In the midst of political turmoil and a presidential election the importance of which we haven't seen since as early as 2004, in the midst of mudslinging, war, economic downturn, and some other stuff I won't mention because they involve cheesecake - and not all of it good cheesecake. And I hate bad cheesecake sooo much...

In these troubled time people need a place to escape. For example: Written largely in the midst of World War II, The Lord of the Rings eventually exploded into popularity amidst the deep rooted social, national, and global tensions of the 1960s. Furthermore, the same national climate that bred the escapism of the 60s bled into the 70s, as the Vietnam war continued, while social equality movements continued to burn, particularly as immigration increased and the diversity, as well as the strength of minority groups increased with it. The escape from the tensions of the decade came to a head in 1977 with the release of Star Wars and the unprecedented public reception of the film. In the 80s, there was apparently something very severe that needed escaping from because, I mean, really? Ah-ha? Masters of the Universe? Personally, I'm still trying to escape The Smiths.

So you see my point. When important things happen, people want a place to enjoy unimportant things, even while those same people simultaneously move the world around them.

So here I give you a bit of escapism. I assure you, there are dragons. I assure you James Earl Jones has at least a bit role. I assure you, somebody here will sing in pitches which, simply put, neither man nor woman was designed to sing. And Kurt Russel will blow something up. Never before have the prediction game results been so exciting!

Pittsburgh @ Washington

1. bayboy, sam23, howtheyscored, Number22Drew, albertoleecho (14)
2. UnleashTheGore, SuperFly, Niner Fan Lost in WI (20)
3. J2daZ, JerseyNinerFan, StrictlyFootball (22)

New England @ Indianapolis

1. marcello (4)
2. jtoj, Vote4Gore (10)
3. Number22Drew, albertoleecho (12)

Arizona @ St. Louis

1. groug, Fooch, StrictlyFootball (8)
2. Number22Drew, Florida Danny (12)
3. bayboy, sam23, UnleashTheGore, sfgfan, Ninerfromacrossthepond (14)

Houston @ Minnesota

1. J2daZ, jtoj, Florida Danny (2)
2. JerseyNinerFan (6)
3. wjackalope, Josh from Hollywood, SuperFly, Niner Fan Lost in WI (8)

Dallas @ New York Giants

1. proudcanadian99 (6)
2. 49erLou, illini49er, Ninerfromacrossthepond, Florida Danny, Niner Fan Lost in WI (8)
3. Josh from Hollywood, Fooch, marcello (12)

Philadelphia @ Seattle

1. proudcanadian99, Number22Drew (6)
2. bayboy, Vote4Gore (10)
3. UnleashTheGore, sfgfan, albertoleecho, jtoj, Mike Hawk, Fooch (12)

And that makes our week 9 leaderboard look like this:

1. wjackalope – 39
2. albertoleecho – 32
3. Niner Fan Lost in WI – 29
4. Number22Drew – 28
5. 49erLou – 25
5. marcello – 25
5. proudcanadian99 – 25
8. StrictlyFootball – 23
9. sfgfan – 22
10. Josh from Hollywood – 21
11. bayboy – 20
11. Fooch – 20
11. good as gold – 20
11. howtheyscored – 20
11. jtoj – 20
16. Ninerfromacrossthepond – 19
16. SuperFly – 19
16. Vote4Gore – 19
19. illini49er – 18
20. groug – 17
21. Mike Hawk – 16
21. sam23 – 16
23. JerseyNinerFan – 15
24. CB30 – 13
25. 408 – 12
25. Netsky – 12
25. Ninjames – 12
28. Rishi – 11
28. youngbuckeroo – 11
30. UnleashTheGore – 10
31. J2daZ – 9
32. mojorisin’ – 9
32. montasmob69 – 9
32. ro128487 – 9
32. sancho8297 – 9
32. shlecko – 9
37. Florida Danny – 8
38. PHUT! – 6
39. etb2 – 5
39. gatling – 5
41. Ali4President – 4
41. camwoody – 4
41. zonedogs – 4
44. Niners_Are_The_NFL – 3
44. The Golden One – 3
46. Ceradecke – 2
46. KingofDucks1987 – 2
46. ProfessorBigelow – 2
49. DiegoAsFan – 1
49. jfainsf49 – 1

Okay, so maybe that was somewhat more dragon-free than I had originally promised. James Earl Jones also did not appear. But that's not my fault. He definitely said he'd be here. I have the voice mail right here on my phone. You can take my word for it. I'm a trustworthy guy, after all. But man, who knew James Earl Jones was so unreliable? Another hero falls...

But hey, at least Kurt Russel did blow something up, despite compelling evidence which suggests that he didn't.

bayboy also blew something up. He blew up his position in the rankings. bayboy was the only player this week, and the first in many weeks, to actually pick the winner in all six games. This served him well as, though he did not score in each game, his sheer consistency gave him the benefit of 6 total points and 9 spots in the rankings. He's now joined the likes of Fooch and me standing on the edge of the top ten, looking in longingly while Josh from Hollywood makes faces and tells us we're not on the guest list.

albertoleecho also deserves mention, as he slowly but surely closes the gap between himself and first place. wjackalope did not help his cause much this week, and albertoleecho took advantage of the slip to climb within a mere 7 points of first. Quietly on his heels is Niner Fan Lost in WI, who I haven't made much of a fuss about, but whose consistency this year has put him in as good as position at this point as anybody else.

I'd also like to mention Number22Drew an proudcanadian99, two of our early season leaders who had fallen well behind their initial paces. After a very strong week from each player, they are both right back in the thick of the top 5, ready to make their moves.

And here's the link to last week's results: http://www.ninersnation.com/2008/10/29/648979/week-8-prediction-games-th

Hey look everybody! James Earl Jones finally showed up!*

*Suckers