New Kittens & Random Stuff

I haven't posted a ton lately, life has been extremely busy.  Work, working out, cooking, and Marina's school keep us extremely busy.  Couple that with taking a bunch of trips to the Boston area, leaves me with little time to blog.  So for this post, I decided to pull some shots out of my iPhone and post them.  

I was in Boston last weekend at my parents, and they recently acquired two new cats.  Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye are the names of the two brothers.  They are so cute and frisky.  Very friendly cats, I totally am smitten by them.

Marvin (left) and Otis (right)

Otis on my lap watching our Yorkiepoo Rosie

Marina is not a HUGE cat person, but I can tell she likes these two

Frisky devil

Marvin and me enjoying coffee and NCAA tournament

Marina and I checked out a local sushi restaurant.  Osaka Japan Northampton.  Prices are quite fair and I had the sashimi lunch special with a buddha roll, we will be back.

Obligatory beer picture.  Fantome Hiver.  Good, but not worth $17.

Tonight, I picked up a bottle of Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbits.  A hoppy tripel that clocks in at 8.5% ABV.  I really like this beer, it has a great creamy mouthfeel and a hoppy finish.  Very unique.  #1 seed Indiana currently losing dramatically to Syracuse. 

2012 NCAA March Madness

March Madness is upon us.  The two play-in games, which NCAA officials want to call the first round.. are happening this evening.  Both of these future 16-seeds are going to face quick exits in the real first round on Thursday/Friday... so why even bother?  At the office, and around the country, brackets are being filled out at a rapid pace.  My final matchup consists of the fairly mundane Kentucky v. Ohio State. This is unlikely to take place, since they are both high seeds and John Calipari's revolving door (Kentucky basketball team) is probably not going to compete with some of the midmajors like Baylor and Creighton who have a lot of seniors and continuity.  The whole country is going to be watching the tournament, and I can't wait for all the hoops action.  Here are some of my thoughts for the tournament.

UConn backers surround me at work.  Although they had a decent run in the Big East tournament and are the defending champs, I am expecting an early exit, possibly at the hands of higher seed Iowa State that many people have UConn penciled in beating.

North Carolina has the easiest 1 seed path to the final four, their conference is the weakest: Georgetown, Temple & Michigan as high seeds are a lot easier than any other conference.  Michigan State led by Tom Izzo is a bit of a suspect 1 seed, and I think they will have the toughest time making it to the final four.

My underdog picks include NC State who had an amazing ACC tournament, beating Duke, and just looking great.  They are an 11 seed, but I think they can ride the wave into the later rounds of the tournament.  I am looking for Louisville to have a big year and hopefully come out of Michigan State's bracket, after winning the Big East Tournament.

I predict Syracuse to lose in the Final Four.

For those of us who care about our environmental impact; Green NCAA March Madness.

Week 5 NFL

Week 5 of the NFL is upon us, this is the first week of byes, so there will be fewer games.  My fantasy team is doing fairly well at 3-1 and with a favorable matchup this week (my opponent has several key players on bye/injured) and I hope to improve to 4-1.  I have been doing fairly poor overall in NFL betting, but I still am confident.  I am down a fairly large % of my original bankroll, so I have decided to vary my bet sizes depending on the play.  I will mention some of my key bets this week, and I apologize if lines have moved since I bet them.  See the spreadsheet here.

 Tennessee Titans +3.5 @ Pittsburgh Steelers: 1/2

I would probably not have made this pick before the season, but I think its a great matchup for Tennessee.  Pittsburgh is banged up, and Big Ben will probably not play the whole game, and Rashard Mendenhall might not take a snap.  Tennessee has looked great, both offensively and defensively, while Pittsburgh has struggled severely.  I could see Pittsburgh winning, but I think there is value taking the Titans at over a field goal. I probably missed a little value since this opened at 5 and had been bet down to 3 (with reduced juice).  I dont think this will be a shoot out either, and took the under on 40 pts.

Atlanta -6 vs. Green Bay

I obviously can tell that Green Bay has been amazing this year and Atlanta has been lackluster.  However I think theres value here.  Green Bay probably should be favored by a FG, but the recent performance has skewed public perception.  This game is in Atlanta where the Falcons have notoriously been great.  After the near loss to Seattle, I think Atlanta will be looking to make a statement here.  I am worried this will be an extremely high scoring game and I get punished.  This opened at 5, so I am glad I got it at 6 with standard juice.

New York Jets +9.5 @ New England

I hate betting against my high scoring Patriots, and this line may actually be covered.  I hate betting on teams to cover double digits in the NFL, especially teams with pathetic defense like the Pats.  I think the Jets will be up for this game, since they may need to make a statement too.  I think the Pats ultimately take it by a TD.  People are overreacting to the ugly Sunday night game last week.  I am seeing this for +9 at many places, so I got the extra half point value again.

My other plays are Detroit -5.5 v. Chi Bears, SD Chargers -4 v. Denver, Minny -1.5 v Arizona,  Cinci +1.5 Jacksonville.   I also cashed a ticket on the NYY, and hope to double down on Thursday.  I bet the Cal Golden Bears +24 v. Oregon Ducks as well.