I finally found some time to listen to a few bands/artists that I’d never checked out before. Here are the fruits of my labor… at least from my perspective:
Bedouin Soundclash – 12:59 Lullaby
Jamie Cullen – High and Dry
Of Montreal – Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games
Michael Andrews – Mad World
Placebo – Running Up That Hill
Damien Rice – 9 Crimes
The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby/Julia (from the new George Martin produced compilation “Love”)
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Posted by michaeleller
“There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.” – George Custer
These were some of the final words ever said by George Armstrong Custer. They were uttered shortly before The Battle of Little Bighorn where Sitting Bull and his coalition of Native American tribes outnumbered Custer’s men 3 to 1. The Seventh Cavalry was destroyed almost entirely; with the only survivor being a scout who had disguised himself as a Sioux indian.
Why bring up Custer in a post about Blockbuster Video? It’s obvious isn’t it? This is a one-time multi-billion dollar corporation that’s now just one misstep away from being completely obliterated. In 2002, they lost $1.6 billion. They lost $1.0 billion in 2003 and $1.2 billion in 2004. I don’t care how powerful a company is, no one can afford to be losing that much money on a consistant basis. And that’s why NOW… with their backs pushed firmly into the corner, they’re playing their last card; their trump card. And it’s with this final maneuver that they will either survive and flourish or sink and drown. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at Blockbuster’s rags-to-riches history.
Blockbuster was started in 1985 by Wayne Huizenga; a man who had a knack for turning small businesses into Fortune 500 companies (i.e. Waste Management Inc., Blockbuster, AutoNation). You might also know Huizenga as the owner of the Florida Marlins who dismantled most of the team after winning the World Series in 1997.
Blockbuster grew quickly after its inception and in 1994 it was sold to Viacom for $8.4 billion. Throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s (Do we still not have a name for this decade?!?), Blockbuster continued to grow and at some point turned into the playground bully. It was bigger than everyone else and it used its power and size to squash out any competition. Remember when Blockbuster was the first to offer free memberships? Or when they started their GUARANTEED IN STOCK program? Or their most famous tactic… THE END OF LATE FEES!!! Blockbuster was able to incorporate all of these strategies (which initially cost them money) because they knew that in the end it would steal more and more customers from the competition and provide them with more profitability. They struck again in December of 2004 when they announced their plans to perform a hostile takeover of Hollywood Video (their primary competition at the time), only to have their plan foiled when Hollywood Video allowed themselves to be bought out by fellow competitor, Movie Gallery.
But this was the beginning of the end for Blockbuster, because it was right around this point in time when a California-based company called Netflix began its rise in the movie rental business. Netflix was the first movie rental service to find major success by having no physical stores and operating solely over the internet. Customers create a queue of movies that they want to see and depending on the number of discs in their monthly subscription, they are continually mailed their next movie after the previous one is returned. They began in 1998 and since then have amassed more than 5 million subscribers and ship out close to 1.5 million movies per day.
So it was Netflix who was finally able to successfully rob Blockbuster of their virtual monopoly in the movie rental business. This led to lawsuit #1 (Netflix suing Blockbuster over purported “infringement of patent,” when Blockbuster launched Blockbuster Online.) and lawsuit #2 (Blockbuster counter suing Netflix over establishing a patent that was designed to create an illegal monopoly.). As far as I know, these proceedings have yet to be settled. But what has been settled is that Netflix currently has somewhere in the ballpark of 5.7 million subscribers and Blockbuster Online only has about 1.5 million (based on figures reported at the end of September ‘06).
And this is what has led Blockbuster to breaking out their trump card. The ace in the hole that they’re hoping will return them to the top of the food chain. And to be honest, it’s a good idea. But the question remains of whether or not they’ve waited too long to break it out. Blockbuster Online Total Access is what they’re calling it, and it essentially combines their online service and their in-store service for no additional charge. They used to have it set up where (depending on the number of discs in your subscription) you could have a certain number of free in-store rentals per month. Now they’ve done away with that and are allowing any subscriber to Blockbuster Online to come into a Blockbuster store and swap out their online rental for an in-store rental; this can be done as often as they want as long as they never rent more movies than they have in their subscription. Essentially, they are giving their customers the best of both worlds. If you want the convenience of having your movies shipped to your house and being able to “return” them by dropping them in the mail, you use the online service. Or if you just HAVE to see the new Nicholas Cage movie tonight, you can return one of your rentals to a store and instantly exchange it there. We’re witnessing the death of one time rentals. It’s the wave of the future as Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes once said.
Will this be the saving grace of Blockbuster? I’m leaning towards no. I’ll give them credit for coming up with a good idea, and if I wasn’t already a member of Netflix I might be willing to give Blockbuster Online a try. But as a Netflix customer, I have no desire to change (and something tells me that I’m not the only Netflix subscriber who feels this way). I believe Netflix offers a solid service that has exceeded my expectations consistently. And while staying with them means I’m sacrificing the ability to freely run to Blockbuster on a Friday night, I’m okay with that. It’s not something that my life currently requires and honestly I doubt I’d even take advantage of it that much if I had the option.
If it appears that I’m being too hard on Blockbuster or that I don’t agree with their business practices, then I’ve mispoken. Yes I compared them to a playground bully, but I don’t think that was the wrong move. Their goal was to be financially successful, and I totally believe that cutting into their competition’s profits and stealing their customers was both necessary and smart. But with that being said, I’m an even bigger fan of what Netflix has done. I love it when companies that have great ideas and business models are able to take over powerful juggernauts that have been in control for years. Netflix was able to do something that many companies had attempted and failed. And they did it by offering a superior product at a competitive price.
So I really do believe that this is Blockbuster’s last stand. And I believe that they’ll meet the same fate as George Custer in the end. Confident and cocky in their prime, but ultimately outmatched and defeated.
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Just wanted to throw out some of my favorite moments from tonight’s episode of The Office. Feel free to add your own in the comments section; I’d love to hear them. I swear, every time I start thinking that this show can’t get any better they go and make an episode like tonight’s that just slays me.
1) Toby looking for some dap – Easily my favorite moment of the episode… maybe my favorite moment of the season (that’s how much I like Toby). This one got the instant rewind & watch again. Absolutely priceless, from Jim not knowing what to do, to Toby sheepishly apologizing as Jim walks away. If there’s one thing that I can’t seem to get enough of on this show… it’s Toby.
2) “I’m always one step ahead… like a carpenter who makes stairs.” – Andy
3) “Follow me, I’ll show you where all of the slaves work.” – Michael, to Martin, the new black guy
4) LAZY SCRANTON:
http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/
5) “I’m sorry, it’s just a little distracting.” – Ryan, talking to the lady with the breast pump.
“Ditto, my brother.” – Creed
6) “Cant’ we all just get along? Or have we forgotten the words of the Reverend King?” – Michael Scott
7) Jenna freakin’ Fischer – That might be my favorite Pam episode…ever. She had so many great, subtle little reactions and looks. From her reaction to Michael asking if Karen’s dad was a G.I., to her disappointment from seeing Karen’s hand on Jim’s back, to her whole “we’ll always be friends” spiel that she gave Jim at the end. I thought it was so well done and pulled off perfectly. I hope writers for other television shows are taking notes on the whole Jim/Pam saga… because it really is incredible how realistic and TRUE their interactions are. I don’t know of anyone who can’t say they’ve been in situations or conversations that have looked and felt like theirs. And I think that’s what makes it so powerful… the fact that Jenna and John’s performances allow the audience to say, “Yeah… I’ve been there… that IS how it feels and how I reacted.”
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Oh… and be sure to Tivo or DVR it if you get a chance… I think her name’s going to be in the closing credits for about .2 seconds.
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Posted by michaeleller
- Studio 60 has been picked up for an entire season. Is it too soon to ask for a new night and time slot?
- Speaking of new nights… The O.C. pulled nearly identical numbers from its Wednesday (2.4/4) and Thursday (2.3/3) episodes. Ratings have been the lowest ever for the show… but don’t give up hope yet. Internet gossip is saying that FOX is thrilled with the storylines this season and there’s a good chance that the show could be picked up for an entire season (as opposed to the 14 episodes that it’s currently contracted for).
- Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (co-creators of the BBC version of The Office) have written a script for its American counterpart, which will air on November 30th. Look here for the article… although it does contain an episode description which contains spoilers.
- The final season of Scrubs premieres on November 30th right after The Office if anyone’s interested.
- It appears that Entourage will be finishing up its third season at the same time that The Sopranos will be airing their mini-season in early 2007.
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Here we are… yet again. On the cusp of another college basketball season. Arguably my favorite part of the entire year. I went to UNC from ‘01-’04, so for me following the football team was kinda circumstantial; something me and my friends did on Saturday because it was there (less than a mile away), it was free, and it was a sporting event. I’m not saying we didn’t have a blast at these games, but my passion and my excitement weren’t anywhere close to where it was when basketball season arrived. I always found it amusing how at the end of every football season there would usually be some overlap where you’d have to choose between going to a football game or a basketball exhibition. I pretty much always went with the basketball exhibition because that was something to get excited about. Another year of contending for a national championship; to be the absolute best out of all the competition in the country. You just couldn’t get that with football while I was at UNC; and being a pretty competitive person myself, I found that it’s almost always more enjoyable to watch people compete at the top of their sport compared to teams that are just mediocre.
Hopefully this doesn’t make me sound like a fairweather fan, because that’s not my point. I am a Tarheel fan; whether it be football, basketball, or fencing. I’m just saying that given the opportunity, I’d prefer to be at a basketball game… which leads me to the point of this post.
You can go to an assortment of places to hear people wax poetic about how great we’re going to be this year (HERE for one), so I won’t make any feeble attempts at coming up with something original (Although I will say that Dickie V picked us to win the National Championship over Florida). What I will do though is show some highlight reels of 3 of our incoming freshmen. Granted these are mostly clips of these guys playing against high schoolers, but it’s still incredibly exciting if you’re a Tar Heels fan. (On a related note: It’s amazing to search for these highlight reels and hear all of the hardcore rap music that gets laid into the background.)
Tywon Lawson:
Brandan Wright:
Wayne Ellington: (pay attention about 2/3 of the way through this one. You see Ellington, Lawson, and Wright all together for the USA National Team)
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Here’s an email that’s been making the rounds about someone who had an opportunity to attend a coach’s clinic at UNC… It’s pretty exciting stuff.
Just returned home from the coach’s clinic in Chapel Hill. Much like last year, I wanted to sit down and share my observations of the two practices I watched. These are only my opinions. Plenty may disagree with me- obviously,I have no problem with that. Bear with me on the length of this.
My individual evaluations:
Seniors:
Reyshawn Terry: Shoulder injury. Did not practice either day.
Wes Miller: Shooting the ball unbelievably well. Coach Williams relayed a
story about Wes from this summer. Said that Blake Ahearn of Missouri State (NCAA FT leader the past 3 years- NO, NOT JJ REDICK) had been shooting to see how long it took him to make 100 3 ptrs. Ahearn had made 100 3’s in 7:49. Wes found out, made 100 in 7:33. Ahearn email Wes back and said he’d made 100 in 7:29. A week later, Wes made 100 in 6:33. He made 100 out of 113 threes. Unreal. Wes hasn’t heard back from Ahearn yet.J From a more realistic standpoint, Wes looked better than last year. His physical limitations on an EXTREMELY talented team will limit his minutes, IMO. I do believe he will play quite a bit at first, even start in fact, but as the season goes on I do expect his minutes to decrease (more on that later)..
Quentin Thomas: For the first time since I’ve seen Quentin, it looks like
his mind and body have caught up with the speed of the game that UNC likes to play. In past practices, I’ve seen Thomas stand out in practice for simple mistakes, turnovers, etc. Being a step ahead or a step behind has kind of been his game for 2 years. Today and yesterday he looked comfortable. Didn’t rush things, didn’t hurry things, shot the ball well. Made steady, if unspectacular plays. I have absolutely no idea what his playing time will be this year. It is definitely way to early- due to the talent of the underclassmen beneath him. I do think he brings a maturity that the freshmen absolutely lack- a knowledge of the game that our
freshmen, as talented as they are, still don’t have..
Sophomores:
Tyler Hansbrough: Not much to say here, actually. Tyler made a couple of 3’s during scrimmaging- so it is obvious that he’s been working on his outside game. If people are expecting him to come out and shoot jump shots, then they’re wrong, IMO. In the flow of secondary break, if the open shot is there, then Tyler will have the green light, no doubt. He is ripped, physically. His shoulders look like they’ve been cut out of stone. I think I was most excited about the fact that he has 3 legitimate post players who will battle him day in and day out. I fully believe that what he sees in practice every day will be better than the competition he will see in 70% of the games he plays. I believe his foot quickness has improved a bit.
Marcus Ginyard: My favorite player of the two days by far. Much more vocal than last year. Finished first in every sprint that I saw him run. We had another player like that last year- that Noel guy. Very nice jumper- but his less than speedy release will hamper him from shooting contested jump shots. It isn’t a slow release- but it isn’t quick either. Looks bigger- and it is good weight. Ginyard is not a shutdown Jackie Manual type. I tend to think he’ll be the kind of player that can guard 1’s, 2’s, 3’s and even a four, if necessary (which, with our depth, will not be. He will give offensive players fits. His enthusiasm and effort was something that he will bring that every great team needs.
Bobby Frasor: Looked smooth. I think the highest compliment that I can pay Bobby is that he looked totally at ease out there with some VERY quick players. The knock at the end of last year was his inability to guard quick guards. He won’t ever be Allen Iverson (thank God), but he changed gears on the floor, made good decisions and shot the ball well when he could set up. His jump shot is great, when he’s set, but he does have a problem coming off screens to shoot the ball. Inside/outside post/guard play will accentuate his strengths. When he gets his feet under him, Frasor’s shooting % will be very high.
Danny Green: I’m really not sure what to say about Danny Green. He looks solid in many areas on the floor. He’s definitely stronger- and it shows (ripped physique and noticeably bigger than last year). He has the same tendency as last year to look for his shot, then look for his shot, then look for his shot, then look for his shot- then perhaps pass. I’m not being critical. He is not a selfish player at all. My honest opinion is that Green is most comfortable playing in an aggressive manner. Most of the time, that equates to VERY good things for the Heels. It also leads to some poor decisions at times. Obviously things that the coaching staff will correct during the season. And, good decision-making will be a premium on a team as loaded as this one. A couple of bad decisions will put a player this year down on the end of the bench. I also have no idea where they will play him. On the practice plan, Green was listed as a 3, but who knows. The coaching staff just seems to love him.
Mike Copeland: He’ll be a good practice player. That’s all. In some years, maybe he’d get some time. Not this year.
Freshmen
(I’ll keep these comments to a minimum for the simple reason that I have no frame of reference to compare them to. I’m sure some coaches on here who saw them play in high school will be able to tell you more).
Alex Stepheson: Looked more like a sophomore than a freshman. Didn’t look like a senior, though. He has a much more polished offensive game than I expected. Nice form on his shot and very strong inside. Not Tyler strong- but who is? He is undoubtedly strong enough to body Tyler every day. Good nose for the ball- but made some freshman mistakes and struggled some in conditioning today. I fully expect him to get meaningful time based on the fact that we will be so physical with him inside..
Deon Thompson: More raw than Stepheson. The most pleasant surprise I saw was his offensive skills. He is not awkward at all with the ball- nice 8-10 ft. jumper. He’s a big, athletic kid who will be a VERY good player for us over the next four years. Any other year- and I mean ANY other year- he would see meaningful minutes. I just don’t see how he’ll get them this year. Looked like a freshman- good at times and lost at times..
William Graves: Proud of William- saw him play for the Gators years ago. He looked quicker than I expected. He didn’t “look” heavy out there, if you know what I mean- but he is a big guy. The practice plan had him at the 3 spot. Shot the ball slightly above average in what I saw. In some years, Graves might get around 10 min a game. Not this year. He has a minimum of 5 guys that will play the 3 ahead of him..
Wayne Ellington: You’d have to see a UNC practice to understand that its not the type of format where a player like Ellington is going to go in and just light people up. In the shooting drills I saw, he was silky, silky smooth. High release on the shot- very little effort and it goes in. Wow- does it go in. During his scrimmage time, he never looked completely comfortable- which I attribute to all of the thinking that our freshmen have to do during secondary break. I really believe that of the freshmen, he has as good a chance as any to start once he gets the offense and the type of movement Coach Williams wants down. Did I mention how nice that jump shot is? Whew. you guys are going to love it.
Tywon Lawson: Do you remember the first time you saw Raymond go from 5 mph to 200 mph and back to 5 mph in the space of about 50 feet? You’ll get to see that again from Lawson. Honestly, there were a couple of times when Lawson was here- the poof- he was down the middle of the lane dishing to a sometimes unsuspecting teammate. He is quick on quick. He has the occasional lapse of judgment where he dribbles into trouble and turns it over- but he’s not careless with the ball or impatient by ANY stretch of the imagination. I’m most excited by the fact that he will be very, very good shooter at UNC if he stays around for 3 years. As a coach, form is so important to me, and Lawson’s form is excellent. I didn’t see him shoot it enough in when they were live to be able to tell how he’ll shoot it off of movement. When he’s set and open- there’s no doubt that shots will fall for him. He’s fearless- but much quieter than I expected- though I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. His body language eerily reminded me of Felton. I’m curious to know if other coaches there felt the same way. I literally laughed out loud at
the thought of Paulus trying to stay in front of him. It is really comical to think of it.
Brandan Wright: The Heels are at their defensive stations. Coach Robinson is directing a retreat in the direction of the pass drill. Brandan is playing offense in the drill. Coach Robinson throws a pass in the direction of the backboard that quite honestly looks like it is going to hit off near the top of the backboard. Wright jumps up (and I’m not exaggerating when I say that his elbows were above the basket) and flushes it. Typically the coaches in attendance are quiet- but that one drew a gasp from the crowd. He is a phenomenal athlete. His leaping ability is scary. Do you remember those dunks we seemed to get regularly on the back door lob to Carter, Stackhouse and Wallace off of secondary break? Get ready. There will be a number of those to Wright. If it is near the goal- he’ll be higher than anyone in the ACC to get it- that, I can guarantee. He didn’t make a lot of shots. His form is a typical left-hander’s, but the shots didn’t go down when I was watching. Coach Williams did mention that there were some small adjustments that Wright needs to make to his shot. The battles that will happen between him and Hansbrough during practice will be unlike any that have happened at UNC in a long, long time. I did have one thought today that may never happen- a line-up on the floor or Hansbrough, Stepheson, Wright, Reyshawn and Tywon. My lord..
Coaching Staff
Coach Holladay: One quick anecdote. This morning, during the clinic, Coach Holladay is using a manager and Tyler to demonstrate a shot blocking drill the Heels do. The manager drives in, leaps up to shoot a lay up, and Tyler knocks the poor guy on his rear end. The manager hit the ground- HARD. Once you could see that he wasn’t dead- the whole place fell out laughing. Coaches, managers, clinic attendees- we were rolling. The manager kind of hobbled away- and when the place got quiet- Coach Holladay looked over and with a straight face asked, “Tyler… You ok??” Tyler just laughed.
Coach Williams: From his morning speech. Four goals this year: RUN- DEFEND- REBOUND- SHARE THE BALL. Said the team this year has GREAT character- does not expect them to be selfish about playing time. Said he’s yelled only once or twice in seven practices- and from past clinics- I saw him yell about every 15 minutes at the Nat’l Title team.. Said that UNC averaged around 81 possessions a game last year- really wants to average around 100 per game this year. Said no player he’s ever had has worked on his game the way Wes Miller has. Complimented Herb Sendek. Said that “State ran off a good coach. Not that Sydney isn’t a good coach- but maybe they’ll run him off too!” Said he misses the Allen Fieldhouse atmosphere- but that the Smith Center has gotten better EVERY year he’s been there about game time atmosphere.
Wow, folks. I don’t need to tell you that we’re unbelievably loaded. I’ve never seen anything like it in 22 years of following Carolina basketball.
Not even in 1994 when we were pretty stacked as well. We legitimately have 13 players on this team that could start for 90% of our ACC competition. 13 players!!! I trust in Coach Williams regarding playing time- but I think this will be the toughest job he’s ever had. I cannot wait to see how he’ll make it all mesh. Keep this in mind, though. There wasn’t one freshman on our team that didn’t look like a freshman at times yesterday and today. There is a noticeable difference between our sophomores and our freshmen. I did notice that last year. Last year’s group of freshmen were truly unique with their bball IQ. This year is truly unique with the depth of their athletic ability. The mix may lead us on the greatest ride we’ve ever experienced as Tar Heel fans.
I, for one, plan on sitting down and buckling up. I don’t have any idea how great the ride is going to be- but based on what I’ve seen the past two days- if you blink for an instant. you’ll miss it. This team’s going to fly.
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Posted by michaeleller
You know, writing a blog has been an interesting experience thus far. No, I’m not going back on anything that I said in my very first entry: I’m still very cautious and apprehensive about what I write and what I share. You might have noticed that I haven’t really written any posts that began with “You’ll never believe what happened to me today.” And this is mostly because I don’t see the value in having a diary published for the world to see. That just has a very self-indulgent feeling to me.
And hey, maybe I’m still a little too close-minded. Maybe I need to meet some of these people who think blogs are great for keeping people up-to-date on their lives. Maybe it’s possible to keep an online diary without it being chock full of self-indulgence. I just really struggle with believing that these people exist and that they aren’t secretly thinking about how awesome their lives or their writing or their thoughts are. If you are one of these people or if you know someone like this… please, send them my way so we can talk. And I’m not saying this from the perspective of someone who’s above this… I was the KING of self-indulgent mass emails in college. I would send out a weekly email called the Michael Eller Newsletter (M.E.N. – yeah… i’m rolling my eyes right along with you) and it was terrible. It was all of these little anecdotes and thoughts and ideas and events from my life as a college freshman and it was SO TERRIBLY awful. And I can laugh at it now and joke about what a miserable idea it was, but while i was doing it, I thought it was fantastic. I honestly believed that I was entertaining people with my stories and my clever little thoughts that were going through my head. And it wasn’t until about 3/4 of the way through the school year that several of my friends finally let me know how pretentious and indulgent it was. They helped me see what it was like being in the audience… and it was pretty bad. So, I say all of this to acknowledge that it’s an easy trap to fall into. I really thought that these emails were the highlight of the week for my friends. And that’s just not the approach that I think should be taken with blogs or online journaling or anything like that. There was just way too much pride in it for me and maybe it’s because of that that I’m excessively sensitive to it now when I read other people’s blogs now.
So INSTEAD… what I’m trying to do with this blog is write about subjects and topics that are interesting to me. And it’s not COMPLETELY void of my thoughts or my opinions; but it’s also attempting to keep the focus away from ME. When I think of the blogs that I frequent, the blogs that I enjoy, it ALWAYS ends up being because the writer is writing about something that he/she is really passionate about and really interested in… and I generally share that interest as well. I don’t go to music blogs because I want to know what the writer did for his birthday… I go there because I’m interested in the latest music that he’s been listening to.
And so that’s the approach that I’m attempting to take here. And now… a few hundred words later… I’m finally getting to my revelation since starting this blog. I’ve learned that oftentimes, the topics that are on my mind, the conversations that I really enjoy throughout the day, frequently end up being about television. Probably the highlight of my day today was rehashing last night’s episode of The Office with a friend of mine over email. Talking about our favorite parts, speculating on what’s going to happen next. Those are the types of conversations that I find myself looking forward to and enjoying the most throughout the day.
So what does this say about me? That I’m some dork who gets a little too involved in his TV shows? Maybe. I would prefer to say that these shows exemplify my passion for story telling and character development, but you could probably argue that that’s splitting hairs. Regardless, this blog is revealing to me what I really enjoy thinking and talking about. Yes, there are other things besides television shows, but based on my posting history, you can get a pretty good idea of where my mind’s been lately. And I like that. I like that this blog is making me more and more aware of my own passions and desires. And it doesn’t hurt that I’m getting ready to move to the city where all of this stuff is created and hopefully I’ll end up working in this exact industry. Thanks for checking this out, if you’ve made it this far. And I hereby solemnly swear that you will never be subject to another issue of the M.E.N. ever again.
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Posted by michaeleller
Chiefs (-1) over DOLPHINS
JAGUARS (-10.5) over Texans
Chargers (-1.5) over BENGALS – The Philip Rivers/LaDainian Tomlinson combo. is gaining respect from me at an unprecedented rate. Honestly, they’re starting to get Brady-esque props in my book… and I don’t hand that out without it being earned. Plus they have HANDS DOWN the best uniforms in the NFL. It always confuses me when they wear anything other than the powder blue jerseys (and that couldn’t possibly have been any less heterosexual).
Ravens (-7.5) over TITANS
COLTS (-12.5) over Bills
Saints (+4.5) over STEELERS – I mean, c’mon. How many more weeks are these guys going to be spotting the teams that the Steelers are playing?!? THEY’RE 2-6!!! Does no one else see this? I mean, it’s great the Ben threw for over 400 yards last week… but he also threw 3 interceptions and they lost the game. As long as the bookies keep taking away the Steeler’s points, I’ll keep picking their opponents.
EAGLES (-7) over Redskins – So far the Eagles have been the bane of my NFL picks. They’ve screwed me every single week. Here’s hoping that they’ll finally come through. I know I said 2 weeks ago that I wasn’t going to pick them anymore, but come on, it’s the Redskins.
Bears (even) over GIANTS – This is going to be a great game. But as long as Rex Grossman plays like he has been all season, I think they’re taking it down in the Meadowlands.
VIKINGS (-5.5) over Packers
PATRIOTS (-10.5) over Jets – Big bad Tom. I still can’t believe they lost last week. I was also surprised that the Patriot fans were booing Vinatieri. Based on everything I’ve read, it wasn’t his desire to leave New England.
LIONS (-6) over 49ers
Broncos (-9) over RAIDERS
SEAHAWKS (-3) over Rams – The Rams have lost their last 3 games… after Sunday you can make it 4.
Cowboys (-7) over CARDINALS – So Romo didn’t make quite the mark that I thought he was going to make last week. But I feel like this is it… this is the week… I guarantee it (like that means anything).
Bucs (+9.5) over Panthers – This is my first time picking against my favorite team. I still think they’re going to win… I just don’t think they’re gonna win by 10 points. It’ll be great watching them on Monday night though.
ZACK’S PICKS:
Chiefs (-1) over DOLPHINS
JAGS (-10.5) over Texans
Chargers (-1.5) over BENGALS
Ravens (-7) over TITANS
COLTS (-12.5) over Bills
STEELERS (-4.5) over Saints
EAGLES (-7) over Redskins
GIANTS (EVEN) over Bears
Packers (+5.5) over VIKINGS
Jets (+10.5) over PATRIOTS
LIONS (-6) over 49ers
Broncos (-9) over RAIDERS
Rams (+3) over SEAHAWKS
Cowboys (-7) over CARDINALS
Bucs (+9.5) over PANTHERS
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