Holidays

Halloween post college is largely overrated. Sure, you can still attend costume parties and have a good time, but the cons definitely outweigh the pros. First of all, you have to think of a costume that is relatively unique, but also not too hard to figure out. If you’re a witch, convict, pumpkin, sports figure that was in the news for all of the wrong reasons (Kobe after the rape charges, a Duke Lacrosse player, Michael Vick after the dog scandal, Joe Paterno, Bobby Petrino, etc.), Santa Claus, or Quail Man from Nickelodeon’s Doug you simply aren’t trying. I’m certainly no expert, but my old standbys (Dr. Pepper, Axl Rose, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez) aren’t bad.

Forget about the costume, what was the best part about Halloween as a kid? The candy. As a twenty something you definitely can’t trick-or-treat and you shouldn’t really be eating candy anyway, so half of the luster of Halloween is gone right there. Throw in the fact that the weather sucks and Halloween is a lot of hype and not a lot of delivery.

Just because I’m not a huge Halloween guy doesn’t mean that I don’t like holidays. In fact, here are my top 5.

1.) Thanksgiving



It’s about family, eating, football, napping, and getting hammered. What’s not to like? The most underrated part about Thanksgiving is that it’s always on a Thursday, so the schedule for the week is usually the same. Everyone can go out hard on Wednesday (best drinking night of the year), you can play touch football the day before or the day of, and everyone has Friday off so the party keeps going as long as the leftovers.

2.) Fourth of July



For starters, I love America, so I take celebrating our independence pretty seriously. The 4th is a day to drink, have a barbecue, honor the flag, watch baseball, and enjoy some fireworks. The early to mid-summer temperature makes the 4th the best holiday by far weather wise.

3.) Christmas



Christmas is a lot like Thanksgiving except presents are involved, so the initial thought is to elevate December 25th over Turkey Day, but doing so would be wrong. There’s a lot to love about Christmas (presents, family, the NBA, etc.), but here are some negatives. The 75 minute Christmas mass, the weather, no one willing to go out because they have to spend time with their extended family, and being stuck in your house for days on end.

4.) St. Patrick’s Day



I’m half Irish, so this one was a no brainer. Sometimes St. Patty’s day falls on a Tuesday, so it’s not as wild. I guess I have the Saturday where St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated ranked 4th here. This past year I went to the Gaelic American Club in Fairfield, CT and had an absolute blast with my extended family as we got hammered while listening to an Irish band headed by my mom’s cousin.

5.) Labor Day



There are no rituals involved with Labor Day, but it still makes my list because it’s the last weekend of summer and people like to get wild one last time in their white pants.


My Week 8 NFL Picks

at Vikings -5.5 vs. Bucs
Patriots -7 at Rams
at Titans -3.5 vs. Colts
Jaguars +14.5 at Packers
Chargers -3 at Browns
at Eagles -3 vs. Falcons
Seahawks +2.5 at Lions
Dolphins +2.5 at Jets
Panthers +7.5 at Bears
Redskins +4.5 at Steelers
Raiders -1 at Chiefs
at Cowboys -2.5 vs. Giants
Saints +6 at Broncos
at Cardinals +7 vs. 49ers

Two Weeks ago- 9-4
Last Week- 5-9
Season- 56-59-3

Here are my Week 9 Picks

at Chargers -7.5 vs. Chiefs- I’m not comfortable laying more than a touchdown on a Norv Turner led team, but the Chiefs might be an even bigger disaster. Last week they started Brady Quinn, who promptly threw an INT and got a concussion, and only gave the ball to Jamaal Charles 5 times.

at Bengals 4 vs. Broncos- The Broncos are hot, but I like the Bengals coming off of a bye to keep it close. Cardinals +11 at Packers- The only team the Packers have blown out this year was the Texans and that was when they were 2-3 and in absolute desperation mode.

Dolphins -2.5 at Colts- Miami is hard to peg, but I think they’re an overall better team than the Colts. Andrew Luck might pull something out of his ass like he did last week in Tennessee, but I like the fish in this one.

Ravens -3.5 at Browns- Cleveland is feisty as hell, but a rested Ravens team should dominate this game.

at Texans -10.5 vs. Bills- I don’t like laying double digits, but the Bills have been blown out of the water in 3 games against superior teams so far this season.

at Redskins -3 vs. Panthers- I haven’t gotten a lot right this year, but the one thing that I’ve nailed is how overrated Cam Newton and the Panthers were coming into the season.

Lions -3.5 at Jaguars- If the Lions have any hope of returning to the playoffs they should win this game handily. It’s a battle of QBs with great flow and I’ll take Stafford whose cabbage isn’t as impressive as Gabbert’s, but his arm is definitely superior.

at Titans +3.5 vs. Bears- The Bears are 6-1 and due for a stinker and/or another very close win over an inferior team.

Vikings +5 at Seahawks- Did you know that Christian Ponder is dating ESPN’s Samantha Steele? That’s what we like to call a power couple folks.

at Raiders -1 vs. Bucs- Carson Palmer has been slinging it this year. I’ll take the silver and black to win an ugly one.

Steelers +3.5 at Giants- Everyone knows that the Giants are better on the road. Plus, the Steelers are hot, so I’ll ride the wave and hope the G-Men win by a field goal.

Cowboys +4 at Falcons- It’s desperation time for the Cowboys. I can see them winning this game outright (Atlanta is due for a loss) or losing by 20+.

Eagles +3 at Saints- Yes, I’m doubling down on desperate NFC East teams that I spend most of the year hating. The Saints defense sucks and I think LeSean McCoy is going to run wild in the Superdome.