Macca

News from Hong Kong ... Australian horse 'Dark Dream' (under new ownership) just won a C2 race in impressive fashion at Sha Tin by 4.5 lengths and is now probably going to be favourite for the HK Derby. Dark Dream won the Group 1 Queensland Derby back in June. n.b. The Derby in HK is for 4 year old's and is worth a cool $2Million to the winner - smart purchase by the looks of it. Definitely one to follow.

The Ravens looked good and played well ... defense travels hey! We might be having one of those seasons where any of the playoff teams can advance a long way in the playoffs. Nothing should surprise as we keep seeing games being decided by picks, turnovers, fumbles and errors. Chargers put in an average one but they've been up for the contest for what seems like an age. They'll bounce back you'd reckon.

My tips - Vikings, Rams, Bears Paging @titan_uranus @DeeSpencer @Dr. Gonzo

Titans victory today now means that the Ravens need to win today otherwise they'll need help in week 17. Big ask at the Chargers but they can do it.

Good luck with all that DZ ... been there myself but it's been a while now. Re-learning how to sleep in 1 or 2 hour allotments is quite a challenge! You'll manage. As for the Galaxy Star race, I've taken out a F4 as I normally do in Perth. It might have an off-day but I'd be surprised if that did happen. With Material Man out the only real danger is Gatting although 1 of the tipsters has picked Perfect Jewel.

4 picks in so far - managed to snag 47-1 (boosted) so good luck if you're playing. Be a handy xmas collect if it gets up. Need Juve to get it done tonight first off. Italian Serie A Sunday 6.30am $2.10 Juventus Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Roma Portugal Primeiri Liga Monday 4.30am $2.65 Benfica Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs SC Braga  Dutch Eredevisie Monday at 00:30 ADO Den Haag v Feyenoord Feyenord Win/Over 2.5 goals $2.10 EPL Monday at 03:00 Everton v Spurs Spurs win/Over 2.5 goals $3.30

Winner! Had it on top in a multiple trifecta but just missed with Gwenneth pipping Saint Valorem. Otherwise, had quite a good day on the punt. So a 1st & 2nd with the 2 picks today so that'll improve the strike rate DZ.

3 of the first 5 winners to Craig Williams ... he's on 2nd favourite Demolition in race 6 and the favourite Creedence in race 8. Having a day out. Cash Affair jumped slowly and got too far back - ran 2nd and got home well. Weir mentioned that settling midfield was the ideal spot. Winner too good, all the same.

Eagle Farm to host Deja Vu race? Here is the race in question ... Eagle Farm Race 3

Weekend Specials Italian Serie A Sunday 6.30am $2.10 Juventus Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Roma Portugal Primeiri Liga Monday 4.30am $2.65 Benfica Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs SC Braga

Nariko scratched DZ ?

Best Bet Flemington Race 5 No.5 Cash Affair $4.60

Well done @Grapeviney ... that post of your trip was wonderful reading. Fabulous snaps and video clips. It was kinda like a bucket-list all on its own in a whirlwind tour - hard to top that one. I did something similar at the Sydney Olympics with Mrs Mac & Scout Mac. You'll have those memories forever GV - great stuff!

A few decent betting races for the weekend with the Group 2 $400k Ted Van Heemst Stakes being the standout race from Ascot ... Galaxy Star ($1.65) probably wins with Willie Pike on board but Material Man & Gatting could both give a good sight. Out of those 3 you'd reckon with Perfect Jewel & Prying Tom running on perhaps. The Ted Van Heemst Stakes is the often used lead-in race to the Perth Cup (to be run on 5th Jan) Also of interest is the December Hcp from Warwick Farm - just the one turn over the 1400m as they run out of the Shute at that venue - as illustrated here Ted Van Heemst St - Ascot December Hcp - Warwick Farm Christmas Hcp - Morphettville Open Hcp - Flemington

I reckon Mahomes for MVP ... he's played great and he's also had a huge impact. Donald, Brees & Rivers have all been fantastic as well but the kid gets into the picture. Meanwhile, the Pro-Bowl selections are out ... Chargers lead the way with 7 selections whilst the Chiefs & Steelers 6 each. Read more here - 2019 Pro Bowl selections for every team: Full NFC, AFC rosters

Just the 1 point on offer this week but what a vital point it could turn out to be! A reminder that week 17 carries 3 points. The Rams look like certainties but finding 2 more looks tricky. A number of divisional games and they're often close. Anyway, 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

Ha ha! Just a gut feel Dappa ... Foles and all that. Home field, trap game for the Texans. Everything on the line for Philadelphia. And in this unpredictable season, most of the games are more line-ball than we've realised. The Vegas lines have often been way off-beam. More so than I can ever remember. We've seen a lot of upset wins so we could expect more of the same. Didn't Foles take over at the exact same time last season? And then ...

@Dappa Dan and others ... I had a go at the Playoff Machine and came up with the following notable results. Of course, they all have to happen for my final standings to be accurate. And what are the chances of that happening? Especially the road win projections! Regardless, we are heading for a colossal last 2 weeks. Week 16 KC loss @ Seattle Saints win vs Steelers Eagles win vs Houston Chargers win vs Baltimore Week 17 Colts loss @ Titans Bears win @ Minnesota Chargers win @ Denver Eagles win @ Washington

I reckon we'll know a lot more after viewing year 2 of the concept with the different logo's, names and all the rest of it. But I won't be watching it in terms of the excitement of winning. More so as an entertainment package and whether it could gain traction with a younger audience as the mainstay. We watch footy with one aim in mind - winning. Take that aspect away and AFLX has to be viewed differently. And if that different viewership attracts good numbers, they may be on to a winner. Time will tell. I'm about as old school as it gets with some sports (AFL, Test Cricket, the Horses, Soccer) but I see AFLX as Sports Entertainment or as pure entertainment that has an appeal to certain demographics. Much like Big Bash, WWE or ESports. And those 3 forms of entertainment alone bring in the big $$$$'s.

When it is all said and done there is not much more that the AFL can do here in this country ... others may disagree especially those looking at grass roots level but to grow the game in a major way we have to go international. You make some very good points on the potential benefits that may come about so why not take the game to the world in AFLX form. The fantastic stadiums are all there so it's just a matter of sticking up the goal posts and away you go. It's a very clever concept if you think about it. I don't believe the long term focus is local anyway but they have to start somewhere.

There are a few major differences between both the BBL & AFLX though BM. t20 was already successful on the world stage when the Big Bash was launched so it was always going to get a captive audience. AFLX is starting from ground zero so it needs the stars playing to have a good chance of succeeding. The comparisons for me lay with the demographics that both forms of sport are vying for ... and that's why there is so much opposition - especially here on this site. Old school, old ideals and old values vs New Age. That's why the debate rages and will continue to rage. Seen it before a stack of times in various sports including cricket and horse racing. On that, NSW racing is aggressively challenging the Victorian stronghold and a lot in Victoria don't like it. Bring it on I say. The more competition, the better.

The injury risk is overplayed considering that any player can get injured anytime, anywhere. The AFLX games are as much an injury risk as simulated training and way less a risk than practice games or the real stuff. And we play less practice games these days so the overall injury risk has lessened anyway. Did you watch AFLX last year rjay? I did and the games were like touch football with very little tackling and almost zero congestion. And there was very little chance of fatigue injuries when considering how short & sharp the contests were As for the appeal of the concept, whatever floats your boat I say so if AFLX gains a large audience, so be it.

That is a costly fumble by the Rams

And there will almost certainly be a stack of road winners this week as well JV - maybe up to 7 in all ... it's turned out to be a more interesting comp than I had ever envisaged. And more so this season with 12 participants. Duck eggs all round again this week so you are still joint leader along with Gonzo & DS. And everyone is still in contention. We allow for joint winners. 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'm assuming none of those 3 games had started when you posted up your tips so no problem TU