Sometimes you need to rely on other people’s incompetence to win something, and I’ll be the first to admit I got help in winning our pick this year. Sean’s late entrance and Mark’s, umm, struggles, and now I owe a debt of gratitude to Evan for deciding to make a pick for attention instead of common sense. I’m convinced he picked the Bears so he could actually print that he was picking ‘the other Manning, Ricky’ as his MVP. So thanks for that, Sporto.

Yes, my 27-16 Super Bowl pick was actually quite accurate, probably my best call since I was a kid and won 200 bucks when the Cowboys beat the Bills 52-17 in SB XXVII, and I picked the 2-7 box using the eeny-meeny-miny-mo method. I was especially firm in my Colts pick after Mark picked the Bears.

In all seriousness though, I’d like to congratulate Evan on a great year, but I’ll still take his failure in the clutch. He did better most of the year because he used the spread well, even though he took the points for his upsets instead of actually picking an underdog to beat the favorite. Regardless, I do appreciate his willingness to do a final winner-takes-all bet, since he didn’t have to. Congrats, Evan; you did a great job. Good luck next year.

Mark will also be back next year, though if you want to make a few bucks off freshmen this fall, just make bets with them; Mark takes the lock, you take the other, no matter what common sense tells you. You’ll have paid off your college loans before you know it. Really, good luck next year, Mark; you’ve earned a break or two.

Hope our picks helped all of you out a bit. See you next season.