3 Posts in One

An Extra value post today:
1. It just dawned on me that our President-elect is a White Sox fan. Hmm... I don't think that realization would have altered my vote. Well, let's hope he is as good at reaching across the aisle and building unity as we think he is.

2. I have recently accepted an NFL picks challenge from my friend Dan. You can find his picks here. I love this stuff... So here are my absoutely, 100% accurate, stone-cold, guaranteed, lock-of-the-week picks. All picks are guaranteed or your money back*. My picks are in capitals, bolded, italicized, and colored, because that's how confident I am in them#.

BRONCOS at Browns - OK, so the Broncos have a shockingly bad defense, but they are going up against a replacement quarterback on an unusually short week. This was a strange decision by the Browns and I can't see it paying off in this game. Down the road, maybe, but not tonight.

Saints at FALCONS - The Saints are talented, but inconsistent and beat up. I would know, since I have seemingly half their offense between my two fantasy teams. I also have Matt Ryan, who is having a good year for a rookie quarterback, but is still inconsistent. Again, I would know this since he is one of my quarterbacks and I always bench him the weeks he has great games and play him the weeks where he looks like a rookie quarterback. Sigh.

Titans at BEARS - No, I don't believe the Bears are better. But the Titans have to lose some time, and the Bears are physical enough to beat them at home, maybe.

JAGUARS at Lions - Surely the Jags have some measure of pride and professionalism. Right?

Seahawks at DOLPHINS - Yes, I did a double take before making that pick.

PACKERS at Vikings - How disappointing has this Vikings team been? I mean, people were picking them to win the Super Bowl before the season.

BILLS at Patriots - I just think the Bills are going to bounce back a bit here.

Rams at JETS - I wouldn't normally pick the Jets, but they are playing the Rams. But if you happen to be the type of person who is interested in what the spread is, I would take the points.

RAVENS at Texans - I would love to see all of the major American professional sports leagues enact a structure like European soccer, where the bottom teams get relegated to the lower league, and the winning teams from the lower league move up. Then we wouldn't have to watch the Texans anymore (not that they're horrible this specific year, but as a franchise, even an expansion franchise, they're pretty bad). Other teams that would likely get caught into this trap (from all leagues): Clippers, Raiders, Knicks (wow), Bobcats, Royals, and I would have said Rays until this season.

PANTHERS at Raiders - I think my above comment explains why I'm not picking the Raiders.

Colts at STEELERS- Are the Colts even good at football this year? Don't get me wrong, they're my favorite team in the NFL, I just don't think they're very good.

Chiefs at CHARGERS - They say you can fire a good coach and not get any worse for one season, but by the second season things start to slide. On an unrelated note, this is the second season for the Chargers without Marty Shottenheimer. Still, the Cheifs are a grease-fire.

Giants at EAGLES - The Giants are better. But you can't win every away division game in a very good division.

49ers at CARDINALS - This is the Monday night game? Seriously? I'm sure ESPN is just thrilled about that.

*- Guarantee not valid in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the State of Indiana, the United States of America, or Denmark.
#- Actual confidence level 25-30%, with a 3-5% margin of error.

3. Also, from Dan, iPod tag. The rules are simple- put your ipod (or other non-Apple branded music player) on Shuffle and list the first 15 songs that come up. Then you tag someone else. Here goes:
1. Christmas Time is Here- Vince Guaraldi (Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack)
2. Ooh! My Arms- The Beatles (this isn't even a song. it appears to be random spoken words between songs but somehow got it's own track)
3. Ignoreland- R.E.M.
4. Marry You- Eric Clapton & BB King
5. I'll Be on My Way- The Beatles
6. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve- Harry Connick Jr.
7. Mrs. Robinson- Simon & Garfunkel
8. Phantom Regiment 1995 DCI Finals Show
9. On A Plain- Nirvana (Unplugged in New York)
10. Living for Jesus- Third Day
11. Where is the Love- Black Eyed Peas
12. You Never Know- Dave Matthews Band
13. Before You Accuse Me- Eric Claption (from Unplugged, my favorite CD ever)
14. Above All- Rebecca St. James
15. November Rain- Guns N' Roses

OK, so I would love to hear from my lovely wife, my cousin Aaron, and Matt Peterson. I'm guessing those will be some wildly different playlists.