Random Thoughts: 11/22/10- 11/29/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Thanksgiving weekend. I know I did! Yup, nothing like spending four days off either eating food with the extended family, watching football, or watching "The Book of Eli" and season two of "Dexter" on DVD, am I right?The following were on my mind between Monday, November 22nd and Monday, November 29th:

- Damn you, Kanye West! How am I supposed to hate you if you continue to make one outstanding song after another?

- I find it ironic how on the day after we're supposed to give thanks for what we have, we wake up early in the morning to simply buy stuff.

- Whatever the Bears did to improve themselves during the week 8 bye has payed off tremendously. Not only have they won four straight and are now first place in the NFC North, but the defense is playing as good as they have been in a while and Jay Cutler is actually making smart decisions on the field to increase his TDs and decrease his turnovers. Overall, they are who I thought they weren't heading into the season, and I am just fine with that.

- Randy Moss: great WR or the NFL's best decoy?

- Finally, an actual helmets off NFL fight! And it featured Cortland Finnegan getting his ass kicked! Couldn't these past four days have gone any better?



- I wonder what the History Channel (or just plain "History" as they like to call themselves now) will fill their programming with if by some chance the Mayans were wrong in predicting that the world will end in December 2012, since they are showing 2012 related programming as much as WWII related programs.

- Speaking of "The Book of Eli," I am pretty positive that Denzel Washington (who played the main character Eli, in case you didn't know) may have had one of the ten or fifteen best bad-ass moments per time on-screen in cinematic film history with this film. I mean, even the way he moved plates from one side to another like he did in one of the film's oppening scenes were pretty bad-ass! Sigh, if only the Elias Sports Bureau could actually have a category dedicated to BAM/OST statistics...

- Showtime: the only network where cheering on serial killers, drug dealers, nurses with drug problems and bipolar mothers is possible.

More random thoughts to come this Thursday! Enjoy the time off before I post November's "End of the Month" until then.

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

End of the Week: 11/21/10- 11/27/10

END OF THE WEEK:

This weeks installment is a little bit thinner compared to most weeks with Thanksgiving and Black Friday in the States, leaving most people traveling or at home to eat and relax, leaving less memorable moments than usual. Still, that didn't stop me from searching for some of the most memorable moments to come from these past seven days. Without further ado, here are some of them:

Video of the Week: "Cookie Monster Auditions For 'Saturday Night Live'"
You know, the more I think about it, the more terrific it sounds. After all, the Cookie Monster is a much better actor than January Jones. Besides, if Betty White can do it at 89 years old while sitting down most of the time, then why can't it? Lorne Michaels, if you are reading this, please make this happen!



Stories of the Week:
-The Actual Story of the Week: North Korea Bombs South Korea's Yeonpyong Island
F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, F*CK! So...who's up for a third World War?
- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Wisconsin Woman Arrested On Black Friday After Allegedly Threatening Gun Violence During Line Cutting Argument
It's stories like these that makes me happy that I spend 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. every Black Friday lying on my bed, peacefully sleeping and enjoying my four day weekend.

Mash-Up of the Week: "Maybe You Should Rise (Lebron and Michael)"
So what if this guy just mashed up two different Nike commercials. He has now set the bar pretty high in the fight for best response of James's infamous "What Should I Do?" ad.



Person of the Week: Kanye West
His fifth and newest studio album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, " which is fantastic if you ever get a chance to hear it, was released this past Monday to both great critical and commercial success. Critically because it received fantastic reviews (including a rare 10/10 from Pitchfork, an "A" from Entertainment Weekly and five stars from Rolling Stone) and critically because it should sell between 525,000 to 575,000 once the week is over (which is pretty impressive considering how most of the songs from his album were already released before the album came out). Then, during a album release concert in New York, he went on the national spot again this week for releasing a ten minute rant in which he spoke of his album's early success, George Bush, Matt Lauer and even Taylor Swift, saying that she used the '09 VMAs incident to bolster her fame. In other words, we got a chance to remind ourselves of why we admire him and hate him at the same time. Thanks Kanye!

And that's the way it is! Enjoy the rest of your long four day weekend!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

What mj15 Is Thankful For: 2010- Yep, It's Going to be An Annual Thing Now.

Happy Turkey Day, everyone! As you may or may not know, last Thanksgiving around this time I decided to skip the usual Thursday random thoughts post in favor of a post dedicated to the things that I was most thankful for (besides the usual stuff like good health, friends, family, etc.). This year, I've decided to keep this new tradition going and make a post dedicated to some of the top things that I am most thankful for this holiday season. Because once you eliminate the turkey dinner and the football games and the big parades, isn't Thanksgiving all about giving thanks and thinking about the stuff that you are most thankful for? Let's get started...

AMC








"Story matters here" isn't just a slogan for AMC, it's a mission statement and a mission statement that this channel (which was once dedicated to classic movies) has followed very well for the past four years and has quickly put them among the best cable networks on American television (or at least one of the go-to network for great TV dramas). It all began in 2007 with their first original series of the 2000s, "Mad Men." The show is still going strong today, completing their fourth season that could very well win them a fourth straight Golden Globe and Emmy for best TV drama. Then in 2008, AMC introduced "Breaking Bad," arguably right up there with "Mad Men" among the top dramas on TV and the best acted show on TV. This year, the network did it again by introducing "Rubicon" (which got canceled after this first season, but still made a good impression during its short time on air) and "The Walking Dead," which could be one of the five best dramas on TV if they could just improve their God awful writing. So by my count, the network is 4 for 4 this decade. And to think, this is the same network whose best original program five years ago was "Movies that Shook the World."

The Chicago Blackhawks Winning the Stanley Cup















Not only was it one of my favorite moments of 2010, but also one of my favorite moments in my lifetime of being a Chicago sports fan. I can't thank this team enough for the great memories they gave this city this past Spring.

Megavideo
It's a lot like NetFlix in that you could watch episodes of your favorite TV shows, only you don't have to pay a $10 monthly fee to watch them.

The Resurgence of "30 Rock"














After two subpar seasons in a row that were funny but not the kind of funny that I thought should have won an Emmy, "30 Rock" is off to their best season yet and, along with fellow great comedy "Community," has made the 8 p.m./ET hour every Thursday to be the funniest hour in all of television.

Conan O'Brien's Return to Television















Watching the first three weeks of "Conan" on TBS is like watching an old friend come back to our lives. Not only were these the first three weeks of O'Brien on TV since his epic final two weeks as host of "The Tonight Show," it was the first three weeks of the Conan O'Brien that I was a big fan of. Not the O'Brien that I saw in his first six months hosting "The Tonight Show" last year where he desperately tried to appeal to Leno's audience that would never like him but the O'Brien who I loved as host of "Late Night."

The Fall of the Minnesota Vikings















This team came from one play away from the Super Bowl to under .500, out of playoff contention and firing the head coach that they gave an extension to the previous season, and as a Bears fan I have been loving every minute of it. In fairness, this is what they get for making a deal with the deal and getting Brett Favre to come out of his Mississippi farm in the summer.

Taiwanese Animated News



It began two weeks after the previous Thanksgiving when they debuted their fantastic video explaining their theory of just how Tiger Woods's infamous car crash in front of his home went down. Since then, these guys haven't stopped giving their takes on subjects ranging from January's Late Night War to the iPhone 4/Gizmodo story to even the TSA screenings, and all of them have been great as well. After all, would you rather have a boring explanation of what's happening in the news through newspapers, or with cartoons? I thought so.

ESPN Firing Joe Morgan















Sure, they will probably replace him with another awful announcer like Nomar Garciaparra. But at least I will never have to hear his stubborn and unreasonable thoughts forced onto me ever again!

Auto-Tuned Versions of Great Viral Videos



Not only do they make videos like Antoine Dodson's famous "'Cause They Rapin' Errbody Out Here" speech and the Double Rainbow Guy even better, they're also pretty darn catchy. What more could you ask for?

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert















If there would be such a thing like a comedian MVP award, it would go to these guys. Not only have their respective shows continued to be spectacular, but their "Rally to Restore Sanity" back in October was fantastic and a terrific success (nearly 2 million people did show up, after all!). Along with O'Brien and Ferguson, these two are one of the few reasons why I stay up so late at night.

You, the Reader of This Blog
Sure, you almost never comment on my post. Sure, you hardly e-mail. But at least you still read this website, and that's just fine by my book!

Enjoy your food, and try not to homicide your family members while you're at it. Things will get back to normal by Saturday when I debut the final "End of the Week" of the month of November. Until then, here's a video of the insane audience reaction to Oprah's final "Favorite Things" special. It's good to know that in such a sick and cruel world that we live in right now, St. Oprah is right there to give us thousands of dollars of free stuff.




Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

2010 NFL Predictions: Thanksgiving Weekend Edition

(Nothing says Thanksgiving like watching three NFL games that could all turn out to be blowouts by halftime!)

Ah, Thanksgiving! Is there any holiday more American than this? It's the time of the year where families get together to bond , bond then fight, give thanks and holiday blessings, eat some glorious food, watch their beloved parades, prepare themselves for Black Friday and, most importantly, watching the Lions get blown out on their TV sets during the afternoon. It's as American as apple pie, baseball and republican motherhood combined!

In all seriousness, it's pretty hard to believe that in a league like the NFL, which has been known to constantly renovate and reinvent themselves for the past twenty or so years that they are still obstinate in having the Detroit Lions as the home team in the lead-in game of their fifth annual Thanksgiving tripleheader. The Cowboys game I kind of understand since they are America's Team and can usually draw big ratings for the league, but for the Lions who have one only one Thanksgiving game since 2000 I do not. How is it that the same league that allows NBC to pick and choose which games they want to show on Sunday Night Football not even want to think of touching their precious Thanksgiving games that all look very one-sided on paper? I mean, I do understand the whole tradition aspect and how important these games are to fans of the Cowboys and the Lions who I'm sure look forward to these games every year. But for the rest of the country, these are three games (including the Jets/Bengals night cap) that loom like they will be unwatchable to anyone but Patriots, Saints and Jets fans (especially the Lions game, which I will get to why in a few paragraphs).

My proposal: for Thanksgiving weekend only, instead of giving NBC the option to flex schedule their game (which they can do every week beginning in week 17), let the NFL replace it instead with a three year rotation in which only one of the three networks that broadcast the games (in this case CBS, FOX and NFL Network) decide whether they would like to keep the game that they have scheduled or decide if they want to keep it or switch it with any other game that is to be broadcast on their network 1 p.m./ET that following Sunday. It will be a breath of fresh air as well as exciting because it would be interesting to hear Lions and Cowboys fans pleading for the network to keep their scheduled game, and it could make the Thanksgiving slate of games much better. If not that, then at least have the Lions and the Cowboys play divisional matchups the year that FOX (or whoever owns NFC broadcasting rights in the future) broadcast their games. After all, it has been nearly nine years since Dallas last played an NFC East game, and them taking on a team like the Giants or the Eagles would be a lot more interesting then if they had played some random NFC West team. What I'm trying to say is that NFL football is already one of the best parts of Thanksgiving, but the league could still make some changes with the schedule that could potential make it even better.

Any who...onto the week 12 picks we go! Some good news to report of last week's picks. After weeks of handing in picks that almost always resulted in a weekly record somewhere around the .500 mark, the football gods smiled on me this week after a long hiatus as I finished week 11 with a 12-4 record, the best single week record that I've had all season, and two games better than mj50 who finished the week 10-6, also an improvement from the last few weeks. Hopefully, the football gods can shine on me for a second straight week. If not, then at least these good games that we have on tap this week makes up for it.

Let's begin (note: all game times are based on the Central time zone):

New England Patriots (-6.5) vs. Detroit Lions: Thanksgiving- 11:30 a.m.
mj15's pick: New England
As I have mentioned multiple times, I believe that the Patriots will blow out the Lions. The reason why is pretty simple, although I will still explain them. I guess I should explain why See, since the Lions won their last Thanksgiving home game in 2003 (22-14 over the Packers), Detroit has yet to win since, having lost by at least 11 points. In these past six games, they have also been the home to Peyton Manning throwing- a career high 6 TDs in 2004, Joey Harrington of all people to throw for 215 yards and 3 TDs in 2006, Brett Favre to throw for nearly 400 yards passing in 2007 and the 2008 running tandem of then rookie Chris Johnson and LenDale White to rush for a combined 231 yards, 4 TDs and an average of 5.6 yards per carry in 2008. This year's Lions team have one of the best chances to break the streak, with a passing offense that is ranked in the league's top ten (#6), six of eight losses decided by eight points or less (so that 2-8 record might be a little deceiving) and, of course, the next Reggie White in the making: Ndamukong Suh.

However, at the cliched "end of the day," the 8-2Patriots are still the far more superior team, featuring a far more talented crop of players, a far more balanced passing attack, a far more superior defense and a far more superior leader/MVP candidate, Tom Brady (who I am certain will play despite being listed questionable for the day's contest) than the 2-8 Lions. Look, there will come a time where the Lions would make their fans proud by winning on Turkey Day, or at least keeping it close throughout. But this will not be the year, not unless #12 is playing for New England.
mj50's pick: Detroit

New Orleans Saints (-3.5) vs. Dallas Cowboys: Thanksgiving- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
Did you know that the New Orleans Saints are undefeated playing on Thanksgiving? It's true! Granted, its only because they have yet to play a Thanksgiving game before, but still! In all seriousness though, I picked the Saints to win this matchup (the marquee game of the day, if there is such a thing this year) and ruin Jason Garrett's undefeated record as head coach for reasons much like with the Patriots/Lions game (and the Jets/Bengals game for that matter). New Orleans has Drew Brees, a much better offense, a much better defense, and is playing the exact opposite this season of this year's Cowboys team. How I could possibly go against them?
mj50's pick: Dallas

Cincinnati Bengals vs. New York Jets (-9): Thanksgiving- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
One of the things that I love about these NFL games on Thanksgiving are the silly trophies that the networks broadcasting the games hand out to the game's supposed MVP (or MVPs), and the awkward interviews with the winners of these trophies that follow in which both sides of the spectrum (the broadcasters and the player) try to take like it's a big deal and not some contrived object that they created for fun. FOX has the ridiculous Galloping Gobbler that once looked like a five year old set up using the toys in his toy box, CBS has the All-Iron Award, and NFL Network gives out a pudding pie. By the way, I wonder what do the winners of these trophies do with them? I know that the pudding pie is going to be eaten, but what about the awards handed out by FOX and CBS? Do they take them back from the winning player(s) after the postgame interview wraps up? If not, then do the players actually take them home and hang them on a shelf? I could see players like Jay Fiedler and Joey Harrington hanging them in their workspace or something, but what about players like Peyton Manning and Reggie White who have won much more important MVPs and awards in their lifetime then this? Do they take these trophies home and add them to their awards collection, too? If there are multiple players who are selected to receive one of these trophies, do they share it like hockey players share the Stanley Cup when they win it, or do they decide which one of them keeps the trophy and never speak of it again? These are the type of questions I wish that the NFL could make an FAQ page out of.
mj50's pick: New York

Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins (-1): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Minnesota
Now that Brad Childress, a man that has been called out and disrespected many times by the team's players since the season started, has been fired by the team and Leslie Frazier, a man that the Vikings players actually like, has taken over as head coach, expect Minnesota to be more prepared, more focused and ready for action then they have been in weeks (kind of like the Cowboys were once Wade Phillips got fired and Jason Garett stepped in). Also, the Redskins are in the bottom five of almost all major defensive categories including dead last in the yards per game category. This is the type of defense that Favre and Peterson dream of playing on a weekly basis.
mj50's pick: Washington

Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5) vs. Buffalo Bills: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Pittsburgh
Reason #142 why I mostly hate fantasy football: having more than three good WRs your team to choose from. While it does sound really good on paper, its actually a secret burden because it makes choosing the starting lineup on a weekly much more tougher and there's a much better chance that you can make a mistake in picking your starting lineup, which could cost you that matchup. This is the situation that happened to me last week with one of my fantasy teams. Thanks to a season of good drafting and free agency, I had the choice of Mike Wallace, Steven Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Miles Austin, Brandon Lloyd, and Sidney Rice (who finally played his first game of the season last year) for my WR and RB/WR spots. With Wallace and Lloyd playing as good as they have been in recent weeks, I chose them in a no-brainer and eliminated Austin and Rice. This lead me to deciding between both Steve Johnson and Anquan Boldin. Figuring that Carolina is a much worse team than Cincinnati (even though they do have a better passing defense), I went with Boldin and sat Steve Johnson on the bench.

So what happens? Boldin only catches three balls, 0 TDs and one turnover for a combined 0 points while Steve Johnson plays a career game, catching 8 balls for 131 yards and 3 TDs (which adds up to 31 points on ESPN.com). I ended up losing my matchup that week by five points because of that blunder (whereas I could have won by sixteen with Johnson), and that dropped my team to 6-5 and in fifth place with two more regular season games to go whereas I could have been 7-4 and third place if I had started Johnson. This week, I've decided on Wallace, Lloyd and Johnson. Will the fantasy football gods favor me this week? God, I hope so!
mj50's pick: Pittsburgh

Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Houston
The reasons: because Rusty Smith is starting for the Titans at QB and because, after three crushing defeats in a row like the ones that the Texans have had, Houston will try to do everything they can to try to get back on track with a win. Still, these last two games for Houston has finally brought to life the reason why Houston is underachieving again this season: their passing defense, which is the worst in the league in my opinion. After all, it's the sole reason why the team allowed a last second Hail Mary two weeks ago and Mark Sanchez driving for sixty yards in the last :20 of regulation last week. Besides, they have yet to allow under 268 yards passing in an entire game and are the only team to allow an average of 300 yards per game passing. I mean, can you think of another team in this league that could have possibly allowed the Jags Hail Mary two weeks ago to happen other than the Texans? Look, Houston has many good things going for them. The passing attack is spectacular, Arian Foster looks very promising, and the young guys in their front seven should have very promising careers in their future. However, if they want to finally make a name for themselves and jump from the league's middle of the pack teams into of their elite, I seriously suggest for them to sign major upgrades in the defensive back position this offseason in both free agency and in April's draft.
mj50's pick: Houston

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Giants (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
Can't wait to see how much blackouts occur at the New Meadowlands Stadium this week!
mj50's pick: Jacksonville

Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns (-10): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cleveland
I have to give credit to Brian St. Pierre, who played much better in his Panthers debut than I thought he would against the Ravens. Sure, he had 2 INTS, but the fact that this stay at home two weeks ago threw for 173 yards and a TD last week was pretty impressive. But it wasn't impressive enough for me to pick the Panthers over the Browns, especially not with Peyton Hillis continuing to play out of his mind in recent week (which, as a fantasy owner of him, is something that I am pretty thankful for).
mj50's pick: Cleveland

Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons (-2): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Atlanta
Because Matt Ryan+Mike Smith+Roddy White+ theGeorgia Dome=money for the Atlanta Falcons.
mj50's pick: Atlanta

HALFTIME! I wanted to show a Thanksgiving related post for this week's installment. The problem is, I couldn't really find many and the few that I did find weren't that great. So instead, here's video of arguably the greatest high school football game to be played on Thanksgiving weekend. I'm of course talking about the legendary 1994 matchup in the old Cowboys Stadium between Plano East High School and John Tyler High School. With 3 minutes to go in the 4th, Plano East had the football down 41-17 and needing a miracle to take the lead. What followed next was one of the craziest endings to a football game that you will ever see.. Enjoy.




Kansas City Chiefs (-1.5) vs. Seattle Seahawks: Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Seattle
Seattle has a rushing defense good enough to stop Jamaal Charles and company from having a monster game against them. Also, Kansas City has only one once on the road while Seattle has lost only once at Qwest Field. Also, the Seahawks have a front seven just about right enough to stop Jamaal Charles and company from having a great day rushing the ball. In conclusion, expect to see Seattle with the slight upset. Moving on...
mj50's pick: Seattle

Miami Dolphins vs. Oakland Raiders (-3): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Oakland
The Dolphins were awful last week against the Bears when they played without Jake Long, without Brandon Marshall and without Chad Henne. All three are expected to miss this week's game again this week. If that is the case, expect Oakland to have as easy of a time playing against them as Chicago, is not then much easier.
mj50's pick: Oakland

Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) vs. Chicago Bears: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Philadelphia
Michael Vick, Michael Vick, Michael f@#&in Vick! Sure, I will be rooting for the Bears to win to prove to this team that they aren't just lucky to be 7-3 and for the SI cover jinx to work its magic yet again this time around, but with that man under center for Philadelphia I see them having a good time against a Bears team that has beaten only one over .500 team all season.
mj50's pick: Chicago

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Baltimore Ravens (-7.5): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Baltimore
Picking Tampa Bay Buccaneers games has been one of my favorite things to do this season. You just pick them if they're facing an under .500 team (which they are 7-0 against) and pick against them if they're facing an over .500 team (which they are 0-3 against). The Ravens are an over .500 team (and a damn good one, if I do say so myself), so there you go. And I will keep doing so until they finally break it!
mj15's pick: Baltimore

St. Louis Rams vs. Denver Broncos (-4): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: St. Louis
Normally when two teams that are equally matched as the Rams and the Broncos squared off this season, I would usually favor the home team, which in this case is Denver. This time, however, I'm taking the path less traveled and picking the road team, the Rams. There is just something about Stephen Jackson facing off against the 31st ranked rushing defense that just immediately compels me to choose St. Louis.
mj50's pick: Denver

San Diego Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts (-3): Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Indianapolis
What a fantastic matchup this is! Not only do you have two of the most successful teams of the past five years facing off against each other, you also have two of the best high flying offenses in the league along with two contending candidates for the league MVP (Rivers and Manning) facing off against each other. Should be a great one. Now, the San Diego Chargers have the edge in confidence since they are coming off a three game win streak and a Monday Night beatdown against the Broncos. Rivers might also have the mental edge over Manning since he is leading their head to head matchups 3-1 (including 2-0 in the playoffs). They are also ranked better offensively and defensively than Indy at this point in the season (however, you could counter-argue by pointing out that they are 5-5 this season with their so called better ranked offenses and defenses).

So why aren't I picking the Chargers to win this one? Well, for starters the Colts haven't lost back to back games in the regular season once since October of 2008, and those came in the final two weeks of last season when they infamously and curiously quit on their perfect record in favor of benching their starters. Second, Indy is undefeated at home this season. But the biggest reason for me in picking the Colts is, at this moment at least, Manning wins the QB head to head match-up in my book. I mean, the guy turned Jacob Tamme of all people to November's leader in receptions! Only Tom Brady and maybe Brett Favre can possibly make that happen in today's NFL. Nevertheless, I do expect the Chargers to keep this close and add this onto the team's great resume of close games since 2007.
mj50's pick: Indianapolis

San Fransisco 49ers (-1) vs. Arizona Cardinals : Monday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Fransisco
The winner of this game can get within a game of first place with a win in this game and a Seattle loss to Kansas City. I repeat: two teams with 3-7 records (with one of them, the 49ers, owning a 1-6 record a few weeks back), a record which would normally put them three or four games back of first place in any other division in the NFL, could get within one game of first place. Only in the NFC West!
mj50's pick: Arizona

RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week: New England over Detroit
The Miz Becoming WWE Champion Upset of the Week: St. Louis over Denver
The "Goodfellas" vs. "The Godfather" "I'm Not Sure" Pick: Indianapolis over San Diego

Enjoy the turkey, enjoy the parades, enjoy the family bonding, and most importantly enjoy the games tomorrow and this weekend everybody! See you next Wednesday!

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

Random Thoughts: 11/18/10- 11/22/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

I apologize for the four hour delay. The truth is that I completely forgot about posting the new RTs until 80 minutes before midnight thanks to my busy schedule today. But, at least I still posted this on 11/22, right? Anyways, the following were on my mind between Thursday, November 18th and Monday, November 22nd:

- Right after the Packers crushed the Cowboys 45-7, Dallas finally fired Wade Phillips the next day. Then today, a day after the Packers crushed the Vikings 31-3, Minnesota finally fired Brad Childress (finishing the reign of one of the worst NFL head coaches of the last five years). Aaron Rodgers is a coach killer. (By the way, you better watch out Mike Singletary! If I were you, I would prepare a resume for when your team gets crushed by the Packers on 12/05).

- What networks see in Matt Millen as an analyst is beyond me. He's awful as ESPN's college football analyst, he's awful as NFL Network analyst and he's a wannabe John Madden without the lovable nuances and irony of his obvious analysis. Also,he just called someone who coached an 0-16 football team (though he is a pretty good defensive coordinator as evidenced by the Bears being ranked fourth in defense through ten games) one of the best head coaches you have ever been around with!!! Was it some pathetic attempt to try to justify his firing of Marinelli in Detroit? Probably. Still, Marinelli coached an 0-16 football team (that Millen designed, by the way). I almost went on a psychotic killing rampage when I first heard this.



- Double Manningface! It's like Thanksgiving came three days earlier! (via Kissing Suzy Kolber)

- Alyson Michalka! Ashley Tisdale! Watch all your favorite Disney exiles and more on "Hellcats!" (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on the CW),

- Reading these old, ignorant and stubborn baseball writers like Murray Chass and Phil Rodgers express their disgust on Felix Hernandez's deserving Cy Young victory just because he has 13 wins is like reading thoughts from the last people who believed that the Internet was just a fad. They're a dying breed (old time stat enthusiasts), and they're letting themselves be known until they are all buried six feet under.

- After years of procrastinating, I finally started to watch episodes of "Dexter" over the weekend. Overall, I feel like I just completely wasted the free time that I've had for the past five years. It's a terrific show indeed (kind of like the CBS procedurals like "NCIS" and "CSI" only more deep and, well, much better).

- Add Anne Hathaway to the list of "Saturday Night Live" hosts you wish you could be full time cast members.

- Even with a football game between two college teams, the Chicago Cubs' Wrigley Field still finds ways to provide poor memories in late fall. (http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/ncf/news/story?id=5824661)

No more random thoughts to come this week on account of this Thursday being Turkey Day. So be sure to come back with new RTs next Monday. Enjoy your short workweek, everybody!

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

End of the Week: 11/14/10- 11/20/10

END OF THE WEEK:

Yea, yea, yea, I'm a day late again. Sorry. Now, let's just get this over with before I keep on procrastinating with it until there's no way that I will be able to post it without seeming lazy and obnoxious (like with the week one review of "Conan" that I promised last week). The following are my picks for some of the week's best stuff. Enjoy.

Movie of the Week: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (premiered worldwide this Friday)

Divorce of the Week: Eva Longoria and Tony Parker
The fact that Parker, a Frenchman, had an affair while married is about as shocking as finding out that cows eats grass.

Stories of the Week:
-The Actual Story of the Week: The Announced Marriage of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton
Isn't it grand when we here in this country have such a high profiled divorce, we have a high profiled wedding announcement in the same week? The two announced their eloping plans this past Tuesday with the wedding planned to be sometime during the spring or the summertime. It's certainly no Chuck and Di, but it's still good to know that the US media still cares about the happenings of the royal family.
-The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Man Forced To Eat His Own Beard During Fight
(Yes, I know that this actually happened in May of 2009 and that it was first reported last weekend. But after not including it last week and since it fits the criteria of the TWMSo'09MSOTW without facing any challengers this week, I just have to mention it.) You got to love this country, where you have guns and beer-eating involved in a fight over a lawn mower.

Video of the Week: "WGN Morning News Bridge Fail"
Just like the baseball team they constantly broadcast in the summer afternoons, this station's morning news program failed to deliver under pressure.



Ban of the Week: Four Loko
My friend actually drank two Four Lokos one night. He said he ended up hallucinating and woke up naked on his couch, not knowing a thing about what happened that night. Needless to say, I'm not surprised of the ban.
[College Humor]

Person of the Week: Michael Vick
Whether you still hate the man for his dogfighting crimes or have forgiven him, you have to admit that what he did as Eagles QB Monday night against the Redskins in his team's 59-28 win from pretty beastly to say the least. Just in case you haven't heard or read of the state of Vick's once in a season Reagening-like performance, here they are: 20 for 28 passing (71.4%), 413 total yards (333 yards passing, 80 yards rushing), a 150.3 passer rating and 6 total TDs (4 passing and 2 rushing, only the 3rd person in the history of Monday Night Football to do so). Not only did he make himself look fantastic, he also made everyone in his offense great too, throwing to DeSean Jackson for 98 yards and a TD, LeSean McCoy for 51 yards and a TD, Jeremy Maclin for 79 yards and a TD and even Jason Avant for 76 yards and a TD. His performance, the best one-man performance in the NFL this season by far, was so good on Monday, that he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and was asked for his jersey by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for becoming the first player in NFL history to throw for three TDs and rush for two in the first half. He also made millions of fans watching at home remember just how talented and versatile he was in Atlanta while getting back into the discussion of this season's possible MVP after being out of it when he suffered that rib injury back in week 4. Needless to say, there weren't many people who had as enjoyable of a Monday in their profession as the man wearing the Eagles #7.

And that's the way it was! Enjoy the remaining amount of leisure that you have left before the workweek starts anew! Now, if you will excuse me, I've got some "The Walking Dead" to watch.

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

Random Thoughts: 11/15/10- 11/18/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Because of my busy schedule today and the fact that this is my third post in a span of three hours, I have decided to shorten the amount of RTs for this post. That's the bad news. The good news is that because of this shortened post, the next installment of random thoughts, which is this Monday, will be much longer in an effort to try to balance the two out, so there's that. Now, let's get this thing started, shall we? The following were on my mind between Monday, November 15th and Thursday, November 18th:

- Thanks to the Eagles 59-28 beatdown of the Redskins on Monday night, I guess I have no choice of apologizing to Andy Reid and the Eagles organization for my remarks in April after trading Donovan McNabb away over the offseason as well as keeping Michael Vick. You absolutely knew what you were doing, and for that I have to admit that I was wrong.

-With Michael Vick and the Eagles crushing the Redskins 59-28 this Monday night and the Giants crushing the Seahawks a few weeks bad, it makes me even angrier at my Bears for losing to Washington and Seattle earlier this season.

- What has happened to "The Office"? This once great television program has produced some recent episodes that can be best described as forgettable and well, un "Office"-like, and at worst just plain not good. Let's hope the show comes back in the next few episodes so Steve Carell's last season doesn't seem like a complete drag.

- You hate to compare the Trail Blazers picking Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant to them picking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in 1984. That said, at least Sam Bowie played over 500 games as an NBA player. Greg Oden has played only 82 in four seasons. (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5819493&campaign=rss&source=twitter&ex_cid=Twitter_espn_5819493)

- I wish Jay Pharaoh can be on 'SNL' sketches for reasons other than to do an impersonation of a black celebrity. He's great and all in the short amount of time he has been on camera, but surely the writers can find a way to put him in sketches where he can just play a supportive character or something.

Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15




If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.

2010 NFL Predictions: Week 11

(With a combined four Super Bowl rings and six Super Bowl appearances, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady meet again this Sunday in Foxboro in a possible AFC playoff preview)

mj15 last week: 6-8 (81-63 total this season)
mj50 last week: 7-7 (75-69 total this season)

This is the first time in a while in which I have lost to the old man in picks this season. If that isn't a symbol for how crazy, unpredictable and even parody full NFL season has been, then I don't know what is. Anyways, week 11 (the first without bye teams since week 4! Woohoo!) is in our rear view mirrors. The Patriots and Colts (but most importantly Peyton Manning and Tom Brady) are set to renew their rivalry in Foxboro, where they will play in Gillette Stadium for the first time since 2006. Six days after brutally pulverizing the Redskins, MVP contender Mike Vick and the Eagles face the Giants in a matchup for first place in the NFC East. In the Twin Cities, Brett Favre is taking on his former team in what should be (with an emphasis on the should be part) his final game against them. Them you have the Bears of all teams trying to go 7-3, McNabb trying to redeem himself and the Redskins for giving him a $78 million contract against Young and the Titans, Oakland trying to continue their amazing run against the Steelers and Gus Johnson possibly calling another great game this season with Buffalo and Cincinnati among other storylines.

All of this week's storylines, questions and concerns should be played out by the time this week is over. Until then, here are the week 11 picks of mj15 and myself to keep you distracted. As always, the game time are based on the Central standard time zone.

Let's begin:

Chicago Bears vs. Miami Dolphins (-1.5): Thursday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Chicago
Because this Bears team kind of sort of have their groove back (at least until they play The Greatest Quarterback in the History of the Whole World next week)! Screw the team's two game losing streak against Miami and Tyler Thigpen with his great games that he had as Chiefs quarterback in the '08 season! In all seriousness, though, if Cutler can get two or more TD passes and his O-line can avoid getting him sacked less than 4 times, then I am pretty confident that Chicago will be the victor after this game.
mj50's pick: Chicago

Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
There's a reason why the then 2-6 Lions were underdogs against the then 0-8 Bills last week and are underdogs again this week against fellow their fellow 2-7 Cowboys: they have yet to win a road game in their last 25 games and counting, an NFL record. And since they are going up against a Cowboys team that is suddenly trying now that they have a coach with some dissaprine like the graceful flag thrower that is Jason Garett, I fully expect this losing streak to extend by the end of this game.
mj50's pick: Dallas

Arizona Cardinals vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-8): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
West Coast Team Playing Noon/CT Game Theory (I have seriously got to create a shorter name for this!). This Kansas City Chiefs team can't possibly lose two in a row to teams like the Broncos and the Cardinals after such a terrific start, can they?
mj50's pick: Kansas City

Green Bay Packers (-3) vs. Minnesota Vikings: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Minnesota
Because I need a true upset pick! Besides, Minnesota has only lost once in the Metrodome in the Brett Favre era (including a 30-23 victory against Green Bay last season) and since I'm going to be rooting for a Bears victory and a Packers loss to have Chicago on top of the NFC North, I might as well pick the team that I will be rooting for to win. Expect to see the game where the Vikings have their last hurrah before fading away to the sunset during the rest of the season.
mj50's pick: Green Bay

Baltimore Ravens (-10) vs. Carolina Panthers: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Baltimore
I'm surprised that Carolina coach John Fox has yet to let someone else ride the 2010 Panthers Carousel of Quarterback Starts other than Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen. I mean, I understand that Matt Moore is the guy they chose in favor of Jake Delholmme and that Clausen is supposed to be the future star of this team and, because of that are probably starting him just to gain him NFL playing experience for next season and beyond. But after a 1-8 start and a passing offense ranked dead last in the league with a pitiful 156.8 yards per game, what's wrong with trying out Tony Pike at this point? Who knows, maybe the team can get a winning streak going for all we know.
(UPDATE (11/19): The Panthers have actually named a new starter for this week's game, but it's not Tony Pike. It's Brian St. Pierre. In his seven year career in the NFL, Brian St. Pierre has throw only five times, completing only 40% of them, for 12 yards total and has a career rushing record of -1 yards. If you have the Ravens defense on your fantasy team, I strongly suggest that you start them this week.)
mj50's pick: Baltimore

Cleveland Browns vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (-1.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cleveland
Ah, what the hell! Here's last week's game winning Hail Mary for old times sake!



I feel so bad for Glover Quin. The guy did what his coaches have always preached in this situation: to bat the ball down instead of being selfish and trying to go for the interception which could end very badly. He just happened to spike it to Mike Thomas who was at the perfect place at the perfect time.

Anyways, can you say emotional letdown? Because I think that is what the Jaguars will have while playing this game after such an exciting and improbable way to win last week's game. Also, the Browns are on fire right now, coming off a win over the Saints, a win over the Patriots and a near tie to the Jets with Peyton Hillis simultaneously playing like one of the league's ten best RBs right now. How can I possibly go against them?
mj50's pick: Jacksonville

Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Pittsburgh
See the Arizona/Kansas City game. Besides, Pittsburgh is coming off a tough loss to New England and will desperately try to redeem themselves against a team that stole a victory from them last season and the bye week that the Raiders had last week should have ruined their offensive rhythm that they had in their last three games in a manner similar to when the Jets came off their bye week earlier in the season. Should have.
mj50's pick: Pittsburgh

Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals (-5.5.): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cincinnati
The Bills are another team that I expect to see have an emotional letdown this week after coming off a very close win that also turned out to be their first win in eleven months. Besides, for all the crap that Carson Palmer and the Bengals have been deservedly taking for their poor start this season, the team has played well against other mediocre teams this season with wins against the 1-8 Panthers and the pre-Colt McCoy Browns (coincidentally the only bad teams that they have played this season, which kind of makes me wonder how much their worse-than-this-year schedule from last year helped in their division title run last season). And..that's all I got for this one. Gus Johnson is calling the game, so for all I know this game could have another wild and crazy finish that will give the win to Buffalo and I could be dead wrong.
mj50's pick: Buffalo

Washington Redskins vs. Tennessee Titans (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee
I actually had trouble in making a final decision for this game. But then the McNabb $78 million contract extension, the Redskins' 59-28 loss Monday night and the news that Vince Young is coming back to start this game happened. Now, I have no second thoughts in picking Tennessee.
mj50's pick: Tennessee

HALFTIME! It has come to my attention that through the first ten weeks since introducing this halftime segment of the column that I have yet to show one clip of Richard Pryor's famous stand-ups. Well, my friend, that is about to change right now. Here's his famous bit about the time he got actually got rid on fire. This is a great sign of a great comedian: when you can turn something as serious as get burned alive and turning it into comedy gold. Not many people can do that, but Pryor was able to do it beautifully. Well done, Richard!



Houston Texans vs. New York Jets (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
Because I don't think that a team can comeback with such an awful way to lose as the Texans had last week with a win against one of the NFL's best teams, simple as that.
mj50's pick: Houston

Atlanta Falcons (-3) vs. St. Louis Rams: Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Atlanta
St. Louis is a good team at home, the setting for all of their four wins this season. However, against Matt Ryan and Michael Turner I do think that this young and talented Rams team should have some problems stopping the Falcons who are coming to this game much more rested having played last week on a Thursday instead late Sunday afternoon like St. Louis did.
mj50's pick: St. Louis

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. San Fransisco 49ers (-3): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Fransisco
Normally, I would go with Tampa Bay since they are unbeatable against under.500 teams. But that was before Troy Smith's performance last week against the Rams, proving that he is not a bust just yet! 17 for 28, 356 yards, one TD and a QB rating of 116.6, leading the 49ers to their third win of the season and two games away from first place (the awful NFC West, everybody!). Now, the former Heisman trophy winner leads this San Fransisco team to a matchup against the league's 22nd ranked defense, so expect him to develop from last week's performance with another solid showing. Speaking of the Niners offense, let's not forget about Frank Gore! He's fifth in the league this season in rushing yards, and now gets to take on a Bucs defense ranked 31st in all of the NFL. If it's not Smith who will have a good game, then it should be the two time Pro Bowler who will.
mj50's pick: San Fransisco

Seattle Seahawks vs. New Orleans Saints (-11.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
Do I really need an explanation?
mj50's pick: New Orleans

Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots (-3.5): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
And so, after nine matchups in seven seasons (three in the AFC Championship Game) that featured two teams with the two best winning percentages since 2001, a combined four Super Bowl wins and six combined Super Bowl appearances since 2002 as well as two of the best QBs of not just this decade but of all-time, the best rivalry of the '00s is back this Sunday afternoon in Foxboro with both teams entering the game 6-3 and 7-2 respectively. Both teams enter the game fairly even in many ways, so for me to decide this game I had to go with the home team, which in this case is New England. Since 2003 (when this rivalry began), the home team has the majority of these matchups. Also, Peyton Manning is 1-3 in Gillette Stadium and the 2010 Colts are a combined 2-3 in road games, which is a problem since the Patriots are undefeated at home this season. Now, I understand that some of you might consider this to be a lazy explanation. But if it worked with the Ravens/Falcons game last week, then why can't it work for this game?
mj50's pick: New England

New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (-3): Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Philadelphia
Michael Vick, plain and simple. He's 4-0 and as a starter this season with a league leading 115.1 passer rating, an average of 225 yards and 2.75 TDs per game, a TD to INT ratio of 11:0 and he just came off a game in which he became only the third person in the 40 year history of Monday Night Football to throw 4 TDs and rush for 2 TDs. He's also showing outstanding leadership, with his teammates actually trying to win some football games for him. With him playing as good as he has been, it would seem pretty silly of me to go against the Eagles, even if the Giants are as good, if not better, than the Eagles in almost all other areas of the game.
mj50's pick: New York

Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers (-10): Monday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Diego
Denver is allowing 23o yards passing per game. Phillip Rivers leads the league in passing yards. San Diego has won seven November games in a row. Denver is 1-3 on the road this season. San Diego is ranked fourth in rushing defense. Denver is dead last in rushing defense. The only thing Denver has going for them is Kyle Orton and the passing game, but San Diego is ranked third in passing defense so they should be just fine in preventing that part of Denver's game from being a big factor. Do you need any more reasons?
mj50's pick: Denver

RECAP
The Undertaker at WrestleMania Lock of the Week: San Diego over Denver
The Christine O'Donell winning the 2010 Delaware Senate Republican Primary Upset of the Week: Minnesota over Green Bay
The Lee Westwood vs. Martin Kaymer "I'm Not Sure" Pick: New England over Indianapolis

Week 11 results as well as week 12 (Thanksgiving weekend!) picks to come next Wednesday. Until then, enjoy the great weekend of football games!

Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated