I figured the Giants were going to have a tough game today against the Redskins. Divisional games are always intense, the Skins have a hard-hitting defense, the G-Men were coming off this huge Plax-shoots-himself distraction, and Washington figured to be sky high off the Sean Taylor anniversary and his induction into their Ring of Honor.

On the other hand, I figured the Jets would win easily. They were at home, the weather figured to help their running game and hamper the Bronco aerial attack, Denver hasn’t been able to stop the run all season, and the Jets had just defeated two much tougher teams in New England and Tennessee.

Show what I know.

Or, as Chris Berman likes to say, “that’s why they play the games.”

It was one and one alright, but just the reverse of the way I had it. Total domination by the Giants, but the Jets got embarassed on both sides of the ball. The only good moment in the Jets game was the amazing Thomas Jones roll-over-a-defender-bounce-up-again-and-score touchdown, which had to be seen to be believed.

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Oy.

Accidentally shooting yourself in the leg while dancing at a nightclub?

This is not the recommended treatment for a bad hamstring.

And this is not how a New York Giant behaves, Plaxico.

You’re not a Dallas Cowboy.

But you might be soon, if you keep up this kind of crap.

Thank god for Domenick Hixon.

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I had a great Thanksgiving yesterday with a great bunch of friends.

The turkey was great and the company was greater.

Before and after the feast, we played tennis, golf, and bowling on the Wii that Parris got me. Good thing too, since the NFL offered up three really lame-ass football games.

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I’ve got a new interview online with Wisconsin Public Radio. Me and Ursula K. Le Guin discuss whether science fiction is truly “the literature of ideas.”

(No, we weren’t on together. Separate interviews).

Check it out at

http://www.wpr.org/book/081123a.cfm

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And now for a brief word from our sponsors.

For the latest news about the Ice & Fire minibusts from Valyrian Resin, and the Ice & Fire calendar from Dabel Brothers Productions, check out the News page on my website.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, so if you’re looking for Christmas gifts for that hardcore Ice & Fire fan you know…

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I was nervous about this Ravens game. Maybe I was having flashbacks to the Giants/ Ravens Superbowl.

Turns out my fears were misplaced. A convincing win for the G-Men.

Their schedule is horrendous the rest of the way, not a single game against a team with a losing record, but I think they’re equal to it. Their three-headed running back is monstrous.

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Sorry, Stego. (But only a little).

My heart stopped several times this evening.

What a game.

I hate the prevent defense. Hate it, hate it, hate it. But that was a sensational catch by Randy Moss. Though the Jets should have jammed him, as they’d been doing all game.

Where the hell do the Patriots keep getting these great quarterbacks? Matt Cassel was amazing, I have to say. Four-year college benchwarmer, hasn’t played since high school, but he gets better every game, and tonight he looked like the reincarnation of Johnny Unitas. And he was what, a seventh round draft choice? And Brady was a sixth rounder? Scott Pioli has an amazing eye for quarterbacks. The Jets back-up is Kellen Clemens, a second round choice and a major college star, but in the NFL so far he has been less than ordinary. Let’s just hope that Brett Favre never goes down.

Much as I despise him, Evil Little Bill is still a great coach. Just when it looked as though the Jets were going to blow the P-men out on their own home field, BB goes to a no-huddle offense, and exhausts Gang Green’s gigantic man in the middle, Kris Jenkins, negating our most effective defensive player. No one else thought of that, all season. Fortunately for truth, justice, and the American way, Jenkins was able to find a hidden reserve of strength in the fourth quarter, when it counted, but… I may despise Belichek, but I never make the mistake of underestimating him.

But enough props to the Patriots. The Jets won. Finally. When Moss caught that TD with one second left, I felt like a dagger had been thrust through me, and the words “Same Old Jets” came inevitably to mind. It felt like we’d already lost. These were the Patriots, after all. Even when we won the overtime coin toss, things looked grim… especially after the first two plays, when the Jets faced third-and-fifteen.

Then Brett threw that rope to Dustin Keller, and the world changed.

Favre was… well, Favre was Favre. He’s done it before, he’ll do it again. Jericho Cotchery had that astonishing catch, snatching the ball out of the air in the crook of his elbow while falling forward with a defender draped all over him. Leon Washington returned a kickoff for a TD. But Dustin Keller was the one who really made me sit up. It looks as though the Jets knew what they were doing when they traded up into the end of the first round to get him (and a good thing, since their other first round pick, number four overall Vernon Gholston, shows every sign of being a bust). Tannenbaum and Mangini struck gold with Keller, I think. We have our tight end for the next decade.

Anyway… great game, great win, and I’m a happy boy.

Life is magical and full of joy.

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