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How will the Redskins react this week vs. the Bills after the tragic shooting death of Sean Taylor?

Week 13 Picks (Home team in CAPS)

Green Bay (+7) over DALLAS
This is simply too big of a spread against a Packer team that is very comparable to the Cowboys. Both of these teams are 10 and 1, both have strong passing games (Green Bay 2nd, Dallas 5th) and either of these teams has a legitimate shot to win this game. Dallas has a better defense on paper, but Green Bay has more experience and a much bigger “heart” in Favre. Watch this game – it should be a good one – dare I say even more riveting than the Grey Cup.

Atlanta (+4.5) over ST. LOUIS
Sure the Rams have won 2 of their last 3, but they’re still losers of 9 of 11 games this year, while Atlanta has one more win under their belt for the season. Atlanta is wavering on who should be their starting QB (with only 4 TD passes thrown in their past 7 games) but the Rams pass defense has been mediocre (giving up over 200 yards in passing the last 4 games) so either Harrington or Leftwich should be able to perform well as the Falcons’ starting QB for this game.

WASHINGTON (-6) over Buffalo
With the tragic shooting death of one of their players this week it is near impossible to predict how the Skins will react – they could show-up with no focus and ill-prepared, or they can come out all fired-up to dominate in honour of their fallen comrade – I prefer to think the later will occur, especially in front of their home crowd. The Bills have been blown out in their last two games by a combined score of 92 to 24, so I don’t see a problem with a Skins team still fighting for a playoff spot to squeak out a win by 6 or more.

MINNESOTA (-3.5) over Detroit
The Vikings beat the Lions in both meetings last season – by 10 points and by 9, while the Lions responded by winning the first match-up this season 20 to 17. Minnesota’s won 3 of their last 4 games (with that one loss being against the 10-1 Packers) while Detroit has lost three straight (including a loss to the lowly Cardinals). The Vikings have won their past two games without their Rookie of the Year candidate RB Adrian Peterson and hope to have him back for this game which makes their chances that much better.

Houston (+4) over TENNESSEE
It’s surprising to see the Titans favoured by more than a field goal when they’ve lost 3 straight and beat Houston by just 2 points in their meeting earlier this season. In their past 8 games the Titans have only 2 TD passes compared to having thrown 11 interceptions, the only thing keeping them in some games is their 4th-ranked running game and 5th-ranked defence.

Jacksonville (+7) over INDIANAPOLIS
The Jaguars have looked solid on both sides of the ball for the past 5 weeks, winning 4 of 5, scoring 24 points per game minimum during that span and allowing no more than 23 points in all but one of these games. Meanwhile the Colts have lost a bit of their lustre starting with 2 straight losses in weeks 8 & 9 and having thrown 9 interceptions over their past four games with just 6 TD passes. Mind you, the Colts still have the 4th-ranked offense in the league backed by the second best defense, while the Jags have the 3rd-ranked running game. This should be a close division match-up.

N.Y. Jets (+1) over MIAMI
I have to take the Jets solely on principle for this game. How does an 0-11 team get favoured over anyone!?! Sure the Jets have only had two wins – but one was versus Miami (who they also beat in both games last season) and the other was an impressive win over the Steelers just two weeks ago. Did the Dolphins bring Marino out of retirement this week? Maybe Ricky Williams gave some of his “medicinal” stash to the odds makers? I don’t get it.

San Diego (-5) over KANSAS CITY
My god I’ve had no luck picking either of these teams against the spread this year due to their inconsistent play. After winning 4 of 5 the Chiefs have lost 4 straight, and over that same stretch the Chargers have won every other one of their games, going 3 and 2. KC won the earlier meeting this season 30-16 and split the two games last year, but the big difference here is that the Chargers really need this game to stay in command of their playoff destiny – that is a much stronger motivator than coach Turner yelling at them for the past 11 games to start playing with some *@!#!* consistency!!!

Seattle (+3) over PHILADELPHIA
Yeah, yeah – the Eagles gave the undefeated Patriots their toughest game of the season thus far last week, losing to them 31-28, but the 5-6 Eagles are streaky at best while the Seahawks are looking better with three straight wins and an offense that has scored 24 points or more in 5 straight games, holding their opponents to 23 or less in 4 of those 5 games. The Eagles have allowed 25 or more points to be scored against them in 3 of the last 4 and have scored only 17 points in two of those match-ups. If the Eagles did not have RB Brian Westbrook they would likely only have one win so far this season.

San Francisco (+3) over CAROLINA
Truthfully, no one deserves to win this game, however I’ll go with the hopeless 49ers, who showed guts winning 37-31 in OT last week against the equally hopeless Cardinals. The Panthers have stunk it up with 5 straight losses (allowing 31 or more points against in 3 of those losses). Both teams are forced to start back-up QB’s and some poor commentators are forced to attend and do the play-by-play for this “game”.

Tampa Bay (+3) over NEW ORLEANS
The Saints need this win over their division-leading opponent if they hope to have a chance to catch the Bucs in the NFC South, but the Bucs have won 3 straight and spanked the Saints in their first meeting this season 31-14. This game pits the Saints 4th-ranked passing game against the Bucs 5th-ranked passing defense. Meanwhile the Bucs running game has been surprisingly decent (120 plus rushing yards in 4 of the last five) while the Saints have not been as fortunate.

Cleveland (+1) over ARIZONA
Are the Browns deathly allergic to dry heat? This game will be all Cleveland. The 7-4 Browns are by far the better team in this match-up, with the Cardinals showing extra uselessness in their OT collapse against the weak 49er team just last week.

OAKLAND (+3) over Denver
QB Cutler has looked strong for the Broncos the past several weeks, however he’s up against the 4th-ranked pass defense and the Raiders have the 5th-best running game (with the Broncos run defense being very suspect this season). The Broncos have won the past 3 meetings, but two of those games were close ones, as a result I like the Raiders at home.

N.Y. Giants (-2) over CHICAGO
The Bears are coming off the high of a big 37-34 win over Denver last week while the Giants had a wake-up call against the Vikings last week, losing 41-17. As a result the Bears will be ill-prepared, with a horrible excuse for a QB in Grossman, while the Giants’ QB Eli Manning is dying to get out on the field and erase the memories of the 4 picks he threw last week. The only Bears’ threat will be neutralized as long as the Giants do not kick the ball to their return expert who won it for them last week.

Cincinnati (+7) over PITTSBURGH
The Steelers are coming off a Monday nighter where they barely beat the winless Dolphins 3 to 0 and lost the previous week to the hapless Jets. As a result, it is safe to say they’re not looking so hot right now. With one less day to prepare, the Steelers could have a tough time against a Bengal team that had an impressive win over a strong Titan team last week (35-6). The Bengals beat the Steelers in one of their meetings last season and lost the other game against them last year in overtime, so this division match-up should prove to be another close one. Enjoy watching the Steelers’ #1 pass defense against the Bengals’ #3 passing game.

BALTIMORE (+20.5) over New England
You’ve got to factor pride into this decision. No one likes losing the Monday nighter in front of a national audience – especially at home. As a result, Ray Lewis will have his defensive teammates all stoked to keep the perfect Patriots in check, having taken notes on how the Eagles played New England very close last week. If anyone can apply pressure to QB Tom Brady similar to the Eagles last week, it is the 4th-ranked Raven defense – this will keep the game within 20 points, but the Patriots will still win.

Survivor
Here’s a summary of my picks thus far, the only blemishes coming in weeks 6 and 10:
Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta
Week 6 – Seattle over New Orleans XXX
Week 7 – Washington over Arizona
Week 8 – Cleveland over St. Louis
Week 9 – Tampa Bay over Arizona
Week 10 – New Orleans over St. Louis XXX
Week 11 – Indianapolis over Kansas City
Week 12 – San Diego over Baltimore
Week 13 – New England over Baltimore

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

Milton’s making a list … The Santa Claus parade was taking too long, so organizers barred politicians from marching.

The good townsfolk of Milton may have bitten off more than they can chew when it comes to tomorrow’s Santa Claus parade.

Town organizers decided this year to eliminate three levels of politicians from the beloved event which routinely draws as many as 20,000 people to the streets of Milton.

“The committee decided that for this year’s parade the only politician we’d have would be Mayor Gordon Krantz from Milton,” explained Mike Ricker, secretary treasurer of the parade committee which is made up of volunteers.

The reason wasn’t political, Ricker insists, but rather one of expediency. The parade was simply taking too long so the committee decided to cut it down, eliminating some of the politicians as well as limiting the number of entries to 70.

Little did the organizers know that their decision would prompt the ire of their federal Liberal MP, Garth Turner, who is threatening to disobey the committee and walk in the parade anyway.

“His idea is he’s the federal MP for this area and he’s going to be in the parade,” said Ricker. “I understand he plans to walk with his dog in the parade.”

Turner was too busy to comment yesterday about being chopped from the parade and of his plans to crash it anyway. His staff said he was in back-to-back meetings all day.

But Milton residents remain steadfast in their decision and are prepared for any contingency should Turner show up, with or without his dog.

“We have a plan, but I would rather not say what we’ve prepared,” Ricker said.

Still the whole fracas has left Ricker scratching his head. “We were looking at the parade in general and asking what do people come out to see – the parade, the floats, the band and Santa Claus.”

It was clear to them residents certainly weren’t coming to see the politicians, said Ricker.

The only reason Milton’s mayor is still in the parade is because the town gave organizers $10,000 to cover some safety concerns and because the parade uses the town’s facilities and streets.

And while provincial MPP Ted Chudleigh is disappointed he won’t be participating in tomorrow’s parade, he understands the organizers’ motives.

“I have been in the parade for 12 or 13 years,” said Chudleigh. “It’s a great time to walk down Main St. and wave and say Merry Christmas and it’s fun. But it’s their parade.”

His sentiments are shared by Gary Carr, Halton Region chair.

“I’m in quite a few parades,” said Carr. “I enjoy it. It kicks off the Christmas season. I like to support them when I can but I also respect the fact it’s their decision. In this case they decided they didn’t want anyone in and I respect their decision. I won’t be doing what Garth Turner is doing.”

Ricker and his organizing committee hope Turner won’t become the Grinch that stole Milton’s Christmas and turn the Santa Claus parade into a media circus. “We’re hoping everything will be fine and we’re going to do our best. … We want the parade to come off and do the best job we can for the kids – both big and little – in Milton.”

By Debra Black of the Toronto Star

Will Brett Favre be feasting on Lion in the annual Turkey Bowl in Detroit?

Week 11 Picks (Home team in CAPS)

Green Bay (-3.5) over DETROIT
Gobble, gobble, gobble – Thursday afternoon football thanks to American Thanksgiving – so plan ahead, start laying the ground work for your reason you won’t be into work ahead of time – I recommend starting with a lot of coughing around the workplace on Tuesday and complaining of fever and a bad headache then take things up a notch on Wednesday by frequent trips to the washroom (have some reading material stashed in your pocket). Detroit is starting to play more to their level, having lost their last two games, while the Packers have won 5 straight and are an impressive 9-1 for the season. The Packers have the top passing offence in the NFL – better than New England, Dallas and Indianapolis – that’s very impressive. The Packers beat Detroit in both meetings last season by margins of 7 points and 8 points, so a 3.5 margin should be no problem.

DALLAS (-14) over the N.Y. Jets
Gobble, gobble, gobble – the second Thanksgiving Day game (like Americans need a weekend dedicated to overeating!) Do not be fooled by the Jets’ upset win over the Steelers last week – the Steelers are strong team but not an elite team yet (their great record going into the Jets game was due to a very soft schedule) and the Jets just got really lucky. Dallas will cover this week because: 1. they are closer to being an elite team than the Steelers, 2. the Jets won’t get lucky two weeks in a row, 3. the Jets will still be hung over from their big win last weekend and finally 4. it’s in Dallas and the Cowboys will want to give their fans a Thanksgiving treat – Texas style.

Indianapolis (-12) over ATLANTA
Gobble, gobble, gobble – do I look fat in these pants? God bless America for inventing elastic waist bands - our neighbours to the south will be stretching them to their limits this weekend! This would have been a great holiday match-up if Vick was still QB for Atlanta, but now it’s just a 3-7 Falcons team struggling to determine which of their QB’s sucks less (Leftwich was touted the starter, but pulled last week when he was stinking it up against Tampa; while Joey Harrington is no hero himself) against a Colts team that lost 2 straight before squeaking out a 13-10 win last week against K.C. With the Colts having the 3rd best offence and defence in the league watch for Manning to get back on track with this game – his TD to INT ratio the last 3 games has been a depressing 3-8, but the Falcons will give him lots of open receivers to hit and lead the Colts to a big win.

Denver (+2) over CHICAGO
The Broncos have won two straight, including their impressive Monday night win over Tennessee, while the Bears are back with Grossman at QB (who had 0 TD’s and was sacked 5 times last week) in their loss to Seattle. Even though this is a home game for the Bears, the Broncos should have been the favourite for this match-up. QB Cutler looked sharp, and the offence very solid and this will continue versus Chicago.

Tennessee (-1.5) over CINCINNATI
Even though the 6-and-4 Titans have lost their last two games they are a much better team than the 3-and-7 Bungals. Both teams have decent offences (the Titans with 4th-ranked running game and the Bengals with 5th ranked passing game) however the difference is the Titans have a middle of the road defence while the Bengals have one of the absolute worst defences in the world.

JACKSONVILLE (-7.5) over Buffalo
Boy, I sure am picking a lot of the favoured teams this weekend – but can’t help it – the spreads seem a bit too small to pass up. The Jags are 7-3 this year, and have earned that record with a decent offense (3rd-ranked running game) and a strong defense (2nd best overall). The Bills are 5-5, but all 5 wins are against sub-500 teams (2 against the Jets, Baltimore, Bengals and Miami) – the Jags will make this very obvious with a routing of the Bills this weekend.

Oakland (+5.5) over KANSAS CITY
K.C. swept this series last week and won the first meeting this season, however two of those wins were by 4 points and 2 points – this should be another close one. Rookie Raider coach Lane Kiffin has been wavering between starting Josh McCown and Duante Culpepper at QB. He went back to Culpepper last week and the Raiders have been much more competitive with him starting, which will be the case again for this game. Meanwhile the Chiefs’ back-up QB held his own in his first start last week, but his starting does not lend itself to the Chiefs posting a win with such a large spread and with an inexperienced QB against the 4th-best pass defence in the league.

Houston (+3.5) over CLEVELAND
Cleveland is having a great season, having discovered that their initial 3rd-string QB is a fantastic starter, however of their 6 wins, only 4 are by more than this spread – and those 4 games were against horrible teams, all of them with losing records (Cincinnati, Baltimore, Miami and St. Louis). The Texans have shown signs of being a contender, and come into this game with a 5-5 record and are coming off a big 23-10 win over the Saints last week, where they held the re-born Saints offense in check.

ST.LOUIS (+3) over Seattle
If this game was being played 3 weeks ago I’d take Seattle to cover, however since then the Rams have won their first two games of the season and averaging 25 points in those two games and holding their opponents to under 50 yards rushing both times. The Rams won both those games on the road with this weekend marking their home coming as a team on a winning streak as opposed to their last return home as an 0-4 team. Also of interest: Seattle beat St. Louis both times last year – but by only 2 points each time, but blew the Rams out earlier this season by a score of 33-6 before the Rams got in their groove.

N.Y. GIANTS (-7) over Minnesota
The Giants’ D has held their opponents to 15 or fewer points in 5 of their last 7 games, and are 7-1 in their last 8 games, with their only loss being against the powerful Dallas team. The Vikings have an inconsistent passing game and will likely be without their superstar rookie RB Adrian Peterson again this week (and they cannot rely on back-up RB Chester Taylor to have as good of a game against the Giant D as he did against the soft Raider run D last week).

CAROLINA (+3) over New Orleans
These division rivals are both sitting at 4-6 and both are on losing streaks (4 straight for the Panthers and 2 straight for the Saints). The Panthers have won their 3rd straight versus the Saints (including two against the Saints last year when they had a solid 10-6 record). As a result, history has the Panthers as the wise choice, and even with their 3rd-string QB starting, they should be able to hold their ground against the Saints by simply not making costly turnovers on offence, and playing solid D at home.

TAMPA BAY (-3) over Washington
The NFC South leading Bucs are on a 2-game winning streak while the 5-5 Redskins have lost their last two. Tampa Bay has the 3rd-best pass defence, meaning Washington’s only hope lies in their running game, which has totalled under 100 yards in 4 of their last six games. The Bucs are 4-1 at home this season, with 3 of those 4 wins being by a 7 or more points. These teams met in Tampa last year, with the Bucs winning by 3, that was before their offence acquired QB Garcia – which has strengthened their ability to put points on the board.

San Francisco (+10) over ARIZONA
Arizona has not been playing well enough to be favoured by 10 points over anyone, even the struggling 49ers, especially with a banged-up back-up QB in Warner. In their last three meetings (week 1 of this week and the 2 games last season) all of the games have been decided 7 points or less, with San Fran winning the first match-up this year. Arizona has won 2 straight to get their record up to 5-5, but you still can’t bank on them to blow San Fran out of the water (or the desert in this case).

Baltimore (+9.5) over SAN DIEGO
The Chargers have not played to their potential this year resulting in their 5-5 record so far this season, while the Ravens have a hard time putting up points consistently, but can rely on their 5th-ranked defence (second against the run) to keep this game within 9 points in all likelihood. In fact, Baltimore beat San Diego last season by a score of 16-13, so have some faith in this underdog.

NEW ENGLAND (-23) over Philadelphia
New England has won 5 of their 10 games by more than 23 points this season, including winning by 46 points over Buffalo last week. Factor in that Philly QB McNabb is listed as day-to-day with a bad ankle and thumb (I’d be taking a hammer to my thumb and/or ankle to miss this game if I was him) and you have a back-up QB going up against the 4th-best defence, not to mention the Patriots’ top-ranked offence. If this game was in Philly, I’d very reluctantly take the Eagles simply due to the points they have on their side, but with the game in Foxboro, take the Patriots for another thumping! If you’re even 1% conservative you should take Philly, or consider getting out of gambling as it ain’t for the conservative – unless you get a rush out of breaking even!

Miami (+16) over PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh has two critical injuries for this week – WR Holmes (who leads the team in receiving yards and TD’s) along with defensive star SS Polamalu. Meanwhile the Dolphins have the 5th-ranked pass defence which should help keep Roethlisberger in check. The winless Fish lost by 21 to New England and by 17 versus Dallas – both of those teams are better than Pittsburgh, so when you factor in that plus the Steeler’s injuries you’ve gotta pick the worst team in the NFL.

Survivor
Here’s a summary of my picks thus far, with week 6 and 10 being wrong:
Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta
Week 6 – Seattle over New Orleans XXX
Week 7 – Washington over Arizona
Week 8 – Cleveland over St. Louis
Week 9 – Tampa Bay over Arizona
Week 10 – New Orleans over St. Louis XXX
Week 11 – Indianapolis over Kansas City
Week 12 – San Diego over Baltimore

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

When even a relatively successful operator has had it, you know Ontario agriculture is in big trouble

There’s something new growing in Bert Andrews’ field, in front of the patch of long-wilted rhubarb and the wispy, overgrown asparagus.

“For Sale/Lease, By Owner” reads the giant white sign, “Growing Farm Business, Winery and Farm Property. ”

After 27 seasons, Andrews’ Scenic Acre, on the outskirts of Milton, is going the way most farms in the area have gone – out of business.

Not because it hasn’t been profitable – this past season has been Andrews’ best to date. But he had open-heart surgery last year, and none of his children wants to take over the operation.

“I’m 64 years old – I want my Sundays off,” Andrews says on a warm fall afternoon, looking out at his fields and the russet-coloured Niagara Escarpment in the distance. The heads of his towering Russian sunflowers have long turned black and now curl downward. The last of his pumpkins have been sold. And the haystack, which visiting schoolchildren jumped on until last week, will soon be dismantled – perhaps for the last time.

It’s the end of an era, not just for Andrews, but also for agriculture in the Toronto area.This is the best farmland in the country. But we’re quickly paving it over. The Greater Toronto Area – including Durham, Halton, Peel and York regions – lost 16 per cent of its farms between 1996 and 2001. Since then, another five per cent have disappeared.

There’s a sign nailed beside the door of Andrews’ barn that reads: “Farmers Feed Cities.” It should say: “Cities Eat Farms.”

Up to 80 per cent of the produce we buy travels thousands of kilometres by truck or plane. Even apples – which are quintessentially Ontarian and can keep in cold storage for months – travel 5,900 kilometres on average to get to us, according to a recent Region of Waterloo Health study.

Contrary to what one might think given how much of our food is imported, Canadians spend less of their disposable income on nourishment – about 10 per cent on food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to the OECD – than residents of most other developed countries. A related fact: domestic farmers make less than half of what Toronto garbage collectors earn. (The average farm earns less than $25,000 a year before expenses, according to the latest census report.)

The profession’s self-esteem is in the gutter. As Andrews regularly points out, Ontario agriculture minister was once a plum posting. Now, it’s an afterthought, rarely noted in reports about cabinet shuffles, because it’s no longer considered a powerful portfolio, even though it’s the only ministry that touches all of us many times daily.

Faced with a future of long hours, little respect and less pay, is it surprising that young farmers are leaving the land in droves?

Despite the growing local food movement, most farmers and food policy wonks agree: the future of Ontario farming is bleak. Most predict it will take a horrific event like 9/11 to wake us up to the dangers of relying entirely on foreign food.

“I have a three-month-old granddaughter, and I don’t want her to be hungry in her lifetime,” says Mike Shook, program manager with FarmStart, a Guelph-area non-profit aiming to get more farmers on the land. “If we keep in the direction we are, I fear she will be.”

Many urge the government to take action before it’s too late. The Greenbelt – which protects 720,000 hectares of land circling Toronto from development– is a start, they say. But protecting land is one thing; ensuring that food grows on it is another. Horse farms are the second fastest-growing agricultural category in the Toronto area, after cash crops like winter wheat, according to the last census.

“We need a master plan,” says Andrews.

He remains among the small minority of optimists. How else would he have survived almost three decades of farming near Milton, the fastest growing municipality in the country, as subdivisions and golf ranges replaced the fields he once ploughed?

The ultimate proof: he hopes to sell his property to a farmer.

“There are people who think I don’t have a hope in hell,” he chuckles. “But I’ve been hearing that all my life.”

To an outsider, Andrews’ Scenic Acres seems one of the most successful farms around. The 39-hectare property bursts with blackberries, pumpkins, strawberries … as well as 17,000 bottles of fruit wine a year. Andrews runs a bustling market out of one of his barns and sends his produce out to eight farmers’ markets every week.

More than 15,000 school children tour his farm each summer. And far more than that come out, mostly on weekends, to pet his goats and ride a tractor out to the fields to pick their own food. One Sunday this fall, a record 3,300 people swarmed the farm to pick pumpkins. For many city slickers, such “entertainment farms” have become their only connection to rural life.

No matter how successful and cherished Andrews’ Scenic Acres may be, is it realistic to think a farmer will buy it when speculators are scooping up property all around Andrews? Nearby farmland inside the Greenbelt is going for $20,000 an acre – a price most farmers could never afford. Farms like his that fall outside the Greenbelt border are running at $50,000 an acre. Which means only a Rosedale stockbroker would have the necessary cash.

That’s exactly who Andrews is banking on – “It would have to be somebody who had passion.”

Wayne Roberts, project co-ordinator for the Toronto Food Policy Council, has a different buyer in mind: the Ontario government. “That’s obvious to anyone concerned with the future of food security in Ontario,” he says. Not only would the province save the most productive land from being stripped of its topsoil and converted to homes and malls, but it could also boost aspiring farmers into the business by renting out small acreages to them at affordable prices – he calls them “farm condominiums.”

“Once land is changed from agriculture into something else,” he says, “it’s almost impossible to reclaim. If this farm goes, it’s not late – it’s too late.”

By Catherine Porter, Environment Reporter for the Toronto Star

Jon Kitna is laughing because his upstart Detroit Lions are causing havoc for bettors and are still getting no respect.

Week 11 Picks (Home team in CAPS)

San Diego (+3) over JACKSONVILLE
Jacksonville has the third ranked rush offense in the league, however San Diego, after being crushed on the run against rookie superstar Adrian Peterson two weeks ago, made the proper adjustments last week by limiting Indianapolis to 75 total rushing yards. The Chargers have won 4 of their last 5 games – and definitely have some great momentum in their favour, while Jacksonville has lost 2 of their last 4.

INDIANAPOLIS (-14.5) over Kansas City
Just what the doctor ordered – after starting 7-0, the Colts have two straight losses – so bring in the 4-5 Chiefs (who’ve also lost two straight). The Colts will be looking to get back in stride this weekend with a good old fashioned thumping – which will be made easier by the fact KC is likely down to their back-up QB Croyle (who is he – exactly!) and RB Larry Johnson is still out. Indi has the third ranked offense and third ranked defense in the league, while KC biggest asset is a cheerleader that can belch the alphabet – you do the math!

Oakland (+5) over MINNESOTA
With Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson out this week with a knee injury, the Vikings will have a tough time putting up any points as they’ve averaged well under 150 passing yards per game this season. The Raiders’ fourth-ranked pass defence can keep Minnesota to low passing yards and beat the crap out of the Vikings’ back-up RB Chester Taylor. Meanwhile, the Raiders have the fifth-best rush offense to challenge the strong Viking D.

Cleveland (-3) over BALTIMORE
Baltimore has the fifth-ranked overall defence in the league, thanks mostly to their ability to stop the run – that bodes well for the Browns’ impressive passing game. The Ravens can’t score, having only exceeded 14 total points in one of their past six games, while the Browns have 17 or more points in all of their past 8 games (only scoring less than 17 in week 1, which was before Anderson took over as their starting QB).

Pittsburgh (-9.5) over N.Y. JETS
The Steelers are 7-2 with 6 of their wins by more than this spread and with the Jets at 1-8 with their only win over the hapless Dolphins, the odds are good for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh comes into this came with the fifth-ranked offense, and more impressively with the elite defensive team of the league – first overall and first against the run and the pass – the Jets will be grounded this weekend (I could throw in a bus joke if Bettis had not retired!).

Tampa Bay (-3) over ATLANTA
This is a critical game for the Bucs to keep first place in their division to themselves, and they’re coming off a bye week so they should be well prepared – including getting RB Pittman back from the injured reserve. The Bucs have the third-best pass defense in the league which spells trouble for Atlanta’s QB Harrington, leaving their underachieving running game as their only hope. Meanwhile, with Garcia at QB the Bucs are putting up more points than in years past.

Arizona (+3) over CINCINNATI
The Bengals have a horrible defense, only having the chance to win against teams with absolutely no offense (resulting in their 3 wins against Baltimore (twice) and one against the Jets). The Cardinals are still in contention for the playoffs and need to win this game to keep their hopes alive – they had a strong game in their win against Detroit last weekend and look to continue their winning ways.

Miami (+10) over PHILADELPHIA
Philly will only win this game by over 10 points if their RB Westbrook has a great game, as the Dolphins have the fifth-best pass defense – so I’ll side on the winless Dolphins since they’ve hung-in close in their past two games (losing each game by just a field goal). The Dolphins will beat the spread for this game with lots of pressure on McNabb in the form of sacks and interceptions. The Eagles have only had one win this season by more than 10 points, and that was a fluke game where they registered 9 sacks against Detroit.

New England (-15.5) over BARFALO
I spent a week in Buffalo one night – and I’ll never go back! New England has won 8 of their 9 games by more than this paltry fifteen-and-a-half point spread, including their 38-7 win over these Bills in week 3. Buffalo still stinks (except for great special teams and infrequent strong defensive games) while the Patriots are by far the best team on the planet right now. The Bills chances are further hampered with RB Lynch questionable after leaving the game last week with an ankle injury. The home fans will need to be drunker than ever to enjoy this game and/or in order to think their facial-hair covered tubby cheerleaders are anything close to hot!

Washington (+10.5) over DALLAS
This is the first meeting of the season against these great divisional adversaries – such match-ups tend to be closer games, making the underdog the wise pick. The Redskins D seems to step up against better passing teams (holding Favre to 150 passing yards) while letting lower-ranked passing teams like Arizona and the Jets pass for much more. If they can step up against the #3 passing offense and continue to run the ball well against the 5th-ranked run defence (Washington has rushed for over 400 yards combined in the past two games) then this game will indeed be close.

New Orleans over HOUSTON (pick ‘em)
Both of these teams are 4-5, so losing is not an option to stay in contention for the playoffs. The Saints have more talent – so take them to win, as they have been the hotter of the two teams, winning four of their last five. Even if Saints RB Reggie Bush is questionable they have strong back-ups at this position with Duece McAllister and Aaron Stecker.

GREEN BAY (-10) over Carolina
With the Panthers stuck with back-up QB’s for the past 3 weeks they’ve been outscored 71-27 while Brett Favre and the Packers have been lighting it up this year, with over 300 yards of passing in 6 of the last 7 games and a 13-6 TD to INT rating during that period. Combine the Panthers’ QB woes with the hostile frozen tundra of Green Bay and you’ve got a blowout.

N.Y. Giants (-3) over DETROIT
Both of these teams are coming off a loss after having won several in a row (6 for NY and 3 for Detroit). Last week was much more likely to be a reality check for the Lions (losing to middle-of-the-pack Arizona) while the Giants lost a hard-fought match to a great Dallas team. As a result, the stronger/better Giants should be able to reconfirm for everyone watching that Detroit is not yet a true contender, they should stick to making over-priced crappy American cars!

St. Louis over SAN FRANCISCO (pick ‘em)
The Rams won an impressive game over a Saints team last week that was coming into their match-up against St.Louis with 4 straight wins. This was the Rams’ first win of the season, while the 49ers have only two wins this season (having lost their last 7 games). St. Louis has their offense producing better of late, with 57 points in the past two weeks. The Rams could easily play .500 ball for the remainder of the season now that they have that monkey off their back.

SEATTLE over Chicago (pick ‘em)
What the hell is going on with all of the pick ‘em’s this week? Does this have something to do with all of the Hollywood screenwriters going on strike? Seattle will have their work cut out with RB Alexander questionable following a leg injury last week, but I can’t pick Chicago winning with QB Grossman (with emphasis on Gross) since Griese went down with a shoulder injury last week. Grossman specializes in low passing yards per game and untimely interceptions. Can you believe this was a playoff game from last year??

Tennessee (+2) over DENVER
How are the Titans not favoured in this game? The 6-3 Tennesseeans are hands down better than the 4-5 Broncos. Tennessee has the 4th-ranked running game (with Denver susceptible to the run) and the 2nd-best overall defence in the league. The Titans will showcase their abilities on Monday Night.

Survivor
Here’s a summary of my picks thus far, with week 6 and 10 being wrong:
Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta
Week 6 – Seattle over New Orleans XXX
Week 7 – Washington over Arizona
Week 8 – Cleveland over St. Louis
Week 9 – Tampa Bay over Arizona
Week 10 – New Orleans over St. Louis XXX
Week 11 – Indianapolis over Kansas City

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

The following post is by Mike Cluett. Please visit Mike Cluett’s Milton blog site here:

Just the mere mention of that intersection causes many residents in the area to roll their eyes.

Why? We have seen many near misses of vehicles driving down Yates from Thompson Road with cars coming out of March Crossing. This past weekend was no different.

Let’s go back in time to this past summer around the dinner hour. Local residents were brought out of their homes with the sounds of screeching tires, loud thumps and a big bang. What had happened was a car traveling north on Yates Drive towards Bennett Blvd. at what witnesses describe as “over the speed limit”, narrowly missing a vehicle coming out on March Crossing into the intersection. This car swerved to miss that car, lost control, jumped the curb on the opposite side of the road and smashed into a house. Luckily there was no one hurt. The car sustained some damage and the bay window of the home was damaged.

As those of us who live in the area know, kids are walking up and down the sidewalk heading to their friends’ homes or to the local parks and thank God no one was there when this happened.

Now, we go back to this past Saturday and almost the exact same thing happened again…

To continue reading this column, go to Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog.

Adrian Peterson, fresh off his single-game NFL rushing record, and the electrifying Vikings take on the equally potent 7-1 Packers at Lambeau this week in what should be a beauty!

Well folks, won’t you put your hands together and welcome back the Milton Pigskin Prognosticator after a two-week hiatus sun-tanning in Florida… He’s just in time after my pathetic Week 9 performance - now I can go back to making my picks quietly in the ‘comments’ section….

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: The MPP!

(The MPP takes the podium)

Thank you, thank you, Milton Sports Guy. And now, without further adieu and after much investigation and research, I present to you the correct Week 10 winners against the spread (Home team in CAPS):

TENNESSEE over Jacksonville (pick ‘em)
These division rivals split their series last season, with the home team winning both games. Both teams figure to be in contention for the playoffs with above-.500 records, however the Titans are more evenly balanced with the 3rd-ranked rushing offense and the second best overall defense in the league. The Jaguars’ 5th-ranked rushing offense will face the league’s top run defense. Close match-ups, but they favour the home Titans.

KANSAS CITY over Denver (pick ‘em)
Like the above game, these division rivals split their series last season, with the home team winning both games. However, both of these teams need to turn it up a notch if they hope to contend for the postseason. Both teams had key players injured last week who may not suit up – Denver’s QB Cutler injured his leg while the Chief’s RB Larry Johnson has a sprained foot. Denver’s potential QB loss is a much bigger loss, so expect K.C. to win this game at home.

Buffalo (-3) over MIAMI
The winless fish go up against an AFC rival they lost to both times last season by 10 or more points – and the Dolphins are playing worse than last year while the Bills are playing surprisingly better than last season. Take the crappy Bills to cover over the even crappier Dolphins!

Cleveland (+9) over PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh swept this divisional series last year, won their first meeting in week one, 34 to 7 and the Steelers are 6-2 this season. However those facts alone are VERY misleading. Consider these facts: 1. Cleveland is much improved from last season with the surprise success of back-up unknown QB Anderson being 5-2 in his 7 starts (more wins than the Browns registered all of last season), 2. Charlie Frye was starting QB in the Brown’s week one loss to Pittsburgh this year, then Anderson won the job starting in week two, 3. Pittsburgh’s 6-2 record is largely over teams with losing records this season. 4. Pittsburgh’s coming off a Monday game win – one less day to prepare, and are likely overconfident. 5. The Browns currently have the 4th-ranked overall offense, while the Steelers counter with the league’s top-ranked overall defense. All of that being said, Cleveland is now in a position to challenge the Steelers and therefore will beat this spread and has a solid chance to win the game (who woulda thunk it!).

NEW ORLEANS (-11.5) over St. Louis
Once upon a time there were two teams that started the season off with four straight losses (the Saints and the Rams – this season) – from there, these two teams went in opposite directions with the Saints winning their next 4 games while the Rams rattled off four more losses (hey, at least they’re consistent!). Saints QB Drew Brees is averaging just under 300 yards per game over his past 5 games – resulting in the Saints now having the 4th-best pass offense in the league. In their four straight wins the Saints have won three of the games by eleven or more points versus better teams than St. Louis, and the Rams have lost five of their games this season by more than 12 points this season - so why stop now.

Atlanta (+4) over CAROLINA
The 4-4 Panthers have a better team than the 2-6 gone-to-the-dogs Falcons, however there’s a very good chance the Panthers may have to start their #4 QB, an undrafted rookie by the name of Matt Moore who may or may not have a helmet (#1 QB Delhomme likely out for the season with elbow injury, #2 QB David Carr may have sustained a concussion last week and #3 QB old-man Testaverde is out nursing his Achilles tendon). Starting a rookie who is #4 on the depth chart means you or I may know the Panthers’ offensive scheme better than he does. Not a winning formula in today’s NFL.

WASHINGTON (-3) over Philadelphia
The Eagles swept the Skins last season, but the Skins won the first meeting this season in week 2 in Philly by a score of 20-12. The ‘Skins are 5-3 this season, with all three loses coming against very strong teams (Giants 24-17, Packers 17-14, Patriots 52-7) – with two of their three losses to top teams ending up very close. Meanwhile the Eagles are 3-5, and over the past five games McNabb has only thrown 4 TD passes while being sacked 23 times. The ‘Skins had a top defense before being spanked by the Patriots in week 8 – look for them to regain their form at home in this one.

Minnesota (+6) over GREEN BAY
This game has lots of explosive potential – with the Packers having the 5th-ranked overall offense in the league (#2 ranked passing attack) and the Vikings have the top-ranked running game thanks to rookie sensation Adrian Peterson, who broke the all-time single game rushing yard record last week. Minnesota also counters with the #2 run defence in the league allowing them to keep this one close.

Cincinnati (+4.5) over BALTIMORE
The Ravens were 7-1 at home last season and are 3-0 at home this season, as well they have the 3rd ranked overall defense in the league. The Bengals are a dismal 2-5 despite having the 5th-best passing attack in the league and they beat Baltimore in Cincy 27-20 in week one. I like the Bengals to beat the spread for a few reasons – they’re due for a win, they average 29 points per game this year and the Ravens only average 16 points per game. Cincy’s weakness is their defense – but Baltimore hardly possesses a dangerous offense that could exploit it.

OAKLAND (+3.5) over Chicago
The Raiders have the 4th-ranked running game and the Bears D has been soft against the run this year, having given up 119 net rushing yards or more the past 4 games. The Bears also lose in the match-up of their offense against the Raider defense, as the Bears rely heavily on their passing game (having under 100 rushing yards for 6 straight games) but run up against the Raiders 4th-ranked pass defense. These are two big match-ups that favour the Raiders, plus they’re on home turf - the “Black Hole.”

N.Y. GIANTS (+1) over Dallas
These teams split their series last season, and Dallas won the first match-up this year in week one by a score of 45-35. The Cowboys are 7-1 while the 6-2 Giants have won six straight! This match-up would have a lot more hype around it if it wasn’t for the incredible Patriots-Colts game just last week. I like the Giants at home in an upset for this game – they’ve built-up some great momentum the past six weeks, having allowed their opposition to score more than 17 points in just one of the last six games, and Eli Manning is starting to play more like his big brother.

Detroit (+1) over ARIZONA
Not sure why the 3-5 Cardinals are favoured against the 6-2 Lions… Sure they won last years match-up 17-10, but the Lions were 3-13 last season and are a totally different team this year. The Cardinals lost their starting QB for the season weeks ago and back-up Warner has his non-throwing arm basically taped-together at the elbow – he’s playing with one arm, and an old one at that! Unless RB Edgerrin James finally remembers how to run the ball this week, the Cards have no hope!

Indianapolis (-3.5) over SAN DIEGO
The Chargers have been inconsistent at best this season, while the Colts will be looking to very aggressively re-assert themselves as an AFC contender after losing their first game of the season to the Pats last weekend. The Colts have the third-ranked offence and fifth-ranked defense in the league, while the Chargers are struggling to show any sign of their 14-2 2006 team this season. This game won’t be close!

SEATTLE (-10) over San Francisco
The 49ers will continue their tail spin (having lost 6 straight) due to a complete lack of offense (having only scored over 17 points once this year) while Seattle has no choice but to start playing better than their 4-4 record if they all want to keep their jobs till the end of the season. Seattle beat the 49ers 23-3 in week 4 and swept the series last season as well – this will continue.

Survivor
Here’s a summary of my correct picks in the first six weeks, with week 6 my only blemish:
Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta
Week 6 – Seattle over New Orleans XXX you let me down Seattle!!!
Week 7 – Washington over Arizona
Week 8 – Cleveland over St. Louis
Week 9 – Tampa Bay over Arizona
Week 10 – New Orleans over St. Louis

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

The following post is by Mike Cluett. Please visit Mike Cluett’s Milton blog site here:

The Region of Halton recently announced that it was going forward with a Green Cart Program to help reduce the amount of waste that heads to our landfill site. In case people are unaware of where that landfill site is, take a trip down 25 (Bronte Road) south of Derry and you will soon see it.

There was quite the discussion during the last municipal election on what should be done with the landfill, which is quickly approaching capacity. With the hundreds and hundreds of new homes being built in the area there will be a further demand on that landfill and it’s up to us as residents to do our part.

The Region of Halton currently has the Blue Box program in place. You are to put glass, plastics etc. in one box and in the other we place the acceptable paper products, boxes, etc. As of April 2008 it was announced that residents will be able to put all products into one box instead of separating it, given the improvement in the separation technology available.

During that campaign a debate raged on about the EFW (Energy From Waste) proposal that was put before Regional Council and the pros and cons involved. In essence, an incinerator would be built at the landfill and the waste would then be burned using clean technology to produce energy that would be used in the region of Halton and beyond. Coupled with this proposal, there was the much maligned Pristine Power Plant issue that seemed to dominate the last half of the campaign…

To continue reading this column, go to Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog.