NFL Power Picks: Week 17

I can't believe I lost to Rachelle this past week. San Diego and New England won, which put her over the top. Now comes the final week, one last change at redemption... and revenge :)

1/3 1:00 ET Indianapolis At Buffalo
1/3 1:00 ET At Carolina New Orleans
1/3 1:00 ET At Cleveland Jacksonville
1/3 4:15 ET At Dallas Philadelphia
1/3 1:00 ET Chicago At Detroit
1/3 1:00 ET At Houston New England
1/3 1:00 ET At Miami Pittsburgh
1/3 1:00 ET At Minnesota NY Giants
1/3 8:20 ET At NY Jets Cincinnati
1/3 1:00 ET San Francisco At St. Louis
1/3 1:00 ET Atlanta At Tampa Bay
1/3 4:15 ET At Arizona Green Bay
1/3 4:15 ET At Denver Kansas City
1/3 4:15 ET Baltimore At Oakland
1/3 4:15 ET At San Diego Washington
1/3 4:15 ET Tennessee At Seattle
44 pts

I May Have Lost Last Week's Battle, but I WILL Win this Week's Pick War!

Yes, I did it. Yours truly, this darling of a girl had to concede in front of thousands on #1 Alaska Talk Radio Host Eddie Burke's Show this past week. You all don't realize how hard it was coming out of the mouth of a girl who hates to lose!!! But I'm a humble girl who always lives up to her promises. While I may have lost last week's pick war, I guarantee I will WIN the war this week. Patrick, or should I say "Losertman," read these picks and weap, buddy!!!

SD at TEN: SD

BUF at ATL: ATL

KC at CIN: CIN

OAK at CLE: CLE

SEA at GNBAY: GNBAY

HOU at MIA: MIA

JAC at NE: NE

TB at NO: NO

CAR at NYG: NYG

BAL at PIT: PIT

STL at ARI: ARI

DET at SF: SF

NYJ at IND: IND

DEN at PHI: PHI

DAL at WAS: DAL

MIN at CHI: MIN

NFL Power Picks: Week 16

Rachelle, prepare to lose again this week. Prepare to meet football's


It was another crazy week in the world. The Senate, in a snowstorm, gave us a blizzard of b.s. when they voted for cloture and opened the door for health care to pass. That wasn't the only loss of the week, though. When the Dolphins lost Tennessee, Rachelle Friberg had sealed her fate. It will be her turn to tell thousands of Eddie Burke listeners that I beat her in our football picks.


NFL Picks For Week 16


San Diego
At Tennessee

Seattle
At Green Bay

Oakland
At Cleveland

Kansas City
At Cincinnati

Buffalo
At Atlanta

Houston
At Miami

Carolina
NY Giants

Tampa Bay
At New Orleans

Jacksonville
At New England

Baltimore
At Pittsburgh

Denver
At Philadelphia

St. Louis
At Arizona

Detroit
At San Francisco

NY Jets
At Indianapolis

Dallas
At Washington

Monday Night

Minnesota
At Chicago
41 pts


Why does Tiger Woods have more morals than Ben Nelson? Tiger only screwed a few dozen, Nelson screwed the whole country.

"Losertman" Concedes in Front of Thousands

After winning the last two weeks of picks against "Losertman," I mean Patrick, I'm feeling like a football picking princess!!! Perhaps the icing on the cake was Patrick calling into #1 Alaska Talk Radio Host Eddie Burke's show and conceding in front of thousands of listeners. How sweet it was to hear Patrick and Eddie talk up this football picking queen. I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas to you and yours.

DAL at NO: NO

IND at JAC: JAC

NE at BUF: NE

ARI at DET: ARI

MIA at TEN: MIA

CLE at KC: CLE

HOU at STL: HOU

ATL at NYJ: NYJ

SF at PHI: PHI

OAK at DEN: DEN

CIN at SD: SD!!!! BOLTS ARE ON THEIR NORMAL DECEMBER ROLL!!!

GNBAY at PIT: GNBAY

TB at SEA: SEA

CHI at BAL: BAL

MIN at CAR: MIN

NYG at WAS: NYG

NFL Power Picks: Week 15

NFL Picks For Week 15

Indianapolis
At Jacksonville

At New Orleans
Dallas

At Pittsburgh
Green Bay

At Tennessee
Miami

New England
At Buffalo

Arizona
At Detroit

At Philadelphia
San Francisco

At NY Jets
Atlanta

At Baltimore
Chicago

At Kansas City
Cleveland

Houston
At St. Louis

At San Diego
Cincinnati

At Denver
Oakland

At Seattle
Tampa Bay

Minnesota
At Carolina

Monday Night Football
12/21 8:35 ET

NY Giants
At Washington
41 pts (tiebreaker)

VIP Status

Well, football sweeties, I have just one thing to say: I WON last week, which means Patrick was crowned the loser. I'm STILL waiting for him to call into Eddie Burke's radio show to concede! I'm sure he will be doing this chore sometime this week. I'm going into this week's picks feeling great because I had the honor of meeting Sarah Palin and family earlier this past week in Reno. The entire family is so awesome and even nicer in person! Visit my blog to read more about my experience. ( I guarantee you will want to see how unbelievable an experience it was.) http://www.conservativegirlwithavoice.com. I can't wait to win again this week; I'm thinking Patrick will be doing a double concession speech on the radio.... mmmm.... I DO believe I am on to something.

PIT at CLE: PIT

NO at ATL: NO

GNBAY at CHI: GNBAY

DEN at IND: IND

BUF at KC: BUF

CIN at MIN: MIN

CAR at NE: NE

NYJ at TB: NYJ

MIA at JAC: MIA

DET at BAL: BAL

SEA at HOU: HOU

STL at TEN: TEN

WAS at OAK: OAK

SD at DAL: SD- GOOOOO BOLTS!!!

PHI at NYG: PHI

ARI at SF: ARI

NFL 2009 Week 14 Picks: Out of This World

I'm still having a "no way, that didn't just happen," moment. And I'm not talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Dallas Cowboys losing. I'm talking about a great moment in pop culture when Sarah Palin turns the tables on William Shatner who has been getting yucks reading Sarah Palin's writings on "The Tonight Show." Watch the video below and you'll see how great this is.



Just for the record, I will not go on safari and I will not visit an elephant in my underwear if I lose to Rachelle this week in our picks.

Rachelle met Sarah Palin in Reno, NV and I met Sarah Palin in Fairfax, NJ at book signings. Read Rachelle's blog. See Sarah Palin reacting to my shirt.

Here are my picks for the week:

PIT
NO
NE
KC
NYJ
JAC
MIN
BAL
GB
HOU
IND
OAK
TEN
SD
PHI
AZ
41 pts

Encounters With Celebrities

On Saturday, Dec 5, 2009, this blogger added a huge name to his list of celebrity encounters. Braving the snow and freezing temperatures, this determined writer waited his turn to get two copies of Going Rogue: An American Life signed by Sarah Palin in Fairfax, VA. Read the story here.

On October 13, 2008, this blogger battled a thick crowd at the front of the stage where Sarah Palin had just given a campaign rally speech in Richmond, VA. Although I had been within three feet of her, the pushing and shoving combined with the fact that she kept moving along the stage to sign autographs and shake hands, I came up short, prompting me to make a mental note that there would be another occasion, another time where I could try again.

And that time came.

At the rally, I wore a t-shirt that had a picture of Sarah Palin on it and the words "Say it ain't so, Joe." I also wore it to her book signing. When she saw the shirt, she lit up and said "I love your shirt. That's so great." It's official: Sarah Palin loves my shirt!

Let's look at the list of celebrity encounters to date:

-I spilled Ritchie Blackmore's (guitarist for Deep Purple) beer on a foosball table at a rock club on Long Island. It was my most embarrassing moment. Blackmore was very cool about it though. I offered to buy him a beer, but he insisted against it and told me not to worry about it.

-I met Billy Smith (goaltender for Stanley Cup NY Islanders) and teammates Clarke Gillies and JP Perise at the Nassau colliseum and got their autographs. I later met another teammate and Stanley Cup winner Bryan Trottier at a memorabilia signing. I got a signed hockey puck from him.

-The only other book signing I ever attended was on Long Island where I got John Densmore's (drummer for the Doors) autograph on his book Riders On The Storm.

-I got Rusty Wallace's (1989 NASCAR Champion) autograph at a signing in Richmond, VA.

-I met Kiran Chetry as she finished up the final segment of her show outside the Fox News building when she was anchor of Fox and Friends Weekend. She signed the blue card that she used for the show (blue card is notes about the topic she was covering, Deborah Gibson and Jordan Knight's duet "Say Goodbye"). Gibson and Knight performed the song. I also got Deborah Gibson's autograph on the CD single that same day.

-I met and got signed autographs from Bob Turley (NY Yankees pitcher).

-I also met and got autographs from Geoff Downes (keyboard player for Asia) and John Payne (singer for Asia during the time when John Wetton wasn't with the group).

-I met Pete Dawkins (Heismann trophy winner) and got his autograph.

My only regret is that I never met Ronald Reagan. But I consider Sarah Palin's book signing the closest I ever got.

A Little Grassroots Picking

This week, it's all about the grassroots, sweetie. While Patrick, whom I playfully refer to as "Loser T Man" had a so-called football-pick pro help him with his picks, I'm going at it alone, relying on my gut and the sports lessons I have learned along the way as an athlete. Let Patrick have his little buddy help him. He must be really scared of me and view me as a threat to have to succumb to that level. While this week's win is going to be sweet, the very fact that poor, little Patrick had to get some much-needed help from his buddy says it all. In the words of my role model, Sarah Palin, "You betcha!" I also might add, that having tweeted Patrick my pick of the Jets earlier this week, I'm already up one game going into tomorrow!!!

Now, on to my Week 13 Pigskin Picks:


NYJ at BUF: NYJ

PHI at ATL: PHI

STL at CHI: CHI

DET at CIN: CIN

TEN at IND: IND

DEN at KC: DEN

NE at MIA: NE

OAK at PIT: PIT

NO at WA: NO

TB at CAR: CAR

HOU at JAC: JAC

SD at CLE: SD- My Bolts will win their 7th in a row tomorrow!!!

DAL at NYG: DAL

SF at SEA: SF

MIN at ARI: MIN

BAL at GNBAY: GNBAY

Straight From the "Tiger's" Mouth

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology. - Tiger Woods

Apparently, Tiger Woods has been "thinking with the wrong club." In a statement on his website today, he apologizes to his family and his fans. Fans and observers alike heard the rumors and were piecing it together somewhat. Of course, the tabloids were running wild and speculation was rampant. In this day of media malpractice and general gossip that is both the cause of and effect from the decline of our society, it's always best that we wait until the individual who is the subject comes forward and explains it directly to us, unfiltered.

Since the beginning of time there has always been immorality. It's human nature to be weak. This is not an excuse, but a premise that if misunderstood will only lead us into more immorality.

Solutions to problems cannot be found until you have actually diagnosed the problem. The problem is not that humans are weak, it's that humans don't recognize they're weak or even worse, they ignore it after becoming caught up in wealth and fame.

John Edwards explained that his "ego blew up because of the attention he was getting and that he became 'egocentric and narcissistic' - and he lied about it to people." Mark Sanford said "This was selfishness on my part."

Recognizing that we are weak, egocentric and selfish people should come before the transgressions. But, for many, this recognition only comes afterwards. We humans tend to not think long term enough. We go with the flow and live for the moment without taking a look at the bigger picture and understanding in advance where the land mines are. Many times, the land mines look like gold or a beautiful woman. When we touch it, it doesn't explode right away, but it eventually explodes.

As "super" humans, we think that we can justify lust and greed or even worse, ignore it. We arrogantly think we can eliminate these sins from the world or from our lives. But the reality is, these are sins that will be with us until the end of time. Only God can forgive these, and it is only through God that these sins will be destroyed on the judgment day.

Until then, we are existentially condemned to dealing with these issues. Like Sisyphus, we must roll the rock up the hill, fight the temptations and deal with the societal fact that these sins will never go away.

So how do we handle them?

Very simply put, we recognize the nature of them and apply one simple rule: do unto others as you would have done unto you. There is nothing wrong with making money and there is nothing wrong with having sex. It's how we do it. There is a right way and there is a wrong way.

We need to recognize that marriage is a sacred vow between one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation and raising a family in the proper moral setting. Gay rights proponents miss this point a lot, but athletes, musicians and politicians miss it in a different way. It is not an ideal lifestyle to have casual affairs. But if you are going to do that, DON'T GET MARRIED.

Derek Jeter recognizes this. He spoke with Gretchen Carlsen of Fox News today. As a single man, and an athlete who has women throwing themselves at him, he has managed to live his life in such a way so that his relationships are private and not the fodder for tabloid exploitation (although they do get stories out about him from time to time). Here's where Derek Jeter is right and where society is wrong. Whatever lifestyle you choose to lead, it's your personal responsibility not to flaunt it and it should be the media's responsibility not to exploit it.

He recognizes that his profession keeps him on the road a lot. It may be possible that he feels he could not uphold the responsibility that comes with marriage both time wise and possibly even fidelity-wise. As such, he recognizes this and avoids what happens to people like Tiger Woods, John Edwards and Mark Sanford by staying single and conducting his affairs in private, away from the glamorization of the media.

While Derek Jeter, as he admitted to Carlsen, is not perfect and screws up, he has had the foresight to not put himself in a position to hurt a wife or kids. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, has put himself in that position. It is not ours to judge. But, we all know the real problem is that Tiger did wrong by his wife and family. It's only up to him to reconcile that.

We can't help Tiger right now. But he can help us. How? By making us think about what happened. Sometimes learning what not to do is as important as learning what to do. Tiger learned the hard way. Let's hope our athletes, musicians and politicians take what happened to him as a warning and learn from it before it's too late.

NFL 2009 Week 13: Head To Head Power Picks

Last week, I beat my buddies in our head to head pool. But I only tied Rachelle. I beat the boys but could only manage a tie against a girl. Last week was a bad week for injuries. I picked the Steelers and then it turned out afterwards that Roethlisberger was not playing. Had I known Big Ben would be out, I could have picked BAL and had 3 losses to Rachelle's 4. Ego injury.

Speaking of injuries, Mike Huckabee suffered a serious, possibly "season ending" injury this week when Maurice Clemmons, who had his sentence commuted by Huckabee, killed 4 cops in Washington State.

I decided, after much dithering of course, that I needed a "surge" in my football picks. So I consulted a friend of mine who's an expert on sports and checked all the team injury reports and stats. As commander in chief of my football picks, let me be clear: Rachelle Friberg - the girl who keeps trying to beat me - is still in San Diego and still on Twitter.

So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Rachelle Friberg in our football pool, and to prevent her return to the winner's spot in the future. That is the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that could not be more just. And to the rest of those who oppose my picks, my message is the same: we will defeat you.

This week, I picked a lot of road teams. There are a lot of home underdogs this week as well, which makes the road picks look much better. I'm usually leery about picking too many road teams. But I look at it like this. If you took Sarah Palin on the road, you won this week. 1 million books sold within 2 weeks. Not bad.



AND NOW THE WINNING PICKS:

Week 13 Power Picks