Dec 30, 2008

Mothers

Check out this crazy story that took place right up the road from my office. I think his reaction is a bit excessive, but still brings up a very discerning trend that I see with mothers. They don't understand the meaning of loyalty. Too many times with myself or with my friends, I hear about the mother siding with an ex girlfriend when the son and the girl breakup. This happened to me when Amy and I broke up. The first thing out of my mom's mouth when I told her was "What did you do wrong?" What the hell is that all about. Then I had to hear for weeks on end about how great Amy was and that I should go back to her. That's great. That's exactly what I want to hear from my mom.

Then the same thing happened to Ben (twice) but his mom took it to another level. She actually stayed in contact with his ex's and would call Ben to tell him about what they were up to. What is in a mother's DNA to do this? Where is the loyalty to the son? You never see this happen with the Dad, only the mom.

And in the story above, this mom invites the guys ex wife to a Christmas party? And this is after a nasty divorce? Great idea. Way to send the guy over the edge.

Dec 29, 2008

Sports News

Baseball
1. I haven't commented at all about all the moves so far this offseason. I'm happy about getting Holiday on the A's, but it seems a little meaningless without Furcal. Now we are stuck with Crosby who is terrible offensively and defensively. This will kill our offense, which already has too many question marks with Chavez and Ellis coming back from injuries. I'm sure Beane will do something else before the start of the season, but what a huge letdown not to get Furcal. The bullpen will be our strength and our starters have a huge upside, but not everyone will pan out. I'm predicting 85 wins this year in a weak AL West.

2. The only thing that is giving me hope in the A's is that Texeria is no longer on the Angels. What a huge break. Now I just have to wait for Manny to sign somewhere else.

3. Brad Penny to the Sox is a steal. 1 year $5 million contract with a $3 million incentive? Um, where were the A's in this? When Penny is healthy he is dominate.

4. I know its just ESPN being ESPN, but can we give the "Yanks ruining baseball" a break? Ugh. Haven't they been saying this for the past 20 years? Yanks reduce their payroll, and all they can say is that they spend too much money. Come on. Its makes it all the better when TB kicks all of their asses come next year.


NFL:
1. So all the road teams are favored in the Wild Card Weekend? Wow. This has me scared.

2. So if you took the under in Eric's "When will Romeo be fired", its time to cash in. Its sad to see that some of the other coaches are still employed. How can I make any Herm Edwards to the Browns jokes when he isn't fired yet?

3. Congrats to Eric for winning the pickem pool. Very impressive. I am a believer in your ability to only pick NFL games. Hockey, College Basketball and Football, and Soccer not so much.

NFL Wagering
1. Ohhh, so many things to like in the upcoming weekend in gambling. Taking Indy (-1.5) and the Under (51) is like taking candy from a baby. Norv in the playoffs and LT injured is making me giddy. If you watched last nights game, Denver couldn't stop Sproiles (every other team in the league has) and they also threw two interceptions in the red zone. Manning won't do that. SD isn't that good.

2. Wait a second. I get to make more money off of Tarvis Jackson? What a nice late Christmas present. Take Philly -3.

3. Miami vs Baltimore- As bad as I want to take the Ravens giving 3, a rookie QB on the road in the playoffs usually means bad things. Wait, has that ever happened before? I think I'm going to just take the over (37).

4. Atlanta vs Arizona- See above. I'll take the home team getting 2.5 against a rookie QB everyday of the week.

College Football Wagering:

1. OK, someone please talk me out of wagering on the Terps tomorrow.

2. Then loan me some money to unload on USC and Texas. The Big Ten is terrible.

3. Did you know that San Diego has two bowls games in the same stadium two weeks apart? I know it happens with the Orange Bowl, but I thought that was interesting.

Dec 27, 2008

NFL Week 17: Gene Steratore


Here we are, the end of the season. I have put the Crennel firing watch at 16 1/2 hours after the end of the Steelers game...in 16 1/2 hours after the end of the game, the official word will come down and be reported on ESPN. Are you taking the over or under?

Week 17 saves the best ref for last ... Gene Steratore. Quality official, was the lead ref for one of the great Browns games last year (Browns-Seahawks), and I am convinced that he will get a good playoff assignment this year and a Super Bowl somewhere down the line.

Back to the Browns...4-12 this year, and back to the drawing board with a new coach and probably a new GM.....maybe, just maybe, we can turn it around in 2009 like the Falcons did this year. I think the talent is here on the team to be 8-8 this year....with a decent coach (Cowher? Marty?), I think 9-7 (or better?) is definitely possible next year. And the schedule gets a bit easier, playing the NFC North and the AFC West.

TB 24, Oak 13. I'm done trying to figure out either of these teams.

Pit 24, Cle 6. I can't figure this line out. We haven't scored an offensive touchdown in 5 games - and we are only 11 point underdogs? I know Pit will be playing their 2nd string...but cmon.

Car 23, NO 20. I think last week took a lot out of Carolina, and the Saints may win here.

Min 20, NYG 17. Like last year, the Giants will play hard to the end.
Ind 20, Ten 17. Neither team has anything to play for. And we Browns fans know that Jim Sorgi is no good....so why am I picking this game for the Colts, again?

Hou 27, Chi 17 After last week's close shave, I think the Bears are a fraud.

GB 23, Det 16. The Lions will make this close.

Cin 24, KC 21. This will officially send the Browns to last in the AFC North.

NE 31, Buf 17. The Pats will go all out in this one.

Atl 24, StL 10. Falcons stll may get a division title.

SF 24, Was 16. Yes, the collapse of the Skins continues.

Az 28, Sea 17. I just gotta believe that the Seahawks shot their last wad last week, and Arizona needs to prove something - anything! - at home.

Phi 24, Dal 23. I have no idea...so I'm picking how I will be rooting.

NYJ 20, Mia 17, OT. Would it be any other way - coming down to OT?

Bal 26, Jax 10. Yes, the Ravens clinch a playoff spot. Wow.

SD 27, Den 24. I don't think the Broncos will lie down and give this spot to the Chargers. And it is Norv Turner as the Chargers coach, after all.

Best bets: 15 this week: Last week: 7-7-1; overall: 135-100-7.

Pit -11 (I usually never bet on the Browns game, but c'mon....)
Car/NO Under 51
NYG +7
Ind +3
Hou -3
Det +11
KC/Cin over 39
NE -5.5
NE/Buf over 40
StL/Atl under 44
SF -3
AZ -7
NYJ/Mia under 43
Bal -11
Den +8

Dec 26, 2008

So much anger

I hate fucking Pottery Barn. How are simple wooden chairs for a kitchen table $250 a pop? Oh, I have an option of a $99 chair, but it will only fit one of my ass cheeks on it. The chairs are actually twice as much as the table that we want to buy. How are they in business? Oh, that's right, they have an amazing marketing campaign that brain washes all women into thinking that their furniture is the only crap that matters. Trying to talk Carol out of shopping at Pottery Barn is like trying to convince Lee and Wiz to stay at the Monte Carlo. Impossible.

And what the hell is the deal with rugs? I love my hardwood floors, but for some reason we need to put a $2000 rug over top of it. Then why did we get the upgraded hardwoods? Why not just carpeting? ARGH!!! OK, I'm done with my Seinfeld type rant. Sorry.

Dec 23, 2008

Rant

Can I just tell you that I really don't like Christmas anymore? Maybe its because I'm cross country and it requires pretty solid planning to ensure everything gets back East or to the Midwest in time without it costing $1,000. Or maybe its my office where every supervisor and manager has their hand out expecting a gift from me. I tried to make this easier this year when I took them all out to a nice dinner and then the women went to go see Wicked and the men went to the Laugh Factory for a show. But even with this I had one supervisor sort of ask me where my present was for them today. Umm, the $3,000 in dinner and tickets wasn't enough for you? Unbelievable.

So I guess I'm a little bit jaded. Over the years I have become to like sending out Christmas Cards and I've gotten better and better in sending these out timely. I usually go with a traditional card and keep it simple, but this year Carol wanted to make her own cards and so that is what was sent out. So this entire process of sending out cards really isn't a downer for me.

But what is are the cards that I receive from my friends. I have two pet peeves on Christmas Cards. I absolutely hate the "Pictures of My Kids Christmas Cards" and I hate the year in review summary I get from others. Here's what upsets me:

1. These cards were obviously massed produced either by Target or on their home computer. It probably took the couple 5 minutes to send out 100 of these cards. Where is the time and effort in signing each one and possibly writing something nice and sweat.

2. I don't want to see a forced close up picture of your kids from Sears in their holiday best. Rarely do the kids seem happy in the pictures. Now I have to have these pictures stare at me while I watch TV for a month.

3. What ever happened to the old Far Side Christmas cards with a picture of Santa yelling up the chimney "Where are the presents? Do I have to come up there and knock some heads together" with a little kid watching from behind the couch with the caption "Billy realizes that Santa is a jerk." I love these things and now they are in danger of permanently disappearing because everyone is printing out picture cards.

4. If you must send out pictures of the kids, then include the parents as well, since they are the ones I'm friends with. I hate the guessing game of whose kids they are.

5. Puts added pressure on me to have kids. Its bad enough that Carol's best friend is pregnant, but now I have 10 Christmas cards with kids on it staring at Carol every evening. Makes for a great time at home right now. Thanks a lot guys.

6. Year in Review Summary- Really only one thing to say about this. Why? Do you really not talk to anyone frequent enough that you feel like you need to give us a summary of everything going on in life. For Christ sake, you are just not that important and most of us don't care.

So I know that this will result in me getting either zero Christmas Cards next year or 1,000 photos of everyone's kids for Easter, Thanksgiving, or 4th of July.

Sunday

Moved into the new house. Had some issues with the movers, which resulted in me overpaying and having to move everything other than a few big furniture items. Guess I deserved this by going with Movers for Less Inc. Ugh. So on Sunday I walked down to the local Wing joint to watch the afternoon games. Few thoughts while watching the crap afternoon games.

1. Walked into the bar and there were seven guys sitting next to each other wearing the following jerseys; Sean Taylor (Skins), Rodney Harrison (SD), Jake Plummer (Den), Elway (Den), Jerome Bettis (Pit), David Carr (Houston), and Natron Means (SD). Not one current jersey between the seven of them. Classic.

2. $3.00 for 6 excellent wings, along with $5.00 for 22 ounce Blue Moons, plus Direct TV equals Derek's new favorite place to watch games. This also equals Derek losing the weight loss challenge to Eric. I need to send more Arby's coupons to Eric to make it an even playing field.

3. I will continue to comment on the Coors Light commercials. The Brian Billick commercials are a thing of beauty. I absolutely love it. I'm so excited for the super bowl to see if they have news ones all set.

4. I have realized that I sound like a homeless person while I watch football (or any sporting events) by myself at a bar. I'm shouting things out randomly at TVs. Laughing at my phone. Writing random things in my notebook while mumbling to myself. I had a table of two guys sitting next to me a the bar on Sunday look over to me as I was shaking my head and doing one of those I can't believe this is happening to me laughs saying "Unfucking believable", while writing something in my book. I think they were getting scared.

5. Random Vegas Note #1: I'm excited for our trip in March for many reasons, but one of the top ones will be pulling an all nighter with Jay drinking and gambling. This became an annual thing with us a few years back, and it usually ended up with us sitting the Wheel of Fortune machine hammered, making calls back home at 5:00am in the morning.

6. Random Vegas Thought #2: What a a bunch of degenerates going this year!! Eric and I were just talking about it. Not a weak member in the group. This could be very very dangerous. We do lose a valuable members in Micah and Kermit, but gain Jay and Laura. With Eric, Wiz, Lee, Jay, Laura, Don, Mike, and myself as the main core along with Dick and his two older buddies coming along to kick off the weekend on Wednesday and Thursday, this should be exciting. Too bad my bankroll will probably be the smallest its been in about 4 years.

Dec 21, 2008

I wish I was joking...

...but I'm not.

During the telecast today, Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon were questioning the Browns' defensive strategy.

"This is not rocket science. You know the Bengals are going to run hard and limit their passes. Do we watch more game tape than the Browns' coaching staff?"

And he wasn't being sarcastic.

Question:
The Browns now have not scored an offensive TD in 20 quarters. And we go to Pittsburgh next week.
Any guesses on the line? I'm thinking 19 1/2.

By the way: leading passer in the game: Ken Dorsey, 68 yards.

Dec 20, 2008

NFL Week 16: Tony Corrente


Week 16 of this interminable NFL season is upon us. We finish up the last two weeks with two of the better refs in the league. Tony Corrente will be doing a Super Bowl soon - in fact, he was the alternate for Super Bowl 40 in Detroit. Just think - if he did the game instead of McAulay, would Mike Holmgren still be coaching, or be retired with 2 Super Bowl rings? Would Cowher still be with the Steelers? Would Bettis still be playing too? The mind boggles...

Anyway, the picks for this week (and you know I am honest with you, so I will provide my picks for the first 2 games this week):

Ind 27, Jax 9
Bal 23, Dal 20. Yes, I did predict this....I picked them to win straight up in my pick em pool.

TB 23, SD 13. Geesh, has San Diego mailed in this season, no?

Pit 23, Ten 21. I have no idea what will happen here. Will Pit be worn out after 5 tough games in a row? Are the Titans really this good?

(By the way, can I maim the ShamWOW guy so he doesn't appear on TV again? )

SF 20, StL 19. Just a hunch. Probably a bad one.

NE 33, Az 13. The Pats are desperate and need wins. They will jump on the Cardinals early and often.

Mia 20, KC 13. This AFC East will go down to next week.

NO 27, Det 17. Not this week. NO is just too good with Brees.

NYJ 24, Sea 16. Everyone wants to pick the Seahawks. I don't know.....the Seahawks had to hold on for dear life against the Rams....

Hou 27, Oak 9. This just smells like a trap for Houston. Can you have trap games for non-playoff teams?

Den 22, Buf 16. I can't believe that the Bills are that bad....are they?

Phi 24, Was 13. The Eagles will make the playoffs, I predict.

Atl 24, Min 20. Upset of the week.

NYG 20, Car 19. I have no clue about these teams anymore.

Chi 28, GB 13. The Bears want revenge from the 37-3 drubbing they received 5 weeks ago.

Cle 14, Cin 13. The exact score of the Cle-Cin game in 1991. 4 field goals and a safety for the Browns gave them the win. The kicker for the Browns that day? The rookie Matt Stover.

Best bets: 15 this week. Last week: 6-7-2 (overall: 128-93-6).

Ind -6 (W)
Bal +5.5 (W)
TB -3.5
SD/TB under 42.5
Pit/Ten over 34
Stl +5
NE -8
Mia -3.5
NYJ -3.5
Hou -7
Hou/Oak under 43.5
Buf/Den under 45
Phi -5
Atl +3
Chi -4

Dec 17, 2008

Quotes from a 7 year old

Ah, to be an innocent 7 year old....these are actual quotes from Freddie over the past few weeks:

1) As Freddie and I were going to the Browns game before Thanksgiving, he saw that #10, Brady Quinn, was going to be the starter.

"Anderson's not starting?"

No, I said. Brady is in now.

"Hmmmm....is it an NFL rule that teams have to change quarterbacks every month?"

(I haven't asked him yet what he thinks about Dorsey).

2) Church pageant: we asked Freddie and Warren if they wanted to be in the Church Christmas pageant. After much hemming and hawing, Freddie agreed. "I'll do it this year", he said, "and then I'll take next year off. Then I'll do it again when I'm in 4th grade."

It's hard being a star, apparently.

3) Christmas time! Freddie and Janice went out shopping for a present, apparently for me. At the dinner table that night:

Freddie: "Hey Dad, we went out and got you a Christmas present. But it's a secret!"

Me: "Really? You can't tell me? You can't give me a hint?"

Freddie: "No! Mom said we're not allowed to tell you what your present is - and if we do, she'll take it back to GameStop."

Janice then buried her head in her hands.

So - is it Madden 09 or Tiger Woods PGA?

Calling Wiz...


And just what impact will this freak snow storm have on the casinos?


No flights are coming in or leaving Vegas today - and probably tomorrow. Here's a shocker: McCarran airport does not have snow removal equipment. Really?

Dec 15, 2008

Post Office

Why do fat old dumb people continue to fuck everything up for the rest of us! I'm at the post office today to buy some stamps for my Christmas cards. The line at the counter is about 20 people deep, but there is a self check out machine on the side that doesn't have that many people in line. So I jump into that line, but then realize that there is a 300 pound 60 year old female trying to buy postage for about 10 packages, but has no clue how to work the machine. Why do people do this? If you don't know how to use it, don't even attempt it unless there is no one in the store. Slowly behind me a line of about 8 people form, so now the entire Post Office is packed and people are getting mad. We all try to offer our help to her, but guess what, SHE DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH!!! OK, maybe that is not entirely true, but she speaks very broken English and we realize that it is a lost cause to even start to explain to her how this thing works. One man in front of me sort of pushed her into the other line with a collective sigh of relief from everyone else. This could of resulted in an all out riot if she was allowed to stay there any longer.

Material

I've been sort of quiet on the blog recently, mainly because I really didn't have much to talk about. I've been knee deep in work, buying a house, and dealing with the collapse of my fantasy football teams. Below are my recent ramblings to start off the week.

1. Gov Blago- I'm surprised I haven't seen any chatter on the blog about this idiot. The one thing I love though is his hair. And the fact that he has a hair brush that must be with him at all times and he calls "The Football". Nice.

2. And what is Obama doing with this Blago stuff. It's obvious to most of us that it is only natural and necessary for his staff to contact Blago about the Senate seat, so why are they being so hush hush about it? And this is after the FBI stated that Obama did nothing wrong. What is going on here? It's making them look like they did something wrong.

3. And the final word about Blago. Wouldn't he be a great addition to our Vegas trip? He would definitely be in charge of our room reservations. "Boys, what we have here is gold. 8 people wanting to spend money in Vegas. If they don't comp our rooms, Fuck them. Mirage, what are you going to give us? Nothing, Fuck you. We will stay in our cars then."

4. Bush and shoes- Um, wow. Two things from this shoe throwing incident. First, great job by Bush in dodging the shoes. Amazing reaction time. He should be a boxing trainer after he returns to Texas. And secondly, great form by the shoe thrower. The first throw is expected to be on target, but the second one, not only was he on target, but he did it while having some hands in his face. All in all, very impressive by everyone.

5. Things you don't want to hear your government say. "We have run out of tear gas". What the hell is going on in Greece.

6. Great story last week in the Wall Street Journal. Chucke Cheese has seen a sharp increase in violence at their MidWest locations. I guess the business idea of serving alcohol to adults was not a great idea. A cop in Milwaukee stated that he has been called to Chucke Cheese 4 times as more than the biker bar down the street.

7. So on Saturday I traveled up to Pasadena to some small English bar to watch Hull City vs. Liverpool. Yup. Woke up at 5:00am and drove 90 minutes to watch a soccer game. The reason was justified as I promised one of my supervisors, a South African who is a huge Liverpool fan, that I would watch a game with him. And since my favorite gambling team, Hull City was playing his team, I decided to bit the bullet and head on up there. And I was very impressed. The bar was a tiny hole in the wall, but very cool. 60 people crammed into the bar to watch the game. 58 of them were Liverpool fans. I was the only guy in the bar that didn't have a British accent. In the end it was a good time. Hull City took a 2-0 lead, but blew it, and ended up 2-2 tie. Still won money though, so I was happy.

8. Let's go Browns tonight!!! I'm up by 25 points in my one fantasy league and the other guy has McNabb going tonight. I have finished the regular season in second place and overall points leader in both of my leagues and I could win a total of ZERO dollars for the year. ugh.

Dec 14, 2008

The Frog is Famous


I meant to post this earlier, but things got crazy at work. As some of you may know, one of our own appeared in ESPN Magazine. Kermit lives in and owns the "Heisman House" in Cleveland, the birthplace of John Heisman, and was interviewed by ESPN Magazine. Here is the article.

Frankly, I'm very disappointed. Topics that I was expecting, but were not mentioned, in an interview with Kermit for a national publication:

- a discussion of vodka brands
- strippers
- cheeseburgers (note: why didn't you pose in front of 45 McDonald's cheeseburgers for a picture of a "trophy" that you owe me)
- the word "Mer"
- your thought process when trying to make a 8-foot, straight in, uphill par putt against Steve or I.

But a good read anyway!

NFL Week 15: John Parry


Here we are in the final weeks of the NFL season. For some teams and fans, it is a prelude to the excitement and drama of January playoff football; for others, these are the critical weeks that represent a do-or-die scenario for the teams and cities.

And then you have those teams who are completely out of the race, and have nothing to look forward to. A lame duck coach, a QB that can't throw the ball more than 10 yards, and a defense that has holes all over the place. THese are the anonymous teams and the fans just want the pain to end.

So here's John Parry - a fairly anonymous official who grew up in Akron. That may explain why I never see him on Browns games - although the photo above is from the Cleveland-Oakland game last year. I'm not sure Parry is a playoff caliber official - it may say something that the photo we could find was from that game between 2 of the NFL's doormat franchises right now.

By the way, my wish list for a new Browns coach in 2009:

1. Bill Cowher
2. Marty Schottenheimer
3. Steve Spagnuolo

Sea 20, StL 16. This wins the award for "Stinker game of the week". Next week's award: Cin at Cle, and finally, KC at Cin.

NYJ 27, Buf 17. Not sure what to think about the Jets any more. Have teams figured them out?

Mia 23, SF 19. May not be as easy as everyone thinks.

SD 28, KC 27. I'm not ready to predict an upset here, but it would not surprise me.

GB 20, Jax 17. What happened to the Packers this year?

Ind 31, Det 10. Three more to go for the Lions

Ten 27, Hou 20. I think Houston will make too many mistakes that will prevent a win.

Cin 17, Was 16. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me four times.....ugh. I just have no faith in the Redskins. None.

TB 23, Atl 20. The Bucs are desperate, and Gruden will find a way.

Az 20, Min 17. What motivation do the Cards have here to play well?

NE 28, Oak 10. I think the Pats received a wake up call last week.

Car 27, Den 16. I think the Panthers are on a roll right now.

Pit 19, Bal 16, OT. Pit's defense against a rookie QB? I'll take the points.

NYG 31, Dal 23. Dallas has just been too inconsistent for me, period.

Phi 31, Cle 3. I'll be in Puerto Rico for this one.......far away from this upcoming debacle. The Browns will have 3 Monday night games in 2008 - and in all three games, they had a different starting QB.

Best bets: 15 of them; last week: 11-4. Overall: 121-86-4

Chi -3 (push)
Sea/Stl Under 42
KC +6
SD/KC over 45
GB/Jax under 46.5
Ind -17
Ten -3
Cin +6.5
TB +3
Min/Az under 46.5
NE -6.5
Car -7.5
Pit +2.5
NYG +3
NYG/Dal over 45.5

Dec 8, 2008

Depressed

Yup, another "close but no cigar" finish in another gambling pool. Thank you very fucking much DeAngelo Williams. 200 yards and two touchdowns sank my top ranked team in the playoffs. I ended up losing by 2 points. Thanks for keeping the streak a live you fucking piece of shit.


Went out to Palm Springs this weekend with Carol and her friends. Great time actually, and it was topped off with an evening at an Indian Casino. Nice run at BJ and Pai Gow. At Pai Gow, sat next to a nice old Jewish lady playing $50 a hand and another $25 on the bonus. She gave me grief for not playing it. Made for a nice hour of playing. Taught Carol's friends and they are now hooked. Then the evening went downhill. Played some more BJ with an idiot with a handle bar mustache who split tens. This led to a friendly little conversation between him and I and me pulling my money and watching him lose hand after hand and me openly laughing with the dealer at him. Let's just say he wasn't too happy. Then I got hooked into a quick game of Indian Casino craps. The one that is played on a regular size craps table,but they use cards instead of dice. In 4 minutes I lost $50. No matter how hard I try to stay away from this shit game, it always pulls me in.

And what puts me into full drinking mode is checking the Sirius/XM stock price.

Dec 7, 2008

NFL Week 14: Bill Corollo


We're getting to the homestretch here of the NFL regular season...and with the Browns' absolute collapse this year, it's leaving me deflated. Here's Bill Carollo. I got nothing else about him - he seems like a decent official, I have never had problems with him during a Browns game.

That's like what it's going to be at 1:00 today. Here's the Browns...starring Ken Dorsey. Wow. Playing at a feared defensive line at Tennessee, who has the best record in the AFC.

And to make matters worse, who is the announcing crew for this game? With Tennessee, the best team in the AFC, you'd think we get some sort of decent crew, like Gus or Dick or Greg.

But no - we get the #8 team - Don Criqui. God, is he terrible. So I get to listen to that as we fail to gain 100 yards of offense in a 51-3 loss today to the Titans. This is feeling like Spergon Wynn and the 2000 Browns all over again.

(and that was bad football.....)

NYG 27, Phi 20. It's hard for me to see how much of a hurt this Plaxico thing really is for the Giants. They've got so many other weapons....

NO 27, Atl 20. I think NO is better than their record.

Ind 23, Cin 10. Two weeks until the Fitzpatrick/Dorsey struggle at "sold-out" Browns' stadium!

GB 27, Hou 13. The bleeding will stop for the Packers here.

Min 27, Det 17. Is it really going to happen? The Lions go 0-16?

Chi 27, Jax 13. Jacksonville is like the stock market 6 months ago. All the signs were there for a collapse, but no one truly grasped how bad the situation was.

Sea 20, NE 17. Cassel vs Holmgren? Why do I still fall for the Seahawks?

NYJ 31, SF 20. I can't see the Jets losing another one....can they?

Den 23, KC 17. A letdown game for the Broncos

Buf 24, Mia 23. I have no idea who will show up for these two teams.

Pit 24, Dal 13. Wow, Pittsburgh is better than I thought. And I think Dallas is too weak emotionally to face teh Steelers.

Az 31, StL 13. Who has Warner on their fantasy team?

Bal 19, Was 9. OK, OK, I give up. I'll pick the Ravens this week (and of course, I will lose...)

Car 20, TB 17. There is not enough publicity for this game. This may be the best matchup we've seen in 6 weeks. And no one cares.

Best bets: 15 for today. Last week: 8-6. Overall: 110-82-4.

Phi/NYG over 42
NO -3
Cin/Ind under 41.5
GB -6
Hou/GB under 47.5
Chi -6.5
Sea +6.5
NYJ -3.5
NYJ/SF over 44.5
KC +9.5
KC/Den under 48.5
Pit -3
Az -14
Bal -5.5
Was/Bal under 35.5

Dec 6, 2008

Oh that Christmas spirit

Yeah, nothing fills you up with the Christmas spirit more than using a chain saw inside your own house when trying to set up a Christmas tree....

.... a tree that was cut in your own yard.....

.... and then you mis-measured where to cut the tree, so when you thought you got the top 9' of it, you actually got the top 14'......

.... and while cutting it, the tree almost falls directly on you and your father in law....

Oh yeah, December is starting off well.....

Dec 5, 2008

Greatest Email Complaint Ever!!!

So this is what I have to deal with on almost a weekly basis. Crazy customers and crazy claimants. This is an email that I received today. The man is emailing our defense attorney, and copied in myself and a couple of other managers.


Subject: Mr. Attorney, O.J. Simpson is sentenced, Do you still think that it is a good idea for your to threaten me??

As you can see O.J. Simpson AT THE END is sentenced!!!!
With the way you are going your time is going to come. I was wondering what are the sentencing guidelines for violation of Racketeer Corrupt Organizations Act? P.C. 550(b)(2) and (b)(3) and P.C. 182? Topping that threatening a potential litigant to not pursuit his legal rights in court while you have him on the speaker phone and your "staff" are listening???

By the way any thing happens to me, due to the statements you have made, the first person the detectives are going to question is you. Well it is a good idea to think before you act on your revengeful thoughts.

AS I HAVE PROMISED MY LAWSUIT WILL BE FILED AND I WILL NOTICE YOUR DEPOSITION AND OTHER PEOPLE'S WHO WERE INVOLVED.
FURTHERMORE, I HAVE ATTACHED A COPY OF THE CIVIL COMPLAINT TO THIS e-mail FOR YOUR REVIEW WHICH GIVES YOU PROOF THAT I AM WORKING ON THE LAWSUIT AND YOUR THREATS DID NOT WORK!!!!!!


End



I go onto

Dec 3, 2008

Tune for the Craps table

Hello from Greensboro! Coming home from the plant today, I turned on an oldies country station on AM - and this gem is now burned into my brain:

How many biscuits can you eat, this mornin',
How many biscuits can you eat, this evenin',
How many biscuits can you eat,
Forty-nine and a ham of meat,
This mornin', this evening, right now.

Apparently, this is an old bluegrass tune from the 50s. Oh yes, this is perfect to sing at the craps table in March.

Dec 2, 2008

The Republican Recovery, part 1 (of 53?)

I've been thinking about the key ideas that the Republican party needs to embrace to set themselves up for a recovery in 2010. It's clear that the party has a crisis of faith right now - what,exactly, does it stand for?

On a side note, the Washington Post has been putting together a series of stories on online betting - the story yesterday was about whether or not offshore wagering is even legal.

Barney Frank was quoted in the piece, trying to compare online gambling to horse racing:

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the sponsor of a bill to legalize online gambling, said that even today, "you can't get a straight answer if horse racing is illegal. It's total hypocrisy and mishmash." He calls the ban on Internet betting "an outrageous interference in Americans' personal freedoms."


I completely agree with Rep. Frank.

Step 1 in a Republican recovery: draft an issue statement that covers wagering and Ameicans' choices - and that is completely consistent across all forms. You want to take a stand against on-line wagering? Well, ok - but then the party needs to make sure we outline state keno, OTB, and other forms.


My advice to the party: be consistent and remove any whiff of hypocrisy. I'm in favor of legalizing all of it, but I can understand if others don't want to support it at all. If they go halfway - horse racing is ok, on line is not - then it shwos the party is out of touch with today's voters - especially the younger (people in their 20s and 30s) vote. If they support some gambling but not others, they give the impression that teh party believes people still go to Horse races in their Sunday best (complete with fedoras) and poker rooms are still run by the mobs.

Please, get into the 21st century.

Dec 1, 2008

Interesting Free Agent article

This is an article that talks about Schilling's negotiations with Boston back in november of 2003. An interesting first hand look of some behind the scenes stuff that goes on in big free-agent/trade discussion.

Quick Thoughts

As the market crumbles, here are a couple quick thoughts for Monday afternoon:

  1. Am I the only one excited for Brody Jenner's new MTV show Bromance? Now where is Spencers spin off?
  2. Have you ever seen video of yourself hammered? Wow, Carol had some video of us in Destin, FL back in September and it was scary. I looked like a member of the Megan's Law program and Carol was barking out orders to everyone. Not flattering. Something that I would never want people at work to see.
  3. Watched "The Hammer" over the weekend. Not great, but not too bad. Perfect afternoon movie when you got nothing else to do. Adam Corolla wasn't too bad in it.
  4. US Car Companies- Who are these executives? God its sad. How are they just now putting together viability plans? At this stage? Um, where was this about 2 years ago. OK, fine what about 3 months ago? But now, don't you think that is a little too late?