2009 NFL Playoff Predictions

with one week to go i'm going to put my predictions out there so i can say "i told you so".

I have already made my picks for Week 17, so with that i can figure out who will be in the playoffs (the AFC is really confusing, but i tried my best to figure out the scenarios based on ESPN's playoff breakdown, so hopefully i'm right).

NFC

1. Minnesota
2. New Orleans
3. Philadelphia
4. Arizona
5. Green Bay
6. Dallas

Dallas @ Philly = Philadelphia
Green Bay @ Arizona = Arizona (i'll be rooting for GB though)

Arizona @ Minnesota = Arizona
Philly @ New Orleans = Philadelphia

Arizona @ Philly = Philadelphia (if this game is in Arizona i think i might still take Philly)

so the NFC representative in the Super Bowl is Philadelphia


AFC

1. Indy
2. San Diego
3. New England
4. Cincy
5. Baltimore
6. Pittsburgh

Pitt @ New England = New England (great game!)
Baltimore @ Cincy = Cincy

Cincy @ San Diego = San Diego
New England @ Indy = Indy

San Diego @ Indy = Indy

AFC representative is Indianapolis


Superbowl is Indianapolis vs Philadelphia with Indianapolis taking it all!

just my opinion but i think it'll be pretty close to this!

Tedy Bruschi is an Idiot

In case you missed it (and i did don't worry) the Patriots and Colts played on Sunday Night Football this past weekend. This is the best rivalry in football for the last 10 years, the teams have essentially split the series, playing each other at least once a season, they've both won Super Bowls and MVPs, and they're both playing great football again this season. Sunday night's match up was no different, the undefeated Colts hosting the streaking Patriots.

I watched this game, as a big fan of the Colts, until 6 minutes to go in the game, Manning just threw another interception and the Patriots jumped up to a 17 point lead. NBC showed a stat that the largest 4th-quarter deficit that Manning had overcome was 14 points, so i'm thinking that 17 points by the dominate New England Patriots would be too much.

i was wrong.

Apparently (since i read about it the next day), Manning and the Colts decided to get serious and with cool efficiency brought the team back within reach. The Colts score a TD with 2:23 to go in the game, down 28-34. The Patriots then get the ball back and fail to kill much clock time, leaving them with 4th down and 2, with 2:02 to go in the game on their own 28 yard line. At this point the Colts have scored 21 points in the last 17:00 of the game, so New England coach Bill Belichick decides to go for it, 2 yards, Tom Brady / Wes Welker / Randy Moss, instead of punting and giving Peyton Manning / Reggie Wayne / Dallas Clark a whole 2:00 to move down the field, again, and score the winning TD. His decision was right, although they didn't get 2 yards, and gave the Colts the ball back with a short field.

You can find more reading than you want about this decision and whatnot, you don't need me to point you to articles (first, try Google!). But one article i wanted to call out was former Patriot and now ESPN sellout Tedy Bruschi's.

Tedy says: "As a former defender on that team, I would've cared less about the result of that fourth-down attempt. The decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil for weeks. Bill Belichick sent a message to his defense. He felt that his chances were better to go for it on his own 28-yard line than to punt it away and make Peyton Manning have to drive the majority of the field to win the game...Sure, Tom Brady and the offense loved the vote of confidence that their head coach was giving them, but the message sent to the defense was loud and clear. It was a message of doubt."

so what you're saying Tedy is that the defense needed another chance? What about the 17 point cushion that the defense was given (by the offense)? All New Englands defense had to do was stop the Colts from scoring 3 touchdowns. not one TD, but 3. The defense knew that Peyton had to throw the ball, the defense knew they could give up field goals but not TDs, and yet the defense failed. Belichick had seen enough and decided 2 yards would be easier than letting the Colts score again. it didn't work out, but i don't think punting to the Colts and giving them 2:00 to operate would have worked either, it wasn't like the defense was stopping them before.

Tedy Bruschi, you're an idiot.

BMer's Midseason Rant

well, the NFL has reached it's midpoint, a time when predictions should be made, so i'll make mine.

I don't want to get too crazy here, but here are a few things that i'm pretty confident will happen the rest of the way. I'm having a terrible Pick'em year, and my 2 fantasy teams aren't doing much better, so maybe i don't have a good pulse on the league this season, but that won't deter me!

1. State of the Browns: Yes it has been a tough start to the season for my Brownies, but i'm not as discouraged as the most of the Brown Backers. Unlike 90% of the sports media out there i actually watch the Browns games, and i've seen a team that was better than Chicago, should have beat Green Bay, and shut down Minnesota until the 4th quarter. The Browns have 8 games left, 5 home and 3 road games. i predict they will go 4-4. They will go 4-4 with Brady Quinn the rest of the way, ending the season 5-11 and essentially saving Eric Mangini's job (and he won't be fired).

2. As for the AFC North, it feels like Cinci is going to win the division, they've already swept the Ravens and this weekend they will beat the Steelers again to end up 6-0 against the division. shocking, i can't believe it.

3. The Superbowl will feature Indianapolis. They are the best team in the league this season, and they will win the Superbowl. They'll have to go through New England and Pittsburgh, but i think they handle that.

4. The NFC representative won't be the Saints. I like the Vikings to get to the big game this year, they have good pieces and its seems like Favre's story keeps going his way, going 2-0 against Green Bay, and he seems to be playing better in Minnesota than he did in New York.

5. The Bronco's will win their division as well, but won't make much noise in the Playoffs, going out in the first round. Unlike most of the Denver fan base, i am not unsettled by the last two Bronco games, they played Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the standard for defense in the entire league. they'll be just fine.

6. No team from the NFC East is a contender, they'll beat each other up and none of the teams (NYG, PHI, and DAL) are solid this season. the best 3 teams in the NFC are Minnesota, New Orleans, and Arizona. The prediction? how about no team from the NFC East makes the NFC Championship game.

7. How about some upset picks for the next 4 weeks:

1. Seattle over Arizona (Week 10)
   
2. Kansas City over San Diego (Week 12)
3. Miami over New England (Week 13)

8. and lastly, my lovely wife Kassie will pick more games right this season than i do even though she missed a week when she was giving birth to our little man Mason. right now she's correctly picked 79 games, and I've picked 80 games right. In week 6 Kassie missed getting her picks in and went 1/14 that week. that's pretty incredible that she's still only 1 game behind me, and currently beating a few of my friends (Eli, Big Red, Nuccio, Chase Powers...).

It's almost time for the Browns post-season, which is full of Mock Drafts. Who should the Browns draft next season?

Hillary Clinton & Sarah Palin

I'm going to take a cue from my friend Aaron's blog and post something that i read that i felt would be interesting to you guys. This is an entry from the ESPN Tuesday Morning Quarterback, an intricate look at the past weekends football games, with some political/scientific/pop culture entries added in. i totally recommend reading this articles if you get a chance.

anyway, here's an entry about Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton:

What Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton Have in Common: Sarah Palin has an instant book out next month, and in keeping with the Unified Field Theory of Creep, it's already on bestseller lists though no volumes actually have been shipped from the warehouse. Is the real reason she quit the Alaska governorship that she wanted to be free to promote the book and keep the royalties? If so, that makes her sound like just another political phony.

Palin is presenting herself as the author of "Going Rogue," though a ghostwriter named Lynn Vincent is the actual author. It is perfectly respectable to use a ghostwriter -- so long as this is disclosed. George W. Bush's "A Charge to Keep" declares on the cover, "by George W. Bush and Mickey Herskowitz." John McCain's several books all prominently declare on the cover that the actual author is his longtime associate, Mark Salter. This is called honesty. To pretend to be the author of something you did not write is deceit, and indicates egotism. Celebrities and athletes pretend to be authors of books actually written by someone else. But they're airheads! People with important roles in public life should be honest.

When Hillary Clinton ran for president, she pretended to be the author of the books "Living History" and "It Takes a Village." The former was actually written by Lissa Muscatine, Ruby Shamir and Maryanne Vollers; the latter was actually written by Barbara Feinman, a fact the publisher even announced! Yet Clinton masqueraded as the author. Even today, Clinton's official State Department biography includes the phrase, "Secretary Clinton is the author of bestselling books, including her memoir, Living History, and her groundbreaking book on children, It Takes A Village." This statement is simply false, and has no business in U.S. government information. That the former governor of Alaska pretends to be something she is not reflects poorly on Palin; that the current secretary of state pretends to be something she is not reflects poorly on her. Both claims cheapen public understanding of the value of writing, and devalue honesty.

Palin handed in "her" manuscript to the publisher in August, three weeks after leaving the Juneau statehouse; Clinton signed to "write" her latest opus just after becoming a senator representing New York. This means that if they actually are authors, then they cheated the taxpayer. No one could possibly write a 432-page book ("Going Rogue") or a 592-page book ("Living History") while carrying out the duties of a governor or senator. To pretend for ego reasons to be what you are not is a worrisome trait in someone at a high level of public responsibility (Clinton) or who seeks an even higher level (Palin). That Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin pulled the same self-aggrandizing stunt is distressing on too many levels to count.

Denver Sports Radio Sucks

So a long while back i ranted and raved about the sports scene here in my new home of Denver. I am still impressed these days, Denver is a great sports town, 5 major teams in every popular league in America (Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rockies, Rapids). Combine all of those sport teams with the highest concentration of micro-breweries in the country and you will understand why people are moving to Colorado in a hurry. This town is great!

My rant today though, was something i just couldn't ignore anymore. 5 years ago when i was impressed with the sports scene here, there were 2 fulltime AM sports station, one was purely local, The Fan, and the other was an extension of ESPN having some national shows, and some local shows. Since then though, the ESPN extension has left, and The Fan has taken over everything sports radio out here. And i hate The Fan.

The local talent here in Denver is terrible. Well at least the talent that is put forward. Apparently the masterminds that are pulling the strings behind The Fan, Altitude, and Fox Sports Rocky Mountains think that washed up former Denver notables are the people who should be telling me about the Nuggets. I'm sorry but Scott Hastings is an idiot. He is nothing but a blow-hard fan, he brings no new info to the table, doesn't keep tabs on the rest of the league (NBA) and talks more about his time in the league than anything else, and we don't care. But he's not the only one that sucks here, Reggie Rivers and Dave Logan could ride the train outta town as well.

Today though, The Fan reminded me why i turned off sports radio in Denver about 3 years ago. For some reason i decided to tune into The Fan for my ride home, apparently during the Alfred and D-Mac show, Tagline: "Former Bronco Alfred Williams brings his "A" game to afternoon drive. He played the game...He knows the game...He can even talk a good game...". The topic of the afternoon was whether or not the 3-0 Bronco's are for real. I'll get to my feelings on that in a minute, but first i want to touch on what got me all riled up.

A caller called in to rave about he believed in this Broncos team, and how their Defense is dominating. the Caller said that he looked at the paper and was "surprised" to see that the Broncos were leading the league in Points Against, giving up only 19 so far in 3 games. the next closest was the Jets with like 31 points. Alfred, who "knows the game", totally agreed and went on a 5 minute rant about how the defense was shutting teams down, dominating and whatnot.

Really?

The Broncos opened the season against the Bengals and the game was ugly. The Broncos defense was good, i'll give them that. but then week 2 was in Denver, against the Browns. The same Browns that hadn't scored 1 meaningful touchdown since November of last season. The Browns who are the worst team in the league, no question. The dominating Broncos defense gave up 3 points. congrats. Well i'll give you a free week, so who did they play in week 3? oh, Jamarcus Russell?! If the Browns are the worst TEAM in the league, then Jamarcus Russell is the worst QUARTERBACK in the league. His passer rating on Sunday was 22. he threw for 1 yard in the 2nd half. You think that was the Denver Defense?? c'mon!

Meanwhile, the 2nd best defense, according to Alfred, was the Jets, but they've given up a whopping 31 points!! who did they play? Oh week 2 against Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Jets shut the Brady/Moss train down! a real team. How about week 3? The Jets hosted the 0-2 Titans, a team coached by a top coach in Jeff Fisher, a team that went 13-3 last season and wasn't about to roll over this season. The Jets basically shut the Titans down in the last 5 minutes to seal the game and go 3-0. The Broncos haven't even played a real team yet.

These Broncos could be legit, and that's cool, but c'mon Denver, lets just be a little realistic. Until then i'll stick to Mike & Mike and continue to boycott the local media!

Empathy Event

As most of you know i have been trying to stay involved with the issue of human trafficking. It's a serious problem in the world today, and it seems like people either don't know about the issue, or are choosing to ignore it. Sometimes it's easy to ignore problems when they're not in your home/state/country but human trafficking and slavery are very present even here in the USA.

A few months ago Joy Orf and John Boyle from Calvary Bible Church asked me to join them while they met with an organization called iEmpathize. I was very interested and excited about this opportunity to present this issue to our church community.

After a few meetings and a lot of emails we've setup an Empathy Night to happen at Calvary Bible Church in Boulder. This will be a powerful night and i'm hoping to bring as many people as i can to the event.

iEmpathize is a group that matches up churches with in-field programs that are already in place. This event will not be a fundraiser, but it will be to learn about human trafficking. There will be plenty of opportunities to help and get connected during the event. There will be music, artwork, and a few quick speakers.

Please consider attending this event, if you need more info or you have questions please contact me.

EMPATHY ENCOUNTER: a worship and justice event.

An interactive night of

awareness, art, worship, justice, and prayer. Come see how you can engage and make a difference in the issue of child sex trafficking.

September 9th at Calvary Bible Church in Boulder at 7p

Here's a link to the information from iEmpathize's webpage

if you twitter:
@iempathize
@nowhere2hide
@not_for_sale
@IJMcampaigns
@thesoldproject

Empathy Encounter Sept 9, 7pm @ Calvary Bible Church

2 children per minute are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Come see the iEmpathize Art Exhibit & Film on human trafficking where you can explore and engage in this issue of injustice in a profound way. This will be an interactive night of awareness, art, worship, justice, and prayer. Learn how you can engage and make a difference in the issue of child sex trafficking.

iEmpathize (iE) is an Arts and Advocacy non-profit (501c3) working on the behalf of vulnerable and victimized children. iE creates opportunities for people to explore and engage in issues of injustice. Our current efforts are focused on what we believe to be one of the darkest human rights violations to exist…child sex slavery. Through a movement of empathizers we join together to end this heinous crime against children and humanity.

Sympathy is feeling badly for the suffering of others. Empathy is diving into the suffering of others. It is active, compelling the empathizer toward action. Jesus is the essence of empathy. Empathy is the essence of iEmpathize.

Visit www.iEmpathize.org to explore our media, advocacy programs, blog, links, and more. You may also sign up for our e-letter, view the calendar, and contribute. Don’t forget to add us to your Facebook and Twitter.

God? Is That You?

i had a pretty eventful day yesterday. Actually, i've had a pretty wierd 2009 in terms of my health. anyone that knows me knows that i try to be pretty healthy, playing soccer and other sports, and staying active. But you also might know that i've had my share of health problems including multiple knee surgeries and heart surgery, all before turning 30! no big deal though, i feel great.

Yesterday, however, i experienced the worst pain i might have ever felt. that's a pretty big deal considering i've had knee problems forever, broken bones, stitches, concussions and turf toe! yesterday i had a toothache that was intense, there was no way to relieve the pain, no pressure points or pain meds could help me. no way to help ward off the pain or prevent it from happening. i had this pain a few weeks ago and went to the dentist on the spot (something i'm not fond of - dentist), i explained my pain and he determined i had a cavity and decided to fill it on the spot. i was not convinced, but he said it should feel better. well it didn't, and after 3 weeks i couldn't take it anymore. yesterday the pain got so bad that on a few occasions i had to bolt outside thinking i was going to throw up. i jetted over to the dentist again and got an on-the-spot appointment set for 2p. i hadn't slept much the previous nights due to the pain, and i wasn't eating because i didn't want to aggravate my tooth more.

As i sat in the waiting room, thinking i was going to die either from the pain, or from the anxiety that accompanies me on my dentists visits, i began to shake a little. i was just out of strength and i was shutting down. just then on the overhead speaker, very faintly, i heard a female DJ talking, she says "...if you're getting a root canal, don't worry, they're no sweat. i just had one and i'm back at work today, i was really nervous but it didn't hurt at all. i feel great, no problems!. and now back to 25 consecutive minutes of music..."

At first i thought it might be an in-house radio station, you know, like you might hear at a McDonalds or Starbucks. but no, this was KOZY 101, here in Denver, an oldies station.

Now just to give a little back story, my walk with Christ has been on fire lately. i have been reading a ton, and really getting into The Word, and as a result i've really challenged my self and my prayer life. After reading through most of Blue Like Jazz i realized that i had some pride issues that were preventing me from accepting the fact that i am loved, and that i need to ask for prayer for myself. i started emailing some really close friends asking for prayer about some of the things going on my life, and about my tooth. I was praying a lot yesterday, just for strength and for comfort knowing that i would be alright.

I really feel like this little incident with the radio DJ was God telling me that he's listening, and that i'll be alright. It could be a reach, or just a coincidence, or whatever you want to make of it, but to me it was my God letting me know he's here! This is the first time i've had an incident just like this, and its funny that i just told the story about being at a summer camp and having a similar incident happen to me, to Alan this summer, reliving the experience again.

I'm a skeptic just like most people, my wife has told me some amazing stories and i've always been skeptical, and i regret that all the time. People focus in too much on what or why would God do these things, and to be honest, we're never going to be able to figure that out all the way. It doesn't matter that God was telling me that a root canal is easy, the fact that He comforted me in that moment is what is important, at least to little ole me.

So, not to be more long-winded, but a few hours later a dentist was able to do my root canal on the spot. the procedure was really easy, and it was aided by the fact i got to listen to Comeback Kid on my ipod during it, really loud, drowning out the drills! I drove home and i have felt great ever since. i couldn't believe the pressure that was relieved on my head from the root canal. i feel awesome today.

Living in a fallen world is very tough sometimes, i feel like i've been dealing with a variety of dramas and stressful situations lately, stuff that might make someone else fall apart or want to just take timeout and hide. i'm feeling encouraged that my God is there for me, love me for who i am, and has surrounded me with awesome awesome people that support each other no matter what, starting with my amazing wife that has to deal with my failings more often than she deserves.

thanks everyone for the prayer and for being great people in my life.

Vick vs Stallworth

There seems to be a ton of opinion being thrown around about the outcome of the Donte Stallworth DUI / manslaughter case. If you haven't been paying attention, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been given a 30-day jail sentence after he struck and killed a 59-year old pedestrian in Miami. Stallworth was over the legal limit and was tagged with a DUI on top of the accidental manslaughter charge.

You should already know everything you want to know about Micheal Vick, he served a 2-year prison sentence for the felony of running an illegal dog-fighting ring, transporting dogs over state lines, and killing dogs in the process. he is also in trouble for lying to investigators and not being cooperative.

Typically, when news like these stories hit and seem to get the same reaction from everyone, which in this case seems to be (as my buddy Nuccio puts it): "Vick gets 2 years in prison for killing dogs and Stallworth gets 30 days for killing a human?? WTF?!" . When this happens i try to go against popular opinion and figure out the other perspective.

In this case, i wanted to know why Stallworth got such a short sentence, as of today the judge has allowed him to train for football during his house-arrest, he's trying to play this season for the Browns. After a little research i came across this article, and instead of trying to re-word it, i'm just going to point you to it.

Look At The Facts

"The reality is they're [the two cases] apples and oranges," Alex Levay, a top Virginia criminal lawyer, told me on Thursday. "One is an accident [Stallworth] and the other [Vick] is a conscious decision to engage in an illegal act."

Humbled

This past weekend i had the pleasure of attending the Sonshine Festival in Wilmar, Minnesota with my good friend Alan. We took a pop-up camper and camped out for 3 days and enjoyed a heavy dose of Christian music, most bands of the metalcore genre. it was awesome.

Some of you might know that i have a tendency to be judgemental, not so much to people's face, but judging of style/musical choices. i love to pick apart people at shows, even the bands, and do it from a distance. You might say that a Christian music festival is the pinnacle of targets to be judged from the youth-group leaders to the "cool" parents to the young awkward kids. This past weekend was no different, as the first night of metal bands were playing i stood there with my arms crossed and critiqued each kid's choice of shirt, or tight-pants, or dancing "style", or a band's tendency to by a little preachy, and so on. at one point during this, Alan and i got a chance to sit down and relax while waiting for the next band. We were talking about our history getting into music and whatnot, and i started to criticize some more kid's choice of style when Alan asked me a most impactful question:

"Were you always so cool?"

...uh...

i doubt Alan knew the impact of the question at the time, but i couldn't stop running the question through my head the whole night. Why did i think i was so cool? when i was in high school i started developing my "style", based off of bands that i enjoyed at the time; H20, Sick of It All, punk bands. I took a lot of criticism from everywhere, youth group, adults, fellow classmates, for sagging my shorts and wearing longer shorts that some said looked like capri's. i didn't care though, i was comfortable and confident.

and so are most of these kids at the shows, who am i to judge? here i am 27 yrs old going to metal shows with a bunch of 15 yr olds!?

so after a lot of thought i decided to let my criticism go, these kids love these bands and that's what mattered. after that first night i was really able to enjoy the weekend, worshipping with the Glorious Unseen and David Crowder, hardcore "dancing" with August Burns Red and Norma Jean, gettin' low with Big Al, even enjoying the Sunday morning church service at my wife's home church that is a little charismatic (and i've hated on a few times here and there). It was a great weekend, very humbling yet i felt so much better, and honest.

thanks Alan!

Can You Handle It?

so let me first say that i really enjoy being a part of the social-networks; Twitter and Facebook. i love connecting with friends from High School and staying involved with people's lives. i also love having an easy medium to share my thoughts/work/ideas with people i think would be interested in the content.

One of the elements i've noticed about being on Facebook is that you start to understand what type of character your friends have. it used to be that i only saw so-and-so a few times a month/year, maybe an email here and there and whatnot. it was a little difficult to fully judge what kind of person so-and-so was from those infrequent visits, but now with Facebook and multiple status updates, i can really get a feel for my friends personalities.

is this good or bad?

none of my friendships have really changed due to Facebook, but i am starting to think that they might in the future. on the negative side, i've discovered that i have a friend who is on the Debbie Downer level of pessimism. I have a friend who is not clued into the real world. i have a friend who is elite-ist, and they think they're better than everyone else.

I've also been connected to friends from the past who have great qualities, and i've "socialized" with them more than i thought i ever would. But i guess my question is this; can my friends handle the truth? if i told them that i thought they were overly negative would they break-down, would they get super defensive and fire a flaw right back at me? would that end the friendship? should it end the friendship?

I know i have many flaws, no doubt about it, but i don't have too many people in my life that will just come out and tell me whats up. apparently i'm that person for a lot of people, good or bad, i usually let my emotions show, i'm usually easily offended (apparently), and i have said things to my friends that were a little blunt. i still have the same core-group of friends that i've had basically since i got married so maybe that's a good sign!

would you want someone to tell you if they thought you were making terrible financial decisions or would you rather them mind their own business? I feel like i need my friends to let me know when i'm being distant, or offensive, or stupid, or irresponsibly, but i don't know if they ever really do tell me that. i love to critique things; music, sports, stories, whatever and i feel like i would like someone to do that for/to me to let me know where i stand.

what do you think? if one of your friends told you that based on your "tweets" that you're a whiner, how would you take it?

Buy Coffee - Help stop human trafficking

the International Justice Mission has teamed up with Storyville Coffee to help raise money against human trafficking.

The IJM is one of my absolute favorite organizations and Gary Haugen's team does great great work helping those who are oppressed in third world countries.

Storyville Coffee has decided that 100% of the revenue they collect in May will go to IJM! so not only do you get some great coffee, you get to help a great cause. please take a minute and check it out!

Here's my stuff (i ordered on May 1st, coffee roasted on May 4th, sent priority mail which they do with every order, received May 6th.  pretty awesome turnaround time!)

RANT: Spoilers

Okay, so i'm gonna rant a little here.

We've all known about Spoiler Alerts for awhile, and basically it's in bad taste to spoil a movie or whatever for someone else, especially if it's something that doesn't have a set date, for example, a movie. people can go see that movie anytime, whereas a sporting event happens on a certain date or time.

With the popularity of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and social networking it is very easy to find out the results of an event, maybe even before you want to. here's a hint, if you don't want to know who won a game, who got voted off American Idol, who won the Presidential Election - DON'T GO ON FACEBOOK.

If you are DVR'ing, Tivo-ing, recording an event, and you don't want to know what happens, YOU need to put out the effort to stay away from places where you might find the result, like the internet, or a phone call from a friend who likes the same event, or co-workers. You can't blame somebody else for ruining it for you.

We've learned this a lot in this day-and-age, with so many reality TV shows like American Idol, Top Chef, Dancing With the Stars, etc that you just cannot go on Facebook or Twitter because most likely one of your friends have updated their status with "I can't believe that Danny Gokey just won Idol, yes!!".

Unfortunately for me, i follow European Football, which takes places right about noon our time, so it takes a lot of effort to make it half a day at work without most of the Internet. then getting home, ignoring my soccer friends, and firing up the DVR about 8p (since Addie could care less about soccer). but its something i have to do if I want to watch something "live".

Do you get it? don't blame me if i post an update with the result of something you're trying to hold out for, especially if my status update starts with ***SPOILER***. sheesh.

My Feelings on the Browns Draft

This year wasn't nearly as dramatic as 2 years ago, when the Browns passed on Adrian Peterson and Brady Quinn to take left tackle Joe Thomas, and then traded to also get Brady Quinn. I liked that pick, and i like this year's pick as well.

If you didn't follow the draft, the Browns were picking #5 after their terrible season last year. A lot of buzz was being created about the Browns trading out of that spot, and it eventually happened, trading with the NY Jets and their 17th pick. From there, the Browns traded to the 19th pick, and finally to the 21st pick, picking up later picks as they went. In the end the Jets took the highest profile player in the draft, Mark Sanchez from USC, and the Browns took a center that no one had really heard of, and about 10 other players, and got 3 players from the Jets (the Jets that new Browns coach Eric Mangini coached for the last 3 years).

WPB Dawg Fan broke it down the best anyone could, at The Browns Board so i'll let him do all the talking:

When we traded from #5 overall down to 21 (eventually) the Browns got a lot more than just 3 players and a pick. A LOT MORE!!!

All total, the Browns got:
#21 Alex Mack, C
#52 David Veikune, LB
#191 Coye Francies, CB
#195 James Davis RB
Brad Ratliff, QB
Kenyon Coleman, DE
Abram Elam, S

Coleman and Elam are likely to be starters for the Browns...but at the very least they will be key rotational players. Mack is also likely to be a starter....and Veikune is expected to challenge for the OLB starting roll.

So, instead of getting ONE starter (Raji or whomever) at #5...the Browns filled 3 to 4 positions.

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL!!!

The thing that nobody is talking about is the fact that the Browns ALSO saved about $40M on the rookie salary to their first round player. And this may actually be the most important component of the trade!!!

That means that the Browns will be in a position to make contract extensions to key FA's next year:

RB Jerome Harrison UFA (likely starter)
FB Lawrence Vickers UFA (starter)
WR Braylon Edwards UFA (starter)
OT Ryan Tucker UFA (starter)
OL Isaac Sowells UFA
LB D'Qwell Jackson UFA (starter)
LB Leon Williams UFA
SS Brodney Pool UFA (starter)

The Browns have 5 starters that will be FA's next year, and 1 that is a likely starter (Harrison will likely play often).

That is a lot of talent the Browns need to lock down going into next year....and that $40M will go a long way to making sure we are able to keep the talent we want to keep.

We will also have a full slate of draft picks in 2010 (and an additional 5th)...in what is shaping up to be a much stronger draft than this years.

So...the Browns actually got at least 3 starters (maybe 4), were able to keep options open for trading a QB (DA) or WR (BE), and saved enough money to keep the 5 starters we stand to lose to FA next year.

I would say...for the price of ONE PICK...

THAT WAS AN AWESOME TRADE(S)!!!

Feeling much better about this season than all of the Bronco fans here in Denver!

Addicted to Twitter

so i haven't posted in awhile because i've discovered Twitter, and i am hopelessly addicted.

Also because of the lack of interesting things to talk about lately. The NBA is finally closing in on playoffs races, with the Nuggets trying to hold off the Jazz and the Blazers (and the Kings are nowhere to be found). The NFL offseason has seen the Browns essentially ruin the only 3 players i like by trading Kellen Winslow, ticking off Shaun Rodgers who now wants out, and not showing any love to Brady Quinn. ugh.

So in the midst of all that, i've given in to Twitter. if you don't know already Twitter is basically a place where people update their status, in a short sentence or two. like "Brian is going to lunch at Red Robin" or something like that. you can follow whoever you like (if they're also on Twitter that is) and my current favorite Twitter-er is Shaq, he's hilarious, and he updates all day.

I have this on my work PC so now i'm updating way too often. you can also post links, pictures, and other content as well, so that makes it interesting when you follow people like Mark Driscoll or the Emergent Village.

You should check it out, you can use programs like TWhirl to update your status and it will automatically update your facebook status as well (facebook-ers probably don't like people who update their status this often). A lot of people are on twitter, famous or not, so check it out.

my screen name is BMer916 , check me out here: http://twitter.com/bmer916

More Ugliness!

With the recent trade of Sam Cassell to Sacramento for, well, about nothing, i noticed that a high amount of players with exceptional ugliness have either played for my beloved Kings, or my adopted team, the Nuggets.

Back in 2007 Aaron and I came up with the All-Ugly Team, and now, i've seen most of the these players join my 2 favorite teams:

-Reggie Evans (Nuggets)
-Mikki Moore (Kings)
-Chauncey Billups (Nuggets)
-Hedo Turkgolu (Kings)
-Sam Cassell (Kings)


man there are some ugly players in the league!

I'm On A Boat

i love Digital Shorts on SNL, this was last weeks and its hilarious! T-Pain is gangsta!

You Can't Deny Beckham!

Alright, enough people in the world have written articles about David Beckham, almost everyone has an opinion, and most "true" soccer fans don't like him, or at least think he's overrated. thats fine, but i like the dude.

He's played for the best club teams in the world in Manchester United and Real Madrid, won hardware with both teams, was a captain for ManU and a captain for the English national team. he's played in three World Cup (they're every 4 years) and he's got a legit chance playing for the next one in 2010. He had some success in MLS here in America but i don't think he realized how bad the talent level is in the league and there's only so much one man can do.

For the last month David Beckham has played with AC Milan, the top club team in Italy, in a league that boasts some of the worlds best player including the best in the world, Kaka, and former World Player Ronaldhino. And Beckham has earned a starting spot and has already scored twice and had numerous assists.

Hate on him all you want, but its almost the same as Shaq being the best center still, or Ray Allen leading the Celtics in scoring, or Brett Favre still competing, or Curt Schilling, Micheal Jordan his last few years...

These guys didn't just play late into their thirties, but they were among the best in their prospective leagues. Beckham is the same, AC Milan would not be offering the amount of money (11 million) or a starting spot on an amazing team if Beckham was washed up. He still is among the best at his position (right mid-field) and will be on the English national team for at least a few more years.

I enjoy watching Beckham plays, he's a hard worker and he good looking...what?!

And yes, i'm actually watching the games, not just going on highlights, as i'm writing this i'm watching Milan v Lazio and Beckham has gotten 2 assists on crosses to Ambrisoni and Pato, and a third goal from Beckham to Pato was called back on offsides.

He's good, just enjoy the fact we still get to watch him play! You only hate on him because you're jealous of him, just like you hate on Leonardo Dicaprio, Tom Brady, Brad Pitt, and Micheal Jordan (i was a hater in high school).

Beckham today with two assists:

Rant: TV Conversion

I have to get this off my chest.

This whole TV conversion drama is overrated. If you don't know what i'm talking about, well, then you probably don't care because you're one of millions who have either digital cable or satellite, so this doesn't affect you.

But for the rest of the people complaining about this conversion, about the old folks on 9News complaining that they don't have money to buy a converter box or the know-how to hook it up, get over it! TV isn't a right, it's not promised, and if you can't take the time to use the resources available to you, then maybe thats your own problem. If you don't know about the conversion or how to get info, then maybe you aren't watching TV already, so this shouldn't change much.

I have no sympathy for people who can't figure this out, you've had plenty of time (i'm talking months here) and there's no reason that now, a month before it happens, that you can't figure it out.

The media needs to stop their fear-mongering as well. Last night 9News ran a piece on this, interviewing numerous people who were affected, and claiming that doing the conversion in the "dead of winter" wasn't helping. really?! first off, last i checked it was like 70 degrees last week, cold weather usually doesn't stick around longer than 2 days here in Denver, so drop that crap.

Secondly, i heard it reported that Obama's plan to push back the date was going to cost news stations a ton of money to keep the regular analog signal going. Right now, in this economy, news station don't have extra money, didn't you hear that Nick Carter and Bob Kendrick got canned, and that channel 7 & 9 are now sharing their traffic helicopter? If you're a news anchor spreading the dismay about this conversion, because Obama says its bad, then maybe when your station can't afford to keep the regular signal going they'll can you so they can afford it!

why is the government involved in this situation anyway? aren't there better things they could spend their time on? When are American's going to take responsibility for their own problems and not lean on the government for help?

Adam Schefter on Derek Anderson

there's only one NFL reporter who gets almost everything right, and thats Adam Schefter of the NFL Network. He said that Cowher wouldn't coach the Bronco's and that it would be McDaniels, and now he's saying that there is no chance that Shanahan will coach the Chiefs, despite ESPN running an article saying that deal is almost done.

More importantly though, Shefter has weighed in on the Minnesota Vikings QB search, and it includes Derek Anderson. Yes!

"

Question: What do you think the Vikings will do about their QB situation? Any free agents (Garcia)?

Schefter: The good thing for the Vikings is, it's an intriguing off-season for quaterbacks. Matt Cassel, Derek Anderson and Donovan McNabb could be available in trade. Kerry Collins, Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, Rex Grossman are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents. And Michael Vick also could be in play.

But if you're the Vikings, and you want to solidify the position, you have two primary options to me: trading for Anderson or signing Garcia. Garcia would be a short-term solution, Anderson a longer-term but pricier one. To get Anderson is going to cost at least a second-round pick, and maybe a first, and that's a steep price. Then again, Minnesota traded its 1 last year and that worked out pretty well, didn't it?

Week 1 Recap

So week one definitely did not go as planned.

I stuck to my schedule, waking up at 545a to ride the stationary bike, and spending time working on Wii Fit. Unfortunately my right knee swelled up majorly after riding the bike, so bad that i spent a good chunk of time icing my knee for the remainder of the week in prep for indoor soccer on Friday night.

I'm not sure what to do about this, part of me wants to try and work through the swelling, and thats my plan for this week.

I stuck to my new diet of no fries, soda, or food after 9p. the only problem now is that i over-compensated for the lack of fries with other bad food (it was my bday last week so i'm excused!) and our friends the Dunns left a dozen Krispy Kremes at our house and well, i couldn't let them go to waste.

suffice to say, i gained weight this past week!

Current Stats:
Weight: 172.5lbs
BMI: 26.75
Blackout Scale (1 is good, 10 is blacked out) 6: i played a lot in our game on Friday night, and felt really good. i was still tired most of the game, but i was able to recover quickly and played effectively.

Less food this week, that's my goal.

Promise to Myself

I'm been wanting to get "in shape" for a couple of years now, ideas come and go, but nothing really sticks. ever since having heart "surgery" I've felt like it's been tougher to hang with the youth like Noah and Travis, and frankly, its embarrassing. anyway, I've got a lot of tools at my disposal and I'm determined to shed some pounds.

Some people might think that I'm in fine shape, thanks for the sympathy, but I'm tired of the tunnel-vision i get after running 20 yards in soccer. My wife deserves a better looking and healthier husband, and i want to be able to keep up with Addie as she gets older (not to mention we're hopefully going on another Mexico vacation this year and i gotta look better than this).

Here's my 6-week plan, i vow to do these things, and update every Sunday. I'll start with my stats as of right now (Monday morning) and we'll see how it goes. i want to get to 165lbs if i can.

-No soda, fries or food after 9p (an occasional soda, but less than 2 a week)
-30 minutes on Wii Fit at least twice a week
-30 minutes on stationary bicycle at least 3 times a week

Current Stats
Weight: 173lbs
BMI:
Blackout Tendency (scale 1-10): 8; i can play soccer/football for a little bit before my chest feels like its going to explode.

i know its not much, but i think its enough for me to drop a few pounds and feel better health-wise. if i do reach my goal I've promised myself a gift that I've wanted for a few years, and that I'm saving up for so that's my last bit of motivation.

if anyone else wants to join me, either in this setup or just in a weight-loss challenge i welcome the competition!

Way To Go Denver!

Let us be the first to say 'great signing' Broncos, ex-Patriots coaches has been very successful these last few years! -Eric Mangini and Romeo Crennel



























PS: Let me also say that my NFL fantasy is that Denver hires Bill Cowher next year, and we get Mike Shannahan, and Cleveland kicks the crap out of Denver for the next 5 years. Only in my dreams though!