Blanco still on top, Hunter closing in

Champagne bottles were popping all over southern Florida last week as the pristine 17-0 record attained by the1972 Miami Dolphins is free from challenge once again as the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Dallas Cowboys by a touchdown in Big D.

This year’s edition of the National Football League’s undefeated club lasted for a while as the Chicago Bears and the Colts continued to extend their streaks week in and week out, but Indianapolis’ loss isn’t all that bad considering they are the only team in the history of the league to post back-to-back 9-0 starts.

While Peyton Manning lost out on his quest for double-digit wins against Dallas, the biggest story from the Lone Star contest was the quality play from quarterback Tony Romo.

The kid who rode shotgun while Drew Bledsoe stood in the pocket like a statue was playing like a seasoned veteran as Romo rallied the Cowboys from a 14-7 fourth quarter deficit with two touchdown drives.

Romo came out strong yesterday as well with an impressive five-touchdown performance during a 38-10 victory over Tampa Bay on Turkey Day. No other quarterback in Cowboys history has ever reached that mark, and that includes the likes of Roger “The Dodger” Staubach, Danny White, and Troy Aikman.

Since they bashed my Buffalo Bills in back-to-back Super Bowls, I can’t say that I am a fan of the Cowboys; however, I am a fan of the new guy at the helm and hope he has continued success in Dallas—if for no other reason then to keep T.O. quiet for the rest of the season.

On the local side, John Blanco maintained his lead in the standings at 101-59 overall despite finishing with a mediocre 8-8, but he lost out courtesy of a surprise Buccaneers win over the Redskins in Tampa Bay and fell prey to the streaking Miami Dolphins, as did Minnesota.

Will Hunter came ever closer to the leader thanks to his 10-6 finish that improved his overall total to 100-60 and Jon Cramer is a game back of him at 99-61 after taking the Jets at home over Chicago (big mistake) to finish 9-7 for the week.

Big Keith Nabors also finished 9-7 to take a bite out of Blanco’s lead, and he is still in the chase at 96-64 with his eyes on bringing the title home to Tinian. Fifth place belongs to the beautiful Kelley Butcher at 89-71. She continues to go with the underdogs and the long shots, and a handful of unlikely wins kept her out of the basement for the past couple of weeks.

She’ll need a little love from the gridiron gods this time around as Butcher opted for Cleveland over Cincinnati and Buffalo at home over Jacksonville. I love the Bills, but there’s no way that J.P. Losman will repeat his hook-up feats with Lee Evans that accounted for 265 yards and a pair of 83-yard touchdown strikes.

The Lil’ Mahi and the Powder Puff are still locked in last place at 87-73, but the kid finished strong at 9-7, while Puff went into a freefall at 6-10. There is still plenty of time left in the season and anything can happen, but the race between the Top 4 prognosticators is really heating up down the stretch.