Just Under the Wire

Another set of last-minute picks from me!

Thursday
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland - no pick (Arrrgh, Thursday games!)

Sunday
New Orleans @ Atlanta
Green Bay @ Chicago
Denver @ Indianapolis
Buffalo @ Kansas City
NY Jets @ Tampa Bay
Miami @ Jacksonville
Detroit @ Baltimore
Seattle @ Houston
Cincinnati @ Minnesota
Carolina @ New England
St. Louis @ Tennessee
Washington @ Oakland
San Diego @ Dallas
Philadelphia @ NY Giants

Monday Night
Arizona @ San Francisco
Combined MNF Score = 42

Good luck to everyone.

A (Turkey) Wing and A Prayer

Oy, again with the Thursday games! Thanks to Greis, I'm getting my picks in just under the wire. Usually I do a lot more thinking and researching, but since I don't have the time, I'm going with pure gut this time. Here's hoping!

Thursday
Green Bay @ Detroit
Oakland @ Dallas
NY Giants @ Denver

Sunday
Indianapolis @ Houston
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
Miami @ Buffalo
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Seattle @ St. Louis
Carolina @ NY Jets
Washington @ Philadelphia
Arizona @ Tennessee
Chicago @ Minnesota
Kansas City @ San Diego
Jacksonville @ San Francisco
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore

Monday Night
New England @ New Orleans
Combined MNF Score = 42

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I hope it's a filling, fulfilling and sweet one!

Better Late Than Never

My picks. Yes, I'm late so I don't have one for the game on Thursday. I just couldn't get it together on Wednesday and I couldn't talk myself into caring. This season isn't really engaging me, I must say.

But I do wish everyone good luck and hope that I'm wrong on my pick against San Francisco.

Thursday Night
Miami @ Carolina - no pick

Pittsburgh @ Kansas City
Cleveland @ Detroit
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay
Atlanta @ NY Giants
Buffalo @ Jacksonville
Washington @ Dallas
Seattle @ Minnesota
San Francisco @ Green Bay
Indianapolis @ Baltimore
Arizona @ St. Louis
NY Jets @ New England
San Diego @ Denver
Cincinnati @ Oakland
Philadelphia @ Chicago

Monday Night
Tennessee @ Houston
Combined MNF Score = 49

Premature Prognostication

So. We're back at that point in the season when they start showing games on Thursday. I don't really get why they do that, to be honest; It's more annoying (to me) than anything. But surprisingly, the NFL hasn't asked for my opinion on the matter!

Last week my friend Heather won her first week, which was great, and my friend Kathy narrowly missed winning her first week! (Shakes fist at Denver) It's been a lot of fun and great competition this season.

Thanks to Greis reminding me, I'm getting my picks in even though it feels entirely too early:

Thursday Night
Chicago @ San Francisco
Atlanta @ Carolina
Tampa Bay @ Miami
Detroit @ Minnesota
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh
Buffalo @ Tennessee
Denver @ Washington
New Orleans @ St. Louis
Jacksonville @ NY Jets
Kansas City @ Oakland
Seattle @ Arizona
Dallas @ Green Bay
Philadelphia @ San Diego
New England @ Indianapolis

Monday Night
Baltimore @ Cleveland
Combined MNF Score = 40

A Little Pride, A Little Crow

Last week was a good one for me in the BFL! I tied for the win with the charming Tom and earned this badge:



(Or at least half of it!)

There are some awesome prognosticators playing this season, so I don't feel terribly hopeful that I'll repeat this week, even though I feel good about my choices. But good luck to everyone playing and many thanks to Greis for continuing to do such a great job in organizing it all!

Houston @ Indianapolis
Washington @ Atlanta
Arizona @ Chicago
Baltimore @ Cincinnati
Miami @ New England
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Kansas City @ Jacksonville
Detroit @ Seattle
Carolina @ New Orleans
San Diego @ NY Giants
Tennessee @ San Francisco
Dallas @ Philadelphia

Monday Night Football
Pittsburgh @ Denver
Combined MNF Score = 51

Really no point in continuing with the recipes, so I guess I give up. If someone is actually reading and enjoying them, if would be helpful if you let me know. I realize it's my own fault for such spotting posting over the last few months, however.

Pick(s) and Treat

Happy Halloween! I'm not sure if me posting tonight should be considered a trick or a treat...since it's just my BFL picks, I'm going to lean toward trick. But I'm going to do it in seasonal orange, so that's something.

Houston @ Buffalo
Cleveland @ Chicago
Seattle @ Dallas
St. Louis @ Detroit
San Francisco @ Indianapolis
Miami @ NY Jets
Denver @ Baltimore
NY Giants @ Philadelphia
Minnesota @ Green Bay
Oakland @ San Diego
Jacksonville @ Tennessee
Carolina @ Arizona

Monday Night Football
Atlanta @ New Orleans
Combined MNF Score = 67

As the treat, a recipe for Pumpkin Muffins with Honey Butter from Eat Drink and Blog.

Hope you got lots of little goblins and ghouls in your neighborhood tonight!

Back on Track

So last week I completely screwed up and forgot to make my picks! However, Tom and Vince did so well that it would've been pointless in any case. (It's my rationalization and I'll stick to it if I want to.) It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't helpfully provided a reminder to others about making picks! Chagrined, yes.

But this week I'm on top of it. I still think the Tom/Vince juggernaut is going to be hard to beat, but hey, you never know. So here are my picks for this week, in bold and color.

Minnesota @ Pittsburgh
San Francisco @ Houston
San Diego @ Kansas City
Green Bay @ Cleveland
Indianapolis @ St. Louis
New England @ Tampa Bay
Buffalo @ Carolina
NY Jets @ Oakland
Atlanta @ Dallas
Chicago @ Cincinnati
New Orleans @ Miami
Arizona @ NY Giants

Monday Night
Philadelphia @ Washington
Combined MNF Score = 40

This week's recipe from Eat Drink and Blog is Orzo Italiano. I love orzo and think it's pretty underutilized. So if you're looking pasta that's a little different from the everyday, consider giving it a try. This recipe is simple and sounds delicious.

Quick But Tasty Picks

Here are my picks for this week's BFL extravaganza:

Cleveland @ Buffalo
Pittsburgh @ Detroit
Dallas @ Kansas City
Minnesota @ St. Louis
Oakland @ NY Giants
Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia
Washington @ Carolina
Cincinnati @ Baltimore
Atlanta @ San Francisco
Jacksonville @ Seattle
Houston @ Arizona
New England @ Denver
Indianapolis @ Tennessee

Monday Night:
NY Jets @ Miami
Combined MNF Score = 37

(EDIT: Forgot to mention that my picks are in bold and gold again.)

And even though I don't think anyone particularly cares whether or not I include a recipe -- given the complete lack of feedback on the ones I've posted thus far -- I'm going to go with The Best Cookie Ever because it's easy, yummy-sounding and contains a perfect amount of chocolate. I plan to comfort myself with it while losing yet another week's worth of picks.

Good luck to all the other participants this week!

Another Week In Football

So far I'm really not doing well with my BFL picks. But last week I (and almost everyone else) was beaten to a pulp by Vince so I really didn't have a prayer! Congrats to him for a big win.

The only thing I'm going to do different this week, however, is change the color of my picks. Yes, it's girly but I've got nothing.

Tampa Bay @ Washington
NY Giants @ Kansas City
Cincinnati @ Cleveland
Oakland @ Houston
Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Seattle @ Indianapolis
Detroit @ Chicago
Baltimore @ New England
Buffalo @ Miami
NY Jets @ New Orleans
St. Louis @ San Francisco
Dallas @ Denver
San Diego @ Pittsburgh

Monday Night:
Green Bay @ Minnesota
Combined MNF Score = 45

And for the Eat Drink & Blog recipe this week, let's go with Sour Cream Banana Bread because so far this football pool has been somewhat bananas for me. And really, is there anything more yummy than banana bread with chocolate chips in it?

(That last question is called foreshadowing, by the way...if I get around to writing the next post I have in my head, that is.)

Looking for a Win

I did respectably well with last week's BFL picks, but the big winner was Radio Carla. There were upsets, just not the ones I guessed! Congrats to Carla and thanks to all the other participants for a fun first week.

This week I am in charge of the spreadsheet while Amazing Greis is off on her long-awaited cruise. I guess this means I have to pay more attention than I did last Sunday. The whole day went by and I didn't see a minute of a single game, except in highlights. I will ask for your patience on any intra-day updating as I'm not sure I'll be home all day; it's supposed to be close to 100 degrees here tomorrow and there's no air conditioning in this place. If it gets too hot, I will be heading out!

Don't forget that this is a week-by-week pool. You can jump in and out at your leisure -- there's no penalty for missing a week, apart from just not being able to win that week! So if you've been on the sidelines because you don't want to commit to it, worry not and join us at any time. All the rules (and there aren't many) are at Greis' site.

Before I get to my picks, this week's recipe pick from Eat Drink & Blog is "Freaking Delicious Orange Rolls." I think these would be great for an early Sunday game and I look forward to trying them. (If any of you actually ever make any of these, it would be fantastic if you'd let us know!)

My Week 3 Picks, in bold and gold once more:

Washington @ Detroit
Green Bay @ St. Louis
San Francisco @ Minnesota
Atlanta @ New England
Tennessee @ NY Jets
Kansas City @ Philadelphia
NY Giants @ Tampa Bay
Cleveland @ Baltimore
Jacksonville @ Houston
Chicago @ Seattle
New Orleans @ Buffalo
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
Denver @ Oakland
Miami @ San Diego
Indianapolis @ Arizona

Monday Night:
Carolina @ Dallas
Combined MNF Score = 50

Good luck everyone!

It's baaack!

I didn't really intend for my first post in my "new" life to be a bunch of football picks, but sometimes life just surprises you and you just have to roll with it.

My last day at work was September 9th, and I keep meaning to come here and write about it but thus far the spirit hasn't moved me. The NFL waits for no woman, however, and the BFL has woken from its summery slumber to provide us with more fun for this season. This year the hosting is kindly being provided by Amazing Greis; I'll go there to link up and poke fun at my competition as soon as I finish this. There are some new participants this year and I think it will be a lot of fun.

Last year I tried to present a new recipe for many of the weeks of the season, to help with your tailgating and game day food needs. This year, the work has been taken out of it for me with the introduction of Eat, Drink & Blog! There are great recipes over there, so instead I'll point you in the direction of a good one over there with my picks. This week's is "Those Potatoes," which sound pretty much like heaven in a dish to me. The only thing that would make it better is bacon; I think I'll add that when I make it.

Here are my (winning!) picks for Week 2, in bold and gold:

Carolina @ Atlanta
Minnesota @ Detroit
Cincinnati @ Green Bay
Houston @ Tennessee
Oakland @ Kansas City
New England @ NY Jets
New Orleans @ Philadelphia
St. Louis @ Washington
Arizona @ Jacksonville
Seattle @ San Francisco
Tampa Bay @ Buffalo
Pittsburgh @ Chicago
Baltimore @ San Diego
Cleveland @ Denver
NY Giants @ Dallas

Monday Night:
Indianapolis @ Miami
Combined MNF Score = 38

It's not too late for you to join in if you're interested. We take it week by week and you can jump in at any time; football knowledge is not actually required. Hope to see you on the virtual gridiron!

One More for the Road...or Home

Last week I took a break from the BFL because it was just too hectic to get my picks done in time for the Thursday night game. Because I didn't post my picks, I didn't have the chance to share with you that I was the Week 15 MVP. And because things were also hectic for Ms. Amy, I don't have a badge to put up for you, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The Week 16 MVP was Instamom (and she's welcome, since my not participating practically, you know, handed the win to her). I believe that may make us tied for the most number of wins this season so this last week in the season is important to establish an über-MVP. Or not, if we both tank, I suppose. Anyway, here they are, one last time:

St. Louis @ Atlanta
New England @ Buffalo
Kansas City @ Cincinnati
Chicago @ Houston
NY Giants @ Minnesota
Carolina @ New Orleans
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh
Oakland @ Tampa Bay
Tennessee @ Indianapolis
Detroit @ Green Bay
Jacksonville @ Baltimore
Seattle @ Arizona
Washington @ San Francisco
Miami @ NY Jets
Dallas @ Philadelphia

Sunday Night Football
Denver @ San Diego
Total score tiebreaker: 42

I've also missed a couple weeks of game-day recipes, but I've got one for this week.

(photo by: Romulo Yanes for Gourmet at epicurious.com)

This Spinach and Cheese Strata is something I added to my Epicurious recipe box more than a year ago and haven't made yet. What I like about this is that it's simple, it will feed a number of people and you have to make it ahead of time, so then you can just stick it in the oven on game day at the end of the first quarter or so. I would probably make a few changes to it -- by using broccoli instead of spinach (because a certain brother doesn't care for spinach much) and adding some bacon (because, well, why wouldn't you?) -- as I see in the reviews that other people successfully altered the recipe to suit their tastes. Enjoy if you give it a try!

This Still Throws Me Every Time

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Thursday came upon me WAY too quickly this week. Again. No time for much in the way of pleasantries, here are my picks (in mint green, in honor of finally meeting Kirsten of The Norwindians this week!):

New Orleans @ Chicago
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
Washington @ Cincinnati
Tennessee @ Houston
Green Bay @ Jacksonville
San Francisco @ Miami
Seattle @ St. Louis
Buffalo @ NY Jets
San Diego @ Kansas City
Detroit @ Indianapolis
Minnesota @ Arizona
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore
Denver @ Carolina
New England @ Oakland
NY Giants @ Dallas

Monday Night Football
Cleveland @ Philadelphia
Total score tiebreaker: 38

Please come back, MVP badge, we miss you around here!

And To Think, I Used To Like Thursdays

Time certainly does fly, doesn't it? It flies just like a wing-footed wide receiver on a tear for the end zone. How's that for a sports metaphor, huh? Like a flash, we're back to Thursday, yet again, and I'm all a'dither because it's time for picks already.

It occurred to me sometime this week that I was in such a rush to post my picks last Thursday (Thanks again, NFL network!) that I completely forgot to include a recipe to make for enjoying during the games. Not that I have been at all successful in making either of the ones I have included, once Sunday rolled around -- something always seems to interfere with those best-laid plans.

But I am undaunted! This week's recipe is...going to come in another post because I have simply run out of time to find the one I want to use. Don't like it? Register your complaints here; it's their fault after all.

And on to my picks. Last week's late games were a complete and utter disaster for me, so I'm hoping for a better result this week.

Oakland @ San Diego
Jacksonville @ Chicago
Minnesota @ Detroit
Cincinnati @ Indianapolis
Philadelphia @ NY Giants
Cleveland @ Tennessee
Atlanta @ New Orleans
Houston @ Green Bay
Miami @ Buffalo
NY Jets @ San Francisco
New England @ Seattle
Kansas City @ Denver
St. Louis @ Arizona
Dallas @ Pittsburgh
Washington @ Baltimore

Monday Night Football
Tampa Bay @ Carolina
Total score tiebreaker: 43

You want to join in? Too bad. I don't want you to. Don't make your own picks. Don't go to Instamom's site. Don't link up your blog and leave a comment. And don't, whatever you do, go see the wonderful spreadsheet that the equally wonderful AmyInOhio makes for us each week to track the games. Don't even think about it. Do it and I'll have that wing-footed wide receiver leave cleat marks up your back.

Fowl Weather for Football

Hey! What do you know, another week with Thursday games! Quelle surprise. But it looks like Thursday games are here to stay (Thanks, NFL network!) so I need to work on not whining about it...even though it messes. everything. up.

If I can't whine about that, I can whine about not seeing the MVP badge around here for a number of weeks. I'm hoping for a Thanksgiving bounce to turn that around. So here are my cornbread-colored picks for Week 13, which will hopefully be lucky 13 for me.

Tennessee @ Detroit
Seattle @ Dallas
Arizona @ Philadelphia
San Francisco @ Buffalo
Baltimore @ Cincinnati
Indianapolis @ Cleveland
Carolina @ Green Bay
Miami @ St. Louis
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay
NY Giants @ Washington
Atlanta @ San Diego
Denver @ NY Jets
Pittsburgh @ New England
Kansas City @ Oakland
Chicago @ Minnesota

Monday Night Football
Jacksonville @ Houston
Total score tiebreaker: 49

Here is where I'd usually tell you all about how to participate if you're a blogger and you want to join in, blah blah blah. But, really, if you haven't gotten in to it by this point, you're just not going to do it. If you really want to, just to prove me wrong, you're more than capable of scrolling down to the ten or so other times I've given all the info. (I happen to know that the Commish is out of commission for at least a week, so she won't be around to complain about me skipping this part! Otherwise I might not be so brave. She's scary when she puts her Commish hat on, you know.)

Did Anyone See Where I Left My McBratty Pants?

So, the Commish was ON FIRE last week and picked every single game with a winner correctly; the crazy tie was a non-issue in any case because we all picked Philly to win. In doing so, she became the first BFLer to win two weeks in a row. I don't think I need to tell you how fishy it is that the person in charge of this loose assemblage of bloggy football goodness managed to nab back-to-back badges, do I? Mmm-hmm, didn't think so.

Now, sadly, she's been laid low by nasty Mr. Flu, which leaves me unable to trash talk her chances this week. That sucks almost as much as not coming close to winning these last two weeks, but far less than actually having the flu, so I forgive her and want her to feel better. Because almost everyone I know always says that when they're sick all they want is soup, this week's game day recipe is: soup!

This will probably be one-time thing because, unlike 99% of the world (apparently), I don't really like soup very much. There are some exceptions, and this recipe from our local paper is one of them -- it's quick, hearty but not heavy, doesn't have tons of ingredients and is perfect for autumn. It could, however, use a new title; "Squash Soup with Sausage" really doesn't sing. Clearly the author of the recipe was all out of naming imagination that day. I'm going to go with "Sack 'em, Squash 'em Soup."

I didn't actually make this one, I have to admit -- my mom did. Her improvisational improvement was to add some little meatballs (browned before being added) since we had some ground beef handy. Personally, I liked the meatballs better than the sausage and I could see doing it with one or the other or both like she did. If you try it and like it, I hope you'll let us all know. I'm going to try to make a batch this weekend, probably with just meatballs and with a little less thyme (the flavor of the thyme got a bit more intense than I would have liked after a while, but that could have been because she used dried thyme instead of fresh -- your results may vary).

So, what teams will I be rooting on while I slurp my soup?

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh
Philadelphia @ Baltimore
Houston @ Cleveland
Tampa Bay @ Detroit
Buffalo @ Kansas City
Chicago @ St. Louis
NY Jets @ Tennessee
New England @ Miami
Minnesota @ Jacksonville
San Francisco @ Dallas
Oakland @ Denver
Carolina @ Atlanta
NY Giants @ Arizona
Washington @ Seattle
Indianapolis @ San Diego

Monday Night Football
Green Bay @ New Orleans
Total score tiebreaker: 50

Note to the NFL: The Thursday night game thing is getting annoying. Please reconsider.

If you want to participate, go see The Commish, follow her instructions, link yourself up and help us try again to take the winner's badge away from her this week. If you can't do it before tonight's game, just do it before Sunday's games start and you'll just be one game down... just like probably more than half of us will be for picking wrong tonight.

Recipe for Success

What goes better together than football and food? I mean, what else is there to do while watching 200-300 pound men running up and down a field for a few hours than eat?

I think it's time to get a head start on prepping and fine-tuning your menu for the big game in January. We try to rush everything else in this country, why not get ready now for a few hours in February? The inauguration will be over so we'll need something else to obsess over.

So for the rest of the season (or as long as I feel like doing it, we'll see) when I make my picks I'm going to link to a recipe I've found to share. You can begin delighting your friends and family right away, and you'll have them perfected by the time the Super Bowl lands in Tampa Bay. Really, there's nothing worse than trying to bust out a new recipe under the pressure of cleaning the house and expecting hungry hoards to land on your doorstep. Practice now, reap the praise later.

Depending on how late I end up sleeping in on Sunday (Two notes: 1. I have no kids, I can sleep in as much as I want, and 2. I'm in CA so the games start a tad earlier here than for much of the country), I may or may not make the recipes myself that day but that will be the "goal." Ha!

This week's recipe, from the recently completed 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off, wasn't a winner in the contest but sounds pretty good to me: Breakfast Quiches to Go. I don't think they're particularly breakfast-y but are simple to make and would be a good game snack. Just call them something else so you don't have to endure any stupid "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" cracks. Like here I'll call them "Niner Nuggets" or something; Amy could call hers "Bengal Bundles" and Insta-mom (this past week's MVP!) could call hers "Chargers Cups" -- you get the point.

OK, so here are my picks. They look delicious in that lovely shrimp color, don't they?

NY Jets @ New England
Denver @ Atlanta
Detroit @ Carolina
Minnesota @ Tampa Bay
Baltimore @ NY Giants
Oakland @ Miami
New Orleans @ Kansas City
Philadelphia @ Cincinnati
Chicago @ Green Bay
Houston @ Indianapolis
St. Louis @ San Francisco
Arizona @ Seattle
Tennessee @ Jacksonville
San Diego @ Pittsburgh
Dallas @ Washington

Monday Night Football
Cleveland @ Buffalo
Total score tiebreaker: 30

I'm going to assume that if you haven't joined the BFL by now, you're not going to do so. If I'm wrong, go see the Commish, follow her instructions and help us try to take the winner's badge away from her this week. Or if you're going to sit on the sidelines but want to see if I can trounce the competition for the fourth time, check out the nifty spreadsheet throughout the course of the games and see how I'm doing. Just don't get any crumbs from the Niner Nuggets in your keyboard while you do, okay? They're a bitch to get out of there.

Week 10 - Time Flies

Yay! I had a lucky week and made one risky pick that made the difference for me, but it was close and came down to the tie-breaker. I do believe that this makes me the BFLer with the most badges thus far, though if I'm wrong I'm certain that someone will come along to smack me down.

This week has an early game tonight, so even though I practically just got this beauty of a badge up, it's already time for my picks!

In the spirit of bi-partisanship, to celebrate our historic election, I'll make my picks in red AND blue. (Yeah, it's cheesy, but I'm tired of trying to pick a new color that will actually show up so I'm going to run with this.)

Denver @ Cleveland
New Orleans @ Atlanta
Tennessee @ Chicago
Jacksonville @ Detroit
Seattle @ Miami
Green Bay @ Minnesota
Buffalo @ New England
St. Louis @ NY Jets
Baltimore @ Houston
Carolina @ Oakland
Indianapolis @ Pittsburgh
Kansas City @ San Diego
NY Giants @ Philadelphia

Monday Night Football
San Francisco @ Arizona
Total score tiebreaker: 47

Bye week: Cincinnati, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Washington

By now you know the drill; if you want to participate, go see the ever-lovely Instamom and link yourself up. I'll warn you, though, these people are good. We have a near real-time spreadsheet of results and standings (thanks to the equally ever-lovely and ever-competitive Amy), and it's rare for someone to run away with a win -- it's close almost every week.

Standing Up Against Hate

So blogging was light this week, I realize. But the only thing on my mind is the election. Other people have pretty much got the blogging end of this race covered, plus I have other outlets on a daily basis for having election interaction with like-minded people, so I haven't felt compelled to write about it here.

For the Presidential race, that is.

But as important as that is, and believe me, it's bloody freaking as important as anything I've ever voted for...except for voting against Proposition 8 here in California. The idea of the sheer hypocrisy of people voting -- actually going out there and making a conscious choice to cast a vote -- to change our state Constitution in order to TAKE AWAY A RIGHT from another person, based on intolerance, hate or dogma, whichever you chose, makes me almost physically sick.

It is discrimination, no matter what way you slice it, and the fact that my state might actually sanction discrimination leaves me inchoate. Does anyone even remember how as a country we were disgusted by the idea of apartheid? People demonstrated and protested and railed against an unjust treatment of a group of people a half a world away; the idea of that kind of subjugation of black people was simply repugnant. But somehow it's okay to just decide that because some people think being homosexual is "wrong" they have the right to say an entire portion of our population can be subjugated in this way? Who the hell do you think you are? Do you even think through what it is you're saying about yourself? About our country? How can you have that little respect for another human being?

And before you even dare throw around the word "sanctity" or bring up any variation of "it's in the Bible" -- save it. There's such a double standard around every one the religious arguments and I'm not having it. There's plenty of other places for you to share your particular brand of "faith," please go find one. You don't get to decide that only some people are worthy of the love of fellow man that your belief system puts forth.

If you have even a shred of doubt about the negative impact of taking an action like this, I implore you to learn more and vote No on Prop 8 if you live in California. Please. We are better people than that.

Now, as bizarre a transition as this may be, I have to put my picks up for the Blogger Football League. I certainly know that the Commish will understand because she is just as firmly and vocally opposed to Prop 8 as I. (It just took me longer than her to put my thoughts in order to express here.)

This week, no colors; my picks are in all caps. I'm so tired of our country being divided by "color" that I just can't bring myself to do it.

NY Jets @ BUFFALO
Detroit @ CHICAGO
Jacksonville @ CINCINNATI
Baltimore @ CLEVELAND
TAMPA BAY @ Kansas City
Houston @ MINNESOTA
ARIZONA @ St. Louis
Green Bay @ TENNESSEE
MIAMI @ Denver
Dallas @ NY GIANTS
ATLANTA @ Oakland
PHILADELPHIA @ Seattle
NEW ENGLAND @ Indianapolis

Monday Night Football
Pittsburgh @ WASHINGTON
Tiebreaker score: 40

If you have a blog and you want to participate, just make and post your picks, then go visit Insta-mom's site to link up your post before the first game of the week on Sunday. Good luck to all my fellow BFLers.

Football and Fealty

I've figured out my football pool mojo -- I win on even-numbered weeks. This is week 8, so that badge is coming home again this week. This week I'm not going to try to pick a special color, just something that show up decently against all that purple.

Oakland @ Baltimore
Arizona @ Carolina
Tampa Bay @ Dallas
Washington @ Detroit
Buffalo @ Miami
St. Louis @ New England
San Diego @ New Orleans
Kansas City @ NY Jets
Atlanta @ Philadelphia
Cleveland @ Jacksonville
Cincinnati @ Houston
NY Giants @ Pittsburgh
Seattle @ San Francisco

Monday Night Football
Indianapolis @ Tennessee
Total score tiebreaker: 40

Byes: Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, Minnesota

OK, so the picks part is out of the way and it's time for the links part. Last week I got slapped on the wrist from the Commish because I didn't link to her in my picks post. I was tired. I apologize. But I was really tired. This week, I'm not tired and even if I were, I'd still pay my way in the currency of blogs and show the appropriate link love.

So, please, if you are interested in participating, post your picks on your blog, then go visit the one, the only, the amazing INSTA-MOM and join our merry band of football freaks. But really, you should go visit her anyway -- now -- and read every word she has ever written...or at the very least check out her most recent post where she has hot guys from the NFL there for your viewing pleasure. One of the selections is mine. And she chose a HOT picture of him that made my knees sweat just a little. I'm not going to say which one, but if you go visit her to see for yourself -- NOW -- I bet you can figure it out. Ooh, just posting that link singed my fingers, he's that hot. (And, to paraphrase the words of the very fabulous Insta-mom herself, it was hard not to slap myself silly after writing that.)

Let me close by paying obeisance to her right here and now in such a way that she will never, ever again be able to doubt my devotion to her, links or no links.

I - is for the Inspiration, which she provides daily
N - is for Nurturing, a quality she shows even to a fish she didn't want
S - is for San Diego, a place she loves and the team she roots for
T - is for Tolerance, since it's an attitude she embodies
A - is for AllMediocre, because that's where we met
M - is for Males, as she is surrounded by them at home
O - is for Obama, whom we both strongly support
M - is for Mom because, duh, she's a great mom

What's that spell? A great friend whom I'm going to meet eventually. ☺