"Brees could put up 300 yards and 3 TD's easy" ? Photo by Kevin C. Cox- Getty	It'll be a "shootout between Eli  and Mr. Brees" Photo- Al Bello-Getty

Week 12 was a dud for me.  Yeah, the Jets won, Plax was a hero and Sanchez had some time to throw.  Even Shonn Green garnered some yards.  But my fantasy team, one that has been slumping for quite a while now while still managing to win, could put together only one decent effort, that coming from our own Dustin Keller at tight end. 

I had expected tough going this week as my premier running back, Fred Jackson was injured, only to be replaced by CJ Spiller in Buffalo.  Other players I counted on earlier in the season, such as Miles Austin and Julio Jones, have been likewise hurt, but not badly enough to hit the injured reserve list; just badly enough to take up room on my roster.

My two remaining big guns play tonight, Drew Brees and Hakeem Nicks.  But they’ll need a heap of production, even for them.  No, it’s not a good day for Crabs. One thing I’ve had all season long though is luck.  The one-point wins, the 3-point wins, the remarkable performances put up by the most unlikely players (or team defenses) in the least likely situations.

If tonight’s battle between the Giants and Saints unfolds the way I think it might, which is to say, a shootout between Eli and Mr. Brees,  my chances become pretty good.  In that kind of battle, Drew could put up 300 yards easily and 3 or 4 TD’s while Hakeem Nicks could see a 100-yard day and a touchdown.  Maybe the Saints D will double on Victor Cruz.  That would be a welcome change.

While I wait for all that to unfold, I can only try not to tear my hair out thinking about the ridiculously conservative approaches that teams take with their best players.  Julio Jones for example has been out for weeks with a hammy but his status was changed to probable for Week 12.  Julio must’ve been  down by the school yard because he didn’t see even one friggin’ minute on the field.  He and I got to watch as his replacement, one Harry Douglas, got his catches and a touchdown.  Meanwhile, Sidney Rice, ordinarily Seattle’s first receiving option, hurt his “widdle” head quite early and that was the end of his day on the field.

Football can be an infuriating game.  Just ask the Chicago Bears who saw an injury to their QB, Jay Cutler, seriously hurt their chances at a playoff spot.  Ask the Houston Texans.  They lost Matt Schaub the starter and Matt Leinart the backup in successive weeks.  They managed to win though.  The Bears were not so lucky.

In last night’s game we had to watch the Chiefs and their backup QB, one Tyler Palko, try to compete with the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger.  They did acquire Kyle Orton, a serviceable or better QB who had the misfortune of preceding Tim Tebow in the early-season depth chart.  Tebow won again yesterday in what has come to be the Broncos trademark fashion, lots of defense and lots of Tebow.

Compare and contrast Tebow to Ndamokung Suh or Stevie Johnson, the thug and the dipstick.  It’s amazing to me how pleased with themselves some of these players are.  Then they’re sorry afterwards.  Suh especially deserves everything he might get in terms of penalties or suspensions.  What irked me totally was his denial at first that he had done anything wrong (after stomping on an exposed leg).  The next thing you know he’s apologizing.  Stevie Johnson demonstrated his lack of brains and any class whatsoever by doing his Plaxico Burress impersonation in the end zone.  He was later sorry too.

Even though I really don’t anyone who wears his religion on his sleeve (and tries to rub a little on your sleeve too), coming from Tebow, he seems so sincere that his continual religious references don’t really have any negative effect on me.  He’s a big, strong,  fast gentleman, maybe the only one in the NFL.  I’ll take his behavior over some of these other meatballs anytime.

Meanwhile, the NBA lockout is over (or soon will be).  Thank God this Holiday season that we won’t have to hear about the legal wranglings that would have been part and parcel of a continuation of the lockout.

I’m looking forward too to a reduced season as I had always thought that 82 games were too many.  When the NFL season starts winding down and the playoff participants become all too clear, a little Knicks and Nets action will be just what the doctor ordered.

Rutgers failed to win the game they needed to advance to a BCS Bowl.  Color me sad.

In my favorite sport, baseball (by an increasingly large margin) hot stove action has been really slow.  We don’t know where Reyes is going if anywhere and the same goes for Pujols.  The biggest signing though was sadly the Phillies signing of Papelbon, Boston’s terrific closer.  Now the Phils seem to really have everything.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if they go after Reyes too.  Their shortstop is getting (and playing) a little long in the tooth.

The Philadelphia Eagles, erstwhile dream team, looked pretty dreadful against the Patriots Sunday.  But it wasn’t Vince Young’s fault.  He threw for 400 yards with just the one pick and yet the Birds weren’t really in the game after the first quarter.  They didn’t play defense that you’d notice.  Apparently the Pats are better than the Giants, who only managed to score ten points against them in their latest outing.

In any event Eagles head coach Andy Reid might be in a little trouble.  All those weapons they acquired in free agency aren’t having much of an effect.  Michael Vick, Vince Young, and all those offensive weapons couldn’t do much against the Pats, at least from a scoring standpoint, and the whole team seems to be playing lifeless ball.

Let’s hope the Giants fare better tonight against the Saints.  Let’s have a good old-fashioned shootout.