Pickin' Pigskin with Bob and Steve and Kristin: Week 13, Part 1 and Standings

Okay, I might put up with her being on the show...

NY Jets over Buffalo (3, at Toronto)

Bob: NY Jets -3

How can Buffalo fans watch this game? This is like watching your girlfriend on The Real World. Yeah, it's cool that your girlfriend is on TV and was endorsed as hot since she was put on TV, but you do realize that she's going to end up hooking up with some douchebag in the hot tub, right? Pretty soon, we're going to get to hear you cry via phone when your girlfriend calls you to break the news. Ditto for Buffalo fans. It will be cool to watch your team play this week, but you realize the NFL probably has designs to move your franchise to Toronto. So while you're watching your team, you are getting a preview of the future where the Bills will hook up with some Canadian floozy.

I'm actually of two minds on this. It will be horrible when Buffalo, which has so much history with the Bills, loses their NFL franchise. They have an extreme emotional attachment to their team and have had some rough experiences (wide right). I don't want to see the news clips that are the equivalent of the old, fat men in Baltimore crying when they lost the Colts that we saw on ESPN's 30 for 30. But the city probably can't support an NFL franchise anymore. The worst case scenario is a Hartford Whalers / Baltimore Colts scenario where the team toys with leaving for a few years, keeps giving the fans false hope that they might stay, and then bolts fairly abruptly. I would rather see the Band-Aid ripped off then see Buffalo fans given the equivalent of blue balls by a team that is almost definitely leaving.

Steve: Toronto +3

Well, first off, your response gives me an excuse to run a picture for the Hartford Whalers, and to also link to their rally song, "Brass Bonanza," on YouTube. I said in a previous post that if the Whalers had stuck around for longer, I might have been a fan of them instead of the Bruins, and I stick by it now. They are technically closer to my house, and I normally identify a bit more with lovable losers, as opposed to a team with championship prestige like the Bruins. (Football example: I root for the Bengals over the Patriots whenever they play.)

Now, with the preceding statement, you would think I would like the Bills to stay in Buffalo. However, you're wrong. It's not so much that I hate the city of Buffalo, which I've never visited, as much as I love Toronto, which I have visited. It's just a gorgeous city with a great zoo and passionate sports fans. Hey, if they want a National Football League team, then I'm for it. It would be better if they didn't have to eventually steal the Bills to do it, but unfortunately, thems the breaks in professional sports.

By the way, I do find it odd that the super-capitalist and super-Republican commentators on WEEI's The Big Show and Dennis and Callahan are quick to bitch about socialized health care and other anti-market things... but then endorse things like the NFL salary cap and want to eliminate the Yankees' payroll advantage. Uh, excuse me? Uh baking soda? Do you want free market economics or not?

Kristin: XXXXXXX -+3

Kristin's text here... Or at least, it will be when / if I get it. She hasn't sent in a pick as of 7 p.m. I'll update this if she does.

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Well, I shouldn't have bragged last week about getting closer to the leaders, since I lost several games this week. Sigh! I should have known better than to pick against the Washington power couple's local team. Curse you Hansons!!!

Kristin: 8-6 (89-84, first overall)
Bob: 8-6 (88-85, second overall, one game back)
Steve: 6-8 (85-88, third overall, four games back)

In fantasy football news, my team is backing into the playoffs. We've lost three of our last four, I believe, lost Dwayne Bowe and Ronnie Brown for most of the season, and I've been reduced to scrounging between Kevin Faulk and Robert Mitchum as free agents. So basically, unless Tom Brady throws for 500 yards and six touchdowns, I most likely will not advance in the playoffs, which start next week. This week, we have an Indianapolis Colts' end season special, in that whether my team wins or loses, it has absolutely no effect on the standings. Good times, good times.

The picture of the ridiculously hot girl from The Real World is here, along with a pretty length question and answer with her.