Post for September 28, 2023 (Week 4 Picks)

 Good morning. Forgive me for the lack of creativity in today's title, but I just awoke and I'm not quite awake yet. Plus, I have an appointment in about an hour (health plan home visit, which is better than my last few "visits" with the VA), so I'm definitely looking forward to it (yeah, right). I've been somewhat down the last week and a half. Some of you know can probably imagine as to why, and I may or may not have alluded to it on my last post, but I'll be okay...I guess.

Yesterday, I was listening to the radio with the family, which is something I rarely do because I normally listen to music on Spotify. It wasn't one of those major stations that air in the Tampa Bay area (because quite honestly, most of those stations absolutely suck), but a smaller station based out of northern Pasco County known as Hits 106. Gwen had it turned up as Dobie Gray was playing (who I first thought was Dobie Gillis, until I realized that was a 1960's TV character), then came a song that if you're a hockey fan (especially a St. Louis Blues fan) has plenty of meaning to you: Gloria by Laura Branigan.

As catchy and upbeat as that 1982 tune may be, it's also a source of dread amongst some of my siblings, for Gloria happens to be the birth name of my late sister Jean, who passed away due to heart failure back in February. So, like any good sibling would do, my sister Gwen just silently turned the radio down. As for me personally, I would have kept it on, because Jean HATED her birth name, and the way I looked at it, it could be a song to troll her so to speak. But I didn't grow up with her, and Gwen did. To make a long story short, if you looked up pretentious in Webster's Dictionary, you might find a picture of Gloria next to it.

Last weekend was okay from a football picking standpoint. I went 14-6 in the college slate and 10-6 (for the second straight week) in the pros. That puts me at 27-21 for the year in NFL picks and 32-8 for college. Was VERY disappointed with the outcome of the Monday night game, even more disappointed by the fact that Tampa Bay "fans" sold their tickets to Eagles fans who made a mockery of our stadium...and our city (I heard a "Tampa sucks!" chant before the Bucs' lone touchdown drive 😡). I know times are tough, but this was unacceptable. Especially coming from someone who has a rather large disdain for all things Philly. As I stated on Facebook though, I may have lost this battle, but I hope to win the war. 

As for this week, the Bucs have a critical road test against the even more hated Aints in New Orleans, and thanks to Derek Carr's shoulder injury, the Bucs may get Jameis Winston for this matchup. If his performance in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's game at Green Bay is any indicator, I like the Bucs' chances; they need to find a way to bottle up Chris Olave though. Oh, and Tampa HAS to find a way to run the football.

My NFL picks:

DET over GB
TB over NO (🙏)
ATL over JAX
PIT over HOU
LAR over IND
MIN over CAR
PHI over WSH
BUF over MIA (the scoreboard will tilt)
CIN over TEN
CLE over BAL
DEN over CHI (first tank bowl of 2023)
LAC over LV
DAL over NE
SF over ARI
KC over NYJ
Bonus pick: Taylor Swift over Carrie Underwood
SEA over NYG

College:

NC State over Louisville
Oregon State over Utah
BYU over Cincinnati
Texas A&M over Arkansas
Penn State over Northwestern

Clemson over Syracuse
USC over Colorado
Florida over Kentucky
Boston College over Virginia
Georgia over Auburn

UCF over Baylor
Michigan over Nebraska
Navy over South Florida
Texas over Kansas
Illinois over Purdue

Missouri over Vanderbilt
Ole Miss over LSU
Oregon over Stanford
Oklahoma over Iowa State
Rice over East Carolina

Tennessee over South Carolina
Notre Dame over Duke
Pittsburgh over Virginia Tech
Alabama over Mississippi State
Washington over Arizona

Enjoy the games!

Week 3 Preview/A Change In a Favorite Band Of Mine

 Good morning, everyone, and yes, I did remember the 21st night of September. You know, for a stretch about a decade ago (thanks to Pandora and Spotify) that I discovered and started listening to European symphonic rock metal. Groups such as Nightwish (who was the impetus for my discovery, thanks to YTMND.com), Lacuna Coil, Sirenia, Within Temptation, and The Birthday Massacre. One such group I gravitated to was a Dutch outfit named Delain, who had a lead singer that I found automatically attractive in Charlotte Wessels, who had red hair (of utmost importance) and kinda resembled a woman I was somewhat interested in at the time. 

A few years ago, around the time of my stroke, I sort of let that phase go. Then last night as I was thinking about my somewhat estranged love interest(?) and friend I thought about a song from Sirenia ("The Path To Decay") and so I fired up my long-lost playlist that contained Delain on Spotify.

Well Spotify now has a feature on their app that gives "about the artist" information, and to my surprise, when a Delain song came up, the band was pictured with a new lead singer. WHAT?! I had to do a little digging to find out what happened to my red-headed songbird. Turns out she wasn't fired from the band dissolved temporarily, and Wessels decided to launch a solo career. Well crap. At least their songs from the 2010s still live on.

Now for Week Three, otherwise known as Philly Hate Week, so of course, my sisters brought home a Philly Cheesesteak for lunch Thursday.

really, sisters???

The week got off to a good start with the 49ers throttling the Giants. And I joke that this is Philly Hate Week, but seriously, can we stop with the unnecessary violence in the stands? I mean last week there were two donnybrooks amongst fans, one involving Texans fans and one involving Patriots and Dolphins fans, in which a man actually lost his life. As Ryan Leaf said about a quarter century ago, knock it off. 

Sunday's slate of games do not include the Bucs, because they're on Monday Night Football. One intriguing matchup pits the Buffalo Bills against the Washington Commanders. Buffalo looked like their regular selves in dismantling the Raiders 38-10 last week, where the unbeaten Commies rallied from 21-3 down and survived a two-ponit conversion attempt (after a successful Hail Mary) to down Denver 35-33. I kind of expect a shootout between Josh Allen's Bills and Eric Bienemy's Washington offense, but I think Buffalo knocks Washington from the ranks of the unbeaten. 

Here are my picks for Sunday:

BUF over WSH
NE over NYJ
MIA over DEN
TEN over CLE
BAL over IND
DET over ATL
GB over NO
MIN over LAC
JAX over HOU
SEA over CAR
KC over CHI
DAL over AZ
PIT over LV

Now onto Monday night, where for a second straight week we have a doubleheader of sorts. In the 8:15 game on ESPN, we have a rematch of Super Bowl 56, as the LA Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals. You think that loss to the Rams still sticks in Bengals fans craw? I think what's more concerning from a Cincinnati standpoint is the status of Joe Burrow's calf.  That and how to stop Matthew Stafford's new favorite receiver. I know the Cats have started slowly the past two seasons, but Burrow's injury gives this game, and this season, new urgency for Bengals fans. Hopefully Burrow can revert to form and lead the Bengals to a close victory at home, so I'm picking the Bengals.

Now for the main event, the Eagles-Bucs game on ABC, the only matchup of unbeaten teams this week. The Eagles have somewhat underwhelmed in their first two games, albeit wins. The Bucs meanwhile are off to their third straight 2-0 start, something that hasn't happened in that franchise's 47-year history, and this may be the most surprising 2-0 start of the three. Especially for a team that had little expectations going in to 2023. But don't say that to me, or most other Bucs fans. Hell, we're kind of riding high not only with the Bucs start, but the announcement that the Rays are getting a new stadium. Hell, life is good, no great in Tampa Bay! Oh, by the way, new Hall of Famer Ronde Barber (who Eagles fans still have nightmares over) is getting honored at halftime! So, I'm going with the Buccaneers with the upset victory on MNF.

For the college slate: 

Florida State over Clemson
Oklahoma over Cincinnati
Michigan over Rutgers
Syracuse over Army
Oregon over Colorado

Ole Miss over Alabama (upset special)
Utah over UCLA
Maryland over Michigan State
Miami over Temple
Louisville over Boston College

Duke over UConn
Rice over South Florida
East Carolina over Gardner-Webb
Wake Forest over Georgia Tech
Florida over Charlotte

Appalachian State over Wyoming
Penn State over Iowa
Notre Dame over Ohio State
Kansas State over UCF 😒
North Carolina over Pittsburgh.

Hopefully this week will be as good as last enjoy the games this weekend!

BS

Staus Freaking Quo/Week 2 Review

 Good morning, everyone. Was going to an in-depth review of week two in the NFL, but something arose yesterday that I had to touch on really quick. Apparently, the Tampa Bay Rays are finally getting their new ballpark...in St. Pete.

Later today, the team is supposed to announce plans for a new ballpark for 2028. The plan is to build it near the area of the Trop stands currently, as well as a redevelopment the Gas Plant district of St. Petersburg. It should seat around 30,000 and will have, wait for it, a fixed dome. 

same Mr. Freeman, same.

First off, hurray for getting a ballpark done finally, BUT...you're doing it in St. Pete and not in Tampa, where there would be a greater number of fans to get to your ballpark. Unless the redevelopment of the Gas Plant district will include something like the Battery in Vining, Georgia (where Truist Park is located), you're likely going to have the SAME DAMN ISSUES with attendance that you've had since the team's inception 25 years ago. Secondly, a fixed roof. I know a roof is necessary because of thunderstorms here in the Tampa Bay area, but a retractable roof would have been nice for the times that the weather IS comfortable here (like playoff time). St. Pete is called "the Sunshine City" for a reason, we would have loved to experience it in the early part of the season at least. Thirdly, in my opinion, this was your best opportunity to drive the Yankees out of Tampa for good, but...

I can only imagine that George Steinbrenner is rolling in his grave laughing at this. 

So, congratulations on getting the ballpark, I guess, but it seems to me to be the status freaking quo.

Week 2 Review

Philadelphia 34, Minnesota 28 (W). Minnesota actually had a decent performance on the road considering Kirk Cousins can't win in any time slot other than Sunday at 1pm Eastern time. Justin Jefferson thought he was going to do the Griddy on Gritty, but fumbled at the goal line (the way I would fumble a date) for a touchback (which maybe the dumbest rule in football). That snafu proved to be the difference in the game.

Tampa Bay 27, Chicago 17 (W). A stout defensive effort (albeit against a QB still learning the pro game) led the Bucs to victory, although I didn't really like the conservative play-calling towards the end. Special shout out to punter Jake "Spanish" Carmada who on a blocked field goal in the first quarter, made a heads up play by tapping the ball to himself to prevent a return for a touchdown, which really could have changed the complexion of the game. By the way, this marks twelve consecutive losses for the Bears, a franchise-worst.

Atlanta 25, Green Bay 24 (L). Jordan Love, could you possibly explain this to me? Way to blow a twelve-point lead to an inferior opponent. More on blown leads later.

Indianapolis 31, Houston 20 (W). Two rushing touchdowns from Anthony Richardson helped propel the Colts until he had to leave the game in the second quarter after banging his head on the turf.

Seattle 37, Detroit 31 (OT)(L). Our first overtime game of 2023 was rather surprising as the Seahawks won the toss and proceeded to march down the field for a walk-off touchdown, although Detroit may have had reason to complain on the winning play.

Tennessee 27, LA Chargers 24 (OT)(L). Once again, the Chargers find a way to piss away a winnable game. Pain for Chargers fans indeed.

Baltimore 27, Cincinnati 24 (L). Seriously, what is going on with Joe Burrow? He got off to a very slow start in Cleveland last week, and early in the game had a similarly bad performance against the Ravens. He turned it around late, but he reaggravated his calf muscle that forced him to miss the preseason. Potential bad news for the 0-2 (for the second consecutive year) Bengals.

Buffalo 38, Las Vegas 10 (W). Josh Allen was back to his normal self, throwing three touchdowns and most importantly, zero turnovers.

Kansas City 17, Jacksonville 9 (W). An early candidate for line of the year from an announcer came when Travis Kelce hauled in a Patrick Mahomes TD pass. Ian Eagle exclaimed, "Kelce finds a blank space!" Of course, he was alluding to rumors that Kelce is dating Taylor Swift. I for one can't wait until Swift eventually pens a break-up song for him.

Dallas 30, NY Jets 10 (W). I told you it would be a long day for Jets fans. And Sauce Gardner deactivated his Twitter account after the game. Maybe he shouldn't have dropped that sure pick six.

San Francisco 30, LA Rams 23 (W). Was it a home game for the Niners? Sure looked and sounded like it on television. 

NY Giants 30, Arizona 27 (W). What a comeback! The Giants were down 20-0 at halftime then finally got their bearings together, rallying from 28-7 down for their biggest comeback win in nearly 80 years. 

Washington 35, Denver 33 (L). Speaking of comebacks, what a job by the Commanders as they go to a somewhat surprising 2-0. Crazy finish to this game though, as Russell Wilson hit Brandon Johnson on a miraculous Hail Mary as time expired. However, on the two-point conversion to tie, the pass was incomplete. Was there pass interference on the play though? 

Miami 24, New England 17 (W). This was a snoozefest until the fourth quarter, when the Patriots made it interesting. Andrew Van Ginkel had a monster game for the Dolphins defensively, especially on the wild final play of the game. 

New Orleans 20, Carolina 17 (W). An insane Chris Olave catch helped guide the Saints.

Pittsburgh 26, Cleveland 22 (L). The Steelers were dominated on the stat sheet but a pick six on the opening play and a fumble return for a TD by TJ Watt (who became the team's all-time sack leader) midway through the fourth quarter propelled them to victory. By the way, prayers go out to Browns running back Nick Chubb, who had a gruesome injury that will cause him to miss the rest of the season.

So, a somewhat respectable 10-6 mark for the week to bring my season total to 17-15. As for the college picks I made, I only missed two games (New Mexico State, and Missouri on their miraculous walk-off field goal) of the twenty I picked, but I should give myself three losses because Alabama looked like dog crap against USF. As a matter of fact, everything about that game seemed off, from a lightning delay that forced the camera angle to be less than spectacular, to the lack of quarterbacking from the Tide.

Sunday started Eagles hate week, as the Bucs face off with them on Monday Night Football. Those who know me best know exactly why I have such disdain for the Eagles. So, until later this week, take care!

BS

Ugh...Relationships. Plus Week 2 Picks

 Hello everyone. My mental and emotional health has been in the commode for the most part this week. Let's just say that over the past week someone near and dear to me has returned to her allegedly physically abusive boyfriend, much to my dismay. One, because she had broken things off with him a couple of months ago and two, I wanted to date her. For some insight on how I was pretty much feeling, click here.

At least I'm not as angry as I was back in last July, when I thought a promising relationship opportunity was snatched from me, and as it turns out, I had a right to feel that way in retrospect. Relationships can be awfully toxic, even if they are platonic. That part I learned the hard way with a former roommate of mine decades ago. Fortunately, that one bolted for what she thought was greener pastures (it wasn't), but I had another (long-term) headache to deal with that until February I couldn't quite shake myself from. Not going to name any names, but as the kids say nowadays, if you know you know. As many of you probably know, I'm still awaiting my first ever long-term relationship, and at the age of 49, I feel as if time isn't on my side...

my skeleton would be carrying a pen, not a scythe.

Anyway, including the win on Thursday night, I'm 8-9 on the young NFL season. On a related note to the above paragraphs, I just realized that my Super Bowl pick this season is douche nozzle's favorite team. FML. I guess I have to hate-like them the remainder of the year. Speaking of hate-like, can someone please put the New York Yankees out of their misery and eliminate them from postseason contention? But I digress. The main game I'll be focused on of course will be Chicago at Tampa Bay, which locally here in the Tampa market is the only game on the Fox Network this Sunday. I read a rather remarkable statistic from the TNF game that relates to the Bears; Justin Jefferson, in just a little over three seasons, has more receiving yards (5,134) than any receiver/tight end that has ever played for the Chicago Bears (Johnny Morris holds their franchise record with 5,059 yards). That's a franchise that's more than a century old, and yet in 52 games, Jefferson has passed that mark. Yes indeed, the Bears still suck. Tampa takes this one.

Elsewhere, the main early game has Kansas City going against Jacksonville, in what has to be the most anticipated home opener for the Jaguars since, well, their very first game in 1995. How amped up is AEW boss (and son of Jags owner Shad) Tony Khan is for this one? Well...

Dude, mix in some decaf.

Kansas City should exact some revenge from their upset loss to Detroit this week, which will cause Tony to rehire CM Punk, only to refire him. The Chiefs take this one.

For the rest of the early games:

GB over ATL
IND over HOU
DET over SEA
LAC over TEN
CIN over BAL
BUF over LV

The slate of late games is headlined by what should have been a tantalizing matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets at Jerry World. Unfortunately, you probaly know n=by now that Aaron Rodgers is done for 2023, and if things couldn't get any worse for Jet fans, they're facing the team that b*tch-slapped their crosstown in-city rival last Sunday night. Yikes. Cowboys in a rout.

As for the other late games:

SF over LAR
NYG over AZ
DEN over WSH

The Sunday night game looks rather intriguing as well, with the Patriots hosting the Dolphins. Ater last week, Tua looks like he's ready to take the AFC East by storm, as long as he doesn't get concussed along the way. Patriots should put up a good fight like last week, but Miami wins this one.

Monday night we have TWO games, New Orleans at Carolina on ESPN, and Cleveland at Pittsburgh on ABC. No word on whether Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will don the gold ABC Sports blazer for this one. 

I like the Saints and the Browns for those two games. Here's where you can find what game is playing in your location.

But WAIT, there's more! I thought I throw in some college picks while I'm typing on this early Saturday morning. By the way, is it just me or is Fox and ESPN riding Deion Sanders jock harder than Ray Hudson rides Lionel Messi's? Sheesh! He's only coached two games at Colorado guys, pump the brakes at least!

Wake Forest over ODU
LSU over Miss. State
Louisville over Indiana
Florida State over BC
Penn State over Illinois
Kansas State over Missouri
Duke over Northwestern
Alabama over South Florida (by 70)
Georgia over South Carolina
Appalachian over East Carolina
North Carolina over Minnesota (if you're watching this, I'm sorry. Beth Mowins is calling this game)
FIU over UConn
Washington over Michigan State
UCF over Villanova
Florida over Tennessee (upset special)
West Virginia over Pitt
New Mexico over NM State (my Twitter friend from NM is getting married today)
TCU over Houston
Clemson over Fla Atlantic
Colorado over Colorado State

Enjoy the football this weekend!

BS

Bony's Week 1 Review

 Hello again everyone, and welcome to something I hope to do weekly after the Monday Night game; a rundown of things I saw watching Week 1 (minus DET-KC). Most of which I saw watching NFL Redzone and of course the Bucs game. So, without further ado, here we go.

Tampa Bay 20, Minnesota 17 (L). The Baker Mayfield era got off to a rather rough start offensively for the Bucs, as through nearly for an entire half, they had only 30(!) yards of total offense, Mike Evans was absent and the only receiver with anything was Chris Godwin, who up to that point had two catches for 20 yards. The Bucs defense kept them in the game though, forcing two fumbles and a goal-line interception. Then in the last drive of the first half, the offense began to come to life, culminating in a TD pass from Mayfield to Evans. That consistency continued in the second half, including a VERY gutsy fourth down call deep in Viking territory (with the game tied 17-17) with eight minutes left. That drive led to a 57-yard FG from Chase McLaughlin to give the Bucs a 20-17 lead. A three and out later, and the Bucs thanks to a critical run from Mayfield and a clutch grab from Chris Godwin iced the game for the victorious Bucs. Of note, Sunday was the fifth time the two teams have faced each other to open the season, with Tampa leading 3-2, so yes Kirk Cousins, WE LIKE THAT!

Baltimore 25, Houston 9 (W). This scorigami game wound up being costly for the Ravens, as RB J. K. Dobbins tore his Achilles tendon and is now out for the season. 

Atlanta 24, Carolina 10 (W). The Panthers were doomed from the moment on the first possession that they went for it on 4th and 1 from the Atlanta 11. Instead of kicking the sure field goal, the Panthers wound up trying a run up the middle, which was stopped. So instead of taking the lead in rookie Bryce Young's first start, they had an uphill climb. Fellow rookie Bijan Robinson made sure of that for the Falcons, scoring their first TD and setting up another. It's going to be another long season in Charlotte.

Cleveland 24, Cincinnati 3 (L). Did anyone see this coming? I sure didn't. But, if you follow the career of Joe Burrow, you might not be surprised. In four seasons, Burrow is now winless in his four Week One starts and is now 1-5 lifetime against the Browns. A big win for the Browns, who were no doubt inspired by the most underrated superstar in WWE history. Oh, and their fans? Well, let's just say they stayed classy.

San Francisco 30, Pittsburgh 7 (L). So much for the Kenny Pickett hype in the preseason, huh? The Niners looked damn good.

Washington 20, Arizona 16 (W). This game was meh. Sam Howell didn't do too much but his TD run in the fourth helped give the Commanders the win...barely.

Jacksonville 31, Indianapolis 21 (W). Anthony Richardson proved that he may be a great pick for the Colts. For a second, I thought the Jags were going to somehow find a way to blow this game, but a crucial Colts turnover in the fourth quarter helped seal the game. Meanwhile Calvin Ridley, we missed you.

New Orleans 16, Tennessee 15 (W). Mike Vrabel, what was that? Down four with the two-minute warning approaching, and you decide to kick a field goal? Really?! 

Las Vegas 17, Denver 16 (L). Uh-oh Broncos Country, looks like your ride is stalling again.

Miami 36, LA Chargers 34 (W). Please Dolphins, whatever you do, wrap Tua in bubble wrap for the remainder of the year.

LA Rams 30, Seattle 13 (L). No Cooper Kupp? No problem. Everyone, meet Puka Nacua. Also, did I really pick Seattle to win the NFC West? 

Philadelphia 25, New England 20 (W). My Super Bowl pick started like a house on fire, but credit to the Patriots for making a game of it. 

Green Bay 38, Chicago 20 (L). New quarterback in Green Bay, same result in Chicago. I guess the Packers still own you, Bears.

Dallas 40, NY Giants 0 (L). How bad was the loss on Sunday night for Danny Derps and the G-Men? This bad. 

NY Jets 22, Buffalo 16-OT (L). The Aaron Rodgers era in New York lasted all of four plays before he tore his Achilles tendon and is out for the year. Now if that isn't the most Jets thing ever, I don't know what is. But Bills QB Josh Allen was the second coming of Jameis Winston last night; he threw THREE interceptions (all to former Buc Jordan Whitehead) and lost a fumble which kept New York in the game. An insane catch from Garrett Wilson from Josh Wilson tied the game late in the fourth. Then rookie Xavier Gipson had a walk-off punt return to win it for New York.

So, including the Thursday night game, I wound up going a very mediocre 7-9, which surprisingly isn't as bad as I thought, but to be honest was brutal by my standards. We'll try to do better next week, beginning with the Eagles (ugh...IYKYK) taking on the Vikings on Thursday Night Football. 

BS

2023 NFL Picks, and Week One

 Finally, the NFL season is upon us. In places such as Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Franciso and Jacksonville, there is undoubtedly an air of excitement, where in places such as Phoenix, Houston, and Tampa(?) there is a feeling of existential dread. So, without rambling on aimlessly since I definitely am NO expert on football (I'm like the movie "Sliver," I like to watch), here are my picks for the season, and week one games.

In the AFC, my guesses to win the division are Buffalo in the East, Cincinnati in the North, Jacksonville in the South, and Kansas City in the West. My wild cards are Pittsburgh, Miami, and Denver. Sorry Jets fans, not even Aaron Rodgers can save y'all. In the NFC, I have Philadelphia in the East, Minnesota in the North, New Orleans in the South, and Seattle in the West. My Wild Cards there will be Detroit, Washington, and Dallas. There is too much drama and uncertainty with the Bucs to make a serious playoff run in my opinion. My Super Bowl pick in Vegas this year, a rematch of last year's big game, with the Eagles exacting revenge on the Chiefs. 

Now let's go to the rest of the games for week one.

I'm starting off in a hole already because Kadarius Toney couldn't catch COVID if it were thrown his way last night, and the absence of Travis Kelce (which was announced just as I had finished my last blog post) was very apparent as the Lions upset the defending champion Chiefs, 21-20. 506 Sports once again has a trusty map to follow along as far as which television markets are showing which games, and you can find it here. Plus since it's Week One, we get the double-doubleheader, as both CBS and Fox have it. Locally here in Tampa, we'll see TB-MIN (CBS), or SF-PIT (FOX), followed by MIA-LAC (CBS) or GB-CHI (FOX). 

For the Bucs-Vikings matchup, Tampa fans will finally get to see how good (or not) Baker Mayfield plays in regular season game speed as a member of the pewter and red. However, there's already other than fair winds and following seas for the krewe, as Rachard White simply missed practice altogether on Wednesday, and contract talks with Mike Evans have hit an impasse, so now there's a possibility of him not being a lifetime Buccaneer, which doesn't make many fans happy at all. By the way, if you ask me, he should have scored a TD in Super Bowl LXV.  Oh, and we're having to play against Mr. "YOU LIKE THAT?!" on Sunday. Like Bucs fans said a few years back when we absolutely were putrid, "It's a Bucs Life." Minnesota takes this one.

As for the rest of early slate:

CIN over CLE
BAL over HOU
NO over TEN
PIT over SF
WSH over AZ
JAX over IND
ATL over CAR

the late games:

PHI over NE
MIA over LAC
DEN over LV
CHI over GB (Aaron Rodgers no longer has ownership of the Bears at Soldier Field anymore)
SEA over LAR

Sunday night I have the Giants beating the Cowboys (is it just me or does it seem like these two teams always play each other on week One? and on National TV at that?). For the Monday night game (not available in certain markets, THANKS A LOT SPECTRUM!) I have the Bills over the Jets.

Hopefully this season (from a picking standpoint) won't suck as bad as I did last season, which caused me to abandon all hope by Week 8. My late sister Jean would used to tell me that I lacked follow-through on certain things, and last year was one example. Need to saddle up, take charge and power through; you never know who you might influence going forward. Enjoy the games everyone!

BS

Here We Freaking Go Again...Plus Other Stuff.

 Hello again everyone. Well, some things happened since we last spoke yesterday, so let me go over those things.

First, Dr. Jill Biden has COVID. Not the news that anyone wants to hear with cold/flu season right around the corner. So far, according to reports, she has only experienced mild symptoms, but according to one cardiologist, overall "it doesn't look good." The last thing we need are more mask mandates or worse yet, lockdowns.

Speaking of things that are rearing their ugly head, another hurricane is headed for the Atlantic. Tropical Depression Thirteen, which is expected to be named Lee, is off the Cabo Verde Islands and is expected to become a major hurricane by next week. From the looks of it, it appears it may curve east of the Bahamas and possibly head for the Carolinas, which just dealt with Idalia, albeit not as bad as Florida dealt with it. Hell, the Fort Myers area is still reeling from Ian last year. 

We lost yet another singer from years past on Monday night as Gary Wright passed away at the age of 80. According to his sons, he had been battling Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia for the last six years. That's now three musicians we've lost in a 72-hour span. I hope we don't lose any more for the remainder of 2023; someone protect Keith Richards and Ozzy Osbourne at all costs.

Since I likely won't be on my computer again until Friday, I may as well give you my thoughts on the 2023 opener of the NFL Season, as the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night. The Lions are supposedly very much improved, so much so that they are a trendy pick to win the NFC North this year. But a a famous Floridian once said, "not so fast my friend." I don't think they'll be that good; they still have the Vikings to contend with. As for the Chiefs, they are what they are--a really good football team with no weaknesses that I can see. So, I have KC taking the opener.

Like I said earlier, I don't think I'll be on here with another post until Friday. I'm getting new glasses tomorrow and I get to see Samantha 💝 on Thursday. Wish me luck. In the meantime, have a good Tuesday. 

BS

Happy Labor Day

 Hello again everyone, and Happy Labor Day. Hope you're all enjoying this extended weekend, and if you're in the north, the cooler weather. In years past, this weekend for this Gen Xer marked the end of summer, the stretch run in baseball, and a seemingly endless telethon on what was called "the Love Network." Nowadays, the only love network I hear of are those annoying commercials for Love Honda that we see here in Hernando County, Florida. Go anywhere in the world first but check with Chad last. Uh...no. At least it isn't as cringeworthy as those ads for Nick Nicholas Ford, or are they? But I digress...

Next week at this time, we'll be coming off the euphoria of the first week of the NFL season, and the eight greatest words on sports television: "SEVEN HOURS OF COMMERCIAL FREE FOOTBALL START NOW!" And staring this year, Sunday Ticket is on YouTubeTV. How that will affect establishments like Hooters or B-Dubs that utilized DirecTV in over the past quarter-century or so, I'm not sure. I know the Brooksville Chili's had DirecTV last season, because my late sister Gloria Jean, Gwen and I went there during week eighteen. But outside of that, whether establishments will fork over moolah for YouTubeTV remains to be seen. Anyway, towards the middle of this week, I should post an entry on my thoughts on the 2023 season. 

It's been a rather somber weekend though, especially in the world of music. Friday night, we lost Jimmy Buffett and today, we lost the lead singer of Smashmouth, Steve Hartwell. I don't know about you, but this year is starting to remind me of 2016, when it seemed like everybody noteworthy passed away. Then things got really weird. Just this year alone we've lost Betty White, Sinead O'Connor, Tina Turner, Jim Brown, Jackie Zeman, Jerry Springer, Richard Belzer, Windham Rotunda, Cindy WIlliams, and more recently Pee Wee Herman and Bob Barker. Makes me wonder if something else relatively weird will happen come later this year (Rays winning the World Series?)

All we can do is hold on, stay tuned, and as a great man once said, help keep control the pet population, have your pets spayed or neutered. Enjoy your day!

BS