TDL’s Sports, Wrestling, & Otherwise

For the second time this season I looked at the standings in both of the pools I’m in. One is a pool run by a friend from home that’s $2/week (which I get comped for because I host a website for the picks for him) with a $50/week payout and one that’s $100/season. The spreads on the two are usually a little different… the $100/month pool only has half-point spreads so there are never pushes. Imagine my surprise to discover that I’m actually in striking distance in both. I’m 4-wins back with 5 people ahead of me in one pool and 6 wins back with about 10 people ahead of me in the other. Oddly enough, I have 93 wins in both, even though I know some of the bigger spreads in pool #2 have forced losses on me. I guess they’ve given me some wins, too.

So, I guess the answer is that: Yes, when I actually think through my picks each week, I have a better season. Go figure.

Thursday

Packers +6.5 at Cowboys: I’ve only had three days to think about this game and I’ve gone back and forth roughly 142 times. My friend Mike had me convinced to take the points until I read Simmons’ marathon chat yesterday where he made the point that the Cowboys have yet to not maul a team at home. Of course, then I checked Dallas’s home record and they’ve only blown the doors off the Jets and the Rams, beat the Giants and Vikings by 10, and Redskins by 5 (in a game they should have lost, if I remember it correctly). All that said, I have such a hard time picking close Cowboys games because I hate them so, so much… but the Cowboys aren’t unstoppable by a good team at home (the Patriots game, for example). If you’re going to give me a 1 loss team this late in the season with 6.5 points… I have to take it. Packers +6.5.

Sunday

Lions +3.5 at Vikings: This spread is totally wrong and really affected by a blowout win last week. Welcome back to Earth, guys. Lions outright.

Seahawks +3 at Eagles: The Eagles seem like they’re going to have a repeat of last year and play awesome football down the stretch after McNabb is out. Does this mean there will be a AJ Feeley Bandwagon rocking the world in Carolina or Frisco next season? Don’t rule it out. Eagles cover.

Falcons +4.5 at Rams: They got buried by the Colts last week, people… not the Dolphins. Falcons outright

Texans +4 at Titans: First instinct is to take the Titans to cover, so Texans outright.

Bills +5.5 at Redskins: I’m pretty sure Washington’s going to win this game, but not six points sure. Washington has a terrible tendency to choke against teams that put up any resistance at all. The Bills aren’t great, but they’re good enough to put up a fight. Bills +5.5.

Niners +3 at Panthers: Still not picking the Panthers anymore this season. Niners outright.

Jaguars +7 at Colts: The Jaguars are better than people give them credit for which is why Vegas must love this line. They can give the Colts a touchdown against anyone and probably get a barrage of bets. Jags +7.

Chargers -4.5 at Chiefs: The Chargers haven’t been a great road team, but the Chiefs are already getting prepped for baseball season… THAT’S how bad it is. Chargers cover.

Jets +2 at Dolphins: My first instinct was, of course, “how can a team still winless in December, be favored to win a game.” People have said this a couple times already about the Dolphins, but it’s a division game, late in the season. They’re favored, this is the easiest game left on their schedule, they’re home. I have a horrible feeling I’m going to regret this but… as much as you can have a must-win game when you’re totally out of the playoffs… this is a must win for the Dolphins. Dolphins cover.

Browns +1.5 at Cardinals: I actually thought I misread this at first. I assumed the Browns would actually be favored here. At this point, you HAVE to take any AFC North team over any NFC West team, right? Browns outright.

Broncos -3.5 at Raiders: Even with the loss last week, the Broncos hung 34 on the bears. If you took Hester’s 2 touchdowns away, that’s a pretty solid win. The Raiders don’t have anyone that good. Broncos cover.

Bucs +3 at Saints: The Garcia bandwagon hit a snag last week. And by “snag” I mean “one of the axles started splintering.” Although, this spread also falls under my “Saints game spreads hinge way too much on what happened the week before and you should pick them that way.” The Saints blew out the Panthers last week…. but it was the Panthers. I’m not convinced a moderately healthy Garcia can keep piloting the bandwagon. Saints cover.

Giants -1.5 at Bears: I think everyone in the universe is over-reacting to last week’s game. Giants cover.

Bengals +8 at Steelers: The Steelers mess with your head when it comes to point spreads. But I still think they can get it done in this. Steelers cover.

Monday

Patriots -21 vs Ravens: Remember in the not so distant past when I said I could never pick against the Ravens when the spread was more than 3? The Ravens are in for some punishment I think considering their general inability to score. Patriots cover. 55 points for the predicted 48-7 shellacking.

Saturday November 17, 2007

8:45 am: The day dawns voluntarily early when you pass out dead asleep before midnight.

9:00 am: We make our way down to the “Included breakfast buffet”. The spread is nice including an egg, pancake, and French toast station. There are various and sundry different types of Mexican breakfast treats. I stick with all you can eat bacon because, let’s be honest, where do you go wrong with all you can eat bacon?

9:15 am: Various members of our traveling party are making their way down to breakfast looking none the worse for wear. The human body can be amazingly recuperative when there’s drinking to be done.

10:30 am: I head back up to my room to switch into my bathing suit and lather my pasty whiteness with SPF 30… which turns out to not mean much because I find a delightful little place under a giant tiki umbrella. Me and Harry Potter get down to business.

OK, so yes, I’m in the middle of reading Harry Potter. I just finished book five. I started reading this because I figured it was time to see what all the hype was about… and considering my love of all things fantasy, it was time. Early reviews: a pretty decently layered story that is an easy read and obviously written for people a lot younger than me. Fun story, the first three books are relatively small. 300ish pages. Since I was going to be in Mexico for a week, I decided I should probably bring two with me. I walked in to the library to discover that book four was 750 pages long and book five was 850 pages long. I was surprised they didn’t force me to check the weapons at customs.

11:05 am: It’s noon in my time zone. Sol time.

11:06 am: My favorite thing about Cozumel. “Room 206, keep it open.” Double bonus: the room’s on the girl’s card.

11:45 am: One of the random waiter/busboys/bartenders come over to me to fetch my empty and bring me a new one. Good Lord, I could die here.

12:00 pm: Time to jump in the ocean… just cuz. Fun sub-plot of this jump into the ocean: I forgot to take Ms. L’s cell phone out of my bathing suit pocket… which has turned my Blackberry into the Ms. L sister conference center.

2:00 pm: The wedding is at 4 pm, so obviously it’s time to start getting ready.

2:05 pm: Ms. L starts getting ready.

3:50 pm: I start getting ready.

4:00 pm: The groom’s got on a cotton suit and a pair of flip-flops… points for style. In “firsts at a ceremony”, this wedding gets props as “first wedding on a beach near sunset” and “first wedding with open containers amongst the gallery”.

4:30 pm: Ceremony over. Not the most efficient ever, but it will do.

4:35 pm: It doesn’t take long to get to cocktail hour since the altar was set up right next to the tiki bar.

6:00 pm: The reception kicks off.

6:05 pm: The tequila shots start. Gonna be a long night.

For the sake of “What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico”, the events of the next five hours will be redacted for the protection of all involved. Suffice it to say a full moon has never looked quite so bright as it is reflected off the ocean and white sand. Suffice it also to say there was more than enough white-guy shuffle going on. Although, props to the one guy whose name I already forgot who, disturbingly, knew all the choreography to Beat It.

Coming up tomorrow: The Snorkling Booze Cruise