If the 32 teams in the NawFuL all get a bye week, then why not give one to those who truly deserve it the most: the fans? Doesn't it make sense? After all, if we have to suffer through matchups like Cincinnati at Houston or Dallas at Detroit every week who could blame us for wanting to take a break from the "action" every now and then?

The Gehlke Bros. did manage a sort-of bye in Week 9, accomplishing the rare feat of unanimous agreement on our predictions. As it turned out, unfortunately, we unanimously selected nearly as many losers as we did winners. The shining exception was Ben, who went out on a limb to pick four road teams his elders didn't and was rewarded for his efforts with four victories. New England, Tennessee, the New York Jets and St. Louis all won convincingly and boosted Ben to an unofficial 6-game lead in the season competition. He has an impressive 80-50 overall record.

Ben achieved his bragging rights with a 12-2 record, missing out only on the Bengals' first win of the season at Houston and San Francisco's win over his beloved Raiders. The Bros., Senior and Junior, were a distant second at 8-6. We all correctly predicted the victories of Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, the New York Giants and Green Bay. We were all wrong on Cincy's win, as well as the Niners'.

Halfway through the 2002 season and it doesn't look like it will get any easier. Hopefully the football gods have a sense of compassion as well as a sense of humor.