Tomorrow, at the fantastic hour of 6 AM, I will embark on a long and strange trip back in time to the analog age. It all started about a month ago when American Airlines cancelled my flight home to Stuart for Thanksgiving. My parents, knowing that the house they were having built in North Carolina was supposed to be done by Halloween, changed it to a flight out into Atlanta, planning to meet me there and then drive up to the new house.

But then, 2 problems arose: First of all, "done by Halloween" became "done by Thanksgiving" and then "done by the second week of December", so the house is not actually inhabitable. Then, we discovered that the American flight from STL to ATL was scheduled to be on what we in the business call a "small-ass plane, possibly with propellers, that you would have to sedate me in order to force me on".

So now I am flying to Atlanta on a Delta flight that leaves at 7:30 AM on Thanksgiving morning, then driving 2.5 hours up to North Carolina to stay in a hotel and eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant. All the while, I will have no internet access. What will I do?!?! Read by kerosene lantern? Go to sleep early so I can wake up at 5 AM and milk the cows? Walk uphill both ways to the store to get penny candy?

Possibly all of these, but one thing I won't be doing is posting to this weblog. So that necessitates me doing all of my NFL Picks now (what a segue!).

GB at DET: All of the points Lucas makes are valid, but he's forgetting one thing: the home team has a tremendous advantage on Thanksgiving Day. Regardless, the Packers are a team on the rise. GB

MIA at DAL: But this Thanksgiving home team will beat the stuffing and cranberry sauce out of the predictable Dolphins. DAL

NE at IND: It's put up or shut up time for the Patriots, who absolutely own Peyton Manning. Regardless of how bad they are, they always beat the Colts. NE

MIN at STL: Minnesota is underachieving, and St. Louis is barely beating bad teams. I think Holt and Bruce will exploit the Vikings secondary, and the football gods will punish Minnesota for benching Moe Williams. STL

BUF at NYG: The Giants always finish the year strong, while Drew Bledsoe always limps his way to the finish line. NYG

CIN at PIT: I'm itching to pick Pittsburgh again, but the Bengals pass offense will exploit their weak secondary again. CIN

PHI at CAR: Philadelphia is hot, while Carolina lost to crappy Dallas last week. Regardless, I'm still not sold on the Eagles' painful-to-watch-as-a-fantasy-football-player running back by committee. CAR

SF at BAL: Baltimore pulled last week out of their collective asses, this week it's back to Earth for their crappy offense. SF

ATL at HOU: The Falcons almost pulled it out for me last week, taking a huge lead on Tennessee then injuring Steve McNair. Houston has impressed me and Domanick Davis will go beserk. HOU

AZ at CHI: Ouch. CHI

NO at WAS: I said I'd never pick the Saints again if they lost last week, so I'm forced to side with Steve Spurrier. WAS

DEN at OAK: Last week was an aberration for the Denver offense. Portis can run at will against the Raiders. DEN

KC at SD: Priest Holmes will have over 100 yards by the end of the first quarter. KC

CLE at SEA: Last week's embarassment aside, Seattle isn't that bad of a team, and they usually win home games. SEA

TB at JAX: The Bucs are fighting for their playoff lives. I said I'd never pick them again, but look at their crappy schedule. JAX

TEN at NYJ: Wow, a great Monday night matchup for once. I'll make this one my Upset Special, since the Jets will have seen some film on Mr. Volek by now. NYJ

I'll be back Monday night. Have a great break everyone!