Macca

Patriots Steelers Panthers

Willie Pike is on the $2.90 favourite (State Solicitor) in the $1million Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot on Saturday - the rest of the field isn't too shabby though. 1200 metre races can be tricky to predict and it could be a mad scramble to the final turn. Hard to pick against Pike though and State Solicitor is a good performer. As mentioned here last week by @Wadda We Sing, Pike is worth following especially in relation to parlay bets. Anyway, I'll study up on the form tomorrow and/or perhaps just defer to Pike! Winterbottom Stakes field finalised

Eli being dropped effectively ends his career at the Giants ... unless it doesn't. I tend to think he's played his last minutes though.

Eli never seems to go cold in the playoffs though ... he's beaten Favre, Rodgers & Belichick & Brady twice in 2 SB runs. And I don't reckon he's any better or worse than he's always been. I've always been a fan of big occasion players ... they're a rung down from the greats but they still win big.

Yeah ... those sorts of comparisons are often made but they've never made any sense to me.

Everyone is different

Here are the games again ...

The Giants are not making sound decisions and it's been that way for quite some time - their GM is probably going to be dispensed with as well. Stats can sometimes be misleading because we don't have a 'big-moment' stat or a crucial-moment' stat or even a gets-it-done-when-it-counts' stat. They are just numbers that often don't tell the whole story. Most would probably believe that Eli's numbers would have been better in his 2 SB winning years but they aren't ... he's had better regular season numbers in a number of years when the Giants didn't make the playoffs. Eli Manning Stats The argument can be put forward that the parts of the Giants game that fell away were not necessarily related to Eli's output. He's always been an easy target.

It's about winning right-now in this league .... that whole build, build, build for the future is old-hat for any number of big overseas sporting teams. The Jags almost certainly won't be winning a SB with Bortles nor will Buffalo, Denver, the Jets, Miami, Cleveland and a number of other teams with their stating QBs. Eli has currency even if it's just for a few years ... again, it's a win 'now' league. Soccer works the same way. NBA less so but veteran top players are still in high demand. But the argument still rests with the Giants offensive line - they leak like a sieve and Eli is not Cam Newton or Russell Wilson. And they have a woeful head coach who is clueless. He threw Eli under the bus earlier in the season and refuses to take responsibility for his team's poor output - it's always someone else's fault with McAdoo - the cynic in me sees a bloke aiming for his pay-out.

I disagree Dappa ... but I've always been an Eli fan. A severely underappreciated 'big-occasion' player. He's never been consistently good but he's often been great. Many QB's never even reach the 'good' status. Luck plays no real part in one SB win but Eli got 2. The only credit he ever seems to get are back-handed compliments The Giants offensive line of late has been beyond putrid and for a pocket passer like Eli, that's a recipe for disaster. McAdoo is a terrible head coach - the sooner they are rid of him the better. Let's be honest here, for the fans of the other 3 teams in the NFC East, they'd be hoping that McAdoo stays on for as long as possible. Eli is a lot better than a number of starting QB's right now ... Bortles included. The Jags should make a play for him now as their window is opening up. No time like the present. Denver, the Jets & Buffalo are other likely destinations for the 2-time MVP Super Bowl winning Eli. This won't go the same route as what it has for Kaepernick. There's 5 teams in the AFC alone that need a decent QB. And at the rate that QB's are being injured in the league, Eli would be looked upon as super-resilient. He doesn't miss games. He just needs a decent coach.

He's a pocket passer with very little protection since McAdoo arrived ... he'll find another home as he's a QB in that 15th - 25th best range. But it's watch-this-space anyway - anything could happen at the Giants with regards to their coaching and their GM. My guess would be that Eli will eventually end up elsewhere as a starter ... somewhere in the AFC? Eight teams that Eli Manning could play for in 2018

In other news ... Eli Manning embraced New York, and New York loved him back -- until it didn't

Leaderboard in the comp 10 - Clintosaurus 7 - Go the Biff 6 - Dappa Dan 5 - Macca 4 - JV7 2 - Gorgoroth 0 - The usual suspects 2 big points on offer this week and a good line up of games on offer as well ... Vikes @ Falcons, Lions @ Ravens, Pats @ Bills, Panthers @ Saints and the Eagles @ Seattle stand out. As well as that there are some danger games for KC, the Rams & Pittsburgh. Good luck with your tips! Guess the Lines Week 13 With Cousin Sal Podcast

On Sportscenter Van Pelt was dumbfounded and he emphasised that the clip hasn't been doctored. We'll probably get the logical answer soon enough - unless there isn't one! Bills receiver casually broke out a Michael Jackson dance move to get back to his feet

Weird hey? Scott van Pelt opened his hour of Sportscenter with the clip

Zay Jones with some fancy footwork ...

December in the NFL is the best month (apart from the playoffs) ... there are any number of mini-finals and/or elimination games to focus on. Tomorrow's game is a big one for Baltimore ... then next week we've got about 5 mini-finals and another 5 games where one of the teams involved needs to win to stay in the race, strengthen their position or hold their position. Every week thereafter tells the same story. There are no other sporting leagues where this is the case ... in many sports the fans are by this stage hanging out for finals/playoffs. Week 13 games Leaderboard in the comp 10 - Clintosaurus 7 - Go the Biff 6 - Dappa Dan 5 - Macca 4 - JV7 2 - Gorgoroth 0 - The usual suspects

Big win by the Rams ... they needed to bounce back and they did so. And KC losing opens up the race for that division ... Chargers look likely but Oakland are right in it too. The Bills are back in a wild-card spot after today's win. Jags losing was costly for a few tipsters here ... we're running out of weeks to catch Clint. It's time for some creative tipping with 2 points on offer for week 13.

Oh yeah ... but I'm still thinking about not having a chance at winning the SB. Consolation prizes mean absolutely nothing to me.

Could do with a turnover but the Steelers having the ball here doesn't fill me with any confidence that we can stop them. They should be able to get within field goal range.

Forgot this was on - it's hard to keep track with so much sport going on ... Hugh Bowman takes World's Best Jockey title after Japan Cup win on Cheval Grand

What on earth is going on with these England cricketers? Ashes 2017: England crisis after revelations Jonny Bairstow headbutted Australia’s Cameron Bancroft in a Perth nightclub

And now the match looks decidedly one-sided. England really should have made a lot more in their 2nd innings. Bancroft looks alright too - red ink hopefully

It's the way we often used to do it (blood a new young batsman in the lower middle order) Instead of always looking for the next big thing at no.3 or no.4 we used to play young blokes down the order and see if they could work their way up the order. Ponting batted at no.6 for his first 20+ tests but who remembers that? There are numerous other examples from the past where that method worked. And a prospective Test batsman often needed to bat in the first 3 or 4 for his State to get a look in. There are always exceptions though but even Bradman batted at 6 or 7 initially. Greg Chappell the same.

I reckon a lot of other Test nations and their supporters could say the same thing ... it's not just unique to Australia. Reasonable 4th innings targets are notoriously difficult to chase down often because of the state of the wicket. The history books tell us that too. If England had another recognised spinner in their team they might prove a handful right now. Did they need 4 quicks?