As is always the case, rookie entrants to a Bookie Challenge competition are always ranked last in the preseason rankings, and this year's lone rookie entrant, Vikings17, is no exception. He's being ranked last because we have no idea how good he is at handicapping the NFL pointspreads. Regardless, we can at least post a very brief history of what is known about the newcomer, who was recruited by his friend 7mick7. According to the Mick, Vikings17 recently retired from the Southern Connecticut Gas Co. after working over 30 years for the business. Soon after his retirement, he and his wife moved to Lighthouse Point, Florida. In his high school days, Vikings17 played baseball, basketball, and football. In fact, as it concerns his baseball days, Vikings17 played on a community college baseball team that won a state championship one season. Moreover, Vikings17 was a pretty good baseball player, so much so that he had two try outs for the Toronta Blue Jays, but his dream of making the majors ended after he blew out a knee. In an interesting tidbit, back in the day, 7mick7 and Vikings17, being the close friends they are, used to travel the local poker circuit for almost a 10-year period, and tested their gambling wares around five times a week. So at the very least, we know that Vikings17 is no stranger to the world of gambling, but is he a successful NFL handicapper? That's what we're fixing to find out, and if he can't prove he can pick NFL winners at a decent clip or pound out a few 6-point parlay winners--then he's in for a world of hurt in his rookie season handicapping in the Bookie Challenge competition. By the way, not that it really matters, but Vikings17 is a huge Trump supporter. In any event, it's now time for that obiglatory line we always attribute to a rookie, which consists of a line from the movie Cinderella Man: In all likelihood, watching Vikings17 handicap the 13th annual competition will be like "attending a sad and somber funeral, with the body still breathing."