Yeah, that's more like it. When that 21-0 lead became a 24-21 deficit, I was thinking "here we go again". But Dallas finally showed some gumption and now they are in the driver's seat for the division title. Indianapolis will be tough but still winnable, and they should destroy Washington in their last game. The Eagles, meanwhile, finish the season at Washington and the Giants. Green Bay put their number one seed in doubt with that loss to Buffalo. Seattle is coming on strong, and the Seattle-Arizona game will have #1 seed implications. New England is, as always, the eternal AFC East champions...the king of the east. Miami and Buffalo may have pretensions of contesting for the crown but they are like the emperor with no clothes. With Rodgers' pratfall in Buffalo, Tom Brady should be the odds-on favourite for NFL MVP.

This is true. Maybe it was because I grew up in Orange County as opposed to Los Angeles County, but I don't remember seeing a single promotional poster around town for any of the Led Zeppelin shows I saw. None for sale at the merch table, such as it was, at the gigs, either.

Jesus freaking Christ. I can't believe these Cowpokes, Walter. If it's December it must be time for Romo to el foldo.

Damn. Miami putting up a fight. Buffalo's defense keeping them in the game. Oakland stumbling and bumbling as usual. And the Browns are SHIT as I've said all along, Rick.

I was hoping for snow in Buffalo. Rick, your city let me down, hehe. I've got Miami @ New England, Green Bay @ Buffalo,Cincinnati @ Cleveland, and Oakland @ KC on my bar screens...and bottomless Mimosas.

Hey Andy, I guess your ditto comment means your picks are exactly the same as jb126's?

Yes, as I wrote a couple weeks ago the bye weeks were over and the remaining weeks would be full 16-game schedules. A couple picks short...apantherfrommd and Anjin-san.

Searching for that perfect week...and thanks to the Lambs, started off on the wrong foot immediately. Thursday Dec. 11 St. Louis Sunday Dec. 14 Pittsburgh...This game has the makings of a shootout, as neither of these teams play much defense. Which shows you how bad Pittsburgh has suddenly become defensively...Troy Polamalu should probably retire. Baltimore...Lock of the week, which means it could be a trap game for Baltimore if they don't pay attention. Green Bay...Aaron Rodgers or Kyle Orton? Ummm, I will take Rodgers every time. And we know the refs will favour Green Bay with their calls. Tampa Bay...Anybody watching these two bozo teams needs to seriously get a life. Cleveland...Murphy's Law applies to both these two teams, so we may get another tie game. Indianapolis...Another possible "lock of the week", except division games can be tricky. Kansas City...No matter how improved the Raiders looked against San Francisco, Kansas City is always murder on Oakland...especially for a rookie quarterback. New England...Sorry Paul, New England seems to be rounding into peak form, while Miami can't seem to stop shooting themselves in the foot. New York Giants...Colt or RGIII or Cousins...will the circus never end in DC? The question isn't whether RGIII's days in Washington are numbered but whether Jay Gruden's days are? San Diego...It pains me to pick the Chargers as I hate them, but what the hell, AFC West games are usually full of surprises. New York Jets...Not many positives about these two teams of incompetents so I will grasp at the straw of the Jets superior defense. Detroit...If Detroit is truly ready to live up to their playoff potential, these are the games they must win. Lose to Minnesota and you can kiss the season goodbye. Seattle...What looked to be one of the games of the year seems like a mismatch now...unless the Forty-whiners have been playing possum lately. If Seattle embarrasses San Francisco, Harbaugh may resign or be fired on the spot. Dallas...With plenty of preperation this time, I fully expect Dallas to run Murray left, right and up the gut and control the clock. The Eagles can't score if they don't have the ball. Monday Dec. 15 New Orleans...I won't give up on pottedplant's team.

The story first came out that the poster failed to sell at the auction, as none of the bidders reached the reserve price of 2,500 pounds. So, rather than lose the poster to the person who put it up for auction, the highest bidder agreed to pay the 2,500 minimum...an extra 500 pounds. To be fair, it is signed by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones. No Bonham though. Dig the price of the concert ticket...one measly pound. And still I bet somebody griped about the price of tickets back then. Ingrates.

We just had our Tiki-themed Christmas party, so... Rum, rum, rum, rum, pineapple, rum, rum, rum, oranges, rum, rum, rum, rum, cherries, rum, rum, rum, rum, mangoes, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, spam, and rum.

^^^ No apologies necessary Kiwi...your posts didn't annoy me. Not all of the songs people posted are awful.

That would be "The Christmas Song"...written by Mel Torme and Mel himself sings a great version of his song. But I will always prefer Nat King Cole's rendition over anyone else's. Cannot wait for Darlene Love's annual Christmas appearance on David Letterman. It will be the last one so it'll be an emotional performance, I'm sure. I also never miss a chance to watch "The Year Without a Santa Claus" just to hear the "Mr. Heat Miser" song. Too much! http://youtu.be/hGRkNaMFp6w

Good grief, there are some awful songs posted here. Thank goodness ebk posted the links to the two older threads dealing with Christmas music...and it is fun seeing some of the old names and reminiscing of long ago chats.

How is this for a Christmas present? Of course, you might have to mortgage the house to afford it. http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/photography/all/02616/facts.the_rolling_stones.htm You have to hand it to Taschen...they really know how to pull out all the stops. If I had the $10,000 to blow, I am not sure which special Art Edition I would get...maybe the Ethan Russell cover or the Guy Webster.

Now that the 12 Days of Christmas are almost upon us, I can finally get in the mood for Christmas.

Ok. Duly noted.

Sorry...been busy with drag queens and John Landis. St. Louis is my pick for tonight.

Happy Birthday Preetha! Rock on my Kiwi friend. A cheerful toast to you on your birthday!

Yeah, I don't understand how the bottom fell out of the Niners so quickly. In a weird way, it is almost like a mirror of the first few years of the Rex Ryan-Mark Sanchez era of the NY Jets...two good playoff runs followed by a precipitous decline and the disintegration of a quarterback. Another embarrassing situation is the mess that the New Orleans Saints have become. There is no excuse for losing 41-10 in their home dome to the lowly Carolina Panthers. In fact, like the 49ers, the Saints cannot seem to win at home. Have the Saints just quit on Sean Payton? Maybe Payton will be on his way out in the Big Easy as Harbough is in the City by the Bay? pottedplant would have been miserable having to suffer through what the Saints have been like this season. As much as I am happy the Raiders came thru on my hunch and beat the 49ers, now they really are in danger of blowing the #1 draft slot to Jacksonville or the Jets. Did you see what St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher did to the Taters? Haha, he sent out the players they received in the RGIII trade as captains for the coin toss at the beginning of their game against Washington. The mind game must have helped, as the Rams mashed the Taters 24-0. As I said last week, the Thanksgiving Day game between Philadelphia and Dallas was a mirage and not to read too much into the Eagles victory. Give teams time to prepare against Philadelphia and they can slow down the Eagles' attack. Seattle had 9 days and stopped them cold. Now Dallas will have had 9 days to prepare for the Eagles and I fully expect them to win the same way that Seattle did...with defense pressuring Sanchez and a time-consuming ball-control offense.

Week 15 Schedule Thursday Dec. 11 Arizona @ St. Louis Sunday Dec. 14 Pittsburgh @ Atlanta Jacksonville @ Baltimore Green Bay @ Buffalo Tampa Bay @ Carolina Cincinnati @ Cleveland Houston @ Indianapolis Oakland @ Kansas City Miami @ New England Washington @ New York Giants Denver @ San Diego New York Jets @ Tennessee Minnesota @ Detroit San Francisco @ Seattle Dallas @ Philadelphia Monday Dec. 15 New Orleans @ Chicago

Three weeks left and it looks like a three-person race to the finish. jb126 is in the lead, with Walter and Anjin-san as the only ones with a realistic chance of catching her. apantherfrommd sabotaged his chances with a disastrous week, knocking him more than 10 games off the pace. Bong-Man and Strider pick up the victory for Week 14(Thank you, Raiders!)...each racking up their second weekly win of the season. Here now, the numbers... Week 14 results Bong-Man: 13-3* Strider: 13-3* jabe: 12-4 paul carruthers: 12-4 Walter: 12-4 Anjin-san: 11-5 ebk: 11-5 jb126: 11-5 mack: 11-5 in_the_evening: 10-6 zepscoda: 10-6 apantherfrommd: 9-7 LedZeppfan77: 9-7 Season Standings After 208 Games 1. jb126: 142-65-1*** 2. Walter: 138-69-1**** 3. Anjin-san: 136-71-1***** 4. Strider: 134-73-1** 5. apantherfrommd: 131-76-1*** 5. in_the_evening: 131-76-1** 6. paul carruthers: 130-77-1* 7. Bong-Man: 129-78-1** 8. ebk: 126-81-1** 8. jabe: 126-81-1* 8. mack: 126-79-1 9. LedZeppfan77: 123-84-1** 10. zepscoda: 116-90-1*

31-7 at halftime...I guess I can mark this down as a Packer win. Don't see any signs of life in Sadlanta.

Yeah, I hate everything about the Falcons and take great delight in watching them get pounded. That was a horrible Star Spangled Banner tonight...that girl sucked. It figures she is from one of those ridiculous so-called talent shows...The Voice or something like that.

Except he had the ingenuity of adding pop tarts! How could I have been so stupid? How exactly are we being dragged into this? With ropes and chains? That is some assumption you are making. None of us speak with Jimmy, Robert or John Paul directly, so if you feel you are being affected by their conversations, you are not being "dragged" into anything, you are "forcing" yourself into the issue on your own accord. QFT.