Pick'em Football Pool... Part two of two

Some other highlights, in the closet thing I come to in online betting on sports. After some consultation and understanding Pitt had something to play for and guessing the Browns might want to lay down to get Mangini out of there, I selected the Steelers earlier in the week. I couldn't decide which NFC East game to substitute the Steelers for, I liked the Boys and the Giants.

Basically I decided to drop the Boys covering vs. the Eagles because I didn't want to ride a third stringer. The Gmen had something to play for. (I loved the Redskins back door cover... sarcasm yum). If I had true mobile betting services I could have gone to CBS sports and slotted the Falcons in, like I did withe Steelers from my laptop earlier in the week.

I also loved how I never benefit from one of those but only suffer them. The Chargers threatened to give me hope going into the nightcap as my rivals all had them, but their opponents couldn't eke it out.

In our suicide pool every-year my partner and I always pick easy winners, but watch our rivals all survive by pulling out miracles week after week. Any time our pick is in danger we never get that miracle come-back but boy do we witness them every week help someone else out. Same thing in these pick'ems. Others just get that last minute back-door cover, I never do. Yes, I'm bitching. Cue fine for bad beat complaints.

With the drama out of the last game, I didn't care that I would have been right to substitute ATL for the Lambs. Though, I did recognize had I something to play for, I would have been through the roof on that terrible call in the first quarter that the game basically swung on. Two refs were mere yards away from a Ram, who clearly got both feet in on a third and long, but they ruled it a no-catch and stymied an early Rams drive.

An early Rams tying touchdown and I think things open up a little bit. Maybe Seattle would have continued to press more than they had to and St. Louis had something positive to build-on. Granted the catch only would have been a first down but it would have been in the red-zone. The Rams also made the field goal, but I think that was a big play for the Seahawks defense that ignited their stellar play the rest of the way.

Why no challenge, I don't know. Guys in the booth for St. Louis really blew it. Still don't know who that mustachioed f'er was at QB for the Seahawks, but can only imagine how much I would have hated him had the entire pool for me hinged on that game. I thought Hasselbeck being out would be too much, but you never, ever know with back-ups. The Vikings go to a third stringer and tag an L on Philly a week ago. Cowboys do the same thing Sunday. How can you anticipate what will happen with those unknowns.

What I didn’t initially account for was the fact Seattle was at home and that place, for a day, sounded like the Kingdome. I have tremendous respect for Seattle fans considering the way they’ve embraced their MLS team and turn out spirited crowds that rival European leagues. If they can get that noisy for soccer it’s going to be a lot tougher game than many Saints fans realize in the Wild Card tilt. Just makes me wonder how did those passionate sports fans lose the Sonics? Course when the Sonics were decent, just like the Blazers in Portland, the fans turned up and turned the arenas into the NBA’s version of the Cameron Crazies.

So, I was more right than wrong this week. Suffered a back door cover by the Dreadskins which stings even more because it was DC. The two games I lost were on my radar for substituting I just got unlucky not to. Oh well. Call it 5-2 and poor pick management. Nice to have a sweat on the last week. Kudos to the guy in first who went 4-1 in a big week to clinch and suffered the same back door cover by the Dreadskins I did.