Standings through Week 15…

1. Eric – Hutcinson, MN – 166 points
2. James – Lake Elmo, MN – 155 points
3. ME! – Minneapolis, MN – 151 points
4. Clayton – Utica, NY – 150 points
5. David – Corona, CA – 148 points
6. Jamin – Gresham, OR – 147 points
6. Susan – Lake Elmo, MN – 147 points
6. Josh – Westerville, OH – 147 points
9. Felix – New York, NY – 146 points
9. Jeff – Laguna Hills, CA – 146 points
9. John – Tulsa, OK – 146 points
9. Michael – Amherst, NY – 146 points
13. Curtis – Stewart, MN – 145 points
13. Chris – Evanston, IL – 145 points
13. Eddie – Nashville, TN – 145 points
13. Norman – San Francisco, CA – 145 points
13. Ron – Chino Hills, CA – 145 points
13. James – Houston, TX – 145 points
19. Daniel – Lansing, KA – 144 points
19. Lisa – Rocky Hill, CT – 144 points
21. Justin – Jersey City, NJ – 143 points
21. Sedrick – Katy, TX – 143 points
21. Michael – Clifton Park, NY – 143 points
21. John – Winooski, VT – 143 points
21. Karen – Tonawanda, NY - 143 points
21. Nick – Yakima, WA – 143 points
21. Joel – Miami Gardens, FL – 143 points
28. Dan – Pompano Beach, FL – 142 points
28. Eileen – Arlington Heights, IL – 142 points
28. Darin – New Hope, MN – 142 points
28. Ethan – Indianapolis, IN – 142 points
28. John – Oregon, WI – 142 points
28. Jim – Loudonville, NY – 142 points
28. Rick – Olney, MD – 142 points
28. John – Hartland, MI – 142 points
36. Nick – Phoenix, AZ – 141 points
36. Derek – Bakersfield, CA – 141 points
36. Tony – Savage, MN – 141 points
36. Keri – Minneapolis, MN – 141 points
36. Mike – Mequon, WI – 141 points
36. Clifford – Voorhees, NJ – 141 points
36. Gerald – Twin Lakes, WI – 141 points
43. Benson – Detroit, MI – 140 points
43. Bob – Milford, MA – 140 points
43. David – Roswell, GA – 140 points
43. Colin – New York, NY – 140 points
43. Devin – St. Paul, MN – 140 points
43. Lee – North Las Vegas, NV – 140 points
43. Gary – Los Angeles, CA – 140 points
43. James – Georgetown, KT – 140 points
43. Konrad – Craig, CO – 140 points
43. Matthew – Knoxville, TN – 140 points
43. Mike – Aspen, CO – 140 points
43. Nate – Jordan, MN – 140 points
43. Matt – Cortland, OH – 140 points
43. Ryan – Pasadena, CA – 140 points
57. Craig – Fitchburg, MA – 139 points
57. Daryl – Chalmette, AB – 139 points
57. Jared – Alexandria, VA – 139 points
57. Jeff – Independence, KT – 139 points
57. John – Woodbridge, VA – 139 points
57. Bill – Crofton, MD – 139 points
57. Cesar – Roxbury, MA – 139 points
57. Terry – Oakdale, MN – 139 points
57. Michael – Dublin, OH – 139 points
66. Fred – Pleasanton, CA – 138 points
66. Everett – Port Charlotte, FL – 138 points
66. Jerry – Westminster, CO – 138 points
66. Carmelo – Hubertus, WI – 138 points
66. Jason – Powell, OH – 138 points
66. Jason – Phoenix, AZ – 138 points
66. Jim – North Mankato, MN – 138 points
66. Kevin – Pawtucket, RI – 138 points
66. Paul – Brooklyn, NY – 138 points
66. Mark – South Boston, MA – 138 points
66. Timothy – Fox Lake, IL – 138 points
66. Rob – Comstock Park, MI – 138 points
66. Sue – Cincinnati, OH – 138 points
79. Bryan – Randolph, MA – 137 points
79. David – Northfield, MN – 137 points
79. Harry – Monticello, FL – 137 points nts
79. Isaac – Columbia Heights, MN – 137 points
79. Jon – Oklahoma City, OK – 137 points
79. Ken – Green Bay, WI – 137 points
79. Kate – Miami, FL – 137 points
79. Ray – Fort Worth, TX – 137 points
79. Larry – Rockwall, TX – 137 points
79. Michael – New York, NY – 137 points
79. Richard – Margate, FL – 137 points
79. Russ – Phoenix, AZ – 137 points
79. Steve – Fort Worth, TX – 137 points
92. Allison – Gloucester, NJ – 136 points
92. Bill – Santa Rosa, CA – 136 points
92. Nathan – Prescott, AZ – 136 points
92. Jeff – Zephyr Cove, NV – 136 points
92. Mark – Palmyra, NJ – 136 points
92. Rod – New York, NY – 136 points
92. Budde – Jenks, OK – 136 points
92. Paul – Virginia Beach, VA – 136 points
92. Brian – Columbus, OH – 136 points
92. Sean – Los Angeles, CA – 136 points
92. Blake – Blountville, TN – 136 points
92. Susan – Vienna, VA – 136 points
92. Tou – Eagan, MN – 136 points

So for those that didn’t check back to last week’s blog, the 3 consolation iPod Nanos will be awarded in the following way…
2nd place will receive a iPod Nano.
The remaining two Nanos will be drawn for from a pool of the Top 100 finalists.

Thanks again for all your feedback in the matter.

In NFL news, I missed every game this week except the Vikings game. Obviously I noticed that Miami won, but I heard that Billick shot the Ravens in the foot on that one, just days after his contract extension!

I also saw the awesome play by Brian Westbrook to upset the Cowboys. The replay of him lying down at the 1 yd line was flashing through my head as Darren Sharper tried to return his INT to end the game last nigh. He didn’t lose the football, but he should’ve hit the ground at the 10 yd line instead of bringing it out 40 yards. The Vikings barely won a really ugly game where our offensive strategy was to not block Brian Urlacher. Either way, we’ve won 5 straight. Adrian Peterson is the best RB in the game and we’re in a good position to make the playoffs. Hooray!

Two Weeks Left!
Don’t forget about Thursday’s game, and good luck in Week 16!

Also for anyone interested we’re going to be running a College Bowl Game Pick’Em Challenge. We’re going to give away a Sharp 19” LCD TV/DVD Combo to the winner! I actually just purchased one for my bedroom and can say it’s a sweet little machine. We’re going to run the competition through FOX Sports since it’s a little late to put in the hours to run it through our system. So be on the lookout for an email with signup info. Pretty simple game – pick the winners of the 26 Bowl Games… person with the most correct wins. You have to also input the score for the Ohio St. v LSU game which will break any ties. I should have the email done either today or tomorrow. The first College game is a week from tomorrow night.

Have to disagree with the 2 other Nanos only going to the Top 100. I have visited the site and done picks every week, and I feel like the winners should be drawn from either everyone or everyone who participated in a certain number of weeks. Thanks.

@John: I wanted to reward performance but also try to retain as many participants as possible through week 17. It's a fine line because while we want people to participate, in the end it's still a competition and those that score better than others should be rewarded. So that was how I landed on a drawing from the top 100.

The Top 100 represents the top scoring 1/3 of everyone that has participated in all or all but one week of the competition. There's only 14 points that separate 92nd from 3rd place. To include everyone with the same participation level would mean someone that scored 50 points fewer than 4th place not only has a chance of winning something OVER 4th place, but also decreases the chances of 4th place winning. So with that in mind, I felt where I landed was fair.

Participation and enjoyment is very important to us and we've got a schedule of sports-related promotions planned for 2008 that we want people to get into and share the fun with their friends and family. Just know that your comments don't go unnoticed and help in making future promotions better. Thanks.

Thanks for a great contest. It made each week and a long season interesting.

For any and all that are interested!!!!!

I just launched our College Bowl Game Pick'Em Challenge. We're going to give the winner a Sharp LCD 19" TV/DVD Combo. I personally just got one for the bedroom and it's a great TV.

You can sign up here...
http://msn.foxsports.com/.....kem/

You'll need to either login with your hotmail or windows live account (or create one, which takes under a minute).

Once you're editing your entry information be sure to select "NO" to Point Spreads, otherwise when you search for the Second Act Group you won't find it.

Continue on and click the "join group" button.

Search for Second Act and join our group, fill out your entry form and you're in!(It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't, there's just no way to explain it without making it seem like a hassle).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or send me an email - matt@secondact.com
Enjoy!

No idea why that link got screwed up in my last post. Sorry!

http://msn.foxsports.com/.....football/bowlpickem/

Isn`t there a Bowl game tonight? The Poinsettia Bowl. I realize its not a big bowl game, but just wondered why we started with bowl games on the 26th.
Also, I got a reminder to submit my week 16 picks, even though I already got a confirmation email showing that I already made them. Hope they got submitted.

@Bryan - I sent the e-mail reminder to everyone (not just those that have yet to submit picks for Week 16) in order to inform everyone of the College Bowl Pick'Em Challenge. If you had already submitted your picks, you're fine.


As for the bowl games within the College Bowl Challenge - the entry form was pre-populated with games. I don't follow college football (at all) so I didn't even realize that they're may be more games than what Foxsports.com included. There were no options for me to manipulate the entry form when I created the group - it's just one standardized form for everyone. I hope that clarifies. Thanks for the questions Bryan.

No problem. This has been a fun contest, even though I missed one week of picks. If I hadn`t, I`d be closing in on Eric.
I don`t really follow college football either, but I figure I have as good a chance as anyone on those bowl games.
Thanks for the great contests. Keep em coming.

Bryan-

If you hadn't missed that week and were closing in on me, I wouldn't have taken all the favorites last week, and I wouldn't allow you to get too close. This week, look for the Vikings to lose to the Redskins, Buffalo over the Giants, Philly over New Orleans, and possibly Houston over Indy.

The vikings think they've got the playoff spot locked up, and can't really improve their situation. Childress might rest Peterson. If not, the Skins are going to stack the line against the run, and leave it in Jackson's hands. The Vikings were in a similar position a few years ago, controlling their destiny and having to win 1 of their last 3 games to get into the playoffs, and they lost all three, including the last game of the season to the lowly Washington Redskins. They still would have gotten in, had Green Bay, a HUGE favorite over the Cardinals, won their game. I think AZ got a last second TD catch to win that game. I think Matt (may have been someone else) was talking about getting revenge on the Cards for knocking the Vikings out of the playoffs that year... but it was the Vikings that knocked themselves out by not winning their own games.

I don't follow College football much either, and it's a good thing the Poinsettia Bowl was not included in this contest, because I would have taken the Midshipmen over the Utes, and I'd already be down 1 game from the start.

Eric...I took Vikings over Redskins, especially in Minn, based partly on Peterson playing, not resting. The Giants need this game over Buffalo to make the playoffs, and they play New England next week, so I took them to beat the Bills. They don`t want to have to go into week 16 against a team trying to make history, and need that game to make the postseason...they have a much better chance this week. I agree with Philly over NO (we are in the minority, most people think Saints will win), but I think a depleted Indy will still beat Houston in the RCA dome. I think Cleveland wins to make the playoffs as well.