Sundays NFL Games

As you must know by now the Steelers-Chiefs game has been postponed until 8:15 p.m. due to an ice storm in Kansas City. The Packers-Cowboys game, played in balmy Dallas, stays at 4:30.

The Falcons handled the Seahawks rather handily, 36-20. As previous stated, the Falcons offense is really tough.

I goofed on the New England-Houston game. I thought the Patriots would win but not cover the points. They did by 2, 34-16.

As you may have guessed by now I’m a Packer fan. In what promises to be a tight game, I think the Pack can defeat Dallas, if Aaron Rodgers continues to display his magic. No reason to think otherwise.

The powerhouse Steeler offense and a great defense should be enough to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, another very good team. The point spread is only 1, showing it should be a nail-biter.

Let me know how you made out through my email- fvoss70@live.com.

Enjoy

NFL Divisional Playoff Games

This week features the NFL Divisional Playoffs.  The winners meet next week in the Conference Championships, the winners of which match up in the Super Bowl.

Let’s have some more fun and see if we can pick the winners in this weekend’s games.

Saturday:

Today at 4:35 the 10-5-1 Seattle Seahawks go against the 11-5 Atlanta Falcons, the Falcons favored by 41/2. I don’t like betting against the Seahawks by I’ve got a hunch Atlanta will take this one. QB Matt Ryan is on a tear and it’s foolish to bet against Ryan and WR Julio Jones. Falcons: 28-21.

At 8:15, the 14-2 New England Patriots host the 10-7 Houston Texans, the Patriots favored by 16. That’s a lot of points. The Texans and the Patriots have met four times in the past, the Patriots winning every game by no less than 27 points. But the Texans have the best defense in the league. I look for the Patriots to win but not cover the 16. 21-7

Sunday:

At 1 p.m the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in K.C., Pitt favored by 1.

RB Le Veon Bell, WR Antonio Brown and QB Ben Roethles berger will lead the powerful Steeler offense to the win, 24-17.

At 4:30 Aaron Rodgers will lead the 11-6 Green Bay Packers into Dallas to meet the 14-2 Cowboys, Dallas favored by 4.

I look for the magic and the arm of Rodgers to carry the day. Cowboy rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott will only stand by and marvel at the great Aaron. Prescott will get a real lesson in how to play his position. But it will be a close game. Green Bay, 24-20.

Good luck and don't forget to let me know at fvoss70@live.com how you made out .

Making it Tough for the Fix-it Man

 It’s the time of year when the things you got for Christmas start to break. The time for this phenomenon, popularly known as TID (Toss It Day) has shrunk from about mid-March in the ‘70s to three weeks after you got them, now-a-days right about now. The length of useful time has shrunk in proportion to the use of plastic to make stuff and China’s introduction to it.

It struck me how difficult it is to fix anything anymore. It used to be that when you had trouble with an appliance, a tool, or some other piece of equipment, you dragged out your toolbox, tore the think apart, fixed it and put it back together. (Not many people still alive who remember those days.) But now it’s nearly impossible to get the thing apart and, try as you might, it never seems to go back together – at least for someone suffering the drawback of having only two opposable thumbs.

I visited the Shake-Me-I-Rattle appliance factory and spoke with New Product Developer Herschel Highpockets, a new man in the lab.

“I see you’ve just completed something, Herschel, whatcha call it?”

“That there’s a Handy-Dandy Thigamadoodle, Newshawk” he replied, sticking his chest out just a bit.

“What’s the Handy-Dandy Thigamadoodle do?” I asked.

“It automatically peels grapes and, by flipping this lever here, it helps you pick stuff from between your teeth.,” he announced proudly.

At that time Snidely Prattle, the quality control chief, arrived to inspect Highpocket’s invention.

“Well, I see you’ve finished the Handy-Dandy Thigmadoodle, Highpockets. Let’s have a look.”

He picked up the device, turned it all around, looked it over closely, then, pointing to the head of a bolt, asked, “ What’s this here?”

“The head of a bolt,” replied Highpockets.

“What’s the bolt do?” asks Prattle.

“Holds the Thigamadoodle together. Just unscrew the bolt, and the Thigamadoodle comes apart for easy repair.”

“NO! NO! NO!” screeched Prattle. “That’s a no-no. Are you nuts or something? You can’t put the head of a bolt right out in the open like that! Geez, everybody can see it!”

Well, er … It’s not an ugly bolt,” Highpockets stammered. “I can’t see …”

“ANYBODY can take this thing apart!” Prattle seethed, showing his teeth. “That’s not how we do things. It’s too easy! Why, I’ll bet the holes line right back up again when you go to put the Doodle back together!”

“Yeah, but …”

“NO! NO! NO! That’ll never do! Does the nut inside that screws onto the end of the bolt stay in place when you dismantle this thing?”

“Sure …”

“NO! NO! NO, Highpockets! The nut has to fall down inside someplace that’s impossible to get to. That increases the chances of losing it for future use. Is the bolt head metric? It doesn’t look metric.”

“No sir,” mumbled Highpockets.

“Oh, it MUST be metric! Most do-it-yourselfers have conventional tools. We must think of our service people. Shame, shame on you,” he admonished, shaking a finger at Highpockets. “How many functions can the Doodle do?” Prattle wanted to know.

“Well, er, ah, two.”

“Two? TWO?” Prattle couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Oh, now wait just a minute, young man! You’ve gone too far. What you’ve done calls for making two Thigamadoodles. One for each function. We market variety, not versatility. That’s a thing of the past. We’d be the laughing stock of the industry. Does this thing really work?”

”Oh, yessir. Perfectly.” Highpockets beamed, not having learned his lesson yet. “It has all metal parts.”

“WHAT?” Prattle howled. Surely you jest! I’m gonna have to keep an eye on you, I can see that. Plastic. Always think plastic. Use plastic for moving parts. Metal parts take too long to wear out. Service. Think service . New sales.”

“But, sir,” sputtered the good-hearted inventor, “wouldn’t people be more inclined to stick with a brand they knew they could get good service from? Don’t people appreciate quality and versatility anymore?”

“I don’t know anything about that,” Prattle snapped. “They can’t buy what they can’t get. Now get back to work, Highpockets, and remember: Keep it simple, keep it metric, keep it plastic, and, above all, don’t forget to hide the bolts!”

Update on Sunday's Wild Card Games

I had planned to get this info out earlier today, but my son is leaving for his home Connecticut early tomorrow and I wanted to spent a day with him before he left. With the Christmas season being as hectic as it was, we had very little time together. We made it up today. We enjoy each other's company.

Sunday's games went pretty much as predicted. Scores in both games were somewhat higher than I thought they would be - Steelers 30 point win over Miami was a bit of a surprise, but the Dolphins pretty much gave the game away with three turnovers and several stupid mistakes. Plus the Steelers held Jay Ajayi in check, while LeVeon Bell run for well over a 100 yards. The Packers 38-13 win over the Giants was also a pleasant surprise, but, as stated, if they could avoid the Lady-Bad-Luck bug and Eli Manning played a sub-par game (which he did), Green Bay would pull it off. As usual, Aaron Rodgers was brilliant.

Eleven of the 23 people to played our little game reported picking four winners, The others reported losing only one game. Well done, but we have two more weeks to go. I hope you and hopefully some others will join me later in the week to select their choices in the Divisional Playoffs. Two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday. Catch you later.

Sunday's NFL Picks

Those who picked Houston and Seattle in Saturday's games did well. Today we must choose between Pittsburgh and Miami, and New York and Green Bay.

The Steelers are 10-point favorites in the one o'clock game. I think that's too many, but who knows. This game will feature two premier running backs, Miami's Jay Ajayi and Pittsburgh's LeVeon Bell, so expect a ground game. When Bell gets jammed up, Big Ben will go to wide receiver Antonio Brown or TE Jesse James. Miami's starting QB Tannehill is and out may be a problem for the Dolphins who need all the help they can get. Steelers (I don't know about covering the 10 points).

No team has had worse luck in the playoffs in recent years than the Packers. If they can avoid Bad-Lady Luck, look for Aaron Rodgers' magic to carry them over the Giants by a touchdown. Of course, this assumes Eli Manning plays at his current low level. If Eli has a typical Eli playoff game, this could turn into a real barn-burner.

NFL Games - Let's have Some Fun!

This weekend is NFL Wild Card weekend., four great football games. Let’s have some fun and see if we can pick some winners. I usually run at about 50-60 percent on playoff games.

In the first game, 4:35 today, the Houston Texans take on the Oakland Raiders in Houston.  This will be a battle between lousy quarterbacks, so don’t expect much scoring. The Texans own the best defense in the league, and they are 7-1 at home. Houston in a yawner.

This evening the Detroit Lions (9-7) play the Seattle Seahawks (10-5-1). Matthew Stafford is 1-3 with the bum finger. He says it’s no problem, but something ain’t right. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson will be picking apart the Detroit secondary and when the Lions manage to close down passing lanes, Russell can sure run. Seahawks are favored by eight. They’ll win but might not cover the points.

At 1:05 Sunday the Miami Dolphins (10-6) take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5 at Pitt), with Pitt favored by 10. That’s a lot of points in a playoff game, but given that Dolphin QB Tannehill is out the Steelers could cover. This points to being a battle between two of the NFL’s best running backs – Miami’s Jay Ajayi and Pittsburgh’s LeVeon Bell. Look for the other B’s – Big Ben and Mr. Brown - in the Steeler lineup to make the difference. Steelers by 8.

Sunday afternoon the N.Y. Giants(11-5) travel to icy Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers(10-6), the Pack favored by 41/2. No team has experienced worse luck in the playoffs in the past several years than the Packers. If they can avoid Lady Bad-Luck and Aaron Rodgers continues to work his on-field magic, and Manning plays at his recent low level,  look for the Pack to pull this one out. Points, hell who knows; it should a real close game.

Email me a fvoss70@live.com with any comments or snide remarks.

Writers Need to Use Readable Words

Yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve written in this space. I apologize for the lapse.

Truth is, I haven’t been feeling so hot. Diabetes and a bad back causing lots of problems. I don’ think the two are related – at least I haven’t heard any theories linking the two, but it’s not out of the question. I fully expect that, every time I visit my primary, he’s going to offer me a new pill that cures those two maladies and everything else I’m living with. He’s a miracle man; he has a pill for everything.

This diabetes is some serious business. I have an awful time keeping blood sugars at an acceptable level. And memory loss is annoying as hell. I was having episodes during which I was literally brain dead; I could not response to simple questions. I’m calling it diabetic amnesia. For example, we had a computer tech over one day to help out with a few things. He asks my password, and I could not for the life of me think of what it was. He asks my email address – same thing. These times usually don’t last very long, and I’m back to normal. He said he’d call the next day, but he didn’t. I must have spooked him. There’s something about mental derangement, no matter how temporary, that does that to people.

There is, however, a lasting effect to this experience. Somewhere along the line I’ve lost the ability to comprehend college-level/ scholarly reading material. Oh, I can reason out meanings and such but the dictionary is always within arm’s reach. Even then, sometimes it’s tough. I find that after reading a paragraph (or sometimes just a sentence), I can’t remember what I’ve read. I’ve put down several books over the past couple of months for that reason.

For instance, I’m currently reading “All the Real Indians Died Off,” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker. What should be an interesting book on the plight of American Indians during the nineteenth century is, for me, a nightmare to read. I’m loathe to criticize two obvious scholars, both of whom appear to be truly concerned with the ragged treatment of the Indians, but there appears to be considerable overreach in the use of vocabulary. They seem to be trying to impress their audience with how smart they are. I’m sure they are both intelligent women, but they need to back off with the words. I was taught to write like you speak. Scholars want to sound scholarly, but, if they want to sell more books, they need to be readable. Ten years ago I would have had no problem with the words. Now, I do, and I’m sure there are others going through the same thing.

Another thing that bothers me about this book is that (as far as I can tell, from what I was able to read) it is just another whiny, woe-is-us, condemnation of white people. Most of us know how shabbily nineteenth-century whites treated the Indians. We get it. That it’s an issue with Indians is evident is the hundreds of books written on the subject. Some, at least, are readable.

Not only do we have American Indians writing volumes about American Indians getting the shaft more than a hundred years after the fact, we have black people still whining about slavery 150 years after a war that cost 600,000 American lives.  Volumes on both of these subjects can easily be found in the history section at almost any library. Note that says HISTORY section.

There two things that looking into these two subjects over the years has taught me. One, when I see a female author using a hyphenated last name, run like hell away from that book. There is, however, a bright side to all of this weepy-eyed chronicling  of white evil-doing  (dare I say racist?).At least these people have found something to do with themselves that they can make a living at. We can be happy not to be sending them checks every month. It’s similar to what very tall black men would be doing without the NBA?

What I don’t get is what they hope to gain by all the whining. Black people want reparations; Indians want their land back. That’s it?

My best advice - Go, Woof!