Ah Super Bowl Sunday, America’s unofficial holiday. There are many reasons to enjoy the Superbowl. For most of us here in Denver that enjoyment will come from watching the home town team in the game, but the Superbowl has become such an event (and such a dominant draw on TV) that there’s a little something for everyone thrown in. Extravagant half time shows with artists hand picked to attract the more casual football fan, commercials that bust advertising budgets and never air again…the Puppy Bowl…yes, whether you’re a die hard fan of the gridiron or a five year old, there’s likely something that interests you that spawns from the hoopla.

Of course, Stump the Stiffs is no different and Superbowl weekend provides something of deep interest to this column: prop bets. At first I though about abandoning basketball all together and making this week's column entirely Superbowl prop bets, but instead thought against it and only selected one to be the special pick this week. It was not an easy choice. I considered what color Gatorade will be poured on the winning coach, weighed the pros and cons of an over under of 1.5 for how many times the announcers will say dab or dabbing and was mildly alarmed at the rather low payout for an earthquake occurring during the game (10/1). Ultimately I settled on one of life's great mysteries, what color shoes will Beyonce wear for the halftime show, the choices are: black, brown/gold, gray/silver, white, any other color. Love me some prop bets.

The contestants this week begin with the Stiffs Writers Texas contingent Daniel Lewis. On our commenters side we’ve got the Italian stallion Slader. Finally, the Nuggets subreddit, clingers of a slim lead, are bringing back one of their ringers, /u/eg14000. Pick time!

Stump the Stiffs Week 13 Stiffs Staff
Daniel Lewis		 Stiffs Commenters
slader		 r/denvernuggets
/u/eg14000
Bulls at Nuggets Nuggets Nuggets Bulls
Pacers at Hawks Hawks Hawks Hawks
Bucks at Jazz Jazz Jazz Bucks
Spurs at Mavericks Spurs Spurs Spurs

What color shoes will Beyonce be wearing?

 Other Other (pink) Other (pink)
Daniel Lewis: The Bulls come to play the Nuggets, but they are coming in hurt. Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler are questionable, and they’re already without Mike Dunleavy, Nikola Mirotic and Joakim Noah. The Nuggets may not have a 100 percent Nikola Jokic for the game, as he’s dealing with a shoulder strain, but I like their chances. History is on the Nuggets side too, as they’ve won 14 of their last 15 games against the Bulls in Denver. The Pacers are playing better now that Myles Turner is getting more minutes and George Hill isn’t sporting blonde hair, but I have a feeling the Hawks will be able to defend their home court against the Pacers. The Bucks are a mess right now, and have reportedly put Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams on the trade block. The Jazz have a great defensive team, and the Bucks can’t score outside the paint. This was an easy pick for me – Jazz by double figures. The Spurs-Mavericks game is always a fun game, but Dirk Nowitzki and his friends have always struggled against Tim Duncan and his friends. My heart goes out to Manu Ginobili, who suffered a devastating injury a few days ago when Ryan Anderson collided with him, driving his knee into his groin. Ginobili should be out for a month after testicular surgery – ouch. As for the Super Bowl, the smartest pick for Bey’s footwear is the field – although as a devoted Coldplay fan, I’m sure I won’t notice.

slader: First of all, I’d like to thank Russ Hamilton for asking me to contribute to this piece. He wanted the view from Gallolandia (Milan), and I consented in a moment of weakness. Here goes! If Butler is out again, we have a good chance to win this game – I doubt E’Twaun Moore is going to score 24 points like he did against the Sacramento Kings. We will need better outside shooting, because Pau and Taj Gibson could frustrate Jokic inside, and we should push in transition against an older, slower squad. Nuggets 101, Bulls 96. We don’t hold with the Eastern Conference here in Milan, but I promised. Atlanta is slightly better and is playing at home. Indiana is slightly worse and is playing away. Hawks 112, Pacers 99. I expect Utah’s defense to slow the pace and keep Greg Monroe under wraps. Unless Khris Middleton and Giannis Antentekoumpo can find a way to explode, the Jazz will grind it out in their utterly non-jazzy way against a poor road team. Jazz 95, Bucks 86. Dallas/SA should be a great game. The Spurs are devastating even without Duncan, but the Mavs are hungry to bounce back from a close home loss to Miami. The Dirk vs LaMarcus Aldridge show will be a blast, and SAS will pull out a close one. JaVale McGee will not be able to save the Mavs. Spurs 98, Mavs 93. I have contacted Gucci, and they will provide his’n hers hot pink pumps for Beyonce and Peyton Manning.

/u/eg14000: Bulls win, the Nuggets are inconsistent when it comes to winning games. Hawks win, this was like a coin flip for me but in the end I had to go with the better team. Bucks win, when a decent team with talent is struggling and goes up against a beatable team they tend to win. Spurs win, Spurs don't lose often. Beyonce will have pink shoes.. (for cancer?).

And there you have it. Two games up for grabs this week and /r/DenverNuggets is once again either going to increase the lead or let everyone gain a couple on them. If you'd like to participate reach out to Russ Hamilton (@rscotham) or Alec Gwin (/u/IdRatherBeLurking), or for this Superbowl edition feel free to take your own guess at what color Beyonce's shoes will be in the poll below. Happy unofficial holiday weekend everyone!

If you’re keeping score (we had a push on the Mavericks -12 vs Nets so a W for everyone):

Stiffs Staff: 34-36 (Gordon Gross, 5-0, baller)

Stiffs Commenters: 38-32

Nuggets subreddit: 41-29 (/u/Tron7 also balling with a 5-0 score last week)

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