Halloween is officially over, which means that the pumpkins have begun rotting on your front porches, the sugar rush that your kids have been riding is turning into a string of inconsolable migraine headaches, and Wal-Mart has had the decorations for Christmas out for, at minimum, two months. This also means that Thanksgiving is almost here. Some of you may not even care about the Thanksgiving day football games (We have three this year!), and in that case, my picks are located after the large separation. Those who do though, there is a fine line between nailing the holiday festivities and going overboard to the point that the games themselves are completely ruined. Here are some brief tips to avoid such a catastrophic outcome:
– Highlight one game in particular to watch. My pick would be the Packers-Lions game because it is early enough that the turkey won’t be knocking everybody out after dinner, the family can watch in the living room or kitchen while waiting for said turkey, and the game has the most historical significance and nostalgia, which is the perfect compliment to a holiday such as Thanksgiving. The two games you don’t focus on, keep on in the background, so that those fanatics can absorb all three games, those who don’t take a long nap can have something to occasionally glance at, and the atmosphere remains alive.
– Get your guests to the party before the Macy’s Day Parade is over. A great Thanksgiving tradition is the parade, closed out by good ole’ Santa. A bonding moment for you and your guests, especially if children are among them, this also happens early enough in the day that there is significant time for mingling, appetizers, and a backyard football/baseball game, assuming your guests don’t want to play with two pounds of stuffing in their stomachs.
– Limit appetizers to two trays: 1 meat & cheese and 1 vegetable with dips. It seems detrimental to one of the biggest points of the holiday, but people will be upset if food is not out for them to snack on before the biggest meal of their lives comes out. Meat, cheese, and vegetables satisfy the pallet and occupy little room, allowing for the majority of the fourteen pound turkey to still disappear.
There are more tips that can help the holiday, but I didn’t start this blog to be an event planner. Weeks 7 & 8 were not good to me. Week 7 yielded a 9-6 result, and week 8 (disclaimer: as my picks were never posted, they were as follows: CAR, DET, KC, NE, NO, NYG, SF, CIN, PIT, DEN, ATL, GB, & SEA) was a 11-2 week. You may ask why that second week isn’t good, and that is because every ESPN expert also got at least 10 right, and an easy week of picking does not help me pull away from them in the standings. My record in those standings is 74-46, good enough for 12th (out of 14). I’m not even going to say I think this week will turn it around for me, because when I do, I have a horrible week. So instead, this week may be really good or really bad, and I’ll see where it takes me. Now for the picks:
Cincinnati over Miami
Kansas City over Buffalo
Dallas over Minnesota
Tennessee over St. Louis
New Orleans over New York Jets
San Diego over Washington
Atlanta over Carolina
Philadelphia over Oakland
Seattle over Tampa Bay
Baltimore over Cleveland
New England over Pittsburgh
Houston over Indianapolis
Green Bay over Chicago
As always, be safe, enjoy your Sunday, and best wishes to you and your family and friends!
God Bless!
– Dan