Too much Halo 2
I planned on typing a much longer blog post today, but I got playing Halo 2 on Xbox live, and one Team Slayer game turned into another, and pretty soon... it's one o'clock and you really haven't gotten anything accomplished all night. Other planned activities included working on some homework and going to the gym. Guess I will have to work on that for next time. Kind of like Chris needs to work on some new entries for his blog, *cough*.

Anyways, more NFL playoff picks. We're in the divisional rounds now, and things are getting exciting. Four games full of top-notch competition (well, except for the Rams and Vikings) and a potential game of the year candidate in the Pats-Colts matchup. So, onto the picks.

AFC:
Pittsburgh over Jets. And the Roethlisthghrberger bandwagon continutes.
Pats over Colts. I know Peyton is lightning-hot but I can't see anybody beating the Pats this year. They're just too sharp and too playoff tested to lose at home, even to the Colts.

NFC:

Falcons over Rams. Atlanta has the worst fans in the world, sadly, they'll get to enjoy a home playoff win.
Vikings over Eagles. My upset special. Too long of a layoff, plus too much pressure and no T.O., leads to another miserable offseason in Philly.

For some comic relief, check out "The Christies" TV show script, courtesy of ESPN here. The Christies have, a, um, interesting relationship. Men, don't let this happen to you.

Odds and Ends
After deciding I'd had enough of my crummy apartment for awhile I moved all the furniture in my bedroom today. I moved the computer desk to the opposite wall, shifted the bed, got some shelves, and threw a bunch of stuff out. I should get some posters or wall decorations up stat. I think the room is an improvement in general but we'll see if I can adjust to it.

I feel decent about my NFL Wild Card Round Picks. I got the easy ones right- Colts crushing Denver and Seattle not being able to get it done when it counts. I should have known better about the Packers though- they've played too many atrocious games this year and it catches up with a team sooner or later, especially against a dangerous squad like the Vikings. About the Randy Moss touchdown "mooning" issue, I've got nothing to say, since it seems like it's all being blown a little bit out of proportion. Guess they gotta have somebody to pick on since T.O. is injured. And about the Chargers, look at the coach, enough said. Schottenheimer is cursed in the playoffs, there's no other way to describe it.

And I feared this would happen eventually, and it did. Checking my hit counter (that little bar graphic on the right), there were actually a couple of days where Squared Sevens Blogging Corp. didn't get any hits. Now, I know, family, holidays, etc., but I'm gonna need to see a little bit more dedication from the blog readers here. I've targeted only the best in readership, and I expect to see some results. So, no more zero-hit days. Can I count on you guys?

Home Improvement
My apartment is so crummy. It's so messy and grimy, it makes me depressed just being in here. Now, make no mistake, I'm glad to have heat and a roof over my head, but I gotta do something to spruce up this place stat. Unfortunately, I don't think Extreme Home Makeover would be interested in helping (there's no ratings in helping out college bums). I suppose I could go to Lowe's and drop $100 on shelves, but I don't know if that would really solve the problem of staying in a crummy apartment. So plans are-

-More posters. Movies, Chicks, Xtreme Zombies, abstract art, that old Zo Mourning poster, anything to make the walls look better.

-Organize. Stuff's just piled up on top of one another. The kitchen is especially atrocious. I need to learn to utilize space more efficiently. Or just make better piles.

-Move furniture. Maybe I'm in a Feng Shui rut. Lord, I hope not- anything but that :x

-Add some plants. Increase the oxygen level in here, get rid of that carbon mess. Plus something nice to look at. And by plants, no I do not mean marijuana. No way, not at all.

-Move into another apartment. Well, sometime down the road eventually. Then, with effort and perseverance, I can turn that one into a sh*thole as well.

We want the ball, and we're going to score
It's time for some playoff predictions. After losing my fantasy football playoffs by 5 points, and the Panthers missing the playoffs, it's time to have a little fun for a change. So, here it is- Fro's 2004 NFL Playoff Predictions version 1.0. I'm gonna focus on the Wild Card (or Mild Card, as one columnist has called it) games coming up this weekend.

First, the AFC. J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets at Chargers, and I'm sorry Derry but San Diego is just too good this year. San Diego wins this one by two scores. Then, Broncos at Colts. Denver has Champ Bailey but it won't be enough to stop Peyton Manning and his quest to lose to the Patriots. Colts in a blowout.

Now, onto the NFC, or No Factor Conference as another witty columnist has said. Gotta love those guys, getting paid to write about sports and stuff. Tough job. I mean, everybody talks about how spoiled and overpaid athletes are, but how about sportswriters? They get paid to go watch some of the hottest sports events in the country, hang out with a bunch of ball players, then write a little article about it. Seems to me like a lot of people would love to do that for free. But I digress...

Rams at Seahawks- Seattle has shown they clearly don't have the heart of a champion, this year or probably any other. So, unbelievably and pathetically, I'm choosing the 8-8 Rams to win a playoff game. Then, Vikings at Packers. At least this one should be interesting. Out in the Lambeau cold, Fahv-ray and Co. over the self-destructing Vikes seems like an easy pick. Packers roll.

FYI, I'm still picking the Patriots to take it all home again this year. Nobody can beat them when it counts. And Green Bay is my dark horse team from the NFC this year. They can be very dangerous. So those are my picks, let the games begin.

Back From Ohio
I just got back from visiting relatives in Ohio for the holidays. It was nice to finally get back to Grandma's house and do the Christmas thing after missing out on it last year. There were some changes, but it looks like a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same in a way. I'm sure anyone with a family can understand what I'm talking about. Doing the Christmas thing remains fun, and seeing how it's my family, we all pigged out on ham and cookies.

We got to do some fun stuff too, like meet one of my Grandpa's old WW II buddies and go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It was interesting to go to the hall because, seeing how Rock music and behavior has been pretty extreme from society for most of its existence, the Hall itself was quite the middle-of-the-road, family friendly affair. There was a ton of artifacts, my favorites included Jimi Hendrix's clothes and John Lennon's weird high school newspaper artciels.

Gift highlights included the Star Wars DVD set, a nice big coat and lots of Under Armor brand sportswear apparel (protect this house). Overall it ended up being a pretty long trip, full of enjoyment and laughter but also pain and anguish. Of course I'm talking about the Panthers losing to the Saints of all teams at home to miss a trip to the playoffs. Even worse, being in Ohio I couldn't watch the game, so I was stuck with monitoring the ticker every 5 seconds to see if the score changed. Not fun. It wasn't helped at all by my sister reminding me "it's just a game" every five seconds, yes, I know, it's just a game, thank you very much. Still, even though the Panthers lost, it's better than the Bills, who lost a must-win game to Pittsburgh's thrid-string scrubs.

Now I'm back in NC, and after slogging through a foot of snow in Ohio a week ago, it's 70 degrees outside and I'm wearing shorts and a T shirt.. Hmm.

Whoa. Christmas is like, this week.
I just realized that Christmas is on Saturday of this week. Coulda fooled me. Sadly, it doesn't seem like I really care at all. Could going to Japan and missing a year, combined with me getting older, really make much of a difference? Christmas decorations just look tacky to me. I haven't been able to stomach much Christmas music on the radio. Then again, most radio Christmas music is sung by Mariah Carey, Peobo Bryson, or some dreaded combination of the two. So I guess that explains that part. Still, i enjoyed Christmas so much when I was a kid. I'd like to still enjoy it now, but maybe the Grinch is catching up with me.

Fire Dan Hennig
It's a commonly known "rule" of football. Play for the win on the road, OT at home. Simple as that. Even kids know this. However, an NFL coach who is getting paid six figures apparently does not. At that time, you start looking for another coach. See? Simple.

Free time? What's that??
I finally finished up all of my exams yesterday. It's been a long week full of studying and poor sleep habits, and honestly I was getting a little sick of it. But that's over now- it's Winter Break time. When I got back to my apartment with no tests to worry about, I kind of didn't know what to do. Then, it hit me- play copius amounts of Halo 2 on Xbox live. Of course!

Problem is, I'm not what you would call the best online gamer. See, a lot of these guys (trust me, there's no girls) spend all of their time memorizing maps, weapons, and tactics until the late hours of the night, fueled by caffeine beverages. So when a more average schmoe like me comes along, well, it's not pretty. Let's just say I get the tar beaten out of me more often than not. At least there's plenty of time to practice now.

I'm still not sure what I will do with the rest of my free time during vacation, but no doubt the parents will make sure it's spent on something "productive". Or even worse, the dreaded "family time". Also, the Panthers play the Falcons tonight, in ATL no less. Stay tuned for post game wrap up and analysis.

Fro's 100th Blog Post Spectacular
Ok, not really. It's exam week, and you know what that means- lots of time in the library, alone and half asleep. It's been a rough semester. I've had a ton of work and frankly it's not how I wanted to spend my senior year in college, rushing to make deadlines every week. Just a little more to go this semester though- a couple of exams and then it's vacation time. Meanwhile, don't expect much from here for awhile.

In other news, another week, another Panthers win, again the D stepping up big was the key factor in the game. The D got like 7 turnovers in the game, which is just great. Keep it up guys. I'm not going to mention the "p" word until the Panthers can finally defeat the Falcons. Once they do that, I officially believe they will be ready for the big time.

Hey!
Surprise! Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi used steriods. Big one there. Of course, Barry says he didn't know, in what is probably a carefully constructed case of probable deniability. Giambi's the one who is gonna be most shook from this. He didn't take roids last season, showed up about 20 pounds lighter, and went on to have an absolutely terrible year. The health effects of steroid use are already catching up with him, and the Yankees might try to get out of his mega-contract. Kids, don't do drugs.

What I've been up to: lots. Basically, I had a presentation on Thursday and what ended up being a 20 page paper due on Friday. So, that took up a lot of time. The presentation was about Japanese History Textbooks, and the controversy around them. Basically, a group of right-wing nuts in Japan got together and made a textbook that kind of ignored Japanese wartime atrocities, and it got approved by the government for use in schools. China and South Korea weren't so pleased. Lesson of the day? Wars just don't go away when they end.

The other one was about Japan's economy, and I don't like discussing the economy too much, so I'm not gonna write any more about it. That's it. It's done.

Panthers won a big one at home against Tampa Bay. Again, the defense getting turnovers was the difference with Pepper's return for a TD. Of course it was nice to get to see a big come from behind victory like I heard about it all last year.

Tonight, the 49ers tried hard, but came up short in 3OT's against #22 ranked Alabama. Missed free throws were the difference, but I have to mention the extremely preferential officiating for Alabama. I mean, I've seen some whoppers in my day, and some of these were really out there. So congrats "Tide", you lucky punks.

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet? I'm not. Still waiting. I'm sure it'll kick in once school ends though. Just need to see some more trees and lights. Remember, I missed out last year, so I hope it's good this time around.