Upon Further Review: Week 13

It's that time of the week already! What a fun season this has been but I guess every season when the Jets are doing well are fun seasons. I know that every week I say the same thing when I say that I am looking forward to the games but this week I really mean it! I cannot wait for Sunday Night and Monday Night Football!

I did a bit better last week scoring 11/16. And once again the 49ers screwed me over by actually winning a game and the Raiders screwed me over by not winning a game. Just what the heck should I do with those Bay Area teams?

Houston at Philadelphia:
Houston looked pretty good last week against the Titans but that was against a 3rd string QB. Philly looked horrible against the Bears but I think they can rebound. Home field advantage takes this game.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans at Cincinnati:
The Saints have to be careful, this is a trap game for them. Especially since they are facing the disappointing Bengals. The Saints should take this game with ease.
Winner: New Orleans Saints

Chicago at Detroit:
The Lions should have won that first game, the officials totally made the wrong call. This will be a close game since this is a trap game for the Bears as well. While I do think the Bears are good, I am just not convinced until QB Jay Cutler has a few steady games under his belt.
Winner: Chicago Bears

San Francisco at Green Bay:
I swore I would never root for the 49ers and it is a good thing they are playing the Packers this week. That way I don't have to pick the 49ers. Look for the Packers to vent their frustration on the hapless Niners.
Winner: Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville at Tennessee:
The Jags should have had that game last week against the Giants. And they really need this game this week to keep the pace for 1st place. The Titans look like a sinking ship and I expect them to play hard but there is too much drama.
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars

Denver at Kansas City:
Oh boy this could be a very fun game to watch. You know these teams hate each other and you know that head coach Todd Haley hates the Broncos. It wouldn't surprise me if the Chiefs run up the score. I think the Broncos are fired up for this game but the Chiefs have too much talent.
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs

Cleveland at Miami:
This could be a fun game too. Miami looked really good last week on the road but Cleveland just has a scrappiness to them. This game could easily go both ways but I am thinking being at home will be the key.
Winner: Miami Dolphins

Buffalo at Minnesota:
I don't know how the Bills keep fighting so hard. Where is this gumption coming from? I admire them quite a bit that they will fight for everything. If only the Vikings has such gumption. Unfortunately for Viking fans, I am smelling an upset.
Winner: Buffalo Bills

Washington at NY Giants:
Divisional games are so awesome. The Giants escaped last week with a win but they should have enough confidence to win another one at home.
Winner: New York Giants

Oakland at San Diego:
I was very impressed with the Chargers performance against the Colts last week. They should easily dispatch the Raiders this week. But then again, these are the Raiders. I think I have picked them wrong the most. So they should win right?  Wrong.
Winner: San Diego Chargers

Carolina at Seattle:
I am glad I don't have to watch this game on TV. BORING!
Winner: Seattle Seahawks?

Atlanta at Tampa Bay:
Tampa Bay is definitely an improved team but they are just a smidgen outside the good teams. Atlanta is playing the best ball in the NFC. This is a trap game for the Falcons as well.
Winner: Atlanta Falcons

St. Louis at Arizona:
How embarrassing are the Cards? I am ashamed that I picked them 2nd in their division. And if no one wants to win this division, I will take it. I loved Jon Gruden last Monday night and I agree with him. The NFL should disqualify any divisional winner that does not have a winning record and give that playoff spot to another team. I think the Rams might disagree since they have the best chance of taking the NFC Weak Division.
Winner: St. Louis Rams

Dallas at Indianapolis:
Dallas should give the Colts fits. If Romo was healthy, I would give this game to the Cowboys. But he is not so I guess the Colts.
Winner: Indianapolis Colts

Pittsburgh at Baltimore:
Oh baby! This game will be ugly! Lots of smash mouth talking and hitting. Just the way I like it. It is hard to see that the Steelers be swept by the Ravens but I just have this feeling.
Winner: Everyone! It will be that good of a game.
Actual Winner: Baltimore Ravens

Monday Night
NY Jets at New England:
The Jets have not lost on the road, the Pats have not lost a home game in like forever. Something has to give! This is really a playoff game. Whoever takes this game should take the AFC East. I have a hard time imagining the Pats being swept but it could happen. The Jets could be starting to peak, the offense is finally exciting and the Pats have a hard time stopping the power running. The Jets defense will have its hands full but with no play maker on the Pats anymore, the Jets should be able to control the Pats.
Winner: New York Jets (yeah, my heart is in this one all the way; I have to be bias)

The Write Stuff: NaNoWriMo 2010

HUZZAH!

I have completed my third NaNoWriMo competition. This year I only had the ending figured out (which I have not written yet) and nothing else. I barely had a cast of characters so I thought I would have my work cut out for me. So I just started to write.

And I successfully completed my 50,000 word journey and I still have not completed my story. I am right at the end, at the very exciting conclusion! Who will die? Who will live? Who will have redemption? Who will lose his toe? Just seeing if you are paying attention. No one loses their toe...  ...or do they?

I am a little embarrassed that I wrote about vampires. It seems like those little bloodsuckers are everywhere. And I am not a fan of the sparkly lovey-dovey vampires either. My vampires are creatures, they are like animals. They are completely opposite of the sparkly vampires. I got this idea a long time ago. I was going to join this writing contest so I was brainstorming an idea for a horror comic. Unfortunately I totally got the contest wrong. I was writing an ending for a comic that they were publishing instead of creating a new story. So I retooled it into what it is today. It is set in the old west and involves two brothers that see things completely different. An unfortunate incident occurred and split the two of them apart, now they are reunited and face an even greater danger.

I was surprised that these characters took a life of their own. I am also surprised that there were events that I did not see coming until I was actually writing them. This is the part I absolutely love about writing. When things go off on their own direction, when something comes that is not planned, when small characters become important and "write" themselves back into the novel. I just love that!

I am already looking forward to ScriptFrenzy this April. I am not sure what to do for that, I was thinking of continuing my Alpha Flight comic book but I may try a stab at something else. A long, long time ago I had a fun idea for a Seinfeld episode and I have always wanted to write some sort of musical. We'll have to see come April.

Anyone *ahem* Jeremy *cough*  that has a desire to write and has always wanted to give it a shot, I cannot recommend doing the NaNoWriMo challenge. It is very rewarding and you will not regret it.

From the Soapbox: Better Late Than Never?

As you can tell from yesterday's post, I am not a fan of people who are late. And the more I think about it, the more I want to fully explain myself.

Do you need one of these?

I hate being late. That expression 'Better Late Than Never' is not something I believe in. I would rather not show up at all than be late. For example, if I know that I am going to be more than thirty minutes late to something, like church, I would rather just not go at all. I know that I am not perfect, I have been late for things but let me explain what I believe being late is.

There is a difference between being late and being fashionably late. Fashionably late is when you show up about five minutes late to give the impression that you are a busy and held up with other business. I extend fashionably late to being 20 minutes at the most. Normally I like to be on time and most of the times I am early but sometimes I can be late at the most of 20 minutes. But I don't do it to look busy, sometimes it's good not to be the first person to show.

I understand that life is busy and well, crap happens! There are times when things get away from us and we have to be late. You know, when the car breaks down, when your kid poops his pants up his back, your work schedule changed, your kid needs a nap. You get the picture. That I can understand to why you were late.

Little Miss Late is just another name for Little Miss Inconsiderate

But if you are late because you have crammed to much to do or if you are just plain lazy to be there on time, then that is a problem. And you have a bigger problem if you are chronically late. I can handle it when you are late like this every once in awhile but when it is for every gathering or meeting, than you have a major problem. It is awfully inconsiderate and disrespectful to just show up late (remember, past 20 minutes) and think that everything is fine. Like I said yesterday, your time is as valuable as mine is. Being late like this for most of the time is a sign of selfishness.

What's funny is those that have this chronic lateness problem are usually the same that think they don't have a problem and they don't think that being late is a serious issue. Let me tell you, it is a problem. You are not just affecting yourself but you are affecting everyone around you.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Thanksgiving was fantastic. My family and I had a wonderful time with family, food and football.

We woke up and drove down to Salt Lake in the morning and we almost turned back. The roads in Logan and all the way to Sardine Canyon were horrendous. I know we had just had the blizzard but it looked like the roads were not plowed. And I am not even talking about the local roads around my house, I am talking about the main highway to the canyon. It was covered in ice and we fishtailed it all the way down to Wellsville.

Surprisingly, the roads were better through the canyon and bone dry all the way down to Salt Lake. We only got stuck one time and that was pulling into the church's parking lot. And of course we were the first ones to show up (aside from Renae and Gregg who had to open the church) as always. I pride myself in being on time for everything, I do not like to inconvenience anyone. Their time, like mine, is valuable. Eventually most of our family finally rolled in and we played around until the rest came over an hour late. Thanksgiving is all about gratitude so I guess I should just be happy that I saw my family.

PieFest!(tm)

The food was great. Everything was so tasty and PieFest!(tm) was so yummy. Steve made this awesome eggnog pie that was to die for. The only problem with all the pies is that there are just too many to try and eat! After food we played some games and just hung around and chatted.

The New York Jets were played that evening and I made arrangements to watch the game with Steve. In fact, I made these arrangements the moment the schedule was put out months and months ago. They invited us over to Andrea's parents home to watch the game in HD and the big screen. So we went over there, I was planning on only watching the first half or so and then head home. But then I thought it wouldn't matter when I left since it was already dark and it was already freezing. So the roads would be bad anyway. That and Steve got hungry and I couldn't just let him eat alone. So he went out and got us all tacos from Del Taco. I would have thought that I would be eating turkey leftovers that night not fast food!

After we finished watching the Jets beat the Bengals we headed home. Thanks Steven and Andrea for hosting us and making us eat tacos. I am very lucky and blessed to have such a great set of in-laws.

Upon Further Review: Week 12

What a great Thanksgiving I had. Lots of football, family and food. But I will blog about that later. I forgot that I need to make my picks for the rest of Week 12. So far, so good, I am 3/3 already.

Last week I made some better picks and I scored 12/16. And I learned that I will never, ever pick the 49ers again. We'll see if I can keep that up. Now onto the games!

Green Bay at Atlanta:
This could easily be a preview of the NFC Championship. This will be a great test for both teams since they are both hot right now. The biggest key here will be if the Falcons can slow down the Rodgers and the Packers offense. It will be another tight one but I see the Packers pulling off an upset here.
Winner: Green Bay Packers

Pittsburgh at Buffalo:
Buffalo has been playing some great football the last couple of weeks but they are facing their biggest challenge in the Steelers. While I do think that the homefield will help the Bills, it just won't be enough. The Steelers get away with a win.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

Carolina at Cleveland:
It just wouldn't surprise me if the Panthers won here. That would be a typical week in the NFL. But Mangini will have his team ready to go since his job may be on the line. And I think the Panthers have already called it a season.
Winner: Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville at NY Giants:
Who would have thought that this would be an interesting game? The Jaguars are in 1st place in their division and the Giants are slowly slipping away. The Jaguars are hot and are certainly clicking on offense but I worry about their pass defense. The Giants will be without WR Hakeem Nicks and that could slow down the Giants passing game. I do love rooting for the underdog here...
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota at Washington:
The Vikings are done. Stick a fork in them because they are done. But I do think that they will be like Dallas and have a renewed sense of competitive spirit and will win out the rest of the season to spite their old coach.
Winner: Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee at Houston:
What the heck is wrong with QB Vince Young? I wish I had half his talent because if I did I would be happily playing in the NFL. I think HC Jeff Fisher is right, they need to dump this guy and move on. The Titans will play hard but they will be playing their 3rd string QB and it will show. The Texans actually get a win.
Winner: Houston Texans

Kansas City at Seattle:
So which NFC West team is going to step up and win this division? The answer? No one. And Kansas City will put a hurt on this team as it wants to step up and win its division.
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs

Miami at Oakland:
So which Raider team are we going to get here? Hopefully not the one that laid the egg last week. Miami is reeling and traveling coast-to-coast will not help.
Winner: Oakland Raiders

St. Louis at Denver:
It comes down to this. The Rams are just playing better ball. Being at Mile High will be hard for the Rams but they should be able to win it in the end. I just don't see the Denver defense slowing Steven Jackson. Maybe the Rams want the NFC West?
Winner: St. Louis Rams

Philadelphia at Chicago:
Boy I didn't think this would be a game for divisional leaders. QB Michael Vick does just enough to win. The Bears defense will keep him in check for the most part but I don't think QB Jay Cutler can match Vick's offensive output.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay at Baltimore:
This will be a statement game for the Bucs if they pull off the win. But the Ravens defense is finally showing some life and they will put a small stop to the Bucs winning ways. This should be a good one.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens

San Diego at Indianapolis:
I really like the Chargers Phillip Rivers. The Chargers will pose a problem for the Colts and I expect a shootout. Both teams cannot afford to lose and will be playing like this is a playoff game. Both quarterbacks make their teams all the much better. They can throw to anyone! But I smell an upset...
Winner: San Diego Chargers

Monday Night
San Francisco at Arizona:
Wow. Take the Monday off and do some Christmas shopping. Nothing to see here. Remember how I said I will never take the 49ers again? Hmmm... ..but they are playing the Cardinals! Nope, I gotta make my stand and back up my mouth.
Winner: Arizona Cardinals

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and mainly because of the 3 F's.

Family:

I get to spend Thanksgiving "away" this year. Which means we spend it with the Breinholt Family. I have said this before but I have been blessed with great in-laws. I know a lot of people that absolutely hate their in-laws and I am so glad that I don't have to worry about that. It will be fun to catch up and see everyone.

Food:

"Good gravy."

"Thank you, it is just brown and water."

Kristy's family is loaded with people who know how to cook. So I am sure that the dinner will be fabulous. And PieFest! I am so looking to eating all that pie.

Football:

Three games! And my most-awesome brother-in-law is bringing in a television so we can watch the games! That shouldn't surprise me since the Lions are playing. And then I am heading over to his house to watch the night game which features my Jets!

I am really looking forward to driving down and spending time with the people that mean the most to me.

The New York Jets Flight Crew

Okay... lame joke, I really mean my fantastic family. The food and the football are just icing on the cake.

And speaking of football, here are my Thanksgiving picks.

New England at Detroit:
I hope Steve still lets me come over even though I am picking the Pats to win. But I will root for the Lions, nothing would make my Thanksgiving more enjoyable than by having the Pats lose. But I have to stay true to myself.
Winner: New England Patriots

New Orleans at Dallas:
This will be the biggest test for Dallas's new head coach. This will be a tight game but the Saints just have more firepower and will get after Kitna.
Winner: New Orleans Saints

Cincinnati at NY Jets:
This is a huge trap game for the Jets and they better not look past them. The Bengals will play tough and they know how to post points. But it is the Bengals... but these are the Jets... The Jets will avoid a letdown and beat this squad and hopefully will do it by halftime.
Winner: New York Jets

I hope everyone has a fantastic and safe Thanksgiving! We all have something to be thankful for.

Blizzard 2010

DEATH BLIZZARD 2010!

Okay... it wasn't that bad at all. Oh, it was definitely a blizzard. There was high winds, snow and cold, cold temperatures. We hunkered down and survived. I think it is funny that the media has blown this storm out of proportion. I was really expecting some sort of death count.

The snow came right to our doorstep.

But I am glad that they let schools out early and that they issued this warning because it kept people off the roads. My family and I decided to was a good night to eat Muddy Buddies, drink hot chocolate (mmmm... Stephen's Irish Creme hot chocolate) and watch the Princess Bride.

Logan has never seen that movie and he absolutely loved it. It is the Princess Bride, how can you go wrong with that one?