Please Disperse

I know people died in this fire at a fireworks market in Mexico



but I can't help but laugh because the video reminds me so much of this scene from "The Naked Gun."

Weekly Picks

Another good week, another won best bet. Lots of close games though. And I almost forgot that all the games were Saturday this week.

miami +4 1/2 BUFFFALO
Dolphins are a better team, even with Matt Moore.

tampa bay +3 1/2 NEW ORLEANS
Similar story here though, this does seem like a game a team that needs it willcould lose to a team that doesn't.

LOS ANGELES -5 san francisco
Bad teams don't often win on the road. Plus they already beat the Rams this year.

KANSAS CITY -3 denver
Denver's offense has been incredibly weak and the Chiefs lost last week.

BEST BET
san diego -4 CLEVELAND
Sorry Browns fans, it's not going to happen.

Last Week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 41-29 (45 points)
Best Bets: 9-5 (I forgot week 1)

If At First You Don't Get Punished, Trip, Trip Again

Grayson Allen vaulted himself into second place on the most-hated Duke players list (no one will ever top Christian Laettner) by trip Elon's Steven Santa Ana.
What's worse, Allen threw a fit on the bench after being pulled from the game, seemingly acted as if his trip/kick to the back of the knee was warranted because Santa had grabbed his arm.

He also didn't seem to remember that this is the third time in his brief career that he has done something like this.
After the first two, Allen received nothing more than a reprimand from the conference and some excuses from his coach, which I objected to.
Now arrogant Coach K is once again behaving indignantly, saying that the discipline is between him and the player.
Infractions need to be met with consequences or they become habits. That is what has happened here and I think will continue to happen, as I would be shocked if Allen was suspended for more than 3 games, because Duke's 4th game from now is against a good Florida State team, and the game after that is against an even better Louisville squad.
Note: the reaction that Allen is getting has nothing to do with his color. He's an asshole, a jerk, a dirty player and if color plays a role at all it's because people perceive that a black player engaged in similar misbehavior would have punished far more severely, a long time ago.

Song of the Week

"Santa Claus is a Black Man" - Akim & Teddy Vann
Dumbest Christmas song ever.

Weekly Picks

The hot streak continues. Pretty sure that is 6 straight best bets.

miami -3 NEW YORK JETS
Backup quarterback theory which states that often the impact of losing your starting QB is overrated.

green bay -5 1/2 CHICAGO
The Pack are back and they won't be deterred by the cold.

HOUSTON -4 jacksonville
This seems like a really small number of points to give to a lousy team on the road.

pittsburgh -3 CINCINNATI
I think the Steelers will win.

BEST BET
oakland -2 1/2 SAN DIEGO
I still think we are underestimating the Raiders.

Last Week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 38-27 (41 points)
Best Bets: 8-5 (I forgot week 1)

One More Craig Sager Fact

When Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run to pass Babe Ruth, Sager was on the field (in trench coat) trying to get an interview.

The World Just Got Less Colorful

Craig Sager dies at the age of 65 after a long battle with leukemia.

Song of the Week

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" - Pentatonix
Always enjoy their work, and Christmas is one time when it is ok to do covers.

Weekly Picks

Got 4 points again. Another best bet. Not really sure what's going on, but I like it.

pittsburgh -2 1/2 BUFFALO
Not really sure why, I just think this is the kind of game the Steelers win.

baltimore +6 1/2 NEW ENGLAND
I am not going to get rich picking against the Patriots at home, but I really think their offense will struggle without Gronk. Struggle being a relative term of course.

cincinnati -5 1/2 CLEVELAND
RGIII is not the answer.

SAN FRANCISCO -3 new york jets
The 49ers were so putrid last week, even bad teams don't play that badly every week.

BEST BET
CAROLINA pick'em san diego
Again, the Panthers were embarrassed last week. They will rebound.

Last Week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 35-25 (37 points)
Best Bets: 7-5 (I forgot week 1)

Song of the Week

"Cranes in the Sky" - Solange
Better song than her sister has had in the last 5 years.

What Would You Do If a Kangaroo Had Your Dog in a Headlock?

A hunter in Australia saw that a kangaroo had a headlock on one of his dogs.



I totally agree with doing whatever you can to protect your pets, but I really don't think it was absolutely necessary for him to strike the kangaroo, at least not at that point. He clearly startled the 'roo who relinquished the hold. The man could have waited and seen what happened next before punching the kangaroo, more for his own safety more than his opponent's.

Good thing he wasn't facing Killer Willard.

Weekly Picks

My worst week in the past month, only 4 points, too bad one game was a push. And there are a lot of games I like this week, which is surely a bad sign.

denver -3 1/2 JACKSONVILLE
When you have a defense that good you don't need a quarterback.

los angeles +13 1/2 NEW ENGLAND
The Patriots aren't the same without the Gronk.

new york giants +6 PITTSBURGH
This is a lot of points to give to a team as good (and lucky) as the Giants.

SEATTLE -7 1/2 carolina
The Seahawks will bounce back.

BEST BET
OAKLAND -3 buffalo
I know the Bills have improved but the Raiders will win at home. Hopefully by more than three this time.

Last Week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 32-23 (33 points)
Best Bets: 6-5 (I forgot week 1)

Song of the Week

"24K Magic" - Bruno Mars
I know, I can't believe it either. But I really like this song and think the cat has real talent.

Viva La Potencia

The Mets resigned Yoenis Cespedes for 4-years and $110M.
It's a slight overpay for a guy who is like a 3.5 - 4 WAR player, but not so outrageous when you factor in other things such as the Mets really needed him, he's one guy who has proven he can hit in CitiField and most importantly, they got him on a 4 year deal through his age 34 season.
I like the deal and I am happy with it but it means the Mets absolutely positively get rid of Bruce or Granderson or both.
Trading Bruce would bring back very little, meaning they would take a big hit on a trade that netted almost nothing.
Keeping Bruce and getting rid of Granderson would be high ceiling, if Bruce can rebound after two dreadful months in New York, but his age may make Granderson a little harder to deal.
I wouldn't mind getting rid of both and giving Conforto, Lagares and Nimmo more time to develop.
But they absolutely cannot saddle this great young pitching staff with an outfield of Granderson, Cespedes and Bruce, which would be historically bad defensively.

Weekly Picks

The hot streak continues for another week. 14-1 in the past 3 weeks.


new york giants -7 CLEVELAND
I don't see how the Giants aren't bigger favorites.

los angeles +7 NEW ORLEANS
They blew a game in excruciating fashion last week, but they have a pretty good defense that should keep them in this one.

OAKLAND -3 carolina
This isn't last year.

BALTIMORE -4 cincinnati
I know the Ravens aren't that good but the Bengals are in a spiral.

BEST BET
tennessee -5 CHICAGO
The Titans can put points on the board. The Bears can't.

Last Week: 5-0 (6 points)
Season: 29-21 (29 points)
Best Bets: 5-5 (I forgot week 1)

Song of the Week

"Make Me Yours" - Bettye Swan

3000 Words

Khabib Nurmagomedov lends Joe Rogan his hat during the post-fight interview at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden.

The Yale-Harvard game was delayed by naked Yale students participating in the Saybrook Strip.

Syracuse defeats Dartmouth in the NCAA men's soccer tournament on a typical, snowy November day in Syracuse.

Weekly Picks

This thing of quickly hammering out the picks without thinking has been working out. But the descriptions are back, let's hope the streak continues.

INDIANAPOLIS -2 1/2 tennessee
The Titans destroyed the Packers last week. I always look for bad teams coming off a win to revert to form.

MINNESOTA -2 1/2 arizona
How does a team go from being so good to so bad so fast?

DALLAS -7 1/2 baltimore
If Dallas really is the best team in the NFL they need to follow up last week's big win with a dominant performance over the weak Ravens.

new england -11 1/2 SAN FRANCISCO
If any team adheres to my bounceback theory it's the Patriots. When they lose they come back with a vengeance. They're playing a horrible team. This one could be ugly.

BEST BET
miami -2 LOS ANGELES
My only concern is that I think backup quarterbacks are constantly underestimated. But I think the Rams are bad anyway, and that Dolphins have been frisky lately.

Last Week: 4-1 (5 points)
Season: 24-21 (23 points)
Best Bets: 4-5 (I forgot week 1)

Funny Baby Videos

This would be Julian and Lincoln:



This would be Mama Poop and Linclon:

The Most Dickish Thing I've Ever Done (But It Was Hilarious)

I recently went to Atlantic City for the PokerStars Festival, a series of tournaments meant to promote poker now that PokerStars offers online play in my home state.
Because Resorts, which partners with PokerStars, doesn't have a poker room, the tournaments were held in a ballroom. As I walked through the tables I saw some well-known players sitting amongst regular folks aka amateurs.
I also recognized a friend of mine, Andy, and on his direct right was Barry Greenstein, peacefully reading news articles on his iPad.
I noticed Andy, whom I had never met in person, only online, was wearing a tank top that said "If you're offended, I'll help you pack" and had a big American flag in the middle.

Turns out two other friends (I use the term loosely) paid him $100 each to wear the shirt the entire day. As I was being told this story, I was inches from Barry Greenstein who looked up at me, and then I said:

"Barry, they're paying him $200 to wear this shirt. How much are they paying you to wear that sweater?"

Luckily it was well-received and when I saw him sitting alone later (he remained at his table during a break) I went over and apologized and we had a good laugh. He took it very well. And then we briefly talked about politics. He couldn't have been nicer. And I couldn't have been more dickish.