Macca

I don't believe we'll see any upsets though ... the teams that need to win generally do so at this time of the season Could be wrong of course but I reckon the Ravens, Packers, Saints, Seahawks & Titans will all win. Can't see the trap game (Saints?) And I can't see any of Tampa, Colts or the Pats losing either However, the Chargers are heavily favoured by the bookies @ KC. Chiefs resting the starters? Not at all sure on your Rams ... 'Vegas' likes Arizona in your game

Ravens, Titans, Saints

Neufbosc wins the Perth Cup! 'Truly Great' 3 wide throughout carrying 60 kgs. Had cover for the most part but nonetheless, a big ask Beaten by a nose Midnight Blue ran ok for 3rd but not in the class of the first 2 But Truly Great has a big future as a stayer/middle distance horse. It will be brought over to the East you'd imagine as we have a dearth of decent middle distance horses from 1800m up to a mile and a half Neufbosc will win more races as well. Started 3.60 so the money came for it today. Had 6kgs on Truly Great though

Got Athiri & Li'l Hank up late with a couple at Ascot to come. Been a good day By the way, if I lose you won't be hearing from me! haha

That's the shot Gorg. Good stuff! I've picked up a few winners myself ...Bella Tiara, Dickin Medal & De Grawin up at Rosehill Got Boyles up early in the day as well so well in front You only need a few winners when the each-way chances get up It's a known fact that 70% of all favourites don't win but I will back a favourite if there is some value attached (7-2, 4-1 etc) I steer clear of the real shorties unless in a multi or in Stakes races

Quantum Mechanic held up at the top of the straight for 3/4 of a furlong. Being a backmarker that can happen but is definitely one to watch as it still nearly won and was flying home And I've gone for some value in the Perth Cup with another horse carrying the Bob Peters cerise colours Perth Cup R8 No.13 Midnight Blue (10.00/2.50) ... a lightweight chance and drawn nicely Truly Great too short for my liking although it is the horse to beat

Jamie Kah has ridden 3 winners at Flemington today and is on the 4-1 shot Quantum Mechanic in the last Race time 6.55pm

Fairly sure the Pats missed out on the playoffs in 2008 despite having an 11 & 5 record And Miami won that division in 2008 with an 11 & 5 record So it doesn't always go the Pats way!!

I like the divisional set up ... means a team can get lucky every now and again And with 7 teams in the playoffs now the winner of the NFC East is in in front of the 4th best wild-card team. They are not keeping a top team out It's not exactly fair but the AFL has way more anomolies with regards to parity. As do many other sports (especially soccer which has no salary cap) A bit of quirkiness in sport without everything needing to be seeded all the time aids the underdog element Just an opinion though Gorg ... doesn't mean I'm right But if the Giants get in and end up beating the Packers in week 2 (as they did in 2011/12) all bets are off!

If the Giants beat Dallas & the Eagles defeat Washington, the Giants will win the NFC East with a 6 & 10 record!

@layzie @Gorgoroth @DemonDave @JV7 @titan_uranus @DeeSpencer @Clintosaurus @Dee Zephyr @Go the Biff In the tipping comp Gorgoroth has entered the fray being the only one to pick up points last week (how 'bout those Browns!) So that means that only 4 can win the comp (either outright or a shared victory) whilst the rest of us are playing for pride (and a possible podium finish) Good luck to all remembering that we play for 3 points this week Leaderboard - Tipping Comp 13 - Clintosaurus, titan_uranus 11 - Gorgoroth 10 - Go the Biff 9 - Macca 8 - JV7, Dee Zephyr 6 - layzie, DemonDave, DeeSpencer 1 - Others We've had a trap game in the last 2 weeks and will there be another this week? Or 2 trap games? haha

Next Test confirmed to be held in Sydney Are they going to be able to have a crowd?

The latest with Warner is that he still can't run properly. Not sure he'd be allowed in from Sydney either due to Covid. Still, the 3rd test is 10 days away so who knows Bancroft, Harris, Renshaw or Khawaja could come in to open and Wade is best suited to the late middle order. He's a fighter but not a A grade test opener Our batting is all over the place with Labuschagne & Smith entering the fray too early. Wade or Green but not both? And Travis Head looks completely out of sorts as well. The batting is a dogs breakfast right now and India only need to win this test (likely) and 1 more test to retain the trophy

India dominating this test match now ... a minor miracle now required by the Aussies. Still no news on where the next test match will definitely be held. Could still be Sydney but the 3rd test isn't due to start until the 7th Jan anyway. Not sure why Perth hasn't been talked of as a venue And if India win the test we'll need to win the series to win back the Border/Gavaskar trophy. n.b. India have won the last 2 series' between the 2 countries

Which means that you're the only chance to pick up 2 points in the comp (with a Bills win) ... and in general terms the Browns will now need to beat the Steelers at home next week to clinch a playoff berth

From Racenet.com 10-to-1 top Aussie horses of 2020 Here's the horses rated 6 - 10 (you'll need to click on the above link for the top 5) Racing in Australia was the one sport to continue virtually unimpeded throughout the 2020 COVID pandemic and there was excitement aplenty with a host of younger gallopers rising through the ranks with a couple who were good enough to be elevated into the Top-10 after turning in spectacular performances. Overseas gallopers landed a few majors with Addeybb taking out the Ranvet Stakes-Queen Elizabeth Group 1 double and of course Twilight Payment in the Melbourne Cup but the National Racing Newsroom team have cast their votes for 2020 based on the best Aussie-trained gallopers of the year and this is how it landed. 10 - SEPTEMBER RUN (Trainer - Chris Waller) It’s virtually impossible to believe where this filly came from to make the top ten and rank as one of only two three-year-olds on the star studded list. She won a maiden in May then came from nowhere during the spring to become a Group 1 winning star. Beaten out of the placings at Randwick when resuming in the Silver Shadow she excelled at Flemington winning three-in-a-row down the straight course culminating in a sizzling win in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes. 2020 record: 7 starts - 5 wins Group 1 wins: Coolmore Stud Stakes. September Run ridden by Craig Williams wins the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington. Photo: George Salpigtidis/Racing Photos via Getty Images 9 - NATURE STRIP (Trainer - Chris Waller) It was a massive fall from grace for the horse rated world’s best sprinter after brilliantly winning the TJ Smith Stakes in the autumn. Nature Strip started the spring as a raging hot favourite for The Everest after trialling sensationally but come grand final time the chestnut was nothing more than a spectator. He was beaten first-up at odds on and two runs later finished seventh in The Everest. Nature Strip closed out the year with a much better performance finishing second in the VRC Sprint Classic, but he was beaten 3¼ lengths by Bivouac. 2020 record: 7 starts - 2 wins - 2 placings Group 1 wins: TJ Smith Stakes Nature Strip clears out with the T J Smith Stakes at Randwick. Photo: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts 8 - RUSSIAN CAMELOT (Trainer - Danny O’Brien) As a lightly raced three-year-old Russian Camelot only won his maiden in April but an emphatic win in the South Australian Derby had him elevated to Melbourne Cup favouritism as soon as weights were released. Only won once during the spring taking out the Underwood Stakes but was placed in three other Group 1 races and closed off with an eighth in the Melbourne Cup when he lost little caste. He’s still one of Australia’s best. 2020 record: 8 starts - 3 wins - 3 placings Group 1 - SA Derby, Underwood Stakes Russian Camelot wins the Underwood Stakes at Caulfield in front of an empty grandstand. Photo: Reg Ryan/Racing Photos via Getty Images 7 - SIR DRAGONET (Trainer - Ciaron Maher & David Eustace) Australia only got to see son of Camelot twice after he arrived in Australia following solid form in Europe earlier in the year. Sir Dragonet charged through the line to give Glen Boss his fourth Cox Plate, emphatically beating fellow invader Armory. He then went to the Melbourne Cup and was far from disgraced finishing sixth beaten 3½ lengths. Look out for him in the autumn. 2020 record: 6 starts (2 Aus) - 1 win - 4 placings Group 1 wins: Cox Plate Sir Dragonet was brilliant winning the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley. Photo: George Salpigtidis/Racing Photos via Getty Images 6 - OLE KIRK (Trainer - John, Michael & Wayne Hawkes) The Hawkes Racing-trained Ole Kirk was a shooting star late in the year, coming from nowhere to become the most valuable racehorse in the land. He’s closely related to champion mare Black Caviar so it was no surprise he was sold for $675,000 at the sales. After winning the Group 1 double of the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas he’s now worth $50m-plus and heads to Vinery Stud at the conclusion of his racing career - but the autumn comes first. 2020 record: 8 starts - 3 wins - 4 placings Group 1 wins: Golden Rose, Caulfield Guineas Ole Kirk under Tommy Berry wins the Golden Rose at Rosehill Gardens. Photo: Mark Evans/Getty Images

Dolphins win in a barnburner! That'll please DZ & GtB!

Will do 2 x multi's as I did last week ... the Rams can go into the 2nd multi which is more of a spec bet My rule of thumb is that at this time of the year the teams that need to win, generally do win. The also-rans are either in holiday mode or eyeing off where they sit in the draft. Aberration - Jets winning at the Rams!!

Rams tomorrow? Gut feel? (I'm putting together another multi ? )

Bears, Browns, Colts

The Bucs have made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years after smashing Detroit 47 - 7 Brady only played a half but threw the ball for 348 yards with 4 TD's

Happy to see the end of Pujara Our first innings score of 195 doesn't look too bad now. There is just enough in the track to keep all the bowlers in the game

Not really into omen bets so I had 'Rossman' picked out with a genuine chance today at Mornington (Race 7 No.6) ... paying $8

@layzie @Gorgoroth @DemonDave @JV7 @titan_uranus @DeeSpencer @Clintosaurus @Dee Zephyr @Go the Biff We've entered the Flemington Straight and we now have joint leaders! t_u has joined Clint in the lead after securing a vital 2 points in week 15. And we play for 2 points again this week before playing for 3 big points in week 17 Looks a race in 2 but in the world of tipping, anything is possible. As stated here last week, most of us still in the running will need to be quite creative with our tips. Podium positions are still available for those out of the race And 7 participants can still win it all (either outright or as a joint winner) It's all to play for so good luck! Leaderboard - Tipping Comp 13 - Clintosaurus, titan_uranus 10 - Go the Biff 9 - Gorgoroth, Macca 8 - JV7, Dee Zephyr 6 - layzie, DemonDave, DeeSpencer 1 - Others Some standout road winners loom large (on the surface of it) but beware of the trap game! An interesting set of games coming up

Probably the upset of the season Gorg You'll still make the playoffs but on the road throughout now? And thanks to your thoughts on the Rams game. I excluded that game in my 8 pick multi ... and I got it up for a very nice Christmas bonus. Close on 4 figures for a small outlay Dee Zephyr's Bears pick upped the anti and I fancied Dallas at home. The rest won as they were supposed to do. All 5.00am starts too Happy days but KC are the team to beat from an overall perspective. Well coached, a superior QB and just very competitive team-wise Not totally convinced with the Packers but none of the NFC teams are great. Home field won't mean much without a crowd ... which brings the road teams into it Just got to get hot for 4 playoff weeks and the title is up for grabs!