Tuesday Tidbits

• I went 4-1 in the football pool this week! I'm officially tied for 6th. I'm also slightly obsessed.

• I'm disappointed in the Ray Donovan season finale. I like a badass Ray Donovan and this episode gave me a resigned and weak Ray Donovan. I guess I understand the reason why they chose to end the season the way they did-it's about absolution and redemption, OK, I get it. But in my opinion they over played their hand a bit here. They put too much focus on Ray's two weaknesses-the Catholic church and his family and I don't feel like it resolved anything for me. I'm thinking that's exactly what it was meant to do. I'll be waiting till next season Ray, don't you worry. 

• Scientists have discovered evidence of flowing water on Mars! Exciting news that some say could lead to the discovery of some form of life on the planet. I wonder-is this a ploy by Hollywood to promote the opening of Matt Damon's new movie "The Martian"? Just a thought.

• The Pope is the cutest man in the world. I love him. 

• Today I consider myself fortunate for all that I do have in my life and fortunate that I will not focus what I don't have....and I'm fortunate that I feel that way. 

• I'm going to see Frack this weekend in North Carolina. It's Parent Weekend at HPU and I can't wait! I miss my boy so much!! He is pledging a frat Pi Kappa Phi and he's rally excited about it. I'm loving the fact that this frat boasts the best GPA on campus and they take academics VERY seriously. So much so, that Frack has to log in 12 hours of monitored study time during the week as part of his pledge duties. Is this great or what?

• Babies are everywhere in my family. Lately there have been most joyous visits from 2 great nieces and a great nephew. I'm not going to even think about the fact that this means I am old..no, I am going to rejoice in the fact that my beautiful nieces and nephews whom I have enjoyed watching growing up are now becoming parents themselves. The love I feel for their children is so overwhelmingly satisfying. It's a beautiful lesson in the circle of life.

Dipping My Feet Into The Pool

So last month My Guy invited me to join his NFL football pool. I was a little nervous about joining a football pool with 20 guys, so I recruited my BFF to join also. I played Fantasy Football once before and made it all the way to the playoffs, but this is different. This time I need to follow the entire GAME and not just my beloved New England Patriots, but all of the games in the league. I need to watch the spread and ponder and learn about lots of other teams. Shouldn't be too hard for someone who has worked in sports journalism not that long ago, right? I still follow and understand and read about and root for all sports-mostly my hometown teams-but sounds like a piece of cake right? Wrong.

Week 1 started and I was a nervous Nelly-searching the web for anything that would help me with the prospects for the first game of the season. After reading ESPN and finding several football pick sites, I took all that information and I sat down to make my picks. The Pats were opening the season on Thurs Night Football against the Steelers. The spread was Pats -7. Of course I took it as my top point pick, with all the "deflatgate" bullshit, I figured My Tommy was gunning for blood. I then went on to pick 4 other teams, mindful of the line and submitted my picks.

I was right about My Tommy, but Vegas has a way of snaring away all your glory. The Pats won, but only by 7, which means I scored a "push" and took only half of my intended points. Better than a loss, I figure, and not bad for a pool rookie. I ended up going 2 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie. Respectable enough and good enough to keep me in 13th place.

This Sunday that same anxiety overcame me as I knew my picks had to be in before the first kickoff. My cherished Sunday morning ritual of leisurely reading the paper and then watching CBS Sunday Morning was fast replaced by nervous energy spent pouring over the sports pages and the web. 2 hours later, I came up for air and was ready to make my picks. I made one fatal error though....
I was going to take Cleveland and take points for my biggest points pick-heck-two Heisman winners dueling it out on the field and even though it is the Browns, I figured this Manziel's last chance to prove himself. Just before I made the pick, I asked My Guy what he thought about the Cleveland game...

He warned me about following the NFL Pick sites-he showed me ESPN and USA Today and explained about home teams and point spreads. He gave me this valuable piece of advice-that even the experts get it wrong some time. "There are no locks," he said, which now left me even more confused. I asked him who his 5 star pick was and he replied with this, "New Orleans is playing the worst team in the league at home. They are giving 9 points, but I'm thinking it's a safe bet." Now, My Guy went 5-0 in his first week, so he added, "You should bet against me. I'm probably not going to go 5-0 again"

Don't ask me why, but I started thinking; Brees at home-Tampa on the road-Tampa sucks, and 9 points is a LOT-2 score spread-at home-I'm doing it!!! Guess what? It was the only game I lost on Sunday and had I taken Cleveland I would have gone 5-0.....

Lesson learned, but I have to tell you that playing in this pool has made football on Sunday's so much more fun! I know that you can't be a hero every week, but I'm having a ball trying.
Sooo...anyone have any picks for THIS Sunday? I'm all ears.

Ignorance Is A Hail Mary

Truth be told, I've been a bit busy with a project that I'm working on, but imagine my surprise when I leaned LAST NIGHT, on the evening news about what will probably go down in history as the worst blown call in professional football.

It was everywhere. On the internet, one the news, on the radio, on almost every football fan's topic of conversation, yet I. a football fan myself and complete media junkie, managed to miss it. Embarrassed but determined, I immediately educated myself on the facts. I couldn't believe it.

In a last ditch effort to win the Monday Night Football game, Settle launched one of the most exciting, when successful, plays in football, "The Hail Mary". What happened next is now history. Blatant offensive interference was committed by Seahawk's receiver Golden Tate and it looked to me like Green Bay safety M. D. Dennings had possession of the ball which is an interception, not a TD in my book. The facts are the facts and the ruling on the field, a touch down, was made by the inexperienced, replacement officials. The NFL has backed the scabs and the sporting world and sports fans alike are in a tizzy.

Twitter immediately blew up, and freedom of Tweet was thoroughly exercised. Even Mr. President weighed in on the call by tweeting, "@BarackObama NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon"

Ya think?

PGA Professional took the opportunity to pounce on the competition and tweeted. "@bubbawatson All @nfl fans watch the Ryder Cup this week, we got no refs. #USA"

Good point Bubba.

Imagine being one of those two refs? Here's hoping they both have a job today and a trench coat and dark glasses.

NFL QB Drew Brees said it best when he tweeted, "@I love this league and love the game of football, but tonight's debacle hurts me greatly. This is NOT the league we're supposed to represent."

I'm sure Seattle fans will always disagree that this was a bad call and the debates between those few who agree with it and those who don't will be legendary. If it were my beloved Pats' I might have six thousand arguments as to why it was the right call, but somehow, in the midst of all the craziness after I watched the replay over and over, I was left thinking one thing that was completely unrelated. I was left thinking that this is a prime example of how good old Pete Carroll managed to dodge another bullet.