New Year’s Blog Resolutions

I’m ripping this idea off from my friend Tripp who talked about what you could expect from her in the upcoming year.  I figured that was a pretty good idea, especially with new shows checking in and some things I write about checking out (football, sob!), so I’m borrowing the idea for myself.  This is also my 100th blog, so it seems a good time to talk about the year ahead and look back at what I’ve already done.  Momentous occasion!

First up, I’ll be blogging weekly on Lost when it checks in.  Lost is my FAVORITE show so I am very very excited for it’s return on Jan 21st.  I, again, will not pretend to be a better TV watcher than I am, I’ll write what I liked and what I didn’t and hypothesize a little for you, but if you’re looking for someone who will be able to lay out the myth arc hit someone way more intelligent than I could ever hope to be.

Okay, embarrassing admission time, there is one reality show that I watch and one reality show that I write about.  American Idol, back in a couple weeks.  I don’t know if I should be embarrassed about this but I’ve been writing about it for a couple years now on myspace and I figure I’ll bring the action over here as well.  I doubt I’ll start this one until they get to Hollywood though, my patience for the loser contestants wears out quickly and I figure they don’t need any more attention from me than an eye roll.  We’ll see though.  New judge may inspire me to write something, who can say?

Friday Night Lights will check back in and I’ll be thrilled to write about that one.  There are few shows that I love as much as FNL.  Family drama and football, what more could you ask for?  Oh, and some hotness…they have that too.  I have managed to stay relatively unspoiled on this show despite the fact that DirectTV aired all the episodes already, so it’ll be fun to experience them with fresh eyes.  I actually stay unspoiled on all shows but Days, I need to mentally prepare myself on that one.

I’ll continue my NFL coverage through the Super Bowl, then have a little time out until April when I will live blog the first round of the draft.  This will be another first for me, but I figure I watch the whole thing so why not catalog it for ya’ll?  I’ll also have to play along with the Favre retirement watch no doubt, my disgust in that will boil over and I’ll have to say something.  Hell, I’ll say it now, he’s coming back people, he can’t stand NOT being in the spotlight.

Baseball will come back in April and I may write about it some, but it’s really hard to get too interested early in the season.  I imagine if the name Barroid Bonds gets invoked I will feel the need to write about that, but I think he might really stay gone and that will keep me relatively happy.  I have no idea what to expect from my team this year, probably nothing good, and that will drive my interest in the season; it’s not like football where I can talk about all teams.

I’m not sure what new TV shows I might take up, I plan on watching Dollhouse for sure but whether it’s worthy of writing about remains to be seen.  Trying new TV shows in this day and age is just asking for pain, so I’m gonna try not to get too attached.  You just get too hurt when they disappear in a year or two.  Farewell Dirty Sexy Money, miss you Moonlight, sorry to see you go Jericho.  You get the idea, I get nothing but disappointed generally.  It’s why I resisted Heroes and didn’t start watching til the 2nd season.

I will, of course, continue to write about Days until it finally takes its dying breath, which could be soon the way things are going.  I figure if you guys are toughing it out, I will too, despite the pointless plots and terrible writing.  I need to have a bitter blog here and there and Days seems to provide more than enough fodder for that!

I will continue to write about Heroes and Supernatural weekly as well try to write more about other shows I love like Bones, I really do need to add that one in.  I think I’ll be doing a whole lot of writing from the sound of it!  Maybe I’ll be less rambly than usual, that might help!

I think that’s about it, if anybody has any suggestions of things they’d like to see me address, feel free to leave a comment and tell me to get my butt in gear!  I am willing to consider writing about movies as well; after football season is over I tend to see a lot more flicks, so we’ll see if anything is worthy there.  So, I look forward to the new year, hope everyone has a happy one and I hope you all come back to see what I do in the year ahead.  Doing this blog for the last 6 months has been a lot of fun and one of my joys.  Does this make me sad?  I don’t know, but there you go!  See you soon!

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Week 17 NFL Notes

Romo commits more no-no's and Dallas loses. Photo from the AP.

The league giveth and the league taketh away.  You know, watching Tampa self destruct against Oakland yesterday had my blood pressure shooting up to unsafe levels but then a beautiful thing happened to restore order to my personal land.  Firstly, the dream was achieved, with Green Bay hanging on to a much too close victory over Detroit.  0-16…I have finally seen the day!  Then, even better, Philly destroyed Dallas, slapping them all over the field like they were red-headed step children (apologies to all the red-headed step children that may read this, it’s just a saying!)  And all of a sudden I didn’t care that my morons choked away a 10 point lead to the Raiders.  Dallas was out of the playoffs and all was well yet again.  On to the thoughts:

• I, of course, must begin with 0-16…a pinnacle as of yet unheard of in the league.  Someone always manages to sneak in a win, like Miami last year (thanks again Ravens) to destroy my hope.  But this year Detroit came through for me.  For that I will always love them.  Thank you, Matt Millen, for building the perfect team of suckery!  Thank you, Rod Marinelli, for being incapable of eeking out one win this season.  Thank you Dan Orlovsky, just for being some random QB that lost a lot of games.  Thank you, Dante Culpepper, for not saving the day when you unretired.  Sorry, Calvin Johnson, that Detroit stole you from my Bucs.  I will miss you til the day you retire.
• Farewell Cadillac Williams.  Another blown left knee.  I’m so sorry for you, I hate to see that happen to any player, let alone one of my own who worked so hard to come back.  I really think losing you knocked all the wind out of our sails, though you aren’t to blame for the crappy tackling exhibited by my once vaunted defense.
• What happened to my Bucs?  Well, a mediocre offense that can’t be bothered to score unless they’re running the 2 minute drill or coming from behind in the second half was a big contributor.  A defense that is unable to get any pressure on the QB was another BIG contributor.  Tampa needs a pass rush like yesterday.  I better see D-line addressed heavily in the draft this year.  Garcia was also an issue, not patient at all, happy feeting all over the place and making some bad decisions, missing some wide open receivers.  It was really ugly and I have no more words for my team.  They sucked, moving on.
• Luckily the Bucs were not alone.  The Bears had everything on the line and managed to lose to Houston.  The real pisser of this game was that I initially was picking Houston to win and then I second guessed myself and changed it.  For that I blame the Bears more heavily.  The Bears loss didn’t hurt them in the end, due to Minny’s win over the Giants, but still, they could have won to make things more interesting when Minny was going for that game winning FG.
• Another team that tanked was the vaunted NY Jets.  News broke early today that Mangini got shit canned.  As a Patriots supporter, I won’t deny this made me laugh.  Karma’s a bitch, Eric.  And I’m sure the great folks in Green Bay were laughing watching Favre throw 3 picks in a must win game…sounds familiar doesn’t it?  All credit, though, goes to Miami.  From 1-15 to a 3rd in the AFC.  Fantastic.  Bill Parcells must have a deal with the devil.  Also congrats to Chad Pennington, nothing feels better than sticking it to your ex team and getting a playoff spot to boot.
• The Miami win knocked the Pats out of the playoffs, which is very disappointing as I would have liked to see how Cassel performed in the playoffs.  With news that Brady might not be back next year, it’ll be interesting to see if they hold on to Matty or if they’re spreading lies to jack up the asking price.  Wouldn’t put it past Bill, would ya?
• The game of the day must have been Carolina/New Orleans.  It looked like NO was gonna pull the upset and knock Carolina to the 5th seed but instead Delhomme found Steve Smith (who else?) for a big gainer and they kicked a game winning FG.  Hilariously Drew Brees still had a chance at Marino’s yards record with one second left but his receiver broke off the route and the ball hit the ground, leaving Brees 16 yards short of the mark.  I find that amusing, probably because I don’t care about the Saints.
• One of the most interesting teams heading into the playoffs has to be the Chargers.  They’ve been on fire in recent weeks and they demolished Denver last night to claim the final slot.  It’ll be interesting to see them play Indy next week, I’m not as confident in an Indy victory as I was a day ago.  Well I’ll do my picks in a few days, so we’ll see which way I go then.
• Congrats to Minnesota for edging into the playoffs with a 20-19 victory over the Giants.  And thank you, Giants for the nice little David Carr sighting you provided.  My mom and I appreciated it.  So pretty!  On topic, Minny has to be a bit concerned about Adrian Peterson’s fumbling issues.  He needs to be more careful with the ball.  I don’t think Minny will make any noise in the playoffs but if they do it will be because of AD, so he needs to hold on to the football.
• Yesterday wasn’t a good day for injuries.  Caddy with his knee, Madison in NY, Big Ben in Pitt…we’ll see if this effects anything for these teams.  Losing a corner won’t help the Giants any and Big Ben’s head better be straight before the playoffs hit.
• Lastly, can I just state again how friggin hilarious it was to see Philly smack the shit out of Dallas?  How many fumbles did Romo lose?  5?  Alright I think it was 2 or 3, but it sure felt like 5.  Not to mention an interception.  And that fumble by Barber that got returned 96 yards for a TD…a thing of utter beauty.  I haven’t laughed that much watching a football game in years.  Loved every shot of TO yelling on the sidelines in the first half, I think he quickly figured out it wasn’t worth it though, he was quiet in the second half.  Pacman had a fumble, Roy Williams was a nonentity and Romo looked like a lost little boy out there.  Just perfection.  Congrats to Philly, an interesting addition to the playoffs and a potential threat to every team there.  I’m looking forward to seeing how they do.  Funny how a few weeks ago they wanted McNabb and Reid run out of town huh?  Also a shout out to Brian Dawkins who caused a couple of the fumbles and was all over the field, including directing the crowd in their Eagles song.  Classic.

I had a hard time coming up with the Douchetard this week, there were so many great choices really.  And I have to bestow two because that’s just how we roll on a week such as this.  So, the first Sage Rosenfels Memorial Douchetard of the Week award winner is my own Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Yep, the whole team gets this one for losing 4 straight and playing their way right out of the playoffs.  It took a team effort to lose to Oakland and make Michael Bush look like Walter Peyton, so the whole team gets props.  Our other Douchetard goes to living legend Brett Favre, for his 3 pick day against Miami with the playoffs on the line.  Ok, they were on the line for NE at that point but still, inexcusable that he comes up so lousy in yet another big game.  Even more, the reason he’s really getting this reason is because now I have to go through another few months of the Favre Retirement Watch.  I thought I was blissfully free of it after last year but then they came back and we have to go through it all again.  So, Brett Favre, congrats on your Douchetard Award…more special hardware to follow I imagine!

Those are the main highlights I wanted to hit this week.  It has been an interesting year and week 17 lived up to the rest of the season as well.  I went 10-6 this week, so that feels much better than last week’s terrible showing.  Back later in the week with a look at the playoff match ups and bestowing some awards.

Last Week:  10-6

Season Record:  160.5-94.5

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Week 17 NFL Picks

Happy holidays, football fans.  I’m back and coming off a rather putrid 7-9 week, so things have got to be better this final week, right?  Although of course this is the week that wacky things happen and teams that clinched rest people and all sorts of stuff, so maybe not.  We’ll shoot for better anyway and see how it goes.

Atlanta over St. Louis:  The Falcons are in the playoffs and still have a chance to win the division with a Carolina loss, so they still have much to play for.  Not to mention momentum.  The Rams have been playing for a top draft pick, as they’ve been doing all season.  No incentive here so the Falcons get the pick.

New England over Buffalo:  The Patriots still have a chance to hit the playoffs with some help but of course they first have to win.  I don’t see this being an issue.  Has any team tanked more than Buffalo after their hot start?  NE rolls.

Kansas City over Cincy:  In the game that means absolutely nothing, this week’s Suck Bowl, I’ll go with the team that has been far more competitive each week than the one that has a win over the lowly Browns.  KC has lost several heart breakers but they’ve not quit, not sure I can say the same for all the Bengals players.  KC with the win.

Green Bay over Detroit:  And here it is…the quest for 0-16 comes down to this week, to this team, to this moment.  And I’ll admit it, I’m scared as can be over this one.  Will my dreams be dashed the final week of the season?  Will Green Bay continue to choke away games they should have won?  I’m going with them to hold on, pride on the line and all that, and give us the dream season.  Come on Lions, don’t let me down.

Indy over Tennessee:  Tenn has clinched and Indy is in as well, so not sure what teams we’ll see out there.  I think Dungy will keep his starters playing for awhile and I’m not sure about Tenn, thus I’m going this way.  Frankly I would go this way even if both teams played everybody, Indy has shown something in recent weeks while Tenn has been more of a wild card.

Minnesota over NY Giants:  The only reason I’m going with this one is because the Giants have clinched and Minn is fighting for its playoff life.  They still have a chance to take the north.  Again, I’m going with the team that has the motivation.

Carolina over NO:  Carolina still needs a win to clinch the division, even though they’ve earned a playoff spot.  NO has nothing to play for, except hatred of Carolina perhaps.  I nearly went with the Saints but their defense is crappy and Steve Smith will likely have a field day.  Carolina wins and claims the NFC South title.

Pittsburgh over Cleveland:  And now we know that a team with no quarterback really can’t survive in this league.  I mean, we knew that before, but it’s been reconfirmed.  Ken Dorsey?  Did anybody really know he was still in the league?  I sure didn’t.  Perhaps this week when they lose Brady Quinn will get punched again by another random player.  The Browns are fun at least!

Tampa Bay over Oakland:  Unbelievably Tampa is still in the playoff hunt after 3 terrible weeks of football.  They should be able to beat Oakland, but who can say with this team anymore?  The Raiders have shown signs of life in recent weeks so I can’t be as comfortable about this pick as I would like to be, but I will again go with the team that has the most on the line.

Chicago over Houston:  Hmm this one is tough.  Houston has actually played well in recent weeks but the Bears are fighting for a playoff spot so they should be going all out here.  I’m not going with an upset even though I don’t think that much of the Bears, despite their being on the cusp of the playoffs.  Orton still has not won me over and their offensive game plan, just chuck the ball down field and hope Hester catches it or gets a flag doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me.  However they are fighting to make the post season so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and pick there here.  I’m sure Houston will make me pay for that.

Baltimore over Jacksonville:  This game could go the other way but Balt is hungry and they’ll want to keep the Pats out of the playoffs.  I believe that is the scenario…there are so many going through my mind that I can’t keep track of them all.  Jax is one of the disappointing teams of the year, no reason they should rise up now.

Washington over San Fran:  Just because someone has to win.  Chalk the Skins up as another team that was a major disappointment.  I still can’t figure out what went wrong with them, it seems like they have the pieces there they just can’t put them together.  I’m happy the 49ers are signing Singletary longterm, I do think he’s the right man for the job and he has them playing hard at a time when they’re not playing for much of anything.

NY Jets over Miami:  Here we go to the big games…and I honestly have no idea what to expect here.  Every time I pick against Miami I end up regretting it, and every time I pick the Jets I end up regretting it too.  But for some reason I am inflicting a double whammy on myself by predicting the Jets to beat Miami.  So either I’ll really get it wrong or whatever voodoo these teams have working against me will cancel out and I’ll get it right.  Should be interesting at any rate.  The Jets get the nod because they’re at home and desperate.

Dallas over Philly:  Yep, I am predicting that my morons miss the playoffs due to Dallas winning at Philly.  It seems like the kind of thing that would happen to Tampa, after all, doesn’t it?  Frankly they don’t deserve to make the playoffs anyway.  I am hoping that Philly takes it but I have no confidence in them and Dallas feels like that team that’s going to luck into the playoffs and maybe make some noise once they’re there.

Arizona over Seattle:  Who cares really?  Zona is one and done in the playoffs and Seattle has nothing going on.  This game bores me.

San Diego over Denver:  Here’s the other big win and you’re in game we have this week.  I really couldn’t begin to guess what is going to happen in it either, but I do know that Rivers shredded Tampa’s defense last week and Tampa’s defense is a heck of a lot better than Denver’s is.  Of course, this is a divisional game and it feels like everything gets thrown right out the window in those games.  San Diego has been playing well in recent weeks and I think they’ll continue the trend and win that division.  Hard to believe that they can come back from their terrible record early in the season but there you go.

So that’s it for the final week in the NFL.  Let’s hope that my picks are a bit more accurate than last weeks were! I’ll be back next week with playoff predictions and individual awards.  Enjoy your final week of regular season football!  Oh, I forgot to name a Douchetard of the Week for last week…tough call but I think Big Ben gets his second award of the season.  With home field advantage on the line he lost two fumbles and threw a pick 6 when the game was still not out of reach.  Congrats Big Ben!

Last Week:  7-9

Season Record:  150.5-88.5

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Dark Days Ahead

Since this will probably be my last Days post of the year, unless something major occurs that final week, I thought I’d take a look at the storylines we have going on and a little bit about what’s coming up, though I’m not quite the spoiler whore I used to be, so I don’t know a lot.  However, it’s not very hard to project is it?

Regular readers may be surprised to hear me say this, but from what I’ve read on the John/Marlena leaving front, I am rather irritated at their send off.  Yep, you read that right.  I’m not gonna pretend to be sorry that they’re going, but you’re talking about a legacy couple that’s been on screen for 20 some years, on and off, so why did I read that their exit is going to be facilitated by the new psychiatrist?  Something along the lines of them uniting to help her deal with her issues.  The hell?  Don’t they have enough issues of their own to deal with without adding on some extras for some character that the audience doesn’t give a damn about?  I loved Amanda Cory as much as the next gal and I wouldn’t mind if NuShrink stays but I really don’t think that John and Marlena’s final story should be about her, do you?  Hell, you could have Stefano have a come to Jesus moment and descramble John’s brain and it would make more sense than this!  John could have fallen off Bo’s rickety ladder and become psychic…whatever.  I may not be a J&M fan but if I was one I would be royally pissed at that kind of send off.  Their exit should be filled with fun cheesy flashbacks, big hair and raised eyebrows and a chorus of gasps.  This long time viewer will accept nothing less.  Of course I’m going to get it, this is Higley we’re talking about.

Since I mentioned Bo’s fall from his ladder…why not go there?  Was this some long lost James Reilly storyline that was lying around and they decided to incorporate it in tribute after his death?  Why is Bo hearing the fakest kid cry I’ve ever heard?  At first I assumed that he was hearing Theo’s big surprise present, which is some moronic baby doll.  That doesn’t seem to be the case though, it looks like someone is going to be in peril.  I haven’t read up about this one, I’m just assuming.  If Bo is gonna be a psychic, can’t he use his powers for good?  Maybe he could envision one of Kate’s horrible future ensembles and go burn it before she can wear it.  He could foresee a Sami screech and stop that in it’s tracks.  He could see Melanie plotting to go after Philip and issue a preemptive strike by having Philip arrested and thrown in jail for his own safety.  Most importantly, he could envision Dr. Dan fondling his next defenseless patient and go give him a beat down from hell.  If we’re gonna go for camp, Higley, just go for it for god’s sake.

Speaking of Dr. Dan….really Higley?  Is this your idea of kicking off a possible romance?  Patient breast fondling (shout out to Paxton!)?  I have seen some sick shit in my day but very little has turned my stomach the way that scene went down.  It was foul.  Throw in the fact that the girl he was fondling was donating her bone marrow to save the woman he’s dating and it becomes downright reprehensible.  And, even worse than that, we’ve not seen that scene just the one time, it’s been flashed back to almost every damn day since it happened, a couple times it was multiple times in the same episode.  Cause god forbid we not see Dr. Dan getting all hot and bothered remembering his groping, we have to see Chloe getting worked up about it.  What is wrong with that woman?  How could she find that shit remotely attractive?  She should be filing a complaint with Chief of Staff Dr. Johnson (though that would require them to remember that Kayla is the Chief and give her a scene, which would be unacceptable, silly me!)  I really don’t have the words to express the amount of disgust I feel for this storyline.  I’m glad sexual harrassment is hot to Higley, that and elevators.  God forbid she ever get stuck in one with some innocent bystander.

Moving on, how about that hot triangle between Stephanie, Philip and Melanie?  What’s that you say?  It’s not remotely hot in any way?  But Higley assures us that it is.  She knows romance people!  See breast fondling for exhibit A!  Seriously, I can deal with Philip/Stephanie.  It’s far better for me than Phloe and Stax, so I can support them coming together.  I think they have some chemistry.  It’s not light the world on fire hot, but it’s decent and given time it could get interesting.  I like the workplace aspect to it, because it’s nice that someone in Salem is working.   But there’s no point in getting interested, is there?  Because it’s clear as day that this story isn’t about Philip/Stephanie.  It’s about Melanie (like all things must be).  If you weren’t brained by the anvil the other day when Philip said he’d much rather get his hand mangled in a garbage disposal than be with Melanie, well, check your head anyway, maybe you missed it.  Philip hiring Melanie to work at his office made no sense whatsoever…her stalking him and Stephanie around town isn’t funny or remotely good soap.  Now she occasionally gets great lines, “Tis the season, bitch” might be the best thing I’ve heard in months on this show, but still, everything does NOT have to be about her.  And Philip should NOT be interested in an 18 year old wannabe vixen.  I was one of the people who initially liked Melanie but when the show became all about her and she was sneering her way through every scene it got to be enough.  Stop the madness, Higley, let Philip have his brain back.

The baby triangle continues to excite me down to the tips of my toes.  Or is that athlete’s foot?  More likely than to find this crap remotely interesting.  Safe in the safe house?  I don’t think so.  I get that Higley is trying to recreate Roman/Marlena here but it’s not working.  The chemistry isn’t there, for one, the acting isn’t there, for another, and the story just sucks anyway.  Rafe gets stabbed by the killer and goes back to the safe house without reporting it?  Why not set up a sting, since he knows the killer knows who he is now.  Lead him to the wrong place and catch him?  This makes entirely too much sense doesn’t it?  I don’t know what I’m thinking.  They could have at least let Hilda know what was going on.  She’s the only one in the whole mess that I remotely like at this point.  Oh, and if I see Rafe shirtless one more time before I see more EJ skin or Philip?  I will throw a shoe at my TV.  That guy has been shirtless more than both of the pretties combined in the last year or two and I find that ridiculous.  Blasphemy Dena.  Be in fear.

The EJole baby situation is just filling me with dread.  We all know where it’s going, I’ve said it here for a couple months now.  Nicole will get Sami’s baby, that Sami ridiculously will put up for adoption through that stupid convent.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this one coming.  I guess I should be happy that EJ’s going to get to be part of his kids life, even if it’s not the same mother.  So stupid.  Really, it wears me out just thinking about it.  All the characters have been ruined in this storyline, even my beloved EJ, so I hope Higley is happy.  Nicole was the one character that she actually made more interesting, but she fouled that up too by making her a needy wimp.  Sigh.

I think that’s all the big stuff coming up, I’m not talking about Chelea/Max because they are absolutely worth not one minute of my time.  I don’t know how Days ratings keep going up with the shit we’re being shovelled, but since I’m still here watching I guess I can’t cast stones upon the newbies that are checking it out.  I just hope they’re not liking it either.  I’ll be back in the new year with new and old bitches I’m sure.  Til then, get your Horton Christmas ball out and get it on your tree.  Have a great holiday!

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Bowl Blitz

I haven’t forgotten about college football, friends, it’s just that the 3 weeks of no games period kinda diminishes my love for and interest in the game.  Also the fact that my team sucked balls at the end of the year did nothing to inspire my love for the old NCAA either.  But the bowl season kicks off tomorrow so I felt it was time to talk a little about each game.  We’ll go in order, but I forewarn you that some of these games have no meaning for me and nor do I know jack about the teams involved.  In those cases, I will pick a winner and move on.  I’m sure you understand.

Before I start, how about we take a moment of celebration to gloat over Sam Bradford winning the Heisman.  Do I care about Sam Bradford vs. Colt McCoy vs. Grant Harrell?  No, I do not.  They’re all good and interchangeable to me.  But I do care about Tebow not being a two time winner, so thank you voters.  All 3 of those QB’s had better years statistically and were equal in the win/loss column, so you did the right thing.  Go to the NFL, Timmy, I’m sick of you and I have it on good authority that the Jags are dumb enough to take you.  Take the money and run!

Dec. 20th, Eaglebank Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Navy

What the hell is the Eaglebank Bowl?  Who is Eaglebank?  Clearly this game is not in my area of the world.  Navy has a decent offense but Wake Forest has a confounding offense that drives me insane.  They’ve beaten my morons 3 years in a row, so they ought to be able to beat Navy.  The Demon Deacs get the pick.

Dec. 20th, New Mexico Bowl:  Colorado State vs. Fresno State

Who knew Colorado State even qualified to go to a bowl?  I’ll take Fresno State here.

Dec. 20th, Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl:  Memphis vs. South Florida

Alright, I live in Tampa and I have no idea what Magicjack is.  The hell?  A friend informed me that it’s a phone jack, I’ve seen the infomercials.  This might be the lamest sponsor I’ve ever heard of.  I’ll take USF, it’s a home game in their home stadium.

Dec. 20th, Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl:  BYU vs. Arizona

Is BYU even allowed in Vegas?  Isn’t that some kind of religious violation or something?  I’ll take them anyway, Arizona did nothing all year.

Dec. 21st, R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  Southern Miss vs. Troy

Hee, you can tell we’re in the games I know jack about, because all I want to do is comment on the damn bowl names.  I miss the days of the old Independence Bowl.  Although the Independence Bowl did sell out and become my favorite bowl name of all time, the Poolan Weedeater Independence Bowl.  Good times.  My spelling may be wrong on that but that’s how it was pronounced.  Awesome.  Uhhh..pick…Troy, why not?

Dec. 23rd, San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl:  Boise State vs. TCU

Hmmm, this appears to be the second bank already on this very short list.  Is this where our bail out is going?  To fund the ludicrous out of date bowl system?  I best not dwell on this idea or rage will overtake me.  I love Boise State here, their offense is awesome; I’ll love them for all time for taking down Oklahoma a couple of years ago,  Innovative team and I want their OC as the new FSU head coach (you know, next century sometime when Bobby is gone).  This could be a good one but I like Boise State.

Dec. 24th, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl:  Hawaii vs. Notre Dame

I wonder, is Notre Dame the only 6 win team that made a bowl?  I recall hearing that 7 wins were the guide this year, but of course the guide doesn’t count when it comes to the Irish!  I’m too lazy to look it up, but we’ll go with it, conspiracy theorist that I am.  Why should it matter to them, they’re college football U baby.  Ok…they WERE college football u….like 30 years ago.  When will people get the hell off their jocks?  How many bowl games have they lost in a row?  Yet you keep on inviting them.  And they get to go to Hawaii of all places.  Whatever.  I’ll take the home team because I refuse to pick Notre Dame, even though they should win this one.  Maybe Weis will get another 10 year extension if they achieve the pinnacle of awesomeness by winning the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Dec. 26th, Motor City Bowl:  Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan

Um, we’ll go with Central Michigan, this is almost a home game.

Dec. 27th, Meineke Car Care Bowl:  West Virginia vs. North Carolina

Oooh this is a tough one.  North Carolina has played some great games this season but they were tailing off by the end of the year.  I don’t think a whole lot of the Big Least conference, so I’m not overly enamored of this pick, but I’m going with West Virginia here.

Dec. 27th, Champs Sports Bowl:  Wisconsin vs. Florida State

My Noles have had a couple of heartbreaking bowl losses in recent years but this one does not scare me at all.  Wisconsin’s running game can be a force but I think the Nole D will be more than ready to handle it.  I also think the team speed is something Wisc isn’t used to facing.  Noles roll.

Dec. 27th, Emerald Bowl:  Miami vs. Cal

I think this is essentially a home game for Cal but you all know by now how I feel about the Pac-10 Conference.  Miami had a roller coaster year and I just found out their QB is suspended.  My pick just magically changed, funny how that works.  Cal gets this one.

Dec. 28th, Independence Bowl:  Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

How about that?  Earlier I was whining about the lack of normal bowl names and I cited the Independence Bowl and here it is, intact yet again.  Who knew?  Not only that but my alma mater is actually playing in it.  This shows you how very closely I have been following the bowl selection process doesn’t it? hehe  I’ll go with Northern, since I got my degree from there.  Funny, when I went there the concept of Northern being in a bowl was unheard of.  I transferred there from FSU (yes, I was insane) and my friends made me go to a game with them.  They were in the band and I got to sit with them.  Northern was in the midst of the longest losing streak in the nation.  I watched with horror as that terrible team played in their tiny stadium and I told my friends they would never see me set foot in that stadium again.  My high school could have beaten them.  I was true to my word and stayed home and watched real football on TV from then on!

Dec. 29th, Papajohns.com Bowl:  NC State vs. Rutgers

Hee, it’s our first bowl named after a website.  And a pizza place of course.  I don’t like Papa John’s.  Rutgers underachieved all year, Schiano has to be sickened that he didn’t take the Michigan job.  Hee.  Meanwhile NC State blew all year and then came out of nowhere to start beating teams like UNC and Miami.  I have no idea who to take here…I guess I’ll go with momentum and take NC State.  I don’t like it though.

Dec. 29th, Valero Alamo Bowl:  Missouri vs. Northwestern

This actually has the makings of a good game.  NW can be kinda decent on offense, could be a shoot out.  I’ll go with the underachieving Missouri and Chase Daniel though, I trust him a lot more than whomever helms Northwestern’s offense.

Dec. 30th, Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl:  Maryland vs. Nevada

Roady’s?  I don’t think I wanna know.  Aren’t Roady’s those guys that lug bands equipment from city to city?  Are they humanitarians?  Maryland is the pick, I haven’t a clue.

Dec. 30th, Pacific Life Holiday Bowl:  Oklahoma State vs. Oregon

I’m still pissed at Oregon for beating Oregon State and thus giving USC the Pac-10 title.  Shouldn’t they have intentionally lost just to ensure that USC did not get the title?  How hard is this?  Every team in the Pac-10 has to hate them don’t they?  Anyway, OK State has a potent offense, I don’t see the Ducks hanging with them.

Dec. 30th, Texas Bowl:  Western Michigan vs. Rice

I’m pretty sure Rice is in Texas…so there you go.

Dec. 31st, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl:  Houston vs. Air Force

I don’t know about you but I’m not picking against a military academy in a bowl that is named after the Armed Forces.  That would be just wrong.

Dec. 31st, Sun Bowl:  Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh

I think I’ll go with what should be considered an upset here, since Pitt is ranked and Oregon State isn’t.  I’m thinking my boy Jacquizz will be healthy again and make the difference.  He’s why they beat USC, I think they can take Pitt.

Dec. 31st, Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl:  Boston College vs. Vanderbilt

Ahh Vandy, how quickly we devolved from the dream season to the forgotten one.  I don’t see the dream returning here, BC should win this one rather easily.

Dec. 31st, Insight Bowl:  Kansas vs. Minnesota

Not sure which way to go on this one, Minnesota has had a surprising season and Kansas was not nearly as good as everyone thought they’d be.  I guess I’ll go with Kansas, their QB should be good enough to push them over the top.

Dec. 31st, Chick-Fil-A-Bowl:  LSU vs. Georgia Tech

Awww, didn’t this used to be the Peach Bowl?  I miss the Peach Bowl.  This is essentially a home game for the Yellow Jackets and I like them to edge LSU.  LSU’s QB is error prone and GA Tech likes to blitz quite a bit.  They run that triple option offense that can confuse even the best defensive teams.  I like Tech in a close one.

Jan. 1st, Outback Bowl:  South Carolina vs. Iowa

Hmmm…this is another one that’s hard to call.  When I’m in doubt, you know who I’m going to go with, just out of sheer love for the names.  What will I do when Smelley and Succup are gone from the Cocks?  It’ll be  a sad, sad day.

Jan. 1st, Capital One Bowl:  Georgia vs. Michigan State

How far the mighty Dawgs have fallen, from #1 to the Capital One Bowl.  That’s okay, I don’t see them having much of a problem here.  As long as their defense can shut Ringer down, Knowshon and the offense should carry the Dawgs to victory without much of a problem.  Michigan State’s decent but they’re nowhere near UGA’s level.

Jan. 1st, Gator Bowl:  Nebraska vs. Clemson

This could be interesting, Nebraska’s big bruisers against Clemson’s speedsters.  I like Clemson here, not for any particular reason other than a gut feeling though.  The blackshirt defense hasn’t been around for years and I think Spiller and Co can do some damage.

Jan. 1st, The Rose Bowl Game Presented By Citi:  Penn State vs. USC

How obnoxious is it that the Rose Bowl gets referred to as The Rose Bowl Game Presented By?  No other bowl gets that distinction.  I loathe the Rose Bowl and I blame them and the Big 10 and Pac 10 for that fact that we’re without a playoff today.  Them and their antiquated ideas.  HATE.  Do I really have to talk about this game?  I think we all know damn well that USC is going to beat Penn State.  Penn State looked extremely mortal by the end of the year and I think the Trojan defense is going to smack them around something good.  Then Pete Carroll will gloat about his victory and declare himself the real national champion.  You know it will happen.  While I’m talking about good old Pete, who are you people who are searching out information about his girlfriend and his affair?  I get blog hits every single day on this topic and I can’t help but wonder why anybody cares?  Please, one of you who will inevitably find me, leave a comment and tell me what’s so friggin fascinating about Pete’s woman?  Thank you in advance.

Jan. 1st, Fedex Orange Bowl:  Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech

Why is it that every year we get at least one crappy match up in the big games?  This is of course one of them.  But I’m done yet (what up Bama/Utah?)!  I get that Cincy is a surprise winner of the Big Least but do they really need to get rewarded with a BCS game?  I’m all for abolishing the Big Least from contention.  I know, the ACC isn’t that much better but at least it was competitive this year.  And Va Tech will probably kick the crud out of Cincy, limited on offense though they may be.  That defense is gonna have a blast.

Jan. 2nd, Cotton Bowl:  Mississippi vs. Texas Tech

Good lord, I didn’t even know Mississippi was in a bowl game.  I don’t think this is going to be much of a game, but TT is fun to watch on offense and Harrell and Crabtree, unfairly left out of the Heisman ceremony, ought to have a big day.  If Crabtree is healthy that is.  Crud, I forgot he was injured.  See how little attention I’ve been paying?  Well regardless, TT is gonna roll here.

Jan. 2nd, Autozone Liberty Bowl:  Kentucky vs. East Carolina

Why is this on Jan. 2nd?  I thought there would be one game but there are 3.  I don’t get it.  I’m going to take the Wildcats because I haven’t a clue.  I’ve liked ECU in recent years but I think they fell off this year.

Jan. 2nd, Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Utah vs. Alabama

Bama, you were so close to the national title game but instead you’re stuck playing Utah of all teams in the Sugar Bowl.  I know Utah was once coached by the immortal Urban Meyer, god of everything, but I don’t see them defeating Nick Saban, coach who never saw a job he didn’t like, no matter what they do.  Keep an eye on that freshman, Julio Jones, that Bama has.   He’s awesome.

Jan. 3rd, International Bowl:  Buffalo vs. Connecticut

Not sure why this bowl hits on Jan 3rd, but whatever.  I’ll go with UConn.

Jan. 5th, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:  Ohio State vs. Texas

While Ohio State has improved from it’s early poor showing against USC, I think the Buckeyes are outgunned against Texas.  McCoy, still smarting from his Heisman loss, should be able to lead the Longhorns over Ohio State.  OSU has given up a lot more big plays on defense than I’m used to seeing in recent years, I expect Texas to exploit that.  Pryor is a phenom but he’s young and not good enough yet.

Jan. 6th, GMAC Bowl:  Ball State vs. Tulsa

This pick’s for Letterman, Ball State it is.

Jan. 8th, Fedex BCS National Championship Game:  Florida vs. Oklahoma

And here we have it, #1 vs. #2, also known as Nole’s nightmare bowl.  Could you pick two coaches that I loathe more than Meyer and Stoops?  Maybe, maybe if you had Spurrier and Paterno, then sure.  But it’s pretty hard to do.  Gators everywhere I turn…yeah I haven’t forgotten where Stoopsy came from.  Gah…I truly hate this game.  So we have Heisman winner this year vs. Heisman winner last year.  These match ups never seem to work out well for the current Heisman winner, they’re usually bested by the runner up.  So that favors Florida.  But for some reason I was actually rooting for Oklahoma to make this game, despite my Stoops hate.  I felt like OK was the one team that might be able to hang with the Gators offensively while occasionally stepping up on defense and making a stop.  My gut says to go with Florida but the bile rising up within refuses to let me do it.  I’m going with the Sooners, heart above logic.  I just can’t tolerate the Gators winning another title under Tebow.  Boomer Sooner…it hurts to say it but there you go.

So that’s my longest blog of all time right there…hope it was as fun for you as it was draining for me.  I really am looking forward to watching some football again tomorrow.  So many boring Saturday afternoons stretch out ahead of me after bowl season is done.  I always miss football when it’s gone, flawed though it may be.  I hope you enjoy the games…I’ll check in periodically to talk about what we’ve seen in some of the lesser bowls, then we’ll look at the big ones as they go, provided they are remotely interesting.  Happy Bowling friends!

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Week 16 NFL Picks

Can Carolina run past the Giants this week? Photo from the AP.

Last week was not one of my best weeks but it wasn’t as dire as I thought it was initially.  10-6 is not so bad…I got lucky with some last second scores, what up SD and Pitt?, so I sat a little prettier than I thought.  Still, we need to do better and try to finish the year strong!

Indy over Jax: While Jax is coming off a surprising win over GB last week (and one of my losses, not that I’m bitter or anything), they’re still not playing that will.  Indy let Detroit hang around longer than was comfortable for your faithful forecaster, but they held on to win.  Manning’s back to being Manning and there’s no reason to think he’ll lose to the depleted Jaguars.

Dallas over Baltimore: Not what I need to happen at all but the implosion in Big D seems to have been staid off somehow.  Very disappointing.  I want TO sulking and Romo and Witten laughing and then maybe TO running up and punching Witten…sigh.  This game could go either way and I frankly hope it does go the other way but I don’t trust Baltimore to be able to shut down Dallas enough.  Hope I’m wrong!

Cincy over Cleveland: Whoo hoo, could the Bengals actually go on a winning streak?  It looks good, what with playing the immortal Ken Dorsey and the Browns this week.  Hmm, that sounds like a band name…any drummers and guitarists out there need it?   I think the state of Ohio should get a refund for pretty much all their pro teams…I guess LeBron and the Cavs are good but who else really is?  And no, I don’t follow hockey so if I missed that, sorry.

San Fran over St. Louis: The 9ers gave it a valiant effort against Miami but came up a little shy.  The Rams are nowhere near as good as Miami…I really can’t believe I typed that sentence and it’s not sarcasm.  I still don’t know where the Dolphins came from.  Well that’s a convo for another game isn’t it?  The Rams let a lead against Seattle slip slide away and I really don’t think they care anymore.  I still thing Singletary is awesome so he gets the win.

New Orleans over Detroit: Ha!  Drew Brees against the Detroit defense.  I really kinda love it.  I think Manning had 300 yards or thereabouts against them, no reason to think Brees won’t do the same thing.  The Saints D isn’t much to write home about but even they should be able to stop Detroit.  0-15 boys…you can do it!

Pittsburgh over Tennessee: I couldn’t be more torn over a pick if I tried.  Pitt is coming off another last second win and Tenn is coming off a bad coaching decision loss.  Haynesworth is going to be out I believe, so that’s a minus for Tenn.  I think this will be another gut punch low scoring game but Pitt will pull one out.  They’re quickly becoming my favorite in the AFC.

Miami over KC: This will probably be the week that KC manages to hold on to a lead and take the wind out of my sails, but I’ve picked against Miami enough this season to have finally learned my lesson.  The Dolphins are apparently a good team.  I can’t figure out why, but they are.  Parcells is magic and right is wrong and black is white.  Whatever.  I can’t believe they’re going to the playoffs.  What a strange year.

NE over Arizona: I am torn here but if Arizona taught me nothing else last week, they’ve taught me that if they’re playing a decent team they are going to find a way to lose.  I don’t know how good NE is but they are decent in my eyes.  Cassel seems to get better weekly.  I worry about the Pats secondary against Boldin and Fitzgerald but Warner is probably good for a few turnovers that could turn the game.  This could be a fun one, I hope I get it.

Tampa Bay over San Diego: This pick scares me, but I think the Bucs will pull it together and get it done.  San Diego is a roller coaster of a team and they had an up last week so I’m counting on a down this week.  The Bucs have got to stop the run but Tomlinson really hasn’t been Tomlinson this year so I’m not as scared of him as I would have been in years prior.  I reserve the right to change this pick if the Bucs injury bug keeps Hovan and Garcia and Brooks out, however.

Houston over Oakland: Look what team suddenly came to life!  Houston has won several games in the late going and has been in the games they’ve lost too.  I can’t help but feel that naming the DT award after Sage has ignited them and made them strive to do better.  That and having Sage safely on the bench…but I’ll take the credit anyway.  I think Oakland just exists to give me the hope that vampires might be real (hot vampires though, not Al Davis ones). Er, for some real football commentary, Andre Johnson is on fire this year, nice to see him playing so well.

Denver over Buffalo: I still don’t have Denver figured out but Buffalo is pretty easy to put a finger on.  They really kinda suck.  And JP Losman…well he is the reigning DT of the week, so we’ll see if we can get our first consecutive award winner here.  Why not?  Denver’s D still leaves a lot to be desired but Cutler is playing well right now and that offense can be quite potent.

NY Jets over Seattle: I know the Jets have a crappy record on the west coast but I’m betting they will take this game.  Seattle had to fight tooth and nail to beat the Rams last week, so that doesn’t inspire me as to their ability to beat a decent team.  As long as Favre doesn’t have a zillion turnovers (which is never a safe bet) the Jets should take this.  Oh, and give Leon Washington the ball some more will ya?  He’s been making plays happen all year long.

Minnesota over Atlanta: Man this is a tough one to pick.  Atlanta could easily take the win, but you know what?  I need them to lose so that’s why I’m making this pick.  I won’t lie about it…they’re a great story but my Bucs need this, so that’s the way I go.  Minny put on a show in Arizona last week and I figure in the comfort of home they can pull out a close one.  Winfield needs to pick off Ryan once or twice to help the cause.

Philly over Washington: As you all know, I jumped off the Skins bandwagon weeks ago.  I haven’t been impressed with them in weeks really.  I don’t know what it is about that team but they just don’t seem to have the special “it” that other teams do.  Portis is crying and carrying on, Jason Campbell is just an okay qb, Santana Moss has been relatively quiet…nothing stands out about them.  Philly, meanwhile, perhaps reacting to my scorn, has decided to start winning again.  Their blitz schemes have really been confusing their opponents and Donovan seems to have his act together for now.  Philly gets the win.

Carolina over NY Giants: Ugh…I so do not like making this pick but Carolina has looked like world beaters two weeks in a row and the Giants have not.  If the Giants get a few players back I might be tempted to change this pick, but right now I just feel that Carolina is playing better.  I’m hoping this is one of the games I get wrong this week, I’ll happily take that.  This is another good match up though.

Chicago over Green Bay: I give up on Green Bay, I’ve obviously overvalued that team most of the year.  I’ll have to go back and see just how many picks they cost me.  As for Chicago, hey, somehow they’re managing to win with Kyle Orton behind center.  I don’t get it, but I’ll roll with it.  Matt Forte was a real find and that defense is playing pretty well right now.

So that’s what I see happening this week in the NFL.  Hopefully there will be less surprises than last week held for me.  Happy viewing and I’ll be back with you for NFL Notes on Sunday or Monday.

Last Week:  10-6

Season Record:  143.5-79.5

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Who’s Your Hero Now?

Sylar can mess with my mind anytime!

This weeks episode of Heroes was more of a roller coaster than I’m used to on this show.  There was tons of great stuff, there was tons of not so great stuff and there was plenty of confusion.  I think I’ll treat this episode the way I have some of my more recent Supernatural blogs and tell you what I hated, what I loved and what I think about where we’re headed from here.

Farewell freaky Puppet Master...why didn't Sylar get your power?

Things I hated:

• The over excessive carnage.  Look, I’m all for them trimming the cast but did they have to get rid of so many secondary characters in one episode?  I’m most unhappy about the Puppet Master, who was excellent in a creepy way but Knox, Meredith, soldier dude, most likely not Sylar but they did leave us hanging there…I guess Flint probably lived.  I don’t know, it felt too reactionary to me, like they said, let’s get rid of everyone we added before and get back to the main cast plus Daphne.
• Mohinder being cured.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Mohinder, but if he’s healthy now I have to live in fear that he’ll contact Maya and we’ll be tortured with her presence yet again.
• That rather lame space/time continuum explanation for Ando being able to supercharge Daphne and take her back in time to retrieve Hiro.  I’m no physicist but that seemed a bit out there.  I can suspend my disbelief but I found that one irritating.
• Nathan back to being a dumbass.  Is there a rule that a Petrelli but always be gullible and embrace the wrong thing wholeheartedly?  Do Peter and Nathan just switch off every few episodes?  I guess this proves that they are really brothers at least.
• Claire again being portrayed to be some kind of badass and getting the drop on Sylar.  I’m sorry but I will never buy her as a company agent sort and I will never ever accept her besting Sylar in any way.
• I touched on the Puppet Master before but I was very disappointed in his death…how the hell did Sylar kill him?  It was like something happened inside of him and we didn’t see anything and he just dropped, right?  I thought we’d have some excellent standoff and it was over way too fast.  I am also irritated that Sylar didn’t open his brain and take that power, imagining Sylar bending people to his will is really really hot.
• HRG not killing Meredith himself.  How epic would that have been for Claire to have to watch adopted daddy off her birth mother and attempt to understand and live with that down the road?  And don’t tell me HRG wouldn’t have done it…he might hesitate because Claire was watching but he’s all about the self preservation so I don’t doubt he’d do it in the end.  Sigh.
• Tracy getting to live.  I hate her and find her useless.  Now that she’s with Mohinder she can only get more useless.
• Being left hanging on the Sylar issue…look, I know he’s not dead and you know he’s not dead, but would it have killed them to show him slowly walking out of the fire or something?

No longer mother and son but still lots of fun!

Things I loved:

• Sylar! Sylar, Sylar, always Sylar!  His mindfuckery with Claire, HRG and Angela was truly a beautiful thing to witness.  Telling Claire to kill Angela to save her father, having HRG have to face killing Meredith with Claire watching, creating chaos and killing a buttload of villains we never saw.  Loved it all.  His confrontation with Angela at the end when she admitted that she just wanted him as a weapon against Arthur was a thing of beauty.  I’m glad Angela got to live of course but I could have dealt with that scene going longer and Claire not being involved in any way.
• Peter getting his powers back.  Thank god.  I don’t even care that the reasoning was pretty lame.  He injected himself with the formula in order to get his powers back and fly Nathan to safety.  Couldn’t Nathan fly Nathan to safety?  I know there was a fire but Peter flew through it so I imagine Nathan could as well.
• Petrelli brother angst…Peter punching Nathan and knocking him out.  Nathan hitting Peter with a pipe…that’s a lot of pretty beating on each other right there.  I guess I’m going to get my brother vs. brother showdown after all but it won’t be Sylar involved.  Yeah, I’m still mad about that.
• Ando getting a power, and an interesting one at that.  So Ando is now some kind of supercharger who can cause anybody with powers to be more powerful.  Can you imagine what happens if Sylar gets a hold of him?  Or if he unites with Peter down the line?  I can and it’s a thing of beauty in my head…hopefully it’ll play out that way, but I know better than to ask for it.  See Selle sex leading to Elle death to let you know just how my wants work out!
• The destruction of Primatech and Pinehurst.  Hey it’s fun to watch buildings burn and Primatech was pretty much played out at this point anyway, so I’m kinda glad to see them go.
• Hiro being powerless…I’m really okay with this because maybe it will force him to become an actual man for awhile.  Can he get his powers back?  The formula is seemingly destroyed and the catalyst appeared to go poof…I imagine it’ll turn up somehow someway though.
• Hiro punching out Tracy.  Best thing he’s done in ages!
• Nathan going to the president, President Worf to those who know the actor!, and giving him a list of all the people with powers and setting us up for them to hunt down our heroes and villains in the next installment.  Look, I know it’s been done before by X-men but it’s still awesome.  My dreams of Peter/Sylar teaming up could come to pass!  Angela vs. Nathan.  Peter vs. Nathan.  Claire vs. Nathan?  It’s all very interesting.  What side will HRG come down on?  And I didn’t see everyone in the files either…I have to re watch but I didn’t see the Petrelli’s in there at all.  Not that I don’t think they’ll be heavily involved, it’s just interesting that he may not have turned on his family.

Pretty Peter has his powers back, I'm a happy girl!

Well I think that hits the finer points of the episode.  Overall I really liked it and I’m probably going to be very anxious for February to hurry up and get here so I can watch the Fugitive Chapter play out.  I’m really very excited about what could be ahead for this show.  Let’s hope the writing lives up to the concept!

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Week 15 NFL Notes

A picture is worth a thousand words. From the AP.

It was not a pretty week for your faithful forecaster my friends.  I think I’m something like 8-7 or thereabouts…I’m really too annoyed by the week that was to go back and take a look at this moment.  I’ll survey the damage later in the week when it’s time to make my picks.  I cannot do worse than I did this week though.  It was a real wild one to say the least, many games came down to the last minute and fortunes were made and lost with each second that ticked by.  Not that I bet on myself, I’m too smart for that!  Let’s look at the week that was, shall we?

• The dream is still alive but it was very nerve wracking for me til midway through the fourth quarter.  I don’t know why Indy allowed Detroit to hang with them for so long but then Manning remembered that he was Manning and took control of the situation.  Maybe Dungy was feeling bad for Marinelli?  Not bad enough to throw the game though, never that!  Two more weeks to hope that our Ofer can be achieved!  I can feel it, can’t you?
• I think I’ve finally got Denver figured out…in that they’re impossible to figure.  They seem to change weekly, don’t they?  They got shredded by Carolina yesterday to the point that my local coverage switched to Pitt/Balt.  I was thankful for this because watching Carolina just irritates me to no end.  They’re looking really good right about now and they’re giving off that vibe that the Giants were giving off at the end of last year.  I am leaning toward making them the NFC rep in the super bowl right now.  That running game is a force and they’re not letting Delhomme blow the game for him like he was early in the year.
• Speaking of Pitt/Baltimore…how you feeling today Raven’s fans?  I’m actually not as up in arms about the call reversal as some people are, I thought it was a TD in the first place.  I agree that there really wasn’t enough visual evidence to overturn the call but the ball would have been at the inch line and I imagine Tomlin would have had Ben sneak that in for the final play to win the game anyway.  Plus I don’t like the Ravens.  Never liked them, never will, especially after they gave Miami their lone win last year.  They ruined my Ofer hope last year and I do not approve.  Also I wanted the Bucs to get Flacco.  It would have been nice to have him, wouldn’t it?
• Tampa…I really don’t know what to say about my beloved team right about now.  They’re getting killed in the 4th quarter by the running game.  Now two of the D-lineman were out but jeez.   Of course I don’t lay the blame on this game on the D, this week the O gets that one.  They could do nothing as usual when they approached the red zone and were a missed FG away from winning anyway.  The playoffs are looking like a very distant possibility right now but I can’t even let that bother me…if they got in they’d do nothing anyway.
• At least one east coast team can play well on the west coast.  NE pounded Oakland 49-26 and they were up 35-14 in the first half.  That was one game that was never in doubt.  Moss got to score two TD’s against his former team and Cassel was an efficient 18-30 for 218 yards and 4 td’s, with one pick.  Not bad.  It might be too little too late for them thanks to Miami and the Jets both getting wins, but they’re hanging in hoping for some help to get into the playoffs.
• I am so glad that I picked Arizona to win at home yesterday.  I figured they’d put on a good show after having clinched their division and a playoff spot, but not so much.  They gave up well over 200 yards rushing and had a couple of turnovers and that was that.  I’m not looking for the Cards to do anything in the playoffs, they’ll probably be one and done.  Minny meanwhile is looking pretty good.  Jackson is coming into his own and Peterson is a beast, they could make things interesting in the NFC North and the playoff race.
• We can officially add Washington to the list of playoff has-beens this year.  They can join Jacksonville and San Diego and Seattle in that ignominous category.  They managed to lose to Cincinnati on Sunday, pretty much ending their hopes of sneaking into the playoffs.  Mike Sellers lost a fumble while diving in for a tying score and Cincy recovered and took the game.  I wonder what Portis has to say about his 25 carries for 77 yards…seems like he was given the ball and didn’t do jack with it to me.  Perhaps he should let his play do the talking instead of his mouth from now on, no?
• In the match of the day, the Seahawks managed to edge the Rams 23-20…yes I was being sarcastic there in case you missed it.  The Rams had a 17-7 lead but of course gave up 10 points in the final 3 minutes to lose the game.  I’m sure they can’t believe that the Lions won’t win a game or two to give them a shot at the first draft pick, but it is what it is.
• I really thought that Miami was going to lose a game they should win this week and went so far as to pick against them but of course they made me pay for that. San Fran won the stats battle but Miami won the score battle, which is all that really matters.  That defense continues to impress and surprise and Bill Parcells continues to work whatever voodoo he does to each team he’s a part of.  I don’t get it, but it looks like we’re looking at a playoff team.
• Oh Herm…I really don’t know what to say to you at this point.  How many times has KC managed to blow a game late in recent weeks?  SD managed to score two touchdowns within the span of 1:13 to win the game by one.  I’m not sure how that happens…I mean I get it, score, get an onside kick, score again, but how often does it really happen?  Especially in the NFL?  I guess I can compliment them that at least they’ve been competitive lately…kind of hollow as compliments go but it’s something, right?
• What happened to Green Bay?  I mean seriously, early in the year they looked like they’d run away with the NFC North but they sure have fallen off the map in the second half haven’t they?  They lost to Jacksonville, who’s played terribly all year long.  This was yet another game that was lost, or won, in the last quarter, with the Jags coming back from a 13-7 deficit to win 20-16.  I really haven’t a clue what’s happening there but obviously GB isn’t playoff bound.
• The Titans are suddenly looking a bit more mortal after losing to Houston yesterday.  Not that they couldn’t have won the game…Coach Fisher eschewed going for a 49 yard field goal that would have won it to throw long on 4th and 3, a very questionable play call.  I understand the wind was swirling, but why throw long on 4th down when you only need 3 yards?  Haynesworth was hurt right at the end of the game and if he’s lost for any time that could really hurt Tenn’s chances.  Suddenly the AFC looks a little more open than it did a couple weeks ago.
• Finally we’ve arrived at the Sage Rosenfels Memorial Douchetard of the Week Award! I know you were anxiously awaiting it, but I bet you already knew who the winner was before you started reading, didn’t you?  It could really only be one person this week, even in a week with a lot of close games.  Yes, ladies and gentleman, the DT of the Week is none other than JP Losman!!!  I could also split this award with his coaches for calling a passing play when they should have been running out the clock, but still, he made the gaff so he gets the glory.  I’m sure you’ve all seen it, and I got to see it live as my Bucs were boring me, but if you didn’t Losman was sacked by Abram Elam with less than 2 minutes to go as he scrambled around looking for someone to throw to.  The ball flew toward Shaun Ellis and he smacked it and it bounced on the ground and back to him and he rumbled 11 yards for the TD to take the lead 31-27.  This was the most nonsensical play calling that I’ve seen in a long time.  The Jets of course were thrilled, they’re still sitting pretty for the playoffs even though they’ve played terribly for the past few weeks.  The Bills have been long dead and their wonderful start is nothing but a distant memory.  Old JP also managed to throw 3 picks in this game and only get 148 yards passing, so it’s not like he was having much of a day prior to his fumble.  Bills fans are no doubt thrilled to have him back behind center.  Congratulations, JP, on your Douchetard Award, it was clearly well earned!

Well that was the week that was in the NFL this week.  I hope you enjoyed it, at least things were interesting this week, right?  The next two weeks will settle everything and we’ll see who the real players are in the league.  Right now I like the Steelers, they’re not winning pretty but they are winning tough, and unfortunately Carolina.  Who knows what the next couple of weeks will hold though, I get the feeling we’re in for some surprises.  Back with picks on Wednesday!

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Fictional Bad Boys & This Weirdo Who Loves Them

While being unable to sleep on a Sunday morning, my mind turned to my most recent obsessions (what else is there to do when you’re tossing and turning?) and I had an epiphany about myself.  When it comes to TV, movies and books, I’m a sucker for bad boys.  In my real life, I think I got over this phase after high school, but when it comes to fiction, badder is better.  So I thought I’d take a look at the characters I’ve grown to love and try to work through my issues here with you.  The first two characters on this list are not really bad boys by any means, but they have some bad boy traits that make them qualify.  Plus I just wanna talk about them and this is my blog, so there!

Edward Cullen, from photobucket

Edward Cullen, vampire from the Twilight Series. Edward is most certainly not a bad boy, he’s actually very heroic but he is a vampire with obsessive qualities and the burning desire to kill the girl he loves.  This is not exactly the type of guy that I’d bring home to mom and dad if you know what I mean.  He fights the monster in his nature and of course is triumphant, but with his super strength and desire for blood, he’s a little on the scary side.  Not to mention the fact that he’s an obsessed stalker who sneaks into his future girlfriend’s bedroom to watch her sleep at night.  I love Edward and Bella’s story but even I know that it’s a sick twisted love.  I just happen to be  fan of that!  I’m not hot for Edward but I wouldn’t mind having a slightly older version of him for myself (yeah he’s over 100 in regular years, but physically he’s stuck at 17 and that’s just a bit much for me).

Dean

Dean Winchester, Supernatural. Dean is also far more of a hero than he is a bad boy, but he does have some of the qualities that make a girl wonder why she’d want to get involved.  Dean is a player, never risking his heart and extremely emotionally unavailable.  In a recent episode, Sam told Dean he was a dick, which got some Dean fangirls up in arms but I actually stopped to ponder that and realized that he was right.  Dean can be a dick, he’s extremely sarcastic and he’s prone to use intimidation to get what he wants.  Again, I have no problem with any of these things, I find them extremely hot.  But if a parent had the choice of Dean or Sam to pick for their daughter, my guess is they’d lean to Sammy, demon blood or not.  Sam has no commitment issues at any rate, it’s just that the girls he commits to always die. hehe  Still I’d take Dean any day!

Logan, my psychotic jackass and first tv boyfriend.

Logan Echolls, Veronica Mars. The first time you see Logan, it is with a Veronica voiceover saying that every school has their obligatory psychotic jackass and he was it.  Watching him, he just looks like your stereotypical rich boy asshole and in the first few episodes that’s exactly how he acts.  Over time you learn that he has been abused by his father all his life, which makes some of his jerkery understandable, but he goes beyond just being a dick.  He arranges bum fights, he buys Weevil’s grandmother’s house and threatens to evict her (to be fair, Weevil did burn down his house, retribution you know), he sleeps with his friend’s stepmother…there’s plenty more but that’ll suffice to start.  It doesn’t matter though, I fell for Logan just as hard as Veronica did, though of course she was unable to admit it to herself.  He may not have been a good guy but really all he wanted was someone to love.  He captured my heart somewhere around episode 12 or so and kept it despite being overly emo in season 3.  Hell, I named my pet after him, so that should tell you just how much I adored him.

Sawyer, Lost. Ahhh now we’re entering more into the real bad boy arena.  Sawyer is a con man, an opportunist and a killer.  Being on the island has softened his edges some, but he’s still pretty much all about #1 (unless he’s helping Kate).  Season 1 Sawyer was hilarious to watch,  taking everything he could and holding on to it until he could barter for other things.  This past season saw Sawyer kill Locke’s father, the man who had caused the death of his mother and father.  This was understandable of course, but it’s not act a girl hopes to have her future lover pull either.

Eko

Mr. Eko, Lost. I know he’s been gone two seasons but he might have been my favorite Lost character this side of the next guy on this list.  Sawyer killed one guy while Eko killed tons of them as a drug lord in Africa.  He brought badass to a whole new level.  On the island he was silent and brooding but spiritual and interesting at the same time.  He could kick ass with no effort at all and I’m still not over his death.  The actor asked to be released from the show but I still hate that he’s gone.  Can you imagine the Losties fighting the Others with Eko on their side?  Maybe that’s why it’s okay he’s gone, cause I wouldn’t doubt the Losties would win if Eko was still there.

Ben, master manipulator

Benjamin Linus, Lost. While I’m not hot for Ben like I am for most of the characters on this list, I may find him the most fascinating of all.  He’s a master manipulator who manages to intimidate despite being smaller in stature than most of the male characters on the show.  He bends almost everyone to his will and always seems to be a step or ten ahead of everyone else.  The one rare time his plan went awry and his daughter Alex got killed right before his eyes, I got chills watching his face and waiting for the fallout.  I light up when Ben appears on the screen, I can’t help myself.  I’m just anxious to see what he’ll do next.  I’ll start Lost blogging when the show picks up and you’ll see just how much I adore this character.

EJ, once so bad, always so beautiful.

EJ DiMera, Days of Our Lives. EJ is sadly the one character who has devolved from awesome into a shadow of himself, but I still am able to love him thanks to memories of the old EJ.  That and the hotness.  I’m easy that way.  The EJ I love was a manipulator, a killer, a blackmailer/rapist…good times.  Ok, he was once a little too dark even for me but he wore it well.  One of his hottest moments was when he took off his belt and whipped Patrick with it.  If you’d have told me that I would ever find something that hot I would have laughed at you, but there you go.  Current EJ is just a shell of a man but it’s memories of the real EJ that keep me hoping he’ll resurface and start ruling Salem once again.

The Basshole himself

Chuck Bass, Gossip Girl. Chuck is a character similar to Logan in that I pegged him for a gigantic jackass in the first episode but he won me over a few episodes in.  He starts the show wanting to devirginize a 15 year old Jenny Humphrey and coming off as a potential rapist.  In typical form, I got over it.  Chuck is a major player, I couldn’t tell you how many girls he’s slept with at this point and we’re only in season 2.  His main goal seems to be to prove to his father that he’s a real man and he can run the business but he constantly winds up disappointing him.  Now that Dad is dead, Chuck’s entering a self destructive spiral that could go anywhere.   Chuck’s in love with Blair and vice versa but neither of them are willing to admit it and he figures if they do and get together they’ll lose the appeal they have for one another, so why bother?  It’s another twisted relationship that I can’t get enough of.

Sylar, my most twisted

Sylar, Heroes. Speaking of twisted, we come to probably the most twisted of them all.  I’ve always been a Peter Petrelli girl (particularly future darker Peter) but this season Sylar has overtaken him for my heart.  The first couple of seasons I didn’t really feel for Sylar, mainly because all we saw of him was just his desire to attain new powers and to kill.  That didn’t appeal to me, but this season we’ve seen the side of him that craves approval, that wants a family and that actually wanted to be better.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want Sylar to be better, per se, not after the last episode made me love him, but I want him to be more complex than just some killer.  And that’s what he’s become.  His quest to find his family is going to be interesting to watch and probably make me like him all the more.

Well that’s my list of the fictional bad boys I’ve loved and will continue to do so long after their shows have disappeared.  What do you think?  Do you have the same bad boy jones that I do?  Who else would you add?  I’m sure I’m missing plenty but this was long enough without me reaching any further.  I’m dying to hear responses on this one, so let me know if you think I’m insane or if you’re just as nuts about some of these guys as I am.

Oversight addition: I forgot to include Dexter Morgan of Dexter. He’s a serial killer who kills bad guys and I really enjoy watching him struggle to maintain a normal fascade in everyday life.  He belonged here so I had to add him, my bad!

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The Best of Days, The Worst of Days

Two of Days lone bright spots; from NBC.com

It’s that time of year, when all the best of and worst of lists make their appearances and we look back upon the highlights and lowlights of the season.  It’s going to be difficult to come up with best of’s when we discuss Days, but I’ll give it my best shot.  Feel free to weigh in with your own choices or even more categories if I miss anything.  When it comes to Days, my brain kind of goes into lock down, so I’m sure I’ll miss a bunch.

Best Actor: James Scott (EJ DiMera)  Although EJ has been wishy washy much of the year, JS continues to make him watchable, no matter what tragic crap they have him doing.

Worst Actor: Darin Brooks (Max Brady)  There are worse actors on the show, but not in a leading category.  Max is one of the more pointless characters yet he’s been given tons to do and fails at it every time.  RageMax was a joke, Max in love is boring, emoMax just makes me want to cut a bitch…DB does nothing to make the character likable or viable in any way.

Best Actress: Ari Zuker (Nicole Walker)  If you had told me a year ago that I would want AZ front and center on the show I would have laughed my ass off.  I loathed Nicole the first time around, but this time AZ has made her to be the most interesting character we have on the show these days.  Whether she’s scheming or crying she is always watchable.  I can say that about very few characters on the show these days.

Worst Actress: Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady)  Nothing could pain me more than to give this award to AS…I loved her as Sami for years but the past couple of years have diminished her character to the point of no almost no return.  She’s either screaming or crying, her wants make no sense, she acts like a 5 year old…she’s just painful.

Best Supporting Actor: Blake Berris (Nick Fallon)  Also the winner of Most Overlooked Actor.  When given the screen time, BB shone like almost no other.  He always made Nick interesting and likable, even when he was acting psychotic and gaslighting a girl into thinking that she killed her father.  It figures that Days would let one of its best and brightest go.

Worst Supporting Actor: Josh Taylor (Roman Brady)  I seriously cannot stand watching this guy on my screen anymore.  He’s TERRIBLE.  Wooden and pointless!  I’m sad every time I think about the awesome that Roman Brady once was with the nothing that he is today.  The show should do us all a favor and kill him off.

Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Melvin (Chelsea Brady)  Now, I’ve had major issues with the character of Chelsea this year, but RM continues to take whatever they crap they give her and work it as well as possible.  I didn’t appreciate the actresses blatant attempts to push the Chan pairing in the media, but she doesn’t disappoint when she’s on air.

Worst Supporting Actress: Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe Lane)  There are times when she’s somewhat tolerable, but NB is clearly the worst actress on canvas right now.  She’s far too monotone and the only time she really shines is when she’s being bitchy.  Make her that way full time and she won’t stay on this list.

Best New Character: Trent Robbins, played by Roscoe Born.  Though he was given little to do, RB had a great freaky vibe whenever he was threatening Max or fighting with Melanie or interacting with Nicole and Nick.  Another talent that Days foolishly let go too soon.

Worst New Character: Dr. Daniel Jonas, played by Shawn Christian.  Let’s take a quick look at the year of Dr. Dan, shall we?  Came between the best young couple on the show, hooked up with a girl that was young enough to be his daughter, slept with said girl’s grandmother, got in a relationship with her, currently skeeving all over another woman while his current girlfriend is undergoing cancer treatment.  Isn’t he a prince?  Throw in the fact that he falls for every single female patient in his path, his surftalk and his overly tanned body and messed up hair and he’s a hell of a mess.

Most Underused Character: tie between Steve & Kayla Johnson.  You would think that having an 80’s supercouple back on the show would be fodder for tons of storylines, but instead S&K are reduced to propping their daughter and pushing a doll around in a stroller.  Pathetic use of two stellar actors.

Most Overused Character: tie between Sami Brady & Melanie Layton.  Even AS’ real life pregnancy hasn’t diminished Sami’s airtime, instead we get Sami’s adventures in witness protection.  One of the most boring stories we’ve had all year.  Kudos.  Melanie actually impressed me when she came on but 4 straight months of her screeching and using people have made the character a lot more intolerable.

Best Exits: Won’t officially happen til 2009, but Drake Hogestyn and Dierdre Hall get this one.  The lack of a well written storyline for the two of them makes them easy to part with, on top of getting rid of two of the biggest overactors ever to grace the screen.  I liked nuJohn for awhile this year but he quickly became too one note and played out, Marlena was never worth my time or interest.

Worst Exits: Paul Hollingsworth & Nick Fallon:  Already addressed Nick, but Paul also was a ridiculous end.  He went to jail for Philip and John and that’s the end of that.  Linden Ashby was a great actor and ultra hot and I’m quite irritated that he appeared at all.

Best Stunt Casting: The Vitali’s, Ava & her father, Tamara Braun and Joe Penney.  JP was only around for a couple of weeks but he was very intimidating when he was on.  I’d rather have kept him than a lot of the characters we remain stuck with.  TB was good as Ava, she had a lot of shit to work with but she held her own against MBE and SN and made John watchable.

Worst Stunt Casting: Shirley Jones as Colleen Brady.  It’s not that she did a bad job, it’s just that the storyline was so stupid and the main actors that should have been involved, James Scott and Alison Sweeney, weren’t.  Plus she only had about 5 episodes and then she died.  She named Marlena the pillar of strength, something which I will never forgive.

Best Use of a Passions Actor: Eric Martsoff as Brady Black.  He’s very vanilla but still somehow likable.

Worst Use of a Passions Actor: After a promising start, Galen Gehring as Rafe has devolved into a one-note world of suck, possibly because he’s stuck with Sami 99% of the time.  I won’t judge too harshly yet but he’s not impressing me right now.

Best Moment: Headslam!  John bashed Marlena into the door and knocked her out when he was going to kill Colleen.

Worst Moment: Lord, there are tons probably but for me, it was Marlena’s portrait going up in place of Stefano’s.  That felt like blasphemy of the highest order.  Honorable mention goes to every Chan makeout scene, Philip’s sex fantasy of Melanie and all of Sami’s ugly cries.

Best storyline: And here we have a problem.  I’ll go with the plane crash on the island, it involved a lot of characters and gave us some angst.  The problem was that it was super rushed, over in about 2 days time.  I would have milked that awhile had I been writing, but of course, I am not.  I’m just here to bitch.

Worst storyline: All the rest? haha  The dueling pregnancies are right up there at the top, along with John becoming a DiMera and the resultant Dock Wars, Steve’s past with Ava, Max the secret genius and Chan.

Best Dropped Storyline: Chan, derailed before it could ever get really fully started.

Worst Dropped Storyline: DiWar…John and Stefano going head to head for the DiMera fortune, combined with Tony and EJ playing both sides should have been an epic showcase of some of the best talent this show has to offer but instead it fizzled with John giving up control without a shot fired.  Terrible disappointment.

Best Couple: Bo & Hope  They had early in the year to shine, during Bo’s pancreas story, even though that was more about the worst couple than the best couple.   S&K qualify but they’ve not been around.

Worst Couple: Chelsea & Daniel.  Nothing says loving like making out with a guy that looks like your dad.  This was the most ill-advised pairing this show has ever done (though they’re sure to try to top themselves in 2009).  Honorable mention to Max and Stephanie, kissing cousins, or, uh, kissing uncle and niece, though not by blood!

Best New Couple soon to be ruined: EJ/Nicole.  Like EJ/Sami were supposed to be, EJ/Nicole should be ruling Salem.  Kicking ass and taking no prisoners.  They have the chemistry to last but the writing is going to doom them like they do all the others.

Worst New Couple: Chloe/Lucas  They’re anti-chemistry and boring.  They’re the Stax of the older group.  They’re rushed and pointless.

Worst Writer:  Dena Higley….I know she’s pretty much the only writer this year but it had to be said anyway.

Worst Producer:  Ken Corday. His tinkering with the show and the writing and the cast has left us with an unholy mess.

Well that’s a lot of best and worsts for now, if I think of anymore, I’ll be sure to add them.  If you think of any, be sure to let me know and I’ll address anything I missed.  I can’t wait to hear what you all think!

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