Nurse the Hate: Hate The Playoffs

I know that the Denver Broncos are going to beat the Ravens today.  It is something that is going to happen.  There is nothing we, or the Ravens for that matter, can do to prevent it.  We all know it.  That's why Vegas has placed that terrifying 9.5 point spread on it.  All I know is this...  While the national media has been going crazy with praising Ray Lewis and making us believe that this 17 year veteran linebacker is some sort of game changer, the Colts rolled up 419 total yards on the Ravens last week.  Meanwhile, I don't think Peyton Manning has thrown a bad pass in six weeks.  I think the well rested Broncos are going to destroy the Ravens at home.  Do you think that old Ravens defense is going to keep it together in the thin air in the 4th quarter today?  Man, I sure don't.  Denver -9.5.  

The Public is all over Green Bay +2.5 over San Francisco today.  This concerns me.  The Public hates to bet underdogs.  They absolutely hate it.  Most people will still argue with you that the Patriots beat "The Greatest Show On Turf" Rams.  They refuse to believe that actually happened.  So if The People are on Green Bay, how can you bet them?  It's especially tough because I agree with the public.  Green Bay looks like the best team in the NFC right now.  Throw into the mix that the Pack has covered 18 of 24 times when they are underdogs, and you have a real quandary.  I am going to descend into the Valley of Death and take Green Bay +2.5, though I already regret it.

I have no idea what is going to happen with the Seattle v Atlanta game.  Nobody else does either.  In just a few short weeks Seattle has become the most feared team in football, though I don't think anyone can tell you more than three of their players names.  They were 6-5 in November, and now they are looked upon like the 1980 Bears.  Things change quickly in life, but sometimes not all is as it appears.  People like to jump into things without thinking them through.  Ready!  Go!  Set!  Seattle can't be stopped!  If I may remind you, the Book on Seattle just a few short weeks ago was "tough at home, can't win on the road".  Let me also remind you Atlanta has won 33 of their last 36 at home.  I'm taking Atlanta -3.

My favorite game this week is the Houston at New England game.  I am going to go hard on the Houston Texans when that line gets to +10.  New England has failed to cover double digit spreads 17 of their last 23 games.  Public perception will be that the asskicking New England handed Houston earlier this year will repeat itself.  This rarely happens in the NFL as teams adjust quickly.  I think that this is a New England win, but not by two scores.  Wait patiently for this line to move to ten, and join me in rolling around in embarrassing amounts of American greenback dollars.  Houston +10.

Current Total Vs Spread:  16-16-1


JOHNNY CASH PROJECT Disc 27 Man In Black leads with a duet with Billy Graham.  This sounds like a bad idea because it is a bad idea.  It's a Johnny Cash song with dropped in Billy Graham spoken word.  Wrap your head around that for a second.  I have a vision of Columbia record executives meeting and plotting on how to get a bigger piece of the religious market.  "These Cash gospel records do OK, but dammit we need to move the needle.  Who do we got?  Can Billy Graham sing?  No?  Sonofabitch...  Well, what if we just drop a fuckin piece of a sermon in there and call it a duet?  He can sell it at his Crusades at twice retail.  We'll clean up!  Get his people on the phone!".  This record is from 1971 and you can hear the influence of folk rock on it as most of the songs are Cash singing over simple picking.  "Man In Black" and "Singing In Viet Nam Talkin Blues" are both great, and left the politicians no doubt that Cash was anti-war.  If you lose the country music audience in a war, it's time to get the troops out of there, no?  There is a certain charm to this release.   Disc 28 A Thing Called Love is a mixed bag.  "Kate" is one of those killer "you-been-a-bad-woman" Cash songs.  "Melva's Wine" is about as groovy a song as he has ever recorded.  I like "Tear Stained Letter" too.  There's some real shit on this as well.  "Daddy" is about a family driving around the country with their alcoholic father who is sure to turn it around this time because of Jesus.  Sing along!  "Arkansas Lovin Man" may have been written on the spot.  "The Miracle Man" is an awful Jesus song.  It seems like there is a real question of direction on this album.  Disc 29 America was a tough listen.  This goes back to the formula of Johnny having spoken word intros into quick 90 second songs.  All the songs are about American history, and it reminded me of sitting Indian style on my mat listening to my second grade teacher Mrs. Jewel put on the school board approved records onto the phonograph brought down by the AV kids.  This would be better than history class when you were nine years old.  This is not something an adult male will ever reach for putting into his disc player.  The Seventies were a strange time.  If you want to hear Johnny Cash read the Gettysburg Address, this is the record for you!  Proving that there is always something of interest on a Cash record, I did add "Big Foot".  Then again, who wouldn't?  Disc 30 The Johnny Cash Family Christmas is about as brutal a listening experience as one could put oneself in on a January evening.  I am sick of Christmas music anyway, but this takes it over the top.  Between all the songs are extended conversations via open mic with Johnny, his band, June, and whatever other hillbillies were in the studio talking about their Christmas memories.  You get to hear about how one guy got a hatchet for Christmas as if that were as normal a gift to give a six year old as a toy truck.  Then June gets brassy on her "Jingle Bells" verse with her throaty "Jaaaaaahhhhingle Bells!".  Lots of chucking at stories from people you don't know that aren't very funny to begin with in the first place.  I did it though.  I got through it.  I will look back on that as A Very Dark Time for me.