Welcome to week nine of the Pembroke Mafia Football League. This column’s going to be a short one, since the poor sap who writes it (that would be me) spent most of Tuesday celebrating Hyundai’s groundbreaking by trying to cover it in Black Creek and Savannah.

You know what’s cool? Giant bananas promoting Hyundai, that’s what’s cool. And Gamecocks.

Before that, he (me again) was busy celebrating South Carolina’s reappearance in the Associated Press Top 25. Sorry UGA fans, it’s only a matter of time before the Gamecocks are again Ruling The College Football Universe.

On to the standings. This weeks picks are noted in the official PMFL ledgers as kept by our Most Esteemed Republican Leader, Vice Petty Admiral (ret.) B.J. Clark.

First place: Gamecock fans Mike Clark, Rev. Lawrence Butler, Ted O’Neil have 25 misses each.

Second: Gamecock fan and District 5 County Commissioner Dr. Gene Wallace, 26 misses.

Third: Gamecock fans County Commission Chairman Carter Infinger, who had only 1 miss this week because he cheated, and Fire Chief Freddy Howell. They’ve got 28 misses.

Fourth: Gamecock fans District 1 County Commissioner Noah Covington and Bryan County Administrator Ben Taylor, 29 misses.

Fifth through Ninth, in order of appearance in standings: Gamecock fans me, Mike Brown , Alex Floyd, Dawnne Greene and B.J. Clark.

It’s a Gamecock world, folks. Deal with it. Besides, we’ve got troughs!