Welcome, I expect this will be a shorter post tonight than the past couple.  If you are new to my blog, please go back and read my other postings.  It will give you a good idea where this is heading.  Please bookmark my blog and come back daily.  Several Top 10 lists to check out with many, many more to come.  As always, each posting will end with a "check this out" which will just call out some nugget I found interesting, "quote of the day" which will be some inspirational words from my personal collection and "download this" which will be a music recommendation that I encourage you to listen to.  I appreciate the support so far and keep the comments and feedback coming.  Now on to my topic for today...

The NFL Playoffs are heading in to the second week, so I thought I would just give you my predictions for each of the 4 games this weekend.  Point spreads are not considered, these are just straight up winners based on my gut feeling.  I really feel EVERY game could go either way, but here are my picks.

Jaguars at Patriots - New England looks to continue its historical season at home.  Everybody keeps talking about the Jaguars defense and that it might be able to slow down the vaunted Patriots offense.  Even if you suppose that is possible, not enough credit is give to the New England defense.  I really feel like the Patriots defense can shut down the Jags offense and that will be what ultimately wins the game for them.  I hope this game stays close, but I have a feeling it could get ugly.  Look for 3-4 touchdowns from Brady and New England moves on.

Chargers at Colts - I really do like the Colts a lot, but I have this gut feeling on San Diego, so I am sticking with it and picking them to pull off the upset.  The Chargers have one of the best weapons in football with LT and, if they can avoid turnovers, I think they can hang with the potent Indy offense.  The X factor for me is the San Diego defense which I feel can dominate a game.  If they can avoid the big play, the Chargers defense and special teams could turn the tide in this match up.  I think it will be a close game that could end with a Nate Kaeding field goal.  San Diego Super Chargers!

Seahawks at Packers - I am obviously biased here since I am a die hard Packers fan, but I really feel like Green Bay will win this one like they are supposed to.  First, they had a week off for some of the injured players to heal up a little.  Second, they are playing at Lambeau Field which is one of the best home field advantages in the entire league.  Third, they have really played consistently strong football (except for the recent Bears game in the frigid wind) heading into the playoffs.  Last, two words... Brett Favre.  By no means is this a sure thing.  I bet Matt Hasselbeck is way past tired of seeing his embarassing moment from the last time these 2 teams played in the playoffs.  Packers won that game and I think they win this one, too.

Giants at Cowboys - I am feeling another upset in this game.  More people are talking about Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, but the real issues are that the Cowboys do not seem to have momentum coming into the playoffs and their biggest playmake, T.O., will not be 100% if he can play at all.  The Giants, on the other hand, do seem to have some momentum and, if they can keep this game close early, have the type of team that could easily pull the upset.  I think Romo ends up turning the ball over too many times and the Giants win by 4.  I could be way off on this one, but I have another gut feeling and it is no fun to just pick the favorites all the time.  Plus, if I had to choose between Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood (rough life when you are making those types of choices), I would have to go with Ms. Underwood.

Either way, this is shaping up to be 4 great games to watch.  That was fun.  Post your comments making your picks for this weekend's games.  Next week, we will come back and see how we did.  That's going to wrap up today's posting.  It ended up being a longer post than I expected.  Thanks for reading.

Check this out:  I found this old story somebody once sent me that I think is pretty amusing, so I thought I would put it here for you all...

The Husband Store!
A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband.
Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE !
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There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch . . . you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
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So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.
On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.
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The second floor sign reads:
Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.
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The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking.
"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
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She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads:
Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead good looking and help with the housework.
"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:
Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.
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She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Quote of the day:  "You'll find that many of the truths we cling to in life depend greatly on our own point of view." -Ben Kenobi in the movie Star Wars (written by George Lucas)

Download this:  I am a fan, like many others, of the Beatles.  One of my favorite Beatles songs is "Yesterday" and there are 3 covers of this great song that I enjoy.  1)  "Yesterday" by Boyz II Men, 2) "Yesterday" by Ray Charles, and 3) "Yesterday" by Marvin Gaye.  All three songs are available in iTunes and if you love this song as I do, then I would highly recommend checking out each of them.