Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXIX

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV XXXVI XXXVII XXXVIII

And now for a few oddballs.

1987 Fleer - Stickers Baltimore/Atlanta with Cardinals backing (x2)
1988 Fleer - Stickers Chicago White Sox/St. Louis with Busch Stadium
1991 Studio #133 Joe Carter
1992 Score #433 Cal Ripken, Jr.

There were actually two of the 1987 Fleer Stickers, so I decided to scan the back of one. There was only one 1988, but it looks pretty much like 1987 with a green background on the front. On the back you see Busch Stadium, which is now often called Busch Stadium II since the Cardinals are now in their third stadium by that name.

The Carter and Ripken cards were more packing material. Those are two pretty big stars to be throwaway cards, but there's a slight crease in them, and the sets are pretty common ones to begin with. Carter also played for Baltimore, so I might pass these two along to a friend of mine for his kid, so he can try to indoctrinate him into his Orioles fandom.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXVIII

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV XXXVI XXXVII

Do you ever just feel too lazy to turn a horizontal card sideways?

1998 Topps Stadium Club #48 Delino DeShields
1998 Score Rookie/Traded #RT158 Delino DeShields
2004 Playoff Honors #180 Jim Edmonds
2004 UD Diamond Pro Sigs #87 Jim Edmonds
2008 Upper Deck Goudey #193 Troy Glaus
2009 Topps Allen and Ginter #193 Khalil Greene

Since I didn't really collect from about 2000 until late 2010, a lot of the specialty sets from that time seem very obscure to me. I'd never heard of Upper Deck's "Diamond Pro Sigs", for example. It looks like the base cards have signatures printed on in foil. The only other card from the Playoff Honors set I have is an Albert Pujols, which was also in this prize package.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXVII

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV XXXVI

The giant prize pile is down to a large handful...

1982 Fleer #123 Ken Oberkfell
1983 Fleer #17 Ken Oberkfell
1991 Donruss #43 Ray Lankford
1991 Donruss #143 Brett Butler
1994 Topps Stadium Club Draft Picks #30 Carl Dale
1994 Topps Stadium Club Draft Picks #55 Yates Hall
1995 Topps Stadium Club #424 Ray Lankford
1999 Topps Stadium Club #21 Darren Oliver
1990 Upper Deck - Team Hologram Cardinals

I always find it interesting to see what happpened with Cardinals draft picks I've never heard of.
Carl Dale was sent to Oakland as part of the deal acquire my cousin, Todd Stottlemyre, and eventually made it to MLB with Milwaukee in 1999 after rosters expanded. Yates Hall appears to have played his entire career in the Cardinals minor league system, and only played through 1998, when he was 25, but only rose to AA.

Brett Butler, I'm pretty sure, was another "packing material" card, protecting a stack by covering the end. But it's in good enough shape to throw into my 1991 Donruss box, along with the Ray Lankford. Also, I promise that hologram is of a 1990s Cardinals logo, though it's pretty hard to tell that from the scan.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXVI

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV XXXV

The end is tantalizingly near. Is that even a sensible adverb in this situation?

1982 Kmart #12 Orlando Cepeda
1987 TCMA 1934 Cardinals #4 Ripper Collins
1990 Fleer - All Stars #5 Joe Magrane
1990 Pacific Legends #65 Orlando Cepeda
1992 Action Packed #22 Wally Moon
2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes #24 Frankie Frisch

Today I've got some old guys, and Joe Magrane, who's quite young relative to the rest, but with what I have left, he fit into this group. It's always nice to expand my collection to new players. I had no previous cards of Wally Moon (though I did meet him in person and get an autograph), Frankie Frisch, or Ripper Collins, and I had just 2 Orlando Cepeda cards, from 2010-2011 and picturing him as a member of the San Francisco Giants.

Superbowl LI Projection, Championship Sunday

New England over Atlanta

Both favorites won on Sunday, neither of whom I was rooting for, and we've got a New England vs Atlanta Superbowl matchup. I've got New England as nearly 70% likely to win. FiveThirtyEight gives them 61%, and there's really no way to say which of us is more right. I guess if New England wins I'm more likely to be more right, and vice versa. The NFC is the designated home team this year, and will get their choice of jersey. The team in white has won 11 of the last 12 Superbowls, so I'd bet on them picking that for good luck, but I don't think that will be the difference maker.

So who am I rooting for?

New England at Atlanta:
I'm not really attached to either team, so I'll be rooting for myself to win the Collector's Crack contest. That will take a New England victory, and a total score of 50 points or less. I heard Vegas has the over/under at 59, so I might wind up the only one at my Superbowl party on the edge of my seat watching a 36-14 game late in the 4th quarter.

TEAM	Record	Strength	Div	Plyff	WC	Qtr	Semi	Champ
NE	14-2	0.845	++	++	++	++	++	69.96
ATL	11-5	0.701	++	++	++	++	++	30.04
DAL	13-3	0.722	++	++	++	-	-	-
KC	12-4	0.661	++	++	++	-	-	-
PIT	11-5	0.645	++	++	++	++	-	-
SEA	10-5-1	0.640	++	++	++	-	-	-
ARI	7-8-1	0.606	-	-	-	-	-	-
DEN	9-7	0.585	-	-	-	-	-	-
GB	10-6	0.580	++	++	++	++	-	-
PHI	7-9	0.577	-	-	-	-	-	-
NYG	11-5	0.565	-	++	-	-	-	-
OAK	12-4	0.558	-	++	-	-	-	-
BAL	8-8	0.549	-	-	-	-	-	-
MIN	8-8	0.547	-	-	-	-	-	-
BUF	7-9	0.540	-	-	-	-	-	-
IND	8-8	0.535	-	-	-	-	-	-
WAS	8-7-1	0.525	-	-	-	-	-	-
NO	7-9	0.524	-	-	-	-	-	-
CIN	6-9-1	0.523	-	-	-	-	-	-
TEN	9-7	0.506	-	-	-	-	-	-
SD	5-11	0.477	-	-	-	-	-	-
DET	9-7	0.475	-	++	-	-	-	-
TB	9-7	0.469	-	-	-	-	-	-
MIA	10-6	0.466	-	++	-	-	-	-
CAR	6-10	0.436	-	-	-	-	-	-
HOU	9-7	0.381	++	++	++	-	-	-
JAC	3-13	0.335	-	-	-	-	-	-
CHI	3-13	0.255	-	-	-	-	-	-
NYJ	5-11	0.234	-	-	-	-	-	-
SF	2-14	0.211	-	-	-	-	-	-
CLE	1-15	0.167	-	-	-	-	-	-
LA	4-12	0.156	-	-	-	-	-	-

First to 10% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 3, Thursday)
First to 20% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 8, Sunday)
First to 40% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 16, Saturday)

First to 45% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 17, Final)

First to 50% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Divisional Saturday)

First to 80% chance of Playoffs: New England (Week 3, Thursday)
First to 90% chance of Playoffs: Minnesota (Week 4, Final)
First to 99% chance of Playoffs: New England (Week 8, Sunday)
First to 99.9% chance of Playoffs: Dallas (Week 12, Thursday)
First to 99.999% chance of Playoffs: Dallas (Week 13, Thursday)
First to clinch Playoffs: Dallas (Week 13, Sunday)
First to clinch a First Round Bye: New England (Week 15, Sunday)
First to clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs: Dallas (Week 16, Saturday)

First team eliminated from winning a division: Cleveland, San Francisco (Week 11, Sunday)
First team eliminated from the playoffs: Cleveland (Week 11, Sunday)

[Week 1] San Francisco over Houston
[Week 2, Thursday] San Francisco over Houston
[Week 2, Sunday] Pittsburgh over Minnesota
[Week 2, Final] Philadelphia over Houston
[Week 3, Thursday] New England over Philadelphia
[Week 3, Sunday] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 3, Final] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 4, Thursday] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 4, Sunday] Philadelphia over Denver
[Week 4, Final] Minnesota over Denver
[Week 5, Thursday] Minnesota over Denver
[Week 5, Sunday] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 5, Final] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 6, Thursday] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 6, Sunday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 6, Final] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Thursday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Sunday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Final] New England over Minnesota
[Week 8, Thursday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 8, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 8, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 10, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 10, Sunday] Dallas over New England
[Week 10, Final] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Sunday] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Final] Dallas over New England
[Week 12, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 12, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 12, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 13, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 13, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 13, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 17, Final] New England over Dallas
[Wildcard Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Wildcard Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Divisional Saturday] New England over Atlanta
[Divisional Sunday] New England over Atlanta

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXV

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII XXXIII XXXIV

Let's sort some cards!

1998 Bowman's Best #146 Braden Looper
1998 Fleer Tradition #397 Kent Mercker
1998 Fleer Tradition #415 Braden Looper
1998 Fleer Tradition #541 Cliff Politte
1998 Topps #485 Braden Looper/Cliff Politte/Brian Rose
2009 Topps #612 Joel Pineiro

I've apparently never posted a Cliff Politte card, and now here I have 2. He only played one year with the Cardinals, and started just 8 games. I sometimes amaze myself at how much more time I must have had for baseball in those days. I could easily lose track of a guy like that now, but I can easily remember him on the team. Braden Looper is another one I remember from his first stint with the Cardinals, which was only 4 appearances. He came back after some time in Florida and New York, though.

1997 Topps #477 Braden Looper/John Patterson
2009 Upper Deck #880 Joel Pineiro
2014 Munnatawket Allen and Ginter #34 Matt Carpenter

That Matt Carpenter isn't just your average Allen and Ginter mini (which are also good cards, for the record). It's from a custom set made by a friend of Nachos Grande, in the 2008 Ginter style, but with an ad for Munnatawket bats on the reverse. I've seen these on a few blogs in the past, but usually as part of the full set. This set might be harder to chase than something from the 60s, so I'll probably just be content with my anachronistic Matt Carpenter card, appearing to feature him 3 years before his MLB debut and 1 year before he was drafted.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXIV

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII XXXIII

I'll never spend less than 5 minutes figuring out which subset a Bowman Draft card belongs to.

2007 Fleer Ultra #150 Chris Carpenter
2007 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH320 Troy Percival
2007 Upper Deck Artifacts #68 Chris Carpenter (x2)
2008 Topps Stadium Club #130 Brian Barton
2009 Bowman Draft - Prospects #BDPP4 Virgil Hill

At first I thought I already that Brian Barton card, but take a look at my other copy. One of those is a variation, and from reading BaseballCardPedia's page on 2008 Stadium Club, I believe it's the one in today's post.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXIII

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX
XXXI XXXII


With the pro football season winding down, I'll run through these a little faster now. Today's them is "Horizontal cards and others in the same set or with the same player". Catchy, right?

1996 Topps #167 Danny Jackson
1999 Upper Deck Victory #439 Mark McGwire
2000 Skybox Dominion #37 Mark McGwire
2000 Skybox Dominion #102 J.D. Drew

I like the shiny sets from 98-2000, which was really the heyday of collecting for me the first time around. Skybox Dominion just reminds me of when there were so many products I couldn't keep track, and would buy maybe a pack from each product per year.

1996 Topps #431 Jaime Bluma/David Coggin/Steve Montgomery/Brandon Reed
1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated World Series Fever #34 Ron Gant
1999 UD Choice #130 Mark McGwire
2000 Skybox Dominion - New Era #18 Adam Kennedy

Here are the aforementioned horizontal cards. Can you tell 98-99 was the homerun era? Also, for its time, that prospect card had a decent hit rate, with 3 out of 4 players making it to the major leagues. Steve Montgomery is shown as a Cardinal, because they drafted him, but he was traded for Dennis Eckersley before he made it to St. Louis.

Superbowl LI Projection, Divisional Sunday

New England over Atlanta

Green Bay won a thrilling game in Dallas, scoring a field goal to go ahead with almost no time left, then allowing a tying field goal with even less time, then managing to move downfield and score one to end it. In Kansas City, Pittsburgh never found the endzone, but scored 6 field goals and held Kansas City to 10 points until a late touchdown, but the 2 point conversion failed after a penalty, and Pittsburgh held on to win it.

Here's who I'm rooting for to make the Superbowl:

Green Bay at Atlanta:
I'm more a fan of Green Bay than Atlanta, so I'll be rooting for them. As a bonus, that will guarantee a Superbowl rematch, either from XXXI or XLV.

Pittsburgh at New England:
I've got to root for Pittsburgh in this one. In both cases I'll be rooting against my picks in Collector's Crack's Superbowl contest, though. They're probably going to have to score at least one touchdown to win this game.

TEAM	Record	Strength	Div	Plyff	WC	Qtr	Semi	Champ
NE	14-2	0.845	++	++	++	++	75.08	55.26
ATL	11-5	0.701	++	++	++	++	62.99	23.07
PIT	11-5	0.645	++	++	++	++	24.92	12.08
GB	10-6	0.580	++	++	++	++	37.01	9.58
DAL	13-3	0.722	++	++	++	-	-	-
KC	12-4	0.661	++	++	++	-	-	-
SEA	10-5-1	0.640	++	++	++	-	-	-
ARI	7-8-1	0.606	-	-	-	-	-	-
DEN	9-7	0.585	-	-	-	-	-	-
PHI	7-9	0.577	-	-	-	-	-	-
NYG	11-5	0.565	-	++	-	-	-	-
OAK	12-4	0.558	-	++	-	-	-	-
BAL	8-8	0.549	-	-	-	-	-	-
MIN	8-8	0.547	-	-	-	-	-	-
BUF	7-9	0.540	-	-	-	-	-	-
IND	8-8	0.535	-	-	-	-	-	-
WAS	8-7-1	0.525	-	-	-	-	-	-
NO	7-9	0.524	-	-	-	-	-	-
CIN	6-9-1	0.523	-	-	-	-	-	-
TEN	9-7	0.506	-	-	-	-	-	-
SD	5-11	0.477	-	-	-	-	-	-
DET	9-7	0.475	-	++	-	-	-	-
TB	9-7	0.469	-	-	-	-	-	-
MIA	10-6	0.466	-	++	-	-	-	-
CAR	6-10	0.436	-	-	-	-	-	-
HOU	9-7	0.381	++	++	++	-	-	-
JAC	3-13	0.335	-	-	-	-	-	-
CHI	3-13	0.255	-	-	-	-	-	-
NYJ	5-11	0.234	-	-	-	-	-	-
SF	2-14	0.211	-	-	-	-	-	-
CLE	1-15	0.167	-	-	-	-	-	-
LA	4-12	0.156	-	-	-	-	-	-

First to 10% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 3, Thursday)
First to 20% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 8, Sunday)
First to 40% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 16, Saturday)

First to 45% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 17, Final)

First to 50% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Divisional Saturday)

First to 80% chance of Playoffs: New England (Week 3, Thursday)
First to 90% chance of Playoffs: Minnesota (Week 4, Final)
First to 99% chance of Playoffs: New England (Week 8, Sunday)
First to 99.9% chance of Playoffs: Dallas (Week 12, Thursday)
First to 99.999% chance of Playoffs: Dallas (Week 13, Thursday)
First to clinch Playoffs: Dallas (Week 13, Sunday)
First to clinch a First Round Bye: New England (Week 15, Sunday)
First to clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs: Dallas (Week 16, Saturday)

First team eliminated from winning a division: Cleveland, San Francisco (Week 11, Sunday)
First team eliminated from the playoffs: Cleveland (Week 11, Sunday)

[Week 1] San Francisco over Houston
[Week 2, Thursday] San Francisco over Houston
[Week 2, Sunday] Pittsburgh over Minnesota
[Week 2, Final] Philadelphia over Houston
[Week 3, Thursday] New England over Philadelphia
[Week 3, Sunday] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 3, Final] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 4, Thursday] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 4, Sunday] Philadelphia over Denver
[Week 4, Final] Minnesota over Denver
[Week 5, Thursday] Minnesota over Denver
[Week 5, Sunday] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 5, Final] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 6, Thursday] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 6, Sunday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 6, Final] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Thursday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Sunday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Final] New England over Minnesota
[Week 8, Thursday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 8, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 8, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 10, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 10, Sunday] Dallas over New England
[Week 10, Final] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Sunday] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Final] Dallas over New England
[Week 12, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 12, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 12, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 13, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 13, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 13, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 17, Final] New England over Dallas
[Wildcard Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Wildcard Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Divisional Saturday] New England over Atlanta

Superbowl LI Projection, Divisional Saturday

New England over Atlanta

It seems to happen almost every year, and I can't let a Divisional Saturday post go by without pointing it out, so I'll point it out again. Atlanta is favored in the NFC only because they have currently advanced one round further than Dallas and Green Bay. Dallas is the stronger team, but has to beat Green Bay to get to play Atlanta. Thus, at the moment, Atlanta is the most likely team to make the Superbowl out of the NFC.

The AFC has no such issue, as its best team played yesterday. The game was surprisingly close for the first half and beyond. I think most people expected New England to win about 102-1 (yes you can score 1 in the NFL now, as long as the other team scores 6). After a few first half turnovers, I was starting to think Houston might be able to hang close enough and win it on a last-second score, but New England pulled away and will host the AFC championship next week. With that win, New England crossed the 50% mark for their title chances, and they're over 74% likely to make the Superbowl. With the remaining AFC teams pretty evenly matched, that won't change by much after today.

Here's who I'm rooting for Sunday:

Green Bay at Dallas:
Dallas would host Atlanta, or Green Bay would go to Atlanta. I sort of like both teams, but I think I'll root for Green Bay this time.

Pittsburgh at Kansas City:
I'll be rooting for the winner of this one against New England, but this is a tough game for me to pick a favorite. I've sort of adopted the Steelers since a pal of mine is a big fan, but the Chiefs were the team I watched before the Rams came to St. Louis, and perhaps now logically my "home" team again. Also they were never really hated rivals to the Rams, only playing once every 4 years in the regular season. I'll root for the Chiefs today, if nothing else because my numbers say they have just a little bit better of a chance of beating New England.

TEAM	Record	Strength	Div	Plyff	WC	Qtr	Semi	Champ
NE	14-2	0.845	++	++	++	++	74.34	52.39
ATL	11-5	0.701	++	++	++	++	52.86	19.33
DAL	13-3	0.722	++	++	++	65.31	34.31	13.32
KC	12-4	0.661	++	++	++	51.85	13.66	6.32
PIT	11-5	0.645	++	++	++	48.15	12.00	5.33
GB	10-6	0.580	++	++	++	34.69	12.84	3.31
SEA	10-5-1	0.640	++	++	++	-	-	-
ARI	7-8-1	0.606	-	-	-	-	-	-
DEN	9-7	0.585	-	-	-	-	-	-
PHI	7-9	0.577	-	-	-	-	-	-
NYG	11-5	0.565	-	++	-	-	-	-
OAK	12-4	0.558	-	++	-	-	-	-
BAL	8-8	0.549	-	-	-	-	-	-
MIN	8-8	0.547	-	-	-	-	-	-
BUF	7-9	0.540	-	-	-	-	-	-
IND	8-8	0.535	-	-	-	-	-	-
WAS	8-7-1	0.525	-	-	-	-	-	-
NO	7-9	0.524	-	-	-	-	-	-
CIN	6-9-1	0.523	-	-	-	-	-	-
TEN	9-7	0.506	-	-	-	-	-	-
SD	5-11	0.477	-	-	-	-	-	-
DET	9-7	0.475	-	++	-	-	-	-
TB	9-7	0.469	-	-	-	-	-	-
MIA	10-6	0.466	-	++	-	-	-	-
CAR	6-10	0.436	-	-	-	-	-	-
HOU	9-7	0.381	++	++	++	-	-	-
JAC	3-13	0.335	-	-	-	-	-	-
CHI	3-13	0.255	-	-	-	-	-	-
NYJ	5-11	0.234	-	-	-	-	-	-
SF	2-14	0.211	-	-	-	-	-	-
CLE	1-15	0.167	-	-	-	-	-	-
LA	4-12	0.156	-	-	-	-	-	-

First to 10% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 3, Thursday)
First to 20% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 8, Sunday)
First to 40% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 16, Saturday)

First to 45% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Week 17, Final)

First to 50% chance of Superbowl win: New England (Divisional Saturday)

First to 80% chance of Playoffs: New England (Week 3, Thursday)
First to 90% chance of Playoffs: Minnesota (Week 4, Final)
First to 99% chance of Playoffs: New England (Week 8, Sunday)
First to 99.9% chance of Playoffs: Dallas (Week 12, Thursday)
First to 99.999% chance of Playoffs: Dallas (Week 13, Thursday)
First to clinch Playoffs: Dallas (Week 13, Sunday)
First to clinch a First Round Bye: New England (Week 15, Sunday)
First to clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs: Dallas (Week 16, Saturday)

First team eliminated from winning a division: Cleveland, San Francisco (Week 11, Sunday)
First team eliminated from the playoffs: Cleveland (Week 11, Sunday)

[Week 1] San Francisco over Houston
[Week 2, Thursday] San Francisco over Houston
[Week 2, Sunday] Pittsburgh over Minnesota
[Week 2, Final] Philadelphia over Houston
[Week 3, Thursday] New England over Philadelphia
[Week 3, Sunday] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 3, Final] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 4, Thursday] Philadelphia over New England
[Week 4, Sunday] Philadelphia over Denver
[Week 4, Final] Minnesota over Denver
[Week 5, Thursday] Minnesota over Denver
[Week 5, Sunday] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 5, Final] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 6, Thursday] Minnesota over Pittsburgh
[Week 6, Sunday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 6, Final] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Thursday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Sunday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 7, Final] New England over Minnesota
[Week 8, Thursday] New England over Minnesota
[Week 8, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 8, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 9, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 10, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 10, Sunday] Dallas over New England
[Week 10, Final] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Sunday] Dallas over New England
[Week 11, Final] Dallas over New England
[Week 12, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 12, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 12, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 13, Thursday] Dallas over New England
[Week 13, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 13, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 14, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 15, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Thursday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Sunday] New England over Dallas
[Week 16, Final] New England over Dallas
[Week 17, Final] New England over Dallas
[Wildcard Saturday] New England over Dallas
[Wildcard Sunday] New England over Dallas

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXXII

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE IS OVER, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI

Like Homer Simpson once said...

So I intend to finish out this prize package!

1994 Pinnacle #425 Tripp Cromer
1994 Upper Deck #113 Tripp Cromer
1996 Pacific #215 Scott Cooper
1996 Score #448 Mark Petkovsek
1996 Topps Stadium Club #13 Tom Henke
1996 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #287 Tripp Cromer
1996 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #693 John Mabry
2015 Opening Day - Stadium Scenes #STA-RG Busch Stadium by Robert Grunbaum

We're getting deep into the weeds now, with some players who only played a handful of seasons or partial seasons, like Tripp Cromer. We seem to get a lot of guys with odd names, but maybe it's no more than our fair share. Tripp actually played in LA, though less than 40 games over 2 seasons, and Houston in 2000 and 3 final games in 2003 after 2 years out of the majors. Mark Petkovsek spent 5 years with the Cardinals, but bookended his 11-year career on each end with a year in Texas. Then there's Scott Cooper and Tom Henke, probably best known for playing on other teams, and John Mabry, who I have to keep reminding myself is still on the Cardinals coaching staff. He's kind of quiet.

Finally, there's the card from Opening Day's Stadium Scenes set, which features contest winning photos. I'm no artist of any sort, and especially not a photographer, but I think that's a pretty bland photo of Busch Stadium, so I don't know how it won. Maybe if I was the owner of the Millennium Hotel, which is that big round building in the center of this photo's focus, I'd be pleased. Or maybe I wouldn't be, since it closed in 2014. There's a sliver of the Arch, some opposing players (Dodgers), and a good clear view of the stadium's lesser dot-matrix style scoreboard, with a welcome message for a random group performing the national anthem that day. Maybe the photo started off better and was cropped oddly to fit on a vertical card, but the result just looks like something anyone could have taken from that seat.

That was a rather negative rant, but the card just hit me funny and it feels good to get out the poison pen now and then. Let's end with something happy.

Close enough.