Underdog Game: It's on!

As August winds down, it's time to get serious about our charity pro football underdog game, which starts next week. Two of our regulars have already paid their entry fees, and it's time to get the rest of the players on board.

The basics are as follows: Each player donates $25 to a charity pool at the start of the season. (That's a $5 increase from past years, our first raise since 2009.) Each week, each player chooses one underdog team to win its game outright. If the player's underdog wins, the player earns the number of points that the underdog was predicted to lose by. At the end of the long season, the players with the most points get to say which eligible charities get the money in the pool. The higher in the standings, the more dough the top players get to direct.

Last year's winners were:

1. Gordon - $365 to Our Just Future (formerly Human Solutions)

2. Stephen F. - $115 to Roxbury Tenants of Harvard

3. Shoeshine Boy - $90 to Union Gospel Mission

The complete official rules for this year are here. They're not materially different from last year's. If you're intrigued, please read them and make sure you understand them. If you do and you want to play, send me a note to that effect at dogpdx24@gmail.com. I'll get right back to you with instructions on where your entry fee should be sent. If you've already sent an email expressing interest for this year, check your email inbox for the instructions; if they're not there, please give a holler.

If it goes the way it has in the past, this should be fun, and some noble causes will benefit. 'Dogs rule!