WEEK 12 Plus Final Results
WEEK 12
The Guest Picker Update: Are we starting to see a trend? Don Sweeting +10 dominated John Beckert -50 last weekend. Of course the flameout of the Steelers and their defense may be the reason for that. The Steelers season is pretty simple at this point: No Palumalu - No Playoffs. With Don seemingly unbeatable now, the Savants have a secret weapon to test his skills this week. Marcia Mayes has agreed to grace our site this weekend. Marcia is a noted golf industry financial person having done a bit of everything over the years. Of course her being a sports fanatic will probably be more useful this weekend. Can Don stand the heat, and will he continue his trend of going against Cassidy’s Cows with his Raiders this week? We’ll see - and good luck.
This Week’s Headlines: How the Mighty have Fallen - Part II. The Savants need to change this headline - and fast. Although Frank woke up last week and is back in the fray, the other Savants are on a fast track to nowhere. The short weekend should play right into the Savants wheel house and prevent the overthinking that has caused the current swoon. At least it provides some hope. Will we have a new leader after this weekend? Stay tuned.
Week 11 Plus Final Week 12 Results
Dick +50 -50 = 0
Tom -30 +10 = -20
Rand -10 +10 = 0
The Goreacle -50 -50 = -100
This Week’s Guest Pickers
Marcia Mayes -10 versus Don Sweeting -10
This week’s picks
Dick: $50 on Jacksonville +3. Dick brings in a ringer to help him this week - a lawyer to be nephew Davis. Will this turn his luck? Or, as rumored to have been heard at the picks lunch from another Savant - that pick is horrible. XXX In hindsight, Dick agrees that this pick was horrible. The free fall continues unabated.
Tom: $20 on Green Bay -10.5. Tom thinks any team that gives up 37 to Cleveland is going to have problems against a real offense from Green Bay. +++ Tom is off to a hot start - and wishes he had put the load on this pick so he can sleep the rest of the weekend.
$10 on New England +3. Tom finally gets his Pats pick back from Rand - will they be as good to him as they have been to Rand? XXX The Patriot defense looks far from Super against the Saints that definitely are looking Super.
$10 on New England/New Orleans Over 56. Tom is looking for a Monday night offensive display. With Belichick’s confidence in his own defense, and no Saints defense, is 56 possible? XXX Let’s see 38 + 17 = 55 - Vegas is good. 34 first half points weren’t enough as the teams stopped scoring in the 2nd half.
$10 on Cleveland +14. Tom picking Cleveland - what next, Detroit? No, this is simply a belief that Cincy isn’t 14 points better than anyone. +++ Tom knows his stinking teams - and Cle stunk it up, but they did cover.
Rand: $30 on Minnesota -10.5. Rand moves from the Kurt Warner bandwagon to the Brett Farve bandwagon. Minnesota’s defense should make this one an easy win. +++ The Greatness of Farve is confirmed. Easy pick comes through - for a change.
$20 on Atlanta/Tampa Bay Over 46. Rand has been following that poor Atlanta defense get steadily worse - but will Tampa help this week after electing to not to score much last week? XXX Atlanta’s late TD helped, but not enough.
Frank: $50 on NY Football Giants -6.5. Frank hot off a win with his Eagles pick stays in division with the Giants this week. Other than the 14 points in the 4th quarter to Atlanta last week, nothing to worry about on the road in Denver - right? XXX Frank shows that consistency is out the window as he can’t put 2 wins back to back. So much for worst to first. And what about those Giants? Cassidy’s Cows are licking their chops for them next week.
This Week’s Guest Prognosticators - Marcia Mayes and Don Sweeting
Marcia: $20 on Minnesota -10.5. Marcia and Rand are on board with the Vikes this week. Hard to believe that Jeff George aka Jay Cutler can pull the Bears out of the ditch. +++ Believing in Brett is rewarded.
$10 on Cincy -14. Marcia takes the best team in the Ohio bowl. Is she about to learn what Dick and Frank know about picking the Bungals? XXX Marcia learns the don’t pick the Bengals lesson - will they ever learn?
$10 on New England +3. Marcia, Don and Tom all like Belichick’s Pats this week. Monday on ESPN will be watched by at least 3 people. XXX in an odd twist, the Pats laying an egg helps Marcia tie Don this week.
$10 on Atlanta -12. Marcia shows her confidence in her home state Buc’s by picking Atlanta giving up a mere 12 in this one. Tampa should cure the Falcons ills of late. +++ Atlanta’s late TD gets them the win - unfortunately only only counted for 7 points, not 16.
Don: $20 on Dallas -13.5. Don goes with Cassidy’s Cows one week after riding his Raiders to victory. What is up? Trying to make piece with Cassidy, or the realization that the Raiders stink will show through this week. +++ Don nails this pick going against his own Rahdahs. This was an easy one - well, if Dallas played with any consistency this was an easy one.
$10 on Chicago +10.5. Did Don not see Jay Cutler last week? Does he not know who is the QB of the Vikes? He’s about to learn - or at least he’s listening to his son this week. XXX Don pays for picking a Jeff George led team. Oh, Jay Cutler leads the Bears - whatever.
$20 on New England +3. Don joins Tom on this pick. We’ll see if New Orleans’ Monday Night Super Bowl is enough to beat the mighty Pats. XXX The Pats take down another believer. The uniforms are the same, but the defense isn’t.
Note: The Sports Savants do not gamble with real money and do not endorse, recommend or promote doing so. The dollar figures above are in “pretend” money, as a way of measuring our success in the game. Not only is gambling illegal in many jurisdictions, it is also pretty dumb. In the end, the house always wins. That’s why the house has gold plated ceilings, dancing girls, magic shows and enormous fountains out front.
*Unlike last year, the guests will compete against each other. The winner between the guest pickers each week will continue to pick the next week. If they win that week, they keep going. There is one asterisk to that sentence - we are attorneys you know - if a guest picker buys lunch for the Savants at the regular pick’em lunch, they will continue to the next week whether they beat the new guest picker or not.
** Perhaps the Savants have been spending a bit too much time concerning themselves with country club law, private clubs and resorts law, membership law, and related hospitality law matters.
Last Week’s Guest Picker’s Results
Don Sweeting +10 over John Beckert -50