• CHALLENGE FIELD PRODUCES STATISTICAL NUMBERS IN WEEK #10 THAT ARE HAUNTINGLY FAMILIAR: This past weekend (wk #10), the Challenge field churned out a best-bet record of 16-12-0 (win% .571), and did so for the second weekend this season. The first set of identical best-bet stats occurred back in Challenge week #5, when the field posted its first 16-12-0 best-bet marks. Unfortunately, the first time the field posted the identical best-bet record back in week #5 nary a 6-point parlay was hit, just as this past weekend the field failed to rack up any 6-point parlay winners. The only other weekend in which the field was blanked as it concerned 6-point parlay hits was back in week #2 of this season. Accordingly, because the field didn't come through with any 6-point parlay winners in the collective outing of this past weekend (wk #10), other statistical short comings had similar numbers to the three weekends that the field failed to hit on a 6-point parlay combination. For example, this past weekend the field only chalked up 18 total points, which ranked as the third-worst scoring output this season, with the two-lowest point totals dovetailing with weekends that the field misfired on all of its parlay combinations (Challenge wks' #2 and #5). But that's not the worst of it! This past weekend, the Challenge field rattled off its worst output of parlay wins within its combined parlay combinations this season. Incredibly, the field this past weekend had only 14 parlay wins within its yearly number of parlay combinations. The only time the field connected with overall parlay wins in the teens, was back in week #2, when the field recorded just 18 parlay wins within all of its parlay combinations after week #2.

Blitzkrieg's main Bookie Challenge moniker might have to be changed from the "Snowman and his Falcon" to...the "Abominable Snowman and his Falcon". The reason for the moniker change is a simple one, as in the Abominable Snowman is terrorizing the league with the great handicapping season he is having, and especially putting the beat-down on two participants in his division, aka the Hail Mary division. Both of Blitzkrieg's divisional counterparts, meaning Vikings17 and moemonie, have yet to reel off a 6-point parlay hit this season, and as a consequence, the largest divisional deficits in the league, with Vikings17 trailing "Blitz" by a league-high 12 points and moemonie looking at an almost insuperable deficit of 24 points. And to think, the only reason why Vikings17 has a smaller defficit to Blitzkrieg than does moemonie (12 pt deficit by Vikings17 and 24 pt deficit by moemonie) is because Vikings17 has had the extraordinary luck to have predicted two exact-score selections to the tee, thus winning 10 total points (5pts per each EXACT prediction, meaning he got the exact-score of each team right and has done it twice!). Without question, Blitzkrieg has brought back to the competition what it means to be an overall number-one top seed, when number-one top seeds were automatic divisional champions instead of blowing their there nimber-one top-seed status by not winning divisional titles as both Theopholis and DIRTYBIRDS have done in recent seasons. This past weekend, Vikings17 won both of best bets for the third time this season, and he had hoped to gain some ground on Blitzkrieg, even if he just gained a point or two. But no, not the way Blitzkrieg is tearing it up in the 14th annual competition. Shoot, even after Blitzkrieg failed to land a 6-point parlay winner this past weekend, he still won both of his best bets to keep his 12 point lead intact over Vikings17. What's more, if Blitzkrieg continues to be the "WHO'S-HOT-HANDICAPPER" of the week, continues to excel, the Biased Nihilist might be compelled to call the Hail Mary divisional race for Blitzkrieg, and as early as week #14, or the weekend right after this year's dual-outing spectacle otherwise known as the Turkey Shoot.

I, the Biased Nihilist, as the main administrator of the Bookie Challenge competition, am a little dismayed that both rookies Nelbarada and CAP_ATTACK both stopped handicapping their respective greenhorn seasons and both have seemingly quit the competition without giving the Bookie Challenge a scintilla of a reason as to why they threw in the towel. Nelbarada has missed posting weekly selections for the last-four consecutive weeks and for the fifth time over the span of the last six weeks, while CAP_ATTACK has not posted any weekly selections for the last-two weekends and has neglected posting any selections for the third time over the span of the last-four weekends. Obviously, from all indications, both handicappers are not going to be posting any weekly selections for the remainder of this year's competition, and as such, they will both be dropped from the weekly point standings starting with the point standings for week #11. The two departures from the standings will benefit the front-runners of the top-two seeded divisions from this year's divisional seeding, of whom the front-runners in question are Blitzkrieg in the Hail Mary division and Driveline in the Corozal division. Both divisions will now be sporting just three participants apiece: Hail Mary division will consist of Blitzkrieg, Vikings 17, and moemonie (Nelbarada was dropped from division), whereas the Corozal division will consist of Driveline, the Biased Nihilist, and dbucc (CAP_ATTACK was dropped from division). Interestingly, the Bookie Challenge has various options when it pertains to dealing with a participant who quits a yearly competition and/or whenever a participant reneges on his membership fee. Overall, the Bookie Challenge frowns upon quitters, and wholeheartedly believes in an adage that goes as follows: "winners never quit, and quitters never win."

Although the procedures to deal with "quitters" are not officially detailed in the Official Rules of the competition, there does exist a set of unwritten rules that the Biased Nihilist prescribes to when treating those who abruptly bail from a Bookie Challenge co9mpetition. The first thing to note is that a banishment from competing in the Bookie Challenge is not due to a participant just up and quitting the contest. On the contrary, so long as a member pays his membership fee, he can quit the competition and still return to participate in the following competition so long as he pays his membership fee to participate in a new competition.. However, it is those few bad apples that does not pay their respective membership fees and then decide to quit a competiton, essentially leaving the competition without any recourse when it comes to collecting a reneged membership fee.