tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20822810220229232332024-02-18T22:50:12.765-07:00MICHAEL'S RANTMy commentary on what is going on in the worldMichael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.comBlogger1250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-55421517505410622202021-01-03T05:00:00.003-07:002021-01-03T17:46:58.427-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 17<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9bca483/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4614x3076+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6a%2F10%2Fbe7366644fe482c35afae8faf2d5%2Fvikings-saints-football-05502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="427" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9bca483/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4614x3076+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6a%2F10%2Fbe7366644fe482c35afae8faf2d5%2Fvikings-saints-football-05502.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints running
back Alvin Kamara tied an NFL record with 6 rushing touchdowns in the Saints
win over the Vikings on Christmas Day in New Orleans and is why he is my player
of the week.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s the final
week of the season, so let’s get down to business.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 16<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p> 10-6</o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p> 165-75-1</o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=17">NFL Television Schedule
Map<o:p></o:p></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Giants (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Vikings</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Lions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Falcons at <b>Buccaneers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers at <b>Browns</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dolphins at <b>Bills</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jets at <b>Patriots</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ravens</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bengals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bears (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Panthers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at 49ers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Raiders</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Broncos
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chargers at <b>Chiefs</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cardinals</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Rams<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Texans<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jaguars at <b>Colts</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT
(GAME 256), NBC 6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Football Team at <b>Eagles</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-82339425479607282452020-12-24T18:00:00.002-07:002020-12-27T12:41:01.650-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 16<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://titanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2020/12/1292284788.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://titanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2020/12/1292284788.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>My player of the week
is Titans running back Derrick Henry for 147 yards rushing, a touchdown run,
and yet another devastating stiff arm.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I hope that everyone
has a safe and enjoyable Christmas and holiday period.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
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<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 15<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">12-4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">155-69-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=16"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CHRISTMAS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Vikings at <b>Saints</b>,
2:30PM Fox/NFL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SATURDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Lions, 11AM
NFL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">49ers at <b>Cardinals</b>,
2:30PM Amazon Prime<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dolphins</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Raiders, 6:00PM
NFL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Falcons at <b>Chiefs</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Giants at <b>Ravens</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bengals at <b>Texans</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colts</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Steelers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Browns</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jaguars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Rams at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Eagles</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Cowboys<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Broncos at <b>Chargers</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Panthers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Football Team<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Packers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT, ABC/ESPN
6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Patriots<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-87358125586981654062020-12-17T11:00:00.001-07:002020-12-17T11:00:19.760-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 15<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2EyGdcCcyDj5MlfCsQsG5cDoaJg=/0x0:3100x2067/1200x800/filters:focal(1302x786:1798x1282)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68510378/1291120049.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="427" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2EyGdcCcyDj5MlfCsQsG5cDoaJg=/0x0:3100x2067/1200x800/filters:focal(1302x786:1798x1282)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68510378/1291120049.0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I’m picking the
Football Team’s defense as my player of the week for four sacks and forcing
three turnovers that resulted in two defensive touchdowns in their 23-15 win
over the 49ers in Arizona.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Staying in the NFC
East, it is without a doubt an embarrassment. Every team has a chance of
winning the division and hosting a home playoff game despite the possibility of
having a record below .500. A third of the division’s out-of-division wins – 3-0-1
– have come against the Cincinnati Bengals (2-10-1).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If the playoffs
were to start right now, the Football Team – as the NFC East leader with a
record of 6-7 – would host the Seattle Seahawks, the top Wild Card team with a 9-4
record and currently tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the lead in the NFC
West. Next week, the Seahawks and Rams face each other in Seattle and could
make all the difference in who will get a home playoff game in the Wild Card or
have to begin the quest for Lombardi on the road much like the Seahawks did
last season.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Seahawks know
all too well about the consequence of not winning the division as last season came
down to inches in the final overall game of the 2019 NFL season against the
49ers. That defensive stand by the 49ers gave them the NFC 1-seed and not
getting that touchdown sent the Seahawks (11-5) 2,400 miles across country to NFC
East champion Philadelphia (9-7).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Rams finished
with the same record as the Eagles but missed out on the playoffs. Had the
current expanded format been in place, the Rams would have made the playoffs.
The Eagles only got in due to that division winners are automatically assured a
playoff berth and home playoff game regardless of record.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The last time
three Wild Card teams made the playoffs was in 2001, the season before the NFL reorganized
to it current format of two conferences with four divisions in each conference with
four teams in each division for a total of 32 teams. Despite not being division
champions that season, the Packers and Dolphins hosted playoff games. The
Packers were more successful in defeating the 49ers at Lambeau Field that
season.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So why cannot the
top Wild Card team host a home playoff game?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The NFL’s new
playoff format provides additional incentive for having the top record in the
conference instead of in previous seasons from 1978-2019 where it was the top
two seeds in each conference automatically advanced to the Divisional Round. There
should be an incentive for the top Wild Card team as well as an additional one
for the next three division champions to finish with a better record than the top
Wild Card team to justify hosting a home playoff game.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">My proposal would
be that if the top Wild Card team finishes with a better record than any of the
next three division champions, they would be allowed to be seeded 2-4 with the
worst division champion dropping down to the 5-seed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Had this proposal
been in place, the Seahawks would have had a home playoff game against the
Eagles and maybe could’ve gone to Lambeau, beat the Packers if not exhausted
from making the round-trip cross country the previous week, and given us
Seahawks-49ers III for the right to go to the Super Bowl.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There is actually
precedent for this proposal. When the NFL and AFL merged into the current NFL
in 1970, only two division winners in each conference were given a home playoff
game while the third division champion was sent on the road as well as the lone
Wild Card winner.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This was codified
when the NFL started seeding teams in the 1975 season – a lesson learned when
the Miami Dolphins who had the best record in not just the AFC but the entire
NFL in 1972 had to play at Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game. When the
NFL expanded the playoffs in 1978 due to schedule going from 14 to 16 games,
the 3-seed received a bye to the divisional round but still had to play on the
road while the 4-seed – one of the two Wild Card teams – was at home. It wasn’t
until 1990 when the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format that rewarded the
3-seed – a division champion – with a home playoff game as well as kept the
4-seed at home in the Wild Card round. It was a good balance until the league
structure changed as a result of the Houston Texans joining the league in 2002.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The league should
restore that balance as it would make the race for playoff positioning more
entertaining and as I have stated in that post, an incentive for a winning
record instead of being guaranteed a playoff spot due to winning a weak
division.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now the picks</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 14<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">8-8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">143-65-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2019&wk=15"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chargers at <b>Raiders</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SATURDAY, NFL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Broncos,
2:30PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Panthers at <b>Packers</b>,
6PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">49ers at <b>Cowboys</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jaguars at <b>Ravens</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Texans at <b>Colts</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots at <b>Dolphins</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions at <b>Titans</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Football Team
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears at <b>Vikings</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Falcons<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b>Chiefs</b> at Saints (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Eagles at <b>Cardinals</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jets at <b>Rams</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Browns</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Giants<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Bengals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-70899137448398594922020-12-10T11:00:00.001-07:002020-12-10T11:00:02.256-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://billswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/65/2020/12/0df63250d023428e855a9a6525a14acd.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://billswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/65/2020/12/0df63250d023428e855a9a6525a14acd.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><span></span></o:p></span></p><a name='more'></a> <p></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">10-5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">135-57-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills quarterback Josh
Allen gets my recognition of player of the week for leading the Bills to a 34-24
win over the defending NFC Champion 49ers in Phoenix on Monday night with 375
passing yards and 4 touchdowns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Normally I would
have something to say here, but I’m saving it for another post.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=14"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Rams<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Vikings at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cardinals at Giants<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Bengals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Broncos at <b>Panthers</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Dolphins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Texans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bears<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jaguars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Eagles<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Lions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Football Team</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> vs. 49ers (in
Phoenix)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Falcons</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Chargers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colts at <b>Raiders</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jets at <b>Seahawks</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Bills<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ravens at <b>Browns</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-21778833422684023212020-12-06T05:00:00.001-07:002020-12-06T05:00:07.768-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_736,h_485,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Farrowheadaddict.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2017%2F07%2F15249067-850x560.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="736" height="264" src="https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_736,h_485,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Farrowheadaddict.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2017%2F07%2F15249067-850x560.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>First off, the
Lions finally firing Matt Patricia was expected and should’ve came sooner. This
should be lesson to any other team attempting to make themselves into a New
England clone: it is harder than it looks.<p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What will probably
happen with the Lions is that they will get stary-eyed for another coach who will
talk about changing the culture when the real problem is ownership by the Ford
family. Matthew Stafford will be this generation’s Archie Manning, decent
quarterback on a perpetually terrible team. The Lions will end up with a top five
draft pick where they draft a generational talent a la Barry Sanders and Calvin
Johnson who will wow their fans with other worldly numbers but never come close
to a championship. And in about 10 years, they decide to hang it up because the
organization is not committed to winning followed by the cycle repeating.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As for my players
of the week: Chiefs QB-WR combo of Patrick Mahomes to Tyrek Hill. Mahomes threw
for 462 yards and 3 touchdowns with Hill catching 13 passes on 269 yards for 3
touchdowns in Kansas City’s 27-24 win over the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This might not be
the only trip the Chiefs make to Tampa this season with Super Bowl LV on the
currently planned date of 7 February 2021. Kansas City looks like they could
the first team to repeat since the Patriots did so in 2004.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But their
championship aspirations could be derailed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Not because of
another team, but the COVID-19 pandemic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">How many actually
watched the Ravens at Steelers game?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Be honest…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Instead of an AFC
North showdown in the Thanksgiving night slot, the game was moved back to
Sunday afternoon, then Tuesday, and finally on Wednesday… afternoon… when there
would hardly be any viewers to see if the Steelers would keep their quest for
perfection going or if the Ravens can stay in the hunt for the playoffs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And the quality of
play was… not great. Mainly due to that many of the Ravens were out with COVID-19
thus resulting in a skeleton squad playing against a Steelers team at full
strength.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">At least it was
not the travesty in Denver when the Broncos had to rely on a receiver who was
informed hours that he would be under center after the team quarantined all of
their quarterbacks. Notice that I did not say start, as that honor went to
running back Phillip Lyndsay who became the first non-QB to start an NFL game
since the 1965 Western Conference Playoff between the Green Bay Packers and the
Baltimore Colts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unfortunately,
Lyndsay was not Tom Matte and Don Shula was not on the sideline as the Saints easily
defeated the Broncos 31-3.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">COVID-19 has also
forced the 49ers to play the remainder of their home games in Phoenix at the
Cardinals home stadium. Because of people blatantly disregarding public health
orders about large gatherings around the Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter
holidays, there will be spike in cases. If California issues another statewide
stay-at-home order, will the Rams and Chargers be forced to finish their
seasons elsewhere? Same questions for the Bills, Jets, Giants, and Seahawks in
the respective states they play in.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As I pointed out
in my </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/10/2020-nfl-season-week-5.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Week
5 picks</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, if the NFL wants to play a full season, they need to shut it down
for two weeks, test and monitor players and support staffs, isolate those that
test positive and ensure they recover, do a deep sanitize of facilities, reschedule
games not in the Sunday and Monday viewing windows to Sunday, and not allow
fans to the games. There are not that many opportunities remaining to shift
games around and the hot potato of when the Ravens-Steelers game was going to
be played last week demonstrated that difficulty in doing so.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">10-6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">125-52-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=13"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers,
Panthers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Browns at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colts</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Texans<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bengals at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dolphins</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Raiders</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Jets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jaguars at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Vikings</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Falcons
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lions at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Eagles at <b>Packers</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Chargers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Giants at <b>Seahawks</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rams at <b>Cardinals</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Broncos at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Football Team at <b>Steelers</b>,
3PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> vs. 49ers (in
Arizona), ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">TUESDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys at <b>Ravens</b></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-48844255402751751842020-11-26T05:00:00.001-07:002020-11-26T10:07:32.100-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 12<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://rolltidewire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2020/11/4f9b0ed13f984cd58615480086051dc8.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://rolltidewire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2020/11/4f9b0ed13f984cd58615480086051dc8.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Titans running back
Derrick Henry is my MVP of the week for his 133 rush yards and game winning
touchdown in his team’s 30-24 overtime win over the Ravens.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Have a happy and
most importantly safe Thanksgiving holiday.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/resizer/rw-rxnEySdoCyPn89wBtSMMQD44=/415x261/top/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/UDK26JDOW5EWRMSOR2PLKPHZ34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="415" src="https://www.chicagotribune.com/resizer/rw-rxnEySdoCyPn89wBtSMMQD44=/415x261/top/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/UDK26JDOW5EWRMSOR2PLKPHZ34.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p> 8-6</o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p>115-46-1 </o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=12"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THANKSGIVING<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Texans at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, Fox 10:30AM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Football Team at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, Fox 2:30PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">NBC 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ravens</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Steelers,
NBC 6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Raiders</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Falcons
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Browns</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Jaguars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Chargers at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dolphins</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Jets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Colts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cardinals</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Patriots<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Giants</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Bengals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Panthers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Vikings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Buccaneers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Broncos
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">49ers at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rams</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bears<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Eagles<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-46492377695211333312020-11-19T10:00:00.004-07:002020-11-19T10:00:00.579-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 11<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/hop-murray-td-e1605538535497.jpg?fit=1182%2C800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/hop-murray-td-e1605538535497.jpg?fit=1182%2C800" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">DeAndre Hopkins is
without a doubt my player of the week for catching 7 passes on 12 targets for
127 yards and snagged the game winning touchdown among three Bills defenders</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="355" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l3MDZBGrX4Y" width="482" youtube-src-id="l3MDZBGrX4Y"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another touchdown
ball for Mom</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 10<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">9-5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">107-40-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=11">NFL Television Schedule
Map<o:p></o:p></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears, Bills, 49ers,
Giants<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cardinals at <b>Seahawks</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Falcons at <b>Saints</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Eagles at <b>Browns</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions at <b>Panthers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans at <b>Ravens</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jaguars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Texans<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bengals at <b>Football
Team</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Colts (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys at <b>Vikings</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dolphins</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Broncos (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jets at <b>Chargers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Raiders<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rams at <b>Buccaneers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-85953114539962327332020-11-12T10:00:00.001-07:002020-11-12T10:00:08.040-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/1pWsqs62mr6j0BQ7II7ZOg--~B/aD00NTM7dz04MDE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/518a366dfa8d08da4881942b48238e49" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="800" height="362" src="https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/1pWsqs62mr6j0BQ7II7ZOg--~B/aD00NTM7dz04MDE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/518a366dfa8d08da4881942b48238e49" width="640" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Andy Reid notched his 230t win as an NFL head coach
after the Chiefs 33-31 win over Carolina on Sunday. That win advances him ahead
of Curly Lambeau and places Reid in the top five with Tom Landry, Bill
Belichick, George Halas, and at the top of the most wins list is Don Shula.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hopefully Reid enjoyed a delicious cheeseburger in
celebration of this accomplishment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 9<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">11-3<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">98-35-1<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are Mountain Time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon games airing in Denver are noted by
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=10"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL
Television Schedule Map<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE
WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs, Cowboys, Falcons, Jets</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL 6:15 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Colts at </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX
11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Panthers (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Eagles</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Giants<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Football Team at </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jaguars at </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Texans at </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Browns</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX
2PM</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Rams<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bengals at </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">49ers at </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Broncos at <b>Raiders</b> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Cardinals<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chargers at <b>Dolphins</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC 6:15PM</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ravens</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">
at Patriots<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT, ESPN 6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk498552187;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Vikings</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bears</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-42660557696338025952020-11-05T10:00:00.001-07:002020-11-05T10:00:03.980-07:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 9<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://bringmethenews.com/.image/t_share/MTY5MTM2NDcyMTk5Mjc1ODA5/2019_0915_packers_away_ttl_0074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="800" height="395" src="https://bringmethenews.com/.image/t_share/MTY5MTM2NDcyMTk5Mjc1ODA5/2019_0915_packers_away_ttl_0074.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>First, my pick for
player of the week is Vikings running back Dalvin Cook for scoring 4 total
touchdowns and accumulating more than 200 yards from scrimmage in Minnesota’s
win at Green Bay last Sunday becoming <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30239146/dalvin-cook-4-tds-make-history-vikings-upset-packers" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
first player to achieve that feat against the Packers at historic Lambeau Field</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.
Cook is the third Vikings player to score four touchdowns in a game joining Chuck
Foreman who did it in 1975 and Ahmad Rashad in 1979.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I normally have
something to say after my player of the week picture but right now my main
focus is on the election and how it is shaping up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">All I can do is
echo what Joe Biden is saying and </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/11/patience.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">that we must be
patient and wait for all the votes to be counted</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">8-6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p>86-32-1</o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Picks are in </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">BOLD</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2019&wk=9">NFL Television Schedule
Map<o:p></o:p></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bengals, Browns, Rams,
Saints<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at 49ers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Broncos at <b>Falcons</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions at <b>Vikings</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ravens</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Colts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Texans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jaguars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears at <b>Titans</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Giants</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Football Team<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Panthers at <b>Chiefs</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bills<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Cowboys
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Dolphins at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cardinals</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Raiders</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Chargers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints at <b>Buccaneers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-89378284431898287812020-11-05T01:00:00.006-07:002020-11-05T01:00:04.281-07:00PATIENCE<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Twelve years ago,
I was at the Tarrant County Democratic Party watch party being a witness to
history. When the 10PM hour struck, it was announced that Obama had won.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 2012, I was at
my home in Denton, TX watching the returns come in. Ohio was announced for
Obama 12 minutes after 10PM thus securing his re-election.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I remember where I
was in 2016, and the slow agony among those in a Denver hotel room of watching
Hillary Clinton losing to Donald Trump. I was so distraught that I could not
drive, and I remember calling my sister to apologize to my niece for not doing
enough to prevent the nightmare from happening.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There was some
anxiety going into 2018, but there was relief when it was announced that the
Democrats had flipped the House thus providing a necessary check on Trump’s recklessness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In each of those
instances, we knew the results.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>In this election, the
key word is patience. I know that is something that Americans normally do not
have, and we all want the instant gratification. Myself included.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But it is needed
right now due to the conditions that this election was conducted under as well
as that every national election is a series of 51 concurrent elections with rules
that differ from each jurisdiction happening where the attention on who will be
president turns on a handful of states.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A summary of the
national results so far</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Based on various
reports from the Associated Press and other credible outlets, Joe Biden leads the
electoral vote 264-214 and the non-binding popular vote 51%-48%. Several news
agencies have yet to call Arizona for Biden but the Associated Press and Fox
News (yes, I am as shocked as you) have projected that the Democratic nominee
will carry that state and are sticking with their call. There is still a lot of
outstanding vote in Maricopa County and that is probably why other news decision
desks are being cautious with calling that state.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Biden has all but held
one state from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 map. The only state that went to Clinton
four years ago that hasn’t been called yet is Nevada. Per the New York Times,
Biden is leading Nevada 49.3-48.7, and we are awaiting vote totals from the
heavily populated counties of Clark and Washoe where Biden is leading. It is
expected that there will be a report sometime mid-morning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The states that
Biden has flipped from Trump so far: Michigan, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District,
and Wisconsin.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Besides Arizona
and Nevada, the focus is also on Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Trump is leading in those states but there is still a lot of outstanding votes
in those states – mainly in the large metropolitan areas. Georgia and
Pennsylvania are continuing on with their counts while North Carolina is
waiting for the arrival of mail-in ballots.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">At this moment,
the Senate is still a tossup with four outstanding races. Alaska will likely be
a Republican hold but it is classified as too early to call. It will take time to
determine who has won that seat. The path for the Democrats to flip the senate is
a very narrow path with winning seats in North Carolina and the two races in
Georgia. North Carolina and the regularly scheduled Georgia senate races are
still too close call with Thom Tillis and David Purdue leading their respective
races. The other Georgia senate race is headed to a runoff between Reverend
Raphael Warnock and Senator Kelly Loeffler. Like that race, Purdue in the other
senate election is trying to avoid a runoff by staying above 50%. It is possible
that control of the Senate could come down to a runoff on 5 January 2021 in
Georgia.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The House is
likely to remain in Democratic control albeit a smaller majority. The final makeup
will not be known until all the votes are counted later this month.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I know a lot of
people are disappointed with that the election is not resulting in a large repudiation
of Trump and his Republican enablers and what they stand for. As I stated in my
last post before the election, </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/11/all-enemies.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump is a
malignant growth that must be cut out of the body politic</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. It will be
painful and will probably lead to some fraying, even the severing of
relationships as I have done so in my own family for the sake of my conscious
and mental health.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For now, there
must be patience as we wait for every vote to be counted.</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-70796690155452666972020-11-03T05:00:00.003-07:002020-11-03T05:00:04.204-07:00ALL ENEMIES<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is now Election
Day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you haven’t
voted, today is the day to do so.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://vote.gov/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">vote.gov</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://iwillvote.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">iwillvote.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.betterknowaballot.com/">betterknowaballot.com</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a>A Biden-Harris bus
was followed by a caravan of pickup trucks waving Trump flags and other symbols
stating their support of him on Interstate 35 leaving Austin, TX. One of the
trucks attempted to push the bus off the highway. This prompted the campaign to
cancel events out of fear that it was not safe to do so. The FBI is
investigating it but Trump has undermined their credibility when he retweeted the
video praising the incident.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Democrats in
Georgia had to cancel an event out of fear they could not obtain the necessary
security due to increased threats.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A group of mainly
black voters were pepper sprayed in North Carolina that was reminiscent of police
charging fire hoses and releasing dogs on Civil Rights marchers in the 1950s
and 1960s.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Authorities have
thwarted attempts on the lives of the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Senator
Kamala Harris, and a plot by militia members to kidnap Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the first
presidential debate, Trump told the Proud Boys white supremacist organization
to stand back and stand by. On the campaign trail, he has encouraged his
supporters to infiltrate black neighborhoods and monitor the polls there.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Trump campaign
recently lost a suit to throw out 127,000 votes in Harris County, Texas because
the county clerk had the courage to allow voters to drop off their ballots
while in their cars due to the pandemic. So far, the Texas Supreme Court – all Republicans
– and a district level court – appointed by George W. Bush – has rejected this
challenge but expect more challenges to vote counts to ensure if the result is
closer than expected in certain swing states.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">All of these are
examples of voter suppression and intimidation and no one should stand for
this.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Navy recently held
a ceremony in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on
the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">USS Cole</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> that killed 17 sailors. That is an example of the foreign
enemies, in the enlistment oath that every service member takes upon entering the military, that seek to do our country harm.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But it is not just foreign enemies that is mentioned in the oath. It also mentions domestic ones and what is to be
done about them such as the examples I listed above? They as well
do great harm to our country as well as undermine the democratic process to
where people lose faith in the electoral system.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One of my favorite
movies is </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Mister Roberts</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, the 1955 film about life aboard a Navy supply
ship operating in the Pacific Fleet. Unfortunately, the only action the crew
sees are other ships heading west towards Japan. I highly recommend this movie.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The main
character, Lieutenant Douglas Roberts played by Henry Fonda, is begging for a
transfer to a ship seeing action so that he can feel like he contributed to the
war. He is constantly at odds with the commanding officer, played by James
Cagney, who repeatedly denies Roberts his transfer request so that he can reap
the benefits of Roberts’ performance as the ship’s cargo officer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Underway sailing
away from their first liberty call in a long time, news reaches the ship that
the war in Europe is over. The ship’s medical officer remarks that there is
still a little matter of business out here in the Pacific. As we know, World
War II ended in September 1945 with the Japanese signing the terms of surrender
on the battleship </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Missouri</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> but at the time no one knew how much longer
the war was going to last.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roberts is sitting
on a deck topside lamenting about how he will not be able to contribute to the war as he hears various radio reports cutting in from different
locations recounting the celebrations of that Germany has surrendered until he
hears one official sounding statement.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Our boys have won
this victory today.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">But the rest is up
to you.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">You, and you alone
must recognize our enemies: the forces of ambition, cruelty, arrogance, and
stupidity!</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">You must recognize
them.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">You must destroy
them!</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">You must tear them
out as you would a malignant growth, and cast them from the surface of the
Earth!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This prompts
Roberts to take action and toss the ship’s symbol of pushing the most cargo overboard
into the briny deep. I won’t divulge anymore details of this film. Once again,
I highly recommend that you watch this film yourself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We have seen these
enemies run rampant for the last four years. Many of us have done what we could
to resist submitting to the lies, participated in protest rallies, attended
town halls to inform our representatives, and most importantly voted in 2018 to
put the Democrats in charge of the House.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I know that I did
my part in doing those things as well as my writing (though I wish could’ve
written more, but I write very methodically) and donating to campaigns during
this election season so that they have the resources to convince other people
to vote for them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Most importantly I
voted</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But this isn’t
over.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The 2020 election
does not mean that Trump and his Republican minions will go quietly into
history’s dustbin. Should Trump and the Republicans lose the election, there
will be attempts to whitewash and sanitize their actions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It must be called
out and confronted if needed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Much as I did to
family members in a series of texts in May 2018 when I confronted two of my mom’s
sisters for their Trump votes where I told them off for doing so. One of them
said they voted for him because they were thinking about their family but I
asked them if that included me, my mother and her husband, my sister and her
family, and my aunt and her wife. She was so narrowminded that she did not
think about how this administration would harm the people she says she cares
about.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I got a pathetic
response from her and told her to (exact words) fuck off. Her response was to
tattle on me to my mother expecting that she was going to punish me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She is perfectly
fine when Trump says obscene things but when her thirtysomething year-old adult
nephew drops a swear, she suddenly gets offended and behaves like a child searching
for sympathy to the nearest adult that will exact justice for offending her
sensibilities.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I have not spoken
to her or any of my Trump voting family members since, and I do not expect to
anytime soon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Some of y'all might need to have those difficult conversations and if necessary, ex-communicate them due to their toxicity as human beings.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today begins the tearing
out of the malignant growth from our political system that is Trump.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That also includes
the work to preserve and protect this democracy from ever being abused by
someone like him ever again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, it is up
to us.</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-62694942370245785132020-11-03T00:00:00.004-07:002020-11-03T00:00:03.575-07:002020 GENERAL ELECTION PREDICTION<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/99cc321/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x360+0+60/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsharing.kshb.com%2Fsharescnn%2Fphoto%2F2018%2F01%2F05%2FS087768499_1515169761035_75443012_ver1.0_640_480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/99cc321/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x360+0+60/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsharing.kshb.com%2Fsharescnn%2Fphoto%2F2018%2F01%2F05%2FS087768499_1515169761035_75443012_ver1.0_640_480.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />This is my final
electoral college prediction as it coincides with my predictions for the House and
Senate.<p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you haven’t
voted yet, do so.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://vote.gov/">vote.gov</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://iwillvote.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">iwillvote.com</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.betterknowaballot.com/">betterknowaballot.com</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2016/09/2016-general-election-prediction-pre.html">Let’s recap since
the last prediction</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p>
<span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">First, the House.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nancy Pelosi will still
be in the Speaker’s chair for another two-year term. Not only that but the
Democrats’ majority will grow. Polling and forecasters have consistently
pointed to this outcome.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The US House map
is still drawn to the Republican’s advantage but as shown in 2018, that did not
matter as much. Trump has weakened the Republican’s hold on the suburbs that many
districts once thought out of reach for Democrats such as those in the
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston Metro, the Atlanta suburbs, and the once
hardcore Republican area of Orange County, CA are now looking like they will flip
blue.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Democrats were
also given some help with state courts striking down partisan maps in North
Carolina and Pennsylvania prior to the 2018 mid-terms. Hopefully enough state
legislatures will flip in certain states to where the Republican efforts to rig
the House in their favor will be undone after the last census was conducted in
2010. The crown jewel is the Texas State House where Democrats need to win 76
out of 150 seats in order to have some say at the redistricting table next
year.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">HOUSE PROJECTION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Democrats, 240-195<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now the Senate</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The magic number
is 51 for both parties to retain control without winning the White House.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even if Joe Biden
wins the presidency, he might have a narrow Senate majority to work with. If
somehow there is a massive polling error and Trump wins, he could be facing a
Democratic senate and they will be an even bigger thorn in his side than the
House since the Senate confirms cabinet officials and confirms judges.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Either way, here
is a synopsis on how I see the senate races shaping up</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For starters, the
only seat I see flipping to the Republicans is Doug Jones in Alabama. Jones scored
a surprise upset in part due to Republicans nominating Roy Moore who had a lot
of baggage. This time Republicans nominated former Auburn football coach Tommy
Tuberville as their senate candidate after a heated primary where former Attorney
General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III tried to return to the senate. I like
Jones given that he did everything he could to get justice for the four little
girls murdered in a domestic terrorist attack at the 16th Street Baptist Church
in Birmingham, AL in September 1963, but unfortunately the cards are not in his
favor in this race.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There has been a
lot of noise of Republicans flipping Michigan but I don’t see any signals of
that happening.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As for the seats
flipping to the Democrats, Martha McSally, Cory Gardner, Susan Collins, and
Thom Tillis will </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">NOT</b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> be back in the Senate come January 2021.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And good riddance
to these Trump enablers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Arizona Governor
Doug Ducey did McSally no favors when he appointed her to that seat. As you
recall, McSally lost her race to Kysten Sinema two years ago. Instead of trying
to appeal to a rapidly changing electorate in her state, she went hard right
and ensnared herself into Trump’s base.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In Colorado and
Maine, Gardner and Collins have repeatedly ignored their constituents and have
done the bidding of Trump and McConnell. You can only do that for so long until
your constituents have had enough. For his dodging, Gardner earned the moniker
of Cardboard Cory; basically, saying that a piece of cardboard would be a
better senator than him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I think Maine’s
breaking point was when Collins voted to acquit Trump in his senate impeachment
trial earlier this year. </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/susan-collins-explains-her-vote-to-acquit-trump/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Her
reasoning was that Trump learned his lesson</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Narrator: No, he did
not</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Tillis’ problem in
North Carolina is the same as McSally in Arizona and that is a rapidly changing
electorate combined with anyone aligned with Trump is politically doomed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Other seats that
could flip to the Democrats are Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana,
South Carolina, and Texas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is hard to
forecast Alaska since there is not much polling that comes out of that state. I
still have it as Republican but it would not shock me if it flipped.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Six years ago,
Joni Ernst was viewed as a rising star in the Republican Party. Today she is
facing potential electoral defeat. Interesting that the race suddenly shifted
in the final days all over a poll showing Ernst up 48-41. Ernst hasn’t done herself
many favors specifically with less than stellar debate performances where she
stumbled to answer questions about agriculture.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kansas and especially
Mississippi could flip if more investment was put into those races ahead of
time like with what is happening in South Carolina. The one out of those three that
is likely to flip to the Democrats is South Carolina but I think Lyndsay Graham
will very narrowly keep that seat.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Democrats have
proven they can win statewide races in Montana despite its Republican tilt in
presidential races. If Bullock does what Tester did two years ago, he will be
the next senator from that state.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Texas may be dependent
on what happens at the presidential level. John Cornyn stays if Trump wins the
state or a Biden win of 5 or less. A Biden win above 5… he might be packing his
bags.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The final Senate
races are the ones in Georgia, both the regular and special election. At the
start of the campaign it was expected that these races would be Republican held
seats but due to the demographics of Georgia mirroring those of North Carolina
and Virginia, it has emerged as a senate battleground for not just one but both
races.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because of the
rules surrounding senate races in Georgia, a candidate has to clear 50% in
order to win the seat outright. Based on the polling, the regularly scheduled
seat is looking like it heading towards a runoff between Republican incumbent
David Purdue and Democratic challenger Jon Osoff.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The other seat is
a special election with as many as 20 candidates in that race. Two will advance
to that runoff and it will be the Republican Senator Kelly Loefler against Democrat
Reverend Raphael Warnock. Both runoffs will happen on 5 January 2021.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9coUS91wB-OSMJZPfkOM7-_SUOm9VRfGsy-wHsSEQcHMn9huviAdrsckoVSheOOhmYdUSEBHWppBv_e7vhyphenhyphenPjK5Sfe2sG03Bw-_N4RhB1fuiV0TxIoiRQnCJhLfbX3Ib9nzYkEHZ0G8A/s2048/Senate+Map+2020+Prediction.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1325" data-original-width="2048" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9coUS91wB-OSMJZPfkOM7-_SUOm9VRfGsy-wHsSEQcHMn9huviAdrsckoVSheOOhmYdUSEBHWppBv_e7vhyphenhyphenPjK5Sfe2sG03Bw-_N4RhB1fuiV0TxIoiRQnCJhLfbX3Ib9nzYkEHZ0G8A/w640-h414/Senate+Map+2020+Prediction.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">SENATE: Democrats 52-46<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Both Georgia seats
to runoff on 5 January 2021<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Finally, the presidency</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As I stated in my
debate recap, </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/11/2020-debates-recap.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">we
may be witnessing the final days of the Trump administration</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The truth is this</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A lot of people,
nearly 96 million people – including myself – have already voted. Those that
are voting on Election Day already know who they are voting for. There are not
that many people left to convince.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump is an
incumbent but he has not been a very popular incumbent. His approval averages have
been at best 43%. He has only been seeking the approval of his base while
dismissing the rest of the country despite that only 46% of the country wanted
him to be president last time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">His resume as
president: a tax cut that resulted in the debt exploding and increased deficit,
cozying up to illiberal systems and shying away from our traditional allies
thus reducing global trust in America’s commitments, taking credit for an Obama
policy to help veterans, confirming justices that are approved by the Federalist
Society, a cruel immigration policy that separates families, the constant
tweets, the rallies, the failure to denounce white supremacy after neo-Nazis
rioted in Charlottesville and then during the first presidential dedate, the
revolving door of political hacks in his administration, hollowing out our federal
bureaucracy, the failure to divest himself from his business interests, his adult
children and son-in-law playing prominent roles in shaping policy despite
having no experience, cheating on his taxes, and impeachment</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And this is before
addressing the COVID-19 pandemic which was due to science denialism, awful
preparation, blaming others, moved the public discourse to a nasty brutish policy
where the cruelty is the point, and just outright lying.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is the lying
even for the most mundane things such as crowd size at the inauguration</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I think enough
Americans have had enough of this, are ready to turn the page, and cast the
Trump administration out</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So… my final
electoral college projection is…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qzO9FdGVpTktnA_yHK3kgwh6IncdB3KeIxAfo6mVlx3u4QftGvSVfgHD1n6vkWdvq0TKKU9FE558DSLckTvnmg4GSFMw_Kvbs-ANj8gw0z84eQDl8863BVlBiZLsW1YBjqIq1G4Z7_M/s2000/Electoral+College+Map+2020+Prediction%252C+Final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qzO9FdGVpTktnA_yHK3kgwh6IncdB3KeIxAfo6mVlx3u4QftGvSVfgHD1n6vkWdvq0TKKU9FE558DSLckTvnmg4GSFMw_Kvbs-ANj8gw0z84eQDl8863BVlBiZLsW1YBjqIq1G4Z7_M/w640-h320/Electoral+College+Map+2020+Prediction%252C+Final.png" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">ELECTION 2020, POTUS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="background: #767171; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.45pt;" valign="top" width="86">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">EVs<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">TRUMP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="background: red; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.45pt;" valign="top" width="86">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">187<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">BIDEN<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="background: #002060; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.45pt;" valign="top" width="86">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">351<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-35852601246346099582020-11-02T23:00:00.001-07:002020-11-02T23:00:03.042-07:00WHO CONTROLS THE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY (2020 EDITION)<p><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn-co.milespartnership.com/sites/default/master/files/capitol_vd_bobash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="800" height="422" src="https://cdn-co.milespartnership.com/sites/default/master/files/capitol_vd_bobash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Before I reveal my
final electoral college prediction, I cannot stress enough how important downballot
races are. What happens in your state capitol matters; probably more than what
happens in our nation’s capital.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because 2020 was a
census year, 2021 will be redistricting and several states still redraw their
districts based on what party controls the legislature. There has been an
effort to flip those chambers or introduce ballot initiatives to allow for independent
commissions to redraw districts that do not so strongly favor one party.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you haven’t
voted yet, do so on Tuesday</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://vote.gov/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">vote.gov</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://iwillvote.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">iwillvote.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://www.betterknowaballot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">betterknowaballot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I have lived in
Colorado for nearly 7 years and it has been a relatively quite election season
in this state. Neither the Biden or Trump campaigns have targeted this state. Despite
their best efforts, the Gardner campaign and its allies have done little to make
the case on why he should remain a senator. The only competitive congressional
race has not been CO-6 located in Aurora and the eastern Denver metro suburbs,
but out in the western slope-based district of CO-3. That race has received a
lot of attention in part due to that Lauren Bobert defeated Scott Tipton in the
June primary and she is associated with the dangerous conspiracy theory of
QAnon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Biden may be the first
Democratic presidential candidate to win Colorado by double digits since 1964.
That effect will certainly be felt in downballots as well as in future
elections.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Two years earlier,
Democrats swept every statewide office that was on the ballot, flipped CO-6 for
the first time ever, flipped the state senate for the first time in four years,
and increased their majority in the state house past 40 seats.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In response to the
rapidly shifting political grounds in Colorado, the state Republican Party has pursued
go-nowhere recall efforts and continued to appease their rural base without
making any effort to try to make inroads with voters along the Front Range.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Given the national
political environment, it is looking like Republicans are headed towards huge
losses. They will be nowhere near capturing any chamber of the Colorado General
Assembly.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If 2018 did not
convince you that this state is a blue state, 2020 will solidify it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">PREDICTION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">STATE
SENATE:</span></b><b><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> DEMOCRATS 20-15<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">STATE
HOUSE:</span></b><b><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt;"> DEMOCRATS 42-23<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-35758648374883289462020-11-01T17:00:00.005-07:002020-11-01T17:00:18.415-07:002020 DEBATES RECAP<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-biden-splt-2-gty-ps-200929_1601431396895_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-biden-splt-2-gty-ps-200929_1601431396895_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I normally make it
a point to watch all the debates so that I remain informed regardless of who I
support.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But not this time</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I only watched the
first debate out of mere tradition and the vice-presidential debate for </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/10/raised-stakes.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
reasons as I stated before</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. I did not watch any of the dueling town halls
that replaced the second debate because I felt that doing so would only feed
Trump’s ego.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the third debate,
I barely watched any of it and caught barely any of the post-debate coverage.
The third debate would not have changed my mind since I am one of the over 93
million people that have already voted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pretty much I
agree with the consensus of that the first debate was a disaster and how Chris
Wallace allowed the debate to spin out of control that allowed Trump to
dominate the process. If that debate was your introduction to American politics,
you had to wonder to yourself, “how did this guy get elected in the first
place.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump’s strategy
to re-election appears to be like it was four years ago when it looked like he
was losing and that is to run against the system by claiming that it is all
rigged against him: the polling, media, reporters, debate formats, imaginary
opponents in the shadows conspiring against him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Yes, the guy whose
father was successful in New York real estate in the 1970s and early 1980s is
at such a disadvantage in life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump has been
hoping for another eleventh-hour miracle as it was at this time nearly four
years ago when then FBI Director James Comey dropped his infamous letter that
certainly changed the trajectory of the 2016 election in the final days. It
appeared that was the case when the New York Post – whose reputation is known
for sensational headlines and promoting a conservative viewpoint – reported on
that Joe Biden’s son Hunter dropped off three laptops that contained classified
information at a pawn shop.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">However, the story
has been discredited and linked to a Russian disinformation campaign as an
effort to influence the 2020 election. Several intelligence agencies have
warned that outside provocateurs are doing what they can for a repeat of 2016
as well as once again weaponizing social media accounts. Twitter has gone as
far as locking out accounts who share that story in an effort to contain the
spread of misinformation as well as providing an extra level of confirmation
when users share articles. This has outraged conservatives about how social
media is censoring their voices despite that they have a cable news channel,
several radio shows, podcasts, other social media outlets such as Facebook and
Instagram, newspaper opinion writers, and many think tanks to promote their world
view.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And in a way, that
story has boomeranged back on to the Trump campaign specifically on his lawyer
Rudy Giuliani.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It turns out that Giuliani
had an embarrassing scene in the recent Borat film where he was in a hotel room
with the actress playing the titular character’s 15-year old daughter. One has
to wonder if this behavior has been standard for him on his international sojourns
doing Trump’s dirty work in investigating Biden. The dirty work that
resulted in Trump being impeached.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump, his
campaign, and his surrogates cannot defend this: over 225,000 Americans have
died from COVID-19; there have been 8.7 million cases (and two of those were Donald
and Melania Trump); and the unemployment rate has nearly doubled to 7.9% with
the peak being at 14.4% in April.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This was all due
to this administration’s mismanagement through gross negligence, denial of the
facts, and outright lying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And the Trump
campaign is not helping. While they mock the Biden campaign for his sparsely
attended events, Biden is doing that due to the circumstances of the pandemic. On
the other hand, Trump is continuing as if the pandemic is over. According to a </span><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/31/trump-study-coronavirus-rallies-433760" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">recently
released Stanford study</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, his campaign rallies from June until September caused
an additional 30,000 infections and 700 deaths.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is also worth mentioning
that the campaign left rally attendees out in the literal cold in </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/hundreds-trump-supporters-stuck-freezing-cold-omaha-airfield-after-rally-n1245065" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nebraska</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
and </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/logistical-nightmare-pa-trump-supporters-left-stranded-waiting-buses-after-presidents-rally-1543853" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pennsylvania</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">,
and </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/heat-trump-rally-sends-dozen-attendees-hospital-n1245397" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
Florida heat in Tampa resulted in 17 attendees requiring medical attention</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There was an
effort – more like a deflection – to try to steer the attention from Trump’s disastrous
COVID-19 response but instead how the Obama administration responded to the
2009 swine flu outbreak.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One problem with
that: the Obama administration actually executed what was in the pandemic
response plan as set by the George W. Bush administration. They did not throw
the book out and improvise one thinking </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>THEY</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> could do it better
like what the Trump administration did.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The person who
tried the deflection tactic was Mike Pence during the vice-presidential debate.
Pence was put in charge of the federal government’s response for COVID-19 and
the only prior experience he had in dealing with infectious diseases was making
an HIV-AIDS epidemic worse when he was Indiana governor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That tactic did
not work out as well as Pence thought and Senator Harris does not play when fools
like him come for her.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Deflection again
returned when Pence accused Harris that once Democrats gain control of the
White House and Senate, they will engage in a court packing plan. The only
party that has been packing the courts was the Republicans for the last 35
years and have been aggressively doing so under McConnell’s stewardship as
majority leader.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Senator Harris also
pointed out that many of the Trump appointees via the Federalist Society approved
list has been very melanin deficient.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Overall, the debates
appear to not have changed the trajectory of the race. Biden is still </span><a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/national/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">leading
in the national popular vote comfortably</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> to where it should get him above
the 270 electoral votes necessary to put him in the White House and boot Trump
out on 20 January 2021 at noon. The swing state polls show the same trend as
nationally. Biden is </span><a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/trump-vs-biden-top-battleground-states/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">leading
in the states</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> that Trump narrowly carried four years ago – Michigan,
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – as well as in the recent battlegrounds of Arizona,
Georgia, and North Carolina.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is likely that
we are seeing the final days of the Trump presidency.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And I for one am
relieved.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-87154578577886431642020-10-31T21:00:00.006-06:002020-10-31T21:00:05.989-06:00LESSONS LEARNED?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.wsj.net/video/20201027/102720barrett.swearin0/102720barrett.swearin0_960x540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://m.wsj.net/video/20201027/102720barrett.swearin0/102720barrett.swearin0_960x540.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">On Monday, Amy
Coney Barrett was confirmed as the most recent Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court thus shifting the ideological balance to 6-3 conservative.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She was confirmed by
the Senate on mainly party lines, 52-48. That was the same vote that Associate
Justice Clarence Thomas – who ceremonially swore her in at the White House that
looked more like a campaign event – was confirmed by in 1991 to replace
Thurgood Marshall.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Given the optics
of that event at the White House, I am certain that she will be a fair and
impartial justice.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">No Democrat voted
for her. The only Republican to vote against her confirmation was Senator Susan
Collins of Maine who is in a highly competitive election in her state and it is
possibly a sign of too little, too late for her. It is widely believed that
Collins is one of the more moderate members of the Republican Party but she has
consistently voted for the Trump agenda and the final straw for Maine will probably
be when she voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial earlier this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From the clips I saw
from of her confirmation hearing, it was nothing more than a dog and pony show.
It didn’t matter that she was not forthcoming on her views on </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roe v. Wade</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">,
</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Griswold v. Connecticut</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lawrence v. Texas</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, and </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Obergefell v.
Hodges</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. She had the votes needed to be confirmed as the Republicans and
their allies at the Federalist Society learned the lessons of carefully
screening their judicial nominees as it was with Kavanaugh two years ago,
Harriet Miers in 2005, Thomas in 1991, and Robert Bork and Douglas Ginsburg in
1987.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Those in the LGBTQ
and the reproductive rights communities have several reasons to be concerned
that the hard-fought battles over their issues that has spanned sixty years
could be at best scaled back or even worse overturned.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Overturning </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Obergefell</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
would create all sorts of legal chaos. Would all the same-sex couples who
married after that decision still have their marriages recognized or only
recognized in certain states as it was before the decision? And that is before
you consider things such as property rights, hospital visitation, children, and
other legal matters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One of those
scenarios is returning to the pre-</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roe</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> era. Abortions did occur over
several centuries prior to the January 1973 Supreme Court decision. </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roe</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
allowed for women to make their own decisions without having to resort to – if they
had the monetary means – traveling to another state for the procedure or
resorting to dangerous methods that would result infertility or death.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is not just those
issues, but everything is potentially on the chopping block ranging from education
equity, voting rights, environmental protection, whatever remains of campaign
finance laws, the rights of the accused, social safety net, and any unforeseen legal
matters that may appear down the road. Whatever legislation passed by a
Democratic congress and signed by a Democratic president has the potential of
being challenged and overturned by the Federalist Society stooges that Senator
Mitch McConnell made a priority to pack the judicial branch with instead of passing
a bill to provide COVID-19 relief. I am sure that he will get on it once the Senate
reconvenes after the 2020 election.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It should not
surprise anyone that McConnell’s pledge four years ago of not to fill a Supreme
Court seat during an election year until the American people have weighed in
was hollow when he did so in 2018 and then again in 2020, both election years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I hope that the
passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an ah-ha moment for Democrats,
liberals, progressives, and other aligned with those ideas.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For starters, blowing
off and dismissing elections have consequences.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s begin with
the obvious election: 2016.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 2016, Hillary
Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral college – specifically in
the critical battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin by a
total of less than 100,000 votes. There were other factors – the deployment of
the Comey letter less within two weeks prior to the election, the difficulty of
a party to hold the White House beyond two terms, targeted voter suppression
specifically due to the Shelby County decision in 2013, and weaponized social
media from foreign actors, and a press thirsty for a horse race.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But let’s look
further at the 2016 election.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One pattern that
emerged from that election was how the senate and presidential elections
aligned with each other. For instance, in Colorado, Clinton carried the state
while in the senate race Michael Bennet won re-election. In Wisconsin, Trump
won and Ron Johnson was re-elected.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Imagine if Clinton
had won the election.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For starters, none
of the Trump policies would be enacted. But more than likely she would have had
a Democratic Senate that would have confirmed the seat left vacant when Mitch
McConnell refused to allow for Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court due to the
death of Antoni Scalia four years ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, let’s say,
Clinton wins the three states plus Florida and carries the respective senate
races in those states. The Senate goes from 52-48 Republican to 51-49 Democrats
– assuming that everything goes well with the replacing of Tim Kaine in
Virginia due to him becoming vice-president.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So instead of a
potential 6-3 Republican-leaning court heading into 2021, it is looking like a
possible 5-4 Democratic-leaning majority. And instead of waiting until the next
presidential election, Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires in 2017 thus solidifying her
seat will be picked by a Democratic president and confirmed by the Democratic
senate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But because enough
people weren’t motivated enough to vote due to that Clinton was not inspiring
enough, a Trump presidency would not be </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">THAT</b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> bad, or whatever excuse
people had to not vote for her and a Democratic Senate, here we are.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s rewind back
to that moment in 2016 when Antoni Scalia died. Why was McConnell able to pull
off that power play of blocking Obama’s appointee of Merrick Garland from
receiving a hearing? Because Republicans had a majority in the Senate due to
the results of the 2014 elections thus putting McConnell in that position to do
so.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 2014,
Republicans flipped 9 seats to gain control of the senate: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado,
Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of those seats
that flipped, four were close. In addition to Colorado and North Carolina,
Alaska and Iowa. All of them were part of Obama’s 2008 coattails but when it
came time to hold those seats, voters didn’t bother to show up. 2014 had 36.6%
national turnout which was the lowest since 1942.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Colorado is
certainly regretting letting Trump stooge Cory Gardner be their senator and I’m
willing to bet North Carolina feels the same about Thom Tillis based on the
polling I’ve seen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, let’s say Democrats
hold those four seats and the senate is split 50-50. In that scenario, it is
the vice-president who determines control of the Senate and in 2014, the vice-president
is Joe Biden thus meaning the Democrats retain the senate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Who knows, maybe
instead of filling two seats as he did with Justices Sotomayor in 2009 and
Kagan in 2010, Obama gets to fill not just Scalia’s replacement but also RBG’s
seat when she retires after </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Obergefell</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> is decided in 2015 and Obama gets
to fill that seat thus ensuring a 5-4 liberal leaning majority as one of the defenses
and thorns in the side of a future Republican administration.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But the one
election that continues to sting is November 2010, the one where not only did
Republicans flip the House but also won several governorships and state legislative
chambers to where they controlled the redistricting process and ensured that it
would take a massively large Democratic wave to flip the chamber as what
happened in 2018.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In that election,
Republicans flipped 6 seats: most notably Illinois, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin. Also. some of the notable holds for them was Florida, Iowa, New
Hampshire, North Carolina, and Ohio.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, imagine a US
Senate starting in January 2011 without Ron Johnson, Mark Kirk, Richard Burr,
Marco Rubio, Kelly Ayotte, Rob Portman, Pat Toomey. I’m going to throw in Scott
Brown from Massachusetts who won a special election in January 2010.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Democrats
maintain their filibuster proof majority so that Mitch McConnell can no longer
abuse it and keep all those federal judicial spots for as long as he could
until the next Republican administration.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of course, all of
these scenarios I have been talking about occur in a perfect world. Martha Coakley
decides to take campaigning seriously in the leadup to the Massachusetts
special election in January 2010. Rob Blagojevich doesn’t try to sell the senate
seat vacated due to Obama’s 2008 win. </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Denver Post</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> in 2014 calls out
Gardner for supporting personhood and refuses to endorse him. James Comey doesn’t
drop his letter when he did. Democrats do a better job at candidate recruitment
and have a better get out the vote operation to push back against the
Republican machine to turn out their supporters and suppress Democratic voters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There is an old adage
in American politics and it is usually attributed to Bill Clinton. The quote is
“Democrats want to fall in love while Republicans fall in line.” Because
Democrats were consistently waiting for the perfect candidate in senate races
throughout the 2010s, they ended up ceding control of the Senate and hoping for
Republicans to abide by the rules they created only to see them change it when
the political pieces were to their advantage.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">One day Trump will
no longer be president whether that day comes this upcoming January or God
forbid four years from now, but the Republican’s judicial branch court packing
plan will one of the lingering effects of his time in office.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This was a hard
lesson to learn and I really hope that people have learned them because everything
is always at stake.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-68473921470246656422020-10-29T10:00:00.006-06:002020-10-29T10:00:09.138-06:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 8<p><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/p6hVO2U3gWF9MNn8ruKbWk9nKMg=/0x0:4048x2699/1200x800/filters:focal(2356x802:3002x1448)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67701509/1282551665.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="427" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/p6hVO2U3gWF9MNn8ruKbWk9nKMg=/0x0:4048x2699/1200x800/filters:focal(2356x802:3002x1448)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67701509/1282551665.0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">First, a public
service announcement.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Election Day is on
Tuesday. Please, please, please, PLEASE cast your ballots before the polls
close on Tuesday. If you have ever read my other writings, </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/10/my-2020-endorsements.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">you
can probably guess who I voted for</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you requested a
mail-in ballot, it is too late to send it via the mail in part due to the Trump
administration weaponizing the postal service in order to suppress votes as
well as the likelihood it will not reach your election’s office in time to be
counted. The best plan is to either fill it out and take it there or cast a
ballot in person.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Every state is
different so check the procedures on how to vote in your respective state.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The following
websites can provide a starting point on how to make your voice heard</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://vote.gov/">vote.gov</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://iwillvote.com/">iwillvote.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.betterknowaballot.com/">betterknowaballot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">And now back to
your regularly scheduled sports related topic</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cardinals
quarterback Kyler Murray has appeared in back-to-back primetime games with his
most recent appearance being an overtime win over the Seahawks and handing them
their first loss of the season. And that is why he is the featured picture for this week.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The reason why
that game was played in the Sunday night slot instead of the originally
scheduled Buccaneers at Raiders was out of caution of several Raiders testing
positive for COVID-19. This unfortunate event provided a strong case for why the
NFL should expand its flex scheduling procedures.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/flex-out-all-week-8-nfl-primetime-games-even-though-it-s-against-the-rules-01enjfy286by" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As
pointed out in a recent opinion piece</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, the Week 8 primetime slate is less
than favorable. Remember, the placement of certain games in the NFL schedule is
generated based on what happened the previous season as well as there are
certain teams (Cowboys, Steelers, Packers, Bears, Patriots, Seahawks, Chiefs)
that will always draw more viewers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When the schedule
was released in the spring, Falcons at Panthers looked favorable but Atlanta
recently fired their coach and staring down another losing season along with the
Panthers being good but not quite good to crack a playoff spot. This game would
be better off buried in the early window with the only interest being in
fantasy and gambling interests.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sunday night was
expected to be a quarterback showdown in Philadelphia between the Eagles Carson
Wentz and Cowboys Dak Prescott. Sadly, Prescott is out for the season due to an
ankle injury. Also, the Cowboys defense is terrible, Eagles fans are booing
Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz like they were Santa Claus, and the enter NFC
East is a flaming tire fire. But the reason why this game still remains is for
none other than it’s the Cowboys and NFC East nostalgia.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Speaking of
nostalgia, remember those two Super Bowls between the Patriots and Giants?
Well, Brady is a Buccaneer and he will be playing the Giants under the bright
lights of Monday night. How about that?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ummm… no….</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Looking at the
Week 8 Sunday slate, the three games that stand out to me and would be a better
fit for the primetime windows would be Raiders at Browns for tonight as it
would make up for the Raiders losing their primetime game and the Browns are somewhat
living to the hype of last season, Steelers at Ravens – which was originally
scheduled for last week – flexed into Sunday night as a clash of AFC North
powers, and 49ers at Seahawks playing on Monday night for Russel Wilson to build
his MVP resume.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Other options would
be Patriots at Bills to see how New England responds after the beating they
took last week at home to the 49ers and whether Buffalo takes that next step in
their quest for their first AFC East title since the 1990s.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unfortunately, three
of those games – Steelers at Ravens, Raiders at Browns, and Patriots at Bills –
are in the early window of regional coverage and it is dependent on where you
live in the US to watch those games. If I was living in the Metroplex, I would
see Steelers at Ravens instead of Chargers at Broncos. Luckily, I have the
opportunity to see the 49ers at Seahawks but it appears that it will be for
those who live in the western time zones.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">11-3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;"><o:p> 78-26-1</o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Picks are in </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">BOLD</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=8">NFL Television Schedule
Map<o:p></o:p></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cardinals,
Football Team, Jaguars, Texans<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Falcons at <b>Panthers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Raiders at <b>Browns</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rams</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Dolphins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Vikings at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colts</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Lions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jets at <b>Chiefs</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots at <b>Bills</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers at <b>Ravens</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bengals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">49ers at <b>Seahawks</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saints</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bears</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chargers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Broncos
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys at <b>Eagles</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Giants<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">TUESDAY, ELECTION NIGHT IN AMERICA 2020<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Biden</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Trump<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Vote</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-57004200197130459732020-10-22T10:00:00.001-06:002020-10-22T10:00:03.280-06:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 7<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://titanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2020/10/51a5a10b748c49ec9fd43d918deec410.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://titanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2020/10/51a5a10b748c49ec9fd43d918deec410.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Titans running
back Derick Henry is my picture player of the week for his 212 rushing yards
and 2 touchdowns in the Titans overtime win over the Texans last Sunday. With
all the talks about which quarterback should be under consideration for league
MVP, Henry is making his case that maybe a running back should get the nod this
time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in several games being shifted around, most notably the originally
scheduled Chiefs at Bills game that was supposed to be played last Thursday
night but got pushed into being played early Monday evening.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And to be frank, I
did not miss there not being a Thursday night game last week.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Understandable why
the Chiefs would be playing in a highly visible window due to them winning the
Super Bowl last season as well as Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback and the
Bills are on the rise in an AFC East that more competitive than in recent
seasons, but can you think of any Thursday night game that makes you say, “I want
to watch </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>THAT</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> game.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The next two games
– this week’s Giants at Eagles and next week’s Falcons at Panthers – just do
not have the wow factor. Despite their lack of offensive prowess, Philadelphia
will likely win the NFC East due to the Cowboys losing Dak Prescott for the
season due to an ankle injury, the Giants are also without a key offensive player
and are one half of bad New York City football teams, and the Football Team is
in a category of terrible on its own. Compared to the NFC East, the Panthers are
at least competitive but it is looking like the Falcons are building on their
legacy of failure after an inauspicious start that led to Dan Quinn being finally
fired after an 0-5 start to the season in which they blew sizable double-digit
leads.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Keep in mind that
the schedule is released in the spring and is based on what happened the previous
season as well as which teams will generate the highest viewership for the
network the game is airing on. Giants at Eagles: one of those teams is based in
one of the largest television markets in the country as well as their historic
rivalry. Jaguars at Chargers? You can probably bury that in the late Sunday
window.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What is the
solution? Allowing for games to be flexed into Thursday night is out of the
question. I think a scaled back Thursday night schedule as well as not requiring
every team to have one primetime appearance per season is reasonable.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If the NFL wants
to make Thursday night worthwhile, it should be an event that does that and not
one where they throw anything on to the dart board while hoping that it sticks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">10-4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">57-19-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=7"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colts, Dolphins,
Ravens, Vikings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Giants at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Eagles</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Packers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Texans (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Football Team<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions at <b>Falcons</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Panthers at <b>Saints</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Titans (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Jets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Browns</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Bengals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Broncos
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jaguars at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chargers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">49ers at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Cardinals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Buccaneers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> at Raiders<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears at <b>Rams</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-3097304512661937222020-10-17T23:00:00.002-06:002020-10-17T23:11:52.129-06:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 6<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcS9jdpEZNoRILtRZvRtxJcNCHUtC093c7-ogg&usqp=CAU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcS9jdpEZNoRILtRZvRtxJcNCHUtC093c7-ogg&usqp=CAU" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>I’m going with
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick as my player of the week as Miami headed
west and routed the defending NFC Champion 49ers.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am still
grieving over the death of Ms. Roberts. I will continue picking games and have
declared her the winner of our season long pick contest.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-texas-legend.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">You can
read my tribute to her here</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And now the picks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(56, 86, 35); border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">WEEK 5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(56, 86, 35); border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">10-4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(56, 86, 35); border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">56-20-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=6"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Chargers, Raiders,
Saints, Seahawks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bengals at <b>Colts</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bears</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at Panthers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lions</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at Jaguars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Falcons at <b>Vikings</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Football Team at <b>Giants</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Broncos at <b>Patriots</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ravens</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at Eagles<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Browns at <b>Steelers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Texans at <b>Titans</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Packers at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Buccaneers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jets at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Dolphins</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rams</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at 49ers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b>Chiefs</b> at Bills,
FOX 3P<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cardinals at <b>Cowboys</b>,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-52505960456598932042020-10-13T21:00:00.012-06:002020-10-14T00:49:40.679-06:00MY 2020 ENDORSEMENTS<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.beam.usnews.com/44/9f/a8dc2de04812865c81eccdc1e119/200914electionsads-editorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="800" height="437" src="https://media.beam.usnews.com/44/9f/a8dc2de04812865c81eccdc1e119/200914electionsads-editorial.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">These are
extraordinary times and my 2020 endorsement reflects that</span></p>
<span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For my 2020
endorsement, it is no surprise that I am voting for the Biden-Harris ticket.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And it is also no
surprise that I am voting for the entire Democratic candidate slate.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXArrfICJc-wt521tz8Xsmhe5TrN2EnTTYnCEnCIJbgLJQg8iC3ffabWF77SRVyzceIE6cO4lk810IQAIWOmpUrliRbs3i2dzjdInoRpnZYfOIwyxObX2PCnU6ziScA0MISJAZCcu4bAg/s2048/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXArrfICJc-wt521tz8Xsmhe5TrN2EnTTYnCEnCIJbgLJQg8iC3ffabWF77SRVyzceIE6cO4lk810IQAIWOmpUrliRbs3i2dzjdInoRpnZYfOIwyxObX2PCnU6ziScA0MISJAZCcu4bAg/w480-h640/IMG_0235.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The reason is
because everything is on the ballot.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Trump-Pence
administration has grossly mismanaged the COVID-19 pandemic to the point that it
has interrupted every aspect of American life ranging from schools, sporting
events, and other public gatherings. Trump, his campaign, and his Republican allies
have downplayed and gone as far as ignoring the severity as well as mocking
those that are taking this health crisis seriously.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump and several
people within the White House have contracted the virus that appears to stem
from the president announcing Amy Coney Barrett as his newest choice for the
Supreme Court. At that event, there was little to no social distancing and very
few people wearing masks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Most importantly,
215,000 people have died and the number continues to rise. The United States
has 4% of the world’s population but accounts for nearly a quarter of the COVID-19
cases of 7.8 million. Our country is a COVID-19 hotspot.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Speaking of the Supreme
Court, Trump is likely going to get his third court pick through. We were on
the verge of a 5-4 liberal court had Clinton won with carrying the Senate races
and now we are staring at a 6-3 conservative court with the possibility of a
7-2 conservative court if Trump gets another term along with Republicans
controlling the senate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Republicans are
claiming that Democrats are pursuing a scheme to pack the courts if Biden wins
and the Senate flips. The truth is first, the Constitution says nothing about
the size of the federal court system. When the Supreme Court was established
under the Judiciary Act of 1789, there were six justices: a chief justice and
five associate justices. The court was expanded to seven in 1807, nine in 1837,
and then finally its largest size of ten in 1863.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There was a plan
to shrink the court down to seven in order to limit Andrew Johnson’s power but
in 1869 the Supreme Court size was set at nine where it remains to this day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If anyone has been
engaged with a court packing scheme, </span><a href="https://www.kpbs.org/news/2019/may/20/frontline-supreme-revenge/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">it has
been the Republicans over nearly 35 years that began with the failed nomination
of Robert Bork</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. Central to this plan was Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell
and him shaping the court system to his will over that time. Most notably was holding
several judicial vacancies during the Obama administration and culminating with
him keeping a Supreme Court seat open after the death of Scalia in early 2016 by
claiming that it was too close to the election and that the American people
needed to weigh in.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That was proven to
be hypocritical not with the passing of Ginsburg last month but rather with
Anthony Kennedy’s retirement in 2018 which was an election year with the
congressional midterms. Despite concerns about Kavanaugh’s past conduct,
McConnell whipped the votes and pushed the nomination through that was the
narrowest since the confirmation for Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is not only
pushing this confirmation through but McConnell has vowed to block a
prospective Biden administration’s agenda. It is straight from the playbook of
what McConnell and other Republicans vowed to do just hours into Barack Obama’s
presidency. There are serious issues in this country and it is not just the
COVID-19 pandemic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There are a bunch
of bills sitting in McConnell’s inbox but he is refusing to bring them to the
Senate floor for a vote.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Among them is the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act_of_2019" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For the People
Act</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> that would make Election Day a federal holiday, replace gerrymandering with
non-partisan commissions for US House districts, and limit the influence of
money in the American political system.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another is the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_Act_(United_States)" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Equality Act</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
which would update existing federal civil rights laws to include sexual
orientation and gender identity protections in employment, housing, public accommodations,
public education, and other areas of concern. The recent Bostock v. Clayton County,
GA ruling only applies to employment. This would help LGBTQ Americans in achieving
a sense of equal standing in society.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The </span><a href="https://trackbill.com/bill/us-congress-house-bill-8-bipartisan-background-checks-act-of-2019/1617366/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bipartisan
Background Checks Act</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> is doing something instead of thoughts and prayers to
address the epidemic of mass shootings that have taken place at schools, a night
club, an outdoor concert, college campuses, churches, and any other gatherings.
It would establish new background check requirements.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In response to the
use of dangerous lethal force on George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, and
other victims of color, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in
Policing Act. There is also a bill in committee about </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ending_Qualified_Immunity_Act" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ending
qualified immunity</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, but it probably will not pass the House until the new
congress convenes beginning in January 2021.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The federal
minimum wage can be raised for the first time in nearly a decade, seriously
addressing the climate crisis, repealing the Trump tax cuts and reforming the
tax code so that the economic field is not so strongly tilted towards those at
the top…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But these bills
are collecting dust since they are not McConnell’s priority. Now if it was a conservative
justice filling a vacancy, then perhaps he would move it to the top of his list.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even if Democrats
flip the White House and hold the House, it doesn’t do any good if Mitch
McConnell remains majority leader. And the way to get him out of that office is
by flipping the Senate as well.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And it is not just
changing who is in the federal government but also in those state capitols as
well: who the governor, attorney general, and state legislator all comes to
play especially given events over the last year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many of the
terrible ideas that Republicans have introduced over the last ten years –
attacks on voting, blatantly partisan legislative maps, restricting abortion
access, so-called religious freedom bills, bathroom bills that are largely unenforceable,
refusing to partake in Medicaid expansion – did not suddenly pop out of thin
air, but originated in state capitols.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Looking at you,
Texas</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I still have
family and friends in Texas, and I wish they had Colorado’s method of voting
instead of registration deadlines and the potential of long lines at the ballot
box. They should not have to risk their health and wellbeing in order to cast
their ballots, but they are doing so because of the importance of this election</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There are also
other races: mayors, district attorneys, county commissioners and judges, sheriff,
city council members, dog catcher. Again, as shown over the last year, it does
matter who is in those offices.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But it all boils
down to this</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Once Trump and his
fellow Republicans are defeated, it is over.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">No more late night
tweet rants about how unfair everything is towards him. No more incompetency.
No more blatant lies about whose crowds were bigger. No more being an
international embarrassment. No more of fools like Ivanka, Stephen Miller, Bill
Barr, and the revolving door of idiots who prop up this terrible administration.
No more chaos. No more Trump.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We can rebuild and
do it better. </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/03/2020-democratic-presidential-primary.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As
I mentioned back in my Democratic primary endorsement in March 2020,</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> this administration
has gutted our bureaucratic infrastructure and that the number of departures
resembled one seen at a major airport. I feel that Biden and especially Harris
can draw on various talent pools to fill those necessary posts that wouldn’t surprise
me if they haven’t been manned since the final seconds of the Obama
administration on 20 January 2017.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Oh, and I haven’t
mentioned </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/02/quislings.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">impeachment
and the 52 Republicans who decided to put Trump ahead of the Constitution</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.
With so much that has happened in the last eight months, the Trump impeachment hearings,
trial, and conviction feels like it was another time period.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And I may have to
do a separate post on how Trump has disparaged those who have served like
myself, their families, and his foreign policy decisions have been abysmal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Like I said
earlier, there are real issues that need to be tackled and it is going to take
hard work to do it. It is going to take hard work to address the climate
crisis. There are going to be some hard conversations to tackle the systemic racism
in our criminal justice system. And there will be some hard truths that are going
to have to be acknowledged in dealing with the Trump administration’s
immigration policy that resulted in family separation and the interment of
human beings in less than ideal conditions that was deplorable, criminal, and
shameful.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unfortunately, the
Republicans are no longer up to the task and we need to send a loud message
that they are fired. They need to sit in timeout and think about what they have
done for a <b><i>VERY</i></b> long time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And it is not for
just this election, but future elections as well.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">2020, 2021, 2022, 2023,
2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028…. you get the idea.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-texas-legend.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">my post
honoring the legendary Monica Roberts</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, she stressed in every election to vote
for the Democratic slate because in her own words you do not get progressive
policies from conservative politicians.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I really hope that
this country has learned the harsh lesson over the last ten years and especially
after nearly four of those years with Trump in the White House about what happens when Republicans get any foothold of power.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The only way that
we are going to move away from this disaster is by voting Biden-Harris into the
White House, along with flipping the Senate to Democratic control, increasing
the House majority for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and winning as many elections at the
state and local level to close the book and start a new one in American
history.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In closing I will
note that I turned in my ballot on this specific day. For one, it is the start
of early voting in Texas and I’m doing so in solidarity with my Texas connections.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And two, this is
the Navy’s birthday.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdxt0_BkBn14ONI1EwwOV55DSDHXpVwCgwTKsIHbpXWa1wympfR3eg8l0gl3sXfrDKVrEXafxjf8OuobafhVnQN55UOZK2MRDx7vlcRp545g5xmSukbkqoKqVk-hcR3f2sqMn0gap4fU/s2048/IMG_0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1539" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdxt0_BkBn14ONI1EwwOV55DSDHXpVwCgwTKsIHbpXWa1wympfR3eg8l0gl3sXfrDKVrEXafxjf8OuobafhVnQN55UOZK2MRDx7vlcRp545g5xmSukbkqoKqVk-hcR3f2sqMn0gap4fU/w480-h640/IMG_0237.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">All hands on deck,
folks. The general quarters alarm is sounding.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is long past
time to get in formation and answer the call to duty.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vote as if everything,
including your life, is on the ballot.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because it truly is
in these extraordinary times</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-63906207603956847402020-10-12T23:00:00.004-06:002020-10-12T23:07:29.215-06:00FOREVER NOTORIOUS<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://epmgaa.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2018/12/28/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_t580.jpg?8f1b5874916776826eb17d7e67de7278c987ca33" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="580" height="400" src="https://epmgaa.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2018/12/28/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_t580.jpg?8f1b5874916776826eb17d7e67de7278c987ca33" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">It has been nearly
been two weeks since Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In my lifetime I
have witnessed the number of women holding various political offices increase and
there has always been a woman on the Supreme Court, the first one being Sandra
Day O’Connor who was confirmed to the court in September 1981 nearly two years
before I was born. It was followed by Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagen being
added to the court in the first half of Barack Obama’s first term.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The number of
women on the Supreme Court will likely return to three due to Senate Republicans
rushing to confirm Trump’s pick of Amy Coney Barrett prior to the November
election which is rapidly approaching. I will comment on the political
ramifications in another post so that I can focus on Justice Ginsburg’s life
and what her court tenure meant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">But often we
forget the path it took to get there mainly because we are so used to it. The paths
to education have largely been equalized over a twenty-year period that began
in the 1950s that coincided with the Civil Rights movement and crested in the
1970s among a feminism wave. When Ginsburg started on her path with graduating
from Cornell in 1954, she got a job working at the Social Security Administration
office in Oklahoma due to husband being stationed at Fort Sill. Ginsburg was
demoted from her position not because of gross incompetence but because she had
the audacity to get pregnant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ginsburg enrolled
at Harvard Law School in 1956 where she was one of 9 women in a class of 500
men. It is believed that the dean of the school invited the women to dinner and
asked the prospective law school students “Why are you at Harvard Law School,
taking the place of man?” Today that dean would be drummed out the moment that
question was asked, but unfortunately in 1956 that was the standard. Harvard
did admit women to its law school in 1950 but it was nearly 20 years after
other schools had done so.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Upon her husband
taking a job in New York City, Ginsburg transferred to Columbia and became the
first woman to be on two major law reviews and earned her law degree in 1959.
You would think that this would be a chance for Ginsburg to emerge but again, note
the time period. A Supreme Court justice, Felix Frankfurter, rejected her
despite a strong recommendation from a professor. The reason being?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She was a woman.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It finally took
some arm twisting by a Columbia law professor to a district court judge for
Ginsburg to earn her first opportunity as a clerk. She held that position while
also being her career in academia starting with working in research and then teaching
at Rutgers starting in 1963, followed by Columbia at 1972 until 1980.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ginsburg was one
of the about twenty women law professors during that time period and
co-authored the first law school textbook on sex discrimination. And she
rightfully had experience in that field due to that when she started teaching,
Ginsburg was told that she would be paid less than a man because she was
married to a husband with a high-income job. Again, the concept boggles the
mind but once again, note the time period.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With her personal experience
in sex discrimination, Ginsburg co-founded the first law journal in the US that
focused exclusively on women’s rights in 1970 and two years later co-founded
the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU and then became the organization’s
general counsel. In that position, Ginsburg argued before the Supreme Court –
which at this time had zero women among its nine-member panel – six gender
discrimination cases, winning five of them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ginsburg argued in
cases that the Equal Protect Clause to the 14th Amendment also applied to women
and was successful in achieving significant legal advances for women. It also
sent a signal to state legislatures to do what they can to make things more
equal between men and women.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With all the talk
about expanding the federal judiciary and how unprecedented it would be in
doing so, it was that act of court expansion in 1978 which finally gave Ginsburg
the opportunity to serve as a judge. She was confirmed to the DC Circuit in
June 1980. Many court observers say that the DC Circuit is a tryout for the
Supreme Court in part due to that lower court’s proximity to the highest court
in the land.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ginsburg was added
to the Supreme Court in August 1993 and served until her death in September
2020. Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in the 1996 landmark case </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">United
States v. Virginia</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> which struck down Virginia Military Institute’s policy
of only allowing men to enroll. She was in the majority for key cases regarding
LGBTQ rights, abortion access, and the continued constitutionality of ObamaCare.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Despite a long
career of fighting for her place and for others, Ginsburg reached immortality for
two words.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I dissent</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Those two words became
the impetus for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that was one of the first bills
signed into law by Barack Obama in 2009. The notoriety was increased in 2013
after the disastrous </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Shelby County v. Holder</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> ruling where the court in a
5-4 decision held that portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 were
unconstitutional. Ginsburg, in her dissent, stated that “throwing out
preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop
discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm
because you are not getting wet.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For that dissenting
opinion is how Ginsburg was elevated to notorious status. Already she was one
of the justices on the Earth court in the animated series Futurama, but
suddenly people began to take notice in this tiny Jewish woman who wore rather flamboyant
collars that coincided with her black judge’s robes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ginsburg, who had
five cancer diagnoses with her first one in 1999, rarely missed a day of oral
arguments. In order to keep her health up due to the intense treatment, she
trained with a former Army reservist who was attached to a Special Forces Unit.
By the time that she was 80, Ginsburg could do 20 push-ups which is 20 more
than what I can do.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Her trainer at her
casket in the US Capitol did push-ups in her honor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She formed an
unlikely friendship with Antoni Scalia and was regularly seen at the opera with
him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There were two
films produced that profiled her life: one was a documentary titled </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">RBG</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
and the other </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">On the Basis of Sex</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The ultimate honor
came with Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon playing her and Ginsburg praised
the actress for the impression. </span><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/08/kate-mckinnon-ruth-bader-ginsburg-meeting" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">They
met publicly at an off-Broadway 2019 performance of <i>Fiddler on the Roof</i>.</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
In the recent season premiere of Saturday Night Live, McKinnon paid tribute to
Ginsburg by appearing in the audience after the Weekend Update segment.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/27/amy-coney-barrett-nrsc-sells-notorious-acb-t-shirts/3554172001/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There
will be attempts to replace her, even duplicate her notoriety</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The truth is, you
cannot.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She earned that
status and became one of the most well-known Supreme Court justices joining the
likes of Chief Justices John Jay, John Marshall, William Taft, Charles Evans
Hughes, Earl Warren, and Warren Burger as well Associate Justices Thurgood
Marshall and Sandra Day O’Connor. In her unique way, she broke down the invisible
barrier that appears to separate the Supreme Court from the general public.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And that long journey
is why Justice Ginsburg will be forever notorious.</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-12912557769577947652020-10-11T21:00:00.002-06:002020-10-11T21:00:06.706-06:00A TEXAS LEGEND<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2020/10/Monica-Roberts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="400" src="https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2020/10/Monica-Roberts.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Monica Roberts has
passed on</span></p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">That was the text
message I received from my state rep Leslie Herod – who also knew Monica – on Thursday
afternoon while I was finishing up my work day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because of Monica,
it is why I got involved with helping Herod win her 2016 primary election and </span><a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/legislature/legislature-2020-winners-and-losers-emerged-from-a-broken-session/article_87b5bef6-af26-11ea-98be-3b8137eb6f44.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">today
she is the Michael Jordan of Colorado politics</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am still stunned.
And I know I’m not alone in those feelings.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I do not know the
exact details of her passing at this time and I will not share them out of
respect for her immediate family – both biological and chosen – and close
circle of friends.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I’m not sure that
the upcoming words do someone justice who had a towering presence and made a
huge difference in our country’s trajectory towards a more equal and just
society. I am sure that I have left out something significant, but I hope that
my words joined with others who are more eloquent than I can complete the
picture of who Monica Roberts was. To me, she was so much more than a fellow
football prognosticator.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I have seen the
tributes pour in honoring Ms. Roberts such as actress Laverne Cox retweeting
several tributes and articles to the civil rights icon as well as elected
officials such as US Representatives Sylvia Garcia and Shelia Jackson Lee, and
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner sharing their thoughts.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Among my social
group, they are sharing several stories and pictures of meeting her. Maybe it
was that one time at a conference, a lobby day at the Texas Legislature, TDOR
ceremony, Houston City Hall, a protest, an awards ceremony, a Harris County
Democratic Party event, or sharing a tasty Slurpee with her, it is obvious that
she had an effect on people.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I had the honor of
meeting her twice. The first time it was through a mutual friend and it was at
the Texas Non-Discrimination Summit in Houston in March 2011. The second time
was at the LGBTQ Task Force Creating Change Conference in Denver in January
2015 and we spent a good two hours in the hotel lobby talking about… well,
anything and everything. I would regularly chat with her on Facebook messenger
as well as like her tweets. In addition to addressing her as Ms. Roberts in my
writings it was my way of saying that I see her and that she mattered to me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">She was definitely
a force and regularly made her presence known with authority. In her own words
she was unapologetically a capital B-L-A-C-K, trans, and a woman. And I
respected her ability to live her authentic true self despite there are groups
to this day that refuse to allow people like her to do so.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 1994, she began
her transition while as an employee at Continental Airlines in Houston. There
were not a lot of voices out there for people like her and media representation
of transgender persons was certainly not very favorable. In 1998, she was one
of a handful of people that lobbied in DC for transgender protections. Again,
such an idea was unheard of at the time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Today, several LGTBQ
organizations at the state and national level regularly lobby to improve the
lives of transgender persons ranging from non-discrimination policies in
housing, employment, and health care to banning the use of trans panic defense
in legal proceedings. The Equality Act which would codify civil rights for LGBTQ
persons has passed the Democratic led House but is stalled due to the Senate
and White House being in Republican hands. If Democrats earn the trifecta at
the federal level in a little more than three weeks, then one of Monica’s dreams
will be fulfilled.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And so many of her
dreams were fulfilled such as on 4 November 2008 when Barack Obama was elected
president, successfully fighting back against transphobic legislation in the
Texas legislature such as a bathroom bill in 2017, seeing transgender persons
receive more prominent roles both in front of and behind the camera and
ensuring their stories are told in a faithful manner, experiencing </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Black
Panther</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> in the movie theaters, witnessing the number of transgender persons
winning and holding elected office increase, and Megan Thee Stallion’s SNL musical
performance.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ms. Roberts
started the TransGriot in 2006 in order to give a voice to those largely ignored
and to better represent the transgender community. It has won several awards
and countless praise on raising awareness on transgender issues before it reached
the mainstream. Many times she was the point person on those issues in both
Houston and national media.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The thing I
admired her the most was doing the difficult duty of reporting victims of
anti-trans motivated violence. She did everything in her power to ensure that
those victims were shown dignity ranging from accurate reporting of their name
and gender identity and expression to the grinds of the legal system to ensure
that justice was served. Ms. Roberts was saying their names before it was a
thing, and much like her favorite comic book heroes Storm and Black Panther she
embodied that spirit.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another thing I
admired her was her command of the facts and her ability to put people in their
place who thought they could step up to her. In addition to her numerous
awards, Ms. Roberts had the heads of several fools mounted on her wall who
thought they could step up to her. Every time that happened, it was like
watching Elektra from </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pose</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> – understandably one of her favorite shows because
Janet Mock is an executive producer – reading someone for filth.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I think it is
worth mentioning that she insanely loved her Houston sports teams and cheered
hard for her alma matter the University of Houston Cougars in every sport. I’ve
jokingly said that if Houston ever got a dodgeball team, she would cheer that
with the same intensity as the Texans, Astros, Rockets, and Dynamo. One of the
reasons why I want Houston to get an NHL team is because I wanted to see Monica
cheer them on, regularly banging on the plexiglass at rink side seats.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ms. Roberts was excited
in voting for the Biden-Harris ticket and do two things: 1) cast the Trump-Pence
misadministration to history’s landfill; and 2) put Texas in the Democratic
column for the first time since 1976. Unfortunately, she will not get to do
that. It should be noted that she was an early supporter of the Kamala Harris presidential
campaign and followed her political career since its inception. Monica was telling
people to keep an eye on her as she did with other people who entered the political
arena such as Danica Roem, Briana Titone, the previously mentioned Leslie
Herod, Andrea Jenkins, Phillipe Cunningham, and countless others.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There will be many
tributes towards her over the next few days and rightfully so for such a legend.
I expect her memorial service will be on the same level as the one given to Spock
at the end of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you truly want
to honor her, then the one thing you can do is vote specifically for the
Democratic slate of candidates all the way from president through the
legislators and ending up at the bottom of the ballot at dog catcher. Ms.
Roberts stressed that conservative legislators have zero interest in passing
progressive legislation and the only way to achieve the goal of progressive
nirvana is to put Democrats in charge of everything. She regularly made it a
point heading into this upcoming election that everyone needed to get in
formation and vote like black women who gave Hillary Clinton 94% support four
years ago and will likely reach that same mark with the Biden-Harris ticket in
a little more than 3 weeks from now.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even though she
and I were raised at different ends of I-45 and in vastly different worlds, we
were Texans through and through.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am not ashamed
to say this: Because of her sharp mind and kind heart, I loved her.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, she was a
legend.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rest in power, Ms.
Roberts, and see you at the hotel lobby in the sky</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-15529770341716885622020-10-07T10:00:00.003-06:002020-10-07T22:52:31.782-06:002020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 5<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://gray-kwch-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/rqhw0bNgjzpSAQdtUd1ooCDAwEg=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/S7Y5LFG7FVAVXMBXLAJP3BA5IE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://gray-kwch-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/rqhw0bNgjzpSAQdtUd1ooCDAwEg=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/S7Y5LFG7FVAVXMBXLAJP3BA5IE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>My picture of the
week is one player but it is rather a representation of entire unit. The Chiefs
defense held the Patriots to 10 points and recorded 2 sacks and 3 interceptions.
One the interceptions was returned for a touchdown by Tyrann Mathieu that kept Kansas
City among the ranks of the unbeaten.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">After an 0-4
start, the Houston Texans finally did what needed to be done and that was
firing Bill O’Brien. As coach, O’Brien compiled a 54-52 record that included
winning 4 AFC South titles in his 6 seasons on the Texans’ sidelines.
Unfortunately, O’Brien will be known for the Texans’ collapse at eventual Super
Bowl champion Kansas City in last season’s divisional round playoff game. The
Texans led 24-0, saw that lead evaporate, and eventually end up as a 51-31
loss. Without a doubt, O’Brien should have been fired after that game.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For now, Romeo
Crennel is the interim head coach, but it is probably likely that ownership
will clean house and begin a head coaching search at the end of the season.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The other story
that has dominated NFL news is the continuing COVID-19 pandemic that is putting
the completion of the regular season in jeopardy. </span><a href="https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/coronavirus/more-nfl-players-test-positive-for-covid-19-on-wednesday-reports-say-putting-3-games-in-jeopardy" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">More
players have tested positive for COVID-19</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, including Patriots cornerback
Stephon Gilmore, and it is rumored that as many as three games are in jeopardy.
One of the positive tests involves a player Tennessee Titans who have already
had a game moved to later in the season due to the pandemic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I do enjoy seeing
sports back on television but at the same time risking the player’s health and
lives is just not worth it. If the NFL desires to play a full season, the
solution to me would be is to cease the season for two weeks, continuing regularly
testing the players and staffs of the team, isolate those that test positive
and ensure they recover, do a deep clean and sanitation of facilities, and
place teams in regional bubbles based on their divisions such as teams in the NFC
East would be in one hub and then travel to game sites. I would not allow fans to
attend games until further notice.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Players, coaches,
and staff have the option to opt out of the season if they feel it is necessary
to do so. The games missed would be inserted into later into the season and
push the conclusion of the season deeper into February 2021.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now the picks</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #7030A0; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Monica<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">WEEK 4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">11-4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #7030A0; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">10-5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #385623; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">47-15-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #7030A0; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">46-16-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://transgriot.blogspot.com/">Monica’s Picks</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=5"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">BYE WEEK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lions, Packers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bears at <b>Buccaneers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Raiders at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chiefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bengals at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ravens</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Titans<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jaguars at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Texans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Eagles at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Steelers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cardinals</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Jets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Panthers</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Falcons<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rams</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Football
Team<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Broncos at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Patriots</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colts at <b>Browns</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Giants at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cowboys</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dolphins at <b>49ers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Vikings at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT,
ESPN 6:15PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chargers at <b>Saints</b></span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-37758636835229747792020-10-07T10:00:00.001-06:002020-10-07T10:00:10.177-06:00RAISED STAKES<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/polopoly_fs/1.1504165!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/mike-pence-and-kamala-harris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" src="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/polopoly_fs/1.1504165!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/mike-pence-and-kamala-harris.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Tonight’s debate between
Vice-President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris could be one of the more consequential
debates in our history.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Given the advanced
age of their respective running mates – Donald Trump 74 and Joe Biden 77 – as well
as Trump’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis, there are concerns that whoever wins the
presidential election next month might not be able to serve out their entire
term.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As stated in the
Constitution, if the president for any reason is unable to serve, then the
vice-president is the next one up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Again, I must
state that I am not rooting for any president to die. And yes, that includes
Trump. I already stated that at length in a previous post that was related to
the president visiting Walter Reed Medical Center upon announcing that he tested
positive for COVID-19.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The question going
into and after the one and only debate between Pence and Harris is who is best
prepared to handle the situation where they become president under the worst
possible situation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Is it Kamala
Harris who clearly has </span><a href="https://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2020/08/no-remorse.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
credentials to be Commander-in-Chief</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">; or is it Mike Pence whose only experience
with infectious diseases is making an HIV-AIDS outbreak worse as Indiana
governor and was tasked to lead the government’s COVID-19 response only because
it looked good?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It should also be
noted that Mike Pence is not the calming presence that he portrays. In a March
2018 episode of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Last Week Tonight</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs2RlZQVXBU" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">host John Oliver points out
that Pence’s façade is concealment for the culture warrior that he really is.</a></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And prior to this
debate, the Trump-Pence campaign is mocking Kamala Harris for requesting plexiglass
barriers despite that several of those afflicted by COVID-19 are people of
color.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This could
possibly be the final chance the Trump-Pence ticket has to reset the race and as
it gets closer to Election Day, it looks like those chances are narrowing. The
most recent national polls show the Biden-Harris ticket with double digit leads;
the one standing out is CNN showing a 57-41 lead for the Democratic ticket. And
already, 4 million people have cast their ballots which is 50 times at this
point in 2016.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Four years
earlier, there were criticisms that Hillary Clinton was too prepared for the debate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With the stakes as
high as they are now, would we not want someone who is prepared to be president
right now?</span></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-59623195888983450702020-10-07T05:00:00.001-06:002020-10-07T05:00:09.089-06:00PATIENT 45<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-8-rt-er-201002_1601678432669_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-8-rt-er-201002_1601678432669_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Over the weekend, </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-covid-19-white-houe-walter-reed-discharge/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Donald
Trump checked into Walter Reid Medical Center after revealing that he tested positive
for COVID-19 early Friday morning and returned to the White House Monday
evening</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And yes, I am relieved
that the president is doing well.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why are you
shocked?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Have you not
realized who you are talking to?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am not rooting
for a president to die in office, even this one who I despise. The number of
presidents that died while in office in my lifetime is zero, and I hope it stays
that way. My parents were toddlers when </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PXORQE5-CY" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John Kennedy was
assassinated</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. My living grandparents have had two presidents die while in
office – the previously mentioned Kennedy when they were young adults and </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0IYozrwhIQ" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Franklin Roosevelt</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> when
they were children. I don’t bring up Kennedy since 1) they were living in the
Dallas area when it happened, and 2) it will bring up terrible memories. Roosevelt
may be different given their age when he passed, and they sensed that people
around them were sad but did not understand why until later.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In addition to Kennedy
and Roosevelt, six other presidents have died in office. Like Kennedy, Lincoln,
Garfield, and McKinley died by an assassin’s bullet. Roosevelt along with
William Henry Harrison, Taylor, and Harding died due to various health ailments
that cut their time in office short.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There have been
close calls: </span><a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andrew-jackson-narrowly-escapes-assassination" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Andrew
Jackson</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tyler-narrowly-escapes-death-on-the-uss-princeton" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">John
Tyler</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article131007844.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roosevelt
in the period when he was president-elect</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com/article/life/style/colorado-guide/colorado-history-president-dwight-eisenhowers-1955-heart-attack-in-denver/73-0a70f685-17b9-45f8-a61c-f87c2f875716" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Dwight
Eisenhower had a heart attack while golfing in Denver in 1955</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gerald-ford-survives-first-assassination-attempt" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">a
member of the deranged Charles Manson Family made an attempt on Gerald Ford’s
life in 1975</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/archive-video-ronald-reagan-survives-assassination-attempt-38032898" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, and the numerous death threats levied
towards every president that has required Secret Service to investigate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whatever feelings
I have towards Trump or any other president that I have disagreements with pales
in comparison to the feelings of grief the country would go through if a
president was to die in office.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And rooting for any
president’s death would be a slap in the face of my honorable military service.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What troubles me
about the president’s stay at Walter Reed is how it has been spun as if this
was another campaign event.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The president
receiving any medical treatment is a sobering event and must be treated as
such. Instead it was rendered as another rally with </span><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/05/maga-supporters-walter-reed-trump-covid-426295" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump
supporters showing up outside of the hospital chanting support of <b><i>THEIR</i></b>
president</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Press conferences
outside of Walter Reed were at times contradictory of previous reports as well
as conflicting with </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/latest-updates-trump-covid-19-results/2020/10/03/919898777/timeline-what-we-know-of-president-trumps-covid-19-diagnosis" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
timeline is being established of how long Trump and others within the White
House had contracted COVID-19.</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/13/president-trump-has-made-more-than-20000-false-or-misleading-claims/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Given
how many lies this administration has told</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, there has been some skepticism
about the seriousness of this hospital visit as well as this being fabricated
in order to downplay </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/upshot/polls-election-florida-pennsylvania.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump’s
behavior in the first debate</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
New York Times reporting on Trump’s taxes</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It appears that </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEcdHXI3SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the announcement of Trump’s
choice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> was a contributor
to spreading the disease that has </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_COVID-19_outbreak" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">so far infected</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
three US Senators, Trump’s third wife Melania Trump, his 2020 campaign manager,
Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel </span><s style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Romney</s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, White House press secretary
Kayleigh McEnany, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sbstryker/status/1313350441091047425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313350441091047425%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fthe-goods%2F2020%2F10%2F6%2F21504707%2Fclaudia-conway-tiktok-covid-kellyanne-daughter" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kellyanne
Conway and her family through her daughter’s TikTok account</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, former New
Jersey Governor Chris Christie, advisor Steven Miller, communications director
Hope Hicks, and many others.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/health/contact-tracing-white-house.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So
far, the White House is not doing any contact tracing to inform those who attended
that event to get tested</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. To all those people who work in the White House
providing security and hospitality services and those in the press corps, this administration
is telling you that you are nothing more than sacrifices for their benefit and
whatever amuses them at the time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Other contributors
have been Donald Trump resuming as if COVID-19 is not a thing and continuing to
hold large in person rallies similar to the one that was held in Tulsa, OK in
June. One of the attendees was one of the candidates vying for the 2012 Republican
nomination </span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/04/herman-cain-was-on-a-ventilator-before-he-died-from-covid-19-top-aide-says.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Herman
Cain</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> who eventually died of COVID-19 related complications.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If this was a
fabrication, several people would have to be involved in it including the </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/latest-updates-trump-covid-19-results/2020/10/06/920787269/pentagons-joint-chiefs-in-quarantine-after-coast-guard-officer-tests-postive" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Joint
Chiefs of Staff who are currently in quarantine after a Coast Guard admiral
tested positive for COVID-19</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the first (and
possibly the only) presidential debate of the 2020 general election, Trump and
his family traveled to Cleveland for that event. In the audience, </span><a href="https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/10/donald-trumps-family-allowed-to-go-maskless-at-presidential-debate-despite-cleveland-clinic-rules.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump’s
adult child removed their masks upon taking their seats despite the rules of
the debate’s location</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. Trump then </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/10/02/trump-biden-masks-debate-dpx-vpx-sot.cnn" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">mocked
Joe Biden for wearing a mask</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> and his reduced crowd size.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The top of the
Democratic ticket – </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1312010736604979201?s=20" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Biden</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1312018763961729024?s=20" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Senator
Kamala Harris</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> – each tweeted their well wishes to Trump. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1312166607821529089?s=20" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Former President
Barack Obama also sent his remarks wishing the president good health</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. In
response to this goodwill, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/us/elections/obama-offers-prayers-for-trump-while-the-presidents-campaign-insults-obama-in-a-fund-raising-letter.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
Trump campaign resumed their attacks on the Democratic ticket and Barack Obama
in an e-mail sent to campaign supporters</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Instead of
remaining in the hospital recovering, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/politics/trump-secret-service-trip/index.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump
held a parade outside where he waved to adoring fans from the safety of his
vehicle</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. There are questions about how safe this was, primarily the Secret
Service agents who are tasked with protecting the president.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump made a
dramatic return to the White House on the same Marine One helicopter that
transported him to Walter Reed and from the balcony removed his mask and waved
as if he himself alone had conquered COVID-19.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Already this event
is being used as part of the Trump campaign propaganda apparatus as if the only
way to conquer COVID-19 is just by strength of will.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">So that is why over
212,000 Americans died of COVID-19, they just lacked the strength of will which
our dear leader has.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Please note the
sarcasm in that last sentence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trump is claiming
immunity to COVID-19 despite that upon further inspection of videos released
showed that he is struggling to breathe. And Trump, despite his claims on being
physically fit for the office, was not in the best condition and COVID-19 has likely
worsened it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">And that is before
I get into the medication that he is taking to combat COVID-19. The side
effects include erratic mood swings which given Trump who can tell the difference.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Is anyone in the
White House going to invoke provisions of the 25th Amendment or nah?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Overall, Trump’s
COVID-19 diagnosis sends a signal that he is not equipped to combat the pandemic.
</span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/latest-updates-trump-covid-19-results/2020/10/06/920828075/trump-pausing-coronavirus-stimulus-talks-until-after-the-election" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Earlier
on Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he was ceasing negotiations on a new COVID-19
relief package between the White House and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,
and such negotiations would resume after the election when he wins</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. That
tweet caused the stock market to drop about 600 points.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If it was not the
212,000 Americans dead and climbing that convinced you that Trump is not equipped
to handle the pandemic, how about that fact that he, as president, who resides
in one of the most secure locations, is surrounded by people willing to protect
him and his family at all cost, and has access to medical facilities that will
do whatever it takes to keep him alive is now one of the 7 million Americans
who have been afflicted by this disease. And that Trump has become a COVID-19 super
spreader due to his actions in continuing to downplay the pandemic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">There is one thing
that sums up Trump’s COVID-19 response.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In photos released
showing that he is still working despite being in the hospital, upon closer
inspection it shows that Trump was signing blank pages.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcR6VmNbvzgTI3w51Hd8576415PCHendNw7sxA&usqp=CAU" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="293" height="235" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcR6VmNbvzgTI3w51Hd8576415PCHendNw7sxA&usqp=CAU" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It finally took
for Trump to become the most well known COVID-19 patient to reveal that his
administration has no plan whatsoever to keep any of us safe, including himself
and those surrounding him, from this pandemic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And the only way
to put a competent plan in place is to vote him out along with his Republican
enablers in less than four weeks from now.</span></p></span><p></p>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082281022022923233.post-80066549761072080142020-10-01T10:00:00.004-06:002020-10-04T10:51:45.600-06:00 2020 NFL SEASON: WEEK 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://a3.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fmedia%2Fmotion%2F2020%2F0927%2Fdm_200927_NFL_geeen%2Fdm_200927_NFL_geeen.jpg&w=640&h=360&format=jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://a3.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fmedia%2Fmotion%2F2020%2F0927%2Fdm_200927_NFL_geeen%2Fdm_200927_NFL_geeen.jpg&w=640&h=360&format=jpg" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This was a tough
call on my picture of the week.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Russell Wilson
torched the Cowboys secondary for his second five touchdown performance of the
season. One of those passes went to DK Metcalf while Tyler Lockett caught
three. Patrick Mahomes did Patrick Mahomes things in the highly anticipated
Monday night game between the Ravens and Chiefs where only one team bothered to
show up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I went with Packers
wide receiver Allen Lazard who caught 6 Aaron Rodgers passes on 8 targets for
146 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay’s 37-30 win at New Orleans on Sunday night.
His 72-yard catch and run early in the third quarter set up an Aaron Jones
touchdown four plays later that was part of a high scoring contest at the Superdome.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Heading into Week
4, there is concern that there might be a change to the schedule due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Nine members of the Tennessee Titans – </span><a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30008270/steelers-titans-postponed-positive-covid-19-tests-sources-say" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">four
players and five members of the personnel team</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> – tested positive for the
disease. For now, their upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been
moved to Monday, possibly Tuesday at the latest, in order to allow for more
testing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If this game
cannot be played as part of the Week 4 slate, it would have to be made up. The
game would have to happen during one of the two team’s original bye weeks, the
Steelers are off in Week 8 while the Titans are off in Week 7. Another team
might have to be involved in order to pull off this logistical puzzle.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As I look at the entire
schedule, if the worst possible scenario occurs to where this game cannot be
played, the thing to do is: 1) put both Pittsburgh and Tennessee on the bye
this week, 2) reschedule the game for Week 7 when the Titans have their bye week
and put the Ravens off that week, and 3) push the Steelers at Ravens game in
Week 8 to Week 9 when both teams are scheduled off.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am sure there
are other scenarios that the NFL is considering but this one looks like the
easiest solution.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Going forward, the
NFL needs to find a way to stress the importance of maintaining the bubble
despite that the physical nature of the sport as well as how much time is off
between games makes it difficult to do so. The NBA and NHL should receive praise
on how they were able to complete their respective playoffs and end up with
their championship rounds being played. Despite some difficulties at the start
of the season, MLB may be able to pull of their truncated 60-game season and expanded
playoffs to have a World Series end the season.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">For now, </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/22/915599864/nfl-hits-3-coaches-and-teams-with-large-fines-for-not-wearing-face-masks" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">the
NFL has resorted to fining coaches and staff for not wearing masks on the
sideline</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. The next step might have to be suspension for a certain number of
games and forfeiture of draft picks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">If the league
office really wanted to impose creative punishments, they would not allow teams
to hold special events such as Super Bowls, the draft, or playing in an
international game over the next couple of seasons. I would consider reducing
the number of games a team can appear in the most visible windows – primetime and
late Sunday doubleheader - and take them out of flex considerations during that
time period. Probably the one thing that would get the attention of teams would
be not allowing fans to attend games until they correct the situation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another solution
might have to be consider suspending Thursday night games until later in the
season and reallocate them into the Sunday bloc of games. While the NFL is doing
daily tests of their teams, three days between Sunday and Thursday is just not
enough time to catch positive cases. I fear that a player may test negative in
the period between a Sunday and Thursday game, then suddenly test positive
after playing in a Thursday game and not only causing an outbreak among their
team but also their previous opponent thus putting more of the season into jeopardy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now the picks</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(56, 86, 35); border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(112, 48, 160); border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">Monica<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">WEEK 3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(56, 86, 35); border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">12-3-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(112, 48, 160); border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">11-4-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.7pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(56, 86, 35); border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent6; mso-background-themeshade: 128; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">37-10-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(112, 48, 160); border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 150.75pt;" valign="top" width="201">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: background1;">36-11-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://transgriot.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Monica’s Picks</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kickoff times are
Mountain Time</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sunday afternoon
games airing in Denver are noted by (DEN)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Picks are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BOLD</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2020&wk=4"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">NFL Television Schedule Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">THURSDAY NIGHT, FOX/NFL
6:20 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jets at <b>Broncos</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">CBS 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Chargers at <b>Buccaneers</b>
(DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jaguars at </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bengals</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ravens</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at Football Team<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Steelers</span></s></b><s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at Titans</span></s></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">FOX 11AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Browns at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cowboys</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (DEN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cardinals</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Panthers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Saints</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Lions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Seahawks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> at Dolphins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Texans at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vikings</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">CBS 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bills</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> at Raiders</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> (DEN)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Colts at <b>Bears</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt;">FOX 2PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Giants at <b>Rams</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">SUNDAY NIGHT, NBC
6:20PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Eagles at <b>49ers</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 20pt; mso-themecolor: accent2;">MONDAY NIGHT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Patriots at <b>Chiefs</b> CBS 5PM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Falcons at </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b>Packers</b> ESPN 8:50PM</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><strike>Steelers</strike></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><strike> at Titans</strike><o:p></o:p></span></p><span><!--more--></span>Michael Wattshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327942055437842416noreply@blogger.com0