NFL Week 12: Macau

It's time for the tried and true escape destination for us while we live in China - and that, of course, is Macau! Like that's a surprise to anyone who remotely knows me. We just got back from another long weekend in Macau - landed Friday from India to meet the family, and then left today. As always, it's a great escape from the drudgery of mainland China life.

The kids usually have some random Thu/Fri or Monday off in the fall - and for those 3 day weekends, we head on down to Macau. I still have specific memories of watching Browns games in the hotel room at the Venetian:
2010: a painful OT loss to the Jets
2011: a barnburner 6-3 win over the Seahawks
2012: a classic come from ahead OT loss to the Cowboys.

I think I have been to Macau at least 12-15 times; we go at least twice a year with the family; I'll meet Wiz down there when we visits (3 times so far) or if my friend Ken comes in (twice), and then I've been down a few other times (40th birthday, Xmas shopping...). We've taken both sets of parents down there.

The first 2-3 times we visited, we never left the Venetian. A typical day was McDonald's for breakfast, Fatburger for lunch and then either room service or the Hard Rock café for dinner. The day would be either mini golf and swimming at the pool (on the fabulous 36 hole mini golf course at the Venetian), or shopping and the Qube play area (complete with 8 foot slides).

As soon as Martin got older, we decided to leave him in the room with F&W, and Janice and I went to Morton's....and that's now a staple of our trip. (and, of course, the Gin Martini for Janice...)

After a few visits, we got brave enough to actually leave the Venetian and Cotai strip to see the rest of the island.... like:
- the St Mary's cathedral downtown (on black-and-white cobblestone streets)
- The "old" Portuguese consulate, a pastel estate in the middle of the crowded Macau streets;
(but we still haven't made it to the premier historical landmark, St Paul's cathedral front, from the 1600s)
- the "House of Dancing Water" show (where the management says 10 times before the show that cameras are not allowed....and the first picture was taken by a spectator at 0:02 into the show)
- the Macau Grand Prix
- and, of course, my CBS This Morning appearance!
- a "CSI" exhibition in the Sheraton across the street where we could feel like a real CSI detective....which caused us to watch CSI marathons for 4 weeks after that
- and, for this trip's adventure, the Science Center.

On the first several visits, we had to pass through the main gate from the Mainland to Macau - a border you can walk over. This immigration gate was the terminus for 37,294 bus tours from China daily.....it can take you 30 minutes or 3 1/2 hours to get across the border. A new gate has opened up that is much closer to the Venetian; the first trip down there took us 3 1/2 hours....from leaving our house to get into the hotel room at the Venetian.

I've talked about the gambling many times here....and it still is impressive. This trip I saw someone win a HK$600,000 tie bet in Baccarat- that paid $6.4MM!!! There were only three staffers around the table when that payout was made.....which tells you how "in stride" they take those sort of bets. I have never been in the VIP rooms, but I can assure you that the bets made in there are 10x that size.

(Oh- the three staffers around the table? That was the same amount of people that watched Janice and another P&G friend (Carin) play baccarat at the $800 tables, the lowest available minimum....I don't think they get too many native Ohio women to play at the Venetian. Of course, I taught her husband Baccarat the day before....)


This was also the weekend of the big fight between Pacquiao and Rios; unfortunately, we were trying to head to the buses today at 1:30 pm, just as the fight was letting out. Here's what we had to take 3 kids, 2 suitcases and 4 bags through.

So many experiences of Macau so far - like memories of our oldest rivals, the Steelers. God I hate them and their fans. Please, Rob, let's beat at home. I have several memories of 41-0 blowouts where the Cleveland Stadium was full of fans waving those piss colored towels. Let's beat them up good.

And to get you hyped, I urge all readers to watch this...20 years ago.....if this doesn't give you chills, then get the hell off the blog......I still vividly remember this (especially the second return).
(And Collinsworth was doing the game? Wow....)

On to the games:

Det 34, TB 17. Tampa won their 2 at home, now going on the road against an angry Detroit team. I don't think Tampa can stop them.

Hou 23, Jax 20. These picks were sent in before my friend Mike (who we met in Macau) was able to stop me from taking the Jags.

GB 27, Min 17. I think the Pack defense will stop the Vikes and Ponder just enough.

KC 23, SD 13. Yes, I will bite on this sucker pick.

Mia 16, Car 13. "Sell high" - that's what I am doing with Carolina. They will have a letdown here.

StL 24, Chi 20. I can't figure any of these teams out.

Bal 27, NYJ 20.  The Jets are one-dimensional and I have to believe the Ravens will take advantage of that at home.

Ten 26, Oak 24. One of these teams will still be in the wild card race after this??

Az 31, Ind 20. I think the Cards are for real, especially at home.

Dal 30, NYG 17. The Giants, on their win streak, have beaten Josh Freeman, Matt Barkley, Terrelle Pryor and Scott Tolzien. Enough said.

NE 27, Den 24. I can't turn down points with the Pats at home.

SF 27, Was 16. After watching the Browns for 15 years since 99, I know when bad teams start to quit. And the Skins are resemebling that.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-7-2; overall: 80-76-5
Det -8
Jax +10
GB -5 1/2
KC -3 1/2
SD/KC under 43
Mia +4 1/2
Car/Mia under 41
NYJ/Bal over 39
Ten/Oak over 41 1/2
Az -3
Ind/Az over 45
Dal +2 1/2
NE +2 1/2
SF -5 1/2

Supercontest: Last week: 3-1-1; overall: 27-25-3
Jax +10
GB -5
Mia +4
Dal +2 1/2
SF -5 1/2



 

NFL Week 11: Boracay

We will start this week with the Browns, as they travel to Cincinnati for a huge AFC North game. In case you haven't seen the standings, this is a battle of the top 2 teams in the North, with Cincinnati (6-4) with a 1 1/2 game lead on the Browns (4-5). If we win, we pull into a tie in the loss column with the Bengals and own a season sweep against them.

The Browns board has been calling this the third biggest regular season game since the return, behind:

- Week 17 vs. Atlanta in 2002 - when we clinched a playoff spot "Run William Run!"
- And Week 16 at Cincinnati, where we threw the division title and a playoff spot away because Winslow and Anderson had a lover's quarrel on the field. Derek threw 4 interceptions as the Bengals upset us...I was there, and it was painful.

I'm not making any predcitions on this game - as per most division games, I am hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. I can see any sort of outcome here. We do have 2 weeks to prepare for this game - as we were on a bye last week. So that's a lot of thinking and anticipation for the fans to get ready for this game.

Which brings us to Boracay - an island in the middle of the Phillipines that was our first Chinese New Year vacation getaway. At the time, we had all sorts of anticipation for this trip - really? 2 weeks where the country shuts down? And we are going on a 9 day vacation to a resort that claimed to have one of the best beaches in the Phillipines.... well, we expected a lot.

The anticipation grew as we found out it was one of those places where you "couldn't get there from here". Our itinerary to get there was simple!
- Fly to Manila
- Layover for 2 hours
- Domestic flight of one hour to some remote airport
- Bus ride of 90 minutes
- Then a boat ride to the island

That was not easy with a 2 year old that was in the middle of the terrible twos.

But it was well worth it. Boracay was a mix of isolation, pampering (of course we stayed at the Shangri-La), and a bit of East Coast-boardwalk atmosphere in the city.

The main beach was spectacular - white sands, juice/shake shops and bars up and down a 3 miles stretch where it is the most populated. It was a boardwalk atmosphere -without the boardwalk; you just walk up and down the beach in barefeet from one "store" to another. Yes, there were the hawkers tryign to sell you shell necklaces and other junk, but it was far from high pressure sales.

We took tuk-tuks down to the main part of town 4-5 times during the stay. The kids loved it. Remember, this is 6 months removed from the US-based smothering safety laws; the idea of riding in an open-air golf-cart type vehicle on the main roads was fascinating to the kids - and it still is!

On the other side of the island - where the beach wasn't so good - was a spot for kitesurfing. We got to the beach area there - and saw 50 kites in the air in this large open water area - each attached to a kitesurfer. We spent two hours there just fascinated by those guys....how is there not a tangled mess of wires every 10 minutes?

The resort itself was nice - how could it not be? - and they had ocean-based activities every day for the families and kids. One of the days was a father-son kayaking competition in the ocean.....oh yeah, I'm a first class kayaker. So Warren and I go first, go out to some buoy and turn around (it's freaking hard to turn around!!!) and drag ourselves back. Warren was 7 at the time, so he was little/no help in the paddling.

We got back to shore, clocked in, and I fell down on the beach, tired.....and 30 seconds later, Freddie comes up. "OK, now it's my turn!!!!" hoo boy.....

This was our first vacation where we experienced:
- the laid back attitude of the Phillipines (and South-East Asia, in general); Martin was screaming and wanted a Sprite; we went to the bar to get him one...the 6 people behind the bar all nodded, "yes sir" ....and stood there. No, I mean NOW! Do you not see this kid screaming???
- how close the Asian ex-pat community is. We saw a random American couple on the beach; they lived in Shanghai...We told them we were from Guangzhou. "Oh", they said..."Do you know the..." and named a family that works on our floor at P&G. It is a small world.

Other than the one night where Martin screamed from 1-3 am in the hotel room due to a sunburn, it was the vacation we anticipated.Hope week 11 turns the same anticipation for the Browns into reality....

On to the games....

Buf 26, NYJ 16. The Jets are a horrid road team, and the Bills should disrupt Geno.

Chi 27, Bal 20. Bal is a pure one-dimensional team now, and easy to plan for.

Hou 20, Oak 13. I know Pryor is out...but are we sure Houston can score points?

Az 27, Jax 10. I believe last week's showing was an aberration for the Jags.

Phi 34, Was 20. Possbily too easy - how can you turn down Philly's offense vs. the horrid Washington pass D?

Det 20, Pit 16. No real idea. Nothing would surprise me here.

TB 20, Atl 13. I'm impressed the Bucs have not given up yet; it sure looks like the Falcons have.

Mia 24, SD 20. Just a hunch here.

NO 31, SF 17. The Saints are a juggernaut at home, and they have tje defense to contain Kapernick.

Sea 27, Min 20. The Seahawks run game can be exposed....and does Minnesota have a running back?

NYG 27, GB 23. I think both teams will move the ball here.

Den 30, KC 27. Hoo boy. It will be fascinating to see if the Chiefs are for real and can score with Denver...or if the rush can stop Peyton.

Car 24, NE 20. I have no real feeling on this game...Anything can happen. Great D for Car...Pats off the bye...Brady looks better....Can Cam handle it? Too many questions.

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 8-5-1; overall: 74-69-3
Buf +1 1/2
Chi -3
Bal/Chi over 42 1/2
Oak/Hou under 41
Az -8 1/2
Phi -4 1/2
Det/Pit under 45
TB +1 1/2
Atl/TB under 43 1/2
Mia +1
NO -3
Min +12
GB/NYG over 40 1/2
KC +7 1/2
KC/Den over 49

Supercontest picks: Last week: 4-1; overall: 24-24-2 (back to .500, finally)!
Buf -1
Az -7
TB +1 1/2
NO -3
Min +12 1/2

Caption time!

Time to let your imagination run wild!

Martin and I were walking back from soccer on Saturday - and as we entered our housing complex, we saw a big commotion by the sidewalk next to the lake. There were at least 10 people from the housing staff gathered around.

We went closer - and this is what we saw.

So many questions from this picture:

1. Yes, that is a golf cart in the lake. The staff have golf carts that they use to run around the complex.

2. Yes, that is a guy crawling out of the lake.

3. That's a nice oil sheen on the lake.

4. Yes, that's about a 3-foot tall metal fence that protects the sidewalk from the lake. It is actually very sturdy, and there was no gap in the fence all along the lake (before the cart busted it down).

Thoughts on possible explanations on how this occurred?
 

NFL Week 10: Xi'An

It's bye week! The Browns are on a bye this week, so I don't have to spend 2 paragraphs this week discussing the pros and cons of our various quarterbacks, who change as much as lead characters on "The Edge of Night". The bye week is a good time to step back and take stock of where you are with the season - is your record really indicative of how you are playing? Are you lucky to be where you are at, or are you really a 7-2 team trapped in a 4-5 record? (Don't answer that, Chargers fans.). In short, at the bye week, you ask: "Is this real?"

And that was a question we asked a few times in Xi'An last year. In September, another family and us took a weekend trip to the inland city of Xi'An, home of the Terra Cotta warriors. We left on a Friday, landing in time for dinner - and going to a Brazilian steakhouse at the hotel with the boys. After the first 30 minutes, they were in heaven - meat! more meat coming! - but then I was pissed as they asked for so much but didn't finish it all. What the F are you doing? There are ex-pats in China that would DIE for that meat! You WILL finish your plate!

Saturday was the big day - a full day tour of the town with the focus on the Terra Cotta warriors in the afternoon. The morning was spent going to a market - a clear tourist trap, with the kickbacks from the shopkeepers to our driver/ tour guide barely hidden from us. A few "ancient" China coins were bought, and we were on our way.

The next stop was a cave dwelling - in the side of a mountain, we were able to visit a hole in a cave where two families actually lived. The tour guide talked a bit how this is culturally important, and how we need to preserve this way of living for the native residents - but, again, how much of this was real, and how much was staged?

In the afternoon, we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors. What a site. A 100 acre area - at least - was roped off into a national park, with a good entrance fee. There were three structures - each about the size of a college field house (like Cole Field House, for instance) that were excavation sites. They clearly built the structure around the site. Inside, you could see about 1/2 of the site - the area that was exposed contained the re-constructed terra cotta warriors as they were guessed to have been laid in the earth some 600 years ago.

We watched a video at the beginning of the tour that gave some details on how this all came about: in 1971 or so, a farmer was innocently out farming his field, when - voila! - he found one of the Terra Cotta bodies. He dug some more - and found another, then another, and kept going! The government was then called in.....and soon after that, they started mass-digging the area as they realized what was going on.....

(and in 1972, Nixon came to China and China was opened up...Coincidence?)

So they built these strucutres/buldings - brick museums next to the field houses, pavement all over the place leading into the three houses.....and I was struck by one thought....


How do they know there isn't more underneath the concrete sidewalk? Or under the big entrance plaza?

Janice is convinced the whole thing is staged.....that this is a government ruse to "create" worldwide tourism to a depressed part of China. I'm not so sure....In any event, it is very impressive; the soldiers are massive, about 7' tall....and there are thousands of them in the area. If you fully buy into the idea, it is mindblowing.....but.....you just have this nagging feeling.....

..... We left the next day back to Guangzhou - and we were happy to leave as the pollution that day was especially bad. We did not see the sun on the whole trip to Xi'An, and this picture may be a small reason why..... So when you complain about the smog in LA, or the air quality in Cincinnati, it can always be worse. A lot worse.

....about that nagging feeling, however.....where are we with the Browns? Is this really a 7-2 team that got trapped with a bad QB for a few games, and are stuck with a 4-5 record? Or are we really a true 4-5 team, a team with no running game, inconsistent passing and pass coverage? The second half will tell.

On to the games:

Ten 27, Jax 10. So many people say this is atrap game for the Titans, as the Colts are next.....they could be right, but I can't take the Jags.

GB 30, Phi 20. The Pack have a stellar run game and a solid D, and they are at Lambeau.

Pit 23, Buf 20. I would not be surprised by any result here.

NYG 34, Oak 17. Yes, I'm swallowing the bait here. The Giants are a pass-first offense, off a bye, against a team that let up 49 last week.

Ind 23, StL 20. How many lives do the Colts have?

Sea 20, Atl 16. Boy, Seattle is struggling offensively. Is this an upset in the making?

Bal 23, Cin 20. The Ravens make magic at M&T stadium, especially in division games.

Chi 33, Det 27.  Seems like a crazy, back and forth game with a late Stafford interception.

SF 20, Car 13. I will refuse to believe in Carolina until they beat somebody. This would count.

Az 27, Hou 17. The Texans have a one-dimensional offense (pass), going against a stellar pass D.

Den 34, SD 24. Yes, yes, I know. Too easy.

NO 34, Dal 23. Same thing, but I can't see the Saints coming out flat after a loss like last week.

TB 23, Mia 16. Tampa is starting to play a bit better, and will win on the Mnday night stage.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-7; overall: 66-64-2

Ten -12 1/2
GB +1 1/2
NYG -7
Oak/NYG over 43 1/2
StL +9
Sea/Atl under 44 1/2
Bal +1
Chi -1
Det/Chi over 52 1/2
Car/SF under 43
Az -3
Den -7
NO -6 1/2
TB +2

Supercontest picks: last week: 2-3; overall: 20-23-2

GB -1 1/2
Bal +1 1/2
Chi +2 1/2
Az -2 1/2
NO -6 1/2
  

Random Notes

1. It's a bad idea to put Lotrimin on what turns out to be a mosquito bite on your foot. Just nasty.

2. What does Lotrimin do - rip off the top 1/8" of your skin chemically?

3. Should all this Lotrimin talk be filed under "Too Much Information"?

4. Had to have an alcohol talk with Freddie this week - a 13 year old girl (Italian, if that matters!) bought a bottle of vodka at the corner shop and drank half of it last weekend. She was found unconscious on the sidewalk next to her vomit. Better do the sex talk now, while we are at it.

5. I heard the story from a parent last Sunday --- so I asked Freddie on Sunday if he had knew this girl. "No" was the answer. I asked again on Tuesday.... "yes! She's the one that drank the vodka, right?" Middle school networks are very effective.

6. Tried to play rugby (touch!) with the older kids over the last 2 weekends. I have no idea what I am doing. I lateral the ball, then go downfield 5 yards. "What are you doing???" Oh yeah, no forward passes. No blocking in this league, either.

7. Thanks for finally moving your clocks back, guys. I now get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday nights.....
 

NFL Week 9: Cambodia

Cambodia. For those of us ages 30-50, I think the word "Cambodia" brings up one image. Not the Khmer Rouge....but Sally Struthers.
I remember so many commercials in the afternoon of the 80s where Sally implored us to donate to the poor Cambodian kids, as they were holding out a empty bowl begging for food...Won't you do something?


So last December, we decided to go to the Siem Reap, Cambodia, to visit the ancient temples of Ankhor Wat....and all I could think of before I went was of those commercials. Was there abject poverty everywhere? Was I safe? What in the hell is Cambodian cuisine?

Siem Reap turned out to be a pure treat, if you stayed on the beaten path. We landed in the afternoon and quickly went downtown (which was all of about 6 blocks). There were several markets and plenty of Western restaurants - including a Swensen's Ice Cream shop. Oh yes, we visited that twice. I got my fill of Adidas golf shirts (the Tangerine one that I wore in Vegas was from there), and Warren and Martin got PSY shirts with "Gangnam style" all over it. Yes, that was the craze a year ago.


At dinner, Janice announce we are going to the templates the next day - that's fine. Oh but wait, we are not going during the "day", but supposedly it is magical when the sun rises over the temple in the morning - so we will be there at sunrise. We did the calculations.....sunrise, getting tickets, when the tour guide suggest we leave the hotel....so it was a 3:30 wake up call. With three boys! Nice!

The  next morning, we get out of the hotel and out the door, and arrive at the park around 5 am in pitch black darkness. And it was packed. We get to the location of the main temple where there is a reflecting lake in front - and we are no better than in the 3rd row of tourists. All Asian, of course, so they are all packed in with more coming behind and elbowing you.

It's unfortunate - clouds blocked the sunrise from being fully seen - but it still was impressive. As the morning became lighter and lighter, the temples became more and more massive. These temples were constructed by hand and no "adhesives" were used in the rock structure - no mortar, for instance. The rocks were custom-cut to fit perfectly on each other. Fascinating.

We went to two other temples; some had trees growing in them (with roots all over the ground in the temple); it really gave off a "Indiana Jones" vibe. I believe that the "Tomb Raider" movies were shot there. By then, it was 11:00 am, and it was already 95 degrees. We decided we'd had enough - and back to the hotel, pool , and markets for the day.

The next day we went on a riverboat ride to see the floating villages. This is where Sally's kids have been hiding all the time. It's not near the temples, but in the outlying locations. As you made your way from the docking station to the main lake where you had lunch, these kids - no more than 6  or 7 years old - would be in a tiny metal bowl rowing up to you. The bowl was no more than 3' in diameter, and the kids had no clothes on. "Dollar? One dollar?"

You immediately figured out that this is like seagulls on the East Coast - you feed one, then 59 more of them come up. So of course we gave one a dollar, which resulting in more impoverished kids rowing up to us. It was hard to say no....but then you look in the floating villages, and almost all of them had TV antennas and TV's in there "hut". So how much was real poverty, and how much was a show for the tourists?

I played golf the next day at Nick Faldo's signature golf course just outside the city; a nice course - nothing spectacular - and from the 17th hole, I looked over to my left - outside the walls of the course - and there is a basketball court; four children are playing on the dirty court, again without clothes.

So the poverty is out there. The city (country?) just does a great job of sweeping it under the rug and having it hidden from the tourists that come in. It's a good strategy. You can close your eyes to it for a good 3-4 days if you want, or you can look out just a bit and you will find it easily. It all depends on what you want to see on your vacation.

To the Browns: we've lost 13 in a row to the Ravens - which makes us seem like the Sally Struthers victims of the AFC North. (The last win was November 2007, where Dawson miss/made that crazy FG to send it into overtime....where we kicked another FG to win and essentially knock the Ravens out of the playoff chase.). We need to stand up - finally - and not be the little brother in this relationship. I have a good feeling about this one. We will be hiding our poverty (Brandon Weeden) and putting our best face forward. I expect a lot of trick plays here as we pull out all of the stops, going into the bye.

(And if we do win here, we have Cin, Pit x2, NYJ, NE, Chi, Jax left. Not exactly murderer's row. Can you say 5-2 finish???)

On to the games:

KC 19, Buf 16. It all depends on Buffalo's QB here. Who is it? I was surprised how well a good D line (like the Browns) got to Alex Smith.

Car 27, Atl 24. This is the last stand here for the Falcons - and Carolina has beaten up on pansies the last 3 weeks.

Dal 30, Min 24. Dallas plays to the level of competition.

NO 23, NYJ 20. Brother vs Brother in New York. I like the Jets' running Offense vs. the poor run D of the Saints.

Ten 23, StL 13. This seems to easy - why is Tennessee only a 3 pt favorite? St Louis gave its all last week...and lost.

Was 30, SD 27. Just another gut feeling - Washington plays well at home.

Oak 24, Phi 13. I have faith that Oakland will move the ball vs. the poor Philly D. Go Pryor!

Sea 24, TB 10. Seattle's struggling O vs. a team ready to quit on their coach.

NE 20, Pit 17. Another 4 pm Eastern classic that goes down to the wire.

Ind 27, Hou 23.  I think Case Keenum will keep the Texans in the game, at home, vs. a shaky Indy defense.

GB 31, Chi 20. How can you pick against GB after what they have showed the past several weeks?

Best bets: 13 of them. Last week: 8-6; overall: 60-57-2
Atl +7 1/2
Atl/Car over 45 1/2
Min +9 1/2
NYJ +6
Ten -3
Was -1
SD/Was over 51
Oak -1 1/2
Phi/Oak under 44 1/2
TB/Sea under 40 1/2
Pit -6
Pit/NE under 44
Ind/Hou over 44

Supercontest: Last week: 3-2; overall: 18-20-2
Atl +7 1/2
NYJ +6
Was +1
Oak -2 1/2
Pit +6 1/2

 

NFL Week 8: Vietnam

Week 8 takes us to Vietnam - a fascinating country that was the first destination that Janice and I had split opinions on. I loved it; she would be fine if she never went there again. In summary, the country is Asia in miniature. It seemed to be overcrowded like China's cities; pulsating 24 hours a day like Bangkok; strove to be like the USA while "officially" hating it, and a government that was vainly and futilely trying to control the population.

It was alive. With tons of motorbikes!

I wrote a blog post earlier about Vietnam and my impressions - see here - and today I'll expand on a few things:

1. Motorbikes; when I first came to China, I was expecting to see motorbikes (or at least bicycle) everywhere I went. Not so in Guangzhou; motorbikes are outlawed, and bikes are somehow not that prevalent down here. (In the north of China, however....). The government has clamped down on motorbikes in order to control the pollution here in Guangzhou; in Vietnam, no such ordinance. There are 100 motorbikes on the road for every car. There are many families of 4 riding on a single motorbike across town. At a stop light, it looks like the start of a 100-cycle BMX race. 10 of them at the starting line, 10 deep.

2. How do you cross a busy street full of bikes when there is no cross walk? Easy - just raise your hand. Our tour guide led us across a busy street by raising one hand over her head, and walking straight out into the street. Immediately, the bikes moved left to give her room. It took us 2-3 seconds, but we then jumped into the street and followed here. She kept her hand up the whole time as the bikes saw her and veered out of the way. She was a modern day Moses.

3. Gambling! There is gambling in Vietnam! Our hotel had a "casino" in it that seemed to be a medium size conference room with all sorts of electronic games. I settled on the electronic blackjack - $5 minimums, and yes, the units were all in US dollars. They had the video screen that "dealt" cards - and there was an actual human dealer! The "dealer" hit the buttons to activate the computer dealing. No chips changed hands - the accounting was all on the computer. The "dealer" was just there for show to have someone official running the game.

I lost a million that night in blackjack....a million Vietnamese Dong, if the units were in the Vietnamese currency. The 20,000:1 exchange rate is still wild.

4. The Vietnam war memorials still creep Janice out, and they are discomforting. The government clearly wants to communicate that the evil Americans caused all this - but the general public (at least in the South) does not go along. I've gone back for work and heard this sentiment several times. They had the Agent Orange museum that the tour guide "forced" us to see - we left Warren and Martin in the day care center, while Freddie went with us. Somehow, Janice and I both lost track of Freddie and he got separated from us; we found him in one section staring at the victims with burned-off legs and arms. "What happened to them???" Uhhhhhhh.......

5. The food....spectacular. The French influence served them well.

6. They are on relatively the same longitude as Guangzhou - maybe a bit more to the West - yet they are an hour behind us. It gets light here early in the morning (I have had a 6:00 tee time here in GZ: now, the sun rises at 6:15).....so in Vietnam, it is very bright at 5:30 am. There is activity on the street at that time. it seems like the action never stops.

7. I won't go into the waterpark adventure we had again - but here were the waterslides we rode in the middle of a random Thursday afternoon....we were 5 of the 40 people at the park that day.

Vietnam just feels....alive and real. The motorbikes, the food, the craziness of the currency, the official party line of hating the USA while everyone is out to make a buck....it's fascinating, it's chaotic. I'd love to go back to Vietnam - the south part. I hear the north part is just like China.....

But chaos for a vacation is refreshing. Chaos for a football team....well, that's the norm with the Browns. We are not even into the third month of the NFL yet, but we are on our third quarterback! Hello Jason Campbell! To be a success, all you need to do is not fire 100 mph bullets as screen passes, and try to scramble for 5 yards once a quarter. That will put you ahead of Mr. Weeden for good.

If he can limit the mistakes........our defense is good enough to stop KC.....can the upset happen???? I will hope for it until it is 14-0 after 1 quarter again.

On to the games:

Det 31, Dal 24. I'm not liking what I see in the Cowboys offense.

SF 27, Jax 10. Mike A - I know you are reading this. Please stop me if I ever talk to you about taking the Jaguars again. You have permission to slap me.

NE 23, Mia 20. I read some stats on Brady - and I couldn't believe it. He is the 29th rated QB in the league????

NO 34, Buf 17. Boy, the Bills are tempting here, but the Saints are off a bye, and maybe this Rob Ryan defense is good.

Phi 30, NYG 20. Can we really judge how well the Giants are after Freeman's debacle last Monday?

Cin 24, NYJ 13. The Jets will be exposed by a superior Bengals team this week.

Oak 24, Pit 23. Don't these two teams play every year in Oakland? And don't the Raiders always win a wild one over a jet-lagged Steeler team?

Az 24, Atl 16. Where are people getting the idea that the Falcons are any good?

Den 37, Was 17. I had the Redskins last week, and their defense is horrible. 42 points given up to McNown and the Bears!! Manning will be out for revenge - he better, since he's the only solid player on my GZ fantasy team.

GB 27, Min 24. Honestly, I'm not that impressed with GB. Yes, they have a good running game - but with all the injuries at receiver, their passing game is not where it should be. And Ponder will be a decent replacement for Freeman.

Sea 23, StL 17.  I think something is missing from Seattle's offense. Yes, they played well against Arizona - but look at the games; they are in the 20s against teams with average or better D's. Is St Louis at that level? No, but Fisher will get a rise out of them for Monday night.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 6-9; overall: 52-51-2
Det -3
Mia +6
NO -10 1/2
Phi -5 1/2
Cin -5
Oak +2 1/2
Pit/Oak over 40
Az - 2 1/2
Atl/Az under 46 1/2
Den -11
Was/Den under 59
Min +8
GB/Min over 46 1/2
StL +12

Supercontest: disappointing 2-3 last week. Overall: 15-18-2
Mia +6 1/2
Cin -6 1/2
Az -2 1/2
Min +9 1/2
StL +10 1/2

 

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