1. I'm speechless. If you want to know why, go ahead and take a look at the results for the Texans game.
2. I have, like, 700 other things that I need to do tonight, some of which actually involve my future.

Therefore, you get no ramblings. Check out the scores, though. And then double-check them out. Data entry is not an exact science, no matter how many nano-bots I have the Borg inject directly into my bloodstream.

49ers @ Indianapolis:

1. YoungWillis (12)
2. wjackalope (18)
3. Drew K, ZeroIndulgence, urnext, bignerd, albertoleecho, ProfessorBigelow, beecharmer (20)
4. Ninerfromacrossthepond (24)
5. J2daZ, whobob, PHUT!, CB30, LASVEGASNINER, grantmp, jpgrafunkle, leaping_larry, MontanaPass, shlecko (26)

Atlanta @ New Orleans:

1. hudd07 (2)
2. danknerd49, mpotter14, JoeO, ro128487, grantmp, 49RFAN, snowweasel30, SpurredOn, Ninerfromacrossthepond, bignerd, shlecko (6)
3. 49erLou, bonbrillio, illini49er, Dub4lif3, youngbuckeroo, beecharmer (8)
4. these3words, 5-0 (10)
5. cassusriff, nocal81, LASVEGASNINER, Mike Hawk, wjackalope, urnext, MontanaPass (12)

New York Giants @ Philadelphia:

1. Mike Hawk, Fooch, nini9er (18)
2. bonbrillio (20)
3. Ten-Man, PHUT!, ro128487, 5-0, urnext, beecharmer (24)
4. jtoj, Ninerfromacrossthepond, bignerd (26)
5. J2daZ (28)

Denver @ Baltimore:

1. these3words, BEETLE49715 (6)
2. YoungWillis, nocal81, sundaysfinest, youngbuckeroo, nini9er (12)
3. groug, Widowwolf, nacho49 (14)
4. J2daZ (16)
5. hudd07, PHUT!, jtoj, SpurredOn, 5-0, Ninerfromacrossthepond, Fooch, bignerd, albertoleecho (20)

Houston @ Buffalo:

1. danknerd49, rlott#42, PHUT!, JoeO, BEETLE49715, shlecko (0) - Okay, who hacked the site?
2. 49erLou (4)
3. cassusriff, DuikeBuike, YoungWillis, fortyniners, grantmp, foosball4949, snowweasel30, 5-0, etb2, nini9er (6)
4. J2daZ, these3words, LASVEGASNINER, illini49er, bayboy, sfgfan, gbears16, Ninerfromacrossthepond, Fooch (8)
5. ZeroIndulgence, jtoj (12)

Minnesota @ Green Bay:

1. CB30 (8)
2. ProfessorBigelow (10)
3. DuikeBuike, whobob, nocal81, sfgfan, Mike Hawk (14)
4. albertoleecho (16)
5. Drew K (18)

And that makes our week eight leaderboard look like:

Uh... wow. Just wow. I mean, I know I've been complaining about the games being harder to predict this year, but that's a really messed up way to restore the balance. Especially since I didn't get any of the cut. Not any of it! I made a good prediction in that Texans game, darnit! And no points! Lame.

So danknerd49, rlott#42, PHUT!, JoeO, BEETLE49715, shlecko: congratu-fudgy-lations. I mean, honestly, good job. Great job, really. PHUT!, JoeO, and shlecko made their strikes to get up with the leaders, and danknerd49, rlott#42, and BEETLE49715 bounded into the thick of the pack, where - as we can see - anything can happen.

You have to like what bignerd and 5-0 are doing. In a tumultuous week, both of them did more than hold tight after forgetting to claim their apparently free perfect scores in the Texas game - they moved up in the rankings.

What can you say about ro128487? He's in first. La-dee-fudging-da.

Silently, almost sneakily, Ninerfromacrossthepond is moving up. This guy has won the games before, and it looks like he's just heating up right now.

Fooch and beecharmer also had good weeks - and beecharmer only JUST got the predictions posted in time (10:00 a.m. timestamp!).

If I missed you, I'm sorry. As I said, I'm kind of rushed. Which is another good reason to double-check your scores!

And next week you guys are going down.

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled - but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is un-redressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally un-redressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.