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/