Steak and Football Day Diary/Live Blog: Second Half

Well, the Second Half should be starting soon. The Packers are up 13-7 at this point but the lead should be significantly larger by this point. I'm not too crazy about the Packers settling for field goals. But it could be worse, I could be a Lions fan.

11:21 Seriously with 256 total yards to 81 and it's only 13-7?

11:22 Woodson pick...third of the Day........it's interesting Stafford doesn't play as well when the other team isn't the Cleveland Browns.

11:23 Well for now....it's being challenged by the Lions....we'll see what happens after some commercials.

11:29 Wow what a way to capitalize. I like that they went for it on 4th and 2 I just don't like that Rodgers ended up getting sacked and fumbled.

11:33 Packers are stuck inside their own 10 again.....Jordy is having a turrible game on special teams.

11:36 Rodgers hits driver with another long pass....the last time they did this the drive ended in the Packers only touchdown....hopefully that trend continues...will it....we'll see

11:39 In the Red Zone for the 4th time thanks to a good catch by Jordy

11:41 TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! Driver helps Rodgers finish what they started. Rodgers was under pressure and had a half-second window to get the ball to Driver. 20-7 Packers.

11:47 I've ranted about commercials I don't like enough today so i'll talk about one that I do like. The Miller Lite commercial that passes itself off as one of those Dating Websites for the first 20 seconds as the guy rants about finding the one and then he makes googly eyes over a Miller Lite....someone needs to put the E-Harmonies of the world in their place.

11:51 Stafford nearly got picked off for a 4th time. Still doing a pretty good Jay Cutler impersonation though.

11:52 Wide Right. Packers Ball. Still 20-7

11:54 We're not even out of the 3rd quarter yet and Rodgers has kept his 4-game streak alive of passing for 300+ yards against the Lions.

11:55 Rodgers to Jones for his 4th of the year.....27-7 Packers

11:57 So Joe Buck and Troy Aikman don't know who votes on the Turducken award or whatever the name of that Turkey thing is......seriously Joe you broadcast games for a living and have been calling games for FOX forever and Troy in addition to being a broadcaster you played for the Cowboys who always play on Thanksgiving.........your guys' job is to give people insight on these types of things..

12:02 The Lions punting unit makes it 80th appearance of the day

12:06 You know the game is getting out of hand when the broadcasting team is talking about their Fantasy Football teams. Knowing that Joe Buck's fantasy team is 2-8ish.

12:09 Stafford completes a 47-yard pass to Northcutt, now in the Red Zone.....they are starting to show some signs of life.

12:13 Packers D Bends but doesn't break on D--2nd and goal from the 1--three incomplete passes--Packers ball still 27-7.

12:15 And that is why you DO NOT RUN FROM YOUR OWN 1 YARD LINE.....At least McCarthy was smart enough to challenge.....27-9 is better than 27-14

12:21 33-yard return by Northcutt.....not great for the packers special teams but they've definitely done worse

12:24 Stafford converts on 4th down and find themselves back in the Red Zone.

12:26 Lions convert on 3rd.....between this game and S.F. Game I do have long-term concern about the Packers finishing off opponents.....they may be able to get away with it against these teams but they can't be pulling this off against playoff-caliber opposition.

12:28 Field goal unit coming on for Detroit 27-12 Pack 5 minutes left.

12:31 Packers were playing for onside but don't get it .....good to see Woodson get a chance to return a kick

12:32 Cut away to the Silverdome.....sorta disturbing that it only sold for $583,000 the clip they just showed on TV it looked disturbing seeing it as pretty much an abandoned property.

12:34 Packers run on 3rd and 3 to the surprise of no-one. 3 and out for the Packers 27-12 Pack 4 minutes left....no timeouts for the Lions.

12:36 Stafford throws a pick-six to Woodson. 4th Pick overall, 2nd pick for Woodson. 34-12 Packers

12:41 You know the game is pretty much over: When the broadcasting team talks about how the losing team (Lions) will be good at some unspecified point. While the Lions are terrible this year....this actually comes with sound reasoning....Stafford has shown signs of eventually justifying his #1 pick status.......give it a couple years and there's a solid chance he'll turn the Millen era into nothing more than a bad memory.

12:45 McCarthy is now 2 for 2 on challenges for the day

12:49 You know the game is decided when: Matt Flynn is on the field. This earns the Captain Obvious statement that Packers Back QBs don't get much playing time.

12:52 Well it's official......the game is over the Packers beat the Lions 34-12.

This obviously helps the Packers. They've now won three straight losing to Tampa and have moved to 7-4. There obvious a lot more football to be played.....as much as i've liked the Diary/Running Blog format thing.....the end of it comes now (for now)..

Not really feeling the Cowboys-Raiders (unless McFadden has a big game and leads my fantasy team to victory). I don't get NFL Network so I can't watch the Giants-Broncos from my lap top.........Plus I have about a few thousand calories to shove down my throat between now and the end of the day.

Steak and Football Day Diary/Live Blog: First Half

Trying something new for the holiday. In light of there being football, the Packers playing at 9:30 and not having to go in to work today....I decided to try a live blog about the sports action today

9:19 Forgot that watching Fox Pre-Game means Frank Caliendo and his lame John Madden impersonation. Hes giving a bad name to the what i'm thankful holiday line.....with a lame plug-in for the show Strahan is on (Brothers) that will be lucky to make it out of the first season...to add insult to injury hes picking the Lions

9:22 Not football related but I'm less than one second into reading the stuff on my Google Reader List (one of the more under-rated tools of Gmail in my opinion) and Allen Iverson is already considering un-retiring. Seriously.....hes been "retired" for day. I'm not surprised about this development but c'mon even Brett Favre pretends to retire for at least a few months.

9:27 Ahh the loveliness of a Joe Buck broadcast....telling us stuff I already know....you think I don't know its key that the Packers overcome injuries to Kampman and Harris...thank you captain obvious

9:31 A bit of a discrepancy....they had some anonymous studio person briefly talking about the games that mentioned this was the 20th Thanksgiving meeting between the Packers and Lions...then they cut away to Buck and Aikman who say its the 19th Thanksgiving meeting...someone's right....someone's wrong.....this is definitely a Wikipedia moment.

9:37 Filtered through Wikipedia Packers are 12-18-2 all time on Thanksgiving and 6-11-1 against the Lions meaning this is the 19th match-up

9:37 Not the best way to start a game.....Jordy Nelson starts by fumbling the kick return and letting the Lions start at the Green Bay 20......no bueno.

9:39 Really...that passes for roughing the passer these days? C'mon Matthews barely touched Stafford

9:40 Really does anyone actually use the phrase "He went to Jared" in real life. Does this line actually work. It seemed odd to me the first time. Seriously, the first few times I had to sit through an insufferable he went to jared commercial I thought it was just a bad Subway commercial.

9:42 Not even 2 minutes in and the Lions have a touchdown. Thanks a lot Jordy.

9:46 At least this kickoff wasn't fumbled. Another minute into the game another penalty. Who do they think they are, The Oakland Raiders?

9:56 Not a good sign. The Packers had a drive for 8 minutes and all they get is a lousy missed field goal. We could be in for a long game.

9:59 Could we be seeing Mike Martz try to get a spin-off to the greatest show on turf? I've stumbled across a couple articles with rumors (mainly) about him being interested in Buffalo and one article about him possibly being the Bears coach.

10:03 The Packers actually did something good. Clutch 3 ard 4 interception by Nick Collins. The Packers need to capitalize on this and tie the game.

10:05 While I do like what i've seen out of Ryan Grant the last few weeks....It seems that the play-calling has been a bit too conservative early on....this almost cost them the game against San Francisco...don't want it to cost them today.

10:07 Just as I say that Rodgers goes downfield and BOOM....68 yard completion to Driver...inside the Detroit 10....also like to mention that I like what I see out of the O-Line so far..playing a lot better today than most of the season....Rodgers would have had all day to make that pass.

10:10 Donald Lee scores his 1st TD in epic fashion leaping over a couple of Lions defenders. Joe Buck just dropped the useful nugget of this being Rodgers 30th career red zone TD Pass (vs. 1 interception).

10:15 Packers just lucked out. Kevin Smith had plenty of room to run and trips over. They go on to convert on 3rd down so it they didn't luck out that much.

10:22 Packers stuck at their own 4.....own 6 now facing a 3 rd and 8 they need to step up again on this play.

10:23 Clutch 3rd down play Rodgers was on the ropes a little bit throws it where only Jones can get it First Down.

10:30 The Lions have now committed penalties on back-to-back plays. Last time I remember seeing that was a few years ago when the Raiders and Packers played...the Raiders had 1st downs nullified by penalties...three plays in a row

10:34 Packers fall just short of getting in end zone. Crosby actually makes field goal 10-7 Packers.

10:34 Radio Shack has gotten into the early lead for most insufferable Black Friday jingle.......it looks like i'll have let's all go to shack fridays stuck in my head...whether I want it or not.

10:39 Another third down play...another interception

10:44 Ahh...The Two Minute Warning...Packers in the Red Zone....Need to punch it in before the half

10:46 Ok, whose idea was it to put one of the Wilson brothers on an AT & T commercial and to air it every five minutes? Really, the phone coverage of Akron, Ohio and Tempe, Arizona does absolutely nothing for me.

10:50 Fox plugging American Idol and about how it's changed music (they just forget to mention that its changing music for worse)

10:51 Packers fail to capitalize inside the Lions 10 (again) time for the field goal unit to make another appearance. 13-7 Pack.

10:57 Lions in last ditch attempt before the half :09 remaining...thrown out of bounds

10:59 First Half ends with Clay Matthews chasing Stafford across the field and finally sacking him.

Hmm...time for half time and to step away from the computer a little bit.....be back with my second half observations when the teams get back on the field

Top 10 Sports Cities---Not Top 10 Aspects

Recently, Forbes Magazine wrote an article with their top-10 list of hottest sports cities.

Well, I decided to twist things around a little bit and give a sarcastic take on some of these top cities not top 10 sports elements/moments/whatever comes to mind/etc.

# 10 San Diego

Out of the cities listed on here this one surprised me the most. The Chargers sleepwalk through a month hoping to squeak into the playoffs (works better when everyone else is .500 or worse) and they have the Padres (beyond Adrian Gonzales and Heath Bell....nothing special there)........losing 85+ games a year and David Eckstein......so not top 10

# 9 Chicago

I admit i'm biased on this one as many of my least favorite teams play in Chicago. I'd go with 101 years of no World Series titles but deflecting the blame on billy goats and scapegoating a die-hard fans who instinctively reach for foul balls.

# 8 Indianapolis

Nothing against Peyton Manning personally but he's in way too many TV Commercials but its all good as long as he keeps my fantasy team competitive

# 7 Detroit

Tigers inability to hold a 3-game lead with 4 games left......The Matt Millen Era.........Making 0-16 a reality.......its all good because the Lions being in the NFC North gives the Packers a couple easy wins per season

# 6 Pittsburgh

Its crazy to think that despite being 26 years old, the Pirates haven't had a winning season since I was in 4th grade.

# 5 Dallas

Tony Romo, The Cowboys in General, The irony of spending boatloads of cash on a stadium but placing the scoreboard so low that punted footballs hit it on a regular basis......

#4 Philadelphia

Booing Santa Claus....seriously Santa Claus.......can't hate on Philly sports too much since Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia did an episode where the gang tries out for the Eagles....it was funny

# 3 New York

The Mets opening their new stadium with a thud....The fact that the Yankees are one win away from sucessfully completing their purchase of the AL Championship......The Knicks.......Letting Isiah Thomas be a GM

# 2 Los Angeles

LA........Number 2? They'll support teams....if its cool. The Clippers playing to half-empty arenas. Dodger fans arriving in the 3rd, leaving in the 7th. This brings me back to a couple weeks ago: I was watching Game 2 of the NLDS the Franklin/Holliday game....it was the bottom of the 9th inning they showed the stadium attendees... the first thing that comes to my mind is i've never seen Dodger Stadium that full ever (let alone that late in the game)

# 1 Boston

I was going to mention the Titans play against New England on Sunday....but that doesn't apply to the criteria for the posting.

One thing thats sort of bugs me is why does Boston College call itself Boston College? This would imply that the campus is in Boston....but according to the all-knowing Wikipedia its in Chestnut Hill........is there a reason they went the BC method for naming?

Flash Forwarding to Week 3 NFL Action

For the second straight week, I am writing my NFL preview post in context of a season premier of a TV show. This week i'm multi-tasking between this post and the series premier of Flash Forward. Not even 10 minutes in and everything has delved into chaos (there was even a billboard for oceanic airways in the background)

Anyways, i ain't here to talk about the island (tonight) 8 15s or synchronized blackouts.....its time to talk about some football.

Packers 1-1 vs. Rams 0-2

I'm still trying to figure out how the Packers lost to Bengals of all teams. How did Cedric Benson manage to have a good game? How did Chad Ochocinco (or whatever he's calling himself this week) manage a successful Lambeau leap? What happened to the good old days (2006) when an opposing player attempting to pull this stunt got pushed back onto the field.

As bad as things were for the Packers they have at least one thing going for them, they're not the Rams. This is a golden opportunity for the Packers to add one to the win column before their Monday Night showdown against the hated Vikings.

Colts 2-0 vs. Cardinals 1-1

The Colts are coming off a thrilling late win over the Dolphins on MNF. It hasn't been pretty or dominating but the Colts still look like they're going to be strong even with a change at head coach.

The Cardinals were able to bounce back with a win over the Jaguars. The Jags look like they're heading for a terrible season. Pretty much, this game will do a lot to determine if the Cardinals still have some of that mojo that almost got them a Super Bowl win (and the Armageddon that would have followed) or if they're going to be amongst the many Super Bowl-losing teams to not even sniff the post-season.

Redskins 1-1 vs. Lions 0-2

Well, the Redskins about as little as possible to beat a pathetic Rams team last week. Lucky for them, they get to play the one team that's even worse the Detroit Lions

The Lions are only 14 games away from being the first team to have two straight 0-16 seasons. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen. Point being, the Redskins could be one of the most uninspiring 2-1 teams in NFL history after this weekend is over.

Broncos 2-0 vs. Raiders 1-1

I'm not sold on either of these teams. The Broncos 2-0 looks okay on the outside. However, those wins came against the Bengals and Browns. Also, with the train wreck circus revolving Brandon Marshall's legal troubles, the fact that Kyle Orton is their quarterback and whatever controversy Josh McDaniels finds himself in between now and Sunday, I don't see the Broncos winning ways holding up the rest of the season. (But they'll get to 3-0 before that happens)

Fortunately for the Broncos, they are playing the one team that has an even bigger circus surrounding their team. So the Raiders pulled out a win against the Chiefs, the Raiders team still looked like a train wreck even in this rare instance where they managed to not lose. I just can't take any team seriously that involves head coaches punching assistants, Al Davis involved in any capacity (let alone as owner) and JaMarcus Russell as a starting quarterback.

Falcons 2-0 vs. Patriots 1-1

So far, the Falcons strong 2008 seems to be legit. The NFC South is braced for an exciting 1-2 race between Atlanta and New Orleans.

The Patriots are coming off a loss to the Jets. They seem to have lost the mojo that they've had for most of the decade. They're one crazy comeback away from being in an 0-2 hole. Still, they are team that is not to be taken lightly. Tom Brady may have been injured all of '08 but he still needs to be taken seriously in opposing teams game plans. Probably one of the more intriguing match ups of the week.

Seahawks 1-1 vs. Bears 1-1

The Seahawks are coming off a bad loss to divisional rival San Francisco. Considering how mediocre the NFC West has been in recent years, it shouldn't be too hard to make up this early deficit.

The Bears seem to be pretty tough to figure out. Are they the sloppy team that played in week 1 or are they the team that's able to pull out a win against the defending champion Steelers? Well, they're playing another team that hasn't figured out whether they will be good or bad this year so this game is unlikely to reveal the answer, regardless of what happens.

Texans 1-1 vs. Jaguars 0-2

Still not sold on the Texans, especially with Steve Slaton off to a good start. Still, they have a pretty easy opponent in the Jags so they still have some time to get things together enough to contend for their first playoff bid.

The Jaguars.....look to be getting worse......absolutely nothing about this team inspires me.