An imperfect week makes it an interesting race

For the first time this season, none of our football gurus were perfect in their Friday night picks, and that helped tighten the race in our Cash Money Football Contest.

Nine experts went 5-for-6 in Friday's games, seven went 4-for-6, and one really, really absent-minded one — that would be me — went 5-for-6 and somehow forgot to even guess a winner in the Malden-Portageville game, thus preventing a guaranteed 6-for-6 night.

So that leaves three swamis at the top with 21 points apiece — zoe95, billythekid and hardknocks lead the pack for now, with headhunt, bystander and dj right behind with 20 points each. Behind that pack is a free-for-all with a lot of folks still in close range.

And for those who are new to our football season guesswork: There's a $100 bill set aside for the person who picks the most winners of local games through the end of the regular season. After I post six matchups here each week, just add your reply with your predicted winner of each game -- each correct pick earns a point, with a maximum of 6 points awarded to one person each week and 60 for the season.

Next week's pairings -- guaranteed to not be easy -- will be posted on The Board by the end of the day Sunday.