7:30 p.m.

• Time to bring yet another NFL prediction game to closure. Back in September I guessed which games on the NFL’s new flex schedule would make it to the prime-time slot. Let’s see how I fared. Below was my prediction for each week followed by that game’s score. If another game was called by Al Michaels and John Madden that week, I put it in parentheses below.

Week 10. Chicago at New York: 38-20. Correct.

Week 11. Indianapolis at Dallas: 21-14. Incorrect.

(San Diego at Denver: 35-27)

Week 12. Carolina at Washington: 13-17. Incorrect.

(Philadelphia at Indianapolis: 21-45)

Week 13. Seattle at Denver: 23-20. Correct.

Week 14. Indianapolis at Jacksonville: 44-17. Incorrect.

(New Orleans at Dallas: 42-17)

Week 15. Kansas City at San Diego: 9-20. Correct.

Week 16. Cincinnati at Denver: 23-24. Incorrect.

(San Diego at Seattle: 20-17)

Week 17. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati: 23-17. Incorrect.

(Green Bay at Chicago: 26-7)

Well, I went 3-8. Uh, yay and stuff.

While I’m on the subject of football, I might as well give my opinion of how each pre-game show did. ESPN – yeah, right. Fox? Simply dreadful. I never knew how much I liked James Brown until after he went to CBS. Historically I had always tuned in to the Fox pregame show more than anywhere else, and when I heard their Week 1 telecast, I couldn’t believe my ears. I gave the benefit of the doubt to that new token black guy; after all, it would take a while for that crew to develop chemistry. However, whenever I tuned in to Fox as the season progressed, I still didn’t care for them. CBS, on the other hand, got even better with Brown acting as the non-jock moderator. I must though that my favorite group was NBC’s “Football Night in America.” It started out “eh” for me, but as the season went on I felt that quartet meshed better with each passing week. Besides, I’m a Bob Costas fanboy, so I know I’m being a bit biased here. And I’ll even step up and defend that Pink opening song. It’s not great or anything, but it was certainly passable, especially if you had it playing in a nearby room and didn’t have to see the campy video that accompanied this jingle.

6:45 p.m.

• Well this day started out innocently enough. Then I found out that I know a person who knows the person that was the subject of the following story.

A man who barricaded himself inside his Mt. Oliver home this afternoon has surrendered peacefully.

 

He was not hurt but was taken away from the scene in an ambulance.

 

According to police, they received a report of a man throwing furniture out of his house on Amanda Street.

 

When officers arrived on the scene, they say the man ran inside the house and fired several shots out of a window.

 

No one was injured, but officials had to shut down the street and close off a three-block area while they diffused the situation.

 

Police say they believe the man may have some sort of disability

Minutes after learning of this, I get a call from the better half telling me her one uncle died. We didn’t know the person that well – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before, but it was odd to have those two things hit me at once. Not that either one affect me in the slightest, but oh well.