The Red/Blue/Grey

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Week 11 turned out great for the pick ‘em crew as everyone improved their record. Duds held on to the top spot, but Pat now finds himself in third place behind Tony by just .002 percent. Here are the overall season standings.

1. DF 23-11

2. TB 21-13

3. PM 16-10

4. WF 19-15

5. NG 8-9

Pat can be happy that he was able to predict the biggest upset of the weekend when Oakland stunned Cincinnati by the bay. Nick picked the second-best upset of the week, correctly taking the fighting Vince Youngs on the road over Houston.

This week gives us the Turkey day games and one match up for the ages in what could be a Super Bowl preview in the Bayou…

New York Giants @ Denver Broncos (Thursday night)

PM- Denver is fighting inside the locker room and McDaniels is ok with it? Marshall is all over Moreno and McDaniels says “they are a competitive group”, not a winning combination. The Giants will come into Denver and clean house as they to are trying to get there feet back underneath of them.

NG- Ok this has to be the week that Denver gets back on track. Expect Mike Nolan to dial up more blitzes this week than they did versus the Chargers in hopes of keeping the Giants offense out of sync. I’m going out on a limb and predicting Denver big in this one.

DF- This Bronco team is very unpredictable (Ha They suck and it’s starting to show as I predicted). Eli Manning is coming around and that is all that needs to be said. I see the Giants kicking the S_ _ t outa them. Giants by 21.

TB- Lord almighty, what an awful game this will be if Chris Simms starts for the Broncos again. If he does, the Giants will win by 21. I think Orton will end up playing, so I’m going with Denver by 3.

WF- Man is that Bronco secondary starting to show it’s age. Moreno’s fumblitis leads to in-team fighting. The Quarterback position has gone from a plus to an uncertainty. The Giants just need to play their game and let the Bronco’s beat themselves. I like the odds of that happening, Giants by 13.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens

PM- What happened to the AFC North last week? Someone has to win this game so we can’t see a repeat of last week. Pittsburgh is struggling offensively, defensively and health is now of main concern. Reports show that Rothlisberger is likely, but Steelers forget how to play when Polamalu is out. I look for another rough week for the Steelers as the Ravens come out victorious.

NG- Pittsburgh is coming off a humiliating loss to the Chiefs and I fully expect them to take their frustrations out on the Ravens. This should be a hard fought physical game, but I like the Steelers in a close one.

DF- Pittsburgh is going to be tough even on the road from here on out. The Ravens have shown signs of life at times but will be no match for the Steeler defense, look for lots of turnovers in this one.
Steelers by at least 10.

TB- Both teams seem content to just let Cincinnati walk away with the division, so they have that much in common. Even if Roethlisberger starts for the Steelers, I think his head will be fuzzy all day, especially with the Ravens D swarming him all day. Ravens by 10.

WF- The Steelers are coming off an embarrassing loss with a woozy signal caller. The Ravens on the other hand took the AFC best team(record-wise) to the brink at home, but with the loss are now in desperation mode. I think the Ravens will want it more and the decline in the Pittsburgh D will aid the home team in a Ravens win.

New England Patriots @ New Orleans Saints – MNF

PM- NFL Game of the Week! An exciting Monday night as I hope no one has anything going on to have to miss this battle. Home field is clutch in this match-up and I think the Saints are still a little to hot for the Patriots.

NG- Can New England knock off the high powered Saints? No. Drew Brees is playing amazing and while the Patriots are a good team, they aren’t quite the elite team they have been in years past. Saints by a touchdown or more.

DF- Too bad this game is in NO as I see a real challenge here for the Saints. A high scoring game and whoever scores last will win. Saints by a field goal.

TB- Will this be the end of the line for an undefeated Saints season? Probably, but I’m going to go with a karma pick on this game, and no one has less good karma than Bill Belichek. Saints by 3.

WF- The Saints have shown they can win from behind, blow out opponents and do pretty much anything possible on a football field. All this said I’m going against all my counterparts and picking the Patriots. Why? Belichek made a mistake a few weeks ago, he got too cocky. He’ll use this game to show everyone why he’s still the best.

LOCKS

PM- Minnesota over Chicago

DF- Giants over Denver, Of Course!

NG- Philadelphia over Washington

TB/WF- Baltimore over Pittsburgh

UPSETS

PM(2)- Detroit over Green Bay

NG(4)- Denver over Giants

WF(2)/DF/TB- Washington over Philadelphia

by Tony Bosma

Nothing goes better with gorging yourself than the National Football League. Thankfully, the NFL is granting fans with a three-game lineup to enjoy, so long as the tryptophan doesn’t take over for too long. Lucky for us, the Lions still play on Thanksgiving, which means a nap can still be fit into the day.

Green Bay @ Detroit (12:30 ET)

The Lions are coming off an emotionally-charged win over the Cleveland Browns (somehow that’s possible). Quarterback Matthew Stafford doesn’t look likely to play after injuring his throwing shoulder in the game, but it won’t matter who is playing QB for the Lions in this game. Green Bay is in the hunt for an NFC Wild Card bid and are facing the Lions at an opportune time. Though it’s always an opportune time to play the Lions, the Packers are showing signs of life since losing to Tampa Bay in Week 9 by beating the Cowboys and 49ers in the past two weeks, respectively.

GB over DET, 28-10

Oakland @ Dallas (4:15 ET)

It’s put-up or shut-up time for the Cowboys. After a loss to Green Bay in Week 10 and an ugly win over Washington in Week 11, the Cowboys offense is due for a resurection. Who better to play than the Raiders? Well, to give the Raiders their due, they did beat the Bengals in Week 11, but when Bruce Gradkowski is your quarterback, don’t expect your luck to last too long.

DAL over OAK, 33-13

New York Giants @ Denver (8:20 ET)

Denver is in disarray, and that’s putting it lightly. While you can’t count them out of this game, their defense looks to have lost all of its power and their offense can’t do anything if Kyle Orton isn’t under center. That being said, it’s hard to just hand this game to the Giants, who have been so inconsistent this season that they can’t be a favorite in any game. To stay in the Wild Card hunt, both teams need this game, badly. This game will come down to a coaches duel, and in that situation, go with experience.

NYG over DEN, 18-10

By Nick Gustafson

It’s that time of year again where we think about all of the things that we are thankful for, 6 and 0 starts, a dominating defense, and a team that refuses to quit and grows stronger in the second half games.  Can we still be thankful for those things even if they have been taken away from us?  Since their bye week the Broncos have been on quite a slide and are in jeopardy of sliding out of playoff contention all together if they don’t rectify some of their problems immediately.  Expectations for this team were very low at the beginning of the season.  Coming off a tumultuous off season and a pathetic preseason, no one expected much of the lowly Broncos.  Then those same lowly Broncos managed to start the season with 6 straight wins and expectations soared.  They became division champs in week 6, a lock for a first round playoff bye, and legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

In the fickle world of NFL speculation, what a difference 4 weeks make. Teams in the NFL rise and fall from stardom faster and more often than the sun rises each day.   There is constantly a “new” team ascending to make a run for the championship, and another collapsing that just days before was sure to be hoisting the Lombardi trophy in February.  Almost never is the speculation completely accurate, but in today’s world of 24 hour sports channels and instant gratification, that airtime has to be filled with something.  Thus countless hours of stats and predictions are broadcast day and night letting the world know who the next great team is and which is sure to fail.  The Broncos have been on both sides of that coin multiple times this season and are hoping another flip is in their future.

Given almost zero chance to win even half of their games before the season started, the Broncos would have been better off sitting out the season according to some.  After a stunning 6 game winning streak the Broncos were given more credit than they deserved.  Prognosticators anointed them kings of their division with 10 games still remaining in the season.  Four weeks later, all loses for the Broncos, and the talk of losing more than half of their games this season has resurfaced.  If the Broncos could manage another 6 game winning streak they would surely be deemed Super Bowl contenders once more.  The chances of the Broncos reeling off six more wins in a row are probably about as good as them starting out this season 6 and 0.

No one knows for sure where the Broncos will be when the first 16 games of the season come to an end.  Carving the Giants up on Thanksgiving would go a long way to getting them into the playoffs where they would ultimately like to be.  The Broncos needed an immaculate deflection in the Bengals game to spark their first win of the season and they used that to carry them through their first six games.  The Bronco’s fire was obviously not tended during their bye week and is now all but extinguished.  The reeling Broncos are looking for anything to get them started back in the right direction.  Perhaps the thought of looking like a bunch of turkeys on Thanksgiving in front of a nationwide audience will be enough of a spark to ignite the Broncos once again.

I’m not happy with the lasagna recipe I’ve been using. Cooking one with cottage, cream and cheddar cheese just didn’t feel authentic enough for me and trust me, I’m no purist. The problem with finding a replacement has been the internet. This is a great example of how the internet gives you loads of information but doesn’t make it easy to filter through it. There were just so many recipes to look through it was like searching through a roll of toilet paper looking for one particular square.

Finally I started looking through a few cookbooks I had and found a great candidate in an Ina Garten book. It’s pretty basic even though it did include goat cheese which in lasagna, I refuse to use on principle. It also isn’t unnecessarily indulgent which a lot of the recipes I saw are, suggesting the use of turkey sausage instead of pork. No matter how the recipe worked, I knew it was going to have the taste of victory with the Giants eeking out a win over the Falcons. After four straight losses, I’ll take it.

Start by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a big skillet over medium heat. Add a chopped onion, cooking until translucent, maybe 10 minutes or so. Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and cook another minute.

I couldn’t find any turkey Italian sausage. Surprisingly, Whole Foods (where I was sure I’d find some) only had chicken Italian sausage. So I got 1 1/2 pounds of it, removed the casing and then added that to the onions.

Make sure to break it up as it cooks until no pink remains. I’ve found the best way to break it up at the end is to use a potato masher. At this point I drained a fair amount of the fat.

Add a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil, 1/4 cup of chopped flat parsley (chop 1/2 a cup and save the other 1/4 cup for later), 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 whole 6-ounce can of tomato paste. Cheers to Ina Garten for creating a recipe that uses a whole can of tomato paste. Every other recipe that uses it only calls for a tablespoon or so. The amount of tomato paste our society wastes and discards will come back to haunt us one day. Mark my words.

Mix that together and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat for 15 – 20 minutes, thickening it. Give it a good stir now and then. Next time I need to use a larger skillet. This one was at the very limit of maximum capacity. It all worked out though.

Meanwhile in a medium-sized bowl, combine 16 ounces of ricotta cheese, a beaten egg, the remaining chopped parsley (1/4 cup), 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and some pepper. It was at this point that the original recipe called for 4 ounces of goat cheese and I didn’t use any. More on that later.

Now it’s time to build some lasagna. I used three layers of noodles so portion the ingredients appropriately. Ladle some sauce to cover the bottom of a baking pan. Add noodles, the ricotta mixture, some mozzarella cheese and more sauce. Repeat twice. Then top with 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.

At this point I stashed it in the refrigerator to catch the rest of the Giants’ game. Though ugly, at least we got the win.

Put the lasagna in a 400 degree oven. If your cooking without refrigerating, it probably needs about 30 minutes. From the refrigerator I gave it 40 minutes.

Man, was it good. There’s a few things I’m going to change next time. First off, I’m going to use a little less sausage next time. Maybe around a pound. Second, I’m going to use a bigger skillet. Third, without the goat cheese I think I need to add around 4 ounces of cream cheese to the ricotta mixture to make it a bit creamier. Lastly, I need to make sure all the noodles are completely covered with sauce because the exposed parts of the noodles got too dry and crunchy. So live, eat and learn.

I’m writing a complaint letter to Wachovia. I will have no more of this “play of the game” decided with two minutes left when the game is still in the process of being blown. Plus, the play of the game was not the Boss TD that was played on the jumbotron, it was the coin toss that gave the Giants the ball first in OT.

An ugly win is still a win, but that eyesore can damage the retinas. Anyone who watched the entire Week 11 game knows that their eyes do not deceive them, the Giants looked like a mistake-prone team with a soft defense that can’t protect a lead.

But thanks to the struggling Atlanta Falcons who also did not want to play well, the New York football Giants finally got their first win in six weeks.

Eli made two mistakes early. He fumbled and threw an interception in the first drive.

But the errors for Manning ended there. The offense pulled it together nicely. Tight End Kevin Boss had a great day, averaging over 15-yards per play with 2TD catches.

But he wasn’t the only man open. Eli passed the ball around on a day where Plaxico Burress was not missed. Retired team leader Michael Strahan and former Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo were the pieces of the Superbowl 42 championship team that fans longed for as the once tough defense that would certainly be able to protect a two-touchdown lead in the 4th quarter.

As well as the offense got it together, there were still  field goals attempts from the Red Zone where touchdowns should be occurring.

Why does Heinz sponsor the Red Zone at Giants Stadium? There is no other ketchup, really. Heinz dominates the popular condiment and is the largest provider. I think that the someone else should jump on the sponsorship opportunity there. Perhaps it could be the Big Red “Chew It Out” Zone, the N.R.A. “Out for Blood” Zone, or the Red Roof “Get it Inn” Zone.

One Giants Red Zone visit stalled at 13-yd line where kicker Lawrence Tynes proceeded to miss a 31-yd field goal attempt. As unacceptable as this is, Jason Elam of the Falcons was drinking from the same fountain and missed a 35-yd attempt three drives later. Those botched “gimme” field goals canceled each other out, but that, like winning the coin toss for possession in overtime, was lucky.

The Giants have little time to thank their lucky coin. In a short “week” of four days, Big Blue will be in Denver for a game of two teams that have reeled.

Also posted on National Lampoon’s Splog, Empire Sports Now and on Player Press

BY Ralph Vacchiano
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

The Giants’ long, miserable losing streak is finally over. But just barely.

They needed a monster game from quarterback Eli Manning and overtime to do it, but the Giants were able to squeak by the Atlanta Falcons, 34-31, Sunday afternoon. They got their first win since Oct. 11 thanks to a 384-yard, three-touchdown performance from their quarterback, and a game-winning 36-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes.

lets see if the Giants can keep it up… But something is wrong with the defense …. Can Strahan come back???

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by Tony Bosma

There seems to be a trend in the NFC East this year: teams with a bye week prosper without even playing a game. It happened for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 with the Eagles, Giants and Redskins all losing. It also happened for the Giants in Week 10 as the Cowboys and Eagles lost. Even with the woeful Redskins winning in Week 10, it didn’t matter, because, let’s face it, the Redskins aren’t going to contend for the division.

The NFC East is very much there for the taking, especially with seven divisional games yet to be played. Currently the standings look like so: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Redskins.

The Eagles and Giants are fighting for second place, the Redskins are terrible and barely in it and the Cowboys still have to play football in December, which means anything can happen. Except, of course, the Redskins defying all odds and somehow, SOMEHOW, making themselves relevant.

So where does that leave on of the toughest divisions in football? You might as well wipe the slate clean, and take the Redskins with it, because it’s a three-team race from here on out.

These three games will decide the NFC East, so mark your calendars:

Week 13 – DAL @ NYG: The Giants beat the Cowboys on the road in Week 2 and with a more likable schedule than Dallas in the next six weeks, a Cowboys loss could put them in a huge hole.

Week 14 – PHI @ NYG: There are a lot of questions about the Giants health and the consistency of the Eagles as a whole, but whoever wins this game, in my opinion, will be in the best position to take over the division, especially if the Giants knock off the Cowboys in Week 13.

Week 17 – PHI @ DAL: I’d bet anything I have this game will be for the NFC East, which is fitting. The Eagles crushed the Cowboys last year, setting up a long playoff run. Even though the Cowboys beat the Eagles in Week 9, this game will decide who takes the division, and who enters as a wild card.

Considering the Giants had the day off, a lot went their way. Not only did the team not lose, but the Eagles and Cowboys did… which is always nice.

Philadelphia Eagles Lose: Good for the Giants to have division foe lose. Also a plus, Andy Reid is still coach in Philly.

Dallas Cowboys Lose: Good for the Giants to have division for lose. And how! Dallas looked horrible and they couldn’t rush the ball. Side note: the Giants are pretty good at stopping the rush.

Washington Redskins Win: Good for the Giants because they made the Denver Broncos look bad and the Giants have to play the Broncos, but now that game is significantly less scary and seems much more winnable.

New Orleans Saints Almost Lose: It would be too good to be true for the St. Louis Rams to win this one, but it was nice to see them make the Saints look less untouchable/more touchable/more available/easier to make a move on/these comparisons get so sexual so fast.

Carolina Panthers Win: Good for the Giants because the Panthers exploited some Atlanta weaknesses. Maybe, if the Giants can study the video and pull everything together, next week can be the rebirth of the season! Maybe… please?

Indianapolis Colts Win: Good for the Giants because we started the cool trend of the Patriots not being the wrecking ball hanging over the league.

Other notes from a Sunday of watching other teams play:

• Why are three of the best teams dome teams? This isn’t arena football!
• How do we judge most of the teams in the NFL? The Giants lost to the Eagles who lost to the Cowboys who lost to the Packers who lost to the Bucs who haven’t won any other games. But the first four teams in that list are possible playoff teams. The NFL: Never a dull season.
• What happened to Bill Belichick? Going for it on 4th and 2 I understand, but not from your own 30-yard line.  I’m not just saying this because it didn’t work. I was yelling about this the second I realized Brady was still on the field. This was a really bad move. I don’t appreciate bad “go for it” calls on 4th and short cause it’s generally not a bad idea but with that field position, come on now. I firmly believe that Belichick made that decision for gambling problem purposes. He’s a cheater and a liar, it’s not a stretch to figure him for a gambler, too.

Also posted on National Lampoon’s Splog

by Tony Bosma

Ravens coach John Harbaugh had some not so politically correct words to say about Jerry Jones, stating the Cowboys stand for “everything that’s wrong in the NFL.” Well, he apologized and Jerry Jones is accepting it, publicly anyway. Oh and about that whole standing for everything that’s wrong with the NFL.. how about the Ravens? Accepting a stolen football team, alleged murderer as their star… point made, I’ll stop there.

The Eagles had their defensive wings clipped. All I can say about that is their is a performance enhancing excuse for one of the cornerbacks that includes Chinese food, bloating and a questionable pill.

With nothing good to say about the Redskins, I’ll refer you to ProFootballTalk.com to get the latest scoopage on them. And yes, former Redskins great John Riggins is speaking up about the organization again… classic.

If you were wondering where Brandon Jacobs has been in New York, so are we. In fact, GCS thinks the Giants once great defense has kidnapped Jacobs and fled to the UFL, all 12 of them. No word on whether Tom Coughlin will be executing a reconnaissance mission to recover the has-beens.

Lawrence Taylor, legendary hall of famer in the National Football League who was once dubbed “The Big Blue Wrecking Crew” for the New York Giants has been arrested for hit and run in Florida.

The 50-year old retired football player, who recently showed off his dancing prowess in Dancing With the Stars, told the authorities when he was arrested on a nearby parking lot that he thought he only hit the guardrail which was why he drove on.

However, according to the crash report, his white Cadillac Escalade struck a 1984 Ford van twice which smashed it into a guardrail. The front tire of his car, which was missing at the time of his arrest, was found at the scene of the accident.

Taylor, despite the bloodshot eyes, was not given a sobriety test as the police reported he showed no sign of drug or alcohol abuse and was coherent.

Police charged Taylor with leaving the scene of a crash and careless driving and was released on $500 bond.

The New York football Giants continued their shameless self-destruction in dramatic fashion by giving their Week 9 game to the San Diego Chargers. It’s not that the Giants don’t know how to win anymore, it’s that losing is just so much easier.

When a team in the NFL holds their opponent to thirty-four rushing yards and has the ball for thirty-seven minutes during which the defense makes two interceptions, you may think the team you’re reading about won the game. But statistics may be more deceiving than they appear.

Over one-hundred penalty yards is a pretty terrible statistic, but there are no statistics for the following offenses: a fake field goal that does not attempt a pass or a run (which is really just a fake field goal formation), inability to score a touchdown at 1st and goal on the four yard line, and running the ball on third and long when you have a Superbowl MVP quarterback under center.

Being at stadium and witnessing a travesty like the Giants today live and in person makes the already bad loss even worse. For those who believe that a large HD TV in the comfort of their own home is just as nice as being there, I will now provide some insight into the in-stadium feelings that you don’t get on the couch.

• Every time there was less than five seconds left on the play clock, the crowd supplied the delay-of-game prone Eli Manning with warning moans and groans that converted to a universal sigh of relief when the snap made it in time.
• When a play is challenged, the reply is not shown on the screens. This always yields to someone asking why we can’t see the play again. I generously take this time to educate the someone and anyone else in earshot that this is a riot prevention tactic. Then I wait for a friend or family member of mine from home to text me what the call should be.
• During TV timeouts, which take more time than the team has ever spent practicing the fake field goal, Giants fans enjoy casually discussing why every other team in the league is capable of confusing defenses by putting two running backs in on the same play. These empathetic chats may or may not develop into talks about how the quarterback sneak was not written into Eli Manning’s contract and putting in the second string QB for the aforementioned play would take the same creativity required to call a pass play in a short yardage situation. We would all make terrific coaches.
• During the two-minute warning, Wachovia presented the jinx of the unfinished game by deeming Boss’ TD catch the best play of the afternoon. I do not at all recommend banking with this company.
• As the Giants set up in the prevent defense, an entire stadium of people simultaneously held our breaths in hopes that this time the strategy will live up to its name. But just like how “don’t panic,” “it’s not a big deal,” and “this won’t hurt a bit,” mean the opposite of what they appear to mean, prevent defense only prevents the defense from defending.
• Finally, upon leaving the stadium, I saw what looked like a twenty dollar bill folded in half under a seat. Upon picking up what I thought might be a small token of consolation from the event, I unfolded the piece of paper to confirm its falseness by seeing its incorrectly narrow size and printer paper texture. Right when I felt like a lame Jewish stereotype, I noticed several people walking in front of me do the same thing to several more of these wannabe bills that were randomly scattered about the stadium. I can not tell if this was a cruel prank or a very funny joke. Either way, I’d say it worked.

Losing four games in a row is really bad. That’s one-fourth of the season in the plumbing. Fans search for a glimpse of something positive. I thought of the World Series Champion Yankees. My father pleasantly reminded me of the Giants’ upcoming bye week by saying, “well, they can’t lose next week.”

Also posted on National Lampoon’s Splog and on Player Press

Last week when I was talking about former NFL NY Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer, it kind of brought back some memories. So today I’m going to share my strange but true story about Palmer.

Way back when, when Jesse was making me swoon by saying…WOW…I’d watch football just to see this guy. He was on this little show called “The Bachelor.”

To me, I thought he was the hottest Bachelor to ever be on the show. That was the first time I ever watched the entire season of “The Bachelor” and the last.

I was living in Indianapolis during the time that Jesse was on “The Bachelor.” I lived right along the canal next to Butler University.

One day, I decided to take my Alaskan Malamute “KUSH” out for a walk along the canal.

Now, Kush is a huge dog. At the time, he was the biggest dog on the canal. I would have to use my entire weight to try and control him to keep him from not bothering other people or their dogs. He could eat most of the dogs in the neighborhood for breakfast!

Well, on our stroll, Kush was looking around in the grass along the canal (he’d jump in if he realized that I didn’t have a strong hold on him). A really good looking athletic type guy was jogging towards me along the canal with his dog (without a leash).

I kept looking at the guy thinking, “Wow…this guy is really hot. He’s so hot…like Jesse…Palmer…hot…OMG…it is JESSE PALMER!”

Well, Jesse gets this huge flirtatious smile on his face as he draws nearer. He’s slowing down, getting ready to stop to talk to me. He waves and says hello. As he gets closer, Kush, realizing that I’m distracted…

GOES AFTER JESSE PALMER’S DOG!

Jesse jumps into the bushes on the other side of the path screaming, “WHOA!” I realize that my distraction with Jesse’s heavenly beauty has left me with little to no hold on Kush.

After snapping back into reality and attempting to grab what’s left of the leash, I start pushing Kush away from Palmer’s dog. I yell at Jesse, “Keep going, keep going!”

So Jesse and his dog take off down the trail.

What’s funny is that his dog…(it was an older dog) acted like it was nothing but just some annoying fan! KUSH!

But the story doesn’t end there…

Jesse makes it down to the end of the dirt trail where there’s some poles sticking out from the ground that separates the dirt trail from the road. He stops, turns around to let me know everything’s okay. He smiles and waves again, turns around to continue with his run and runs right SMACK into the pole.

I averted my entire head to try to keep from laughing. I was thinking…OMG, he must be so embarrassed…and would be even more embarrassed if he knew that I saw it!

So to save him from THAT extreme embarrassment, I pushed Kush along to walk down the trail. The funny thing is, Kush was smiling from ear to ear. I realized then and there…Kush was trying to play matchmaker.

So here’s the interesting part of the story. The reason why the Bachelor was in Indianapolis was because he was there to film the second to the last episode where the last two girls get to meet his family.

Ends up his parents lived one block away from me!

What are the odds?

Also, that exchange on the canal told me that he wasn’t interested in either woman that made it to the final round.

So the Jesse Palmer story doesn’t end there…

Later on…I moved to NYC. After the first couple of months in my new neighborhood, I was out walking around in my neighborhood and saw Jesse again on my block. I had to do a double take. I was thinking…NO…this can’t be!

But sure enough it was him.

After the Bachelor, he ended up in Canada and is now living not too far away from where I live now.

Strange coincidences? Oh, I sure as hell think so.

The last time I saw him, he just so happened to be taking a run in my neighborhood. Oddly enough, we ran into each other in my neighborhood in the exact same spot I saw him the time before.

Yes, it is strange. And just imagine my surprise yesterday when a Google search found that Jesse now works in the same industry as me!

The funny thing about all of these chance encounters with Palmer is this…his teammates used to make fun of him and say that he becomes a complete klutz when he’s around a girl that he likes. He really embarrasses the hell out of himself when he meets a girl he likes.

I was thinking about that while me and Kush were heading away from Palmer and his dog and heading to the bridge to finish our walk. I mean, how many professional athletes run smack dab into a pole after meeting a girl?

After a one week lay-off due to other matter, it’s time to check back in with Princess the Camel to see how she is doing. To recap, until last week Princess was on a 3 week losing streak with her pick but righted her way by picking the Dolphins to beat the Jets.

The Eagles got a touch down right out of the starting gate and never looked back trouncing the NY Giants 40-17.  The Eagles held onto their commanding lead for the entire game.  It was a very convincing win and demonstrated that there is more to the Eagles than what we saw (or didn’t see) in that disasterous Oakland Raiders game we are trying to purge from our memory banks!

Looking forward to spanking the Cowgirls next weekend!  That would go along way toward making me feel better!!!

This weekend was a big Philadelphia versus New York weekend when talking about sports. The 76ers played the Knicks last night, while the Philadelphia Phillies played the Yankees last night as well. Today was the football match-up with the Eagles and Giants. The Eagles came out hungry for a big victory against their division rivals. Donovan McNabb had 240 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Eli Manning on the other hand had 222 yards passing with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions for the Giants. DeSean Jackson is having a big season as he recorded yet another touchdown of 50+ yards. The Eagles defeated the Giants 40-17.

~Signing Off~
AGE

33-7 at the half? Looks like Big Blue will be 5-3 after this week. And to be honest after going 5-0, they really look like garbage out there….

Last week we all picked the the Steelers and Bears while Nick was the only one that went down with Atlanta in big D, while he and Tony correctly picked an upset(ARI).  The Steelers forced Favre into a few turnovers that went back for scores, ultimately doing in Minnesota.  The Cowboys put a hurt on Matt Ryan and look to be righting the ship while things are going the opposite way for the Bears, who ended up playing their worst overall game (yes, it was worse than the opener in GB) in Cincy.

The schedule looks a bit more balanced this week with big divisional games, highly anticipated conference math ups and even a battle of have-nots (who’s not psyched for STL @ DET?).  Here are your wise picks for week 8…

Giants @ Eagles

Pat McGuire- The damn Cowboys benefit from this game, so I vote that both teams win and keep the ‘boys from moving up in their division.  I like the Eagles in this match-up.  Not impressed with the Giants the last few weeks.  I like what the Eagles are brewing up and it’s only going to get better.

Nick Gustafson- Giants should rebound this week over the weaker Philly team.  The Eagles just don’t look to have what it takes this year.

Dudley French- I like the Eagles in this one even without Westbrook.  Look for McNabb/Jackson and Co. to have a big game through the air against the hobbled Giants pass defense.

Tony Bozma- You can put any spin you want on this game, but the bottom line is the Giants need this game more than the Eagles. The Giants have lost two-in-a-row and won’t make it three. Besides, the Eagles lost to the Raiders. New York wins by 7.

Wes French- The Eagles tailspin begins this week with a close loss to their hated rivals from New York.  The Eagles looked lazy against the lowly Redskins on Monday and will suffer from the short week of prep and the probable loss of Westbrook.  Giants by 4.

Broncos @ Ravens – Game of the Week (F you Brett Favre)

PM-You may not agree with the call of the game of the week, as some of you Favre lovers may go with the MIN and GB game.  Hog wash.  Baltimore at home in this one against Denver.   Baltimore took Minnesota to the wire and will fight and claw with the Broncos to the end this week, however, fate plays in the hands of the Ravens.  34-31

NG- Denver is facing a tough match up this week, but I like them to keep it rolling.  They have never beaten the Ravens at home, but I think that changes this weekend.

DF- Both of these teams are capable of winning, but Denver’s luck is about to run out. I like the Ravens only because they’re at home.

TB- I haven’t completely lost faith in the Ravens, but their defense is looking older than it ever has. Unfortunately for them, Denver is playing better than anyone ever expected. Denver wins by 13.

WF- I see this as a bit of a trap game for the Broncos.  Each team comes in off of a bye, but Denver has a huge game with Pittsburgh looming next Monday.  I like the Ravens to get back on track and knock off Denver in come from behind fashion at home.

Vikings @ Packers

PM- Minnesota won the first match-up and Favre played well, Minnesota will win the second match-up and Favre will win at Lambeau.  I think the Vikings are hungry and pissed after the loss last week and I have a feeling when AP is angry, there’s not a good chance for the opposing defense.

NG- Old Man Farve is dying to stick it to Green Bay and he is going to do just that this weekend.  Expect the entire Viking team to show up big for this one.

DF- This will be a good game, but I see Favre taking advantage of the crowd and beating GB again with a good dose of Peterson.  Favre sweeps the Packers and his nemesis Ted Thompson.

TB- Can’t remember what the big story line of this game is, but I do know Minnesota will win by 4… wait, I mean 10.

WF- Favre owns Lambeau.  Adrian Peterson owns crappy run defenses.  The Vikings will destroy the Pack in front of Ted Thompson and Favre will run the score up as much as he can.

Falcons @ Saints – MNF

PM- NO Contest!  New Orleans is playing in the same elite league of football as Tiger Woods is in golf.  Don’t know what to do to calm that fierceness of that offense.  I claim that New Orleans wins by 3 touchdowns in a boring game that Atlanta never shows up for.  Btw, who is excited for the Rams vs. Lions?

NG- Atlanta is hot one week and cold the next, Drew Brees and the Saints have been nothing but hot and I like them to stay unbeaten this week.

DF- Everybody knows I like the Falcons (or you do now) and I think they will stop Brees and score just enough points to win. This will be a much closer game than people might think.

TB- Sorry, but the Falcons don’t have what it takes to hang with the Saints. I don’t think any team does at this point of the season. New Orleans wins this game by 17.

WF- I’m with Pat, Nick and Tony.  N.O. because they can’t be stopped, ask Miami and they’re 21 point lead.  Go Lions, Titans and Bears!

LOCKS

PM – Ravens over Broncos

NG – Cardinals over Panthers

DF – Chargers over Raiders

TB – Broncos over Ravens

WF – Bears over Browns

UPSET – # of correct in ()

PM – Browns over Bears

NG(1)/WF – Titans over Jags

DF/TB – 49ers over Colts