First-place Ali was out on a limb, but not out of her mind

"Somebody call 911!" a neighbor screamed Sunday morning on West Goebel Drive. "A girl in that backyard tree is in trouble!"

The horrified neighbor watched from next door as a high-climbing teenager scooted dangerously to the edge of an unstable limb in a large maple tree. It certainly didn't look like the branch would support the girl's daring move. The neighbor could barely watch, and yelled for help once again. "Somebody stop that poor girl before she falls!" the neighbor wailed.

The girl in the tree didn't seem at all panicked, though, and continued to scoot to the very edge of the limb. She then sat there and smiled, knowing that risky position was exactly where she needed to be that day. You see, the neighbor didn't know this 16-year-old daredevil was not your typical girl. She's the Teenage Bird, and going way out on a limb is how she grabbed a share of first place in Week 1 of the 30th season of the Sunday Football Picks.

Ali's bold decision did appear frightening in the beginning as she picked seven upsets on the 13-game schedule. But this is a girl who knows the National Football League. While she didn't get all of her predictions right, Ali was the only Picks member to correctly choose all three underdogs that won. That crafty move helped her to a 9-4 record and a spot on the top branch in the Picks tree.

Firefighters never did respond to the neighbor's frantic 911 call. Once they heard the description of what was happening, they went back to preparing lunch and watching the football games. "That girl has performed that tree-limb stunt before," the fire chief said. "She'll be fine. I don't know how she keeps from crashing to the ground, but it's an impressive maneuver that takes a lot of nerve."

Ali is tied with Blaine, Mark and QT Pie atop the Picks leaderboard after the first NFL Sunday in 2009. Ali and Mark benefitted from one of the craziest endings ever as the Broncos shocked the Bengals in the final seconds. Trailing 7-6 with the ball on their own 13-yard line, the Broncos had a short sideline pass nearly intercepted by a Bengals defender who deflected the ball away, but right into the hands of a wide-open Broncos receiver who raced 87 yards for the winning score. No one in Cincinnati's stadium could believe their eyes.