LAS VEGAS -- Nine weeks down, eight weeks to go.This is the de facto halfway point of the NFL season, as 22 of the 32 teams have played eight games -- half of the regular-season schedule -- with 10 teams having played nine and with byes coming up.In whats been admittedly a very interesting first half of the season for betting, Rufus Peabody and I will give our 10 biggest takeaways, including a breakdown of the Super Bowl odds and which team has been the luckiest to cover games.Rufus Peabodys midseason takeaways1. Parity is the highest it has been in recent memoryNew England and Seattle are head and shoulders above the field, and Cleveland is the worst team in the NFL by a large margin, but the rest of the league is pretty tightly clustered together in Massey-Peabodys predictive ratings. Jason Williams Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Terrence Ross Magic Jersey . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-terrence-ross-magic-jersey/ . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. D.J. Augustin Jersey . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Dwight Howard Magic Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Melbourne Victory have claimed a second heavyweight European scalp in a week, defeating a second-string Atletico Madrid 1-0 at Simonds Stadium.Nick Ansells 44th minute header from Fahid Ben Khalfallahs free kick was enough to earn Victory the stunning result, coming after last Saturday nights penalty shoot-out win over Juventus.Atletico were without many of their senior names after their exertions against Tottenham on Friday night, less than 48 hours prior.It meant the 16,652-strong crowd were denied a glimpse of Fernando Torres in action, but saw an entertaining match nonetheless.Victory gloveman Lawrence Thomas was kept busy by Diego Simeones team, which produced plenty of half-chances without cutting through.But Victory coach Kevin Muscat saw plenty to like in Geelong.New defensive signing Alan Baro performed well on his starting debut, with Leigh Broxham and Rashid Mahazi helping to quell the La Liga giants.I asked for some progress and I thought we got that this afternoon, said Muscat.We slowly started finding the solutions. In the second half I thought we controlled the game and dominated both with the ball and without.Atletico had the lions share of chances on goal but Victory cashed in on their best moment from a foul on Ben Khalfallah.In essennce, they out-Atletico-ed Atletico.dddddddddddd.Muscats side soaked up the pressure from the young touring team and rebounded to great effect.Ben Khalfallahs expert delivery found Ansell unmarked at the back post, where he headed past Slovenian international goalkeeper Jan Oblak.The contest was transformed on the hour mark, when Muscat made six changes with Wednesdays FFA Cup match in mind.Atletico still couldnt find a way through, giving Victory another win over a touring side.Simeone said he was happy with the performance and experience from their whirlwind tour of Melbourne.The overall experience has been very good. We were treated very well, he said through a translator.Weve experienced good grounds, good crowd participation and got what we came for.Muscat cleared Mitch Austin of serious injury after a clash that led to his early substitution.The recruit was floored by Atletico defender Emiliano Velazquez inside the matchs opening 30 seconds but Muscat said he would be fine for the FFA Cup round of 32 match on Wednesday.It was a direct knock knee to knee. Hell be fine, he said.Ill be very surprised if hes not available. ' ' '