The NFL Needs a New Tiebreaker – Recreation
The NFL Needs a New Tiebreaker
Terry Mitchell
After enduring that disgusting final weekend of the NFL regular season, I have come to the conclusion that a new tiebreaker is needed. How a team performs during the final weekend should be the first tiebreaker, with all the current tiebreakers falling in line after that. A team that won its final game would hold the first tiebreaker advantage against a team theyre tied with that lost its final game. If they both lost, both won, or both tied their final game, then the current tiebreakers would take effect in the order that they currently exist. That would accomplish at least three of positive things.
First, a team with a one game lead for a playoff spot, headed into the final weekend, would have more difficulty "backing in" to the playoffs the way Minnesota did this year. By all rights, New Orleans should have made the playoffs instead of the Vikings. They finished with identical records. However, the Saints won their final game, while the Vikings lost theirs. In fact, under the NFLs current crazy tiebreaker system, the Vikings loss, while ultimately not damaging their own playoff hopes, ironically was one of the major factors that kept the Saints out of the playoffs! Under my proposed rule, the Saints would have been in and the Vikings would have been out.
Second, it would keep more playoff berths/positions open going into the final weekend and maintain more excitement and suspense all the way to the end. Currently, a team with a one game lead for a playoff berth, bye, home field advantage, and/or seeding can have that position clinched before the final weekend if they own the tiebreaker over the teams they lead. Under my proposal, that would not be possible. That position would still be open through the final weekend of the season. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers would not have clinched the home field advantage in the AFC until they beat Buffalo in the final weekend, instead of having it already clinched going into that game.
Third, it would also keep teams with one game leads from having de-facto "byes" during the final weekend. Take Indianapolis for example. The Colts game against Denver this weekend was meaningless to them, even though it meant everything to the Broncos. Although the Colts had only a one game lead over San Diego for the number three seed in the AFC, they owned the tiebreaker over the Chargers. I dont care what anyone says, the Colts, with their lack of effort, effectively rolled over and allowed the Broncos to win, which wasnt fair to Jacksonville and Baltimore, the teams competing with the Broncos for the final AFC playoff spot. Under my proposal, the Colts would have had to win to maintain their third seed in the playoffs.
About The Author
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Virginia, USA. He operates a website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
terrymitchell@verizon.net
A New Way to Use Old Snapshots – Weddings
A New Way to Use Old Snapshots
LeAnn R. Ralph
If youre like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting in envelopes. Pictures from birthday parties, weddings, family gatherings, anniversaries, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. You have already put the best snapshots into albums and these are leftovers. You dont want to throw them away, but you also dont know what to do with them.
Instead of letting your snapshots take up space and contribute to the clutter in your home, use them to make collages at a cost of less than $10 each that you can give as Christmas gifts to family and friends. Heres how:
Assess your collection of pictures. Do you have several dozen of your spouse or significant other Your parents Your children Grandparents A friend A beloved pet Decide which person would like to receive these pictures and divide them into groups accordingly.
Buy a picture frame with glass either 5x7 or 8x10 for each collage you are going to make. Department stores sometimes have sales on picture frames, and you can often purchase a suitable frame for $5 or less.
Cut a sheet of paper use cardstock, 24# paper or light cardboard to match the size of the opening on the picture frame.
Cut out the background of the pictures, leaving just the people or pets. Cut out enough pictures to cover the sheet of paper.
Arrange the cut-out pictures on the paper. Mix and match and experiment. Try placing the pictures at different angles.
After you have an idea of how you would like to arrange the pictures, glue them to the paper. Check the label to make sure that you can use the glue with photographs. Cover the entire sheet of paper with pictures.
When the glue is dry, insert the paper into the frame.
Collages are not only a good way to use your old snapshots, but the recipients also will cherish them for years to come as a special and thoughtful gift.
© 2003 LeAnn R. Ralph
About The Author
LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer in Wisconsin, is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Assoc. and is the author of the book: Christmas In Dairyland True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm August 2003; trade paperback http://ruralroute2.com
bigpines@ruralroute2.com
A New DVD Format War – Recreation
A New DVD Format War
Roger Faraway
Just when you thought it was safe to buy a nice new all-singing all dancing DVD player/recorder, along comes a new format war to add to an already confusing marketplace.
Once the original DVD standard settled down, DVD players quickly became one of the most successful consumer items of all time. The new format revitalised the home entertainment market, and hardware manufacturers benefited both directly and indirectly, as enthusiasts clamoured to buy bigger and better televisions and sound equipment to get the best from their new DVD players.
Then came recordable DVD, but the problem, as is so often the case, was that there were a number of different recording standards, all of them incompatible. It was just like Betamax versus VHS all over again. Now low-cost multi-format recorders supporting all the standards are hitting the streets, the recording problem is becoming less of an issue, and so one could be forgiven for thinking that