Down to the wire, D.J. captures first Picks title!

It's bigger than her Backstreet Boys concert at Allstate Arena.  Larger than becoming a high schooler at Glenbard East.  More massive than getting PlayStation 2 for Christmas.  More tremendous than getting her new bedroom downstairs.  It's D.J.'s first Picks title!

Girlie wrapped up the 2002 Sunday Football Picks championship and a year's supply of bubble gum in dramatic fashion as her Buccaneers beat Nicki's Bears on Sunday night in the season's final game.  Nicki needed Chicago to win in order to tie her older sister for first place, but Tampa Bay prevailed 15-0.  Deej finished 144-86 and Nickster ended up 142-88.

Here's how the drama unfolded in Week 17: D.J. entered the day leading Nicki by three games and her father by five.  Nicki disagreed on five games with D.J., needing to win four to tie.  Blaine disagreed on six with Deej and three with Nickster, needing to win them all (a 1-in-365 chance) to secure the title.

Nickster won three of the first four disagreements with Girlie.  She hung on by her fingernails when the Patriots scored 11 late points and then upset the Dolphins in overtime.  Her loss occurred when the Lions missed a 2-point conversion in the final seconds, letting D.J.'s Vikings escape with a 38-36 victory.  Then Nicki's hopes were with the Bears (4-12), but Hapless Henry Burris threw four interceptions and led his embarrassed team to its first home shutout loss in 20 years.  The Bucs (12-4) couldn't score a touchdown either because there was no sun and the kickoff temperature was a tad under 40 degrees, but five field goals turned out to be plenty.

Blaine won four of six games from Deej and two of three from Nicki, but he still needed the Lions to convert that 2-pointer and the Cowboys to score once more in their 20-14 defeat in Washington.  Too bad that close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

This year the prestigious Picks title came with a 3 1/2-pound bucket of Dubble Bubble gum, enough to last 12 months, or at least 12 days.  The 360 tasty pieces came in great grape, awesome apple and wonderful watermelon.  The prize was up for grabs until Girlie proved to be the sole Picks survivor.  The torch was passed from diamond-clad QT, last year's champ, to the new teen title holder.  The tribe has spoken.

D.J.'s championship season was fairly dominant until the sudden dramatics on the final weekend.  She took charge in Week 6 and never relinquished the top spot for the rest of the season.  She certainly made the most of her first career visit to first place.

Ali ran the post-game ceremony with charm and wit at the microphone, while speeches were made by the top three contenders, who even had prepared remarks.  The videotaped presentation might be playing soon on a home-theater system near you.