Diligent ... the "points" Dawn put after the games have nothing to do with the spreads. If you'll notice, all the numbers 1 through 14 are used, with no duplications. These are "confidence points". When you pick games this way, you assign the highest number (in this case, 14) to the game in which you have the most confidence in your pick, then the next highest number, etc., etc. It's obvious Dawn is a Vikings fan, since she put 14 points on the Vikes against a very good Ravens team. High risk, high reward type of play. [Yes, Dawn, I know the game is in the Metrodome, but still ... ] I don't usually put my team as high as I have the last couple of weeks, simply because I've learned not to pick with my heart, but with who the Eagles played last week and who they play this weekend, it's difficult not to put a lot of weight on those games.

Although I usually tend not to go along with the crowd, I have to say that the multitudes are correct here. What that doofus "hubby" of yours did had absolutely nothing to do with your physical (or other) attributes, it had to do with what a moron he is. Take some time to heal; don't jump into anything else too quickly, or you'll likely find yourself in another bad relationship down the line. Get to know your kid(s) better. Do some things for yourself. Hopefully, you'll get to a point soon where you realize that being in a relationship is not only NOT a requirement to be happy, but that many times it can actually be a hindrance!

The other emphatic sentiment from the majority of the posters is correct, as well. He definitely did not take your best years away. Your best years are most assuredly in front of you.

God bless you as you move forward ...

As a lifelong Eagles fan, I would like to say ... "Welcome to my world!"

Early this decade, the Eagles' top WRs every season were people like James Thrash and Todd Pinkston. McNabb took those teams to the NFC Championship games they went to nearly by himself, at least on offense. I know many Dallas fans (as well as fans of most other teams around the league) like to make derisive comments about him, but look what happened when he was finally given a receiver who didn't drop the ball more often than he caught it (T.O.) - McNabb became the first QB in NFL history to throw for at least 30 TDs and fewer than 10 INTs, an accomplishment since matched by only Tom Brady.

I hope to see the Phillies vs. the Angels in the World Series. [I would've rather seen my Cardinals in there than the Phillies, but they didn't even really show up (except for Wainwright) ... oh, well! ]

Yeah, it must be awful to have lost to two teams whose combined record five weeks into the season is 8-2!

lol ... no problem at all ... I hope you were able to correct that issue!

Just my opinion, but I think you should post a separate topic for each week. I don't know that I can really give you a good reason for this belief, so I hope you don't mind me giving unsolicited and unsubstantiated advice.

As far as the subject matter, I've been picking games for years, but I've never done it with the spread until this year. I'm doing OK, although Week 5 was not good for me (6-8 ATS). My favorite way to pick games is with "confidence points", picking games straight up but assigning a unique value of 1 through 16/14/13 (depending on how many games are played that week) on each game, with "1" being the game in which you have the least confidence in your pick, and the high number being the one in which you have the most confidence. I do this in a few large groups (50 people) on Yahoo, and last season, I placed first or second in all of my groups.

I, too, have learned the lesson of picking with one's heart, rather than one's head. I'm an Eagles fan, and I have been burned several times in the past picking them to win with very high confidence.

Enjoy the rest of the season!

Nice to know some people are paying attention ... thanks, Jt!

Here are mine for this week:

HOU @ CIN → 13

DET @ GB → 8

CLE @ PIT → 14

KC @ WAS → 1

CAR @ TB → 2

NYG @ NO → 3

STL @ JAX → 9

BAL @ MIN → 6

AZ @ SEA → 4

PHI @ OAK → 11

BUF @ NYJ → 12

TEN @ NE → 10

CHI @ ATL → 7

DEN @ SD → 5


[All picks and confidence rankings are subject to change until Sunday morning (although this week it is unlikely I would be able to change anything after Saturday afternoon), based on news of injuries, suspensions, etc. Good luck to anyone who plays along! ]

Don't forget the great JaMarcus Russell!

I just found this post. I do picks on Yahoo with confidence points as well. Funny, last week (Week 4) I went 13-3, this week (Week 5) I went 8-6, but I got 80 points both weeks. Last week, I had TEN as my 9-pointer (@ JAX), BAL as my 10-pointer (@ NE), and DAL as my 6-pointer (@ DEN) ... although I didn't mind the Cowpies losing at all, since I am an Eagles fan!

This week, all six losses I had were in my low-confidence games. [**Whew!**] I had the following:

CIN @ BAL - 7

CLE @ BUF - 5

WAS @ CAR - 3

PIT @ DET - 10

DAL @ KC - 12

OAK @ NYG - 14

TB @ PHI - 11

MIN @ STL - 13

ATL @ SF - 2

HOU @ AZ - 8

NE @ DEN - 1

JAX @ SEA - 6

IND @ TEN - 9

NYJ @ MIA - 4

I don't bet on games, but I have fun picking against friends. Looks like you picked quite well, Dawn ... perhaps next season you'll have to join one of my Yahoo groups!

Looking forward to discussing Week 6 picks on here!

This is the part I've always found interesting/amusing/frustrating about the extreme environmentalist movement. They're treehuggers, yet they desire to eliminate the very thing keeping all of those precious plants alive. Quite strange, indeed.

I have to agree with these and some others I saw. It never ceases to amaze me how women will put an age range that includes boys 10 years their junior, but when those boys act like the clueless horndogs that their age would suggest, the woman gripes and complains that these boys aren't mature enough, aren't interested in something more, etc. WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT??? [This is a general "you", not a specific "you"]

The Constitution of the United States was written with the specific purpose of limiting what the federal government could do. The founders knew that, if given too much power, the federal government would turn out to be very much like the government from which they had just finished separating over a period of many years, and at the cost of an incredible number of lives.

"When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson

Have you been asleep for the previous eight years??? That kind of stuff was going on ALL THE TIME when Bush was POTUS. He was constantly compared with Hitler, hung in effigy, etc., etc., etc. There was even a book about how to assassinate Bush, and a movie that came out (I believe it was in Canada) about Bush being assassinated. Now that Obama's in the WH, all of that is off limits? Sorry. Not saying any of it is the greatest thing to be doing, but for all those on the left getting upset about this stuff, this President is getting exactly the same amount and type of respect that many on your side gave Bush when he came into office. And it's not because of his race. It's because of his radical leftist policies.

The race card has been WAY overplayed long before Obama even came into the national spotlight, and now the people playing it just look ridiculous, except to those who slobber over the lunatic rantings of Keith Olbermann every evening. Sometime late last year or early this year, I remember hearing a sound bite from one of the "news analysis" shows stating that, in essence, the people claiming Obama's stated policies could be considered socialist were just using another racist code word. Really? That's funny, when I hear the word "socialist", I think of Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini, Castro, etc. ... I don't reflexively think of ANYONE who is black, or ANY one particular race.

And to those who claim that Christians are the driving force behind this supposed racism (including an article that boo2u posted early in the thread), all I can say is this: I have lived in several different states, attended a number of different non-denominational churches - some with thousands of members, some with only a few hundred - and I am a very social person, so I tend to meet and get to know more than the average number of people ... and I have never known anyone at any of those churches, nor have I known anyone I've met through anyone I've known at those churches, who believes that anyone is superior or inferior to anyone else based on race, gender, or any other criteria such as those.

Where on earth did you get the idea that Mingle2 is a "Christian dating site"??? There certainly are some people here that are Christian, but there are also plenty of people here who are not. Perhaps you ought to check your facts before you make yourself look foolish ... next time.

As far as the "monsoon season" goes, at least up here in Phx, they're saying that we may see more rain in the winter. I think that would be better, anyway ... the last thing I want to deal with in the summer here is humidity!!!

You're exactly nine days older than me, jerseygirl ... and I grew up in South Jersey as well!


Happy Birthday to all of us September/Virgo people!

The only thing in there I would disagree with is how "horrible" everyone seems to think it is to be "alone." First, just because you don't have a significant other in your life doesn't mean you're alone. Those are really good times to build on your friendships, or make new friends. It's been nearly 3½ years since my last girlfriend, but it's zipped by. God's been doing a lot of work in me, so apparently I needed it (and there's still more to go)! It will probably be another year or two (at least) before I'm ready to even think about getting into a relationship again, so it's a good time to focus more on Him.

I don't like the Broncos all that much, but I picked them in that game. I was pretty pissed off when the Bungles took the lead. I figured Denver had blown it. That was a big-time heads-up play by Stokley.