NFL Week 7: Singapore

Hello from somewhere over the Sea of Okhotsk! I hate these cross-pacific flights where I can’t sleep; it truly is sobering to find out exactly how long 14 hours is when you are trapped in a seat but can’t sleep to make the time pass faster.

Anyway, we are at Week 7 in the NFL season – and that brings us to Singapore! We went here two winters ago for a long weekend between Christmas and New Years – it was intended as a chance to get some Western culture as a break from China. And it worked!

First off, the highlight of the trip was the hotel. As a stockholder in LVS (72 and rising!), I wanted to see the Marina Bay Sands in person. It did not disappoint! The hotel room itself was nothing special, but the rooftop pool on the 57^th floor was spectacular. Every day- in the afternoon at first, and then in the morning (more on that later), we went up there. Palm trees and a large, wide infinity pool greeted the guests. The kids had plenty of fun just sitting on the edge of the pool and looking out the sides into the city. They even had a kids’ infinity pool up there where Martin jumped in and out for an hour.

And yes, of course, the hotel had a casino. No craps when I was there, however. We played a lot of the Texas Hold Em bonus poker. An immaculate casino – modern design, clean, and fresh.

First of our tourist activities was to go to the science center and Snow City. The Science Center was good – nothing spectacular; we bought Martin a shirt that he is STILL too small for, but he wears it all the time. Snow City is an indoor sledding place; it’s a big barn with a hill inside made from artificial snow. The kids (and I!) were missing the snow and the cold – so we gave it a try.

Now, Singapore is 90 degrees year round. (Or, more correctly, it is 90 in the winter and 95 in the summer). They had a changing area before the entrance to the barn where you can rent the winter gear and change. It was quickly apparent that I had to think about the logistics here.

 What’s the plan to change clothes? Either:

-          You (the adult) putting on your snow pants, boots, and sweater, and then putting the clothes on the kids (while you swim in your own sweat, wearing all of that in 90 degrees?), or

-          Or you put all the kids stuff on first – and try to have them sit there in 90 degree temps, not move, while you change (and hope they don’t have to go to the bathroom)?

We chose option 2 – semi successful, with a moderate amount of whining. The whining came when Martin’s glove fell off 5 minutes into to – that was a 20 minute crying spree of “I can’t feel my hand! It’s too cold!”. Other than that, it was a big hit, and we hope to do it again soon.

 We explored downtown one of the days – it’s hard to describe where “downtown” is in a city-state of 25 square miles – and you can feel the European/British influence. I have never been to London – but my impression is that the city grid was set up by the English. Very orderly, financial buildings on each side of the street, regal names for the avenues (Victoria, Edward, …). It’s a different feel than Hong Kong – much more “Western” or “Civilized” than Hong Kong.

We did the big Ferris Wheel, we went to the night zoo, did a movie at one of the malls – and then realized – that’s it! That’s the country right there! Downtown is in the south part of the island, the zoo was in the way north, Snow City was on the Western Tip – bingo! Done!

One more word about the weather – you can set your watch to the afternoon storms that roll in. Every day – about 3:00 pm – the grey clouds would come and dump about 1/2 inch of rain on the city; it lasts for about 30-45 minutes, and it’s over. It was impressive to see this storm roll in from the rooftop pool at the Sands…..but we realized after that to do any outside activities in the morning.

Which is a good transition to Brandon Weeden. He’s like the Singapore rain squall that is coming – he may look good for a while, but the critical mistake is always out there, lurking – and it will happen. (Usually in the 4^th quarter). You can set your watch to it. We saw it in the Miami game, and then the Detroit game with the God-awful underhanded interception he threw. I did not see this live last weekend – not sure what I was watching or playing when this happened – but I can only shake my head when I was the highlights.

 Not sure how he is going to fare vs. the Green Bay defense, but I expect a close game, simply because our defense (and Joe Haden) should be able to hold GB in check. Maybe 20-27 points allowed? That would be a moral victory of sorts. It would be a stretch to think Weeden can lead the team to 20-27 points in GB.

On to the games:

Atl 20, TB 13. Who can figure out the Falcons? The injuries are taking a toll.

Car 27, StL 14. Just because you win a hole in match play because your 6 was better than your opponent’s 7, that doesn’t mean you are now a scratch golfer. The Rams are still bad.
 

Det 27, Cin 20. I just don’ t like this spot for Cincinnati – going to Detroit after two tough games.

SD 31, Jax 27. It would not surprise me to see Jax win this game. The Chargers defense got lucky as the Colts dropped many passes on Monday night.

Mia 23, Buf 17. I like Thad Lewis. There, I said it.

NE 22, NYJ 17.  It’s not that hard to see the Jets winning this game, is it? At home, against a Pats team with a hangover?

Dal 37, Phi 31. Philly has no defense; Dallas can only pass. Dallas has injuries in their secondary. Sounds like a fun shootout!

Was 24, Chi 20. Just a gut instinct. Chicago – I still maintain – is overrated. Their defense is not that good.

Ten 23, SF 19. The Titans have a solid team on both sides of the ball – and should be able to contain the Niners’ limited passing attack.

KC 19, Hou 16. If only I knew if Case Keenum can make less mistakes than Matt Schaub…….this will be a close game regardless.

Bal 20, Pit 13. Let’s not celebrate the Steelers just yet. They beat up a Jets team with a rookie quarterback off a bye. They still have issues all over the place.

Den 30, Ind 17. The only way Indy wins is by doing a ball control offense – to eat the clock. It won’t work.

NYG 27, Min 17. Eli vs Minnesota’s horrid pass D! Which will prevail?

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 11-4; overall: 46-42-2.

TB/Atl under 42.5

Car -7
Det -2
Jax +7 1/2
SD/Jax over 45.5
Dal +3
Dal/Phi over 54.5
Was +1
Ten +3 1/2
Hou +6 1/2
Bal +2 1/2
Bal/Pit under 41
Den -6 1/2


Den/Ind under 56.5
NYG -3
 

Supercontest: Last week : 4-1. Overall: 13-15-2

Car -6 1/2
Jax +7 1/2

Was -1

Ten +4

Bal +2

 

NFL Week 6: Beijing

Hello everyone from the United States! I am back in the homeland for 1 week for meetings all week in Cincinnati starting Monday - where I can meet my new boss for an introductory breakfasy over Bob Evans Sausage gravy - and also here in Baltimore this weekend to celebrate my Mom's 70th birthday coming up later this fall. This weekend has of course been filled with good, wholesome American food like steak, prime rib, "double-churned" ice cream and, of course, more sausage....so my stomach is thanking me for that right now.

In honor of being here seeing Mom and Dad, we will look back at Beijing for this week's vacation review. We've been to Beijing twice, once as a family (Janice and I and the kids) and then once with me, Freddie and Warren, and Mom and Dad. It was great to share the sights of Beijing - China's #1 tourist destiantion - with them.

The itinerary for touring Beijing is fairly standard for all expats. Day 1 is a tour of Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City; Day 2 is usually an outing to the Great Wall. If there is a Day 3, it can be to go to Summer Palace or the Beijing Zoo.

Day 1 - Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City - is impressive and intimindating at the same time. The square is acres and acres of flat concrete -w ith Soviet-style government buildings all around it. I won't say anything about possible historical events that may or may not have happened there; however, it was thrilling and weird to pull out my mobile phone and pull up "The Drudge Report" while standing next to the flagpoles where the China flag is formally raised and lowred exactly and sunrise/sunset.

Across the street is the Forbidden Palace - which is where the old Chiense dynastys (and their relatives, and concubines) lived and isolated themselves from the Chinese people. Walls and walls separated difference sections of the compound - it is a series of hundreds of buildings, not just a single "palace". By the end, it became monotonous, to be honest. And I was trying to define the word "concubine" to my 11 and 9 year old.

One thing we realized quickly, during our first vist, is that the Square and the Forbidden City is where the Chinese go on their vacation. So you have literally thousands of people each day from the rural parts of China coming to Beijing (a big city) for the first time. And - for the first time - they see someone with blonde hair.

Warren was a superstar both trips; he was continually approached like a movie star would be from the adoring media. Once one person stood next to him for a picture, several others would come over and join in........ it is understandable, since these people have literally never seena white person before. Maybe on TV they have....but here they are, in the flesh in front of them! A Westerner! Our tour guide did a good job at the end in protecting us from the mobs, altough here is one mob scene that I took on my camera.

The second day was the Great Wall - which I can't really do justice in a quick recap. It is massive, and fairly unfathomable to understand how this 1,000 mile wall was built by just manpower a millenium ago. The wall is a good 20-30 feet built on top of the mountain on rcoks and stone - it feels perfectly stable, but the steps are all irregular, so walking it is an adventure.

I think Mom and Dad's best part of the trip was to quiz the tour guide about daily life in China while we were in van driving around. What does the governmentsay you can and can't do? Is everyone guaranteed a job? What if they don't want to work? Can you move? They could have spent 2 days just in conversation with our excellent tour guide, Helen.

It was extremely satisfying to share this with them when they came over. 

(Also - a memory of this trip; it was the second week of April, 2012...Masters week.  I had to get my Masters pick in onWednesday; I half-jokingly asked Dad for his thoughts.
"I got a dark horse for you....Bubba Watson!" he said, seriously.

I laughed it off.....ooh, that was an expensive mistake. )

As for the Browns, a win would bring us a 4 game winning streak. That would be something for the memory bank as well....if we don't count the 4 Mangini wins at the end of the 2009 season (where we went from 1-11 to 5-11), the last real, important, 4 game win streak for the Browns was....

....1994.

The streak started before I started my first job out of college.Wow. It's about time for another 4 game win streak. Let's beat the Lions. Oh, and if Calvin Johnson wants to take another week to heal up, that's fine with me.

On to the games:

KC 24, Oak 13.  I watched most of the Raiders game last week  - and the Chargers gave Oakland 2 touchdowns. Let's now crown Pryor as the savior just yet.

Phi 28, TB 24. When did the MRSA bug travel from Cleveland to Tampa?

Bal 27, GB 20. It's awfully difficult to pick against the Ravens at home. They seem to have some magic there to score points in strange ways -punt returns, pick 6's, etc.

Car 27, Min 23. I have got to believe that Minnesota's poor D is the right elixir for Carolina to get out of their slump.

Hou 30, StL 13. And the Rams are the perfect punching bag for the frustrated Texans.

NYJ 17, Pit 16. I have no idea what to think of this game. I think LeBeau will shut Geno down....but the Pit offense is horrid.

Cin 20, Buf 13. I did like what Thad Lewis showed when he started game 17 for us last year vs. Pit.

Sea 30, Ten 13.   I just can't see Fitzpatrick going in there to Seattle and having a whole lot of success.

Den 38, Jax 17. This will be 35-3 at halftime - and that's right where the Jags want them! Manning wil be pulled in teh 3rd quarter, and 2 late touchdowns by Henne will cover the 27 pt spread.

NO 31, NE 28. I want to be confident in the Saints, as the should win on paper....but I'm sure Belicheck wil have something up his sleeve.

SF 27, Az 13. I know Arizona's got a good defense, but Carson Palmer on the road? No.

Dal 27, Was 20. I have to believe that Washington will try to stay close here by running the ball 50 times, running the clock and preventing Romo from taking the field.

SD 30, Ind 24. A gut play - with INdy hosting Denver next week, are they looking ahead?

This is the one weekend a year I get to watch the games with Derek - always a lot of fun. This year, we will be in Baltimore watching the games and yelling at each other.

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 6-8; overall: 35-38-2.
KC -7 1/2

Phi/TB over 46

Bal +2 1/2

Car +2 1/2

Car/Min over 44

Hou -7 1/2

Pit/NYJ under 41

Cin/Buf under 41 1/2
Sea -13

Jax +27

NO +2 1/2

NO/NE over 50 1/2

SF -10

Was/Dal under 53

SD +1 1/2

Supercontest: A very disappointing 1-4 last week. Overall: 9-14-2. Not good.

Bal +2 1/2

Car +2 1/2

Hou -7 1/2

Jax +26 1/2

SD +1 1/2

Supercontest Update

As some of you know, Layup, Wiz and I are in the Las Vegas Supercontest - the toughest handicapping contest there is out there. It's like the US Open of NFL wagering.

Well, we are 1/4 of the way through the contest, and if this truly were the US Open, here's the summary so far. Our real records:

Eric 8-10-2  9 pts
Wiz 8-12 8 pts
Layup 7-13 7 pts

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) – The first round of the 2013 Supercontest is in the books, and our featured grouping has some work to do to get back into the hunt for the money. However, all are still able to make the cut with a solid 2^nd round.

 

The best score in the group belong to Eric, who came back on the back nine on Thursday with a solid 34. His score of 73 – 3 over – was marred by a poor start, but Eric’s play over the last nine holes have given him (and his fans) hope for round 2 and later. He almost finished birdie-birdie on the last 2 holes, but missed a 10 footer on #18. He was seen muttering curse words about a Matt Ryan, but was upbeat later after signing his card. “The last nine holes validates what I have been doing”, Eric said. “I got some bad breaks early on, but the swing is there. I can’t wait to get the second round started. Can we play 36 today?”

 

The rookie, Wiz, struggled on the back nine with a 39, signing for a 74 for the day. Wiz’s preshot routine has been compared to Par Perez’s – in the fact that Wiz has no routine. He steps up to the ball and fires, which served him well on the first nine holes but got him into some trouble on the back nine. Loose tee shots on two holes caused two double bogeys coming in, including Wiz teeing off with a Josh Freeman-designed club on 13 of the 18 holes, which has caused him major problems. “Damn, the pace is slow out there”, commented Wiz. “I would have liked to play the round in 3 hours and 15 minutes, but it seems like I am playing with Sergio and Kevin Na. Make the damn pick already!”. However, Wiz likes his chances for the second 18. “I’ve been making money hand over fist with my imaginary account at Longview over the years – no reason why I can’t duplicate that performance at a cow pasture like Oakmont”.

 

Layup trailed the group with a 75, and was depressed about his performance after the round. “My session on the range was great this morning – and then I get to the tee and lose the swing. It’s like I forgotten everything I worked on before the season”. Layup did seem to settle down after opening the round with a triple-bogey; however, another shot OB on #13 cost him two more shots. He did finish the round with 5 pars. Rumors are that Layup will fire his caddy – Jeff Fisher, a longtime ally of Layup's– between rounds. “To be honest, Dottie, Jeff misclubbed me on a couple of the holes. I’m not sure if I can trust him anymore”. Layup was seen talking to Gus Bradley after the round.

 

Scores are high, with the round 1 leading score being the highest in the past 5 years. Your leader, at 67 (3 under), is still Sal Iacono. Lurking at 2 under is two-time champion and veteran JarHead.

The average score for the first round is 74 (8.5 points).

 

NFL Week 5: Cebu

Hello everyone - back from the October national holiday, a 6 day break where all the Chinese are expected to travel inside the country to see the many sights. This means, of course, that all the foreigners should get out of China for the week to avoid the massive crowds.

We spent 6 days at a resort in Cebu, Phillipines. We went with another family who had kids the same age as ours. The resort was billed as one of the top 10 family friendly resorts in Asia, important for our combined 6 kids. Well, there was certainly a lot of stuff to do! Along with the water sports at the resort - snorkeling, paddleboarding, jetskiing, banana boating, etc. - there was plenty of land activities:
- sand court tennis
- 4 different pools
- 2 different types of water slides
- rock climing wall
- segway riding
- tandembikes
- arcade, ping pong, pool
- shooting range
- fishing
and so on.
In short, a dream place if you are a boy from age 8-13. Which we had 4 of in our group.

The whole resort was hard to describe. I'm still struggling with the right words. The best comparison would be that it was a Holidome on steroids.....you remember  those, right? A dark hotel that tried hard, but you couldn't escape the "Holiday Inn" aura of it all? That was this place. It tried to be a 5 star resort, but no.....

Each building was named for a tropical location, starting with a different letter of the alphabet ("A" to "Z"), organized alphabetically in a circle around the main pools. In front of each building, there was a sign describing the location in three paragraphs - with the last paragraph linking the resort (Plantation Bay) to the description. For instance, our "lodge" was the Seychelles House; the first two paragrpahs talked about the Seychelles, and the last paragraph said something like:
"For most, a trip to the Seychelles is a trek. Not so for Plantation Bay! Cebu is a 3 hour flight from Hong Kong, and Singapore, and only 5 from Tokyo - so you can enjoy the best of the Seychelles right here at Plantation Bay with a shorter trip!"
It seemed like each text was written as a 10th grade school project.

Oh - and each night had a themed buffet! Saturday night was Brazilian night - with Brazilian music and skimpy dancers! On Tuesday, it was Arabian night, with a polynesian fire show (??) and skimpy dancers. Thursday night was American night, with rock and roll and ....of course, skimpy dancers.

Here's a short video of part of the American show - I guess they think everyone in the US has a starring role in "Cocktail".

(And yes, that is Freddie in the Ubaldo t-shirt on the left....)

And they ran out of the main food (steak skewers on Brazilian night, spare ribs on American night) at each buffet. Classy.

Oh well - it was nice, the price was right (which says something), and it kept the kids busy with lots of adventures. We took a day trip on a boat one day (Tuesday - where I took the above picture. Also, it's amazing that I got service in the ocean - I found out on this boat that the Saints covered against the Dolphins), and another day I tipped over a jet ski in the middle of the ocean. And the internet was working perfectly, so I could follow the Cleveland sports week very closely, including watching the Browns beat the Bengals at the 24 hour restaurant at the resort.

No, we did not leave the resort the whole week. Poor planning and a remote location meant there was no real impetus to leave. But we did do plenty of activities - Freddie's a pretty good shooter with an air pistol; Warren could spend hours looking for hermit crabs, and Martin likes to be in a  kayak with me (with me doing all the paddling).

That brings us to this week - one of my favorite weeks of the year, when the Browns have already played and I am free to channel surf and watch any game I want. This is where I will watch Red Zone for an hour or so until channel surfing to the 2 or 3 early games of the greatest interest. Kind of like this past week, where we can sample a few activities each day and then focus on the best ones later in the week. And - with tomorrow officially still being a holiday  (the office is closed), I can sit on my couch and watch a NFL quadruple header with the late Chargers-Raiders game!

As for the Browns - 3-2 is the best news, I guess! Seeing Hoyer and then Weeden in consecutive series is sobering. It's amazing how long Weeden takes to get rid of the ball. I just hope Norv can pull his eyelids open (a la Clockwork Orange) to get this point across to him.

On to the games:

Chi 24, NO 20. I'm not convinced that New Orleans can play outdoors just yet, and the Bears have the firepower to keep up with the Saints.

Cin 30, NE 28. I do expect many turnovers here, with the Bengals defense and a shaky Dalton.

GB 31, Det 20. A desperate pack and the Lions outside....

Sea 20, Ind 17. There should be a lot of running (and eating of the clock) in this game.

Mia 23, Bal 16. Bal is showing that it can't score against good defenses (Buf, Cle, even Hou), and Miami is a good defense.

NYG 37, Phi 20. The weakness of the Giants is the Offensive line - but the Eagles are so bad at D that I don't expect them to take advantage.

StL 23, Jax 17. A low scoring game here.

KC 20, Ten 19. This will really show how "for real" Tennessee is. Can they stay competitive with KC wven with Fitzpatrick at QB?

Az 24, Car 20. Rivera giving points on the road? Fitzgerald against that secondary? Yes, please.

Den 31, Dal 28. Denver has played one road game - against the 0-4 Giants. This is by far their best competition. And Dallas can keep up with the scoring, if needed.

SF 24, Hou 23. Houston has the defense to hold SF in check here.

SD 23, Oak 16. Where are the points coming from? I know SD has a good offense, but on the road, after a big win? Expect a letdown.

Atl 20, NYJ 16. The Jets' defense is for real. I think they can extend the Falcons' red zone woes.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 12-2 (!). Overall: 29-30-2
Chi +1
NO/Chi under 50
NE/Cin over 45 1/2
GB -7 1/2
Sea/Ind under 43 1/2
Mia -2 1/2
NYG -2
Jax +11
Az +2
Dal +7 1/2
Hou +5 1/2
SD/Oak under 45 1/2
NYJ +9 1/2
NYJ/Atl under 43 1/2

6 underdogs...is this the week the favorites cover all the games?

Supercontest picks: Last week: 4-1; overall: 8-10-2
Chi pk
GB -7
NYG -2 1/2
Jax +11 1/2
Hou +6 1/2

 

Fan Duel

Can someone explain to me how fanduel.com is legal?  So I can make a deposit, do weekly or even daily fantasy sports plays, and win money from other people.   How is this not legalized gambling? The site is owned by rotoworld which is owned by NBC, so I'm asumming someone checked in on this.

I'm hoping Wiz signs up so we can go head to head each week and bet on our fantasy teams.  And they have it for every sport.  CFL?  yup. WNBA? yup.  Holy crap this is going to get interesting once College Basketball starts up....

Magic Number Blogging

Well, this really snuck up on me. Yes, of course I have been following the Tribe daily - but it never made sense to get excited about it since we were behind Tampa and Texas, and there are serious questions about this offense, and of course, our human gas can closer. 

But here we are now. Somehow in the lead for the Wild Card, with one game to play.

The only way we miss the playoff is if all these things happen:

- We lose on Sunday

- Tampa wins on Sunday

- Texas wins on Sunday

- We host Tampa on Monday and lose, then

- We go to Texas on Tuesday and lose.

If all those 5 things happen, we miss the playoffs.

Let's just see how this plays out , and then we can analyze some more as we progress in the week.

But - it's nice to do these "numbers" posts again. Go Tribe!

NFL picks for week 4 below.....



NFL Week 4: Harbin

It's time for week 4 of the NFL season - and that's usually a time where you step back and re-evaluate what has been happening so far in the league. What has gone the way you expected? What has been unexpected surprises and disappointments?

That brings us to Harbin - the northernmost "big" city in China, and the home of the Ice festival in January. We have been told every year that the Ice festival was not to be missed - and so this past January, we made the trip. Beforehand, we were honestly worried about it. It would be cold - 10 to 15 below.

And the wind! Oh, that wind chill would be 30 to 40 below. It gave us the impression that you could only be inside for 15 minutes. Bob Turk's voice was in my head - "don't be exposed for too long out there!" And that was just a reminder for Baltimore weather!

This is the closest I have ever been to Sibera - and we would go outside with kids? To see what? Mounds of ice lit up like a Lite Brite? How impressive could this be? Well, the trip was an unexpected surprise. We bundled up as much as we could the first night. With temperatures hovering around -15 C (about 0), we stayed outside for about 45 minutes in a public plaza looking at some mini ice scupltures. The Pizza Hut for dinner certainly helped warm us up. The next day was the "real" thing. We would be outside for 60, 90 minutes at a time - then a break - then do it again. 3 exposure sessions.

The first session, in the morning, was to the Siberian Tiger Park. This was neat - if only to see the solid frozen pee of some white lines frozen up against a solitary tree in his cage.

The second session was to visit the snow sculptures - which were amazing. 25 feet tall, 80-100 feet long- just works of art that were showcases. We stayed outside for about 90 minutes,playing in the snow (at noon, the warmest part of the day)....and had the scariest ride of my life in an inner tube ride down an ice hill------with very little in terms of safety precautions on the side. Don't start rocking this tube, Martin!

The last session was for the main ice festival. We got there about 4 pm - right at dusk - and the temperature was about 0 F when we started....and got colder. However, there were so many activities for everyone. A small maze, with more ice slides. Weird games such as "spin the acorn on the ice" and "3rd grade schoolchair racing". Drinking Harbin Ice Beer in an igloo. 40 foot high slides where there was no person in charge, so every slide ended in a 5 person pile up at the bottom of the slide. (No matter - since you are wearing 8 layers of clothing, it's like smashing bean bags together). We stayed until about 5:30, mesmerized by the ice and the colors. Only til then did we finally feel the effects of the cold, now about -10, -15 F. All in all, a wonderful long weekend away, and an unexpected surprise.

Kind of like Brian Hoyer, no? We started the season hoping the Browns had a solid defense and a balanced offense, with Trent having plenty of carries and being used in the backfield as a weapon on short passes.

Now? We've got Ken O'Brien junior back there ready to heave it 55, 60 times, with a one-legged running back. My, how things change in 3 weeks. We will see if this is a fluke, or real talent over the next 3 games, all at home.

Allow me to dream a bit (which I will, since I am on vacation right now in Cebu) - if we can steal this game vs. Cinci (where we always play Marvin well, except when we forget to break the huddle), then we have Buffalo (Thu night) and Detroit, two teams that are not great on the road........

There is a bar here open 24 hours; I will be sitting in there at 2 am with the drunks at the resort with my Joe Thomas jersey.

On to the games:

Buf 23, Bal 20. Bal won last week at home by gifts from the Texans. The Ravens won't get those on the road.

Det 31, Chi 24. I trust in the Lions at home; the Bears are lucky to be 3-0 after two close wins vs. Cinci and Min.

Sea 26, Hou 23. Can't pick against the Seahawks until they actually, you know, lose.

Ind 23, Jax 13. The Colts will play ball control on offense,and the Jags have no weapons.

KC 20, NYG 16. Are we sure KC is good?

Min 24, Pit 13. Minnesota had a good offensive showing in 3 games - vs. the Lions (on the road), Bears, and yes, teh Browns. So they can score points. And Their good defensive line is going up against the swiss cheese Pittsbrugh O line. I see Ben running for his life a lot back there.

TB 27, Az 24. I don't know who will win, but I do see a lot of turnovers (good Az Defense, and Carson Palmer as Az QB) - which means points.

Ten 20, NYJ 17. I think every prediction site will pick a 20-17 score in this game.

Den 38, Phi 23. How will Chip Kelly devise a plan for this game?

Was 24, Oak 13. I'm not impressed with Oakland, and this is a must-win, desperation position for the Skins. This is a perfect time for a RGIII breakout game.

SD 27, Dal 20. These outdoor games against good defenses are the ones the Cowboys almost always lose.

Atl 31, NE 20. Let's review the QBs that the Patriots have played. EJ Manuel's first start. Geno Smith. Josh Freeman. Are we sure the Pats D is good?

NO 31, Mia 21. A great test for the Dolphins D.

Best bets: 14 of them. Another bad week last week: 5-9-1; season total: 17-28-2.

Buf +3
Det -3
Chi/Det over 48
Sea/Hou over 41 1/2
Ind/Jax under 42
Min +2 1/2
NYG/KC under 43 1/2
Az/TB over 40
Den -11
Was -3
Was/Oak under 44 1/2
SD +1 1/2
Atl -2 1/2
NO -6 1/2

Supercontest picks: Last week: 2-2-1; overall: 4-9-2

Buf +3
Min +2 1/2
Was -3
SD +2 1/2
Atl -2 1/2

Typhoon Blogging

The Super Typhoon "Usagi" is heading our way today and tomorrow. We are about 120 km (90 miles) upstream from Hong Kong - which is right on the ocean. A category 2 typhoon is making landfall right about now in Hong Kong - you may have heard about it!

School has already been cancelled for tomorrow for the kids.

What did we do to prepare? Well, as of one hour ago - it was barely raining, and the boys were playing outside with 6 of their friends.

The major brunt of the storm will be overnight - about 4 hours from now - into tomorrow. According to some maps, the storm should still be a category 1 as it heads over Guangzhou....we will see about that. I hate to think that the "weather panic" we see in the US has infiltrated the Chinese culture as well.
 

NFL Week 3: Australia

After the last two weeks of incredibly poor picking, and the Trent mess, it feels like it is time for a vacation from the picks and NFL analysis to get recharged. The best way to do this is to recap the best vacation we have had out here in Asia so far - our trip to Australia.

In February, we spent 4 days in Sydney and 5 days at an island near the reef. The whole trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience - kind of like trading your star RB after 18 games. The trip started off on the wrong foot, as we watched a replay of the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl in the hotel lobby as we checked in. Not knowing the score (or the whole story about the power outage), we kept hoping that Kaepernick would pull something out to win...but no dice.

Sydney was wonderful - clean, clear, friendly, beautiful. I was surprised to see that the city is fairly small in terms of size and population...it's about 4 million people in total, and the total area of the city limits seemed to be shrunk in. It reminded me of Boston (but with much, much nicer people and weather).

The best part of Sydney was a water taxi coming in from a day trip to the mountains back to the harbor. What sites! The Opera House glistened that day.

Oh - and the gambling! I meant to make this a separate post earlier - but I never got around to it. Australia has gaming - and it's great! Yes, there is one casino in Sydney. We went there one night, taught my friend how to play craps. Two impressions:
1. It was a $10 minimum; we were playing the pass line with single odds. I threw $2 on the hard 10. It was returned to me. Why? "Sir, this is a $10 minumum table!". So the minimum on the hard ways was $10, as well.......surprising to see them turn down that action.
2. At the end of the session, we made a few dollars, so I threw a couple of purple chips to them. (In Australia, purples are $5.). It also was rejected. "No tipping allowed, sir". OK then!

But the best part was the TAB machines. I'm not sure what TAB stands for, but it is an electronic kiosk that was everywhere in downtown Sydney. The kiosks are set up for sports betting....multiple sports were available from all over the world!. On this random February day, it was lunchtime - about 1:00 Australian time - which meant it was 10:00 pm Pacific time. I stepped up to the kiosk - there were late night NBA games still to tip off!

$5 wager on Sacramento getting +7.5 vs. Utah - easy money! (yes, they did win)

And then it was off to the Reef. Just amazing. The water was clear, the weather was wonderful, and I can't even try to do justice to the sea life we saw in the ocean. It was disconcerting to be sent out 18 miles away from the island to a random buoy in order to go snorkeling.....but it's something the boys and us will never forget.*

(*except for Martin. We kept him home at the day care. Hope he will forgive us!)

The recreational activities were memorable, too. 90 minutes of tubing for the boys. They had a racquetball court - and everyone had fun whakcing the ball all over the walls. Sailboating and trying to see Dad manage a catamaran.

An incredible vacation...and it's full of memories of great times when things get depressing here in China.

Kind of like now....these are the days I sit in the corner, hold me knees, and just mutter "Bernie.....Brennan.....Dixon..... Minnifield.....Matthews .....Mack......Langhorne...... Slaughter....."

I just hope our managment knows what it's doing to send us down this path.......or else I will be dreaming of Australia and the mid-80s Browns more and more.....

Now, to the picks ....I'm recharged after that recollection Down Under! Time to reclaim the mojo!

Hou 23, Bal 13.  I watched that Ravens offense vs. the Browns last week - I am not impressed.

NYG 31, Car 20. Hmmm...a desperate team with a good passing offense (Giants) meet a team where it's biggest weakness is its pass defense......

Cin 23, GB 20. I'm thinking the Bengals D will put up a good fight against the one-dimensional Packers.

Dal 27, StL 17. I don't see the Rams keeping up with the Cowboys offense in Dallas.

NE 21, TB 16. I don't think any outcome would surprise me here.

NO 30, Az 27. I am impressed with the Palmer - Fitzgerald connection.

Ten 27, SD 20. I know very little about the Chargers..but I have been impressed with the improvement of the Titans so far this season.

Was 27, Det 24.  I don't think we can trust Detroit outside until further notice...(or until Oct 13th.)

Mia 24, Atl 20. A classic stay away game. Is Miami for real? Can Atlanta play well outdoors? Will Miami's run game show up? Will Atlanta's offense be consistent against a competent defense?

NYJ 20, Buf 13. Let's be clear - the Bills had 3 points in the first half vs. the Panthers - at home - and 7 offensive points at the half vs. the Pats - at home. This is a road game. I have faith in the Jets D.

SF 30, Ind 17. The Niners will take out their anger from last week against the poor Indy line.

Sea 23, Jax 10. You always take 19 points. Always ! Especially after an emotional win by the home team the prior week.

Chi 24, Pit 23. I see a turnover fest here leading to easy points on both sides.

Den 34, Oak 17. We all know what Denver can do - I am interested to see how good or bad Oakland is.

And if these results hold, there will be a three way tie for second in the AFC North at 1-2. I have a good feeling about the game today. Just when everyone writes them off.....

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 6-9; overall: 12-19-1.
Hou -1
Hou/Bal under 45
NYG -2
Cin +3
GB/Cin under 49 1/2
TB/NE under 44
Az +7
Az/NO over 48 1/2
Ten -3
Was +1
NYJ  -2 1/2
SF -10
Jax +18 1/2
Sea/Jax under 40 1/2
Chi/Pit over 40 1/2

Supercontest: time to get in gear. Last week: 1-4; overall: 2-7-1. Ugh.

NYG +1
Ten -3
Cin +2 1/2
NYJ -2 1/2
Jax +19




 

The Richardson Trade: Peter Griffin or Albert Einstein?

Anything happen in the sports world this week?

Well, that was a nice wakeup call on Thursday morning...It's a 4 day holiday weekend here, I leisurely wakeup, have a coffee - and see several texts on my phone.....Did the market go up 200 points? (Well, it did...)

I'm still trying to process the trade. Yes, it was a shock. But I think we really have to forget about the short term effect here and think long term. And net, I think this is a long term positive for the Browns (but there's a big if).

Here are some of the arguments:

1. They just drafted him last year! What's wrong with the Browns' front office - getting rid of a first round draft pick from last year!

Um, this is the dumbest argument I have heard. This is like saying "We had Rumsfeld as our Defense Secretary in 2008 - and now we have a new one in 2009!" Why is that?
Because there was a little event called an election in November 2008.....

Same thing here....there was a regime change last year. New Owners, new front office - and I think they got fair value for Richardson. So the new leadership had no ties to the past.

2. How can you throw in the towel on the season on September 18th??

Did you watch the first two games? Even Eric "Pollyanna" Zahn was disappointed. After the loss to Miami, it was clear my estimate of 8-8 was a bit....um....inflated. And then we score 6 points vs. teh Ravens. We're throwing in the towel on the season when the best case was....6-10? Oh dear, how will I survive?

3. The Family Guy "Mystery Box" argument.

I saw this on Deadspin...and it's convincing! I love this episode. Required viewing before we go on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir-s3Cn52FU

We're stockpiling draft picks! We could even turn them into a all-star stud RB!

I'm 98% sure we will be drafting a QB with these first round picks next year - but we somehow we draft a RB, Banner/Lombardi should be sent on a ship to Lake Erie.

4. Your GM drafted Jamarcus Russell #1 overall one year.

OK, it's not confirmed that Lombardi pulled the final trigger on that one...but yes, he was part of the staff that drafted Russell......I can't defend that.

Arguments for the trade:

1. How long will we plod along, doing the same thing, over and over, until we finally blow it up (and mean it)?

This is where Einstein comes in. I use this quote at work a lot: "Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expexcting different results".

The last few regimes were trying to do the same thing - get talent on the team - somehow get the QB through free agency (Anderson, Delhomme) or a later round draft pick (McCoy, Frye, Quinn to some extent, Weeden to more of an extent) and home the talent lifts the QB up.

I think it is safe to say that has not worked in the past 8-10 years.

This strategy has given us one winning season in the past 10; one playoff season in the past 15.
In the past 10 years, our 2nd best season - OUR SECOND BEST SEASON - is 6-10. 

2. This is a passing league.

Can any of you doubt this? Running backs seem to be going out of style. It is not necessary to have a great RB on your team to be championship caliber. This was not the case 10-15 years ago; it certainly is now. Trent is not going to lift this team up to 8-9 wins - he just isn't, not in the league today. So trade him while we can get value. And I think his trade value would have decreased.

3. The QB is of utmost importance - so you have to get one.

Getting the QB is paramount to success in the league nowadays. It's clear to me (now), and was clear to Banner/Lombardi from day 1 when they took over.

They have a plan, and are going to execute it.

I am in favor of this plan now, going forward. We needed a radical change to get out of this rut. The key, of course, is getting the right QB - whcih is no guarantee.

My advise is to draft a QB at every pick we have in the first 3 rounds - so we have 4 rookies on the roster. One of them has GOT to work out, right? And there is precedence for this - look at the Redskins last year. they drafted RG III, and then drafted Kirk Cousins later (who beat us and others down the stretch). Why not draft 2 or 3 to see if one of them is the star?

So those that will "quit the Browns" now - *cough*Don*cough* - fine. This is like sticking to your driver that you constantly hit out of bounds, but are too stubborn to change...so you keep swinging "harder" and steer it more - but it just makes things worse. Get the new driver and get on with life....there will be growing pains, yes....(like a 2-14 season this year)....but the payoff down the road could be fantastic.

 

NFL Week 2 : Hong Kong

Well, that wasn’t a very good first week. Some bad beats, some complete miscalculations on teams (Patriots??) and some obvious traps that I did not avoid (Texans) foiled me last week. Time to get back to normal this week (hopefully) as we get a better sense of these teams.

When we want to get “back to normal”, the closest outlet we have for that is Hong Kong. Hong Kong is officially part of China, but it does feel like a completely different culture and society. First – and most importantly – English is an official language there (still), so you can actually understand all the signs that surround you. Almost everyone speaks English as well. This is an incredbible rellef after being in China for months at a time dealing with simple miscommunications.
 

The city is far, far more diverse than Guangzhou. There is a heavy Australian population there, as well as a big European influence – not to mention the British. Any sort of food is readily available….just last weekend we were there and we had BLT for dinner! Yes, the real hamburger restaurant! I had the tex-Mex burger with the Vanilla shake. Exquisite.

(There’s also a breakfast “diner” down the road from our regular hotel that serves pancakes, omelettes, and French toast like any American diner. We’ve been there many a time).

It’s not home, but it’s the closest you can get while over here. As I have said many times before, you can “breathe” there. The people are friendlier, and don’t seem to crowd you as much as in Guangzhou. The city is clean and organized –helpful for taxis and for reading maps. The tourist sites are understandable – like Stanley, an English outpost on the back end of the main island that has a San Diego-feel to it.

The reason why we went there last week was for a group boat trip; someone organized a group of 60 of us to rent 2 yachts and cruise around the island for a day. Pure heaven to get away – except for the part where the group of 8- to 12-year old kids found that if you put ice on the upper deck, you can slide around like a curling stone on ice…..fun, until someone’s legs (mine) got in the way of one of those stones…..

Hong Kong is a great place to get away for a few days – you really can’t spend more than 3 days there – every six months to get your fill of regular, normal, Western life. Let’s get that normalcy back here in week 2 with the picks…time for a winning record! I did get a wager in on the Jets for the Thursday game, so I do feel a bit better.

I hate to say it, but I see a “normal” beatdown of the Browns this weekend. What are we on now, 8 losses in a row to the Ravens? I really can’t see anything different here, with an angry Ravens team and our surprisiningly inept offense. Oh sure, we will give hope – like we always to – we will be down 3 late in the 3^rd, driving, and then something will happen – a Trent fumble, or (more likely) a tipped pass interception. It won’t be Ed Reed running it back 105 yards for a TD – who’s the safety now for the Ravens? That’s the guy to score a defensive TD against us.

On to the games:

Car 23, Buf 17. The Panthers have the run game to attack Buffalo’s D. I was not impressed with Buffalo’s offense last week.

Ind 30, Mia 23. I think we were the main cause of Miami’s victory last week – it wasn’t much of what the Dolphins did. And I think Luck’s home magic will pull them through again.

Hou 24, Ten 13. I know they played Monday – but Houston has something to prove after that ugly game. And let’s not crown the Titans yet.

KC 28, Dal 24. No real clue what to expect here – Dallas usually doesn’t do well on the road – but how good is KC, really?

GB 31, Was 21. The Packers are desperate here – and Washington can be exposed against the pass.

Phi 31, SD 20. The Eagles seem to sure be the easy pick here, right? This seems too easy – SD, a West Coast team, losing a heartbreaker and heading east….yes, I may fall for it.

Chi 24, Min 16. I will be one of the last doubters of the Bears – now watch them go 6-0 to start the season.

TB 24, NO 23. This seems like a game where everyone will be on the side of the Saints – and they are in the Supercontest – but it’s a game they can easily lose to a suddenly desperate Buccaneers team.

Atl 24, StL 13. Speaking of desperate – the Falcons will lay the wood on the Rams here. I was not impressed watching the Rams last week….tough to say if the Cards D is good, but I think Atl’s D is better.

NYG 30, Den 27. Way overvaluing the Broncos and totally disrespecting the Giants (and Coughlin). The Giants turned the ball over 7 times – and almost won! – last week!

Az 27, Det 24. I have no idea – can we really trust the Lions on the road just yet?

Oak 17, Jax 13. Not sure if Oakland can move the ball consistently – we don’t know how good or bad the Colts D is just yet – and the Jags will have problems on O. So watch this game be a classic 38-35 shootout.

Sea 27, SF 20. I think people are consistently underrating the home field advantage the Seahawks have. They absolutely have to have this game if they want to reach the Super Bowl. That is not an exaggeration.

Cin 21, Pit 20. Desperation with the Steelers plus the “great” coaching of Marvin Lewis equals a game that will be a lot closer than people think. Big Ben doesn’t lose in Cincinnati, and he’s used to having his line collapse.

Best bets: 15 this week. Last week: 6-10-1.

Car -3

Ind -2 1/2

Mia/Ind over 43

Hou -8

Ten/Houo under 43

Dal/KC over 46

Phi -7 1/2

TB +3

Atl -5 1/2

StL/Atl under 46 1/2

Az +2

NYG +4 1/2

Jax/Oak under 39 1/2

Sea -3

Pit +7

Supercontest picks: Last week: 1-3-1

Car -3

Ind -2 1/2

Atl -6 1/2

NYG +4 1/2

Pit +7

Jeesh, I don't like the number of favorites I have this week......

NFL Week 1: Kota Kinabalu

Welcome to another annual edition of Eric’s themed NFL picks! This year’s theme is Asia vacation spots. After being here for 3+ years, we’ve racked up a few vacations around Asia – both very good and so-so. You know the deal – we will relate this week’s NFL theme to one of our vacations over here on this side of the world; then give one-sentence predictions on each game – and then ending with the world-famous best bets.

For the first week, I bring you Kota Kinabalu. This is a city in Malaysia – the  largest city on the east island of the country (Borneo). This was our first vacation outside of China when we landed here. We moved here August, 2010, and one week later our friends asked us “So – where are you going for the October vacation? You need to book now!” That was a shock – we haven’t even moved into our real apartment yet, and we were forced to make plans for a trip 6 weeks from now?

Our friends told us to go to the Shangri La at Kota Kinabalu – it’s easy and a good first trip. We had no idea what to expect for this trip. We picked a room on line – 31 sq m sounded big. There was a bus to take us from the airport to the hotel; and from there, it was a beach and a pool. What would the language barriers be? Safety? Food?

The trip was a good introduction to life and trips in Asia. Immigration was a bit rough – we quickly found out that we should fill out all paperwork ahead of time, instead of doing it on line. The “bus” to the hotel was a 50-passenger bus that was half full and had a bunch of Europeans that were not friendly at all; the “city” of Kota Kinabalu is stretching it. Saying that’s the largest Malaysian cityin Borneo is like saying ND St. is the best college football team - in MT, WY, ND and SD combined. And hotel rooms in Asia are not built for 5 people – 31 sq m is waaaaaayyyyy too small for 3 kids. Lesson learned.

But we quickly learned many things as well. It’s ok to take a vacation where you go off the property for only 1/2 day. Floating villages do exist. People in Southeast Asia are very friendly, generally. All sorts of food options were available. Their idea of a “beach” was not exactly the beaches I had in mind from Ocean City, Rehoboth or Fort Walton Beach. Asians don’t necessarily use their beach for swimming. And the boys got to feed orangutangs.

In all, it was a great introduction to Asia vacations – it wasn’t the most cultural (in fact, it was certainly the least cultural, with the exception of Warren being a prince in the nightly parade). But It gave us a clue on what to expect when planning trips for the future.

And that’s what week 1 is here for the NFL. We’re not sure what to expect – we have an idea on how these teams look from past years – but of course, 2013 will be different, as every year is. This week, like Kota Kinabalu, will give us a sneak peak at the changes for 2013 in each team. For instance, I would relate Norv Turner to the GM of a Shangri La- and Pat Shurmur is the night janitor at the Macau Grand Waldo.

Can we please change it up this year? Can we actaully win in week 1? The line is moving - the Browns are a popular pick! They are one of the top 5 picks in the supercontest, and the line has moved 2 points in 3 days. I think that scares me even more about this game.

(And – can we expect the Ravens’ D to give up 7 TD passes every week? I’ll take 6 TD’s next week….)

On to the games:

NE 24, Buf 9. I know EJ Manuel is the starter in place of Tuel. I just have to believe Belichick will design something for the rookie QB with only one good receiver.

Car 20, Sea 17. Carolina has the LB’s to neutralize Marshawn – and I’m not sure I trust Wilson yet on the road, outdoors, in a 1 pm Eastern game with no Percy Harvin.

Cin 23, Chi 19. Are we sure we know how good Chicago is? It takes a while to learn Trestman’s offense.

Det 31, Min 24. Should be a lot of points, as Detroit can’t stop the run (Peterson) and Minnesota’s Pass D is very shaky (for Megatron)

Ind 28, Oak 17. Oak may be able to move the ball here against the weak Ind run D.

KC 19, Jax 17. I’d be very scared of this game if I were a Chiefs fan. What exactly do you have in Alex Smith and Andy Reid?

Atl 34, NO 31. From personal experience, you don’t get that much of a defensive upgrade when you hire Rob Ryan.

TB 19, NYJ 10. If the Jets go down 7 in this game, how do they move the ball?

Pit 23, Ten 20. I’m sorry, I may be biased(um – you are. Period. –ed) but I think the Steelers are ready for a decline. Can the revamped Ten O open up holes for Chirs Johnson? I say yes.

StL 19, Az 10. Regardless of what my idol Bernie Kosar says, I like Jeff Fisher and the foundation is in place in St Louis. I think that means a easy win vs. Carson Palmer.

GB 24, SF 23. The Packers had all off season to solve Kaepernick – and I believe they will design the D to force Kapernick to throw the ball – and who will he throw it to? This is a statement game, just like week 1 last year when the Niners went into Lambeau and won.

Dal 31, NYG 27. Is every NFC East game going to be within 3-7 points?

Was 24, Phi 20. This is a game I will just watch to see how Chip Kelly’s offense will perform in the NFL – and if Vick can actually run it.

Hou 27, SD 17. I know this is a trap , but I just can’t see how the SD Offensvie line stops Houston’s pass rush.

Best bets: 17 of them.

NE -9 1/2

NE/Buf under 51

Car +3

Sea/Car under 45

Cin +3

Min/Det over 46 1/2

Atl +3

Atl/NO over 55 1/2

TB -3 1/2

TB/NYJ under 39 1/2

Ten +6 1/2

StL -4 1/2

Az/Stl under 41 1/2

GB +4 1/2

NYG/Dal over 50
Phi/Was under 52

Hou -4

Supercontest picks:

Cin +3

Ten +7

GB +4 1/2

StL -4 1/2

Hou -4

NFL Nostaglia

It seems every year we spend the NFL opening kickoff weekend in Hong Kong. This allows me to have free access to YouTube - and to get pumped up by watching old NFL broadcast openings !

While we wait for the week 1 picks to come up - later today China time - spend some time down memory lane by watching these NFL telecast openings on CBS. Which theme song reigns supreme ?
Stay to the end of each for some fun surprises! In the first, you will see our friend Verne 25 years younger ( and 60 pounds lighter); in the second, someone needs to get Hank Stram some AquaNet immediately !


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cE5Sn-DWXhE&feature=related

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JXIaXleffC0&feature=related

Supercontest Notes

It's just about here - the NFL season! We will continue the weekly posts here on the blog, linking the NFL picks each week to a random subject....last year, it was Asian meals; the year before, it was a review of casinos that I have been at. Any ideas for the topic for this year's picks are welcome!

To recap:
Last year: record: 142-124-9 (53.4%)
Overall record: 875-794-51 (52.4%)

We will be in the Supercontest again this year! Our 3rd year of running with the bulls and seeing where we stack up with the best handicappers in the world. I've compiled some interesting stats from our picks over the past 2 years - and they are eye openers. Maybe I should have these tattoeed inside my eyelids so I get this information ingrained.

Record for the 2 years of the Super Contest:
Overall: 81-83-6.

Picking Away Favorites:  14-7-3  (!)
Picking Away Dogs: 25-27-1

Picking Home Favorites: 25-38-2 (!!!)
Picking Home Dogs:  17-10


Most picked teams in the last 2 years:
11 times: New York Jets: 4-5-2 in those games
10 times: Tampa Bay: 4-6
9 times: Dallas: 4-4-1

Least picked teams (outside of the Browns):
2 times: Oakland: 0-2
3 times: Green Bay: 2-1
3 times: New York Giants: 1-2
3 times: San Fran: 3-0
3 times: Washington: 1-2

Now, for opponents: Who did we pick against?

Most times picking against a team:
9 times picked against Oakland: 5-4
8 times picked against Chicago: 4-4
8 times picked agaisnt Houston: 5-3
8 times picked against San Diego: 5-3
8 times picked against Tennessee: 2-5-1 (!)

Least times picking against a team:
2 times picked against Atlanta: 0-2
2 times picked against Denver: 0-2
2 times picked against KC: 2-0

Random notes:
We are 4-0 when picking with the Bears
We are 5-1 when picking with the Patriots, and 3-0-1 picking against the Pats!


I'm still shocked we picked Rex Ryan's team 11 times in 2 years.










 

What I am known for in Guangzhou

So this one hurt a bit. All the families arrived back in Guangzhou this weekend - I went to the clubhouse to take Martin swimming. Freddie was in the lobby with 8 or 9 of his middle school friends.

One of them, Sean, is an 8th grade (good athlete - his dad works at Nike!) and was on Freddie's local basketball team last year. I was the assistant coach.

Sean said hi to me. "Hi Freddie's Dad!"

Hi, Sean. How was your summer?

"Good. Hey - are you going to coach basketball again this year?"

You mean in the league that starts in January? Uh, I don't know. Probably.....

"Oh good! I love it when you coach and yell at the Chinese officials all the time!"

Oh - that's why you want me to coach? For your entertainment?

"It's great! You yell and they have no idea what you are saying!"

Maybe I should tone it down a bit in 2014.....

 

Twitter up and running

Yes, I know I am about 3 years late on this bandwagon - but I set up a twitter account last week. It is @Ericez74. I'll still have the blog for longer posts - like the one above - but it's much easier to post on Twitter when I am around on my mobile. Come follow me! (that's pretty shameless -ed. )

 

Eric as Kevin McHale

For the past couple of years, I have been playing basketball many Tuesday nights at the American school. The peope that play on Tuesdays are about 75% ex-pats and 25% Chinese. There are some (not many) Americans; Russians (hoo boy, that's fun), Filipinos, Africans, and Hong Kong-ese. The basketball there is fairly recognizable to any American....

However, I'm about to enter another adventure. The different functions at work (engineering, IT, line businesses, etc) have started a basketball round robin tournament. The engineering group have asked me to play on their team. These guys are all in their mid- to late-20s, and - well, they are fairly small. About 5 people have come up to me - seperately - and have said "oh great, we need a center. You can play center, right?" Um, I'm barely 6 feet and 41 years old, trying to run with 27 year olds.  A center? Sure - you realize I can't move well, right?

We had the first practice tonight in a university gym - with no air conditioning. Holy crap, it was hot. Some random notes:

- It's the first pick up game - ever - where everyone on the team says "ok, we are slow, so we are not going to play man-to-man." Zone? Really? In a pick up game? I haven't played a zone defense since 1989.
- We were shooting around to begin with; I hit a jumper. I stayed in my spot, expecting the rebounder to pass me the ball back.....uh, no. None of that courtesy.
- There is no "checking" when playing a half court pick up game. You get the ball at the top of the key, and go..... no chekcing to see if the opponent is ready.
- Rules will be obeyed! A team voluntarily called a half-court violation on themselves. They  actually inbound the ball when it goes out on the sidelines (vs. just checking at the top).
- Not a lot of jumpers are taken. The offense is either drive into the lane and get fouled (a la LeBron) or pass to try to get someone a layup. Many are reluctant to take the 10, 12 footer. I hit one near the start - that elicited a lot of ooohs and aaaaahs.
- Terminology: someone passed to me when I was open, but I wasn't looking.....I apologized; he said that I was "empty" and that's why he passed it. Empty? Oh, you mean I was open..... I guess it could mean the same thing.....unless I was insulted and don't know it.


Our first game is Sunday morning - and I've been told (by another American) that we are playing in a school gym that resembles the Thunderdome. I'll try to take more pictures.

Back (in China) for More

Hello all - back from our 4 month hiatus from blogging and back from our 5 week summer trip home to the US. Things got crazy in the spring with work and too many kids activities - no time for blogging.

As most of you know, we've got good news to share - Janice got promoted to a new role in late May. It is in Guangzhou as well.....so that means, of course, that we will be here for another 2 years, as the clock resets. So - 2 more years of fighting the VPN for blogging, 2 am Mondays in the fall and pretty cool vacations.

Thanks to all for a great summer - lot of memories and activities packed into the 5 weeks. Some random thoughts:

- I think kids need to be 4, 4 1/2 years old to be self-sufficient on long flights. Martin was not too bad on this trip - except where he spilled his Sprite on himself in the first 45 minutes of the 12 hour trip.....didn't expect to use the one change of clothes that early on.
- Thanks to Don for hosting the annual get together at his house.....it's always nice to have that to look forward to when the year becomes long in April, May.
- Golf over the summer is getting worse year after year; the Vineyard was an embarassment (especially round 2). But got to see our friend Paul win the event.
- A gambling bonanza from July 2-9, with a trip to Vegas to see Layup and his family, and then bonus days with Wiz coming into town for golf and gambling for 2 days. I introduced Layup to baccarat and Janice to Salon drinks.....saw the Hoover Dam in 120 degree heat....and, of course, had a horrible bad beat to a parlay where we needed an under 8.5 to come through to win, and the score going into the 9th was 3-0......
- I need to spend more time with Steve and Kermit somehow...... my 39 on the front nine at Champions where I hit 0 fairways and 1 green was the highlight of my golfing summer....

- Freddie and Warren are old enough now to play golf on a "real" par-3 course; my Dad and I went out with them during the last week. No, the picture is not from a real-life "storm chasers" - it's an impending storm coming while we were on #4 at the Bruin.
- It's good to be able to start clubbing your son; hole #5 is a 85 yard par 3 over water - it's no longer an automatic driver for Freddie. He hit a 7 iron over the green.

- Weight loss: I didn't blog about this, but in the spring (post-Vegas), I made a concerted effort to lose weight. I got serious about exercising and my diet. It's surprising to really see how much a difference my diet makes - if I just eat smart, I lose 1-2 pounds a week with regular light exercise. I lost a total of about 15 pounds from March - June; I only gained 5 back over the summer. Now, back in my routine, time to get back to the diet and lose some more.

It's hard to find 30, 45 minutes straight to write/post topics; I am thinking about getting a Twitter account to post quick thoughts about random topics, pictures, etc. I'll still try to post on the blog once a week - and the football picks will be coming too!
 

Our secret weapon - Fast Food

If China gets too far ahead of us in the race for world domination, never fear....we are unleashing our secret weapon....American fast food, and the huge amount of meat on each on the sandwiches.

Here are actual advertisments seen by the McDonalds and Burger King near work in the past few weeks. First, the McDonald's new offering, which looks like something that would be on my plate during a 4th of July celebration:



And then the BK offering - the Quad!

How does this actually work?

The video below is from a typical intersection in Guangzhou. Traffic is coming from my left - and then also from my right, meeting at a right angle at the intersection.

To start - you see the traffic coming from the left. However - look at the traffic light above the yellow bus. It's green - and that's for the traffic from the right. As I pan the camera, you can see the traffic from the right moving - and you can see the light green as well for the traffic coming from the left.

The one thing to know is that the traffic from the right can not go straight; it's a one-way street coming at the intersection.

So we have green lights all over the place, cars heading straight and turning right into the same lanes - and it all somehow seems to work. Fascinating if it's not so scary.

Hometown boy at the Masters

By now, I'm sure many of you have heard about the 14 year old phenom from China that will be playing in the Masters this week. His name is Tianlang Guan. Gene Wojcechowski came to China in March to meet the kid. Here's the link to the story - it is a must read.

The kid is from Guangzhou! How about that! The picture of the airport check in is from the Guangzhou airport, and it is the exact same checkin booth that we use all the time (because we are "Sky Priority" for Delta, which is a China Southern partner). I left for Vegas on Tue, March 12; it looks like he left for the US on Wed, March 13.

Some comments about Gene's article:

- His description of Chinese Vodka (called "Bai ju", or literally, White Alcohol) as jet fuel is spot on.
- Do the Chinese lift their shirts and scratch their bellies in public? Is Tiger the favorite this week?
- The article talks about Tianlang going to the Zhixin high school, the best public high school in Guangzhou. I asked my driver about the school.
"Oh yes, good school"
Can anyone go there?
"Uh....no. only government and businessmen go there"
You mean their kids?
"Yes. Only government families and rich businessmen families can go there. You have to pay to get in....100,000 RMB" (about $15,000)

So, I wonder how "public" was translated....