The Root of the Week XII

I once spent ten straight days and nights in a hotel five feet (literally) from Bourbon Street. There is little more about it to say in this space than this ... I survived.

I once spent ten weeks undefeated, but there was the one little thing with the Jets, but still ... I survived.

When we meet again in this space next week, and we discuss the weekend's shenanigans, and I mention how I once spent a weekend in the company of Saints, you can be sure the real root of the conversation will be this ... I survived.

That is all.

Wednesday Taunt XI

'Twas a slow week in Swami-ville. Week the Eleventh provided very little in the way of spark, and trudged its way to a very poor showing with only six participant passings -- shocking for such a late week in the season. We credit the Giants, Steelers, and Lions for winning against the dregs, and thank profusely the Chiefs for at least provided a little in the loss column.

The Twelfth Week is important, as well, because it means there are no more bye weeks. Bye weeks can make it tough, often times we get to the point where we've had enough, so it's time to see them out the door and that ain't no lie. Bye bye, byes.

It can seem, so deep into the year, that teams are beginning to lead you along like a boy band on strings, but that is not the case. If anything, you are more in control of your destiny now than you ever were before ... you know the teams, you've studied their strengths and weaknesses, you know the competition, you know the path before you, and you know exactly what you need to do. That, my friends, is an exciting place. Relish it.

Weekend Statistics

202 participants

18 undefeated at 11-0

44 with one loss, including yours truly

150 deceased

Blessings and thanks are now upon us. Enjoy your day with food and family and some small measure of football, and I will be back on the flip side to dialogue further.

That is all.

The Root of the Week XI

Ah, the osprey. A beautiful creature. Amazingly adaptable, as well; lives on every continent but Antarctica. I know this because Wikipedia told me so, and Wikipedia is never wrong.

Only nineteen participants have never been wrong this excellent NFL season. This number is likely to climb higher after the weekend. You see, while the Bears are atrocious this season and Cutler is likely not long for Chicago, the man does still have a little juice left -- and the Giants are not what I would call a dominant force to be reckoned with.

Therefore, the Upset Special of the Week is Bears 27, Giants 20. This would scythe many a fine participant, including a host of unbeatens.

Why the osprey, then, to start this post? Well, friends, in addition to being a bird with many habitats, the osprey is also a bird with many names. You will recognize one of these names quite well: seahawk.

Fitting, as Swami flies high with the Seahawks this weekend.

That is all.

Friday Taunt X

"X" most definitely did not mark the spot for the Swami this past week, who fell from the ranks of the unbeaten along with Wick and Chick. Not many losses to couple with these two, but the rest who did (six in all) fell not from the unbeaten, but from the tree itself for the final time.

The noose is beginning to tighten and the ancient knight's words come back to me.

"Choose wisely."

Weekend Statistics
202 participants
19 undefeated
47 with one loss
136 deceased

That is all.

The Root of the Week X

This is a photo of a baby lamb. Cute, and yet oddly unsettling. It is a timely photo, because oddly unsettling is the nature of the Swami Pool at this moment as we enter the pivotal tenth week. Any team chosen from here on out is chosen for the final time this season.

Many of you elected to select the Ravens on Thursday night ... as the knight says, you have chosen wisely. There is no odd unsettling for you as you bask in the glory of a punched ticket to Week Eleven.

As for the rest of us, yours truly included, we must tempt fate once more this weekend. The Cardinals seem the heavy play, and I have seen a few Texans picks, plus a handful of one-off plays like the Redskins, Saints, and even (dare to be hexed) the Chargers.

The Swami moves not to the measured beat, but rather his own glorious rhythm; I, too, shall go the one-off route and put my faith once more in the AFC East: the J-E-T-S Jets will discard their New Yorker elitist vegetarian ways and feast upon meat once again this weekend.

Bold prediction: despite the predilection of one Jeff Fisher for finishing 8-8, the Rams will far short of that number this season. They will finish 4-12, if they are lucky. I also feel it important to note that anyone calling for Goff to play this season is an I-M-B-E-C-I-L-E imbecile. With the slate of games the Rams have coming up, not to mention a shoddy offensive line, it does not good to throw Goff out there to make his way in the dark against a pack of wolves. Give the kid a year, and let him start fresh from training camp as QB1 in 2017.

Bold prediction, part deux: barring injury, Goff will make his grand debut in Week 16, starting at home in a meaningless game against the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams will have lost their previous ten games, Goff will win his first game, and the media will go into massive frenzy. Goff will come back to earth against a Cardinals team fighting for their playoff lives the following week, but two weeks will be enough to let the masses salivate throughout the off-season. The Rams will get the fifth pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and will draft a left tackle.

But before all that, the Jets will win in Week Ten.

So it is written, so it shall be done.

That is all.

Thursday Taunt IX

Ladies and gentlemen, we have only twenty-one undefeated participants left. Blackjack, winner winner, chicken dinner. We thank the Vikings (yet again) and the Packers for bestowing losses upon seventeen of us, knocking out nine and taking our group down into the seventies.

Weekend Statistics
202 participants
21 undefeated at 9-0
51 with one loss at 8-1
130 deceased

Playoff rules are now in effect, which means any team chosen from here on out cannot every be used again. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find those teams you think are good enough to make playoffs, but not win.

So, teams like the Bengals.

That is all.

The Root of the Week IX

No fancy photo, no word-smithery this week. This post brought to you via very shaky intraweb connection at almost 6,000 feet, high in the mountains where yours truly is surrounded by several screaming 10 year old girls at a birthday party. Survival is, at this juncture, an uncertain thing. 

If this be the last thing I ever write, it is written with an undefeated air. 

I take the Chiefs this week. So it is written, so it shall be done. 

That is all. 

Thursday Taunt VIII

This photo comes out once per year. Those of you who have been with us for a few years know what it means, and from whence it came. The Reaper returned to the Swami Pool this past weekend, or more accurately this past Monday night, to reap and reap and reap those many, many souls who put themselves on Viking ships to sail across the sea. They did not reach their destination.

We lost 34 to their second and final loss, most of whom were on the Vikings. The Vikings actually took 41 down with them, many previously undefeated participants. The ranks have thinned.

Weekend Statistics
202 participants
30 undefeated at 8-0, of which Swami is one
51 with one loss
121 deceased, which includes the whole rest of the Swami clan

Week Eight was hateful, indeed.

That is all.