GWBL - 2022 - Annual Holiday Letter

George W. Bush League – Holiday Letter

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to all League Members,

I hope this letter finds you well. We’re closing in on Christmas and that means it’s time to send out the annual George W. Bush League Holiday Letter – Virtual Edition. This was an idea inspired by my Mom, Jeanne Cannellos. Every year she mails a letter to family and friends to send well-wishes and fill them in on what happened with the Cannellos family during the year. Infallibly she’ll mess up some details and take a pot-shot at someone in the family, but that makes it even better.  Anyways let’s get into it. (I apologize in advance if I get anything wrong or leave anyone out, this is all out of memory and I mean no offense.)

Bob D: We start with Bob D who is currently the frontrunner for the 2022 GWBL title. He’s been dominating all year (10-3 record) and looks poised to take his first league title. I think things are pretty settled in his personal life as well. He’s got the wife and 3 kids and still lives in Swampscott. I feel like he’s hitting that golden era of parenting - past the newborn phase but prior to the teenager phase. The kids are somewhat self sufficient, but are still dependent on you. Anyways I got to see him for Marrkand’s bachelor party and he’s doing great.

Kev: Speaking of title contenders, let’s get to Kev and his 9-4 squad. It’s no secret that the GWBL has not been kind to Kev over the years, but there’s a definite chance he wins the title this season. Josh Jacobs might do it by himself. Kev actually leads the league in points by a considerable margin but is a game behind Rob D in the standings. On the personal side of things, it seems to be status quo. Him and Bri are still living and working in the NYC area and dealing with the Jets-Pats rivalry (Marcus Joooneesss, lol Jets). I like to imagine a world where Kev and Bri were watching that game together with other Jets fans and Kev got to celebrate while the Jets fans all watched that punt return TD in agony.

Dylan: Dyl’s a title contender although injuries and poor performances have hit him hard lately (Ken Walker, Mark Andrews, etc). He’s clinched playoffs and is definitely a threat, but he’ll have to make it through the wild card round if he wants to make a run. It was a pretty big year for Dyl personally as he moved in with his girlfriend Mariah (Tampa FL still). I believe this is the first time Dyl’s ever lived with a girl so this is a huge step. And of course I have to ask the obvious question to our league’s only unmarried member - will we see a ring in 2023?

Tieg: Alright it’s time to check in with our reigning 2021 GWBL Champ. After taking the title in 2021, Tieg has settled into the middle of the pack for fantasy in 2021. One week his team is dominating, the next week he’s losing to a 4-8 squad ran by yours truly (had to). Tieg’s a wild card for this playoff run but could make some noise against the other top 4 teams. It’s hard to repeat in this league but if anyone can do it, it’s Tieg. On the home front he’s settled into life as a father of 2. The youngest is about a year old so they’re probably shaking off the newborn fog a bit and settling into the toddler phase. Get those child proof locks, gates and door knob covers ready.

Darren: From one father of 2 to another, let’s check in with DMO. DMO and Lauryn had baby #2 last winter and unless I’m mistaken, DMO wins the Irish Twin award of the GWBL. My two kids were exactly 18 months apart, Kennys crew was in that range and Tieg’s were fairly close together, but I’m pretty sure DMO has us all beat there. What was it, 15 months apart? It seems like everyone is good over in the Moran household, well done DMO. Speaking of well done - it looks like DMO is going to make playoffs for the first time in his GWBL tenure. He’ll have some work to do as the 5 or 6 seed but anything can happen come the fantasy playoffs.

Keetz: Let’s travel out west to check in with our next league owner. Keetz and Melissa jumped on the kid bandwagon and had their first baby last December/January. Crazy to think how fast this past year has gone - their son is close to 1 years old already. Fun fact - the Keetz and Moran babies now bring our league baby count up to 13. If we don’t stop we’re gonna have twice as many kids as league member soon. Crazy. Anyways Keetz is yet again a playoff team with an outside chance of making a run. His team is good but losing Cooper Kupp is going to be hard to overcome.

Lamone: As the 7th best team Lamone is currently “first-out” of the playoffs. With a 5-8 record and a 200 point deficit on Keetz (6-7) for the year, it’s all but over for the Tuna Tungyamothas. Competitive season but he didn’t have the consistency. He actually made it to the draft this year so that was a positive. Anyways things are going well on the home-front - Luma and Jaclyn are still working and living down in Austin, TX with their dog Birdie. They bought a house down there recently and are enjoying the Texas Livin’. Will we see a baby in 2023? Time will tell.

Commish: It’s been a brutal year in the GWBL for my team and I’ll be missing out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2013 season. It was quite a run of mediocrity with a title sprinkled in but all good things must come to an end. I had some bad luck the first half of the season (1-6 start), but I was able to battle back to a not-completely-embarrassing 5-8 record. I’ll be back next year, hopefully in the playoff hunt. Things are finally settling for me on the home front and this is the first time in 4 years that we haven’t had a newborn or been pregnant. Emma and the kids are doing well, no complaints here.

Frader: And now we check in with our reigning 2021 Gabriel – Jon Frader. It was another rough year for Frader in the GWBL and he’s currently tied for last place at 4-9. A Week 14 loss combined with a Week 14 win from Ken could actually drop Frader down to the Gabriel for a second straight season. Despite the 4-9 record there’s a lot on the line in Week 14. If Frader earns the Gabriel again and has a boy in 2023 I think he has to name it Gabriel right? Rules are rules. Good news is that things have gone much better for Frader personally. He married Chloe this past April and seem to be doing well. I recall he finally left San Francisco for greener pastures and it seems to be going well. Now that he’s married, he can join Lamone/Jaclyn on “Baby Watch 2023”.

Peabs: It’s been a down year for Ken in the GWBL and as of press time, he’s the frontrunner for the Gabriel. He needs a Week 14 win and some “help” from Frader, so we’ll be watching their scores closely. (Just kidding, I never scoreboard watch because it’s too agonizing. Fantasy is cruel.) Anyways Ken’s still living down in CT with Sawyer and their 3 kids. The twins are a year-plus now and settled in with their big sister. I’m hoping to catch up with Ken later this month, maybe for some TNF. Might be able to loop Dylan and DMO in too if things break our way. All good in the Peabody household, notwithstanding the 4-9 record.  

That’s a wrap on the year in review. This was another big year in the personal lives of our league members. Growing families, working, traveling, weddings, etc. Once again, I’m happy to say that everyone is doing well and had a successful year. I’m less sad than usual that the fantasy season is drawing to a close, but there’s still plenty to look forward to the rest of the season and into 2023. Thanks again to everyone for their continued enthusiasm and commitment to the League. It takes 10 people to make this work.

Happy Holidays to everyone, here’s to a happy and healthy 2023.

Sincerely,

John S. Cannellos

Commish Claus

Johnny C Claus