THE story that has been dominating the news all week long has been the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin affair with the bullying-cum-racism accusations emanating from the locker room of the Miami Dolphins.

As the story unfolds the accusations seem to be more and more disturbing. NFL Hall of Famer and current analyst Sterling Sharpe, on the CBS pre-game show last Sunday addressed the matter eloquently and passionately. His rant against the reprehensible behaviour of Incognito and other black players who have thrown their support behind Incognito, has gone viral, and rightly so. In the midst of all this distraction, there was a game to be played on Monday Night. All week long the teammates of Incognito and Martin closed ranks as expected, pooling their support behind Incognito. They also went on to state that these distractions would not affect their play against the winless Buccaneers. Yeah, right!

You could see it in their eyes and in their body language on Monday Night. The Dolphins players had other things on their minds besides football. This while their opponent was focusing on the task at hand, that of winning their first game and ending the charade of unity amongst teammates within that embattled and flawed organisation. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Miami Dolphins 22-19. This story is far from over and will unfold as it ought. More anon!

The Dallas Cowboys are at it again, disintegrating as the season wears on and disappointing their myriad of fans not just in the great state of Texas, but nationwide, and even here in Jamaica where Cowboys’ fans are to be found in significant numbers. After 10 weeks in the season the Cowboys are 5-5 but still tied with the Eagles for the top spot in the NFC East. Every year at the beginning of the season the expectations are high for the Cowboys. After all, this is “America’s Team” of which much is expected. But a look at their recent history indicates mediocrity. They finished the last two seasons 8-8, and chances are they won’t improve on that statistic.

The last time they won a Super Bowl was in 1995 when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. That was a long time ago, especially for a franchise of the Dallas Cowboys’ stature. Hey, they have the most modern stadium in the League and also one of the highest payrolls.

They have almost everything money can buy and an owner who is not afraid to spend it. On Sunday when they rolled into the Super Dome in New Orleans I really expected them to be competitive against the Saints, and so did Roper and Hutchinson. Instead the Saints put a licking on them 49-17 and in so doing, showed up their lack of depth and talent. In light of another mediocre performance by the Cowboys it will be interesting to see what moves the team owner Jerry Jones will make, either now or at the end of what could turn out to be another disappointing season.

There was a game recently between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans and I picked the Colts to win and cover the 2.5 point spread set by JustBet. Both these teams are coming off losses in week 10. The Titans were beaten by the Jaguars 29-27 and the Colts were humiliated by the Rams 38 – 8. It is a short week for these guys and both are certainly not in the mood for another loss.

Speaking of loss, yours truly had his worst week in forever, in making picks against the JustBet point spread. A 4-10 record is just pathetic and this just will not do. The fact that I was joined by Andrei Roper at this tier is no consolation. Andre Hutchinson was a very respectable 9-5 and Lindo came in at 8-6. Close examination of last week’s results indicate that there were quite a few upsets which contributed to this writer’s poor performance. As I just mentioned, the Jaguars, who went into week 10 as 13.5 points underdogs to the Titans, won their first game by beating Tennessee, while Buccaneers, 2.5 points underdogs to the Dolphins, also got off the mark by beating Miami. The Rams put a serious licking on the Colts despite the fact that they were 10.5 points underdogs, and the Eagles took advantage of the Packers who were already without QB Aaron Rodgers, and who then lost their replacement starter Seneca Wallace through injury early in the game.

Week 11 presents another opportunity to bounce back with our picks, as there are some really intriguing matchups lined up: The Eagles will try and take over sole possession of the NFC East lead when they play the visiting Redskins, while the Bears will have a decision to make at Quarterback (Jay Cutler vs Josh McCown) when they take on the upset-minded Ravens.

The high-flying offence of the Saints will go up against the stifling defence of the 49ers, and in what could be the game of the week, the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs take their winning streak into Mile High Stadium in Denver, where Peyton Manning and the Broncos await. Peyton and company have not faced a defence like this all season, and it will be interesting to see how the Broncos, with their league-leading 41.2 points per game, try to counter the Chiefs’ and their number-one ranked defence which allows just 12.8 points per game. Then on Monday Night, the Panthers, who are red hot, having won five games in a row, are home to the New England Patriots, who could have their hands full against the Panthers’ stellar defence.

Well, that’s it for me, folks. As usual, enjoy the games, and place your bets early and often with JustBet, Jamaica’s number one sports betting game. And just a reminder, JustBet now has half-time betting available on NFL games, so now you can bet on which team will cover the point spread at half-time or at full-time. Yet another way to make some money from sports betting with JustBet. Remember to give us a listen on HITZ 92FM at 6:05pm every Friday, during the NFL Gameday Forecast. And finally, “Just win baby, just win”.

To find a JustBet location near you, visit: www.supremeventures.com/justbetlocations. To find out more about JustBet, and how to bet on the NFL and other sports, visit www.supremeventures.com/justbet, www.facebook.com/justbet, www.twitter.com/justbet_ja , or call 1-888-429-5785 (toll-free).Thursday Nov 14Sunday Nov 17Monday Nov 18Teams on a bye: Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis RamsEXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREADCOLTSJETSBEARS v RAVENSBENGALS v BROWNSTEXANS v RAIDERSCARDINALSEAGLES v REDSKINSLIONSFALCONSCHARGERSSAINTS v 49ERSGIANTS v PACKERSSEAHAWKS v VIKINGSCHIEFSPATRIOTSLast week’s record: 4-10COLTSJETSBEARS v RAVENSBROWNSRAIDERSCARDINALSEAGLES v REDSKINSLIONSBUCCANEERS v FALCONSCHARGERSSAINTS v 49ERSGIANTS v PACKERSSEAHAWKS v VIKINGSBRONCOS v CHIEFSPATRIOTSLast week’s record: 8-6Andre Hutchinson’s Week 11 PicksCOLTSJETSRAVENSBROWNSRAIDERSJAGUARS v CARDINALSEAGLES v REDSKINSLIONSFALCONSCHARGERSSAINTS v 49ERSGIANTS v PACKERS VIKINGSCHIEFSPATRIOTSLast week’s record: 9-5Andrei Roper’s Week 11 PicksCOLTSJETSRAVENSBENGALS v BROWNSRAIDERSCARDINALSEAGLES v REDSKINSLIONSFALCONSCHARGERSSAINTS v 49ERSGIANTS v PACKERSSEAHAWKS v VIKINGSCHIEFSPANTHERS v PATRIOTSLast week’s record: 4-10

NFL WEEK 11 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET HANDICAPS

(*JustBet Handicaps for each game in bracket, Under/Over for each game listed)

TEN TITANS (+2.5) v IND COL_S U/O 42.5

BUF BILLS v NY JETS (+ 1.5), U/O 40.5

CHI BEARS v BAL RAVENS (+ 3.5), U/O 44.5

CIN BENGALS v CLE BROWNS (+ 6.5), U/O 42.5

HOU TEXANS v OAK RAIDERS (+ 6.5), U/O 43.5

JAC JAGUARS (+ 6.5) v ARI CARDINALS, U/O 40.5

PHI EAGLES v WAS REDSKINS (+ 2.5), U/O 52.5

PIT STEELERS (+ 2.5) v DET LIONS, U/O 47.5

TB BUCCANEERS (+ 2.5) v ATL FALCONS, U/O 41.5

MIA DOLPHINS (+ 0.5) v SD CHARGERS, U/O 44.5

NO SAINTS v SF 49ERS (+ 2.5), U/O 47.5

NY GIANTS v GB PACKERS (+ 3.5), U/O 42.5

SEA SEAHAWKS v MIN VIKINGS (+ 11.5), U/O 45.5

DEN BRONCOS v KC CHIEFS (+ 7.5), U/O 50.5

CAR PANTHERS v NE PATRIOTS (+ 2.5), U/O 45.5

Tony Scott’s Week 11 Picks

TITANS v

BILLS v

JAGUARS v

STEELERS v

BUCCANEERS v

DOLPHINS v

BRONCOS v

PANTHERS v

Season record: 77-70

Peter Lindo’s Week 11 Picks

TITANS v

BILLS v

BENGALS v

TEXANS v

JAGUARS v

STEELERS v

DOLPHINS v

PANTHERS v

Season record: 75-72

TITANS v

BILLS v

BEARS v

BENGALS v

TEXANS v

STEELERS v

BUCCANEERS v

DOLPHINS v

SEAHAWKS v

BRONCOS v

PANTHERS v

Season record: 70-77

TITANS v

BILLS v

BEARS v

TEXANS v

JAGUARS v

STEELERS v

BUCCANEERS v

DOLPHINS v

BRONCOS v

Season record: 62-85