Fyodor's Super Bowl XLV picks.

1) The guys who set the lines are professionals. Their job is to make each game look as attractive as possible to everyone. That way they even out the amount of money bet on each side.

Instant translation: The house wins no matter who wins. That's why people get into the gambling business.

2) I am just a fan. I won't even keep track of these picks week to week if it gets too embarrassing.

3) There is no such thing as "inside information". Especially in the pros.

4) If those idiot touts on tv and in the paper were any good, they wouldn't go public with their genius. They'd sit at Harrah's sports book from open to close and then go out and buy $2,000 an hour hookers who dress like high school girls.

5) Gambling is stupid. You cannot win.

That being said, here are my NFL picks for this week.


Super Bowl XLV

Sunday February 6


Pittsburgh (+3) vs. Green Bay
I think the Steelers' defense will make Aaron Rodgers look worse than he really is and the Black and Gold should win their seventh title by seven points. I'll also take the over (44 1/2).
FINAL: Packers 31 Steelers 25 - Fyodor loses! (I got the total right, but that is no consolation at all.)

The defense played well enough to win, but the turnovers were the difference. I trust the Steelers and their fans won't blame the officials or their failure to sacrifice the proper number of goats to Wotan or whatever, like some people do. (Yes, Seattle, that's a shot at you.) You see, kiddies, winners know that when they lose it happens because they were outplayed. Congrats to the Packers and their fans. Let's do it again next year, shall we?

Memo to the NFLPA and the owners: Don't screw this up. Remember baseball was king once upon a time...

Madmen and totalitarians have a special brand of genius that is theirs alone...

...and The Gorehound is both.

From Al's Journal [I checked, It's not a spoof from The Onion.]:

An Answer for Bill February 1, 2011 : 11:43 AM

Last week on his show Bill O’Reilly asked, “Why has southern New York turned into the tundra?” and then said he had a call into me. I appreciate the question.

As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming:

“In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.”

“A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.”

Link

You see, kiddies, no matter what happens, it confirms the preconceived notions of both the insane and the left-fascist [criminally insane for short].

And you wonder why there are so many of us...

From Upper St. Clair Patch:

Steeler Nation Welcomes New Arrivals

Little Brayden McQuillan was in the world for less than ten minutes Friday morning when the staff at St. Clair Hospital wrapped him in a gold Terrible Towel and placed a Steelers knit hat on his tiny head.

“They’re born Steelers fans here in Pittsburgh,” said Sharon Johnson, clinical supervisor at the hospital’s Family Birth Center.

The staff at the hospital in Mt. Lebanon wrapped up ten newborns in the towels Friday in celebration of the Steelers’ run to Super Bowl XLV. Each baby born this week at the hospital will also be wrapped up in the black and gold, a tradition the staff also did in 2008.

First-time dad Alexander Ameredes said his wife, Rachel, gave birth to their son Alexander on Wednesday, two weeks earlier than predicted. The Collier Township man said he thinks his son wanted to make sure he was around for the big game on Feb. 6.

“I was worried about the Super Bowl,” Ameredes said. “I think he was, too."

Just a few feet away, Joe Laffey, 34, of Bethel Park was gazing at his new daughter, Annabella Grace, born just a couple of hours earlier. Laffey said he and his girlfriend, Samantha Grimm, found out the due date a few months ago and he immediately went to check if it would coincide with the game.

“I already knew when the Super Bowl was, so I did the math and saw it was the bye week,” Laffey said. “I kept telling her during the AFC Championship game, ‘Don’t let your water break!’ I got all hyped up, but she tried to stay relaxed.”

He said the towel blanketing his new daughter would be a lucky charm for the family.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Laffey said. “I got a new baby and a new Terrible Towel. Couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Justin Eitel of Mt. Lebanon couldn’t help but take at least 50 snapshots of his new daughter wrapped up in the towel. He had no doubts about which team she would be rooting for when she grows up.

"She can choose her religion,” Eitel said, “but she can't choose what team she likes."

But it wasn’t just the fathers who were beaming with joy.

Dr. Paul Zubritzky, an obstetrician at St. Clair, delivered four of the babies, including little Brayden just in time to receive his new Steelers swag. He said the mother heard about what was happening and wanted her new son to be part of the celebration.

“She worked hard and got it done, just like the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Zubritzky said. “It’s a special time. You feel like you’re a part of it.”

The hospital previously did this two years ago before the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII. This around time, though, they had trouble finding Terrible Towels because of the demand before this year’s game.

Destinie Main of Scenery Hill hoped the birth of her second son, Noah, would bring another championship to Pittsburgh. Her first son, Kaden, was born October 2008 and the team won another Lombardi Trophy a few months later.

“We’re hoping this is our second good luck charm,” Main said. “He came with his own Terrible Towel.”

Her fiancé, Ray Ayres, didn’t have a doubt which team his new son would be rooting for come next Sunday.

“You don’t have to make them fans,” Ayres said. “They’re born Steelers fans here.”

Steelers Update.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

They just might put the terrible in our towel

The printing and packaging responsibilities for the Terrible Towel the most sacred
of Steelers souvenirs are in the hands of people who wear foam cheese hats. ...

Terrible Towel cookies on sale

Bethel Bakery, 5200 Brightwood Road, Bethel Park, supports the Steelers and Allegheny
Valley School with their officially licensed Terrible Towel Cookies. ...


Natrona Heights native has Super record at the big game

Although Super Bowl I was unspectacular — at the time, it was known as the "First AFL-NFL World Championship Game" — Tom Henschel has been to every one since. On Sunday, the diehard Steelers fan will attend his 45th — making him one of four members of the "Never Miss A Super Bowl Club."

Steelers' Mendenhall on cusp of stardom

Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis are impressed with what Rashard Mendenhall has done in his first season as the starting running back.

Kevin Colbert Q&A

Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert talked extensively Monday about a number of subject, including the job Mike Tomlin has done, the support the Steelers have shown Ben Roethlisberger and the decision to keep defensive end Aaron Smith...

The Charlie Sheen Syndrome. Or, everybody loves a rich pervert.

From Lancaster Online:

Ephrata Playhouse in the Park renamed for 2 longtime benefactors

Like many theater companies, the Ephrata Performing Arts Center has been facing tough economic times.

Having to pay off a huge mortgage/construction debt after the theater was rebuilt in 2003 has made those tough times even harder.

Enter a theater angel.

Terry Bigler, through the Michael Sharadin-Terry Bigler Fund, has donated $400,000 to EPAC to help pay off the debt over the next ten years.

In recognition of that generosity, the theater building, long called the Playhouse in the Park, is now the Sharadin Bigler Theatre.

"It's a good way to honor Michael now that he's gone," Bigler said. "Michael always loved theater and EPAC. I picked it up when we got together."

Bigler, who owns Zeller Travel, and Sharadin, who ran his family business, Mi-Jan Fabrics, were partners for 27 years before Sharadin's death in 2006.

Did you ever wonder why the "compassionate humanitarians" desperately want kids chopped into pieces?

1. Hospital stands tall in battle with Catholic bishop

   The battle between a Phoenix hospital and a Catholic bishop over termination of a pregnancy that saved a mother's life illuminates rival religious approaches. One focuses on dogma and punishment of sinners. The other exalts compassion for the needy, mercy for sinners and inclusiveness. [Hee-hee. That's a bit much.]
   

   [Seattle Times]
   

   • A bishop, a nun, a hospital and a holy war - National Catholic Reporter
   • Tussling Over Jesus - New York Times
2. St. Joseph Church in Phoenix shows support for Bishop Olmsted

   St. Joseph Catholic Church in northeast Phoenix will conduct a pro-life event on Sunday. A church publicist said the parish wished to show support for Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted for his ouster of St. Joseph's Hospital from the church, and it coincides with pro-life activities throughout the country on Sunday, commemorating the Jan. 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion.

   [The Arizona Republic]
   
3. Despite Phoenix dispute, Bishops’ ties with CHA called strong

   On a scale of predictability, today’s tensions between the U.S. bishops and the Catholic Health Association would probably rank with the rising of the sun.

   [National Catholic Reporter]
   
4. Phoenix hospital still belongs to Catholic Health Association

   WASHINGTON -- St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix is still a member of the Catholic Health Association although Phoenix’s bishop has declared it is no longer Catholic, the association said in response to an NCR inquiry.

   [National Catholic Reporter]
   

It's none of anybody's business how Amy Chua rears her children.

Tiger-Mom War Over Chinese Parenting Reflects U.S. Anxiety

The reactions to Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, have ranged from praise to scorn. One sure thing about parenting: no one can crack the code -Time Magazine

Don't bother me with this unless they turn out to be thieves and murderers.

• Is it time for a new parenting style? - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
• Tiger Mom Meets the Jewish Mother - BellaOnline

Fyodor yearns for the days when Italian-Americans were merely slandered as gangsters.

From The Week (via Yahoo! News):

'Jersey Shore' goes to Italy: The inevitable wisecracks

MTV is shooting its notorious reality show in Italy next season. Not everyone's amused, but some sure are...

all 236 [!!!!!!!] news articles…