straight up: 3-1 (Lions cost me), 6-4 … ATS: 2-2, 5-5, O/U: 3-1, 5-5
can still redeem myself with the three remaining games.
WRS @ Philly -5 1/2, 47 1/2 … Eagles to win and cover, and the under barely
BUF @ KCC -1 1/2, 48 1/2. I’ll take the Bills to win AND cover, likely under.
Eagles vs Bills? That’l be new. I currently like the Bills in a likely pick em game.
trying to clean out my backlog
The Super-Definitive Ranking of Presidents
10 Things Donald Trump Can Do To Make America Great Again
FROM A EUROPEAN WHO GETS US: 10 Reasons You Didn’t See This Coming.
CLAIRE LEHMANN: Revenge of the Silent Male Voter.
SAY HER NAME AND DON’T LET UP: JustTheNews has a deep-dive into the checkered history of officer Michael Byrd, who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riots
Straight up: 3-3. ATS: 3-3. O/U: 2-4
I’ll try one more round, then give up!
Texans +8.5 @ Chiefs 41.5 Chiefs win, Texans cover, Under
Commies +9.5 @ Lions 55.5 Best line of the weekend. I’ll take Lions to win AND cover, Over
Rams +6 @ Eagles 43.5 Eagles to win and cover, Under
Ravens +1 @ Bills 51.5 Bills win and cover, Over
That gives us Bills @ Chiefs and Eagles @ Lions. I’ll take the Bills in an upset and the Lions, and the Lions to win their first NFL title since 1957!
Quite a game last night … AND the night before. So now it’s down to Notre Dame and Ohio State (-9 1/2, 45 1/2.)
How have I done so far? Ridiculously well. Almost makes me wanna get back into sports betting. But I won’t. For now. Round 1: 4-0 straight up, 4-0 ATS, predicted no totals. Round 2: 4-0 straight up, 3-1 ATS (Buckeyes surprised me.) Final Four: Hit all three in the Orange Bowl and the two I picked in the Cotton. Picks so far: 10-0 straight up, 8-1 ATS, 2-0 O/U.
Title game? I’ll take the Buckeyes straight up, Irish against the spread, and the over. 27-23.
Now to sully the whole post with the NFL:
Chargers -3 at Texans 41 1/2 Chargers to win and cover and over.
Steelers +9 1/2 at Ravens 43 1/2. Ravens win, cover and over.
Broncos +9 at Bills 47 1/2. Bills win and cover and over.
Packers +5 at Eagles 45 1/2. Eagles win, Packers cover, and over. Should pass. This one will be QUITE close IMHO
Commanders +3 at Buccaneers 50 1/2. Commies to Cover, Mayfields to win, over. This one will be a track meet.
Vikings -2 1/2 vs Rams in Arizona. Viking win and cover and my only under pick of the bunch.
The matchups are decided. The lines are posted. And I’m watching the Mayo Bowl. <facepalm>
Pretty sure they STILL don’t know who won Texas – ASU. But Penn State romped Boise as predicted. Got ND-UGA right too. OSU looked unstoppable. Glad I didn’t bet on THAT one. And I suggested Sparky and the points so regardless of the silliness I win that one. The bounced kickoff shoulda been contested no later than halftime. And if the officials rule (as they DID) that he was NOT a defenseless receiver then there’s no targeting. I’ve seen worse hits not called all season long. Hey ASU – you wanna win the ballgame? Don’t give up a TD on 4th and 13 in OT!
Orange Bowl features Penn State vs Notre Dame. Two midwestern schools. VERY happy to see that. Lions are 4-1 there with ’85 the only loss. Irish are 2-3. Series stands at 9-9-1! Irish favored by 2. I’ll take the Irish to win and cover and over the 46.5. Meanwhile in Arlington TEXAS at the COTTON BOWL, the Buckeyes are favored by 6! I just don’t see it. I WANT it but I don’t see it. So I’m going to avoid calling the spread but take OSU to win and the under 53.5. And Brutus by 1.5 over the Irish.
First, some honorable mentions. My father LOVED The Big Little Jesus episode of Dragnet from 1953 and 1967. And his little sister my Aunt Sarah loved the Twilight Zone “Night of the Meek” starring Art Carne, season 2, episode 11. And I’ll throw in Stan Freiburg’s Dragnet Christmas as well.
The remainder on my list: the original Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop’s Wife (original), Christmas in Connecticut (original), Love Actually (when paired with Die Hard Alan Rikman gets what’s coming to him for what he did to Emma Thompson), A Christmas Stoary (I’m not a fan but my dad was Ralphies age!), Scrooged, The Holdovers (a NEW movie that might make the list again next season. damned fine movie.) Home Alone. It’s a Wonderful Life – NOT the edited version from Amazon and finally A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Hope you and yours had as joyful and warm as Christmas as we did.
So I guess I overestimated SMU, and was quite surprised the OSU finally played up to expectations (Neyland North my @$$!) But the so called first round went pretty much the way I thought it would. Home team sweep. Bottom 2-3 teams didn’t really belong there. So we get to the next round. It should be VERY telling that the bye week winners are ALL underdogs and two of them are double digit dogs!
Penn State is favored by 10 1/2 over Boise State. Boise should NOT have gotten this slot. Shoulda been Clemson, although neither is really in the top 12. Still a fan of Alabama, Mississippi and Colorado. Penn State by two scores in the Fiesta Bowl.
Texas by 3-7 in the Peach Bowl as a 14 point favorite. Take Sparky and the points. Skattebo is watchable.
Notre Dame vs Georgia (-1.5) in a classic Sugar Bowl matchup. I’m taking the Irish to win outright by double digits. Do NOT want Georgia playing a home game for the title.
And Ohio State -2 in a rematch against Oregon. Ducks don’t quack. They squeak. Past Idaho. Past Boise. Past OSU at home. Past Wisconsin. Past Penn State. This might well be THE GAME of this tournament. I’m hoping the Buckeyes get their revenge but I also think the Ducks keep it close. Might take Oregon plus the points.
Nest round? Texas hosts OSU/Oregon winner IN the Cotton Bowl. They’re both better than Texas but the Longhorns will win it at home. Penn State / Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Two more midwestern teams. Who knew? Fighting Irish take this one by 2 1/2. Then Notre Dame beats Texas for the title. I currently think Ohio State is playing the best football of all of these but I’m not sure they can overcome Texas in Texas.
Occasionally I’m unable to find viable access to a movie on the list. John Denver and the Muppets caused the problem this year. It’s been solve for NEXT year. But in its stead I substituted the 1910 silent version of A Christmas Carol. One thing I’ve noticed about the silent movies (this one, Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, From Earth to the Moon, etc.) is they ALL presume familiarity with the written source material. This treatment of Dickens is reasonably well done and worth the 10-15 minutes it’ll take to watch.
Of course I followed it up with the 2019 version. It’s a very different telling but very well done and I heartily recommend it as well. It’s dark and troubling but VERY well made. Can’t believe it doesn’t get more love on Flickchart.
1901’s Christmas Dream up next. A nice bit of ephemera but doesn’t need to be experienced.
Dr. Who seemed to crank these out every year and I’m slowly making my way through them. This season it was The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe. Enjoyable.
I’m a sucker for Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas but many argue it doesn’t belong on this list. I’ll sic Oogie Boogie on ’em!
Also – I am NOT a fan of the “live action” Grinch products. Give me Thurl Ravenscroft and Boris Karloff ANY day. 1966. I was 8. A perfect time for it to gain a permanent foothold in my brain.
And we’ll polish off the week with The Muppets Christmas Carol Better than it should be.
Enjoy your holiday!
As in October I’m really becoming disillusioned with the “previously unseen” Christmas movies, but by NEXT year I’ll have forgotten and do it again ANYWAY. First: No Die Hard. Unless it’s watched as a second feature to Love Actually so Alan Rickman can get what he deserves for his treatment of Emma Thompson. Second: Jingle Bells is not a Christmas song. It is a seasonal winter song. Third: https://victorygirlsblog.com/the-christmas-movies-that-arent-actually-about-christmas/
And here’s the month
25. The Miracle on 34th Street. 1955 version. Short (under an hour.) Many scenes are shot for shot. Santa played by Uncle Billy from It’s a Wonderful Life. A few small twists. Better if you’ve sen the original.
24. Elf. I just keep feeling better about Buddy.
23. It’s a Very Muppet Christmas Movie. 2002. A QUITE the product of the year it was made. A couple bright spots but cannot recommend unless you’re a Muppet completionist.
22. Tokyo Godfathers. It may drop off eventually but not next year. There’s some good stuff in the story telling
21. Game-over. Italian. Or maybe French. Interesting but not well executed. Cannot recommend.
20. Holly and the Ivy. Typical British 1952 stuff. Some interesting performances and characters but the treatment of alcoholism is QUITE dated. Nothing else to recommend it.
19. Nat Lamp Christmas Vacation. Classic. Growing on me. There’s a REASON it’s this early.
Today might be my last day at school for the year. Nobody takes off the last week. See you in seven or so.
so far. Did some checking. I’ve run through a December ONCE in the last dozen years: 2019. So here’s what’s going on. Starting on Easter I started a meal replacement drink: Huel. Usually two a day (800 calories.) Charted my meals for a month and figured out where the problems kinda were. And dropped 20 – 25 pounds by Labor Day. Running was going well. I changed up my approach. More days off. More HIIT. Less LSD. And it seems to be working. I was under 210 on the first day off fall. I’ve hit it a few times since then but have cut out a few things (alcohol and snacks) to keep myself under. Figure IF I can stay under 210 until spring I won’t have to spend a couple months trimming down – AGAIN.
Am relying on Fast After 50 by Joe Friel. There’s a CRAP ton of information but pared down it seems t be a pretty good training schedule especially when I pair it as needed with the stuff over at Brian Mac which I’ve used for decades. Combine that with Strength Training for Life After 40 and I’m pretty happy. Final piece f the puzzle was moving my dads treadmill into MY garage. It’s gotten a lot of use since Halloween and will for the next 2-3 months. Keeping my Cooper test results right in the same range. No improvement but holding steady is a GOOD thing.
BP is the same. Resting pulse still around 50. Weight < 210. Body fat around 20. Not worried about sprint times or time trials. We’ll pick those back up in February or March.
The next 90 days is for maintenance.
Checking the Fridge for Leftovers 