Week 4 NFL Upset Specials

My big upset special for Week 4: Detroit will prevail at home against the field-goal favorite Bears. While twice as many fans are picking the Bears to win in NFL Picks Pools all across the country, trust dp: the Bears' secondary is just too banged up to contain the Lions' explosive receiving corps, plus DT Tommie Harris and OLB Lance Briggs, two key cogs in shutting down the run game, are hurt as well. Throw in the fact that Lions RB Kevin Jones should be close to full speed this week, plus the fact that Chicago made a midweek QB switch (which actually does help them as Brian Griese couldn't possibly play worse than Rex Grossman), and this game is the Lions for the taking. If Jon Kitna can avoid costly turnovers, the Lions will put up some points and improve to 3-1.


In another NFC North domed showdown, Green Bay visits Minnesota. Historically, Brett Favre hasn't played well in domes, posting a career 20-25 record, and he's struggled particularly in the HHH Metrodome, where he's just 5-10. Yet looking closer behind the numbers, dp discovered that Favre has actually won 4 of 7 contests in the Metrodome in the 1990s. Plus, he's playing great so far this year to lead the Packers to three straight wins. The only question is, how soon will Favre throw a touchdown pass to hit 421 and set the all-time record? dp sets the over-under for this milestone at 11:17 left in the second quarter. The scoring won't stop there, and the Pack remains undefeated with a 31-21 win.

Finally, as dp doesn't feel good about any of the other underdogs' chances this week, here's some predictions for the three games with the narrowest favorites: I'm sticking with Seattle again this week to squeak one out at San Francisco, Philly to subdue New York at Giants Stadium, and, in a game experts are wary to pick because of Jake Delhomme's injury status, I'm riding Carolina, with Delhomme or David Carr at QB, to eke out a home win over the Bucs. (I would wait until Saturday night for an injury update before picking this last one, but dp and Lady FLICK are off to Seattle for a wedding this weekend. Check back Monday for the Week 4 recap.)

President's Race 9/27/2006

Farewell, RFK!

To give you a sense of RFK Stadium, check out the presidential sausage race from last night's game- the last Nationals game ever to be played at RFK, as the Nats are set to move into a sparkling new facility next spring. Look for dp's stadium feature coming soon to the FLICKsport Rap.

FLICK life: Foul is Fair

The FLICKsport life is really pretty simple. It's about doing it right in the right place at the right time.

For example, on Monday, September 17, dp attended the Washington Nationals v. New York Mets baseball game at soon-to-be-defunct RFK Stadium. Sitting in his customary seats behind homeplate, dp scrambled over a few rows of empty seats to make a backhanded snag of an 8th inning foul ball, taking care not to spill a single drop of beer in the pursuit. dp was of course thrilled to have finally nabbed a baseball after 20 foul-free years attending hundreds of ballgames at dozens of stadiums across the country.

However, dp was not alone in tracking the foul, as a young boy in a Nats jersey had raced to the spot in the aisle where the ball would have trickled down if not for dp's deftness. Looking first at his own half-full beer and then at the boy's empty baseball glove, dp knew how to do it right.

So with a flick of the wrist, dp dropped the ball down into the boy's glove.

The unassisted Double Player always lends a helping hand.

Further, the Dharma Prince knows that what goes around comes around, just as FLICKsters know to just let it go. It will come back.

And of course it did on that glorious late summer night: a cameraman captured the whole moment for display on the scoreboard. The ensuing roar from the appreciative crowd gave dp an even better thrill than catching the ball.

FLICK. Just let it go.