NFL 2012 Week 13: Just for fun.

This might be the first Chargers game I will watch this season without thinking about the playoff implications.  It's kind of liberating in a way...and very, very depressing.  Well, not exactly.  Depressing was watching Ray Rice convert 4th and 29, just to get a first down.  The Ravens weren't even in field goal range and the were still down by 3.  Depressing was watching all of these things happen.  4th and 29, another first down to get into field goal range, kick good, overtime, lots of punts, big pass from Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith (when is Quentin Jammer moving to safety?), very strategic clock management by one of the Harbaugh brothers (I want a head coach who impresses me with his strategic decisions), field goal good, DEPRESSED...and...scene!  So should I stick with BJ's Hopstorm IPA or go with the sampler? Nachos, two mini pizzas or the Thai shrimp lettuce wraps?  Lots of fantasy to follow.  I need Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Carolina's defense to have big games, while RGIII, Cam Newton and Calvin Johnson follow Drew Brees' lead this week.

Music Tuesdays - Another Love by Tom Odell

Aaron can safely skip this one.

NFL 2012 Week 12: Thanksgiving blackout

I like spending time with friends and family.  I love it.  One of the overwhelming conclusions I have found in various happiness research studies is that spending time with friends and family is one the biggest factors in determining personal enjoyment of life.  Don't spend the extra hour at work, go to happy hour with your friends.  So this Thanksgiving I am back in San Diego with my parents and siblings.  There are two grandparents, three parents, two grandkids, five dogs, a cat, and a fetus in one house for the next five days.  It's going to be awesome.

Since we made these plans I have been looking forward to being able to watch the Chargers as the local team.  So of course, the Chargers lose 5 out of their last 6 and generate no local interest and the game is going to be blacked out on Sunday.  There's still another couple days before the announcement, but I already know that it will be blacked out.  Illegal foreign internet feed, here I come!!

Music Tuesdays: Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

I really liked the other Owl City song...the one about fireflies or lightning bugs...what's it called? Oh, Fireflies.  Violet and I also danced to Carly Rae Jepsen's other song, I can't even remember the title.  It's the one the Harvard baseball team covered.

This combination of Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen feels like a total marketing ploy.  I hadn't heard anything by Owl City since their first huge song and Carly Rae Jepsen initially felt like she was totally capable of being a one hit wonder.  So she partners with a known band to make sure she at least gets that second song and Owl City becomes relevant again by partnering with the current hot single before people forget her.  Total marketing ploy...and I love it.

Finally, because I chose this song, you know it's going to be overplayed in about a month.

NFL 2012 Week 11: Regaining hope?

That question mark in the title is definitely necessary.  I don't know when I gave up hope on the Chargers season, but down by three to the Bucs, driving into the red zone to take the lead or settle for a tying field goal, then Rivers throws an interception that gets returned for a touchdown...that's probably where I would start looking.

I was going to analyze team's playoff hopes at the halfway mark...last week.  But the flu got in the way.  So now I get an extra week (plus one actually relevant Thursday night) of games to make my analysis that much more accurate.  After week 4, I eliminated half the league.  Since Indianapolis and Pittsburgh had only played 3 games, I'm going to use that to cop out of eliminating them too quickly.  Right now, the AFC has 6 teams at 6-3 or better and everyone else is at least two games back.  The Texans, Ravens, Patriots, Broncos, Steelers and Colts are all looking pretty good.  My only tiny hope is that there are only six teams in the AFC with a positive point differential, and the Colts aren't one of them.  The Chargers are the sixth team.  The Chargers have a Pythagorean record of a 5.0-4.0 team.  The Colts are 4.1-4.9.  And Miami and Cincinnati are also better than the Colts.  If the Chargers beat the Broncos on Sunday, I'll say the AFC West is still alive, but I really don't expect it.  I think the 4 AFC Division champs have been determined.  The Steelers and Colts lead Miami, Cincinnati and San Diego for the two wild card spots.  Not very bold, but the only change from a month ago was bringing the Colts back into the fold.

In the NFC, I'm dropping Arizona and adding Seattle and Tampa Bay.  Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and NYG are making the playoffs.  Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Minnesota have 5.7,  5.6, 6.2, and 5.4 wins, respectively (Seattle hasn't had their bye yet).

Overall, I'm giving you 6 AFC teams and 10 NFC teams.