Macca

Yep ... Ace High was 3 deep for a lot of the run. A commanding performance. It's a pity my first 2 picks in the 2 earlier races dipped out! .

I didn't read it that way anyway D77 ... I know plenty who have done what you've done - just part owners of various percentages. I've just never indulged. I do like frequenting the races though ... Derby day especially is a fantastic day if you've got a decent vantage point or paid for a decent seat. That's how I've done it previously, usually with just a couple of friends. I put all my bets on and then just enjoy the day. The madding crowd can please themselves.

Keenum is playing quite well and that's backed up by his numbers. It's just a bit unexpected. His QBR is 88.8 which places him 16th and he's not far off the top 10 with that rating. The Vikes almost certainly would have thought it was going to be a choice between Bradford and a returning Bridgewater. Rodgers is out indefinitely and the Lions are the Lions. However, Minnesota have got a tough 5 weeks coming up ... @ Washington, vs Rams, @ Detroit, @ Atlanta and then @ the Panthers. It's not over yet but 9 wins might win the division. The Bears could win 4 more (maybe 5) but that probably won't be enough. Much will depend on whether Detroit can get their act together. .

Decided on trifecta's in the end. I'm feeling lucky - I've got a few of your tips included@ProperDee so here's hoping. Thanks for the heads up on the 2 tips in QLD. A trifecta @ Doomben race 3 looms large. For what it's worth I'm also going to parlay up 4 races (each way on each selection) All 4 horses will run close to being favourite but I just reckon all 4 should be in the finish. But it's buyer beware ladies & gentlemen ... I'm often the world's worst tipster. Race 2 no.1 Bring Me Roses Race 3 no.5 Nieta (now there's an omen) Race 7 no.1 Ace High Race 8 no.1 Tosen Stardom Good punting to all Mac .

Houston can still win that division but they're without J J Watt as well. The Packers would need the Vikes to fall away and we'd absolutely need to defeat the Lions this week (and Hundley would need to show something) A lot of if's & but's. Too many in fact. Having said that the Lions continue to disappoint. They get opportunities and they keep blowing those chances. If someone had have told me at the start of the season that the Vikings will win the division with Case Keenum as their QB, I would have had a good laugh. But here we are.

It's just such a real shame ... the kid has shown real star quality and I hope he recovers well and recaptures his form. A non contact injury too yeah? I see that the Pats have picked up Hoyer as back up to Brady.

It's always fraught with danger including the Thursday night game in one's tips but I can't see anyone getting 3 right this week anyway ... but you never know. There may be a few 0 for 3's though ... that should be worth half a point!

Never bought into race horses although I've had a few opportunities to do so (part owner only!) I do have a first cousin who was a high profile bookmaker though ... retired now. We share the same way of thinking - percentage plays, analysis, probability factors etc. Bookies can do well unless they're not totally switched on. As for us punters, we need a good dose of luck just to break even.

I sometimes get a good tip from a mate D77 but I wouldn't ever trust my own tips! However, I've sometimes done ok with a parlay place bet (pick 4) ... gotta really study the form though.

That's a huge win by Spurs over Real in the Champions league ... 4 of the teams from England won. Chelsea lost but are still well placed with Atletico only sitting on 3 points after 4 games. Juve & Barca dropped points unexpectedly but the big losers are Dortmund. Some interesting results to say the least.

9 Group races on Saturday (Derby day) ... the best betting day on the calendar. I'll be doing the form on Friday night in a comprehensive way with a view to finding some first 4 combinations. 3 horses to win, 5 horses to come second & third with 7 horses to come fourth is my usual multiple combination. It used to be 3, 5 & 5 for trifectas but the lure of the big dividends for a first 4 is too strong. @Wadda We Sing @Diamond_Jim @ProperDee @Toorak... got any ideas, suggestions or tips?

No worries mate .. as I said, happy to discuss in the off-season. I reckon most here would rather leave the tipping part as it is though ... the design is very simple and it's low maintenance. Obviously a bit frustrating but that's the fun of it. By the way, I reckon the Lions are a big chance but I just couldn't pick against the Packers - not against a divisional rival anyway. My Detroit supporting mate knows he's going to cop some grief if they don't defeat a Rodgers-less Packers though. Is your game against the Broncos a trap game or do the Eagles just keep on their winning ways?

Well, in the first year we had joint winners so I'd rather leave it as it is (for continuity) Think of it like the Brownlow ... you get all those hard-earned votes (points) and whilst they used to have a countback, they changed it to joint winners because it was deemed unfair to lose that way. It's a good suggestion though Dappa. Happy to revisit the discussion in the NFL off-season if you like. From memory, in year 1 both cowboy_from_hell & Strafford were equal leaders going into the last week but both picked up 3 points with different tips. Extending the season proper tipping comp would effect the post-season comp as well ... that sort of just evolved because people kept tipping into the post-season (with scorelines)

Rams KC Atlanta

The games again ...

Ha ha ha ... good luck trying to find 3 road winners this week Gorgo. It's possibly the toughest week we've had.

Leaderboard in the comp 6 - Clintosaurus 5 - Dappa Dan 4 - Go the Biff 3 - JV7 1 - Gorgoroth, Macca 0 - The usual suspects This weeks games ... 2 points up for grabs in the comp. Another tough week though - good luck! Guess the Lines Week 9 with Bill Simmons & Cousin Sal (Podcast)

Jeff Saturday made mention of the vulnerability of Wentz in terms of protection and what the Eagles are asking him to do. I haven't watched the Eagles like you do but is there any substance to what Saturday is saying? I bang on about the Rodgers situation with McCarthy but is it a similar situation with Wentz & Pederson?

Patriots deal QB Jimmy Garoppolo to 49ers for 2018 draft pick For a 2nd round pick too by the looks of it ... Garoppolo was to become a restricted free agent by seasons end so the Pats get a deal done now. Re-signing him might have been a prohibitive move by the Pats in the sense that the 49ers are looking like tagging Garoppolo as their franchise player.

Yeah, I'm heavily into podcasts nb ... Movies & TV shows mainly. But for something different, 'Inside Psycho' & 'Inside The Exorcist' are both extremely good (both rank high on the various podcast charts) 'This American Life' is also quite good. For any movie that I've really liked or for a particular favourite movie, I can listen to as many as 10 podcasts to re-live that film. Once done, listening to that many podcasts about a movie often makes one want to watch that particular movie again! The intriguing part about podcasts is that anyone can do them ... and because of that, they are not exactly big money-spinners. In effect, podcasts are like a community service out in the public domain. They're here to stay for the same types of reasons. Here's Podbay's top ranking Film & TV podcasts (click on 'browse' for other categories)

I reckon the thinking when playing a top team away from home is that you have to score twice in order to have a realistic chance at getting points from the game. That's a generalisation though. Mourinho is the master at achieving a 1-0 victory with a late winner. He's happy for his teams to sit back even at home. I see United only had 45% of possession. Man City are the team to beat all the same - 28 points from 10 games with a +29 goal difference already. They don't really look like faltering but you never know

In the 97th minute too ... but I'm well used to it after all these years. The ambition is often just to stay up and the incremental achievements are to take points off the big clubs (which we did to great effect in the 2015/16 season) Bilic hasn't got a lot to work with but he's close to being sacked anyway ... that's just the way soccer works. It's nothing personal in many ways, it's just win or you're out. And in soccer it's always about winning now. I know of plenty here that follow teams that are no longer in the top division (Leeds, Forest, Derby et al) so I'm hoping that we can survive (again) The games on the telly have been terrific ... Spurs really missed Harry Kane last night. He's not easily replaced and he's so good that he is irreplaceable for a team like Tottenham.

Not sure we're going to get the audio coverage back in a hurry GV ... I've got a tunein subscription and they don't do the games either. The thinking is archaic - the EPL is one of the most in-demand leagues in world sport and we can't even get radio coverage. On Tunein radio I can listen to any NHL, NBA, MLB or NFL game anywhere, anytime ... but no EPL.

There are a number of podcasts surrounding 'Stranger Things' but I found the following one to be amongst the better ones ... Dungeons & Demogorgons - A 'Stranger Things' Podcast by the "Bald Move Crew."

Humidor might have won if it didn't hang in late ... but when you're chasing a champion horse that can happen. Edit: Bowman just said Winx kicked again when threatened so maybe a bit of both. Was a good race and an exciting finish all the same. 2000 is her distance down to 1600 so the 2 English races targeted makes sense.