Slowly but surely, the gap is closing.
After seven weeks of obscenely good luck, Liz "Gummy Bear Fiend" Hoffman is finally coming back down to earth, paying dearly for her picks of St. Louis, Cincinnati and Tampa Bay in Week 8. With an 8-5 week, Hoffman looked human, but she's still in first place and five games separate her from the pack.
Alex "Rose" Bloom benefited from a clutch pick of his hometown Eagles, going 10-3 and holding steady in third place. He was joined by his two partners in crime, Ethan "McHale" Landy and Evans "Parish" Clinchy, who also went 10-3 and stayed five games off the pace.
Tim "Marino" Judson proved unable to win the Big One, falling out of the second-place tie Monday night with Denver's loss to Green Bay. Ross "#1 Ratliff Fan" Marrinson found himself in a bit of a kerfuffle this week, dropping five games and falling into a tie for sixth place.
That tie, oddly enough, is with Rachel "Toast Eater" Dolin, whose 9-4 week vaulted her into a tie with Marrinson thanks to a key pick of Jacksonville over Tampa Bay. She continues to crawl her way back into the race.
The heated battle for last place is on, as Sapna "A-Rod" Bansil appears to be choking like her Yankees in October. Her 7-6 finish was worst among all editors last week, and she's just two games ahead of Carly "Brilliant in the Head" Helfand, whose 10-3 finish has put her back in the hunt. (Sort of.)
Executive Features Editor Matt Skibinski offers his guest picks. Unfortunately he knows nothing about football. If only the sports section covered drinking, sex or Facebook...
