December 22, 2013: Sunday Showdown!

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Clockwise from the bottom left:

• If it is eye trouble, Leroy must be suffering from some severe eye problems. His face is almost touching the gigantic flat screen television. At that point, I don't even think he'll be able to see any better. If it isn't the sudden onset of blindness the other explanation, he's so desperate for female ogling that even the new weather girl on the local news broadcast becomes an event, might be even sadder. There might be a third option, that he is in some sort of catatonic state since all I see is a blank white screen. Whatever the case may be Loretta wastes no time exploiting it to earn a point. Loretta leads 1-0.
• Updating the home thermostat to a fancy modern password protected model seems like an implausibly tech savvy action by Leroy. Though he has been known to have shocking displays of intelligence when it comes to being cheap, especially if it antagonizes Loretta. I wouldn't have expected the cooler home temperature to bother Loretta all that much since we all know her heart pumps frigid ice water instead of blood. It's a push. Loretta still leads 1-0.
• That's how you play the game Leroy. Take a weakness (in this case your rampant alcoholism) and use it as a means to make Loretta angry. I'm surprised that Leroy was even allowed to go to a party without Loretta, maybe he left straight from the office. Usually Leroy comes off as more of an angry drunk than the garrulous sort. I guess it depends on his moods. Though he may end up spending the night on the lawn, Leroy scores himself a point and ties the day up 1-1.
• There's really no joke here. If this were a non-Sunday panel I would have a difficult time breaking down Leroy's statement any further. Still, it goes to the heart of the matter: Leroy hates Loretta's mother. Leroy hates Loretta's mother so much that he is allowing Loretta to drive them to her house in the hopes that they'll be involved in a car accident. He probably doesn't even care about possible injury or even death, both of those scenarios would be preferable to spending time with Loretta's mother. Leroy gets the point and takes a 2-1 lead.
• The world may have beaten Leroy's spirit down to a fine ash, but his belief in Santa Claus still oddly remains intact. I would say that is kind of charming if it wasn't driven entirely by a bitter decades long disappointment from his childhood. Does Leroy do this every year? Go to the mall and harass the Santa on duty? Does he really think that's the official Santa? Hasn't he seen Santas in other malls? Also, the sight of the beady eyed mom and her traumatized kid is priceless. Loretta swoops in for the point and ends the penultimate Sunday Showdown of the year in a 2-2 push.

Official Count:

Leroy - 117

Loretta - 149

Push - 90

Sunday Showdown Count:

Leroy - 13

Loretta - 21

Push - 17