Scoring my Emmy picks: How'd I do?

The Emmy Awards were handed out this past Sunday night, and while there were a fair share of surprises this year, there were many absolute non-shockers. ("The Daily Show" won its 853rd straight Variety Series trophy, for example.) Even though I've been trying to see as many of the new shows as I can for my Fall Preview review series, I do have a little breathing room (but not much, as the new CBS dramas "Vegas" and "Elementary" are up next week; mark your calendars appropriately), so I figured it would be a good chance for me to take stock of how well I did in my picks.

And, just to make it fun, a simple scoring system: One point for each pick I got right, no points for being wrong. Sounds totally fair and equitable -- and I promise not to gloat.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family" (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"

Okay, I predicted two would win from "Modern Family" (which was not an unsafe bet, really), but I thought that Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara were going to be taking the stage. Oh, well. I'll claim half-a-point for each, giving me one full point. (Hey, my goofy TV column, my arbitrary rules. This ain't exactly rocket surgery, y' know.)

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Jon Cryer, "Two And A Half Men" (CBS)

Cryer seemed more shocked than anyone else that he won. He even exhorted the audience to "not panic ... there's obviously been some kind of mistake ... " when he accepted the trophy. I had picked Louis C.K. to ride a wave of critical acclaim to "a few wins," and that this would be one of them. (I meant to say that he'd win two writing Emmys, but did I put that in the column? Noooo.) No points.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" (HBO)

I picked Amy Poehler, clearly forgetting that the Emmy voters love Ms. Louis-Dreyfus. This is the third Emmy win she's had for the third different series where she's played the lead female character. Good for her (and for the audience: she delivered a great, funny bit where she started to read Poehler's acceptance speech by mistake), but bad for me. No points -- again.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad" (AMC)

Paul took home a second Emmy for the shelf (and it's a deserved one, admittedly), but at the expense of my pick, Giancarlo Esposito. Ah, well, at least it's another half-point for my otherwise increasingly depressing scoresheet.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey" (PBS)

I picked Christina Hendricks from AMC's "Mad Men," which set a dubious record this year -- the most nominations (17!) without a single win. Does this mean I need to stop picking the actors of "Mad Men" to win accolades, at least until its final season? Probably. Will I? Who knows. No points -- for the third (and not last) time.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Damian Lewis, "Homeland" (Showtime)

My Five-Star, Grade AAA, Stone-Cold, Can't-Miss, Set-It-And-Forget-It Absolute Lock To Win this trophy -- Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" -- didn't. I blame myself, really. No points.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Just when I thought I was down and out, I got one absolutely, totally right. No half-point shenanigans here! Even the NFL replacement refs can't take this one away from me. One point.

Outstanding Drama Series

"Homeland"

Showtime's first series to win the top drama prize had a great night overall. They also picked up the drama series writing Emmy, beating out perpetual winner "Mad Men," which may not have seemed like an omen of things to come, but Lewis' win was. I still contend that "Breaking Bad" was better this year than pretty much anything else on TV, but I'm not an Emmy voter. No points.

Outstanding Comedy Series

"Modern Family"

And back I come! Yeah, I'm late -- and further behind than Idaho State by now -- but a point's a point, and I'll take it without an iota of prejudice.

My final tally: 3.5 points out of a possible 10. If this were baseball, I'd be in the thick of a batting title race. And in horseshoes (or hand grenades, for that matter), I'd also be doing pretty doggone well. But, as you can clearly tell -- since this is a column in a newspaper's entertainment guide, after all -- it isn't. Regrets? Naturally.

I mean, if only I'd included all my technical category picks ...

... then I'd have really embarrassed myself. I mean, I wasn't even close on Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special. Not close at all.