KarateKen

MESHUGGAH - Bleed

Baltimore ran over the Browns 35-10 on Saturday locking up the AFC North and the number three seed, setting up the top four spots in the AFC as 1. Chiefs, 2. Bills, 3. Ravens, 4. Texans. Steelers and Chargers are both wild cards and there is one spot up for grabs between the Broncos, Bengals, and Dolphins, with the Broncos having the best chance by far. As of this post Denver has an 83% chance of making the playoffs. A Broncos win against a resting Chiefs team on Sunday would put Denver into the postseason. In the NFC there is also one playoff spot left, the winner of the NFC South, either Tampa Bay or Atlanta. The Bucs currently have a 90% chance of making it, and if they win against the Saints on Sunday, they will be in. The other TBD in the NFC is the winner of the North. While both the Lions and Vikings are in the playoffs, they are fighting for the bye week and home field advantage.

Your Blues won again tonight, this time 4-0 over the Senators. Other winners on Friday were the Blackhawks, Oilers, Panthers, and right now the Preds are up 1-0 on the Canucks.

Dark Lotus - Call Upon Your Gods

The Vikings Lions Sunday night game will be the first time in NFL history that two teams with 14 wins meet in the regular season. Both are 14-2 with Detroit winning the first game 31-29, meaning that a tie goes to the Lions. The winner, or if the Lions tie, will get the top seed, a bye week, and home field advantage as long as they are in the playoffs. The losing team has to go on the road and be a wild card, so a lot on the line Sunday in Detroit. Lions are coming off a short week having won Monday night in San Francisco, so that probably wipes out any home field advantage, since they have less time to recover and prepare. This is a huge game between the two top teams in the NFC, and longtime division rivels. The current line is Detroit -3. It is tough to pick against the Vikings the way they have played of late, and with the Lions problems on defense it is a concern, though the Lions are so tough to stop it might not matter, and they already won the first game in Minnesota. Both coaches like the play aggressive so it will be interesting to watch. I predict a high scoring game that goes down to the final possession. Should be fun!

That's a resonable way to look at it and a good point. There may not be on universal answer to the meaning of life. We as individuals get to decide what we think the meaning of our lives are.

The winter classic does not seem to draw the interest that it used to. This year the game was moved to Dec. 31 so it would not go up against the college football games, but the NHL scheduled 13 games on the 31st, so it had to compete with 12 of its own. Seems like a head scratching decision by the NHL. Twelve games on Thursday night which saw the following teams post wins: The Wild, Golden Knights, Rangers, Hurricanes, Stars, Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Ducs, Avs, Utah, Sharks and Canucks.

Entering the final week the teams with the top 5 draft picks are 1. Patriots 2. Titans 3. Browns 4. Giants 5. Jaguars Of course this could be shuffled after Sunday's results, so it doesn't mean anything right now, but I had time to fill so I posted it.

The Winter Classic for this season was won by the St. Louis Blues. They won 6-2 against the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

The Hidden Life Lessons of Mr. Miyagi by Ron Thomas. He played Bobby in the Karate Kid.

Project Puppies for Christmas is a low budget family Christmas movie with John Ratzenberger. He played Cliff in Cheers.

Rolling Stones - Satisfaction

I'm done with the soda's all together. I am so worn out on soda and drinking it on the plane today almost made me sick. No more.

Happy New Year

Congrats!

We are allowed to use them in training but I also think they are decent for an around the house shoe. I wear them as indoor only.

Eating and shopping for food has become so stressful for me. Anytime I shop for anything I feel like I am only seeing what is wrong with the food. This has too many carbs, this has too much fat, this has too much sugar, this is healthy but I don't like the taste. I have become so stressed about food because it seems almost all of the stuff I like is unhealthy. The junk food industry wants us to get addicted to their products so we will be repeat customers, and I am struggling to break away from the sodas, processed meats, and high carb meals.

Crazy Monday night game where the Lions hold on the beat the 49ers 40-34. We saw a little bit of everything in that game, except for the punter! This was the first time since 1937 when an NFL game had 10 or more touchdowns and no punts. The Lions defensive problems continue in both yards and points. This has been a theme for a while now, and I don't see them winning the big game this year unless they can improve. They were able to make some plays, a couple interceptions, but come playoff time one poor offensive half will end their season if they play defense like this. The game on Sunday between the Lions and Vikings will decide the NFC North Champion, and the top seed in the NFC. Vikings are playing great and not getting much attention. The game is in Detroit. The Lions won the first matchup, so a tie is as good as a win for the Lions. LA Rams have locked up the West and Washington is in the playoffs, so are the LA Chargers in the AFC. KC has the top seed, Buffalo locked in at #2. Denver can make the playoffs if they win and either Miami or Cincinatti lose. Ravens and Steelers are both in the playoffs and competing for the division, Ravens win and they get the division, Steelers need to win and have the Ravens lose. Both teams play on Saturday with the Ravens having the earlier game, so the Steelers should know by kickoff if they are playing for the division or not. Whoever wins the North with be the 3 seed, Houston will be 4th. Either Tampa or Atlanta will win the NFC South. If your team is out of the playoff picture and already getting ready for next season...due to recent wins by the Raiders, Jaguars, and Giants, going into the final week the team with the top pick is now the New England Patriots. All the Patriots need to do is lose to Buffalo this week and they will be on the clock for the top draft choice. The last time the Patriots had the top draft choice they picked...trivia anyone?...QB Drew Bledsoe, back in 1993. Today is December 31st so Happy New Year everyone! Hope you have a fun, memorable, and safe night!

The Champs - Tequila

An ugly loss for the Patriots on Saturday and after the 40-7 blowout at home against the Chargers some of the players echoed that there needs to be changes made. I question how long Robert Kraft will tolerate these embarrassing performances and lousy seasons. This is an owner that is used to winning and in the last two seasons the team has seven wins. They were competitive against the Bills but then imploded in the 4th quarter, having four turnovers in the second half. They have a first year head coach and a rookie QB, so this is the first year of a rebuild for this team after 24 years will Belichick, that is why I think Mayo's job is safe for now, but he won't survive next season if they don't improve. Big game on Sunday between the Vikings and the Packers, the Packers need to prove they can beat the top teams in the league. While Green Bay has a good record, 11-4, the four losses are twice to the Lions, at home to the Vikings, and against Eagles. On Christmas day the Ravens beat the Texans 31-2. In all my years of watching the NFL I don't recall ever seeing a game end 31-2. I did not watch any of the games on Christmas, from what I heard they were not great games and Netflix had streaming issues again.

Twisted Sister - Heavy Metal Christmas

Winners on Friday were Utah, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, NY Rangers, Colorado, and Florida beat St. Louis in OT, 2-1.

It is common to feel overwhelmed when starting Karate, or any martial art, or anything new in life really. Did you enjoy training? Keep in mind martial arts are not for everyone, there is no shame in trying it for three months and then deciding it is not for you. I often times still get frustrated when I am not improving at the rate I wish I was and can get frustrated. There were many times I took my frustration home with me. If you want to learn the only way to do it is to keep working at it. Remember it takes years of practice to get some of these things down fully. Each class you attend, you improve. Sometimes the improvement is tough to see, others it is clear, but you will improve every time you go to class.

I think most of us have been there, the trip that got ruined because of a nightmare at the airport, and/or a miserable flight. I have several, including this summer when I was stranded during that computer error by Microsoft which caused flight problems all across the country. I spent two and a half days in Salt Lake City trying to get a flight out of there. I am currently on a streak of 15 consecutive flights that were either delayed or cancelled. Let's hear about your worst travel experiences, just in time for Christmas!

The Karate Kid movies (all four), Kickboxer 2, Fight Club, 8 Mile, 21, 42, Ace Ventura Pet Detective, Major League, White Men Can't Jump, and Good Will Hunting all come to mind.