This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on December 27, 2009 12:50 AM.
The previous post in this blog was Rock steady.
The next post in this blog is One sign that it's a bad day.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
There are lots of games in play today as the contestants in our charity pro football underdog pool have made their prognostications. Here's who's got whom -- to win the listed points, the player's pick (in caps) must pull off the upset, without the benefit of any point spread:
14 TAMPA BAY at New Orleans - Mark, Gordon
14 ST. LOUIS at Arizona - Dan
13.5 KANSAS CITY at Cincinnati - Bad Brad, Flynn
12.5 DETROIT at San Francisco - Kevin, Gary
9 BUFFALO at Atlanta - Michael W., Robert
7 DENVER at Philadelphia - Annie, Sidney, Michael K.
7 CHICAGO vs. Minnesota (tomorrow evening) - Rick, Hank, Andy
6.5 WASHINGTON vs. Dallas (this evening) - George
3 SAN DIEGO at Tennessee (Friday, already a winner) - genop
3 HOUSTON at Miami - genop's mom
2.5 BALTIMORE at Pittsburgh - jmh
And here are this week's orphan games:
14 SEATTLE at Green Bay
8 JACKSONVILLE at New England
7 CAROLINA at NY Giants
5 NY JETS at Indianapolis
3 OAKLAND at Cleveland
We've got no pick from Doug on the board, and so he sits out this week. Everybody else, please let me know if anything looks amiss.
The standings are here, but don't forget to add 3 to genop's total for San Diego. He's in sixth place as of the wee hours of this morning.
Good luck, players, and enjoy the wintry games.
UPDATE, 1:10 p.m.: A big win for Mark and Gordon as Tampa Bay edges New Orleans in overtime. Both rocket into contention. Our leader, genop's mom, picks up 3 with Houston. Kansas City and Baltimore tease, but do not deliver. On to the second games, where I've got Detroit for a miracle at Candlestick.
UPDATE, 4:50 p.m.: No winners in the second games, although Denver gave it quite a run. On to the night games!
UPDATE, 9:38 p.m.: No winner Sunday night, as the Redskins were shut out.
Comments (8)
I came so close to writing in and deriding Mark and Gordon for their idiotic pick of the Saints losing to Tampa Bay. I just could not see that in a million years.
I stand corrected. You are not mere men - you are football gambling gods.
Wow. A big, no make that a HUGE upset for the Bucs over the Saints, and an equally significant upset for the Jets to spoil an undefeated season for the Colts. Sure glad I was smart enough to pick both of them. After the fact, that is.
Only 4 teams have won over 100 games this decade:
Indy, New England, Pittsburgh, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles organization rebuilds while it wins. Great rookies like McCoy trade places with all-time greats like Westbrook.
Of those 4 teams, the Eagles are without a Super Bowl ring, though they lost to a New England team that was clearly cheating and knew the defensive signals and what blitzes were coming. The Patriots cheated but the Eagles handled it with class.
The amazing thing is that as an Eagles fan, I never feel cheated. By the end of the season, I have always seen enough to be proud of them.
Philadelphia fans at the games can be unruly barbarians - yes, they really did boo Santa Claus, and yes, they real do need the courtroom built right into the stadium - but I believe the Eagles are the best, most endearing team in football.
Well, after having carefully considered but then rejected TB over NO, I'd really like to dig deep, leave it all on the field, man up, find out what I'm made of, make my team proud, and, you know, make it all the way up to mediocre some day.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (8)
I came so close to writing in and deriding Mark and Gordon for their idiotic pick of the Saints losing to Tampa Bay. I just could not see that in a million years.
I stand corrected. You are not mere men - you are football gambling gods.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 27, 2009 1:21 PM
Suddenly N.O. looks mortal. Next week at Carolina should be pretty interesting, as the Black Cats wrecked the G-Men today.
Posted by Jack Bog | December 27, 2009 2:27 PM
One factor: Carolina's Steve Smith broke his arm today.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 27, 2009 2:59 PM
Wow. A big, no make that a HUGE upset for the Bucs over the Saints, and an equally significant upset for the Jets to spoil an undefeated season for the Colts. Sure glad I was smart enough to pick both of them. After the fact, that is.
Posted by jmh | December 27, 2009 4:23 PM
The McNabb scramble for the crucial big gain was epic. That left hamstring of his looks a little shaky for the playoffs, though.
Posted by Jack Bog | December 27, 2009 4:53 PM
Only 4 teams have won over 100 games this decade:
Indy, New England, Pittsburgh, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles organization rebuilds while it wins. Great rookies like McCoy trade places with all-time greats like Westbrook.
Of those 4 teams, the Eagles are without a Super Bowl ring, though they lost to a New England team that was clearly cheating and knew the defensive signals and what blitzes were coming. The Patriots cheated but the Eagles handled it with class.
The amazing thing is that as an Eagles fan, I never feel cheated. By the end of the season, I have always seen enough to be proud of them.
Philadelphia fans at the games can be unruly barbarians - yes, they really did boo Santa Claus, and yes, they real do need the courtroom built right into the stadium - but I believe the Eagles are the best, most endearing team in football.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 27, 2009 5:20 PM
Well, after having carefully considered but then rejected TB over NO, I'd really like to dig deep, leave it all on the field, man up, find out what I'm made of, make my team proud, and, you know, make it all the way up to mediocre some day.
But I just don't know if I can be that good.
Posted by George Anonymuncule Seldes | December 27, 2009 11:23 PM
My pick was such a "aw hell, i got nothin' to lose, might as well go big" pick. can't believe it worked out.
Posted by Mark | December 28, 2009 12:02 AM