Weekly Picks

I went 2-2 last week which isn’t so bad but of course I lost my best bet when Tom Brady had the worst game of his life. One thing I don’t like about this week, the games are being played in three domes and San Diego. I want winter weather. I want snow, I want cold. Either way, I feel confident about this week and I’m about to do something I never do – so let’s get to the picks.

arizona +7 NEW ORLEANS
I think the Cardinals offense is too good to get this many points. I can definitely see them winning this game because Warner and Fitzgerald can win them too. The Saints are very good too but they haven’t played a good game in two months, and haven’t played any game at all in one month.

baltimore +6 INDIANAPOLIS
This game will be another referendum on how teams with big division leads should handle their late season games. I have a lot of confidence in Peyton Manning but against Baltimore’s defense I can’t shake the feeling that the Colts will have another early round disappointment. I’m not convinced the Ravens will win but I definitely think they will keep it close.

new york jets +7 SAN DIEGO
I am sticking with my position that the Chargers will win the Super Bowl, and by extension, win this game. But I have noticed a couple things. The Jets have a great passing defense. The San Diego Chargers are a great passing team. The Chargers don’t have much of a running game, and the Jets rush defense is not a strong suit. The Jets will try to run the ball, and the Chargers allow 4.5 yards a carry. And the Jets have a better than average running game which means they should be able to gain near five yards a carry which would take a lot of pressure off Mark Sanchez. If football is a game of matchups you could make a strong case for the Jets in this one.

BEST BET
dallas +3 MINNESOTA
I think Dallas is going to win this game outright. They’re playing really well right now and the Vikings aren’t. When the Vikings got Brett Favre I never liked their Super Bowl chances because I thought he would submarine them with one bad game at the wrong time. I think this will be that game. The Cowboys will be able to put a lot of pressure on Favre and surprisingly Adrian Peterson won’t be able to help him.

Last week: 2-2 (1 point)
Season: 38-51 (36 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (8-10)
Home Favorites: 1-1 (8-14)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-2)
Road Favorites: 0-0 (16-16)
Road Underdogs: 1-1 (13-18)
Road Pickem: 0-0 (0-1)

Amanda Cicchini is Fucking a Benchwarmer?

Amanda Cicchini the smoking hot West Virginia University soccer player who gained fame on the internet for being smoking hot and always taking pictures with her ass pointed at the camera.
It's no surprise she is banging someone on West Virginia's top ranked basketball team. That's what hot college girls do, they fuck athletes. But usually good athletes. According to Amanda's Facebook page she is in a relationship with Cameron Payne who has played only 19 minutes this year. scoring only 5 points.
Hopefully when SU comes to town this weekend they will blow out the Mountaineers by 50 so the luckiest guy in college can get some playing time.
Or maybe Andy Rautins can show her what it's like to fuck a good player.

In Case You Are Freaking Out About Facebook

It seems amazing to me that people would use Facebook, friend everyone they've ever met in a weird kind of popularity race, post pictures of themselves drunk or in their underpants or both --- then complain Facebook is violating your privacy.
Facebook is not going to make money selling a picture of you going apple-picking.
But since my picture of Chase appears on Google, and Georgia Derek recently tracked me down, I thought I would share these Facebook privacy tips with a particular emphasis on #10 (which was not part of the AP article, I threw it in because I like round numbers).

Facebook has been nudging its users -- first gently, then firmly -- to review and update their privacy settings.

You may have procrastinated by hitting "skip for now," but Facebook eventually took away that button and forced you to update your settings before continuing to use the site.

After finally accepting Facebook's recommendations or tweaking the privacy settings yourself, though, you might have made more information about you public than what you had intended.

At the same time, Facebook has given users many granular controls over their privacy, more than what's available on other major social networks.

So if you want to stay out of people's view, but still want to be on Facebook, here are some things to look out for as you take another look at your settings.

1. Some of your information is viewable by everyone.

Everyone can see your name, your profile photo and the names of work and school networks you're part of. Ditto for pages you are a fan of. If you are worried about a potential employer finding out about a quirky fetish or unorthodox political leaning, avoid becoming a Facebook fan of such groups. You can't tell Facebook you don't want those publicly listed. Your gender and current city are also available, if you choose to specify them. You can uncheck "Show my sex in my profile" when you edit your profile if you don't want it listed, and you can leave "Current City" blank.

2. Your list of friends may also be public.

Facebook also considers your friends list publicly available information. Privacy advocates worry that much can be gleaned from a person's list of friends -- even sexual orientation, according to one MIT study. But there is a way to hide the list. Go to your profile page and click on the little blue pencil icon on the top right of your box of friends. Uncheck "Show Friend List to everyone." Either way, those you are already friends with can always see your full list.

3. You can hide yourself from Web searches.

There is a section for "Search" under Facebook's privacy settings page, which is accessible from the top right corner of the Web site under "Settings." If you click the "Allow" box next to "Public Search Results," the information that Facebook deems publicly available (such as photo, fan pages and list of friends), along with anything else you have made available to everyone, will show up when someone looks up your name on a search engine such as Google. The stuff you've limited access to in your profile will not show up.

This is useful if you want people you've lost touch with, or potential work contacts, to be able to find your Facebook page. If you'd rather not be found, uncheck this box.

A second setting, controlling searches within Facebook, lets you refine who can find you once that person has logged on. Limit searches to friends only if you think you have all the friends you need and don't want anyone to find you when they type in your name to Facebook.

4. Beware of third-party applications.

Quizzes and games are fun, but each time you take one, you first authorize it to access your profile information, even if you have made that available only to your friends. You're also letting the app access some information on your friends.

Under "Application Settings," Facebook lists all the apps you have opened your profile up to. If you no longer want to authorize access to "Which Golden Girl Are You?" you can always remove it by clicking on the "X" next to its name. Apps you use regularly, such as Facebook for Android if you update your status from your mobile phone, should stay.

Next, by clicking on "Applications and Websites" on the privacy settings page, you can edit whether your friends can share your birthday, photos and other specific information. Remember that applications can access your "publicly available information" no matter what.

The security firm Sophos recommends users set their privacy settings for two of Facebook's own popular applications, notes and photos, to friends only.

5. Go over your list of friends.

The average Facebook user has 130 friends. But many people interact with a much smaller group when commenting on status updates, photos and links. So it doesn't hurt to occasionally review your list of your friends to get an idea of just who can view your status posts, vacation photos and funny links you've shared over the years. Don't feel obligated to add anyone as a friend, even if that person adds you first. For professional acquaintance you don't want to snub, send them to a LinkedIn profile you can set up. Some workplaces and schools have rules about Facebook interactions between bosses and employees or students and teachers.

6. Create custom friends groups.

If you have friended a lot of people, sort them. Think of the groups you interact with in real life -- co-workers, college buddies, girlfriends, grandma and grandpa -- and organize your Facebook friends in these groups, too. Go to "All Friends" under the "Friends" button up top, click on "Create New List" and fire away. Then decide what aspects of your profile, and which status posts and photos, these people will have access to. Or, simply create a "limited" list for acquaintances or distant relatives and limit their access.

7. Customize your status posts.

Type "I'm hungry" into your status update box. Click on the little lock icon. You'll see a range of privacy controls pop up, letting you either allow or limit access to the post. If you want, you can even hide it from everyone by clicking "Only Me" under the custom settings. Click on "Save Setting." Repeat with each post, or create a default setting for most updates and increase or decrease privacy as you see fit.

8. Let your friends know you have boundaries -- in person.

Many of us have woken up on a Sunday morning to find that an overzealous friend has posted dozens of photos from that wild party we barely remembered -- the good, the bad and the hideous. Chances are, they didn't do this to embarrass you, though if they did you have bigger problems. Rather, they probably don't know that you don't want these photos posted. Sure, tweak your photo privacy settings on Facebook. But if someone starts snapping pictures of you at a party, ask them to check with you before posting it anywhere.

9. Never assume complete privacy.

Even for the most tech-savvy person, unflattering photos, incriminating text messages or angry status posts about work have a way of worming their way out in the open. Just saying.

10. If you are that worried about your privacy -- DON'T JOIN FACEBOOK IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!! This one has been mastered by Mem. She doesn't want everyone seeing what she is up to, so she never joined Facebook. Ok, she did join Facebook, but she used a fake name not realizing no one would friend her and she wouldn't be able to see anything but a tiny thumbnail of that person and now Mrs. Poop and I constantly get Facebook suggestion recommending her pseudonym as a friend. But all that aside, she's worried about her privacy, so she doesn't join Facebook, simple.

Dumb Wheel of Fortune Guess

Self-potato? At least she immediately realized how dumb her answer was. Still funny though.

Just Another Celebrity TKO

Teddy Pendergrass, who became R&B's reigning sex symbol in the 1970s and '80s with his forceful, masculine voice and passionate love ballads and later became an inspirational figure after suffering a devastating car accident that left him paralyzed, died Wednesday at age 59.

The singer's son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father died at a hospital in suburban Philadelphia. The singer underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had "a difficult recovery," his son said.

"To all his fans who loved his music, thank you," his son said. "He will live on through his music."

Pendergrass, who was born in Philadelphia on March 26, 1950, gained popularity first as a member of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

In 1971, the group signed a record deal with the legendary writer/producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The group released its first single, "I Miss You," in 1972 and then released "If You Don't Know Me by Now," which was nominated for a Grammy Award.



Pendergrass quit the group in 1975 and embarked on a solo career in 1976. It was his solo hits that brought him his greatest fame. With songs such as "Love T.K.O.," "Close the Door" and "I Don't Love You Anymore," he came to define a new era of black male singers with his powerful, aggressive vocals that spoke to virility, not vulnerability.



His lyrics were never coarse, as those of later male R&B stars would be, but they had a sensual nature that bordered on erotic without being explicit.

"Turn Off the Lights" was a tune that perhaps best represented the many moods of Pendergrass - tender and coaxing yet strong as the song reached its climax.



Pendergrass, the first black male singer to record five consecutive multi-platinum albums, made women swoon with each note, and his concerts were a testament to that adulation, with infamous stories of women throwing their underwear on stage for his affection.

Pendergrass suffered a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the waist down in the 1982 car accident.



Pendergrass later founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, an organization whose mission is to encourage and help people with spinal cord injuries achieve their maximum potential in education, employment, housing, productivity and independence, according to its Web site.

Pendergrass is survived by his son, two daughters, his wife, his mother and nine grandchildren.

Don't Believe the Hype

The 100th episode of "How I Met Your Mother" was a disappointment on a couple levels.

First, I wasn't thrilled with the show's ballyhooed musical number "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit."


Note: for some reason the normally youtube friendly HIMYM producers didn't put the full song and dance on the web. All the versions I could find were mirrored. So check out the writing on the newspaper dispenser. You may want to watch this while holding your computer up to a mirror.


Second, I was hopeful Rachel Bilson would be my mother. I fell in love with her on "The O.C." when everyone else was going gaga over heroin-chic Mischa Barton. But that got shot down pretty early on.








That brings me to the conundrum about my mother. It seems clear to me now that they never plan to reveal my mother until they have an end date for the series. She'll either be introduced in the final episode (a typical network trick) or early in the final season which would give them so many great opprtunities for fast forwards until 2030 (which I think would make the final season legend -- wait for it -- dary!)

I don't have a problem with them waiting because I don't watch the show to find out who my mother is. That's not the point. I watch it because it's funny regardless of the plotline hanging above the show like The Sword of Damocles.

But I actually wouldn't mind if the outed my mother sooner rather than later because I trust them to do smart and funny courtship and maybe even marriage episodes.

After all, these are the same people who cast Stacy Keibler as the hot bartender.

Someone actually told me she didn't think Stacy Keibler has big enough boobs to play the part of a bartender with big boobs. That may be true but she's got a GREAT ASS!







In another bit of inspired casting Carrie Underwood makes her acting debut in a HIMYM episode set to air in March.

Song of the Week

"Tiger Woods" - Maino
It's nice to see a rapper who is paying attention to current events.
"go get em Tiger!"

Why Pete Rose Will Never Make the Hall of Fame

During the investigation into Pete Rose's gambling Major League Baseball found evidence, or had a strong indication that Rose got in too deep with gamblers and the only way to get out was to fix a game.
That's when Commissioner Bart Giamatti called Rose into his office and decided it would be too damaging for the game if this got out.
So he offered Rose a deal, keep quiet, accept a lifetime ban, apply for reinstatement in year and Giamatti probably assured Rose he would reinstate him.
Unfortunately for Rose, Giamatti died before he could live up to his end of the bargain, and his successors, Fay Vincent and Bud Selig, have too much respect for Giamatti to go against what they believed were his wishes.

That’s my theory, but assuming I am wrong about Rose fixing a game (or more than one) there are still a lot of other reasons to keep him out.

1) He lied about not betting on baseball for 14 years. Then he admitted he did bet on games, and on the Reds, and eventually said he bet on the Reds to win every night. But how can we believe him. The fear of another shoe dropping is definitely part of the reason for his Hall of Fame exclusion.
2) He knew the rules, and he knew the punishment, yet he still committed the crime. If you go to live in a Middle Eastern country and you know they chop your hand off for stealing, then you steal something, you deserve to have your hand cut off, even though I think that punishment is too severe. In this case I think the punishment is just right.
3) The Baseball Hall of Fame is not directly run by Major League Baseball. The Hall has a rule not to consider players for inclusion if they are on baseball's banned list. It is very unlikely baseball will ever remove his ban and allow him to become a coach or manager, so unless the Hall changes its rules he'll never be eligible for induction.


Note: Pete Rose says he will never see a Paul Giamatti movie. He says he and Bart Giamatti (father of actor Paul) agreed not to discuss their meeting and he felt betrayed when Giamatti came out with the now famous speech:

"The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game."

Why Do I Let Myself Get So Worked Up Over Hall of Fame Voting?

The recent induction of Andre Dawson to the Hall of Fame accomplished one thing: it made the induction of Jim Rice not seem so bad.

About the only thing Dawson has going for him is his rare standing as one of the few players with 400 homers and 300 stolen bases. But because counting statistics are so often misleading you should look at the averages, and almost all of Dawson’s are terrible.

His .279 lifetime batting average is one of the lowest in the Hall of Fame and it’s almost Mazeroski-ish when you consider Dawson was an outfielder. I’ve always said batting average is an overrated statistic so let’s look at something that really matters: on base percentage. Specifically, that’s the ability of a hitter to not make an out, a pretty important thing in baseball. He has a lifetime OBP of .323. That’s terrible, also one of the lowest among Hall of Famers. Even his OPS is well below-average.


I think what really drives me nuts is when people get in the Hall of Fame just because they’re not that much worse than someone who is already in. Never was Andre Dawson one of the best players in the game for more than a couple seasons at a time, and none of his stats (other than homers and stolen bases) measure up to the greats of the game.


Even more galling than Dawson’s inclusion is the exclusion of Tim Raines and Edgar Martinez.

Believe it or not, Raines actually has a higher career OPS than Dawson, he had more top seasons than Dawson and is superior to him in almost every area except for home runs and RBI.

And against Edgar Martinez it’s not even close.

For this we’ll use a stat called OPS+ which compares players to the league average and therefore adjusts for differences between eras. 100 is essentially league average, 150 is great. Dawson’s best year was 157, Edgar had 157 once too, was above it 6 other times, including a sick 185 in 1995..

I know the knock on Edgar is that he was mostly a DH, but if you are going to have a position you can’t just exclude everyone who plays it (though the NFL does it with punters). As long as there is a DH in baseball Edgar Martinez should be in the Hall.



And a quick note on the two most prominent pitchers on the ballot. Bert Blyleven doesn’t deserve to get in because he has a lot of negative stats (losses and home runs allowed) and the numbers in his favor (wins and strikeouts) are somewhat inflated by his long career. He never had that many great individual seasons as evidenced by how seldom he received Cy Young votes.
I used to be in favor of Jack Morris getting in because he was one of the top pitchers of the 1980s, until I read that if he did get in, he’d have the highest career ERA in the Hall.

Mark McGwire's Steroid Admission

The lying scumbag Mark McGwire finally admits to using steroids.

There are a few reasons why this bothers me.

First he cheated. Fundamentally as a fan that hurts me, even though I know hundreds of others did the same thing.

Secondly, he broke sports most hallowed record under false pretenses.

Third, even in telling the truth McGwire told more lies.

He said he only juiced for health reasons, to help recover from injuries. I guess he doesn't buy the theory that his steroid use led to his body breaking down.



When pressed by Bob Costas he refused to even acknowledge that even if that were the case he still benefitted from the roids.

He said he had been hitting home runs in little league, high school, college the minor leagues and even as a rookie before discovering steroids (supposedly). That may be true, but not that many.

And then he trotted out the old hand eye coordination excuse. Yes its true steroids can't teach you how to hit a baseball traveling towards you at 95 miles per hour. But if you already know how to do that like say a major league baseball player, steroids will help you hit it farther. Even the player with the most natural power and the best hand eye coordination would still hit fly balls to the warning track. But with steroids those balls become home runs.

When asked if he could have hit 70 without roids McGwire said yes. I wish he would have said "I think so, but I never gave myself the chance."

A couple things McGwire said did stick with me.

He said he wanted to tell the truth to Congress that day but his lawyers couldn't get him immunity (a longshot) so he pulled the incredibly incriminating "I'm not here to talk about the past" routine. I've killed him over that for nearly five years but I now realize if you have to show up but you can't tell the truth and don't want to lie "I'm not here to talk about the past" is probably your best choice. Especially since "no hablo ingles" was taken by Sammy Sosa.

In his statement/confession McGwire said "I wish I never played in the steroid era."

That to me seems like his way of saying he felt obligated to cheat because everyone else was. I'm sure he feels had he played in the 60s or 70s he would have been a great home run hitter without ever hearing the word steroids.

But it was his misfortune that he played in the steroid era. And ours too.

Love is Blind

ABC financial news reporter Bianna Golodryga and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag recently announced their engagement.







What does a chick that hot see in a guy with a toupee this bad?



Even worse, Orszag recently became a father after knocking up Greek shipping heiress Claire Milonas. Apparently they broke up shortly after she told him she was pregnant. Then less than a year later he is engaged to another woman.

Golodryga must have known about the love-child but maybe she didn't foresee the bad press it would bring. Her DWI arrest from 2000 (and unflattering mugshot) made the papers.

This is What Larry David Was Worried About

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" fans may remember this scene where Larry David took an interest in a baby recently adopted from China and her ability to use chopsticks.



Maybe Larry David was concerned about this. A 14-month-old boy in China needed surgery after he stuck a chopstick up his nose and into his brain.

Yeah, That's What Tiger Needs

Fox News contributor Brit Hume knows exactly what Tiger needs: Jesus.



I know this is what Jesus people do, they tell other people how great Jesus is, but it seems the height of arrogance to tell someone: what you believe is wrong, if you want to be happy, believe in what I tell you.

This is why I am glad Jews aren't allowed to prostelytize.

LeBron Has Another Pair Just Like It at Home

LeBron James wore one orange and one blue sneaker during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers, to match the Cavaliers orange and blue throwback jersey. LeBron claimed the mismatched shoes were a tribute to Craig Ehlo, Mark Price, Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty but I think he just grabbed the wrong one and was trying to play it off.

Lost Fanatics Want to Send Obama to an Island

Fans of "Lost" the ABC series about marooned plane crash survivors fear President Barack Obama will give his State of the Union address Feb. 2.

That's the same day as the three-hour premiere of the final season of "Lost."

Twitter comments Wednesday included "Leave my LOST alone, Skippy!" and "Come onnnn, Obama..pick another day."

The Facebook group "Americans Against the State of the Union on the Same Night as LOST" asks "When will it end?" It notes that Obama already bumped "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for his Afghanistan speech in some markets.

The White House isn't saying when Obama will speak. An ABC spokesman wouldn't say whether the network would consider moving the premiere.

The Facebook and Twitter comments would be out of control if Obama did this. As a Lost fan myself I just want the season to start already because the sooner it starts the sooner it'll be over. I've said this before but I cannot wait for the show to wrap up so they can stop coming up with ridiculous paranormal twists and start explaining.

But no matter what Obama does he's gonna piss off some people when he bumps their favorite show.

What Really Happened

According to the Washington Post this is what really happened in the Gilbert Arenas gun incident:

"The dispute between Arenas and Crittenton began on the team plane during a popular card game between players called "Boo-ray." Crittenton lost roughly $1,100 to JaVale McGee, a Wizards center, in the game, according to a player who watched the game and who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Crittenton, already angry over a dispute over the game's rules, became irate when Arenas began needling him.

Their barbs escalated to a point where Arenas, smiling, said he would blow up Crittenton's car, according to two players on the flight, who requested anonymity. Crittenton replied that he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee.

Walking into the locker room two days after the dispute on the team plane, according to two witnesses, Arenas laid out the guns in Crittenton's locker. Two other teammates eventually sauntered in and, while Arenas was writing the note in front of Crittenton's cubicle, in walked Crittenton, according to their account.

Asking Arenas what he was doing, Arenas replied, "If you want to shoot me, I'd just thought I'd make it easy for you." As other teammates laughed, Crittenton crumpled up the paper, tossed one of Arenas's guns across the room, where it bounced in front of a team trainer, and said he didn't need any of Arenas's firearms because he had his own, according to the witness accounts.

Crittenton then drew his weapon, loaded it and chambered a round, the witnesses said.

Neither witness said the gun was ever pointed at Arenas, but both said Crittenton began singing as he held the gun.

Arenas began laughing, the witnesses said, telling Crittenton, "Look at that little shiny gun," as two other players slowly retreated to the training room.

Arenas eventually followed. By the time the players came back out, Crittenton was gone."

If this version is accurate it doesn't seem that bad for Arenas, and it's really bad for Crittenton. It's actually kind of noble that Arenas lied about it to protect Crittenton.

Either way, both guys are incredibly stupid for bringing guns (even licensed, unloaded ones if that's the case) to the workplace. And then joking with them and leaving them out. Incredibly stupid. But if this version is accurate Crittenton should be out of the league forever. You can not load a gun and threaten someone with it. As his employer, the Wizards cannot allow that.

As for Arenas, I think he may done in the NBA for his career. I think the Wizards could definitely seek to void his contract and legally I'd have a hard time seeing how a judge could say the Wizards wouldn't be within their rights to do so.

But Arenas's coup de grace of stupidity, which finally forced David Stern to suspend him is two weeks after the incident he pantomimed shooting his teammates with finger pistols in a pregame huddle.



Just for the record I think this ranks second in terms of worst, most serious behavior by an NBA player in a league facility in a recent memory. I would put this just above Sprewell choking PJ Carlesimo and right below Ron Artest attacking the fans.