Week 8 Selections

Last Week - 2-0 +$200

Year to Date - 6-8-1

Cyberbalance - $2270

Well that was easy - just bet on the two teams from New York. Seriously I seem to do much better when I only pick two games so even though I like Kansas City giving 5 1/2 points against Seneca Wallace, and I also like the Redskins getting 23 1/2 against "Bye Week" (who are those guys ?), I'm going to curb my enthusiasm and bet only two games.

I'm putting $100 each on New England +2 1/2 versus Minnesota because, well their New England and they are getting points, and $100 on Green Bay -3 over Arizona because I don't think Matt Leinart can outduel Brett Favre at Lambeau Field.

Survivor Pool

I knew I shouldn't have said anything !!!!!!!!!!

Idiot !!!!!!! Stupid Jacksonville !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 7 Selections

Last Week - 0 - 3 <$330>

Year to Date - 4-8-1

Cyberbalance - $2070

You see, this is why I don't gamble anymore. If I'd really had money on last week's Seattle-St. Louis game I'm sure my head would have exploded.

This week I'm going with the 2 New York teams, $100 each on the Jets -3 at home against the Lions (who can't possibly win 2 in a row with John Kitna at QB) and the Giants +3 1/2 in Dallas (because Drew Bledsoe is going to get sacked 117 times in this game).

As an interesting sidenote I got sucked into a "Survivor Pool", pick one team each week to win outright, you can only pick a team once. This seems like the easiest thing in the world yet after 6 weeks only 11 out of 82 are still alive, and I'm one of them. I was sorely tempted to pick Arizona over Oakland this week, and thus get a win with an awful team and saving a good team for later in the year, but chickened out at the last minute and took Jacksonville over Houston, so look for those "David Carr throws for 578 yards and 5 Touchdown" headlines on Monday morning.

Mats gets #500 in Style

Last night the greatest Swedish captain of all time capped off a hat trick performance by scoring the winning goal, shorthanded, in overtime on National TV. It was the 500th Goal of Mats Sundin's career and put the stake in the heart of the Calgary Big Hat's.

I have previously mentioned that had daughter been "son" I would have lobbied furiously for Mats as the given name, and I'm strongly considering re-opening discussions now regardless of gender.

Week 6 Selections

Last Week - 1-0-1 <$120>

Year to Date - 4-5-1

CyberBalance - $2400

Oh the travails of a gambler, my Redskins were never in it so I knew I was down $110 early but Kansas City teased, first looking like outright losers then driving to a first and goal from the seven ........ touchdown wins it and I'm only down the juice...... but no they settle for the field goal and the push. Bastards !

This week the Detroit Lions opened as 1 1/2 point favourites at home but the line has moved a ton ..... so that Buffalo are now giving a point in Detroit, I'm taking the Bills giving a point for $100. So two weeks ago the Seahawks looked like world beaters dismantling a pretty good Giants team, then last week the Hawks looked...... well not so good, I'm still taking Seattle for $100 giving 3 points against St. Louis and finally I'm giving the 10 1/2 points on the road and betting $100 on the Bears over Arizona, in fact I'm betting $100 on the Bears every week until they lose.

Thanksgiving Trifecta

It wasn't supposed to happen like this, our Thanksgiving weekend had been planned out in advance with the anticipation of the Grands arriving Saturday morning. The weekend would entail a dinner out to celebrate published author's birthday (the Grands to babysit) on Saturday, family dinner at home on Sunday and then extended family dinner on Monday at the R's.

Best laid plans unraveled when Grandma got the call for her long awaited elective surgery, trip cancelled. I then completely forgot that no Grands meant no child care for Saturday night and thus dinner out cancelled, so lunch on Friday was hastily turned into "birthday luncheon". All was fine but we were now out of dinner plans for Saturday/Sunday nights and my palate was primed for Prime Rib, which was originally scheduled for Sunday.

Neighbours to the rescue, Dr. H suggested we have a "house dinner" on Saturday night - with Prime Rib, an idea I fully supported. Knowing that the prime rib was set for Saturday and Monday would bring gigantic Turkey I opted for Sunday Ham to complete the festive foods circle.

Saturday was a communal effort of the finest kind, Dr. H took care of beet salad, yorkshire pudding, potatoes and (most importantly) pumpkin pie, from homegrown pumpkins. I took care of the roast and veg (broccoli and cauliflower in cheese sauce).

The 2 bone, four pound roast was rubbed with garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, dijon and rosemary and left to sit for three hours before going into a 450 degree oven for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes at high heat the oven temperature was reduced to 325 for an hour then the roast was removed to rest. While the beast rested I added a half cup of beef stock and quarter cup of red wine to the mirepois veg and scraped the roasting pan, then all this was strained into a saucepan, and a knob of butter and an ounce of port were added, then reduced by half to create a jus. The resulting meal was superb, the roast medium rare on the outside and rare in the middle and was accompanied by a killer bottle of 2000 Regusci Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley's Stag's Leap region.

Sunday was baked Irish cured ham, from Armando's, for the three of us along with roasted fingerling potatoes and acorn squash in brown sugar (finished with Tobasco) and a lovely bottle of Bergerac, Chateau Haut Pethus 2004 - $13.95 CSPC#303081. Monday was dinner for 14 at Casa R with mountains of turkey, stuffing, Swedish potatoes, multiple veg/salads, myriad pot luck wines and a finishing touch of homemade pumpkin cheesecake.

All in all, except for the missing Grands, it was a perfect Holiday weekend - so good that I didn't even mind going back to work on Tuesday.

Week 5 Selections

Last Week - 2-0 +$200

Year to Date - 4-4 +$20

CyberBalance - $2520

Well there, that was better, even if I did have to sweat out the Rams win and was blissfully unaware that Cleveland was getting killed early. The bottom line is I went 2-0 last week and have now made $20 through 4 weeks of wagering; which works out to $5 a week, or roughly the same amount I could make assembling Nikes in a third world country.

This week was full of other activities but I still found a couple of games I like. First off I'm taking Kansas City giving 3 points in Arizona because........ well KC has looked pretty good and Arizona have looked like Arizona so $100 on KC. My second pick is just plain stupid but it's time to back my team with more than blood, sweat and curses so I'm taking Washington getting 4 1/2 in the Meadowlands against the Giants........ there I said it Washington +4 1/2 for $100, now I can move on.

I also like San Francisco giving 3 1/2 at home against Oakland and Minnesota giving 6 at home to the Lions but lets just keep it to 2 games this week.

Single Parenting

Well I'm down to the wire, in about 11 hours daughter will fall asleep and when she wakes up wife will be home and my annual week of single parenting will be over. Wife has spent the past week in Houston at her yearly conference so I've been the only adult at home.

It's not a true representation of what real single parents go through, of course. For one thing wife is coming back and for another I take the week off work just to chill and spend time with daughter. Nonetheless I have grown to love this week of the year, where I used to dread it. I spend lots of time with daughter, and prior to her going to school was the principal daytime caregiver, but the mother/child bond is not one that is easily replaced. Try as I might I am not her mother, and never will be, but our relationship is strong (if a bit testy on occasion).

When daughter was 3 or 4 and wife went away I would dread the time, but now that daughter's interests have changed this one week of single parenting is a blast; plus getting to have pizza for dinner twice in five days is a major bonus. Additionally the conference came early this year so I was able to watch daytime playoff baseball, although unable to drink beer while doing so.

The one who suffers in this will be wife, who doesn't touch ground until midnight, because at 7 AM daughter will be all over her, whereas I can finally sleep in for the first time in a week.

Quick Baseball Question

OK - hands up all those who predicted that Boof Bonser would be squaring off against Esteban Loaiza in a playoff game this year.

Yeah, that's what I thought.