It goes without me saying, or typing, that I am longing for springtime. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems to me that blue skies are bluer when the weather is warmer. I miss that. Green grass, the smell of charcoal grills, and lawnmowers. It just seems perfect.

In recent days, Major League Baseball teams have been kicking off their ticket sales campaigns. I bought two tickets to Opening Day here in Washington and this has really peaked my excitement for baseball. I’m really optimistic that the Nationals can be at least 15 wins better this year than last, which might not seem great when you consider that they won only 59 games, but is a sign that times are a changin’ in the District when it comes to the baseball team. The Nats are very slowly starting to develop an actual team, with players who can do things that are good, and success isn’t too far away. 3-4 seasons.

And now, in a few hours, I have the wondrous “opportunity” to purchase Boston Red Sox tickets for games against the Yankees or Dodgers this season. I’m going for the Dodgers, because Manny and Joe Torre are coming back to Boston for the first time since they were the Yankees manager and the Red Sox left fielder/cancer and I anticipate exciting things from my drunken homeland that June weekend. At the very least, I can expect it to be a lot warmer than it is now.

Yes, you read that right. The second blizzard in 5 days is pounding Washington D.C. right now and I’m sitting at home on a Wednesday, hoping to all that is just that our power does not go out again (for the 4th time in 5 days). I’ve been pining for a mock draft for a few weeks now and while I know that most of the people who read this don’t care for things like this, perhaps you can share it with those who don’t read my blog often, but take delight in forecasting an event 9 weeks before it happens.

Before I get to the picks, understand that this is what I think these teams should do, not what I think they will do. I mean, do you want to forecast what Oakland is going to do with the 8th pick? Is Darius Heyward-Bey available? For the slots that are TBD, based on a coin flip, I will actually flip a coin to determine my order. Finally, I will not shy away from using other mocks to influence my thinking. Those of us who live for this stuff soak up any mock draft and I’ve soaked up a few, so I have an idea going in what my order is going to look like. But bear in mind, I am biased after all. There are some players who I love as NFL prospects more than other people do (Jimmy Clausen) and others that I don’t. I will be measured. While I might like Colt McCoy more than Sam Bradford, I’m also realistic. I hope that makes some sense or that you just skipped my explanation. Here goes:

1. St. Louis Rams
Set at: RB, LT, ILB
Needs: More help than you can imagine. Their roster is a sea of guys you’ve never heard of. There’s no doubt, this is the worst roster in the league. They need a QB for their future, they need depth at WR, a TE, a beefed up O-Line, a solid cornerback, safeties. It’s just a mess. What they need to do here is trade out of the top spot and acquire more picks in the 2nd and 3rd round. But I don’t do trades here.
The Pick: Ndamukong Suh (DT/Nebraska). My thinking is that a defensive tackle is not going to solve the woes of a team this bad. I lean heavily towards Jimmy Clausen here (more on him soon). A quarterback can change the face of your franchise (See: Atlanta Falcons (Matt Ryan)). Can a defensive tackle? I’m fairly confident we’ll find out soon.

2. Detroit Lions
Set At: QB, RB, WR, OLB
Needs: The Lions are a pretty good second worst team (in terms of record). They’re set at the top of the skill positions for a while with Matt Stafford, Kevin Smith (who I like more than most), and Calvin Johnson. Defensively is where head coach Jim Schwartz wants to build the Lions and that’s where the team needs the most work.
The Pick: Eric Berry (S/Tennessee). Almost every mock I’ve seen has Detroit taking a DT (Suh, if St. Louis goes QB, or Gerald McCoy). And trust me, they need work on the D-Line. But Eric Berry is a game changing safety. It’s rare that a safety would be taken so high in the NFL Draft, but there is such a focus on the position today with the rise of Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Bob Sanders (when he’s not on IR), etc. A great safety can make mediocre CBs better. Can a great DT have the same impact? I don’t think so. That’s why I love Berry.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Set At: QB, RB, CB
Needs: Eric Berry
The Pick: Gerald McCoy (DT/Oklahoma). If Detroit picks Berry like I think they should (I truly doubt they will in actuality) Tampa is left in no-man’s land when it comes to this selection. McCoy is the best player on the board. They would also be smart to draft Russell Okung, but they’d be passing on a guy who is a huge upgrade over Ryan Sims and 59 year old Chris Hovan.

4. Washington Redskins
Set At: Brian Orakpo
Needs: An offensive line
The Pick: Russell Okung (OT/Oklahoma State). A no brainer. Perhaps the biggest no brainer so far. I like to out think myself from time-to-time, but it’s this simple for Washington: You need an anchor on your O-Line. Okung will be an anchor for many years to come and replace Chris Samuels. Quarterback is a thought here I’m sure, but it shouldn’t be a thought for very long.

5. Kansas City Chiefs
Set At: QB, RB, WR
Needs: Offensive line help. Defensive help everywhere.
The Pick: Bruce Campbell (OT/Maryland). They’d love to draft Okung, but Campbell to me is a good replacement. He’s 2 inches taller than Okung and has quick feet. Anthony Davis from Rutgers is another OT solution, but he has some questions about work ethic. Campbell could help keep Matt Cassell on his feet and let him throw the ball like he is capable of. Kansas City will take a turn soon. There’s a solid foundation in place.

6. Seattle Seahawks
Set At: I’ll get back to you on that.
Needs: QB, RB, WR, DL, DS
The Pick: Jimmy Clausen (QB/Notre Dame). Seattle needs to take a quarterback here and could be a good place for Clausen to move to. He’s been in the spotlight since he was 14 years old. In the Pacific Northwest, he’ll be away from that. I like Clausen more than Sam Bradford because of his confidence and because he played in a pro system in college, while Sam Bradford played in the Oklahoma version of the run and shoot. Clausen also has a swagger that I love. He reminds me of Mark Sanchez. Oh, and his coach would be Pete Carroll, a guy who could mesh with Clausen and knows him fairly well. I like this fit. A lot.

7. Cleveland Browns
Set At: OT, KR
Needs: CB, WR, RB, LB
The Pick: Joe Haden (CB/Florida). Name me a Brown corner and you win $100. Haden is the top shut-down corner in this draft and will be ready on Day 1. Any thought to take Sam Bradford needs to be tempered. This team can win on defense. Haden is a great start.

8. Oakland Raiders
Set At: QB (Bruce Gradkowski), RB, WR, TE, CB, DL
Needs: OL, LB, To cut JaMarcus Russell
The Pick: Anthony Davis (OT/Rutgers). The Raiders’ OL in 2009 was the human equivalent of paper-mache. I loved everything I saw from Bruce Gradkowski and think he could be the quarterback of the future for Oakland, as silly as that sounds. He’s just what they need: a gritty, tough customer and a leader. Not a fat slob. He deserves to have a line in front of him that can help what I think is a very good unit get better.

9. Buffalo Bills
Set At: RB, LB, DS
Needs: OT, QB, WR
The Pick: Bryan Bulaga (OT/Iowa). This was the hardest choice so far, because nothing is going to be perfect for Buffalo here. Bulaga is a slight reach, but with Okung, Campbell, and Davis off the board at OT, it comes down to fixing the OL or replacing Trent Edwards. I think Edwards should get one more year to prove he’s an NFL QB. I don’t like him. At all. But Buffalo needs to shore up their OL before they throw a rookie QB to the wolves. Drafting Bradford sets them back more than reaching for Bulaga or another tackle.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars
Set At: RB, WR, QB, OT
Needs: Not Tim Tebow. Also, a defensive lineman who isn’t a bust.
The Pick: Derrick Morgan (DE/Georgia Tech). Quentin Groves. Derrick Harvey. Both early picks. Both DEs. Both epic busts thus far. Should the Jags go back to the well for a third time? Absolutely. Eventually, you have to get it right.

(Now that we’re out of the Top 10, I’m going to stop highlighting needs and set positions)
11. Denver Broncos
The Pick: Sam Bradford (QB/Oklahoma). This has to be a dream scenario for Josh McDaniels. He gets his QB of the future and doesn’t have to trade up to get him. And he does it with the first round pick he got for Jay Cutler. Time will tell if Bradford lives up to his college numbers, but this is an easy pick for Denver.

12. Miami Dolphins
The Pick: Rolando McClain (ILB/Alabama). Outside of Eric Berry, McClain is the surest thing in this draft and shores up a gaping hole defensively for the Dolphins.

13. San Francisco 49ers
The Pick: Trent Williams (OT/Oklahoma). A bit of a reach, but OTs, and I can’t stress this enough, are so important to an offense’s success. If Bradford is on the board, perhaps the 49ers think about replacing Alex Smith at QB. But with Bradford gone, this is a good spot for a pretty solid football team, to fix a problem they’ve had for a few years.

14. Seattle Seahawks
The Pick: CJ Spiller (RB/Clemson). With Trent Williams off the board, the Seahawks have to hope to fix their O-Line later on in the draft. They have issues at the skill positions, so Spiller or Dez Bryant is an option, as is Carlos Dunlap or Everson Griffen on the D-Line. Seattle’s draft isn’t ruined by losing out on a tackle. Spiller provides them with a QB/RB foundation for years to come. That’s something.

15. New York Giants
The Pick: Carlos Dunlap (DE/Florida). Dunlap is a top-10 talent with some questionable character issues. And perhaps the Plaxico Burress saga may make the G-men lean towards Everson Griffen, but Dunlap’s talent should not be turned away from. Remember Michael Strahan? Yea, Dunlap has all that potential and more. Well worth the risk.

16. San Francisco 49ers
The Pick: Earl Thomas (S/Texas). The 49ers could go with a skill position player like Dez Bryant here (can you tell I’m not that high on him?), or they could improve a hole on defense with a young playmaker. San Francisco, having two picks in this range, can do some scary things to improve themselves. If I’m the Cardinals, I’m nervous about the division title next year. Very nervous.

17. Tennessee Titans
The Pick: Dan Williams (DT/Tennessee). The loss of Albert Haynesworth clearly made a difference to this defense last year. The line is very thin, as is their linebacking corp. Williams is a big, run stuffing tackle.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pick: Brian Price (DT/UCLA). With Casey Hampton an unrestricted free agent, I have the Steelers replacing him with Price. It’s possible that Pittsburgh would prefer the Hampton clone Dan Williams, but they could just feed Price some delicious Primanti Bros. sandwiches.

19. Houston Texans
The Pick: Kyle Wilson (CB/Boise State). Wilson is a draft board shooter-upper. He had a stellar (perhaps the best) Senior Bowl week. Dunta Robinson is a UFA and his loss, if it happens, creates a glaring and gaping hole at CB for the Texans. I love Wilson’s playmaking ability (football cliche!) and poise at CB, which I think is fairly underrated at the position.

20. Atlanta Falcons
The Pick: Mike Iupati (OG/Idaho). Iupati is a run-blocker extraodinaire, which is a necessity for Atlanta up front. Michael Turner’s numbers fell off last year in part because of the line’s inability to block for him. Iupati is a problem solver. He might get destroyed in pass blocking, but it’s something that some coaching can help with.

21. Cincinnati Bengals
The Pick: Jermaine Gresham (TE/Oklahoma). Cincinnati is an interesting team. Their defense is great. They could stand to pick up some depth on the D-Line, certainly. But their offense, which was the strong point a few years ago, is anemic. I have real questions about Carson Palmer, but not enough to consider Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow here. A RB like Jahvid Best could be a great compliment to Cedric Benson, but I have concerns about how Benson behaved when he had to share carries in Chicago with Thomas Jones. They could go with Dez Bryant, but that’s two potential diva WRs and with the Terrell Owens talk, maybe 3. I like Gresham here, as a mile reach, because of his potential and skill set. Great hands. Big, fast. He’s Antonio Gates, really. So long as he’s healthy.

22. New England Patriots
The Pick: Jerry Hughes (3-4 OLB/TCU). Brandon Graham is more liked at this position by most, but not me. I love Hughes’ motor and toughness and that he played on one of the country’s best defenses with a great coach. Hughes is the type of player the Patriots need and like: Versatile, tough, hungry. One of my favorite players in this draft.

23. Green Bay Packers
The Pick: Brandon Graham (3-4 OLB/Michigan). Graham doesn’t have far to fall. Add him to a linebacker corp with Nick Barnett, Clay Matthews, and AJ Hawk and you’re set for quite some time in Green Bay and it provides them with flexibility in terms of whether they want to resign Aaron Kampman.

24. Philadelphia Eagles
The Pick: Sergio Kindle (OLB/Texas). We’re in the OLB portion of the draft. Positionally, this is an easy one. The Eagles were so desperate for a linebacker last year, they signed Jeremiah Trotter. Kindle is super fast off the edge. Philly would be fine with Hughes or Graham here as well. Anyone who can play linebacker will do.

25. Baltimore Ravens
The Pick: Dez Bryant (WR/Oklahoma State). Bryant fills perhaps the biggest need any team has heading into free agency in this portion of the draft. Current WRs on Baltimore’s roster who are signed through next year: Chris Hannon, Eron Riley, Maurice Price, and Marcus Smith. Bryant is a speedster who can also return punts. In real life, he’ll likely be gone well before here.

26. Arizona Cardinals
The Pick: Jared Odrick (DT/Penn State). I don’t have any analysis for this pick because it’s boring.

27. Dallas Cowboys
The Pick: Jason Pierre-Paul (DE/South Florida). Pierre-Paul has a tremendous amount of upside. Time will tell if his stats at South Florida were induced by playing opposite George Selvie or not, but his measurables are off the charts and the Cowboys are thin on D-line (and not a lot of other places, besides their offensive line).

28. San Diego Chargers
The Pick: Jonathan Dwyer (RB/Georgia Tech). He’s like Michael Turner, who used to play for the Chargers and who San Diego would really like to have back.

29. New York Jets
The Pick: Brandon LaFell (WR/LSU). I like LaFell over Damian Williams (USC) here because of LaFell’s size and because of the lack of success of USC wide receivers, beyond Steve Smith, in recent years. LaFell’s size is important also because he’ll be playing along quicker, smaller WR Jerricho Cotchery.

30. Minnesota Vikings
The Pick: Sean Witherspoon (OLB/Missouri). What do you get the team with no holes? More depth. Quarterback is a place to think about, depending on Favre’s career choice. But Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow are not first rounders. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see a wide receiver here either, like Damian Williams. But Witherspoon is a quick linebacker who just makes them better than they already are.

31. Indianapolis Colts
The Pick: Taylor Mays (S/USC). The exact opposite kind of guy you’d expect here, but doesn’t Indy need a hard-hitting guy in their secondary that receivers fear? Mays would be that guy. His pass coverage needs work, but he is a Ronnie Lott type of defender and an upgrade over whomever else is going to replace Bob Sanders when he gets hurt next year.

32. New Orleans Saints
The Pick: Eric Norwood (OLB/South Carolina). New Orleans is not in good shape heading into the draft and free agency. Darren Sharper is a UFA, as is Scott Fujita, and Roman Harper. Pierre Thomas, Jermon Bushrod, Jamaal Brown, and Anthony Hargrove are all RFAs. I’m going with Norwood here assuming they resign Pierre Thomas, which they need to do.

And there you have it. Share this and feel free to comment about how you feel. Also, if you find a glaring mistake, please let me know. Because I am not about to proofread this monster right now.

Yesterday, I ordered a sandwich from the market near my office. When I was a quarter of the way through my sandwich, I realized that there was a hair in it. Most people, when they see a strange hair in their food, freak out. My thought was, “Oh, the guy who works at the grill seems like a nice enough person,” and I continued eating the sandwich happily (I did remove the hair however). And I think to myself a day later, “What is wrong with me?”

I just wanted to share this story. It has little to nothing to do with why I’m typing right now. What does have to do with why I’m typing right now is that I am bored. Just so you know, I write emails to myself at work that sometimes get posted onto my blog when I get home thus I am not blogging at work. So it’s 12:40 and nothing is happening except more snow is on the way. If you read this, you know that D.C. received 24” (roughly) of snow this weekend. And it sucked. A lot. We had no power for most of Saturday and part of Sunday and no internet/cable for all of Saturday and even more of Sunday. And again, it sucked. There are a few things that stress me out (a few means a lot). One of them is feeling trapped.

Ever since my longing for the open road last week, I’ve felt trapped. This winter has been so long. January and now the first week of February has dragged. I’m in the midst of the winter doldrums and I want out. Fast. This time though, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, well, it just ain’t enough. I want South Florida. I want San Diego . I want Phoenix. I want warmth. I want palm trees. I want sunshine.

What I’m instead getting is another foot of snow tonight. That’s more Metrorail closures. More power outages. More using cell phones as flashlights. More storing food in a cooler on the roof of my building.

There’s really only one relief from both this depressing scene and this depressing post: Pictures. Thank you Google. And if you’re sitting inside, waiting for spring and summer to return to wherever you are, find comfort in these: Fort Lauderdale, Ocean Beach, CA, Oahu.

Or, you know, you could always just run away…

One time, long ago (junior year of college) I wrote a (terrible) screenplay. I’ve been really wanting to write another screenplay for a while now, until I remember just how much work went into writing my first. It would be easy to just sit and write, except that it’s not. You need to have scenes laid out (treatment…mine was about 35 pages long, single spaced), characters shaped (arc), an assortment of other short bits, and then the screenplay itself. 1 page of text is equal to one-minute of film. So you’re looking at about 90 pages of writing there. It’s the kind of thing that is perfect for a college student with a day off from work whose classes end at noon. Not quite the kind of perfection for a 25 year old with a real job, who doesn’t get home until 6:30, then cooks dinner, or cleans, or does laundries, and also really enjoys sports, while also living with their significant other (Hi Amanda!). So, somewhere in my brain sits a hard drive with ideas for screenplays in it. And every so often, I accidentally erase an idea from that hard drive and eventually replace it with a new one. It’s almost cyclical.

I really enjoy sitting at my desk and rocking out briefly. It usually only lasts for a few seconds of the chorus of some wondrous pop-punk song, but it always brings a smile to my face. I tend to not listen to music at my desk because listening to music, for me, lends itself to dance, facial expressions, and occasional lip syncing. I save that for the train. But at my desk, I’m sort of out in the open. My cubicle is not entirely enclosed, so moments where it’s okay to start nodding my head, tapping my feet, and bouncing in my chair are strictly limited to when no one is around, which isn’t all that often. But when it happens, as it did today, I really try to make the most of it.

Speaking of my desk, one of my coworkers said the other day that it looks like a grandmother’s attic. On the shelf above my cube, I have: Two long, green plants, a lamp that isn’t plugged in, an empty shopping bag, three serving trays, and a bottle to water plants with.

I’m not sure when, but I will have a NFL mock draft before April. I’ve really been looking forward to doing that. Also, I’m predicting the Colts to beat the Saints 35-24 in Super Bowl Whatever Number This Is.

Today was 64 degrees and sunny in Washington D.C. A little further south, in Fredericksburg, VA it was 67 degrees. And it was a windy outside, but it’s also January 25 and I have been craving the outdoors, or at least the sun and warmth. This winter has sucked, frankly, and it’s only 1 month old technically. Riding in on the Metro this morning, I couldn’t help but think that it would have been so fun to have called out of work today, for the first time in my life to just enjoy an unexpected, non-sick day off, and gone for a long drive in my newly fixed (and clean) semi-beloved Ford Focus. Instead, I sat in a windowless office that averaged an unbearable 75 degrees.

I thought about where I would have driven to today: Chapel Hill (4 1/2 hours each way, but I love North Carolina and haven’t been in quite a while), Front Royal, VA (1 1/2 hours, great applewood smoked pulled pork sandwich place), Fredericksburg, VA (1 1/2 hours, they have a Sonic), New York City (4 hours, A city I constantly feel the need to conquer), and on and on.

What I really needed today and have needed for a while, is to get in the car, roll down the windows, and without a care in the world, rock out and drive alone. And keep driving. Nothing (non-human), whether it be football, food, or millions of dollars can make me as happy as a carefree and aimless sunny day drive.

Alas, my conscience is what it is and I continued riding the train into work. I went outside to buy a sandwich at lunchtime at the shop a block away. And it was beautiful outside. But I couldn’t help but think, sitting in that windowless office, that it would likely be two months before it was this nice again and how different my day could have been, how even life changing it could have been, had I just gotten in the car and drove. Windows down. Open road. Music loud. My constant.

Remember the “People I Admire” series? Remember when I actually blogged regularly (old Mid-Atlantic Bias)? Semi-regularly (new Mid-Atlantic Bias a few months ago)? Yeah, well, I’ve been slacking. Rather than explain why I’ve been slacking (laziness!!! apathy!!! winter doldrums!!!) lets just get back into finding out who I admire and why.

I admire Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, or just “Gaga.” It wasn’t long ago (last year) when writing that sentence would have worried me, but alas, things change. The first time I was made aware of her was on VH1. I saw this video for some song about dancing and wondered what had happened to Christina Aguilera’s face. Once the video was over, I found out that it wasn’t actually Christina, but instead some idiot named Lady Gaga who would assuredly become some minor footnote in music history. Case closed. Right?

I find the video for “Just Dance” to be humorously ironic looking back, in that the Lady Gaga in that video is nothing like the Lady Gaga we see now in the blogs and the MTVs and the TMZs. Gaga in the “Just Dance” video, to me, is kind of just Stefani Germanotta: some blonde girl singing about having too much red wine and losing her phone.

Cut to the video for “Bad Romance” and we’ve got Lady Gaga. She’s a measured kind of crazy. I don’t actually think she’s insane, but she’s at the very least the right amount of insane to stay relevant. I feel that if Lady Gaga had continued to perform artistically in a fashion similar to that of the “Just Dance” video, she would have been that aforementioned footnote (much like that girl with the “Tik Tok” song on the radio will be in about 23 minutes).

I admire Lady Gaga because of how brilliantly she has managed her career. Whether this was planned or not, she has never been complacent. “The Fame (her debut album)” spawned 4 mega-hits: “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “LoveGame,” and “Paparazzi.” So, you know, she’d just take a year off, collaborate with Gucci Mane, Kid Cudi, and Lil Wayne, and release an album similar to “The Fame” and hope to strike gold again, right? No. Instead she took no time off, recorded a vastly different EP, called “The Fame Monster” and had another mega hit with its first single, “Bad Romance,” all the while touring constantly and always managing to be mentioned in the magazines and internets with her eccentric, crazy couture outfits. Like this one.

Oh, and there’s one other thing I forgot to mention about my admiration of Lady Gaga: Her music is great. Like, really great. Beyond being obsessively catchy, it has also developed into something that is musically, dare I say, profound? Okay, maybe not profound. But listen to the tracks “Alejandro” and “Teeth” from “The Fame Monster” and tell me that she’s a clone of the Pussycat Dolls or, I don’t know, Fergie. Whomever. Taylor Swift. Whatever. Lady Gaga is what would happen if Bjork and Madonna had a baby.

I don’t know if Lady Gaga truly has “staying power,” but I do know one thing, she comes off as being incredibly humble and grounded. In any serious interview I’ve ever seen with her, I’ve been struck by how thoughtful she has been in her responses and in the respect that she exhibits for the interviewer. I don’t see Gaga being a diva.

Time will tell if I will continue to admire Lady Gaga, but right now, when it comes to pop music, there is no one who I have more respect for and whose hard work and determination I admire more than Stefani Germanotta.

I’m in the midst of beginning the planning for a trip this summer to Oregon/Idaho. I’ve been to Idaho, but not Oregon. One of my life goals is to drive in all 50 states. I’m currently 11 away from seeing that mission become accomplished. With that, why wouldn’t I want to rank the 11 states that I haven’t seen by how much I want to see them.

So you’re not guessing, here’s the alphabetic list of states my feet have not touched: Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.

11. North Dakota: North Dakota intrigues me if only because of how boring I think it would be. There’s no major college. It’s cold. No major monuments or national parks. The largest city is Fargo. Fargo. Like the movie. With a population under 100,000. This is Downtown Fargo. Sorry, North Dakota. I’m not going out of my way to get there.

10. Kansas: Like North Dakota, but at least with a real college town: Lawrence. Beyond that, there’s no major sports in the state, no intriguing or enjoyable cultural cuisine, and not a lot of diverse landscape. This is what Kansas looks like in my mind.

9. Wisconsin: I work with a very nice guy from Wisconsin. I joke with him that when he speaks, all I hear him say is, “Miller Lite, Cheese, Brett Favre, Miller Lite, Cheese, Brett Favre.” I can’t imagine that I’d fit in very well in Wisconsin. I like salads and vegetables and complex beer. I’m not so much a fan of this.

8. Minnesota: Like Wisconsin, except I’d have to imagine that Minneapolis is slightly more posh than Milwaukee and at least they have a lot of lakes. And those are pretty when they’re not frozen over because it’s 2 degrees outside.

7. South Dakota: See: North Dakota. Add in Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, and the Black Hills.

6. Missouri: Baseball and barbecue. Missouri might not have a lot of other appeal to me, but really, do I need more than baseball and bbq? Exactly.

(the top 5 is the real dividing line here)

5. Washington: This is primarily for Seattle. A few weeks back I said that if I had to go back to school (which I would have no difficulty doing) I would go to the University of Washington. There’s not a lot for me to say otherwise about Washington other than, “Seattle seems like a place I might like.”

4. Hawaii: Why is Hawaii in my Top 5? Because it’s in everyone’s Top 5. I can’t really explain what it is about Hawaii, besides providing you with this. And it’s like that all the time there. It is a very expensive place and I would eventually tire of the whole beach life thing (I know, I know. What’s wrong with me?). But to visit? Yeah. I’d have no problem with this. Any of it.

3. Alaska: Hawaii is an easy one. Alaska, probably not so much. I mean, it’s not often that I hear someone say they’re going to vacation in Fairbanks. But if I did, I’d think that person was pretty cool. Look, if Sarah Palin has taught us anything, it’s that Alaska isn’t too far off culturally from the American Deep South or Middle-America. Culturally, that doesn’t stimulate me very much. What does stimulate me is the road less traveled, not to get to Emersonian here. Ideally, I’d really enjoy traveling to a place like Barrow, Alaska, way up at the northernmost tip, above the Arctic Circle. That, to me, is cool. No pun intended.

2. Oregon: Progressive folks, mountains, ocean, rivers, good food, clean air. The only thing that could make me happier would be smoked pig and home runs. If I can find a place where the culture and the landscape both suit me, I’d be happy and I think that Oregon is my best chance for that here in the U.S. Despite that, it’s not my number 1.

1. Montana: Every picture I see of this place I fall in love with. There is in me, a strong desire to experience the rugged American life. I’m not strong enough to live it and I know that. Montanans are hard-working people. I might not be a hunter or a fisher, but I respect people who work for everything they have. When I think of Montanans, that’s exactly what I think of. Driving across Wyoming, I fell in love with the state. The same will hold true when I finally get to turn the pictures of Montana into actual visual sights. I know I will fall in love with it. How could you not fall in love with landscapes like this?

Yesterday, I covered the chances the teams in the AFC have of reaching the Super Bowl and as promised, today, I’ll discuss the NFC. If you missed yesterday’s post, don’t worry, you don’t need to read it before you read this. Before I get to the teams, I would like to make a comment about the NFC v. the AFC. For whatever reason (and I won’t get into which conference is better) any team from the NFC could reach the Super Bowl in my opinion. In the AFC, I would be utterly shocked to see the Bengals, Patriots, or Ravens in the Super Bowl. If my number six team in the NFC made the Super Bowl, I would not be surprised. At all.

6. Arizona Cardinals: I would have put them here even if Anquan Boldin was healthy. Of a strong pool, they’re the obvious weak link to me. The injury to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is far more detrimental to the Cardinals than is the injury to Boldin. With Boldin hurt, you can focus on Beanie Wells trying to pick up the load offensively by rushing and Steve Breaston by receiving. In the defensive secondary, no one can fill the hole left by Rodgers-Cromartie should he not be 100%. I expect him to play, but not at full capacity. The Cardinals are a true wild card (even if they’re a division champion). They could get blown out by the Packers in Round 1 or they could run through the Packers and Vikings/Saints/Cowboys/Eagles.

The 2009 NFL regular season has ended and with it, we have our first Mid-Atlantic Bias Picks Champion: James Buckless. Seen here. In the final week, Jim picked 10 games correctly. Meanwhile, his counterpart, Matthew Minton (who’s baseball prospect analysis you can read and listen to here) picked 8 games correctly. A very solid job done by both, I must say. I enjoyed this little feature on the blog and hope to continue it in some form or fashion next season, should I still be blogging/alive.

With the end of the 2009 regular season comes the 2010 NFL playoffs and with it, 12 teams have the opportunity to reach immortality, or in the case of the 2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, historical footnote status (I mean, Brad Johnson was their QB and the MVP of the Super Bowl was some guy named Dexter Jackson who is playing in the UFL right now.). You’re probably (not) asking yourself, “Jason, who’s going to win the Super Bowl.” Well, here’s a ranking for each conference of the teams with the best shot:

AFC:

6. Cincinnati Bengals: Frankly, the Houston Texans have just as good a shot as the Bengals of winning the Super Bowl. Find out where the Bengals are in Vegas today on odds to win the Super Bowl and then avoid that bet at all costs. I don’t care if they’re 1000:1 and you place a $10 bet. You’re going to lose that $10. Carson Palmer suddenly can’t throw the football anymore. They’re banged up defensively. Their receiving corp is thin with the injury to Chad Johnson/truck-falling of Chris Henry and they’re best offensive weapon, running back Cedric Benson, is also playing hurt. I don’t see them getting by the Jets on Saturday.

5. New England Patriots: Yes, they’re here because of the injury to Wes Welker and I don’t care what the other Wes Welker (who is only referred to as such because of his race. There, I said it.) did against Houston. The Ravens secondary, hurt or not, is not the Texans secondary and Ed Reed/Terrell Suggs/Ray Lewis will hit young Wes Welker II in the mouth the first time he comes across the middle. Edelman’s toughness has not been tested this year. It will be on Sunday. The Patriots have been a subpar defensive club all year long and they’ll be exposed by the Ravens running game on Sunday. Take a quick look at what Arian Foster did on Sunday to them. Exactly.

4. Baltimore Ravens: Beating the Patriots is their apex and gets them a date with the Colts. That won’t last long. Joe Flacco still doesn’t have the “it” that a quarterback needs to lead a team. You need to make a play or two in the playoffs to get your team by, unless you have a truly elite offensive line/running game, and I don’t think Flacco has that ability yet. I also don’t have much faith in their kicker, Man Who Isn’t Very Good.

3. San Diego Chargers: I know they’re the hottest team in all the land. I’m not here to argue against that point. This comes down to their constant inability to win a big game. They’re solid everywhere on the field, but not elite anywhere. The Jets have more elite segments of their game than do the Chargers. And they’re better coached. When the Chargers and Jets play, I envision San Diego committing at least 3 really stupid penalties. I’ll even be specific and call for a 15-yard person foul penalty on Shawne Merriman.

2. New York Jets: I’m a little high from their win last night, but find me an offensive line that protects/run blocks better, a defense that, well, defenses better, and a three-headed running back tandem that is more diverse (Thomas Jones, Bradley Smith, and Shonn Greene) and I’ll show you a Super Bowl contender. If they put Sanchez in no situations where he has to win the game, they’ll be alright. So alright that they’ll reach the Conference Championships. And if you think I’m crazy, well, that’s okay.

1. Indianapolis Colts: They’re on a mission from god. No one believes in them anymore, as though Curtis Painter is going to quarterback this team in the playoffs. He won’t be. They’ll be in Miami again.

Tomorrow, the NFC. Once again, congratulations to James!

We have reached Week 17 in the NFL season and that can mean only one (actually lots, but humor me) thing: The Inaugural 2009 Mid-Atlantic Bias NFL Picks Championship. Exclamation point.

This season has seen James and Matt dominate the competition picking against me. With Ryan unable to muster an 11 point victory last week (we’ll have the final standings next week) Buckton (as they’ll be known) square off for ultimate supremacy. The rules are simple:

-I set the lines for this week
-Locks of the Week rules apply
-Regular season scores are rendered irrelevant
-In the event of a tie, I’ll make something up on the fly

On to the picks. James finished with a better record, so he’ll go first.

James’s Picks
Indianapolis (+3) over Buffalo
Pittsburgh (-4.5) over Miami
New England (-5) over Houston
New Orleans (-3) over Carolina
Minnesota (-7.5) over New York Giants
Atlanta (-4.5) over Tampa Bay
San Francisco (-10) over St. Louis
Cleveland (+2.5) over Jacksonville
Chicago (-8) over Detroit
Philadelphia (-2) over Dallas
Kansas City (+9.5) over Denver
San Diego (-11.5) over Washington
Tennessee (-8.5) over Seattle
Baltimore (-5.5) over Oakland
Green Bay (+1) over Arizona *
New York Jets (+4.5) over Cincinnati

Matt’s Picks
Buffalo (-3) over Indianapolis
Miami (+4.5) over Pittsburgh
Houston (+5) over New England
Carolina (+3) over New Orleans *
Minnesota (-7.5) over New York Giants
Tampa Bay (+4.5) over Atlanta
St. Louis (+10) over San Francisco
Jacksonville (-2.5) over Cleveland
Chicago (-8) over Detroit
Dallas (+2) over Philadelphia
Denver (-9.5) over Kansas City
San Diego (-11.5) over Washington
Tennessee (-8.5) over Seattle
Baltimore (-5.5) over Oakland
Arizona (-1) over Green Bay
New York Jets (+4.5) over Cincinnati

With Matt and James agreeing on only 5 games this week, anything is possible. Should be fun. Thanks to all who participated this year! And best of luck to our championship participants.