Sports

The Lucky 13

NFLlogoOn Sunday, I got a chance to devote much of the afternoon to the NFL Network’s NFL RedZone Channel. As I was transported from game to game throughout the country, what I saw was more like a horror film. It was truly BAD football.
I don’t know if it’s because of the widespread amount of injuries – many to some of the NFL’s brightest stars – or the lack of practice time (this past preseason and on a weekly basis) due to the new CBA contract, but there is some BAD football being played.
The stats clearly prove my point.
There are 32 teams in the National Football League. Currently, only 13 of those teams have winning records. You have divisions like the NFC Least, which houses the 5-5 Cowboys, 5-5 Eagles, 3-6 Giants, and 3-6 Redskins. Somebody may win the division with a .500 record or worse.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some darn good teams like the unbeaten Chiefs (9-0), who have enjoyed a favorable schedule against some of the league’s weaker teams, and the 8-1 Broncos. Both teams collide in our Sunday Night tiebreaker game.
The Seahawks (9-1) have the league’s best home crowd, the Saints (7-2) have Drew Brees, and the Patriots (7-2) have Bill and Brady.
Although the level of play beyond the lucky 13 is quite un-Bear-able (forgive the pun, Chicago), the core playoff contenders should provide a fun ride down the stretch.
While New England-Carolina is not on our weekly contest sheet – it’s on Monday night – there are a handful of very interesting games to choose from. Before you take out your pen or pencil and make your selections, let’s pause to congratulate William Barta, of Holyoke who was the only person to top my 8-4 mark from the past week. Barta went 10-2. Nice job!

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