No Laughing Matter: Diane's elevator shatters glass ceiling
Mr. Emerton emotionally concedes top spot to daughter-in-law
-----------------------------------------------------
Following the Sunday games of Week 12, we told Patrick Godsey that we had 
noted Diane's progression in the standings all year, and were about to joke 
about how (since she was in second place) she couldn't really improve in the
standings anymore.  Patrick immediately shot back: "You can't joke about
Diane."
      Indeed.  Although there is something ridiculous about improving in the 
overall standings in *every* week since Week 3, we're not kidding: Diane 
dominates the FunkyPool.  Following the games in Week 3, Diane was in 21st 
place.  Then she was in 18th, then 16th, then 14th, then 13th, then 9th, 
then 5th, then 4th, then 2nd, and now it appears the sky is the limit for 
the woman who actually gave birth to her own mascot.
       Her final step was winning the week, nailing her top 8 picks and 14 
of 16 overall.  Chris Sabbe, who was edged out by a single point, won weekly 
money for the 68th time, an all-time record in the FunkyPool.  Robert 
Hassanali cashed for a second straight week, pulling himself from a dark 
21st position to an actual playoff spot.  Likewise, Patrick Godsey finished 
in the money for the 3rd straight week, pulling him from a ridiculed pit of 
despair and back into the actual playoff race.
      Moving in the opposite direction, Eric Emerton finished in the 13th 
place, which is his best outing in 7 weeks.  His father gave up the top spot 
after finishing in double-digits for three straight weeks; and Kathy and 
Tully, who were in 2nd and 4th place just three weeks ago, finished in the 
bottom two places this week, and now sit at 13th and 19th overall.
      The wild shift in standings actually have a lot more to do with the 
gigantic pack that crowded around the playoff line.  Going into Week 13, 
there are still 12 players within 8 points of the cutoff.



Stats!
*****
This was Diane's 7th career weekly win, tying JLee on the all-time list 
despite playing in nearly half as many years.

Eric Emerton has now finished in 13th place or lower in the past 7 weeks.
Somehow he's still in 5th place.

Jen Retsek is the only one who hasn't won any money this year.  She hasn't
finished any higher than 10th.

Jen is 0-11 with the Jaguars, which HAS to be some kind of new record.

Scott Wyatt is 11-0 with the Ravens

Wego is 20-2 with Bay Area teams.

KenDoggie is 10-1 with the Packers

Misprint last week: Atlanta, not Jacksonville.  Adam Jennings (7-4) and 
Chris Sabbe (6-5) are the only players with a winning record on Atlanta.

As a pool, we are better than 50% at picking every team except Jacksonville 
(41%) and Atlanta (38%).

Of the 522 points wagered on the Lions to win, 37 points have been returned.

JLee put Jacksonville on his 10-pick?  JLee is now 11-1 with his 10-pick.

JLee is 1-11 with his 3-pick.

Wego is 12-0 with his 12-pick.  He is 12-12 with his 11- and 13-picks.

Jen Retsek is 3-9 with her 9-pick.

Robert Hassanali (10th place) has picked fewer games correctly than Scott 
Farnsworth (24th place)





If Only...

Sabbe would've won the week if Detroit could've won at home, or...

Sabbe would've won the week if he hadn't *picked Detroit*.  His 2 on the
Lions instead of Wyatt's Dolphins made the difference.

Sabbe also would've won if Denver had won, or Carolina, or Houston, or Green
Bay.  Or the Raiders.

Money would've won the week if the Bucs, Jags, or his very own Bears had 
won.

"Cowboy" Hassanali would've won his second straight week if the Niners
had 
held on in St. Louis.

If the Giants hadn't blown that 21-0 lead in the fourth quarter, Mr. Emerton
would still be in first place overall.


POW!

DOliver got some much-deserved love for several of his picks this week.  
Receiving all but 2 of the votes, DO's 10 on NO was the eventual pick of the
week.  It is the 4th time he was won this award.

Mike Godsey earned yet another COW "award" for his semi-traditional "let's
just have a good time" Thanksgiving pick, which turned out to be not such a
good time.  If he had picked the Dolphins instead of the Lions, he would've 
cashed instead of finishing 20th, and would be sitting in 5th place overall. 
  It is Godsey's 11th COW after receiving a season-high 5 votes.


Next Week!
Patrick's Chargers at Diane's Bills
Kevin's Vikes at Money's Bears
Godsey's Cowboys at Mr. Emerton's Giants
Schussel's Texans at Raider Nation.
Zack's Jets at Bill's Pack.

Remember that picks are due on Thursday every week now.