With a four-game lead and only one week left to go, Tpotdomescandal has mathematically eliminated any chance Earl Grey has of catching up. We have a winner!
And so, there remains but one formality:
Looking good, Tpot.
Next year, I propose something radical for this contest -- like one person actually finishing the year with a record over .500. It's crazy, I know, but I'm like that.
Okay! Okay! I've got my damn picks ready. Just more holiday stress.
Houston +7 @ Indianapolis. Colts will coast through the remainder of the regular season.
Buffalo +3 vs. New York. Give me points against the Giants every week.
San Diego -9 vs. Denver. Denver stinks.
More after the jump >>>
This is it... the battle for FoP gambling supremacy is nearing its conclusion. Earl Grey is down by three picks with six to go; if Tpotdomescandal nails all three of his selections this week, Earl must do the same, or else this contest is OVAH. Let's watch, shall we?
I couldn't find a video with the original Chuck Berry version (yet), but Brian Setzer does a pretty damned decent job with his cover of "Run Rudolph Run. Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas!
Oh, what the hell... how about a stocking-stuffer thrown in for good measure? It's from Elf, which is a Christmas movie, so that's close enough for me.
In today's Philadelphia Inquirer you can read a poem written by none other than Charlie Manuel.
Yes, the manager of the Phillies.
YES, Charlie Manuel!
M...A...N -- fuck it, just click the link, would you?
"Davey, what rhymes with 'infield?'"Now ESPN's Michael Smith has decided to weigh in on the controversy regarding Donovan McNabb's future with the Eagles. About time.
You're likely aware of the Pam Oliver non-story, in which the Fox sideline reporter stated during last week's Eagles-Cowboys game that she "got the impression" McNabb was anticipating a career move, based on his remarks that conveyed (in Ms. Oliver's mind) a sense of frustration on his part.
And maybe there was; I don't know, I wasn't there. The conversation wasn't recorded, so now it's a matter of "he said, she said." But that hasn't stopped column writers like Smith from stating unequivocally that Donovan McNabb will not be a Philadelphia Eagle next year.
In Smith's own words:
Now I wasn't present so I'm not qualified to speak on what he said or she heard. But I can tell you what I believe: McNabb's days in Philly are numbered. And he doesn't feel as though the Eagles have his back.
Which is why when McNabb and the Eagles file for NFL divorce after this season I believe it will be as much the player's decision as the team's, if not more. [Emphasis added.]
"As you can tell, we're both very happy to be here..."
Geoff Jenkins: Two years, $13 million - those are the terms of his contract, with an option for a third year at $7 million. That's less than what Rowand wanted. Jenkins can play the corners in the outfield well, and in 2007 he hit .255 with 21 home runs.
Chad Durbin: Mmmm, not quite sure about this guy. A career record of 25-37 with a 5.75 ERA over 114 starts -- that doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence. Besides, haven't we met our shaky bullpen guys named Durbin quota?
Because Grandma Spears is so good at being a mom that her kids simply cannot wait to try it themselves.
You did the right thing, B-West. The object is to win your game, not someone else's... especially for some schlub in Idaho who couldn't give a shit about the Eagles.
A. The Baltimore Ravens - Losing in OT to an 0-13 team, securing themselves a footnote in the annals of pro football history.
B. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Realizing that a 64-yard touchdown from Cleo "Fucking" Lemon has helped to keep your legacy intact.
C. The Detroit Lions - Jesus must have caught Jon Kitna masturbating, because the Lions haven't won a game since before Thanksgiving.
D. Jessica Simpson - Nick Lachey would be laughing right now, but the quarterback he's dating -- Carson Palmer -- didn't fare much better this weekend. The "Vajinx" continues for Tony Romo.
E. The Atlanta Falcons - In just one week, your former star player was sentenced to jail, your head coach jumped ship to go back to college football, and you got pounded twice by division rivals, one of whom clinched the NFC South... AND returned their first-ever kickoff for a touchdown.
To those misbegotten souls listed above: Buck up! Let your smile become the umbrella protecting you from this mighty shit-storm we call life. If you don't, I'll send Alycia Lane to come by and punch you in your goddamned face.
This charming holiday anecdote comes to us from the Great White North, courtesy of Yahoo! News:
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who wrote obscene letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus, a newspaper reported on Friday.
...at least 10 nasty letters had been delivered to little girls and boys in Ottawa who wrote to Santa this year care of the North Pole... letters from Santa are in fact written by an 11,000-strong army of Canada Post employees and volunteers.
"We firmly believe there is just one rogue elf out there," a Canada Post spokeswoman told the paper.
No, I'm not afraid to type "Christ." Look: Christ, Christ, Christ. If you say it five times while standing in front of a mirror, Jesus will appear and murder you with his hook-hand.
Oh, wait... that's the Candyman. Sorry.
Anyway, I did in fact mean "Xmas," since the following clip is from one of my favorite "Futurama" episodes. The best line of the song is a throwaway from robot Santa (about harpooning Bender in the eye). It's funny because it comes out of nowhere.
The elves have rescued Xmas Day -- hooray!
Go West, Young Phillies - Tad Iguchi and Aaron Rowand have departed this cheerful burg of ours to play on the Left Coast, with the Padres and the Giants respectively. OK, neither is what you'd call "young," which would help explain why GM Pat Gillick didn't seem willing to give them the money or the years that each wanted on their new contracts.
Meanwhile, Randy Wolf has declined yet another offer to come back to Philly, choosing to remain in his home state of California. Whatever, brah.
Break Up The Sixers! - Four wins in a row? Not too shabby. Granted, the now 9-13 Sixers have beaten such doormats as the Knicks (twice) and the Timberwolves, but sandwiched in there was a victory against Houston, who actually have a winning record.
Up next: 8-13 Sacramento at home, and a real shot at Number Five. Look out, Boston! (removing tongue from cheek)
Did it really take until now to make something like this?
Today is Evel Knievel's funeral, which is being held in Butte, Montana.
I don't know about the rest of you, but this is how I think the man should be laid to rest:
Seems appropriate, somewhat. Adios, muchacho.
Christ.
Yesterday's loss to the Giants effectively killed any chance the Eagles had to make the playoffs. That means it's time to start taking a cold, hard, look at this shell of what was once a Super Bowl-contending team and ask some questions of varying toughness.
Feel free to answer or add to the questions below...
Reports from both the Trenton Times and The 700 Level have reported that former Eagles/ Steelers running back Duce Staley will retire during halftime of Sunday's game against the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.
Pittsburgh officially released Staley on December 5, and Staley has chosen to retire as a member of the Eagles. Usually this involves signing some sort of nominal (one-day) contract to make it official, after which Staley will make his announcement.
While in Philadelphia, Staley helped the Birds emerge from the bottom of the NFL heap to win three straight division titles. After the 2003 season and the emergence of Brian Westbrook at the running back position, Staley signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he won a Super Bowl ring in 2005.
However, Staley's time with Pittsburgh had not been nearly as productive as it was in Philly, hampered both by continual injuries as well as the loss of playing time to running backs Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker. This week, the Steelers cut him loose, and so Staley decided to end his career where it began, in the city of Brotherly Love.
Staley was a third-round draft choice by the Eagles out of Ohio State in 1997. He ranks third all-time among Eagles backs for most rushing yards, with 4,807.
Wow.
To see this Villanova team, comprised chiefly of freshmen and sophomores, rally from 21 points down with 8:33 left in the second half to beat LSU in the closing seconds was inspirational. It was the type of comeback you'd expect to see from a nationally-ranked team. It was the type of comeback you'd expect to see from a team that's poised to make a run back to the NCAA tournament.
OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves. LSU, though a good team, is not in the top 25. They are (now) 5-3 and squarely in the middle of their conference standings. To let the Tigers enter the Wachovia Center and dominate the game for 31 minutes is enough to make me a bit worried about this young but inexperienced group of Wildcats, at least when it's time to face the real powerhouses.
Still, it would have been easier to abandon the game as lost, but the Blue and White fought on and found a way to spark a 35-13 run in the later stages. Few teams, even the good ones, can rally from a 21-point deficit that late in a game.
Somebody forgot to tell Malcolm "the Microwave" Grant. 
With less than seven minutes left in the game, Grant scored EIGHTEEN points. He's a six-foot freshman guard, and Grant put the team on his back and single-handedly led the comeback that would stun LSU on national television. (How's that for a debut?) With seconds left, it was Dante Cunningham (16 points, 12 rebounds) putting back the shot Grant missed that ultimately sealed the victory for Villanova.
It's comforting to know that when Scottie Reynolds has a bad night, as he did last night, his teammates are ready to step up and do what it takes to win.
Headline:
"NFL Meteorologists Warn Steaming Black-Guy Heads Occurring Later Every Year"
SOUTH BEND, IN - After Ohio State and LSU both backed into this year's BCS National Championship Game, the annual calls of critics to implement a playoff system began to intensify. Earlier today, officials representing Notre Dame athletics are requesting that a playoff system be devised which would include the top 116 teams in Div. I-A football.
Proposed bracket of 116-team Division I-A playoff system.The correct way to pronounce Oklahoma is with a pause between the "a" and the "h." Here's proof:
Around these parts we don't normally link to ESPN writers unless it has something to do with Philly sports. In this case, the author, Kieran Darcy, brings a unique perspective to his column about the famed Palestra.
Darcy, a local boy, played for the University of Pennsylvania basketball team (JV mostly), and shares with the readers his impressions of this historic basketball site -- including one special moment for the author --, as well as the exciting Big Five showdowns that have taken place inside its hallowed walls throughout the building's existence.
His column is a great tribute to one boy's love of local basketball and those people in Darcy's life who helped make his dreams (and in one amusing incident, his nightmares) come true.
It's a lengthy piece by Page 2 standards (unless you happen to read TMQ), so make sure you give yourself a half-hour of quality (i.e., bathroom) time before getting into it. Enjoy!
One Shot: The memory of a lifetime [Kieran Darcy, ESPN]
1. Is it just me, or do the New England Patriots look... dare I say, human? In two consecutive games, both against teams with sub-.500 records, the Pats have had to embark on come-from-behind drives late in the fourth quarter to win. New England's margin of victory since their defeat of Buffalo has dropped from 46 to 3.
Yes, they are still 12-0, but suddenly the Pats appear beatable. And with 9-3 Pittsburgh coming to town, that undefeated season has never looked more in jeopardy.
2. I love learning new things. For instance, this morning I learned that "pork chop" is a derogatory term for Puerto Ricans. This has prompted the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs (which is affiliated with the Phillies ball club) to search for a new name for their mascot, originally dubbed "Pork Chop." (The mascot happens to be a pig, so I guess the name would also offend vegetarians.)
If those in the "Start A.J. Feeley" camp needed evidence that their man was not a suitable candidate to replace Donovan McNabb for the remainder of this season, they now have it.
Needless to say, yesterday's 28-24 loss to Seattle was far more discouraging than the previous week's loss to New England. They began and ended in much the same way: opening drive interceptions and an interception near the end zone to kill what could have been the game-winning score.
In conditions that were hardly suitable for throwing the ball, there was simply no justification for the lopsided number of passing plays called in the second half, especially since Lofa Tatupu has become to Feeley what Ronde Barber is to McNabb: an invisible defender on the field, able to read the pass coming from a mile (or several yards) away and position themselves to be in just the right place at the right time. 
Both early interceptions by Tatupu led to Seattle touchdowns. Take away those picks and we might have been looking at a 24-14 Eagles victory, as well as playoff hopes still within the realm of probability, instead of just mathematics and luck.
So here's the bottom line: Unless the Birds win out, there is little to no chance of a playoff spot. McNabb is reportedly starting next week (thank God?) at home against the Giants, a team that sacked him 12 times earlier this season at the Meadowlands. After that, they face Dallas (in Dallas -- good luck with that), New Orleans, and a resurgent Buffalo squad fighting for their own playoff ticket.
4-0 would be a miracle; 3-1 a moral victory. 2-2 seems like the most probably outcome (the Giants look vulnerable, as do the Saints). That would put this team's final record at 7-9, which is inexcusable in a "weak" conference like the NFC. This would also be Andy Reid's second losing season in three since the Eagles' appearance in the Super Bowl.
Is the honeymoon over? That's just one of many difficult questions that will confront the Philly brass during the off-season, which at this rate could be starting sometime around 4:15 PM on December 30.
So Happy New Year, Eagles fans! Perhaps we could all get together and sing this instead of "Auld Lang Syne."
