In a league of his own

It's sort of how John McCain must feel in the waning days of his presidential campaign. You consult with your advisers, focus all your energies on winning the battleground contests, and each morning you wake up to see your opponent's lead swelling into the stratosphere as Election Day draws nearer. That pretty much sums up what's been happening in the Gehlke Bros. Football competition these past two weeks. The elder Bros have been locked in a conservative, nip-and-tuck battle
for the Surfy Trophy — while Ben is operating in some other dimension.

The Chaos Kid has been thriving in his role as maverick prognosticator, turning what initially looked like crazy picks into a points bonanza. He's gone on an 8-game swing in the last three weeks, vaulting from second place, a couple points behind his dad, to his current 6-game advantage. It is reminiscent of the golden years of Gehlke Bros. Football when Glenn once trounced Sean by double digits — before Sean turned the tables and started routinely returning the favor.

In Week 7, Ben was the only one to predict Baltimore's win at Miami, St. Louis' pasting of visiting Dallas, Green Bay's home destruction of Indianapolis, and Denver's Monday Night Meltdown in New England. Perhaps it's the risk-taking nature of youth that served him so well — or the fact that he got home field advantage in three of those wins. Whatever the case, the young whipper-snapper marches on as the season leader.

...Meanwhile, the Senior and Junior Bro were busy trading light jabs. Sean capitalized on Carolina's 30-7 victory over visiting New Orleans, while Glenn got even when Chicago outlasted Minnesota in a 48-41 shootout at Soldier Field. Clearly, it was good to be at home, or at least bet on the home teams, which won the week with an 11-3 record.

Perhaps coincidentally, 11-3 is also Ben's final record in a week he dominated. Glenn and Sean tied for second at 8-6. Our mutual correct predictions included Buffalo, Tennessee, N.Y. Giants, Houston and Washington. No one — not even Ben — predicted the win by the Raiders in OT. Shoulda stuck with the home team!