Parts Unknown (DP--Disassociated Press):

The 13th Annual Bookie Challenge competition got underway this past weekend with a bang, of sorts, after three handicappers--DawgPound, catman23, and DIRTYBIRDS--each landed 6-point parlay winners in this year's regular-season opener. As a result, all three handicappers rose quickly to the top of the Challenge point standings and established early leads in this year's competition. However, because DIRTYBIRDS misfired on both of his best bets this past weekend, and because both DawgPound and catman23 each split their respective best bets, the Birdman finished the opener with six points and just one point behind the two front-runners DawgPound and catman for the overall lead in the point standings. As it concerned the rest of the Challenge field this past weekend, other than both TCU and Blitzkrieg connecting on both of their respective best bets, the majority of the handicappers had break-even outings with the exceptions of this year's two rookie entrants Vikings17 and Hall of Fame City kid, both of whom goose egged their rookie debuts. The weekend's overall scoring could have been much more explosive, but seven handicappers just missed connecting on 6-point parlay winners because of only one loser within their respective parlay combinations. Of course, although only one week of this year's competition is already in the books, this year's opener kicked off the all-important rat race to see who will win one of the top-four seeds at this year's week #8 divisional seeding. Not for nothing, but winning one of the top-four seeds at a divisional seeding, especially the #1 overall seed, is a big deal that ends the first significant phase of Bookie Challenge competition.

After registering respective 7-point outings this past weekend, both DawgPound and catman23 are the two handicappers who are presently in the driver's seats. In the case of DawgPound, he connected on his 9th all-time 6-point parlay winner, and the parlay hit this past weekend marked the second time in DawgPound's 5-year Challenge career that he has opened up a competition with 6-point parlay hit. Incredibly, DawgPound's other opening-day parlay hit came in his rookie season (Challenge Yr #8), when he knocked down a PERFECTA outing on his first week of handicapping the Bookie Challenge competition. In fact, in that same season, another rookie, H.E. PennyPacker, also recorded a PERFECTA outing in his Challenge debut, thus making him and DawgPound as the only two rookies in the history of the competition to hit PERFECTA outings to start off their respective Challenge careers. Don't look now, but DawgPound is starting to shape up as one of the league's top contenders for a Bookie Challenge championship. His impressive start to this season has come in the heels of a stupedous performance in last year's competition, when he went on to win the second-place prize of the Latinum jackpot in last year's postseason.

The propitious start to this season by catman23 is a whole different story, especially when considering his rocky first-four years handicapping the competition. For starters, he quit his initial three handicapping campaigns before the end of each of its regular seasons, and it wasn't until last year's competition that he logged in a full year of participating in a regular season. With that in mind, it should be needless to say that the jury is still out on catman when it concerns his total commitment to earnestly compete in a full Challenge competition. However, if anything can jump start him to take the competition more seriously and get his heart on becoming a significant competitor, it's this past weekend's hot start to the season. This past weekend's parlay winner was just catman's third overall 6-point parlay hit of his 5-year Challenge career, which includes this season. But if the "Tomcat from Handicapping Alley" wants to truly exorcise his ignominious reputation from his first-three seasons and become a reputable handicapper in the competition, he'll need to hit more parlay winners this season to shed his losing ways from the past and turn things around, prove that he can become a noteworthy and compelling handicapper in the competition. Of course, only time will tell if he will finally pour his heart and soul into the competition and get himself on the Bookie Challenge map.

Like catman23, DIRTYBIRDS also needed a 6-point parlay winner in a worst way, if anything, to at least boost his confidence once again within his up-and-down Challenge career, with this season being his 5th overall. But unlike catman, DIRTYBIRDS' good start to this competition isn't the first time he's gotten off to a commendable beginning to a Bookie Challenge competition. Two years ago, Challenge year #11, he shocked the Bookie Challenge world by seizing that season's #1 overall top seed at that year's divisional season. Unfortunately, the competition's youngest member failed to win a divisional title despite his advantageous seeding, and subsequently became the first #1 top seed from a divisional seeding to not win a divisional championship. This past weekend, the Birdman registered his 5th all-time 6-point parlay winner, and in the process he snapped a parlay drought that lasted all of last season and the last 4 weeks of the previous season, which adds up to a total of 23 consecutive weeks in which he failed to connect on a parlay winner. To note, of the overall 6-point parlay winners in his career, this past weekend marked the first time DIRTYBIRDS failed to connect on both of his best bets to complement a parlay hit. Regardless, the huge parlay winner this past weekend has the Birdman in a good place again, just one point off the overall lead in the point standings. One thing is for certain, especially after his parlay winner to start off the season, DIRTYBIRDS is champing at the bit to continue his splendid start to this season and perhaps win a second #1 overall top seed at this year's divisional seeding.

• THEOPHOLIS AT IT AGAIN: Leave it to the Bookie Challenge's most eccentric handicapper to flop another set of weekly picks. Without question, Theo has failed to submit more weekly sets of picks than any other participant in the history of the Bookie Challenge, and it's not even close. Oh, and of the weekly set of picks that Theopolis has managed to submit over the span of his 9-year Challenge career, he has also had more picks disqualified than any other handicapper in the history of the competition--bar none! What defies logical is that he's doing it again! This past Thursday night, Theo submitted one of his best bets for the week, Detroit +5½ versus Kansas City, of which he won. Then came Sunday, and what does Theo do? He got the bright idea to introduce a best-bet parlay combo to the competition, as in he posted two more best bets on this past Sunday, taking Chicago over Green Bay and Minnesota over Tampa Bay, instead of just posting one remaining best bet for the week. And that's not the half of it! Theopholis did not submit his Super Bowl selections--um--for the third time in his Challenge career! Back in Challenge year #10, just like he did this season, Theo also forgot to submit his Super Bowl selections. But in Challenge year #7, in week #1 of that season, Theopholis did manage to post his Super Bowl selections, but did so 10 hours after that Sunday's posting deadline.


• WEEKLY TICKER ......For the first time in the history of the Bookie Challenge, in this past weekend's point standings, no participant led the league in any statistical category.....TONY SOPRANO GETS WHACKED: One of the best handicappers in the history of the competition has called it quits after handicapping 11 overall competitions.....TCU'S NEW OVER/UNDER COMPETITION?: TCU by far posts more over/under selections than any other handicapper in the league. But rookie entrant Vikings17 might be the next over/under heavyweight after posting two over/under selections within his parlay combo this past weekend to start his Challenge career.....New changes to exact-score picks met its intended aim for Thursday night games after 10 overall participants submitted picks. The 10 exact-score picks were the highest amount ever submitted for a Thursday night game....