Macca

My tips ... Saints, Steelers, Rams Paging @Dr. Gonzo @titan_uranus @Gorgoroth @Dee Zephyr @DeeSpencer Leaderboard in the Comp 6 - JV7, Dr. Gonzo, DeeSpencer 5 - layzie, Dappa Dan 4 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 3 - titan_uranus, Gorgoroth, Macca 2 - Demon Dave

Congratulations DZ ... 4 tackers! You're a marvel ... actually, your wife is the marvel. Great news and all the best mate. 4 little Demons running around - there's hope for the club yet!

Arcadia Queen - Wow! Heading for the $7.5 Million Golden Eagle in November you'd reckon. Daylight to 2nd and made the rest look 2nd rate. Material Man & Galaxy Star battled on well for 2nd & 3rd but the winner really is something special.

Monday Morning Specials Serie A Monday 6.30am $2.85 AC Milan Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Torino Bundesliga Monday 4.00am $2.10 Borussia Mönchengladbach & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Stuttgart

Best Bet Ascot Race 5 No.1 The Velvet King $3.10

Yeah, I was going to say 'May the better team win' but there is no better team JV ? I actually reckon the Falcons may well win as the Packers are a mess right now ... it's not like GB can go to a different play book. It will be more of the same. They may well hand it off to Jones a bit more but that won't make much difference ... and our group of WR's are below average too. Thus, Atlanta should then be able to rack-up enough points against a below average D.

I'm reckoning the Rams as well. Denver also. There's maybe a trap game or 2 in there but I reckon the Steelers are a stone-cold lock. Surely they won't lose to Oakland? The games of real interest are the Ravens @ KC, Eagles @ Cowboys, Rams @ Bears & Vikings @ Seattle. Indi @ Texans is a good match-up too. The December run-in is always full of highlights even though our 2 teams are out of it JV.

1 point on offer this week ... a number of strong road favourites again but upsets do happen as we saw last week when the Saints & Bears both lost when both were heavily favoured to win. Week 15 carries 2 points, Week 16 just the 1 point and Week 17 carries 3 points. At this stage everyone is still in contention but with a total of 8 points still available, the backmarkers might have to win-out to have a chance of winning outright. Good luck all. Leaderboard in the Comp 6 - JV7, Dr. Gonzo, DeeSpencer 5 - layzie, Dappa Dan 4 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 3 - titan_uranus, Gorgoroth, Macca 2 - Demon Dave

I'd be guessing that they might already have got someone in mind There are restrictions on OC's & DC's in terms of the timing of the appointments too. Meanwhile, having Philbin in charge complicates matters

I must say I am a little surprised with the play calling but the bottom line is that the team surrounding Rodgers is way below par. Weaknesses absolutely everywhere - especially with the whole defense but the offense is struggling big time as well. And the coaching & recruiting isn't up to scratch either ... but I still would have had McCarthy coach out the season. To sack him an hour after the game was classless & crass. As a club you've always got to portray a decent image in order to attract the best people for the future. To be honest, we've acted like rank amateurs. And I'd say most GB fans would have the same opinion. Nothing to be gained by the reactionary move and a fair bit to lose Gorg.

Not much happened for Washington after that ... thought we'd seen the end of Sanchez but with McCoy going down he was next in line. Eagles now go to Big D for the division lead. Late arvo Sunday game. Every game is like a final for the contenders in the NFC East from here on in. Eagles did what they had to do today and they're therefore still alive. In other news I did not enjoy reading the following article ... tail wagging the dog and all that so GB have got the job ahead of them in terms of getting back on track. I suppose a number of QB's have got some sort of autonomy with regards to play calling but it looks like things have gotten out of hand. It is not a good look regardless. Given the circumstances I'd be going for a strong-minded experienced coach for the restructure, rebuild, cleanout & do-over. And the handling of Rodger looks like being too big a job for a rookie. Aaron Rodgers Regularly Changed Mike McCarthy's Play Calls at Line of Scrimmage

Must-win for the Eagles tomorrow ... should be a good game being divisional rivals and all that. If Washington win that will mark the 7th road winner for the week. But I reckon Philadelphia will keep their hopes alive with a win. ESPN Playoff Machine

And Damien Oliver just picked up the ride on 'Trap for Fools' in the Kingston Town Classic to be run on Saturday ... the horse is fresh off winning the McKinnon a month ago. Here's the latest odds for the $1Million Kingston Town Classic. Looks to be a race between the locals Arcadia Queen, Galaxy Star, Material Man & former local Trap for Fools. Gatting has been racing well also but the top 4 look the most likely.

Approaching the home turn in the comp Gorgoroth (3) HALL DeeSpencer (6) Dee Zephyr (4) titan_uranus (3) OF Dr. Gonzo (6) layzie (5) Clintosaurus (4) Macca (3) FAME JV7 (6) Dappa Dan (5) Go the Biff (4) Demon Dave (2) Latest Approximates 9-2 DeeSpencer 5-1 JV7 11-2 Dr. Gonzo 6-1 layzie, Dappa Dan, Dee Zephyr 7-1 Clintosaurus, Go the Biff 9-1 Gorgoroth, titan_uranus 12-1 Demon Dave, Macca

The core issue is the antiquated thinking ... the D is merely a symptom. We have a myriad of issues not just the most obvious. We have one great asset (Rodgers) so it is not like it is ground zero ... 12 months hard work and a lot can be fixed in the NFL.

Poor timing by an organisation that has lost its way ... need a restructure, rebuild, cleanout and a do-over. Not in totality of course. We are not the Demons of 2012/13. They should have waited until the end of the season and I will not be changing my mind even if we somehow manage to win our last 4 games. It is a panic move even though we do need a change at Head coach. At least we've got one asset - Rodgers. That is about it.

Yep, risk/reward didn't pay off. Still, there's still a fair bit to play out and the key is to remain within striking distance before the 3 points is on offer for week 17. And there's always the post-season tipping comp as a consolation prize ... might spruce that comp up a bit with a few more chances at gaining points. But I'll leave that till later on at a more relevant time.

Unfortunately no addition to the strike rate from yesterday Wadda but at this time of the year finding winners is a difficult task. And from what I've heard Maastricht will never be the same after your exploits. More like Mayhem in Maastricht! I often go to exacta's in the racing off-season and managed to snag the collect in the Winterbottom. Didn't include Malaguerra so would have missed the trifecta if I went down that path. And Voodoo Lad was a last minute inclusion due to our support of the horse here on this thread. Anyway, all the talk here is of the inaugural running of the 'Jericho Cup' later today ... here's the form for the race The race has been named in honour of our diggers and the horses they were associated with during WW1 in the Middle East ... they raced a 3 mile event during that time so this inaugural race marks the 100th anniversary. There is a lot more to the story though ... read more here Australian Group & Listed Races Best Bet Strike Rate 64: 22 - 8 - 9

4 Best bets in so far but the 4 add up to a handy 36-1 (non boosted) Spanish Primera Division Monday at 02:15 Girona v Atletico Madrid Atletico Win by 2+ goals $3.20 Italian Serie A Tuesday at 06:30 Atalanta v Napoli (win) $2.10 Monday 3.15am EPL $2.00 Liverpool Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Everton Monday 4.00am Bundesliga $2.75 Eintracht Frankfurt Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Wolfsburg

Weekend Specials Monday 3.15am EPL $2.00 Liverpool Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Everton Monday 4.00am Bundesliga $2.75 Eintracht Frankfurt Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Wolfsburg

'Voodoo Lad' wins the Winterbottom in fine style ... Damien Oliver mentioned that he followed Enticing Star into the straight and then ended up going past the horse at the post in a grandstand finish. Another master ride for his 115th Group 1 winner. The horse was in last place at the 600m mark. DK Weir once again and another former multiple best bet from the 'A Day at the Races' crew. A terrific race and I reckon we'll be seeing Enticing Star in the East soon enough. Game in defeat and beat a number of good horses home. Another former best bet from the crew here in 'I'm a Rippa' won the George Moore Stakes up at Doomben leading virtually all the way ... ran a sizzling time as well. A much improved sprinter/miler to look out for.

Best Bet Rosehill Race 6 No.4 Pecans $4.40 (Win)

Opens things up for your Rams now in terms of the 1 seed Gorg ... as always, a lot can change in the NFL from week to week.

Saints in trouble ... scoreless at half time. Trailing by 10 so it isn't a large lead. Credit to Dallas though ... they have turned things around after looking like they were done a month ago

Saints, Rams, KC