Blaine wins 13th hand with a 10 and 5, but QT is still chip leader at Picks table

It's almost time for Blaine to go all-in to try to win the 2004 Picks title, but for now the veteran is content to chip away at the leaders by collecting one small pot at a time.  He did so in Week 13 with a 10-5 record, swiping one game from QT and Mark.  With four weeks left, QT remains in control of the Picks table at 112-63 -- four chips ahead of Mark, and eight up on Blaine.

Blaine's success on Sunday followed a big Saturday night of no-limit Texas Hold 'em at Larry and Mary Ann's house, where Larry finished first ($117), Mark second ($50), Blaine fourth and QT sixth among eight players.  Losing cash in a poker tournament, though, is better than losing in the Sunday Football Picks, where a huge amount of pride is at stake.  Each week, the diehard competitors check the scores, call the sports line, raise the TV volume and fold their hands in prayer if they must.

Sunday started with a sweet deal for the Patriots, who were handed the lowly Browns in Cleveland.  The defending Super Bowl champs won all bets with a resounding 42-15 victory.  In Miami, there was lots of shuffling as the lead went back and forth.  But money talks, and the Bills prevailed when they produced a pair of sevens in the fourth quarter, winning 42-32.

The Colts smiled with their pocket sevens early on against the Titans, but Indianapolis needed another pair of sevens in the second quarter to grab the lead for good.  The Colts finished with the day's high card on offense in their 51-24 win.  The Jets hosted Houston, whose fans asked, "Can the Texans hold 'em on defense?"  Certainly not, as New York won 29-7.  The Cardinals thought they had a chance at the chip lead in Detroit until the Lions twice revealed a pair of threes to win 26-12.

The Vikings pretended to have pocket aces in Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss, but the Bears called their bluff and shocked Minnesota 24-14.  The Redskins were impressive as they came up with four-of-a-kind in sevens to topple the Giants 31-7.  The Broncos were stung by a flush when the Chargers sent Denver's first-place hopes down the toilet.  San Diego grabbed an end-zone interception late in the game to hold on 20-17.  It was a full house for the Bengals, Buccaneers and Raiders, who each had three touchdowns and two field goals.  But while the Bengals and Bucs won, the Raiders lost because their defense went all-in with two minutes left and surrendered a game-winning 70-yard touchdown pass to the Chiefs.

The Saints and 49ers didn't play that poorly, but ended up losing on The River -- the Mississippi, that is.  The Saints lost to the Panthers 32-21 in New Orleans, while the 49ers fell 16-6 in St. Louis.  The Falcons earned a straight in Tampa, but straight zeros as the Bucs blanked them 27-0.  In Philly, the Packers executed The Flop and got crushed 47-17.  The Eagles held wired fours after three quarters with a 44-3 advantage, then coasted down fourth street, also known as the fourth quarter.