~ by Rick Langenberg ~
It’s that time of year to flex your Monday morning, armchair quarterbacking skills, or Jimmy the Greek wizardry and tell us who will be in the Super Bowl and the final score.
The post-season has now approached the final eight, which means the playoffs will 
get very interesting. There are a number of top teams still remaining, with no sure bet in sight. And sometimes, it’s better to make a chance pick, instead of listening to the endless gibberish of rambling sports commentary.
Based on recent ratings, the top teams are: the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, and Green Bay Packers, according to experts. But take those ratings and shove them in the dirt, when the real deal ensues this weekend. The great thing about the NFL playoff system is the single-game elimination style format, with no next day for the respective losers. Plus, history often favors the Wild Card teams, as exhibited by last weekend’s stunning upsets of the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.
To celebrate this fine occasion, TMJ News is launching our Super Bowl 54 contest, with great prizes for the acclaimed winner and runner-up. More importantly, your name will be enshrined with fame in TMJ pages.
To enter this contest, merely send us an email at editor@mountainjackpot.com, or rickmaur@msn.com, and list the top two projected finalists in the Super Bowl, the 
estimated final score and a few reasons why you are making this pick. If you win, (to be determined by the closest tally to the final score of all the entries with the correct teams in the Super Bowl), we will make sure fellow Tellerians know you are the person to seek for spots bets. You will also have the opportunity to do an occasional sports column in our famous publication.
The deadline for your Super Bowl pick is: Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. If you miss the deadline, go ahead and submit your entry anyway, as we will have a consolation prize for those late-birds.
And several weeks down the road, we will unveil our annual Super Bowl issue, profiling the AFC and NFC champs and a plate full of predictions from our so-called sports experts in the community.
In the meantime, make your Super Bowl pick and final score; and yes, grumble about the losing state of the Denver Broncos. If only they won a few of the close ones, maybe they could have avoided four years of avoiding the playoffs. If only Drew Lock didn’t get injured in a freak incident in the preseason. If only the Pat Bowlen family would stop their endless feuding. If only Bronco legend John Elway would maybe hit the jackpot with a few more draft selections.
Maybe, next year the Broncos will ride high, especially when sports betting moves into full stride in Cripple Creek.
Until then, enjoy the playoffs and partake in TMJ’s Annual Super Bowl Showdown.
