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