CanadianChris

I was thinking Miami might win for some reason as well initially, then I realized I couldn't think of what reason that might possibly be.

Actually, that's Clonie again.

I had to check the list three times to make sure that my next pick wasn't taken...an absolute heist: Jamie Foxx

This. They've won ONE PLAYOFF GAME IN ELEVEN YEARS! This isn't the 1990 Bulls trying to get by Detroit here (no matter what Costas said on the pregame), it's a young team trying to learn how to win together. And they've been pretty damn good at it this year, getting to fourth in the conference and within range of the defending champs. Sure, they got overwhelmed by the stage and didn't have much after the first period, but this is still one of the best stories to come along in years, and putting such unrealistic expectations on them right now is just silly. Just enjoy the big picture and don't sweat the bumps in the road.

"Poker's nice...I love play poker": Chau Giang

Damn, I thought for sure I was going to get to choose God...err, Antonius.

No, that's UCLA. USC plays at the Coliseum. OK, Brent suggesting the AP could vote USC #1 is a bit much.

Wow, this is just a clinic. A USC intrasquad game would have had more intrigue. If Penn State fumbles again, USC would probably score another TD before halftime.

Like father, like son: Todd Brunson

I'll play 10 for sure.

Clemson is looking like people thought they would at the start of the season. Isn't there anyone on Nebraska who can tackle? Of course, the minute I post that, everything goes all to hell.

Cowher's on the record as saying he's not going to Cleveland, so I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Nice that they're actually able to skate this year without being impeded by a couple of inches of snow.

Conversely, I finished only 25th in PF, yet finished 10-6 and grabbed a bye. Go figure.

So I guess the Bruins are back from the dead, eh? Must be something in the water in Boston.

I think if you went up to Chan and asked him about Jamie Gold today, he'd say, "Who?" And then Doyle or someone would remind him, "You know, that guy we took all that money from on High Stakes Poker." Moving on...foleyfan didn't pick, so I'll grab poker pro, legendary author, philanthropist and Asian connoisseur: Barry Greenstein

It's mid-December, which can only mean it's time for the fourth annual TSM Death Pool. I've added a few new twists to the scoring for this year's contest. Last year was a pretty bad year for anyone not banned from this site. Hopefully, next year will be good for us, and bad for celebrities. Here are the rules: Pick any 20 celebrities who you think will die between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. I will be the sole arbiter on who is a celebrity and who isn't. The main rule -- if a major news organization reports on someone's death, that person is generally considered a celebrity, although there may be exceptions. New eligibility rules for this year: Anyone picked must be at least 18 years of age as of December 31, 2007. Anyone executed by the state will receive zero points. Scoring Each dead celebrity is worth a base of 10 points. Additional points will be allocated as follows, according to age at the time of death: 18-34: 75 points 35-49: 50 points 50-59: 40 points 60-69: 30 points 70-79: 20 points 80-99: 10 points 100+: 0 points Bonus points 25 points will be awarded for any of the following: - If a dead person on your list appears on your list and no one else's. - If a person on your list dies during the month of December. - If a person on your list dies of unnatural causes (suicide, murder or accident), other than through a state execution. The BEST BET You may select any ONE of your celebrities as a BEST BET. If your BEST BET dies during the year, ALL points for that person are DOUBLED. Whoever has the most points at the end of the year will be the winner. In case of a tie, whoever had the most people on their list die will win. In case of a further tie, whoever has the lowest total age of all dead people on their list will win. Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2007. No exceptions. Once you post your list, it is final, except if someone on your list dies before January 1, 2008, in which case you may post a replacement no later than 11:59 pm on December 31, 2007. Anyone found guilty of murdering someone on their list will be disqualified. Good luck to everyone!

+started a new job +went on two cruises +ran a 5K +finally got a Wii +bought a house for my parents to rent -said house needed about $10K in additions right away and another $10K in the next 2 years -blew through entire savings to fund down payment on said house -wife is depressed -gained back 35 pounds I'd lost last year +Lakers made it to the Finals -Sens are awful, Broncos and Blue Jays disappointed again Good year on balance, but stressful like you wouldn't believe.

51 minutes and counting. Next year, remind me to remind you guys not to number your lists. It's a ton of extra work for me entering it into the sheet.

No he wasn't. I'll take the protege of my first pick, and the biggest money winner in poker history: Jamie Gold AHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh, and sorry about the PM. No big deal. What's the laughter for? He's a horrible, horrible poker player who had about 20 million in chips gifted to him at the 2006 WSOP. Boo to MF on stealing Ted Forrest.

MATCH GAME TRIFECTA: Betty White Richard Dawson Fannie Flagg Walter Cronkite Wilford Brimley Bob Feller Whitey Ford Amy Winehouse Chyna Betsy Rawls John Goodman Muhammad Ali - BEST BET Doyle Brunson Bea Arthur Jimmy Carter Bill Cosby Russell Johnson Larry Hagman - BEST BET Robert Culp Superstar Billy Graham

No he wasn't. I'll take the protege of my first pick, and the biggest money winner in poker history: Jamie Gold AHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh, and sorry about the PM.

Shanahan fired? Wow. That's pretty shocking to me. I thought he'd get a pass with all the injuries they had this year, but I guess Bowlen finally decided he was the reason the defence stank so badly the last few years (with Shanahan being horrible at selecting defensive players both in the draft and through free agency). Hopefully the Cowher-to-Denver rumours floating around right now have some substance to them. That could be another reason, Bowlen saw an opportunity to get Cowher and jumped on it.

The problem with that would be that someone would have to say that Flacco was better than Ryan at QB, and I don't think you can make that argument, despite what a good season he had. I'm a little surprised it wasn't unanimous.

Sorry, didn't realize I was up... Allen Cunningham