NFL Picks: Week 13

I wonder who this blogger is rooting for...

	At Minnesota	-5	Buffalo	43.5
	At Miami	-5.5	Cleveland	43
	At Tennessee	-3	Jacksonville	43.5
	At Kansas City	-8.5	Denver	48
	At NY Giants	-7.5	Washington	43
	Chicago	-5	At Detroit	43
	At Green Bay	-9	San Francisco	41
	New Orleans	-6.5	At Cincinnati	45
	Atlanta	-3	At Tampa Bay	43
	At San Diego	-13	Oakland	44.5
	At Seattle	-4.5	Carolina	40
	At Indianapolis	-5.5	Dallas	47.5
	St. Louis	-3.5	At Arizona	44
	At Baltimore	-3	Pittsburgh	39

Monday Night Football Line

	At New England	-3.5	NY Jets	45

Life Is good

College football conference championships and big rivalry games today, NFL tomorrow, Patriots vs. Jets Monday. It's Christmas come early. Enjoy it.

Countdown Friday: Top 10 Angry Moments

I'm still a little upset about this Qatar business. And so I bring you: the top 10 angry moments in sports. (Besides, I'll take any chance I can get to sneak a Quebec Nordiques clip in here.)

10 Reasons Why It's A Terrible Idea To Let Qatar Host The World Cup

It is difficult to describe the events that took place at the FIFA Headquarters this morning without using the word "abomination." The decision to send the 2018 World Cup to Russia is peculiar, but at the very least, understandable. I like that FIFA is allowing countries to host the tournament in an effort to increase the relevance of soccer in that area. After all, that's how the U.S. got its bid in 1994.

The choice of Qatar to host in 2022, however, defies all reason. I can't think of an instance in the last 20 years where a less qualified country was selected to host the World Cup tournament or Olympic Games. Even Australia, which successfully hosted the Sydney games in 2000, would have been a better choice (Australia got eliminated in Round 1 of voting).

Here are 10 reasons why the FIFA committee made a huge mistake:

1. The Qatar soccer team will actually be in the World Cup - What a joke.

2. It's hot as Hell - Try 120 degrees.

3. It sets a terrible precedent that the World Cup can be bought - Of course, I don't have any evidence to say this guy or that guy took bribes. But come on. I wasn't born yesterday.


4. Purely in terms of soccer, the Middle East hasn't earned it yet - Several teams from the Middle East have participated in the World Cup and have performed respectably. Still, their performances simple don't justify a bid, not yet.


5. Qatar has little soccer tradition - They've never even qualified for a World Cup.


6. It raises lots of questions about the influence of oil money in world soccer - Who knows how far it reaches.


7. It's smaller than Connecticut - I'm actually not joking about that.


8. FIFA is taking too much of a gamble - If this doesn't work, there could be some serious backlash against FIFA.


9. Qatar has to spend $50 billion to create the necessary infrastructure - That means that it doesn't exist yet.


10. Qatar's soccer stadiums are made of pixels:

Fantasy Football: Week 12

Division races are heating up. Only two more weeks until the playoffs!

The Backside Georges (11-1), def. Petey Jones. RB. (9-3) 94-79

In a matchup of the two best teams in the league, The Backside Georges came away with the victory behind strong QB play (25 from Aaron Rodgers) and a solid running performance by who else, Arian Foster (21 points). Petey Jones. RB. got a solid 17 from Flacco, 18 from Mendenhall, and 10 from Felix Jones, but saw only 10 total points at the WR position.

 
Bleeding Nipples (7-4-1) def. Market St. Marauders (2-9-1) 106-70

Bleeding Nipples could have the strongest WR lineup. This week, Brandon Lloyd put up 19 and Dwayne Bowe notched a gentleman's 35. Market St. Marauders got an incredible performance from NYJ DEF (22), but it simply wasn't enough.

SlapBetCommissioner (5-6-1), def. MonStars (7-5), 74-44

It was an ugly week for MonStars, who fell out of the division lead with the loss. Only one player managed to crack double digits, and that was Greg Jennings with 11. SlapBetCommissioner had a strong showing, with 14 points from Knowshon Moreno, 13 from Matt Forte, and 11 from Peyton Manning.

Armchair Quarterback (8-4) def. Shut Up Meg (7-5) 72-71

What a close matchup this was. It was a brutal loss for Shut Up Meg, who has slipped out of playoff position as a result. David Acres led the charge for Armchair Quarterback with 15, and Jon Kitna had 12. Shut Up Meg got 27 from Wes Welker, but a -3 from Lee Evans was the deciding factor.

Hocus Pocus (7-4-1) def. Captain Insano (4-8), 93-71

There were far too many zeros on the scoreboard for Captain Insano (four, to be exact). Poor performances 25 points from Kyle Orton and 24 points from the San Diego DEF. Hocus Pocus got 23 from Deion Branch. However, Frank Gore is now on the IR, so Hocus Pocus could have some trouble in the running game in the next few weeks.

Nick (2-10) def. NorthEastGrapepicker (0-11-1), 51-47

In the battle of the scrubs, Nick escaped with a 4 point win. It was perhaps NorthEastGrapepicker's last chance to notch a W. A combined total of 0 at the RB position typical results in a loss. And it did.

TwoDat (6-4-2) def. bitchesaintshit (4-8), 79-76

With a narrow victory, TwoDat has vaulted himself back into the playoff race. Jamaal Charles and Michael Turner combined for 37 points. Both teams had poor WR play (12 points each for WRs). The decisive factor was the TE. Jason Witten put up 9 for Twodat, while bichesaintshit got just 1 from Aaron Hernandez.

vick's pooch kick (7-4-1) def. Carolina Sex Panther (6-6), 120-78 

Carolina Sex Panther, who once held the division lead, is now in last place in the very competitive Coach Boone's Dictatorship. vick's pooch kick, who sat at the basement of the division for quite some time, has claimed the lead and is looking like a playoff team. Peyton Hillis had 37 in the win.

**Special Awards**

Highest Scoring Team: vick's pooch kick with 120. Thanks Peyton Hillis

Lowest Scoring Team: MonStars with 44. Bad time to lay an egg.

Best Player: vick's pooch kick's Peyton Hillis with 37. How's Brady Quinn, Denver?

Worst Player: Shut Up Meg's Lee Evans with -3. Cost the team a W.

Best Matchup: Armchair Quarterback (72) vs. Shut Up Meg (71)

Worst Decision: Shut Up Meg, for putting faith in a Buffalo Bill