SI.com: Dr. Z

Dr. Z: Coming full circle on flea flickers; a new wrinkle for FGs

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:37:09 EST

With apologies to Hughes Means:

Dr. Z: A bettor's guide to Week 12

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:33:53 EST

You're going to see a parade of underdogs that will blow your head off. So wear a hat. Look at the handicappers' box when you pick up the paper today. Taking the overall consensus, I'll bet that favorites are picked to cover much more than underdogs. It's human nature. You just feel safer with a small favorite that looks a lot better on paper. I've made that mistake as well, because, as we know, over the long haul it's going to even out. Well, I just have a hunch that this is the week of the dog, and in my desperate attempt to get my seasonal number close to mediocre, I'm going to play it strong in that direction.

Dr. Z: NFL Power Rankings, Week 12

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:17:16 EST

It's too depressing, looking at the stock market ticker, so I'll give you a brief Power Rankings ticker. Top five unchanged, with very few traded. Is that brief enough? Jets registering a sizeable gain. Patriots suffer a loss. Eagles suffer a tie. Readers of this nonsense just suffer. (Honest, coach, I didn't know I could end this. I thought I just keep writing until there's a decision). Send comments to Dr. Z.

Dr. Z: Picking an all-animal team and more mailbag

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:20:20 EST

My editor loved the following email so much he nearly fainted. Last time I noticed, the ladies from the eighth floor were up there fanning away, furiously. So the correspondent who carries the near-anonymous tag of Bill of K.C. gets the Emailer of the Week Award this trip for the following:

Dr. Z: Overtime call, patient Favre saved game for Jets

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:50:46 EST

Do you know what the biggest play in the 34-31 Jets-Patriots game overtime thriller was? The coin toss for the overtime. If the Jets would have lost it, there's no way under God's blue sky that I could have seen them winning the contest.

Dr. Z: A bettor's guide to Week 11

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:04:04 EST

I think Eric Mangini sat down and started game planning for this one back on Sept. 15, the day after the Patriots won Round 1 over his Jets. This is his Super Bowl, a game he wants to win more than ... well, more than Bill Belichick wants to beat him. No, strike that. It's a silly thing to say. The fires burn just as brightly in Massachusetts, even though they're expressed in quieter ways.

Dr. Z: A bettor's guide to Week 10

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:54:38 EST

Tennessee will not go unbeaten this year. The Titans just don't have that look. For one thing, their games are too close. Their luck has to run out sometime. But when? How about this Sunday against the Bears? OK, I know ... screams in the night ... you mean you want Rex Grossman to engineer an upset over the toughest team in the AFC?

Dr. Z: NFL Power Rankings, Week 11

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:35:07 EST

The ranking gods were good to your faithful narrator last weekend because the bottom ranks lost and the toppers, with one or two exceptions, won, which makes this week's struggle a breeze and will keep the e-mail wolves with the long teeth away for at least a week. You have just seen the longest sentence I've ever written for this column. To make up for it I'll balance the rest of it off with short ones. Such as "Come." "Sit." "Fetch." "Good dog."

Dr. Z: Cowboys fans sound off; life without Redhead

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:43:12 EST

What is it about the Cowboys that seems to capture so many people's fancy? Capture so many fancy people? Fancy capturing so many people! I mean, is it the arrival of rodeo season or what? Personally I find it kind of a rich boys' team with an apathetic fan base.

Dr. Z: A bettor's guide to Week 10

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:43:23 EST