WEEKLY REVIEW
October 15, 2026 | Issue #6 | Week #5
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Bookie Challenge WEEKLY REVIEW October 15, 2026 | Issue #6 | Week #5 |
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Parts Unknown (DP--Disassociated Press): The 16th annual Bookie Challenge competition saw this year's torrid pace for handicapping suspense ratchet up even further this past weekend, the competition's 5th weekend of this season, after Vikings17 outdueled rookie KingDarsh and 16-year veteran the Biased Nihilist to take a commanding 5-point lead over the Biased Nihilist in the overall point standings (Vikings 21 pts, the Nihilist 16 pts). The Nihilist actually ended his outing in a second-place tie with Kr@tos, but he easily won the league's second overall tiebreaker over Kr@tos, of which the tiebreaker went to the handicapper with the most combined wins within his combined parlay combinations on the season (the Nihilist 12 parlay wins vs Kr@tos 9 parlay wins). But the really big winner of the weekend was without question the "Purple People Eater" (aka Vikings17), who absolutely rocked the Bookie Challenge competition after blasting out a PERFECTA outing (worth 8 pts) and also adding a 1-point exact-score winner to finish his weekend with a highly commendable nine overall points. The rare but stupefying 9-point scoring outburst by Vikings17 enabled him to win the weekend outright over rookie upstart KingDarsh, who connected on his first-ever PERFECTA outing of his nascent Bookie Challenge career, and the Biased Nihilist, who registered his second 6-point parlay winner this season to finish his weekend outing with seven total points. Getting credited with a "week-won" can be an invaluable tiebreaker, as it is the league's third overall regular-season tiebreaker of the competition behind the number-one tiebreaker (most best-bets wins) and the number-two tiebreaker (most parlay wins within one's parlay combinations on the season). Don't look now, but to fully appreciate what Vikings17's spectacular outing did for him over this past weekend needs to be closely scrutinized, because after this past weekend--the Purple People Eater is most definitely in the lead car in this year's race to win this year's overall number-one seed at this year's divisional seeding, which will take place immediately after the conclusion of week #8's handicapping action. But before getting into the particulars as it concerns Vikings17's propitious odds to win this year's overall number-one seed at this year's divisional seeding, let's not get ahead of ourselves, meaning let's not go "a la" Dennis Green and go "crowning Vikings17's ass" just yet, and that's because anything is liable to happen on any given Bookie Challenge weekend, so just imagine what could possibly happen in three weekends of a Bookie Challenge competition? But the truth of the matter is that the Purple People Eater presently has a really strong lead in the competition's point standings, so much so that one can readily say this year's number-one top seed is his to "win or lose". Right now, with just three weeks remaining to handicap before this year's divisional seeding takes place, not only does Vikings17 own a five-point lead over the Biased Nihilist and his son Kr@tos, but he also has the league's number-one tiebreaker in his back pocket, that is, if it turns out that he'll even need it. The league's number-one tiebreaker, as already mentioned, is most best-bet wins, and at the present time, Vikings17 has the most best-bet wins in the league, let alone the most best-bet wins among the five front-runners who presently own one of the league's top-five seeds. What's truly incredible is that Vikings17 presently owns an otherworldly 8-2-0 best-bet record after the first-five weeks of this year's regular season. HELLO?! When doing the math, Vikings17 has an 80 percent winning percentage of his overall best bets, and in the world of handicapping the NFL pointspreads--THAT AIN'T NO FUCKING JOKE! Or simply put, if anyone is going to challenge Vikings17 during the last three weeks before this year's divisional seeding, in most likelihood, he is going to have to outscore Vikings17 in total points on the season because tying him in total points is probably not going to cut it. Speaking of the five top seeds in the point standings, they are presently owned by Vikings17 (#1 top seed), the Biased Nihilist (technically #2 top seed), Kr@tos (technically #3 top Seed), KingDarsh (#4 top seed) and JamesGang (#5 top seed). This past weekend both the Nihilist and rookie KingDarsh both climbed into one of the five top-seed slots of the point standings, with the Nihilist joining the top seeds for a second time in this year's competition (he occupied one of the top seeds for the first three weeks of this regular season, but has been kept out from the top-seed slots over the last two weeks). In the case of KingDarsh, he was able to claim the fourth top seed after this past weekend's handicapping action went into the books. Of course, if two handicappers rose into the top-five seeds this past weekend, then conversely it means that two handicappers were knocked out of their prime slots within the top-five seeds, and those two handicappers were Driveline and DawgPound. Fortunately for Driveline and DawgPound is that they are tied with Matty_Ice for the 6th slot in the standings, and because they are tied with 11 points apiece on the season, they are all just one point behind JamesGang for the fifth and final top seed in the standings, so they have no need to panic just yet. But what has to be kept in mind is that in this year's dog-eat-dog warfare to occupy one of the five top seeds in the standings has been a game of musical chairs, and that's because many handicappers, veterans and rookies alike, are meeting the challenges and pressures of the competition and are producing one prolific outing after another.
This past weekend, KingDarsh earned a second moniker besides "Space Cadet" and it is the "Handicapping Kingpin", of which the moniker was bestowed upon him by the Biased Nihilist after KingDarsh produced a thrilling set of weekly picks. His two best-bet winners were nail-biters as he had to sweat out both of them, which were San Francisco (+3) over Seattle and Baltimore (+3) over Atlanta. Impressively, the "handicapping Kingpin" chose both of his best bets as road underdogs, which showed that he has a lot of handicapping spunk. As to his parlay for this past weekend, it too was a brilliant piece of handicapping, as his three parlay picks were all pointspread favorites and they turned out to be fairly easy winners: New England (-3) killed Las Vegas 45-17, Detroit (-6) routed Arizona 45-21, and Denver (-3) prevailed over a pesky Los Angeles Chargers team. Interestingly, the Biased Nihilist, who this past weekend registered his second 6-point parlay winner of this season, and who complemented his parlay hit with one best-bet winner for a 7-point outing, also selected three of the teams that KingDarsh had selected, but had them in a different combination: best bet--Cincinnati (-6½) over Miami, Parlay combination--San Francisco (+3) over Seattle, Detroit (-6) over Arizona, and Baltimore (+3) over Atlanta. By now, everybody who is somebody in the Bookie Challenge competition should know that the Biased Nihilist is the all-time leader for knocking down 6-point parlay winners, both for regular-season handicapping (now has 41 6-pt parlay hits) and the postseason (already has six 6-pt parlay hits). With that in mind, Vikings17 can't afford to rest on his laurels because he knows first hand what the Nihilist is capable of pulling off. But Vikings17 is a relentless handicapper in his own right. He is now handicapping his fourth Bookie Challenge competition and he has already proven that he's one of the league's top contenders, so it's not going to be a cakewalk for the Nihilist to win this year's overall number-one seed (read this week's WHO'S-HOT segment of the weekly review to get the inside scoop of Vikings17's rise to Bookie Challenge stardom). |
| WEEKLY ODDS AND ENDS: THE HANDICAPPING HODGEPODGE |
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| CHALLENGE FIELD: WEEKLY COMBINED STATS AND HAPPENINGS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| WHO'S HOT AND WHO'S NOT |
| WHO'S HOT: Vikings17 At the present, there is not a hotter handicapper in the competition than Vikings17, otherwise known by his popular Bookie Challenge Moniker as the Purple People Eater. Now handicapping his 4th Bookie Challenge competition, no participant in the history of the Bookie Challenge competition has ever started out his Bookie Challenge career with such a phenomenal stretch of handicapping as has Vikings17. Not even the league's most decorated handicapper and three-time Bookie Challenge champion, the Biased Nihilist, can boast the start to his first few years in the Bookie Challenge competition as can Vikings17, of which is saying a lot when considering that the Nihilist is arguably the league's number-one smack talker. What follows are some of the accomplishments that have made the Purple People Eater one of the league's most extraordinary handicappers: he became the first participant in the history of the competition to win regular-season championships in his first-two seasons handicapping the competition, of which in his sophomore year he won an overall Bookie Challenge championship. He also became the first handicapper in the history of the competition to win three-straight divisional titles in his first-three season, and the only reason he failed to capture his third-straight regular-season championship in last year's competition is because the Biased Nihilist set a new all-time regular-season scoring record of 55 points. Otherwise, with 43 points accrued in last year's regular season, Vikings17 would have pulled off the unthinkable and would have won his third consecutive regular-season championship to start off his Bookie Challenge career. But to begin this season, the Purple People Eater couldn't produce a 6-point parlay hit for the first-three weeks of this season, and yet, he still stayed within a reasonable distance from the five top seeds in the point standings, all thanks to his 5-1-0 (win % .833) best-bet start to this season. Then came the next two weeks, weeks' #4 and #5, and it was then that Vikings17 slapped his handicapping game into another gear. In the process, he made some Bookie Challenge history after he became the first handicapper in the history of the competition to win back-to-back 6-point parlay hits that consisted of all over/under selections in both of his parlay combos. Interestingly, Vikings17 chose each game within both sets of his over/under parlay combinations to go over their respective pointspread totals, and he nailed all six over/under picks. The back-to-back 6-point parlay hits marked the first time that the Purple People Eater connected on consecutive parlay winners. With that in mind, Vikings17 will have an opportunity in the upcoming weekend, week #6 of this year's regular season, to tie Theopholis' all-time record of connecting on three-straight 6-point parlay hits, of which the recently departed Theo set the parlay record back in Challenge year #5. |
| WHO'S NOT: Driveline Previous to this season, Driveline had won three divisional championships over the last four competitions (Challenge yrs' #14, #13, #12), and of those three divisional titles he won both a regular-season championship and an overall Bookie Challenge championship in Challenge year #12. That remarkable overall championship he had won in Challenge year #12 was preceded by his first overall championship that he won back in Challenge year #9. As a result of winning those two overall championships, Driveline entered this year's competition ranked third all-time for pocketing the most total earnings ($890) in the history of the Bookie Challenge competition. The "Fisher of Winners", as Driveline has become to be known by his Bookie Challenge moniker, ranks third overall in career earnings behind the Biased Nihilist ($1325) and now defunct Tony Soprano ($1080). But in last year's competition, Driveline's streak of three-straight divisional titles came to an end and his handicapping dipped slightly as he qualified for last year's postseason as a divisional wild card (finished in 2nd place behind Vikings17 in the Run-&-Shoot division). What was worse for Driveline in last year's competition was that he finished 8th place overall in last year's postseason (out of 12 handicappers). Regardless, Driveline has become one of the steadiest handicappers in the league ever since he raked in those two previous overall Bookie Challenge championships. What's more is that this season started out on a high note for the former two-time Bookie Challenge champion after he opened up this season with a 7-point outing back in week #1. Now, to say the least, Driveline is second-longest tenured handicapper in the history of the Bookie Challenge, and only the Biased Nihilist, or the creator of the competition, has participated in more years in the competition than Driveline (Nihilist 16 yrs vs Driveline 14 yrs). In other words, Driveline is too experienced to throw in the towel and give up on a Bookie Challenge competition, so nobody should expect him to get on Amazon.com and order one of those portable "panic buttons" to put on his office desk inside his house. Still, though, over the last two weeks, Driveline has lost both of his best bets for each of those weekends. In fact, two weeks ago, week #4, Driveline would have recorded a golden goose egg outing if not for a 1-pt exact-score hit that saved him the humiliation of missing every selection he had made for the week. But this past weekend, Driveline officially goose egged his outing (no saving by the bell this time around), and as a consequence, he was dumped for the first time this season from being in the top-five seeds in the point standings. The only silver lining in his dark cloud of handicapping as of late was that Driveline finished this past weekend in a 3-way tie with DawgPound and Matty_Ice. The good news is that all three handicappers are tied with 11 points apiece, and all three participants are just one point away from getting back into the group of top seeds. However, a suddenly slumping Driveline presently loses out to both DawgPound and Matty_Ice when tiebreakers are implemented to break their three-way tie. Yeah, the Fisher of Winners doesn't need to worry just yet, and it's because he knows how to stay the course, not panic, keep the eye on the prize, and then take care of business and pull out one of those five top seeds. At least that sounds like the plan. |
| POINT STANDINGS (Thru Week #5) | ||||||||||||||
| Total Pts | Participant | Best Bet Record | Win % | Weeks Won | Exact Scores 5pt---------2pt--------1pt |
Propositional Pts | 3pt Parlays | 6pt Parlays | Perfectas | Goose Eggs | Golden Goose-Eggs | Wins in Parlays | ||
| 21 Pts | Vikings17 | 8-2-0 | .800 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 16 Pts | B.Nihilist | 4-6-0 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 16 Pts | Kr@tos | 4-6-0 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 Pts | KingDarsh | 7-3-0 | .700 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 Pts | JamesGang | 6-3-1 | .667 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 11 Pts | DawgPound | 5-5-0 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 Pts | Matty_Ice | 5-5-0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 11 Pts | Driveline | 4-6-0 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 Pts | jcvike28 | 7-3-0 | .700 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 Pts | HOFCityKid | 6-4-0 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 Pts | 7mick7 | 5-4-1 | .556 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 Pts | Jets69 | 5-5-0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 Pts | Kennypie86 | 5-5-0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 Pts | Jonnybucs | 3-5-1 | .375 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 Pts | Blitzkrieg | 4-5-1 | .444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 Pts | Brooklyn211 | 4-6-0 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1pt(x1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 Pts | dbucc | 4-5-1 | .444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 Pts | catman23 | 4-6-0 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 Pts | TCU | 3-7-0 | .300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Statistics in BOLD denotes participant leads league in statistical category. | ||||||||||||||
| All participants have submitted their respective Challenge fees. Total official jackpot: $950. Offcial splits to awarded from the jackpot: 1st-place prize at end of playoffs $500, 2nd-place prize at end of playoffs $200, 3rd-place prize Regular-season champion $150, and 4th-place prize overall Top Seed from divisional seeding (Wk#8) $100. | ||||||||||||||
| INDIVIDUAL PICKS (NFL WEEK #5) (Note: Participants are listed in order in which they posted their picks) |
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| Participant | Best Bets | Parlay | Exact Scores | Propositional Picks | Results >>>>> | Total Pts | W-L-T | Week Won | Exact-Scores 5pt------2pt------1pt |
Propositional Pts | 3pt parlay | 6pt parlay | Perfecta | Goose Egg | Golden Goose-Egg | Wins in Parlay | ||
| KingDarsh | SF+3-W Balt+3½-W |
NE-3-W Den-3-W Det-6-W |
Dal 28-17 NoPick |
N/A | >>>>> | 8 pts | 2-0-0 | 6pt | PF | W-3/3 | ||||||||
| JamesGang | Chi-1½-L Cin-6½-W |
Cle+2-L NE-3-W Phil+7-W |
Dal 31-23 LAR 28-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| Blitzkrieg | Atl-3½-L Cin-6½-W |
Minn-3-W Den-3-W Chi-2-L |
Dal 27-20 Buf 24-21 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| Jonnybucs | Atl-3½-L LAR-3-T |
NE-3-W Den-3-W Cin-7-L |
Dal 24-13 LAR 26-21 |
N/A | >>>>> | 0 pts | 0-1-1 | GE | 2/3 | |||||||||
| TCU | Dall-8½-L Cin-6½-W |
SF/Sea-O46-W LV+3-L Buf/LAR-O55-W |
Dal 31-17 Buf 31-26 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| 7mick7 | Pitts-2½-W Chi-1½-L |
NYJ-2-W Sea-3-L LAR-3-L |
Dal 27-17 LAR 30-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 1/3 | ||||||||||
| DawgPound | Den-3½-W Cle+1½-L |
Minn-3-W Chi-2-L Hou-7-W |
Dal 27-20 LAR 27-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| Jets69 | NYJ-1½-W Balt+3½-W |
Cin-7-L Minn-3-W LAC+3-L |
Dal 21-17 LAR 21-17 |
N/A | >>>>> | 2 pts | 2-0-0 | 1/3 | ||||||||||
| B.Nihilist | Cin-6½-W LV+3½-L |
SF+3-W Det-6-W Balt+3-W |
Dal 31-17 Buf 30-27 |
N/A | >>>>> | 7 pts | 1-1-0 | 6pt | W-3/3 | |||||||||
| dbucc | Dall-8½-L TB/Dal-O48½-L |
NYG+3-W Minn-3-W Chi-2-L |
Dal 33-23 LAR 27-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 0 pts | 0-2-0 | GE | 2/3 | |||||||||
| Kr@tos | Minn-2½-W GB+1½-W |
Chi/GB-O46-L Buf/LAR-O55-W Det-7-W |
Dal 31-17 Buf 34-27 |
N/A | >>>>> | 2 pts | 2-0-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| Vikings17 | NYG+3½-W LV/NE-O45½-W |
NYG/Was-O42-W Blt/Atl-O44-W Buf/LAR-O55-W |
Dal 34-20 LAR 34-31-W1pt |
N/A | >>>>> | 9 pts | 2-0-0 | WW | 1pt(x1) | XS-1pt | 6pt | PF | W-3/3 | |||||
| Kennypie86 | Ind/Pit-O45-W NYG+3½-W |
SF+3-W LV+3-L Cle+2-L |
Dal 31-17 Buf 31-27 |
N/A | >>>>> | 2 pts | 2-0-0 | 1/3 | ||||||||||
| Brooklyn211 | Jax-7½-L NYJ-1½-W |
NYG/Was-U42-L Det/Ari-O55-W SF/Sea-O46-W |
NoPick Buf 23-21 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| jcvike28 | NYJ-1½-W Pitts-2½-W |
Jax-7-L Den-3-W LAR-3-L |
NoPick LAR 31-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 2 pts | 2-0-0 | 1/3 | ||||||||||
| catman23 | Minn-2½-W Cle+1½-L |
Chi-2-L Sea-3-L Atl-3-L |
NoPick LAR 21-17 |
N/A | >>>>> | 1 pts | 1-1-0 | 0/3 | ||||||||||
| Matty_Ice | Den-3-W Cin/Mia-O43-W |
Cin-7-L Minn-3-W LV+3-L |
NoPick Buf 30-26 |
N/A | >>>>> | 2 pts | 2-0-0 | 1/3 | ||||||||||
| Driveline | Sea-3-L Chi-1½-L |
Den-3-W Wash-3-L Atl-3-L |
NoPick Buf 27-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 0 pts | 0-2-0 | GE | 1/3 | |||||||||
| HOFCityKid | NYG+3½-W NE-3½-W |
Pitts-3-W Cle+2-L SF+3-W |
NoPick Buf 27-24 |
N/A | >>>>> | 2 pts | 2-0-0 | 2/3 | ||||||||||
| FINALS | TB 24 DALL 16 |
JAX 19 PHIL 17 |
PITTS 34 IND 22 |
MINN 23 NO 13 |
NYJ 17 CLE 12 |
CIN 31 MIA 24 |
NE 45 LV 17 |
WASH 27 NYG 27 |
HOU 26 TENN 3 |
GB 31 CHI 7 |
DEN 23 LAC 17 |
SF 32 SEA 29 |
DET 45 ARI 21 |
BALT 30 ATL23 |
BUFF 37 LAR 34 |
| PREVIOUS REVIEWS | Theo Tribute Special |
Wk#1 | Wk#2 | Wk#3 | Wk#4 |
One of the biggest surprises of this year's 16th annual competition has been the performances by two of the four rookies who have entered this year's handicapping competition. Specifically, both newcomers--JamesGang and KingDarsh--have each already registered 6-point parlay winners on the season, with KingDarsh producing a season-changing PERFECTA outing over this past weekend. The question now has to be asked about the two rookie upstarts: Are they the real deal who will turn into bona fide contenders in this year's competition, or are they going to fizzle out the rest of the way and each be reduced to being a mere "flash in the pan"? Either way, or at least for the time being, the veteran handicappers who are battling it out in the top tier of the present point standing are going to be keeping an eye for the upstart greenhorns, and that's because both of the newcomers are each presently entertaining thoughts of eking out one of the top-five overall seeds at this year's divisional seeding. And that's not a misprint, either, because heading into this upcoming week, week #6, rookies KingDarsh and JamesGang are brazenly qualifying for the fourth overall top seed and fifth overall top seed in the point standings, respectively. Whether they will shock the league and each secure one of the top seeds at this year's divisional seeding remains to be seen, but until then the jury is going to be out on them as as it concerns whether each of them will rise to the occasion. However, one thing is for certain after each of the two aforementioned rookies have now clocked in five full weeks of handicapping the competition, and it is that each of the newbies have earned their eye-popping handicapping performances through some really good handicapping. For example, both have pretty decent best-bet records, with KingDarsh boasting a 7-3-0 (win% .700) best-bet mark and JamesGang sporting a 6-3-1 (win% .667) best-bet tally. Of course, when throwing in their respective 6-point parlay hits, it's proof positive that each handicapper is on the right track.