Round 1 playoff results

Here are the results, in convenient table form:

Winner	AJ	Al	Eric/Julia	Torry
Pittsburgh	7	5	6	7
Atlanta	4	4	5	2
Philly	5	7	7	6
Pats	6	8	8	8
Totals	22	24	26	23

Confidence picks

First, check out Sportspickle.com, possibly the greatest sports satire site on the web (it goes just to the edge of tastelessness at times, but it's always funny.) Here's this week's headline:
Manning Discouraged to FinMd His Horoscope Reads: “Choke Versus Patriots Again”

My Picks:
8. NE
7. Pitt
6. Philly
5. Indy
4. StL
3. Minn
2. Atl
1. Jets

AJ's Picks:
8. Indy
7. Pitt
6. NE
5. Philly
4. Atl
3. StL
2. Jets
1. Minn

Eric's picks:
8. Pats
7. Philly
6. Pitt
5. Atl
4. Minn
3. Indy
2. StL
1. Jets

Al's picks:
8. Pats
7. Philly
6. Indy
5. Pitt
4. Atl
3. StL
2. Minn
1. Jets

Final regular season updates

I'm back, baby! Blogging on this and my other blog should pick up, now that I'll be able to take full lunches at work again.

Playoffs: If anyone's interested in wiping the slate clean and pitching in another 5 bucks, we can do something else for the remaining 8 playoff teams. I'm proposing a "confidence pool", which is pretty much a one-and-done pick. (like a NCAA tourney bracket, you just submit picks and let it run for a few weeks. Lower maintenence.)

Confidence pool works like this: You assign each team a number, 1-8. 8 is for the team you think is best, on down to 1 for the team you think is worst. As the playoffs progress, you get the points for the winning teams each week - i.e. 8 points if your "best team" wins, etc. After the Superbowl, whoever has the most points wins. If it's possible to have a tie after the Superbowl, we'll have people predict a final score beforehand; that will serve as a tiebreaker if necessary.

So, let me know your thoughts.

January 2:
Me (Should have read about the game first - no starters for Indy.) Colts over Broncs. Lost.
Sorens: Keeps on riding the Pats horse, and it's good to him.
AJ: Packers over Chicago. The Bears only burn me, not AJ.
Al: Panthers over Saints. Somehow the Saints played up to their potential for about the 2nd time this season. Loss.

Final Standings:
Me 8
Al 8
Eric 11
AJ 12 - winner of $20 (net $15)

ps - feel free to double-check the standings. I haven't been doing anything smart, like keeping a spreadsheet - it's all in the blog. Let me know if I need to fix any error.

December 26:
Everyone except Al: Eagles over Rams. We all lose, and Al doesn't get a pick in, so there's no change.

December 19:
Al, Sorens (EnJ) and Me: Pats over Dolphins. Oops. They lost.
AJ: Colts over Ravens. Good pick.

Standings:
Me: 8 pts
Al: 8 pts
Eric: 10 pts
AJ: 11 pts

2 weeks worth of results in one convenient place

Last week:
AJ: Jets over Texans. Jets: potential NFC champs, AFC first-round fodder.
EnJ: Rams over Niners. Close call - even Chris Chandler can beat San Fran.
Al: Ravens over Bengals. Carson Palmer is arriving.
Me: Vikes over Bears. I'm never picking against the Bears again this year, nor will I pick Minnesota. Damn Vikings blew it again against Chicago, and I got burned the first time earlier this season.

Standngs: AJ and EnJ: 9 pts
Al and Torry: 7 pts.

This week:
AJ: Packers over Lions - scarily close.
EnJ: Eagles over Redskins. Looked good on paper, but Philly ran up the score a few weeks ago and the 'Skins were pissed, and boy did it show. Iggles win a close one.
Al: Baltimore over Giants. I'm seriously considering picking against Eli Manning the rest of the way out.
Me: Indy over Houston. I'm not jumping on the Manning bandwagon - he's looking like the Dan Marino of our time, a good QB who can't win in January. I'm getting sick of his deification now, though. Manning : Football commentators :: Mike Krzyzewski : Dick Vitale. (A la AJ's blog post from last year.)

AJ and EJ: 10 pts
Al and Torry: 8 pts

3 weeks left, then playoffs (any ideas for playoff scoring?)

-Torry

New results...

Picks:
Me: Iggles over Giants. Money.
AJ: Atlanta over New Orleans. Score.
EnJ: Pats over Ravens. Dominant.
Al: Packers over Rams. Favre. The Man.

Everyone wins (2nd straight week... I hope we get a few surprises soon)
Standings:
AJ and EnJ: 8 pts.
Al and Torry: 7 pts.

Long overdue updates

For the week of Nov. 14:
AJ: Pack over Vikes. Packers win.
Sorens (going solo this week): Chiefs over Saints. Chiefs choke.
Me: Iggles over Cowboys. McNabb dominates, and what a scramble and pass!
Al: No pick.

Standings after Nov. 14:
AJ and EnJ: 6 pts.
Al and Torry: 5 pts.

Picks for Nov. 21:
EnJ: Pats over Chiefs. Pats win.
AJ: Steelers over Cincy. Where did Pittsburgh come from this year?
Torry: Colts over Bears. Too easy - did anyone see that awful Dallas-Chicago game on Thursday? Looked like it could have been BYU's blue/white scrimmage this year.
Al: Broncos over Saints.

Everyone picks well. Same standings as above, just an additional point for everyone.