Week 16 -- Holiday Rush

PJ will keep his overall lead, be be docked three victories (the lowest score of those of us who took time out from the Christmas madness to get our picks in) for the week. That puts Chris two and James three back going into the final weekend.

Many underestimated the resolve of the always tough at home Chiefs, the Cards and of the Ravens, while the Bears surprised only me and the Pats no one. Meanshile the Bills managed a road win for the first time this season at Cinci -- making Chris' week a little less angry no doubt.

Always a difficult time to pick games. Some top teams have everything locked up but play a bad team (Indy home to Zona), (Seattle at Green Bay) wo who will play, how much and how hard?

Some teams are playing for everything against bad teams (Giants at Oakland, Redskins at Philly, Dallas at Rams, Tampa home to the Saints, Pittsburgh home to the Lions) how will they respond?

The result are some wacky looking spreads.

Meanwhile, the early results of the College Bowl Madness has Derek and Flood together at the top. Once gain I manage to tie for the most wins, just not the wins I placed the most value on. Oh well.

LotW enjoyed the Pats resurgence against the hapless Jets. This week we will take Atalanta getting 4.5 home to the Panthers, though we also will take the points with the at Home Eagles and the on the road Seahawks.

Happy New Year to all

Week 15 -- The End of the Brett Favre era

So LotW was only wrong by 44.5 points. Seemed like an easy pick. Brett Favre. MNF. A punch-less Ravens offense. A Ray Lewis less defense. So what happens -- Ravens 48-3.

PJs 11 win week has catapaulted him into a commanding lead over Chris, in second place, 4 games back with James a game behind him. Perhaps he is participating in President Bush's wiretapping program, getting confidential info to make his picks. Jeff's 10 win week meanwhile places him only seven wins off the pace and a game clear of Hyman whose 4 win debacle left him ahead of only me. But at least his Panthers keep on winning.

James' affection for the Redskins paid off, aas he was the one to get their blowout of Dallas correct. My affection for the Bills was less rewarded. And I sat in the cold for that game (well I did ake a cocktail-induced nap during the second quarter), which was close at the half. and the Bills were only a field goal away from beating the spread. Ok, so I am just trying to make myself feel better.

In retrospect, Cinci or our NFC Super Bowl pick Carolina Panthers should have been the Lock of the Week -- two games in which all were in agreement.

The Rams and the Raiders really are that bad. While Houston may not be bad enough, their victory setting up the Reggie Bush bowl with the Niners the last weekend of the season. While the Jets home win over the Raiders the previous week now looms even larger.

There will undoubtedly be much gnashing of teeth over Johnny Damon leaving for the Bronx. And while the Yankees did not overpay and he may be the best solution available to them in Center Field right now he is still a below average defense player he is not a panacea for the Yanks.

The ugliest game of the year might be this week -- Detroit at Wherever the Saints call home this week. Two bad teams, going in the wrong direction, but without the interesting draft subplot.

LotW will try the Monday Night Game again. This week taking the resurgent Pats -- a team no one should want to play in the playoffs and giving 4.5 at the Jets (where Beer will not be sold inside the stadium at all during the game for fear of rowdy Jet fans causing trouble).

Don't forget that most games are on Saturday this week because of Christmas. While our Jewish friends will have to make sure their Timers are set to turn the TV on for the first night of Hannukah.

Make it a good week.

Week 14 -- Holiday Wishes

It was a good week for road teams, as many of the games with outrageously large spreads, especially San Diego (who lost outright), the new darlings of the NFL Cincinnati and the Broncos against the offensively-inept Ravens were not even close-spread wise.

Meanwhile some home dogs (Buffalo, Jacksonville especially) also struggled.

The result was a good week for those that do not pick their own games. It also provided a vast spread in our win totals.

James and Jeff came away with nine wins each. Clearly spending too much time on Pigskin Pick'em and not enough on the Fantasy Football teams. Meanwhile Hyman and Chris failed to take advantage of PJs 5 win week, with on 6 and 5 wins respectively themselves. Thus, PJ still controls the overall leaderboard with a single game lead over Hyman and two ahead of Chris and James. With three weeks left, and new dilemmas like how much with the Colts and Seahawks starters play, which teams have already packed up their lockers and winter weather it is still very wide open.

Jeff meanwhile stretched his lead in my effort to get out of the cellar.

Looking for ways to avoid loved one over the holidays, join us for ESPN College Bowl Mania

games.espn.go.com/bowlmania/frontpage

Our group is: Who Shall Rule at home? and the password is Spiders. Feel free to invite others looking for ways to make College Bowl season 'even' more exciting.

It will not surprise anyone that I adopted the "War on Christmas" model and have asked for the PC holiday wishes, so as not to antagonize on non-Christian friends. Afterall, hasn't Jeff suffered enough?

A few holiday wishes:

Pats -- more bad weather
Giants -- Eli to play a complete game
Jets -- San Fran to start winning so they can get the #2 pick
Colts -- playoffs to begin and stay healthy
Bills -- a clean slate; at least I had the good sense to stay home last week. This week, the first Bills home night game in many a year, however, I will be in attendance. Wearing a lot of clothes and hopefully filed with a fair bit of alcohol as well. Though I do have to get up for 9:30 mass on Sunday am.
Texans -- to keep losing, though with the Jets winnng their victory in the Reggie Bush sweepstakes got a little bit more secure.
Manchester United (out of Europe after a 2-1 defeat last week) -- some defense
For me (with regard to fantasy football) -- a crystal ball so I can know in advance which of my players will have the big week -- and which will suck. I would also like to announce that I am now severing ties with the Bills defense.

In the (real) playoffs, the Steelers win and losses by the Chiefs and Chargers has them back in the running for a playoff spot. And the Pats, getting healthier each week, must not be taken lightly in the playoffs.

Big games this week include Steelers v. Vikings, Washington v. Dallas, and Atlanta at Chicago
And it is another terrible MNF game, Green Bay at Baltimore (we don't even get "Frozen Tundra") references. So use that night to complete your holiday shopping.

English Football update -- watch as Liverpool goes for the FIFA Club World championship this weekend

Discussion question:
Which should we care more about, NHL or USA soccer?
US got a tough draw (maybe second hardest group overall) but if they can get over the mystique and beat the once-vaunted Italian side they'll have a good chance to advance.


LotW was never officially posted, though it was going to be the Dolphins getting 13.5. I didn't think they'd win, but I thought their defense was good enough to not get blown out.

This week we will take Brett Favre and Green Bay on Monday night getting 3.5.

Make it a good week.

Week 13 -- Statement Weekend

Chris continued his current hot streak and finally won a week with a 12 win performance and consecutive double-digit victory weeks. The result has him tied for second (with Hyman) in the overall standings with PJ still two games clear. My own 11 win week has me just two games behind Jeff with four weeks to play.

Only PJ went against LotW -- and he got burned by it as Tampa covered against the 'Aints in Baton Rouge. Meanwhile the Vikings continue to roll -- or is it that the Lions continue to suck?

I was the only one wise enough to see that the Brett Favre era has ended as the Bears not just won but covered against their former nemesis.

Several teams made statements over the weekend. Most notably was Seattle's Monday Night thrashing of the Eagles in a battle of the birds. Seattle on the road an on national TV demonstrated how they have achieved the best record in the NFC -- can they bring homefield advantage to the Pacific Northwest?

The Giants win at home over the Cowboys (overcoming a poor performance by Eli) has them in good shape to at least host a playoff game this season.

In the AFC, the Bengals defeated the Steelers, moving them two games clear and in the drive seat to win the North. Sadly, that might not be enough to get a bye as they are still looking up at the Broncos and of course the Colts. The Steelers, meanwhile, have lost three straight and are in danger of not making the playoffs. Indy of course continued to roll, doubling up the 15.5 needed to cover.

Discussion follow up: Should Indy play for an undefeated season? or rest their starters and avoid injury to better help them win a Super Bowl?


Things we learned this week.

Don't bet against Reggie Bush.

Don't get your quarterbacks from Harvard. Lawyers, Yes; Quarterbacks, No! This means that James should not be the QB for the Ropes Gray flag football squad. He's better suited to fly half or whatever it is called anyways.

Why I should not be a GM -- Vikings have won six straight since I called for Tice's head.

Why I should be GM -- how smart do you have to be to double cover a wide receiver with 15 catches and over 230 yds on a fourth and game play? The Bills didn't, and lost.

College Bowl Game thoughts:
Isn't Ironic that BYU is playing in the Las Vegas bowl?

Best non-BCS game: Peach Bowl LSU vs. Miami on Dec 30 at 7:30. A few weeks ago this sounded like a potential (though long shot) National Title game.

Several Big games this week, though none bigger then Manchester United needing a win on Wednesday to advance in the UEFA Champions League.

And Two terrible National games this weekend. Sunday night Green Bay home against Detroit. Monday, Atlanta home vs. New Orleans -- at least there will not be a half empty stadium in Baton Rouge that night. Sure that gives you a marquee quarterback in each game but should all of America be subjected to watching the Lions and Saints?

LotW will be made alter when the final two lines come out.

Make it a good week.