Weis, 48, survived gastic bypass surgery in June of 2002.

Weekend Break Down

Steelers (13-1) 33, GIANTS (5-9) 30 - FINAL: The Damned Giants have zero defense. This was a game Manning was winning, and the Jersey D blew it by not holding off the Steelers. Ugh! Coughlin has got to be beside himself today.

Redskins (5-9) 26, 49ERS (2-12) 16- FINAL: San Francisco is going through so much pain and suffering this season, aren't they?

FALCONS (11-3) 34, Panthers (6-8) 31 - FINAL/OT: Whoa! What a game! Carolina came back in the fourth with 21 unanswered points, but lost it in overtime. The Panthers were all over Mike Vick, and it ends the Carolina run who started the season 1-7.

Vikings (8-6) 28, LIONS (5-9) 27 - FINAL: Detroit comes back, get the touchdown with seconds left in the game and the kicker blows the point after. Steve Mariucci has got to be beside himself today.

Bills (8-6) 33, BENGALS (6-8) 17 - FINAL: Bledsoe and the Bills are just hammering their way to the playoffs, and with a little luck and some wins, they might just get there.

Texans (6-8) 24, BEARS (5-9) 5 - FINAL: Clobbering at Solder's Field. The Texans can kick the crap out of a team when they want to.

JETS (10-4) 37, Seahawks (7-7) 14 - FINAL: Mike Holmgren is updating his resume this morning.

Chargers (11-3) 21, BROWNS (3-11) 0 - FINAL: Good thing Butch Davis left, huh? Man, what an improvement in Cleveland!

CHIEFS (6-8) 45, Broncos (8-6) 17 - FINAL: Denver is not a real team. There is not reason why they should have lost this one. Hm, maybe it is Jake Plummer and his funky finger.

EAGLES (13-1) 12, Cowboys (5-9) 7 - FINAL: I'm not sure what is worse in this one. The lack of offense for Dallas to win a defensive battle, or the lack of offense for the Eagles in this defensive battle.

CARDINALS (5-9) 31, Rams (6-8) 7 - FINAL: Talk about the downfall of Western civilization. St. Louis stinks all of a sudden.

Saints (6-8) 21, BUCCANEERS (5-9) 17 - FINAL: Wow, Jon Gruden tried to get the Bucs back into the playoffs. I guess Super Bowl XXXVII was just a fluke.

Jaguars (8-6) 28, PACKERS (8-6) 25 - FINAL: Chalk this one up as the coldest game of the year, and Brett Favre isn't feeling great after this loss. Too many turnovers.

RAIDERS (5-9) 40, Titans (4-10) 35 - FINAL: Check out the records and look at the scores. Obvious defense has been a problem this season with these two ball clubs.

COLTS (11-3) 20, Ravens (8-6) 10 - FINAL: No record for Manning, but he gets the win, and that hurts the Ravens.

New England (12-1) at Miami (2-11) Tonight 9 PM ABC

Playoff Outlook

The first for first in line at the April Draft

A List of Losers First

Miami (2-11):  Just think, Miami. You guys can draft a new Ricky Williams next year.
Oakland (5-9):  Raider Nation to miss the playoffs once again. Boo who.
Kansas City (5-8): The slaughtering of Denver comes just too late in the season.
Cleveland (3-11): How does the much-disliked head coach leave mid-season and a relieved team sink lower?
Tennessee (4-9):  First draft pick priority: A new quarterback.
Dallas (5-9): The Cowboys play as well as their opponents, but just enough worse to come up short on the games they should tag a win.
Washington (5-9):  I get Joe Gibbs would like to play the 49ers every week.
Arizona (5-9):  As bad as the Cards are, Denny Green gives them more life.
Detroit (5-9): Fire the kicker, Mooch. Fire the kicker.
Chicago (5-10): Lovie ain't finding the love with this team.
Carolina (6-8): Can you believe there is a chance that a .500 team could make the playoffs?
Tampa Bay (5-9):  Hey, Gruden, how long before the McKays send you back to Al Davis?
New Orleans (6-8): Even finishing .500 can't save Jim Haslett's job this year.
Houston (6-8): I like the Texans to make a run at the playoffs next year. Gritty.
New Jersey Giants (5-9): You blew it, Defense. You smoked it up against Pittsburgh.
San Francisco (2-12): Dennis Erickson should keep looking at college jobs, except the Niners owe him too much money for him to quit.
Cincinnati (6-8): Marvin Lewis, what is wrong with you guys?
St. Louis (6-8): Done, done done. All done.

A List of Maybes

Buffalo (8-6):  And it might be Buffalo to bump the Jets off.
Baltimore (8-6): Lousy night in Indy could take them right out of the playoff hunt.
Jacksonville (8-6): they are in the middle of a very vicious pack of wolves wanting that second Wild Card spot.
Seattle (7-7): Mike Holmgren would like to hear from a college on a head coaching position.
Minnesota (8-6): Lucky win in Detroit. Very lucky.
Green Bay (8-6): Brett Favre needs to figure out how to throw more touchdowns than interceptions again.
Denver (8-6): Jake Plummer was the wrong choice, Mike Shanahan.

A List of all the good teams

New Jersey Jets (10-4): the fight for the AFC Wild Card starts in New Jersey.

Teams with January Plans

Philly (13-1): Still the best in the NFC.
Atlanta (11-3): Mike Vick got rocked around by Carolina. Teams in the NFC Playoff Hunt, take note.
New England (12-1):  Still the most dangerous team on this list.
Pittsburgh (13-1):  There is vulnerability here, and someone has to take advantage of it.
Indianapolis (10-3): Peyton is the points master, but none of that matters in January.
San Diego (11-3): Winners of the AFC West. Can you believe this?

Oddities of Week 15's Matchups

Ring in the Holidays with a Four-Day Football Weekend!

FRIDAY December 24

Green Bay (8-6) at Minnesota (8-6), 3:00 PM. NFC North game on a short week. The winner will control the division.

SATURDAY December 25

Oakland (5-9) at Kansas City (6-8), 5 PM. AFC Westerner. Loser get sole possession of bottom of the barrel.

Denver (8-6) at Tennessee (4-10), 8:30 PM. Chances are neither team is going to make the playoffs, but it'll be fun to see Denver squirm and struggle.

SUNDAY December 26

Atlanta (11-3) at New Orleans (6-8), 1 PM. NFC Southern. The Saints will attempt to save Jim Haslett's job. Atlanta has pretty much etched in the Number 2 spot in the playoffs.

Baltimore (8-5) at Pittsburgh (13-1), 1 PM. AFC Northerner. All kinds of stuff at stake. The Ravens need to win to help their playoff chances. The Steelers need to stay on top of the AFC Playoff picture.

Chicago (5-9) at Detroit (5-9), 1 PM. NFC Northern for bottom of the barrel.

Houston (6-8) at Jacksonville (8-6) , 1 PM. AFC Southerner. The Jag are looking for playoff hopes, while the Texans are looking to play playoff spoilers.

New England (12-1) at N.J. Jets (10-4), 4:05 PM. AFC East game. The Patriots can complete their sweep of the division.

Arizona (5-9) at Seattle (7-7), 4:15 PM. NFC Westerner. At .500, the Seahawks lead their division. Sickening.

Carolina (6-8) at Tampa Bay (5-9), 4:15 PM. All of a sudden this game has playoff implications. For maybe Carolina. The Bucs have already come up short.

Washington (5-9) at Dallas (5-9) , 4:15 PM. Classic NFC East matchup. Gibbs versus Parcells. Bad versus Bad.

Cleveland (3-10) at Miami (2-11), 8:30 PM. The Missing Coaches Game --- in prime time?

MONDAY December 27

Philadelphia (13-1) at St. Louis (6-8), 9 PM. Rematch of a couple NFC Championship games, but otherwise this game is meaningless.

Patriots News

CB Tyrone Pole was placed on injured reserve and is out for the remainder of the season. Poole had knee surgery early this season and sat out seven games. He played briefly during the Cincinnati game, was upgraded to Doubtful on the Injury report this week, but has since been placed on IR...

League News

Cleveland QB Jeff Garcia is out for the season with a knee injury. Garcia is the 17th player and 8th starter to go on injured reserve for the Browns...Titans QB Steve McNair is out for the season.

Signs of the Apocalypse

I was in Downtown Crossing last week, heading to the Orange Line Southbound. A musician was playing an acoustic guitar through some speakers, very subtle. He was playing "Long December" by Counting Crows. The guy wasn't bad. All of a sudden he stops, and I look over and some Boston cop is bugging the musician in the middle of the song for a damned permit. I didn't realize you needed one, and the musician had one, but he had to stop his playing and dig it out. After the cop checked it out, the musician wasn't the same, couldn't get back into playing. This cop, apit-faced, fat and balding guy couldn't wait until the guy was in between songs. No, he had to harass him right ont he spot and show off in front of all us commuters that he was come tough guy. Well piggie, you're no tough guy, just a big, fat, corrupt slob who gives cops the bad names they have.

As for the musician, keep playing. You are good. I wouldn't pay U2 money to see you, but I wouldn't pay U2 money to see U2 either, but we T commuters enjoy you musicians. Keep playing.

Notes & Quotes

The Red Sox are 24-13 against the Yankees in the past couple of seasons. In that time Pedro Martinez was 3-9 against New York.

Top Ten List of the Week

1. I keep saying this every week: the Steelers are showing weaknesses, and a team can go in and play well against them and get a win. Will someone please get a win!

2. I'm not sure that Dave Wannstedt and Butch Davis leaving their teams early did any good. Miami and Cleveland are worse than ever.

3. On the other side, San Diego is a wonder! The Chargers are 11-3. I figured the record would be just the reverse right now. Amazing.

4. Dennis Erickson is a no-go at Ole Miss. He said it wasn't the right mix for either of them. I also think that Erickson is going to be hard pressed to walk away from $9 millionish left on his contract.

5. Once again, we use No. 5 to blast SI's Peter King. For his Fine 15, of source number 1 being Shittsburgh, he says, and I bloody-well quote: "Jerome Bettis has my vote for the Pro Football Hall of Fame." Now, if I said something like that, or anyone else said that about any player, Pedro "Porko" King would certainly get on a soap box about. Hey Pete, blow it out your ass!

6. Mike Vick really got rattled around Saturday night. He was lucky to be able to walk after a few of those hits.

7. 60 Minutes interviewed Ricky Williams on Sunday. Odd dude. Even as he tried to make sense, he sounded like a 13 year old kid.

8. Rumor mills have LSU coach Nick Saban in Miami next season. If I were the Dolphins, I would interview an awful lot of people before I hired anyone.

9. Congrats to Charlie Weis. Not a great move, but it is what you wanted.

10. I'm sure I am not the only one to wish Pedro best of luck in New York. And like the rest of you, I am laughing my butt off right now. Suckers!