NFL PICKS - Week 17

Week 16 NFL Results: 9-7
NFL Results Season to Date: 125-98-13

Week 16 College Football Results: 0-0
College Football Results Season to Date: 32-30-2

Week 16 Mark My Words Results: 1-3
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 32-37-3

Week 17 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

At Kansas City -4 Oakland (Oakland)
At New England -4 Miami (New England)
At Indianapolis -10 Tennessee (Indianapolis)
Jacksonville -2.5 At Houston (Houston)
Pittsburgh -6 At Cleveland (Pittsburgh)
At Baltimore -9.5 Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
At Detroit -3 Minnesota (Detroit)
New York Giants -4 At Washington (New York Giants)
At Green Bay -10 Chicago (Chicago)
At Philadelphia -11.5 Dallas (Dallas)
At New York Jets -1 Buffalo (New York Jets)
At Atlanta -14.5 Carolina (Atlanta)
At New Orleans -7.5 Tampa Bay (New Orleans)
At San Francisco -6 Arizona (Arizona)
At Green Bay -2.5 New York Giants (New York Giants)
San Diego -3.5 At Denver (San Diego)
St. Louis -3 At Seattle (St. Louis)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Pittsburgh -4 over CLEVELAND - Even though Pittsburgh has struggled at Cleveland in the past, the Browns are playing a rookie quarterback against a zone blitz defense defense in a game that has playoff seeding implications for the Steelers.

DETROIT -3 over Minnesota - The Lions have gone from being a laughing stock to start the year, to a competitive team that couldn't quite figure out how to win, to a team that has finally turned the corner by season's end. Look for Detroit to end their losing streak to Brett Favre lead teams if he is able to play on Sunday.

New York Giants -4 over WASHINGTON - While the Giants have been playing their worst football of late, they have a must win game against a Washington team that is a complete mess from the owner on down to their coach and players.

INDIANAPOLIS -10 over Tennessee - With the Colts needing to win this game to make the playoffs there's no way I'm betting against Peyton Manning at home. I look for the Colts to bring their "A" game while Tennessee has little to play for given the triangular power struggle between Bud Adams, Jeff Fisher and Vince Young.

NFL PICKS - Week 16

Week 15 NFL Results: 10-6
NFL Results Season to Date: 116-91-13

Week 15 College Football Results: 0-0
College Football Results Season to Date: 32-30-2

Week 15 Mark My Words Results: 2-2
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 31-34-3

Week 16 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday
At Pittsburgh -15 Carolina (Pittsburgh)

Saturday
Dallas -7 At Arizona (Dallas)

Sunday
At Miami -3.5 Detroit (Detroit)
At Philadelphia -14 Minnesota (Philadelphia)
At Jacksonville -7 Washington (Washington)
At St. Louis -2 San Francisco (San Francisco)
At Tampa Bay -6 Seattle (Tampa Bay)
New England -9 At Buffalo (New England)
At Chicago -1 New York Jets (New York Jets)
Baltimore -3.5 At Cleveland (Baltimore)
At Kansas City -5 Tennessee (Tennessee)
Indianapolis -3 At Oakland (Indianapolis)
Houston -3 At Denver (Houston)
San Diego -7.5 At Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
At Green Bay -2.5 New York Giants (New York Giants)

Monday
At Atlanta -3 New Orleans (New Orleans)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

New York Jets +1 over CHICAGO - I still think Chicago is a pretender. While I am not a believer in Mark Sanchez, I thinks the Jets corners should be able to neutralize Chicago's passing game. When all is said in done, the Jets are a better power cold weather team than the Bears, even though the Bears are playing at home.

Detroit +3.5 over MIAMI - It looks like Detroit will get quarterback Shaun Hill back from a broken finger, which should help an offense that managed to get the job done even with 3rd stringer Drew Stanton running the show over the past 3 weeks. Miami, who once ran the explosive "Wildcat Offense," no longer instills fear in their opponents.

New York Giants +2.5 over GREEN BAY - Green Bay and New York's defenses and passing games match up pretty evenly. While Green Bay has the home field advantage, they simply don't have the running game the Giants do to keep things balanced.

Tennessee +5 over KANSAS CITY - Kansas City is one of the most overrated teams in football. Now that Tennessee has quarterback Kerry Collins and receiver Kenny Britt back from injury, they are back to playing respectable football.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

2010 College Bowl Guide With Predictions

Here are my 2010 College Football Bowl Predictions (winners against the spread in parentheses):

NEW MEXICO BOWL: BYU -12 over UTEP 12/18/10 2:00 PM ESPN University Stadium Albuquerque, NM (BYU)
HUMANITARIAN BOWL: Northern Illinois -3 over Fresno State 12/18/10 5:30 PM ESPN Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (Northern Illinois)
NEW ORLEANS BOWL: Troy -1 over Ohio 12/18/10 9:00 PM ESPN Superdome New Orleans, LA (Troy)
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL: Louisville -3 over Southern Miss 12/21/10 8:00 PM ESPN Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL (Louisville)
LAS VEGAS BOWL: Boise State -16 over Utah 12/22/10 8:00 PM ESPN Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV (Boise State)
POINSETTIA BOWL: San Diego State -3 over Navy 12/23/10 8:00 PM ESPN Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Navy)
ALOHA BOWL: Hawaii: -11 over Tulsa 12/24/10 8:00 PM ESPN Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Hawaii)
MOTOR CITY BOWL: Toledo -1 over Florida International 12/26/10 8:30 PM ESPN Ford Field Detroit, MI (Toledo)
INDEPENDENCE BOWL: Air Force -2 over Georgia Tech 12/27/10 5:00 PM ESPN 2 Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Air Force)
TANGERINE BOWL: West Virginia -2 over NC State 12/28/10 6:30 PM ESPN Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL (West Virginia)
COPPER BOWL: Missouri -1 over Iowa 12/28/10 10:00 PM ESPN Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Missouri)
MILITARY BOWL: Maryland -7 over East Carolina 12/29/10 2:30 PM ESPN RFK STADIUM Washington, DC (East Carolina)
TEXAS BOWL: Baylor -2 over Illinois 12/29/10 6:00 PM ESPN Reliant Stadium Houston, TX (Baylor)
ALAMO BOWL: Oklahoma State -6 over Arizona 12/29/10 9:00 PM ESPN Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Oklahoma State)
FORT WORTH BOWL: SMU -7 over Army 12/30/10 12:00 PM ESPN Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (ARMY)
PIN STRIPES BOWL: Kansas State -1 over Syracuse 12/30/10 3:00 PM ESPN Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY (Kansas State)
MUSIC CITY BOWL: North Carolina -2 over Tennessee 12/30/10 6:30 PM ESPN LP Field Nashville, TN (North Carolina)
HOLIDAY BOWL: Nebraska -13 over Washington 12/30/10 10:00 PM ESPN Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Nebraska)
QUEEN CITY BOWL: Clemson -4 over South Florida 12/31/10 12:00 PM ESPN Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (South Florida)
SUN BOWL: Miami -3 over Notre Dame 12/31/10 2:00 PM CBS Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX (Notre Dame) *Catholics vs. Cons just doesn't have the same ring when it's being played in El Paso.
LIBERTY BOWL: Georgia -6 over Central Florida 12/31/10 3:30 PM ESPN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Georgia)
PEACH BOWL: South Carolina -3 over Florida State 12/31/10 7:30 PM ESPN Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Florida State)
DALLAS FOOTBALL CLASSIC: Texas Tech -10 over Northwestern 1/1/11 12:00 PM ESPN U Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Texas Tech)
CITRUS BOWL: Alabama -10 over Michigan State 1/1/11 1:00 PM ESPN Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL (Michigan State) *You think the Spartans won't be ready to take it to former coach Nick $aban and show the nation they deserve a little more respect?
HALL OF FAME BOWL: Florida -7 over Penn State 1/1/11 1:00 PM ABC Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Florida) * Doesn't Urban Meyer leaving coaching for "health reasons" seem like the perfect way to break up with his current girlfriend (Florida) with no negative repercussions, only so he can ultimately pursue an old crush (Notre Dame) after his soon to be coming rebound relationship (ESPN or CBS).
GATOR BOWL: Mississippi State -5 over Michigan 1/1/11 1:30 PM ESPN 2 Jacksonville Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Mississippi State) *The more interesting bet is whether or not Michigan's athletic department allows Rich Rodriguez to fly home on the team charter.
ROSE BOWL: TCU -2 over Wisconsin 1/1/11 4:30 PM ESPN Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Wisconsin)*Thanks to the BCS we are being treated to a Rose Bowl that features the Big Ten's second best team against the second best team in Texas.
FIESTA BOWL: Oklahoma -17 over Connecticut 1/1/11 8:30 PM ESPN University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ (Oklahoma) *Connecticut, who lost to Michigan this season, is playing in a BCS bowl game. That makes sense, right?
ORANGE BOWL: Stanford -3 over Virginia Tech 1/3/11 8:00 PM ESPN Sun Life Stadium Miami, FL (Virginia Tech)
SUGAR BOWL: Ohio State -4 over Arkansas 1/4/11 8:00 PM ESPN Superdome New Orleans, LA (Ohio State)
MOBILE ALABAMA BOWL: Miami Ohio -1 over Middle Tenn. State 1/6/11 8:00 PM ESPN Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL (Middle Tennessee State)
COTTON BOWL: LSU -1 over Texas A and M 1/7/11 8:00 PM FOX Cowboys Stadium Arlington, TX (LSU)
BIRMINGHAM BOWL: Pittsburgh -2 over Kentucky 1/8/11 12:00 PM ESPN Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Kentucky)
SAN FRANCISCO BOWL: Nevada -9 over Boston College 1/9/11 9:00 PM ESPN AT and T Park San Francisco, CA (Boston College)

(Final bowl prediction record vs. the spread 18-14-3).

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Auburn -3 over Oregon 1/10/11 8:00 PM ESPN University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ (Oregon)

(I'm predicting that the Oregon Cheerleaders inspire the Ducks to come from behind to win the National Championship)

NFL PICKS - Week 15

Week 14 NFL Results: 6-10
NFL Results Season to Date: 106-85-13

Week 14 College Football Results: 0-0
College Football Results Season to Date: 32-30-2

Week 14 Mark My Words Results: 2-2
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 29-32-3

Week 15 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday
At San Diego -8.5 San Francisco (San Diego)

At St. Louis -1.5 Kansas City (Kansas City)
Houston -1.5 At Tennessee (Tennessee)
At Indianapolis -5 Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
At Carolina -3 Arizona (Arizona)
Cleveland -1.5 At Cincinnati (Cleveland)
At Miami -5.5 Buffalo (Buffalo)
At New York Giants -3 Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
At Dallas -6 Washington (Dallas)
At Tampa Bay -6 Detroit (Detroit)
At Baltimore -2 New Orleans (New Orleans)
Atlanta -6.5 At Seattle (Atlanta)
At Pittsburgh -6 New York Jets (New York Jets)
At Oakland -6.5 Denver (Oakland)
At New England -11 Green Bay (New England)

Monday
Chicago -6 At Minnesota (Chicago)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Chicago -6 over MINNESOTA - This game will be moved to the University of Minnesota's outdoor stadium after the the Metrodome's roof collapsed during the blizzard that recently hit Minnesota. While Chicago's finesse offense does not make them an ideal cold weather team, they are better suited to play outside than the Vikings even if a raucous crowd shows up for a long awaited outdoor venue. Couple that with the fact that Minnesota is down to 3rd string quarterback Joe Webb, I like da Bears in this one as they pursue the NFC North division crown.

Detroit +6 over TAMPA BAY - It looks more and more like Detroit will get quarterback Shaun Hill back from a broken finger, which would be key going against a Tampa Bay defense that has been ravaged by a series of season ending injuries to almost half of their starters in recent weeks. The "Suh Line" (Detroit's DL lead by rookie DT Ndamukong Suh) should also feast against an offensive line that has lost startering G Davin Joseph and C Jeff Faine to injured reserve.

New York Orleans +2 over BALTIMORE - While Baltimore is a tough team to play on the road, New Orleans has been playing as good of football as any team in the NFL over the past month.

Cleveland -1.5 over CINCINNATI - With frustrations mounting over a 2-11 record, the Bengals are imploding. Look for the Bengals to emotionally quit once their rivals from the north establish their power running game with Peyton Hillis in what is expected to be frigid conditions.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 14

Week 13 NFL Results: 12-2-1
NFL Results Season to Date: 100-75-13

Week 13 College Football Results: 4-0-1
College Football Results Season to Date: 32-30-2

Week 13 Mark My Words Results: 2-2
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 27-30-3

Week 14 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday
Indianapolis -3.5 At Tennessee (Indianapolis)

At Jacksonville -4 Oakland (Oakland)
At Pittsburgh -8.5 Cincinnati (Pittsburgh)
New England -3 At Chicago (New England)
At Buffalo -1 Cleveland (Cleveland)
Minnesota -2 New York Giants (New York Giants)
Green Bay -7 At Detroit (Green Bay)
Atlanta -7.5 At Carolina (Atlanta)
Tampa Bay -2 At Washington (Tampa Bay)
At New Orleans -9.5 St. Louis (St. Louis)
At San Francisco -5 Seattle (Seattle)
At New York Jets -5 Miami (New York Jets)
Denver -5.5 At Arizona (Denver)
At San Diego -9.5 Kansas City (San Diego)
Philadelphia -3.5 At Dallas (Dallas)

Monday
Baltimore -3 At Houston (Baltimore)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

PITTSBURGH -8.5 over CINCINNATI - While I hate to give up this many points in a rivalry game, Cincinnati's defense is a mess and now they must travel to Pittsburgh and face the Steelers defense.
Atlanta -7.5 over CAROLINA - Carolina has shown some spark of late with a revived running attack thanks to the emergence of Mike Goodson and the return of Jonathan Stewart, but their passing game has no life whatsoever. Atlanta should be able to control the ball with their running game or pass the ball to big play target Roddy White when needed.

Green Bay -7 over DETROIT - Not only is Detroit down to third string quarterback Drew Stanton, but their secondary took a hit when starting cornerback Alphonso Smith was placed on IR this week. Aaron Rodgers has to be salivating at the prospect of going against 3 corners who will see significant playing time that weren't even on an NFL roster to start the season. Look for Green Bay to spread the field and take advantage of some substantial mismatches.

New York Giants +2 over MINNESOTA - I like this line with Tarvaris Jackson starting at quarterback for Minnesota. I like it even more if Brett Favre is healthy enough to get the nod.

Kansas City -9.5 over SAN DIEGO - Neither of these teams have me sold in a very weak AFC West, but I like Kansas City with 7 points in the pocket given their solid running game and emerging passing attack featuring Dwayne Bowe. This line has gone up to 9.5 points on the news that Bodie Croyle will start in place of Matt Cassel, but I still think that Kansas City will be able to slow this game down and cover the spread.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 13

Week 12 NFL Results: 7-9
NFL Results Season to Date: 88-73-12

Week 12 College Football Results: 3-2
College Football Results Season to Date: 28-30-1

Week 12 Mark My Words Results: 1-4
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 25-28-2

Week 13 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday
At Philadelphia -8 Houston (Houston)

At Minnesota -5.5 Buffalo (Buffalo)
At Miami -4.5 Cleveland (Cleveland)
At Tennessee -3 Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
At Kansas City -9 Denver (Denver)
At New York Giants -7 Washington (New York Giants)
Chicago -4 At Detroit (Chicago)
At Green Bay -9.5 San Francisco (Green Bay)
New Orleans -6.5 At Cincinnati (New Orleans)
Atlanta -3 At Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
At San Diego -13 Oakland (Oakland)
At Seattle -6 Carolina (Seattle)
At Indianapolis -5.5 Dallas (Dallas)
St. Louis -3.5 Arizona (St. Louis)
At Baltimore -3 Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)

Monday
At New England -3 New York Jets (New England)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

Virginia Tech -4 Florida State (Virginia Tech)
Oklahoma -3 Nebraska (Oklahoma)
Auburn -5 South Carolina (Auburn)
Oregon -16.5 At Oregon State (Oregon)
USC -6.5 At UCLA (USC)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

BOISE STATE -39.5 over Utah State - This could be a classic let down game for the Broncos, but Ohio State president Gordon Gee was on to something when he brought up Boise State's lack of strength of schedule. Utah State? Please.

Oregon -16.5 over OREGON STATE - As if the Civil War rivalry game wasn't enough to get the Ducks excited, this year a National Championship Game berth is also on the line. Look for the Ducks offense to get rolling in this one and never look back.

Auburn -5 over South Carolina - The SEC East was clearly weaker than the SEC West this year. Plus if you believe in good ol' fashioned southern conspiracies, there's little chance the SEC will allow their top money card for this season to get knocked out of the lucrative BCS National Championship Game.

New Orleans -6.5 over CINCINNATI - The wheels have come off for the Bengals this year. Their defense, which has been giving up as many points as just about any other team in the league, will be up against a high powered Saints offense that is just now getting their full compliment of RB's back. I don't know if offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski or quarterback Carson Palmer is the party to blame, but the Bengals offense has been terribly disappointing. Accordingly, I seriously doubt whether they can score enough points to keep up with the Saints.

Chicago -4 over DETROIT - While the Lions essentially beat the Bears in Chicago in week 1 if not for the erroneous "complete the process" play where Calvin Johnson was denied a game winning touchdown, Detroit is now down to third string quarterback Drew Stanton. Stanton has struggled to adjust to the NFL ball and NFL throws, which is a big problem given that he is facing one of the tightest defenses in the league. Bet the house on this one.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 12

Week 11 NFL Results: 8-5-1
NFL Results Season to Date: 81-64-12

Week 11 College Football Results: 2-2-1
College Football Results Season to Date: 25-28-1

Week 11 Mark My Words Results: 3-1
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 24-24-2

Week 12 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday

New England -7 At Detroit (New England)
New Orleans -3.5 At Dallas (New Orleans)
At New York Jets -9.5 Cincinnati (Cincinnati)

At Washington -2.5 Minnesota (Minnesota)
Pittsburgh -6.5 At Buffalo (Buffalo)
At Houston -7 Tennessee (Houston)
At New York Giants -7.5 Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
At Cleveland -11 Carolina (Cleveland)
At Baltimore -7.5 Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
Philadelphia -3 At Chicago (Philadelphia)
At Atlanta -2.5 Green Bay (Green Bay)
At Oakland -3 Miami (Oakland)
Kansas City -1 At Seattle (Seattle)
At Denver -4 St. Louis (St. Louis)
At Indianapolis -3 San Diego (Indianapolis)

Monday
San Francisco -1 At Arizona (Arizona)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Ohio State -17 Michigan (Michigan)
At Oklahoma State -3 Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
At Alabama -4.5 Auburn (Auburn)
At Arkansas -3.5 LSU (Arkansas)
Boise State -14 At Nevada (Boise State)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Boise State -14 over NEVADA - I'm going keep riding Boise State as long as they need to keep running up the score in order to bolster their BCS resume.

Michigan +14 over OHIO STATE - Rumor up in Michigan has it that Jim Harbaugh could replace Rich Rodriguez as early as Monday should the Wolverines lose this game. As much as that makes sense, don't you think that Michigan makes the call to to Nick Saban to see if he has any interest given his history of recruiting in Michigan/Ohio and less than chaste behavior when it comes to flirting with other coaching opportunities? As much as I think Ohio State wins this game, 14 points is a tough cover in a rivalry game against a high scoring offense and coaching implications on the line.

New Orleans -3.5 over DALLAS - I like what Jason Garrett is doing since taking over head coaching duties in Dallas, but I don't trust the Cowboys secondary to keep up with Drew Brees and his 3 WR sets, especially with Reggie Bush coming back this week.

Tampa Bay +7.5 over BALTIMORE - For a 7-3 team, Tampa Bay is getting no respect whatsoever from the odds makers, and they are making Vegas pay. Baltimore's run defense is not as stout as it was last year, so power back LeGarrette Blount should be able to take some pressure of Josh Freeman.

Philadelphia -3 over Chicago - When it comes to taking Jay Cutler or a defense that will blitz more than 50% of the time, I'll take the blitzing defense every time.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

Cooking for dummies (dudes)

Not everything I blog about here at The Red Mieni has to be as manly as football and reality TV shows like Big Brother. Knowing how to cook just a little can be handy when you're hosting people to watch a game or having someone over for a nice dinner.

Unfortunately, while I have been trying to add to my collection of kitchen gadgets, utensils and essentials, I am in dire need of a dining table since my ex won custody of my old one, and my fill-in card table makes it a little embarrassing to entertain. Luckily, somebody at DiningRoomsDirect.com must have been peaking through my window (which is strange, since normally I'm the one peaking through somebody else's window) and noticed that void, as they have been kind enough to authorize me to give away a $35 gift certificate to DiningRoomsDirect.com or any of their sister sites that are affiliated with CSN Stores.

So assuming that I snatch that gift certificate for myself and get a replacement dining room table (kidding, of course, this give-away is on the up and up and will go to the first person to comment as specified below), it's always good to have a few signature dishes on file for when the need to entertain arises.  A tasty dish that serves many, yet one that I find relatively simple to make is coconut lemon grass chicken. Here's how you make it:

-Melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat.
-Add half of a diced sweet onion (I prefer Vidalia onions from Georgia).
-Add 3 cloves of minced garlic.
-Saute for 7 minutes.

-Add 1 tbsp. kosher salt.
-Add 1&1/2 tbsp. minced ginger root.
-Add 2 tsp. black pepper.
-Add 1 tbsp. sugar.
-Add 2-3 pounds of diced boneless chicken (raw).
-Cook 15 minutes at medium-high heat until the chicken browns.

-Add the other half of your sweet onion.
-Add 1 red chili pepper for mild, 2 for medium, or 3 if you like your food hot.
-Mince and add the white bulbs from 3 lemon grass stalks.
-Add 2 tbsp. curry powder.
-Add 3 tbsp. soy sauce.
-Add 4 tbsp. fish sauce.
-Add 4 ounces coconut milk.
-Stir and cook while covered at medium low heat for 10 mins., then simmer uncovered for another 10 mins.

OK, so I should have added some garnishment for color contrast, but you get the idea...

Once complete, this dish can be served on its own or over rice. The left-overs are even better cold, and also make for great sandwiches on toasted bread.

Now, if anyone is interested in the free $35 CSN Stores gift certificate just be the first person to post a comment (with your email address) to claim your prize. If you don't want to publicly post your email address in the comment section just email me privately at TheRedMieni@gmail.com. I'll announce the winner next week in the comment section of this post, and I promise not to give away anybody's email address for any reason other than to allow you to claim the winner's gift certificate.

NFL PICKS - Week 11

Week 10 NFL Results: 8-5
NFL Results Season to Date: 73-59-11

Week 10 College Football Results: 4-1
College Football Results Season to Date: 23-26-1

Week 10 Mark My Words Results: 3-2
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 21-23-2

Week 11 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday

At Miami -1.5 Chicago (Chicago)

At Pittsburgh -7.5 Oakland (Pittsburgh)
At New York Jets -7 Houston (Houston)
Baltimore -10 At Carolina (Baltimore)
At Tennessee -7 Washington (Tennessee)
At Dallas -6.5 Detroit (Detroit)
Green Bay -3 At Minnesota (Minnesota)
At Cincinnati -5.5 Buffalo (Buffalo)
At Jacksonville -1 Cleveland (Cleveland)
At Kansas City -8 Arizona (Kansas City)
Atlanta -3 At St. Louis (Atlanta)
At San Francisco -3 Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
At New England -3 Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
At Philadelphia -3 New York Giants (New York Giants)

Monday
At San Diego -10 Denver (Denver)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

Wisconsin -5 At Michigan (Wisconsin)
Ohio State -3 At Iowa (Iowa)
Arkansas -3 At Mississippi State (Arkansas)
Virginia Tech -2.5 Miami, FL (Miami, FL)
Nebraska -3 At Texas A&M (Nebraska)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

BOISE STATE -30.5 over Fresno State - I'm going keep riding Boise State as long as they need to keep running up the score in order to bolster their BCS resume.

Detroit +6.5 over DALLAS - Like Dallas, Detroit is only 2-7, but they've covered the spread in all but 1 of their games. The loser of this game has to keep Jon Kitna and Roy Williams.

Tampa Bay +3 over SAN FRANCISCO - Tampa Bay continues to play well against lesser teams. The insertion of Troy Smith at QB for the 49'ers just isn't enough to make them respectable.

Baltimore -10 over CAROLINA - Carolina is down to their 3rd or 4th string QB for this game, which could actually be an upgrade. I'll take Baltimore's defense over Tony Pike or any other rookie making their first NFL start.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 10

Week 9 NFL Results: 7-4-2
NFL Results Season to Date: 65-54-11

Week 9 College Football Results: 0-5
College Football Results Season to Date: 19-25-1

Week 9 Mark My Words Results: 3-3
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 18-21-2

Week 9 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday

At Atlanta -1 Baltimore (Atlanta)

At Jacksonville -1.5 Houston (Houston)
Tennessee -1.5 At Miami (Tennessee)
Minnesota -1.5 At Chicago (Chicago)
At Buffalo -3 Detroit (Detroit)
New York Jets -3 At Cleveland (New York Jets)
At Tampa Bay -6.5 Carolina (Tampa Bay)
Kansas City -1 At Denver (Denver)
At San Francisco -6 St. Louis (St. Louis)
At Arizona -3 Seattle (Arizona)
At New York Giants -14 Dallas (New York Giants)
At Pittsburgh -4.5 New England (New England)

Monday
Philadelphia -3 At Washington (Washington)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Auburn -8.5 Georgia (Auburn)
Utah -6 At Notre Dame (Utah)
Oregon -20 At California (California)
At Missouri -12.5 Kansas State (Kansas State)
At Florida -6.5 South Carolina (South Carolina)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Boise State -35 over IDAHO - Ahhh...the last scheduled meeting in the "War of the Potatoes" for the indefinite future. Both sides have plenty of incentive in this game. Boise State needs to win in a blowout in hopes of leap-frogging TCU in the BCS standings, while Idaho is fighting for their honor after Boise State president Bob Kustra labeled the Vandal fan base as "nasty" and "inebriated" last summer. I know who I'm pulling for, but Boise State simply has more talent and more on the line.

TCU -26.5 over San Diego State - Like Boise State, TCU has no incentive to let off the gas pedal given that a BCS Championship Game berth could be on the line.

Detroit +3 over BUFFALO - Let's see, after it was announced that 2nd string QB Shaun Hill would be able to start this week instead of 3rd string QB Drew Stanton Detroit went from a 2.5 to a 3 point underdog against winless Buffalo. Since Hill isn't really a drop-off from starting QB Matt Stafford, the Lions are a pretty good bet even though they're on the road this week.

New England -4.5 over Pittsburgh - The Steelers play their third straight game in prime time this Sunday night, this time against the other forerunner for best team in the AFC. Given the experience of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, I'll take the points in this one, especially with Steelers starting LT Max Starks out for the season.

TAMPA BAY -6.5 over Carolina - Not only has Carolina lost starting QB Matt Moore to injury (and will turn again to rookie Jimmy Clausen), but their dynamic tailback duo of DeAngelo Williams and James Stewart will both miss the game as well. Tampa Bay has been able to beat inferior opponents like this all season.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

Detroit Lions - New York Jets live blog

Join me as I live blog the Detroit Lions - New York Jets game today (11/7/10) on Mlive.com
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/11/live_blog_new_york_jets_at_det.html

NFL PICKS - Week 9

Week 8 NFL Results: 8-5
NFL Results Season to Date: 58-50-9

Week 8 College Football Results: 2-3
College Football Results Season to Date: 19-20-1

Week 8 Mark My Words Results: 5-1
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 15-18-2

Week 9 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Chicago -3 At Buffalo (Buffalo)
San Diego -2.5 At Houston (Houston)
New Orleans -7 At Carolina (New Orleans)
At Minnesota -9 Arizona (Arizona)
At Atlanta -8 Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
New York Jets -4 At Detroit (Detroit)
At Baltimore -5 Miami (Miami)
New England -5 At Cleveland (New England)
New York Giants -6 At Seattle (Seattle)
At Oakland -3 Kansas City (Kansas City)
At Philadelphia -3 Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
At Green Bay -8 Dallas (Green Bay)

Monday
Pittsburgh -4 At Cincinnati (Pittsburgh)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Oklahoma State -7 Baylor (Baylor)
TCU -5 At Utah (Utah)
Alabama -6.5 At LSU (Alabama)
At Stanford -9.5 Arizona (Arizona)
At Florida State -10 North Carolina (Florida State)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Pittsburgh -4.5 over CINCINNATI - Cincinnati is just not that good this year. I can't see the Bengals running against the Steelers front seven, which could make things scary if the Steelers can sit back and wait for Carson Palmer to pass since he has not been the same since his knee and elbow injuries in the past 3 years.

Indianapolis +3 over PHILADELPHIA - Philly has not actually played all that well at home. In spite of injuries, the Colts seem to be clicking, which makes it hard for me not to take 3 free points.

Tampa Bay +8 over ATLANTA - The emergence of LeGarrette Blount as an inside run presence gives the Bucs another dimension in an already surprising season. Matt Ryan and Atlanta play well at home, but 8 points is too many to give up to a pretty good and underrated team.

HOUSTON +2.5 over San Diego - San Diego just haven't proven themselves to be an elite team, which makes me question their ability to cover 2.5 points against a good team on the road. I think this one will be close...I think this one will be a scoring fest...I just don't think San Diego will cover on the road.

SEATTLE +6 over New York Giants - The Seahawks are really good at home...only at home, but they are pretty good in Seattle.

Miami +5 over BALTIMORE - I see this as a pretty even match-up, which should put the line at Baltimore by 3 or 3.5 points. I really don't see either team establishing a running game, so whoever gets a defensive takeaway or big play from a WR wins.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 8

Week 7 NFL Results: 8-4-2
NFL Results Season to Date: 50-45-9

Week 7 College Football Results: 2-3
College Football Results Season to Date: 17-17-1

Week 7 Mark My Words Results: 1-2-1
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 10-17-2

Week 8 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

At San Francisco even Denver (Denver)
At Dallas -6.5 Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
At Detroit -2.5 Washington (Washington)
At New York Jets -6 Green Bay (Green Bay)
At St. Louis -3 Carolina (Carolina)
At Cincinnati even Miami (Miami)
At Kansas City -7.5 Buffalo (Buffalo)
At San Diego -3.5 Tennessee (Tennessee)
At Arizona -3 Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
At Oakland -2.5 Seattle (Oakland)
At New England -5 Minnesota (New England)
Pittsburgh even At New Orleans (New Orleans)

Monday
At Indianapolis -5.5 Houston (Houston)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Iowa -6.5 Michigan State (Michigan State)
Georgia -3 Florida (Florida)
At Nebraska -7.5 Missouri (Missouri)
Florida State -3.5 NC St. (Florida State)
Oregon -7 At USC (Oregon)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Green Bay +6 over NEW YORK JETS - While Green Bay's front seven has a ton of injuries, I just don't see the Jets being able to score enough points and slow the Packers offense down enough to cover 6 points.

Buffalo +7.5 over KANSAS CITY - I never thought I'd say this, but Buffalo is a respectable team now that Ryan Fitzpatrick has taken over as their quarterback. Coupled with the fact that Kansas City is the most overrated team in football due to having the easiest schedule in the league, I absolutely love Buffalo's chances to cover a spread that's greater than a touchdown.

NEW ENGLAND -5 over Minnesota - I find it very interesting that Brett Favre has developed some nagging injuries (elbow tendinitis and hairline ankle fractures) that could keep him from extending his consecutive games played streak, which would conveniently protect his legacy from having that streak ended by a potential league suspension due to his "sexting" scandal. I also predict that one of Favre's close friends or ex-teammates will come forward and conveniently "admit" to hijacking his cellphone and sending Jenn Sterger the man-spam photos as a practical joke in attempts to avoid disciplinary action from the league and preserve his marriage.

P.S - Did anyone see the pass that Favre caught from Randy Moss on a trick play in the first game that the two of them played together as Vikings in Minnesota? I know it was only a "little dink," but still, it was worth watching.

NEW ORLEANS pick over Pittsburgh - I know that New Orleans has been struggling, but Drew Brees has now had a week to recover from the birth of his second child, and don't discount the advantage of a home crowd in the Super Dome on a Sunday night.
Michigan State +6.5 over IOWA - Michigan State is getting more points at Kennick Stadium than Wisconsin did a week ago. Given that Wisconsin won outright, and that Michigan State is stronger and more versatile version of the Badgers, I have to take the points in this one...especially with a potential National Title game on the line for Sparty.

Florida +3 over Georgia - This game features two traditional SEC powers that are underachieving this year. Not only is Florida better than Georgia this year, but this game is being played on a neutral field. Nobody has accomplished less with a better recruiting base than Mark Richt has during his tenure at Georgia. Kiss your job good-bye buddy.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 7

Week 6 NFL Results: 8-4-2
NFL Results Season to Date: 42-41-7

Week 6 College Football Results: 1-4
College Football Results Season to Date: 15-14-1

Week 6 Mark My Words Results: 2-3
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 9-15-1

Week 7 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Pittsburgh -3 At Miami (Pittsburgh)
At Atlanta -3.5 Cincinnati (Atlanta)
At Kansas City -3.5 Jacksonville (Kansas City)
At Tennessee -3.5 Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Washington -3 At Chicago (Chicago)
At New Orleans -13 Cleveland (New Orleans)
At Baltimore -13 Buffalo (Buffalo)
At Carolina -3 San Francisco (San Francisco)
At Tampa Bay -2.5 St. Louis (Tampa Bay)
At Seattle -5.5 Arizona (Seattle)
At San Diego -3 New England (New England)
At Denver -4.5 Oakland (Oakland)
Minnesota -3 At Green Bay (Green Bay)

Monday
At Dallas -3 New York Giants (New York Giants)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Iowa -5.5 Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
Oklahoma -3 At Missouri (Oklahoma)
Nebraska -5.5 At Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State)
At Auburn -6 LSU (LSU)
Michigan State -4.5 At Northwestern (Michigan State)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Philadelphia +3.5 over TENNESSEE - Regardless of who's playing quarterback for the Eagles, they've got a pretty good team. They've also performed better on the road so far this season than they have at home.

CHICAGO +3 over Washington - Mike Martz and Rod Marinelli aside, I'm a little puzzled as to why Washington is favored by 3 in Chicago. Matt Forte has done most of his damage this season through the air, and Washington has one of the worst defenses in the league when it comes to defending running backs catching the ball out of the backfield.

Michigan State -4.5 over NORTHWESTERN - While this is Michigan State's first game outside of the state of Michigan, playing in Chicago is practically a home game for the Spartans. Most importantly, Michigan State should be able to move the ball at will against the Wildcat defense and shut down their one dimensional pass happy spread offense.

Wisconsin - IOWA under 48 points - With two physical defenses going against each other in a rivalry game, I don't see the total points going above 44.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 6

Week 5 NFL Results: 9-5
NFL Results Season to Date: 34-37-5

Week 5 College Football Results: 3-2
College Football Results Season to Date: 14-10-1

Week 5 Mark My Words Results: 3-1
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 7-12-1

Week 6 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

San Diego -8.5 At St. Louis (San Diego)
At Houston -4 Kansas City (Kansas City)
At New England -3 Baltimore (Baltimore)
New Orleans -4.5 Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
Atlanta -3 At Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
At New York Giants -10 Detroit (New York Giants)
At Chicago -6.5 At Seattle (Seattle)
At Green Bay -6.5 Miami (Miami)
At Pittsburgh -13 Cleveland (Pittsburgh)
New York Jets -3 At Denver (New York Jets)
At San Francisco -6.5 Oakland (Oakland)
At Minnesota -1.5 Dallas (Minnesota)
Indianapolis -3 Washington (Indianapolis)

Monday
Tennessee -3 At Jacksonville (Tennessee)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

Iowa -3.5 At Michigan (Iowa)
At Nebraska -9.5 Texas (Nebraska)
Ohio State -4 At Wisconsin (Ohio State)
At Auburn -4 Arkansas (Arkansas)
At Navy -1 Southern Methodist (Southern Methodist)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Alright, I was way off on my Alabama-South Carolina pick last week, but I was also pretty much dead-on in my prediction of the score that Michigan State would upset Michigan by. Without further ado, here are my Week 6 "Mark My Words" picks:

South Carolina -4.5 over KENTUCKY - Plain and simple, Steve Spurrier owns Kentucky.

Southern Methodist +1 over NAVY - Alright, I admit that this was not really one of the five best college football games of the week as I listed above, but the match-ups this week are so damn terrible that I chose this game just to illustrate my belief that Southern Methodist is a team that is on the rise under head coach June Jones.

Iowa -3.5 over MICHIGAN - Michigan State shut down "Velcro" Robinson and the Wolverines in the Big House last week. Iowa's defense is even better.

PITTSBURGH -13 over Cleveland - I hate giving up so many points, but a rookie QB making his first start against Dick LeBeau's zone defense is too much to ask. I would have waited one more week before giving Colt McCoy a start if I was Eric Mangini.

San Diego -8.5 over ST. LOUIS - While this game is at home, the Rams offense looked lost last week after Mark Clayton went down with a season ending injury. Throw in a defense that got shredded by Detroit last week, and I like the Chargers chances to run up the score this week, especially with LT Marcus McNeill returning after his suspension.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 5

Week 4 NFL Results: 6-8
NFL Results Season to Date: 25-32-5

Week 4 College Football Results: 3-2
College Football Results Season to Date: 11-8-1

Week 4 Mark My Words Results: 1-3
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 4-11-1

Week 5 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

At Baltimore -7 Denver (Denver)
Jacksonville -1 At Buffalo (Jacksonville)
At Indianapolis -7.5 Kansas City (Indianapolis)
At Detroit -3 St. Louis (Detroit)
Atlanta -3 At Cleveland (Atlanta)
At Cincinnati -3.5 Tampa Bay (Cincinnati)
Chicago -3.5 At Carolina (Carolina)
Green Bay -3 At Washington (Washington)
At Houston -3 New York Giants (Houston)
New Orleans -7 At Arizona (New Orleans)
San Diego -6 At Oakland (Oakland)
At Dallas -7 Tennessee (Tennessee)
At San Francisco -3.5 Philadelphia (Philadelphia)

Monday
At New York Jets -4 Minnesota (New York Jets)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Michigan -4.5 Michigan State (Michigan State)
At Florida -7.5 LSU (LSU)
Alabama -7 At South Carolina (Alabama)
At Georgia -11 Tennessee (Tennessee)
At Miami -7 Florida State (Florida State)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Michigan State +4.5 over MICHIGAN - I'm sick of hearing everyone talk in amazement about how Heisman Trophy candidate Denard "Shoelace" Robinson" plays with his shoes untied. What the press doesn't tell you is that the dumbass uses velcro to keep his shoes on. I guess it's asking a little too much of QB that has all of 4 different plays at his disposal in the U of M playbook to learn how to cross the laces, make some "bunny ears," and pull it on through. Look for "Velcro" Robinson to struggle against the first real defense he's faced this season. Sparty wins this one outright 31-17.

BOISE STATE -38.5 over Toledo - After getting leapfrogged in the polls last week, Chris Peterson will unleash Kellen Moore and the Broncos offense and run up the score.

Alabama -7 over SOUTH CAROLINA - For as good as Alabama appears to be, they sure aren't getting much respect by the odds makers. South Carolina is another typical overrated SEC team.

DETROIT -3 over St. Louis - The Lions defensive line should put constant pressure on rookie Sam Bradford, while their offense is finally starting to make defenses pay for double covering Calvin Johnson by checking down to the tight ends and screens to Jahvid Best. Look for Detroit to finally put it all together and get their first win of the season.

Remember to checkout live NFL games on your computer at http://www.watchlivenfl.com/

NFL PICKS - Week 4

Week 3 NFL Results: 7-9
NFL Results Season to Date: 19-24-5

Week 3 College Football Results: 3-2
College Football Results Season to Date: 8-6-1

Week 3 Mark My Words Results: 1-3
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 3-7-1

Week 4 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

At Tennessee -7 Denver (Tennessee)
At Pittsburgh -1 Baltimore (Baltimore)
Cincinnati -3 At Cleveland (Cincinnati)
At Green Bay -14.5 Detroit (Detroit)
At New Orleans -14 Carolina (New Orleans)
At Atlanta -7 San Francisco (San Francisco)
Seattle -1 At St. Louis (Seattle)
New York Jets -6 At Buffalo (New York Jets)
Indianapolis -8 At Jacksonville (Indianapolis)
Houston -3.5 At Oakland (Houston)
At San Diego -9 Arizona (Arizona)
At Philadelphia -6.5 Washington (Washington)
At New York Giants -4 Chicago (Chicago)

Monday
At Miami -1 New England (Miami)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Michigan State -1 Wisconsin (Michigan State)
At LSU -15.5 Tennessee (LSU)
At Alabama -9 Florida (Florida)
At Iowa -4.5 Penn St. (Iowa)
At Oregon -4.5 Stanford (Stanford)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Stanford +4.5 over OREGON - I'm really starting to believe in Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal team.

IOWA -4.5 over Penn St. - Iowa always has Penn State's number. With Penn St. rebuilding this year and the home field advantage, look for a double digit Hawkeye win.

NORTHWESTERN -4 over Minnesota - I think I would give 4 points no matter who Minnesota is playing this year. Tim Brewster is unofficially on lame duck status as head coach of the Golden Gophers.

Indianapolis -8 over JACKSONVILLE - Peyton Manning should pick apart Jacksonville's shaky secondary.

NFL PICKS - Week 3

Week 2 NFL Results: 6-8-2
NFL Results Season to Date: 12-15-5

Week 2 College Football Results: 2-2-1
College Football Results Season to Date: 5-4-1

Week 2 Mark My Words Results: 1-3
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 2-4-1

Week 3 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

At New York Giants -3 Tennessee (Tennessee)
At New England -14 Buffalo (New England)
At Baltimore -10 Cleveland (Baltimore)
Pittsburgh -3 At Tampa Bay (Pittsburgh)
Cincinnati -3 At Carolina (Cincinnati)
New Orleans -3.5 At Atlanta (Atlanta)
San Francisco -3 At Kansas City (San Francisco)
At Houston -3 Dallas (Houston)
At Minnesota -11 Detroit (Detroit)
Washington -3.5 At St. Louis (Washington)
Philadelphia -3 At Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
Indianapolis -5.5 At Denver (Indianapolis)
San Diego -5.5 At Seattle (San Diego)
At Arizona -4.5 Oakland (Oakland)
At Miami -2 New York Jets (New York Jets)

Monday
Green Bay -3 At Chicago (Green Bay)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Boise State -17.5 Oregon State (Oregon State)
Stanford -5 At Notre Dame (Notre Dame)
Alabama -7 At Arkansas (Alabama)
At LSU -9 West Virginia (West Virginia)
At Florida -14 Kentucky (Florida)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Indianapolis -5.5 over DENVER - Altitude or not, Denver sucks and Indy should be able to tear their defense apart with Denver possibly lacking their two starting CB's this week due to injury.

Green Bay -3 over CHICAGO - Chicago is 2-0, but has wins in a game that they should have lost to Detroit and over an extremely overrated Dallas team. The Bears are not in the same class as the Packers, even at home.

NORTHWESTERN -6.5 over Central Michigan - Butch Jones' high powered spread offense is gone. Northwestern's spread is reloaded for another year. I like the Wildcats in a blowout.

NOTRE DAME +5 over Stanford - Notre Dame has played the toughest schedule in the nation to date, and come up a bit short to date. Look for the new offense to start clicking and Stanford to get shocked in this one.

NFL PICKS - Week 2

Week 1 NFL Results: 6-7-3

NFL Results Season to Date: 6-7-3

Week 9 College Football Results: 3-2
College Football Results Season to Date: 3-2

Week 1 Mark My Words Results: 1-1-1
Mark My Words Results Season to Date: 1-1-1


Week 2 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):
At Cleveland -2 Kansas City (Cleveland)
At Green Bay -13 Buffalo (Buffalo)
Baltimore -2 At Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
At Tennessee -5.5 Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
Philadelphia -5 At Detroit (Philadelphia)
At Dallas -7.5 Chicago (Chicago)
At Carolina -3 Tampa Bay (Carolina)
At Atlanta -7 Arizona (Arizona)
At Minnesota -5.5 Miami (Miami)
At Oakland -3.5 St. Louis (Oakland)
At Denver -4.5 Seattle (Seattle)
At San Diego -7.5 Jacksonville (San Diego)
Houston -3 At Washington (Washington)
New England -2.5 At New York Jets (New York Jets)
At Indianapolis -5.5 New York Giants (Indianapolis)

Monday
New Orleans -5.5 At San Francisco (New Orleans)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

Florida -14 At Tennessee (Tennessee)
At Michigan State -3.5 Notre Dame (Michigan State)
Iowa -2 At Arizona (Iowa)
Texas -3 At Texas Tech (Texas)
At Auburn -7.5 Clemson (Auburn)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Miami +5.5 over MINNESOTA- Brett Favre is looking old, and his receivers can't get open. Minnesota really needs newly acquired Greg Camarillo to step up as a lead receiver in Sidney Rice's absence. Miami has a worthy defense, and their Wildcat formation could negate the stout "Williams Wall" through misdirection and motion.

Philadelphia -5 over DETROIT - While Detroit's front four has gone from a liability to a strength this year, Michael Vick is a match-up nightmare. His ability to scramble and turn the corner will expose a weak back seven.

New Orleans -5.5 over SAN FRANCISCO - I know it's a road game on the west coast for New Orleans, but it's also on Monday Night with the Saints having over a full week's worth of rest following last Thursday's season opening win. I just can't see Alex Smith and the 49'ers scoring enough points to keep up with Drew Brees and his high powered offense.

Alabama -24 over DUKE - Let's see, possibly one of the best teams in the nation against one of the worst. I'm in complete shock that this line is only 24 points.

BBB (Blogging Big Brother 12) - "but I was really hoping to come into the Jury House and find out that Rachel was pregnant"

Heading into the third stage of the final Head of Household competition between Hayden and Lane, Enzo realized that he could be in a position where he would be left out of the final outcome of the game despite founding the Brigade. While Hayden had a deal in place with Enzo to take each other to the final two, Hayden worried about how Enzo's social game would play before the jury even though he did not perform well in competitions. Lane was leaning towards taking Enzo with him in the final two, but Hayden ended up winning HOH and ended up taking Lane. While Enzo was clearly disappointed that Hayden did not choose him, he handled being evicted with class telling Julie Chen, "I had such a great speech for the finale if I would have got there. It just didn't happen."

Back at the Jury House Britney arrived and informed everyone about how they had been played by the secret Brigade alliance. Rachel stated how she didn't see the Brigade's strategic plan, to which Britney responded, "The fact of the matter is for the first time in Big Brother history an undercover alliance made it to the final three intact." And just when you least expect to hear from the big dumb guy, Brendon quipped to Matt, "I thought it was four, what happened? ZING!!!," which put an end to Matt's bogus claim that he was the one who came up with the idea to form the Brigade once and for all.

The winner of Big Brother 12 really came down to the Jury Members live interrogation of Hayden and Enzo before the final vote. Specifically, Enzo put Lane on the spot and asked him if he really intended to take him to the final two in the event that he had won Head of Household as he had promised him. Apparently not wanting to offend Hayden (with whom Lane was directly competing against), Lane sidestepped the question and would not give Enzo a direct response. I don't know if the big man was drunk off of Natty Light or muscle milk, but Enzo was looking for a reason to vote for Lane after getting betrayed by Hayden. In an unrelated note (at least as far as Lane thinks), Hayden was crowned winner of Big Brother 12 in a 4-3 vote with Enzo casting the deciding vote in Hayden's favor.

Here are some final quotes from the house guests at the reunion:

-Lane on Matt lying about his wife having a substantial illness: "Make up a lie about your dog...don't make up a lie about your wife." (As a sidenote, Britney clapped in approval over this statement, not aware that Lane had compared her eviction last week to losing a good dog).

-Enzo, on Lane having acknowledging that he would have taken Britney (whom he has a crush on) with him to the final two over a fellow Brigade member: "That's why I won that POV, I had to win that POV because I knew...he was in deep, I knew he was in deep."

-Rachel on continuing her relationship with Brendon in Las Angeles over the possibility of staying in Las Vegas after the show: "I'll PROBABLY move to UCLA." (That wasn't exactly a firm commitment now, was it?).

-Britney on Rachel proclaiming that she might leave Las Vegas to live with Brendon: (caught mouthing by the cameras) "I'm - disgusted!"

As I expected, Britney won $25,000 for winning the vote as America's Favorite House Guest. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that we'll be seeing Britney in the future hosting some sort of television show like ET Tonight or even her own program on a network like E!, while Brendon watches in horror as Rachel stays in Las Vegas and goes on to pose in magazine like Hustler, Shaved or Playgirl.

And for the record, it was revealed that none of the Big Brother house guests previously knew each other coming into the house as had been rumored by the Saboteur. Anyway, see ya next summer bitches - WOO TEQUILA!

BBB12 (Blogging Big Brother 12) - "This is like a Texas bar fight...you wake up the next morning and your testicles hurt"

Last week we saw the four rather close knit contestants who remained in the house forced with the task of dwindling their group down to the final three. With Lane and Britney up for nomination, Britney lobbied Hayden to stay in the game by noting that she'd be a wise choice to take to the final two because she has plenty of enemies on the jury. She also had a plan in place with Brigade member Lane to eliminate Enzo from the game in the event that either of them won the Power of Veto given that the holder of that privilege would have been the sole member in the house with a vote to determine who got eliminated.

Unfortunately for Britney and Lane, Hayden won the Power of Veto. That forced Lane to run back to the Brigade with his tail between his legs as if he he had never planned to defect. Much to Lane's chagrin Enzo and Hayden decided to tell Britney about the Brigade alliance out of respect for her game and friendship so she would know why precisely she was being evicted in advance instead of being surprised. This did not go over well with pageant queen Britney, who broke down in tears due Lane having played her in developing a side alliance with her. Seeing Britney cry was obviously Lane's "Grinch gone good moment," as he responded in confessional by stating, "To see Britney hurt that bad was like one of my good dogs died - it crushed me." By that logic Rachel's eviction was akin to the emotion that Lane felt after he was forced to drown a golden retriever that he once owned because it was mentally challenged and ravaged by doggie herpes. 
P.S., all people from Texas are fucking idiots. And yes, that means you too Mathew MacConaughey.

Given time to accept the Brigade alliance, Britney ultimately made amends with Lane, Hayden and Enzo before leaving the house. Enzo even went as far to say to her at the Eviction Ceremony, "We definitely felt the respect to tell you about the BG this week so there was no playing games. We wanted to be dead up and honest with you. If Nick (Britney's fiance back home) wants to punch me in the face after this, he definitely can. I'll give him one shot - and that's it." Britney then moved on to her post eviction interview with Julie Chen. When reminded that she was off to the Jury House where she'd be reunited with rival Rachel, Britney made a bitter beer face and exclaimed, "OH GOD!"

Hayden, Lane and Enzo proceeded to the three part competition to see who would win the ever important final Head of Household. The first part was an endurance challenge where they had to endure pouring water as they were slammed back and forth into two walls lined with mattresses. Weak in physical challenges, Enzo quickly dropped out and fixed himself some pizza and soup as he watched Hayden and Lane wear themselves down. That turned out to be an epic battle that Lane compared to "a Texas bar fight, you get slammed from wall to wall, people pour alcohol (and) water on your head, and you wake up the next morning and your testicles hurt." Strangely, if you replace the word "hurt" in that analogy with "have warts on them," you just nailed Brendon's quote after his first night in bed with Rachel.

Hayden won stage one of the HOH competition shortly after Lane proclaimed, "I just ripped my whole ass!" This gave Hayden a free pass to the third and final stage of the HOH Competition against the winner of stage two in order to decide the final Head of Household. Lane ended up winning stage two by defeating Enzo in a contest to identify morphed photos of two Big Brother 12 housemates, pitting him against Hayden.

Back in the Jury House Matt informed his close friend Ragan that he had lied to the house about his wife having a serious illness. Much like Kathy Ragan was hurt, and he stopped speaking to Matt. Ragan also continued his verbal assault on Rachel. When she took exception to his assertion that she played a poor social game in BB12 Ragan stated, "You're right, the problem was with everyone else and not you. It was just magic that when you left the house that people stopped arguing."

Finally, we got to see some previously unseen clips in a boring recap episode last Sunday. Matt showed his freaky side in response to a clip of Kristen eating a spider on a dare when she was in the house by stating, "Level 1 - a chick eating a spider is awesome! Level 2 - a good looking chick eating a spider, super awesome! Level 3 - a good looking chick eating a spider totally unprovoked, that is the coolest thing in the world, they don't make chicks like that where I come from!" Somehow I think Matt and former Brigade alliance member Lane are going to end up getting a reality show road tripping to bars and strip clubs across the country so they can fight the boyfriends of hot girls and explore their deepest inner fetishes...which is a show that will end with either a kiss or an awkward touch in a cheap hotel room in a muscle milk, beer and spider venom induced haze.

Big Brother 12 Power Ratings - Each week I rank the Big Brother contestants based upon their power and vulnerability within the house. Here's how the contestants break down after week 9:

The Power Ratings are too close to call at this point, as they will come down to who wins the third and final stage of the Head of Household Competition between Hayden and Lane (to be revealed in the final episode). Hayden is the strongest competitor, and that could cause Lane to take Enzo with him to the final two in the event that he wins HOH. Enzo also has an agreement with Hayden to take each other to the final two, so he might not be in that bad of a position even though he is out of the running for the final HOH. With Enzo playing a strong social game and having come up with the idea to form the Brigade on day two, I wouldn't be surprised if he is the one who ends up winning BB12. I also like Britney to win the prize for America's Favorite House Guest that is determined via a public vote in a landslide.

Megatron is still my homeboy - How NFL officials screwed the Lions out of a week 1 win

I love this t-shirt so much, not only did I buy one, but I decided to give the guys at 313's Finest a free link

The officials working the Detroit Lions - Chicago Bears game in week 1 of the NFL season broke the hearts and spirit of plenty of Lions fans when they took away Calvin Johnson's (a/k/a Megatron) go ahead touchdown with just 24 seconds left in the game.

Officials insisted that they made the correct call because Johnson did not maintain possession of the ball "throughout the process of the catch."

Even though the national media overwhelmingly bought into that explanation, here's why I think the officials were wrong.

The 2009 NFL rulebook addressing player possession in Article 7 reads:

"A player is in possession when he is in firm grip and control of the ball inbounds. To gain possession of a loose ball (a live ball not in possession of any player) that has been caught, intercepted or recovered, a player must have complete control of the ball and have both feet completely on the ground inbounds or any other part of his body, other than his hands, on the ground inbounds. If the player loses the ball while simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground or if there is any doubt that the acts were simultaneous, there is no possession. This rule applies to the field of play and in the end zone."

Note 1 on Article 7 says that:

"A player who goes to the ground in the process of attempting to secure possession of a loose ball (with or without contact by a defender) must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, there is no possession. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, it is a catch, interception or recovery."

The explanation that Johnson did not maintain control of the ball throughout the process of the catch provided by the officials is based upon the erroneous assumption that Johnson did not have possession of the football before he fell.

If you go back and watch the clip again, the ball was tight and secure in Johnson's hands as he established two feet on the ground. He did not go to the ground until he engaged in a football move by twisting and lunging forward.

Tight ball control and two feet on the ground is possession by definition. If Johnson had possession BEFORE he fell, which he clearly did, then Note 1 on Article 7, a/k/a the "in the process" provision, shouldn't even be a consideration.

Johnson's "catch" against the Bears was not the same scenario as a receiver who goes to the ground while dragging his feet or dives as he is in the process of securing possession of a pass, which is what I think Note 1 for Article 7 is referring to when it states that a player "must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground."

Johnson established possession by having "a firm grip and control of the ball" while touching "both feet completely on the ground inbounds" and taking another twisting hop step as he fell to the ground.

The only possible question of possession did not arise until after he hit the ground (but still maintained a tight grip), when he relinquished control of the ball as he rolled to an upright position in celebration of what he thought was a game winning score.

The officials who worked the Detroit - Chicago game continue to maintain that they got this call correct because Johnson did not "complete the entire process of the catch" by being able to hand the ball to the referee.

Yet by their reasoning the play would have still resulted in an incompletion had Johnson brought the ball down, established two feet in the field of play, done five log rolls as he fell to the ground, then lost the ball on his sixth roll because he did not maintain control "throughout the process of the catch."

NFL lackey Mike Pereira and the national media keep telling me that I need to be upset with the NFL rule and not the game officials if I don't like the outcome of this game.

I disagree. I think the rule is fine, I just think that the game officials completely misapplied it to the circumstances of this game.

Calvin Johnson had possession of the football by the NFL's own definintion before he ever fell to the ground.

Even when he did fall to the ground, he did not lose control of the ball while "simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground," as he reliquished the ball much later.

As a Lions fan, I would instinctually punch Mike Pereira in the face if I ever saw him walking down the street.

The officiating crew and the NFL talking heads both got this one wrong. Note 1 on Article 7 of the NFL rulebook (the notorious "in the process provison") should have never even have been in the discussion.

Now, if only we could go back to the glory days when officials actually respected the Lions:

(Sometimes I-I-I, I still see him when I sleep...and I don't, I don't sleep that much)

NFL PICKS - Week 1

Week 1 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday
At New Orleans -5 Minnesota (Minnesota)

Sunday
At New York Giants -7 Carolina (Carolina)
Miami -3.5 At Buffalo (Miami)
Atlanta -2 At Pittsburgh (Atlanta)
At Chicago -6.5 Detroit (Detroit)
At New England -4.5 Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
At Tampa Bay -3 Cleveland (Cleveland)
At Jacksonville -2.5 Denver (Jacksonville)
Indianapolis -2 At Houston (Indianapolis)
At Tennessee -6 Oakland (Tennessee)
Green Bay -3 At Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
San Francisco -3 At Seattle (San Francisco)
Arizona -4 At St. Louis (Arizona)
Dallas -3.5 At Washington (Washington)

Monday
At New York Jets -2.5 Baltimore (Baltimore)
San Diego -4.5 At Kansas City (San Diego)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Notre Dame -4 Michigan (Michigan):
At Alabama -11.5 Penn St. (Penn St.)
At Oklahoma -8 Florida State (Florida State)
Oregon -12.5 At Tennessee (Oregon)
At Ohio State -9.5 Miami Fla (Ohio State)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Detroit +6.5 over CHICAGO - Detroit has a fresh infusion of talent to go along with their best coaching staff in the past fifty years. They are playing against an aging Chicago team that has turned to former Lions coaches in Mike Martz and Rod Marinelli, who presided over some of the worst offenses and defenses in Lions history. Detroit wins this one outright.

Minnesota + 5 over NEW ORLEANS - This was a close match up in the NFC Championship Game, and I don't expect anything less in week 1. While Minnesota has lost play making receiver Sidney Rice, New Orleans is hoping that Michael Jenkins can step in and replace Darren Sharper at safety who is out due to injury. The key to this one comes down to how sharp Brett Favre is without a training camp.

Penn State +12.5 over ALABAMA - Evan Royster can match the talent in the Crimson Tide backfield, while true freshman QB Robert Bolden is going to surprise some people this year for the Nittany Lions. I'm not saying Penn State will win, but giving them 12.5 points is way too high.