Week 13 NFL Picks Against a 6-Year-Old

Happy Thanksgiving!  In the spirit of the season, here are some things I'm thankful for in the sports world.  If you disagree with me, then you're wrong.

1. The Designated Hitter
I'm not sure why there is still such a controversy over the DH in 2013.   I don't understand why people would rather watch someone who has no interest in hitting over a, you know, professional hitter.  Why?  So that a manager can show that he knows how to execute a double switch?  There's also the idea of forcing a manager to choose between keeping a pitcher in the game or taking him out for a pinch hitter in a clutch situation.  Why is that a good thing?  Not only are you as a fan forced to watch a sub-.150 hitter hit 3 times a game instead of, you know, a professional hitter, you're also forced to watch a pitcher on a roll get taken out of a game so that a 4th outfielder can weakly ground out to second base.  I just don't get it.  Any rule that encourages pitching around a skinny, no-tool, 8-hole hitter needs to be amended.

2. NHL Shootouts
Like the DH, many old school fans of the sport aren't fans of the shootout at the end of overtime.  Well I'm not an old school fan.  I'm barely a fan.  And when I see a game go into overtime, I hope neither team scores.  Shootouts are fun.

3. Dirk Nowitzki 
I don't think I need to explain this one.

4. Dallas Sports Talk Radio
I'm a P1 of Sports Radio 1310 AM and 96.7 FM The Ticket, but with some recent changes, all 3 DFW sports talk stations are very good.  Makes me sad that people in other cities have to put up with bad sports talk.

5. The Pace of a Baseball Game
Some people are bored with baseball, and I can understand that.  It's slow. Not a lot of action.  But it's part of the charm (as long as a DH is there to provide some excitement).  Watching a baseball game allows conversation.  A few years ago I was at a game with a friend, and we started a conversation that continues to this day about if any Rangers players smoked.  We decided that between batting practice and first pitch Ian Kinsler, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Chris Davis snuck out the back door to smoke a quick cigarette.  Simpler times back then.  Now none of these guys play for the Rangers.  Alas.  But if it were a basketball game, this conversation never would have gotten off the ground.  And after reading this paragraph again, maybe that's a good thing.

6 (tie). Jay Cutler, Sam Fuld, Brandon Morrow, Mark Lowe
What do these guys all have in common?  They're all Type 1 Diabetics that play professional sports.  Living with a 6-year-old diabetic that loves sports, they're great role models even if Mark Lowe gave up the homer in Game 6 to David effin Freese (I'll get over it some day).

Speaking of the kid, he didn't win the week last week, but he did expand his lead.  It's up to 8 games with 5 weeks left.  Not saying it's impossible, but with the picking non-prowess of the rest of us, he can probably coast the rest of the way.

Week 12
CDog: 11-3
Uncle J: 8-6
6-Year-Old: 7-7
JDaddy: 6-8

Overall
6-Year-Old: 93-77-6
JDaddy: 85-85-6
Uncle J: 83-87-6
CDog: 77-93-6


Week 13 Picks

Game	JDaddy	CDog	6 Year Old	Uncle J
Green Bay (+5.5) at Detroit	Detroit	Detroit	Detroit	Green Bay
Oakland (+9.5) at Dallas	Dallas	Oakland	Dallas	Dallas
Pittsburgh (+3) Baltimore	Pittsburgh	Baltimore	Baltimore	Pittsburgh
Tennessee (+4.5) at Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis
Denver (-4) at Kansas City	Denver	Kansas City	Denver	Kansas City
Jacksonville (+7) at Cleveland	Jacksonville	Jacksonville	Cleveland	Jacksonville
Tampa Bay (+8.5) at Carolina	Carolina	Carolina	Carolina	Tampa Bay
Chicago (-1) at Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	Chicago
Arizona (+3.5) at Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Arizona
Miami (+1.5) at NY Jets	Miami	Miami	NY Jets	NY Jets
Atlanta (+3.5) at Buffalo	Buffalo	Buffalo	Buffalo	Buffalo
St. Louis (+9.5) at San Francisco	St. Louis	St. Louis	San Francisco	San Francisco
New England (-7.5) at Houston	New England	New England	Houston	New England
Cincinnati (+1) at San Diego	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego
NY Giants (-1.5) at Washington	NY Giants	NY Giants	Washington	NY Giants
New Orleans (+6) at Seattle	Seattle	New Orleans	Seattle	New Orleans