Unlucky No. 13 for Brett Favre and the Vikings?

Last year, the New York Jets followed up a victory over the New England Patriots with a convincing 34-13 victory over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Jets were flying high with many of the experts picking them to win the Super Bowl. At that point, it was universally accepted that New York was one of the top teams in the NFL and you would get few arguments from anyone, if you credited a certain ex-Packer QB with making the difference.

Then came week 13 against the Denver Broncos. This time it was the Jets who were beaten convincingly in a 34-17 loss, featuring two turnovers by Brett Favre. They would go on to lose four of their final five games and miss the playoffs entirely. What's more, during that stretch Favre threw nine interceptions and only two touchdowns.

So, is it just a coincidence that Brett Favre fell apart again in week 13 this season? Or is it a dark omen for the Vikings? Favre had been playing much better than he ever did in New York. In fact up to this point, he was having the best season of his career. However, this game would easily rank as one of the worst of his long career. He easily could have thrown four interceptions instead of the two he did throw. At times, he seemed completely confused and missed open receivers.

Undoubtedly, there is much blame to go around for this loss. Offensively, the lack of a running game and the uncharacteristically leaky pass protection that left Favre exposed to opposing pass rushers for the first time this season. On defense, a defensive backfield that has been suspect all season (I predicted this would be a big test for them during my picks) and a D-line that couldn't get any pressure for the first time this season. All of them played a part in this loss much like they played a part in Minnesota's great start.

Maybe this was just an off night or a case of the Vikings' weak schedule finally catching up to them. On the other hand, is this a case of deja vu (all over again) and that oh so unlucky number thirteen again? Do the Vikings have reason to develop a case of triskaidekaphobia?

Free Tickets to the UFL Championship

I went to the United Football League game last week between the Las Vegas Locos and the New York Sentinels at the Silver Bowl A.K.A. Sam Boyd Stadium) on November 20th. Mostly I went because I figured it would be a good opportunity to get some nice action photos and the tickets were really cheap ($6), plus I live down the street from the Silver Bowl. Basically, I figured that for that price it wouldn't hurt even if it wasn't a good game, but it would be much of a risk to see a live football game.

I found out that there are some advantages to smaller stadiums. My seats were so close that I had a great chance to take pictures and I ended up taking almost two hundred photos (including the ones on this page). Beyond that, I actually enjoyed the game a lot. It wasn't exactly the most competitive game ever played. The Locos were up 38-0 nothing at one point and won 41-7. At least the right team did win, though. It probably would have sucked if the Vegas team was the one that got blown out. And this week should be a lot better game since it is the UFL championship game. The Las Vegas Locos will be taking on the Florida Tuskers (I don't know what that is either). The Locos are 4-2 this season with both of their losses coming against the Tuskers, who are undefeated.

In the long term, it looks like the UFL will be sticking around for a while. They recently announced that the 2010 season will definitely be happening and they are even looking to expand to at least six teams and possibly two more. Plus the season will be expanded to ten games after just six this season. So even though it isn't quite the NFL, it's probably as close as Las Vegas will ever get to an NFL franchise. I'd like to see this actually succeed if for no other reason so there is a live football game being played on a regular basis within biking distance of my house.

So, the moral to the story is you can get up to four free tickets to the UFL Championship game between the LV Locos and the Florida Tuskers on Nov. 27th at noon.

All you have to do is go to UNLVtickets.com, click on the promo code button and enter "UFLCHAMPS" then you can order up to four tickets absolutely free. You can even print the tickets off yourself at home. I'm hoping that a bunch of people will come to this championship game and the UFL will catch on next season and beyond.