My Week 10 NFL Picks

 The Return of Thursday Night Football!!!

Ok people its that time of year, we are well into Fall, November is half way gone, the holidays are almost here, and Thursday Night Football is BACK!  Football on 3 nights a week, I love it!!!  So lets do a quick run down of my picks.

Oakland at San Diego on Thursday Night Football - As a divisional game this is even more of a wild card, but I will say that both teams have key things missing from their working formulas.  The Chargers obviously are missing a player like Darren Sproles this year, not to mention, I believe that Malcolm Floyd is out for tonights game.  As for the Raiders they are missing the QB that was comfortable running this offense, but he's replaced with another QB who was once one of the NFL's elites.  For now Carson Palmer is still getting used to the offense but he has as much upside as he's shown downside.  The other missing part is Darren McFadden, he has been their work horse and #1 RB, Bush and the other back ups are good backs as well but they just don't seem to compare to McFadden.  Oakland's best bet is to get Jacoby Ford involved in the Rushing Offense, Receiving Offense, and the Special Teams, he's a playmaker and if he can get hot the Raiders have a good chance tonight.  But with that said its Norvember and I'm choosing the luke warm Chargers to get hot tonight and claim the lead in in the AFC West. San Diego Chargers win against the Oakland Raiders in a high scoring event tonight, lets say... 31-27.


Ok, the first pick was a bust...Thanks to Phillip Rivers, but it was great to see Carson Palmer looking like he's on the way to being is pre-injury self.

New Orleans over Atlanta - The only thing that makes me a little weary of this pick is that the game is in Atlanta, but I'm picking this game based on offense because both defenses have yet to be impressive this year.

Pittsburgh over Cincy - This is another tough divisional match up, but I'm picking the Steelers veteran defense having an advantage over the rookie QB.  But I don't see this being a big scoring affair, Cincy also has a great defense, but I think that Big Ben will make the needed adjustments to manage his offense in this Field Goal battle.

St. Louis over Cleveland - Eh... if the Rams that showed up against the Saints play in this game (same jerseys too) then they should be able to get another win this week.

Buffalo over Dallas - Both of these teams seem to have some roller coaster issues, I just flipped the coin on this one.

Indy over Jacksonville - The Colts get their first win today against a team who much like them lack a true identity.  They gotta win sometime right?  This is a perfect team to get one against.

KC over Denver - Once again a decent divisional matchup, KC has shown itself to be a better team.  Denver has been good in spurts but I'm not sure how that will hold up.  I don't really believe in Tebow having multiple good weeks as a starter.

Washington over Miami - Again I'm picking an away team, I think the Redskins are still hungry for a win due to their current losing streak, and Miami is a subpar team while Washington has shown to be a better team than they have looked like lately.

Philly over Arizona - Although dysfunctional the Eagles are a better team than the Eagles, plus I don't see Kolb beating Vick in anything, it didn't happen last year with the starting job and it aint happening this year in a match up.

Houston over Tampa Bay - The Texans are a great team and are playoff bound (thanks to Peyton Manning) I think they will continue to show their high caliber of play throughout the rest of season.  The Buccs don't have enough weapons to offensively compete with the high powered Texans offense.

Carolina over Tenesse - The Panthers are due for another win, the Titans don't really have an identity right now, they are good then bad, then average, but the Panthers have played at a high level against many teams better than the Titans.  Pure up the Cam Juice!

Baltimore over Seattle - This should be an easy win, but Seattle did beat the Giants.  So if the Ravens prepared properly for this matchup they should prove that they are the better team.

Detroit over Chicago -  I'm on the fence about this pick.  But that's just who I picked.  We'll see what happens.  The Bears did look like a very good team against the Eagles on Monday.

San Francisco 49ers over New York Giants - This is the pick that I am supposed to make as a fan and as someone who has watched the 49ers this year I believe that this is a winnable game.  This is a true test of who the 49ers are.  The 2 previous top tier QBs that we have faced have had good games, one lead to a 49ers loss in overtime, the other required the 49ers to work hard to comeback for a win.  The 49ers defense will have to operate on all cylinders today to get a win.  Which means not giving up the deep passes and continuing to stop the run.  Some help from the special teams would be nice too.

New England over NYJ - I just can't see the Patriots losing three in a row.  This might be drastic but I'm going to say if the Patriots lose this one then this is the end of their dynasty and they may also miss the playoffs.

Green Bay over Minnesota -  I don't know if the Packers will lose this year or not, but I know that them losing to the Vikings wouldn't even happen if Favre made a come back...  

Heavy D the Overweight Lover Tribute Mix

As I've blogged about before a friend of mine, DJ Dublee, provides streaming DJ Mixes via his website (DJ at your desk for Free).  He usually makes his 12 O'Clock drop mixes relevant to current events or holidays.  Today's Mix, as it should be, is dedicated to the Overweight Lover, Heavy D.  Who some of the younger croud might not know of his music, but those of us that enjoyed hiphop in the late 80's and throughout the 90's we are very familiar with him and enjoyed practically every song he put out or had dealings with.  This is a great loss for HipHop.  Rest in Peace Dwight Myers.

Enjoy the DJ Dublee Heavy D Tribute Mix (Click Here)

Big Daddy

Got Me Waiting

Gyrlz They Love Me

Candy Rain

Black Coffee

Overweight Lover

Nothing But Love

More Bounce

Is It Good To You

Somebody For Me

We Got Our Own Thing

Jam

Now That We Found Love

My NFL Week 8 Picks

This week I'm going to do it a little different, it seems like the majority of the games are highly favored to one team this week so I'm only going to touch on a couple of the games.  My Spotlight game is one that looks like  a AFC Playoff game in the makings, The New England Patriots travel to Pittsburgh to battle the Steelers.  Earlier this week ESPN (AFC East Blog) spotlighted this game as well but spoken like a fan they named the article "Why Tom Brady Owns the Steelers" where they laid down valid points and stats about past games and why the Steeler have a 1-7 losing record against Tom Brady. Also they mentioned points about no matter how great the Steelers defense is playing that Brady single handedly pulls them apart. 

I'm a believer in Brady, I believe he is the best QB in the league right now (with Aaron Rodgers pulling at his coat tail).  I also believe that at their primes he's better than Peyton Manning, but I'm not going to argue that point because it would go on for days with no resolution.  But with all that said I'm completely going against Vegas and ESPN and picking the getting hot Steelers to win this one at home.  Why? Man I just got a feeling.  The Patriots are good this year, but they are flawed, they have shown vulnerability.  The Steelers are my 2nd least favorite team in the NFL, but I think they will make the needed adjustments so that Brady doesn't make them look like the Miami Dolphins.

I'm also Picking The Eagles at home to win over the Cowboys.  I have a feeling that this will be a mistake heavy game and the game will be won on the ground and not through the air like most people probably believe.  The Eagles have a stronger ground game and their defense might actually be coming together after all of these weeks.

San Diego Chargers over Kansas City Chiefs at home.  I believe the Chargers have the better offense but for some reason it doesn't seem like they have been able to put it all together this year, but I think they will step it up to hold their grown in the division.

I'll also take Cincy over Seattle in Seattle.  Now most people probably don't care about this game.  Cincy on the low has proven to have a solid defense this season, not sure if that will take them anywhere with a Rookie QB, Rookie WR, and RB running from the law in a division with the Ravens and the Steelers, but it will win them some games.  Seattle is considered one of the toughest places to play, the noise level in Detriot caused multiple offsides and bad snaps for the past few weeks, Seattle is that time 10 for every game.  I'm sure it has to be the accoustics in the stadium, I can't believe a Seattle team would have more rowdy fans than any team that has actually been winning the past few decades.

Thats All Folks, if any of the other upsets win, just know that I didn't pick the underdog this week (minus the Steelers).

Have a Happy and safe Halloween

Week 7 NFL Picks: USC Bowl & Superbowl Rematches

The USC BOWL - If newly aquired Raider Carson Palmer starts on Sunday he will be facing his former backup Mat Cassel, who is pictures on the right as the back up of Matt Leinart.  Carson was at one point mentioned as a top 3 QB in the league, has never seem to fully recovered from his season ending injury a few years back.  Leinart has been to the Superbowl but only as a backup, he has failed to establish himself as a starter.  Cassel on the other hand got the opportunity to shine when Tom Brady missed an entire season and was able to lead the Patriots to a 10 win season, I believe that they missed the playoffs that year.  But that year earned him faith from other teams and the Chiefs made the move to make him their starter and paid him a pretty penny. As a starter for the Chiefs Cassel won his division and took the team to the playoffs.

Can the Raiders be a bounce back team for Carson, I believe so.  They are an established running team and they really just need someone to manage plays. Carson can do that and he can get ball down the field to his young and fast WRs.  I'm picking the Carson Palmer Raiders to beat the Matt Cassel Chiefs on Sunday.  But if Carson doesn't start, I'm not as confident in this pick.

Now for the Superbowl Rematches this weekend. We have The Saints vs. The Colts and The Steelers vs. The Cardinals in Superbowl Rematches, the only issue is the teams that lost these particular Superbowls are also losing a lot of games this year and aren't anywhere near a Superbowl or Playoff quality team.

Pittsburgh over Cardinals - Only this time the Steelers defense won't have to contribute as much to win this game.

New Orleans over Indy - No Special Teams trickery needed just an easy stroll in the park should be enough for the Saints to win this one.

Seattle over Cleveland - I really don't want the Seahawks to win, but I think they are a better team than they appear and I really don't think Cleveland has what it takes to win.

Detroit over Atlanta - The Lions are one of the NFL's toughest teams, great defense and dynamic offense, The Falcons have just been OK this year.

Tennessee over Houston - I'm going with the home team in this divisional battle.  The fact that the Texans are missing a few key players makes this decision easier to make.

Miami over Denver - Miami has to get a win at some point, Matt Moore didn't look terrible against a good defense, so I think he will look better against a subpar defense. He was able to get the ball there but the coverage of the Jets was very good against the pass.  Even though its Tebow Day in Miami, I feel that the Dolphins can win this one.

San Diego over NYJ - This was a tough pick but I think a rested Philip Rivers will do better at leading his team to victory than Sanchez. For the Jets to win this game they would need to do it on the ground and on defense, not just one, but both of those and I don't see it happening.

Tampa Bay over Chicago - Eh.... Who knows, I just picked the underdog in this one, if they stick to their formula and run the ball as well as the Lions did against the Bears, the Buccs can control the clock and win this game.

Carolina over Washington - I really want the Skins to win this game, but I'm looking at the close games against tough team that the Panthers have loss.  They have the ability to put up points, I haven't seen that yet from the Skins.  Hopefully they prove me wrong.  The Skins best bet as winning is to just run the damn ball, the Panthers suck against the run. If they get away from that and attempt to make a name for John Beck, then it will be a long ride back to DC.  Skins Please Prove Me Wrong.

Dallas over St. Louis - The Rams are an average team with a lot of injures which makes them a bad team.  They also appear to have the toughest schedule in the west, this game isn't any easier.  The Cowboys can have multiple turnovers and mistakes, but still win this game.

Green Bay over Minnesota - Neither Ponder or McNabb stand a chance against this unreal Packers team. The Packers score at will, the Vikings aren't able to do that.

Baltimore over Jacksonville - The Jaguars are another team that just don't seem to have it together enough to win tough match ups. The Ravens are one of the top 3 or 5 teams in the league this year, wins like this should be easy.

Asher Roth has felt my pain and now understands my Joys...

Asher Rother wrote an article for ESPN about how similar his career and Alex Smith's career has been.  I'm still not convienced that Alex Smith is the end all be all, but he seems to be managing the offense better this year. So if he can continue to do that and a rookie can learn the system on the bench behind him I think the future will be bright.  Asher also goes down a brief timeline of being a 49ers fan.  I believe he is a bit younger than me based off of the timeline that he gives, but much like me he was raised in a NFC East town and choose to send his fanship to the West Coast Bay Area.  The link to the full article is below and a few quotes that stood out to me.

"Raised close by the sports-crazed city of Philadelphia I had no choice but to become a devoted fan. As attractive as it was to root for Rodney Peete, Bobby Hoying and the Detmer Bros. it wasn't enough to uproot my allegiance to my father and his love for Bill Walsh. Both with ties to Stanford and an admiration for the West Coast Offense, I inherited a 49ers ballclub and a Jerry Rice jersey before I even knew how to play the game."

"I vividly remember watching Terrell Owens and "The Catch II" to finally beat Brett Favre in '99. The miraculous comeback to beat the New York Giants in the 2002 wild-card game was witnessed in the Oxford Valley Mall food court and then … that was it. After watching Jeff Garcia complete 68 percent of his 6-yard passes, I was forced to root for the likes of Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Cody Pickett (I liked rooting for Cody), Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, Chris Weinke, J.T. O'Sullivan and Troy Smith. Ugh."

"And of course, Alex Smith. Ask any of my college buddies. I have a soft spot for Mr. Smith. Drafted No. 1 overall in '05 out of Utah, he came into the league around the same time I was pursuing a rap career. I was a sophomore in college and was being "scouted" by "talent agents" while Smith was taking the starting job from Rattay. Smith had a productive year under Norv Turner, and I signed a record deal with a hit single. Here we go. Ups and downs, lefts and rights, B, A, B, A, select, start. Seven offensive coordinators in seven years and never a head coach that really spoke the language. It was a direct correlation to what was happening in my professional career. Sure we had the talent, sure we had the wits, but for some odd reason it was not translating. The losing seasons weren't all our fault but it sure felt like it. Lines were crossed. Something was off."

Click Here for the Full Article



Week 6 NFL Picks

Its two games that I'm going to spotlight for two different reasons.  The Eagles vs The Redskins and The 49ers vs The Lions.

The Eagles are 1-4 and look pretty down and out, this game is important for them to get back on track and for Andy Reid to keep his job, not to mention its a divisional matchup.  Vick had great success on this field last year on MNF, I'm sure most of you remember that.  For that reason this game is important to the Skins, their defense has looked strong this year and this rematch will feel more like revenge for exposing them to be weak last year.  For the defense this will be a proving moment.  For the whole team this is what is needed to hold down the top of the division.  I'm picking Washington over Philly at home.

Next up, 49ers in Detroit against the Lions. This game is important for both teams, the Lions need to win to keep that battle in the NFC North alive especially since the Packers should win their game today.  But a loss doesn't hurt them too much.  The 49ers need this win for recognition.  They are still under the radar, the teams that they have beaten aren't highly rated teams, also this is the first of a few tough games they will have (Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, NYG). For confidence reasons to keep rolling this is a needed win.  I am picking the San Francisco 49ers over Detroit, why because that's my team and they have proved a lot to me so far this year, I believe they can keep that rolling into the bye week.

Atlanta over Carolina - I'm giving ATL this only because they are at home, I think they will get beat when they go to Carolina.

Cincy over Indy - Cincy's is at home and their defense is looking good on the low.  I think they keep this a low scoring game.

Green Bay over St. Louis - Why would I pick any differently?

Buffalo over NYG - I think the Bills will prove that they are New Yorks team this year. Better defense and a more consistent offense wins the game.

Pittsburgh over Jacksonville - The Steelers better win this game, this should be a gimmie.

Oakland over Cleveland - The Browns haven't proven to be good enough to really compete this year and the Raiders have a lot of talent, they should win this game at home.

Baltimore over Houston - The Texans are a little banged up and the Ravens have fresh legs after the bye, I think they can pull this one out at home.

New England over Dallas - If this were in Dallas I think I would pick them for the upset after their bye, but I don't see them beating Brady and the Pats at home.

New Orleans over Tampa Bay - The Buccs need this to bounce back but the Saints look like they are gaining a lot of momentum, I think they will keep that running today in Sunny Florida.

Chicago over Minnesota - I don't think this will be an easy win, despite the Viks record they have played good games just not finished them.  But I think the Bears will make this much needed divisional win happen at home.

NJY over Miami - Neither team really has an identity this year but I think the Jets are still the better of the two and they are at home.

My NFL Week 5 Picks - For the Birds...

I feel like I've used this picture before, but now its completely different. Mentor and Mentee from the Philly Byrd Gang will get a chance to square off and the only thing on the line is their future.  McNabb may think its Kolbs fault he got the boot from Philly, but wouldn't it be justice served if the guy that McNabb co-signed to come to Philly (Vick) is the reason that Kolb got the boot as well.  The bad thing is that none of the Byrd Gang QB's from 2 years ago are off to a good start.  Although Vick is putting up great fantasy numbers, real fans are getting their hearts broken at 1-3.  The Arizona Cardinals are sitting at 1-3 as well, they haven't played bad but they haven't finished games.  Then the Minnesota Vikings, who have become the choke artist team for the first quarter of the season, losing most of their games after having a nice lead at the half, are 0-4.  When teams are 0-4 usually you see coaches get fired or QBs get replaced.  With Christian Ponder already stating that he's excited to learn from a Pro Bowler but he wants that #1 spot, not later but right now, I think McNabb might have the most at stake right now.

Therefore in the battle of the former Eagles I'm picking Minnesota over Arizona

Here's my quick run down for the rest of the games:

Philly over Bills - I think the emotions and anger from last weeks game that was theirs for the taking that they ended up losing will fuel the Eagles to come together as a team and win this pivotal game on the road.

Carolina over  New Orleans - This is one of my underdog picks, I'd just like to see Cam win this divisional match up, plus its a home game, so I'll use that as my reason for giving them the advantage on this one.  On paper its seems like Carolina has the better pass defense thus far.  Not that they can stop Brees, but maybe they can make them rely on the run more than usual.  The bad thing is that I have both QBs on one of my Fantasy Teams, I haven't started Cam yet, but I'm considering it.

Houston over Oakland -  this might be the first time I picked against the Raiders, but the Texans have their running game back and even with out Andre Johnson I think they will have enough of a passing game to make the difference.  Plus their pass rush is pretty good, Campbell will be under pressure.

Indy over  KC - Honestly even though Indy lost on Monday, they looked like a better team than the Kerry Collins lead team.  I'm going with them for the win at home.

Cincy over Jacksonville - Just don't believe that the Jags can win games and Cincy has a nice defense.

NYG over Seattle - The Seahawks appeared to develop a passing game with Sidney Rice healthy, but the Giants have a much better passing game, as long as they don't leave this win up to chance and actually play like the team that they are, this should be an easy win.

Pittsburgh over Tennessee - this won't be an easy win, I'm giving Pitt the home field advantage on this one.  The Titans seem like a great improvement over last year, while the Steelers seem to still be on their Superbowl hangover.  Hopefully for them this home game can help them shake it off.

San Francisco 49ers over Tampa Bay - My reasons are this. I'm a 49ers fan. The Buccs had a short week. Last year Tampa came to town and held the 49ers scoreless at home for the first time since the 70s, which also lead to the firing of Singleterry.  Not that Harbaugh is anywhere near a hot seat of any sort, but this will be big redemption game for him at home for 1 the overtime loss against the Cowboys at home and for 2 to show that he's here to clean up the mess of the past 7 years.  Last reason is that Tampa is better when their run game is thriving, the 49ers have one of the toughest Run Defenses in the league, if McCoy had a bad game imagine how Blount will do.

San Diego over Denver - The Chargers are just a better all around team, I would be shocked if the Broncos win, even though they are at home.

New England over NYJ - I can't see Brady and the gang getting beat at home by the No Offense Jets.  Not to mention the Jets defense doesn't look as well put together as it did last year.

Green Bay over Atlanta - Sure the Falcons have home field advantage, but this isn't last years Falcons or the Matty Ice that we've seen in the past, furthermore Aaron Rodgers has become unreal this year, this is a career year.  On top of that they know that in order to win their division this year that have to be flawless.  The Packers have 5 more games that could be tough, including this one (ATL, SD, DET, NYG, DET) but at the rate they are going this looks like undefeated team that might do what the Patriots could do against the Giants in the Superbowl a few years ago. Yeah I Said It, someone alert the '72 Dolphins. LOL.

Detroit over Chicago - This hasn't really been an exciting match up in awhile but I think the Lions won't need to make any comebacks to win this game.  I think it will be close but I'll give Detroit the advantage for being at home and for having a better Passing Game.

Update: ESPN decided to highlight the Eagles QBs in an article as well, I guess great minds think a like. All three are having a tough year.  But the season is far from over for either of them, well at least not yet.

Steve Jobs: Remembered by a Non-Apple Brainwashed Techie...

First off let me start with this, I HATE CANCER. It’s a horrible disease and I wish there was a cure. Death is natural, but there is nothing natural about something manifesting itself in your body then taking over until it ultimately kills you. My Mom was born 4 years before Jobs and cancer took her away from here in 2004, one of my bestfriends would be 31 this year if it wasn't for cancer taking him in his mid 20's, not to mention the kids who suffer with Cancer every year, that’s the saddest thing ever, and as a parent it terrifies me. But I digress...

Steve Jobs was definitely a genius, a visionary, and a huge reason for a lot of the great things we have today. I'm not saying that he created all the great technology that we have come to love, but he pushed the envelope and forced creativity from others to make better products as well.

As a kid I owned a Mac Desktop, used it for basic gaming, learning activities, creating signs and banners, and I believe I typed school work on there too. That would be the last Apple Desktop that I owned, but far from the last that I would use. As Computer Graphics major Mac Desktops were my best friend in High School and College, the machines just handled the animation, 3D modeling, and Adobe/Macromedia application better than a Windows PC (Imagine that Adobe & Apple being a match made in Computer Graphic heaven). As an adult I've owned a few iPods including one that still had 4 buttons above the wheel. The iPod has been great for me, I own tons of music and I love being able to take it with me in the car on vacations and whatever else. Not to mention the interface on the iPod and on the Desktop (iTunes) is still the best interface for browsing through a large directory of music. Recently I have also become an iPad owner, as an Android user this might sound weird, but it gives me the ability to enjoy the best of both worlds, not to mention there are more apps currently available and made for the iPad than there are on other tablet devices. I'm sure at some point I will own an Android tablet, I'm just letting them catch up and improve some things like I know they will.

All of that is said to say that his technologies have had an impact on me, but even if I never owned any Apple products it would still have an impact on me.

Without Apple OS X, Windows Desktop Computers would still be running an OS that looked like Windows 98. Sure it would do its job, but it wouldn't look as good or have as many added user friendly functionality.

Without the iPod what would MP3 players look like? Would they look like a Sony MiniCD player or like the original Archos MP3 player?

Take away the iPhone, and what type of "Smartphones" are we using? A Blackberry with the sidescroll, a Treo, HTC Windows Phone?  Sure all of those things worked ok, but none of them compare to the plethra of options we have for smart phones.

Not to mention Tablets, they would still be the laptops that had the screen that you could flip around and write on, not the advanced devices that we have on the market today.

So with all that said, Thank You Steve Jobs, your life made a huge difference in the lives of many.

Week 3 NFL Picks - Rivalry Week

Ok, I'm just calling it rivalry week because it seems like there are a lot of great divisional matchups this week, and most of them are known rivals.  Great rivals, that date back to the beginning of the NFL.  I only picked 3 "underdogs" this week (San Francisco, Oakland, and Washington), but the difficult part with rivals they tend to play better when they play each other.  Its been many years that the Cowboys were playoff bound and the Skins were below .500, but somehow they would look flawless against the Cowboys.  So there really isn't a safe, or sure fire pick this week but here we go! 

New England over Buffalo - This one is tough because its in Buffalo and both teams are 2-0, but I think the Patriots will pull this one out but the margin of victory won't be as high as it was in Miami, but there should be about the same amount of scoring.

San Francisco over Cincy - 49ers took a tough loss last week to a team with a top tier QB, If they can get their secondary to step up and not give up the big plays to the rookie QB in Cincy this should be a nice victory. The only things working against them in my opinion is that this is a 10am PST game, so its 4 hours earlier than West Coast teams are used to playing so hopefully they have trained accordingly. The other thing working against them is that they are going up against 3 of their former players that are pretty familiar with the way the team operates.

Cleveland over Miami - I'm just going to give the Browns the edge on this game because they are at home, I don't think either team has shown anything to make me a believer.

Tennessee over Denver - The Titans are looking good with out CJ2K running at full steam, they way they took out the Ravens last week, if they play it the same the confused Bronco's team should be a walk in the park.

Detroit over Minnesota - McNabb, McNabb...he's going to need a lot to win this game, Detroit's team is working on all cylinders right now its going to take a team much better offensively and defensively than the current Vikings to slow them down.  The Lions haven't won in Minnesota since the 90's and haven't started 3-0 since probably the 70s or something, its a new era in Detroit.

New Orleans over Houston - NO is just a better all around team, and I don't think Houston has really been tested so far.  New Orleans for the win.

Philly over New York Giants - Philly needs this divisional win to prove themselves and the Giants are really banged up.  

Carolina over Jacksonville - Cam has looked great against fairly good teams, he should look marvelous against a very sub par team and get his first win as a NFL starter.

Oakland over New York Jets - this is my underdog pick.  Oakland played well last week against a team with a much better offense than the Jets, plus they are at home, I'm going with them.

Baltimore over St Louis - the Rams are banged up, and the Ravens need to bounce back after last weeks embarrassing loss.  

San Diego over Kansas City - KC Royally stinks... (see what I did there?). I don't really need to explain this one.

Green Bay over Chicago - The Bears are error prone and the Packers don't seem to have a Superbowl Hangover, maybe the lockout helped them out in that area.  The Packers win by 2 scores.

Arizona over Seattle - The Cards have looked decent, the Seahawks haven't, so I'm going with them.  Honestly as a Niners fan I'd rather see the Seahawks win to throw off the rankings in the division.

Tampa Bay over Atlanta - Only because this is in Tampa.  But this was a tough pick.

Pittsburgh over Indy - I'm not explaining this on either.  Unless Peyton Manning walks on the field the Colts aren't winning this one.

Washington over Dallas in Dallas - Whoa! that sounds like a reach.  Dallas is banged up, Romo will be playing cautiously which will lead to mistakes.  They usually split their match ups during the season, so I'm giving this one to the Skins for them to start 3-0 for the first time since probably the last time they were in the playoffs or Superbowl.  The Skins have an advantage here, as long as they protect Grossman or get the ball out of his hands quickly.  The Cowboy's pass rushers are serious.

My NFL Week 2 Picks...the Breakdown

Maybe I'm reaching with one of them, but hey I'm a fan.  Plus I've heard several other sports analyst make similar predictions about that Renewed Rivalry game between the 49ers and the Cowboys.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Philly over Atlanta - Honestly, Vick could lose this game for the Eagles if he gets caught up in the emotions of being back there as a starter or trying to get revenge, but this new Michael Vick doesn't seem to be that type of guy.  I think he will be poised and play a great game.  This game will be determined by the defenses. If Philly studied what kept the Falcons wings clipped last week they can win this game without a problem.

Buffalo over Oakland - I'd rather see the Raiders win this one, but the Bills look pretty explosive last week, and West Coast teams tend to have a bad record playing the 10am PST game on the East Coast.

Detroit over KC - KC stunk last week, I need them to do better (fantasy football reasons). But Detroit aren't who we thought they were. Detroit's defense might be nice this year.

Tampa Bay over Minnesota - I don't think the Vikings are put together well right now. Tampa Bay has potential.

Chicago over New Orleans - The Bears looked great last week, as did the Saints.  I just went with an underdog here, hopefully it works out for me.

New York Jets over Jacksonville - Does anyone think differently?

Pitt over Seattle - Do I need to explain this. Forget the Pitt ya'll saw last week, yeah their defense is old, then need a lil more Bengay than most units, but I'm sure that they well get their legs back for this game.

Washington over Arizona - I'm picking this based off of the Skins looking good against the Giants and the Cards defense allowing Cam Newton to get silly on them last week. Hightower might have a career game and a lot of receptions.

Green Bay over Carolina - The person who picks against the Packers in this game and win is paid for life. But this aint Vegas and I'm not gambling so I'm picking the logical pick for this one.

San Fran over Dallas - The QB with the least mistakes (leading to turnovers) will lead his team to victory in this game.  If the game is flawless, and the Special Teams of the 49ers doesn't "do it A-Ginn", then the Cowboys have the best chance to win. But I don't see this being a flawless game and I think Romo will make the most mistakes. 49ers win, 28-27.

Cincy over Denver - Eh... who cares.  I closed my eyes and picked this one.

Houston over Miami - This is a toss up to me, but I think Houston has a better offense and a stronger running game to control the clock. 

San Diego over New England - I wasn't impressed by the Patriots defense allowing a mediocre team to almost score at will, so I believe that a team with a strong running game and passing game should be able to make the game a lot closer than the game was in Miami. On top of that a team with a much better defense should hold Tom Brady to a 200-300 yard game. Chargers win by 4.

St. Louis over New York Giants - Eh... both teams seem to be injured right now, I wouldn't bet my money on either of these teams in this game. I went with the underdog for this one.

Wasting Waiver Wire Pick Ups After Week One...NAH!

Try to say that 3 times fast... LOL.

Ok, let me clarify this, I'm not saying that there aren't any quality players available as Waiver Wire pick ups in your league this week.  I don't know who is available in your league.  I'm just saying that if its not a dire situation, I don't think its time to waste that Waiver Wire position.

Here are some examples of dire situations:
1. You drafted Peyton Manning then picked up Kerry Collins and thought he could carry your team. In this case you should try to get Fitzpatrick, Cam Newton, Grossman, or even Chad Henne ASAP.

2. Your #1 RB is Steven Jackson or Arain Foster, you don't have their backups and your bench looks suspect. You need to put in a bid for Ben Tate or Carnell "Cadillac" Williams to be safe.  For any reason Mike Tolbert is available he's worth a Waiver Wire pick.

3. Your #1 WR is Marques Colston, and your other WRs aren't among the elite WR.  But honestly any WR you pick up off of the Waiver Wire is like shooting in the dark.  You can try Meachem or Henderson from NO, but Brees spreads the ball around too much and Lance Moore might be back soon.

Other than those situations or something similar, I think you can wait until all waiver wires are cleared to free agency and pick through the other players with possibilities to make roster adjustments or to add to your bench.  Honestly I believe that Cam Newton, Mike Tolbert, and Ben Tate (because we didn't know that status of Foster) should have all been drafted in a 12 or more team league.

Here's a few notable pickups that I didn't mention above:
Early Doucet (WR) (ARI)
Deji Karim (RB) (JAC)
Earnest Graham (FB/RB) (TB)
Devery Henderson (WR) (NO)
Jacoby Jones (WR) (HOU)

As for TE's, pick up the ones that did good last week if you have room, but I wouldn't start them until they built up consistency, unless you are already lacking at that position, then go for it.

Defenses, who knows at this point.  There might've been 3 defenses in the league that actually played good last week and all of them should be taken.  Whoever had the 49ers got lucky last week with the 2 returned TDs, but I wouldn't expect that every week, the 49ers have some tough match ups.  Pick up free agent defenses based on the match up, if your defense has a poor match up.

Sidenote, players for the 2010 season  that were well worth the Waiver Wire pick up and possibly lead teams to playoffs or even the championship would include; Mike Vick, Peyton Hillis, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kyle Orton, Brandon Llyod, Mike Tolbert, Josh Freeman, Ryan Torain, LeGarrette Blount, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Steve Johnson, Mike Williams (TB), Jacob Tamme, Rob Gronkowski

Fantasy Football 2011

A quick run down of my Fantasy Teams. Last year I had a post for each team, this year instead of 3 I've taken on the manager role for 4 teams.  I already feel like it will be a bit much, its the same 3 leagues as last year plus another Money league that is a spinoff of the Money league I've been in for 7 years now.  Last year I won the championship in my money league (ECB CBS), went to the playoffs in the league that I'm the commish for (Beltway Brawls), and lost in the championship game in my homeboy's league (+SideOfFantasy, formerly known as Tweet My Fantasy).

Overall my picks this year are decent but I don't feel overly excited about them, I'm hoping I have some sleepers and teams can put up points across the board.  I have the Steelers DST and David Akers on all of my teams.  I think I have some similar bench players for now as well.  Other than that the teams are very different.  Check the screen shots below.

NFL.com Fantasy League - PlusSideOfFantasy (formerly TweetMyFantasy)

My homeboy Wayne/Rogers league.

This draft was early, I've made changes since then, this is as of yesterday.

I think I'm pretty well balanced in the league.

Beltway Brawls (Yahoo)

This is the league that I am the Commish for, we had a live draft this year.

Governing the draft and making my own picks is a lot for one person to do.

I picked up too many 49ers by accident. I'm not sure about my WRs, this is a PPC League.

ECB Yahoo!

The Spin-Off from my Money league. Different Managers, same Commish.

My internet went out during the draft, I had to tether my EVO with 2 bars of 3G to do this one.

The computer did some picks, the others I set up in the queue and let it ride.  I can work with this, plus some other teams look suspect and they were online drafting the whole time. 

East Coast Blitzers (ECB on CBS)

This is the original and my favorite league just based off of interactions and my two championships.

I had the 3rd pick, I'm kicking myself for passing on Rodgers since he helped me to a championship last year, but I feel that I have a nice balance to my team.  If you look at the numbers Josh Freeman was in the top 6 or 7 in QB Fantasy Points last year, hopefully he improves or I can find a sleeper backup at some point.  My RBs looks to be top of their class, WRs can go either way, TE, K, and DST are reliable.  Time to get my 3rd Championship.

So what do ya'll think? Which team is the best built to win as of now?

My Favorite Time of Year! NFL Week 1 Picks

And tonight, it begins... The NFL Season has returned, the offseason was short, the offseason deals were compounded into a week of pure excitement.  Super teams were created, great teams stayed the same but got healthy, mediocre teams are still trying to figure it out, and Peyton Manning will miss a start of a season and a game for the first time since the 90's.

The past few years have been all about the Quarterback and what better way to start the season than to have the past two Superbowl MVP QBs to face off in what we hope to be a high powered shoot out.

My Picks are below, if you want to go against me week to week join my NFL Pick 'Em Pool http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/pickem 

ID: 25761 Password: winning

Packers over Saints - This game could go either way I'm picking the Packers based off of homefield advantage, no injuries, and because they have the least changes to their team from last year.

Falcons over Bears - This isn't a give me either, but I just trust in the offense of the Falcons more than the Bears and their questionable WR Core.

Browns over Bengals - This game doesn't even sound interesting, but the Browns have less change to their team from last year and that team was decent. The Bengals sucked last year with super stars, now they have no one, so I'll let you figure that one out.

Chiefs over Bills - The Chiefs proved last year that they can be a contender, the Bills never seemed like they could finish games.  Chiefs win by two scores.

Eagles over Rams - I pick the Eagles to win this because the have to win this game.  The Dream team can't lose any games to the NFC West, a division that was all .500 and under last year.  This might be a playoff match up for January...

Lions over Buccs - I went back and forth with this pick, but Stafford is back and healthy, the Lions have an offense that can put up numbers and their defense had Tom Brady shaking in his Uggs.

Titans over Jaguars - Both teams are suspect but the Jaguars dropping Garrard made this pick for me. The Titans have a better running game and a veteran QB that beat the former Superbowl Champs in the playoffs not long ago. Titans all day.

Steelers over Ravens - I'd rather the Ravens win but when Big Ben is in the game against Flacco on the other side, they haven't had much luck.

Texans over Colts - No Peyton and the Texans are a pretty good team, so I pick the the Texans.  If Peyton doesn't travel with the team then this might be an easier win than I'm predicting.  If the Colts are smart they will have Peyton at every game mic'd up talking to Kerry in his ear every play.

Panthers over the Cardinals - This is just one of the underdog picks I decided to take a chance with. I'm not sure if either team really knows who they are yet so defense and special teams might decide this one.  I'm not a believer in Kolb.

Chargers over Vikings - The Chargers just have a better team on paper than the Vikings.  They didn't lose many and didn't have to make many changes. They are healthier than last year so I expect them to be stellar this year if they remain that way.

The San Francisco 49ers over Seahawks - Tavaris Jackson is my reason for this pick.  Sike nah, I'm a Niners fan, I think we had a good team last year, we have a better coach this year and a couple more targets for Alex Smith.  I would feel better with someone else under center but with the short offseason Alex knows the team the best at this point.  Seattle still needs some time to get things together, I don't think they are completely sold on their QB situation as of yet.

Giants over Redskins - Its 9-11, its written in the book of (NFL) life for the New York Football Giants to win this game.  I think this game will come down to the 4th quarter and Sexy Rexy making an error large enough to put the nail in the coffin.  The Skins still have some bugs to work out but their schedule looks easy enough for them to do so in the first few weeks. This game will help to point out things that need to change.

Jets over Cowboys - This doesn't have as much of a 9-11 will be the reason for the NY team winning feel to it, but I just don't think the Cowboys will play comfortably until half of the season is gone.  Romo was gone for practically a whole season, he will have some kinks to work out on top of the kinks he had before.

Patriots over Dolphins - Just because they are the Patriots and we know who they are, who are the Dolphins?

Raiders over Broncos - The Raiders were undefeated in the AFC West last year for a reason. The team is fast and high powered, the other teams in the division aren't really built to keep up.  The Bronco's defense is old and the Raiders seems to be able to run the ball with anyone they put in the backfield as well as air it out pretty well.

Thats all for today folks.  Tomorrow I'll post my Fantasy Football lineups.

The NFL is BACK! 49ers, Redskins, Ravens Predictions

Its that time of year that I love, I'm a summer baby but I've fallen in love with the Fall.  NFL is back, MLB is working towards a World Series, NBA & NHL is getting ready to start back up...Its just a great time of year.  But this post and 80% of what I talk about during this time of year is the NFL, so lets get into it.

Preseason
Preseason means something different to every team, but in the long run it means absolutely nothing.  If you are an established team you get to get your rookies and some others some play time to evaluate if they would be good backups.  But win or lose, you already know who your team is for the most part.  If you are a team with positional controversy then you get a chance to try out all possible options for that position, the only problem is that they don't get to go against other teams playing at full speed so in the long run you won't get a true judge of how the player will play in the regular season.  Winning your games when your 1st team is playing another teams 2nd team means absolutely nothing in the regular season. Last year the 49ers went 4-0 in the preseason and started the season 0-5. So lets get to the things at hand, season predictions...

Predictions
The four teams in the AFC that I think will have a strong run at the Superbowl are Chargers, Patriots, Texans, and Ravens.  The Jets, Steelers, and Raiders will be part of the playoff conversation down the line too.
The four teams I'm picking to win the NFC divisions are the Eagles, Rams, Packers, and Falcons. Wild Card spots will go to another NFC East team (which ever of the other three wins the most NFC West games) and to the Saints.

Ravens

1. PIT - Loss.  It could go either way but I just have a feeling that both Steelers games will be the hardest games for the Ravens this year.
2. @TEN - Win.
3. @STL - Win.
4. NYJ - Win. The better QB will win the battle here, otherwise the teams are pretty evenly matched up.
5. HOU - Win.
6. @JAC - Win.
7. ARI - Win.
8. @PIT - Loss.
9. @SEA - Win.
10. CIN - Win.
11. SF - Loss. I'm a 49ers fan, so I'm hoping the HarBowl works out best for the rookie coach and that the Ravens are so high from all their other wins that they don't prepare properly for this game.
12. @CLE - Loss
13. IND - Loss. Manning will be back and working hard to get his team in the Playoff races by then.
14. @SD - Loss.
15. CLE - Win.
16. @CIN - Win. 

 
Finishing the season 10-6 and winning their division.  At best 12-4 winning against SF and @CLE
 

Redskins

1. NYG - Loss. Its 9-11. Thats my only explaination for this, plus the Giants have had the Skins number the past few years.
2. ARI - Win. A Triumphant win to make up for the previous loss.
3. @DAL - Win. The Cowboys won't really get going full steam until week 6 or so.
4. @STL - Loss. I'm on the fence about this one, I'm just giving STL home field advantage with this pick.
5. PHI - Loss.  I'm saying that the Skins will lose both Philly games unless Vick is injured.
6. @CAR - Win.
7. @BUF - Win.
8. SF - Loss. I told you the deal above. I'm a 49ers fan and I believe that our team isn't much differnt from the Redskins and that we can win this game.
9. @MIA - Win.
10. DAL - Win.
11. @SEA - Win.
12. NYJ - Loss.  The Skins have a possibility to shock the Jets in DC depending on QB play.
13. NE - Loss.
14. @NYG - Loss.  Could go either way.
15. MIN - Loss. If McNabb is still starting at this point.
16. @PHI - Loss.

Finishing the season 7-9.  At best 9-7 if they win @NYG and against MIN.  Not sure were they will be in their division but I'm predicting a 10-11 win year for the Eagles. Not sure about the Giants or the Cowboys, so the Skins could surprise some people.

The San Francisco 49ers (Read these as written by a fan)

1. SEA - Win. Seahawks are still trying to figure it out, and we will take advantage
2. DAL - Win. Like I said above, the Cowboys just won't have it together at this point in the season.
3. @CIN - Win. I don't expect much from Cincy this early in the season either.
4. @PHI - Loss. Back down to reality.
5. TB - Win. Revenge for last year when they destroyed us in our house, but under different management.
6. @DET - Win. Depending on the Lions QB health and their Defense at this point, but I'm not expecting them to be 100%
7. CLE - Win. The 49ers can stop the run, CLE won't really have much else.
8. @WAS - Win. If Gore is healthy this will be Gore vs. Hightower...we already know how that story ends.
9. NYG - Loss.
10. ARI - Win.
11. @BAL - Win. I explained this above as well.
12. STL - Win.  I think we will split games with the Rams, so either we win this one or win the last one.
13. @ARI - Win. Ownership.
14. PIT - Loss. The better QB wins in any defensive battle.
15. @SEA - Loss.  The Seahawks should be more comfortable as a team by this point. Special teams will win the game for them.
16. @STL - Loss - I said we would split games, so here you go.

I'm not even going to tally these up, because its so unrealistic that I would probably be worth A Million Dollars in Vegas.  But it adds up to 10-6, so give none maybe take 3...and they end up 7-9 and 2nd in the division behind the Rams.

49ers (Logically Thinking, so not as a fan)

1. SEA - Win.
2. DAL - Win.
3. @CIN - Win.
4. @PHI - Loss.
5. TB - Loss.
6. @DET - Loss.
7. CLE - Loss.
8. @WAS - Win.
9. NYG - Loss.
10. ARI - Win.
11. @BAL - Loss.
12. STL - Win.
13. @ARI - Loss.
14. PIT - Loss.
15. @SEA - Loss.
16. @STL - Loss.

I didn't put any explainations beside these because the ones that didn't change are the same as what I said above, the others were thought to logically end up as losses and the season ends at 6-10 which is the same as last year.  If anything gives it would be one of the divisional games putting us at 7-9 and still 2nd in the divison behind the Rams. 


Thats all I got.  Lets get this season started already!

Hurricane Advise For People Addicted to Technology

This is from a post I just read on Android Central, and I was actually thinking the same thing yesterday when I was thinking about what my household needed to prepare for this hurricane.  A few of my technology related thoughts were that we need to have our phones charged and on the charger until or just in case the power goes off.  We have Xfinity digital phone lines, so I assume that means if we have no power we have no phones.  Signing out of twitter and turning off all auto-sync/background data apps will probably be necessary too.  The iPad and Laptop will be fully charged as well, although if the power goes out that mean no wifi and tethering would be required for Internet access.  The spare batteries and taking pictures of your home prior to for insurance reasons is a good idea.  Also tonight I plan to do a back up of all the pictures and documents on my Desktop PC to a portable hard drive.  When the backup is done I am going to put it somewhere in the house that I feel is safer than the top floor.

If you have any other suggestions or thoughts please post them.  Stay safe people.

I'm still hoping this thing takes a turn to the east, I have my money league Fantasy Football draft this weekend... C'MON MAN!!!! lol.

Here comes Hurricane Irene: Charge 'em if you got 'em

By Phil Nickinson 26 Aug 2011 9:12 am

Here's a quick no-brainer or two from your hurricane-prone pals at Android Central for those of you in the path of Hurricane Irene, scheduled to make landfall along the North Carolina coast on Saturday:

•Charge your phones. Now. Keep them charged. And once the storm starts, keep them off. You'll likely lose power at some point, and there's a good chance your local cell network will go down for a bit, even with generator backups.

•Spare batteries. If you got 'em, make sure they're charged, too. If you still have time to get some, do it.

•After the storm, text messages work best. Any carrier will tell you this, and we saw it again with that little shake the mid-Atlantic states got on Tuesday. If the network's up, it's going to be clogged, and calls might not go through. Text messages have a much better chance.

•If you're worried about damage and don't have a traditional camera, use your phone to take a few pictures of your home and your belongings. It'll make insurance claims much easier, should it come to that.

Any tips you folks want to share? Let's hear 'em.




http://www.androidcentral.com/here-comes-hurricane-irene-charge-em-if-you-got-em

How To Get Your Facebook App to Deliver Notifications Correctly [Android]

I'm sure plenty of Android users that just don't like the Facebook app and probably use the website more for their various reasons.  I'm not promoting the app or trying to convert anyone, but one of my main reasons that I've been using Tweetdeck for twitter and facebook is that it delivers notifications to my phone that I won't get from the Facebook app unless I'm actually in the application looking at the main screen.  Yesterday I read a post about a weird fix that someone came up with, so I decided to try it. 

The fix is simply to log into the facebook application on an active blackberry (or active your old one temporarily) turn on notifications in the blackberry app and go through the motions of setting it up as if you were going to use it daily.  When you are done log out of the app and banish the blackberry to the dungeon it deserves to reside in (j/k). Next thing you know when you get notifications your Android will get them and actually buzz and add an icon in your notifications tray.  Just make sure you go into the settings in the FB app and turn the notifactions on.

This was figured out by a person who has a daughter that just got an Android phone after having a Blackberry phone and their notifications were coming through flawlessly, where as the parent (much like myself) wasn't getting any notifications.  I actually should have been, but I remember clearly going into my Facebook settings from the web and disabling the blackberry notifications because I no longer had a blackberry.  My fiancee on the other hand told me she always gets the notifications, so this confirmed what I had read in the article.  I tested it out this morning and its been non stop notifications popping up on my Evo.  A simple and quick fix, now go find one of those

Here's the original posting describing the fix: "FaceBook Push On Android Not Working For You? BlackBerry Could Remedy That [Changing Simple FaceBook Settings On A BlackBerry Fixes Buggy Push Notifications]"

"- Find someone with a working BlackBerry. This could be a friend or any store that has activated demo phones.

- Using the Facebook app on the BB log into your account and wait for your stuff to start appearing. I did not log into email or anything else, just FB.
- After you see your Newsfeed updated with your information simply log out.
- Go into your FB settings on your Android phone and check the Notifications box. The refresh interval doesn’t matter (it can even be set to Never).
- Notifications should start appearing as you get them (Comments, Wall Posts, Pokes, Likes, Messages, etc.)"



Hello, Is It Me You're Lookin' For? [Photo]

This is just hilarious to me for some reason.  Maybe its just the look on his face.  Or maybe its the fact that someone made this simple poster and people have gone around actually printing it out and posting it places.  Do a google image search on "Hello is it me you're looking for" Matter fact I think I'm going to do the same.  There are always random posters like this at my job trying to sell things, I'll post this with those and see how long it last.  It's going to be hard not to laugh every time I pass it in the hallway...

If you want the full printable poster go here http://bop2pop.com/2011/03/07/hello-hello-is-it-me-youre-looking-for/ or http://boptopop.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/l9kph.jpg



The Top 5 Things A DAD Wishes Someone Had Told Him Before the Baby Came

Please note that this post is originally from http://www.expectingwords.com/the-top-5-things-this-dad-wishes-someone-had-told-him-before-the-baby-came and posted by http://www.dudetodad.com/. I thought it was a very interesting and entertaining post, plus it has some good informational value to it so I decided to reshare.

The Top 5 Things This DAD Wishes Someone Had Told Him Before the Baby Came

by Hugh Weber

1. Parenting isn’t a situation where MacGyver or Mr. T are going to be of any assistance to you. There are no solutions to this dilemma.

Perhaps the biggest misconception that I had coming into fatherhood was that I would somehow be able to “figure out” my child. Oh, I knew there would be stages. I had heard about the terrible twos and teething, but I imagined that between these milestones I would figure the super-secret song or noise or funny face and that I would magically disarm the greatest of tantrums and tears.

This was incredibly misguided and now feels borderline stupid. Any “solution” you come up with lasts 30 minutes at most. In many cases, it only lasts about 30 seconds. Get used to it. Keep trying. Go Dad!

2. You will never again be able to make a single decision without considering the impact on your child.

Since the birth of my daughter, there have been no decisions that have been made without considering the impact on her. This is true in use of money, use of time and prioritization of life’s many scheduling conflicts. This doesn’t mean that I always make the perfect decision, but it means I consider them in light of her.

Prior to the baby, there were purchases that would be made very impulsively without a consideration of impact. Prior to the baby, I worked some long nights and extended social gatherings engaged in without a handwringing thought about a waiting meal or wife.

I can be honest in saying that even marriage didn’t have this impact on me. (My dear wife, Mrs. Dude, wasn’t terribly excited to hear this, but it is absolutely true.)

If fathers were being completely candid, I think they would have to admit that even in their actions that are less-than-fatherly they still consider the impact on the family.

3. Picture the worst possible imaginable disturbing (borderline criminal) thing that could be done to you by a child, increase it by several orders of magnitude and expect it to occur weekly.

I’m going to leave out some details here. It’s for your own good. You see, my daughter has had some digestive disorders in these first couple months that have required group participation in the process of waste excretion. I know this is vague language, but I can assure you it’s better that way.

In less eventful activities, my daughter has managed to project formula vomit into my ears. I have been covered from elbow to shoulder in a goop that most closely resembles the most incredibly foul baby poop mixed with a liquid form of death.

There is nothing sweet or adorable about this. It’s just a fact.

4. Your wife at her best will be a fundamentally different person than the woman you met on your first date. Your wife at her worst will be an infinitely more terrifying person than the monster you imagined under your bed as a child.

There is no judgment implied in this. Plain and simple, the rules have changed. Learn the rules and it will all be fine. (Editor’s note: Mrs. Dude smiled and nodded when I read her this realization.)

5. Know your limits. If you don’t know your limits, trust friends and family when they tell you that you’ve reached them.

This is not to say that we are all ticking time bombs, but I have heard too many fellow moms AND dads say through tears “This is never going to end. I am never going to sleep. I can’t handle this anymore.” to believe that I am the only one.

Speaking personally, there are times (each and every day) when parenting is completely overwhelming. You are exhausted, the baby is inconsolable and the tension between you and your wife is high. Unless you learn to recognize when you just can’t handle any more stress (emotionally, spiritually, physically), there is a high likelihood that you will put yourself in a position to do and say things that you wouldn’t normally think possible.

So step away. Take a deep breath. Call a friend. But most importantly, acknowledge that you are overwhelmed and don’t take it out on your spouse or child.

BONUS # 6: This change…this baby…represent an opportunity to change life for the better. Please, please, please take advantage of it.

I don’t care whether you’re fighting addiction, have crappy financial management skills or just need to “grow up”, this baby gives you an excuse to become a better person. It’s like a reset button in life. Focus on the future and on something other than yourself and you’ll be amazed at what’s possible. I have friends and family members who struggled with all sorts of demons. Their decisions to embrace fatherhood and become good dads have made all of the difference in their life. Take the challenge. Make a commitment. Be a great dad and an even better person! Your kid is depending on you