Rhino's Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro

“Hopes that were high in the heat of September … can wilt and die in the chill of November. November can be cold and grey, November can be surly with with bitter rain upon the world and winter coming early.” — John Facenda, of NFL Films (Official site | Blog | On Hulu).

November has given way to December, and the previous month exposed some clear-cut contenders (Bears, Cowboys, Falcons, Ravens, just to name a few), a bunch of pretenders (Bills, Buccaneers, Chargers, Chiefs, just to name a few) and a few teams left in the hunt for coveted playoff spots (Bengals, Broncos, Giants, Jets, Lions, Titans, just to name a few). Here are the picks for this week’s pro football action …

Five-star upset special o’ the week: Raiders over Dolphins. This, apparently, would be considered an upset, according to oddsmakers, who — quite frankly — I pay very little attention to. But, the Dolphins have put together a nice run after an 0-8 start, and figure to provide quite a contest for the Raiders, who are attempting to fight off a sudden threat by the Tim Tebow-led Broncos.

Lock of the week: Patriots over Colts. Once upon a time, this was a huge rivalry game, a showdown of AFC heavyweights fighting for playoff positioning of the highest order. A not-so-funny thing happened on the way to a promising Week 13 matchup that, when the schedule was made in April, figured to be a classic late-season squabble between longtime combatants: Peyton Manning would miss every game on the road from Week 1 to the early December matchup. Now, a winless Colts team visits Foxborough, where the local pro football team is still vying for a top AFC playoff seed.

Thursday’s game

Eagles at Seahawks
The pick: Seahawks

Sunday’s games

Titans at Bills
The pick: Titans
Chiefs at Bears
The pick: Bears
Falcons at Texans
The pick: Falcons
Raiders at Dolphins
The pick: Raiders
Broncos at Vikings
The pick: Broncos
Colts at Patriots
The pick: Patriots
Bengals at Steelers
The pick: Steelers
Panthers at Buccaneers
The pick: Panthers
Jets at Redskins
The pick: Jets
Ravens at Browns
The pick: Ravens
Cowboys at Cardinals
The pick: Cowboys
Packers at Giants
The pick: Packers
Rams at 49ers
The pick: 49ers
Lions at Saints
The pick: Saints

Monday’s game

Chargers at Jaguars
The pick: Chargers

Statistical breakdown

Last week’s record: 12-4
2011 overall record: 116-60 (.659 winning percentage)
Five-star upset special record: 4-8
Lock of the week record: 9-3

I feel it’s way too early to get excited about this development, but the Green Bay Packers are making a run at perfection.

As a native Wisconsinite, this is a very welcome development. The best possible end to said development would be for the Packers to go 18-0, reach Super Bowl XLVI, play the New England Patriots — who just four years ago flirted with perfection — and soundly defeat them. That would be epic, however, extremely unlikely (the undefeated at 19-0 part).

What’s been epic is the run of success on the gridiron for Wisconsin’s football teams. While the Packers chase a second consecutive Lombardi Trophy, the Wisconsin Badgers — who played in, but lost, the Rose Bowl last season — are playing in the very first Big Ten championship game on Saturday and the U-Dub-Dub Warhawks — winners of three of the last four Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowls — are two wins away from a seventh consecutive appearance in the D-III title game.

It’s fun being a football fan in the great state of Wisconsin.

Since Mike Holmgren took over as head coach of the Packers in 1992, the team has had just two losing seasons (best in the NFL, barely, as the Steelers have had three losing seasons since 1992). In that same time frame, the Badgers have been to 16 bowl games, including three Rose Bowl triumphs in four appearances. Wisconsin-Whitewater football? Well, its annual matchup with Mount Union for the championship, now at six straight years, is absolutely unprecedented to the point that it boggles the mind.

I expect the Packers’ perfect ride to end some time between now and Week 17, with the Giants — despite the debacle on Monday night in New Orleans — posing a challenge. The Giants have a history of ruining runs at perfection — 1998 Broncos, 2007 Patriots — and could play spoiler again. The Packers’ remaining schedule goes like this: At Giants, vs. Raiders, at Chiefs, vs. Bears (on Christmas night) and vs. Lions. Four of those remaining five opponents have real aspirations of reaching the playoffs. So, it’s not going to be quite the challenge to 16-0.

1. Paul Bunyan Axe (Wisconsin vs. Minnesota)

2. Commander in Chief’s Trophy (Air Force, Army, Navy)

3. Old Oaken Bucket (Purdue vs. Indiana)

4. Peace Pipe (Bowling Green vs. Toledo)

5. Old Brass Spittoon (Indiana vs. Michigan State)

Honorable mention: Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa vs. Minnesota), Keg of Nails (Cincinnati vs. Louisville), Platypus Trophy (Oregon vs. Oregon State), Slab of Bacon (Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, 1930-43)

The sun sets on just another typical November day in Santa Monica.

1. Hammerhead
2. Lobot
3. Ugnaught
4. Death Star Droid
5. 4-LOM

Honorable mention: Dengar

Related Star Wars points of discussion here at Rhino’s Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro:
• My power rankings of what Lobot is listening to in those headphones
• My things that are awesome power rankings: Star Wars bounty hunters
• My Star Wars droid power rankings
• My dark lords of the Sith power rankings
• My Star Wars bounty hunter power rankings
• My Star Wars planets power rankings

Brewery: Innstadt Brauerei

Variety: Bock Weisse

Style: Weizenbock

ABV (alcohol by volume): 7.0%

Purchased at: Alpine Village in Torrance, Calif.

Beer was enjoyed with … Basically, the soothing self-satisfaction after a long, yet productive, day at the office. Said day contained three Thanksgiving Day NFL games, including the Green Bay Packers’ 27-15 victory over the Detroit Lions, which sent the Packers to 11-0 for the first time in team history. Still, it was a long day at a desk behind a computer and away from family/friends on one of my favorite holidays of the year (also, the greatest of the food/football holidays). Perhaps that experience will be a motivator to rectify that situation in 2012. But, I digress …

Will I drink this beer again? I’ve already consumed a number of Innstadt’s offerings, including the Original Edelsud, Neues Helles and Stadl-Bier (none reviewed yet here at Rhino’s Sports Pub … oh, darn, guess we’ll just have to make another trip to Alpine VIllage to try those fine beers again).

I’m not going to lie, a big part of the allure of the Innstadt brews is the packaging. Bock Weisse, like the aforementioned Innstadt offerings, comes in an awesome swing-top bottle. It’s just more fun drinking a beer from a swing/pop top.

Upon pouring, one might notice a couple things:

1. The beer actually looks like a root beer. Thankfully, it’s not and — at 7 percent ABV — packs a bit more punch.

2. The lack of head. This isn’t a bad thing … makes it easier to pour.

Initial taste brings a hint of chocolate, caramel and maybe some nuttiness (not the crazy kind of nutty).

This was a pleasant beer experience, and further affirmation that you simply can’t go wrong with a beer from Germany.

Cheers!

1. Mix of theme songs to old TV shows
2. Major Tom by Peter Schilling
3. Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas
4. Greatest Hits: Bachman Turner Overdrive
5. Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture

Thanksgiving — the greatest of the food/football holidays — is back, which means a tripleheader of pigskin action to digest while you endure that tryptophan-induced coma.

The food/fun kicks off with the upstart Lions hosting the Packers in what arguably could be Detroit’s most meaningful Thanksgiving Day game in more than a decade. The Packers come in at 10-0, and this matchup is a tasty morsel for football fans. The last time the Packers started a season 10-0 was in 1962, when the defending champion Packers under legendary coach Vince Lombardi went into Tiger Stadium on Thanksgiving Day and suffered their only setback in what turned out to be a 13-1 regular season and repeat championship campaign.

That is a very ominous historical footnote for the current incarnation of the Packers. Of course, one could look at the good that transpired for the Packers following that humbling 1962 loss, for the aftermath produced arguably the finest football team in Green Bay’s illustrious history.

Given that information, and the relative health of the current Packers (which isn’t ideal), one would think it’d be an easy upset pick to select the Lions to win their first Thanksgiving Day game since 2003 (which, coincidentally, came against the Packers). However, picking against the Packers while they chase perfection seems like bad karma at the Sports Pub and Bacon Bistro.

Five-star upset special o’ the week: Colts over Panthers. Yup, we’re going there. If the Colts don’t win here, at home, against the Panthers, coming off the bye week … well, they might not win the rest of the way. Therefore, matching the 0-16 infamy of the 2008 Detroit Lions. The Colts’ remaining schedule (beyond the showdown with the Panthers) goes as follows: At New England, at Baltimore, vs. Tennessee, vs. Houston, at Jacksonville. Maybe, just maybe, there are two winnable games in that mix (you know which ones I’m looking at). While the Colts are aiming to avoid their first 0-11 start in 25 years, the Panthers are going to avoid adding to their franchise-record 12-game road losing streak. With two games to spare on their next-nearest competitors for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Colts can claim their victory, avoid NFL infamy and still get that coveted quarterback who can take over for Peyton Manning when the time is right (akin to Aaron Rodgers for Brett Favre in Titletown … that’s worked out well).

Lock of the week: Steelers over Chiefs. This is easy, the Steelers are coming off their bye week rested and ready to take on the 2011 schedule’s stretch run. The Chiefs, well, they’ve got Shane Falco — err, Tyler Palko — at quarterback (unless, the recently acquired off waivers Kyle Orton can be ready to go in a very short period of time).

Thanksgiving Day games

Packers at Lions
The pick: Packers
Dolphins at Cowboys
The pick: Cowboys
49ers at Ravens
The pick: Ravens

Sunday’s games

Vikings at Falcons
The pick: Falcons
Browns at Bengals
The pick: Bengals
Panthers at Colts
The pick: Colts
Texans at Jaguars
The pick: Texans
Bills at Jets
The pick: Jets
Cardinals at Rams
The pick: Rams
Buccaneers at Titans
The pick: Buccaneers
Bears at Raiders
The pick: Raiders
Redskins at Seahawks
The pick: Seahawks
Patriots at Eagles
The pick: Patriots
Broncos at Chargers
The pick: Broncos
Steelers at Chiefs
The pick: Steelers

Monday’s game

Giants at Saints
The pick: Saints

Statistical breakdown

Last week’s record: 10-4
2011 overall record: 104-56 (.650 winning percentage)
Five-star upset special record: 4-7
Lock of the week record: 8-3

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — ‘Twas the day before MLS Cup, and somehow, magically, and without any notice, Rhino’s Sports Pub has managed to avoid much of the intense, two-week-long hype for MLS Cup XVI, which will be played for a record fourth time at the Home Depot Center in beautiful, Carson, Calif.

Perhaps it was NFL Week 11, Tebowing, a potential new MLB CBA, and the possibility of no NBA season that pushed Major League Soccer — an up-and-coming league — and its penultimate match aside.

Well, here we are a day before the championship, outlined against a partly cloudy Southern California sky (weather update at 12:19 p.m.: It’s mostly cloudy now), and suddenly, there are obvious signs that the big game is finally upon sports fans.

The morning’s sports talk wasn’t focused on last night’s Iowa State upset of No. 2-rated Oklahoma State, but David Beckham in possibly his final game with the Los Angeles Galaxy — who are making a record seventh MLS Cup appearance (they’ve only won twice, however) — and whether or not the upstart Houston Dynamo — making their third MLS Cup appearance (they’ve won both of their prior appearances) — can pull off the shocking upset on the home pitch of the star-studded Galaxy.

A conversation overheard at the local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf surrounded Robbie Keane, and how much he’ll have left in the tank after helping his native Ireland earn a berth in Euro 2012, for its first appearance in the European Championships since 1988. A trip to the local farmer’s market revealed that potentially thousands of fans from Houston might have descended upon the city, with the team’s signature orange kits prevalent everywhere, and those fans likely giddy in anticipation for the big game on Sunday night (at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN).

If only there were “MLS Cup Memories with Ian Darke” that one could enjoy much like American football fans can on the eve of Super Sunday with “Super Bowl Memories with Steve Sabol.” Many probably need that world football fix at the moment. (By the way, for historical perspective, this is the 16th edition of MLS Cup. In the NFL, Super Bowl XVI pitted the San Francisco 49ers against the Cincinnati Bengals — the first time. Not sure what that actually really means, to be honest.)

So, it’s time to give the final prediction of this, historic and epic Major League Soccer season.

I know, you didn’t ask, but …

Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 Houston Dynamo

If this is to be Beckham’s final MLS game, it’d be great to see him go out a winner.

Feel free to follow Rhino on Twitter at @jimreineking.

This is the last week of the bye weeks, which means fans will be treated to a heaping helping of pigskin action this coming Thanksgiving weekend. That’s good for America.

Five-star upset special o’ the week: Bengals over Ravens. Got totally burned by Baltimore as a “lock of the week” last week, so now the Ravens are a predicted loser in this spot this week. The winner of this game gets a share of the AFC North lead.

Lock of the week: Patriots over Chiefs. Tyler Palko will be the starting quarterback for the Chiefs on Monday night. That is all you need to know about this game. The Patriots, meanwhile, might not lose a game the rest of the way. Don’t believe it? Check out their remaining schedule.

Thursday’s game

Jets at Broncos
The pick: Broncos (expect plenty of Tim Tebow late-game magic, then Tebowing from the man himself)

Sunday’s games

Bengals at Ravens
The pick: Bengals
Jaguars at Browns
The pick: Browns
Panthers at Lions
The pick: Lions
Buccaneers at Packers
The pick: Packers
Bills at Dolphins
The pick: Bills
Raiders at Vikings
The pick: Raiders
Cowboys at Redskins
The pick: Cowboys
Cardinals at 49ers
The pick: 49ers
Seahawks at Rams
The pick: Rams
Titans at Falcons
The pick: Falcons
Chargers at Bears
The pick: Bears
Eagles at Giants
The pick: Giants

Monday’s game

Chiefs at Patriots
The pick: Patriots

Statistical breakdown

Last week’s record: 10-6
2011 overall record: 94-52 (.644 winning percentage)
Five-star upset special record: 4-6
Lock of the week record: 7-3 (ugh … Ravens, I will never, ever through perpetuity, make the Baltimore Ravens as a “Lock of the week” selection. Ever!)