NFL: Week 12 Quick Review

Teams I Predicted to Win That Did In Fact Win: Patriots, Jets, Falcons, Steelers, Browns, Giants (Lock), Texans, Chiefs, Ravens, Chargers

Teams I Predicted to Lose That Did Not In Fact Lose: Saints (upset), Vikings, Dolphins, Bears, Rams

Teams I Predicted to Win That Have Not Played Yet: Cardinals

Week Thus Far: 10-5

Overall: 101-73

Lock: 8-4

Upset: 3-8

Fantasy: Up by 23. All that's left is to not get gouged by Frank Gore

Thanksgiving Time

This is from last year, but still appropriate - 101 (plus a few bonus!)

1. My beautiful wife.
2. Mountain Dew.
3. Jesus (I feel a responsibility to say that these are not in order).
4. A good job.
5. Dave Morgan Haikus.
6. The color blue.
7. Comfortable shoes.
8. Minesweeper.
9. A beautiful apartment.
10. Clean socks.
11. My freaking awesome wife
12. Letter openers that really work.
13. Stand up comedians.
14. Family.
15. Friends across the country.
16. My time in the "man house."
17. Contact lens.
18. Uncertainty of the plural spelling of lens.
19. Coffee.
20. Cool coffee cups.
21. Lost.
22. The Office.
23. An ability to grow facial hair.
24. Naps.
25. Raspberries. The fruit, not the tongue thing.
26. Raspberries. The tongue thing, not the fruit.
27. Kisses.
28. A good pen.
29. A sense of accomplishment.
30. That I don't go to High School anymore.
31. Rewriting stories to make myself look good.
32. A good shave.
33. The letter "A."
34. A nameplate that looks different than everyone elses.
35. Legos.
35. Eggo waffles.
36. Thanksgiving.
37. The Ballance's opening their home to us.
39. God providing in amazing ways as we moved out west.
40. Staple removers.
41. Zombies, in fiction and in real life.
42. The numbers!!! 4 8 15 16 23 42
43. When people write on my facebook.
44. Scratching a good itch.
45. Sleeping in.
46. Any day I don't receive a stupid text message forward.
47. Stanley cup victories for the Detroit Red Wings.
48. A good hockey fight.
49. Youtube clips of Patrick Roy getting humiliated.
50. The grin I get when noone realizes until now that I skipped #38.
51. Remembering serenading my wedding, and Geoff's wedding.
52. Hitting John Lotterhos's car that one time.
53. Crazy Trinidadians going the wrong way in go-karts.
54. Winning free stuff.
55. John Jurries proclaiming my post = win.
56. Jessica Notenbaum yelling at me for not posting.
57. When I beat the Fantasy Guru's predicted score by 60 points.
58. Spring.
59. Flip flops.
60. Bonfires.
61. New groups of friends who haven't heard my jokes 30 times.
62. Friends that don't know I stole a joke from someone else.
63. Moes Burritos.
64. A good yawn.
65. Coffee. Again.
66. Monday Midnight Prayer.
67. Trendy glasses.
68. Small groups.
69. Not using the word "moist."
70. Ipods.
71. My stunning wife.
72. The Sports Guy.
73. Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
74. Sunflower Seeds.
75. Cholula Sauce.
76. Wolfgangs.
77. DVD's.
78. Youth group memories.
79. Power tools.
80. Growing up.
81. Black olives.
82. Digiornios pizza.
83. Scott Adams.
84. An empty inbox.
85. Days off.
86. Presents.
87. Automatic doors that make me feel like a Jedi.
88. Lord of the Rings being better than Star Wars.
89. Surprises.
90. The time I put jolly ranchers in Jamison's shower.
91. The time I drunk wrestled Steve and won.
92. Proposing.
93. Making our wedding our wedding.
94. My groomsmen.
95. Hookahs.
96. My gorgeous wife.
97. That this list is almost over.
98. That 101 is more catchy than 201.
99. That M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hand.
100. That's what she said.
101. Your name here!

BONUS TIME!!!

102. Cooking Turkey - I really enjoy it!

103. Snow days at the age of 24.
104. Fantasy football being based on luck, not strategy.

105. New cars.

106. Post-it notes.

107. Movie Theaters.

108. Fun board games.

109. A job that is challenging and rewarding.

110. Microsoft Word's "Search and Replace" feature.

111. Detroit Lions playing the part of Turkey every year.

112. The ability to make people laugh.

113. Arrested Development!!! Maybe the funniest show in history?

114. Tuna steaks.

115. Portabella mushrooms.

116. Strategy games.

117. Ordo Ludus.

118. Sabbath Group

119. The Baergens

120. Quelf.

121. New Music.

122. A new laptop!

123. Starcraft. What a great game.

124. Flashbang - an amazing book.

125. Relient K's Christmas albums - making Christmas music bearable.

126. Phone calls from friends.

127. Emails from friends.

128. Pageviews or comments on my blog.

129. My friends Rick and Natalie.

130. A great supervisor at work.

131. Facial hair.

132. The potential of a new house in February.

133. Smartphones. So neat.

134. Angry Birds finally coming to Palm Pre.

135. That one time I got to play a little of Starcraft 2.

136. Having hobbies I enjoy.

137. The Wii my wife gave me for my Birthday.

138. Football season.

139. Haircuts.

140.Eggnog latte's.

141.Sarcasm.

142. Converse All Star Shoes.

143. Funny bumper stickers (on other peoples cars).

144. My coworkers.

145. Secret Santa gift exchanges.

146. A working car heater this winter!

147. New sweaters.

148. Aprons, for cooking.

149. My amazing and thoughtful wife.

150. You!

NFL: Week 12 Picks

Gah. Thursday games are the bane of me. It means I have to have my fantasy team set Wednesday and my picks on Wednesday. Oh well... Here you go.

Patriots at Lions: Brady will shred the Lions. No contest.

Saints at Cowboys: The Cowboys have started playing up to the potential everyone saw in them at the beginning of the season. So pretend it's last year - Saints at Dallas, who would you pick? Probably New Orleans. But the short week means I'm leaning towards taking Dallas as an upset. If I don't see a better candidate by the end of the review, I'll take Dallas. After review, I'm sticking with this pick. The other candidate is SD/Ind, but that isn't really an "upset" pick.

Bengals at Jets: Ugh. Two gross teams, but the Jets will continue to win.

Packers at Falcons: Game of the week maybe? In a close contest, you should probably take the home team. However, have the Falcons really dominated anyone? This should be a good test for them. I'll take ATL but only barely.

Steelers at Bills: Hoo hoo. I foresee Pittsburgh shutting down Buffalo. Then we have to deal with another week of people pretending Pittsburgh is the best in the league.

Panthers at Browns: There are a few stinker games this week, huh? But then a few great ones. I'll take the Browns here.

Jaguars at Giants: Don't back a crappy team on the road. And New York should win the bounce-back game. This is my Lock.

Vikings at Redskins: Will Minnesota pull a Dallas and suddenly start playing for a coach that they care about? I'm going to say "no" for now and take Washington.

Titans at Texans: What happened to Tennessee? Are they falling off the map? Oh wait, what happened to Houston? Are they falling off the map? I'm going to take Houston here; can you trust a guy named Rusty Smith?

Dolphins at Raiders: Take the home team. Whatever you do, don't actually bet on this game.

Chiefs at Seahawks: Or this game. I don't like either team. I'm going to pick against Seattle because I like rooting against them.

Eagles at Bears: Take Michael Vick until he looks mortal.

Rams at Broncos: Rough game to pick. I guess I'll take Kyle Orton.

Buccaneers at Ravens: Ravens should be win this one. Tampa Bay hasn't won against any good teams, I think. Maybe New Orleans.

Chargers at Colts: I'm going to take the Chargers. They always seem to have the Colts number.

49ers at Cardinals: Ugh. What an ugly monday night game. I'll take Cardinals (home team).

NFL: Week 11 Quick Review

Correct Picks: Cowboys, Chiefs, Packers, Jets, Steelers, Ravens, Falcons, Saints (lock), Patriots, Eagles

Incorrect Picks: Bears, Bengals, Redskins, Jaguars (upset), Buccaneers

Still to Play: Broncos and Chargers (I have San Diego)

Week Thus Far: 10-5

Overall Record: 90-68

Upset: 3-7

Lock: 7-4

Fantasy: I got shredded by Peyton and Greg Jennings.

NFL: Week 11 Picks

Bears at Dolphins: Don't back a crappy team on the road. But I've been letting my bias for Chicago play into my picks all year, and that hasn't worked well for me. I'm still taking the Dolphins - but if Chicago wins this week I may need to stop picking against them.

Bengals at Bills: Ugh. I hope this isn't the game they decide to play here in Seattle. Which, by the way, shows the crappiest games each week! If I'm not stuck watching Seattle (who seriously haven't played an exciting game all year - each week they either get blown out or the other team doesn't show up), then I'm stuck watching the dumb Vikings or something. I guess I'll take the Bengals.

Lions at Cowboys: Don't foresee that road streak ending this week. Although, it would be like the Cowboys this season to blow this game by 40 points. I'll still take the Cowboys and dare Detroit to make me wrong.

Redskins at Titans: Both teams come off losses; Tennessee's may have been more devastating as far as playoff hopes go. Now Ten has a very tight race in the AFC South where they could have been in a tie with the Colts. I think on home turf I'll take the Titans. Moss? I predict he gets 5 catches, 40 yards, and a garbage TD. Actually, I hope he does that well.

Cardinals at Chiefs: Um, Chiefs. Cardinals just have no weapons; they get to be next years Carolina Panthers.

Packers at Vikings: Don't let the door hit you on the way out Brett! Because once Rodgers embarasses you (again) I can't imagine you'll stick around much longer. Whether that's your choice, or Childress's, or Zygi's, I don't know. Side note: Isn't Zygi Wilf the coolest owner name in Pro Football?

Texans at Jets: I don't know. I want so badly to pick against the Jets, who are the clearly the worst 7-2 team. But here's the truth - Matt Schaub was in the hospital for a ?bursa? sac. Or something. And if that's the case... Dan Orlovsky. So I'll be safe and pick the Jets.

Raiders at Steelers: Ooh, possible upset pick. But I still don't buy the Raiders. This maybe their toughest game, so if they win on Sunday then I'll start giving them respect. Until then, I'll pick the Steelers.

Ravens at Panthers: Ravens by a mile? Actually, this could be one of those games where the Ravens win 13-3 or something. I'm starting Joe Flacco (as of now, perhaps change my mind by the end of this post) and hoping for the best.

Browns at Jaguars: Two teams that show up against superior teams and suck against inferior teams. I guess I'll take the Browns as my upset as the Jags are still probably celebrating after that crazy Hail Mary.

Falcons at Rams: Don't be a hero. I'll take the Falcons. I like the Rams in this game to keep it close; it's just that the Falcons have the ability to come through in the clutch. Roddy White pushing a guy down can do that for you, I guess.

Seahawks at Saints: La-la-lock! Here's a cool one: this is possibly a preview of the first round of the playoffs. Seahawks are going to win their crappy division (unless San Fran manages to pull it out, which is not entirely impossible) and take the 4th seed. So they're going to play the 5th seed, who will probably have 2-3 more wins on their record. So Seattle will play the fifth seed, which will be either Atlanta/New Orleans or New York/Philadelphia. At this point, I'm thinking it will be New Orleans. So New Orleans will come to Seattle and just flat out blow Pete Carroll out of the water. I'm so excited I'm getting tingles.

Buccaneers at 49ers: San Francisco, taking cards from San Diego play book? Crap out the first two months, then be good enough to squeak a playoff berth? I'll take San Fran this week.

Colts at Patriots: In 2008, the Detroit Red Wings had to play the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the playoffs. There was quite a bit of history to that rivalry. What happened? Detroit blew Colorado out in 4 games, where Johan Franzen singlehandedly outscored the entire Colorado team. Why am I writing about this now? In some ways, this game feels like that - people are excited to renew the rivalry between these two perennial AFC champions. I have a sneaking suspicion we're about to find out that it isn't close anymore. I just have really zero idea who that favors. Guess I'm sticking with home team - New England.

Giants at Eagles: This (along with the IND/NE game) is a game of the week, in my opinion. For the lead in the division, am I right, or am I right? I'll take the Eagles; the only hope New York has is to hurt Vick early. Vick is a madman this year. Well, I guess he was always a madman. Literally. I like puppies.

Broncos at Chargers: Chargers have the third ranked pass defense. Bronco's have no running game, really. So I'm gonna take the Chargers. (and in researching the pass defense, I have decided to stick with Joe Flacco as my Fantasy QB this week).

On Maturity

Interesting week. I'm prepared to chime in on a few different topics this week, but I figured I would start with a discussion on maturity.

To get the topic started, why don't you look at Donald Miller's post: I Know how Old You Are. If you're too lazy to click over, the main point that Donald seems to be making is that the vast majority of his criticisms come from young angry white male twenty year olds. And Don relates it to a discussion of maturity.

What made Don's post stick with me was something that happened to me last week - I received a verbal warning from my supervisor. I don't want to examine the content of the warning presently (perhaps later this week), but I do want to examine the possibilities I have for response.


The first response, the angry white twenty-year-old male response is:

"Well, that's unfair. Most of that is beyond my control. It's certainly not my fault; if other people took a second to listen to my side of it, then they would understand."

This would probably not be an unfounded response. I'm sure I could respond line-by-line from everything my supervisor said and justify and explain every single one of my actions that led to the warning. And I think, bottom line, this response comes from a place of fear; a moment where I (or whomever) is thinking only about protecting myself and my 'territory.'


So while that wouldn't be an unfounded response, it certainly wouldn't be a mature one. So let's look at the second response:

"You know what, you're right. I handled these situations poorly, and my response cost something, whether that's in relationships or reputation. I own that, and need to find ways to improve my ability to act and react appropriately."


Now, this post is not to set about and pat myself on the back for my response. I'm fairly confident that I responded in both immature and mature ways (and even if I didn't do so in the actual meeting, I did so in my head). This post is to help remind me to continue growing in that regard.

I look back at my life, and I see situations that have arisen where a response was called for. And there are far too many situations where the response I made was the immature and defensive response; one that wasn't made with growth in mind. I have made many responses in my life based on a fear of even looking bad; I have often entered into situations like the one I did this week with the sole thought of 'how do I come out of this intact? How do I not let this overthrow the status quo? How do I make it clear that this isn't my fault?'

What should I learn from this experience? What does this tell me about who I have been? What does this reveal about who I am? How does this impact who I want to be? These are much better questions to ask in this sort of situation.

In another way of looking at it, immaturity is about protecting my territory, and making sure I don't have to move. It's a turtle that just hides when ever any situation appears dangerous. A better, more mature response, is that of a whale - never staying in the same place, never settling, never retreating, never panicking.

I hope this makes sense and isn't just me rambling. Tell me what you think in the comments below.

Oh, and check back later this week for: NFL week 11 picks, further discussion of the warning, a discussion about being hip, and who knows what else.

Grace and Peace

NFL: Week 10 Quick Review

Correct Picks: Falcons, Jets, Colts, Bucs (lock), Jaguars, 49ers (upset)

Incorrect Picks: Bills, Bears, Dolphins, Broncos, Cowboys, Seahawks, Patriots

Still to Play: Eagles vs Redskins (I picked the Eagles)

Week Thus Far: 6-7

Overall Record: 79-63

Upset: 3-6

Lock: 6-4

Fantasy: I'm up 104-84. I have one player left to play (Eagles - DEF) and the other team has none left. I won handily on the strong play of Roddy White and Kyle Orton.

NFL: Week 10 Quick Picks

Correction from my post the other day: I'm really 73-57. Hard to keep track of.'

Here are the picks:

Ravens at Falcons: Gonna take the Falcons. I'm secretly worried about Baltimore - they haven't won resoundingly yet.

Lions at Bills: Shouldn't back a crappy team on the road, but I can't pick an 0-8 team either. And Detroit has been in every game but one, so I'll take Buffalo... Wait, that was a freudian slip. I'll take Detroit.

Vikings at Bears: Shouldn't back a crappy team on the road... But Chicago? I'll take the Vikes.

Jets at Browns: Shouldnt back... Just kidding! I'll take the Jets and hope for Cleveland to win it. How much would you pay if Colt McCoy winged a pass straight into Rex Ryan's stupid face?

Bengals at Colts: In anyone-but-the-Colts-Land, this might be a let down game. Oh wait, Colts already did that, last week. I'll take the Colts.

Titans at Dolphins: I like the Titans a lot in this game. I don't think Miami can keep up with Tennessee on offense, so we'll probably see another game like last week, when Baltimore won 26-10.

Panthers at Buccaneers: Buc's as the lock.

Texans at Jaguars: Two who gives a crap teams. Flip a coin and take the home team.

Chiefs at Broncos: Two things to know about this game: I'm picking the chiefs, but I'm also expecting Kyle Orton to have an amazing fantasy game.

Cowboys at Giants: I don't feel right picking the Giants as a lock two weeks in a row. It's putting Lock-Of-The-Week on easy-mode, so I'm just going to take the Giants. But not as a lock.

Seahawks at Cardinals: Cardinals. Don't back a crappy team on the road.

Rams at 49ers: 49ers. Don't back a crappy team on the road. I guess this is my upset.

Patriots at Steelers: Steelers, with the homefield advantage. On a neutral field, I would edge Steelers. In New England, I would edge NE. But at Pittsburgh? I'll be safe and take Pitt.

Eagles at Redskins: Ooh, a controversy to brew right before the second rematch. I'll take the Eagles this time - if Vick was in that last game, they would have blown out the Redskins.

NFL: Week 9 Quick Review

Correct Picks: Falcons, Jets, Vikes, Saints, Ravens, Chargers, Giants, Raiders, Packers.

Incorrect: Bears (Forte had >17 carries but they still won), Patriots (me and the rest of the world), and Colts.

I nailed my upset (San Diego) and my lock (Giants). I'm going to lose in Fantasy and break a four game winning streak unless Hines Ward goes nuts and scores 20 points tonight.

Week: 9-3

Overall: 72-55

Lock: 5-4

Upset: 2-6

Quick Lions Thoughts:

1. Whoever called a throw on 3rd and 6 with 1:40 left when Jets had no timeouts deserves to be fired. As well as the knucklehead with the late hit on LT on the ensuing drive.

2. I thought it was cute novelty that Suh tried to kick an extra point. Then we lost in OT - that one point would have won the game.

3. Matthew Stafford. Hurt again. At this point, doesn't his Career Shoulder Injuries outnumber his Career Wins?

NFL: Week 9 Picks

63-54 right now. Effectively tied with Dave Morgan. (A tie is like kissing your sister). Let's look at the picks for Week 9.

Buccaneers at Falcons: I'll take the Falcons. As Dave pointed out, Bucs haven't beaten anyone of note yet.

Bears at Bills: Jeez, who knows. Buffalo is terrible, but they have been quite frisky the past few weeks. Buffalo has the worst rushing defense in the NFL, allowing 188 yards a game. But, this is Mike Martz, who may never run the ball, instead throwing against what is the 6th?!? best pass defense in the game. And, repeat the mantra - don't back crappy teams on the road. Can I make this a conditional pick? If Matt Forte gets less than 17 carries, Buffalo wins. Otherwise Chicago.

Patriots at Browns: I don't think the Browns have two major upsets in them this year, do you? I'll take Brady.

Jets at Lions: Everything points to a Lions loss. They haven't won back to back games in forty years. Jets are a little embarassed. And Defense trumps Offense. And AFC trumps NFC. I could go on, but I'll just take the Jets and be extremely happy if I'm wrong.

Cardinals at Vikings: I had to laugh at Dave's blog, where he wrote that there weren't any crazy headlines for this game. Oh, so Childress releasing Moss without letting the owner of the team know isn't a headline? I think Vikes will win this one and relieve a tiny bit of pressure off Childress.

Saints at Panthers: Um, Saints.

Dolphins at Ravens: Unstoppable road team meats... good-to-great team? Ultimately, this is a dangerous game for both teams, but I'll take the home team.

Chargers at Texans: I shouldn't back a crappy team on the road, but the Chargers may be the best 3-5 team in history, right? I guess I'll take San Diego as my Upset?

Giants at Seahawks: Seattle isn't a good team. The Giants may be the best team in the NFC. Easy enough. Oh, and watch for Charlie Whitehurst once Hasselbeck gets ripped in half! That's my Lock.

Chiefs at Raiders: Flip a coin. I'll take Raiders at home.

Colts at Eagles: I want to say Colts are due for a letdown, but I'm done picking against them. Colts.

Cowboys at Packers: This game looks like it's headed for fluke territory. The Cowboys are terrible, but couldn't you see them coming out and be embarassingly good in a sunday night game? Couldn't you? No. I guess not. Take the Packers.

Steelers at Bengals: Monday night game - I do wonder if this could be a game that TO and Ochocinco might thrive in. And then I remember that they're still be thrown to by Carson Palmer. So I'll stay safe and take the Steelers.

In Fantasy, I'm 4-0 the last 4 weeks. I sense this week won't be as good though. Have to hope for big games from Joe Flacco, Roddy White, Matt Forte, and (gulp) Darren Sproles or Deangelo Williams

Doing the Guest Post Deal

Hola loyal readers!

Today I'm blogging at Journey of a Dad. Come over and read it!

(P.S. No, I'm not a dad yet.)