I’m in a shitty mood this morning. Of course, it is almost afternoon. This isn’t helping my mood out at all. But none of that matters.

From inside my skull:

I’ve been looking a bit at the new Vista OS. It’s pretty good, of course it ought to be after 5 years or so of development. I have been planning to make some changes to my ’supercomputer.’ Initially, I was thinking of putting some flavor of Ubuntu on it, but now I’m considering Vista. Linux or Vista? There are good reasons for both. I love the whole Open Source thing and the implied geekiness that goes with Linux, but Vista is new and shiny. Plus, sooner or later I’ll be supporting Vista at work, the more familiar I am with the better off I’ll be. At the moment, I’m totally undecided.

I can’t help thinking that we haven’t seen the worst of this Iraqi sitiuation yet.

There are all kinds of playoff implications in todays games. Not only in the NFL but in my Fantasy Football League. So in addition to the Ravens, I’ll be rooting for LT, Jerricho Cotchery and Eli Manning.

Monday Night Football presents me with a unique dilemma Assuming the Ravens win today. If Indy wins, the Ravens clinch the AFC North. If Cincy wins we clinch the Playoffs but not the AFCN. However we will move into Second Place in the overall standings in the AFC. I think I’ll just go with my gut here and root against Cincinattica.

I really need to go backpacking. This mild weather has only made this fact more obvious to me. Spring cannot get here fast enough.

The middle of next week will mark the shortest day of the year. I look forward to it, only so I can start seeing the days get longer again. All this darkness puts a hurting on my psyche.

I hurt my foot while running the other week. Nothing serious, but it does hurt when i put my weight on it. I kept running each day, hoping that it would work itself out. It did not. I believe that my sneakers were the culprit. So I switched shoes, but the pain is still there. And there is nothing more pathetic than seeing a middle aged guy hobbling along in a half run-half limp on the treadmill. I bought some new running shoes this weekend, which in the long run should help. My problem is what to do about the short term. I don’t run on the weekends, so it has had a chance to heal some, but if it still hurts tomorrow, I’ll have to make some choices. Either I just take a week off, I use the Elliptical Machines for a week (which will put less strain on my foot, but causes my knees problems,) or I just keep running. None of those are great options.

Every time I hear about Hilary Clinton getting ready to run for President, it makes me happy. Not for any particular reason, it just feels like a good thing.

I am sick of work. Luckily I’ll get the last week of the year off. Hopefully, I can come back re-charged.

Ok Football time again. I picked 9-5 last week. Miami, Cincinnati, Arizona surprised me, and everyone else last week. My record for the season is still a very respectable 68-34. My picks for week 8:

Sunday, Oct 31, 2004
1:00 PM Detroit (4-2) vs. Dallas (2-4) Lions stay perfect on the Road
1:00 PM Jacksonville (5-2) vs. Houston (3-3) Jags win
1:00 PM Indianapolis (4-2) vs. Kansas City (2-4) Colts O is to much for Chiefs D
1:00 PM New York NYG (4-2) vs. Minnesota (5-1) Vikes win
1:00 PM Cincinnati (2-4) vs. Tennessee (2-5) Titans hold on at home
1:00 PM Green Bay (3-4) vs. Washington (2-4) Redskins win after the Bye
4:15 PM New England (6-0) vs. Pittsburgh (5-1) Pats remain perfect
1:00 PM Arizona (2-4) vs. Buffalo (1-5) Cards win (yes the Bills are this bad)
4:05 PM Carolina (1-5) vs. Seattle (3-3) ‘Hawks win
4:05 PM Atlanta (5-2) vs. Denver (5-2) Broncos bounce back this week
4:15 PM Oakland (2-5) vs. San Diego (4-3) ‘Bolts (Chargers) win
1:00 PM Baltimore (4-2) vs. Philadelphia (6-0) Ravens win (yes you can just call me homer)
8:30 PM San Francisco (1-5) vs. Chicago (1-5) Bears win (some one has to win right?)
Monday, Nov 1, 2004
9:00 PM Miami (1-6) vs. New York NYJ (5-1) J-E-T-S win

My fantasy team, The Charm City Bruisers (3-4), lost again last week. By two points. If only Terry Glenn had completed the pass into the endzone. Bulger is on bye this week so we will hold our breath and go with the rookie, Carson Palmer. Luckily we are facing the Happy Horses (2-5) so we may have a chance.

Last week I was 10-4 on my picks, not too shabby if I do say so
myself. My total for the season is up to 47-27. My fantasy team, as
predicted, was crushed. The Ravens pulled out a win Sunday night, but
it was ugly. Defense and Special Teams played well but there was no
Offense. And the calls for Boller to be benched have begun in
Baltimore, along with the perennial call for Matt Cavanaugh’s job
(Raven’s Offensive Coordinator.)

This weeks picks are as follows:

Sunday, Oct 17, 2004
1:00 PM Washington (1-4) vs. Chicago (1-3) ‘Skins gets healthy
against the ailing Bears
1:00 PM Houston (2-3) vs. Tennessee (2-3) Titans win
1:00 PM Cincinnati (1-3) vs. Cleveland (2-3) Browns win
1:00 PM Green Bay (1-4) vs. Detroit (3-1) Loins win
1:00 PM Kansas City (1-3) vs. Jacksonville (3-2) Jags keep it rollin’
1:00 PM Seattle (3-1) vs. New England (4-0) Pats remain perfect
1:00 PM San Francisco (1-4) vs. New York NYJ (4-0) J-E-T-S win (I
love this Team)
1:00 PM Carolina (1-3) vs. Philadelphia (4-0) Iggles pay it back to
Panthers for NFC Championship Humiliation
1:00 PM San Diego (3-2) vs. Atlanta (4-1) Falcons win
1:00 PM Miami (0-5) vs. Buffalo (0-4) One of these teams is going to
have to win, but it won’t be the Fish
4:15 PM Denver (4-1) vs. Oakland (2-3) Broncos win in the Black Hole
4:15 PM Pittsburgh (4-1) vs. Dallas (2-2) Steelers win
8:30 PM Minnesota (3-1) vs.New Orleans (2-3) Vikes win
Monday, Oct 18, 2004
9:00 PM Tampa Bay (1-4) vs. St. Louis (3-2) Rams win

I’m feeling pretty good about the Charm City Bruisers (my fantasy
team) this week we are up against the Happy Lemons and I think we are
pretty evenly matched, so we’ll see. The Ravens are taking a week off
and it could not have come at better time. We’ll see how I did next
week.

Picks for Week 5:

Sunday, Oct 10, 2004
1:00 PM New York NYG (3-1) vs. Dallas (2-1) New York Football Giants win
1:00 PM Minnesota (2-1) vs. Houston (2-2) Vikes have it
1:00 PM Oakland (2-2) vs. Indianapolis (3-1) Colts win
1:00 PM Tampa Bay (0-4) vs. New Orleans (2-2) Saints win
1:00 PM Cleveland (2-2) vs. Pittsburgh (3-1) Steelers win
1:00 PM Miami (0-4) vs. New England (3-0) Pats won’t end their winning streak on the awful Dolphins
1:00 PM Detroit (2-1) vs. Atlanta (4-0) Falcons win
4:05 PM Jacksonville (3-1) vs. San Diego (2-2) Jags win
4:05 PM Buffalo (0-3) vs. New York NYJ (3-0) J-E-T-S Win
4:15 PM Arizona (1-3) vs. San Francisco (0-4) I’ll pick the ‘9ers but a Cards upset would not really surprise me.
4:15 PM St. Louis (2-2) vs. Seattle (3-0) ‘Hawks win
4:15 PM Carolina (1-2) vs. Denver (3-1) Broncos win at Mile High
8:30 PM Baltimore (2-2) vs. Washington (1-3) Ravens bounce back after being embarrassed on MNF (I hope)
Monday, Oct 11, 2004
9:00 PM Tennessee (1-3) vs. Green Bay (1-3) The Pack wins

My Fantasy team is due for a loss. Extreme luck has got me this far with a 3-1 record, but my luck has likely run out. I’m up against the 3-1 Vegas Vikings. With Peyton Manning, Joe Horn and Edgerrin James on his team, it will take more than luck to win this one. That’s why I made a blockbuster trade. I traded Reggie Wayne and two lesser Wide Receivers for the apparently ageless Curtis Martin. I am hoping that will give me a boost. We’ll find out tomorrow.

It was an ugly week of football to be sure. My picks were only 50% right this week (7-7,) bringing my record for the season to 37-23. My fantasy team somehow managed to win. But it was a bittersweet victory, if the Baltimore Ravens Defense wasn’t so average the Mini-Drews wouldn’t have had any trouble winning.
As for the Ravens, I hope Billick has them better prepared for the ‘Skins. I can’t handle getting embarrassed on National TV two weeks in a row.

Here are the Picks. This week I’m call for a road show. I expect 10 teams to win on the road. A difficult task in the NFL. Here’s how it breaks down:

Sunday, Oct 3, 2004
1:00 PM New York NYG (2-1) vs. Green Bay (1-2) Packers Win
1:00 PM Oakland (2-1) vs. Houston (1-2) Raiders win with Collins at the helm
1:00 PM Philadelphia (3-0) vs. Chicago (1-2) The Iggles won’t lose at Chi-Town
1:00 PM Washington (1-2) vs. Cleveland (1-2) ‘Skin get healthy against a dysfunctional Browns team
1:00 PM Indianapolis (2-1) vs. Jacksonville (3-0) Colts show up over-achieving Jags
1:00 PM Cincinnati (1-2) vs. Pittsburgh (2-1) Steelers win at home
1:00 PM New England (2-0) vs. Buffalo (0-2) Pats remain perfect
4:05 PM New Orleans (2-1) vs. Arizona (0-3) Saints beat up on Cards
4:05 PM Atlanta (3-0) vs. Carolina (1-1) Vick and the Falcons win this one
4:15 PM Tennessee (1-2) vs. San Diego (1-2) McNair couldn’t be hurt enough not to win this one
4:15 PM New York NYJ (2-0) vs. Miami (0-3) J-E-T-S are on a roll they won’t stop yet
4:15 PM Denver (2-1) vs. Tampa Bay (0-3) Broncos run all over the Bucs
8:30 PM St. Louis (1-2) vs. San Francisco (0-3) 9ers upset the Rams
Monday, Oct 4, 2004
9:00 PM Kansas City (0-3) vs. Baltimore (2-1) Ravens D stops explosive Chiefs Offense

My fantasy team is in trouble. We have a stiff match up against the Mini-Drews. If Clinton Portis doesn’t step it up, we could find ourselves at a 2-2 record. The Mini-Drews are throwing T.O., Warrick Dunn, and the Baltimore D at us. The Bruisers are putting up such studs as Justin Griffith at RB and Randy Hymes at WR. It doesn’t look good, but we will just have to see how it plays out.

My picks for Week 3 were a respectable 10-4, bring the total for the season up to 30-16. KC’s inability to win is the biggest surprise to me. And honestly, with their lack of defense, I think they run a very good chance of going 0-4 after playing the Ravens next Monday.

My fantasy Team squeaked out another win, bring their record up to a winning 2-1. The difference was Terry Glenn’s TD. Thrown to him by fullback Ritchie Anderson. I love plays like that.

Finally, the Ravens looked good this weekend, even with several starters out. Kyle Boller played smart and managed the game well, but he will have to spend some time with running backs coach if want to keep scrambling like that. He needs to learn how to carry the ball and avoid those costly fumbles. Jamal Lewis was back with vengeance and the defense was solid. If the team continues to play this well, there are few teams in the league who can beat them.

Another Week, another Round Of NFL Picks.

Sunday, Sep 26, 2004
1:00 PM Houston (0-2) vs. Kansas City (0-2) The Chiefs Out Shoot the Texans
1:00 PM Chicago (1-1) vs. Minnesota (1-1) The Vikes Handle Da Bears
1:00 PM New Orleans (1-1) vs. St. Louis (1-1) Rams Exploit the Saints
1:00 PM Jacksonville (2-0) vs. Tennessee (1-1) Titans bounce back this week
1:00 PM Cleveland (1-1) vs. New York NYG (1-1) NY Football Giants win
1:00 PM Pittsburgh (1-1) vs. Miami (0-2) Steelers get their shot at a screwed up Miami Franchise — Steelers Win
1:00 PM Arizona (0-2) vs. Atlanta (2-0) Mike Vick and the Falcons beat up on the Cards
1:00 PM Baltimore (1-1) vs. Cincinnati (1-1) Ravens D welcomes Carson Palmer to the NFL - Ravens win
1:00 PM Philadelphia (2-0) vs. Detroit (2-0) I’m Picking Philly but the Lions are looking good
4:05 PM San Diego (1-1) vs. Denver (1-1) Broncos have no problem beat the Bolts
4:15 PM San Francisco (0-2) vs. Seattle (2-0) ‘hawks beat 9ers
4:15 PM Green Bay (1-1) vs. Indianapolis (1-1) Talk about a tough way to start the season … but the Colts win their Home Opener (hopefully on the legs on Dominic Rhodes)
8:30 PM Tampa Bay (0-2) vs. Oakland (1-1) Oakland gets to Pay Gruden Back for Super Bowls Humiliation-Raiders win
Monday, Sep 27, 2004
9:00 PM Dallas (1-1) vs. Washington (1-1) ‘Skins Wins (this one will be ugly)

On the fantasy front, my Charm City Bruiser (1-1) face the Hope Village Heros (2-0). I still have Running back problems, but I’ve gambled on Dominic Rhodes. He’s been very active this season anyhow and with the Edge being a little gimpy I’m hoping he gets even more carries this weekend. I’ve dumped Dallas as my defense and picked up Detroit. Currently they are the number 1 ranked D. Who knew? Also it helps a lot that the owner of the Hope Village Heros seems to have an interesting strategy for dealing with bye weeks. He leaves the guys in. Instead of try to rotate guys on and off the bench and chancing putting guys on waiver to make room, he just takes his lumps. The good news is all three of his Wide Receivers are on bye. Which is fine by me, I need all the help I can get to win.

My fantasy team, The Charm City Bruisers, won 54-50 this week. Bringing our record up to 1 and 1. My picks were also more successful this week; I got 11 right. For the Season I am 20 -12, which is respectable. Heck, it’s better than all of the experts over CBS Sportsline.

We are on the eve of week 2 in the NFL which means another week of fantasy football and more picks.

First with the picks:

Sunday, Sep 19, 2004
Cleveland (1-0) vs. Dallas (0-1) Cowboys Win
Chicago (0-1) vs. Green Bay (1-0) The Packers own the Bears and they win again tomorrow
Carolina (0-1) vs. Kansas City (0-1) The Chiefs win at home
San Francisco (0-1) vs. New Orleans (0-1) Saints Win
Washington (1-0) vs. New York NYG (0-1) Clinton Portis is the difference - Skins win
Denver (1-0) vs. Jacksonville (1-0) Broncos win
Houston (0-1) vs. Detroit (1-0) Lions win
St. Louis (1-0) vs. Atlanta (1-0) Mike Vick and the falcons win
Pittsburgh (1-0) vs. Baltimore (0-1) Ravens D at Home is too much for Duce and the Steelers
Seattle (1-0) vs. Tampa Bay (0-1) ‘Hawks win it (especially if Shaun Alexander is healthy)
New England (1-0) vs. Arizona (0-1) The Pats haven’t lost since week 4- 2003 season, they will not change their winning ways in Arizona
Buffalo (0-1) vs. Oakland (0-1) Raiders win
New York NYJ (1-0) vs. San Diego (1-0) J-E-T-S win
Indianapolis (0-1) vs. Tennessee (1-0) Colts win this week
Miami (0-1) vs. Cincinnati (0-1) The Bengals win
Monday, Sep 20, 2004
Minnesota (1-0) vs. Philadelphia (1-0) Vikings win in a shoot out — I’ll see your TO and raise you one Randy Moss

My fantasy team has had a rough week. First Charles Rogers is out for the season. We brought in Tai Streets as free agent. He should step up for Lions to take Roger’s place and he and the Mooch have history. If he doesn’t cut it I still have Terry Glenn and Marcus Robinson on the bench. They both looked good in week 1 but I need to see more before I make either of those guys starters. Then at the last minute I found out that Stephen Davis needs knee surgery. I cut the bum. Neither of my bench warmers, Willis McGahee or William Green, are ready for primetime. So I had no choice to bring a veteran and hope he can hold up. Who to pick? None other than old Catch-22 Emmitt Smith. I have to admit that I’m not feeling very confident having to make this many adjustments this early in the season. This we face the Rented Mules led by Daunte Culpepper this week. It could be a long day tomorrow and an even longer Monday Night.

Not a good football weekend at all. The Charm City Bruisers were defeated 51-47 by RestoreTheRoarin04. The season ending injury to Charles Rogers might have been the difference. As for my picks I got 9 right. Not setting the world on fire but we’ll see how the season shapes up.

We just finished our fantasy draft. I did pretty good considering that we have 12 players this year.
The Starting Line-up looks like this:

QB Marc Bulger
RB Clinton Portis
RB Stephen Davis
WR Chad Johnson
WR Charles Rogers
WR Reggie Wayne
TE Alge Crumpler
K Josh Brown
DEF Dallas

Not exciting, I know. But my running game should be solid. And Running Backs win fantasy football. I pledge (or threaten depending on your opinion) to keep you updated on the progress of my fantasy team: the Charm City Bruisers. Unless of course, I really start to suck then I might find something better to blog about.