More music to Nicki and Ali's ears as favored teams win it all for first time

On the night the musical twins performed on stage together for the first time, the Sunday Football Picks also experienced a moment never before seen.  All 13 teams who were favored to win in Week 9 actually won their games.  That is the first known time in the 26-year history of the Picks that every favorite has prevailed.

Nicki and Ali were cheerfully playing their violas with Mr. Lograsso and Co. at a Downers Grove recital as their NFL teams were kicking some butt to give them their best records of the season.  Nicki ended up with an incredible 12-1 mark while Ali posted a mighty fine 10-3 record.  Sunday certainly was music to their ears.

Going 10-3 himself, Blaine quietly set a Picks record for the best five-week stretch.  His dominant run of 49-15 (.766) topped the 51-16 (.761) accomplishment both he and D.J. attained in 1998.  Blaine's first-place lead remains at six games.

For all the favored teams to be victorious, several unlikely events had to occur late in Sunday's games.  Here's a list of seven of them:

1)  Trailing the Raiders with 5 seconds left and the ball on the 1-yard line, the Chiefs used the last play of the game to blast into the end zone, pulling out a 27-23 win.

2)  Leading 20-14, the Browns intercepted the Titans at the goal line on the last play of the game.

3)  The Bears kicked a field goal with only 6 seconds on the clock to edge the Saints 20-17.

4)  Ahead 17-10 late, the Redskins thwarted the Eagles on three plays from the 7-yard line, including a game-clinching interception at the goal line with 90 seconds left.

5)  With less than 2 minutes to go, the Chargers stopped the Jets four times from the 3-yard line to preserve a 31-26 lead.

6)  The Jaguars were fortunate to see a fourth-down pass fall incomplete deep in their own territory in the final minute to win a 21-14 squeaker over the Texans.

7)  Clinging to a 17-10 advantage, the Falcons intercepted the Dolphins at the goal line in the final minutes.

So will the NFL's underdogs exact some revenge in Week 10 and stun many of the favored teams?  That wouldn't surprise anyone, but only time will tell.

In the meantime, a high-ranking member of the Picks Oversight Committee has called into question the league's unwritten policy that its members avoid choosing all the favored teams in any given week.  That strongly encouraged guideline exists because one's weekly goal is to win every game, and victorious underdogs had been needed to reach that goal before this improbable week.

After a brief deliberation at its Tuesday night meeting, the Picks Oversight Committee remained steadfast in its longtime belief that underdogs should be part of a member's weekly selections.  The group's highest-ranking member, who pretty much has a stranglehold on the league's rules and regulations, insisted that widely accepted policies shouldn't be changed because of freak occurrences.

"The favorites have gone unbeaten just once in almost three decades, while Picks members have gone unbeaten six times," he said.  "This is powerful evidence that a person needs triumphant underdogs if they truly hope to achieve the common goal of a perfect week.  I'm confident that choosing all the favored teams remains highly frowned upon by the almighty Picks Gods, and it's still a wimpy thing to do.  Case closed!"