Permit in hand, Nicole drives to her first Picks championship

The first Sweet 16 Picks Sunday — when all 32 NFL teams played on the same day — was no obstacle in the road to the title for the Picks' Sweet 16 driver. That's Nicole, of course, who's been motoring through football predictions and Chicago's western suburbs since acquiring her driver's permit nearly four months ago.

Nicki took the driver's seat of the 2008 Sunday Football Picks in Week 14 when she broke a longstanding first-place tie with Mark. She put the pedal to the metal and never looked back, ending the race with a powerful 13-3 burst in Week 17. Her 150-77 overall record, which ranks 13th on the all-time list, smoked Mark and QT by six games and left everyone else further in the dust.

With Alicia dominating the Picks last year, the championship has been handed from one twin to the other, which Ali pointed out during the Picks season-ending ceremony Sunday afternoon in the family room. Nicki credited her success to sleeping late, waking up just in time to quickly pick the games, and checking to see if the Buccaneers were playing in the sun. It's an intriguing combination that might frighten a more experienced NFL analyst. But it worked.

"I typically like to clear the cobwebs in the morning and spend more than 30 seconds reviewing the week's games before picking the winners, but that's just me," said ESPN's Chris Berman, a six-time selection as National Sportscaster of the Year. "I talked about Nicole and her stellar performance a few weeks ago on my Sunday morning football show, saying that she could ... go ... all ... the ... way! And she did."

Nicki also has gone a long way behind the wheel with her permit, compiling more than 100 hours on the road in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ford Windstar. Her farthest drives with the family have been a 45-mile journey north to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, and a 50-mile trip south to Wilmington High School for a Wildcats football game. Driving on sheets of ice, through thick fog, and in blinding snow are other adventures that Nicole has conquered in this stormy winter of 2008.

Nicki's success in the Picks was a model of consistency that featured few deep lows and few major highs. In 17 weeks, she earned the week's best record just three times, and never by herself. On the flipside, she posted the week's worst record only once, and that was with two other members. Nicole was solid week in and week out.