So I just watching the Super Bowl. First impressions…the only decent musical act was the Glee chick. What on earth was going on with those outfits and the mics during the halftime show??? The commercials made a stong come back this year. The kid dressed as Darth Vader was easily my favorite.

And as hard as it is to admit it I was wrong about who would win. Oh well, congrats to the Packers and now we begin the saddest time of the year. Oh football I shall miss you so. See you in six months.

God is Everywhere.

A crud is making its way into the Coder home. Tiff and I are both in a race to see who can get sick first. At the same time we are hoping that somehow Cee can avoid this. My plan tonight is to pull out the atomic bomb of cold fighting…NyQuil. Once you take NyQuil you have approximately four and a half minutes to get in the bed or you sleep where you land.

Alas, before I give in to the effects of the drugs I wanted to quickly weigh in with my Super Bowl predictions. Not to brag too loudly but my preseason NFL picks were pretty solid. I picked 4 division winners and 8 of the 12 playoff teams. So in a league like the NFL I’ll call that not too shabby. I had the Falcons losing in ATL to Green Bay (though I thought it would happen in the NFC title game) and the Steelers losing to the Colts on the AFC side. So I had half the Super Bowl.

But now on to real life. We have Green Bay and Pittsburgh going head to head in the biggest game of the year. Green Bay’s offense has been fantastic and Aaron Rodgers, in his 3rd full season, has taken the next step to be a top tier QB (something we’re hoping to see from Matt Ryan next season). But as well as he’s played its all come from a new found running game and that is where it all falls apart for GB. Pittsburgh’s defense is going to be the difference tomorrow. The Packers will not be able to run at all and Steelers won’t miss tackles on Rodgers the way the Falcons did.

It won’t be a blow out but I don’t see any way Green Bay can withstand the onslaught that is the Steelers defense. Big Ben and the Steelers win their 3rd title in 6 years and officially become the team of the decade. I hope everyone enjoys the game.

God is Everywhere

Ok, I know it’s a couple weeks late. It’s a little hard to put the rest of my picks up after the season has started but oh well. I think the thing I love the most about the NFL is that everything is so different every year. Every year a lot of fools say what will happen in the season and then favorites lose and underdogs win their first two games. At the end of the day none of know and it’s a great ride all the way through.

With that being said, here are my playoff predictions.

Its been a very long time but I’m so excited to finally say its time for some football!! It’s a wonderful time of year, but before every season can start I have to watch a bunch “experts” talk about which teams will do will. So in the spirit of the “experts” I decided to make my own predictions. I went through week by week and picked every game, and then figured out what everyone’s record would be. I admit that I was surprised by the outcome. There are some teams that I expected to do well but due to schedule and what not its not looking so good and I have some teams picked to do really well that I might find hard to believe. But that’s the NFL. I like my picks and I think I could be as right as anyone else. So, without further foolishness, here are my NFL predictions good for only making me look silly by the end of the season.

So there you have it. No playoffs for the Jets or Cowboys, and it will be a long season for the Browns’ fans. Next time we’ll talk about the playoffs. Happy Football!!!

I mentioned this on my facebook a week or so ago, but I’ve got more to say and being that this is just the forum here we go. I have grown extremely weary of the wall to wall coverage of Tiger Woods. I’m tired of hearing about his press conference and I’m tired of the speculation being made about his personal life. At this point I, not a golf fan, really only want to know when he’ll be returning to golf. Anything else, don’t care. I stand by my original comments that his personal life none of my business. As a matter of fact I would extend this to almost any celebrity.

Tiger Woods is a golfer. He is a very good golfer (possibly the best ever, but I neither have the credentials nor do I care enough to make that argument), and he makes a lot of money on endorsements because he is the best in the world. I’ve never really understood the idea of endorsements. If I buy Nike golf products I’m still not going to be a good golfer, and really did anyone think Tiger ever drove a Buick?

The ONLY reason this is a news story is because ESPN, TMZ and all the other outlets know they can make a buck off our voyeuristic culture that will tune in to head the latest scrap of gossip about Tiger. The depths the tabloid culture sinks to is to say the least disturbing, but it exists only because we consume it at an alarming rate.

Tiger is just the latest celebrity to find how curious we are. Here’s the top and bottom of it, He’s a golfer! If the story is not about golf then Tiger should not be in it. What Tiger did to his family was horrible but that’s just it…he did it to his family. I’m not a part of that family and he doesn’t own me any kind of explanation or access. What happens off the golf course is not my concern nor could I care about it less.

The idea that Tiger should be condemned for his actions more than anyone else is just silly. The moral outrage just startles me. Again I’ll emphasize that I think his actions were horrible and I feel for his family, but he’s not a role model. He’s never said, “be like me.” Perhaps I’d understand if he was a spokesperson for focus on the family or something, but he isn’t, he’s just a golfer. If you look up to Tiger or you allow you kids to look up to Tiger without being parent enough to give them context then you deserve the fall you got when he fell off your unrealistic pedestal.

Really my complaint is just that I can’t watch Sports Center or PTI without have to endure more about Tiger. I know football is over but can’t we find something to talk about. Sadly for Tiger if this story broke in the fall it wouldn’t be a headline for more than a couple days. It would have been buried by the land slide that is the BSC and the NFL. But because it’s a slow time in sports news we’re stuck hearing more about Tiger. Maybe I just miss football…that’s probably it!

Last week was a big moment in our family. It was a proud moment for any father. We took C to her 1^st professional sporting event. We went the Braves’ game. She seemed to know that it was a special day cause even as we walked through the parking lot she was bouncing in the stroller. As we got into the Ted (Turner Field) there are large cartoon network chacters just inside the gate and I think that convinced C that this was going to be a great place to be. Even though I prefer football, I must confess there is something very special about a baseball field that just invites you in and even a 2 year old can understand that. C was fascinated with everything. From the folding seats to the big screen to the cheering people she enjoyed to whole thing.

It was fun to review with her the finer points of the game. Like the use of the hit and run and a full count breaking ball. Of course her conceptual grasp at this point is “out”. She’s all over “out”, so I guess that’s a start. She had a hot dog, and did her 1^st tomahawk chop. I’m not sure I really sold her on cotton candy as a snack but she enjoyed tearing it off and feeding it to me, and that means more for me.

Even though the Braves lost it was a great evening. We weren’t really watching the game. The real show was in the seat next to us. Every cheer got C excited and she really enjoyed dancing to the mid inning music. And toward the later innings she curled up in my arms and we watch the Braves attempt a comeback as we snuggled in the upper deck. Who needs World Series tickets when you can go to a meaningless mid May game with a two year old.

Just like both the men’s and women’s national championship games the breakfast bracket final wasn’t all that close. After extending the voting for you late comers, it’s over! It’s all over! After many votes, several upsets and a couple really close matches, Captain Crunch has emerged as the King of Breakfast! That’s right the good Cap’n is the risen up from the 4 seed to beat out both varieties of Cheerios, Pebbles, a resilient Frosted Flakes and all other challengers. Is Captain Crunch the best cereal ever? Well that’s for the historians to decide, but whether they’re the best or not, today they are Champions.

Congrats Cap’n!

So this it what it all comes down to. The brackets have thinned it down to the final two. Will it be the Captain who has blown out all his competition? Or will the surprising other member of the Cheerio family. Honey Nut has made it further than most expected but now they look to finish it off with the title “King of Breakfast.”

As always you can vote by emailing godiseverywhere@joncoder.com or by commenting below. By the way, just as a ps, I completely thought I had posted this a while back. I guess I just saved it. Alas, soon I’ll get that new Dell that actually does the work for me. That’ll be sweet.

 The King of Breakfast Final

9. Coco/Fruity Pebbles
    4. Captain Crunch                 4. Captain Crunch              ______________

3. Lucky Charms                   7. Honey Nut Cheerios
    7. Honey Nut Cheerios

We’re almost home. There are only four cereals remaining. The #1 seed fell at the hands of the pebble twin and the Captain pulled the narrowest of wins over Tony the Tiger.  I like the Cap to finish this thing out, but both Lucky Charms and Cheerios, of the honey nut variety, have shown they can put up the numbers needed to win the whole glass of milk.  I will post these winners and the Championship match up on Friday.

For those of you with NCAA brackets good luck this weekend. I hope you all finish strong. Actually that’s not true. I hope you finish strong if you have Michigan St, Memphis, Pitt and UNC in your final four. If you have something else I hope you fall on your face, and you see your brackets crumble like cheap packing peanuts. It’s not pretty and I’m not proud of it be that’s how it is around bracket time.

Thanks again to everyone who voted in first two rounds, and you can vote for the final four by either posting a comment or emailing godiseveywhere@joncoder.com.

Round 3 The Final Four

1. Cheerios
    9. Coco/Fruity Pebbles               9. Coco/Fruity Pebbles

4. Captain Crunch                      4. Captain Crunch             ____________
    5. Frosted Flakes

6. Frosted Mini Wheat
    3. Lucky Charms                      3. Lucky Charms                 ____________

7. Honey Nut Cheerios              7. Huney Nut Cheerios
   15. Cinn Toast Crunch

Well, my real NCAA bracket is still strong. I got 12 of the sweet 16 correct and all four of my final four are still in it. I can’t say the same for my breakfast bracket. I was stunned when my #2 Fruit Loops fell to Cinnamon Toast crunch. I was told Toucan Sam was inconsolable when he heard the news. Otherwise, it was a fairly uneventful 1^st round. Pebbles got the nod over Raisin Bran and Apple Jacks was within a couple of votes of pulling the major upset.

In round 2 I expect a few upsets. I think Pebbles will give Cheerios all it wants and more. Coming out of the first round the two hottest competitors are Captain Crunch and Frosted Flakes.  Both whom won their matches by taking over 95% of the votes. I expect this one to be very close and the winner could be the favorite to take it all. I guess that’s up to you the reader. I’ll post the winners and final four matchups on Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who voted in round one, and you can vote for round 2 by either posting a comment or emailing godiseveywhere@joncoder.com.

Round 2 The Eatable 8

1. Cheerios
   16. Apple Jacks                 1. Cheerios

8. Raisin Bran                  9. Coco/Fruity Pebbles       ____________
    9. Coco/Fruity Pebbles

4. Captain Crunch
   13. Coco Puffs                  4. Captain Crunch              ____________

5. Frosted Flakes             5. Frosted Flakes
   12. Rice Crispy

6.  Frosted Mini Wheat
   11. Smacks                      6. Frosted Mini Wheat

3. Lucky Charms              3. Lucky Charms               _____________
   14. Kix

7. Honey Nut Cheerios
   10. Trix                           7. Honey Nut Cherrios        _____________

2. Fruit Loops                  15. Cinn Toast Crunch 
   15. Cinnamon Toast Crunch