Quickpick for Thursday night

Bears v. NINERS (-3) = Uh...you think Mike Singletary is gonna have his guys ready after losing to the Titans last week and with his old team coming into town? I do.

BTPC pick = Niners laying the points.

Wolf Blitzer is an idiot

Yesterday afternoon, CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviewed Col. John Galligan (ret.), one of alleged Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hassan's attorneys. Under the pretext of being asked by " a lot of folks, when they heard I was interviewing you:"

They asked me how could a retired U.S. military officer, a full colonel, go ahead and represent someone accused of mass murder? And I want you to explain to our viewers why you're doing this.

Galligan answered with the obvious answer: "I fully appreciate the importance of ensuring that everybody has a fair trial." Galligan then went on to remind all those "folks" that he thought it was important to insure that Hassan got the rights that service members fought and died for.

Because it's his show and he's got a massive ego, Wolf could not let it go and tried to end the interview with:

"I'm sure he will get a much fairer hearing than those 13 Americans who were
brutally gunned down the other day. I'm sure he will get all of the rights that
are applied by the military code of justice."

After seeing Galligan appear annoyed at those remarks, Wolf let him respond, which Galligan did:

"The difficulty that I have, of course, is when people end discussions with me
with references like the one that you just made."

Galligan then proceeded to school Blitzer and remind him why it's important that Hassan enjoy those rights.

Get real, Wolf. You know WHY Galligan would defend this guy. Further...I don't for a second believe you heard from "a lot of folk" before this interview who questioned why Galligan would defend this case. You simply wanted score cheap points and you got called out for it.

And to think...we named our fantasy football team after you last season. No wonder Wolf Blitzer's Lap choked in the playoffs.

Why aliens wouldn't really travel in those big hoopties

Dvice has post up titled: 4 Reasons why V's motherships don't make sense that is highly enjoyable. Enjoyable if for no other reason that I learned it would take 368 quadrillion joules of energy to propel a 3km-wide, 500m-tall steel ellipsoid 1000 meters into the air.

368 quadrillion joules! That's way more than 1.21 gigwatts!



How much is 368 quadrillion joules? About one and a half Tsar Bombas, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated; or twice the total amount of solar energy hitting the earth every second.

Yowza!

A thought for Veterans' Day

Today is Veterans Day, a day when we should all give thanks to those that, as Colonel Nathan Jessup might say, pick up weapons and stand post on the wall, allowing the rest of us to sleep under the blanket of freedom. So, to all those that have manned a post...on behalf of the BTPC, we salute you.





Because this is a day to honor our veterans, I thought I'd share a concern that I have about our veterans going forward. Everyone knows the stress our armed forces have undergone over the last 8 years. We've all heard the stories about the stop-losses and how Uncle Sam has asked more and more of this current generation of combat vets. In addition to that, you have the added burden of a lot of these troops being asked to serve in an urban combat environment. I can't begin to fathom the stress it puts on these kids to be in the middle of a city or village, surrounded by people, that for safety sake you have to assume are the enemy, but for mission sake you have to try to win over. It has got to be absolutely nerve-racking.



I truly feel like this generation of combat troops is going to have a tougher readjustment than any before. That's why I have followed some of the reports and studies about the increase in violent behavior with returning troops with great concern (see here for an example). This summer, the American Journal of Public Health released this press release:

Mental health diagnoses increased substantially after the start of the Iraq War
among specific subgroups of returned veterans entering Veterans’ Administration
(VA) health care, reports a new study.

Researchers determined the prevalence and correlates of mental health diagnoses among 289,328 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans entering VA health care from 2002 to 2008 using national VA data. Of those, 106,726 veterans received mental health diagnoses, including 62,929 who were diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and 50,432 who were diagnosed with depression. Women were at higher risk for depression than were men; yet men had over twice the risk for drug use disorders.

The researchers suggest, “Targeted screening and early intervention with evidence-based treatments tailored to the problems of particular subgroups of veterans may be the best defense against chronic mental health and social and occupational problems.” [From: “Trends and Risk Factors for Mental Health Diagnoses Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Using Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care,
2002-2008.”

In the past week, two members of our military family have made the news and not in a good way.




Major Nidal Hasan walked into the Solider Readiness Center at Ft. Hood in Kileen, Texas and opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding another 30.





John Allen Muhammad, aka the DC Sniper, was executed last night at 9:11 pm by the State of Virginia. Muhammad was a former sergeant in the US Army, having served active duty during the Gulf War. When the US Supreme Court refused to get involved in Muhammad's case, one of his attorney's, John Sheldon, issued this statement:

"In its effort to race John Allen Muhammad to his death before his appeals could be pursued, the state of Virginia will execute a severely mentally ill man who also suffered from Gulf War Syndrome the day before Veterans Day."

Now...before anyone gets all worked up saying the victims did not get any appeal, perhaps you should take a look at this article. As Sheldon points out, "It's not about him; it's about us."

I have no personal knowledge of either of these two men. I do not know what caused them to do the horrific things they did. But I can't help but think that we owe not just to their victims, but to the potential future victims of other disturbed or broken American soldiers to find out what caused them to do what they did. I think we have a responsibility to learn as much as possible about it, and use that knowledge to try to make sure we do everything possible to limit these episodes from being repeated.

Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I hope we are smarter than that.

No more love in an elevator???

No...this is not the bastard child of Joan Rivers and Mary Kate Olsen. It's Steven Tyler...FORMER frontman for Aerosmith. Or at least that's what Joe Perry is confirming. In a story from the Las Vegas Sun, Perry says the rest Aerosmith found out about Tyler's walking away from the internet. According to Jerry Fink:

Perry told the Las Vegas Sun today that he believes Tyler is history.

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry said from his Boston home. “I
don’t know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I
saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know
for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

Part of the problem, he says, is that Tyler doesn’t return his phone
calls.

“He’s notorious for that,” Perry said. “That’s one thing I’ve
learned to live with. I try to overlook it. I like to pick my battles. Frankly,
the last few months I’ve been wanting not to rock the boat. I don’t want him
canceling any more gigs. We really wanted to do these last four. We just kind of
didn’t want to call him out or anything and get him anymore pissed off, for
whatever reason. So we just let things lie. So we did the gigs and, like I said,
I got off the plane and saw this online. That’s how I know about it.”

If it is true that Tyler has left the band, lets take a few minutes to admire his greatest creation, shall we?

What if you went to a fight...

And a women's Mountain West soccer match broke out? Well...it may look a little like this.

Week 9: The Glengary picks.

It's week 9 and as promised (or warned) we've got a guest speaker today. So without further ado, let me turn this post over to Blake:

I'm from downtown. I'm here for Mitch and Murray. And I'm here on a mission of mercy.

The good news is...you're fired. The bad news is, you've got--all of you've got--just nine weeks to regain your jobs. Starting this week. Starting with this weeks picks. Oh...have I got your attention now?

We're adding a little something to this season's picks contest. As you all know, first prize is fortune and glory.

Anybody wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.

You get the picture? Are you laughing now?

F*cking picks are weak? You're weak. I've been in this business for 15 years. What's my name? F*ck you, that's my name. You know why mister? 'Cause you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an $80,000 BMW. That's my name.

And you're name is you're wanting. You can't play in the man's game, you can't close them, then go home and tell your wife your troubles. Because only one thing counts in this life: pick winners. You hear me you f*cking faggots?

They are sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it? The money's out there. You pick it up, it's yours. You don't, I got no sympathy for you.


These are the new picks. These are the Glengary picks. And to you, they're gold. To give them to you is to just throw them away. They're for closers.

I'd wish you good luck, but you wouldn't know what to do with it if you got it. And to answer your question...why am I here? I came here because Mitch and Murray asked me to. They asked me for a favor. I said the real favor, follow my advice and fire your f*cking ass because a loser is a loser.

If you think you can close, here are the picks:

Cardinals v. BEARS (-3) = Did the Cardinals lay an egg last week or what? I mean...Kurt "Just for Men" Warner laid a Delhomme (5 pick performance). Which is apropos considering it was against the Cardinals last season during the playoffs that Jake Delhome lost his mojo. Meanwhile, the Bears got to cake walk through the semi-professional football team known as the Browns. I am not too concerned about Boldin's ankle. This is afterall the same man that played two weeks or so after getting his jaw broken. I am, however, concerned about Old Man Warner playing in potentially chilly and windy Soldier Field.

BTPC pick= Bears laying the points.

Redskins v. FALCONS (-10) = Daniel Snyder apologized to the fans this week. Does that matter? Listen...when John Riggins says you have a "dark heart," probably not. Snyder's "apology" doesn't carry much weight when you take into the fact that the Skins banned fans "negative" signs at games. WTF? Plus, Danny boy couldn't even match fellow owner Randy Lerner's sincerity by meeting with actual fans. At least Lerner had a sit-down LCN-style (that's La Cosa Nostra, people) with Dogpound Mike. Mike Smith is a good coach. He's damn sure a better coach than a neutered Jim Zorn.

BTPC pick = Falcons laying the points.

Texans v. COLTS (-9) = The first toughy of the group. The schizophrenic Texans can't possibly win 4 in a row, can they? Uh...no. But can they cover? Hmmm....eh....I'll tell you what. I'm going to believe that Kubiak's benching of Slaton fires him up and the Texans really give Peyton a run for their money. Don't you disappoint me, Texans.

BTPC pick = Texans taking the points.

Chiefs v. JAGS (-6.5) = I like Chris Chambers. He has a few of the prettiest catches ever by a Miami Dolphin (although Orande Gadsen hands down wins for having the most incredible catches by a Dolphin. I think 3 of his catches are on display in the Hall of Fame. I am sure this sick one is one of them). Having said that, Chambers was never a consistent WR to begin with. Most of us Dolfans thought he just needed to play with a strong QB. Uh...yeah, that didn't change much. Meanwhile, MGD is busting 60+ runs like their bubbles.

BTPC pick = Jags laying the points.

Dolphins v. PATS (-10.5) = UPSET SPECIAL! This game is really big. If Miami can beat the Pats and close to within 1 of them, they will really have a chance to grab the lead over the following three games. Miami plays Tampa, Carolina, and Buffalo before getting the Pats back at home. In that same stretch, NE plays Indy, Jets and the Saints.





NE's offense is exactly the type of offense that has given Miami fits, quick passing-spread offenses (Indy and NO). Miami has to do a good job of controlling the clock to win. To me, there are two keys for Miami.





First, the Wildcat. If you look at what the Saints started doing in the second half and what the Jets picked up on in the following game, their Ds blitzed either a S or a CB to set the edge (and taking on the wildcat coming across the formation--usually Ricky Williams). Miami needs to have that WR on the outside take off and they need to have Ronnie Brown or more specifically, Pat White throw the ball deep. Hopefully you hit some for TDs or big gains. But even if you don't, you'll back that D off and get back to going helmet-to-helmet with the run game (which with that high-paid line, you ought to win). I kind of wonder if Sparano intentionally held back on the Wildcat this past week, so he did not reveal too much. This will be, afterall, the pseudo-anniversary of the Wildcat's birth as it was at NE during the first matchup last season where the Wildcat was unleashed and shocked the Pats.





Second, you must get to Brady. All of a sudden, Brady looks like Brady again. But trust me...as someone who has started him just about every game for my fantasy team, Brady was not looking that great until his last two games. And those two games were against semi-professional teams the Titans and the Bucs. Miami had 3 rookies in the secondary last week. The only way they get away with that this week, is if Brady is too worried about Jason Taylor to pick on the rookies. (It would be nice if Joey Porter would decide to show up too). Miami has the best record of any AFC East opponent versus Belichick in NE at 10-8. There's a reason for that. His name is Jason Taylor. It's no coincidence that Brady lobbied Taylor HARD to get him to sign with New England, kind of the "better to have him in your tent pissing out than outside pissing in." Brady has got to be even more concerned knowing his usual LT, Matt Light is out and he'll have a rookie protecting his blind side. Keep this name in your mind, Cameron Wake. Look for the Dolphins rookie to use the attention paid to Porter and Taylor to his own advantage and meet Mr. Giselle in the backfield a few times.

BTPC pick = I don't want the points. I don't need the points, but I'll take the points. Miami taking the points.

Pack v. BUCS (+9.5) = The Pack rolls down to Tampa after the emotional roller coaster that was HIM's return to Lambeau. While some may expect a let down against a Tampa team coming off a bye, I don't for two reasons. First, the Pack is getting healthy on the OLine (supposedly getting Clifton back); and two, The Josh Freeman era is set to take off in Raymond James Sunday.

BTPC pick = Pack laying the points.

Lions v. SEAHAWKS (-10) = If you want to know why "Pitino...party of two" is not doing well, look no further than the fact that I have two Seahawks that I usually am forced to start (Burleson and Jones). Sad times indeed. Seattle's best player is without a doubt their 12th man: the crowd. Can that be enough for 10 points against a Detroit team with a rookie QB traveling to the West Coast? Yes...I think it can.

BTPC pick = 'Hawks laying the points.

Panthers v. SAINTS (-13) = Even though I picked the Panthers last week, I think people are taking a little too much from that game. Listen...it was the Cardinals. They are not that good. Truth be told, they were not that good last year until they caught fire in the playoffs. I just can't see this Panther team playing the Saints better than Miami did, and Miami lost by 12 (if you count that BS TD that was not a TD).

BTPC pick = Saints laying the points.

Titans v. 49ers (-4) = Last week I said I believed in Vince Young. Uh...not this much.

BTPC pick = 49ers laying the points.

Chargers v. GIANTS (-4.5) = Phillip Rivers gets the chance to stick it to Eli and the Giants here. It's really tempting to take them. But Tom Coughlin called his troops out and he's going against Norv Turner.

BTPC pick = Giants laying the points.

Cowboys v. EAGLES (-3) = Desean is gonna Detoast the Cowboys.

BTPC pick = Eagles laying the points.

Steelers v. BRONCOS (+3) = McDaniels gets the chance to show how his teams respond to setbacks. He did a pretty good job responding to all the offseason setbacks, didn't he? Plus...he's getting points at home.

BTPC pick = Broncos taking the points.

Remember...it takes brass balls to pick games. Oh...and coffee's for closers.

Last week = 6-7 Upset special: forgot to designate one, but we'll say it was the Panther's pick, so 1-0 (hey...we need all the help we can get, right?)
Season to Date: 65-46-3 Upset Specials = 4-5.