The weekend is upon us, which means it is time for some trashing and burning (Note: not for you folks working for Cheney at his "ceremonial" office, you have trashed and burned quite enough this week). You may ask "why, bmaz, is Cheney’s Vice Presidential Office ceremonial"? Don’t ask such silly questions, everyone knows he mans the President’s office while his feckless sidekick, Boy Dunder, rides his trike and clears brush. Without further adieu, here are some of my takes:
Green Bay at Da Bears – What can I say, when the head cat is away, the rat is gonna play. So the lead game on this week’s thread is not the Pats. Oh, the sacrilege. Its a shame Phred isn’t around to see the Pack in the pole position. Da Bears are having an injury filled downer of a season. But it is late December, Halas and Lombardi, classic Black and Blue Division football. While Soldier Field may not be the frozen tundra of Lambeau, it sure isn’t much warmer if the wind is up. With these two old foes you can throw their records out the window when they get together. Well, perhaps you can throw the records out the window, not me; um, I’ll take the Pack.
Fish at Pats – If I wasn’t worried that mom would take my car keys away, I am not sure I would bother with this one. The Dolphins are a once proud and grand franchise that have really fallen on hard times. I guess it seemed like the right idea to them at the time; but somehow or another you just knew that sooner or later they would regret giving Don Shula the bums rush out of town, even if it was for Jimmy Johnson. Pats ought to be able to rest Brady by the time the two minute warning is given. In the first half that is.
Browns at Bengals and Skins at Vikes – These are my co-choices for best of the rest. Neither one of them seem particularly appealing on the surface; but both have some compelling story lines going. The Browns may be the story of the year when it is all said and done. They have been playing good, smart, conservative ball all year. And winning. At the start of the year, I didn’t figure Romeo Crenel would make it through the season; now the playoffs are well within sight. As with the Bears/Packers, there is big history between these two. Kind of like the Cleveland Browns playing the Cincinnati Browns; they are both the creation of Paul Brown. The Vikes have had a surprising year and Adrian Peterson is the real deal and worth the ticket price to watch. The Skins have had a difficult and disappointing, not to mention tragic, year. Still, they are a better team than you think and Joe Gibbs knows how to play ball. This is a tough one, and I don’t say this with much confidence, but I got the Skins in an upset. I’ll bet I regret this one….
I am also going to toss in the Eagles at the Saints as an honorable mention for best of the rest. Eagles are a far better team than their record shows. Ask Tony Romo. The Aint’s have turned it around and are playing well again. I think New Orleans will hold on, but I sure wouldn’t bet any money on this one. Also this weekend, we have the New Orleans Bowl (Florida Atlantic v. Memphis); Papa Johns Bowl (Cincinnati v. Southern Miss); New Mexico Bowl (Nevada v. New Mexico); Las Vegas Bowl (UCLA v. BYU) and the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (East Carolina v. Boise State). I love watching Boise State, the others seem kind of like yawners. What do you have to say? Belly up to the bar and make yourself comfortable.