Bad Luck Streak Ends With $100,000 Fantasy Fishing Miracle
Unemployed for a year and recovering from heart bypass surgery, New York man reels in $100,000 playing FLW Fantasy Fishing
They say bad luck comes in threes, but not for Eugene Sullivan. The Syracuse, N.Y. resident broke his run of bad luck by winning the third tournament of an international online fantasy fishing game, FLW Fantasy Fishing (www.FantasyFishing.com), and claiming its $100,000 prize — by just a 15 point margin.
Out of work for nearly a year and facing mounting bills, the $100,000 win couldn’t have come at a better time for Sullivan. The 54-year-old data security administrator had been laid off by JPMorgan Chase a year ago amidst mass lay-offs within the financial services industry. His luck had taken a turn for the worse three weeks ago when Sullivan unexpectedly underwent heart bypass surgery, from which he is now recovering.
Last week, Sullivan went online to www.fantasyfishing.com and using an online research tool called Player’s Advantage, picked a team of 10 bass pros scheduled to fish the National Guard Open. He earned 12,188 points based on the performance of his ten bass pros who fished Lake Norman, near Charlotte, N.C., from April 23-26. The National Guard Open is one of six regular season tournaments on the Walmart FLW Tour, the largest and richest professional bass fishing tournament series in the world.
Sullivan scored big when he picked Stetson Blaylock, a rookie on the Walmart FLW Tour, to finish first, and Sean Hoernke, to finish fifth, two exactas that earned Sullivan huge bonus points. In addition, three of his other 10 bass pros finished in the top 10 of the National Guard Open. At just 21 years old, Blaylock became the youngest bass pro in Walmart FLW Tour history to win a major tournament taking the National Guard Open’s $200,000 first place prize. Blaylock, a Benton, Ark., resident fishing for the Berkley fishing team, weighed in 10 fish in the final two days of the tournament with a total weight of 23 lbs., 15 oz.
Sullivan’s $100,000 win was close — almost too close. Edging out Wadsworth, Ohio, resident Dan Broadbent by just 15 points, Sullivan won by the closest margin ever recorded in FLW Fantasy Fishing history.
“This is simply a miracle,” said Sullivan, who suspected that he had done well as he watched the National Guard Open final weigh-in on FLW Live, a live satellite broadcast available through flwoutdoors.com. “I desperately need the money. This will give me a cushion as I continue my job search. Thank you FLW Fantasy Fishing and FLW Outdoors.”
Sullivan learned about FLW Fantasy Fishing back in January when he visited the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y., which is located about 30 miles east of Syracuse. Sullivan registered for FLW Fantasy Fishing as part of Turning Stone Resort & Casino’s “Cast and Cash” promotion. Sullivan entered the first FLW Fantasy Fishing tournament of the 2009 season at FantasyFishing.com, which took place in February.
Sullivan, who has never played any other fantasy sports games, says he owes his $100,000 win to Player’s Advantage, the online research tool offered by FLW Fantasy Fishing, which he purchased for just $10. Not familiar with any of the bass pros who fish the Walmart FLW Tour, the Player’s Advantage research tool helped Sullivan decide which bass pros to pick before each FLW Fantasy Fishing tournament.
A recreational angler who enjoys fishing for just about any type of fish, Sullivan is now in 9th place overall in FLW Fantasy’s six tournament series and is within easy striking distance of the $1 million grand prize. But it won’t be without a fight; there are players in 123 countries competing to accumulate the most points over six tournaments and receive the $1 million grand prize on Aug. 1 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The current overall points leader, with 22,673 total points, is Terry Moberly, of Berea, Ky., who won $100,000 for the first 2009 FLW Fantasy Fishing tournament.
$1 Million Grand Prize to be Awarded in Pittsburgh, Aug. 1
FLW Fantasy Fishing, conducted by FLW Outdoors, brings the world’s richest bass fishing tournament, the Forrest Wood Cup, to Pittsburgh this summer from July 30-Aug. 2. The Forrest Wood Cup is the final event in the Walmart FLW Tour. Just like fantasy football and fantasy baseball, you can follow the leading money winners on the Walmart FLW Tour all season long at FLWOutdoors.com as well as on the “FLW Outdoors” television program, which is broadcast in high definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network that brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors” airs each Sunday from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
In addition to the $1 million grand prize, and six $100,000 cash tournament prizes, FLW Fantasy Fishing players are eligible to win more than 1,800 prizes including a Ranger boat valued at $54,000, a brand new Chevy vehicle valued at $27,000, and personal watercrafts and ATVs valued at $8,000 each, and much more. Fantasy Fishing also offers $3 million exact bonus game for the player who correctly ranks the top five finishers in the Forrest Wood Cup, and a $5 million exacta bonus game for the player who correctly ranks the top seven finishers in any of the six regular season tournaments.
FLW Fantasy Fishing players can increase their chances of winning the $1 million grand prize by entering all FLW Fantasy Fishing tournaments throughout the season and accumulating a greater amount of points leading up to the Forrest Wood Cup. The next tournaments in the Walmart FLW Tour professional bass circuit include:
Tournament 4: Beaver Lake, Rogers, Ark., May 14-17, 2009 (Walmart Open)
Tournament 5: Kentucky/Barkley Lake, Benton, Ky., June 11-14, 2009
Tournament 6: Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y., July 9-12, 2009
$1 Million Grand Prize Announcement: Forrest Wood Cup, Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug. 1, 2009
The Richest Fantasy Sports Game
In its first season, FLW Fantasy Fishing took the fantasy sports world by surprise offering the first $1 million guaranteed grand prize for a fantasy sports game. And with that announcement, FLW Fantasy Fishing soared to the top of the fantasy sports world, gaining fans from 123 countries attracted to the game’s $7.3 million in overall cash and prizes, the highest payout of any fantasy sports game in the world.
In 2009, FLW Fantasy Fishing once again set a new standard, offering a $1 million grand prize again along with 1,800 other prizes for a total of $10 million in overall cash and prizes.
http://www.fantasyfishing.com/
Source: FLW Outdoors
Top NFL Picks Branded by Former Sports Illustrated Editor
First-round draftees are products of Don Yaeger’s media training program which emphasizes branding
Four of the first seven picks in Saturday’s National Football League draft — headlined by top pick Matt Stafford of Georgia and number two selection Jason Smith of Baylor — and 24 players chosen in the first three rounds headed to their new teams after completing intensive Media Training sessions led by former Sports Illustrated associate editor and established media coach Don Yaeger and his Tallahassee-based team.
Aaron Curry, selected fourth overall by the Seattle Seahawks, has become a media darling since the combine. “I love to practice,” he said of his dedication to training. “You practice like you play and you play like you practice.”
It was the third year in a row that Yaeger has served as media coach to the draft’s Number 1 pick — and the third year in a row that nearly one-third of the top picks had been through his program.
“Twenty years ago, players were drafted solely on their athletic ability,” Yaeger said. “Now the most desirable draftees also portray a positive image and are able to communicate effectively. Our work with those players is intended to teach each player that he is a unique brand and that everyone — including NFL teams — want to align themselves with the best brands on the market. Teams know their players’ brands reflect directly on their own, so they are choosing much more carefully.”
“Obviously if you have the Number 1 pick, you’ve got to do your homework,” Stafford said of the Lion’s interview process. “We talked about anything and everything.”
Yaeger’s 180 Communications team partners with Athletes’ Performance Institute to prepare the players. API is a combine-prep center with facilities in Tempe, AZ, Los Angeles and Gulf Breeze, FL that focuses on enhancing performance on the field and recognizes the value of Media Training off of it.
“I have witnessed first hand, our athletes immediately implement the techniques they learn from Don and his team,” said Peggy Iralson of API. “The principles the athletes learn are a great value for their draft process and throughout their entire NFL career.”
The list of players Yaeger trained in this year’s draft also includes top-20 selections Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland, Brian Orakpo of Texas and Josh Freeman of Kansas.
“This was just a great group of guys,” said Yeager. “Stafford was very articulate and confidant, Smith has more personality than any offensive lineman I’ve ever met and Curry, well he just had this sincerity and enthusiasm that infected everyone around him.”
Source: 180 Communications
Fans Consuming Baseball at MLB.com in Record Numbers
After three weeks of the 2009 baseball season, it is evident that fans are interacting with MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, in record numbers.
Below are highlights at MLB.com since Opening Day:
- MLB.com has delivered 127.2 million video streams, representing an increase of 136 percent over the 53.8 million video streams delivered over the season’s first three weeks in 2008.
- Over 400,000 subscribers have signed up for MLB.com’s premier live game products, MLB.TV and Gameday Audio, through April 26, a 45.7 percent increase of sales over the comparable time period in 2008.
- MLB.com has totaled 2.2 billion page views, an increase of 73 percent over the 1.3 billion page views accumulated over the first three weeks of the 2008 season.
- MLB.com has averaged 9.4 million visitors per day, representing an increase of 30 percent from the comparable daily average over last year’s first three weeks.
- The MLB.com network of mobile sites recorded 31.1 million page views on April 25, 2009, setting a new record for a single day. It marks the seventh day this year that it has surpassed the 20 million page view mark, including the previous record of 26.2 million established on April 25, 2009.
- MLB.com’s mobile sites have totaled 381.7 million page views across all internet-enabled devices, a 254 percent increase from the 2008 comparable time period.
- MLB.com has delivered more than 4.1 million video streams to mobile devices over the first three weeks, including real-time highlights to team alert subscribers. Compared to 2008, team alert subscribers are up 35.5 percent.
- Fans have downloaded more than 1.1 million MLB.com and Club icons to their BlackBerry smartphones for easy one-click access to the MLB.com network of mobile sites.
- MLB.com At Bat 2009, an application built exclusively for iPhone and iPod touch, remains the top-selling sports application in the Apple app store. It also has retained its ranking among the top 20 overall paid applications nearly a month after becoming available.
Source: MLB.com
Blaylock, 21, Becomes Youngest Angler To Win FLW Tour Event
Arkansas fisherman wins $200,000 in National Guard Open at Lake Norman
Team Berkley pro Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces to win $200,000 in the $1.1 million Walmart FLW Tour National Guard Open on Lake Norman. Blaylock topped his closest rival, Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., by one pound to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol and BP, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa., where they could win as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
“This feels really good,” said Blaylock, who became the youngest angler to win a FLW Tour event. “But I really don’t know how it feels yet. When I stop and look at the list of guys who fished this tournament, then I’ll realize how big it really was.
“This year I expected to have a mediocre year and cash a couple of top-50 checks,” Blaylock added. “And top-50 checks are good. But this is unbelievable. It’s … I don’t know … I don’t know how to explain it.”
Blaylock said he fished mid-lake below the Hwy. 150 bridge in the Mountain Creek area and caught eight or nine keepers during the final day of competition, including seven on Blaylock’s homemade 5/16-ounce jig with a Texas Craw skirt that Blaylock describes as similar to a perch. The jig was tipped with a 3-inch green pumpkin soft plastic craw trailer. The other fish he caught came on a green pumpkin Berkley Slim Shaky worm.
“I got nervous when I lost my big fish,” Blaylock said. “They got that on camera and I thought they were going to play that on stage, but they didn’t.”
Blaylock’s ‘big fish’ was accompanied by a smaller male that fell for the bait. Blaylock then turned his attention to the female who took position on the bed. He tried, but was unsuccessful and decided to leave the fish for later in the day. Blaylock returned at 11:30, but the fish still was slow to respond to his presentations. Finally the fish bit, Blaylock set the hook and the fish jumped twice and came loose five feet from the net.
“I thought right then, ‘That fish is the $200,000 fish,’” Blaylock said. “I knew that. So I went on down the bank and got to thinking, ‘That fish is worth spending my remaining hour and a half on.’ So I went back to her and she was swimming around, and I pitched my bait back in the bed and she came right over and sat on the bed. I could not believe it. It took me about 30 more minutes to catch her.”
Blaylock opened the tournament Thursday in 21st place with five bass weighing 10-15. He moved to fourth place Friday on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 7 ounces. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Blaylock caught five bass weighing 11-2 to advance to the final day of competition in second place. Blaylock added another five bass weighing 12-13 to his final-round total Sunday.
Morgan caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 22-15 to claim second place and $55,000.
“I started off pretty good,” said Morgan, who surpassed the $1 million mark at $1,043,976 in FLW Outdoors events and holds the record of most top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events with 42. “I caught a couple of pretty good keepers this morning, you know, 16-inch fish. I caught a 3 1/2-pounder a few minutes later and then it slowed down a little bit. And that was 9:30.”
Morgan said he was fishing down weed edges but relocated to a place he had been saving and caught a quick 2-pounder and another after that. Morgan said at 10:30 he had his limit.
“I buckled down in that area and fished another 20 minutes,” Morgan said. “There was a little bottleneck in the area with current coming through it. I pitched up there and caught a 3-pounder. I knew I needed one good bite and I told myself I was staying in the river. I’d be done with 13 or 14 pounds and I thought that would do it, which it turns out, would have.”
Morgan said he lost a 4-pounder at the boat, but focused his efforts on the remaining four bushes on the point he was fishing. A 3 1/2-pounder bit and got hung in a bush, and Morgan moved the boat toward the fish.
“It’s in the bush, and it’s twisting a flopping just like a catfish in a trotline,” Morgan said. “It just fell off and that was at 11:36. I threw down my rod and stepped on my hat a few times. And that was it. I never caught anything of any substance.”
Morgan targeted the upper end of the lake and said key baits for him during the course of the week were a Zoom Super Hog, Zoom Trick Worm, Sumo Frog, Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper and Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Team Iams pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla. (10 bass, 21-11, $45,000); Team Snickers/M&Ms pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 19-4, $35,000); Sean Hoernke of The Woodlands, Texas (10 bass, 17-14, $30,000); Team BP pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn. (nine bass, 16-12, $28,000); Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va. (10 bass, 16-3, $26,000); Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark. (nine bass, 13-10, $24,000); Dale Evans of Summerville, S.C. (nine bass, 12-6, $22,000) and Keith Williams of Conway, Ark. (six bass, 10-9, $20,000).
Overall there were 44 bass weighing 82 pounds, 2 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included seven five-bass limits.
Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa., won the Co-angler Division and $40,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces followed by Jeff Freeman of Max Meadows, Va., in second place with three bass weighing 6-2 worth $15,000.
Ober opened the tournament in third place Thursday with five bass weighing 9-5 while fishing with Danny Pierce of Greenbrier, Ark. On Friday he slipped to fourth place with a five-bass catch weighing 6-9 while fishing with Kim Stricker of Howell, Mich. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Blaylock.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re fishing, whether it’s a club tournament, a team tournament or fishing the Tour, it’s awesome to win,” said Ober, who has won more than $150,000 in FLW Outdoors events. “I’m overwhelmed with emotion and I thank the Lord for the opportunity to be here today.”
Ober, who fishes Stren Series events as a pro, said he plans to spend three seasons fishing the FLW Tour as a co-angler before attempting to move to the front of the boat. Ober said his experience as a pro in the Stren Series helps him as a co-angler, but said the co-angler competition is more challenging because co-anglers fish behind the best pros in the world and must be able to successfully adapt to any situation.
Ober said he caught his fish Saturday on a 4-inch green pumpkin soft-plastic stickbait around docks. Ober said he targeted the front posts and last few feet of the docks, spots his pro anglers avoided all week. Ober said he caught 14 fish throughout the course of the day, including six keepers. Ober fished 10-pound PowerPro braid with a 10-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Flourocarbon leader so he could make long casts.
“When you’re fishing as a co-angler, one of the most important things you can do is be very cognizant of your surroundings,” Ober said. “I’m always looking around to find a stump as far away as I can find it. I throw to the other side of the pocket, because if you fish the same way as your partner, you’re wasting your time. C’mon, these guys are vacuum cleaners.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Team PTSI co-angler Spencer Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (four bass, 5-12, $7,500); David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (three bass, 5-9, $5,000); Dearal Rodgers of Camden, S.C. (three bass, 5-6, $4,000); Shane Lehew of Charlotte, N.C. (three bass, 4-6, $3,500); David Lauer of South Bend, Ind. (three bass, 4-5, $3,000); Bob Bjorkland of Centennial, Colo. (two bass, 3-7, $2,500); Fred Martin of North Little Rock, Ark. (two bass, 2-10, $2,000) and Grant McPeters of Marion, N.C. (two bass, 2-8, $1,750).
The total purse for the National Guard Open event at Lake Norman was more than $1.1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division.
Coverage of the tournament, hosted by the Charlotte Sports Commission, Visit Lake Norman, Visit Charlotte and Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast on Versus, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air May 31 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is also broadcast internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to more than 429 million households in such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
The FLW Tour will award more than $8 million cash to the world’s top bass anglers in 2009. Regular season competition includes three qualifiers and three opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by Visit Pittsburgh will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishing’s largest cash award – a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
FLWOutdoors.com
Professional Football Players Mothers’ Association Teams Up with Go Red For Women to Beat the No. 1 Killer of Women
NFL Moms Wilma McNabb and Gladys Bettis to Tackle Heart Disease in Women at the 2009 NFL Draft
Go Red For Women(R) is heading to the 2009 NFL Draft to announce its new partnership with the Professional Football Players Mothers’ Association (PFPMA). NFL Moms Wilma McNabb, mother of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, and Gladys Bettis, mother of Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, will announce the partnership in advance of the 2009 NFL Draft on Friday, April 24 at national sponsor and leading fundraiser, Macy’s Herald Square store in New York City. The PFPMA has joined forces with Go Red For Women to raise awareness of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women in the U.S.
“As a retired R.N., I understand the severity of heart disease, which is why I’m excited that the PFPMA is joining Go Red For Women,” said Wilma McNabb. “Together as mothers of NFL Players, we are able to lend a voice to a very worthy cause.”
Gladys Bettis can speak from the heart on the subject of women and heart disease. After having heart surgery, she and her son are deeply dedicated to encouraging women to make the right personal choices to protect their hearts.
“My participation in this partnership gives me the opportunity to help women learn what I experienced the hard way,” said Gladys Bettis. “As mothers, women often take care of the whole family, but don’t make the time to protect their own hearts. Heart disease is largely preventable, but only if we choose to act.”
“After losing my dad to a heart attack and seeing my mom struggle with heart surgery, I’m so proud that my mom and I can support the American Heart Association and PFPMA partnership,” said Jerome Bettis. “Being more aware and knowing my family history provides me with the knowledge and the tools to better care for my health and the health of my family.”
Although it is largely preventable, cardiovascular disease kills more than 450,000 women each year, about one per minute. Other alarming heart health statistics include:
- More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
- Only 1 in 5 women believe that heart disease is her greatest health threat.
- Sixty-four percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms.
For more information about Go Red For Women or the PFPMA please visit www.GoRedForWomen.org or www.pfpma.org.
Go Red For Women is nationally sponsored by Macy’s and Merck & Co., Inc.
Go Red For Women
Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association’s solution to save women’s lives. With one out of three women still dying from heart disease, we are committed to fighting this No. 1 killer that is largely preventable. GoRedForWomen.org, a premiere source of information and education, connects millions of women of all ages and gives them tangible resources to turn personal choices into life-saving actions. We encourage women and the men who love them to embrace the cause. For more information please visit GoRedForWomen.org or call 1-888-MY-HEART (1-888-694-3278). The movement is nationally sponsored by Macy’s and Merck & Co., Inc.
American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, we’re the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers – we fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.