What's this? A level update? I almost forgot what a level update was. I really liked my Whammy! emblem, now I am a hideous Borg Queen. Hopefully I won't be stuck with this one for too long.

As promised, here is a picture of my wife's quilt. It is roughly 42"x62"

She has hemmed a few pair of pants and replaced a button on a co-workers jacket, but the quilt was her first major project with the sewing machine. I'm told that the reason for the purple was because it doesn't make one patch stand out over any of the others because none of the other patches contain purple. I'm not sure if the patches are readable through this picture, but most of the patches were taken from some of my wife's old gymnastics t-shirts. My wife's grandmother owns a gymnastics studio and throughout high school and until a few years ago my wife coached gymnastics at the studio. The FBI shirt is the only one in the quilt that was mine. My wife got it for me in high school, while she was in Washington D.C. for the Close-Up program.

Spring training is well under way and man I can't wait for Opening Day against Toronto. Only 29 days away! So far nothing but good news has been coming out of camp. It seems that everyone likes new teammate, Gary Sheffield and that Sheff is glad to be there. Pitcher Mike Maroth is pitching well and without any pain in his elbow. Pitcher Joel Zumaya is hitting triple digits on the radar gun already and Justin Verlander's fastball has been clocked at 99. Pudge is showing some patience at the plate and has been batting well in the leadoff spot. Of course I shouldn't get too ahead of myself, April 2 is a month away and an actual game hasn't been played yet, but so far all the signs are there for another successful Tigers' summer.

We've been having a blast with the Wii. On Wednesday's my best friend comes over to watch Lost. He got here at 8:00 and we got so caught up in tennis and baseball on Wii Sports that we nearly missed the opening act of Lost. On Thursday's, for the past couple months, I have hosted a Texas Hold'em poker night. I usually have 5-7 people over and this past Thursday after the first of my buddies went all in and lost he got up and started playing some Wii. Once people at the poker table saw him playing some golf, they couldn't lose their chips fast enough to get a chance to play some Wii. It truly is a good cardio workout, especially the boxing game. Besides boxing a computer opponent or a friend, you can also do some training with a heavy bag, practice your jabs with a trainer wearing padded gloves, and test your dodging skills as a trainer relentlessly throws tennis balls at your face. Plus, while actually playing is great fun, watching other people fail their arms around and shout at the TV screen as their boxer crumples to the mat, is a riot.

If you haven't watched Wednesday's Lost yet, skip this paragraph. I loved Wednesday's episode. Questions weren't answered, no island mysteries were revealed, but that didn't matter as this was just a fun Hurley centered episode. I laughed out loud several times at the comedy that ensued while Hurley, Jin, Sawyer and Charlie worked on getting the VW van rolling again. One particular moment that had me rolling was when Jin, who has been working on his English, greeted Sawyer with a "Nice, see you." Sawyer replies with, "Well, looked who's hooked on phonics." Anyway, I loved this past episode and next week it looks like we'll find out some more about the one-eyed man who was last seen on a TV monitor in the Pearl hatch.

And finally, for those who have trudged through this blog and still are wondering what I have to say about the honesty of a bearded fisherman in a yellow rain suit, I offer this explanation: Sometimes I can't think of a good title.

All right that's it for now. Take it easy fellow TV.commers.

My best friend since the 6th grade decided to join the Marines a little over a month ago. He's a great guy, he was my Best Man at my wedding and we've had tons of road trips and great times together. Anyway, he and all the other Marine recruits from the area got together for a paintball excursion today and he invited me along. I'm not exactly a paintball expert; I've got my own mask and gun, but I've only played about a dozen times in the span of the last 7 years. Today we played at an indoor course (Good thing, because it was freezing and windy) with 29 recruits, 2 invited friends (me included) and 3 Staff Sergeants. We were originally all split up into 4 squads and my squad played 2 head-to-head games against 2 other squads. The first game: I got pinned down in a room on the right side of the building with 2 other teammates and eventually we were overtaken, as the opposing team had decimated our entire left side and circled around behind us, while we were engaged with more enemies in front of us. No kills for me and I got shot in the ribs. The second game: I made it all the way into enemy territory and circled around behind a Staff Sergeant on the opposing team. My first two shots missed, but I had gotten his attention and by the time he wheeled around to see who was shooting at him, my third shot nailed him in the chest. Feeling proud of myself, I turned to see two of my teammates entering the room. The teammates however, not recognizing that I was on their team, opened fire and I got hit right between the eyes. (Mask on, of course). One kill for me and I was shot by my own team. The third game: 2 squads of 17 people were formed. The building isn't that big so it's pretty crazy and chaotic, but I managed to secure an ideal spot in room that had 5 windows looking out to a long hallway. Some members of the opposing team had secured the hallway and began advancing down. One by one I plucked off 4 guys before they could figure out where the fire was coming from. My demise though, was the fact the I had failed to check how much paint I had before starting the third game and after using up the 20 or so paintballs I had left, I had to surrender. Which was really too bad, because if I had more paint, I could have racked up some more kills. Oh well, four kills for me and I surrendered due to lack of paint. The fourth and final game: It was the same scenario as the last, 2 squads of 17. I got myself pinned down in a small room, with opponents on either side of me shooting through windows. During a break in the fire, I got the heck out of there, and made my way to the previously mentioned hallway and began advancing down. At the end of this hallway was a window looking into a large room full of crates. I peeked in and saw an opponent crouched facing the other way and oblivious to me; I swiftly popped him in the leg. (I'm not a bad guy, but there's something about an opponent jumping in pain after being shot and wondering where the shot came from, that puts a smile on my face.) Anyway, I peeked in again, looked straight down the other side of the wall and I was surprised to see a crouching opponent who also had no idea I was there. Being the nice guy I am, I ordered him to "Take the hit!" (This means the opponent has the option of surrendering or taking his chances and trying to shoot back. Most of the time the opponent will, "take the hit" and surrender.) My opponent wisely surrendered otherwise he would have been shot in the back from point blank range. All of our shouting attracted 3 more opponents into the room. I traded fire with the other 3 for a little bit, until I took a hit in the hand, thusly "killing" me. Two kills for me and a sore hand. Overall, I was shot three times (Once by a teammate, ugh.) and ran out of paint once. But I did a little bit of damage myself, by "killing" 7 opponents. In other personal news, my wife surprised me with a Wii last night. We went out to dinner with 2 other couples and when we got home she rummaged around and pulled out the Wii she had purchased earlier in the day. She had tried to get me one for Christmas, but this was nearly impossible, with the extremely high demand and low supply. I consider myself a casual gamer, I do own all the Nintendo systems, and I play my GameCube a couple times a week. But, I was content to wait until next Christmas to get a Wii. The price probably would have dropped by then and the growing supply would probably make a Wii much easier to find. After paintballing this morning, I ran out to Meijer and bought a second Wii remote (The system only comes with one) and a second Nunchuk accessory. I'm waiting until later (When my wife comes home from work) to actually fire the Wii up and play. That way my wife and I can experience playing for the first time together (Well, that and she said I had to wait for her, so that the learning curve will be the same for both of us.) I will report on my Wii experiences in some later blogs. Also, a few blogs ago I mentioned that my wife was making a quilt. Well, it's done, but upon writing this blog I discovered that my digital camera's batteries are dead. I can't find any batteries around the house, so I'll take a picture of the quilt and post it next time. All right, I've babbled long enough, and I've got a Wii to set up. Take it easy fellow TV.commers.

It's just a lazy Saturday afternoon here at the FlyingHellfish residence. The wife is at work and I've been lounging around the house. I am being somewhat productive, I've run a few loads of laundry, but I haven't quite found the urge to fold them yet.

This is my least favorite time of year. Warm weather won't be arriving for at least a couple of months, football season is over, and baseball won't start for another month and a half. This is the time of year that I actually listen to music in the car. The sports talk guys usually struggle to find topics to discuss, and the guys on 670 AM out of Chicago are pretty much done griping about the Bears Super Bowl loss. I'll admit it was a guilty pleasure, but listening to Bears fans call in and complain and cry about the disappointment put a smile on my face.

A few weeks back my wife and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary and we agreed not to purchase any gifts for each other. Well, being the somewhat unromantic and slightly unthoughtful oaf that I am, I failed to even get her a card. She gave me a card and a small gift and I felt like a jerk because I hadn't gotten her anything. So on Valentine's Day I attempted to make up a little bit for my gaff and I had a half a dozen red roses garnished with baby's breath delivered to her at work. I also got her a funny card and a couple of "date" movies (Spanglish and As Good As It Gets) that we can hunker down on a cold winter night a watch together. All is well.


I haven't really talked much about it before, but I'm a bit of a card collector. I don't buy as nearly as much as I used to, but every year I purchase a jumbo box (12 packs in a box with 35 cards in a pack) of Topps baseball and football cards in the effort to put a complete set together. I bought a jumbo box of 2006 Topps Series One baseball cards nearly a year ago and finally bought a jumbo box of Series Two to complete my set. I'm a little behind as Topps Series One for 2007 has already been released and I haven't yet purchased a jumbo box for 2006 Topps football yet. Anyway, I purchase a jumbo box, instead of a standard box (36 packs in box with 10 cards in a pack) because not only do you get more cards in a jumbo box (420 as opposed to 360) but usually you end up with very few doubles and a complete set. This means I don't have to mill around on eBay or Beckett.com to search for the singles I need. Now getting back to the Series Two box, after I busted open, and sorted through the cards, I was disappointed to find that I had a healthy stack of unwanted doubles and I still needed about 30 cards to finish off the set. There are 330 cards in Series Two (331-660) and my box yielded only 300 cards for my set, along with 36 insert cards (3 per pack) and 84 doubles. It was a pretty uneventful box, the only bright spot was a Curtis Granderson Gold Parallel insert numbered to 2006. Now I've got to sift through the internet to find the other 30 cards I need.


Lost has moved from 9 to 10 on Wednesdays. The time change doesn't bother me I would watch if new episodes only came on at 3 in the morning. But the change does seem to have affected its ratings. This past Wednesday's episode featured Desmond and explained what happened after he turned the key in the hatch and why he can somehow see the future. But in true Lost fashion more questions were raised as others were answered. It was one of those "Whoa." episodes, (To convey the kind of "Whoa" I'm talking about, think Neo on the rooftop after Morpheus makes an impossible leap to a nearby building in The Matrix.) and yet it yielded a disappointing 12.7 million viewers (The lowest in the history of the series). Oh well, Lost won't be cancelled, but I just don't understand why more people don't watch it.

Spoiler warning: If you haven't seen this past Thursday's Grey's Anatomy yet, stop reading, skip to the next paragraph. If you're still with me, nod your head. Ok, good. I usually watch Grey's out of the corner of my eye as my while my wife watches it. It's not a show that I've got a lot invested in, but I've seen most of the episodes and I have a handle on what's going on in the show. The point of this paragraph: (Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble) I would like to see Meredith stay dead. I think it would be really cool to see a show at the height of its popularity have the guts to kill off the main character. Ellen Pompeo could still stay on as the narrator of the show and she could make appearances in dream sequences or memories. But of course, Meredith will probably wake up after her near death experience and vision of Danny and the bomb squad dude that got blown to bits last year. I don't know it's kind of a random thought I had bouncing around in my head. I have no ill will towards Grey's fans, I just think it would be really cool to see a big time shake up like that.

Back to some spoiler free discussion. The ship sinks in Titanic and Kristen shot J.R. Whoops, now we're spoiler free. Well, I'm gonna head back to the laundry now, I keep checking and checking, but it still just sits there in an unfolded pile. I must combat this daunting task.

Take it easy fellow TV.commers.

I almost feel spoiled, but then again it's not often that your two favorite sports teams are extremely successful in the playoffs in the same year. This past baseball season the Tigers were American League Champions and went to the World Series, and now the Colts do one better and win the Super Bowl. As I said last week, I picked the Colts to win the Super Bowl (9-2 on my playoff picks by the way), and I was feeling more confident about their chances of victory over the Bears than I did against the Patriots. Due to the fact that I was at my brother in-law's packed house for a family Super Bowl party, I had to really bite my tongue as I watched in disbelief when Devin Hester ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Don't sweat it, I said. No big deal. The Colts will get the ball and impress the crowd with a touchdown drive, right? Well Manning throws a pick and my concerns start to mount slightly. The Bears go 3 and out, the Colts get the ball back, and my nervousness settles a bit. On the ensuing drive, Manning heaves a touchdown pass to the wide open Reggie Wayne. The Colts line up to kick the extra point and all of America groans, because as the extra point is botched, everyone who has sweet numbers for their "Super Bowl Squares" realizes that their 3's 7's and 0's are most likely worthless. (Meanwhile, those with 2's 6's and 9's rejoice, as they now have a chance.) Then starts the flurry of fumbles. The Bears fumble the kickoff away, and then right away Joseph Addai fumbles the ball right back. Thomas Jones breaks off a 52 yard run and then a few plays later Rex Grossman finds Muhsin Muhammad in the end zone. Bears 14 Colts 6. The Colts then go three and out and my sour mood begins to build again. Bears running back Cedric Benson fumbles, but the Colts cannot advance the ball once they take over and have to punt again. Luckily the Bears' feeble offense can't muster a first down and the when the Colts get the ball back, Money, or his real name, Adam Vinatieri, kicks a field goal and makes the score 14-9. After the Bears go 3 and out again, my confidence really starts building as I realize that as long as the Colts keep the ball out of Devin Hester's hands, the Bears probably won't score another touchdown. (Turns out I was right.) The Colts get the ball back, and 7 plays later, after a Dominic Rhodes touchdown the Colts take the lead and never give it up. Colts 16 Bears 14. The Bears go 3 and out yet again, and a promising Colts drive is cut short as Bryan Fletcher fumbles after trying for a few extra yards. But the favor is returned by Bears' quarterback Rex Grossman, who promptly fumbles the ball away on the very next play. Then something strange happens, Money misses. A bad omen perhaps? Nah, Vinatieri shakes it off and the missed field goal doesn't become an issue and the Colts wouldn't need the field goal in the end. Its halftime, Prince plays, and I ignore him, seeing my chance to peel away from the TV for some deep fried turkey, jalapeño poppers, mozzarella sticks, and Taquitos. I know, not exactly the healthiest of food choices. But hey, it's the Super Bowl. Colts receive the ball to start the second half and Manning and Co. chews up half of the 3rd quarter en route to another Money field goal. A few plays after a Bears' first down, Chicago faces a 2nd and 1 and in an obvious running situation the Bears empty the backfield, preparing to pass, and Grossman loses his footing and is chased down for a sack by the whirling "Booger" McFarland. Next play, Grossman can't handle the snap; he recovers his own fumble and the Bears are forced to punt. The Colts then kick another field goal and make the score 22-14. The Colts squib kick the ball on the ensuing kickoff and after a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the Bears get the ball on the Colts' 40 yard line. They only advance the ball 14 yards but, due to the excellent field position, the Bears kick a field goal. On the next Colts' possession, they are forced to punt. But when Rex Grossman slings an errant pass down the field, Colts defensive back Kelvin Hayden picks it off and tip-toes down the sidelines for a touchdown. (Big smiles on my face at this time.) The Bears get the ball back and Rex quickly throws another interception, thusly sealing the deal. (Giant smiles on my face at this time.) Final score: Colts 29 Bears 17.(Not me, but it best describes the feeling.) While the MVP Award could have easily gone to Joseph Addai or Dominic Rhodes, it was nice to see Manning on the podium receiving the award. Hopefully, this image will be cemented into the pea-sized brains of the mouth-breathers and bone-headed media that like to label Manning as the stat monster who just couldn't win under pressure. (By the way, anyone who thinks Dan Marino isn't one of the greatest all-time quarterbacks is, quite frankly, a moron.) Anyway, Super Bowl XLI was great fun and I'm glad the Colts can finally validate their string of successful seasons the past 4 years with a championship. Now, it's only 2 short months until baseball season. Good thing Lost starts on Wednesday, it will help get me through the sports withdrawal. Some more Super Bowl pics:

My Weekend: It's been a fun and busy weekend for my wife and I. On Saturday my younger brother turned 21. My Dad, my wife and handful of buddies and I took my brother out to a few various establishments for some good ol' fashion drinking and fun. We went out to a small country bar that is the only bar in the area that has table top shuffleboard. Think curling on a waxed up 22' long board with small heavy metal pucks. Very fun and addicting. We dropped my Dad off at home and headed into town and hit a couple more bars, finally ending up at Buffalo Wild Wings. With wings, beer, and friends, fun was had by all. Then on Sunday my wife and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. My wife works in the hotel industry and she got us a room at a hotel in Grand Rapids. We did some shopping grabbed some lunch and retired to our room until it was time for dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant called The Macaroni Grill and I had some lobster stuffed ravioli with some heavy lemon butter sauce. Drools. We had a very pleasant waitress and I tipped her very close to 20%. Back in the room we watched our wedding video reception and all, and recalled that I'm a terrible dancer. And later...well you know.. Then something weird happened this morning. We slept in until 11:00 packed up our stuff and headed to IHOP for breakfast. We settle into our seats at IHOP and my wife and I do a double take when we realize that our waitress is the same one from the night before at The Macaroni Grill. She recognized us and we all laughed for a moment at the coincidence. I have had the same waitress before at the same restaurant, but never the same waitress at two different restaurants, let alone in back-to-back days. Just kind of weird I thought I'd pass that along, it also made me thankful that I had tipped her well the night before because now that she knew I was a good tipper we were doubly sure to get great service. Anyway after a late breakfast we took in the exhibits at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. My wife and I had never been there before and we decided to learn some more about President Ford. When he passed away a few weeks ago, all of the week long funeral and memorial services were covered seemingly 24-7 on the 4 major local affiliate stations. I knew President Ford was from Grand Rapids and played for the University of Michigan. But I really didn't know how crucial a part he played during a period of time in which America was seriously losing faith in government. And I really didn't realize much pride people in West Michigan had for being the place in which Gerald Ford was born and raised and called home. After his passing and after being further educated on President Ford's place in history I definitely appreciate his political efforts even more. You can read more about President Ford here. TV.com: What's going on here? I'm really am not one to complain much, but I really hope TV.com gets their poop in a group. I wish the staff would work on the bugs that affect the efficiency and accuracy with which users can contribute information to this site. A couple bugs that bother me: As a Trusted User for The Simpsons, contributions I make should go live right away, but about 1 in 20 do not get submitted correctly and somehow make their way to the editor's queue. While I never have to wait more than a day for the submission to be accepted, it just bothers me that the editor now has to take the time to accept extra submissions that he shouldn't have to. I've got a comprehensive crew list for The Simpsons but without the correct crew member designation selectable from the dropdown box on the add/edit crew page, I can't add crew members such as Character Layout Artist, Background Design, Animation Camera, and Animation Timing, just to name a few. I wish we had the option of filling in the role of the crew member instead of having to select the role from a limited list of roles in a dropdown box. And lately the level system has really taken a dump; thankfully it was easy to get back to level 2 so I could contribute again. While personally I'm not fixed too much on my level, it is nice to see at a quick glance the progress that I have made on this site. Bottom line is that it seems that the site staff is figuratively too busy adding a sleek paint job with chrome galore to a car that badly needs an engine tune up. Super Bowl: As I stated last week I felt that whoever won the AFC Championship game would eventually win the Super Bowl. I'm not wavering from that pick and while I won't feel totally comfortable until I hopefully see someone wearing a Horseshoe hoisting the Lombardi trophy on Sunday, I do feel more confident about the Colts beating the Bears as opposed to way I felt about the Patriots last week. Whew, that was a long one. Take it easy fellow TV.commers, and... Go Colts!

Last week's, exciting Divisional Round yielded 4 close and exciting games. Besides the Colts/Ravens game, which was decided by 9 points, the other three games were decided by a mere 3 points. In going 3-1 with my picks, I maintained my 75% correct prognostication percentage. I incorrectly picked the Eagles to prevail in New Orleans. Saints @ Bears: It has been a nice little run for the Saints this year. And next year they should only get better, but I think their playoff run ends in Chicago. While I feel that offensively the Saints will probably outgain the Bears, I've got this hunch that they won't score that many points. I think Grossman will do just enough to help win the game for the Bears. And despite nearly everyone in the media calling for the Saints to run amok against the Bears defense, I think that the defense will bend but not break. When it is all said and done the defense will come up with some big momentum changing plays and the Bears will be headed to Super Bowl XLI. Patriots @ Colts: I will admit, nearly a month ago I was expecting the Colts to be one and done in the Playoffs after their 9-0 start went sour and the defense played increasingly bad each week. It sure looked as if the Colts had no chance in the playoffs this year. But something miraculous has happened, the Colts defense is actually playing defense, and doing a darn good job of it. A month ago had it been said that the Colts will host the AFC Championship Game, I would have seriously doubted that possibility. But now, here they are. It is fitting that the team that is standing in their way is the Patriots. As much as I shudder at the thought of facing New England, it really had to be this way. Should the Colts win the Super Bowl, the sweetest victory in the Playoffs would still be a defeat of the Patriots. The Colts hold the distinction of being the team that the last 3 Super Bowl winners have beat in the playoffs. Patriots in 2003, and 2004, and the Steelers in 2005. Now the pick, not surprisingly, I'm picking the Colts. And while I'm not trying to get ahead of myself, I'll say right now that no matter what happens in the Saints/Bears game I believe that whoever wins this game will be Super Bowl XLI Champs. So basically either the Colts win on Sunday and hopefully go on to win the Super Bowl, or for the 4th straight year they will lose to the likely eventual Super Bowl champs in the Playoffs. I am betting on the Colts defense to once again stand up to the task, and while I'm not confident about the following, I would love for Manning to just go out and dominate, so all the critics can finally be silenced once and for all. That's it fellow TV.commers. Root for the Colts, every little bit helps. I'll be wearing my beat up Peyton Manning jersey, crossing my fingers, and either shouting words of praise or disdain come Sunday night. I certainly hope the words of praise outweigh the words of disdain, and I hope my TV doesn't take it personal.

I went 75% last week with my playoff picks. I chose only one road team, the Cowboys, and Romo couldn't hang on to the snap on the field goal that would have won the game for Dallas. Oh well, in his defense, he shouldn't have been put in that situation anyway; when Romo was made the starting quarterback, holding duties should have been given to someone else. Though, the blunder did make for a fun finish in a close game. On to this week's picks: Colts @ Ravens: What a sigh of relief for this Colts fan. Despite Manning throwing 3 picks and trying as hard as he could to keep the Chiefs in the game, the Colts defense turned some heads and yielded an impressive performance. They held the Chiefs offense to exactly 0 first downs in the first half. Running back Larry Johnson was a non-issue, as the defensive line absolutely smothered him the entire game. A lot can be said about the impact of safety, Bob Sanders; the guy is a hitting machine and seems to be in on every tackle. He does a great job in helping to stop the run and he is usually very dependable in pass coverage. Now to the pick: The defense doesn't have to repeat the outstanding effort from Saturday, but if they play a solid game and minimize the big plays, and if Manning can relax and just do his job, instead of making some hasty throws and trying to win the game with every pass, (Granted, of Manning's 3 picks last week, one was a force and the other two were miscommunications between he and Harrison.) the Colts have a legitimate shot at winning this one. Another reason I like the Colts to upset the Ravens: Unlike prior playoff runs, the Colts are the underdog this year. Hopefully, last week helped to work the kinks out of the offense. That assumption, coupled with the fact that the pressure is on the Ravens to win, should add up to a balanced and relaxed Colts attack that will win the game. Eagles @ Saints: This looks to be an intriguing game this weekend. You've got a team a veteran coach, veteran quarterback, and a roster full of playoff experience versus a team with a young coach, and a roster with minimal playoff experience. Vegas is giving the edge to the Saints, the young and inexperienced team. But FlyingHellfish is giving the edge to the Eagles. Philadelphia has the hot hand and despite having to go on the road this week, I think head coach Andy Reid and a veteran team with playoff experience will go into New Orleans and get the job done. Seahawks @ Bears: I've thought and thought about this one and no matter how I approach this game, the conclusion is the same: I predict victory for the Bears. As much as I'd like to see the Seahawks upset Chicago on Sunday, I just don't see it happening. Da Bears aren't going to win the Super Bowl, but they will win this week. Seattle had a hard time beating the Cowboys last week and should have lost. They just don't have enough gas in the tank and their playoff run will end in Chicago. I will point out that while I don't think Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman will win the game, he won't lose the game either. I think the Bears defense and special teams will be credited with the win after they create some turnovers and give great field position to their offense. Patriots @ Chargers: It pains me to do this, it really does. I hope I'm wrong, but I've got a bad feeling that the Patriots are going to win this game. A few reasons: Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer is historically unsuccessful in the playoffs. Patriots head coach Bill Belicheck, well you know the deal. Also Belicheck will most likely have a great scheme for his defense to disrupt and pressure young San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers, who is making his first career playoff start. Again, I hope I'm wrong, but should the Colts and Patriots win as I have predicted, the two will meet yet again in the playoffs. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not afraid to say that the Patriots scare the begeezus out of me. They are the last team I want the Colts to face in the playoffs. Granted the Colts beat the Patriots in Foxboro this year and should this AFC Championship showdown take place, it would be at the RCA Dome. But this is the playoffs and it is what the Patriots do the best. I really shouldn't get ahead of myself here, because the Ravens and the Chargers still have a say in this possible scenario, but it's nagging at me in the back of my mind. TV.com: The turkey emblem is gone hopefully never to appear again. As stated before I don't like meaningless emblems cluttering up my profile page. I'm still patiently waiting for the ability to either upload my Flying Hellfish seal or select it from a new list of icons. Either way, when this happens, I'll say goodbye to that schoolyard bully we all know and love, Nelson Muntz.---My contributions to The Simpsons guide have started back up again and I'm slowly working my way through level 29.---Finally, along with season 9 of The Simpsons, I'm also working my way through re-watching season 2 of Lost on DVD. This is helping me through the current hiatus of the show. I'll most likely finish season 2 in a couple of weeks and then I'll be primed and ready for 16 consecutive weeks of Lost come Feb. 7. Good times, good times. With that I'm done. Take it easy fellow TV.commers. Edit: I wrote this blog offline earlier and now that I've logged in I see that we can upload new avatars. It's official, so long, Nelson.

I went 12-4 last week as the regular season came to a close. The final results for my picks have been tabulated. Upset of the Week: 9-5 Mortal Lock of the Week: 10-5 Overall Record: 162-94 Winning Pct: .633 (The sound of trumpeting fanfare.) Check out how this ruggedly handsome prognosticator fared against the experts at ESPN. Now to forecast the 4 playoff games of the upcoming weekend. Chiefs @ Colts: Oh boy, let's see, um, of course I'll be faithfully and blindly picking my Colts to be victorious at home. Granted the Colts do have the worst rush defense in the league and the Chiefs have RB Larry Johnson, who finished second in the NFL in rushing yards. I think the guy who finished first was MVP and set the record for rushing TD's in a season, but I'm not sure, his name escapes me... Anyway the Chiefs will most likely put up some points with their ground game, but Manning and Co. on offense should put up more against a less than formidable Chiefs defense. Cowboys @ Seahawks: As much I would love to see Romo and the Cowboys fall on their face in Seattle, I just don't see it happening. Seattle has a middle of the road defense that Romo and his receiving corp should be able to expose. And though Dallas' defense has struggled the last few weeks I think the Cowboys will get it together against the Seahawks. In addition, home field advantage has not meant much in the first round of the playoffs recently, as road teams are 6-2 in the Wild Card round in the last two years. Jets @ Patriots: It's Student vs. Teacher, Round III. After splitting the season series, the rubber match goes to the Teacher. Belichick and the Patriots will teach Mangini and the overachieving Jets another lesson on Sunday. Plus, the Patriots are money at home in the playoffs. (Sheds a tear) Just remembering the Colts playoff woes from 03' and 04' in Foxboro. Giants @ Eagles: Since starting the year 6-2, the Giants have been a train wreck and the Eagles are winners of 5 straight. That's about all I need to go on. I pick the Eagles. TV.com: It looks like we'll be able to access some new avatars or upload our own soon. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the apparent new size. It has stretched out my profile box and forced me to scroll down further to see my tracked blogs. I like the icons small, neat and tidy. Me: My wife got a sewing machine for Christmas and I was forced to clean out the spare bedroom and make some space for her machine. You don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to move it. About 10 trips up to the attic with boxes full of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly and ESPN the Magazine and tons of old baseball and football card commons led to a sore back, but more importantly, a happy wife. She is making a quilt out of a several of our old T-Shirts and when it is finished I'll snap a pic and post it here.---I purchased The Simpsons Season 9 on DVD a little while ago and I'm halfway through it. There have been a few really solid funny episodes that I had forgotten about: The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson, The Cartridge Family, and Bart Carny. A possible review of this DVD set will follow when I finish watching 'em all. To all you football fans who no longer have a team to root for during the playoffs, do me a favor and pull for the Colts, they need some help. Take it easy fellow TV.commers.

Last week yielded a 9-7 record. Not good, but not bad either. Overall Record: 150-90 Winning Pct: .625 Here are Week 17's Picks (Winners in Bold) Giants @ Redskins Seahawks @ Buccaneers Rams @ Vikings Panthers @ Saints Raiders @ Jets Lions @ Cowboys Steelers @ Bengals Browns @ Texans Patriots @ Titans Jaguars @ Chiefs Dolphins @ Colts 49ers @ Broncos Bills @ Ravens Falcons @ Eagles Cardinals @ Chargers Packers @ Bears Upset of the Week: The Packers are 3 point road dogs against the Bears. However, the Bears no longer have anything to play for, as they have locked up the #1 seed in the NFC. The Packers need a win to keep their slight playoff hopes alive and I think Favre can pull out a W against Chicago's scrubs. 9-4 in this category. Mortal Lock of the Week: The Jets will secure a playoff spot with a win over the hapless Raiders. 9-5 in this category. Colts Update: What a sobering last few weeks it has been for this Colts fan. From 9-0 with a strong foothold on the #1 seed in the AFC to 11-4 and looking like they will have to host a Wild Card game in the first round of the playoffs. For the Colts it has boiled down to this: Manning and the offense must be perfect, no turn-overs and they must score nearly every time they have the ball. The defense cannot be relied upon at all, regardless of their opponents starting field position. Defensive stops have become a thing of the past with the Colts and their Super Bowl chances look very grim. TV.com: As evidenced by the constant hovering at 6% of Level 29, I haven't had much time for TV.com during the last week or so, but with the end of the holidays and the coming of the new year, I'll get back to plugging away with submissions for The Simpsons guide. Take it easy everyone, and remember to celebrate the New Year responsibly.

(Takes bow and pats self on back.) I went an outstanding 12-4 last week, and was correct in both the Upset of the Week and Mortal Lock of the Week categories. Woohoo!

Overall Record: 141-83 Winning Pct: .629

Here are Week 16's Picks (Winners in Bold)

Vikings @ Packers
Chiefs @ Raiders
Bears@ Lions
Titans @ Bills
Panthers @ Falcons
Colts @ Texans
Buccaneers @ Browns
Ravens @ Steelers
Patriots @ Jaguars
Saints @ Giants
Redskins @ Rams
Cardinals @ 49ers
Chargers @ Seahawks
Bengals @ Broncos
Eagles @ Cowboys
Jets @ Dolphins

Upset of the Week: I would have gone with the Steelers over the Ravens, but Pittsburgh is a 3 point favorite at home. So, I will rely upon the Patriots to upset the Jaguars in Jacksonville. 8-4 in this category.

Mortal Lock of the Week: I'll go with my beloved Colts over the Texans. The Colts are still clinging to the #2 seed in the AFC and they surely won't let a game slip away to Houston. 9-4 in this category.

Colts Update: I'm breathing a little easier this week after the Colts' convincing win over the Bengals on Monday Night Football. It was a fun game to watch as Manning and Harrison coneected for 3 TD's, yet again showing why they are the all-time greatest QB/WR tandem in league history.--5 Colts made the Pro-Bowl, all from the offensive side of the ball: QB Peyton Manning, WR Marvin Harrison, WR Reggie Wayne, LT Tarik Glenn, and C Jeff Saturday. Kudos to them. Now if we could just have some defensive Pro-Bowlers...

Tigers Update: Starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman has been locked up through the year 2010. He signed a 4-year $38 million contract.--April 2nd can't get here fast enough.

That's it from my end. I won't be blogging again until after Christmas. So to all fellow TV.commers out there, have a safe and merry Christmas!