Are the Planets Aligning?

What I've learned lately...

Republicans (as least those who want to be President) believe in three things:

1) If you don't have health insurance, for whatever reason, you should just die instead of being a burden on the tax payer. Or you could do what Ron Paul laughingly suggested, ask for help from your neighbors or the churches!

2) State sponsored executions in this country are an applause line.

3) Being a homosexual member of the armed services is worthy of being booed. I understand that most of the people on stage at the GOP debate probably don't believe this but then again not one of them had the balls to stand up to the terrible behavior displayed by the conservative crowd.

4) Oklahomans were buying this shit at the Fair:


Patti Stanger needs to know when to shut her mouth.

“'The Millionaire Matchmaker'” told a gay male caller he could maintain an open relationship because 'there is no curbing gay men,' she said."

To be honest, in my opinion, I don't think her remarks were too far off the mark but it's probably not something you would want to say on a television show promoting your own show. Again, in my experiences, I haven't known many gay men who have been able to carry on a long term relationship without some form of cheating entering into the equation, my own personal experiences included. Having said that, the influences of gay social life in Oklahoma City probably contribute more heavily to this phenomenon than gay men being unable to commit. I mean probably the biggest form of social interaction for gay men here is in a dank gay bar replete with alcoholics and drug users. Not a good place to hang out with the hubby.

I still, and will always, hate the Washington Redskins. They can't even beat a banged up Cowboys team that has an offensive line with an average age of 12 along with third sting wide outs! I love how Tony Romo went from the goat to the hero in a matter of a couple of weeks. Yes, it's cool to be a Romosexual again. How 'bout them Cowboys?!

Finally I learned that I just can't ride scary carnival rides anymore. I left my sphincter on the ride pictured below:

My Pilgrimage to Mecca

On my recent trip to Dallas last weekend I was able to take some time to visit Mecca, also know as Cowboys Stadium!


The tours of the stadium run every hour or so and the admission was $17.50. Though I enjoyed touring the facility, I found the guided tour to be a little too long, clocking in at about and hour and a half.


Highlights of the facility we were able to tour:

Press boxes and suites - areas I'm sure I'll never see during a game.

Locker rooms - I could have skipped the cheerleader locker room but the players locker room was awesome. Supposedly each "locker" was of some imported wood that costs ten thousand dollars a piece. We were cautioned not to sit or stand on the dressing areas.

Endzones - the endzones have giant doors on each side that open up several stories. The doors on each side have to be opened together otherwise the pressure of the enormous place would blow out the glass on the opposite side.

Stadium screen - the six story screen above the field in the first picture above is absolutely amazing. I've seen the thing in pictures and on TV during games but any image that I had previously viewed of the screen didn't do it justice. It is mind boggling. According to the tour guide the screen itself cost 40 million dollars, 5 million dollars more than the entire cost of the original Texas Stadium in Irvin.

Unfortunately we weren't able to go onto the field as there was some kind of Father's Day event going on. The tour was definitely worth the short drive from downtown Dallas to Arlington. How 'bout them Cowboys!

NFL Playoff Predictions (Divisional Games)

Four more games this weekend, two on Saturday and two more on Sunday.

AFC

#6 Baltimore Ravens (10-7) vs. #1 Indianapolis Colts (14-2)
January 16th at 7:15PM
Pick: Indianapolis
Comments: The Ravens sport a better defense and running game but league MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts will be too much for Baltimore especially at home.

#5 New York Jets (10-7) vs. #2 San Diego Chargers (13-3)
January 17th at 3:30PM
Pick: San Diego
Comments: Jets defense against the Chargers offense. I'd really like to pick the Jets but I'm going with San Diego at home. Jets coach Ryan may still believe but I do not.

NFC

#4 Arizona Cardinals (11-6) vs. #1 New Orleans Saints (13-3)
January 16th at 3:30PM
Pick: New Orleans
Comments: The Saints have an edge offensively. Defensively both teams seem to be evenly matched. It could be another high scoring affair with The Ain'ts coming out on top. Once again I'm sticking with the home team.

#3 Dallas Cowboys (12-5) vs. #2 Minnesota Vikings (12-4)
January 17th at 12 noon
Pick: Dallas
Comments: Dallas is just playing too well right now on both sides of the ball. Even if I wasn't a huge Cowboys fan, I'd still be picking them. The defense harasses Brett Fava Bean into making too many mistakes. Favre goes 0-4 against the Cowboys in the playoffs and Minnesota loses their first game of the year at home.

Current record 2-2
Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

Cowboys Win x2

Revenge! The Dallas Cowboys get revenge for a humiliating loss last year at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles that kept them out of the playoffs. Revenge is a dish best served cold (old Klingon proverb) and it was very cold in Dallas last night for Philadelphia. The Cowboys beat the Eagles (humiliated) for the second week in a row, the latest in the first round of the NFC playoffs. The Cowboys win was their first playoff victory since 1996! Right now I think Dallas is playing football as well as anyone in the league, especially their defense. Defense wins championships, right? If they can eliminate the pesky penalties that have plagued them all year, I really think they can make a run to the Super Bowl. How satisfying it is to beat the Eagles three times this season, a team I truly loath.

The other Cowboy win last night was Oklahoma State's basketball squad. They opened Big 12 play at home against 22nd ranked Texas Tech. After a slow start the Pokes went on to route the Red Raiders 81-52 and improve to 13-2. Top 25 ranking, how long? The Cowboys travel to Norman for Big Monday to face the dreaded Swooners of Oklahoma. I fully expect the Pokes to beat the ailing Sooners in Bedlam round one and pick up a difficult conference road win. Get out the tissue paper, Sooners, and let the crying commence! I really hope I don't have to eat those words...

As an added bonus, the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers last night at the Ford Center. If OKC continues to play as they have all season they should secure a playoff berth.

NFL Playoff Predictions (Wild Card Weekend)

Much easier than picking all the college bowl games, less picks to manage.

AFC

#5 New York Jets (9-7) vs. #4 Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
January 9th at 3:30PM
Pick: Cincinnati
Comments: Two good defensive teams. Picking the Bengals with the better record and at home.

#6 Baltimore Ravens (9-7) vs. #3 New England Patriots (10-6)
January 10th at noon
Pick: New England
Comments: Looks to be a great match up on paper. I have to go with the Pats though. They are 8-0 at home this season.

NFC

#6 Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) vs. #3 Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
January 9th at 7PM
Pick: Dallas
Comments: Speaking as a Dallas fan, I hate that the Cowboys are playing the Eagles for the second week in a row and for the third time this season. The same scenario played out the same way for Dallas a couple of seasons ago against the New York Giants. The Giants won the third meeting at Dallas. Statically speaking, Dallas leads most major categories against the Eagles. I really hope Dallas can avoid setting an NFL record for most consecutive post-season losses.

#5 Green Bay Packers (11-5) vs. #4 Arizona Cardinals (10-6)
January 10th at 3:30PM
Pick: Arizona
Comments: Toughest pick of the group. Green Bay should be the favorite, statically they are the better all around team and they have a better record. Something just tells me that Arizona is going to get their act together and play well at home this weekend.

Current record 0-0
Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

Cowboys Win the NFC East!

The good news yesterday is that the Dallas Cowboys pitched a shutout (the first time in franchise history it's been done two weeks in a row) against the Philadelphia Eagles to win the NFC East Division and secure a number three seed in the NFC playoffs. The bad news is that the Cowboys have to play Philadelphia for the second week in a row. Luckily they're playing at home but it's really difficult to beat a team three times in one season.

I'll make my Wild Card weekend picks later in the week but I have to say I like Dallas' chances to go far in the NFC. Their offense is playing well enough to win games and the defense has been superb the last half of the season. Regardless of what happens I'm just glad the boys are back in the playoffs!