So the Red Sox' season is in the hands of Clay Buchholz? So it seems. But the reality is the Sox hitting is what has them in trouble now. More likely their season is in Angels' pitcher Scott Kazmir's hands.

The Yankees go for the series win tonight in the Metrodome. Andy Pettitte is a steady hand. Carl Pavano was a disaster as a Yankee but has pitched well for the Twins. Go Yankees!

The most intriguing matchup will be in Denver tonight - Major League Baseball and TV vs the elements. It's going to be freezing tonight. the game should have been scheduled for the daytime.

This also is an Open Thread.

Terrible slate of games in the NFL New England at Denver should be good though. Despite being 4-0 and playing at home, Denver is a 3 -point underdog in this game. I like the PATS (-3).

In the NFL double digit lines are the exception not the rule. Not this week. The Giants are 16 point favorites over the Raiders, the Eagles are 16 point favorites over the Bucs, the Vikings are 11 point favorites over the Rams and the Steelers are 11 point favorites over the Lions. Just for the hell of it, I'll take the underdogs - Lions (+11), Raiders (+16), Rams (+11) and Bucs (+16).

I am picking two extra this week. The Bengals have played well this year but they are 9 point underdogs to the Ravens. Makes no sense to me. Should be 4 or 5. Therefore I will pick the Ravens (-9) using reverse psychology. The Niners are playing great and should be 4-0. They are playing home against the Falcons. They should be 5 point favorites. They are 2.5 point favorites. Again using the trap theory, I am betting the Falcons (+2.5).

More . . .

It's so cold here, I'm really looking forward to leaving it behind tomorrow, and spending a week at my favorite health spa in California. I'm just about done packing.

This likely will be my last post until I return. While I'm bringing my laptop, I'm hoping not to turn it on much. (I'll probably check the comments from time to time, but leave it at that.) They keep us pretty busy from 6 am to 10 pm, there are no TV's, only a morning paper -- which on past trips, I never had time to read.

As I haven't gone a week without blogging since 2002, I'm not sure whether I'll miss it or feel liberated. Thanks to BTD who will be posting when he's available and has something to say, and (I hope) putting up some open threads when he's not.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Will he play? That's the question of the day in college football - will Florida QB Tim Tebow play when the Gators travel to Death Valley to face LSU. My view remains that even if the doctors clear him, he should sit. Concussions are a very serious thing. Even with Tebow, winning in Death Valley at night is almost impossible. Florida is a 7 point favorite over LSU. I can not imagine LSU getting beat by 7 at home. In any event, Go Gators!

My first selection pick (I'm 15-10 (.600) on the season) is Iowa (-8) over Michigan. I have never been a believer in Michigan and Iowa's offense has improved. Iowa should win easily. More . .

BTD is at the Bruce Springsteen concert tonight. I've been offline all day and not seen the news. What have we missed?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

From farce to the most important event in the history of the Republic - Saturday night's Florida-LSU game.

Tebow remains a game time decision but I get the feeling he is going to play. I think he should sit. Easy for me to say.

This is an Open Thread.

The big story of the week remains 'will Tim Tebow play?' in Florida's game at Baton Rouge on Saturday night. Florida coach Urban Meyer says it will be a game time decision. I think Tebow should sit this one out myself, but that's easy for me to say.

On a related note, excessive celebration penalties have been rampant in the SEC. The rule is ridiculous - something about not calling attention to yourself. Absurd. That said, coaches must have been briefed on the fact that this penalty would be called. Tebow, the most excessive celebrator in all of college football certainly has toned it down this year. So apparently he got the memo. This is a coaching issue as well as a ridiculous rule issue.

This is an Open Thread.

The Yankees play the Twins tonight (6:07 ET) in the Bronx. I think the 5 game series format is awful. Baseball, where GREAT teams lose 1 out of 3 games, should not shorten the test period. In football, the best team wins 3 out of 4 at least. In the playoffs, it is 4 out of 5. All MLB playoff series should be 4 out of 7.

In the big news of the day, Tim Tebow practiced again today, but Florida coach Urban Meyer said Tebow's participation in Saturday night's game at Baton Rouge will be a gametime decision. I won't lie to you, I'm nervous about this one. More on Saturday about Florida-LSU, Bama-Ole Miss and all the big games this weekend in the Saturday Football Thread.

This is an Open Thread.

Busy day ahead.

What's going on?

This is an Open Thread.

Tom DeLay's rump-shaking days are over on DWTS -- with stress fractures in both feet, he calls it quits tonight. I actually enjoyed watching him.

Also on, The Biggest Loser, a very depressing season so far. The Good Wife....I really dislike the show and all the characters. It's unoriginal and boring.

What's on your agenda tonight, TV or otherwise? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I just got back from court. Anything interesting going on?

BREAKING!! Tebow Practices.

This is an Open Thread.

So the Brett Favre led Vikings face Favre's old team the Packers tonight in Minneapolis. This should be fun. But how much of the result will depend on Favre?

Last week Favre threw a game winning touchdown with 2 seconds left so it is never wise to underestimate his importance. But let's face it, if the Pack can't stop Adrian Peterson (here's saying they can't, he's gone for over 100 yards in 3 of 4 against the Pack), then Favre is somewhat incidental to the Viking offense. The real question will be can Aaron Rodgers do damage to the Viking defense? I think not enough. I like the Vikes tonight (with Percy Harvin scoring a TD.)

This is an Open Thread.