Wildcard Monday Open Thread
All times are ET. Home team in CAPS.
Saturday 4:30 PM – HOUSTON v. Cleveland (-2.5)
His name is Flacco.
No, not the Manhattan owl.
But still the man soars.
Saturday 8:00 PM – KANSAS CITY (-4.5) v. Miami
It will be frigid,
projected at six below.
Too bleak for Flipper.
Sunday 1:00 PM – BUFFALO (-10) v. Pittsburgh
It’s the Bar Bill wings,
versus Primanti Brothers.
Dip this win in blue.
Sunday 4:30 PM – DALLAS (-7.5) v. Green Bay
America’s team.
A nation’s eyes upon them.
Will they hold up? Yes.
Sunday 8:15 PM – DETROIT (-3) v. Los Angeles
Jared was a Ram.
And Matthew was a Lion.
The latter moves on.
Monday 8:00 PM – TAMPA BAY v. Philadelphia (-3)
The home team is bad,
and the road team might be worse.
Someone has to win.
The Picks: Cleveland -2.5, Kansas City -4.5, Pittsburgh +10, Dallas -7.5, Los Angeles +3.5, Philly -3 (but I won’t be betting the last one).
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
I was asked by @AlexBryant93, as I tweeted from behind the sticks, what mixed drink Justin Fields might be. So, I spent some time ruminating on the topic.
First, let’s rule some drinks out. Fields is not your classic NFL quarterback so we can rule out the classics like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Martini, Vodka tonic, etc. (Is there a more vodka tonic quarterback than Kirk Cousins?)
Fields seems to struggle with the simple stuff. He doesn’t always hit the layups. So, I would argue he’s not a vodka soda, or vodka cran, or even a Jameson ginger.
But he’s explosive, and fun. He’s got an electric deep-ball arm and might be the most dynamic runner in the game. So, I want a fun alcohol in the conversation. I also want something with an element not found in any other mixed cocktail.
And so it is decided. Justin Fields is an espresso martini. 2 oz of Mr. Black coffee liqueur. 2 oz of freshly made espresso. 1 oz of simple syrup. A dash of bitters. And shake the shit out of it. That extra element? A few espresso beans sprinkled atop the drink as garnish.
(And if you’re ever at PJ Horgan’s in Sunnyside, Queens, I make the best espresso martini in town.)
I.
Always.
Like.
THE.
Chicago.
Bears.
I got nothing.
How many times can I write the same thing about Justin Fields?
How many times can I write the same thing about Matt Eberflus?
Sometimes a season just needs to end and that is definitively the case for the 2023 Chicago Bears. This season needs to end, and the organization needs to make their decisions at quarterback and coach. Nothing will change this coming Sunday. Nothing will change the Sunday after.
I hope the Bears beat the Falcons because winning is more fun than losing and they already are guaranteed a top two pick in the draft. That is the entirety of what’s at stake at Soldier Field, a potentially fun afternoon.
Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest is one of the most remarkable films I have ever seen.
First, a plot summary, in the briefest sense. The film is a domestic drama, but the domicile in question is the home of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, situated directly outside the high walls of the concentration and extermination camp in question. Throughout the film, we engage the Höss family as if they were any other German family, i.e. the stress of visiting in-laws, the drama of a work transfer, etc. We watch in detail as Rudolf, the family’s patriarch, locks the doors and turns out the lights each evening. We see birthday cakes and visits to the local creek for recreation.
We never see the atrocities of the camp. But throughout the film, we hear constant reminders of what is happening inside those walls. Gun shots. Screams. The most horrifying cinematic soundscape I can remember.
There will be time, years, to discuss this film further. Glazer might be the modern Kubrick; he’s made three other films (Sexy Beast, Birth, Under the Skin) and each is brilliant. But for now, I want to use this space to encourage you to find Zone of Interest and sit with it. It is a film that questions the very nature of how we construct narratives of history, and how those narratives are consumed. Glazer has said the film is “not a history lesson, it’s a warning.” That warning haunts me.
This is the film of the year.
