IF IT'S SUNDAY

IT MUST MEAN FOOTBALL.

Yes we are jumping the gun a bit early. For those of you new to the blog, you can review old posts proving our amazing run last year at picking the winner of football games. There are at least two new boats named after us by grateful blog readers.

This year, beyond our normal Sunday picks we are thinking of something a bit more interactive. We are actively negotiating with some web sites to allow us to run a football pool of some sort, in which you, the loyal reader could participate.

In order to keep things legal, the prize money would have to come from Rumpole himself. "No purchase necessary" to keep the State Attorneys Office from investigating us.

The question is what kind of pool should we run? Our first thought is an elimination or suicide pool, where the participants would have to just pick one winner from one game a week, no point spread needed. Sounds easy huh? Here's the rub: the first time you pick the Colts over the Lions, you can no longer use the Colts for the rest of the year. So you must not only pick your game carefully, but look at the schedule for weeks to come to plan your picks accordingly. Otherwise before you know it, you're left with choosing the Texans/Cardinals match up.

Let us know your thoughts and if you would be so inclined to participate.


DOLPHINS

Here are our thoughts on our local heroes:

1) In view of the Brady Quinn negotiations and lengthy holdout, and the performance of John Beck, the front office doesn't look so bad in passing on the Notre Dame pretty boy. The Dolphins saved a ton of money, and had their QB of the future in training camp from the get go.

2) Give Ted Ginn time. He is spending his pre-season learning routes and check offs and blitz pickups and special teams. The flashy catches will come.

3) For all of the Dolphins smarts in passing on Quinn, they look positively stupid in blowing all that money on Culpepper, who by the way now looks fine in Oakland. Plus they just guaranteed twenty million to Joey Porter, who they signed not knowing he needed knee surgery. When will Porter contribute? Who knows. And Trent Green is showing that he may never recover emotionally to that devastating hit last year which knocked him out for several games. Can anyone envision him being the starting QB next year?

No team wins by dumping loads of money on aging veterans. The Steelers won a Super Bowl with Porter anchoring the defense. Don't you think they knew what he was worth? The Dolphins have spent close to forty million dollars on Culpepper, Green, and Porter. This is money poorly spent in our opinion. The season is shaping up as a 8-8 or 7-9. But if Beck and Ginn progress to the point of making contributions, then next year the Fins can spend some money on defensive draft picks and OL linemen in free agency, and then we may be talking playoffs.

Until then, we will just have to get our enjoyment out of this season by rooting against the Jets and picking football winners purely for fun and not for profit.

See You Tomorrow, we're the one's reading the sports page in Au Bon Pain.

ONE MORE APPELLATE DECISION

PS: An alert reader emailed us to inform us that we missed this 3rd DCA reversal of a murder case: HERE. The case is noteworthy because it was the second time the 3rd DCA saw fit to reverse the conviction for introduction of the same type of evidence that caused the case to be reversed the first time.

We know the State Attorney's office has an appellate division. The trick however, is to actually READ the opinion, so you can figure out what the 3rd DCA doesn't want you to do again. We know that of all people we should not be chastising anyone for NOT reading appellate opinions, but then again, we have been known to read an FLW or two, but only when it is absolutely necessary.

David Molansky, Esq., on the winning briefs for the appellant, and Judge Murphy stuck with the third trial of the case.