The Boeing folks would be proud of us.

I just figured out our season standings for the high school football picks, and there's something about them that I thought was hilarious. You may not think so, but hear me out first.

The five members of The Sun Chronicle's sports staff are all one game apart from each other over 99 games, with Danny Crandall in the lead at 74-25 and Peter Gobis bringing up the rear at 70-29. But our averages all correspond with commercial jet aircraft manufactured by the Boeing Corp., and straingly enough, our corresponding planes sort of mirror our performance.

For instance, Danny leads the pack at .747. The 747, of course, was the flagship of Boeing's fleet for many years -- the first true jumbo jet, a leader in the industry, and the plane that still serves today as the platform for Air Force One, our President's conveyance around the world. Danny's our leader in the picks, so he gets the designation of Blue Ribbon One.

James Schneider is next at .737. The 737 is the workhorse of the Boeing fleet, and James is a workhorse for us, doubling his efforts by putting together the Foxboro Reporter's sports pages as well as working for the daily.

I'm standing at .727, and of course, the 727 was a revolutionary plane that changed the industry (and I'd like to think that I made a few positive changes here a long time ago). Northeast Air Lines (remember them?) used to call it the "Whisperjet" because it was so quiet, but no one has accused me of being stealthy lately. OK, so the analogy has a few holes in it.

Dale Ransom checks in at .717, and yes, there is a 717 in the Boeing fleet. It's the new regional jet in the fleet, and it's making its mark as a popular short-haul carrier. Airlines rely upon the regional jets to keep things moving from city to city, and we rely upon dale as our editor to keep our copy moving into print.

Finally, Gobis is at .707, and how fitting is that? The 707 was Boeing's breakthrough plane, the jet that revolutionized air travel for all time. Gobis was our first jet, and he's been flying high here since 1972.

Fun with airplanes. That's why I love to blog!