NFL Week 13: Chiang Mai

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all - my stomach is resting comfortably after 3 Thanksgiving dinners; one on Thursday night held by the housing complex; one on Friday night here with a few friends, and then a bigger friend gathering on Sunday night at another complex (where we have been going for 4 years). I think it's time to eat salads all week to recover.

Week 13 brings us to the northern Thailand town of Chiang Mai, one of our few vacation destinations that did not involve a beach. (Well, that's not fair; we went there for 3 days for the 2012 Chinese New Year; for 6 days after this trip we went to a Thai island).

The town was a perfect "small town" getaway for some family town. The city has about 150,000 and reminds me of a college town in the US (think Iowa City). There is a central night market that was the activity of the city after dark....where my bargaining skills were no match for the professional vendors. The shops along the market were specializing in massages, both human and "fish". These fish massages was when you put your feet in a tank of water, and little fish come up and bite the dead skin off he bottom of your feet; it is supposed to feel good and revitalize the skin on your feet at the same time. Only one of us - Warren - liked it and wanted to do it again and again.

The next day - Monday, the day of the AFC/NFC championships in 2012- was when we split up; Janice and Martin went around town looking at temples; Freddie, Warren and I went out zip lining in the jungle. We drove 1 hour into the middle of nowhere to a large forest valley. (On that way, we found out that SF kept fumbling punts and handing over the game to the Giants. I woke up earlier that morning to Billy Cundiff having a 32 yard field goal attempt to tie the Pats.....so needless to say, the day started with me in a good mood....)

We zip lined for about an hour and a half with 8-10 complete strangers from all over Asia. It was a lot of fun having the boys to be old enough to do this - and they were freaking out at the beginning (which is healthy!) The day ended with lunch, and then some noises in the neighboring area - we went over and saw cockfighting practice. The boys were enthralled.

The next day was elephant day. A full day with the elephants where you fed them, got to know them - and then take them for an hour ride in the woods, followed by a bath. (for the elephants; our shower was later). It's something the kids will still remember - except for Martin, who hated it and screamed 1/2 way through that he wanted to get off. So that's my memory - carry Martin on my shoulders, walking next to the elephants and the workers, for 30 minutes through the mosquito infested woods.

Bath time - and Warren was able to coerce his elephant into spraying water out of his trunk onto Janice and Freddie. Good times! All the tourists took showers in the provided stalls, where I think I contacted athlete's foot that I still have not gotten rid of.

It was a great start to that year's Chinese New Year vacation, and the experiences in the jungle and with the elephants will last us a lifetime.

Well, our big elephant - Brandon Weeden - will be starting for us for the foreseeable future. This is good news, I guess: if he does well, that's good! We stay in the periphery of the playoff hunt. If he does bad - well, good; we can release him at 7:30 pm on Sunday night. We signed the trick-shot QB from the Dallas practice squad this week; I don't even remember his name, which means I will see him in the 3rd quarter.

The line here is Cleveland -7, which everyone thinks is waaaay too high; this usually means the Browns will win 35-10.

I also feel like an elephant here picking some of these games; I can't believe how many favorites I have. That's not a good sign; I feel like an African elephant waiting for the bookmakers to strike.

On to the games:

Car 23, TB 17. I'm still not impressed with Carolina's offense.

Ind 31, Ten 20. Tennessee let Oakland go up and down the field last week; they were luck to escape with a win. Indy has to show up one of these games....and this is to wrap up the division.

Min 27, Chi 24. Not real sure here. Yes, the Vikes will score, but can they stop the Bears' passing attack?

NYJ 23, Mia 10. Miami's offense can't score in the red zone; the Jets' D is good, and the Jets are a different team at home.

Phi 27, Az 17. The Cards have not played well on the road all year.

NE 24, Hou 17. I want to take the Pats soooo badly, but this game screams danger.

Buf 27, Atl 13. The Falcons' Super Bowl was last Thursday, and they lost; their motivation is mil for the rest of the year.

SF 20, StL 17. Jeff Fisher has the Niners' number, and their offense is starting to come around.

Den 34, KC 20. I don't see how the Chiefs will stop Denver.

SD 27, Cin 24. What will give here? The Bengals tendency to give games away on the road, or the way the Chargers give games away all the time this year?

Was 31, NYG 23. Again, the Giants have beaten no one, and this is the Skins' last stand.

Sea 30, NO 17. This is Seattle's Super Bowl; win this to lock up home field for the playoffs. They have to win this.

Best bets: 13 of them. Last week: 9-5; overall: 89-81-5
Ind -3 1/2
Ten/Ind over 45
NYJ -2
Mia/NYJ under 40
Phi -3 1/2
NE/Hou under 48
Buf -3 1/2
Atl/Buf under 48
StL +7 1/2
Den -6
Was -1
NYG/Was over 46
Sea -5

Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-1-1; overall: 30-26-4
Ind -4 1/2
NYJ -2
StL +8
Was +1
Sea -4 1/2