Football Predictions

I don't have much time for these this year, but it wouldn't feel right if I didn't make some predictions. So here's a quick couple of lists:

AFC

• San Diego Chargers: The only thing this team lacked last season was playoff experience. Now they have it. I don't thikn Norv Turner will be the cancer some people expect--he's a talented offensive co-ordinator with a defense that should be able to coach itself. Though a bit weak at WR, the Chargers should win the division and hit 12-13 wins.
• Indianapolis Colts: They took some substantial hits on defense, but that's not what has me placing this team third. Three words: rookie-left-tackle. And they don't have TE's built for pass blocking (can you really see Dallas Clark "helping out" against Terrell Suggs?). And they don't regularly use a full-back. Prediction: Peyton Manning will get hit harder than he ever has in his life this season. 12-4
• NE Patriots: Not to be a homer, but it is same old, same old in NE. Wes Welker will end up being the best WR on this team--his talent for making the tough catch over the middle will throw him right in Troy Brown's (where's Troy!?!) role. I do have a number of questions for this team: can Malroney stay healthy (probably not), will Seymour come back (probably not), can Harrison stay healthy (probably not), So, I see a good season, not a great one: 11-5.
• Baltimore Ravens: Oh my goodness this defense is good, even after losing AT. But I think their offense will really benefit from McGahee--I think there's plenty of gas in his tank. 10-6.
• Pittsburg Steelers: I hate the Steelers. But I think everyone is sleeping on this team. Yes, they have a new coach who will probably meddle with a defense he shouldn't. Yes, they lost Joey Porter. No, they didn't make any significant, over-the-top acquisitions. But, they have a healthy and motivated Ben. And I think having a clear-headed quarterback for 16 games will make a big, big difference. 10-6.
• Buffalo Bills: I know the Jets are the sexier pick, but I think Buffalo has made some strides. Losman played outstanding toward the end of last season, and I think he will continue to grow. It won't be pretty, but I think Buffalo "toughs out" that last playoff spot, just edging out the Bengals: 9-7.

AFC Championship Game: Chargers beat the Patriots, 24-21. Ouch.

NFC

• New Orleans Saints: The defense has to play better, simply because this offense won't be sneaking up on people this season. I wish they made a significant addition. 12-4.
• Dallas Cowboys: Tono Romo will be terrible (there's a reason this "franchise qb" rode the bench behind Bledsoe for three years...). But this defense will terrorize people. This could be the best defense in the NFL. And their two running back system could wear down opposing defenses. 11-5.
• Chicago Bears: Oh God, if any team should be interested in Leftwich, its this one. If they ditch Rex (or he masters his split-personality issue), then this team could be significantly better than I think. But, Cedric Benson is not Thomas Jones, particularly as a receiver. This is an offense that can ill afford to lose dimensions. 10-6.
• San Fran 49'ers: Great defensive upgrades and the best running back in the NFC not named Jackson. 10-6.
• Tampa Bay Bucs: Yup, this is my "that's insane" pick. But, the NFL tends to be insane. I have no faith in Carolina anymore- though their running game, defense, and Steve Smith could make me regret this pick. I think Gruden pulls it together, Garcia improves the whole offense, and the D plays with something to prove. 9-7.
• Phily Eagles: Donovan McNabb doesn't lose, so this is a pretty low risk pick. I like their defense, Westbrook fits this system perfectly, and this team always seems to have that intangible toughness. They'll squeak out this playoff spot over the defense-less Rams and QB-less Vikings (another team who should be throwing themselves at Leftwich--with a quality QB, this would be my Super Bowl pick).

NFC Championship Game: No freaking idea. I kinda want to pick the Vikings, even though I don't think their current QB can take them to the playoffs. So, how about this: 49'ers beat the Cowboys, 20-14. Yup, whatever.

Superbowl: the Chargers decimate whoever wins the AFL, mean NFC, championship game, 33-10.

That is, of course, unless the Vikings sign Leftwich. Then, all bets are off... (God, I love the NFL)

8 Random Facts

I have been tagged for 8 random facts by Wishydig. There's rules:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write in their own blog about their eight things and include these rules in the post.
4. At the end of your post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Now that those are out of the way:

1. The first song I learned to play on guitar was "Patience" by GnR.
2. The only movie I've ever seen in a theater more than once is Die Hard.
3. On my 15th birthday my dad took me to my first job, working in the kitchen of an Portugeuse/Italian restaurant. I worked there for four years.
4. In college I could beat Doom II on hard mode without dying and without using any cheat codes.
5. I have won my fantasy football league for two straight years.
6. I was extremely skinny in high school and college. So skinny that my dad used to call me skeletor. He hung a sign up at our graduation rehersal. It was embarrasing.
7. I detest the telephone. In any given month I probably talk on the phone a collected six times. Almost all of these conversations are with my mother. One might be with my wife (asking me to pick something up from the store, etc). I have not talked to my best friend(s) since Christmas. They know me. They understand.
8. I have to force myself to drink alcohol. Don't know when this happened. Certainly wasn't a problem in my 20's, now I can go weeks without drinking. I have been trying to have a glass of wine or a beer every night after dinner. I'd rather have a bowl of ice cream.

Most of the people I would tag have already been tagged, but I'll hit up:

• Mrxk
• The Pale Coin
• Monica

Another Top Ten: Albums

Sure its cliche, but I was thinking about this today on the drive into school--the ole "what ten albums would you take to a desert island?" question. Here's what I'm packing, in chronological order.

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, 1959

I never claim to be a die-hard jazz fan, my jazz collection is about ten albums. I love writing to this album (along with Coltrain and Monk).

Jimi Hendrix, Radio One, 1967-8 [recorded]

Well mastered, live in studio tracks; the version of "Burning" on this disc is my probably my favorite Hendrix recording. I know they have re-released the complete BBC recordings, but this was the 3rd CD I ever bought--sentimental value runs deep

Jimi Hendrix, Electric Ladyland, 1968

This was the last album I put on the list--because there's some tracks on this album that I really dislike... but as a whole, this is the most sublime album in the history of guitar playing. From the jam of Voodoo Child to the "oh-my-fucking-God-that's-just-ridiculous" licks of the final three tracks (all competing in my top ten all-time tracks), EL is a master virtuoso performance. Though, if I brought this album to the island, I'd have to bring a guitar--I can't listen to this album and not pick up a guitar

Allman Bros, Beginnings, 1973

O.k., its a double album. And a re-release. Chill out. Eat a peach.

Guns 'n' Roses, Appetite for Destruction, 1987

I have to keep reminding myself that this is twenty years old. Many of my students weren't born when this album came out.

Pixies, Doolittle, 1989

Again, a college disc. But its hard to fathom how many other bands were influenced by the Pixies. My wife's a bigger fan of the earlier albums; I like them all but consider Doolittle a nice mix of polish and ferocity

Sublime, 40oz. to Freedom, 1992

This album reminds of college--and the sheer range of musical stylings and influences on this disc makes it still worth a listen. "Ball and Chain" ranks up high on my favorite all-time tracks, but I'll save that list for another day

Soul Coughing, Ruby Vroom, 1994

Few albums can claim to be unique. This album is one of them. I never felt any of their follow-ups captured the sophistication and energy of this CD. "True Dreams of Witcha" is the hightlight--smart, profound, and carefully crafted (without being "sound-painting")

Pearl Jam, Vs, 1995

I love Ten, too--but its too polished. There's a certain "rough-around-the-edges" violence to the mixing of this album; I'd rather be with an animal.

Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds Five, 1995

I'm a big fan of all Ben Folds's work, but this first CD remains my favorite. But that's just my philosophy.

Looking at the list, I feel a bit old. Nothing from this century (sigh). Number 11 would have been Lucky Boys Confusion--terrible name for a band, but a very tight sound with pretty incredible harmonies. Also kind of surprising that Metallica didn't make the list--despite the 25 or so CD's in my collection. I really like Metallica, but I guess there's no one CD that I couldn't live without.

Of course, I'll probably look back at this list in a day or two and realize I'm forgetting some other album "I couldn't live without."

Can't Resist One Post

Slash.dot's had a running conversation of a recent NYTimes article that included a list of the top ten most important video games of all-time. Their list:

[Henry] Lowood and the four members of his committee -- the game designers Warren Spector and Steve Meretzky; Matteo Bittanti, an academic researcher; and Christopher Grant, a game journalist -- announced their list of the 10 most important video games of all time: Spacewar! (1962), Star Raiders (1979), Zork (1980), Tetris (1985), SimCity (1989), Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990), Civilization I/II (1991), Doom (1993), Warcraft series (beginning 1994) and Sensible World of Soccer (1994)

The list was compiled by collecting entries from experts in the field (and the Slash.dot discussion centers on the fact that there seems to be no clear metric for decisions). Nothing here surprises me--save that I have never heard of the "Sensible World of Soccer." I am surprised that no old school Sierra games made the list (I played significant amount of King's Quest and Space Quest in my formative years--not enough to make the list below, however).

Here's my list, and my metric: these are the games that I have played the most, chronologically, in my life. For whatever reason, they captured my attention and would not let go.

1. Enduro (Atari 2600, my memory doesn't really stretch back this far-but I remember this game utterly pissing me off. Countless hours were wasted trying to win this fucking race. I'm mad just typing about it)
2. Castlevania I, II, & III (Nintendo, I was not a huge SMB fan, but this game series was a great addiction)
4. Madden Football 1990 (Genesis, and you can add every other Madden to this list)
5. Wing Commander Privateer (Computer, very cool game--kind of pre-dates GTA in your ability to be a "rogue" rather than a typical hero)
6. Mortal Kombat I & II (Genesis, a college staple, I finished many a dorm-mate)
7. Doom I & II (Computer, many hours, late at night, wondering where that noise was coming from)
8. Tekken II (Playstation)
9. Final Fantasy VII (Playstation, I've played all the others--X was very good, XII was also quite good, but nothing compares to the "original" Playstation release; Sephinroth is the coolest character ever)
10. Hot Shot Golf I-IV (Playstation - Playstation 2, seriously, I still play this game, so superior to TW Golf it ain't even funny)
11. Socom Navy Seals I & II (Playstation 2, apologies to my wife, family, and friends. This game took over my life for an entire year. Go Myth)
12. Grand Theft Auto, (Playstation 2, here's the deal--a part of me really hates these games. The controls are clunky and non-responsive, the camera work needs serious help, and the plots are downright infantile. Yet I play them.)
13. Resident Evil IV (Playstation 2, I could put the whole Resident Evil and Silent Hill series, given my familiarity with these games. I certainly played the hell out of all of them. But Res IV deserves special recognition--dumb plot, but outstanding game. Outstanding. Did I mention that its awesome... only one game better, actually:)
14. God of War (Playstation 2, This is so much the best game ever that I refuse to even hear an argument otherwise. Don't bother, I'm not listening. Na-na-ni-na-na. Fingers in my ears. Am nervous about the sequel--don't know if it can live up. This game has everything--awesome controls, great characters, incredible story, and it is fun. It might be too violent for some, but for me its poetry in pixels)

Well, not the best games of all time, just the ones that have eaten up the most hours of my life. Bases Loaded almost made the list. Last summer I played an entire 30 year career as a starting pitcher in MLB The Show. I'm sure I'm fogetting a few more that will come back to me later...