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WINE AND WHINING<br />
Without A.J. Green and Gio Bernard,<br />
it’s time for the Bengals to pack it in.<br />
THE WINE<br />
I opted for a 2012 Adelsheim Chardonnay<br />
from Willamette Valley (that’s<br />
Will am it rhymes with damnit, and not<br />
will a met.<br />
It’s $50 in BC and so the expectations<br />
were significant. It’s a great food<br />
wine, with zippy acidity to serve as a<br />
palate cleanser between every bite<br />
of sushi. It didn’t receive much oak<br />
treatment, as the majority of the juice<br />
was fermented in stainless steel tanks<br />
and the rest in neutral barrels. Consequently,<br />
the natural apple, peach and<br />
pear fruit characteristics of the grapes<br />
shine through. No complaints here.<br />
For those that subscribe to the “no<br />
wood, no good” school of thought, it is<br />
best to look elsewhere.<br />
LOOKING AHEAD<br />
It’s a full slate of games this week,<br />
with all teams in action. There are the<br />
usual three games on Thanksgiving<br />
Thursday, a full slate on Sunday,<br />
followed by the requisite Monday<br />
nighter.<br />
If Week 10 was the week of parity and<br />
Week 11 the week of big favorites,<br />
then Week 12 is a blend of both.<br />
There are six games with a spread<br />
of 3.5 points or less, and another six<br />
games with a spread of 6.5 points or<br />
more.<br />
I’m not one to toot my horn but it’s<br />
been a pretty nice run the past few<br />
weeks in this column as I went 3-0 in<br />
Week 10 and 2-1 last week. Let the<br />
rock machine roll . . .<br />
NFL PICKS<br />
Washington +6.5 @ Dallas<br />
The Cowboys are 9-0-1 against the<br />
spread so far this year. It’s difficult to<br />
get in front of this train; however, I’ll<br />
take the 6.5 points as their division<br />
rivals roll into town. It just feels a little<br />
too much to me. The Washington football<br />
team is fresh off of two consecutive<br />
home wins and look to extend<br />
their streak on the road in Texas.<br />
Dallas has reeled off nine consecutive<br />
wins with Dak at the helm, and they<br />
beat the Washington professional<br />
football team by four points in Week 2.<br />
I look for the Dallas win but the Washington<br />
cover in a close Thanksgiving<br />
Day game.<br />
Cincinnati @ Baltimore -3.5<br />
The Bengals feel a little like the Packers<br />
to me this year. With no AJ Green,<br />
it’s a tall order to expect a road win.<br />
They are 0-4-1 against the spread<br />
while the Ravens are 3-2 at home<br />
against the spread. It feels like the<br />
Bengals have packed it in this season,<br />
and without their star wideout and<br />
Gio Bernard missing in the backfield,<br />
I look for Baltimore to get the cover.<br />
Lay the 3.5 points.<br />
Tennessee -2 @ Chicago<br />
This is a bet in equal measure against<br />
the Bears, as it is for the Titans. Look<br />
for the Titans to exploit a Bears defense<br />
that spends way too much time<br />
on the field thanks to their impotent<br />
offense. The Titans will bounce back<br />
from the loss at Indianapolis last<br />
week, with a ground and pound attack,<br />
wearing out the aforementioned<br />
Bears defense. A bargain at less than<br />
a field goal. Titans -2.<br />
Adelsheim are producers of great<br />
Oregon wines with a focus<br />
on quality over quantity.<br />
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