The Crystal Ball Week 4

Have you ever heard of the saying, no matter how bad things look, they can always be worse? Well, that seemed to be last weekend. I knew going into the weekend that I would either look like a genius, or a complete fool. And for about an hour early Sunday afternoon, I looked like the former. After that, it became painfully obvious what the real answer was the latter. Now, I know all that any given Sunday stuff, I said it myself last week, so I am not too concerned. A few good weeks strung together, boom I am right back in the thick of things. After all, this is only week 4 of a 17 week season. And a few of the games could have gone either way, and if they did, I would have been 11 and 3. Unfortunately, they did not go my way and a few more almost went against me as well. But there were more than a few revelations that came out the weekend, besides the fact that I am a complete fool and may not know what I am doing. Let’s take a look.

Revelation: The Saints are actually new! - The Saints came marching home, right over top of Atlanta and doing their best General Sherman impression the entire way. Wow, what a stellar performance. After seeing their overall play on Monday night, color me impressed. Balanced offensive attack coupled with a tenacious defense and an opportunistic special teams unit and suddenly the Saints look like a real team. Everyone kept talking about Atlanta’s much vaunted running attack, and the Saints took that right out of the equation and forced Michael Vick to put the game on his shoulders, where everyone knows is a bad place to expect a win from the Falcons. Excellent game plan, execution and spirit from the Saints. I had my reservations on how improved they may actually be, seeing as they have yet to play someone. Now, unless Atlanta is overrated (possible but doubtful), their previous two opponents were really crappy (likely) or New Orleans was running on pure emotion (also possible), it seems like they might actually have a semblance of a team in New Orleans. And thank goodness, because they desperately need one. My heart said pick the Saints, my head said the Falcons. The morale of the story? Always listen to your heart, it knows best.

Revelation: One and a half quarters of good football does not make up for three bad ones. – Yeah, yeah, I got all wrapped up in that Eli Manning has come of age crap just like everyone else. What I forgot, and most everyone else too, was for the first three quarters against Philly, he stunk worse than a skunk in an outhouse. If I had paid attention to that, well, I would have wised up and took the logical choice, which was Seattle. Nope, I did not. And before I knew it, it was 35-3, and was I ever chagrined. He had a great quarter, but overall he was still the same inconsistent, shaky quarterback he has shown thus far in his career. No more benefit of the doubt for him or the Giants. Shockey was right, they were outplayed and out coached, and badly.

Revelation: One defense is tougher than we thought, and the other offense still stinks. – The 3-0 Ravens had to kick a 52 yard field goal in the waning seconds to beat the Browns. I know I said the Browns could pull off the upset, and very nearly did. Now, it is looking to me that their defense is far stouter than anyone could have thought, and if their offense could generate a few more points, they might be a team. And is it just me, or do the Ravens look like the same old Ravens on offense? You too? Yeah, that’s what I thought as well. Poor running, bad passing and terrible play calls. It will catch up with them, let’s say, this week.

Revelation: Better start ringing out those road jerseys for any leftover residual luck. – Three weeks in and the Super Bowl champions are 1-2, two games behind in the division, stuck in third and have to travel to San Diego next week to face the potentially 3-0 Chargers in primetime. They got to the desperation point a lot faster this season didn’t they? Well, they had best start playing like each game is a season ender. They looked undisciplined, lackadaisical and outclassed last week when it counted most. That game was one they should have won, and for large chunks of it they dominated the Bengals. But they did not put them away, and let Cincy hang around until it bit them in the ass and hard. I don’t know where the lack of concentration is coming from, but a few thoughts. Did having Tommy Maddox around as a mentor really make that much of a difference in Ben’s game, or is the effects of three surgeries in 10 months and the whirlwind of his first two seasons starting to catch up with him? Is the possible retirement of Cowher becoming a clubhouse distraction? Is the defense feeling the pressure of having to pick up the slack left by the offense? The loss of Randle El is showing up more on both the return game and in the passing game, with every defense keying on Ward and no one stepping up as a go to guy on returns. Will they be able to find a way around these issues? Do they have a real option for a short yardage back, since Staley seems to be nothing more than a sideline mascot and Davenport has yet to see the field? If they do not, will Willie Parker be able to handle a season of pounding the ball up the middle and 30 carries a game? It’s a long season, and we are only three games into it, but these are some big questions that had best get answered quickly if Pittsburgh wishes to be anything more than a one bowl wonder.

Revelation: Home is no longer where the heart is. – Much has been made of the underdog and away teams this year, and with good reason. Last week alone, of the 14 contests played on Sunday and Monday night, 10 teams won away from their stadium. Only 4 home teams managed to win in front of their faithful fans. And at least one of those was in serious doubt. Is it possible Pittsburgh’s historic march on the road through the playoffs last year made every other team go, wait, we can win on the road too! Home field advantage, at least thus far this season, seems to have gone the way of the single bar facemask.

Revelation: One and a half quarters of bad football does not color the rest of the season. – Yeah, the Eagles collapsed against the Giants, but they obviously moved past it quickly with a resounding victory over the 49ers. Every team can have some bad moments from game to game. Every team has a bunch of bad things happen and loses a game. A good team moves past it quickly.

Revelation: Veteran leadership and skills really do mean something after all. – Brady has no one to throw to, and their kicker cannot seem to get the ball past the line of scrimmage. In three games, he already has as many blocked kicks as Adam Vinatieri had in 10 years. Their defense looks all over the place, and not able to stop passing or really stuff the run. The time may have come where letting go of all those veterans and leaders has caught up to them. They did not look like the Patriot juggernaut of only two years ago. They looked like a team of a few veterans and a bunch of role players that are not sure of their role. And Brady looks sick of throwing till his arm falls off with very little to show for it. I would have been less surprised if he had been the one that threw up during the game. He knows how to win, and if things keep going the way they have, it looks like he is going to learn how to lose as well.

Revelation: Age is a relative number. – Before last week, Brett Favre should have retired two years ago and Mark Brunell was holding up the coronation of Jason Campbell. They were both too old and lost too much to be effective anymore. Last week, both dug down and found that extra something, showing that they still have a little magic left. It may have only been for one week, Brett still has a long season with a lot of young teammates, and Brunell may not be able to hold off the calls for Campbell forever, but it was nice to see these two fling the ball around and look like great quarterbacks once again. And who knows, maybe they found a fountain of youth. It would seem as though Morten Anderson has. He managed to provide Atlanta with their only points. Not bad for a 46 year old gentleman. Good luck with your season Morten, and to Brett and Mark, show these petulant youngsters how it’s really done. No, seriously, Brett, come to Pittsburgh and give Ben a few pointers. I think he forgot some stuff over the summer. You can stop by on your way to Philadelphia. It’s on the way, no big deal.

So after looking over my debacle from last week, I am not sure if I am thinking too much about each pick, or not enough. It may be too much, since I spent a lot of time on the Colts/Jaguars match up when I KNOW I should have gone with Manning in the RCA dome. He does not need a running game, he likes to pass, and is real good at it, in case anyone did not realize it. I must have had a gas leak around me when I thought that one out. And I spent way too much time on the Washington/Houston game as well. Never, never, never pick Houston, no matter where they are playing, unless it is against Tennessee or Oakland! Seriously, I must have fallen on my head or something. You know this is not a winning organization. They passed up Reggie Bush! They obviously do not think things out clearly! Well, neither do I, so I guess we are even. This week, no agonizing over picks, no major thought processes, no scanning for buried nuggets. I know better from first impressions. I knew the Chiefs were going to struggle right away, and I stuck with it. Now they are 0-2 and up against it early. See? That gut thing might be worth something. So this week, let’s listen to our guts. Less thinking, more feeling. Hey, its football, it’s all about guts anyway! Now, if I have another horrible week, I can just blame it on not having thought it through properly. Hmmmm, maybe I should look into a career in politics.

This week’s bye teams are Denver, N.Y. Giants, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Denver is going in after a good win over New England Sunday night, probably glad for the win, and the ability to allow the calls for Cutler to die down and let Plummer be their quarterback. Remember, experience counts. The Giants I am sure are glad for the bye, to let everyone in the locker room cool off and regroup for the tough games that follow this week. Plus, the week off will help put the shellacking they took in Seattle out of their minds. Tampa Bay is still reeling, and probably wishes they had two bye weeks. Chris Simms out with a ruptured spleen? How hard did he get hit? If that is not a sign of problems with protection, I do not know what is. Here is to hoping he has a speedy, and full, recovery. Watch as Gruden spends the week off looking for a veteran QB in the classifieds and a fountain of youth for his defense. You can gauge his desperation on whether or not he calls Vinnie Testaverde. And Pittsburgh, well, I do not know what to say. Here is what they better do on their off week. Get their offense in sync. Roethlisberger better spend almost the entire time practicing throws to all his receivers while they practice running their routes. Cowher better practice and then double check his decision making, including leaving Heath Miller off the field for most of the fourth quarter. Colclough had best be practicing fielding kicks of every kind. Everyone had better be reading the rule books, and highlighting sections regarding excessive celebration and unsportsmanlike conduct. Everyone had also better work on their overall execution, composure and ability to hold onto the damn ball. This is no longer the preseason boys; this is the real thing, these games count. Every receiver but Hines had better find a way to make themselves a viable threat on the field, and Hines needs to work on his separation and hamstring. And Troy had best get that shoulder into some kind of shape where he can lay a hit on someone. Because next week, they go to San Diego for a big Sunday night showdown, and I will be sitting 4 rows behind the Steelers bench. And I will tell you now, if they do not play better than they have the past two weeks, I will be one very unhappy Pittsburgh fan. Mainly because I know all hope of the Super Bowl will be gone. Not that they cannot overcome a 1-3 start, but every time I have seen them play and win in San Diego, they won the Super Bowl the same year. Ok, so that only happened once, last year, but I would like it to be a trend that continues.

One other note before the good stuff. No TO discussion here. I could go into all the reasons why and why not, but it is this simple. I refuse to add to the miles of print that are already dedicated to him, especially since most of us could care less. These few sentences are already too much. Enough.

Now, for the weekly update. I shudder to even show this.

Last Week: 6-8
Season to Date: 25-21

Ok, so the overall record is still a winner. But at the rate I am going, it looks that by week 7, I will actually go 0-14. If that happens, at least I know by then each week will get better than the last. Of course, with the way I’m picking, I’ll manage to lose the bye weeks too. I do not feel as bad about it after looking at how some of the experts did last week with their picks. Many were either barely above 500 or below it as well. Not many had a stellar week, either. Thank goodness I do not have any money riding on this. Oh wait, I do. Blast! Oh well. Like they said in that one episode of the Simpson’s, when you are right 52% of the time, you are wrong 48%. Now, take a look at these picks while I try to find Lisa Simpson’s phone number……


Arizona at Atlanta

Atlanta is at home, and looking for revenge over getting embarrassed on Monday night. Arizona is feeling gutted after losing a game at home they had won on a bad fumble. Initial reports were that they had had enough and were starting Matt Leinart. Apparently, that was an erroneous report and they are going to stick with Sure Hands Warner. Good call. Almost as good as ignoring any upgrades on the offensive line. I hope Edge got a lot of guaranteed money in that contract. Possible trap game, but I am taking the home team, which may be a mistake considering their track records as of late.

Atlanta over Arizona


Dallas at Tennessee

This one needs absolutely no thought. Tennessee is a mess; Dallas has a good team and has had a week of rest. And even with the Owens turmoil, I don’t think that will affect much on the field, especially since he was not expected to play at first. So you do the math. Instead of pouring over the obvious, I have something else on my mind.

Is anyone else excited about a Mohawk comeback? I don’t mean those stupid faux hawks that are sported by metrosexuals everywhere. I mean a full fledged Mr. T Mohawk! A few players are sporting them this season, and I think it’s a fashion statement that needs a comeback. They look cool, and if you can pull one off, you look like a real badass. Plus, it’s a hair style that works no matter what color or race you may be, truly a hair style without discrimination! And women that can pull one off have this dangerous/sexy aura where you know she could eat you alive and spit you out, but you are drawn to her nonetheless. Yowza! What more could you want?

Dallas over Tennessee


Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets

Ho hum, another week, another Colts win. I need to remember, no matter how much he may bug me, or how much he is CONSTANTLY on TV, Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the league, at least during the regular season. And he has already won in the Meadowlands once this year, twice will not be an issue for him. Yes, the Jets looked good last week, but Peyton will be ready. And if you think Eric Mangini will have an aura about him and be able to use some of that old Patriots voodoo magic and beat Manning, remember that last year Peyton finally kicked that monkey off his back and beat the Pats in Foxboro. Who was New England’s defensive coordinator last year? That is correct, it was Eric Mangini.

Indianapolis over N.Y. Jets


Miami at Houston *

Ok, I know what you are thinking; I really should go dunk my head in a bucket of ice water to clear the cobwebs out. After my mini rant above about Houston, how exactly could I even debate picking them again this week over Miami? Because, that is how little I think of Miami. They barely beat Tennessee at home. They lost to Pittsburgh, which seems more and more embarrassing as time goes by, and then lost, after 11 days rest, to Buffalo at home. Let’s just say my feelings for Daunte and his much heralded comeback are muted, at best. And Houston has to win one sometime. They are not Oakland, after all. But this week?

Miami over Houston


New Orleans at Carolina *

New Orleans played with a lot of emotion on Monday night, and they might be drained after that performance. And any other year, I’d say Carolina ten times in a row. But this is not any other year, New Orleans is out to show they are better, and since Carolina has lost two of three and had trouble with lowly Tampa Bay last week, with their quarterback battling a ruptured spleen no less, my initial decision is clouded. This is a possible trap game, since New Orleans is coming down from an emotional win in the Superdome, and Carolina is beginning to find their offense and defense. This is a tough call for sure. But since Steve Smith is back in the line up….Eh, who cares, I’ll pay for it one way or the other.

Carolina over New Orleans


Minnesota at Buffalo *

Minnesota played Chicago really tough. It looked like they might even win the game all the way until the end. Either Brad Childress is finding a team under all the scandal and distractions, or is squeezing every drop out of them like a used toothpaste tube. Whichever it turns out to be, it is working for the moment. Buffalo has a lot of talent, but are young and it shows. Plus, they have J.P. Losman at the controls, and that always makes me wiggy.

Minnesota over Buffalo


San Diego at Baltimore

I still say Baltimore’s defense is overrated; they are older than you think. Tell me if they have played anyone yet that has a real offense. I know their offense is overrated, when you can only squeeze out 15 points against the Browns and 28 against Oakland. I have plenty of doubts about San Diego as well, especially since Marty Schottenheimer is involved, but not this week.

San Diego over Baltimore


San Francisco at Kansas City *

Frisco is looking super frisky this year. I think they mined a few nuggets in recent drafts. BOOOOOOO! Bad pun! Eh, no one else uses it, thought I would separate myself with one. I do not think they will win a ton of games, but they will turn a few heads for sure. Kansas City had a week off to assess their damages, but no magic will fix their problems. Green is still out, they have no real upgrade in their offensive line and while their defense played tough against Denver, I think that was out of desperation more than anything. Add to that the bad karma surrounding the team with the whole Herm Edwards abandoning the Jets to greener pastures nonsense, and I think this one is pretty clear. Another possible trap game, but I have to go with the hot hand, even if it is just lukewarm. And hey, I haven’t tried for an absurd upset type pick yet, how about now.

San Francisco over Kansas City


Detroit at St. Louis

St. Louis pulled one out of the jaws of defeat last week. Ok, it fell out of Warner’s hands and into their laps, much to my chagrin because up until that point, I was looking pretty smart. I have no idea if this new conservative offense the Rams are running is any good, but their defense is playing better, and will definitely play better than Detroit’s, especially in St. Louis. Although, you can just feel it coming, how much Mike Martz would love to stick it to the Rams in their own stadium. I bet he has been salivating all week for this game. But honestly, what real weapons does he have that can compete with a decent defense? Gut, what do you say? Yep, I agree.

St. Louis over Detroit


Cleveland at Oakland

No thought needed whatsoever. Cleveland is showing some strength on defense, and, well, Oakland is involved.

I need to get to the movies and see Jackass, number 2. The first one was hilarious, swinging rapidly between fall out of the chair laughing and gut churning cringing. I am sure this will be the same way. And as an added side note, is there anything better than those video shows where people hurt themselves? I don’t mean America’s Funniest Home Videos, which is a terrible show. I mean ones like, Totally Outrageous Videos and When Good Times Go Bad. Whenever I find one on cable, I cannot resist. It’s like I am a fly, and I see that bright buzzing blue light and I have to go straight for it. There is nothing better than to watch people with no common sense attempt to do something that anyone in their right mind would look at and think, oh, this will not end well. And it never does end well and usually there ends up being some sort of injury involved. The most oft injured part? Pride and humility. They ALWAYS come away badly wounded! It’s similar to watching Oakland fans in the fourth quarter trying to rally their team to victory.

Cleveland over Oakland


Jacksonville at Washington *

On the surface, a tough call. Jacksonville lost a tough one to the Colts, who they ran all over and had control of through the first half. The Redskins showed some offense for the first time this year in Houston. But my gut tells me Jacksonville. I don’t know why, I know Washington is better than their record, but the only team they have beaten is Houston, and they have lost to good teams. Jacksonville is a good team. Then again, so is Washington, and they started to turn their season around last year after a win in Texas. Ugh, either way I’ll be wrong.

Jacksonville over Washington


New England at Cincinnati *

This is the week New England’s veteran exodus catches up with them. I know, it is a classic trap game. New England is feeling like their backs are against the wall, with a bad loss last week against Denver, and not being overly impressive in their 2 wins. And New England just does not lose two weeks in a row. Couple that with a Cincinnati team that is feeling overconfident after beating Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. However, they were not overly impressive, and their run game was atrocious, as was their run defense and they know it. New England can still run the ball effectively, and can possibly exploit this. But, Carson Palmer is itching for a big day to show he’s back, and New England’s pass defense is suspect at best. Plus, Cincy’s secondary is aggressive and can take advantage of New England’s questionable receiving corps. Of course, there are still a couple of days before game time, and at least a few of the players could get arrested before then. It certainly is plausible. Seriously, how stupid is Odell Thurman? Woof, the Cincinnati Jail Breakers is a column in itself. I almost feel bad for Cincinnati. They have suffered for years with a crappy team, and now, finally, when it looks as though they have something, half the team behaves as though their former team was the Mean Machine. How long before some fan at a Bengals game calls the team’s new jerk hotline on one of the players? I’ll take the over on Thanksgiving, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it occurs before. Anyway, as I said, this is a possible trap game, since Cincy was not overly impressive last week, and at least for the near future, you should never count out New England, especially if their back is against the wall. Let’s check in with the expert, gut? You got it. But if you are wrong……

Cincinnati over New England


Seattle at Chicago *

This was a hard choice when I first saw it, and then I saw that Shawn Alexander has a broken foot and will be out for at least a few weeks. If Chicago does not have to respect their running game, they can just key on the passing game. If that happens, Hasselbeck will have a very long day, and the Bears can take a big step forward toward some respect as a team to beat in the NFC. I know Alexander was not a huge factor in dismantling the Giants, but he still had to be respected and keyed on when he was on the field. He is the reigning league MVP. It made Hasselbeck’s job of putting the game on his shoulders much easier. One thing that bugs me is Seattle’s new 4 WR set, with four good receivers. The Bears had trouble last year just defending Steve Smith. How are they going to handle four? It leaves me a little uneasy. But, the game is in Chicago, home of da Cubs, polish sausage, and DA BEARS.

Chicago over Seattle


Green Bay at Philadelphia

This could be a good match up, especially if Favre keeps playing like the Favre of old. His assessment of the talent level in Green Bay may be correct, but they are young, and just starting to come together. Philly looks strong again, very strong, actually. They do not look to be letting the loss of Kearse affect them, at least mentally. I know his loss could be a factor at some point this season, but for now they seem to be adapting and overcoming. I cannot see the Eagles letting another one at home get away from them. Not if they hope to move further this season, and keep the Philly faithful from a full scale riot.

Philadelphia over Green Bay


Note: Ok, so I did all the picks on Tuesday. Ran through them fast and with a vengeance. Then I sat on this all week, double checking and confirming what I liked, and agonized and flipped back and forth on about half of them. I marked them with an asterisk for fun; just to see how bad I screwed those up come next Tuesday. So, yeah, I totally over thought all of them. So much for gut picks. At least I’ll know why I got fried this week. Excuse me; I have to go smash my fingers in a door now.

Growing up is hard to do

As we get older, we move beyond the things of our youth. By choice, station, circumstance or interest, things that captivated us at one age no longer hold the same court over us later in life. Sometimes it can be something as simple as having a shorter haircut, or wearing a narrower cuff, and other times it can be something as drastic as a complete lifestyle change that molds you into almost a completely different person. Usually, the changes for most of us fall somewhere in between. Things like making sure you have a steady income and reliable transportation supersede having the fridge stocked with the cheapest beer available and partying until the break of dawn. Not that either of these things are bad, this is certainly not a judgment call on how anyone lives their lives. But typically, all night parties and reckless living are staples of youth, and we tend to put those things on the shelf in our memories as we get older. Sure, every once in a while we’ll get the urge to play with them, pull them down and dust them off, and see if we remember how it goes. Sometimes, they are still fun and we have a good time. Usually afterwards we realize that we cannot keep doing them as often as we used to, when we were younger and had unlimited energy, no fear and felt no pain. But they are nice once in a while and still fun. As we get older, we take them down less and less, until one day they just stay on the shelf, to be looked upon fondly as a reminder of a different time in our lives.

With each year that passes, more things from youth are put on this shelf, left to collect dust like an old trophy, the shine worn off in spots as the details of the victory become faded. They are moved there to make room for new interests, fascinations and responsibilities that come up in life. Paths we choose require different interests and responsibilities, and sometimes these push out older ones and relegate them to the shelf. Other times, these items are just past their time, and no longer important or fun to us. And other times, they are just stupid things we picked up, and should have been put on the shelf long ago, but we kept them around for all the wrong reasons, and now realize it is well past time to hang them up and move on.

Of all the changes that life has thrown at me, it is now time to put another impetuous item of youth on the shelf. And this one, I do not want to take down and give a whirl ever again. Since I was 20, I have smoked cigarettes. And since I was 22, minus a few brief stints here and there, it has been a regular habit. Not one I am proud of, but one I must be honest about if I am to give myself the proper shot at kicking this habit and finally proudly hoisting the banner of ex-smoker. Like many dumb things of youth, it started innocently enough. It was a way to stage a small sort of rebellion against the man, showing the world that I was the rebellious youth who didn’t care about anything, conjuring the images of James Dean and Marlon Brando, former icons of rebellious youth, and Steve McQueen, an icon of cool. Of course, all these men are dead, McQueen far younger than he should have been due to lung cancer. When you are young, you must also be stupid. It goes with the territory.

But at the time thoughts of cancer, heart disease, poor circulation, limited lung capacity and all the other great things that go with smoking were the farthest thing from any of our minds. It was a fun thing to do. You went out to a party or to a bar; you would pick up a pack on the way, no big deal. That night, in the midst of the drinking and carousing and merry making, you would have a butt or two or three, and share them with your crowd. It was a great social thing. You need to break away, go for a smoke break. You want to get someone alone for some one on one, say, hey, let’s go have a drag. No big deal. I have had many a great conversation with a Rogue’s Gallery of people just by going out and having a smoke. It is a very social thing, in the right circles. I know that sounds odd, especially since it is such an anti social behavior, but it can be a very social thing. Plus, at the time, smoking and drinking always seemed to go hand in hand. Perhaps that comes from too many old movies, or watching too many adults partake in similar activities. For me, they just seemed right together, like peanut butter and jelly or turkey and Thanksgiving. Once again, it sounds quite stupid, but it made sense. Anyone who has ever been a regular smoker I am sure can easily relate.

But the tendrils of addiction are seductive, and subtle. They slowly wrap themselves around you, ensnaring you while you do not even realize it. Looking back, it was amazing how quickly and easily I slipped into their grasp. It was all innocent at first, like I said; grab a pack on the way out to a good time, no big deal. But then, every once in a while, you’d get a pack a little earlier, maybe in the afternoon before the party. Partake in one, just to put you in the right mood for the festivities to come. Association has set in. You have a good time at the party, you smoke at the party, and therefore smoking equals a good time. The slope has suddenly become steeper, and much more slippery. Perhaps the next day, if you have not kicked the pack, you have one; just to unwind and reminisce of the good times had the night before, you know, before you toss the remainders. The slope is a little steeper, and a little more slippery. You are hanging out with some friends, someone fires up and you think what the hell, I am hanging with my buds, we all are digging it and it’s all good. The slope becomes that much steeper, and the slipperiness increases that much more. You buy a pack even earlier before the party, just to get yourself in the right frame of mind. And a little earlier. And a little earlier. And a little earlier. Not a big deal, hey, they are just for the party. But by this time, there is no party in the near future, and no one is planning on hitting the bar scene for days on end. There is no real reason to justify the purchase other than you want them, and you need them. But its still no big deal, its just goofing around and having a good time, everyone puffs a few from time to time. You tell yourself that, and the tendrils wrap around you more. I just do it for fun; it really is not a problem. The tendrils start to get a little tighter. I can quit anytime I want, it is nothing but a casual thing for me. And by the time you get to this rationalization, you are encased head to toe by the ever constricting tendrils of addiction. But, at this point, you have no idea how deep in you really are.

I myself had no real idea how bad I was by the time I made this rationalization to myself. I had fully convinced myself that it was nothing more than a casual thing, even though by this point, around 23 years of age, I had started buying packs on a regular basis. I kept hiding it from my family; never having one around them, even my girlfriend at the time, always making sure I had my last one the day before I would see her. That shrank to the morning before, and then noon before, and then a few hours before, and then an hour before, until finally, as long as I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth really well and had some gum, no one would be the wiser and I could smoke with impunity. Even after all of these rationalizations, I still believed it was a casual habit and I could quit anytime I wanted. I finally realized I might have a problem when I went away for a weekend trip, and could not keep from sneaking a couple of smokes the entire three days. And even with this dawning realization, I hesitated in any action to stem the tide.

About this time, my brother was involved in a horrible car accident. It was a tough time, and a perfect excuse to keep smoking. This was also the time when I first acknowledged my smoking with my parents. They, of course, already knew. My dad was a smoker at the time, and we used the time to bond over cigarettes. Not the best bonding tool, but I will not regret the experience. After I was past this hurdle, it seemed as though the slope disappeared completely and I was in nothing more than total freefall into addiction. Cigarettes had me firmly in their grasp, and I was more than happy to stay.

It’s funny how habits tend to say around. We all do things out of habit. The way we walk, dress, decorate and arrange our living spaces even how and what we eat are all habits. Some are good, and some bad, but we keep them because we know them. They are comforting and remind us of something good, or perhaps allow us to block out something bad. By this time, I had moved on, having graduated from college and starting, rather unsuccessfully, to find my way in the world. There were no parties or bar scenes to really hit, and many of my friends had scattered to other places, some home to figure out the next step, some very far away. A few had remained, but not many, and those that had either never enjoyed smoking or had moved on. There was no good excuse to continue to smoke, and yet I did. I still clung on to the habit grown out of a permissive time and attitude and one I associated with many good times. A habit that should have been nipped long ago in the bud, but one I had allowed to grow into something that became a regular, and comforting, part of my life. I could not just abandon it, it was part of me and at the time, I liked that.

I also liked that it was still rebellious. As the decade progressed, the vilification of smoking, and anyone who partook, had grown by leaps and bounds. Smokers began to be viewed as the scum of society, nothing better than wharf rats that should be exterminated for daring to choose such a filthy habit. It helped me keep smoking, knowing I was such a burr under so many saddles, me being a fairly well educated youth but still continuing a habit widely known for its dangers.

Even today, knowing what I know and trying hard to break myself of the habit, I still feel that if someone chooses to smoke, it is their business. It bothers me that other people feel the need to push their noses into other peoples’ business so much, they feel it is their right to control how they live their lives. By now, we all are aware of the dangers of smoking. It is dangerous, stupid and will shorten your life span. It is a drain on medical resources, pollutes the air and makes you smell like smoke. You never notice it, but everyone else around you will. Every time I thought I was fooling someone, I never was. The smell hangs on you like a beacon. A sandwich board saying hey I smoke would be less subtle. It is not a good thing. But if you feel the need, you should be allowed to do it, and not be treated like an animal for doing it. We all do things that bug someone else, but they let it pass because that is what we want to do, and we give them the same quarter. People burping with impunity bugs me, but I have friends who find a good release by doing it. And who am I to say anything? They tolerate my smoking, I can tolerate their burping. It is a trade off we make with friendships. Everyone has annoying habits, but if you like the person, you look past them and let them live their lives. Even with me no longer smoking, I’ll still ignore the burping, after all, sometimes it is as funny as all get out. I have seen a million other habits people have that drive me up the wall, but I do not hold that against them, or shun them because of it. It is their choice, and they have every right to make it, whether I feel it is right or wrong. That is one of the cornerstones of our society, but so many busy bodies are too busy trying to run the lives of others, while rather unsuccessfully running their own, to open their eyes and see this point.

And by this point, there is no smoking allowed in most places. Bars, airports, airplanes, trains, public buildings, government buildings, office buildings, places of employment and even outdoor public areas have all been marked as no smoking areas in most places. If you want to have a cigarette, you have to find a secret path that leads you deep within the bowels of the earth where you will find a heavily guarded 8x10 room where secret police monitor your activity closely as you just try to enjoy a butt. You think I am joking, but we are not far from that. If we are truly free, we should be allowed to make our own choices, right or wrong, and not have them made for us. This is the exact opposite of how many of those do gooder anti smoking groups seem to think. They have their ad campaigns and their commercials, all with the message of spreading the truth about the dangers of smoking and the evils of the tobacco industry. Funny, though, how a lot of their truth is not based on actual fact. If you doubt, please find on DVD the episode of Penn and Teller’s Bullshit where they delve into second hand smoke. It was quite the eye opener for me. And this was made by two gentlemen who hate smoking, yet they felt the need to present the real facts, and not those presented by a biased group looking to win favor and support for their own desires. I am certainly not condoning smoking, nor would I ever encourage it. It is a terrible habit that is beyond difficult to kick. But this is about more than smoking, it is about the right to live your life as you see fit, without others interfering with it. Also, you will not see me defending the tobacco industry, but if we are really a capitalist society, then they have as much a right to produce and sell their product as say, the alcohol industry, or, as a better comparison, the fast food industry. Take a look at that the fast food industry for a while, dig a little dirt, watch Super Size Me and read Fast Food Nation, and see if you really think it is better to have Ronald McDonald around kids than Joe Camel. To me, they are one in the same. I managed to beat down Ronald, now I am after Joe.

As time continued to move by, I moved on, trying new locations and places, moving far away from my roots and things I had known for most of my life. Despite of all these changes, I still had my old friend with me, always there to provide comfort. I reconnected with many old friends, old smoking friends as well. But all of them had moved on, looking upon that as something that they once did, but it no longer held sway over them as it did me. Never was I judged by my old mates for still continuing such a moronic habit. Perhaps that was a bad thing, or a good thing. I always worked to smoke less around them or not at all if I could. I made many new friends, most of which did not smoke, unless prompted by the temptress alcohol, and even then many times they were able to resist cigarettes and her wily charms. But on occasion it gave me yet another excuse to continue. I had friends again at the occasional get together that would burn one down with me. I would never blame them, or think of them as enablers. If anything, I was the enabler, encouraging bad behavior on their part just by the mere presence of me and my cigarettes. Rationalization is the key to addiction, and my key ring was jingling full.

But as I got older, I also started to feel more of the effects of smoking. Suddenly, a night of drinking with a pack affected me the next day. I started to get hangovers, something that had never happened before. I would find myself tired more often, and come home after work completely drained. I chalked it up to my bad dietary habits, with a kicker of maybe the smokes played a small part. I took on the goal of changing those habits, and I worked, and continue to work, very hard to eat much healthier and get more movement into my body. It worked wonders. I felt much better, looked much better, and felt good that I was doing something to help prolong my life. But then I noticed new aches and pains, weird stuff in places I never felt before. This could not be from bad diet or too much weight; this could only be one thing, cigarettes. Now, finally, I started to plant seeds of quitting, but parts of me still resisted, and heavily. I was wrapped up in it so deep now, it was much harder than I ever imagined.

But as the aches and pains continued, a new opponent to smoking arose, fear. I could not easily explain away these pains, nor rationalize them, and that led to fear. Fear of what I was doing to myself and what could happen to me if I continued down this path. My father smoked for 40 years. Most of his life, he had a cigarette in his hand. I have been smoking for over 10 years, a third of my life. I do not want to get to 40 years smoking. I would rather get to 40 years smoke free. I know his life long addiction played a major part in having open heart surgery. Our family has a history of heart disease, and cigarettes only exasperate that. I know one day I will have to deal with heart disease, but why must I bring it on myself sooner than needed. There is no need for that, when I can do something about it now.

I woke up one morning and realized, smoking is no longer the comfortable old friend I once knew. Now, smoking was like the smelly, inconsiderate house guest that does not realize it is time to go home. It does not fit into my life any longer. I want to be more active, to try more things and be fit again, like I was in my youth. I do not want to wake up in the morning feeling like crap, but to feel good, and alive. I do not want to feel barely functional by the end of the day, but energetic and ready for what the evening may bring. I want to live life to the fullest and not be limited in what I do or where I go, because I cannot smoke there or because I do not have the stamina or energy to do the things I choose. I know to get to that point, I must add more exercise and outdoor activities to my healthy living, and to do that, it is time to put this holdover of youth on the shelf with the others.

I believe, having been a smoker and working hard to become an ex-smoker, that the psychological addiction to cigarettes is much more powerful than the physical. There is definitely a physical addiction, no doubt. But it is the psychological aspect that is the real tough nut to crack. It is a habit that after awhile, you begin to associate with everything you do. Driving, walking, reading, writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends, going to bars, parties, parks, games, movies and just about anything else becomes associated with smoking. It is always there, no matter what you do. You do all of these things enough with a cigarette, the idea of doing them without one almost becomes foreign. You cannot imagine doing them and not having a pack on you. It feels strange, uncomfortable, and not normal, because you have taken one major identifier and constant of all those things away. I recently went to a housewarming party and managed to ruin a whole pack of cigarettes. How you ask? I had them in the pocket of my swim trunks when I jumped in the pool. I could not even go out to the pool without having them on me, because it felt strange. Luckily, or unluckily, I had smoked enough that I always had that spare pack with me, just in case. It is a mental addiction as much, or more, than it is physical. That is where addiction truly wraps its most powerful tendrils, right around your mind.

I feel and empathize with anyone who fights addiction. It is very tough, and some moments it seems like it may almost be impossible. But if you really, truly reach the point where you look at yourself and say, no more, you can do it. There is always a way. I know I have finally reached that point in my life, and no matter how difficult it is, I will always remind myself of how much better my life will be when cigarettes are gone. My life improved greatly when I kicked fast food out of it, it can improve that much more without cigarettes too. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for those addicted to something stronger, and I wish them all the luck and urge them to seek the help of medical professionals, qualified psychiatrists, friends, family, coworkers and anyone else they can enlist. The bigger the support group, the better off you will be. I have been working on telling everyone I know that I am through, and all have been nothing but encouraging, supportive and helpful. Knowing that I have these people in my life that care for me, love me and want the best for me and want to see me kick this as much as I do helps tremendously.

At the beginning of the year, I made my first attempt. I thought I was ready, but I did not know the power of the beast I was fighting. Addiction is strong, and does not give up easily just because you decided to change. I started out strong, feeling good about myself. Many of the odd aches and pains went away. I started to feel better about myself, and feel healthier in general. I did well for a while, but if there was a chink in the armor, a hole that opened up, or an opportunity to be exploited, addiction found it. I would have a drag here and there, and it tasted good and that initial rush was back, and it felt great. Long time smokers never feel the rush anymore, the buzz of that first few drags off of a smoke, because we smoke so much it goes away. But when you have not had one in a while, and you light up, that buzz can be such a rush. It feels great, and you can feel it spread all over your body. It can even make you a bit loopy. This is one of the ways addiction gets you in the first place, looking to recapture that buzz. After awhile, it becomes nothing more than to keep from bottoming out. So addiction kept exploiting holes and using them to its advantage. I could rationalize anything suddenly. You know, it’s been a super stressful day, you should have one. It’s no big deal, as long as you dump the rest when you are done. I’d buy it, and the pack, have one or maybe two, toss the rest and not think about it. No big deal. This went on for a few weeks, with me never going more than two or three days without being able to rationalize it and talk myself into stopping at the nearest convenience store. I would sneak out of the house and do it at night, or when going for the paper, so my girlfriend wouldn’t know. I did not want to face the fact that I was back on that slope, and I certainly did not want it pointed out to me or to disappoint. But I was right there on that slope, desperately looking for any traction while it was tilting again faster than ever.

We took a trip to Las Vegas for the weekend, and that was way easy to rationalize. It’s Vegas, everyone smokes there! I stocked up like I was shipping out for the Congo. All the while promising they would be gone after the weekend. In a vain attempt to convince myself I had control, I even threw most of them away on the way out of the hotel. But, still, I smoked on the way home, convinced I was in charge. But the next day, I had one or two. As I did the day after that, and the day after that, and even the day after that. By the end of the month, which was particularly stressful at work, it was all over. I was back full time. Addiction had me again, and she was holding on tight.

This was 3 ½ months ago. I have thought since then how much I need to quit. When the aches and pains came back, I knew it was well past time. I laid out a plan. This time, I do not want to quit, but trade one vice for the other. I purchased wrist weights for when I walk, hand grips to keep with me when I get an urge, and a stability ball for an exercise regime. Since smoking is also a good way to pass the time when you are bored, I bought a few books I have been meaning to read, to occupy my time and mind on something other than burning a few down. I prepared myself for the road ahead, knowing the urges would always be there, and always crop up, but that each time I had to fight them, and after each successful fight, the next one would be a little easier. I bought a stock of nicotine patches, to help stave off the physical cravings and step slowly out of their grip as I battle the psychological aspects. I know some feel as though that is not really quitting, that it is a crutch that holds off really quitting and makes it easier to fall back into the clutches of smoking. My dad is not keen on those or any other stop smoking devices. When he quit for good, he just put them down and never picked them up again. I admire him for that, but I also know how persuasive my own mind can be. Perhaps I am not as strong as he is mentally to kick both sides of the addiction at once. To me, that is ok. To me, how I do it does not matter, as long as I do it. And if I have a tool I think will work, I am going put that tool in my arsenal and use every means at my disposal to defeat this enemy. I finally admitted to myself that I can never be a casual smoker. I cannot be the type of person that goes out one evening, has two or three, and then never has the urge to smoke again. That will never be me. I know you can say never say never, and who knows, there might be a time when that could be true. But I doubt it. I know how fast I was seduced in the first place, and I would rather not take a chance of falling back again.

Monday September 25th was the day on which I moved to the shelf, with unsteady but sure hands, the habit of smoking. I have been without cigarettes for two plus days now. It may seem insignificant in the macrocosm of things, but to me, it is a giant step forward. So far, it has been going well. I know I will have tougher days ahead, and that the urges will strike sometimes with the ferocity of a hurricane. But the toughest hurdle is past. The one where I said no more, meant it, and started down the path of recovery. I know since I finally got past addiction and all her wiles and actually started, each day will be a little bit easier. This morning, I noticed some of the aches and pains have dissipated, and with feeling a bit better, I believe in the coming days and weeks the rest will follow suit. I have dealt with the urges by using my hand grippers. After a few weeks, I’ll be able to tear apart a lobster bare handed with how much I am using them. But that is a bonus. Plus, combined with the wrist weights, and the start of the exercise program, I will help myself with both keeping any weight gain off as well as giving me something else to focus on besides how much addiction is telling me I want a cigarette. I read once that if you do something for 16 days, it becomes a habit. I am working on not doing something for that amount of time and hoping for the same results. I know if I can make it 16 days without lighting up or even so much as taking one drag, I will be well on my way and have more power to be able to conquer this. This is day three. Only 13 more to go until the first milestone is complete. After that, only 4 more to follow and I will be free. I will need to be ever vigilant of getting back on that slope, but I will be free. By my calculations, I will be off the patch program by the beginning of December, and by the 20th, will have put in 16 days of no patches and no cigarettes, and no smoking will officially be my habit. I can then look up at the shelf, and be proud, for once, of seeing this worn out trophy of impetuous youth, knowing I have strived hard and finally have a handle on it. Knowing for once, it does not hold sway over me, but I hold sway over it. I can say, with a small laugh, ahhh, how crazy was I to do that! By the time I look upon that shelf, I will have given myself the best gift of all, the gift of a longer, healthier life.

Now excuse me, I have reached the end and my mind is telling me that since the goal has been accomplished, it is time for a smoke. I really need to get my paws on my hand gripper and fast to quell the beast within. The urges wait for nothing.

The Crystal Ball Week 3

Hello sports fans! Or maybe sports fan? Anyone left after last week? I hope no one used my picks as a basis in an attempt to double your paycheck. It certainly was not a stellar week, not horrible, but not stellar by any means. And hey, it could have been worse, last season I started off the first two weeks 6-10. But that is the beauty of football, there is always next week, and as the saying goes, anything can happen on any given Sunday. And we have a new name here, so perhaps that will add to the success. Of course, with only two weeks under our belts, it is still tough to see who will be good and who will be, well, Oakland. With that in mind, let us forge forward and see if we can get back to double digit wins this week.

A few observations before we get to the weekly tally and the games themselves.….

I think of all the networks, NBC is by far the best with their broadcasts. Their game coverage is excellent, they have the best broadcasting team by far, even if John Madden has slipped and tends to do little more than spend the game praising his favorite player or players. Al Michaels is great at the play by play, and they have, at least thus far, resisted too much of the ridiculous sideline banter and human interest stories that have pervaded too much of many game broadcasts. Of course, this is NBC, home of the Olympics, where every athlete had to combat incredible odds, no one believing in them except the beloved family member who passed away just weeks before the event and is a long shot in every event they will enter. So it will only be a matter of time before we start hearing these kinds of stories about each team and player after every other play.

Not to go too far off onto a tangent, but is it just me, or is every single athlete in the Olympics the most hard luck athlete that has ever made it onto the Olympic team? I mean, it seems that they try to make each one as this super determined person who all they had to train and make it to the Olympics was a dirt road and a pair of old sneakers someone gave them from a second hand shop, and they had to battle against those who never believed, and personal tragedy and poverty and starvation and any other form of hardship you can imagine. I know there are athletes who do battle incredible odds to make it to the Olympics, but anymore its either participants from other countries, or long shots at qualifiers in this country that we really never hear about, because they did not make it. The U.S. Olympic team is one of the best funded, best sponsored, best equipped, best trained and best coached Olympic programs in the world. As far as facilities, money, equipment, time, coaching, medical care, nutrition and gear, most members of the team want for nothing. There are a few parts of the team that do not have every benefit, and you have to look pretty far down, at say curling or other teams of that stature, to find them. But for majority of team members, they have almost every benefit, and not many are really true hard luck cases who make it to the Olympics on a wing and a prayer. If they made it, their wing and prayer days are over. Ok, enough of that, back to the NFL coverage.

I also enjoy NBC’s pregame show, Football Night in America. I love the title, a nice play on Hockey Night in Canada, the long running Hockey program in of our northern neighbors. I thought that homage was nothing short of inspired. Plus their crew is a good one. Bob Costas is always entertaining and very informed for being a sportscaster who covers many different sports. Cris Collinsworth is excellent, although his pro Bengals, anti Steelers stance always bugs me. Yeah, you can tell he tries to mute it, but watch him this Sunday when they go to air after the game and see how he is when (I will never say if) Pittsburgh wins. Sterling Sharpe is a polished and knowledgeable football guy, and definitely brings something good to the table. And what can I say about Jerome Bettis? Ok, maybe a few things. He is definitely new to this, and you can see his hesitation at times, like he wants to say something, but is unsure of when to jump into the fray. However, he is getting better and more assertive, and he does know his stuff. Plus, it is interesting to hear from a guy who has just retired and his take on the games and players. The two biggest drawbacks they have? First, they are not NFL Primetime. I did love that show, and miss Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. They had the day’s coverage down to a science. This crew is good, and I am sure they will get better. But I still miss Boomer and Jackson. At least they still live on after the Sunday night game. The other issue I have is the constant sponsorship throughout the program. It seems like every feature, key play or player of the day has a sponsor. A few times, I did not know if I was watching a football program or a telethon. Other than that, it is an excellent start to the new football era at NBC.

What happened in Philadelphia? I watched the entire game, and until mid 4th quarter, was feeling great about my pick. Then I watched as Philly cooled and the Giants heated up, making the Eagles pay for relaxing after building a comfortable lead. If the Eagles continue to not close out games, it will be a long season for the Birds.

How about those Browns? Yeah, they got blown out, and were not even in the game, to be truthful. But they played tough all the way to the end. They banged up the Bengals, leaving them with a long injury list for next week and a perfect excuse when they lose. Plus, they popped Chad Johnson so hard, he lay on the turf afterward muttering, where’s 85 at? I could watch that clip over and over again. The Browns may not have the ammunition to make much of a run, but at least they are learning to hit people, and that is always a great start.

Boy did Carolina screw me hard! They were on their way to righting their season and proving me right, and then they pull a boneheaded move with that lateral on the punt return that failed miserably, turned the ball over to Minnesota in position to tie the game, and then ultimately win it. John Fox, I know you are a better coach than that. Now, do not get me wrong, I love a good trick play. Heck, I have watched enough of the Bill Cowher Steelers to know the fun and joy of a well executed trick play. I did not want anyone to think I was hating on trick plays themselves. But, there is a time and a place, and that was neither. Woof.

And speaking of woof, how about that dog of a game that Pittsburgh played on Monday night? Big Ben, and the entire offense, looked out of sync and tentative all night long. The defense played fairly well, although was definitely tiring from being on the field so much as the game wore on. Plus, Troy looked like a shell of himself. I think his injured shoulder is affecting him more than anyone knows.

But on the other side of the ball, Jacksonville played a hell of a game. Stifling defense that held Pittsburgh, a run first, ball control team, to 26 yards rushing. That is incredible. Plus, I gained a lot of respect for Jack Del Rio. After that second interception was returned to the Pittsburgh 1 yard line, he could have easily punched it in and had the final score be 16-0. But he showed some definite class by kneeling on the ball and running out the clock. This is a smart coach, who knows it is very well possible that they could face Pittsburgh in the playoffs, so why embarrass them now, and piss them off for later, by twisting the knife with a meaningless touchdown. I found the move very classy and smart. Jacksonville is in very good hands.

This is the first bye week, so there are only 14 games each week from now until December. The four teams that have the weekend off are Dallas, Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego. Dallas could probably use it, to evaluate their young talent and see what they are going to do about Bledsoe, who seems to be showing his age as the calls for Tony Romo grow greater. Oh, and there is, of course, the current Owens drama. Oh no, TO broke his finger, whatever shall they do? They will be fine. He’ll be out this week of course, and the following week as well. But the week after, when Dallas plays Philadelphia, I guarantee Owens will suddenly be ready to play. Put money on that. Kansas City could definitely use the time off to try to figure out what to do with their quarterback situation and their now suddenly ineffective offense. Of course, I don’t know how one off week will heal Trent Green and suddenly bring cohesion to a patchwork offensive line, but stranger things have happened. San Diego is probably wishing they did not have the week off, and could feast on another NFL also ran instead of cooling their heels. This week off may stop everyone from performing more instant history and anointing them the Super Bowl combatants. They should relax, they play Oakland again. Ahhhh, and Oakland. I really do not know what to say. Maybe its best they go now to Walter, he cannot do any worse than Brooks. The only thing I can say is they probably wish every week was a bye week, at least they cannot lose.

Now, for the weekly update. Not as good this week, but not horrid.

Last Week: 9-7
Season to Date: 19-13

At least I still have a winning record, and an overall winning record to boot. Some of this week’s games seem like no brainers, and others seem almost impossible to pick. Be forewarned, some of these are absolute guesses because neither team has shown me any sort of an edge, either against their opponent this week or in the very young season in general. And considering how well teams have been playing on the road this season, I am not sure if there is such thing as home field advantage anymore. There are a few games where I believe it will make a difference, but for the most part it may be a moot point. But, is it not all just one big guess anyway until the teams actually play? Of course it is, that is the fun of it. Picking a team, and then convincing yourself that they can win, even if it seems like the pick is right out of left field. Now, how about we get to some games and see if that can be improved upon.


Carolina at Tampa Bay

A battle between two beatens. Here are two tough teams that were preseason playoff contenders. But a funny thing happened once the games started to matter, neither have been able to pull it together enough to score a victory. And after this game, one of them will drop to an early season 0-3. Now, this is not insurmountable, but it does start one off with a sour taste in them mouth. I think Carolina is not far off from righting the ship. Besides the ill advised trick play on the punt return, they had control of most of the game in Minnesota, and should have won. Tampa Bay, however, looks to be worse off than anyone thought. Chris Simms cannot seem to find the level of consistency he found last year, the offense has yet to score a touchdown, and the defense seems to have suddenly aged before our eyes. More than 5 of their defensive starters are over the age of thirty. Now, this should not be that big of a deal, but in a defense that is built primarily on speed, it can be dangerous. If Atlanta’s kicking game had been better, they probably would have scored more on Tampa. I look for Carolina to right the ship, and Tampa’s to spring another leak.

Carolina over Tampa Bay


Chicago at Minnesota

The first match up of unbeaten teams we come across in our games. Chicago has jumped out of the gate, and right on top of its first two division rivals, fully intent on staking its claim to the NFC North crown. They have been impressive in their victories thus far, with a stifling defense and Rex Grossman being the quarterback they hoped for and leading a suddenly effective offense. I have already heard some early predictors talking Chicago will go to the Super Bowl. I could see that, if they actually played anyone yet. Minnesota has shown some resilience and ability to play from behind. And they did have an impressive road win in Washington as well as a nice overtime win over Carolina. Perhaps they may be Chicago’s first real test, or maybe they are just smoke and mirrors. Only time will tell, but I think this week Chicago establishes their dominance over their division.

Chicago over Minnesota


Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

The first of two games between these heated divisional rivals. The next one will not come until the season finale in Cincinnati, so enjoy the match up now, because everything could be decided by then. Cincy is still smarting from their playoff loss to Pittsburgh last year, and would love to enact some revenge on the Steelers for knocking them out of the playoffs, and knocking Carson Palmer out of the game. The problem is they played a tough game against the Browns last week, and are a bit beat up right now. Conversely, Pittsburgh is smarting from that awful Monday night loss, and would like the salve of a nice home victory to make everything right. With Cincy’s injuries and suspensions, and Ben getting right with the offense, I think Pittsburgh takes this one at home and tightens up the division while keeping chase with Baltimore.

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati


Green Bay at Detroit

Not really sure where to go with this one. Another division match up, but considering their play to start the season, neither has shown much of anything. Green Bay finally found the end zone last week, but it was to no avail as their defense could not stop New Orleans. Detroit is looking particularly awful on offense, and after playing Seattle tough the first week, does not look that much better on defense. And with the entire flap going on around Detroit, and players not seeming to care enough, I am seeing their preseason hopes for something different begin to unravel. I have to go with Green Bay. At least Favre cares, and maybe a little mojo will hit away from Lambeau Field.

Green Bay over Detroit


Jacksonville at Indianapolis

This may be the toughest game to call all week. Indianapolis played tough against the Giants, but still played it to the wire and could have lost if it were not for some bad clock management near the end of the game. And last week they beat up on Houston, but still managed to give up 24 points to the Texans. I know the Colts have never been known for defense, and their unit is built more for speed than brute force, but that is still a lot of points to give up to an opponent you outclass. Jacksonville has shown they are one of the toughest teams, and defensive units, in the league when they stood up on Monday night and punched Pittsburgh right in the mouth. It was an impressive showing to say the least. They have a few things in their favor. One, Indy does not have that strong of a running game yet. Addai is good, and will get better, but he is not an established game breaker like James was. This plays right into the Jaguar’s hands as they showed how stout their run defense can be. If they shut them down early, and force Peyton to pass, not always a good option for any opposing team, they can render the Colts one dimensional and play against that. Two, their defense is very similar to Pittsburgh’s, in personnel, toughness, hitting and disguising schemes. We all saw what that kind of defense can do against the Colts last year in the playoffs. And three, this is Jacksonville’s divisional rival, and the team they will be gunning for all year. You know they want to make up for losing to them last year, and badly. This is an especially tough call since they are playing in the ultra noisy RCA Dome. But, I have to go with my gut and what I have seen so far, and one team has definitely impressed me more than the other.

Jacksonville over Indianapolis


N.Y. Jets at Buffalo

This looks like it could be a good game. The Jets did not come through for me against New England like I had hoped, but they did make a whale of a game of it near the end. I do see them being better and keeping games close. And Buffalo, well, could we have a return of the Halcyon days in Albany? It is still way too early to tell, but their decision to draft defense seems to be paying off. It looks like the division may not just be New England and three other teams any more. Hard to pick one or the other, but I have to go with Buffalo, if for no other reason than they are playing at home in front of what will surely be a raucous crowd. Not that being at home has helped many teams this year, but I think it may make a difference in this game.

Buffalo over N.Y. Jets


Tennessee at Miami

Looking at this week, there are not too many great match ups, and this is not one of them. Tennessee looked atrocious against San Diego last week, and it seems as though the bleeding will not stop anytime soon. After being the defacto starter once they shipped out Steve McNair, Billy Volek went from starter, to 2nd string, to 3rd string and basically nothing more than a roster spot, to now playing backup in San Diego. I know Billy would never be the next Joe Montana, but he is a decent quarterback who can manage a game or two. I would love to know what he did to fall out of favor so fast. Now they have Vince Young at backup, who is far from ready to take over the reigns, and Kerry Collins, who has shown his best years may be behind him and is taking a ridiculous amount of punishment behind their inept line. It does not look well for the Titans. Miami, meanwhile, is confusing everyone. This team was a preseason playoff pick; some even had them in the Super Bowl. Now they are two weeks in and in an 0-2 hole. Fear not Dolphin faithful, they may not right the ship this week, but they will get a win. And if they do not, well, then things are worse in South Florida than anyone knew.

Miami over Tennessee


Washington at Houston

I am calling this the flip a coin game, because that may be how this is picked.
I am honestly not sure what to make of this game. On paper, the winner seems quite clear. Washington has the more experienced and winning coaching staff, better players, better units and a longer history. Houston, on the other hand, is with a rookie coach and staff, and coming off yet another demoralizing losing season. Looking at the match ups, it should be clear who the winner will be. But it is not. Houston has lost twice now, and while the games were not that close, they have been playing much better. David Carr, with some proper instruction, has shown signs of finally being the quarterback Houston has always hoped he could be. Now, if the offensive line could just protect him for once, he may even blossom. Washington, also, has lost its first two games. And for all their high priced talent in the booth and on the field, looks like a complete mess. Nobody is in sync, Brunell looks like he is about 100 years old, and while I know not having Clinton Portis is tough, no one seems to be stepping up and filling the void. Plus, I am beginning to wonder exactly what Al Saunders is bringing to the table, based on their offensive game plans for the first two games. They seem to at least play the Vikings tough, but it never really seemed like they were in the game last week against Dallas. I know that, because this game is such a trap, no matter who I choose it will be the wrong choice. And I have gone back and forth and have convinced myself either one can win or lose, and like neither choice. But since I have to pick one here goes nothing. Based on absolutely nothing, and as the saying goes, when in doubt, go with the home team.

Houston over Washington


Baltimore at Cleveland

Here we have another divisional match up and another tough game that could throw everyone off. Cleveland showed last week that while they may not be ready to contend for anything yet, they will not be doormats and lay down. Even down by 24 points, they were still willing to go out and pop Cincinnati right in the mouth. I love that. That is playing football. They could very well string a few victories together and be a big time spoiler later in the season as this team grows. Baltimore has yet to impress me. They had the biggest cupcake in a decade last week on their schedule and while they beat them, and soundly, it was not as impressive as it should have been. Maybe it’s my anti-Ravens bias, I am not sure, but I expected a lot more. I do think there is an outside chance Cleveland could stand up this weekend and expose Baltimore, but unless they knock McNair out for a quarter or two, I have trouble seeing how. Baltimore will make their hay this season feasting on the weak, and for the third week in a row, they have another one.

Baltimore over Cleveland


N.Y. Giants at Seattle

As I mentioned before, there are not too many great match ups this weekend, but this is definitely one of them. These two met last year in a nail biter of kicking ineptitude that New York should have won several times over, but never managed to get the final points. This year, things are a little different. Seattle has yet to show their dominant rushing game, and they have played two lower tiered teams. Perhaps losing Steve Hutchinson was worse than anyone thought. And what can I say about the Giants? They have played two tough teams, hanging in till the end against Indy, in a game the could have won if it were not for some bad clock management, and playing tough and coming back to beat Philadelphia last week. I was thoroughly impressed with their performance. Sure, they had a little luck, but you always need luck. And, they never gave up. And I must admit, I am becoming a bit of an Eli fan. I could not stand him when he first hit the league, with all the nonsense of his drafting, and the Peyton comparisons, all of it were just nauseating. But watching him take hit after hit and getting up for more showed some toughness there. He was sacked 8 times in Philadelphia, and never once did he complain, freak out or call out his offensive line. That is a smart field leader. Top that off with being cool under pressure away from home and coming through in the clutch, well you cannot ask for much more. Plus, it is nice to see a Manning call off the count before the play without all the ridiculous histrionics that you usually see. Yes I am talking about Peyton and his annoying habit of changing the play and protection constantly before the snap. Eli does have that habit, but it is not nearly as bad as Peyton, at least not yet. Hopefully he will not get worse with it as he matures. This week, I gotta go with the hot hand.

N.Y. Giants over Seattle


Philadelphia at San Francisco

San Francisco showed me something last week, they will not lie down and die for anyone either. That was an impressive victory at home. They came out ready to play against the Rams. Alex Smith is showing what a year of experience can do for you. Plus, it helps to have a few weapons at your disposal. Although, for 49er fans, here is hoping Bryant does not turn into TO part deux. Not a great showing there a few times with the nonsense on the sidelines. I know he’s young, but you have to learn to control your emotions. Philadelphia, on the other hand, looked dominant through 3 and half quarters. And then they let off the gas, let the Giants back in the game, and could not regain their momentum and blew a home win. Bad, bad, bad form by the Birds. The loss hurt big time, but losing Jevon Kearse for the year hurts worse. Now we will see if Philly really does have depth at their defensive line. I believe they do, but I don’t think they will really have to test it that much this week. I look to Philly to take out their frustrations on 49ers and show they are a good team, and not a bunch of also rans who cannot close.

Philadelphia over San Francisco


St. Louis at Arizona

Division rivals? I know they are in the same division, but considering Arizona’s long history of ineptitude, I really do not know if you can call them rivals. But if the Cardinals are serious about turning things around, and the Rams are serious about getting back to being the greatest show on turf, then this could become a decent rivalry. St. Louis missed a golden opportunity to win last week against the 49ers, and keep themselves atop the division. They have far more weapons than the 49ers, and should have beaten them easily. Conversely, Arizona has shown the ability to score some points and move the ball. However, they really do need to address their offensive line problem. If Warner keeps getting planted on his back, we will be seeing the Matt Leinart era much sooner than expected. This one is not easy, since neither has really shown me anything, but I will go with Arizona. They are home, the new digs seem to help, and St. Louis may be a little road weary. A weak justification, but until either shows me something, it is all I have.

Arizona over St. Louis


Denver at New England

As NBC has happily touted all week, a rematch of the AFC divisional round game, where Denver ended New England’s dynasty. Good gravy. You would think they toppled a government with the gravity of the advertisements. Yes, it is a rematch, but neither team seems to be where they were last year. Denver cannot seem to mount much offense at all. Jake Plummer seems to be largely ineffectual after two games, and I have to wonder if all this Jay Cutler talk has spooked him a bit under center. New England is at 2-0 and leading their division, but they have been mostly unimpressive in victory, barely holding on last week against a late surge from the Jets. I still believe losing all of that veteran talent will catch up with them eventually, but not this week. Denver had a little luck with them last year when they beat the Patriots at home, but they must have left it all there. I just have trouble seeing them do anything in Foxboro with the way they have been playing lately.

New England over Denver


Atlanta at New Orleans

Finally, after a season on the road, the Saints go rolling home. And for the first time in a long time, they go rolling into the Superdome at 2-0. Everyone is feeling good for the Saints right now, returning triumphantly to New Orleans winning and with some great players in tow, the results of some very smart off season acquisitions. There is something new in the air in New Orleans, something they desperately need, and it is called hope. I feel good for them. However, I am afraid it may come crashing down this week. Atlanta has shown that its new spread option offense will not be denied. Allowing Vick to run free and create has shown some great results early on. No one knows if Vick and Dunn can hold up to the punishment of all this running, but at least to start, it is showing some dividends. And they have taken a bold move in upgrading their atrocious kicking, signing 46 year old Morten Anderson and bringing back the second leading all time scorer into the league. Personally, I love that move and think it is fantastic. Good to see Morten in uniform again. I think at least this week they’ll keep it going, unless some Saints linebacker pops either of them good. If they keep out of trouble, they will spoil the Monday night homecoming.

Atlanta over New Orleans

Are you ready for some football, week 2 style?

Finally, a bit of fun in this space has shown up. I have decided to provide you, the lovely reader, with my NFL picks for the week. I came to this brilliant idea for a column through several reasons, including, but not limited to, ease (since I am already in a pool and need to do it anyway), for fun and not another long diatribe on something down (is it just me or has death been a prevalent feature here lately). It is one easy column a week because I have the topic and I love football and to be honest, at heart I am a lazy man. And most importantly, since every other expert does it, why cannot I? Heck, I watch and read enough about football to know something about who may or may not win. Why not put it in writing so I can look back and see how right on or wrong I was? Sounds like fun to me.

Now, a couple notes about my picks. First, I will not try to be Nostradamus and give you a final score. That is asinine and almost impossible. One of my favorite writers, Gregg Easterbrook, used to track the final score predictions of the New York Times when they still attempted to do this. I believe, by the time they stopped this practice, their success rate was 2 in roughly 1000 final scores predicted correctly. And if I remember the column when he wrapped up his tracking, this was about the same success rate if you just gave the same score for every game over the same amount of games. Breaking it down, over the next 1000 games, if I say 24-21 home team wins every time, I am bound to get 2 correct. You will definitely not see me rushing to Vegas with those odds tucked in my back pocket. So no scores. Plus, what if I was dead on every time? It would take the fun out of it for everyone, although I would definitely find a sports book to move into and fast.

Second, I do not bet the spread. These are just straight winner/loser picks. Not that I have a problem with the spread or some moral objection. I just find it a distracting addition. Why muddle it up with something like, oh, I think Green Bay will lose, but not by 15, so I will pick them. No, that means little to me since I have no money on the spread. My money is only on straight wins and losses, so that is where my guess will reside.

Third, you will not find any fantasy gems here, at least not intentionally. I do not have a fantasy team, nor am I in a league. I would be a horrible fantasy owner since all I would do is spend the whole draft looking for ways to acquire every Steeler player I could. And since that is not how you win in fantasy football, I tend to avoid the whole fantasy aspect possible. But, if you dig the fantasy, I may throw out a team tidbit here and there that could help. And if so, I get a cut of your winnings. Make the check out to cash, much easier that way.

That is about it. After that, its pretty fair game. Now, just so you know, I do not work nor am I affiliated in any way with the NFL, any major network, any sports magazine or internet site or with anyone affiliated with them, except in some far off, distant cousin sort of way I may not know about at present. These are from nothing more than a fan who reads a handful of weekly columns on a regular basis, peruses a few others along the way, has a subscription to Sports Illustrated and a much loved subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket. I do not have a notebook or anything of the sort, and when I write them, it will be from absorbed knowledge of the previous week and my own assumptions. Although, I will fact check if I decide to put additional information in. I know me some football from years of watching, learning and hanging out with the old man, who has probably forgotten more than I will ever know about the game. So why should you read this? What makes my picks better than yours, since I know as much as you? Well, no reason. But I am putting mine out there, so Nah. Plus, it will give you something to laugh at when my picks go horribly wrong.

Each week, I will also post before the picks my results from last week. Maybe even with a quick recap of how wrong I was on the games. Depth of the recap will always depend on two factors. First being if I actually watched the whole game and not just the highlights (there are always bound to be about 4 games that get the good treatment, and you are right, the Pittsburgh game will ALWAYS get the good treatment). And second, it will depend on whether I am smart and write down my thoughts as I am watching, or if I forget, get too wrapped up in the game, and then remember I forgot to write them down 3 days later and then try to restructure the thoughts that have already disappeared in my mind. So yeah, some games may be detailed, and some will just be much like, uh, I screwed up. But to save space, this week I’ll only post last weeks record, since there is no picks to go from, and I really do not feel like trying to reconstruct them.

Last Week: 10-6
Season to date: 10-6

Not too bad of a start. Let’s see how consistent I can keep it up. Although last week was a weird one with 11 road teams winning. Usually, most teams in the first few weeks of the season get a bump at home, but who knows. It takes a few weeks to find out who really has a shot and who is just smoke and mirrors. But keeping road performance in mind, I am saying home field advantage be damned!

I may add or subtract a few things as the weeks go on. Plus I am not sure exactly what I will write for each game. I guess that will come to me as I work on each one. I am trying something new, so we will see how it goes. But for now, without further fanfare and babbling, here are my choices for this week.


Cleveland at Cincinnati

Division rivals square off in Cincy’s home opener. The Browns looked ok vs. New Orleans last week, but show that year two of Romeo Crennel’s rebuilding will be only a little less painful than year one. The Brownies still have a ways to go, but are showing some signs of life. Having Kellen Winslow actually playing will go a long way in making progress. Center Hank Fraley, acquired in a trade from Philadelphia, showed signs of not being fully acclimated to the Browns playbook and terminology, but he is a grade A center and will catch on fast. Cincinnati showed me little in beating the heck out of the Chiefs last week, whom I do not rate too highly. More on that later. But, they are the defending division champs, and Carson Palmer does seem to be back to his old self. We should see for sure when he goes up against the Browns secondary. Truthfully, I do not think we will see how good the Bungles can be until they face a quality opponent, and they face far more this year than they did last year. I question their secondary and I do not think they did anything to improve their run defense. But this week, it will matter little.

Cincinnati over Cleveland


Tampa Bay at Atlanta

Wow, what the deuce happened to Tampa Bay last week? Opening game jitters? Forgot the plays due to over exuberance? Gruden had them wound too tight? Yikes, you tell me. I have no idea. And many had them as a sexy preseason Super Bowl pick. It is hard to tell a lot from just one game. Remember, last season Denver got shellacked in Miami on opening day, and they ended the season in the AFC Championship game. So you cannot take too much from one performance. Start taking more from it when you see two or three like that. As for Atlanta, where can I turn in my Michael Vick fan club membership? Not to bust too much on Vick, because he is a superior athlete, but he is a terrible quarterback. Sure, he can be great now, and Atlanta is being smart by learning how to really utilize his skills and his legs. But who will he be when he starts to slow down and his legs can no longer skirt him downfield to avoid danger or make something happen out of nothing, and he still cannot hit a target? Oh, I know, the answer is Kordell Stewart without the fragile ego! John Abraham, though, was a fantastic pick up for them in the off season, but does he really have a groin injury, or is it smoke and mirrors? I guess we will see on Sunday. A tough one for sure, but someone has got to win. I think Gruden will have the boys looking to take their embarrassment out on someone, and the Falcons, riding a little too high, will be that someone.

Tampa Bay over Atlanta


Buffalo at Miami

It seemed for a time there Buffalo might join the ranks of the road warriors last weekend and pull out an upset in New England. But the Patriot machine managed to roll back; grasp the lead and not let go, letting poor Buffalo fans bemoan another loss. Of course, I am not sure if that shows there may be signs of life in Albany, or perhaps the Pats are not yet up to snuff. But the Pats are for later. Buffalo for once showed some strength. We’ll have to see how long it lasts. Miami, well, they are starting Daunte Culpepper at quarterback. Daunte seems healed from his knee injury, but not his bad decision making. I thought he was exposed last year when he no longer had Randy Moss to save his bacon, but after getting his knee torn apart he was given a pass. Maybe the change of scenery will help, but having Mike Mularky as his offensive coordinator will not. Regardless, I don’t think Saban will make the same mistake with the challenge flag this week, and if they get Ronnie Brown some more carries, they’ll take this game.

Miami over Buffalo


Detroit at Chicago

Is there a new wind blowing in Detroit? It seems as though Rod Marinelli has the Lions playing tough, as shown by taking the NFC champs to the wire. But, they are still the Lions, and they are still run by Matt Millen, so until they start racking up some wins, no benefit of the doubt will be given. The Bears still have their crushing defense, not like Green Bay is much of a test, and Rex Grossman seems desperate to put to rest any inkling of a quarterback controversy. Once again, not that Green Bay is much of a test. I think the Lions will put up more fight than the Packers, but Da Bears will shut them down in their home opener.

Chicago over Detroit


New Orleans at Green Bay

Oh when the Saints, go marching in….Oh when the Saints go marching in. Yes, the return of the NFL gypsies’ ladies and gentleman. America’s favorite team is back, and apparently for once, retooled in a positive way. While still waiting for their triumphant return to the Superdome, the Saints play their second game of the season on the road as well. Not like it affected them much, as they played a good one in Cleveland last week, and showcased the debut of Reggie Bush. Ok, I know it was only one game, but he sure did look good, did he not? I wonder how many Houston fans watched that game and threw up in their mouths as they screamed, WE SHOULD HAVE HAD HIM!!! Probably more than they would care to admit. Now Mr. Bush gets to try his hand at fabled Lambeau field, where the current version of the Packers would make Vince Lombardi say, Green Bay? Nope, I never coached there. The Pack keeps holding on to their mid 90’s glory with Favre, and it seems so does Favre. The worst kept secret of this travesty being that Favre came back hoping to get traded to a contender and let the Pack get something for rebuilding, although he would never say that for fear of open fan revolt. And the Pack would never trade away Favre, knowing how he can still move the turnstile and merchandise, also for fear of open fan revolt. I am a huge fan of a player staying with one team his whole career, but Favre should either be more open to helping Aaron Rodgers along or moving along himself so Green Bay no longer lives in his shadow and can properly rebuild with a real coach and not some goofy choice because he once worked with Favre. Ugh. Many have already said it, and I agree it’s going to be a long season for the Packer faithful. Unless there is a little magic left in number 4, or some others start picking up the slack, I see another debacle on the not yet frozen tundra. I almost cannot believe I am saying this, but……

New Orleans over Green Bay


Houston at Indianapolis

I feel bad for Houston fans. They loved their Oilers back in the day. And then they got screwed by yet another greedy owner and lost their team, only to watch them go to the Super Bowl a few scant years after bolting. I would be willing to bet a few of them felt some satisfaction watching them fall a yard short of winning. After the wound heals, they finally get their own franchise again, and then they have to watch this travesty take the field. From first glances, it seems they might finally have a decent coach, who looks even in the first game to be making some progress with David Carr. I do believe Carr can be a good NFL quarterback. But one thing seems to still be escaping them. To be a good quarterback, Carr needs to remain VERTICAL. He was sacked 5 times last week. I think by the time they give that man some protection, he’ll have fallen apart. Plus, they watch the team not take Reggie Bush, and then watch Bush tear it up for New Orleans. Where does the pain end? Not in Indy this week, that is for sure. Peyton and the boys looked a little rusty and sloppy last week, although so did a lot of teams. And for once Peyton seemed to be able to throw under pressure. Something he had lots of trouble doing in the divisional playoffs last year, much to my joy. I think after enduring the slugfest in New York last week, they will feast on the Texans. Although, Indy’s lack of finishing drives last Sunday did give me pause, but that could be just opening game rust. Or it could be a sign of bigger problems with a diminished running game. It will be interesting to see how that development plays out.

Indianapolis over Houston


Oakland at Baltimore

Good Lord, how bad was Oakland on Monday night? Well, I guess so much for better matches on Monday Night Football. They keep showing games like that, no one is going to tune in, no matter how good Tony Kornheiser will be. And one side note on the crew. I like Kornheiser, I thought that was an excellent call, and he seems to be proving it so far. And while I cannot stand Theismann in any way, it is nice to hear Tony call out the stupid things that come out of Joe’s mouth. That is almost worth listening to Joe’s nonsensical comments. Seriously, did this guy really play football? I know more than this nimrod! And Mike Tirico? Talk about bringing absolutely nothing to the table. If they are going to save this crew, keep Kornheiser, drop Tirico and bring in a more dynamic and knowledgeable play by play man, and give Tony a cut off switch hooked up to Theismann’s mic. Then you might have something. Ok, back to the game stuff.

Seriously, Oakland, I really do not know what to say. For years, it seemed like the place where older players went to rot and die, and that perception is only slightly altered. I believe Al Davis has completely lost his mind. How can they justify the decisions they made in the off season? Do they really think Aaron Brooks is an upgrade at quarterback? Did they not watch any Saints games over the past 6 years? They would have been better with the immobile Collins under center. Hiring Art Shell, who has not coached in the NFL since Oakland FIRED HIM 14 years ago? I have no idea where that came from either. It’s like they completely forgot why they fired him, although it was pretty much on display Monday night. I mean its 4 and goal with 6 seconds left in the game. You’ve been decimated by a shaky Chargers team. Go for the easy field goal points, avoid the home shutout, and give your boys a little dignity and maybe a slight bit of hope for next week. What does he do? He runs a long, drawn out play that wastes all the time and gets nothing out of it. If I were a Raiders fan, I would be livid. Most of them are probably numb by years of this and keep themselves medicated on tailgate brews. I do not blame them one bit. They will need more this season. I honestly got online to look at their schedule to see if they had any hope for a win, and it really does not look good. I am glad we play them, though. I am already counting that one as a shoe in win.

And tell me how Baltimore, who were horrid last year, can go from NFL also ran to Super Bowl XLI champs in one game? Ok, yes, they destroyed Tampa Bay, no doubt about that. But it is still only one game. And while Steve McNair looked good, what happens when he has his inevitable injury that puts him on the bench for 3 or more games? Then they have to turn to Kyle Boller, who they managed to emasculate and crush his confidence by taking his job away from him and giving it to McNair. Then it all falls to the running game and the defense, and you can stop a one dimensional offense. So like the last few years, they look to their D to keep them in games, and BOOM, looks like a losing streak to me, especially with 4 tough division games this year in the super tough AFC North, 2 against Pittsburgh and 2 against Cincinnati. Until I see a few more wins like last week against quality opponents, I am not buying it. Of course, that may be because I do not want to buy it. This week, however, they should roll and roll hard.

Baltimore over Oakland


NY Giants at Philadelphia

Not a bad first showing by the Giants last week. The defense looked tough, and their rookie backup running back looked strong. They played stupid though. Their running game was obviously clicking. They have two really good backs, and Tiki Barber looks like he is picking up where he left off last year. But instead of jamming the ball down the Colts throat, as they should have because it was working on the Colts undersized D, they went too much to relying on Eli to win the game with his arm. They could have pounded the Colts all night into submission with their stellar run game, but chose not to, and then when they had to win with the pass, they were almost out of time and out of time outs. Plus, they had too many stupid decisions. Shockey, when you have less than a minute left and no time outs, STEP OUT OF BOUNDS. High school players know that. They have a pretty good team there, but a lot of tough games and if they keep looking to Eli to be Peyton now instead of the third year quarterback he is, they will lose them. Philadelphia, on the other hand, looks rejuvenated with a healthy McNabb and a great new dangerous deep threat in Donte Stallworth. That was a great pick up before the season. Philly should be congratulated on a smart move that is already paying dividends. And while they did not play a quality opponent in week 1, they are the only team in the division with a win. And now they get to take that momentum and open at home. The birds will get their first true test of the season, and I think they will pass.

Philadelphia over NY Giants


Carolina at Minnesota

Wow, so much for the preseason Super Bowl winner. I know, only one game and Steve Smith did not even play due to two, count them two, bad hamstrings. But does not Jake Delhomme know he has other receivers? They have a few on the team, maybe he should look for them once in a while. He may find it helps them win a game or two. And I cannot decide if Minnesota looked good, or if Washington was just playing that crappy. Still hard to tell, maybe this week will help. Two things I do know, Hutchinson was a great addition to their line, and the new uniforms look like crap. What was wrong with the old purple ones? They brought back images of the Purple People Eaters, and there is nothing wrong with reminders of previous success. I think Carolina will start to right the ship. They have a few huge injuries, but their biggest issue last week was watching Vick give them fits with his legs. Brad Johnson could not be as mobile as Vick if he were strapped to a Segway. That alone might make life for their defense a little easier.

Carolina over Minnesota


Arizona at Seattle

Welcome fans to perennial sleeper pick Arizona! Yes, each year they are called out as a sleeper pick by EVERYONE, thus negating them as sleepers, and each year they fall flat. Not this year, though. This year they have a brand spanking new stadium, sold out on season tickets, stole Edgerrin James from the Colts, drafted uber QB Matt Leinart and are poised for greatness! Except, they had to fight for a win with a shootout against San Francisco, which I chalk up to bad defense on both sides as opposed to good offense. But at least they won. And the Edge had a decent game, but every yard was tough. Their main problem? They have the same crappy offensive line as last year. I do not care how good your skill position players are, if they are not protected, they cannot win games. Watch them, and you will see. A good defense will exploit that line, stuff the Edge and put Warner on his back. It will happen. And then the Arizona coaching staff will look around like they cannot believe this is happening. It is high comedy. Speaking of good defense, this week they play Seattle. Now, Seattle had way more trouble with Detroit last week than they should have and it could be from a multitude of things. First game jitters and rust, haunted by the demons of Ford Field from Super Bowl XL (and no, I really could not help myself), not feeling it because even though they are the defending NFC champs they start the season not in a marquee game but against crappy Detroit, or even they are feeling the loss of Steve Hutchinson more than they realized. It could be any or none of those items. But unless they are about to suffer the Madden Curse, or really are going to live up to the recent Super Bowl Loser curse, I think they still own this division and will give the high flying Cards a large dose of reality, especially in Qwest Field.

Seattle over Arizona


St. Louis at San Francisco

Well, I think St. Louis might really be a sleeper pick this year. I read a column by Bill Simmons, and he was jumping on the St. Louis bandwagon, stating they were going to be the true sleeper this year. Considering the running game they showed, and a rather stout defense, I am somewhat inclined to agree. However, it was only one game, and they were not able to finish any drives. All their points came on field goals last week. Perhaps they are still getting their legs underneath them, but that is not a great sign. You need to be effective in the red zone to win consistently, which seems like a no brainer, but some teams just act like they cannot grasp that concept. But, it is only one game. San Francisco, however, seems like they might be working their way out of the cellar. Not far, but at least out. Alex Smith showed some maturity, and their offense showed some signs of life battling Arizona. They might win a few this year, but not their home opener.

St. Louis over San Francisco


New England at NY Jets

Is the party over? I must say, the mighty Patriots did not look all that mighty on Sunday. Playing at home, with a raucous crowd behind them, they pretty much stunk up the joint. And if it were not for a few bad decisions by Buffalo, they very well could have lost. I think this off season, New England has created too much bad karma for themselves and now it will catch up with them. For years they have been fine with cutting people and filling in the gaps instead of paying for them, and now I believe they have gone too far. They dumped defensive leader/linebacker Willie McGinest, who then followed his previously departed defensive coordinator to Cleveland. Right before the season, they find themselves in a linebacker shortage, so what do they do? They sign freshly retired and then unretired Junior Seau, who has not been effective in about 4 years. They say goodbye to Adam Vinateri, their clutch kicker who won them two, count them two, Super Bowls on his foot alone. Instead they pull Martin Gramatica out of moth balls and draft some kid out of college and look to them to make their big, clutch kicks. I bet that kid shanks one when it really matters. Vinateri was immediately snatched up by the Colts, who put him on display Sunday night. Yep, he still looks good to me. Kickers can play a long time, all they do is kick. They wear out a lot less quickly than other players. He could have been their clutch kicker for the next 10 years. I mean, seriously, isn’t Gary Anderson still kicking somewhere? Then they get into a contract dispute with Deion Branch, their only proven, healthy receiver, and instead of working it out, they ship him to Seattle. The current receiving corps numbers from last week? 4 catches for 51 yards. Yeah, it really seems like they can live without Branch. The almighty Brady cannot work his magic if he has no one to throw the ball to that can catch it. And who are the coordinators for this team, or did Belichick decide that he can coordinate both the offense and the defense, as well as be a fashion model for bum wear and cure cancer all while walking on water during each game? I know every Patriots fan is parroting the same thing, oh, Belichick has done it before, so it will be fine. But I am wondering if any of them really believe that this time. You dump your defensive leader and your clutch kicker then send your best receiver, a Super Bowl MVP no less, packing, it seems like you might have gone too far pinching pennies. I guess we’ll see, but if you have that much trouble putting away the Bills, it means either the Bills are much better, which does not help in your division, or you are much crappier than anyone thought. I hope for the latter. Meanwhile, the Jets put in a surprising effort on Sunday to pull out a win in Tennessee on the twice repaired arm of Chad Pennington. They looked pretty good, especially for being in their first year under a new coach and playing Tennessee. Who knows, maybe they will be the surprise of the division and blow away the Pats and the Dolphins. But this week, I think the Jets, riding high from Tennessee, will down the Patriots in an upset.

NY Jets over New England


Kansas City at Denver

It seems like doom and gloom for the Broncos right now. They could not get anything going against the Rams, and the talk is all about rookie Jay Cutler taking away Jake Plummer’s job at starting quarterback. Ahhh, what short memories everyone has these days. Remember the Broncos opener last season, when Denver went to Miami and got trounced? They bounced back from that pretty well, if I do recall. Not as well as Bronco fans would have liked, but I bet almost every other team in the AFC would have liked to have gone to the championship game. They will settle down, and Shanahan will work his magic this season by literally pulling a guy out of the stands and letting him rush for a 200 yard game. It really is only a matter of time before that actually happens. I would love to see that. The Broncos really should run a contest for a fan to be a back for a game. Who wouldn’t love that? They would sell a million tickets! They could advertise it, start yourself in your fantasy league and rack up points. It would be brilliant. But now we have to look at the sticky situation that is Kansas City. I said before the season even started that they would go down the toilet. Half of their offensive line retired. That right there told me the season they would have. Teams win with a consistent offensive line that plays together for a long time. One of the reasons KC has had such a great running game is consistency on the line. With 2 of the 5 gone and new guys stepping in, that is a lot to overcome. If they cannot establish a running game, then teams will just play pass, and they will get nowhere fast. Some were saying the window is closing, I say it has closed. Plus, the whole mess they created with the Herm Edwards poaching from the Jets, and you have added bad karma and a coach who has shown he can only make a mess of things. I used to be an Edwards fan, but seeing how much he screwed up in New York, now I am not so sure. Plus, add to that the loss of Trent Green for who knows how long after taking a vicious hit from Cincy, and suddenly you are relying on a rebuilt line and Damon Huard at QB? It does not spell success to me. No, Denver will assuage its battered ego this week at home against KC.

Denver over Kansas City


Tennessee at San Diego

It looked like the Titans won the quarterback lottery with stud Vince Young. But somewhere along the way, did something go wrong? Look, I know it is hard to transition to the NFL, some make it easy, and some take a long time. Couple that with trying to learn the QB position, and it could be darn near impossible. Cincinnati sat Palmer his rookie year, to help get him acclimated. Pittsburgh planned on doing the same with Roethlisberger, until Tommy Maddox went down, and then Roethlisberger changed everyone’s perception of what a rookie quarterback can do. So maybe Vince is taking a little longer to get adjusted. No biggie there. But something does not seem right when you dump your longtime franchise quarterback, actually bar him from the building, and then the two you keep are so atrocious you call in Kerry Collins, who to that point had been sitting on his couch eating Cheetos as far as anyone knew, and a week later start him in your first game. And Kerry did not have a great game, although they did stay in it. It makes me wonder how far away Tennessee may actually be. And as for San Diego, I just do not know where they are at. Sure, they looked dominant Monday night, but they were playing the Raiders, who we have already determined stink worse than limburger, and even near the end of the third quarter had only managed to put up 13 points with new starter Philip Rivers at the helm. Plus, they made a journeyman defensive tackle look like a hall of famer with all the penetration he managed to get on the Chargers O-line. I do not think we will see how good or bad the Chargers are or how well Rivers can play until they play a quality opponent. Unfortunately, that will not be this week.

San Diego over Tennessee


Washington at Dallas

Big NFC East match up of two long time rivals comes to NBC’s second Sunday night game. I am not sure what to make of this game. Washington should have beaten Minnesota last week. They have plenty of weapons thanks to Dan Snyder’s big off season shopping spree, and the addition of Al Saunders on an already crowded coaching staff should add another dimension to their offensive game plans. I know having Sean Springs out hurt, but it seemed to me they underachieved. I wonder if Antwaan Randle El is regretting his decision to follow the money since he seemed to be horribly underused in their offensive plans. And also that maybe Mark Brunell is not the answer they hoped for at quarterback. I wonder how long it will be until they promote Jason Campbell. On the other side of the ball, it would seem that Dallas has its own QB controversy brewing between Drew Bledsoe and Tony Romo. Dallas would be better to look at the future sooner than later. Bledsoe can be rattled and is about as mobile as concrete. He starts clanking too many passes, TO will quickly lose his good teammate image he is desperately trying to show us and slide right back into TO, locker room cancer. As soon as he starts feeling like he is getting short changed, look out. Dallas, you have been forewarned. Although in this game, I think he will celebrate on the star again, this time to a cacophony of cheers.

Dallas over Washington

Pittsburgh at Jacksonville

Ahhhh, the game of the week, well, at least in my opinion. The big Monday night showdown between the Super Bowl champs and the team that came into Pittsburgh last year and beat the future champions on their own field in an overtime game. One we should have won. It was a good game, but mistakes ultimately derailed Pittsburgh. Both of the teams match up well with each other and this figures to be another heavyweight slugfest. Oddly enough, this is Pittsburgh’s only Monday night appearance all year, although they do have several prime time games scheduled. Pittsburgh is hoping for the triumphant return of Ben Roethlisberger after yet another medical setback, this time an appendectomy. He has been practicing, but it looks to be a weekend decision by Bill Cowher. Even if he is not ready to go, Charlie Batch has shown he can handle the pressure of starting for the Steelers. Of more concern may be Troy Polamalu, who is currently listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. If Troy does not play, that severely limits some of the fire zone blitzing schemes that Uber defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau loves to throw at offenses. On the other side, Jacksonville is riding high off of a nice home opener win against Dallas, and feeling their oats. They know they beat the champs last year in their house, and now have the newly crowned champs marching into Alltel Stadium. They believe they can win, and will go in ready for Pittsburgh’s best shot. But, the loss of defensive tackle Reggie Hayward for the year due to an Achilles tendon injury will surely hurt their defensive line. This will be a good game, a real slugfest. But despite Troy’s shoulder, the Jags toughness and whether or not Roethlisberger will start, or even be effective in his first action of the year, I am going with Pittsburgh to win. Like you thought I would pick otherwise.

Pittsburgh over Jacksonville

That about wraps this up. Tune in next week and we will see if I have any skill at this, or maybe just a few wise cracks.

In Rememberance

We should all, if we have not, take a few minutes to remember today. There are many reasons to remember, and we all should remember and mark today in our own ways. There is no need to go through the details. We know them by now. We know them by heart. We know where we were, how we felt, who we lost and who we have. We know how we have been changed, and how our world is not the same, nor ever will be again.

There has been a lot of build up to today, many articles written, documentaries assembled and films aired and screened. I do not want to add to the din. It has become overwhelming for most of us. I have read only a little, and seen only a handful of the programs and none of the fictionalized portrayals of the events of that day. It is not that I do not care, or that I am trying to bury my head in the sand. I think I heard it best described when I heard radio personality Tom Leykis say how most of us are fatigued by it. I would have to agree with that assessment for the most part. I am fatigued. By the constant reminders, by the half assed changes in security that seems asinine when much bigger holes are still left open for exploitation. By the constant lying and backroom dealing that seem to be the real mission of those in charge, not our safety and security. Let me throw out a few examples. Example 1, I read Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback article from today. He mentions how he saw a traveler go through security, was cleared, and then proceeded to pull toothpaste and a contact lens bottle out of his pants and put them back in his carry on, thereby skirting the mandate of not having any containers of fluid in his luggage on the plane. How is this security? Example 2, the government is in constant arguments and fights about what to do with illegal aliens and our open borders and what to do with them, but they clear the use of new RFID chips in all new passports that carry all of your vital information, and these chips have a flaw in them where the information can be read from several feet away, much farther than they should be. What does this mean? It means anyone with access to the scanning technology can steal your identification and then use that to bring anyone they want into this country, legally. Look it up, the information is easy to find. Check out this article for more. Example 3, our president, who said 4 years ago it was imperative to stop Iraq, now says being there has little to do with the war on terrorism. If that is so, why are we there? Example 4, please pick up the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. Please read the fantastic article on Pat Tillman. Read it and read it again. It may take a few times to absorb it all. Here was a man who made decisions based on a higher calling. Who lived his life truthfully and honorably. And even when he saw that what he signed up for was not what was advertised, he still stayed with his mission. Because it would be wrong of him to back away. And then, after he was killed by his fellow rangers in a bad accident, his government used him as a martyr and a poster boy while covering up their incompetence and poor decision making. A man that lived his life with honor, truth and dignity was used in death by those who only know lies, manipulation and dishonor. I pray his mother finally finds the answers she is tirelessly hunting for and some peace for herself and the memory of her son.

Like most, I am fatigued. I am tired of watching inept leadership continue to create one problem after another and expanding already created problems to epic proportions. I am tired of seeing our country portrayed all over the world as the devil. I am tired of seeing each new security measure put into place, with no rhyme or reason, and run by those who really do not care and could probably be bought for a price. I am tired of watching more and more civil liberties many before us fought for rolled over by a government who takes them away under the guise that they are doing what it takes to keep us safe, when they are doing nothing but keeping already law abiding people safely under control. I am tired of knowing that the way things are run, something worse than 9/11 could happen again. I am tired of seeing video and communications from terrorist organizations continuing to call for death and destruction, urging greater destruction and further death each time. I am tired of having a basis of fear underlying everything, knowing that the more we do to stop them, the angrier, more organized, more determined and more fanatical the terrorists become. I am tired of hearing about troops dying and becoming permanently wounded due to inept leadership, poor planning and lack of forward thought on missions by military leaders who are responsible for their lives and the success of said missions. I am tired of people soiling the memories of those that died with attention grabbing headlines meant only to turn the talking head spotlight on themselves and their need for attention and pointless controversy. I am tired of seeing how quickly we forget how important the people who put their lives on the line everyday really are to us. This one I must say something further on. For a while after 9/11, I finally saw people providing the proper respect to fire, police and emergency personnel. When they were charging hard toward an emergency, people moved. Now, most I see act as though it is an inconvenience to pull over and let them pass. I see some that do not; they keep rolling along, putting these firemen and women at an unnecessary risk. To all you people who do this, who wait until the last second to pull over, forcing emergency personnel to slow down and delaying them further from saving lives, I want you to think about what you are doing. I want you to give it a long hard thought to how you are holding them back. And then I want you to think what if that were someone you loved and cared about at the other end of that call, and then think what if they died because the emergency personnel could not get there in time because some jerk off slowed them down as they tried to get through traffic. Think about that the next time you ignore the sirens and decide if your day is really worth the few seconds you will save by disrespecting these brave men and women. And finally, I am tired of feeling scared and worried that for all we say we are doing, we are not doing enough, if anything, to truly keep us safe.

But I do not want any of these things to take away from remembering those who died, those who sacrificed their lives to save others, or those who continue to do so with honor and dignity. Today, I want us to not just think and remember what happened, I would like us to step up and truly honor those who have died. We should demand accountability from our leaders. Why are our troops ill prepared for the enemy? Why they are not properly trained? Why they are not properly equipped? Why are only half of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission panel in place, when by this time all of them should be operational? Recommendations like correcting the inability for different emergency response agencies to communicate with each other should have been paramount, yet this one is still sitting on the shelf. Why is that? Why do I not feel any safer now than I did 5 years ago? And why, if we have the best military and intelligence in the world, have we still been unable to capture Bin Laden?

But we should not stop there. We should look at ourselves as well and demand accountability from ourselves and each other. Why are we so apathetic about these things that we are willing to stick our heads in the sands of pointless pop culture and reality television instead of taking a vested interest in these important matters of our world? Why do we let our leaders make decisions without our input? Remember, this is a country of the people, by the people and for the people. They work for us, not the other way around. If we do not like the way they are running things, we can demand change. We pay them, we pay to run things. This is our country, and if we don’t like it, we can change it. Tell them we want better support for our troops. Tell them we want them deployed and stationed better. Tell them we want changes that make us safer and the world better, not half assed efforts that only mask real problems and piss the world off in the process. If we really want to remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us, then we need to step up and get involved and make some real changes in our country and the world. They did, it is the least we can do for them.

Let the games begin

Oh, now you must be kidding me. The scene is on Sunday, the last one before the season, and I am out enjoying a nice afternoon with some friends. I call another friend of mine, a big Steelers fan, and she says she heard that Ben had an appendectomy and would be out for the start of the season. Now, I took it with a grain of salt, since I was nowhere near any information source. She was in the same position, so she was unsure herself of the validity of the story. We opined that perhaps some football fan friends of ours, fans of other teams of course, were trying to get under our skin in a friendly, yet macabre, way. It was many hours before I would get home and be able to check out the facts. When I finally did, I spent the first part of my investigation time reading slack jawed about the death of Steve Irwin.

When I finally exhausted any fresh news, I confirmed that Roethlisberger did have an emergency appendectomy and would miss the season opener and perhaps even the second and third games of the season. After all that happened to him this summer, and wondering if he may even play again after his horrific motorcycle accident, this was just the icing on the cake. Getting excited that he was fully recovered from the accident and would indeed play, and to then have this awful thing happen is like having the rug pulled out from under my feet. I know I am not the only fan that feels this way, and I would be willing to bet that Ben himself is feeling this too. Now, we go into the first game against a hungry Dolphins team with Charlie Batch starting and Hines Ward not one hundred percent.

Since the Super Bowl win, it has been a crazy off season. Wait, what am I talking about. Since those last seconds ticked off, I have not had an off season. For me, the season has never ended. I have devoured every item I could about the Steelers and football that I could find. I could not understand why no one was talking NFL in March, it seemed foreign to me. With the season now merely hours away, it seems to me not like the season has finally started, but that everyone finally woke up and realized they took too long of a break. But before we go any further, let’s have a quick recap of the craziness that was the extra long break, shall we?

Kimo von Olhoffen, Antwaan Randle El and Chris Hope are shown the money by other teams and depart.

Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt gives everyone a slight coronary by flirting with taking the Oakland coaching job. After getting a look at the mess there, he realizes how good he has it and stays in Pittsburgh.

Jerome Bettis retires, gets hired by NBC, then causes a mini drama with Bill Cowher during a broadcast in the preseason where he mentions he feels this is Cowher’s last season. Cowher does not care for his public assessment of the situation.

Cowher does not sign a new contract, as he always has in the past with two years left on his current contract, with a cloud of suspicion on whether this is a money issue or a family issue. He did move his wife and youngest daughter to a newly purchased home in North Carolina, further fueling suspicions and unfounded rumors.

They draft uber-hyped receiver Santonio Holmes who manages to get arrested twice for two different charges in two different states before training camp starts.

Tommy Maddox completes his bitter fallout with the team, is released, and refuses to attend the ring ceremony.

The rumors of Joey Porter’s potential holdout due to his unhappiness with his contract. – Mercifully, this never came to be. Cowher diffused this one pretty quickly.

Hines Ward becomes an international sensation and begins to do work on helping mixed race children in South Korea. – Ok, this was not much drama, but I thought I’d mix it up with a nice bright spot. Until…

Hines has a long interview in Sports Illustrated, where he drops the smile and talks about how he has felt in the past that the team has never recognized him as the #1 guy, and keeps drafting receivers instead of showing him the love. He did get shown the money last year, though. He also mentions how he is not all that close to Cowher. Great potential locker room divide. – So far, seems to have just been blown over. Hines, if it makes you feel any better, you’ve always been the #1 to me.

Joey Porter creates a mini controversy before the Steelers go to the White House, saying he’s got a few things to say to the president. – This one I have no idea why it was a big deal. Joey has a few things to say to everybody! Why was anyone shocked at this?

Of course, Roethlisberger nearly spilling his brains all over the pavement in Pittsburgh. Miraculously, he manages to heal almost as fast as Wolverine, somehow raising his Pittsburgh legend even more. – He keeps this up, he’ll be in Lemieux territory soon.

The team manages to put up a big goose egg in wins during the preseason. – yeah not that the preseason means squat, but it would be nice to win at least one of them.

Hines seems to have the unhealable hamstring, which kept him out of every preseason game. Although he said he will play in the opener.

And of course, right before the start of the season, Ben has an appendectomy.

Gee, I hope I did not miss anything. Despite all of this, or maybe because of it, I am itching for the season to start. I just want to get back to some hard hitting, hard charging football and watch my team defend their title. All preseason I keep hearing about how the Steelers were lucky, how they will not repeat. How they will not even win their division. How they lost too many leaders. How everyone else is so much better. The talking head prognosticators have driven me nuts with these stupid predictions. I am trying to figure out how they cannot repeat. They did not lose that much in the off season. No personnel losses that cannot be overcome. Yes, Jerome was a great leader and a locker room presence, but they have a few others in there too. If you doubt that, I would love for you to have a quick chat with Mr. Joey Porter. And they have their entire core still in place. And yes, they did get lucky last year. But luck must always be there. Everything came together at the right time and it clicked.

Plus, they have one big factor, motivation. Ben is motivated to show he is better than his display in the Super Bowl. The team is motivated to show they can win without those who have left. They are motivated to show their Super Bowl victory was not a fluke. They are motivated to show they can win back to back championships like the great Steelers teams of the 70s, which they are still working to get out from under the shadow of those impressive teams. They are motivated to show that everything that happened in the off season is not a distraction, but fuel for the fire.

And each and every talking head keeps giving them more motivation with each prediction. Many are saying Cincinnati will run away with the division. But these people seem to be forgetting that the Bengal’s schedule last year was a cupcake one. This year, it will not be, and their defense is not markedly improved. Plus, by the time the season is even four games in, half the team may be behind bars with the way they have behaved in the off season. It looks like they imported a bunch of criminals to Cincinnati. You have a great team to be proud of over there, Bengals fans. Pittsburgh will be rocking the same defense, and their schedule last year was as difficult as the one they have this year. Plus, well minus the Santonio Holmes issues, our boys keep their noses clean. They will always be the Bungles to me, and the Bungles suck.

Many are saying the Colts will strangle the competition. Well, they stepped down in the running back department and last time I checked, when it came to the post season, they did not know how to strangle, but were pretty good at choking. And then I hear they cannot even admit we beat them, when their offensive line coach says that Pittsburgh did not beat them, they beat themselves. I watched the game, and it looked like Pittsburgh beat you. And then Manning calls his offensive line out after the game? Look, they may have had a bad game, but considering how much crap they keep off your back, and how much you may be right in your assessment Peyton, you do not call them out to the media. Pittsburgh can handle the pressure of the post season. Only a team that won four road playoff games can really say they can handle the pressure. The Colts suck.

Many are saying that New England is once again the team to beat. How so? They lost yet another coordinator, lost more talent again, did not bring in hardly any proven talent, got rid of a defensive leader and their Super Bowl winning kicker (yes, he may not be worth the money he wanted, but that is just bad karma when you jettison the guy who won you two rings with his foot), are in a protracted contract dispute with their number one receiver and did little to fix their constant problem spots. I know many will say that the Patriots have always overcome these things, but they did not last year. Last year, it caught up with them big time. Who says it will not again? Pittsburgh has no disputes with anyone on their roster, has their core in place, all their coaches intact and generally is bringing out the same team and staff as last year. The same Super Bowl winning team and staff. New England sucks.

Many are saying the Ravens will explode this year. How so? Their defense is a year older, and that much more ineffective (the glory days of 2000 are over, ask the 1985 Bears how fast it goes away). And on a quick side note, I am sick and tired of hearing about how the 2000 Ravens had the greatest defense of all time. Oh, they put up some terrific numbers, but they were in no way the greatest of all time. They did that for one year. One. They won one Super Bowl. One. I will not detract from their accomplishment, but it should not rank them as the greatest. The greatest should be ranked by sustained excellence. You can always capture lightning in a bottle, but to do it consistently? Look at the 70’s Steelers for that. 4 Super Bowl wins in 6 years. Sustained excellence. Also, they got rid of the one running back who was making a difference last year, killed the confidence of their young quarterback who was briefly showing signs of life late last season by bringing in a veteran with a penchant for breaking down more often than an a Yugo. I would normally make a comment on our quarterback’s durability, but lately that seems to be a slight point of contention, so I will just say the Ravens suck and move on.

I have been waiting for this for as long as I can remember. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am a huge Steelers fan. And watching them win the Super Bowl was like a dream come true. And I know that many of the talking heads have to make guesses and predictions, which is what they get paid to do. But for the past few years all I have heard is many of these people worshipping at the feet of Brady and Patriots, extolling from the highest mountain tops the virtues of the Colts and Manning, The constant crowing of how great Steve Smith and the Panthers are, who for the second year in a row are the preseason Super Bowl winner pick of Sports Illustrated. Seriously, who is paying them for that? They make one Super Bowl appearance, and now they are perennial favorites? Go figure. But now, Pittsburgh is the winner, the top dog, the number one team, but if you listen to enough of these jokers, you would not know it. Many of them are saying Pittsburgh will not even make the playoffs. And I ask, why not? They are used to playing a tough schedule, used to playing tough games and tough opponents. They are accustomed to adversity and hardship and now know the path to becoming a champion. I believe that now that they have tasted it, they will want to walk the path often. I believe they have just as much of a chance as anyone, and maybe more, because they are the defending champions.

I am not bitter, nor a sore winner. I would just like to see Pittsburgh get their proper due. How about some recognition for how much they had to go through to get that trophy. No other team has ever won 4 playoff games on the road, ever. Plus they were against the top 3 seeds in the AFC and the top seed in the NFC. But it seems as though everyone believes it was nothing more than luck. I think maybe a few other factors may have played into their winning streak and championship. It seems to me that part of why everyone is discounting Pittsburgh already is because they are not a sexy pick. They are a bruising team with a stout defense and an offense dominated by a running game where the main axiom is three yards and a cloud of dust. But that is one of the reasons I like them so much. They are a blue collar team, exemplified by players that are a true team and will do whatever it takes to make each other better and win. Look at Hines Ward, he smiles on every play, whether he is scoring a touchdown untouched or popping a defensive back in the mouth to lay a block for someone else. That is the type of team they are and why I love them. I watched an interview with Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher’s predecessor and the only coach to win 4 Super Bowls. And he said his motto was whatever it takes. And by that he meant that whatever it took to win, if someone was not able to do something, everyone else had to step up and do more. And when you did what you had to do, try to do more to add to the team. Playing as a team, working hard, doing what it takes to succeed. From success in the past to success now and in the future, this is the core of the team. Now how can you not root for a team like that?

But they are just not sexy enough for everyone. They do not have the slick high powered offense of the Colts. The out of nowhere model quarterback of Tom Brady. The history of the Green Bay Packers. The slick perfection and dominance of the 49’s in the 80’s. The gravities of being America’s Team like the Cowboys. They are just a blue collar team from a blue collar town with the best and largest groups of fans in the world. It truly is Steelers Nation. They are everywhere. I see them everyday, and I live 2000 miles from Pittsburgh. That is what is hard for me to understand. You have a team that is loved everywhere, yet even after winning it all; they still seem to be brushed aside. I know one win does not make them dominant; people did not start crowing about the Patriots until after their second win, but look at how much of an impact Pittsburgh and its fans have had. The DVD highlights of the post season were the best selling of all time. The Super Bowl was one of the highest rated in years. In the last year, 40% of all merchandise sold was Pittsburgh related. The team has a few fans, and I think the more they keep hearing about their team falling flat this year, the more frenzied they will become, and the more that will feed into the team, and the more motivated they will become.

I am hoping the team is feeling what I am now; even more determined to prove everyone wrong. If there was a way I could do something to make that happen myself, I would. At the moment, all I can do is wave my towel and cheer my lungs out. I hope they want to show everyone they should not doubt and recognize a great team, great fans, a great city and a great organization. I know as the season looms, things are up in the air with Ben and Hines. But I know the team will go out and give it their all. After all, things looked pretty gloomy right before the Chicago game last year too, and that turned out pretty well. And like some fair weather fans I have heard lately, I’m talking about you Dave Dameshek, I will not be picking Miami to win in the opener. I will be making the same pick I have made every week, and will continue to make every week, no matter what the odds are or how poorly the team may be playing. I am picking Pittsburgh to win. Let the season begin!

Now they better not lose and make me look stupid, I can do that on my own.

He was a beaut

I am sure by now, many of you have heard that Australian naturalist, conservationist and downright entertaining animal man Steve Irwin was killed on Monday. While shooting an underwater documentary, Steve was stung by a stingray, the barb piercing his chest and heart. He died shortly thereafter. It was a freak accident, as many have said by now. Rarely is heard a case in which a stingray has killed someone. Even if people are stung, they rarely die from the toxins the stingrays can carry on their barbed tail. Steve, unfortunately, was hit in the heart, and that unfortunately is what killed him. Many close to him have said he died doing what he loved. Most of the time, I find that statement trite and ridiculous. No matter how much someone loves something, they would never want to die doing it. But with Steve, I believe it. I am sure he would have preferred to have more time doing what he loved and more time living his life, but unfortunately that was not to be. He was in the wrong place at the very wrong time, and now he is gone.

I found this news both shocking and saddening. Steve helped bring popularity and knowledge of nature and many creatures, especially those not so cuddly, to us all. I feel like he really picked up the mantle from Marlin Perkins and his great Mutual of Omaha shows from years past that I would watch as a kid. But he took that mantle and ran farther with it. He never treated the material as a dry documentary. He threw himself into his subjects, injecting each show with his own brand of enthusiasm and knowledge that made it entertaining. Part of the reason you watched was to watch him run wild through the wild. You always got the impression he was kind of nuts, jumping in with crocodiles, tracking down uber poisonous snakes or racing through the outback with the enthusiasm of a kid at Christmas. He drew you in, and held you there while he displayed the wonders of the world right before your eyes. Wonders you never realized or knew existed until he rolled them out before you, like you were old friends and he had something great to show you.

At this time my heart goes out to Terri and their children, Bindi Sue and Bob. Steve and Terri always seemed as though they were a perfect match for each other. They both shared a great love for animals and the planet, as well as each other. They complemented each other well, with Steve being the jubilant one, and Terri keeping him grounded, playing the perfect straight woman to his excited man. They worked well together, and you could always sense how they cared for each other. In more than one show, I saw how Steve would throw himself into the path of potential danger if he felt Terri threatened. They were a great match. Her sorrow must be unimaginable right now. I hope she finds a way through this very dark time and is able to continue on, especially for their children. Bindi I am sure is devastated that her larger than life daddy is not coming home and has a million questions as to why. And I feel for little Bob, who will grow up with but a few fuzzy memories of his father. How hard it will be for both of them, I cannot even imagine. I hope they find the strength to continue on and thrive in their father’s memory. I wish them all the best, and pray for them that they find their way. My heart hurts for all three of them. The one warming thought at this moment that I have is the tremendous outpouring of condolences and support that I hope is reaching them from all over the world. Many people loved Steve, and they are showing that now in Terri and the children’s time of need. Their extended family and family at the Australia Zoo has pulled together around them, and hopefully this will help all of them get through these first, difficult days and weeks without their patriarch.

Beyond the persona we saw on TV, there was much more to Steve that many did not recognize, too focused on the overly enthusiastic man bouncing from rock to rock on their TV screen. Not that Steve was not that man, he was. Many have said in the last few days that the Steve you saw on TV was the real Steve. There was never an act to dissect. He was always enthusiastic no matter what he did. Even if, by one example that I read, what he had to do was dig a hole. But I want to also mention many of the other things he did as well. He was a great ambassador for the animal kingdom. For all his travels and romps over all the continents, Steve cared about animals and nature. He was concerned with their well being and continued existence on this planet. He worked tirelessly to help create and save habitats for many creatures, letting them live in their natural surroundings. He always sided with the animals, not in a crazy misguided way, though. He did from an educated standpoint, backing his actions with knowledge and common sense. He worked unending on his many conservationist activities as well. He wanted to bring his knowledge and ideas to as many people as possible. He recently successfully convinced the government of Australia to rethink and move away from their idea to let people hunt crocodiles in the outback. He cared about those crocodiles, but also about Australia and how the world would see his country if they allowed hunters to poach crocodiles. He saw the untamed beauty that is Australia, and he always tried to show that to the world. He knew the beauty there, and he wanted to show it all to us.

This great ambassadorship of his home country is why the Prime Minister almost immediately offered to the Irwin family a state funeral for Steve. His father has declined, saying that Steve was a regular guy, and would not want such a thing. And that is what was so great about him. He was a regular guy. He was far more comfortable with the regular people than in the type of celebrity circles his fame had brought him. He did not care about the fame, or the money. He cared about the planet, the animals, and about bringing this knowledge to us all. His shows, for all their entertainment value, were highly educational. They taught you not only about the animals he featured, but about the environment, the world at large, animal habitats and how to be safe around them. But he was never preachy. You never felt like he was telling you that you had to do this or that. He just told you the facts, always mixed with his own brand of enthusiasm. And with this mixture, you were always interested, and always found yourself walking away not only entertained, but a bit more enlightened as well. I remember a special he did once regarding the 10 deadliest snakes in the world. I watched the entire program with rapt attention, always interested in hearing all the details about these snakes, but also because Steve held my attention, and I wondered more than once during the hour if he would get bit. He did not, but he entertained me as well as taught me things about snakes I never knew. Actually, he taught me about a few snakes I did not even know existed. I do now, and it has stuck with me, because his enthusiasm pulled me in, if only temporarily, to his world.

Watching Steve, you never felt like he was talking down to you or showing off his intelligence regarding animals and the animal kingdom. You felt like he was talking to you, trying to impart to you the beauty and wonder he saw in all creatures, trying to get you to see, yes these can be scary and dangerous, but they are amazing and wondrous. And he never hesitated to share the danger these creatures posed to us. He always said how dangerous or deadly they could be, and always encouraged us to stay away whenever we could and never do what he does. But he also did not want us to fear or destroy them. He wanted us to look at them as he did.

Over the past few years, I have gotten away from watching his many shows on a regular basis. If I would find one on, I would tune in. Watching a show always felt like hanging out with an old friend; one who was a bit kooky but one of the best guys you ever knew. One that would do anything for you and always liked to show you this great new discovery he had found. It was always entertaining, fun and educational. Steve’s enthusiasm for nature and the natural world would invariably rub off on you, even in the safety and comfort of your own living room. You were excited to watch, and find out what kind of adventures and trouble Steve would get himself into next. Half the time you watched was to see if he got hurt. You always wondered if maybe he was half nuts. But no, he was not, just overly enthusiastic. I know many of us were not entirely surprised that something like this could happen. Anyone who has watched his shows knows that he always took risks, and always threw himself into everything headlong. You knew there was always danger, and always the potential for something deadly to happen. But you never felt like it really would. Maybe it was all the times he escaped hairy situations with nary a scratch on him. Sure, he would occasionally get banged up, cut, scrapped and bruised, but somehow he always came out in one piece.

As it sinks in, I must say, I do not think I like living in a world without Steve. We could use a few more people like him. A few with the enthusiasm and joy of nature, conservation and animals like Steve and the willingness and urge to spread that joy and knowledge to others. A few to help teach the rest of us not only the beauty around us, but also how important the natural world really is and how much we need to take care of it. A few more like him whose fervor and passion for life and what they do spreads infectiously to everyone around them, lifts them up and makes the world a more joyful place in which to live, create and thrive. We need a few more like him, and now unfortunately, we have one less. No, I know I do not like living in a world without Steve Irwin. I know I am not the only one.

Into The Great Wide Open

Once again, it has been a while. And once again, it is not just my penchant for being a sloth that has kept me away. In a second travel installment, I spent a lovely, and crazy, weekend in the wilds of Yosemite National Park. Overall, I had a fantastic weekend in the outdoors with good friends and fresh air, something I could use far more of in my life. But I definitely need to be better prepared for the next time, as you will see.

We left on a Friday morning, taking a nice long drive to the park with a few fun stops along the way to break up the monotony of the road. The route traveled was one I had driven once before on a trip to Mammoth Mountain, and I was excited. For along this route, in the middle of nowhere California, you will find a small stand on one side of the road and a gas station on the other. What is this stand you ask and why would stopping here be so exciting? It is the home of Really Good Beef Jerky, of course! I could not resist this for two reasons. One, the beef jerky is really good and quite tasty. And two, it is a stand in the middle of nowhere, and I mean nowhere! If you stop and look in any direction, you will see absolutely no sign of civilization for miles. Who runs a beef jerky stand in the middle of nowhere! I was not the only one suckered in, though, as the parking lot was packed with travelers stopping to sample the wares and leave with tasty food stuffs.

After this delicious diversion, we were back on are way and moving closer to the park. The drive was mostly uneventful, full of good music and conversation as the excitement built in the car. None traveling had ever been to the park, so we were anxious and excited for the adventure ahead. As we wound upward through the mountains, things became noticeably greener and more alive. This added to the thrills as we moved ever closer to our destination. We reached the last turnoff, and stopped at a last chance gas station to top off the tank and refill our ice chests. Here, I got a fantastic souvenir of the trip before it had really begun. I began a tradition earlier this year of acquiring a shot glass from places I have visited. In this little gas station, I got one for Yosemite. It is red, metal, and has a carabineer as a handle. A little odd and very singular to our destination, perfect for the collection! After this fun stop, we ventured on, moving continuously through the mountains and winding our way to the entrance of Yosemite.

The natural beauty of Yosemite stands front and center no matter where you go in the park. Even the road, nestled between the high peaks, is a thing of beauty. In all directions, great peaks and stands of trees line the path, as though inviting you in to see the wonder of nature and this thrilling preserve of natural beauty. Sitting in the car in awe of the world around us, one we rarely see living in a modern city, we found ourselves so transfixed that before we even realized it, we had come upon the entrance to the park. As we moved up to the gate to pay our entrance fee, I noticed the sign that stated we were now 9945 feet above sea level. Wow, other than in an airplane, I had never been so high up before. Right from the start it was already a new experience.

After successfully navigating through the gate, we continued to wind our way through the majestic forest to our appointed campgrounds. For our first trip to Yosemite, we stayed in what many regard as one of the most beautiful parts of the park, Tuolumne Meadows. And just from what we saw on the drive, it definitely lived up to the hype. Beautiful wide fields and clear blue streams and lakes surrounded by trees and mountains all framed under a clear blue sky. Fantastic vistas and photo opportunities from every angle you look, there really is no bad view. We passed the beautiful Tuolumne Lodge, which looks like a great place to stay and visit. We never did get there this trip. Perhaps next time, we will be able to see more sights, and plan some other excursions. It was amazing to look at the area, so filled with life and people running around and enjoying nature, it was hard to imagine that this area is closed to the public for months of the year. Due to the high elevation, this area receives heavy snow fall in the wintertime, and subsequently, the road becomes impassable and the area is closed off. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the wintertime covered in a blanket of freshly fallen snow.

With excitement bubbling over, we entered our appointed campgrounds, checked in with the ranger, and slinked our way to our campsite. There were many people with the same idea as us, out to get away from it all for the weekend and we saw them all busily setting up their sites. We pulled in and greeted our friends and camp mates and the first issue of the weekend crops up. I look at the outdoor temperature gauge in my truck, and it reads 65 degrees. Hmmm, somewhat low for 3 in the afternoon, I thought, much lower than I had expected. As it turned out during the entire weekend, it was much colder than we were expecting, and I really needed to be better prepared. We planned on mid 80’s during the day, and 50’s during the night, however, it was actually mid 70’s during the day and mid to high 30’s at night. This was definitely an eye opener and created more than a bit of craziness and hilarity later.

After saying our hellos to our fellow campers that arrived before us, we stowed the car, began unloading our food and gear, found a spot to set up the tent and basically went about the business of creating a little home away from home in the forest. All food and anything with a scent we safely secured in our site bear locker. If you are unfamiliar with these, the bear locker is basically a large metal cabinet planted into the ground and secured with a latch. That way, if a hungry bear makes his way around through campsites looking for a snack, he cannot get to them. All weekend, except when we were pulling stuff out for meals, snacks or general hygiene, all of us were very diligent about using the lockers. And not surprisingly, we did not see bear one the entire weekend. I am not convinced that it was because we were good with the lockers, although I do believe they help. I think it was because no bear would want to come near our crazy, loud behinds.

We proceeded to set up the tent, giving the dwelling its inaugural run as shelter. Since neither of the Lady K or I had been camping in many years, a new tent was one of the many pieces of gear we had to procure before the trip. We found this great tent designed for six adults on sale and snatched it up. I like extra room in my tent to spread out. But we were excited to see how our new tent would do in the rigors of the wild. We found a good location, on a slight incline, that worked out well. All of our clothes and other gear were stowed safely inside, and the air mattress was inflated and adorned with our blankets and sleeping bags. However, as we organized the interior of the ten, I mistakenly positioned the mattress wrong on the incline with one side of the mattress on the lower part instead of the foot of the mattress which would have been more logical. However, neither of us would discover this faux pau until much later at a far more inconvenient time. With all the hard work out of the way, it was time to relax and socialize.

As our first evening began, we started by making some food and sitting around the campfire, swapping stories and being generally goofy. There were quite a few of us there, 18 all told by the time the late stragglers showed up the next morning, so we had a great group of people. At one point, during a bathroom run, a few of us stopped to look up and gaze at the star-filled sky. Something I do not get to see at all where I live, due to light pollution, but I miss greatly. Thousands upon thousands of stars on display creating a canopy of starlight for us. It was such a beautiful sight. We also laughed and played mad libs throughout the evening. A few drinks of an alcoholic nature were had, and I was slow on the intake of said drinks. I know that with such a drastic altitude change, it does not take much for one to get out of control. I learned that lesson once on a ski weekend the very hard way. So as I mentioned, I was being very careful with my intake. What I did not remember from that ski weekend was that without being acclimated to the altitude, I can still get a wicked headache. Which, predictably, I did and said headache lasted well into the early morning. Now, it is appropriate for me to mention now that as evening turned to night, the temperature turned from cool to cold and eventually to freezing. During our revelry, our band of merry campers moved closer and closer to the fire we had constructed, all the while adding more and more layers of clothing. I sacrificed my only sweatshirt for the Lady K, who was freezing and shivering with many layers and planted right in front of the fire. As the evening began to wear down, we adjourned and went to find some warmth, if any, in our tent.

At first, things were not too bad. We were sleeping fully clothed, but without my sweatshirt, it was definitely much colder than anticipated. Luckily, we were cuddled together to share body heat, which did help to a certain degree. However, it was here when the craziness began. Being on the incline, the Lady K would roll into me, which was exactly what I wanted, as it added to the sharing of our body heat. But with her leaning on me, together we would roll further down the air bed until inevitably I would fall onto the very cold tent floor. At first, while battling the headache, I would ask her gently to move back up. By the middle of the night, with my headache raging, the gentle whispers and nudges turned into outright shoving every time my body hit that cold plastic canvas. Unfortunately by that time, and unbeknownst to me, the sleeping bag we laid on the bottom of the bed had slid down, and exposed part of the very cold air mattress near the top. So when I shoved, she resisted, for fear of having to lie on the ice cold mattress. It was a comedy of errors, no doubt for anyone who may have heard or seen. If I was not so tired with a splitting headache, I am sure I would have laughed too. Unfortunately, this was the pattern all night. Needless to say, neither of us, nor hardly any of the party, was able to acquire much rest the first night.

As dawn broke the next day, we all began to rouse from our restless semi slumber. One couple, who had a nifty truck tent, had a horrible nights sleep because their air mattress failed and deflated, causing them to sleep most of the night on the truck bed itself. Another gentleman was basically on the bare ground, and he was not able to obtain much sleep. We groggily laughed at each other and ourselves as we began to pull ourselves together and began to percolate some breakfast.

As breakfast was swinging in, a few of us ventured out to a general store that was nearby. I needed some hot chocolate desperately, and was curious as to what they had, openly hoping they sold some sort of cold weather gear. The store itself was very cute, nestled into the woods right along the main road. There was a little greasy spoon attached to it, which a few friends of mine glommed right onto due to the fact that they had hot, fresh coffee. You would think they found gold with the way they reacted. My reaction was pretty much the same, once I found out the store sold sweatshirts and gloves! I picked up one each for myself and the Lady K, some hot chocolate, and prepared for a better day ahead.

After cleaning up breakfast and ourselves to a certain degree, thoughts turned to what our adventure would be for the day. Several people had a few hikes in mind, but the one we all kept coming back to was a hike around Tenya Lake. The hike was fairly easy with an all flat terrain, 2.5 miles around the entire lake, and would make a good easy stroll to get us in the park frame of mind and a great warm up for a bigger hike tomorrow. We were not sure of the distance from our campsite to the lake, but it was thought to be little more than a mile. So, being the intrepid explorers, and foolishly without checking with a park ranger to confirm the distance, we started off. And a merry bunch we were, rambling along the roads, laden with our packs of water and snacks. We jaunted merrily along, looking forward to the beautiful lake and a nice stroll. After a mile, we realized it was a bit further than we first anticipated, but looking at the map, we still thought it was not too much further in the distance, and continued on unabated. A few of our intrepid group at one point broke off to climb to the top of a rock dome formation. It was a little doing, but so very worth it. The view at the top was unbelievable. I snapped a handful of pictures from my vantage point overlooking the meadows and trees. We rested for a moment, all a little breathless from the altitude and the view, and ventured down again to continue toward our intended destination.

Once regrouped at the bottom, we started off to join up with everyone else. I began to walk with earnest, putting on my Ipod and trucking forward while getting some great exercise. I kept myself well hydrated, which I am glad I did, because with every crest of the hill or turn of the road, two things did not seem to appear, the group nor the lake. It seemed as though no matter how far I went, neither were in the distance. On we soldiered, waiting for one or both to show. Finally, rounding a turn going up a hill, at the top was the other part of our group, waiting patiently for the remainder of us. As we caught up and rested, our original distance measurer informed the late arrivals that it should be only a half mile further. Since we were no where near a shuttle stop, we girded ourselves and struck out, in hopes of finding this mysterious lake.

I started out this section of the hike slow, at the back of our group. I was not going to rush to get there, as I was unsure of the distance at this point and beginning to wonder of actually how far it really was ahead. The group began to stretch out, and the vanguard eventually disappeared from sight. The few of us bringing up the rear took opportunities to chat and snap a few pictures. But the unexpected length of the hike was beginning to take its toll. My lower back had become a large knot, and my calves were screaming as if they were on fire. Luckily before the start, I took the foresight to put my knee braces on, but even at this point, while they were supporting me, the were digging into the backs of my legs. But on we hiked, in hopes of seeing the ever elusive lake. Finally, after another turn with no lake, two of my friends in the rear stopped to ask a few sightseers how far they thought the lake was from where we were at. They said perhaps a mile, no more than two. It was more than I could bear at this point, as the strain of the hike had reached an apex. I snapped, and shouted I could not do two more miles. In the same instant, my brain screamed, yes you can. I slammed on my Ipod and charged ahead, determined to make up the last distance even if my legs fell off in the process. As I left a cloud of dust, my friends decided to get a second opinion. This couple felt it was more like five miles. Sensing their concern, the couple offered to give us a ride. My friends happily accepted, and picked up the Lady K and myself, now about a quarter mile past them charging like a stubborn mule. We crammed into their car, relieved to be off our feet and unsure of where anyone, or the lake, was at. The comedy of all of us in a small car was unbelievable. This friendly couple had two dogs, which sat in the front seat with her while her husband drove while the four of us shoehorned ourselves into a back seat designed for two adults and one child. To say we were cramped was an understatement, but it was well worth it just to be off our feet. We drove for approximately 10 seconds, and like a mirage the lake appeared before us. It was only ½ a mile ahead! I had almost made it, and probably would have considering how my brain was screaming at my body like a drill sergeant at a recruit. The nice couple dropped us off at a picnic location situated on one side of the lake, and with the luck of the Irish we ran into a member of our party who had driven there instead of hiking since he had two small boys. They were all spending the day by the shore, cavorting in the surf of the clear mountain lake. He offered to take us back, and we said to pick the others up first, as we had no idea where along the road they might be. We rested in the sand on the lakeshore, happy for the opportunity to relax as he drove off in search of the others. I pulled off my knee braces, soaked with sweat, to find they had cut into the back of my knees, leaving 3 inch open wounds. Plus, I had a few blisters on my feet that popped, making it painful to even cool off in the water. Regardless, I was happy to be sitting.

Our friend returned, saying he could not find anyone. We figured they had found the shuttle stop we were looking for and headed back to the camp. So, with a merciful heart, he took us all back, and came back for his friends and boys on a second trip. He dropped us off at the general store, and we walked the last bit back to camp, happy to see our tents again, and everyone else as well. It turned out they did find the shuttle stop after all and hopped on the first one that came along. We did manage to find the distance from camp to the lake, about 7 ½ miles. For those of us that went to the top of the dome, about 8 ½ to 9 miles of total hiking for the day. So much for the easy 4 mile hike.

Tired and exhausted, we managed to pull ourselves together, clean up and start some dinner. Now, I was excited by dinner because it gave me the opportunity to break out my new mountain pie makers. What is a mountain pie? I am glad you asked! It is basically a cast iron sandwich maker. You put a slice of bread on each side, and some sort of filling in the middle, then squeeze the sides shut, flip the latch to keep them closed and plop it into the campfire. Rotate the maker a few times for even cooking, then pull it out, open it up and wa la, you have a mountain pie. Or you can call it a turn over or a campfire hot pocket, whatever designation you like. They can be fun and really delicious and with come cooking ingenuity, you can make them out of just about anything. We made some ham and cheese and some pizza pie mountain pies Saturday night. There were a few skeptics amongst the ranks, but even they were interested in the process and a few adventurous souls even ventured to try one. They do add some fun to a meal in the great outdoors in my humble opinion.

After the dinner cleanup, we began layering up and congregating around the campfire for another round of gabbing and games. It was a relatively subdued evening, since most everyone was beat from the activities of the day. Everyone adjourned to bed at a decent hour this night. Now, to overcome the incline problem of the night before, I took the precaution of adjusting the position of the air mattress, putting the head of it at the top of the incline, exactly where I should have put it a day earlier. Without the threat of rolling out from under the covers, mixed with extra layers of clothing and being exhausted from the hike, I had a great night of sleep. I slept most of the night with no issues, save for having to use the restroom. Woof, there was nothing colder than trying to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night while you are half asleep. I have no idea how people with outhouses did it. By morning, with a good night’s rest and a fresh day ahead, we were feeling almost human again.

Sunday began on a great note. We made a big breakfast, everyone taking part and having a good time, each joining in as they roused from their slumber. A gigantic omelet was made, and mostly devoured. It was delicious, filled with a variety of meats, cheeses and vegetables. Everyone proceeded with a cleanup of the food stuffs and themselves following our enjoyable meal. By late morning, some of the heartier folks were interested in a hike. I was still feeling the previous day’s activities in my calves and back, so I passed, as did the Lady K. Two others did as well, and we wished the intrepid hikers a fond adieu as they trekked off on another adventure. The four of us who remained relaxed, shot the breeze, and played a spirited game of Mexican Train Dominos. If you have never played, I encourage you to try. It really is a fun version of dominos. By the time we finished and had crowned a winner, everyone else was returning from their hike with stories of the sights seen on their excursion. As people trickled in and out of the common area, we began operation perishable. The goal being to rid ourselves of every perishable item left in the coolers. Food was doled out like a relief mission, with encouragements to all to eat more. I broke out the burgers I brought along, and found myself for a change rather inept at the grill. Out of seven burgers I put on, I somehow managed to drop three into the fire. Now, I knew before I started grilling that I was not coordinated enough that evening to be leaning over the campfire. After 32 years, you begin to know yourself. And, low and behold, I was correct. I was nowhere near ready. But the ones I did make were pretty good, and everyone got a heck of a laugh out of it. So, I suppose all is well that ends well.

We ate and talked and played a few games well into the evening, finally retiring for the night and tucking ourselves in against the cold. I did not sleep as well that night, but still much, much better than Friday night. We woke early, and began the painful process of saying goodbye to our temporary mountain home. Packing clothes and gear, tearing down tents, putting away the last of the dishes and food stuffs, patrolling the campsite for errant trash and disposing of all waste, all of the things you need to do before breaking camp. Once the last of the fire was properly doused and we were loaded to the gills with our gear once again, we struck out for civilization. With a few stops on the winding road out for picture opportunities, we were soon exiting the park, and rolling toward home. It was sad to leave despite the comedy of errors that the weekend produced, as I did really enjoy our time there. There were so many things I did not get to see yet did not have the opportunity. Some of the more famous sites like half dome and the sequoia grove we never had an opportunity to visit and experience. We are already thinking of the next trip. Perhaps next year would be a good time to visit again.

As we trucked out of the mountains toward home, we made a few more enjoyable stops along the way. In the town of Bishop, there is a great bakery called Schatt’s, and they make some of the best bread I have ever tasted. We stopped for lunch there, and brought a few bits of culinary goodness home to enjoy. We of course made a stop at the Really Good Jerky stand; I just could not help myself. And in the town of Lone Pine, we stopped at a building that had a gigantic sign advertising that it was a film museum. In a town that is no more than 2000 people, in the middle of nowhere, there is a film museum. We had to stop and was it ever worth it. The museum is centered around the history of film in the town, and about all of the feature films that were shot in Lone Pine. Many old westerns were shot in and around the town, and some more current films, such as the Tremors series, were also shot there. They hold an annual film festival, and have many old stars return to speak about their careers in film and experiences on the films they made in Lone Pine. It was a lot of fun and an interesting tour. But, the road called to us and reminded us to get our butts home, as the day was wearing on.

The remainder of our drive was rather uneventful, short of seeing a hillside fire about an hour from home. And even that did not seem too exciting, as the hill had no houses on it, and fire crews obviously had the situation under control. After fighting the typical city traffic, we finally made it home safe and sound. The lugging of gear out of the car seemed to take forever, but we managed to get it all out, and some of it out for washing and other items unpacked air out. The Lady K went to fetch our dog from his sitter, and I took something I had not in days, a nice, long hot shower. Oh, it felt so wonderful and decadent. By the time she returned, and showered, we were finally able to sit down and relax, and reflect on the wonderful weekend in Yosemite. Well, except for being unprepared for the cold, and the unexpected monster hike. Other than that, it was great! In all seriousness, we did have a lot of fun, and Yosemite is unbelievably beautiful. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Just bring extra layers; you never know it might be colder than you think.