Quick Picks = Big Loser

Made my quicks real pick without any pithy commentary, which results in a 6-9 week. Well, this will be the last week for Hemi picks as week 17 betting can be for fools. I won't join them. So a merry x-mas to all and to all here's to a Packers win......

Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys -5½ - DFW - Boys have found their way and Ravens are incapable of scoring points.

New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions +7 - DTW - My pity pick of the week, but hey the Lions keep covering and the Saints have no D.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans +2½ - PIT - Starting to show, stop Lendale and CJ and Kerry Collins stinks. Steelers have best D and want to show they are really back.

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams +5 - SFO - Rams have packed it in. They know their coach won't be back, but I guess the same is true of the 49ers. But Rams are so very bad.

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns -3 - CLE - Battle for Ohio. But this is in the pound. Browns.

Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs +3½ - MCI - Just have this feeling. Will be cold and Chiefs roll with Thigpen.

Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots -8 - BOS - Struggled with this one. Pats have everything to play for, Arizona really not much. Bill will continue to try and run up the score to prove to himself he is still a great coach even as the Pats miss the playoffs.

San Diego Chargers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3½ - TPA - Bucs needs this.

Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders +7 - IAH - Houston going to show they are the new dog in town in the South starting next year. Watch out.

New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks +3½ - EWRa - Jets need a win and will crush the Hawks.

Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos -6½ - BUF - Come on Bills, show some damn respect for yourself.

Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings -3 - MSP - Vikings clinch here, Ryan gets frustrated as Turner can't run the ball.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins +5 - IAD - Skins stink, but come on. Eagles beat a bad Browns team. Still somewhat of a rivalry here and going Skins.

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants -3½ - CLT - Just have this feeling the Panthers will run and run and run and run. No one can stop Steve Smith and with weather bad, Eli will struggle and cry.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears -4 - GBR - Last hope to save the season. Lets get that C

Keep Flying

The codes keep me rolling. A nice 10-5 record for last week, overall 92-57-1. Quick picks below

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons -5½ - ATL

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans +3 - BNA

Washington Redskins at Cincinnati Bengals +6½ - CVG

Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams +2½ - SEA

Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars +2½ - GRB

San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins -5½ - MIA

Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts -17 - DTW

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs +5½ - SAN

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets -8 - BUF

Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals -3½ - PHX

Denver Broncos at Carolina Panthers -7½ - CLT

New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders +7 - OAK

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens -3 - PIT

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys -3 - EWRa

Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles -14 - CLE

Good to be back in the saddle again.

And who knew! Somehow there was $10.55 left in my sportsbook.com account, I guess we could file this one under Christmas Miracles. So I decided to bet it all on a 5 team parlay which I'll call my own personal economic stimulus plan. On a completely unrelated note, nothing like starting LaDell Betts in your fantasy fooball playoff game.

GB @ JAX (+2.5)
DET @ IND (-17)
WAS (-6.5) @ CIN
TB(+3) @ ATL
SF @ MIA(-6)
SEA (-2.5) @ STL
TN (-3) @ HOU
PIT(+3) @ BAL
DEN(+7.5) @ CAR
SD(-5.5) @ KC
MIN(+3) @ AZ
NE(-7) @ OAK
NY(+3) @ DAL
CLE(+14) @ PHI

Guess I like my road teams.

Oui Suck

Oui Suck

It has been a pretty wild couple months since I quit betting on football (regularly) in favor of betting on options. I've been up and down and over and out. Ups and (mostly) downs, strikes and (mostly) gutters. I sometimes tell myself and others that even though I may be way down, I'm learning a lot. Ppphttt. It's a very unforgiving game, options. But it has been fun and it forces you to keep up with the news.

One thing I have always enjoyed after a big down market day is looking for the inevitable head-in-hands photo of the trader to accompany the article entitled "DOW plunges 350 points on higher than expected unemployment" or some such shit. Oh, Mr. Trader, you look so saaaad! Awwww. You need a big hug, don't you fella? It's OK. There, there. It wasn't your fault you lost billions of investor dollars today. Buck up, soldier!

Out of this love, a new blog was born yesterday -- Head-In-Hands. Unlike this anything-goes, wild wild west, stick-it-in-anywhere-you-want brand of blog, Head-In-Hands will be more focused to...head-in-hands related content.

Oh, and I changed my name to Trader Rick after a forgotton series of commercials I used to enjoy as a young boy. If you can remember what product Trader Rick was associated with, put it in the comments. I'll be impressed if you get it right. I don't even think Googling will help you. On to football -->

It's an exciting time to be a Detroit Lions fan. I feel like this season is the masterpiece produced by the great artist who dies just before its greatness sweeps the world and is left to take in all of the fame posthumously. And that artist is of course Matt Millen.

There is little disputing that this Lions team is the greatest 0-13 team in NFL history. Any 0-13 team can go out there and get there ass handed to them every week. The 2008 Lions, on the other hand, goes out there just about every week and makes you think they might just win. Their sublime losing drives my hungover, half-masted self out of the apartment and into an area establishment wearing my alternate edition silver jersey with the faded "C. Rogers" nameplate (I maintain that Charles Rogers - the original Lions first round wide receiver - was a solid pick. He dominated like no other college receiver I have ever seen other than maybe Calvin Johnson) to see them lose in high style. A great tragedy makes you believe in the possibility of success even though it is certain that fate will keep that from happening. That said, this week will not be one of those close Lions losses.

COLTS (-17.5) vs Lions

RAMS (even) vs SeaMen

JETS (-7) vs Bills

DOLPHINS (-6) vs 49ers

CHIEFS (+4.5) vs Chargers

Packers (-2.5) @ Jaguars

TEXANS (+3) vs Titans

BENGALS (+7) vs Redskins

Buccaneers (+3) at FALCONS

CARDINALS (even) vs Vikings

Patriots (even?) @ RAIDERS

Broncos (+7) @ PANTHERS

Steelers (+2) @ RAVENS

Giants (+3) @ COWBOYS

EAGLES (-14) vs Browns

Airport Codes Lead The Way To.........................

A nice 9-4-0 week. Bringing yearly NFL mark to 82-52-1. Getting closer to my goal. Thinking maybe $1 per call, plus another $.50 for the lock of week pick, which unlike other prognosticators have to be truly special.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions - +10 - MSP - Was first in list and have leaning towards a nice lock of week. Though with the game not on TV and no one there, maybe the team will have no pressure. But sorry, MSP is going to rock the lions so bad, it's going to be sad.

Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts -13½ - IND - Do we see the same old colts here? Or maybe CVG shows some respect? Yes and no. IND all the way. Too many points though for LOW.

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints -3 - ATL - Hmm.....Saints play much better in domes, but that's against non-dome teams. Both play in domes, so it's Super vs. Georgia. ATL marches on to the worst to first legacy that is the NFC South

Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants -7 - PHL - Just don't see EWRa focusing after all these gunshots and investigations. PHL will come to play to show they ain't dead yet.

Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers -7 - IAH - I just don't see the Pack covering this with their porous defense. I'm just hoping they win.

Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans -14 - CLE - When has Tennessee deserved a line like this? We know CLE's troubles, but they still (whoops, just read who is the starting QB). Switching, to BNA. Lots of points, but BNA can clinch.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Chicago Bears -6½ - ORD - So we know ORD can only beat the Lions in the NFC North and any other non-NFC North team.

New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers +4 - SFO - Mike has em playing out in gay-frisco. EWRb maybe pulls this out, but go SFO

New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks +7 - BOS - Bill doesn't like to lose and to lose by lots of points, he takes it out on the next team. Check it out. Plus SEA is bad.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos -9 - MCI - Denver is Ok and knows how to win sometimes, KC is Ok and never can win. Neither play D. Should be a fun one. But still see a road C here.

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills -1½ - MIA - Stupid Bills. They decide to play their one Toronto game against the Phins, which would normally be a guaranteed W. Changing pick here, MIA all the way.

Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers -3½ - PIT - Sorry boys. No marion, means no C.

St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals -14 - STL - Quite a line here. Rams will cover this somehow.

Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens -6 - IAD - Skins always seem to pull out good games against better opponents on the road. Will be virtually no scoring, but IAD maybe wins.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers -3 CLT - Home team covers here.