Macca

We've got a breakaway group in the tipping comp after today's results - with JV7 leading the way (again) Seattle winning would have got 2 precious points for me if they hadn't have blown a 24-7 lead - not happy. Leaderboard 4 - JV7 3 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_ hell 1 - titan_uranus, Georgiou R.R. Martin, Macca 0 - everyone else

Yep, the Colts have now won 2 games without Luck and with a 40 year old Matt Hasselbeck. That division is theirs for the taking - it's really only a matter of the seeding number for them if they're fair dinkum.

Yikes ... what's happened to your Blue Jays GTG? - they've now got to win the last 3 games of their series against Texas to progress. Good luck with that! Cardinals winning was no real surprise but the Mets going 1 up was really important for them. The Royals clawed 1 back after falling behind in their 2nd game against Houston. I know the MLB doesn't like messing with their traditions but having a longer post season with a shorter regular season appeals to people like me ... I'd like to see the wild-card playoffs be a best of 3 and these divisional series to be a best of 7. That would add approximately 8-10 days to the post season but is a 162 game regular season really necessary in this day and age? There is talk of a 154 game regular season anyway. I do like the 2 month long NBA & NHL playoff schedule.

Cubs through but St Louis will be tough opposition - if they can beat the Cardinals they might go on and beat the curse ... here are the 4 match-ups with my tips in dark italics (for what it's worth) St Louis vs Cubs Royals vs Houston Blue Jays vs Texas Dodgers vs Mets

Seattle New England Denver

Week 5 games ... 2 points on offer this week Leaderboard in the comp 2 - JV7 1 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell titan_uranus, Georgiou R.R. Martin, Macca 0 - Everyone else

It seemed like the commentators & the special comments guys didn't know about the rule either - they all seemed suitably bemused when the rules guy came in and said that batting the ball out in those circumstances was an illegal move. I didn't pick up on it nor did a few people that I spoke to about it today know either - seems it's a "judgement" call but it looked quite blatant to me and the ref was right there to see it. If the call had have been made in Detroits favour they would have been 1st and a half a yard with 1min 50 odd seconds left to play ... here it is again for those who haven't seen it. Btw, what's with all the missed field goals? That Jags kicker couldn't hit the side of a barn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLL1ByAJb6M

A lot of close finishes in today's games ... 7 games decided by less than a TD (most within a field goal) Redzone couldn't keep up in the early games - still great viewing though. Many of the games carried a fair impact too ... Biggest losers were the Eagles, Raiders, KC & probably Dallas Biggest winners were Atlanta, Carolina, Denver & Cincinnati again whilst the Giants, Jets, Redskins, Chargers & the Rams all had important wins. Seattle should win comfortably tomorrow so a Lions win really would surprise. No points won this week in the tipping comp ... Leaderboard 2 - JV7 1 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell titan_uranus, Georgiou R.R. Martin, Macca 0 - Everyone else

Yep, the Steelers had a number of chances to at least pick up field goals but they either missed them or as we saw towards the end of the game, not even attempt one of those field goal opportunities. The game itself was close as usual but lacked the ferocity of previous encounters.

Any public holiday where I get to see an NFL game live is fine by me. These Ravens/Steelers match-ups are always good games too - they hate each other and it's a huge rivalry. The Ravens are lucky that Big Ben is out but Vick is still quite capable on his day. Ravens in a close one. .

Just a reminder that it's not too late to join in on the tipping comp ... Leaderboard 2 - JV7 1 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell titan_uranus, Georgiou R.R. Martin, Macca 0 - Others Week 4 games Week 4 for is for 1 point only but we have a bonus week coming up in week 5 (2 points) ... other bonus weeks are weeks 8, 10, 13, 15 & 17 Also, this week the Jets are the designated "away" team even though their game against Miami is being played in London. Previously we've allowed the designated away team (in London) to be allowed in your tips so unless anyone has any objections, we'll continue to allow it. My tips ... Panthers Packers Eagles

Points tally in the comp ... 2 - JV7 1 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell titan_uranus, Georgiou R.R. Martin, Macca 0 - Everyone else! No real surprises with the results although a lot of the games were difficult to call ... Indi were a little lucky to win, the Ravens & Saints are now staring down the barrel but Atlanta, Carolina, Arizona, Denver, Cincinnati, New England & the Bills have been very good. The Vikes have had 2 good wins as well. Don't know what to make of the 49ers and Detroit - Kaepernick is really struggling and Stafford labors when the heat is on. And can the Steelers win with Vick for 4-6 weeks? .

I wasn't tempted ... I'd rather wait till Monday to see my tips lose. It's tough enough trying to find home winners this week ... there's a whole bunch of games where I just can't find a standout winner. Seattle, New England and probably GB should win but that's about it - I like the Ravens at home too.

There's a few iconic teams represented by the looks of it ... St Louis, Yankees, Dodgers & Cubs. Would like to see the Mets and the Royals do well but even though I'm a Redsox fan, I lean towards the Cardinals as well because of their storied history. They've had another very good season and they might just pick up their 12th World Series title. I suppose I just like playoff baseball so will catch up with as many games as possible. Your Blue Jays might win the American League to reach the World Series but it's wide open in the AL.

Tipping comp leaderboard 1 - JV7 0 - Everyone else Week 3 games Tips ... (another tough week) Colts Atlanta Buffalo

Jets win! Not sure whether the story is the Jets winning or the Colts losing ... Indi have started 0-2 but they haven't played a divisional rival yet ... Tennessee might be tougher opposition with Mariota and Houston are good on their day - all the same, to only score 7 points at home in a game like this is a very poor return. As for the Jets, their defense played a big game and they might prove hard to beat if they can maintain that part of their game ... next 3 - vs Philadelphia, @ Miami, vs Washington - all winnable.

Detroit have been dealt a tougher schedule and it looks like it may be too much for them ... if they lose to Denver this week then it might be all over for them. They then have to go to Seattle in week 4. So much depends on these early games ... a season can be over very quickly unless a team can at least break even - as an example, the Giants could easily be 2 & 0 but are now 0 & 2 and staring down the barrel. The Ravens are another team who already desperately need a win. It might be a year with a lot of upsets as there's any number of teams who are capable on their day. I see AP had a big day today and Bridgewater's completion percentage was very good. Division wins are always good value - anytime.

GRRM got 2 and missed on the Ravens (like most of us) Interesting that 3 of the 6 road winners this week won their division last year whilst Arizona went 11/5 last year and may have won the NFC West but for the injury to Palmer. Atlanta with Ryan are always capable. Some of the pundits are saying that Romo might miss up to 10 games so if your Eagles can string a few wins together, the division can be won with a low win count. The Giants are not a good team and Washington aren't much chop either. We might see a repeat of 2011 when 9 wins won the NFC East ... even 8 wins might get it done. Dallas have a tough schedule and without Romo & Bryant, every win they get will be hard earned.

Dallas, Denver, Arizona, Atlanta & New England all won on the road ... isn't hindsight a wonderful thing JV7 Granted, picking Tampa was never a logical option. But you're right, luck does play a big part and if a team gets lucky, that can build confidence. Just like losing, winning becomes a habit. The Falcons now have a quite winnable game @ the Cowboys next week whereas 2 weeks ago, the same game could have been marked down as a probable loss. Add to that the Saints poor start but the Panthers are still the team to watch out for - when Newton is on, they're hard to beat.

I thought the Seahawks were playing very well and a big chance but that early 4th quarter drive led by Rodgers turned the game on it's head ... quelling Lynch was key although Wilson made a lot of good yards with his legs. Starks the RB was the difference though ... once Lacy was injured he had to step up and he duly did so - 20 carries for 95 yards. It's just nice to beat a team like Seattle though - they'll still be very hard to beat anytime (especially at home) The big news though is the broken collarbone to Romo (twice in the same spot now?) ... Dallas have a tough schedule and they'll really miss him - it could be 8+ weeks. However, can Dallas' rivals take advantage? Some big wins (Steelers, Arizona) but equally, some big losses (Saints, Ravens & Miami) The Vikings get on the board but unless the Lions get a win shortly, their season could be over very quickly - next 3 .. vs Denver, @ Seattle & vs Arizona. Atlanta had an important win helped by more clock mismanagement by the Giants ... Rams were disappointing by the looks of it but so were the niners. And true to form, no one picked 3 road winners in the comp - a few went 0 for 3 - yikes!

And KC lose a game they could have won ... the impact of 1 loss in a 16 game season can be quite profound (especially when it comes to losing at home in a divisional game) Everything can be a risk ... even running the ball in the last 30 odd seconds when a team is nowhere near it's end zone in a tied game. Kneeling down was not such a no-brainer but would a team not kneel down if the same circumstances were in a Super Bowl? Reid has always had the odd issue with time management ... however, he brings a lot of positives too - which includes his teams participating in the playoffs on an almost constant basis. All the same, that KC loss could be costly. .

'Elo' predictions for week 2 Playing for 2 points this week My tips ... Miami Baltimore New England

2 points are up for grabs in week 2 of the tipping comp (the first of the bonus weeks) It's not an easy week to find road winners though (are any of the weeks easy?) The following link may act as a guide for your tips ... note the points spreads are not the Vegas lines - most are close though. 'Elo' predictions for week 2 and the yearly forecast for each team Here's the points tally again ... 1 - JV7 0 - The rest of us

I'll give Romo due credit ... that last TD drive was impressive. Shouldn't have had all that time though. Dallas have got a tough schedule coming up (especially in the first half of the season) and a loss today might have further accentuated that tough schedule. Yeah that was talked about as well ... however, 20 odd seconds to get within field goal range is possibly more do-able than 1 minute to score a TD. The Giants might have ran the ball in regardless with 2 goes at it. Other observations from today ... KC won an important game ... home to Denver this Thursday night. The AFC East teams all won and the Bills might be more than nuisance value Packers might have covered the loss of Nelson somewhat with Jones back and firing Mariota & the Titans have jumped out of the blocks The Rams had a big big win Arizona & San Diego had good wins at home Detroit just can't get it done away from home ... Stafford's away record in particular isn't good. Colts continue to start poorly ... against a team with good defense, it's hard to play catch-up. Looking forward to both games tomorrow ... it's a pity work continues to get in the way of my sports viewing habits Replay will have to do. The Vikes might surprise whilst the other game could be a barnburner.

If you change your mind on your tips just delete your original tips and post up your new tips ... it's more so the tips just have to be in before the games start. So, no drama on a change of mind - it's just a quick scroll back regardless to see if anyone happened to get lucky. Anyway, here's the points tally after week 1 1 - JV7 0 - Everyone else And the Giants mucked up that last 3rd down play on offense - at least Coughlin owned the decision. The question is if running the ball was the right play, why throw it? A breakdown in communication or perhaps just incompetence? It's one thing admitting an error but they must know and plan for these exact same circumstances. Just run the ball to eat up the clock - it's a no-brainer. Instead of Dallas having 1:43 to score a TD they would have only had just over a minute - a significant difference. It's not like the Giants were rushed either - they made the decision to throw the ball during Dallas' last time out.