connoisseur series500

I'd be happy to set up a playoff pool. Let me get the schedule posted and people can post their picks on the thread. I'll do the tabulating.

Week 17 results: Connoisseu NE ATL CIN HOU PIT IND GB CAR MIN TB ARI BAL DAL WAS MIA SD 48 13 Edward Tak BUF ATL CIN HOU PIT IND GB NO MIN TB ARI BAL PHI SF NYJ SD 49 12 Aggie87 NE ATL KC CHI PIT IND GB CAR MIN TB ARI BAL DAL SF NYJ SD 49 11 vajerzy NE ATL KC CHI PIT TEN DET CAR MIN TB ARI BAL PHI SF MIA DEN 54 10 Van Basten II NE ATL CIN CHI PIT IND GB NO NYG TB ARI BAL DAL WAS NYJ SD 32 9 Noj This player has not yet submitted picks for this week 8 Soulstation1 This player has not yet submitted picks for this week 8 Final 2008 results: Connoisseur series 500 13* 11* 12 9 7 8 11* 10 8 10 9 10 11 11 9 7 13* 169 Van Basten II 12 7 12 8 10* 8 9 9 9* 12* 10 9 10 12 13* 6 9 165 vajerzy 11 7 13* 8 9 9 8 10 8 10 10 7 12* 13 10 6 10 161 Aggie87 11 8 11 7 9 8 8 8 9 11 11* 8 9 11 11 8 11 159 Noj 7 7 12 9* 7 7 7+ 9 8 11 11 11* 6 10 11 7 8+ 148 Soulstation1 7 8 9 7 6 8 8 11* 6 11 9 10 9 13* 12 6 8+ 148 Edward Tak 11 8 12 8 7 10* 9 9 8 8 7 6 6 9 8 8* 12 146 Anyway we can get a playoff pool set up?

Thanks for the kind words Van B! You gave me a terrific scare as we went into the last week tied--all this after I had led the pool since week one! I really spent a lot of time on the final week's picks, because I wanted to win really BAD!! It was a nice week for me. Hey, we've got the playoff picks still ahead. (And please don't change your pool name.) You can't be the Buffalo Bills and finish second forever!

I agree.

Hey, I wouldn't let that stop you, it's never stopped Allen Lowe. hehe

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Week 16 results: Aggie87 IND DAL SF CLE NE TB MIA PIT NO DEN HOU NYJ PHI ATL NYG CHI 49 8 Edward Tak IND DAL STL CLE NE TB MIA TEN NO DEN HOU NYJ WAS MIN NYG CHI 38 8 Connoisseu IND DAL SF CLE NE TB MIA PIT NO DEN HOU NYJ PHI MIN NYG CHI 46 7 Noj - DAL SF CIN NE TB MIA PIT NO DEN HOU NYJ PHI MIN NYG CHI 30 7 Soulstation1 IND DAL SF CLE ARI TB MIA PIT NO DEN HOU NYJ PHI ATL CAR CHI 31 6 vajerzy IND DAL STL CLE NE TB MIA PIT NO DEN HOU NYJ PHI MIN NYG CHI 46 6 Van Basten II IND DAL SF CLE NE TB KC PIT NO DEN HOU NYJ PHI MIN NYG CHI 38 6 Year to date results going into final weekend: Connoisseur series 500 13* 11* 12 9 7 8 11* 10 8 10 9 10 11 11 9 7 156 Van Basten II 12 7 12 8 10* 8 9 9 9* 12* 10 9 10 12 13* 6 156 vajerzy 11 7 13* 8 9 9 8 10 8 10 10 7 12* 13 10 6 151 Aggie87 11 8 11 7 9 8 8 8 9 11 11* 8 9 11 11 8 148 Noj 7 7 12 9* 7 7 7+ 9 8 11 11 11* 6 10 11 7 140 Soulstation1 7 8 9 7 6 8 8 11* 6 11 9 10 9 13* 12 6 140 Edward Tak 11 8 12 8 7 10* 9 9 8 8 7 6 6 9 8 8* 134 I'd say Vajjy has an outside shot at winning, especially since the final week games are notoriously difficult to pick. If there is a tie for first place, I propose that the one who gets the most playoff games correct wins. That would be a fair tiebreaker, imo. Organissimo past pool winners: Conn 2005 Ed 2006 Noj 2007 This is the fourth in the series.

Happy Birthday Aloc!

Wow! I had no idea that the Ravens beat Dallas last night. Of course, Dallas is out of it now. I really thought that they would defeat the Ravens. Are the Giants back as NFC favorites then? We'll have to see if Carolina proves to be the better club. I still like the Steelers in the AFC, though Peyton Manning is getting hot at the right time.

I think the Cowboys will be in the Super Bowl against the Steelers. Giants are fading.

I got it when it first came out, and was really glad that I did. Nice cd.

Let's open it up for everyone!

Let's do it!

My theory is that Van B is taping NFL practices.

Ok, Ok, I'll get to it. Been busy with finals week at school. Week 15 results: Van Basten II CHI MIA WAS JAC NYJ SD IND ATL TEN SEA ARI NE PIT CAR DAL PHI 32 13 Soulstation1 CHI MIA WAS GB NYJ SD IND ATL TEN SEA ARI NE PIT CAR DAL PHI 48 12 Aggie87 CHI MIA WAS GB NYJ SD IND ATL TEN STL ARI NE PIT CAR DAL PHI 49 11 Noj CHI MIA WAS GB NYJ SD IND ATL TEN STL ARI NE PIT CAR DAL PHI 45 11 vajerzy - MIA WAS GB NYJ SD IND ATL TEN SEA ARI NE PIT CAR NYG PHI 52 10 Connoisseu CHI MIA WAS GB NYJ SD IND ATL TEN STL ARI NE BAL CAR NYG PHI 38 9 Edward Tak - MIA WAS GB NYJ KC IND ATL TEN STL ARI NE BAL CAR DAL PHI 38 8 Year to date results: Van Basten II 12 7 12 8 10* 8 9 9 9* 12* 10 9 10 12 13* 150 Connoisseur series 500 13* 11* 12 9 7 8 11* 10 8 10 9 10 11 11 9 149 vajerzy 11 7 13* 8 9 9 8 10 8 10 10 7 12* 13 10 145 Aggie87 11 8 11 7 9 8 8 8 9 11 11* 8 9 11 11 140 Soulstation1 7 8 9 7 6 8 8 11* 6 11 9 10 9 13* 12 134 Noj 7 7 12 9* 7 7 7+ 9 8 11 11 11* 6 10 11 133 Edward Tak 11 8 12 8 7 10* 9 9 8 8 7 6 6 9 8 126

He's an amazing player. Bill Parcells knows talent!

More fun with Emmitt:

Happy Birthday BB!

TO has the history, let's put it that way. Like I said before, Cowboys have it all in terms of talent. It's just that all the different chemicals on the team just lead to combustion. I don't think it is a good approach to pick up all the talented driftwood across the league and sign them to your team. The Roy Williams trade is not good. Cowboys gave up a lot for him. TO is a pain in the ass. Pacman is a disaster. The shame is that lost in the glare of these big egos are very talented and underrated players such as Demarcus Ware and Greg Ellis. I know Ellis has been known to complain here and there, but I would love to have him on the Patriots. He's a warrior.

Cowboy's saga continues: (from Profootball talk) WAS WITTEN WERDER’S SOURCE? Posted by Mike Florio on December 12, 2008, 5:09 p.m. As it turns out, Terrell Owens’ suspicions regarding teammate Jason Witten might have been on the mark. The talk in the Cowboys locker room is that Witten was one of the sources for Ed Werder’s recent ESPN item, which has sparked a firestorm within the organization. Per a league source, center Andre Gurode and receiver Roy Williams called out Witten in a team meeting regarding their belief that he has been talking out of school to Werder, accusing Witten and/or his agent of feeding the information to Werder — as the song “Back Stabbers” played in the background. According to our source (and it pains us to type this), Owens isn’t as bad as he’s made out to be in the media (i.e., by ESPN). “Ed Werder didn’t make anything up,” the source said. “Witten or his agent gave the story.” And here’s where it gets really interesting. Witten’s agent is Jimmy Sexton. And Sexton represents — you guessed it — former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells. Parcells wanted no part of Owens, and presumably Parcells would love nothing more than to see the Cowboys fail to make the playoffs in the same year that Parcells is in the process of propelling the previously 1-15 Fins toward the postseason. We’re not saying that Tuna has his finger in this one, after all he’s not the kind of guy who’d stick his nose in business that doesn’t pertain to him. We’re just pointing out the straight line from Witten to Sexton to Parcells, who by the way drafted Witten in 2003, the same year that Parcells signed Romo as an undrafted free agent. Giants seem a little vulnerable this weekend, but the 'Boys are fighting each other instead. It's shameful.

Is Dallas ready to implode? This is actually a very interesting article about what's going on. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3763209 Some highlights: Owens feels that Romo and Witten -- close friends and road roommates who came to Dallas in the same offseason -- hold private meetings in which they create plays the two will use in upcoming games without including Owens in the conversations, according to a source who speaks regularly with Owens' teammates. Owens believes these discussions have worked to his detriment as Romo seeks to deliver the ball to Witten regardless of whether Owens is open. and But Owens seems to be finding it increasingly difficult to conceal his irritation. Last week in Pittsburgh, on the first possession of the Cowboys' most important game of the season, a team source who reviewed the game tape said Romo threw an interception when Owens mysteriously failed to complete his route. Troy Polamalu intercepted the ball at the place where Romo expected Owens to be. Later in the half, Romo underthrew a pass for Owens that was intercepted by Ike Taylor and Owens gestured openly in Romo's direction as he walked toward the sideline that the ball should have been thrown further upfield. But what upset Owens' teammates most of all was his response to the interception Romo threw on a pass intended for Witten that Deshea Townsend returned for the game-winning touchdown in a 20-13 defeat. Both the quarterback and tight end publicly accepted blame for the Cowboys' season-high fifth turnover. In contrast, Owens said the offense stunk, that the team can't win with turnovers like those and then suggested his defender was playing off in single coverage and that he was open but Romo decided to throw elsewhere on the fatal play. On the sideline, Owens was seen yelling at a Cowboys assistant coach. In his news conference after the game, Owens implied that Romo's decision to throw to Witten was the wrong one, saying, "It's his job to go out there and assess what the defense is, and he made that decision.'' That incensed some Cowboys, one of whom said, "If you only knew all that guy does. It's gonna go down with him before it's all over with. He is unbelievable. Tough loss and he does that?''

Some interesting little paintings to the right. How about a close up of those, Chris? Any word on their history and provenance?

Yeah, it's kind of new. Lots of Thursday games now.

Can't beat an Italian at his own game!