Gamblers Anonymous: Here's the Situation

As someone who detests the new wave of fake reality shows (The Hills, The City, The Plains, etc.), I cannot describe how much the Jersey Shore has restored my faith in TV smut. I haven’t watched an MTV show since Laguna Beach Season 2 (uh uh embarrassing). The Jersey Shore encompasses many of my favorite things:

• Dysfunctional people doing dysfunctional things for my entertainment - those who know me, know how much I love to talk about paying people to do stupid things. The cast of the Jersey Shore does it for FREE!


• Obsceneness - and I thought I cursed a lot...even I cringed when Snookers responded to The Situation in the hot tub with talk of things going in her butt (I can't tell you how long it took me to write the last sentence so it was acceptable for my family to read)


• New Jersey - That soothing chain smoking accent just does it for me


• Girl on Girl action in episode 2 – “usually you have to pay double for that kind of action Cotton”


• And J-wows wow-wows...wow (I dare anyone to use ‘wow’ more in a sentence and it be acceptable).


• Finally, the “Punch Heard ‘Round the World” has broken all kinds of personal records for re-watching a 10 second clip in consecutive replays, breaking the record of the Zidane headbutt (link at end).

To conclude, in an era of recycled network shows, staged reality TV and 5 shows trying to rip of the success of The Office, the Jersey Shore is must-see TV. And that my friends, is the situation (or maybe it’s these bad boys pictured here).

My Week 14 NFL Picks:

I'll admit it, I got my girlfriend a mouth guard for Chanukah because of Peyton - Colts -7 vs. Denver – See previous 10 columns if you actually need my reasoning.

Redskins -1 at Raiders– They are actually playing well?

Giants -1 vs. Eagles – Back to back home games for the GMEN. I see back to back covers vs. division rivals.

MNF - Cardinals -3.5 at 49ers – Cardinals are clicking on offense right now.

Zidane headbutt - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4iWIE77Ts&feature=related
The Punch Heard 'Round the World - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEQ0hqxyW0U

And in slow motion on loop (Thanks to reader Dan Fleeter): http://www.boblauer.com/guidette.gif

-Steve Lugerner

Tiger Woods Bets!

Available bets:

• Total woman publically verified to having an affair with Tiger by the end of 2010: O/U 19.5
• A woman verifying that Tiger actually likes to be called Eldrick in the sack: +350
• Tiger Woods wins all four majors and tells the media to go F themselves: -150
• Jasper Parnevick finishes ahead of Woods in any major next year: +1000
• Paris Hilton confirms affair with Woods: +220
• Someone releases a Tiger Woods sex tape: +130
• Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan seen in a heated auction for 'Bambi' in a Las Vegas strip club: -175
• Kato Kaelin makes an appearance on a late-night talk show as an expert witness on domestic disputes of athletes: off the board (this actually happened...what does that say about the strength of George Lopez's new show on TBS?)

Favorite Woods quotes today from Gchat (identities hidden):

XXXX: he is like a pro wrestler man!
He has a girl at every tour stop

XXX: Tiger Woods' mother-in-law is the woman who was taken to the hospital after the 911 call.
XXX: you think tiger was putting on the moves for her?

XXX: heres what i think about tiger
despite how bad this all is
its all out in the open now
no more secretes
his head is clear
he can probably play better
im sure its happened a few times walking up a fairway and seeing Ellin standing 3 feet away from a mistress
and him just double boygeing the hole

EDITED 12/8 Afternoon: Courtesy of Justin P. Kantrowitz http://withleather.uproxx.com/2009/12/more-tiger-woods-mistresses

Lugie's (abbreviated) List - 12/7

Short on time...but a few things from the weekend:

1. Where was Jesus on Saturday Timmy? Alabama-Texas National Championship makes sense (begrudgingly), but how the hell did Florida not get matched up against TCU? I'm sure it is based on region and I'm missing something - but even though Cincinnati is undefeated most would argue TCU was the next best team behind the big 3. Not to mention, that matchup is a ton sexier than FLA-Cinci (Gators are 10 point favorites). And while TCU-Boise St. will be a fun game, matching up the two non-BCS conference teams together just seems like a cop out for the BCS not to stir up controversy.

2. The Redskins never cease to amaze me. Just when they start to surprise you, they show you what true crapiness is really about. They missed field goal to seal the game, followed by a Brees bomb and OT win by the Saints. I'm just happy I wrote the Skins off weeks ago so I really didn't give a crap. Better draft pick for us to screw up in April!

3. This is going to sound a tad crazy, but has Bill Belichick developed some Andy Reid tendencies? Three times now the Patriots have lost games they've been up 10 or more points. Seemingly in control Sunday, the Patriots conservatively gave back the game to the Dolphins...calling a run on 3rd and 6 only up 2 pts. Maybe it is just arrogance? I don't get the plan at all because there seemed to be no urgency in the 2nd half from the Patriots on Sunday given their defensive woes in recent weeks.

4. Colts-Saints 18-0 Super Bowl? I can only imagine the collective BAC of the 1972 Dolphins and Tom Brady watching that one.

5. Still one episode to go, but I think this has to be Dexter's best season. All thanks to an amazing performance by John Lithgow as this season's villain. If he doesn't win an Emmy for this role it will rank #2 on all-time Emmy-screws behind The Wire never receiving a single Emmy (that just blew my mind when I heard it). Sunday Night TV: Dexter A+, Californication B+

Lugie's List 11/30 - Lugie Doin' Work

"Kobe Doin' Work" is out on DVD everyone! I went to Best Buy at 5 am on Black Friday to get my copy before it sold out!


Now to the NFL...

1. Young v. Leinart Part Deux. Holy Cow! I’m going to guess Leinart had Nam-like flashbacks to the 2006 BCS national championship in his sleep last night. 99-yard drives to win the game on the last play don’t happen every day. With Vince Young at the helm, the Titans have erased a 0-6 start with 5 straight wins. Everyone is talking about the playoffs for the Titans, but I just don’t see them running the table, which is really their only shot. Mainly because…

2. They have a big showdown with the 11-0 Colts next week. And maybe the readers out there are getting sick of reading about it in this column, BUT PEYTON MANNING IS GOOD AT FOOTBALL. I can’t stress that enough people. The Colts came back yet again to remain perfect.

3. Highly entertaining Sunday night game with the Ravens winning in OT behind a clutch INT from their defense. I know he threw the game losing INT, but Dennis Dixon will be a player in the NFL. Most people don’t know who this guy is because of an ACL tear at Oregon that took him out of the Heisman race, but I’d be shocked if he wasn’t a solid NFL QB for someone down the road.

4. I was going to complain here about how sick I am of watching the Lions play on Thanksgiving Day and then I read this…

5. The Silverdome, former home to the Detroit Lions, sold at auction for $583,000 (it cost $56 million to build three decades ago). To reiterate, a former professional sports stadium went for literally less than a one bedroom apartment in New York City. I’m now firmly in the “OK Detroit has enough problems let’s not pull the Thanksgiving Day NFL game from them” corner.

6. The fact that TCU will not even get to sniff the BCS national championship is a travesty. College Football year-after-year disappoints the casual fan who wants drama, interesting matchups and most importantly, A CLEAR CHAMPION. We currently have 6 undefeated teams (although Florida-Alabama in the SEC championship game will change that for sure). The fact that the championship game is all but decided (FLA-ALA winner vs. Texas, who shouldn’t get upset by Nebraska) just really pisses me off. Hey Obama - screw healthcare - I voted for you to get out there and make a NCAA football playoff happen. My re-election vote depends on it.

7. Up until Friday, I never subscribed to the phrase “Show me a hot girl, and I’ll show you a guy tired of f-ing her.” Then I heard speculation that Tiger Woods cheated on this wife [pictured here] spurring his bizarre car accident early Friday morning. Now I understand the meaning of that phrase.

8. And now for my serious take on the topic. What amazes me up until this point in Tiger’s career is we know very, very, very little about him off the golf course. Think about how many athletes/celebs have embarrassing videos and pictures out there. Tiger has done a great job of keeping the public and media at arm’s length when it comes to his personal life. Given this, I still don’t know what to make of Tiger's vague apology/statement and refusal to speak to authorities. Maybe he is just hoping this goes away, but people don’t just casually pull out of their driveway and hit a fire hydrant and tree. The laws of common sense tell us something else was going on here. I’m very worried about how this is going to play out publically given Tiger is taking the “if I don’t say anything of meaning maybe all these people will stop talking about it” defense. To be continued.

8. Took a rare trip to the movies Sunday to see “The Blind Side”, the story about Ravens Tackle Michael Oher’s journey from the streets to the NFL. Very entertaining movie and I highly recommend it to everyone. I did not not tear up during it. And I swore to myself I’d never EVER say anything nice about the acting abilities of Keanu Reeves or Sandra Bullock, but wow, she is actually good in this movie? You are probably asking why I ended that last sentence with a question mark…I know…I’m scared too.

9. Since no Gamblers Anonymous this week: Saints -1 vs. Patriots – Heavy money has gone on the Patriots and I’m not sure why. The Saints have shown their defense is way better than the Colts and the Super Dome is 1000x louder than Lucas Oil Field. I have a tough time seeing the Saints losing this game, but I wouldn’t give up more than a point. You don’t want to get screwed on a Saints 1-3 point win.

10. Sunday Night TV Ratings: Dexter A+ (I think everyone finished last night’s episode in a cold sweat); Californication B

Turkeys of the Year: Dan Snyder

[insert long blog post about being the worst owner in all of professional sports here]

That's right...worse than this guy! [DISCLAIMER: IF YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN NEAR BY PLEASE SHIELD THEIR EYES]
OK, maybe not worse than this guy...but pretty f'ing bad!

Turkeys of the Year: Boston Red Sox

Not a good year to be a Red Sox fan.

• Your owner preseason publicly cried about the Yankees signing Teixeira to a big contract, despite offering Teixeira a gigantic contract himself. Nothing hypocritical about that.
• The two corner stones of your championships are now heavily suspected to have used performance enhancing drugs in recent years (Manny suspended this year, and both rumored to be on the 2003 PED list).
• Remember when you had the deepest rotation in the league? How many of those guys even survived the season in your rotation or on your team?
• Oh, and the Yankees just won their 27th World Series title.
  

-Steve Lugerner

Turkeys of the Year: Gilbert Arenas

Agent zero...accomplishments: one playoff series win in his career. The way this guy talks about his own ability you would think he has multiple rings by now. He's had three knee surgeries in the last two year. Even I wouldn't blame a player for being that unlucky - oh wait, until he blamed his own team this offseason for 'wanting to sell tickets' and letting him rush back. Maybe take some responsibility for your own actions Gil? Finally, he got his $111 million dollar contract essentially tying the Wizards to an unstable personality for the next 4+ seasons.

Here is an excerpt from a recent Washington Post article discussing the rift in the Wizards locker room:

The last time [Arenas] played almost a full season, in 2006-07, Arenas was able to carry the Wizards out of a 4-9 hole and to the best record in the Eastern Conference by late January. "I'm sitting here thinking, 'Do I have to go into attack mode like I was [three] years ago to get us over the hump?' " he said. "I hope not. It's only so many nights, so many games before I'm going to have to start doing what I do."
The question is whether Arenas is still capable of such heroics while he struggles to regain the form that made him a three-time all-star after a hiatus of almost two seasons because of a bothersome left knee. Arenas said he is the only player on the team who has had to sacrifice his game, but he has been the leading scorer in eight of the 12 games, has taken 64 more shots than anyone on the team, and is shooting just 39 percent. He also leads the league in turnovers per game (4.0).

The man is honestly delusional and I’ll be the first to admit I let it slide for years because at least back in the day he could put up 50 on back to back nights and single-handedly win games. After watching him commit 6 more turnovers last night, I can't help but wonder if Gilbert can even play the point position the way we NEED him to. Honestly, I think Gilbert's basketball IQ is so much lower than anyone recognizes. He leads the league in turnovers...so this notion he can be a "pass first point guard" and be as good as the top PGs in the league is just wrong. He doesn't have the decision making ability.

I can't speak for how the other players in the locker room feel, but I can't help but wonder if some of the veterans are tired of Gilbert pretending he's a top 5 player in the league and his annoying ego song and dance with the media. His game is clearly hurting the team right now more than helping and until he just shuts his mouth and recognizes that, we are screwed!

-Steve Lugerner

Turkeys of the Year: Knicks and Nets

Going to be posting the biggest Turkeys in sports today.

Easy one to start with: Fans/Management of the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

The most pathetic part about the management of both these teams is they think they have any chance of luring Lebron James or even Dwayne Wade to New York. I'm sure Lebron is just dying to play on a team with Chris Duhon running the point (who’s shooting percentage is comparable to Michael J. Fox at a gun range) and Eddie Curry now back at center after losing a teenage-eating-disorder amount of weight. He’s like the guy on the cigarette commercials who literally has half a face.

And the 0-14 Nets? I'm sure Lebron would love to team up with the Chairman Yi and Rafer ‘skip-to-my-lou’ Alston over the Cavs roster. The Nets are as far from a championship caliber supporting cast as ANY team in the league.

I guess in this day and age in the NBA when your team can't draft or do anything right, you have to pray for a free agent year like 2010, and sacrifice an entire season to have cap room. If I was a fan of either team, I'd be furious about my team rolling out such a pathetic roster for 82 games at the slim hopes of attracting a superstar. Who in their right mind would pay for season tickets for these two teams coming into the season?

-Steve Lugerner

Lugie's List 11/23 - Gobble Gobble

A moment of silence for my survivor season, which after lasting 10 weeks (beating my previous record of 2 weeks) is disappointing. How the Bengals can lose to Oakland after beating Pittsburg last week is beyond me…which leads me to…

1. By my count there are only 5 good NFL teams (Pittsburg and the Bengals fall out this week…even losing on the road is unacceptable when it's KC and Oakland):

2. San Diego – Norv Turner is still the coach. I refuse to even consider them contenders until a coaching change is made. Having said that…they’ve won 5 straight and have a shot at a first round bye.

3. Minnesota – They are cruising to a first round bye and look solid on both sides of the ball. Having said that…they haven’t beaten anyone on the contender list and Brett Favre is their QB – ticking time bomb come playoff time.

4. New Orleans – After a few close calls in recent weeks, the dominant Saints returned against Tampa, and at 10-0 stand a fairly good shot to finish undefeated in the regular season. Having said that…they have a showdown with the Patriots next Monday night which will be their toughest game of the year and hopefully Colts-Pats 2.0 for the viewing public.

5. Patriots – Belichick stuck it to the Jets yet again Sunday (does Rex Ryan have to give back his Coach of the Year trophy he received after week 3?). Having said that…Bill Belichick is a preening shmo who steals the souls of 5 children before every game to inspire his evil coaching.

6. Colts – The Colts looked shaky again Sunday barely holding on to remain undefeated. Having said that...they have Peyton FREAKIN' MANNING.

So I shamelessly stole a joke from Curb to fill my column. Having said that...you read it anyways. (ok moving on...)

7. Was the Bears-Eagles game as awful /boring to watch on TV as it was to Gamecast on my phone in the car ride home? Andy Reid again attempted to lose the game for the Eagles by running on 3rd and 4 where a first down nets them a W. There isn't a coach in the league that is worse at calling plays on the downs that matter most.

8. I've started reading the SportsGuy's new book on basketball/NBA, and 30 pages in, I will admit, I'm loving it. Which brings me to my stance on the SportsGuy I've held for years: nobody writes better about the NBA than him. It was honestly his incessant Boston love that became too much for a Boston-hater like myself. Heck, I didn't even hate the Celtics up until the 50th straight article about why Big Papi was the most feared hitter of the last 50 years or why Tom Brady is the best QB of all-time. Maybe those columns don't exist exactly, but you get the point.

9. Things I'm thankful for (and for purposes of comedy I'm not going to mention the obvious ones, so family...friends...take a hike): sugar-free Red Bull, Sarges, #27, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air re-runs, legalized gambling, illegal gambling, Maury Povich and Baked Lays (I'd be 50 pounds heavier without Baked Lays...no question in my mind).

10. Sunday Night TV Ratings: Dexter A+; Curb A; Mocha Joe A+; Californication B+

Gamblers Anonymous: Top 5 Casinos and Week 11 in the NFL

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally ready to release my top 5 casinos. Unlike 6-10, these 5 really have no glaring flaws. All 5 are located in Vegas, their décor is top notch and the accommodations are the best in the world. There is really no glaring weakness from any of these so rather than nit-pick over which has nicer throw pillows on the bed, here are some stories to accompany my top 5 casinos:

Bellagio (Strengths: reputation, poker room, any restaurant) – ‘I’ll go to War with a 5’
In my gambling heyday I was able to show Kobe-like coolness at a casino table. No matter the size of the bet, I wouldn’t freak out. This trademark calmness was on display one Bellagio evening at a Casino War table. Forget blackjack – how about just one card, you and the dealer, high card. In a calculated (idiotic) move I threw down $400 on one hand. With a crowd of friends watching, I pulled what seemed like a death sentence card: the 5 of spades. That’s when I casually turned to the crowd, shrugged my shoulders and infamously said, “I’ll go to war with a 5!” Sure enough the dealer pulled a 2 and the crowd went wild.

Mandalay Bay (Strengths: Theme, place to eat at 5am) – Cheaters Kind of Prosper
I’ve only seen someone cheat in a casino once, and trust me when I say it wasn’t some type of Ocean's 11 magic. I was sitting with two buddies at a blackjack table when a strange looking guy sat in 3rd base next to me (the last seat at the table).

Friend 1: Uh, did you guys see that?
Both of us: No - what are you talking about?
Friend 1 (a few hands later in a quiet voice): Did you guys not see that? He just dropped another chip on his hand when the dealer wasn’t looking.

Sure enough, I watched the guy pull a 20 in his first two cards and while the dealer was attending to the first player's hand, he flicked a $25 chip in the air onto his other $25 chip and chuckled to himself. Not exactly the kids from MIT taking Vegas for millions. We watched him successfully complete this anti-stealth move 5 more times with each time Friend 1 who going “HE JUST DID IT AGAIN” under his breath as all three of us were starting to lose it with laughter. Finally, the dealer caught him and called over the pit boss, who told the strange guy he would spend the night in jail if he did it again. What the hell happened to Vegas? I was really hoping someone would take a sledge hammer to his knee. I know Shelly Kaplow wouldn’t have tolerated that kind of crap in his casino (no…nothing?…The Cooler is the reference we were looking for here).

Caesars Palace (Strengths: Sports book, Pool, Palace Shops, food court) – The Suicide Bet
A suicide bet is exactly what it sounds like. It’s when you get so fed up with black jack that you go all in with the remainder of your chips. A standard suicide bet is roughly 5-10x (or more) higher than your average bet. It is made on sheer frustration and nuttiness. One night at Caesars Palace, my friend Ari had had enough. He was holding roughly $200 in chips and put it down on a hand of black jack. Winner. Put it all on again. Winner. Double the fun again. Winner. Double it up! Winner (at this point he began to pocket some of the money each time). He went on to win an amazing 11 hands in row, turning his $200 into roughly $3,000 in under 15 minutes (and the 12th hand he lost he had $1,500 on the table). I do not recommend this type of gambling to my readers. Not good for the heart.

Venetian (Strengths: Poker room, Grand Canal shops, Tao) – ‘Pay to Play’
This is not my story, but always thought it was funny. Two friends checking in at the front desk:
“Ok guys you are going to go through this row of slots here to get to the elevator bank for the Ivory Tower. The bar by the craps tables plays live music 9-2, the box office is back down to your right if you are interested in show tickets, and the bar over here behind the row of tables is also open late, but, you have to pay to play at that bar if you know what I mean.”

Which brings me to my biggest beef with the city of Las Vegas. In my 15 visits, I have never been propositioned for sex by a prostitute. I’ve been visible drunk and had wads of cash virtually spewing out of my wallet, and yet it has never even laughable come up with someone. To back track for just one second - I don’t want there to be any confusion here. I’m not looking to pay a prostitute in Vegas and if I ever run for political office, this paragraph alone can be taken out of context and sink my chances. I'm just saying, it would just be nice to be noticed one-time by a hooker. Am I not pretty enough? Do you know what this has done for my self-esteem? (hoping this far into the column girlfriend has stopped reading this…if not, heyyyyyyyyyy)

Wynn/Encore (Strengths: Wynn Deli, Pool, Sports Book) – Darth Vader
I think Bill Simmons has written about his refusal to play black jack against the auto-shuffler ad nauseam (25 columns to be exact, right behind his #1 topic the 1986 Celtics at 547 columns). I decided to tackle the beast with KJ and Ari. As we sat there getting slaughtered by Darth, we made vomit noises on bad beats, physically banged our head on the table and hummed the Darth Vader theme over and over again. Oh, did I mention this was all before 1 p.m. in the middle of the week? The nice woman dealer working the day shift who was roughly the age of all our mothers was shaking her head in disgust. “What is wrong with you guys..what would all of your mothers think?” I am pretty sure she relocated her family out of Vegas after this classic display of degenerate behavior.

P.S. If it was socially acceptable to write several paragraphs - scratch that - an entire column about the Matzo Bowl Soup at the Wynn Deli I would. Just know that.

Let’s get to this week’s NFL picks:
Peyton FREAKIN’ Manning: Colts -1.5 at Ravens – The last time Peyton played in Baltimore it was 35-0 by the middle of the third quarter and some dude named Sorgi was trotting on the field. This Ravens team is not that bad, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how the Colts are not -3 or more. And when have you ever known me not to bet the Colts.

Jay Cutler is the anti-Peyton: Eagles -3 at Chicago - He stinks. Plain and simple - he is not any good Happy! This is a miserable Sunday night game - watch the Curb finale twice instead and check the score after.

MNF: Titans +4.5 at Texans – I don’t do analysis on two teams and a game I don’t care about. Listen to a Simmons podcast for that.
-Steve Lugerner

Lugie's List: 11/16 - Belichick's Blunder

There was a lot of talk this week about Brady and Manning being the top two quarterbacks of all-time, in "some order," according to a Boston sports writer. Uh, not some order: Peyton Manning #1 and everyone else starts at #2 (and I’m not convinced Brady is #2). No QB today is anywhere close to Peyton’s level. He is literally the smartest man ever to step on the football field. Which leads us into the game of the year in the NFL...

1. I know you have three rings Bill, BUT HOW DO YOU NOT PUNT? HOW DO YOU NOT PUNT? If you don't trust your defense to stop a team needing to go the length of the field to win, why even line up on Sunday? How can Bill Belichick look his defense in the eye after this game and say 'I have faith in you guys'? A friend brought up the argument that maybe he just trusts his offense that much. That still isn't a good reason to go for it in this situation. If you fail on 4th and 2 on your own 30 WITH THE LEAD, then you essentially guaranteed a Colts win (see Colts win 35-34). This is one of the worst coaching decisions I've ever seen. Additionally, the Pats carelessly burned timeouts and were unable to challenge the spot of the ball on the 4th down play, although I doubt there was enough evidence to overturn the spot. O/U of replays of ‘BELICHICK’S BLUNDER’ on the 6pm SportsCenter set at 7.5.

2. It goes without saying, but it has to be one of the greatest regular season games of all time. Best two teams in the NFL, best rivalry in the NFL, best two QBs, two amazing offenses and a riveting last 4 minutes of play. I'm still sweating bullets thinking about it. Oh and because I always try to remain objective…BOSTON SUCKS!

3. I know some BingBong loyalists complain Jerry Silverberg doesn’t post enough. Who knew how much work was required to manage a fake Mike Francesa twitter account. However, please re-read Silverberg's Jets article after they started 3-0 - couldn't have been more right. Ah, to be a Jets fan. One minute you are swimming on top the division - new coach, new QB, great defense - the next minute you've lost 5 of 6 and Rex Ryan is desperately trying to line up endorsements for NutriSystem. Is there another team in the NFL that consistently sucker punches their fan base every season by week 9? Really is an impressive feat.

4. The ‘MJD fantasy kneel heard ‘round the world’ during the last minute of the Jacksonville-Jets game was an incredible video game play that most head coaches or players would never think to do. Even though the Vegas line was unaffected by MJD taking a seat at the one yard line instead of scoring a TD, I can only imagine the fantasy emails circulated regarding .1-6 point loses by MJD owners. Ouch.

5. After watching Colts-Pats, the Saints struggling against the Rams, the Cowboys and Packers fornicating the football for a half and the Chargers beating the Eagles - is there any doubt the AFC is winning the Super Bowl? I’m not convinced the Saints would stand a chance against an experienced team like the Colts or Pats.

6. For as good as replay usually is in the NFL, we had two incidents Sunday where a play couldn't be reviewed. A) The Pats spot on 4th and 2 mentioned earlier because of no timeouts and the play coming before the two minutes warning, and B) the Packers being awarded a fumble recovery when it was clear a Cowboys player recovered the ball first and was touched down. Can someone explain to me why you can't challenge that play? That made no sense and while I doubt the Cowboys were coming back in that game, it was a pretty big gimme for the Packers.

7. What did the gambling community learn this week? By Week 9 the NFL is way too good at setting the lines. Everyone has been loading up on favorites week after week and it was only a matter of time before odds makers caught up.

8. And on a more personal level, someone learned this week never ever parlay EVERY BET with the same game (i.e. Alabama-Broncos, Wisconsin-Broncos, New York Liberty-Broncos, etc.). ESPECIALLY, don’t do this when the team you are loading up on is playing against your favorite team. This is the ultimate f-u to the gambling gods and could not be worse for your gambling karma. And yes, I'm referring to the Redskins shocking win against an overrated Broncos team. The Skins scored over 17 points for the first time since the Eisenhower administration and we had a 100-yard rusher with I believe Kenan Thompson filling in at left tackle. Hooray, we will be just good enough to pick outside of the top 5 on draft day yet again.

9. Full disclosure: I have never been a huge Curb fan. I’ve watched episodes in past seasons that were so annoying and unfunny I really disliked the show. This is the first full season I’ve really watched regularly, and by my count only one of those episodes fit this mold (Larry getting his doctor’s home number was painful). Getting to last night’s episode – it’s probably the best Curb episode I’ve ever watched. A must watch for any Seinfeld fan (even if you don’t watch Curb) and I’m sure the finale next week will bring more of the same. Absolutely hysterical.

10. Sunday Night TV Ratings: Bill Belichick: F-, Peyton Manning: A+, Dexter B, Curb A++, Californication A+ (another amazing episode…all shot in Hank’s apartment…brilliant).

-Steve Lugerner