This week I actually don’t get to watch the games. I get to work an 11 hour day at my other job even though I don’t have Sunday availability. Ah, the joys of being the boss. So send me comments on Facebook! Let me know what is going on!

1:00 Games

• Kansas City Chiefs vs Detroit Lions  Lions. Well, Detroit is already off to a better start than last season! And I dunno, it just seems like it could be their year. Or at least their year to win more than 6 games. Or at least more than 2 games BEFORE Week 14…. And they are on like a 6 game winning streak (they won their last games of the season last year to end 6-10), which hasn’t happened since like the 90s. Lol.
  
• Oakland Raiders vs Buffalo Bills   Bills. I let my dad pick the game between the Bills and the Chiefs last week. Big mistake. So now I feel like I have to pick the Bills this week to make up for that .
  
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Minnesota Vikings   Buccaneers I went against my Current Home Town Team last week because the Lions were here but this week, I need Tampa Bay to step up. I mean, they can’t fill the stadium when they win, if they keep losing, forget it, they’ll black out games for the next 5 years in advance.
  
• Chicago Bears vs New Orleans Saints   Saints I’d have to be a sucker to pick the Saints after their season opener. Or else I’d have to have a bunch of Saints players on my Fantasy Football team…..
  
• Baltimore Ravens vs Tennessee Titans   Ravens Speaking of Fantasy Football, I have the Ravens Defense for my team. So it’s a safe bet that I’ll be picking Baltimore weekly, even if I didn’t already like the team.
  
• Cleveland Browns vs Indianapolis Colts   Browns Um, yeah. I picked the Colts last week. Bad, bad, bad idea. Honestly, they should put the whole team on injured reserve/bench until Peyton comes back and then just start their season then.
  
• Jacksonville Jaguars vs NY Jets     J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets! Sure that game against Dallas was awful. Sure they Jets should have lost since they were down 14 in the 4th Quarter. But they didn’t.
  
• Seattle Seahawks vs Pittsburgh Steelers Ugh…. Steelers  It pains me to admit that but if I was a Seahawk, I’d be really scared to play on Sunday because the Steelers are going to be out for blood. They don’t take losing well to begin with. And they just lost in the Super Bowl and then got totally embarrassed in the opening game of the season. They had as many turnovers (7) in the game as they did points (7). They haven’t had 7 turnovers, like, ever. So um, yeah, good chance many Seattle players will die.
  
• Arizona Cardinals vs. Washington Redskins   Cardinals.  Ok. So. I told the Cards last week that they had ONE SHOT to keep me loyal. I mean they were playing the Panthers. And they pulled it off. Barely. But they did. So, as a reward, I shall pick them again.
  
• Green Bay Packers vs.  Carolina Panthers   Packers. I actually feel bad for the Panthers in this one. Although… didn’t the losing record Seahawks defeat the defending Super Bowl Champs Saints in the Wild Card round of the playoffs last season? Perhaps the Panthers can pull off that same kind of upset….
  

4:00 Games

• Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers   Cowboys Since SOMEONE stole Sam Bradford as my fantasy football quarterback for Team 2, I got bullied into picking Tony Romo. Whoo.
  
• San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots  Patriots Like I said last week, I have no need to pick San Diego now that Sproles is gone. This one will be interesting for my friend in my fantasy league. She has Tom Brady as on QB & Wes Welker and then on the other she has Philip Rivers.
  
• Houston Texans vs Miami  Dolphins Texans For three reasons. 1. I just don’t like Miami. No idea why. 2. I like what the Texans did to the Colts last week, even though I picked the Colts. 3. And if I’m honest….because I went to Texas Cattle Company for dinner last week and it was AWESOME
• Cincinnati Bengals vs Denver Broncos  Broncos. Lesser of two evils.

Sunday Night Football: Also known as The Real NFL Players of Atlanta, the Reality Show

• Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons   Eagles.

Okay, so did Sunday Night Football always have radio commercials that air ever 3 minutes and I just never paid attention? Because all Friday night at work I kept hearing about Michael Vick’s return to Atlanta like it was the Real Houswives of Atlanta’s season premier.

It would have been a little more thrilling if this happened when Vick first returned to the NFL. Oh wait, it did. The Eagles and Falcons played that year, it’s just that Donovan McNabb was still the big guy for the Eagles.

In any case, I’m bummed that this is the only game this week that I get to watch because all they hype around the stupid drama has irritated me.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

• St. Louis vs. NY Giants  St Louis Rams

Um. I know…..I’m insane. The chances of this actually happening are….well….like Super Bowl XLVI featuring the Lions and the Panthers.  Even if they weren’t in the same conference. Although, I did ask around at work and most people didn’t think I was that crazy.

The Rams are in some trouble. Quarterback Sam Bradford had an injury in the opening game but will most likely be playing. Running Back Steven Jackson, their star offensive player, is still questionable to play and also, wide receiver Danny Amendola is out as well. So yeah, they, um, yeah…..

First, I must apologize for the delay in this post. I’ve been in the process of moving for the last few months (if you know me, you know it takes me forever to make decisions and it took over 2months for me to find a place to live. And then a frantic two weeks of moving and unpacking. And just got my internet connection back on Friday.)  Now that I’m all settled and nested…..HERE WE GO!

Before I get into my picks and all my fun stuff, what games are YOU looking forward to? Which players are you excited to see? What game day recipes are you cooking up? And of course, what game day goddess outfit are you rocking? Leave me a comment below or over on the Stiletto Sports Facebook Fan page and let me know!

As for me, of course  the game I’m all hyped up about is the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys. Can’t wait to see Marky Mark and his funky Jets bunch again! Although, I’m bummed that it’s the 8:20pm game. I have to work tomorrow! Boo for that!

I’m also really looking forward to the St Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately I think the Rams will be pecked to death by the Eagles (do Eagles peck?) but I’m really looking forward to seeing what Sam Bradford is going to do this season.

I’m also intrigued by the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Detroit Lions game. We were actually going to go to the game but well, my dad was in town visiting and it’s just been a crazy week. Thankfully my boy Erik has NFL RedZone (heading over there shortly) so we can actually see the Bucs game as it’s blacked out in the Tampa Bay area…again. But Erik is a Michigan boy through and through so he is Go Lions! And I’ll admit, I want the Lions to win as well.

As for what I’m cooking and wearing…well, like I said, I just moved. Which means I have a lot of take out leftovers and not much else in my fridge! Luckily, I made sure my Stiletto Sports “I Love New York Jets” tank top was the first thing I unpacked in my closet!

Opening Day Picks:

So last season, I ended the pick ‘em regular season at: 132-108 (not including Week 1) so I ended at over 55%, which is apparently pretty good. My best week was Week 14 where I picked 12 Winners! Go me! This season I am all about total domination. Or at least shooting for 155 right guesses!

1:00 Games

• Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears    Chicago Bears. I’m going against the grain here as everyone I know is picking the Falcons. And I should too but this week I’m picking with my heart and going for all the teams my friends and family like! This one is for Mike @dailyshotofcoffee.com
  
• Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland  Browns Cleveland Browns  This one is for my friend Heather, who is from right outside of Cleveland
  
• Buffalo vs  Kansas City  Chiefs Chiefs. I let my dad pick this game. Let’s see how he does!
  
• Philadelphia Eagles vs  St. Louis Rams St. Louis Rams. Sam! Sam! He’s my man! If he can’t do it… that means stupid Michael Vick Can. If you have been following me for awhile, you know how much I love Sam Bradford. Which means I’m a Ram-a-lam-a fan.
  
• Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Bucs Lions. Because I’m going to a Detroit fans house, I have love for the Lions and the Bucs piss me off every season because of all the blackouts due to low ticket sales. If you live in this area, you know how hard hit the economy is and how $35 starting ticket prices, in addition to the drive, parking prices and everything else, is just not something most people can do.
  
• Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars   Jaguars. This is going to be a great rivalry matchup. I know Blythe from @GuysGirl.com is foaming at the mouth for this game. And since she is a huge Teal fan, I’m picking this one for her!
  
• Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens  Ravens. Do you even have to ask? My hatred of the Steelers is legendary.
  
• Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans  Colts. Hmmm. I know this is a sucker bet since Peyton Manning is not in. But I’m picking them because if the Colts can win without him, there is a chance I may actually begin to like the team!

4:15 games

• NY Giants vs Washington  Redskins Giants. Being that today is 9-11, I think the Giants deserve to win. Even if I don’t like them. Come on G-Men. ****UPDATE: I apologize for not realizing who the Giants were playing and WHERE the game was being played. I was in a rush and just automatically went for NY not realizing that it was Washington and they are just as deserving of the win. I am sorry for that.
  
• Seattle Seahawks  San Francisco 49ers Seahawks. At least I think that’s who I picked…. This is definitely the game I couldn’t care less about.
  
• Minnesota Vikings vs.  San Diego Chargers Vikings. Oh wait, THIS is the game I couldn’t care less about. I’m only going Vikings because I have zero reason to like the Chargers now that Sproles went marching to the Saints. Love that little guy.
  
• Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals Cardinals. I swear to God if the Cardinals do not beat the stupid Panthers, I am done with them. They have one shot with me this season. I don’t care how much I love Larry Fitzgerald or how excited I am that they finally got a QB that understands how awesome Fitzy is (can’t wait to see what Kevin Kolb can do with Fitz)y, if Carolina wins, the Cardinals are dead to me.

8:20

DALLAS COWBOYS at NEW YORK JETS J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

My 4 Reasons Why:

1. I love New York
2. I love Mark Sanchez
3. The game is being played in New York on a very epic and emotionally charged day. The fans are going to be rapid and that stadium is going to be loud and full of life and vibrancy that I doubt any team can overcome
4. The Cowboys are stupid.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:

7:00pm

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins   Patriots. I have no idea why, but I really don’t like the Dolphins.
Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos  Broncos  Although I will not be watching this game since it doesn’t even start till 10:20 pm and I work early Tuesday!

And there you have it! My outstandingly awesome picks of the week!

Normally I would give some game day recipes but I have 20 minutes to go landscape the yard and shower before game time! So I’ll turn you over to my three favorite STILETTO SPORTS NFL GAMEDAY RECIPE GUIDE Posts!

32 NFL Team Inspired Game Day Cocktail Recipes

32 NFL Team Inspired Game Day Burger Recipes

and of course, Game Day Chicken Wing Recipes!!!

It’s going to be intense!

And like I said earlier, you can’t have an intense day of football without amazing food so I had to give you a quick Game Day Menu! Remember to check out the New York Jets-Pittsburgh Steelers Game Day Recipes too!

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears

My Pick: I truly hate to say this. It actually pains me. But I picked the Packers. I would love for the Bears to win but the way the Packers have been  powering through the last few weeks, I really think they are going to dominate. I’m not an Aaron Rodgers fan by any stretch of the imagination and Clay Matthews scares the beejeezus outta me. He is downright creepy looking. (so is his brother in college football. just saying). But…. I think Aaron has a stronger presence than the Bears Jay Cutler. But hey, regardless, I think it’s going to be an awesome game!

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears Game Day Menu

Don’t forget to check out all the chicken wing, chili and dip recipes too! They make great snacks for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd quarter!

Green Bay Packers Recipes

• PREGAME: The Old Fashioned Wisconin
  
• HALFTIME: Green Bay Beer Cheese Packed Brat burgers
• 4th QUARTER: The Green Bay Blitz Torte
  

• PREGAME: Da Bears-Tini
• HALFTIME: Chicago Bears Deep Dish Pizza Burger
• 4th QUARTER: Chicago Bear Claws
  

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PREGAME

Old Fashioned Wisconsin

• * 3 oz brandy
• * 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
• * 1 tsp sugar
• * dash of water
• * lemon peel for garnish

Preparation:

1. Place the sugar cube at the bottom of an old-fashioned glass.
2. Saturate the cube with the water and bitters.
3. Muddle these ingredients.
4. Fill the glass with ice cubes.
5. Add the brandy.
6. Stir well.
7. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Da Bears-tini

• 2 parts Kahlúa
• 1 part Tequila Tezón

Shake in a shaker with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an
orange twist.

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HALFTIME

Green Bay Beer Cheese Packed Brat burgers These burgers put a big-time, game day, gourmet twist on traditional beer-soaked brats found at many tailgating parties. It’s a very labor intensive burger but soooooo worth it! Okay, so the bratwurst sausages are ground up with pork, pretzels, cheese and a deep German pilsner beer. Then you make a rich mustard beer glaze to cover the burger off with. And, you can’t have a brat without kraut! The recipe also features a roasted red pepper saurkraut to throw on top of the burger at the end!  Get the recipe!

Chicago Bears Deep Dish Pizza Burger What is Chicago most famous food? Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizzas of course! Well what if you could get a deep dish pizza burger. Just think about that for a little bit. A burger, nestled into a pizza. Go ahead, wipe away the drool. This burger recipe is just insane! It features two pizzas (with all your favorite toppings) and a big gooey 5 pound bacon cheeseburger. You could either make that big old batch and cut it up for a party, or you can single size it by just using two slices of pizza and a little hamburger. But I would give 911 a heads up call because you may be hitting them up later in the evening when your arteries totally freak out! Get the recipe!

4th QUARTER

GREEN BACK PACKERS
The Blitz Torte

Wisconsin. Home of cheese, thick lagers and beers, and brats. Gotta have a rich, decadent dessert to stand up to all that!
Blitz Torte, a popular German cake, is a moist, dense yellow cake smothered in a frothy meringue, cinnamon sugar and almonds, and filled with custard. Mouthwatering and belly filling!

And it already has a football name!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar (divided)
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds, coconut or walnut pieces
• Cream filling (see recipe)

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2.In one bowl, cream together butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add beaten egg yolks and mix.
3. In  bowl 2, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Alternately add dry mixture and milk to butter mixture, until cake batter consistency forms.
4.In third bowl, make the meringue by beating egg whites until stiff. Slowly add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar. Mix in vanilla.
5.Divide Cake batter between the two cake pans. Then divide the egg mix between the two pans on top of cake mix.  Cover with almonds, coconut or walnut pieces.
6.Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until meringue is lightly browned.  While the cake is baking, make the cream filling.

Cream filling

• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Fun filling: bananas, pineapples, cherries, raspberries. Whatever you are in the mood for!

1.Heat milk in pan over low heat until hot, but not boiling. Do not scorch! Remove from heat.
2.In bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch, and add a little hot milk to make a paste. Add beaten eggs
3.Add the whole mix to the hot milk in the pan and  return to stove top and cook over low heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.
4.Add butter and vanilla.  Cool the filling and then add whatever fun fillings you want.
To Assemble:

• Place 1 cake layer, meringue side down,
• Spread cream filling over top
• Place second layer over filling, meringue side up.

CHICAGO BEAR CLAWS
Da Bears Claws

Da Bears are one of the most beloved fan teams in the NFL. It’s only fitting that they have one of the most beloved sweet snacks as their dessert!
Typically bear claws are breakfast treats but I’ve always liked mine after dinner!

Ingredients

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 (12 oz.) cans refrigerated buttermilk flaky biscuits

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375°F. And grease a cookie sheet.
2.In bowl one,  combine cream cheese, marmalade and raisins.
3.For the biscuit dough, separate into 20 biscuits and roll them into 4-in circles.
4.Spoon 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture on center of only 10 of the biscuits. Top the mixture with the other 10 biscuits. Use a fork to push the edges down and seal it.
5.To make a claw: cut 5 slits (about half an inch long), an inch apart from each other around the side of the biscuit before baking.

Da Topping

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice

1.Mix almonds and sugar together. Dip top of each biscuit in orange juice and then sprinkle with almond mixture.
2.Place biscuits on greased cookie sheet.
3.Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Can’t have an epic day of football without awesome food! I just had to put together a quick game day menu for the Jets-Steelers game! Don’t forget to check out all the chicken wing, chili and dip recipes too! They make great 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter snacks!

New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers My Pick: Do you really have to ask? If you have been a follower of Stiletto Sports than you already know of my love for the Jets…and my deep rooted hatred of the Steelers. I would really hate to be a Steeler or a Steelers fan after today if they somehow beat the Jets because my wrath and hatred will be felt throughout the land! So…. J-E-T-S JETS! Jets! Jets!

New York Jets & Pittsburgh Steelers Game Day Menu

New York Jets Recipes

• PREGAME: New York Jets Gang GREEN Apple Martini
• HALFTIME: New York Jets Reuben Burger
• 4TH QUARTER: New York Jets Gang GREEN Apple Pie

Pittsburgh Steelers Recipes

• PREGAME: The Pittsburgh Steelers Black and Gold Cocktail
• HALFTIME:  Pittsburgh Steelers Panini & the Roethlisburger
• 4th QUARTER: Pittsburgh Steelers Thumprint Cookies

PREGAME:

NEW YORK JETS
Big Apple -tini

• 1 oz Smirnoff® Green Apple Twist vodka
• 1 oz Midori® melon liqueur
• 1 oz sweet and sour mix
• Shake in an ice filled shaker and serve!

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Pittsburgh Steelers

The Black & Gold

• 2 oz black vodka
• 1 oz Goldschlager (cinnamon liquor with gold flakes!)

Shake vodka with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Top with Goldschlager so the flakes float all
around! Sparkly!

Pittsburgh Sunrise

• 4 oz vodka
• 8 oz Sprite soda
• 4 oz peach & papaya juice

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HALFTIME

New York Jets Reuben Burger

When I think of New York food, well, first I drool all over myself. Then I think of thick pastrami or corned beef sandwiches, topped with all the trimmings. Now you can recreate the feel of areuben with this open-faced New York Style Reuben Burger! The burger is served on rye bread, covered in cheese and sauerkraut and thousand island dressing. Yum, Yum Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pound lean ground beef or ground chuck
• 4 slices rye bread
• 8 to 16 ounces sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• Thousand Island Dressing, optional
• dill pickle slices, optional

Preparation:
Sauté the onion slices in butter; set aside. Shape ground beef into four patties; fry in skillet or broil to desired doneness, turning to evenly brown. Place hamburger patties on the rye bread slices on a broiler rack. Top burgers with sauerkraut, onion, and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted. Serve with Thousand Island dressing or pickle slices if desired.
Makes 4 Reuben Burgers.

Pittsburgh Steelers Burgers
The Pittsburgh Steelers Panini and the Roethlis-burger Pittsburgh Steelers Panini Coleslaw, French fries and an egg ON a burger – why not? This Pittsburgh Panini Burger is loaded up with all kinds of great
surprises and you can taste all of the great flavors in one bite. Give it a shot!

Ingredients

• 3 Pounds Ground Beef
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Cracked Black Pepper
• 12 Large Eggs
• 1 Dab Butter
• Salte and Pepper to taste.
• 1 Bag Oven-Baked French Fries

Burger: 1. Combine together and form into 12 equal patties
Eggs: 1. In a non-stick skillet, on medium-high heat add the dab of butter.  Crack egg in the pan and let it sit for 30 seconds, or until the sides bubble. When the sides start to bubble, flip the egg and cook the other side. That will take about 1 minute. A helpful hint – spray your spatula with Pam – or rub the butter on it – as it will help the egg to slide onto the spatula.
Fries: 1. Prepare according to instructions on the bag.
Assembly: To assemble, start with the bottom portion of your bun and add the French fries. Next, add the coleslaw (see recipe) on top of the fries. Then comes the burger and top it with the egg. Enjoy!!

The Roethlisburger

This one is honor of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. So it’s the Roethlisbergerburger, hehe! Anyway, the burger is blended withbarbecue sauce, bacon pieces and cheddar cheese
before it is grilled so the whole burger is packed with flavor. Then it’s served on a bun that has been soaked in ranch dressing and topped with provolone cheese. Then they throw on one potato
chip for a bit of crunch!

When then-rookie Ben Roethlisberger rose to Steelers stardom in the lead-up to their 2006 Super Bowl XL win against Seattle, several Pittsburgh sandwich shops started serving a “Roethlis-burger” in his honor. The burger, topped with bacon, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, and cheddar and provolone cheese, sure sounds like a touchdown. We asked Mark Bucher, owner of the BGR Burger Joint in Bethesda, to put his own spin on this ’Burgh burger.

• 1 pound bacon
• ½ cup barbecue sauce
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2½ pounds ground beef
• Small dinner rolls
• ½ cup ranch dressing
• ½ pound sliced deli provolone cheese, cut in half
• One small bag of regular potato chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Lay the bacon strips on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes (they should be extra crispy). Crumble the bacon into bits.
3. Add the bacon bits, barbecue sauce, pepper, and cheddar cheese to the raw ground beef. Mix and mash until it’s well combined, then form the mixture into small patties (2½ to 3 inches in diameter).
4. Fry the patties in a skillet to the desired doneness.
5. Slice the dinner rolls in half and lightly toast on cut sides.
6. Spread the ranch dressing on the bottom of the toasted roll, place one cooked patty on top, and top with a slice of provolone. As a nod to Pittsburgh’s Primanti Brothers, top the patty with one potato chip before covering it with the top half of the bun.

4th Quarter: New York Jets “Gang GREEN Apple Pie”

NEW YORK JETS GREEN APPLE PIE
What’s more American than Apple Pie? It’s also the classic New York dessert (besides cheesecake of course!) But for the Jets it’s essential to Go Green! so for this pie, we use Green apples like Granny Smith!

• Prepared Pie Crust (or if you have a great pie crust recipe, use that. I’m just not a crust kind of girl so I don’t waste time making my own. I did however, come across an amazing recipe for apple pie with a Cheddar Cheese Pie Crust from a restaurant in NYC and I’ve included that at that end because it’s really, really, really yummy)

Filling

• 6-7 large tart  green apples like Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
• 1/2 bourbon vanilla bean, split lengthwise (regular vanilla bean can be substituted)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• granulated sugar (to taste)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
1.Put the apples and vanilla bean in a bowl, squeeze the lemon over them. In a small bowl, mix the sugars, flour, salt and cinnamon.
2.Toss the apples with the sugar mixture and pile it into the pie crust. Dot the apples with little pats of butter throughout before topping it with the crust.
3.Crimp the edges of the top crust onto the plate so no leaks come out the side. Also, cut a few ventaliation holes in the top crust to let some steam escape. Brushing the crust with a little egg wash will create a golden look.
4.Bake for about an hour at 375 or until apples are soft, juices are oozing and crust is golden. (If crust is getting too dark too early, you can cover it with aluminum foil!)

Cheddar Cheese Crust

• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup grated good-quality sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/4 pound)
• 3/4 cup (1 and a 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut in 8 pieces
• 1 large egg

1.Put the flour, salt, and cheese in a food processor and pulse three to four times until the cheese is finely chopped and evenly distributed.
2.Add the butter and pulse three to four times—will be corn-meal like, not smooth.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and break in the egg. Using a fork, stir the egg into the flour mixture. With your hands, knead the dough into a mass, then divide into two balls, one slightly larger than the other.
4.Pat and spread the larger ball of dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Place the remaining dough between 2 pieces of wax paper, and roll to form the top crust. Refrigerate or freeze both crusts, covered, for at least 2 hours.
5.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator 1/2 hour before baking.

Filling
Put the apples and vanilla bean in a bowl, squeeze the lemon over them, and sprinkle on the salt, sugar, and flour. Using your hands, mix the filling thoroughly and pile it into the pie crust. Cover the apples with the top crust. Dip your finger in water and run it along the pie plate between the two crusts, then crimp the edges and trim the crust. Slash the top crust or cut a decorative shape out of the pastry to allow the steam to escape, and bake the pie on the bottom shelf of the oven for 1/2 hour. Lay a piece of foil loosely over the pie, and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the fruit is tender (stick a knife through the opening in the crust to see if it is done). Serve warm, with or without extra cheese.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS THUMBRPINT COOKIES

*use special dark & food coloring to create steelers colors!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg, separated
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa (Hershey’s preferably!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 26  Hershey Special Dark Kisses!
• For the Vanilla Filling
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar,
• 1 tablespoon softened butter
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Yellow food coloring

Directions:
1.In one bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla in until fluffy.
2.In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add dry mix to butter mixture, beating until blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour.
3.Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
4.With fork, beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each cookie.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set.
5.While baking, make the vanilla filling & unwrap all the candies! In a bowl, blend all filling ingredients in until smooth. Add drops of food coloring until you create the right Steelers Gold color.
6. Remove cookies from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon filling into each thumbprint. Gently press chocolate piece in center of each cookie. Cool.

The 2010 NFL Regular Season is over leaving me with a very, very, very important question: How do I watch football with commercials….and long no-action-filled-pauses now that NFLRedZone is over?

“Quick” Recap of the Regular Season Pick ‘Ems

The only good thing about the playoffs (besides all the drama, excitement, awesomeness and the culmination of the biggest party day of the year, aka, the Super Bowl) is that I will no longer have my ass beaten by Erik Sweetland (@esweets234) in our Pick ‘Em League every week. There were 4 weeks that I actually did better than him. Going into the last week of the season I was only down 10. And going into the matchups, we had drastically different picks. I stood a chance to actually catch up. But last week…… oy.

Let’s just say it was not one of my better showings in the Pick ‘Em League. I pretended it was Fantasy Week and designed my picks on who I wanted in the playoffs and what would have to happen for them to get there (i.e. I wanted the Bucs to get in. That meant both the Packers and the Giants had to lose. And the Bucs had to win. Yeah, that didn’t happen. And I wanted the Jags to get in for Blythe from GuysGirl.com, which meant the Jags had to win and the Colts had to lose…. Again, didn’t happen…. And of course, the St Louis Rams. Let’s not even go there).

So for me to beat Erik on the season, he would have to just not do any picks throughout the postseason or the SuperBowl. I ended the pick ‘em regular season at: 132-108 (not including Week 1) so I ended at over 55%, which according to Erik, is pretty dang good. Go me. My best week: Week 14 where I managed to get 12 picks!

Moving on….

Welcome to the 2010 (11) NFL Post-Season Week 1 Picks! It’s WildCard Weekend meaning that there are only four picks to do this weekend (and yet somehow I’m still racing to finish the article before kickoff….And yes that means that there is NFL Football on Saturday).

There are only 2 matchups for the AFC:

• New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts: 8:00 p.m. Saturday
• Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs: 1:00 Sunday

And 2 matchups for the NFC:

• New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks: 4:30 p.m. Saturday
• Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles: 4:30 p.m. Sunday

The rest of the teams are on the bye (the fancy football way of saying, they have the week off).

My Picks:

• New York Jets (11-5) at Indianapolis Colts (10-6): After 17 weeks, do you really have to even ask me? Jets. Do I think they can do it? Um. Sure.
  • Key to Success: Mark needs to get his shit together. He completely fell apart when he played against the great Tom Brady and the elite Patriots. He’s coming against the great Peyton Manning and the Colts. And it’s an even bigger spotlight than the lights of Monday Night Football. He needs to have his head on straight and be in the game. And the rest of the team needs to come out to play too. Because what the Colts lack on defense, the Jets have….when they want to.
  • But, it is Peyton Manning. He is known to just take over and play every position on the field when needed to ensure that his team is going to win. And after the loss in Super Bowl XLIV and just a so-so-season riddled by injury, Manning is going to be fighting hard to make it back for Super Bowl V.
• Baltimore Ravens (12-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6): Ravens.  I’ll be sad to see the Chiefs season come to an end because they pleasantly surprised me this year. Even though they faltered a little in the middle and struggled to regain their awesomeness (anyone happen to catch their game last week… HORRIBLE!)
  • Key to Success: Flacco needs to really step up and be play like an NFL QB. The Ravens tend to win on defense, not on offense. He has moments of brilliance but I dunno, he doesn’t stand out to me as a leading man. And not just because he’s not as hot as say, Sanchez…..
  • Also, the Chiefs want this bad. Probably more than the Ravens. The Ravens have become regulars in the playoffs. The Chiefs have had 10 wins in the last 3 seasons combined….Hmm…. on second thought, maybe I want the Chiefs too….

• New Orleans Saints 911-5) at Seattle Seahawks (7-9) : Saints. Because I’m royally ticked off at Seattle for beating Sam and the Rams last week and for getting to the playoffs with a losing record AND having home field advantage for the Wild Card Weekend against a team that went 11-5
  • Key to Success: The Saints can’t let the Seahawks’ outrageously loud stadium hinder their play. They have to fight as hard as they did in the Super Bowl if they want to make it back this year. And they need to beat the crap out of Seattle for me.
  • Seattle is going to be like the Chiefs: desperate and fighting hard. Can you imagine a team carrying on into the playoffs with a losing record??!!?
  • Honestly, the Saints just need to show up and play. As long as they have the game time memorized and show up ready at 4:30, they will win.
• Green Bay Packers (10-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-6): Eagles. Because somehow, someway, the Eagles managed to get my nod of approval this season, soemthing I didn’t think was possible when the season opened. Plus, I’m returning to my old job this week and it will be nice to tell my Eagles lovin’ clients that I picked their beloved team. HOWEVER….. if the Jets lose tonight then I switch my pick to Green Bay because those same clients will be seriously obnoxious to me about their team being better than mine, even if I do pick the Eagles.
  • Key to Success: Michael Vick. He keeps doing what he’s doing and the Packers are going to have their hands full.
  • Unfortunately, the Packers will be expecting Vick to be doing it all and will work to shut him down so the rest of the offense needs to step up too.

Have a Wild weekend everyone! Enjoy! And don’t forget to get on Twitter this weekend to chat it up with me! Follow me (@stilettosportsJ) and you can interact live all weekend and throw in your insights too!

That’s right, it’s Week 17! The last day of the regular season, the last day of Red Zone, the first day that marks the rapidly ending football season…..Sigh.

It really doesn’t seem possible that 17 weeks of football have come and gone already. I’d love to say I’m super excited about today’s matchups but um, well….Today’s matchups are kind of a crap shoot. Most games don’t even matter so a lot of backups will be in the game for the teams that have already clinched spots in the playoffs.  Then again, that means, anything can happen! And considering how this season has been with so many fantasy-busting games, it could be a pretty wild day of football!

There are some matchups that are still key. The biggest one: St Louis vs. Seattle. Well, at least in my world! Whoever wins, wins the division and gets a spot in the playoffs.

Since I still don’t know what players will play and which won’t, I couldn’t even begin to predict the outcome for these matchups in my pick ‘ems. Shoot, last week I rocked out all the early games and pre-Sunday matches and then don’t think I got another game all night and post-Sunday! (But, I still beat Erik Sweetland by 1 again, which made me pretty happy!)

So this week, rather than pretend to be all intellectual with my picks, this is my Fantasy Wish List Pick Week, meaning I’m just picking the teams that I want to win, with no regard to if they could actually win (so pretty much like every other week of the year!)

Here’s how it works this week: There are a few teams I would like to see in the playoffs or gain the advantage in the playoffs. To do that, there is a complex structure of teams that must win, while others must lose.

NFC:

There are still 2 spots up in the air. The division leader for NFC West and one Wildcard.

WEST: I’m going for St Louis for the West For that to happen, St Louis has to win today.

SOUTH & EAST: I’d love Tampa Bay for the Wild Card. But since Atlanta and the Saints already grabbed two spots from the South, there is only a very, very slim chance that the Bucs can do this.  Tampa not only has to win, but both Green Bay AND the Giants have to lose. Even then I’m not 100% sure they make it!

NORTH & WEST: Also, I’d love for the Cardinals and the Lions to pick up another win on the season to end at 6-10 each.

AFC

EAST: The Jets are already in the playoffs so I’m not worried about them, although I’d like them to pull out the win against Buffalo.

NORTH: I want Baltimore to clinch the North and shut up Steeler Nation. That means they have to win and Pitts has to lose.

WEST: The West was already won by Kansas City and both Wild Card spots are filled so San Diego, Oakland and Denver games kinda don’t matter whatsoever.

SOUTH: Will it be Indy or Jacksonville? Right now, it’s Indy. But if the Colts lose to the Titans and the Jags beat the Texans, well, then look out baby cuz that means the Jags are in the playoffs! Why? the Colts and Jags record would be tied so it has to go into Tiebreaking Procedure (a frighteningly long and complicated method of determining who should go. We looked into it last week when the Jets were declared in the playoffs after losing their game last week) First they look at the head-to-head of the teams playing each other in the season. In this case, the Jags won one, and Indy won one. However, they are both playing teams in their own division today. If the Jags win, they would be 4-2 in games in their division while the Colts would be 3-3, giving the Jags the advantage. (incidentally, this is what I’m hoping for!)

MY WEEK 17 FINAL PICKS & PREDICTIONS

1:00 Games

• Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons Atlanta While the Falcons have been a rockin, the Saints are still a knockin! Atlanta has been the quiet leader all season long. They are not going to want to lose this game AT ALL. They want that division title and home field advantage in the playoffs. Sucks to be Carolina today, that’s for sure.
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland  Browns Cleveland. Steelers have to lose for the Ravens to take the divisions. Good chance Colt McCoy will be starting today for the Browns and that makes me quite happy!
• Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions Lions. I will put a stipulation that if Favre is in the game, I would be okay with them winning since it will be his last game ever. Hopefully.
• Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City. Only reason I say this is because the game is at home and the KC fans have to be seriously hopped up about their team in the playoffs! Gonna be hard to come in and win in that environment. However, I would like the Raiders to have at least one kick off return touchdown because I think they’ve had one like every game this year! Jacoby Ford is a beast!
• Miami Dolphins at New England  Patriots Patriots Even though I should be rooting against the Patriots so they don’t have such an awesome record this year, I’d rather root against Miami!
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay. I mean, the Saints won last year. They got their story. Now it’s time to let others shine!
• Buffalo Bills at NY Jets JETS. It will be interesting to see if they have Mark Sanchez play today since they are already in the playoffs. BTW, my friend met him on New Year’s Eve. How jealous am I!!!!! If he is not in the game, I will consider rooting for Buffalo.
  
• Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens Ravens. For so many reasons.

4:00 Games

• Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans Jacksonville.
  
• NY Giants at Washington  Redskins Redskins. Tampa Bay won’t make the playoffs unless the Giants fall.
  
• Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia  Eagles Eagles Another interesting crapshoot. Eagles already clinched so they make keep Michael Vick out of the game to let him rest up too.
  
• Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers Cardinals
  
• Chicago Bears at Green Bay  Packers Bears
  
• Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts Titans. Not that I like either team, but it pained me to pick the Titans. But the Jags can’t go to the playoffs unless the Colts lose!
  
• San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos Broncos. Good chance Timmy T will be starting. Like him a whole lot better than Philip Rivers, that’s for sure!

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks

On the off chance you missed the 200 posts where I mention my love for Sam Bradford, I LOVE SAM BRADFORD! I will be wearing my Team Bradford Tee with pride today!

I think it would be wonderful if Sam and his Rams made it to the playoffs in his rookie season. Plus, with a win, the Rams would no longer have a losing record! They would go into the playoffs 8-8. It doesn’t matter that if Seattle wins, their record would be tied since they two are playing against each other. That would give Seattle the advantage. We do not want that!

The thing that worries me: This game is Sunday Night Football. Big time. Can Sam handle that kind of pressure? All eyes will be on him and his performance and how well he can keep his composure in a season-on-the-line moment. Sam, Sam, he’s our Ram! Can he do it? I think he can!

BTW, the Rams have seriously sucked for years. Seriously, they made the Lions look good!  For the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons combined, they only had 6 wins. So this year has been a huge turnaround!

As for the Seahawks….don’t know, don’t care. They must lose. The end!

—————————–

Happy Sunday Football Funday everyone! Enjoy!

Maybe that’s what makes us love them so!

How did you do last week? Week 14 was my best week of the season! I picked 12 games right….and beat @esweets234(aka Erik Sweetland who’s Redzone I hijack every Sunday) by one game! This was the first week I did better than him. Go Me! Granted he is still beating me on the season by about 10, but whatever! Going into week 15 I’m 109-84 (not including week 1). Pretty dang impressed with myself!

That said, Week 14 kinda sucked! The 1:00 games were good but did anyone else think the 4:00 matchups were B-O-R-I-N-G? I had Mark and the Jets, Sam and the Rams and Larry and the Cards all at the same time….and didn’t care. Redzone was even begging people to stay tuned and keep on watching through the last game. They were either blowouts or just plain blah. And I’m not just saying that because the Jets sucked!

Looking ahead, this is going to be a huge week. San Diego already charged past San Fran (yes, pun intended, ha ha!). I picked that one right. I apologize for not doing my picks post before Thursdays but I work 2 other jobs and it’s the holidays! But I swear, I picked San Diego

Very critical games this week. We were going to go to the Bucs-Lions game until we realized there are NINE games at 1:00 that we would be missing. Sorry Tampa Bay, we are taking the money we would have spent on tickets and piling up with food and alcohol. It’s gonna be an intense day!

I beg all of you, root against Seattle and root for the Rams! If Seattle loses and the Rams win, well, it could help Sam lead his team to the playoffs in his first year!

Oh and pray for the Jets to not suck. That is all!

1:00 Games

• Cleveland Browns (5-8) at Cincinnati  Bengals (2-11) Browns Both Ohio teams had a rough time in Week 14. But the Bengals have definitely had it worse this season with a measly 2-11 record. In their first meeting, Cleveland squeaked out the win 23-20. I think the Browns want it more. At least I hope they do because I do not want Cincy to win this!
• Washington Redskins (5-8) at Dallas Cowboys (4-9) Cowboys Eenie Meenie Miney Mo……It’s really a toss up who could take this game but I’m leaning towards Dallas. I kept thinking the ‘Skins were just lucky at the beginning of the season and they have really proved me right. They have been seriously struggling lately while the Cowboys seem to have finally realized football season is underway and they should start playing.
• Houston Texans (5-8) at Tennessee Titans (5-8) Texans Cuz I don’t like the Titans
• Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6) Jaguars Do I really think the Jags can pull off another win against P. Manning? Eh……. sure! How great would it be it they could?! Come on Josh Scobee-Doobey-Do!
• Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) at St. Louis Rams (6-7) Rams Go ahead and laugh at me. But the Rams didn’t lose 31-0 last week and they took on the Super Bowl Champs. They managed to put up 13 points! The Chiefs lost to freaking San Diego and scored a big fat NOTHING. So feel free to laugh, but then do me a huge favor and throw all your support to Sam and the Rams because they are battling with Seattle for the top spot of their divisions (yes, both have losing records and could actually make it to the playoffs….). That means in his first season, Sam could be taking his team to the playoffs (to get decimated in the first round but whatever)
• Buffalo Bills (3-10) at Miami Dolphins(7-6) Bills Why not? I’m all for Miami losing.
• Detroit Lions (3-10) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5) Bucs Tough, tough call for me. We are contemplating going to this game. I’ve been steadfastly picking the Lions all season (and it paid off for me last week! Weeeeeeee!) However. I would like TB to get to the playoffs. That would mean they have to step up the next 3 weeks and WIN. And it’s not like the Lions stand a chance of the playoffs so I think they should take the hit this week and win it next week against Miami!
• Arizona Cardinals (4-9) at Carolina Panthers (1-12) Cardinals Yeah, I know. I promised not to keep picking the Cards every week. They are back in my good graces after last week. And shoot, it’s Carolina. There’s at least a chance they would win this! I think it’s awesome that their QB last week was Jon Skelton from Fordham. Did anyone even know Fordham had a football team? He is the first QB from there ever drafted into the NFL. Freaking Love it!
• New Orleans Saints (10-3) at Baltimore Ravens (9-4) Ravens It’s quite simple. The more the Ravens win, the more chance they have to beat out the Steelers. I am all for that.
• Philadelphia Eagles (9-4) at NY Giants (9-4) Eh, I know I picked one. I have no recollection of what I decided. That’s just scary. Oh, it was the Giants. No idea why. Just seemed like a good idea at the time. Would make a lot of my friends happy!

4:00 Games

• Atlanta Falcons (11-2) at Seattle Seahawks (6-7) Falcons Remember a few lines up when I said the Rams are battling with Seattle? Well, root against freaking Seattle then! I’m okay with Atlanta being in the top teams. They have this quiet understated winning that I like. I know a few weeks ago I was like, where the heck did the Falcons come from???? You just donm’t really hear about them as much as the others, even though they are tied for number 1 in the entire NFL. I like that.
• NY Jets (9-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) Jets Yeah, i know. I don’t even want to pick them this week. They don’t deserve my love anymore. And I don’t think they have a shot in hell of winning this game. Sorry boys. But, I hate the Steelers too much to pick them. It will be less painful to watch the Jets get demolished then to actually pick the Steelers.
• Denver Broncos (3-10) at Oakland Raiders (6-7) Raiders Denver is stupid. That is all. And Kyle Orton is ugly.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Green Bay Packers (8-5) at New England  Patriots (11-2) Patriots Maybe the Packers stand a chance if Aaron Rodgers makes it back. But I dunno. Tom Brady is making all other teams look like high school football players. Even when they destroyed the Jets, I just sat in awe of his precision and leadership. It was remarkable. And against the Bears in the snowiest, windiest, wackiest game, Brady aws still on fire, connecting passes to players that seriously should never have been caught. It pains me, but the Patriots deserve the best record–they’ve earned it.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Chicago Bears (9-4) at Minnesota Vikings (5-8) Bears. Because the Vikings suck.

So far for the week I’m 10-5, which I’m pretty happy about. Would be happier if the aRavens had beaten the Steelers, and the Lions had won the rematch against Chicago but I’ll take what I can!

Before we say goodbye to Week 13 and anticipate the Colts-Titans matchup in three days on Thursday Night Football, we have the biggest game of the week: Jets-Patriots.

New York Jets (9-2) at New England Patriots (9-2) J-E-T-S

This game is so big I actually requested off from work. And not just because we will finally be able to determine who is hotter: Mark Sanchez or Tom Brady!

Both teams are 9-2 going into today. Both stand at the top of the AFC East. And neither wants to be the team going home 9-3.

And both feature seriously hot quarterbacks!

Going into MNF, the Atlanta Falcons stand alone as the best team in the  league with a 10-2 record. One of these two teams will join the Falcons at the top.

The Jets have already proven once this season that they can bring down the Patriots. But that was at home in their shiny new stadium. This time they are heading into Patriot country. Because the Jets did win the first round, they are actually the division leaders, despite having the same record. If that Pats win, there goes that precious top spot!

As if that wasn’t pressure enough, the rivalry between the two teams is long and hate filled (except from Mark Sanchez who apparently loves Tom Brady. Bromance, baby, Bromance). Afterall, it’s New York versus Boston. That rivarly doesn’t end in baseball.

Here’s a quick look at some of the facts and figures and “analysis”

Recent History Fun Facts

• Last year, the Jets won the first meeting and the Pats won the second.
• The year before, the Pats won first and the Jets defeated them in OT.
• This year…The Jets won the first….yikes.

Quarterback Stats

Mark:

• 2009/Rookie Season: Mark through 20 interceptions and only 12  TD
• 2010: He started the first five games without an interception and only has 8 INTs so far this season
• In the last six games, however, he has thrown 8 interceptions. And 8 touchdowns.

Tom:

• 2010: In the last 6 games, he has thrown 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions
• For the entire season, Tom only has four interceptions.
• Two came in the first meeting against the Jets.

The Problems for the Jets

The Jets like to pull out hard and fast. And then lose their momentum. And spend the last minutes of the game frantically trying to get their precious lead back. Rex Ryan will even admit that.

But this ain’t the Broncos or the Lions or the Browns or the Texans.

It’s the Patriots. Once they knock you down, you ain’t getting back up.
Remember the Lions on Thanksgiving day? I got to my family’s house for some turkey and they were all a twitter that the the Lions were beating the Patriots.
I looked at my Sprint Football Live app on my phone about 30min later and the Patriots had kicked the crap out of the Lions while they weren’t looking.
They could do the same to the Jets.

Keys to Success for Jets:

The Jets need to make sure the Patriots never have an opportunity to get ahead. Especially at home. They will be deadly.

Is it possible for the Jets to win?
Eh. Maybe. This season especially, any given team on any given Sunday (or Monday as the case may be) can pull it off. There have been a lot of upsets and close races that should have been blowouts.

But for the Jets, they lost a key defensive player to injury this week and like I said, they need their defense to not allow the Patriots to do anything or there will be problems.

Problems for the Patriots

The Jets do not want to lose this one. That may sound like a lame reason but I’d like to think they understand the significance of this game and are going to be playing hardcore. And yes, they have done everything in their power to give Jets fans heart failure in all of the games this season, BUT, in the end, they have pulled it out, even when they really shouldn’t have.

Is it possible for the Patriots to win?

Unfortunately, it is most likely, yes.

My Pick: J-E-T-S

As I said in my NFL Week 13 Predictions Post earlier this week:

The more I pledge my alliegance to the Jets the more shit I seem to get for it. I keep hearing over and over that the Jets are just lucky and that they aren’t any good. That they haven’t played any good teams this season. That they’ve barely won against the bad teams anyway.

I’m sorry but you don’t go 9-2 on sheer luck. Bears fans get the same crap. It’s really quite annoying.

Everyone keeps saying it all comes down to this game. This will prove that the Jets sucks. Almost everyone I know is picking the Patriots. Screw them. GO JETS.

But this game is epic.  It’s kinda like the Yankees-Red Sox matchup of football (although I think the Pats are more like the evil empire Yankees than the Jets but that’s neither here nor there….)

I’m going to take a split second and stand up for my Jets. To all the haters: BTW, this is only Mark’s second year in the NFL and a lot of his supporting cast is new to the Jets this season. And the Jets are 9-2. Brady’s been in the league for 10 years……and the Pats are 9-2……

GAME DAY RECIPES

Since it’s a Monday Night Game and most of us had to work today, I’m wasn’t going to go all crazy with Game Day Recipes for the Jets and the Patriots. I figured if you wanted to come home and do a full course spread, you could see last year’s Jets-Patriots Game Day Recipe Menu!

But then once I got started, I couldn’t stop so here is the 2010 Jets-Patriots Game Day Recipe. Some are some old favorites and there are some new delicous additions for you to check out!

• PREGAME:
  • The Hot Tommy Cocktail
  • The Sexy Sanchez Cocktail
• 1st QUARTER:
  • Brady’s Bunch ‘N Munch
  • Marky Mark and the Funky Jets Bunch ‘N Munch  (aka Jen’s Famous Oyster Cracker Recipe)
• 2nd QUARTER:
  • Wicked Hottie Wings
• HALFTIME (from the Stiletto Sports 32 NFL Team Inspired Burger Recipes Guide)
  • The New England Patriots BEST BURGER EVER! Recipe
  • The New York Jets Reuben Buger Recipe

PREGAME

The Hot Tommy:

Forget a Hot Toddy, I want a Hot Tommy! In case you don’t know, a Hot Toddy is a traditional hot whiskey or brandy drink brewed with tea and lemon and honey. Usually used for a cure for a cold or flu. But over the years it’s turned into a great holiday warm-me-up beverage. This version features New England’s favorite flavor of the season: cranberries

Ingredients

• 4 tangerines
• 1/2 cup whole cloves
• 3 quarts 100% unsweetened cranberry juice (if unavailable, use cranberry juice cocktail and omit the sugar)
• 2 cups sugar, or to taste
• 3 cups amber Rum

Directions:

1. Cut tangerines into 1/4-inch-thick round slices and remove seeds. Stud rind of each tangerine round with 4 or 5 cloves.
2. In a large saucepan simmer cranberry juice, tangerine rounds, and sugar, 5 minutes.
3. Stir in rum and stir in rum and serve in mugs or heat proof glasses.
4. Garnish with tangerine and cinnamin stick, for extra kick.

• 1 tbsp honey
• 3/4 glass cranberry brewed tea
• 2 shots brandy
• 1 slice lemon

Brew tea and fill a tall glass 3/4 full. Mix in honey. Mix in brandy shots. Add lemon slice and enjoy.

The Sexy Sanchez Shot

There are a few different versions of this cocktail normally named “Dirty Sanchez Cocktail.” But since it’s chilly, even here in Florida, I’m going with the hot-warm me up beverage. Now, the recipe is for a shot, not a cocktail. We turned it into a hot beverage by brewing a pot of hot coffee and mixing it up. YUM!

Ingredients

• 1/3 oz Bailey’s® Irish Cream
• 1/3 oz Jose Cuervo® Especial Gold Tequila
• 1/3 oz Kahlua® Coffee Liqueur

Directions

1. * Pour the ingredients in equal parts into a cocktail shaker with some ice. Shake well, pour into shot glasses.
2. Make a pot of coffee. Add shots to taste. Top with a lil whip cream if you are feelin frisky!

1st QUARTER

Brady’s Bunch of Munch and Crunch

Ingredients

• 10 cups lightly salted already popped popcorn
• 2 cups semi-sweet real chocolate chips (12 ounce bag) —or white chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Directions

1. Spread popcorn out on a large baking sheet in one layer Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 of the dried cranberries.
2. Melt the chocolate chips by either the stovetop or microwave.
3. Once chocolate is fully melted, pour chocolate over popcorn and cranberries.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 of dried cranberries on the warm chocolate and popcorn. Let cool and chocolate will harden.

Mark Mark and the funky Jets Bunch of Munch

Easy to make and impossible to resist. Sprinkled with a little bit of Jets green (aka dill…) for the perfect game day touch!

• 1 12-16oz package of oyster crackers. I get the cheapest ones I can find.
• 1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Original Buttermilk Ranch Recipe salad dressing (dry)
• ¼ teaspoon of Lemon Pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Dill Weed
• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ¾- 1 Cup of Oil

Directions:

1. -Combine salad dressing packet and oil. Add rest of spices.
2. -Pour over crackers.
3. -Spread crackers on baking sheet. Place in a warm oven for 15-20 minutes.

2nd Quarter

The Wicked Hottie Wings: check out Rachel Ray’s recipe! Jalapeno puree gives these wicked wings a double hottie kick!

HALFTIME

See Stiletto Sports 32 NFL Team Inspired Burger Recipes

Last week was not one of my best weeks of NFL Picks. Although I did rock on the Thanksgiving Day games–got all three! But yeah…..let’s just say Sunday was not my finest day. Nor Monday. Out of the remaining games I only managed 6 right bringing my total for Week 12 to 9. My total record is 87-74 (not including week 1) , which I’m pretty excited about but I’m now 7 places behind Erik Sweetland, which does NOT make me very happy!

So on to Week 13!

Thursday night the Philadelphia Eagles took on the Houston Texans. I picked the Eagles so go me! (And no I’m not just saying that because they won! I locked my picks in before the game started!)

This week is huge. There are so many big games, I’m not sure Redzone will be able to handle it all! Steelers and Ravens battling each other for AFC North. Jets and Pats going head to head for AFC East…and the best record in the league. Anticipated rematches like Bears-Lions…. I’m worn out just thinking about all the excitement!

Who are you picking? What are the games you can’t wait to see? And more importantly, are you rooting for the Jets…. or the Pats? Let me know!

1:00 Games

• New Orleans Saints (8-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-9) Saints. I have to disclose this by saying I’m not rooting for the Saints; I’m rooting against the Bengals.
• Chicago Bears (8-3) at Detroit Lions (2-9) Lions. This has to be one of the most anticipated rematches of the season. You might recall the little incident in Week 1 when the Lions won, I mean, didn’t win against the Bears because of the Process of the Catch call…. All I’m saying is GO BIG D! Time for some redemption. I hope they stomp the crap out of Da Bears.
• San Francisco 49ers (4-7) at Green Bay Packers (7-4) Green Bay. Honestly, this season, any team can win on any given Sunday so I’m not ruling the 49ers out. But the Packers are by far the better team and San Fran has no business playing them.
• Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5) at Tennessee  Titans (5-6) Jaguars. Rematch of the season #2. The Jags got beat down bad in the first matchup with the Titans this season. But they are a whole new team since then and I highly doubt they will let that happen again. They will be out for blood.
• Denver Broncos (3-8)  at Kansas City Chiefs (7-4) Chiefs. I may have liked the Broncos at the beginning of the season but they fell from my grace a while back and now I just find them annoying. Like a gnat that won’t go away even after being massacred by the Raiders.
• Cleveland  Browns (4-7) at Miami  Dolphins (6-5) Browns. Like I said, any given Sunday any team can win but in this case, I think the Browns can do it. Don’t know where they came from but suddenly they have been playing like a real NFL team (last week against the crappy Panthers excluded of course. But at least they won!) I like that. Miami can suck eggs.
• Buffalo Bills (2-9) at Minnesota Vikings (4-7) Bills. Much like the Lions, the Bills record does not reflect how well they have been playing. They pushed badass teams: Kansas City, Baltimore and Pittsburgh into OT and just barely lost. And they ain’t happy about last week’s loss to the Steelers because they totally should have won that.
• Washington Redskins (5-6) at NY Giants (7-4) Giants. I think the Redskins luck has worn off. I just don’t think they have what it takes to take down a team like the Giants, in their own stadium. 

4:00 Games

• Oakland Raiders (5-6) at San Diego Chargers  (6-5) Raiders. Oakland, Oaktown Get on Down! Um. That’s really all I have to say about that!
• Carolina Panthers (1-10) at Seattle  Seahawks (5-6) Panthers. OKay, this could be my stupid pick of the week and I’m okay with that. Although, Carolina almost won last week. They didn’t. But it was close! Anyway, I’ve really come to understand the importance of rooting against the other teams in the division of the team you like. Especially when the other team is tied for first with the team you like. And since I’m Team Bradford all the way, Seattle must lose so the St Louis Rams can be number 1!
• Atlanta Falcons (9-2) at Tampa Bay  Buccaneers  (7-4) Bucs. Big Game for the NFC South and for Atlanta. The Falcons, Jets and Patriots are the only 9-2 teams and the Jets-Pats are taking on each other in MNF so one of them must fall while the other will go 10-2. Since I’m rooting for the Jets, I gotta go with TB beating Atlanta. Then Marky Mark and his funky Jets Bunch would be the No. 1 team. (****This is a clear sign that I’ve watched way too much football this season and should stop immediately. I’m actually analyzing and thinking through my picks. Be afraid)
• St. Louis Rams (5-6) at Arizona  Cardinals (3-8) Rams. It’s nice to know that you can have a losing record and still be tied for No.1 in your division. That’s how bad the NFC West is this season. The Rams and the Seahawks are both 5-6 and they are in first place. *shaking head sadly* I would really love to see them at least 6-6! These two went head to head in the first game of the season and even though the Rams lost, I was impressed with Sam Bradford’s first showing in the NFL. And he, and his team, have matured and gelled together the last 12 weeks so I think they can do it. I mean, it’s the Cardinals, not the Colts….(sorry Larry. I love you…) BTW… Kurt Warner is going to be announcing this game! Former Cardinal and former Ram and the love of my life. So I will have Larry and Sam on the field and Kurt announcing…. forget the Jets-Pats matchup, this is so my game of the week!
• Dallas Cowboys (3-8) at Indianapolis Colts (6-5) Colts. Peyton Manning at home. Enough said. 
  

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) at Baltimore Ravens (8-3) Ravens. There really are too many games of the week to choose just one! I hate when big matchups are on Sunday night! I’m usually too worn out from watching Redzone all day to want to watch the late game but this is going to be an exception.

This is big. Whoever wins takes the lead in the AFC North. Both teams just barely won last week. Both are defensive machines.

Oh and did I mention that they HATE each other. Like, seriously HATE. It’s considered one of the nastiest rivalries in the NFL.

This takes the cake as the nastiest rivalry in the NFL since the Buddy Ryan vs Jimmy Johnson feud. These two teams hate each other. The fans hate each other, the players hate each other, and even the coaches hate each other.

Every game is filled with late hits, cheap shots, pushing, shoving, and lots of trash talk. And this isn’t limited to just the players, the fans too.  –Sam Snyder, Bleacher Report

It’s going to be a doozy. Persoanlly, I want the Ravens to win because Steeler Nation irritates me to no end. You would think in Florida I would be spared, but no, the Nation spreads way down here. Take ‘em down Joe Flacco!

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

New York Jets (9-2) at New England Patriots (9-2) J-E-T-S

This game is so big I actually requested off from work. And not just because we will finally be able to determine who is hotter: Mark Sanchez or Tom Brady!

The more I pledge my alliegance to the Jets the more shit I seem to get for it. I keep hearing over and over that the Jets are just lucky and that they aren’t any good. That they haven’t played any good teams this season. That they’ve barely won against the bad teams anyway.

I’m sorry but you don’t go 9-2 on sheer luck. Bears fans get the same crap. It’s really quite annoying.

While I hate that the Jets seem to deliberately want to give us really close games to freak us out, I still love every second of it. And I love that Rex Ryan commented on it a few weeks ago in the Post Game when he apologized to fans for stopping and starting their hearts.

Everyone keeps saying it all comes down to this game. This will prove that the Jets sucks. Almost everyone I know is picking the Patriots. Screw them. GO JETS.

But this game is epic. If Atlanta loses, whoever wins this game will have the best record and the lead in the AFC East. It’s kinda like the Yankees-Red Sox matchup of football (although I think the Pats are more like the evil empire Yankees than the Jets but that’s neither here nor there….)

I’m going to take a split second and stand up for my Jets. To all the haters: BTW, this is only Mark’s second year in the NFL and a lot of his supporting cast is new to the Jets this season. And the Jets are 9-2. Brady’s been in the league for 10 years……and the Pats are 9-2……

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So who are YOU picking this week? What are you games of the week and matchups you can’t wait to see? Leave me a comment below, on twitter or on Facebook and let me know!

So last week I attempted to get as many wrong as possible. Not intentionally, I just predicted that I was going to have a horrible pick ‘em week because of the matchups. Sometimes I refuse to pick teams even though I know they will win, just because I hate them.

I actually didn’t do as bad as I thought. Yes, I missed Thursdays game. But the 1:00 games of Week 10 I kinda rocked out on. Only missed the Lions and the Titans.

But the 4:00 Games….. um. I didn’t get a single one. Seriously. Though neither did Erik Sweetland so I’m okay with it. And really, did anyone think the Cowboys were going to beat the Giants? Didn’t think so.

I picked New England over Pittsburgh, which was a ballsy move but it played out. But I did pick the Redskins over the Eagles in MNF which was just plain stupid. So I ended with…. 6!  (out of 14…) Wooo! But I did pull closer in the Stiletto Sports Pick ‘Em League. I’m only 4 points behind the leader!

Moving on….

Real quick. The NFL seriously should have to approve Thursday games through me. First off, I work every Thurs till midnight. Second, Grey’s Anatomy, hello!

This week is going to be insanity. All teams are playing again, no one on the bye. That means 16 action packed games and there are a lot of very key matchups!

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (8:20 p.m.)

Chicago Bears vs. Miami Dolphins Chicago Bears The longer I’m a Jets fan, the more I understand the importance of rooting against other teams in the Jets division.

SUNDAY FUNDAY FOOTBALL

1:00 Games

• Buffalo Bills (1-8) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (2-7) Is it wrong of me that I’m going to be cheering my ass off for the Bills to win this? The Bills have been trying really hard the last few weeks. A few OT losses against the big names and then finally their first win of the season last week against the Lions. I just think their momentum may push them through this game. The Bengals just don’t seem to want to win this season.
• Detroit Lions (2-7) vs Dallas Cowboys  (2-7) Lions. Well, they are both 2-7! Lions could do it. I think its iffy at best. Cowboys are riding on a high horse after beating the Giants last week and the Lions….well, they gave the Bills their first win of the season last week. But I really want the Lions to win so that has to count for something right?
• Washington Redskins (4-5) vs Tennessee Titans (5-4) Interesting. Both lost key matchup games last week. The Redskins were downright embarrassed by the beating from Michael Vick and the Eagles. I’d like to think they are going to comeback big time this week but uh, well, their luck of the season may have run out.
• Arizona Cardinals  (3-6) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) Kansas City. Okay Arizona, you had your chances. I told you last week that if you lost, you were done and I would no longer pick you. Sorry. Both teams landed themselves on my Biggest Disappointments of the NFL 2010 list this week. Let’s see who tries to get themselves off the list. Go Chiefs! Oh, but, I hope Larry Fitzgerald has an awesome game.
• Green Bay Packers (6-3) vs. Minnesota Vikings (3-6) Green Bay. On one hand, I would really like the Vikings to win because it would drop the Packers down in the ranks. On the other hand, I think it’s hysterical that the Vikings and Brett Favre suck so bad this year.
• Houston Texans  (4-5) vs. NY Jets (7-2) Jets. Also, Jets, can you please not scare the crap out of me this week? Can you just please have a pounding win? My heart can’t handle another OT like last week. Thanks.
• Oakland Raiders (5-4) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) Raiders. Another risky (and probably stupid) pick. Both teams and their fans scare me silly. Raiders are scrappy little bastards though. And I think they are quite happy to have a winning record. I really want to see them pull this out. Can they? Ha! Sure.
• Baltimore Ravens (6-3) vs. Carolina  Panthers  (1-8) Ravens I’m convinced the Bills are going to get win number 2 this week. That would leave Carolina as the only one win team. I’m okay with that.
• Cleveland Browns (3-6) vs.  Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) Browns. I promised my co-worker, and the city of Cleveland that if the Browns let the Jets win last week, I would pick them for a while so I’m gonna honor that! I also want to see what Colt McCoy can do.

4:00 Games

geez, there are a lot of games this week….. i’m tired just thinking about it….

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) vs San Francisco 49ers (6-3) Tampa Bay They made it onto my biggest surprise hits of the season list, hopefully they stay there!
• Seattle Seahawks (5-4) vs New Orleans  Saints  (6-3) Saints.
• Atlanta Falcons (7-2) vs. St. Louis  Rams (4-5) Rams. Sam and his team are better at home than on the road. And last week he did a dang good job getting the team in OT in the final seconds of regulation. Granted, it was against the 49ers….
  
• Indianapolis Colts (7-2) vs. New England  Patriots (6-3) Well crap. I don’t want to pick the Patriots. The more the Pats lose, the better it is for the Jets. But I definitely don’t want to pick the Colts since I do not like them. I know that Erik Sweetland will be picking the Colts since he  1. loves them 2. foams at the mouth like a rabid dog with someone says the words “New England.”  Since he is the one beating me by 4 points in the Pick Em league I think I should go against him and go Pats…..

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NY Giants (6-3) at Philadelphia Eagles  (6-3) These two teams hate me. No, seriously. Everytime I pick the Giants, they lose. If I don’t pick them, they win. Same with the Eagles. So basically, whichever team I commit to this week, the other will most certainly win.

This is going to be a HUGE matchup, even more so than the always anticipated Colts-Pats game. Both teams are 6-3 and battling for the top of the NFC East. The Giants just got whooped by the freaking crappy Cowboys, while the Eagles whooped the Redskins big time last Monday.

I’m going to stew on this one for the next few days but right now I’m thinking Eagles.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Denver Broncos (3-6) vs. San Diego Chargers (4-5)
And this would be the game of the week that I couldn’t care less about.  How this is the MNF game is beyond me, though I’m sure there is some huge rivalry thing going on. But um, both teams suck this year. Who cares? Kinda glad I’ll be working Monday night and won’t be watching!

Oh yeah, a pick. Um. Denver? Sure, why not.