WARNING: Reading the Chode Picks may result in increased intelligence, superhuman strength and agility, tiger blood, fire-breathing fists, severe intoxication, gratuitous violence, female sexual arousal, and winning. Read at your own risk.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Chode Picks – Divisional Playoffs



And we’re back!  Another week, another glorious edition of the Chode Picks for your reading pleasure.  It’s been eight days since we last met, and as you might recall, I was in kind of a shitty mood last week due to the combined failures of the Badgers in the Rose Bowl and the Packers in their week 17 game.  Fortunately, my boy Aaron and his brothers did more than enough to get me out of my funk by winning their way to a date with San Francisco tonight after beating the hell out those purple jackasses from Minnesota.  Hold on a second.  I want to savor this…

THE VIKINGS ARE OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS!!  THE VIKINGS ARE OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS!!  JOE WEBB’S ARM IS MADE OUT OF COOKED SPAGHETTI!!  CHARLES WOODSON IS BACK!!  DUJUAN HARRIS HAD MORE YARDS THAN ADRIAN PETERSON!!  AARON RODGERS IS KEYSER SOZE!!  MINNESOTA, CHICAGO AND NEW YORK HAVE ALL BEEN ELIMINATED!!  UP YOURS, MINNEAPOLIS!!  YABBA DABBA DOO!!

Whew.  Hold on a second, I need to go change my pants.

Alright, we’re good.  I’m assuming that you all watched the fantastic performance that Green Bay put on last weekend (and if you didn’t, get the hell out of here, right now), so there’s really no need for me to state the obvious, but I’m going to anyways because it makes me smile: I was completely right about the MVP.  If that game didn’t prove how much more valuable a good quarterback is than any running back, I don’t know what will.  Consider that despite having one of the greatest running backs of all time, the Vikings only managed ten points (seven of them coming in garbage time), mostly because the guy behind center didn’t have the ability to throw deep.  Or short.  You know your franchise is in trouble when your fans are saying things like “I really wish Christian Ponder was playing tonight in Lambeau”.  Brutal.  On the other hand, the silver lining for Viking fans is that eventually Joe Webb is going to perfect that bounce pass and become unstoppable in the Canadian Football League (which is where the team will end up when their stadium deal falls through again).  By the way, those of you that I sent mocking texts to after the game, you’re welcome.  You should feel honored that I took time out of my victory celebrations to taunt you.  Sucks to suck.

Anyways, I’ll get to the Packer-49er game in a minute, but I want to tell you about the other reasons that it’s been a great week.  First and foremost, I finally got the hell out of Western Wisconsin and came back to the greatest city in the world, Madison, WI (Sorry, Mom and Dad.  It’s nothing against you).  Secondly, you probably didn’t notice, but I went a perfect 4-for-4 on my wildcard picks last week, which means if you bet on the games like I told you to, you probably owe me a beer or two.  You’re welcome.  Last but not least, I discovered a very profitable hidden talent that will serve me well for the rest of my life: roulette.  You see, on the way back to Madison from Menomonie last Sunday, I stopped in at one of our state’s fabulous Indian casinos to kill time while my brother checked out a wedding convention (Yes, he’s getting married.  Don’t ask me why.)  In less than half an hour of gaming, I made a tidy profit of $20 on an investment of just $5.  Now if my math is correct, that comes out to approximately $40 an hour, which in a 40-hour work week translates to $80,000 a year, TAX-FREE!  I think I’ve found my calling.  So, effective immediately, I’m quitting this whole “med school” thing to become a professional gambler and magician.  Wish me luck. 

Alright, time to get to the picks.  I would apologize for being late this week, but I’ve been a little distracted for the past couple of days.  I’m not sorry.  Also, I finished this entire edition in less than an hour and a half.  Pretty damn proud of it.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE:

BALTIMORE RAVENS (11-6) at DENVER BRONCOS (13-3)

This is kind of cheating since the game has already started and Denver is up by 7, but let’s be honest; nobody was picking the Ravens anyways.  It’s nice that they could get a win last week for Ray Lewis’s last home game, but we all know that the Broncos are the much better…. Holy shit.  Baltimore just scored on a bomb to Torrey Smith.  Hold the phone, we might have a game here.  Still though, I’m picking Denver, if only because the thought of a Peyton Manning-Tom Brady AFC championship is too compelling to resist.  The only thing I’d love more would be watching Aaron Rodgers lead us to a Super Bowl win over Manning’s Broncos, just to prove that he would have succeeded where Brett Favre failed and led us to a title over Elway’s Broncos in 1998. 

Broncos by 6

HOUSTON TEXANS (13-4) at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-4)

Remember what I said about the Manning-Brady matchup in the previous paragraph?  Forget it.  I just remembered that I picked Houston to make the Super Bowl last week, so now I’m stuck with the Texans.  Damn it.  This is what happens when I drink a fifth of Canadian whiskey before I start writing.  Here’s hoping Watt and company can do to Tom Brady what the Seahawks did to RG3 last week. 

Texans by 4

Wow, Baltimore just scored again.  And… hold on, am I reading this correctly?  Peyton Manning threw a pick-six!?!?  What the hell is going on???

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE:

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (12-5) at ATLANTA FALCONS (13-3)

Somehow, incredibly the Falcons are only favored by 2.5 points in this game, despite having a week of rest, the most impressive regular season in the NFC, and playing against a rookie quarterback at home.  Too easy.  I know everyone here at UW wants Russell Wilson to keep winning, but the truth is, Matt Ryan is better.  Don’t be an idiot. Just bet on Atlanta, take the free money and thank me later.  And regardless of who wins this game, either the Packers or 49ers are going to the Super Bowl instead anyways. 

Falcons by 10

GREEN BAY PACKERS (12-5) at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (11-4-1)

Yes.  I’ve been waiting for this game all week.  It makes me giggle, thinking about all of the dirty things Rodgers is going to do to the Niners’ secondary.  I know he’s been waiting for this matchup ever since San Francisco passed on him with the #1 pick in the 2005 draft.  The real question is, how many “eff-you” touchdowns does he throw tonight?  Four?  Five?  Six?  Colin Has-no-dick and his merry band of jackoffs over at Candlestick Park have approximately the same chance as a snowball in a cagefight against Mike Tyson in hell.  For the past two decades, the Packers have been consistent winners, while the 49ers have been losers.  Don’t expect that to change tonight.

Aaron be nimble, Aaron be quick, Aaron tears up Candlestick. (thanks Brandon)

Packers by 14

Damn it, it is January 12th, WHY DOES CHRISTMAS MUSIC STILL COME UP ON MY SPOTIFY RADIO??

I’d like to take a moment to congratulate the new kings of college football, who put on a dominating display last week on their way to a national championship.  No, I’m not talking about Alabama.  Or Ohio State.  Notre Dame?  Get the fuck out.  I’m talking about the REAL college football champions, the North Dakota State Bison, who captured their second FCS title in a row last Saturday.  For those of you who aren’t up on your college football, the FCS is the division that actually has a playoff.  Unfortunately for NDSU though, their victory celebrations were tempered by the stark reality that they had to go back and live in North Dakota afterwards.  Sioux Suck.

As for Alabama and Notre Dame, I’m glad we can all finally stop pretending that the Fighting Irish deserved to be in the title game.  There was a moment after Alabama went up by 28 when I legitimately wondered if Notre Dame would be the first team to drop from #1 to unranked after their bowl game.  Sorry, Kenne.  I like Rudy too, but let’s be realistic; they would have finished fourth or fifth in the SEC.  Also, the nickname “Fighting Irish”, in addition to being completely racist, doesn’t make sense when you realize that the University of Notre Dame is named after a church IN FRANCE.  Hey, speaking of France…

Lance Armstrong cheated.  Son of a bitch, I wanted to believe in him.  Whatever, he’s still a hero.  I feel like if you beat cancer, you should be allowed to cheat a little bit.  LiveStrong.

Our quote of the week, from the reigning NFL MVP, comes from back in 2005 after the 1st round of the NFL Draft…

Reporter: Aaron, how disappointed are you that you will not be a 49er?
Rodgers: Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me.


 - Chode Out.

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