It's alive...

It's been far too long since I've updated this blog, but I decided tonight that it might be kind of fun to use this space to talk about the final months of this season.  When the 2012 season began we went in with the goal to finish in the top 5 of the Kansas City Barbecue Society Team of the Year ( KCBS TOY) overall rankings.  A quick glance at the current standings reveal some good news and some bad news as we head into the stretch run.  The good news is that we currently sit at #2 in the nation - the bad news is there is a long way to go and the race is very tight.  There are seven teams within 100 points of the lead and several teams on that list would jump to the lead with one Grand Championship.  I hope to use this blog over the next few months to share our experiences as we push to stay in the top 5. The rankings can be found at www.kcbs.us

It all starts again this weekend as we head to our 21st contest of the year in Warrens, Wisconsin at the Smokin' in the Bog's BBQ Championships.  To be honest, I'm not real sure where the road takes us from there.  I've studied the KCBS calendar and have an idea in my head, however, we will likely be making those determinations on a weekly basis.  The KCBS TOY point system is structured as such to reward teams for scoring well at bigger contests giving "maximum" points for contests with 50 or more teams.  It is likely that after this weekend that will be our game - make the drive to get to the 50 team contests.  I haven't looked much past September yet but can assure you if we have a shot at the Team of the Year title, travel and the schedule will get crazy :)  It's going to be a wild ride and I hope to have some time to share a little of it here along the way.  Wish us luck! 

Good luck to everyone in "The Jack" draw tomorrow.  It's a special day in the bbq world as the folks at Jack Daniel's conduct a drawing to determine which Grand Champions deserve the opportunity to cook in their World Championship event (not how I would do it if it were my contest, but its not my contest so I'll save that story for another day).  We have 6 "chances" across four states (California, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota) but overall our odds are low and I expect we used up our draw luck in 2011!  I hope your bung gets pulled!!!