KarateKen

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lyndsy. It is the first novel in the Dexter series, and the book the first season of the show is based on.

Whether it was deflated footballs, a player getting arrested the night before the Super Bowl, a "wardrobe malfunction," or going all the way back to Joe Namath's guarantee, it wouldn't be the NFL playoffs without some controversy. This year it appears to be questions about if the games are legit. All you have to do is go on Google and type in "NFL is rigged" and story after story will pop up where fans are claiming that the league has been compromised through bad officiating in order the assist the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl. While fans being upset with officials and using bad calls as an excuse for their team losing is nothing new, nor is claiming that the game is fixed, this year it seems to be at new heights. Over the last two games many fans argue that the Chiefs have been the beneficiary of several bad calls, including two person fouls against the Texans, and a 4th down spot against the Bills, where fans claim Josh Allen picked it up. Did Allen get a first down? Perhaps. If the call was different, would it have changed who won? We will never know, but a lot of fans seem to think so, and are saying that the combination of bad calls and the NFL being in business with sports betting makes the outcome of some games suspicious. Others go as far as to say the entire league is now rigged and they are going to boycott the Super Bowl. Then there are those who think it is "sour grapes" and point to mistakes by the Bills and Texans that were the real reason for the outcome. Legit or not, more and more fans are expressing their frustrations about how they think the league has turned into WWE. It's Super Bowl week; drama is the norm.

You two have fun with this game, I don't have any interest.

Paul Anka - You Are My Destiny (Live)

Wow. This is taking it too far imo.

Haven't run into this too much in my training, all of my head instructors have been kind of old school, and I think a lot of those students get weeded out early on, though I have seen the occasional one who thinks they can skim by. We had a student who was promoted to brown belt and then did not show up for class for a couple weeks. When he came back, he got some public shaming about his lack of attendance which included "if these were the old days, I would have all the students surround you, pin you to the ground, take your belt off of you, then you would be told to change your clothes and leave." But since that outdated, it did not happen, he was told that if he didn't get more serious, he would be demoted in rank. Students where we train are expected to be more dedicated the higher the rank, and brown belt is where that kicks in the most, causing many students to quit. I don't know this for fact, but I think it is in part to see who is serious about getting to black belt. As to a larger point, I think that issue of wanting instant gratification is becoming more and more common in the culture, especially among young people who grew up with cell phones and everything right in their hand, just a click away. There also seems to be, among all age groups, an increased problem with entitlement. At least I have noticed that here in the United States in recent years. Lots of people don't have the patience and just want what they want right away and don't care how it impacts anyone else.

Chiefs hold on to beat the Bills 32-29, the Chiefs and Eagles will meet in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. This is five times in six years the Chiefs have won the AFC. Will the Eagles get payback, or do the Chiefs win three in a row? We have to wait two weeks to find out. Super Bowl 59 is set.

The Eagles blowout the Commanders 55-23 and Philadelphia wins the NFC for the second time in three seasons. They will either get a chance to revenge their loss to KC from two years ago or face another northeastern team in the Buffalo Bills. We will know in about three and a half hours!

Billy Joel - Piano Man

I am not a sensei, so I would never call myself one, but I did recently get promoted to black belt on KarateForums.com (highlight and right click to visit the website), so I am considering calling myself Karate Forums Black Belt Ken.

Not a bad choice for the Raiders, it is rare to see a head coach get a third chance in the NFL, but Carroll has gotten it. The players will like him, but they still need to improve the roster, starting with the QB. For the NFC Game I am picking the Eagles. They could be the most well-rounded team in the league this year and can beat you in many ways. They have the QB, the offensive weapons, the offensive line, and the defense to win. My SB 59 pick is Eagles vs Bills. We will know in about 24 hours.

Weather report shows some heavy rain expected in the area this weekend, hopefully that happens.

Yep, I predict it comes down to the final minute. I should add this, a lot of the outcome will likely be determined by how well the Bills defend Travis Kelce. They held him to only two catches for eight yards in the November game, but can they do it again? Even though I picked the Bills, I would be more surprised if they won than of the Chiefs did, because of KC's track record in the playoffs. KC has been to the AFCCG every season that Mahomes has been the starter, seven years in a row. In that time, two losses to Tom Brady, and one loss to the Bengals, otherwise a spotless postseason record for KC under Mahomes. The last time a team was this close to a three peat in the NFL was your Cowboys, @sensei8, who in 1994 had won back-to-back Super Bowls, and then went to San Francisco for the NFCCG, coming up short against the 49ers who went on to win it all. Dallas did return to the Super Bowl the following season and beat the Steelers, making them the first team to win three Super Bowl's in four years, 1992, 1993, and 1995. The only other team to do it was the Patriots in 2001, 2003, 2004. The 49ers also came close in the 80s, winning back-to-back then losing at home in the NFCCG to the New York Giants. No team has ever won two consecutive Super Bowls, then made it to the Super Bowl in that third year, so if KC wins that will make NFL history. The most recent team to go back-to-back before KC was the Patriots who won in 2003 and 2004, then lost to Denver in the divisional round.

Dokken - Breaking the Chains

With how well Josh Allen has played this year it is tough for me to pick against the Bills, even though KC is at home and has an outstanding track record in the playoffs, I am taking Buffalo. It's my opinion that the Bills are due, they have been knocking on the door the last few years and not made it. Not only has Allen had an MVP type season, but the Bills have also been outstanding at winning the turnover battle, not losing the turnover battle in a single game all year. We know that many of these playoff games are decided by turnovers. Current betting line is favoring KC by one to two points depending on where you bet, I think everyone expects a close game. KC has won several games this year because the other team shot themselves in the foot, the Bills don't beat themselves and if you look at the play instead of the record, I'd argue the Bills have been the better team this year, including beating KC in the regular season, though that game was in Buffalo. Buffalo has never won a Super Bowl, and they have not played in once since they made the four in a row back in the 90s, so over 30 years without an appearance. I picked the Bills to win the AFC when the playoffs started, and I am not going to change now. Buffalo goes in KC and gets it done.

Oh no no I never go to work... On Monday's I never go to work, On Tuesday's I stay at home On Wednesday's I am never feeling fine, work is the last thing on my mind On Thursday's IT'S A HOLIDAY! And Friday's I detest Oh, it's much too late on Saturday and Sunday is the day of rest Oh no I never go to work oh no I never go to work......

Latest TV ratings show a decline for the NFL, both in the regular season and so far in the postseason, down about four million viewers from last year's playoffs. The reasons are often cited are too many penalties, bad officiating, too many commercials, and more and more fans believing that the games are rigged.

Guess I have been thinking about food wrong. It is not about a strict diet; it is about wanting to feel good. Everything you put into your body is what you will get. If it is healthy food, you will get better health, more energy, ect. If it is mostly junk food you are going to get different results, especially as we age. Instead of thinking about eating as "I need a strict diet" and feeling guilt or shame when getting away from it for a few days, instead think "I want to feel healthy" so you eat what helps your health instead of give into the cravings of junk food. The junk food industry wants us addicted to their deadly products. All the sugar and added flavors are there to make it taste good so we keep coming back, but if we reject that and eat healthy our tastes can change. For example, if you drink soda everyday then go three months without it, then try it again, often times it does not taste good now. It is too sweet. Our body is always changing and adapting to whatever we are doing, including our tastes. What we love today we might not like next year.

We had a guy call out once saying he can't work today because it was raining. Meanwhile he works inside. From home. He did not even have to leave the house and said that rain was a problem for him to work.

Beethoven's 5th Symphony

I guess they did not have any snowplows in Houston. Made a mess of things. My friend in Austin said they got snow as well.

Well maybe. As a Lions fan for over 30 years, I have been trained to deal with losing and conditioned to prepare for the worst. In 2008 the Lions went 0-16, the first team in NFL history go winless in a 16 game regular season, and though I hated it at the time I decided to embrace the failure and root for it to never happen again, kind of like a reverse 72 Dolphins, but then in 2017 the Browns also went 0-16, so we don't even have that to ourselves anymore. I don't know which was worse, going 0-16 or not being able to keep it among Lions fans. Stupid Cleveland! Lions DC Aaron Glenn has been hired as the new HC of the New York Jets. Good luck, Aaron, you are going to need a lot of it with that franchise.

I'd rather the Lions have another three-win season than get the top seed, win more games than ever in franchise history, have a home field path to the Super Bowl, and then get shredded like that in the first game against, of all people, a rookie QB. Gross. They won't get better next year either, Ben Johnson is now coaching the Bears. They are going to take a step back.

Fires in LA, a snowstorm in Houston, New Orleans, and parts of Florida. Strange things going on.

MC Hammer - This is What We Do