Henslee & Huguely

THE SUPER BOWL IN SNOW CITY

February 4th, 2011

THE YEAR ENDS WITH 3 HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUPS

It all comes down to the Super Bowl. The Conference Championship Round proved the brilliance of the Savants and Guest Pickers alike. Of the 8 pickers among Savants and Guest Pickers, 7 of the 8 finished the week +50 (sorry Frank). Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to 2 GPs despite their perfect week. Greg Hobbs ended John Guy’s magical season-long run by picking the lower passing yards number of Jay Cutler. In the lower half of the bracket, Michael Thomas advanced against Jim MacDonough with the lower passing yards guess as well. We thank Jay Cutler for only playing half the game to avoid any potential math questions by passing for a number in between our GP’s guesses. On the Savants side of things, who would have ever guessed that Dick would be leading the pack at +150. Not any of the Savants - that’s for sure. All Dick has to do is hold Rand off this weekend to make amends for a dismal regular season by capturing the playoff’s crown. And, what do Rand and Dick do to keep things exciting - yep, they take opposite picks. Frank slipped a little last week meaning Tom has the opportunity (that should not be interpretted as the ability however) to pass Frank for 3rd place. And part II, what to Tom and Frank do to keep things exciting, yep, they take opposite picks as well. There is a chance Rand and Frank can switch places between 2nd and 3rd, but who cares. With our usual picks lunch snowed out in the beautiful winter wonderland known as Dallas, we have been relegated to trash talking via email. The Score on the emails: Dick 174 sent emails, all others combined 14 sent emails.

Here are the rules for this weekend: The GP who beats their opponent WINS. Greg seems confident as he heads out of town that he’ll take the crown. Little does he know that Michael is ready to go - and Michael put his entire 50 on Greg’s Pack. Greg put 40 on his Pack. Will Greg’s strategy of 10 on the Over impact the final? We’ll see. Ties will be broken in favor of the most right answers to three tiebreaker questions. This week’s tiebreaker questions are as follows: (i) first team to call a timeout, (ii) team to call for the first challenge, and (iii) result of the first challenge: overturned or stands.

THE FINALS:
#3 Michael Thomas(Dallas CC, Dallas, TX) vs #4 Greg Hobbs(Greenville CC, Greenville, SC)
Michael: 50 on Green Bay -2.5 +++ The Pack does it with the following 3 tiebreakers: (i) Green Bay +++ The Pack needs an offense timeout in the 1st Qtr, (ii) Pittsburgh XXX GB Challenges, and (iii) stands +++ and GB challenges poorly. Overall +50 and 2-1 on Tiebreakers
Greg: 40 on Green Bay -2.5 (Greg stays true to his Pack) +++ The Pack rewards Greg and 10 on Pittsburgh/Green Bay Over 44.5 +++ The Over wins also with the following 3 tiebreakers: (i) Pittsburgh XXX GB with the first timeout, (ii) Green Bay +++ GB makes the only challenge of the game, and (iii) overturned XXX but loses the challenge. Overall +50 and 1-2 on Tiebreakers

ALL HAIL MICHAEL THOMAS THE GUEST PROGNOSTICATOR CHAMPION OF THE 2010 SEASON AND PLAYOFFS (2011)

THE SAVANTS:

                     Tom (-50): 50 on Green Bay -2.5 (Tom picking the Packers did not sink them, they must be for real) +++ After a cold start Tom gets back to even in the playoffs - overall +0
                     Frank (+10): 50 on Pittsburgh +2.5 (Frank ditches the 4-corners defense to go mano a mano with Tom) XXX Frank goes down with the Steelers - overall -40
                     Rand (+70): 50 on Pittsburgh/Green Bay Under 44.5 (Rand takes the other side of Dick’s Over pick - not so much that he likes the pick, but he’s playing for first place) XXX Rand goes down with the under - but hangs on to 2nd place - overall +20
                     Dick (+150): 50 on Pittsburgh/Green Bay Over 44.5 (no 4-corners defense to protect his lease as Dick steps out with 50 on the over - a good pick, maybe too good of a pick). +++ Dick wins the playoff portion of the season by winning each pick in the playoffs - overall +200

Overall Playoff Totals: I thought it made sense to bring this computation back as requested by an unnamed GP earlier this year. So far the the GP’s have made 23 picks in the playoffs and have a total of -90 (an avg. -3.9 per pick). The Savants have a playoff total of + 180 over 12 picks (an avg. +15 per Savant pick).

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.

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PLAYOFFS - CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

January 21st, 2011

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR - GUEST PICKERS, SAVANTS, AND TEAMS

Last weekend was a tough one as 5 of our 8 Guest Pickers went -50 as did Tom for the Savants. So, how did we find 4 Guest Pickers to advance this week? The trusty tiebreaker came into play as John Guy’s rushing yardage pick in the Pittsburgh/Baltimore game was closer than Mark Nordman’s. We’ll have Rand check the records to see the last time a Guest Picker advanced with a -50 score. On the positive side, Greg Hobbs at +50joins Jim MacDonough +10 and Michael Thomas -30 in advancing to the next round. With Greg and Jim posting the positive numbers, they are big favorites going into this weekend’s semi-finals. And what about the Savants? Dick continued his hot hand riding the even hotter hand of Aaron Rodgers. Rand matched Dick with a +50 this week. Frank went to the 4-corners and stayed about the same, but Cassidy is pulling away from him. And Tom, well he’s taken down New Orleans and New England in back to back weeks - will he follow the “New” trend and take down the Jets as well?

Here are the rules for this weekend: The GP who beats their opponent advances to the next round. Ties will be broken in favor of those closest to the correct answer of the tiebreaker question. This week’s tiebreaker question is the total number of passing yards for Jay Cutler.

In the top 1/2 of the Bracket:
#1 John Guy (Northwood CC, Dallas, TX) vs #4 Greg Hobbs(Greenville CC, Greenville, SC)
John: 50 on Chicago/Green Bay Under 43.5 (the two teams averaged about 26 points in the first 2 meetings this year, so this looks like a lock) +++ John nails this pick (T=267)
Greg: 40 on Green Bay -3.5 (Greg stays true to his Pack) and 10 on Chicago/Green Bay Under 43.5 +++ Greg goes 2-2 on his picks (T=188)
Both Guest Pickers end the week at +50, on the strength of Greg’s lower guess on Cutler passing yards, Greg advances to the finals.

In the bottom 1/2 of the Bracket:
#3 Michael Thomas(Dallas CC, Dallas, TX) vs #7 Jim MacDonough (Santaluz CC, San Diego, CA)
Michael: 30 on Green Bay -3.5 and 20 on Pittsburgh -3.5 (Notice any similarities with Jim’s picks?) +++ Michael nails both picks (T=200)
Jim: 30 on Pittsburgh -3.5 and 20 on Green Bay -3.5 +++ And Jim also nails both picks (I see some similarities with Michael’s picks) (T=228)
Both Guest Pickers end the week at +50, on the strength of the lower guess for Cutler passing yards, Michael advances to the final.

THE SAVANTS:

                     Tom (-100): 50 on Green Bay -3.5 (Can Tom’s cold streak take down the hot Pack?) +++ The Pack continues their string - overall -50
                     Frank (+40): 20 each on New York Jets +3.5 XXX Frank’s strategy to go opposite the other Savants - not so good and Chicago +3.5 XXX The Bears also let Frank down, and 10 on Pittsburgh/NYJets Over 38.5 +++ A winning pick - overall +10
                     Rand (+20): 50 on Chicago/Green Bay Under 43.5 (Rand takes the consensus good pick) +++ Rand continues his hot streak with his second straight 50 - overall +70
                     Dick (+100): 50 on Pittsburgh -3.5 (Dick is forced to leave the Pack for the first time this post-season, but the Steelers are a pretty good place to land) +++ Cassidy has officially put the regular season behind him as he is poised to compete a perfect regular season - overall +150

Overall Playoff Totals: I thought it made sense to bring this computation back as requested by an unnamed GP earlier this year. So far the the GP’s have made 19 picks in the playoffs and have a total of -290 (an avg. -15.3 per pick). The Savants have a playoff total of + 60 over 8 picks (an avg. +7.5 per Savant pick).

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.

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PLAYOFFS WEEK 2

January 14th, 2011

THE GUEST PICKERS’ BRACKET IS UNVEILED - AND THE SAVANTS’ WORLD IS UPSIDE DOWN

Last week’s upsets made their way through both the Savants’ and GPs’ picks last weekend. To advance to this round of the playoffs, the GPs had to have a positive week - easier said than done last week. Just to prove how crazy last week was: Cassidy is tied for 1st place (crazy) in the Savants competition with The Goracle (not so crazy). Surely things will get back to the norm this weekend. The Bracket has been unveiled, and the competition is now mano a mano for the GPs through the Super Bowl. My guess is that there will be some quality picks as John Guy and his +200 regular season gets off the bench and back into the fray. His opponent, Mark Nordman, was listed as a 70 point underdog by the unofficial Vegas line. We’ll have our predictions against the lines for each game below.

Here are the rules for this weekend: The GP who beats their opponent advances to the next round. Ties will be broken in favor of those closest to the correct answer of the tiebreaker question. This week’s tiebreaker question is the total number of rushing yards combined for Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The very unofficial line for each game is listed below as well - I choose not to say which Savant (not me by the way) developed the lines.

In the top 1/2 of the Bracket:
#1 John Guy (Northwood CC, Dallas, TX) vs #8 Mark Nordman (Colonial CC, Fort Myers, FL)
John: 50 on Seattle/Chicago Under 41 (T=197) XXX Garbage time sends this one way over
Mark: 20 on New England -8.5 XXX Ugly loss by NE, and 10 each on Atlanta -2.5 XXX Non-competitive by Atl, Baltimore +3.5 XXX late TD sinks the cover, and Seattle +10 XXX Late rally too little too late (T=227)
Our first match ends in a -50 tie with John Guy advancing by the strength of his lower guess on total rushing yards (197 vs 227 - actual 106).
#1 John Guy (-$70) over #8 Mark Nordman: Like Tim Tebow, Nordman may be in over his head at this level. Consensus Pick: John -70.

#4 Greg Hobbs(Greenville CC, Greenville, SC) vs #5 Monty Becton(Cordillera Ranch CC, Boerne, TX)
Greg: 30 on Green Bay +2.5 +++ Pack wins going away and 20 on Chicago -10 +++ an easy win until garbage time (T=304)
Monty: 50 on Seattle +10 XXX never a chance, until garbage time (T=205)
Greg makes a statement with a decisive +50 to -50 win over Monty.
#4 Greg Hobbs (pick ‘em) versus #5 Monty Becton: Greg and Monty had two of the strongest regular seasons, and they’re rolling in the playoffs. Consensus Pick: Greg.

In the bottom 1/2 of the Bracket:
#3 Michael Thomas(Dallas CC, Dallas, TX) vs #6 Tom Tripoli (Cypress Run GC, Tarpon Springs, FL)
Michael: 20 on New England -8.5 XXX another casuality if the NE collapse, and 10 each on Atlanta -2.5 XXX should have stayed home, oh, it was at home, Pittsburgh -3.5 +++ a winner amongst the picks sends Michael on to the next roung, and Seattle +10 XXX no winner there (T=227)
Tom: 50 on Baltimore +3.5 XXX The late TD keeps this one OT or at least a cover by Balt (T=250)
Michael’s multiple pick strategy pays off as he wins -30 to -50 over Tom based upon the correct pick in the Steelers’ game.
#3 Michael Thomas (-$30) over #6 Tom Tripoli: Rooting for Danny Snyder’s team has taught Michael exactly what a bad gamble looks like. Consensus Pick: Michael -30.

#2 Ken Kasten (Wachovia Bank, Dallas, TX) vs #7 Jim MacDonough (Santaluz CC, San Diego, CA)
Ken: 50 on New England -8.5XXX The Pats should have warned folks that they weren’t going to show up (T=240)
Jim: 30 on New England/NYJets Over 44.5 +++ Garbage time scoring sends Jim to the next round and 20 on Atlanta -2.5 XXX Ugh (T=186)
Jim advances on the strength of his Over as Ken flames out with the Pats in this +10 vs -50 bout.
#2 Ken Kasten (-$50) over #7 Jim MacDonough: A cetain Green Bay quarterback is a member at Jim’s Club; will a “random” locker search give him the inside info needed to pull the upset? Consensus Pick: Jim +50.

THE SAVANTS:

                     Tom (-50): 50 on New England -8.5 (Believe in Belichick and Tom Brady) XXX how on earth does Rex Ryan outcoach Belichick? An explanation on the Pats running out the 4th qtr when losing by 10 expected to come any time now - overall -100
                     Frank (+50): 10 each on NewEngland/NYJets Over 44.5 +++ late scoring pushes this over, Pittsburgh/Baltimore Under 37 XXX Over, Pittsburgh -3.5 +++ late TD gives Frank the cover, Atlanta -2.5 XXX Ugly, and Chicago/Seattle Under 41 XXX good pick until the Bears watched the 4th qtr from home (Frank goes to the 4-corners defense after one good week - I guess he doesn’t see Cassidy staying in the positive numbers for long) overall +40
                     Rand (-30): 50 on Chicago -10 (Rand shows his Vandy roots with his Cutler pick) +++ Rand hits a 50 for the first time in recent memory - overall +20
                     Dick (+50): 50 on Green Bay +2.5 (Dick decides to ride the hot hand) +++ The hot hand rewards Dick again this week - overall +100

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.

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PLAYOFFS - THE WILD CARD WEEKEND

January 7th, 2011

A NEW GAME FOR OUR GUEST PICKERS - AND REDEMPTION TIME FOR THE SAVANTS

So what is different this year for the playoffs? You’ll still see the fine work of the Savants going head-to-head against each other - same rules, no duplicate picks - with the outstanding picks that caused us to be called The Savants in the first place. For the Guest Pickers, we do have something new. We all love a good bracket where you play games head-to-head to advance to the finals. So, we’ve figured out how to have our GPs play into just such a bracket. And, what would a bracket be without first round byes? So we have first round byes as well. Congratulations to John Guy #1, Ken Kasten#2, and Michael Thomas #3 whose regular season totals stood out. They have the weekend off - although Ken and Michael are willing to show off their picking prowess just to worry the other GPs should they advance. Our other GPs will continue to make their mythical $50 picks to see who proceeds to next week.

Here are the rules for this weekend: The top five GP scores from this Wild Card round will advance to next weekend. The bottom scores will be eliminated. Ties will be broken in favor of those closest to the correct answer of the tiebreaker question. The five winners from Wild Card weekend will join the three players who received byes, to give us a final eight. The final eight will square off in bracketed, head-to-head matchups, making selections in the games played on Saturday, Jan. 15 and Sunday, January 16. The matchups and brackets will be seeded, NCAA-tournament style. Based on regular season record, John Guy is the #1 seed, Ken Kasten is the #2 seed, and Michael Thomas is the #3 seed. The remaining seeds and matchups will be determined by the scores compiled by advancing players during the Wild Card weekend—best score of the weekend is the #4 seed, and so on. The four winners of the head-to-head matchups in this weekend will advance to play head-to-head matchups for the weekend of the conference championship games, and those two winners will advance to a final head-to-head, winner-take-all matchup in the Super Bowl.

And now what you’ve all been waiting for - this week’s picks:

THE SAVANTS:

                     Tom: 50 on New Orleans -10.5 (liking that stat that all Seattle losses this year have been by 15 or more points) XXX - Seattle keeps record of only losing by 15 or more intact - -50
                     Frank: 50 on Baltimore -3 (Frank has had good luck with the Ravens this year) +++ The Ravens win going away at KC - +50
                     Rand: 20 on Indy -2.5 XXX Indy loses at home, 20 on Green Bay/Philly Over 46.5 XXX a low scoring day, and 10 on Baltimore/Kansas City Under 40.5 +++ KC barely participates in the scoring (Rand didn’t see any locks this weekend) -30
                     Dick: 50 on Green Bay +2.5 (Can Dick take another team down by showing his support?) +++ The Pack wins outright at Philly - +50

GUEST PICKERS: the tiebreaker question this weekend is the total Peyton Manning passing yards 225.

                  Ernie Micelli: 50 on New Orleans -10.5XXX; Tiebreaker 325  total -50
                  Don Sweeting: 50 on Indy -2.5XXX; Tiebreaker 286 total -50
                  Monty Becton: 50 on Green Bay +2.5+++; Tiebreaker 280 total +50 #5
                  Tom Tripoli: 50 on Baltimore -3+++; Tiebreaker 291 total +50 #6
                  Doug Howe: 50 on Indy -2.5XXX; Tiebreaker 263 total -50
                  Greg Hobbs: 30 on Green Bay +2.5 +++ and 20 on GB/Philly Under 46.5+++; Tiebreaker 265 total +50 #4
                  Marcia Mayes: 30 on New Orleans -10.5 XXX and 10 each on Green Bay +2.5 +++ and Indy -2.5XXX; Tiebreaker 301 total -30
                  Mark Nordman: 20 on Baltimore -3+++, and 10 each on Indy -2.5XXX, Seattle +10.5+++, and Philly -2.5XXX; Tiebreaker 315 total +10 #8
                   Steve Ranney: 30 on Indy -2.5 XXX and 20 on Philly -2.5XXX; Tiebreaker - who needs a stinking tiebreaker total -50
                   Scott Holtzman: 20 on Kansas City/Baltimore Under 40.5+++, 20 on Philly -2.5XXX, and 10 on New Orleans -10.5XXX, Tiebreaker 285 total -10
                    Jim MacDonough: 20 on Baltimore -3+++, 20 on New Orleans -10.5XXX, and 10 on Green Bay +2.5+++; Tiebreaker 265 total +10 #7

And the just showing off GPs:
Ken Kasten picks NY Jets, Seattle, Kansas City, and Philly total 2-2
Michael Thomas picks Indy, New Orleans, Baltimore and Philly total 1-3

Good Luck this weekend.

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REGULAR SEASON RESULTS - TIME FOR THE PLAYOFFS!

January 3rd, 2011

TOM TAKES THE SAVANTS TITLE

GUEST PICKERS HAVE OVERALL BETTER RECORD THAN THE SAVANTS

Frank decided to show off the final weekend of the season by proving that The Goracle could pick games involving Jacksonville, Houston, and Washington. Unfortunately, those dogs conspired to keep The Goracle from taking the Savants title in just his second year of competition. Who was the beneficiary of Frank’s collapse? None other than Tom who showed that getting to +90 is good enough to win it all. At the other end of the spectrum, Dick’s late season freefall ended with another miss. Unfortunately for any St. Louis fans, he’s personally responsible for their sad performance on Sunday night. Rand’s 4-corners defense against Dick allowed him to remain in 3rd place. So our season results are as follows:

                Tom Henslee   +90
                Frank Gore aka The Goracle +40
                Rand Huguely -80
                Dick Cassidy -200

And how did our Guest Pickers fare this season? Well, early in the season Don Sweeting asked if I’d keep track of the GPs versus the Savants. Knowing full well that the Savants knowledge of the game is unmatched, it seemed like a good idea. Here are the season ending totals: the 2 GP’s each week have a combined season total of +310 (avg. +155 per GP). The Savants have a season total of -150 (avg. -37.50 per Savant). What does that mean? Nothing. Absolutely Nothing.

How did the individual GP’s fare?

Name                               W       L       T          Overall $$

John Guy                          2        0       4           +200
Ken Kasten                      2        1       0           +110
Michael Thomas               2        1       0           +30
Ernie Micelli                    1        1       1           -10
Greg Hobbs                     1        1       1            -10
John Beckert                   1        1       0           +40
Scott Holtzman               1        1       0            +0
Tom Tripoli                    1        1       0            -10
Don Sweeting                 1        1       0            -40
Marcia Mayes                  0        0       2             +0
Monty Becton                  0        1       2            +50
Steve Ranney                  0        1       0            +0
Jim MacDonough             0        1       0           -30
Mark Nordman                0        1       0            -50

Look for our post on Friday as we unveil a new playoff format this year. The Top 3 GPs’ receive a bye this week. All other GPs are in a group where the 5 highest scores will advance to the next round where we start head-to-head matchups with a NCAA-type bracket through the Super Bowl. This should be fun.

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WEEK 17 - THE FINAL WEEK - RESULTS

December 31st, 2010

THE FINAL WEEK - FIRST PLACE THROUGH LAST PLACE TO BE DECIDED

Frank was seen doing a little victory dance earlier this week. Dick was seen proclaiming himself the last place winner. Will they be right? Can Tom finish with a flourish to close on Frank’s 50 point lead? Will Frank’s victory dance be a week too early? Can Rand hold off Dick from taking his third place mantle by keeping his 60 point lead? We’ve been waiting all season for this to play out. Through crazy result after crazy result in the NFL this season, the Savants showed up and gave a great effort. Unfortunately, like Dick’s Cows, that great effort resulted in a lot of losses. Last week’s swoon by Dick and Rand also ended what looked like a valiant team effort by the group to finish the year above zero. With the playoffs just around the corner, who will take their regular season momentum through to the next event? Good luck to all this weekend, and a HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SAFE NEW YEAR. Here are the Week 17 picks below.

The Guest Pickers: FOX Studio show producers were spotted this week at Northwood Country Club in Dallas looking for John Guy (+250 over the last 5 weeks). They did not disclose the reason for the visit, but it seems obvious they plan to replace Frank Caliendo with John next season. John remained in Chicago presumably sharpening his comedy at Second City to ready himself for Sunday’s next Fall. Of course there is a minor detail about last week when John finished for the fifth straight week with a +50, so did his challenger Marcia Mayes. Marcia joined us for lunch, and vows to end John’s run. Unfortunately, her plans got derailed just a bit when John took the obvious pick of the weekend. Don’t expect that to slow Marcia down as she quickly adjusted on the fly with another good pick. Here are our GP’s picks:

John Guy (+250 over last 5 weeks with 1 pick each week): 50 on St. Louis -3 (John leaves his good luck charm Lions for the first time this season - will it pay off?) XXX John leaves his Lions and pays for it - overall -50 this week and +200 for the year

Marcia Mayes (+50 last week with 1 pick): 50 on Green Bay -10 (this looks like a good pick - if Chicago doesn’t need to win based upon the early game results) XXX Marcia goes down with the Pack as they can’t cover against the Bears - overall -50 for the week and 0 for the two weeks

The Savants: Where to start from last week - the Cows taking Dick down for the second straight week - this time losing outright to the stinky Cardinals, or Rand putting the load on Jacksonville - one of the teams Rand most despises - and them repaying him with a collapse against the Redskins. Perhaps it is best we leave that alone and focus on the race for first. Frank extended his lead to 50 over Tom last week. So, what do you expect from Frank this week - the 4 Corners defense with 5 picks? No. Frank decides to show off by splitting his picks 30/20 between Eli’s Giants and Rand’s Jags this week. Will Tom’s faith in his Pats even on a week that doesn’t matter for the Pats allow him to put some pressure on Frank? This could be close. We’ll know more in a few short days. Stay tuned, and here are the picks for the regular season finale:

Dick (-150): 50 on St. Louis -3 (aka any team not known as the Dallas Cowboys) - and a universally lauded pick at that XXX Dick leaves the Cows for the Rams, and the results are the same - overall regular season total -200

Frank (+90): 30 on New York Giants -4 XXX Eli and Co. manage a 3 point win resulting in Frank to go down to Tom and 20 on Jacksonville +3 XXX Frank learns the lesson that Rand learned last week - Jack stinks (after 2 sound picks last week, Frank wants to show us all we he’s known at The Goracle) overall for the regular season +40

Rand (-90): 10 each on Kansas City -3.5 XXX KC shows they’re ready for one and done in the playoffs, Green Bay -10XXX The Pack doesn’t cover, Atlanta -14.5 +++ Easy pick against Carolina, Detroit -3.5 +++ Rand goes with John Guy’s pick for another win, and Pittsburgh -5.5 +++ Pitts destroys the Brownies (a true 4 Corners defense against Cassidy) - overall for the regular season -80

Tom (+40): 50 on New England -4 (seems like an easy cover except for one minor detail, how long will Tom Brady play?) +++ The Pats lead Tom to the regular season picking crown - overall +90

Overall Totals: Here goes week 3 of posting year-to-date totals of the Savants and the Guest Pickers. So far the 2 GP’s each week have a season total of +420 (avg. +210 per GP). The Savants have a season total of -150 (avg. -37.50 per Savant).

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.

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WEEK 16 - RESULTS

December 23rd, 2010

CAN DICK SOMEHOW AVOID LAST PLACE - AND ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE LEGEND OF JOHN GUY

Dick’s throwdown that he’d pass Frank by season’s end took a serious hit last weekend. Despite the warning about returning to his Cows after dissing them the previous week, Dick went all in with the Cows. Unfortunately, they won, but not by enough causing Dick to go to -100 with only 2 weeks left. There was a lot less bravado from a certain Savant at lunch this week. However, anything is possible as all the Savants remain only 160 apart with a 200 swing over the next two weeks possible. Frank and Tom both had +50 weeks, and Rand was a +10 for an overall successful week for the Savants. Here are the Week 16 picks below.

The Guest Pickers: What else can we say about John Guy with Northwood Country Club in Dallas (+200 over the last 4 weeks)? He remains perfect for his 4 weeks as a GP. All of John’s picks have been on the Detroit Lions’ games (2 picks on the points and 2 picks on the Lions). John is ready to show another GP the door. So, what do you the think the Savants did to counter the on-fire John Guy? We’re bringing back last year’s Guest Picker Champion, Marcia Mayes. Marcia continues to do all sorts of consulting for various golf-related ventures. John and Marcia go way back to the old ClubCorp days including working on a not-so-hot city club in our 49th state (Note: I wonder who thought that was a good idea). Marcia was able to join us for lunch, and she says she’s ready to take on the juggernaut, aka John Guy. To counter John’s string of +50 picks, Marcia goes all in with one 50 pick as well. Here are our GP’s picks:

John Guy (+200 over last 4 weeks with 1 pick each week): 50 on Detroit +3.5 (John is not worried about the overrated Fins against his Lion) +++ John stays white hot while his Lions beat Miami - overall +50 this week and +250 over the last 5 weeks

Marcia Mayes: 50 on New England -7.5 +++ Marcia stays even with John by riding the Patriots to victory - overall +50

The Savants: One week after Dick learns the about what happens when he cheats on his beloved Cows by picking Atlanta two weeks ago, Dick decides to say he’s sorry and stay with his Cows even after last week’s let down. Rand joins the all in fun from his vacation spot in Kauai by putting all 50 on Jacksonville. Has the sun gotten to Rand depending on the despised Jags to win for him? Frank and Tom don’t like the week’s picks, so they spread the wealth. Stay tuned, and here are the picks that will set us up for next week’s regular season finale:

Dick (-100): 50 on The Dallas Cowboys -6.5 XXX Dick and Jerry find the results unacceptable - overall -150

Frank (+60): 20 on Baltimore -3.5 +++ The Ravens win easy versus the Browns, 20 on Tampa Bay -6.5 (2 solid picks) +++ An easy pick against the Seadogs, and 10 on New York Jets +1 (Frank is back to his early season darlings) XXX The Jets continue to limp toward the finish line - overall +90

Rand (-40): 50 on Jacksonville -7 (Really, Rand and the Jags?) XXX The Jags lose outright to the Redskins - lessons for Rand: (i) never pick a 50, and (ii) The Jags, C’mon Man!!! - overall -90

Tom (+30): 10 each on San Diego -7.5 XXX outright LOSERS to Cincy, Chicago -1 +++ Maybe these guys are for real, Philly -14.5 XXX The Vikes take apart the legend of Michael Vick, New England -7.5 +++ Easy Pick, and St. Louis -2.5 +++ The Rams continue to make the anti-49er pick a good one (Apparently, confident about nothing) overall +40

Overall Totals: Here goes week 3 of posting year-to-date totals of the Savants and the Guest Pickers. So far the 2 GP’s each week have a season total of +320 (avg. +160 per GP). The Savants have a season total of -50 (avg. -12.50 per Savant).

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.

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WEEK 15 - RESULTS

December 16th, 2010

WHO ARE THESE GUEST PICKERS - THE LEGEND GROWS

What else would you expect in this crazy NFL regular season other than perfection from our Guest Pickers. That’s right, our reigning GPs haven’t missed a pick in 3 weeks as John Guy sports a +150 and Monty Becton a +100 during that time. They’ll be back at it again this week, so take their picks to the bank. And what about the Savants? Only 60 separates first place from last place. Dick has closed to -50 and is tied with Rand. Tom had a good week to get to -20 and still holds down second. Frank sits in first at +10, but he is showing signs of worry. If you see Frank this week, show him some compassion for the stress he’s feeling as his hold on the lead dwindles. Here are the Week 15 picks below.

The Guest Pickers: Messrs. Perfection, aka Monty Becton of Cordillera Ranch in Boerne, Texas and John Guy with Northwood Country Club in Dallas continue to make a mockery of our game. Since picking games is this easy, then their regular daytime job employers may be hearing from them soon about a career change. Remember folks, this just seems easy - don’t give up the fun and joy of working at your beautiful clubs. Here are our GP’s picks:

John Guy (+150 over last 3 weeks with 1 pick each week): 50 on Detroit/Tampa Bay Over 42.5 (John goes back to the depending on the Lion Defense - or no defense - this week) +++ The Legend grows - even if his Lions need OT to get the Over by .5 - overall +50 for the week and +200 over the last 4 weeks

Monty Becton (+100 last 2 weeks with 3 picks each week): 20 on New York Giants -2.5 (The Giants have been good to Monty) XXX Maybe The Giants shouldn’t have punted to DeSean, 20 on Dallas -6 (The Cows have been good to Monty) XXX The Cows won, but no cover, and 10 on New Orleans +2.5 XXX The Saints can’t pull off the late win - overall -50 for the week and +50 for 3 weeks

The Savants: One week after cheating on his beloved Cows by picking Atlanta, Dick comes home putting the load on the Cows to sink the Skins by more than 6. Will they perform or act like a jilted lover? Frank who claims he’s up to Dick’s challenge that Dick will pass him by the end of the year reacts with a 30 on an over/under (Balt/NO Over 43.5). Frank is pulling out all the new tricks this week, and jumping off that Jets’ bandwagon should also help. Rand gets his system pick this week and puts 30 on Baltimore, and follows that up with the anti-Colts pick by putting 20 on Jacksonville +5. Tom, who seems permanently scarred from watching horrific football (49ers vs. Cardinals) a couple of weeks ago, takes the anti-49er pick by putting 40 on San Diego on Thursday night, and then throws in an anti-Denver pick for his last 10. Perhaps Tom should consider positive picks? Stay tuned, and here are the picks:

Dick (-50): 50 on The Dallas Cowboys -6 XXX Dick witnesses in person as his Cows toy with him blowing a huge lead, but still winning - just not covering - overall -100

Frank (+10): 30 on Baltimore/New Orleans Over 43.5 +++ Frank nails this one as the teams put up 54 and 20 on Atlanta -6 +++ Another easy pick - against Seattle - overall +60

Rand (-50): 30 on Baltimore -2.5 (opposite Monty, uh oh) +++ Rand’s system pick nails this one - so why not all 50? and 20 on Jacksonville +5 (not showing any love to Peyton and Co) XXX something about an onsides kick return TD has Rand mumbling today - overall -40

Tom (-20): 40 on San Diego -8.5 (anti-49ers) +++ This Week’s Gimme pick and 10 on Oakland -6.5 (anti-Denver) +++ Denver makes it interesting for a half, which is one more half than normal - overall +30

Overall Totals: Here goes week 3 of posting year-to-date totals of the Savants and the Guest Pickers. So far the 2 GP’s each week have a season total of +320 (avg. +160 per GP). The Savants have a season total of -110 (avg. -27.50 per Savant).

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.

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WEEK 14 - RESULTS

December 10th, 2010

IT’S A TOSS-UP IN THE RACE FOR SAVANT SUPREMACY

As we head into the homestretch, only 120 separates first place from last place. With 100 swings possible each week (+50 for one Savant and -50 for another Savant), the race is any one’s game. Dick claims supremacy after winning with his Cowboy pick last week. We won’t talk about 2 weeks ago as that is apparently ancient history. Rand continues to charge to the top of a +50 week that puts him ahead of Tom for second place. Tom vows to turn things around not that he’s not distracted by beach sand on his pick sheet. And what about Frank? Frank has been in the lead since Week 5. Dick has thrown down the gauntlet to Frank and promises he’ll pass him by the end of the competition. Rand quietly heads toward the top while Tom figures out how to get back to even for the year. Here are the Week 14 picks below.

The Guest Pickers: Monty Becton of Cordillera Ranch in Boerne, Texas went toe-to-toe with John Guy with Northwood Country Club in Dallas ending in a GP first: both GP’s tied at +50.Who can top last week’s performance. Actually, they don’t need to top last week’s performance - they just need to be better than the other this week. What does this week’s Clash of Titans* hold for us? *The term Titans as used here refers to a strong competitors unlike the team with the same nickname from Tennessee. Here are our GP’s picks:

John Guy (+100 over last 2 weeks with 1 pick each week): 50 on The Detroit Lions +6.5 (John knows a good thing and stays true to his Lions) +++ John stays on fire as his Lions win outright against the Pack - overall +50 (+150 over the last 3 weeks)

Monty Becton (+50 last week with 3 picks): 20 on New York Giants -2.5 +++ Easy win against the Farveless Vikes, 20 on Baltimore - 3 +++ Whew, but it is a win, and 10 on Dallas +3.5 +++ a Cow loss, but a cover - overall +50 (+100 over the last 2 weeks)

The Savants: Dick doesn’t show support for his beloved Cows this week as they host the Eagles. Will his jump to the Falcons come back to haunt him? Tom jumps in putting the load on a single game for only the 3rd time this season - will the 2 for 2 record continue? Tom’s 50 on Baltimore created some lunch tension as Rand had planned on showing significant love to the Ravens as well. Rand reacts to Tom’s decision by choosing 5 tens this week. Frank sensing things are closing in makes 3 picks this week. Can he hold off the other Savants by spreading the risk? In all that excitement, we ended up our first place leader Frank and second place closer Rand going head-to-head against each other in 2 games. Will we have a new leader after this week? Or, will Rand sink back in the standings? Stay tuned, and here are the picks:

Dick (-100): 50 on Atlanta -7 +++ Dick nails the easiest pick on the board - overall -50

Frank (+20): 20 on New York Jets -5.5 (Frank back on his team) XXX the Jets crash against the Fins, 20 on New Orleans -9 (opposite Rand’s pick of the St. Louis) +++ New Orleans takes care of business against the Rams, and 10 on the Philly/Cowboys Under 50.5 (another pick opposite Rand) XXX this one does not turn out so well - overall +10

Rand (-60): 10 each on St. Louis +9 (vs. Frank) XXX a pick 6 before half ends the Rams chances, New York Giants -2.5 (w/Monty) +++ An easy win, Tampa Bay -2 XXX The Skins missed extra point helps in this miss, Pittsburgh -8.5 +++ The Steelers defense covers this one, and Philly/Cowboys Over 50.5 (vs. Frank) +++ It took awhile for the scoring to get going, but it did - overall -50

Tom (-70): 50 on Baltimore -3 (w/Monty) +++ a little sweat as the Ravens let go of a 21 point lead only to win on a pick 6 in OT - overall -20

Overall Totals: Here goes week 3 of posting year-to-date totals of the Savants and the Guest Pickers. So far the 2 GP’s each week have a season total of +220 (avg. +110 per GP). The Savants have a season total of -210 (avg. -52.50 per Savant).

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.

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WEEK 13 - RESULTS

December 3rd, 2010

ARE THE SAVANTS’ SETTLING INTO THEIR YEAREND STANDINGS?

Two weeks ago, Dick and Tom had banner weeks leading to speculation they were about to make their run. Last week, Rand and Frank lead the way with solid weeks while Dick and Tom regressed. Is there a trend here? After 12 weeks, this is what we do know: Frank remains safely in 1st Place with the only positive score, Tom is going sideways, but hangs in 2nd Place, and Rand moves out of the cellar and Dick back in to the cellar with last week’s results. Can any of the Savants break these trends? The time is here for someone to make a run. As for last week, Dick and his nephew Davis continue their Thanksgiving tradition and go down again with a -50 week. Perhaps Davis may not have an invite for Thanksgiving dinner next year. Tom’s beach picks weren’t so good as he went -10. Rand and Frank spread their picks and ended with solid +30 weeks. Here are the Week 12 picks below.

The Guest Pickers: John Guy with Northwood Country Club in Dallas unseated Ken Kasten with Wachovia Bank +50 to +10. Ken ends his 3-week stay with us up +110. Can you say playoffs - we’re pretty sure Ken is guaranteed a spot in the year end playoff competition. Are any of the Savants going to call Ken for tips this week - it couldn’t hurt. Last week John rolled the dice and put the entire 50 on the Thanksgiving Day over on his team - The Lions. Will he continue the trend this week? And, who is he up against? We bring back one of our Guest Pickers from last season, Monty Becton. Monty is the GM at Cordillera Ranch - a great property in Boerne, Texas that you need to stop in and see sometime. Can Monty show us his “A” game after being on the sidelines until Week 13? Here are our GP’s picks:

John Guy (+50 last week with 1 pick): 50 on The Detroit Lions +4.5 (John stays with his team for another week - this time taking them to cover) +++ The Lions need that 1/2 point in order to cover - overall +50 this week

Monty Becton: 20 on New York Giants -7 +++ good pick against the quitting Skins, 20 on Dallas +5.5 +++ The Cows pull off the upset, and 10 on Minnesota -6 +++ Tavaris leads the Vikes to victory - overall +50

The Savants: Dick - say it is not true - after being a certain team being declared officially dead to you earlier this season, Dick returns home with a 50 on his beloved Cows. As clarification, Dick says the Wade Phillips Cows are dead to him - but the Red Ball Cows are very much alive. Please let him win this week, we don’t want to see a grown man have his heart broken for the second time in 4 months. Rand goes with the failsafe pick - take the team playing against Troy Smith without Frank Gore, aka the 49ers (and they won last week which only leads to question why didn’t some put the load on the team playing the 49ers last week opponent - the Cardinals). Frank and Tom end up with 9 picks between them - they guarantee there is a right pick among that group. Here are the picks:

Dick (-150): 50 on The Dallas Cowboys +5.5 +++ The Cows Win! - overall -100

Frank (+50): 20 on Baltimore -3 XXX The Steelers win the close one, and 10 each on Kansas City -8.5 XXX a win but no cover, Chicago -4.5 XXX the wrong side of this 1/2 point, and Cows/Colts Over 47.5 +++ Each team almost gets there (Frank rewards KC with a pick the second straight week - but where are his Jets?) overall +20

Rand (-110): 40 on Green Bay Packers -9.5 (having seen SF on Monday, this looks like a gimme) +++ a gimme it was and 10 on New York Giants -7 +++ The Giants have no trouble either - overall -60

Tom (-60): 10 each on Chicago/Detroit Over 44.5 XXX 31 at half on their way to 44, ugh, Buffalo/Minnesota Over 44.5 (apparently over 44.5 sounds good) +++ The Vike offense awakens, St. Louis -3.5 (the anti-Arizona pick) +++ another gimme - why not 50 it?, New Orleans -6.5 XXX The Bengal rally makes the Saints sweat out a close one, and Tampa Bay +3 XXX a close game, just not close enought to cover - overall -70

Overall Totals: Here goes week 3 of posting year-to-date totals of the Savants and the Guest Pickers. So far the 2 GP’s each week have a season total of +120 (avg. +60 per GP). The Savants have a season total of -270 (avg. -68.50 per Savant).

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.

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THE SUPER BOWL IN SNOW CITY

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PLAYOFFS - CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

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PLAYOFFS WEEK 2

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PLAYOFFS - THE WILD CARD WEEKEND

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REGULAR SEASON RESULTS - TIME FOR THE PLAYOFFS!

TOM TAKES THE SAVANTS TITLE

GUEST PICKERS HAVE OVERALL BETTER RECORD THAN THE SAVANTS

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WEEK 17 - THE FINAL WEEK - RESULTS

THE FINAL WEEK - FIRST PLACE THROUGH LAST PLACE TO BE DECIDED

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WEEK 16 - RESULTS

CAN DICK SOMEHOW AVOID LAST PLACE - AND ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE LEGEND OF JOHN GUY

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WEEK 15 - RESULTS

WHO ARE THESE GUEST PICKERS - THE LEGEND GROWS

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WEEK 14 - RESULTS

IT’S A TOSS-UP IN THE RACE FOR SAVANT SUPREMACY

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WEEK 13 - RESULTS

ARE THE SAVANTS’ SETTLING INTO THEIR YEAREND STANDINGS?

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