If you follow bbq in New England, you may be aware that there is a ranking of teams each season based on how they finish at contests.  Well, if you have been paying close attention to these numbers, you’ll realize how they are more and more becoming total garbage.

I won’t even get into the fact that the NEBS BOD voted to extend the contest “year” by two months based on complaints from a team who couldn’t get into Harpoon.  This was despite the urging of almost every team that has finished in the top 8 for the last 5 years.  So the season is ending at Harvard, MA… so that EVERY team who wants to compete on the last day can be there.   Oh… last I heard… the team that cried last year about not getting in Harpoon isn’t going to come to Harvard either.

(Also, this has nothing to do with the actual teams… I don’t doubt they would do well if they came to New England (MA, RI, CT, VT, NH, ME) to compete.  This has to do with scoring and nothing more.  Don’t take it personally… this is math, and math has no feelings.)

So what’s the big deal?  Well the big deal is that the scoring just isn’t the same.  Western New York… is also considered “New England”  (and so is PA for some reason) for NEBS events.  The scores at these events are way out of whack with the rest of New England.  ”But the scores are related to the food”… umm… nope.  When those same teams compete in actual New England… they score 20-30 points lower.    So does EVERYONE else.

This means that if you live in Western New York and compete out there… you have an extreme advantage.  The rankings don’t take this into account.  Even KCBS which is stuck in 1982, has changed their system to weed out this scoring problem for ranking teams for the year.   With the rise of contests out there, this means you actually don’t even need to leave your area… but would require multiple 8+ hour trips for teams that live in New England to even have a shot.

My contest schedule has been seriously cut down because of work and other things… SO I’m not saying we’d be in the running. But to see teams that have been killing it all year… top 5′s every weekend… and still not even have a slim chance… the system isn’t working.

Hopefully NEBS takes some time fix this for next year, since the Team of the Year awards just don’t hold the credibility they did in the past.

Can’t think of some options?

#1 KCBS style- Give a point value based on finishes… 1st overall is worth 250, 2nd 200, 3rd 175… and so on.   Count the 5 best scores from the year.

#2 Hockey Style- Set up a Western Division…

#3 NASCAR- re-seat after the year… have an invitational contest or multiple contests… to decide overall winner.

#4 have a new Years Eve contest, invite the top 20 teams at that point… finishes decide ranking for the year

Overall: Grand Champion

Chicken: 1st/ Ribs: 1st/ Pork: 1st/ Brisket: 2nd

Overall: Grand Champion

Chefs Choice: 7th/ Chicken: 2nd/ Sausage: 1st/ Pork: 4th

Even though there is no game tonight… Shaq will not be playing.

In typical Transformer BBQ style, we just signed up  to compete in the bbq contest next weekend being held in Norwich CT.   It’s a grilling only event being held at Dodd Stadium (there is a baseball game that night so feel free to make a day of it).   Might just have to turn in pork tenderloin for both the pork and chefs choice categories… I’m going to make people love that dish… well, maybe not.

Free shipping to the event on products from our online store

We also carry Wicked Good Charcoal – 22lb bags of Lump and 11lb bags of briquettes

GO BRUINS

Ever take food home from a restaurant, and when you put it in the fridge you don’t take the container out of the plastic bag?  Went to get some leftovers for lunch today… and after a minute of staring at the fridge I realized the plastic bag right in front of me was what I was actually looking for.