Lil’ Mahi comes out on top again

For the second week in a row the Lil’ Mahi came out on top as Miller Lite’s Pigskin Picks big fish, but this time around he was joined by Cramer as the duo found unique ways to foil the field with 12-4 records.

Against everybody’s better judgment, the Mahi went with the Arizona Cardinals over the St. Louis Rams last week and the pick paid off as Kurt Warner and the red birds pulled off a 38-28 upset of the Rams in the former Super Bowl MVP’s first trip back the Edwards Jones Dome.

Warner was later named the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week for completing 27-of-39 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns with a 115.9 passer rating—his highest in the past four years.

You’ve gotta hand it to the little guy for sticking with his team, but it’s tough to pick the Cardinals week in and week out without a little favoritism. Cramer pulled off a coup as well by opting for the Chicago Bears over the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina looks like a sure fav for the NFC’s representative for the Super Bowl in Detroit, but their offensive line looked like a sieve as the Bears recorded eight sacks from their front four in the 13-3 upset.

The duo also lucked out as place kicker Paul Edinger split the uprights as time expired to deliver the Vikings their second nail-biting win over the Packers this season. The latest shocker came on Monday night as they bounced Brett Favre with a 20-17 heart breaker in Wisconsin.

The other three local prognosticators didn’t do too shabby either as each of them finished 10-6 to end the best week of the season by our handsome fivesome. Blanco still leads the pack with an unmatched 113-47 record, but Hunter is just five games back at 108-92. He better not get to cozy in the second spot as Cramer is steadily gaining ground in third at 105-55, while the Lil’ Mahi is fighting to the finish at 92-68. The only question for our local boys is “What happened to Brooks?”

After leading the league for the first two weeks, the Psycho Gnome took a header into the deep end to fall into first place in the last place race at 86-74. He still has a chance to catch the Mahi. It’s a small chance, but still a chance.

On the pro side, there was more of the action that makes the American brand of football more exciting than the emasculated version loved the world over. The Indianapolis Colts continued their march of perfection with a thrilling 45-37 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati in which wide receiver Marvin Harrison became only the sixth player in the history of the National Football League to reel in 900 catches.

The teams combined to score 62 points in the first half alone, but the incredible numbers posted by Harrison this year are even better. So far he is on pace for another standout year as Harrison has already caught 58 passes for 666 yards—eight of which went for touchdowns—for an average of 11.5 yards per reception.

Harrison is a big reason why the Colts are a chilly 10-0 with six games to go, but he’ll have a challenge this weekend against Pittsburgh, as the Steelers’ will Ben Roethlisberger returns this weekend in the RCA Dome.

Cadillac Williams made his return to the field last week for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made a world of difference for the pirates in pewter pants as he picked up 116 yards on 16 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per rush. His touchdown helped seal the deal as they upended the Falcons in Atlanta to the delight of their fans at home in Florida.

Drew Brees knows all about big numbers as he led the San Diego Chargers to a 48-10 blowout of the Buffalo Bills in So Cal last week in which he completed 28-of-33 passes for 339 yards.

The Bills were about as bad as bad can be, but so were the Philadelphia Eagles who lost their fourth straight game to fall to 4-6 on the year. After jumping out to lead the NFC East with a 4-2 record, Philly fans have had to endure the T.O. disease that has made 4-out of-5 physicians prefer cholera to Owens in their town.

He’s outta there now, but so is Donovan McNabb due to receiving more injuries than a car full of clowns in a demolition derby, so the Eagles will have to look to quarterback Mike McMahon to save the season.