NOLAN DALLA: 2012 POSTED NFL SEASON RECORD
89 WINS – 84 LOSSES – 6 PUSHES —– (+ 19.25 units / 1 unit = $100)
STARTING BANKROLL: $10,000.
CURRENT BANKROLL: $11,925.
BEST BETS OF THE WEEK: 12-5-0
Comments: Nice to end the regular season on a positive note, going 6-1. Let’s hope this continues on into the playoffs.
THIS WEEK’S WAGERS:
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This is the story of an empty blue chair.
More precisely, it’s the story of a person who once occupied it — someone’s name I do not know.
It’s the story of a loyal companion who sat beside the blue chair, so faithfully — at the same time and place, each and every day.
This is the story of love and loss, of life and death, and ultimately of rebirth and renewal.
This is a personal story, a search for that special someone who once occupied the blue chair — which is now empty.
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Adrian Peterson deserves to win this year’s MVP award.
Yes — Peyton Manning enjoyed an outstanding season. Robert Griffin III led his team to a remarkable turnaround and instant respectability. Andrew Luck surpassed even the highest expectations as a first-round draft choice. And, Aaron Rogers performed admirably given all the challenges to his team.
But Adrian Peterson is in a class all his own.
Consider that a year ago today, Peterson underwent major ACL surgery — which is normally a career ending injury for running backs. Recovering from a serious knee injury would be difficult for any professional athlete. But for an NFL running back with lots of mileage on the body, it’s unprecedented. Had Peterson simply completed this season healthy and contributed to his team’s success with a respectable year, that alone would have been an impressive feat.
But Peterson did far more than that.
He just posted the second-best season for a running back in NFL history. Consider all the great running backs of the past 80 years — the Jim Browns, the Gayle Sayers, the O.J. Simpsons, the Walter Paytons, the Barry Sanders, the Emmit Smiths, and so many others.
Peterson just eclipsed them all. He finished the season with 2,097 yards — including 199 yards today against division rival Green Bay. I would also argue that staying healthy in today’s NFL is tougher than ever before. Now, defenses are bigger, faster, and stronger than in years past. The human body simply isn’t built to withstand bone crushing tackles and years of abuse on these horrible artificial turf fields.
Moreover, it’s not like Peterson enjoys running behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. At best, those who lead block are average. In fact, the Minnesota Vikings have been a laughing stock for the past decade. Peterson has been the lone bright spot for a dismal franchise that seemed to be going absolutely nowhere and which was picked by most to finish dead last in the division.
Peterson has carried his team to an astounding turnaround, a 10-6 win-loss record, and a playoff birth — 365 days after he was laying on an operating table beneath a surgical scalpel wondering if his NFL career was over.
SMU and Los Angeles Rams great Eric Dickerson still holds the 16-game season record for most rushing yardage. And no running back ever had a season quite like O.J. Simpson back in 1973 (which was 14 games — so in all fairness, Simpson still stands as the gold standard). But as someone who has been watching NFL games for four decades, Adrian Peterson’s feat this season was as remarkable an accomplishment as I have ever seen in sports.
Adrian Peterson deserves the NFL Most Valuable Player honor more than any other. Period.
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NOLAN DALLA: 2012 POSTED NFL SEASON RECORD
83 WINS – 83 LOSSES – 6 PUSHES —– (- 12.05 units / 1 unit = $100)
STARTING BANKROLL: $10,000.
CURRENT BANKROLL: $8,795.
BEST BETS OF THE WEEK: 11-5-0
Comments: Let’s just say that I know exactly how football legend Y.A. Title feels (see photo above). My handicapping record has been reduced to the results one would expect from flipping a coin. Indeed, this has been one of the strangest seasons I’ve ever experienced as a sports bettor. The good — I’ve been in the black since Week 2, at least until last Sunday. The season’s high point was after Week 11, when I was ahead +78 units. The bad — I’m on brutal cold streak. Now, after a terrible two-month run and losing an average of 20 units a week, I need to close with a few winners to lock up a season in the black. Here it goes….
THIS WEEK’S WAGERS:
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The only thing worse than flying, is flying during the holiday season.
Seriously, could air travel be any less glamorous?
When I was a kid, I remember people used to get dressed up when they traveled by air. Fliers were polite. No one ever seemed to be in a rush. The seats were comfortable. There was plenty of leg room. The airlines served you a hot meal and it tasted good. Alcoholic beverages were free. You never paid additional charges and your luggage arrived on time. When there was a flight delay, the airline apologized and even put you up in a first-class hotel, when necessary.
Now, boarding a plane is pretty much like getting on a Greyhound bus — only with wings.
Flying is constant battle. You battle to find a decent fare. You battle to get a good seat assignment. You battle to get to the airport on time — at least two hours early. You battle to run the gauntlet through TSA screening without being strip searched. You battle to get into the right boarding group. You battle for precious overhead bin space. You battle for the armrest. You battle for peace and quiet during the flight. You battle to depart your row so as to exit the aircraft. You battle to claim your luggage. Then, once you’re out of the airport, you battle to get a taxi or a rental car.
Indeed, if flying has become a serious of battles, then I’m hereby declaring war!
1. BIN HOGS — I realize the airlines now try to pork you for $30 per checked bag each way. But carry on abuse has become intolerable. Now, jackasses are hauling 50-pound suitcases down the aisles. Then, they heave the bone crushers into a tiny overhead bin space intended to be a storage area for purses and coats. I’m so sick of seeing these selfish pricks usurping every inch of storage space with bags the size of a Great Dane. It’s time for airlines to start enforcing carry-on size rules.
2. ARM REST THUGS — I paid the same $389 fare you did. So, move your fucking body part off my half of the arm rest. You’re not sitting at home in a Lazy Boy parked in front of the television. You’re in public. Try to act like a responsible adult.
3. BORING CONVERSATIONALISTS — I don’t want to hear your life story. I don’t want to hear your personal problems. I don’t give a rat’s ass what happened to you last week in Cleveland. I don’t care what your opinion is of the Redskins-Cowboys game. You’re on a cheap Southwest Airline flight just like me, pal. You’re not a guest on The David Letterman Show. Zip it.
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Marieta Dalla
Don Rieck
E.Dieter Martin
Dutch Boyd
Rich Korbin
Tiger123
Anonymous Eccentric
Kevin Un
Melissa Hayden
Todd Anderson
Stevan Goldman
Charlie Ciresi
Eric Schneller
Tanya Devenport
Peter Secor
Roger Rodd
Scott Wilson
Gareth Edwards
Shawn Rice
Billy the Greek
Linda Keenan
Sue Schneider
Tom Oldcroft
