East of Boston

My Bookie Is An Awesome Bookie

There was something about Pilgrims, Wampanoags, Living In Peace, and Turkey that was supposed to mean something important last Thursday, but  all that is secondary after what happened in this column over the holidays.

Abdullah is usually more behind the scenes here, serving to offer Elle advice on her football picks and actually running our stuff to the bookie. When Elle and I became hopelessly tied up in our Thanksgiving prep (we had the whole famn damily over), Abdullah was the perfect choice to fill in writing this column. Besides, I don't think Muslims do Thanksgiving.

Elle doesn't always take Abdullah's advice when writing the column, and she usually pays for it with an L. I don't think that will be a problem any more, after what Abby did last Thursday.

I call a game really well sometimes, almost down to the right score. Abdullah, on the other hand, predicted what the score would be at a particular time in the afternoon, and he was pretty much right on. I actually had to get up from the dinner table and excuse myself by saying, "I have to make a call... my bookie just did something preternatural."

Anywho... Abby is back to doing what Abby does, and the Stacey/Elle machine should be in charge for the rest of the season... unless something happens.

Here are this week's picks: 

San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills
The worst city I've ever visited was Buffalo. Our big night on the town consisted of Arby's and a movie.

Buffy, 30-20

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore looks to be in gear after sh*tting on the Eagles last week. The Bungles don't look to do any better than the Eagles did.

Baltimore, 20-14

Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns
Another team that seems to be rounding into form, Indianapolis should beat Cleveland (who benched Brady Quinn) like a government mule.

Indy, 34-10

Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers
This one looks like a barnburner, and I'll go with the home team. Carolina folks have a different definition of cold than Wisconsin folk do, and this may come into play Sunday

Green Bay, 21-20

Denver Broncos at New York Jets

Stacey's upset of the week. The Jets aren't as good as their record, and the Broncos aren't as bad as theirs.

Denver, 17-16

Miami Dolphins at St. Louis Rams

The Rams have been taking beatings lately that would make a masochist cry Uncle.

Miami, 21-13

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

My Saints are rolling, and are about to put an unholy whupping on the Bucs.

Saints, 28-17

New York Giants at Washington Redskins

The Giants aree for real, and the Redskins aren't.
NYG, 20-14 

Atlanta Falcons at San Diego Chargers

Last summer, you'd have been laughed out of the tavern if you suggested that the Falcons would have a better record than San Diego at this point in the season.

SD, 30-21

Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Can the Steel Curtain hassle Matt Cassel? Yes.

Steelers, 30-13

 This may be the greatest touchdown celebration ever:

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
Whoever loses this game should have to fire their head coach.

KC, 2-0

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings 

That Peterson kid runs almost as well as I do.

Minny, 14-13

Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans

An all out war between fair-to-middlin' expansion teams.

Jacksonville, 20-19