Ramblin' with Roger

The 2025-26 NFL rooting interests

da Bills and da Bears

I have to recalibrate my 2025-26 NFL rooting interests. Last season, the final game was between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings, both with 14 wins. The Lions, whom I was rooting for, won. This season, neither team made the playoffs. Neither did the Kansas City Chiefs, who lost the last Super Bowl, the Steelers/Ravens; nor the Washington Commanders

Historically, I’d have rooted for the New York Giants, but they were among the first teams eliminated from the postseason. Here are the teams in the playoffs, plus the #1 seeds, the Denver Broncos (AFC West champs, 14-3) and the Seattle Seahawks (NFC West champs, 14-3), who have the weekend off and host a game NEXT weekend.

So, I’m backing, in this order:

Buffalo Bills (AFC 6th seed, 12-5), the only team that plays its home games in New York State

Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North champs, 4th seed, 9-7), based at least in part on the fact that both Steelers greats Lynn Swann and Franco Harris have the same birthday as I do. Check Chuck’s pulse.

Carolina Panthers (NFC South champs, 4th seed, 8-9) because my parents and baby sister moved to the Queen City in 1974. I even own a sweatshirt from when the Panthers were the 1995 Western Division champions

Chicago Bears (NFC North champs, 2nd seed, 11-6). Last season, the Lions, Vikes, and Green Bay Packers all got into the playoffs from the NFC North, with only the Bears staying home. This season, the Bears won their division.

Mile High

Denver Broncos (AFC West, #1 seed, 14-3). They made the playoffs as a wild card last year, but this year they were one of the best teams in the league.

Green Bay Packers (NFC 7th seed, 9-7-1): A community-owned team with Green in its name gets points

San Francisco 49ers (NFC 6th seed, 12-5) were not in the playoffs last year, but are this year, despite their starting QB being injured for several games. I did love the Joe Montana and Steve Young 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (NFC West champs, 1st seed, 14-3) were likewise out of the playoffs last year, but not this time.

Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South champs, 3rd seed, 13-4) ditto; they were 4-13 last season

Houston Texans (AFC, 5th seed, 12-5) – I tend not to root for Texas teams, but their turnaround after a slow start is impressive.

Los Angeles Rams (NFC 5th seed, 12-5)

Los Angeles Chargers (AFC 7th seed, 11-6)

Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East champs, 3rd seed, 11-6) – they won the Super Bowl last year, reason to root against them.

New England Patriots (AFC East champs, 2nd seed, 14-3) – I don’t hate them the way I did in the coach Bill Bellicheck/QB Tom Brady era. Still, habits die hard. Potential cases of domestic violence against two players are disturbing.

Controversy

There have been a lot of complaints about officiating this season. Just Google NFL controversial officiating 2025 – it isn’t a single event but a series of events that even the NFL Network, which carries some of the games, was critical of. See Broncos-Chiefs on Dec 25 and Texans-Chargers on Dec 27, to name two.

My concern is that the sloppy refereeing leaves room in some people’s minds for the belief that the games are being rigged. With the proliferation of not just bets on the game but prop bets, this becomes an issue of integrity in the game. BTW, A prop bets (short for proposition bet) is “a wager on whether or not a particular occurrence will happen in a game aside from the main outcome. While the standard three markets in NFL betting (spread, money line, total) are all based around the final result of the game, prop bets isolate certain players, teams, or events that could happen during the game.”

There were two really wacky plays during Week 16. One involved the Lions and the Steelers, which Chuck Miller wrote about here. The other was a two-point attempt after a Seahawks touchdown vs. the Rams; the lateral pass bounces off a Rams player, a Seahawks player casually picks up the ball in the end zone, and the conversation was good! It was the weirdest play I have ever seen.

Movie review: Hamnet

director Chloé Zhao.

My wife and I looked forward to seeing the new movie Hamnet. So in mid-December, we went to the Spectrum 8 in Albany.

This is what I liked: the mysterious nature of Agnes (Jessie Buckley), who is a healer and a bit of a mystic. Unsurprisingly, Will (Paul Mescal) is captivated by her. There’s definitely serious chemistry there. After she becomes pregnant, and despite resistance from both their families, they marry.

Wait. Do you know what this sounds like? The actual courtship of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, who got married in 1582. The story is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet. Due to the non-standardization of English in 16th and 17th-century England, Anne/Agnes, and for that matter Hamnet/Hamlet, are essentially the same.

This is something we unfortunately did not like: the dialogue was often hard to follow. Sometimes, it was volume, sometimes the words, occasionally both. And it wasn’t just us; I could hear other people in the theater whisper, “What did they say?”

Language barrier

I have a working theory about this. From the Times of London: “Chloé Zhao…, said she understood only a third of the language and depended on [Mescal] to guide her on set.” She said: “When I was on set of Hamnet, when Paul was delivering his speech, I only understand a third of it, technically, because I don’t understand what those words mean.”

Further, she noted, ” Paul said to me, ‘Listen, if Shakespeare is performed right, you don’t have to understand what they’re saying. You feel it in the body, the language is written like that.’”

I think there is an element of truth in that. Still, I’m more aligned with Adrian Chiles in the Guardian. “You know what that is, don’t you? That’s balls, that’s what that is. Of course, you need to understand what’s being said and what’s going on. At least I do. I’ve often been told not to trouble myself with such trifling details. Just let the artistry wash over you, I’m told, and consider how it makes me feel. Well, I’ll tell you how it makes me feel. It makes me feel confused, rather inadequate, frustrated, even angry, ultimately disengaged, and therefore bored. Just plain bored.”

I was confused and frustrated, for sure. Yet there was enough in the two crucial moments to sustain me. One is mentioned in the IMDb description and on Anne Hathaway’s Wikipedia page. (Yet there were people in the theater who were audibly confused.)

The other critical moment is the play’s production, which, interestingly, was MUCH easier to hear.

It was good enough that I might watch it again at home. Young Jacobi Jupe as the title character was quite good. But I would turn on the captions. Critics were 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences at 93% thumbs-up.

The games my wife and I play

TULIP

The games my wife and I play are all on the New York Times platform. Spelling Bee is my wife’s game, and she has gotten two Queen Bees in the last month or so. This has nothing to do with Beyonce, BTW. It’s that she found every word in the puzzle.

But she has been so single-minded about the game that she has forgotten to finish her Wordle, which takes far less time. If she asks, I will help her with the Spelling Bee. But I’m not great at finding the pangram, using all seven words. One recent one we both missed was FACTOTUM, a word I used to know but have since faded from my brain.

Connections

My wife and I play together, and we’re pretty good at sussing out the purple, the most difficult. For instance, on New Year’s Eve, the purple was:

Starting with bodies of water: BAY LEAF, CHANNEL SURF, SEA BASS, SOUND BARRIER

It often is words that rhyme in a category. Perrier was really terrier. On December 29, it was the Car brand homophones: INFINITY, MINNIE, OPAL, OUTIE. But figuring the rest of the order was dodgy.

Happy New Year!: BALL DROP, CHAMPAGNE FLUTE, FIREWORKS, NOISEMAKER
Places where things disappear: BERMUDA TRIANGLE, BLACK HOLE, COUCH CUSHIONS, DRYER
Associated with Philadelphia: BROTHERLY LOVE, CHEESESTEAK, LIBERTY BELL, ROCKY

I figured that the disappearing stuff was Blue, the next hardest, and Philadelphia was easier. Nope. Philly was BLUE. At least the NYE clue was yellow, the easiest.

Wordle

First, best wishes to Nola, who had a 938-game streak but has not been able to play regularly due to medical issues. She’s been a big supporter of my streak.

My daughter was watching a YouTube review of a book titled A Five-Letter Word for Love by Amy James. The video, and at least a couple of the GoodReads print reviews, indicate that, despite having a 300-game win streak, the main character has NO idea how to play the game.

I usually play Wordle just after midnight. But if I’m tired, I play when I inevitably wake up in the middle of the night. Then I play Quordle, which I’m not nearly as successful at.

The great thing about Wordle is that I send my results to my Wordle buddy Matthew. I always start with AROSE. If I get a void, or just one yellow letter, I play TULIP….

Wordle 1,652 4/6

AROSE 200

TULIP 12

NATTY 6

BATCH

Even though TULIP was used in the last 50 turns

Wordle 1,629 2/6

AROSE 238

TULIP

If I have a green letter or more than one yellow letter, I use the letters in TULIP. If I have an S in the wrong place, I’ll almost always start with an S. There are a lot more S words than others, I believe. Also, I try to account for seasonal influences.

Wordle 1,651 3/6

AROSE 58

SLEET 4

SPEED

Sometimes, I go with my gut. GRASS is green, and I’m Green.

Wordle 1,642 2/6

AROSE 7

GRASS

I was thinking Scrooge

Wordle 1,638 2/6

AROSE 30

MISER

This felt most Christmasy, whatever THAT means.

Wordle 1,650 2/6

AROSE 13

PRISM

Sometimes, I screw up!

Wordle 1,654 4/6

AROSE 45

TRILL 1

DRUID muff!

FRUIT

Occasionally, it isn’t easy.

Wordle 1,643 5/6

AROSE 43

TULIP 9

RUNNY 3

RUMMY 2

RUGBY

Other times, it’s a gimme.

Wordle 1,635 2/6

AROSE 1

ERASE

One time, I decided to look for a word with an R and two Ys. But then I remembered the season.

Wordle 1,644 3/6

AROSE 43

TULIP 1

MYRRH

Wordle 1400

In the last 100 games, I’ve had 0 1s, 16(!) 2s, 38 3s, 37 4s, 9 5s, and 0 6s. That’s an average of 3.39. Overall, my average is 3.784. I’ve said before that if I got four every day, I’d be fine.

The random 2025 post

different insurance

This is the random 2025 post. I think I stole the idea from my near twin, Gordon. Some less lazy folks, such as Kelly, will highlight particular posts from the previous year. “If you have a blog or other online writing forum, share some of your favorite work from this year.” That sounds like an intriguing idea, but it’s too much work when I can just punt.

January: “I saw a junior high school production, and I suspect there’s another.” My Lion King credentials, and why the movie Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel, was only so-so.

February: “I sang this to a person I was seeing, and she thought it was too clingy.” This was a Valentine’s Day song list, a reference to Someone To Watch Over Me by Linda Ronstadt. Damn, that STILL stings a little, and it was over 30 years ago.

March: “But don’t leave it on my Twitter page, which I deleted.” This was my periodic request to Ask Roger Anything. In truth, you can ARA at any time. I mean, you COULD wonder which Secretaries of State went on to become President: Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Van Buren, and Buchanan. But it’d be more interesting if you ask me something I can’t find on Wikipedia. (BTW, I always forget Buchanan, as one does.)

April: “Thus, the charts show 77 weeks of #1 hits.” The 1935 music charts had two versions that didn’t always match.

May: “We’re also trying to keep in contact with our daughter, who is only 7,845 miles away.” This was our 26th wedding anniversary. Our daughter was in Cape Town, South Africa, at the time.

June: “What does coming out mean?” This was my church’s adult education class, led by a member of the Pride Center of the Capital Region

Also

July: “Eve Of Destruction – Barry McGuire (Dunhill)” One of the #1 hits of 1965, a nice uplifting song.

August: “He would nip at me, but my parents, specifically my father, seemed unconcerned.” This was about the only dog I ever had, an Alaskan Husky named Lucky Stubbs. The post was for Sunday Stealing.

September: “But my wife and I do not have the same insurance, so I need my wife’s information, and she needs mine.” This was about going to an Urgent Care and then an Emergency Department after my wife’s fall while walking in the neighborhood. Specifically, a couple was nearby, and she was unable to speak.

October: “But one of our neighbors was dissatisfied with one element, complicated to explain.” We contracted with a company to build a fence. This is the joy of homeownership.

November: “Don’t Take It Personal (just one of dem days) – Monica, two weeks at #1 RB, #2 for three weeks pop, platinum.” I hit three music charts this iteration, this one from the Hot R&B #1 Singles for 1995.

December: “At least 31 languages have a word very similar to ‘huh?’” A linkage page. I try to put things other than music and politics in those posts.

Sunday Stealing Feels Frustrated

Loving You Has Made Me Bannans

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week’s meme is inspired by Christina at Call Me Patsy, who turned to answering these questions when she felt frustrated by a project she was working on.

Frustration – Joan Armatrading

Questions to Answer when You Need a Break because Sunday Stealing Feels Frustrated

1. What would you rather be doing right now?

Sleeping, actually. I had oral surgery on Wednesday, and the residual pain, while not severe, is exhausting.

I’m Only Sleeping – The Beatles and I Go To Sleep -Pretenders

2. What is always on your grocery list?

Bananas. My wife and I usually have them with oatmeal for breakfast. She likes them browner than I. And my daughter would eat them when they are practically green. So you can’t purchase too many at a time.

Loving You Has Made Me Bananas – Guy Marks

3. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?

I have a vague recollection of doing so, not in this century, in a kitchen. But I did, for a very brief time, in the late 1980s or early 1990s, SELL fire extinguishers. I wasn’t very good at it, although I believed in the product, because I hated door-to-door retail sales. Even more, I despised strong-arming my friends.

Fire – Ohio Players

Text

4. How many times did you text yesterday?

Once. I attended a party, and my daughter drove me because the bus runs infrequently on weekends and holidays. My daughter texted me a couple of hours later to see if I wanted a ride home. Since the next bus was in 47 minutes, and the party was starting to break up, I said yes. But my wife ended up picking me up because she had just come home from a different party.

I hate texting. I’m not particularly good at it. The idea of always being available is appalling to me. If I’m home, I don’t even carry my phone unless I’m playing NYT Connections or contacting a doctor. This is why we still have a landline—that and to call my cellphone when I inevitably misplace it.

Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me – “Weird Al” Yankovic

5. Would you prefer a slow-paced, relaxing vacation or one filled with new sights and experiences?

I think I need to alternate. One day of busyness, followed by a day of relaxation.

Vacation – Connie Francis and Vacation – the Go-Go’s