VST Platinum Blog

The New England Patriots looked nothing like a team that had gone undefeated at home all season, let alone one of the dominant teams of the past few years. The Baltimore Ravens took advantage of a weak New England rushing defense and some untimely mistakes by QB Tom Brady to lead 14-0 just five minutes. They would end the first quarter up 24-0 and would never be seriously threatened as they coasted to a 33-14 victory in Sunday’s NFL Wildcard game. Baltimore used 234 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns to force the Patriots to play from behind, and then let their defense do the rest.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who took Baltimore as +3′ road underdogs were mentally counting their winnings before the end of the first quarter. The Patriots had dominated the head to head matchups with a 5-0 mark (4-1 ATS) and were undefeated at 8-0 (5-3 ATS) on their home field heading into this matchup. The 47 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 43.

The Ravens took advantage of three first quarter turnovers by Tom Brady to build their insurmountable lead. Ricky Rice ran for an 83 yard touchdown on the Ravens’ first place from scrimmage, but afterward refused to proclaim the New England era of dominance over for good:

“Their era is not over, they know how to win but for the Ravens, to beat the New England Patriots set a precedent. We’ll always remember this win. One thing we said as an offense is we want to start games fast. I wanted to be the guy today to start fast, whether it was a 5-yard run or an 83-yard run. I wanted to be the guy to say this will be a fast-tempo game. We want the other team to play catch-up to us.”

Baltimore certainly did that, forcing New England to play catch up from their first possession. From the beginning, things didn’t go well as Tom Brady fumbled on the Patriots’ first possession setting up another easy Ravens’ TD. By the end of the first quarter, Brady and his teammates were hearing boos from the Gillette Stadium fans. For his part, Brady didn’t blame them for their displeasure:

“I’d have been booing us, too, the way we played. Playing the way we played today, we weren’t going to beat anybody.”

New England is done for the year, while Baltimore will head to Indianapolis to take on Peyton Manning and the Colts on Saturday night. Indy has won and covered three straight against the Ravens, though Baltimore gave them a tough fight at home this season before losing 17-15 as a +1 home underdog.

Ross Everett is a well known expert on sports handicapping and a respected freelance writer specializing in pro football, auto racing, fencing and model railroading. He provides daily free sports picks to Internet and broadcast media outlets. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

Tags: entertainment, arts

In one of the highlight matches of the DREAM/K-1 Fields Dynamite! New Years Eve megacard, Japanese submission machine Shinya Aoki used a heel hook to submit a top notch opponent in Eddie Alverez at 1:32 of the first round.

When the Aoki/Alverez fight was first announced, there was some speculation that Aoki had chosen one of the worst possible stylistic matchups for him. A product of tough Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, he grew up not far from where much of the exterior scenes were shot for the first Rocky movie. Though Alverez escaped the areas cycle of crime, he did so by earning respect on the streets for his toughness–basically, he was such a feared street fighter that no one would mess with him. With this sort of toughness and heart bred into him, and a solid background in boxing and amateur wrestling hes become one of the best all round fighters in MMA and among the best in the world at the weight.

Alverez received an enthusiastic reaction from the fans in Tokyo’s Saitama Super Arena as he made his way to the ring on New Years Eve”his run to the DREAM lightweight finals and particularly the epic battle with Hansen has made him a highly respected and popular fighter in Japan. The reaction he received was nothing like Aoki’s, however, who was cheered like a rock star as he bounced to the ring to his trademark theme song “Baka Survivo”r. While the fans stood and clapped along to the song, Alverez stood in the ring and shadow boxed–appearing somewhat like he didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into.

As the two fighters stood for referee instructions, it was striking how much taller and rangier Aoki was than his opponent. Aoki is listed at 511, Alverez at 58 but the visual difference suggests that there’s much more than a three inch height advantage in favor of Aoki.

For the first minute of the match, it appeared that a slow feeling out process was underway. Alverez was the aggressor for most of the first minute, coming forward while using his jab as a range finder.

What happened next can only be described as unbelievable”the sequence started when Aoki grabbed Alverez’s ankle after a kick and appeared to go for what looked like a standing anklelock submission. Alverez managed to extricate his ankle and seeing that Aoki was off balance took the opportunity to go for his own takedown with a move that looked more like a judo throw than a traditional wrestling move.

When Alverez landed, however, Aoki wasn’t there. In one single, almost gravity defying motion he’d used the momentum from the takedown to shoot under Alverez and grab his leg. Alverez struggled briefly, but Aoki quickly cinched in a painful heel hook. Eventually, Alverez was forced to tap.

Ever the gentleman, Aoki dropped to the canvas after the tapout to check on his opponents condition than started his postfight celebration. He quickly addressed the crowd in Japanese to an enthusiastic response before heading to the back.

One superlative that is no longer in dispute is Shinya Aoki’s status as the best submission artist in mixed martial arts. There’s simply no one else like him in the sport–there’s plenty of good, solid submission based fighters but Aoki elevates it into an art form. Hes got the technical background to be sure, but what elevates him above the rest is his amazing ability at improvisation. This makes it downright impossible to adequately prepare to fight him, as Alverez discovered.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Tags: Technology, home studios

The “perfect wedding” is something just about every girl dreams of, even to the point of having seen in their mind exactly what their wedding day will look like. And once they begin to actually plan their wedding these thoughts only become more intensified, meaning the bride-to-be will often overlook the planning of one of her traditional rites of passage - her bridal shower.

Bridal showers are a way of saying goodbye to single hood as the bride prepares for her wedding. Since brides are usually preoccupied with wedding arrangements, it is usually up to family and friends to come up with a good bridal shower idea and memorable bridal shower activities.

The bride’s tastes and personality are certainly factors you should take into account as you begin to plan your bridal shower activities. It’s important to understand the bride’s preferences and point of view on her shower as these will influence many of your decisions. Staying true to the bride’s personality will also help you make the bridal shower memorable and unique. From the start, think about how you can break free from “traditional” activities, like making a tissue paper wedding dress or playing pin-the-tail on the bridegroom. Instead, create a set of bridal shower activities completely centered on the bride that will engage both her and your guests.

A classy hotel, where the bride and your guests can spend get “pampered” for the better part of the day, is a great place to have your shower. Who can resist a good massage, dip in the hotel Jacuzzi, a hot sauna or relaxing aroma therapy? Later in the day, get together in a comfortable room where you can eat, open gifts and spend time talking and laughing about the times you’re spend with the bride.

Another option is to hold the bridal shower at a local mall, where any number of interesting bridal shower activities might unfold. One the bride is certain to enjoy is allowing her to go on a shopping spree (just don’t max out everyone’s credit cards!). When that’s finished, stop by the mall caf and treat her to her favorite coffee, ice cream, gourmet chocolate - whatever her sweet tooth craves. And somewhere in there don’t forget to stop by the lingerie shop and let the bride flaunt some of that elegant attire to her guests - and possibly even select something the groom will enjoy seeing on her.

Some brides might prefer more of an “outside” experience, particularly if they’re more of an outdoors and nature-loving type. We’ve heard of bridal shower activities that include everything from bungee jumping and hiking to canoeing, wine tasting, and even planting trees for remembrance of the day. Better yet, if you live near a nice lake or the ocean, head to the beach for a day of fun in the sun, complete with picnic food, a few bottles of wine and more. As day turns to evening, find a place to have a bonfire where you can sit, relax, and enjoy each other’s company. Or you can still give the bride here outdoor bridal shower at someone’s home, decorating the backyard or available area with candles, lights, flowers, ribbons and other items to create that special feeling and atmosphere.

There are a lot of fun-filled shower activities for the bride out there. So the next time you find yourself organizing one, you know what to do.

Ideas for bridal shower activities are just the beginning at the BridalShowerMoments blog. Join Ellen Glover and our other writers for more on bridal shower decorating, centerpieces, brunch and more.

Tags: music, computer