Week 20 (continued)

We're down to one final game, and the after 845 we've picked already how much could the Super Bowl really matter to our pool? Turns out, a lot.

Chris, Rob, Lonnie, Cullen and Bob all have a chance to win the final week. And if that weren't enough drama, Rob, me and Kristy are fighting for second and third. I've said it before, I'll say it again: This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy ...

OK, first the simple part: Chris has wrapped up the overall title. Turns out, Rob couldn't have caught him last week no matter what he did because Chris picked Pittsburgh over San Diego two weeks ago. I had figured his score with him picking the Chargers because he took San Diego in his e-mail picks, but he changed it to the Steelers in a text he sent me. How could I have messed that up? Well, I didn't see it because he put a space between his text paragraphs (who does that in texts? Oh, I know - people who went to high school in the 1980s) and I never read the rest of it until he told me to.

That might make Rob feel better, except he changed his pick to Baltimore over Pittsburgh in an attempt to catch Chris, and missing that game means if he misses the Super Bowl Kristy and I will move ahead of him by - get this - two two/thousandths of a point (.6581 to .6579). Dude, I'm really sorry, but it wasn't my fault.

Don't worry, it gets worse.

Kristy and I are assured of dropping this week no matter what happens Sunday, so we don't even have to pick it. Rob, though, must pick correctly or lose to us. And either way, we have to figure out how to break a tie between me and Kristy to decide who gets the overall coconuts, be they second or third. I have some ideas, but since I'm directly affected it wouldn't be sporting of me to offer them up. So ...

I know you guys don't really care since you're not in it, but some unbiased votes and/or ideas would be much appreciated. For the sake of our marriage.

Which brings us to the weekly win that's on the line. Rob, Chris and Lonnie are tied at 14-6, while Cullen and Bob stand at 12-8. And since the games count three each, all are alive and kickin'. A tie for the week is also very possible, so we're going to need a tiebreaker for that as well. Here's what I've come up with:

• Total score.
• Halftime score.
• Guess correctly which songs Bruce Springsteen performs at halftime (the most right wins).
• Number of receiving yards Larry Fitzgerald has
• Number of touchdowns Ben Roethlisberger throws

Finally, according to my records the following people have not turned in their entry coconuts:

• Chip
• Chris
  
• Dad

Correct? Once again, my address is: 1750 Meadowbrook Terrace, Hendersonville, NC 28791

Whew. I think that covers it. If I've made a mistake, please let me know ASAP. And, P.S., more than a couple of us never knew that when you guys came up with worst-week idea you meant worst week on your score, not worst week percentage-wise. Luckily, our overall standings wouldn't be influenced either way this year so I'm not going to worry about it. Next season, we'll revisit the topic again.

Standings
(Weekly win in bold; worst week in red)

1. Chris 34-8, 37-14, 35-13, 28-19, 28-19, 32-10, 30-16, 29-17, 28-19, 26-18, 28-17, 37-11, 33-16, 39-19, 26-7, 13-7, 14-16, 26-12, 25-19, 14-6 (548-267, .672)
2. Rob 31-11, 37-14, 31-17, 29-18, 29-18, 30-12, 29-17, 34-12, 29-18, 26-18, 31-14, 34-14, 28-21, 40-18, 19-14, 11-9, 18-12, 29-9, 18-26, 14-6 (529-272, .660)
3. Ron 33-9, 38-13, 37-11, 29-18, 27-20, 26-16, 27-19, 34-12, 27-20, 26-18, 27-18, 35-13, 29-20, 42-16, 25-8, 12-8, 16-14, 26-12, 27-17, 8-12 (543-282, .658)
4. Kristy 30-12, 39-12, 27-21, 31-16, 28-19, 31-11, 28-18, 32-14, 30-17, 26-18, 31-14, 35-13, 31-18, 37-21, 26-7, 13-7, 19-11, 20-18, 29-15, 3-17 (543-282, .658)
5. Cullen 35-7, 38-13, 31-17, 28-19, 26-21, 25-17, 27-19, 32-14, 31-16, 26-18, 32-13, 35-13, 31-18, 40-18, 24-9, 11-9, 14-16, 25-13, 21-23, 12-8 (530-285, .650)
6. Amy 32-10, 40-11, 29-19, 30-17, 28-19, 25-17, 24-22, 26-20, 30-17, 26-18, 34-11, 35-13, 31-18, 40-18, 22-11, 12-8, 17-13, 27-11, 25-19, 5-15 (533-292, .646)
7. Lonnie 30-12, 37-14, 28-20, 27-20, 26-21, 24-18, 28-18, 31-15, 28-19, 26-18, 28-17, 35-13, 31-18, 39-19, 23-10, 9-11, 20-10, 22-16, 27-17, 14-6 (524-301, .635)
8. Bob 31-11, 34-17, 31-17, 34-13, 26-21, 28-14, 24-22, 28-18, 34-13, 26-18, 27-18, 34-14, 26-23, 40-18, 22-11, 11-9, 16-14, 22-16, 22-22, 12-8 (506-295, .632)
9. Cheryl 29-13, 35-16, 33-15, 26-21, 27-20, 27-15, 27-19, 30-16, 33-14, 25-19, 29-16, 30-18, 28-21, 36-22, 20-13, 12-8, 12-18, 22-16, 20-24, 11-9 (500-315, .613)
10. Chip 33-9, 41-10, 32-16, 28-19, 30-17, 30-12, 25-21, 29-17, 28-19, 25-19, 27-18, 34-14, 34-15, 38-20, 18-15, 14-6, 0-30, 21-17, 0-44, 0-20 (487-314, .608)
11. Lane 30-12, 34-17, 30-18, 28-19, 27-20, 28-14, 25-21, 25-21, 28-19, 23-21, 32-13, 29-19, 21-28, 30-28, 24-9, 12-8, 14-16, 14-24, 17-27, 8-12 (465-342, .576)

Schedule
NFL
Arizona vs. Pittsburgh

Week 20 standings, Part 1

Well, last week I left little Robbie for dead, because I didn't anticipate he would almost ace the weekend. But he did. And now he's in second place. Whoops.

Rob has bolted out to the weekly lead with an 11-3, two games better than Cullen and Bob, and thanks to my (5-9) and Kristy's (3-11) horrible showings he has also vaulted from fourth all the way to second. Whoops, again.

I've figured the standings counting this week's games, though Kristy and I would both drop it technically. But even if we do, Rob remains ahead of us. So we've got some serious drama with three games left. And Rob, if he can take two of three from Chris, now could win first overall. So if he has any balls he can't just sit on his lead.

I guess it's fitting that this year's race, which has been so close for so long, would come down to this. Here are the standings:

Overall standings
(weekly win in bold; worst week in red)

1. Chris 34-8, 37-14, 35-13, 28-19, 28-19, 32-10, 30-16, 29-17, 28-19, 26-18, 28-17, 37-11, 33-16, 39-19, 26-7, 13-7, 14-16, 26-12, 25-19, 8-6 (542-267, .670)
2. Rob 31-11, 37-14, 31-17, 29-18, 29-18, 30-12, 29-17, 34-12, 29-18, 26-18, 31-14, 34-14, 28-21, 40-18, 19-14, 11-9, 18-12, 29-9, 18-26, 11-3 (526-269, .662)
3. Ron 33-9, 38-13, 37-11, 29-18, 27-20, 26-16, 27-19, 34-12, 27-20, 26-18, 27-18, 35-13, 29-20, 42-16, 25-8, 12-8, 16-14, 26-12, 27-17, 5-9 (532-277, .658)
4. Kristy 30-12, 39-12, 27-21, 31-16, 28-19, 31-11, 28-18, 32-14, 30-17, 26-18, 31-14, 35-13, 31-18, 37-21, 26-7, 13-7, 19-11, 20-18, 29-15, 3-11 (526-275, .657)
5. Cullen 35-7, 38-13, 31-17, 28-19, 26-21, 25-17, 27-19, 32-14, 31-16, 26-18, 32-13, 35-13, 31-18, 40-18, 24-9, 11-9, 14-16, 25-13, 21-23, 9-5 (527-282, .651)
6. Amy 32-10, 40-11, 29-19, 30-17, 28-19, 25-17, 24-22, 26-20, 30-17, 26-18, 34-11, 35-13, 31-18, 40-18, 22-11, 12-8, 17-13, 27-11, 25-19, 5-9 (514-279, .648)
7. Bob 31-11, 34-17, 31-17, 34-13, 26-21, 28-14, 24-22, 28-18, 34-13, 26-18, 27-18, 34-14, 26-23, 40-18, 22-11, 11-9, 16-14, 22-16, 22-22, 9-5 (503-292, .633)
8. Lonnie 30-12, 37-14, 28-20, 27-20, 26-21, 24-18, 28-18, 31-15, 28-19, 26-18, 28-17, 35-13, 31-18, 39-19, 23-10, 9-11, 20-10, 22-16, 27-17, 8-6 (518-301, .632)
9. Cheryl 29-13, 35-16, 33-15, 26-21, 27-20, 27-15, 27-19, 30-16, 33-14, 25-19, 29-16, 30-18, 28-21, 36-22, 20-13, 12-8, 12-18, 22-16, 20-24, 8-6 (497-312, .614)
10. Chip 33-9, 41-10, 32-16, 28-19, 30-17, 30-12, 25-21, 29-17, 28-19, 25-19, 27-18, 34-14, 34-15, 38-20, 18-15, 14-6, 0-30, 21-17, 0-44, 0-14 (487-308, .613)
11. Lane 30-12, 34-17, 30-18, 28-19, 27-20, 28-14, 25-21, 25-21, 28-19, 23-21, 32-13, 29-19, 21-28, 30-28, 24-9, 12-8, 14-16, 14-24, 17-27, 5-9 (445-312, .588)

Week 20 (continued)

Sorry guys, I've been slack. I'll have the first round of the Week 20 standings out tomorrow morning, but here are the two games (both are on Sunday):

NFL playoffs
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Philadelphia at Arizona

Week 20

That mysterious Anonymous said it best: Last week was tailor-made for an Ed win. Of course, Ed didn't win because he took early retirement, but I'll bet now he regrets it.

A brutally unpredictable batch of bowl upsets left gallons of blood in the water, seriously shaking up the standings and seriously culling down the number of people with a chance at the prize coconuts. But there were some survivors. A week after suffering her worst performance of the year and sliding all the way to fourth, Kristy rebounded with a 29-15 that gave her her second weekly victory of the season and vaulted her all the way back up to second with a legitimate chance to catch Chris for the championship in the final week.

She gained four games on the text master and bumped me to third despite the fact I tied with the suddenly surging Lonnie for second with a 27-17 (thank you, Tulsa). Still, second overall remains a statistical dead heat since Kristy leads me by only two one-thousandths of a point, and we're both just two games back of Chris.

In other developments:

• Rob got to drop his 18-26, but it wasn't enough to keep him from falling from second to fourth for the second time this season. Nevertheless, he has an outside shot at second with a strong showing over the remaining games.
• The carnage means that nobody else really has a chance at overall prize coconuts. Cullen wasn't kidding with his vow to go down in flames, as a 21-23 let Kelly Johnson; err, I mean, Amy, creep past him and into fifth.
• At least he and Rob tried. Chip carded his second 0-fer in three weeks to mysteriously punt his hopes of contending down the stretch. This must be the same kind of competitive fire that landed him in the Furman athletic hall of fame.
• Bob got to drop his 22-22, but it didn't keep Lonnie from passing him for seventh. Ouch.
• Cheryl and Lane ... ahhh, the hell with it. Suffice it to say they both finished under .500 for the week but had to keep it, and Chip is still ahead of them with an 0-fer.
  

Remember: Thursday's bowl counts two games and the remaining NFL games count three - and the rest of the NFL playoffs will be lumped into one weekly total. I'll send out updates after every weekend. And please put your mind to mailing me your entry coconuts. Honestly, I haven't even figured up who hasn't done it. I'm sure I won't have to, right?

Standings
(weekly win in bold; worst week in red)

1. Chris 34-8, 37-14, 35-13, 28-19, 28-19, 32-10, 30-16, 29-17, 28-19, 26-18, 28-17, 37-11, 33-16, 39-19, 26-7, 13-7, 14-16, 26-12, 25-19 (534-261, .672)
2. Kristy 30-12, 39-12, 27-21, 31-16, 28-19, 31-11, 28-18, 32-14, 30-17, 26-18, 31-14, 35-13, 31-18, 37-21, 26-7, 13-7, 19-11, 20-18, 29-15 (523-264, .665)
3. Ron 33-9, 38-13, 37-11, 29-18, 27-20, 26-16, 27-19, 34-12, 27-20, 26-18, 27-18, 35-13, 29-20, 42-16, 25-8, 12-8, 16-14, 26-12, 27-17 (527-268, .663)
4. Rob 31-11, 37-14, 31-17, 29-18, 29-18, 30-12, 29-17, 34-12, 29-18, 26-18, 31-14, 34-14, 28-21, 40-18, 19-14, 11-9, 18-12, 29-9, 18-26 (515-266, .659)
5. Amy 32-10, 40-11, 29-19, 30-17, 28-19, 25-17, 24-22, 26-20, 30-17, 26-18, 34-11, 35-13, 31-18, 40-18, 22-11, 12-8, 17-13, 27-11, 25-19 (509-270, .653)
6. Cullen 35-7, 38-13, 31-17, 28-19, 26-21, 25-17, 27-19, 32-14, 31-16, 26-18, 32-13, 35-13, 31-18, 40-18, 24-9, 11-9, 14-16, 25-13, 21-23 (518-277, .652)
7. Lonnie 30-12, 37-14, 28-20, 27-20, 26-21, 24-18, 28-18, 31-15, 28-19, 26-18, 28-17, 35-13, 31-18, 39-19, 23-10, 9-11, 20-10, 22-16, 27-17 (510-295, .634)
8. Bob 31-11, 34-17, 31-17, 34-13, 26-21, 28-14, 24-22, 28-18, 34-13, 26-18, 27-18, 34-14, 26-23, 40-18, 22-11, 11-9, 16-14, 22-16, 22-22 (494-287, .633)
9. Chip 33-9, 41-10, 32-16, 28-19, 30-17, 30-12, 25-21, 29-17, 28-19, 25-19, 27-18, 34-14, 34-15, 38-20, 18-15, 14-6, 0-30, 21-17, 0-44 (487-294, .624)
10. Cheryl 29-13, 35-16, 33-15, 26-21, 27-20, 27-15, 27-19, 30-16, 33-14, 25-19, 29-16, 30-18, 28-21, 36-22, 20-13, 12-8, 12-18, 22-16, 20-24 (489-306, .615)
11. Lane 30-12, 34-17, 30-18, 28-19, 27-20, 28-14, 25-21, 25-21, 28-19, 23-21, 32-13, 29-19, 21-28, 30-28, 24-9, 12-8, 14-16, 14-24, 17-27 (440-303, .592)

Games (Part 1)
Bowls
Florida vs. Oklahoma (Thursday)

NFL playoffs
Baltimore at Tennessee (Saturday)
Arizona at Carolina (Saturday)
Philadelphia at New York Giants (Sunday)
San Diego at Pittsburgh (Sunday)