakewood, Colo. | 28,537 | 54 |
Michael S. Livengood | Ward, Ark. | 28,104 | 99 |
Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | 27,543 | 150 |
Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | 27,853 | 117 |
Mike Clark | Las Vegas, Nev. | 28,098 | 100 |
Mike Clay | Cheshire, Conn. | 28,926 | 27 |
Mike Freeman | Hamilton, Canada | 28,792 | 36 |
Mike Lenett | Silver Spring, Md. | 28,569 | 52 |
Mike McIlraith | Fort Worth, Texas | 29,212 | 12 |
Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | 27,518 | 152 |
Mike Taylor | Meridian, Idaho | 28,572 | 51 |
Mike Whitla | Ottawa, Canada | 22,577 | 222 |
Moishe Steigmann | Milwaukee, Wis. | 27,571 | 148 |
Monte McDonald | Las Vegas, Nev. | 26,729 | 195 |
Nathan Bileck | San Diego, Calif. | 28,219 | 88 |
Nathan Priest | Waynesboro, Pa. | 28,604 | 49 |
Nick Heuton | Carroll, Iowa | 27,914 | 111 |
Nick Petrevski | Los Angeles, Calif. | 25,956 | 209 |
Patrick Wentz | Columbus, Ohio | 26,091 | 204 |
Paul McCann | Hopewell, Pa. | 27,580 | 147 |
Pete Collins | Orland Park, Ill. | 28,451 | 61 |
Pete Gould | Nottingham, U.K. | 26,225 | 202 |
Pete Richmond | Alexandria, Va. | 25,607 | 213 |
Phil Mazurowski | Huntingdon, Pa. | 27,427 | 160 |
Phil Montalbano | Napa, Calif. | 28,651 | 46 |
Ponce Hatch | Haddon Township, N.J. | 29,351 | 10 |
Ray Calisto | Fishers, Ind. | 29,094 | 20 |
Rey Diaz | Miami, Fla. | 28,331 | 72 |
Rich Dooley | Arlington, Va. | 28,284 | 80 |
Richard Fechter | Coral Gables, Fla. | 28,904 | 28 |
Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | 29,535 | 3 |
Richard Loppnow | Ephrata, Wash. | 30,321 | 1 |
Richard Spinella | North Providence, R.I. | 25,528 | 215 |
Rick Stark | Manchester Center, Vt. | 27,208 | 173 |
Rick Wiegan | Chesapeake, Va. | 28,182 | 93 |
Riley May | Denver, Colo. | 27,144 | 178 |
Rob Milelli | Cherry Hill, N.J. | 27,362 | 164 |
Rob Reiber | Randolph, N.J. | 27,707 | 135 |
Robert Yang | Simi Valley, Calif. | 28,633 | 48 |
Rocky Petrella | Philadelphia, Pa. | 27,192 | 175 |
Roy Sherman | Columbia, Tenn. | 28,942 | 26 |
Russell Dawson | El Dorado Hills, Calif. | 28,300 | 78 |
Rusty Stephens | Atlanta, Ga. | 27,350 | 165 |
Ryan Deal | West Mifflin, Pa. | 27,606 | 144 |
Ryan Murphy | East Berlin, Pa. | 28,569 | 53 |
Sam Dugan | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 28,399 | 65 |
Sam Hendricks | Lynchburg , Va. | 28,637 | 47 |
Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | 25,255 | 219 |
Scott Kopischke | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 28,401 | 64 |
Scott Liles | Mountain Home, Ark. | 28,445 | 62 |
Scott Sachs | Huron, Ohio | 29,205 | 13 |
Scott Sintkowski | Waterford, Mich. | 26,563 | 197 |
Scott Wilkinson | Portland , Ore. | 26,060 | 206 |
Seamus McGuigan | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 27,819 | 124 |
Sean Chi | New York, N.Y. | 28,666 | 44 |
Shane Scott | Toronto, Canada | 29,112 | 17 |
Shelby Teagardner | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 27,169 | 176 |
Steve Blenker | Cheektowaga, N.Y. | 27,079 | 182 |
Steve Math | Austin, Texas | 28,750 | 39 |
Steve Moyer | Oakland, Calif. | 29,363 | 8 |
Steve Tortora | Wallingford , Conn. | 25,263 | 218 |
Steve Weber | Paso Robles, Calif. | 28,319 | 73 |
Steven Alessandrini | Flanders, N.J. | 28,364 | 69 |
Steven Schindhelm | Milwaukee, Wis. | 28,162 | 95 |
Steven Torres | Nipomo, Calif. | 27,246 | 171 |
Stewart Kuehne | Redmond, Wash. | 27,153 | 177 |
Terence Larro | Woodland Hills, Calif. | 28,594 | 50 |
Thomas Oliver | Silver Spring, Md. | 28,276 | 81 |
Tim Wandling | Rohnert Park, Calif. | 27,660 | 142 |
Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | 28,857 | 32 |
Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 28,371 | 68 |
Tom Groome | Duncannon, Pa. | 27,421 | 161 |
Tom Morande | Tinley Park, Ill. | 29,100 | 19 |
Tom Overberger | Bedminster, Pa. | 29,124 | 16 |
Tommy Libretti | Malverne, N.Y. | 26,127 | 203 |
Tony Mavreles | Reading, Pa. | 28,091 | 103 |
Trevor Ross | Edmonton, Canada | 28,228 | 87 |
Trey Quinn | Annapolis, Md. | 27,825 | 121 |
Troy McGovern | Melbourne, Fla. | 27,847 | 119 |
Tyson Traveller | McKinney, Texas | 27,821 | 123 |
Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | 29,001 | 25 |
Vince Corbin | Naperville, Ill. | 29,566 | 2 |
Wade Booth | Tulsa, Okla. | 27,041 | 183 |
William Trostle | Fort Rucker, Ala. | 27,945 | 109 |
Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 27,852 | 118 |
Zach Nizolek | Kansas City, Mo. | 27,901 | 112 |