Red’s NFL Picks – Week 7

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NFL Picks 201 6 – week 7

 

Well The Donald may have had a better week that Red last week. 1-5 for the third time this season. 16-20 after six weeks.  Red doesn’t shank his tee shot that often.

Sure Bet Pick of the Week – Bengals over Browns. In the battle for Ohio, anything can happen and usually does.  Like the Republicans, the Bengals never win a division title unless they win the battle of Ohio.  The Bengals are perhaps the most perplexing team this season (wait, that title belongs to the Panthers).  But the Browns are usually the cure for whatever ails you.  Bengals get to drink the magic Brown elixir this week. Still 10 points is a lot to give up.  Take the under at 45.5.  Cincinnati 20 Cleveland 1.

Underdog Pick of the Week – Titans Whip Colts. Titans are trending in the right direction.  Mariota is playing  like an actual mid-tier NFL quarterback and DeMarco Murray still has some gas in the tank despite being abused by the Cowboys.  The Colts are stinging from an unexpetcted loss to the Texans (unexpected by all but Red – thank you).  The Colts defense is truly awful and managed to hide that last week for 3 quarters against the equally awful Texans offense.  The Titans offense is starting to click.  The Colts – not so much.   Tennessee 24 Indianapolis 21.

Rivalry Game Pick of the Week – Patriots Destroy Stealers. Without Big Ben the Stealers are just another band from LA.  Without Tom Brady, the Patriots still win all their games.  Go figure.  This looked like a preview of the AFC Championship game until the Stealers began to look for their wheels.  It now is just another butt whipping for the Steal crew. New England 45 Pittsburgh 7.

Texas Franchise Pick of the Week – Broncos best Texans.    Texans don’t need to win this game, but they do need to look like an actual NFL team – something that has eluded them in road games this season.  The Broncos are there for the taking this week having lost two in a row, but the Texans are givers.  They give up a lead late in the game to lose a squeaker here, but show some mettle. And remember Texans fans, Red warned you not to get carried away with a win over the Colts. Denver 27 Houston 24.

Prime Time Pick of the Week – Cardinals crater Seahawks.  Cardinals are still looking for that break out game this season.  This is a big chance to make a statement in the NFC west.  They can’t expect 3 TDs from DJ every week, but they can expect excellence.  All tired old Carson Palmer has to do is manage the game and let his surrounding talent take over.  Then there is Russell Wilson – who has just plain sucked so far this seaon.  Expect another rough outing over a steadily improving Cardinals defense.   Arizona 31 Seattle 13.

Shit Bowl Pick of the Week – Jets over Ravens. You can smell the stink in Jersey from the Morristown exit.  The stench of defeat is clinging to the Jets like mold to a week old bagel.  But “on any given Sunday” and this is a given Sunday for the Jets as the Ravens play down to their level.  This messy merd match will be nigh on to unwatchable.  But when has that stopped Red. New Jersey 23 Baltimore 15.

Do You Hear that Sound, Donald?

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It’s the fat lady warming up.

Most prognosticators, including Red, believe that Donald Trump killed off whatever last chance he had at turning the election around when he refused to acknowledge that he would accept the results of the election should he lose.  And given Putin’s interference in the election through hacking of the Democrats, there was still a chance.  Yes, there might be legitimate grounds for asking for a recount or challenging specific aspects of the vote, but Trump’s comments were in line with his previous claim that the election is “rigged” and that the American people cannot trust their local election officials (the majority of whom are in fact Republicans) to conduct an open and fair vote.  This is a basic repudiation of electoral system and our democracy and reveals the true character of Trump as a whining, petulant bully who is the first to cry foul when he doesn’t get his way.

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In 1541, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado wrote to Charles I, King of Spain, describing for the first time the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains.  The Llano is a high tableland extending across much of the Texas panhandle and eastern  New Mexico.  In Texas its eastern boundary is marked by the impressive Caprock which runs hundreds of miles across west Texas.  Coronado was overwhelmed by the vastness of the Llano Estacado.  As he wrote, “I reached plains so vast that I did not find their limit anywhere I went, although I travelled over them for 300 leagues.”  He further describes them as having “no more land marks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea.  There was not a stone, nor a bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.”  He was also the first to write about the incredible herds of cattle (bison) that he encountered and the first to describe the various plains Indians that he encountered.  Of course, he never found the Cities of Gold that he was looking for.

Today in Texas History – October 19

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From the Annals of the State Fair – In 2012, the iconic Big Tex statue was destroyed by an electrical fire that started in his right boot and worked its way up the structure, first becoming visible from the neck area. After the fire, a new Big Tex was created by SRO Associates and Texas Scenic Co. for the 2013 State Fair.

Photo from NBCDFW.com.

Hillary to Advertise on TV in Texas

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In a move not seen in almost 20 years, a Democratic candidate for President will be running TV ads in solidly Red Texas.  Texas viewers are typically limited to seeing national TV ads as neither Democrats nor Republicans viewed the state as needing their attention.  The limited one-week roll out in Texas will run a 30-second spot in the major media markets of Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The actual size of the ad buy is not known.

The Clinton ad follows in the wake of Dallas Morning News editorial board’s endorsement of Clinton last month.  The very conservative DMN had not endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate in 75 years.  The Clinton ad plays off of the historical significance of the DMN endorsement and directly quotes the paper in criticizing Trump’s judgment and praising of Clinton’s bipartisan credentials.  “At this moment in time, for Texas and for America, Hillary for president,” a narrator concludes.

Red has to think this is money wasted by the Clinton campaign.  Trump is still going to win Texas no matter what he says or does.  Red could see spending the money if there were any competitive races in Texas that could help swing Congress to the Democratic side.  But neither Cornyn or “Lyin’ Ted” are up this cycle and other than the Will Hurd-Pete Gallego race in the 23rd District in West Texas, the Democrats have no chance to flip a Texas district thanks to extreme gerrymandering by the GOP controlled legislature.  So is this all for show, or is there something else going on?  Red for one would like to know.

Today in Texas History – October 18

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From the Annals of the Border –  In 1915, Luis De la Rosa caused a train crash at Tandy’s Station near Brownsville.  De la Rosa was a revolutionary and follower of the Mexican anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón.  The crash was one in a series of several raids by members of  the Floresmagonista movement formed by De la Rosa and Aniceto Pizaña. De la Rosa was the driving force behind what was known among Mexicans as the “revolution of Mexicans in Texas.” De la Rosa’s actions were supposedly intended to correct injustices done to Hispanics on both sides of the Rio Grande. He also raised an army of 500 men whose raids and guerrilla fighting on the Mexican border of Texas were connected with the Plan of San Diego, an effort to establish an independent republic in the American Southwest.

Image of Ricardo Flores Magon from The Base.

Today in Texas History – October 17

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From the Annals of Manly Footwear – In 1879, Herman Justin made his first pair of cowboy boots at his shop in Spanish Fort. Justin moved to Gainesville in 1877 and found a job at the Norton Shoe Shop. He worked there for two years learning the craft of shoemaking.  With a $35 loan from the town barber, he opened his own bootshop at Spanish Fort.  At first, Justin produced an average of two pairs of boots a week.  The quality of his boots soon earned him a loyal customer base.   In 1889, he moved the business to Nocona to take advantage of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad.

Today in Texas History – October 14

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From the Annals of Culling the Herd – In 1867, Lt. James Pike of the First United States Cavalry died when he smashed his malfunction rifle against a rock in frustration.  Pike’s last act occurred during an Indian attack.  Pike arrived in Texas in 1859 and joined John Henry Brown’s company of Texas Rangers. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Pike left Texas and went to Ohio, where he passed himself off as the nephew of Albert Pike. He joined the Fourth Ohio Cavalry in 1861 and saw considerable action as a scout, spy, and courier under Gen. William T. Sherman, who praised his “skill, courage and zeal” but warned him to “cool down.”  After the war, he joined the First U.S. Cavalry,  His memoir The Scout and Ranger: Being the Personal Adventures of Corporal Pike, of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry (1865) is a lively account of his career and has been praised by historians even though some of Pike’s claims are demonstrably false.

Lance Zierlein Attempts to Bolster Josh Innes

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Out of strictly morbid curiosity, Red has listened to Josh Innes on KBME 790 a couple of times since he replaced the immortal Charlie Pallilo.  And may Red just say, it’s pretty sad.  But yesterday may have been the rock bottom.  Lance (of many entertaining voices but otherwise useless) Zierlein was basically interviewing JI in an attempt to deflect the massive amount of criticism coming his way from Pallilo fans.  The basic thrust 0f LZ’s attempt was to protest that the listeners were out of bounds in calling for Innes to be fired because that was going after the man’s livelihood.  This was mixed in with apparently blatant lies from Innes about his departure from Philadelphia.  JI was making it sound like he left Philly voluntarily because he had left Houston, gone and conquered the East Coast and was disenchanted with Philadelphia and really wanted to come back to Houston.  Somehow he left out the part about getting fired for his racist shenanigans and sagging ratings.  Anyhow, LZ was more than willing to carry the water for Innes in crying foul about listeners who can’t stand Innes and are abandoning KBME in droves after CP’s abrut firing.  Listen here Lance Baby, the listeners have every right to call for Innes’ or anyone else’s head.  It’s a tough world out there and if you and JI can’t handle, try actually working for a living like most of your listeners.

Today in Texas History – October 13

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From the Annals of Statehood –  In 1845, Texas voters approved annexation of Texas as a new member of the United States.  Voters also approved a new state constitution and the annexation ordinance. 

The annexation of Texas was part of a much larger political game between the free and slave states and between the pro-slavery Democrats and the anti-slavery Whigs.  In 1843, U.S. President John Tyler decided to pursue the annexation of Texas as part of his political platform for another four years in office.  Tyler claimed that he was attempting to  outmaneuver the British government’s alleged plans to recognize Texas as an independent state in exchange for emancipation of slaves.  Tyler believed this would undermine slavery in the US.  Through secret negotiations with Sam Houston’s administration, Tyler secured a treaty of annexation in April 1844.   Now in the public eye, the terms of annexation and Texas’ admission to the Union took center stage in the election of 1844. Pro-Texas-annexation southern Democratic delegates denied their anti-annexation leader Martin Van Buren of New York the nomination at their party’s convention in May 1844.  Instead, the Democrats nominated James K. Polk who ran on a pro-Texas Manifest Destiny platform.

In June 1844, the Senate, with its Whig majority rejected the Texas Annexation Treaty.  But Polk narrowly defeated anti-annexation Whig Henry Clay in the fall.   This opened the door for lame-duck Tyler to ask Congress to revisit Texas annexation which it did.  The last major act of the Tyler administration was to sign the Texas Annexation bill.