Week One, part one

Manhattan vs. Philadelphia:

I've written before about the problem of picking matches without having to say "2.5-1.5" all the time, which I find boring both to write and to look at. I've experimented with stock phrases from other sports such as "by a nose", and with team-specific phrases like "by a scorpion's tail", but I'm kind of tired of those, also. So my new thing will be to treat a proper name as a noun meaning "point". "Oiwin" (later "the Maven", and still later "Hondo") in the New York Post used to do that with his baseball and football picks, so there is nothing original about it but at least it's easy and the supply is plentiful. Philadelphia by a schmidt.


Miami vs. Arizona:

I remember being at a restaurant frequented by, among others, ladies of the evening (it was an all-night place, so it was convenient in that regard). A man approached one of these LOTEs and asked "are you available?", and received the reply "I'm available, but I'm not free". I am reminded by this when I look at Miami's lineup, because although these guys can play, the question is: can they play? Tonight, at least, at appears that they can. Miami by a csonka.


Los Angeles vs. Dallas:

A year later, I still haven't figured out how to turn off the "smart" feature of my scanner that insists on cropping these drawings. In my defense, I have not had to for any other purpose during the offseason. Anyway, I finally got most of it to copy and I even stumbled upon a way to improve the contrast. I think this drawing might be improved by adding another spectator who replies differently from the player, but at this point it is unlikely I will edit it.



Therefore, Dallas by a staubach.