Project Runway Season 4: Week 5

I stopped writing about Project Runway because there were just too many annoying factors:

1. The winner/loser selection process. Obviously producers have too much input.
   
2. Heidi Klum. Very stiff and uncaring... I can't believe Seal hasn't killed himself.
   
3. Basic contests rules don't seem to matter. If you say contestants needs to make a dress out of A, and contestant one has an outfit made of 1% of A and contestant two has an outfit made of 50% of A, don't you think contestant two should get some leeway?
   
4. Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. They're both annoying, but at least I can see Kors's creations... Garcia doesn't make anyhing!
   
5. The Judges. They never seem to have an original idea and they seem to always agree on what is great and what isn't.
   

Anyways, I'm watching season 4 (I'ld like to think the writer's strike has something to do with that) and I've alread got my favorites, least favorites and predictions. Of course I don't know exactly when someone will leave, since that week's contest has a lot to do with it. But there is obviously a hierarchy to the quality of contestants. This is the way I see it:

The bottomfeeders:
10. Ricky - Relatively boring designs and poor construction.
9. Elisa - Slightly interesting and definitely daring, but too weird and poorly constructed designs.
8. Sweet P - Not interesting, not daring, not boring, not anything really.

The middle:
7. Chris - I like some of his stuff, but then I hate some of his stuff. Kind of a wild card.
6. Jillian - Boring safe stuff but she makes up for it with some great constructor/tailoring.
5. Victorya - Kind of the anti-Jillian. Not a great tailor but at least her designs are more interesting. Because she's female, she's most likely to replace Kit in the top 3 (from my predictions).
4. Christian - Interesting but good (not great) designs. He'll stick around because of his personality, but probably won't make the top 3 because they just can't have an all male top 3.

My predicted top:
3. Kit - Could easily be kicked off before getting to the top 3, but she's daring enough to warrant staying this far.
2. Rami - Great designs and construction, and probably deserves to win, but not my favorite.
1. Kevin - My favorite, great designs and construction and is more daring than Rami. Also he is consistently being screwed by the producers for some reason or another.

My big gripe with this week's show: Christian shouldn't have won and Kevin got screwed. I would be pissed about Steven leaving (because Elisa and her terrible history of designs should be leaving) but I can't deny that Steven's dress was the worst this day, and Elisa will/should leave within the next two weeks.

NFL Football: Week 15 - The two games that matter.

I haven't written in awhile because I got busy, but mostly because I just never got up to it. The Caps were losing, the Redskins kept losing and then the Sean Taylor murder happened. It just wasn't a great time to write. But of course, the recent victory will get me writing again, so here goes:

When we last left our no luck Redskins, they had just lost to the BTEIAS (Best Team Ever In Any Sport, i.e. New England Patriots) 52-7. I chalked up the huge loss to a fluke, which I think, all things considered, was pretty accurate.

The New England Patriots came back to earth, with two games which they could have very easily lost (Colts and Eagles), and one game (Ravens) that they should have lost. Now they've got a clear path to regular season perfection against the Jets and Dolphins, a combined 3-23, and the Giants. But by that time the Giants should be resting people for the playoffs since the Cowboys already won the division. Not exactly stellar competition, but it could be exciting... but I'll get back to that in a second.

The Redskins, meanwhile, fulfilled my comparison with the 2005 Redskins, by winning the game following the blowout and then losing 4 in a row (although they only lost 3 in row in 2005). Now they just need to complete the rest of my prediction by winning 4 in a row (It was 5 in 2005).

But this year because the NFC stinks, if the Redskins did win out, their 9-7 record (with wins against the Lions, Cardinals, and Vikings) could very likely get them into the playoffs. Sadly that just ain't happening. Too many injuries, too much inconsistency and just too many non-football issues. The comparisons with the 2005 team fails because the 2005 team didn't have so many distractions and the team didn't fail so predictably in the second half.

But... lets say they did win out. And since we're dreaming, let's suppose one more thing: the Giants lose the following weekend on the road to the Buffalo Bills. That scenario would set up a very interesting Week 17. Going in to the final week of the season, the Redskins, Vikings, Lions and either Saints or Cardinals (since they play each other this week) could all be 8-7. The Giants would suddenly be 9-6 and in danger of missing out on the playoffs... and remember who they would be playing? That's right! The assuredly 15-0 Patriots, that's who! The really interesting thing about this scenario, is that the Giants wouldn't know the results of the other games because their game is scheduled for the night before the rest of the league plays (So they couldn't watch one or some of the 8-7 teams lose and know their playoff spot is guaranteed).

Note: BTW, the Redskins don't need to win out for this to happen, the Giants just need to lose 2 in a row, but it would put more teams in the possible 9-7 logjam that could make the Giants vs. Patriots game mean a lot more.

Too bad the Redskins will lose on Sunday, assuring the Giants of a playoff spot and the Patriots of an easy time getting to 16-0. Crazy how all that essentially hinges on 2 games (Redskins vs. Giants and Giants vs. Bills), huh?