NFL Playoffs 2012 - Wild Card Weekend

The NFL playoffs are here, and I couldn’t be more excited. With apologies to March Madness, the World Series and the Olympics, the NFL Playoffs are the best collection of events in all of sport. There’s all the greatness of regular season football, with bad weather and more risk-taking added for our enjoyment. In the regular season, coaches rarely take the kind of risks they do in the playoffs, and it makes for some spectacular entertainment. Plus there are Saturday afternoon and evening games, which only increase the fun.

I like to make picks for the playoffs, if only to outline the specific things that WILL NOT happen when they actually play the games. Because if I predict something will happen, that almost guarantees that it will not happen. I am far more likely to go 0-11 during the playoffs than I am to go 11-0, so don’t do anything I wouldn’t do with the information below.

Bengals at Texans - line is Texans -3.5

This is the first ever playoff game for the Texans, so good for them. This is really the first playoff game for this iteration of the Bengals, since they’ve been so bad for so long. As long as TJ Yates starts for the Texans, this will be the first playoff game in the Super Bowl era to feature rookie starting QBs for each team. Since neither of these teams are really going to go anywhere, I won’t spend anymore time thinking about this one.

My pick: Texans 27, Bengals 14

Lions at Saints - line is Saints -10.5

The over/under on this one is 59, which is the highest total ever for a wild card playoff game. The Saints beat the Lions in New Orleans on 12/4 by a final of 31-17. The Lions last playoff game was after the 1999 season. The Saints won the Super Bowl two years ago and Drew Brees rules. That’s a lot of points to give up, but this Lions club is the kind of team that will get frustrated and quit if they get behind.

My pick: Saints 42, Lions 10 (and consider taking the under, 59 is just way too many points)

Falcons at Giants - line is Giants -3

The Falcons just aren’t that good. The Giants aren’t a whole lot better, but on defense they can rush the passer, and Atlanta’s QB Matt Ryan is terrible on the road. The Giants seem to think they can duplicate their run to the Super Bowl from a few years ago, and while that’s going a bit too far, I don’t think they’ll have any trouble with the Falcons.

My pick: Giants 29, Falcons 11

Steelers at Broncos - line is Steelers -8.5

Oh look, a home underdog in the playoffs! How exciting! While you’re reading this, take a minute to read why Ryan Clark is not playing for the Steelers. It’s a very interesting story. Look, I know Tebow is terrible, and a lot of people think the Steelers are going back to the Super Bowl this year. But Roethlisberger can barely walk right now. Denver plays tough at home, and every year something crazy happens in the playoffs. I’d heard some places were going as high as Steelers -10, which I would like more, but at the same time, 8.5 isn’t bad in what figures to be a low scoring game. I actually think the Broncos can win this one.

My pick: Broncos 16, Steelers 6
And here's something awesome from last year - one of the best runs you will ever see:

2012 Reboot

If you didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas this year, well, too bad. There’s nothing I can do about that for you. What I CAN do is let you know I am rebooting this blog for 2012! I can hear your sarcastic cries of joy from here, so please stop. The blog is not for you, it’s for me. Read it if you want, I just don’t care.

So why bother? There are some good reasons to bother, and while many of them are probably not suitable for printing in public (there is always value in keeping SOME things to yourself, although it seems many people reject that concept in our current era), a few of them are. SO here goes:

1. Tiny changes are easier to make than big ones. I recently read a Lifehacker article that basically said, “if you want to make changes this year, focus on a few small things to give yourself a chance to be more successful.” Writing one blog post a week is a small change that I think I can be successful at.
   
2. There’s interesting things happening in everyone’s life, but I think a lot of people (myself included) miss some of those things for two main reasons: 1) People don’t actively look for the interesting experiences they are having all the time and 2) people are too shy and don’t actually think their experiences are interesting to others. This is a cause for loneliness and I think it is becoming a problem for more and more people. My goal is to look for the interesting experiences I am having, and then share those experiences with others. If nothing else I will be defining the interesting parts of my life.

Last year I used one of only a couple of blog entries made to list some resolutions for 2011. In total, I did very poorly in executing these resolutions. Many of them were just too big to really accomplish. I did watch the Big Lebowski, and I did drink a lot of beer. But other than that, most of the resolutions I blogged about last year were left on the wayside of the Internet before last year’s Super Bowl. But this year will be different. Seriously, it will be.

All the resolutions for this year are small (tiny changes) and quantifiable. Believe it or not, you CAN make changes to your life as long as you have a plan. The main item I want to share right now is that I have a goal to make at least one blog post every week this year. I’ve blocked out time at home to make it happen, and I am really looking forward to it. Aren’t you excited, too?

Lastly, all blog entries this year will end with some random (or not so random) picture or video. The first one for this year is a hint as to what I am most excited about this year:

NFL Picks

I did some entries picking most of the playoff games last year. I liked it, even though no one else did. I called the Cowboys-Vikings game perfectly. Since I know you are all dying to know, here are my picks for this weekend's games:

Baltimore +3.5 over Pittsburgh
Baltimore is going to break through one of these times. Roethlisberger is getting married, and has already won two Super Bowls. He is turning into the Sauron of the NFL (yes, we are watching LOTR right now - almost done).

Atlanta -3 over Green Bay
Green Bay lost to Detroit 7-3 on December 12th. They were allegedly trying to win that game. Matt Ryan is something like 20-2 at home as a starter for Atlanta. Plus Green Bay is second least favorite team in the NFL (after the Saints) so I hope they get smoked.

Chicago -10 over Seattle
Jay Cutler is the reason we created terms like douche-bag. The Seahawks lost road games by 17, 17, 30, 16, 19 and 23 points this year. So there is a chance they might not be very good on the road. Chicago is the first team ever to get two byes in one playoff season.

NY Jets +9 over New England
Nine points is ridiculous in this matchup. I know the Patriots won 45-3 the last meeting, but you can't focus on one blowout when you look at playoff matchups. Tom Brady is 14-4 in playoff games. That's just sick. He's getting into Aragorn territory now.

Also, in case you had forgotten how last season ended for the Purple...

Resolved: 11 Items to Take Care of in 2011

With the coming of the new year, many people take the time to look at what they have done in the last 12 months and determine which of the things they did were awesome, and which of the things they did sucked. This tradition is followed strongly especially in cold climates, because there isn't anything else to do in January because it is always so crappy outside. We could drink the rest of winter away, but many of us drank the first part of winter away, so a bit of a break from the bottle is necessary.

What follows is a list of 11 (where did that number come from?) "resolutions" I came up with for 2011. "Resolutions"? Well, usually I hate resolutions, because making them always makes it seem like I did something wrong in the past year, and clearly, that is not the case. But the fact of the matter is that it is time to make some changes, and I also needed some content for this blog. But seriously, I didn't do anything wrong last year, no matter what you say.

We'll start with the full listing of resolutions, and then we'll have entries based on each of those individually. JOY! That's like, a whole 12 entries or something. Here they all are, in the order I have typed them in:

1. Reduce the frequency and intensity of WANT in my life.
2. Read more books. And then blog about them.
3. Beer more. Wait, beer isn't a verb? In that case, I'd like to learn more about beer, and become more of a Connoisseur.
4. Watch the Big Lebowski
5. Stay Positive
6. Turn off the TV
7. Blog more - I bet you can hardly wait for the blog entry about how I want to blog more. It will be the mobius strip of blog entries.
8. Take fewer naps. This has been the most controversial of all resolutions so far. Do we need more to talk about? Apparently.
9. Play more music. I might be in a band.
10. Make fewer resolutions for other people. There's more here than you might think.
11. Cook with more exotic vegetables. So far I have roasted Brussels Sprouts. CRAZY I KNOW!

So that's it. No working out. No losing weight. No working harder or being a better Dad. Just pure, unfiltered Adam.

Remember: If some is good, more is better.

Delicious and Nutritious

MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2010

No one likes Mondays. But leftovers can help the cause...

Cauliflower, Zucchini and some other veggies fried in Sunflower oil and then covered with Arugula pesto. I don't need to tell you it was Nicole who came up with that one. It was awesome.

Also, leftover Lemon Thyme Risotto and some fried up chick peas. Risotto is the gift that keeps on giving.

What's for Dinner?

Nicole came up with the idea, and I think it is a good one: write down what we eat. I like it because it provides content for blogging, plus it is appropriately narcissistic. I mean, who cares what The Chose's have for dinner? Well, more people should, that's who. And as anyone who sees my facebook entries knows, I very much enjoy taking pictures of the food I cook and eat and showing them to everyone.

Mostly I am hoping that is will create some kind of an archive of foods we consume, which will aid future meal planning. I don't plan on creating any sort of fancy rating system - that just impedes blog posting. I will occasionally provide pictures. So here goes:

SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 2010

We made pizzas. We have a pizza stone which I highly recommend purchasing if you like making your own pizzas. It will change your life. I don't know how much they are because we got ours for our wedding. Whether you use pre-made (Boboli) crusts or make your own, you will benefit from using one every time you make pizza at home.

Normally we make our kids eat exactly what we are eating. You might think that's because we want them to grow up eating normal food and acquiring a wide range of tastes. In reality it is because we are too lazy to make two entire dinners, one for us and one for them. Anyway, for this round of pizzas we made two kinds, one for us and one more for the kids. JVC really really really really likes to put pepperoni on pizza. So we had her do a very traditional pepperoni and cheese pizza, although we did add squash from the farm share just because.

For the adult version of the pizza, we used pizza dough purchased at the bread store. I've also used Trader Joe's dough, which was fine, but this is better. I've also made my own, which is really fun and satisfying, especially if you like to eat dinner at 10 pm. Olive oil, basil, squash and fresh mozzarella were there as well - it was delicious.

Kids Pizza: Boboli - Pepperoni - jack cheese

Adult Pizza: Great Harvest Dough - Basil - Tomato - Fresh Mozz - Squash from Farm share

SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2010

Brought out the smoker for a pork loin roast we got when we were participating in the meat farm share this spring. Brined and rubbed, it was ok. I need to work on smoking pork - it's coming out tough and I don't know why. All the chicken I have done has been awesome. Is my smoker too hot?

The star of this meal was not the purple beans (yes, they turn green when you cook them). It was the Lemon Thyme Risotto which is delicious and healthy. Ok, it was not healthy, but it was delicious. I made a lot so I can eat it all week.

Pork Loin - Lemon Thyme Risotto - Purple Beans

Oh yeah we also had chocolate ice cream that we made - it was pretty good but not as creamy as it usually is - I think I over cooked it.

Twins Fever

I am no Twins apologist. In fact, you could call me Mr. Negative at times when it comes to the hometown 9. There's been plenty not to like about recent Twins teams, although hardcore fans who never went away during the mid- and late-nineties will disagree with me I am sure. Yes, the Twins have not been awful. Yes, they have done it mostly with homegrown talent. But have they really contended for a title in any meaningful way? Ron Gardenhire is a great manager, but his lifetime playoff record is 6-18. They have been close a couple of times against the Yankees, but I think we would all agree that winning any of those series would have been shocking. Since they lost in the ALCS to the Angels in 2002, I don't think that any of us could be honest with ourselves and say that we really thought the Twins could win it all.

But this year is different. On April 5th, 2010, I really think that the Twins have an honest chance to win the World Series this season.

Is it some kind of new stadium euphoria that has gone to my head? Is it a man crush on Joe Mauer (unlike Joe Smith, Mauer really is no ordinary Joe)? Is it the face that our off season acquisitions were more than just other teams retreads who we knew would be cut by the end of May? (I wouldn't recognize JJ Hardy or Orlando Hudson if they walked up to me in uniform, but I love them already.) It's some of all of that. I am more excited for this baseball season than I have been in a very long time.

Maybe it's the thought that I am going to get to take my daughter to her first baseball game this summer, and we won't have to sit inside and talk about what a beautiful night for baseball it is outside the Dome. She has not one but TWO Twins shirts now (Morneau and Liriano), and I almost cried when Nadia got her Joe Mauer #7 for Easter. First pitch tonight is at 9:05 local time, and I will probably turn off the NCAA title game to watch baseball, even though it's just 1 out of 162.

For once, I am not going to be negative the first time Baker the Bomb-maker gets shelled, or the first time I have to watch little Nicky Punto come to the plate when need a hit late in a game, or when Jon Rausch blows his first save, or when Denard Span hits his own mother with a foul ball. This year is going to be filled with POSITIVITY, excitement, and hopefully October baseball under the stars. The biggest question mark facing the Twins this year is going to be whether or not we still wave Homer Hankies during the playoffs.

Twins fever? I've been infected, and I don't think there is a cure.