NFL Week 6: Juniper

The 6th at Augusta is a relatively short par 3, downhill to a large but tricky green. The scenery is beautiful - it is next to the 16th and you have to hit over a hill filled with blooming flowers - but the hole itself is unremarkable, except for the green.

You must position yourself on the correct portion of the green to guarantee a par - if you are on the wrong tier, it's death - and you can't 2 putt. The tee shot is not the issue - the problems arise on the green.

As I was going through the games, the picking seemed fairly striaghtforward this week until the later games - then it became difficult. The 1:00 games seemed easy to pick winners - but the 4:00 and onward presented challenges. Az-Sea? Chi-Atl? Den-SD? A good day picking can be for nought if you don't finish properly.

As I was racking my brain for 6th holes that are a par 3 that fit this description, the only one that came to mind was the 6th at Grand Victoria. A short par 3 (140 yards) over water puts you on a green that is severely sloped. A certain Phillies fan on the blog putted off the green last time we played. However, it's easy to lose concentration on a casino golf course - if you get off to a bad start, all you want to do is leave after 9 and go roll the dice. They should hold all Amateur tournaments at Casino golf courses to additionally test the mental states of golfers.

But then I came upon anohter par-3 6th hole, one that is probably the highlight of my golfing career. It was at Kirtland CC in Cleveland, and I was playing in the 2003 US Open Sectional. If I win, I go on to play with Tiger, im Furyk and all at Olympia Fields (in, honestly, one of the more forgettable US Opens in memory).

After chipping in for birdie on #1 (why didn't the USGA replace the 36-hole round with a sudden death playoff?), I was even coming to #6. I hit the green, and faced a very delicate 25 footer down the hill.

There were about 40 people around the green - half were part of the Youngstown Mafia* following my playing partner (we were in twosomes), and half were there to see Chad Campbell playing 4 groups behind. The 6th green was near the clubhouse, so it was a logical point for spectators to gather watching players go by.

I somehow rolled in the 25 footer to go 1 under, and with the crowd gently clapping (which included Kermit, who managed to get out of bed at get to the course by 9:30 am!) - I gave them my patented pompous, arrogant wave. It's the smug one-handed subtle wave that I used to piss Steve off with in 1990 - and I kept it ever since.

Anyway, with that trip down memory lane over, let's see if the Browns will allow me to give that arrogant wave to my Steelers neighbor this week. On to the picks:

KC 20, Was 17. Gees, most of you probably think I'm a Chiefs fan - by the way I pick them every week.

TB 17, Car 16. I think Carolina is awful and can lose on the road to anyone.

Pit 20, Cle 13. I don't think people realize that the Browns defense has actaully been playing solid the last few games.

NO 27, NYG 20. I base this solely on the fact that the Giants haven't beaten anyone of note.

Bal 31, Min 24. I'm interested to see how Baltimore stops Jared Allen - like we did in week 1. And also the fact that Minnesota strgguled to win against the only decent team they played (San Fran). And I don't think the Ravens will lose 3 in a row. You could say that I'm trying to buy a Ravens loss here. If they win , well, I win money. If they lose, I'm happy.

The perfect score here is Min 25, Bal 24.

Jax 23, StL 13. Ugh. And someone actually was thinking of taking the Jags in the suicide pool?

GB 31, Det 17. No defense for Detroit will allow Rodgers to take advantage and score early and often.

Hou 24, Cin 23. Based on the zig-zag theory, it's time to pick the Texans; and the Bengals are due for another letdown. They had the big win vs. the Steelers, then laid an egg against the Browns; they had a big win against the Ravens last week. I don't think the Bengals are good enough to bring their A game week in and week out, consistently.

Sea 23, Az 17. I have no idea on the NFC West. Really.

Phi 27, Oak 7. You have to go against Oakland every week until 1) they cover, or 2) the line is 20 or more. Right?

NYJ 27, Buf 10. I want to say so many things here about the trade, the Bills, the Jets..........but I'm afraid I will gooch the Browns with my thoughts. Yes, the thoughts all relate to the Browns.

Let's just say that I enjoyed seeing a win again for the Browns, and am happy they are playing fundamental football. Playing mistake-free football will allow you to win games that the opponents hand to you. That's what Buffalo did. Excelling in the fundamentals will give you 4-5 wins a year, no matter what the talent level - because the coaching on other teams is so bad.

NE 33, Ten 17. CMON, CMON Brady - break out here. I need you.

Atl 26, Chi 23, OT. No real good gut feeling on this game.

SD 24, Den 17. I do believe in the power of being desperate - and SD, off a bye, is desperate.

Best bets of the week: 16 of them. Last week: 7-7; overall: 37-37.

KC +6

TB +3

Car/TB under 39

NO -3.5

Bal +3

Bal/Min over 44.5

StL/Jax under 43

Hou +5

Sea -3

Az/Sea under 46.5

Phi -14

Phi/Oak under 40.5

NYJ -9.5

NE -9

Ten/NE over 42.5

SD -3.5

* - I don't believe I am lying about the Mafia thing. There were some truly shady characters in our gallery all day. Steve - thoughts?