Playoff picks: Packers a good bet this time

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson smiles while walking off the field after the Vikings' NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Minneapolis. Peterson rushed for 199 yard as the Vikings won 37-34. (AP Photo/Genevieve Ross)

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson smiles while walking off the field after the Vikings' NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Minneapolis. Peterson rushed for 199 yard as the Vikings won 37-34. (AP Photo/Genevieve Ross)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2012, file photo, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt celebrates returning an interception for a touchdown against Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton_ for one of the biggest plays in Texans' history_ during the second quarter of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Houston. A year later, Watts is one of the league's top defenders, and he'll need another big game to help Houston regain its form after losing three of its last four games in a wild-card game against Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2012, file photo, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) is pursued by Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins during the second half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati. Atkins gets a lot of attention every time an opponent watches film trying to figure out how to contain the Bengals defensive tackle. His first selection as a Pro Bowl starter shows what they think of him. (AP Photo/Michael Keating, File)

Six days after Adrian Peterson blistered them for nearly 200 yards and helped lift his team to a stunning playoff berth, the Green Bay Packers get another taste of "A.D."

This time, they will deal with "All Day" Peterson at Lambeau Field. And in the playoffs.

The stakes are similar to last week for the Vikings, who would have been out of the playoffs had they lost to Green Bay, which already owned the division title. The venue, obviously, is different.

If that seems like a big edge for the Packers, well, they lost their last two postseason home games, both to the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl each time. They dropped a 31-14 verdict to Minnesota after the 2004 season, the only time in 104 matchups these NFC North rivals have met in the playoffs.

So Green Bay is 1-3 in recent home playoff games on the tundra. That doesn't diminish the challenge facing Minnesota, an 8-point underdog.

"It put us in a spot that we've been wanting to be, wanted to get here since April 23 of last year when we started OTAs," Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder said of the win over the Packers that got them a trip to Green Bay, where they lost 23-14 in the regular season.

"It's going to be tough going to Lambeau. Obviously it's an environment that's tough to play in, but we're hoping that a lot of our Vikings fans travel, just like there were some Green Bay fans at home this past week."

The shorter week won't matter to either side considering they faced off last weekend. At least it gives the Packers less time to watch video of the horror show their defense put on trying to slow down Peterson.

They'll do a better job this Saturday night.

BEST BET: PACKERS, 31-20

Indianapolis (plus 6? ) at Baltimore

This could be Ray Lewis' final game; he announced Wednesday his plan to end his 17-year career that certainly should land him in the Hall of Fame.

There are much better ways to finish than chasing around the Colts' offense, which will be a difficult chore for the Ravens' defense. With Lewis sidelined for nearly three months with a triceps injury and Terrell Suggs not resembling the Defensive Player of the Year he was in 2011 as he plays while still recovering from an Achilles tendon injury, Baltimore can't count on shutting down opponents.

In previous seasons when the Ravens were a defensive power, Andrew Luck might be reduced to an overmatched rookie. Not now.

UPSET SPECIAL: COLTS, 23-17

Cincinnati (plus 5) at Houston

The Texans stumbled into the playoffs, losing three of four and blowing home-field advantage and a bye in the AFC. Cincinnati, on the other hand, won seven of its last eight with a staunch defense.

Houston made the postseason for the first time last year and promptly knocked off the Bengals in the wild-card round. Both teams are improved this season, and the key could be which side protects its quarterback better. Houston has J.J. Watt and Antonio Smith providing pressure on the quarterbacks. For Cincinnati, it's Geno Atkins and Michael Johnson.

Houston will do it better.

TEXANS, 24-20

Seattle (minus 1?) at Washington

The juiciest of the weekend's matchups features two streaking teams: Washington won its final seven games to take the NFC East, Seattle took its last five and seven of eight.

Rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III for the Redskins and Russell Wilson for the Seahawks have been sensational, like Indy's Luck. RG3 showed enough mobility in the win over Dallas to clinch the division, and his knee should be even stronger on Sunday to provide the double-threat potential that highlights his game.

Wilson is healthy and has similar skills. Even more encouraging for him is the Seahawks have an intimidating, resourceful defense with the speed to slow down Washington's offense. Seattle also has learned how to win on the road.

SEAHAWKS, 23-16

___

2012 RECORD:

Against spread: 7-6 (112-124-7). Straight up: 12-4 (159-92-1)

Best Bet: 7-8-2 against spread, 11-6 straight up.

Upset special: 11-6 against spread, 9-8 straight up.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-02-Pro%20Picks/id-dd2558d2a30d4328baa20a0802efd371

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Father Hires In-Game "Hitmen" To Deter Son From Playing

Sick and tired of his son playing video games and not listening to him, a father in China decided to take matters into his own hands... well, sort of. Instead of sending his son off to addiction camp or stripping him of internet and gaming rights, Mr. Feng (???) chose to hire an online "hitman" to school his son.

Feng's 23 year-old son, "Xiao Feng" (??) started playing video games in high school. Through his years of playing various online games, he supposedly thought himself a master of Chinese online role playing games. According to his father, Xiao Feng had terrible grades in school because of his gaming habit; he couldn't even land a job. He, however, says he simply couldn't find any work that he liked. Feng was annoyed that his son couldn't even tough it out for three months at a software development company.

Unhappy with his son not finding a job, Feng decided to hire players in his son's favorite online games to hunt down Xiao Feng. It is unknown where or how Feng found the in-game assassins?every one of the players he hired were stronger and higher leveled than Xiao Feng. Feng's idea was that his son would get bored of playing games if he was killed every time he logged on, and that he would start putting more effort into getting a job.

Despite being sick of getting killed every time, Xiao Feng decided to stick up to his father and tell him how he felt. He was quoted as saying, "I can play or I can not play, it doesn't bother me. I'm not looking for any job?I want to take some time to find one that suits me."

Hearing his son's earnest plea, Feng said that he was "relieved". It's unsure if Feng has called off his assassins or if Xiao Feng has found a job. One thing's for sure; Feng's way of deterring his son from playing games might be one of the best ideas to come out of China recently, particularly as reactions to "gaming and internet addiction" have been very extreme.

???"??"?????????????? [Tencent via Sanqing Daily]

---

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Source: http://kotaku.com/5972406/father-hires-in+game-hitmen-to-deter-son-from-playing

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'Zero Dark Thirty,' 'Homeland' Are 'Apples And Oranges' To Jessica Chastain

The star of the Osama bin Laden thriller sees role as anecdote to typical Hollywood female hero.
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Jessica Chastain
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699483/zero-dark-thirty-homeland-comparison.jhtml

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Federal safety team joins probe of fatal Oregon bus crash

PENDLETON, Oregon (Reuters) - Federal safety investigators joined Oregon state police on Monday in trying to find out what caused a tour bus to veer off a mountain highway and plunge down a snow-covered slope, killing nine passengers and injuring 39 others.

The charter bus was carrying nearly 50 people, about two dozen of them holding foreign passports, through the Blue Mountains of northern Oregon en route from Las Vegas to Vancouver, British Columbia, when it crashed through a guard rail on Interstate 84 shortly after 10 a.m. on Sunday, authorities said.

The foreign nationals included South Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese and Canadians along with American passengers.

The bus rolled over at least once as it careened 200 feet down the embankment before coming to rest upright in the snow at the bottom of a hill, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Oregon State Police Lieutenant Gregg Hastings said many of the victims were ejected from the bus.

Photos of the crash scene posted by the state police showed that part of the vehicle's roof was crushed.

"This was a very horrible, tragic crash which led to many people's lives being lost and many people being injured," Hastings said. "We still want to keep that in perspective."

Authorities said they could not immediately explain what triggered the accident, which occurred near the town of Pendleton, about 200 miles east of Portland. Attention turned early on to road conditions but a full investigation was expected to take at least four weeks to complete.

Hastings said troopers arriving on the scene found icy spots along on the stretch of road where the bus hit a concrete barrier along the highway's inside median, then veered across both westbound lanes of traffic and plowed through a guard rail.

At an afternoon news conference on Monday, Hastings said investigators had yet to determine the speed of the bus at the time it crashed.

A spokesman for the state transportation department, Dave Thompson, told Reuters on Monday that the area where the crash occurred "is well known for treacherous conditions in winter."

Road surfaces there at the time were generally were "icy in spots, with some areas of packed snow, and that's absolutely typical for the area at this of the year."

Thompson said road crews had been out spreading sand in the area and that one sand truck "was just turning around after having passed the bus" on the highway shortly before the crash, but he said he did not know the condition of the highway surface where the bus veered off the interstate.

The NTSB, which has made improved motor coach transportation safety a top priority, said Monday it was sending a team to investigate the accident. A spokesman for the agency in Washington, Terry Williams said, "We'll be looking at the man, the environment and the machine."

The 49 passengers on the bus ranged in age from 7 to 70, though most of them were adults, and none of the nine killed were believed to be children, Hastings said.

In addition to nine passengers confirmed killed, 39 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries, authorities said. Of those, 29 remained hospitalized on Monday, several in serious condition.

Investigators had spoken to the driver, who was also injured, Hastings said.

According to the NTSB, more than 250 people were killed and 20,000 injured in bus-related crashes in 2009, the latest year for which data was available.

(Reporting by Tim Trainor, Teresa Carson,; Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by M.D. Golan and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/federal-safety-team-joins-probe-fatal-oregon-bus-003831652.html

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Time to Ring in the New Year! What to Watch Tonight

There's lots to celebrate this New Year's Eve. For one thing, the Mayan people's dire, end-of-the-world prediction didn't pan out. Phew!  

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/new-years-eve-2012-what-watch-tv/1-a-511888?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Anew-years-eve-2012-what-watch-tv-511888

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Foursquare will now show users' full names

44 min.

Suzanne Choney , NBC News

Foursquare is changing its privacy policy so that all users will have to share their full name on the location-based social network. Some users already do, but others go by a first name with last name initial. That's going to end, starting Jan. 28.

The change was announced in an email sent to users. Foursquare also said in the same email that businesses using the social network, now limited to seeing customers who have checked in in the last three hours, will be able to ?have more time to review those logs.

"This is great for helping store owners identify their customers and give them more personal service or offers," Foursquare said in the?email. "But a lot of businesses only have time to log in at the end of the day to look at it. So, with this change, we?re going to be showing them more of those recent check-ins, instead of just three hours worth."

Foursquare notes, that, "as?always, if you?d prefer not to permit businesses to see when you check into their locations going forward, you can uncheck the box under ?Location Information? at?https://foursquare.com/settings/privacy."

The extra-diplomatic tone of the email likely was shaped by the recent?Instagram debacle over user privacy.

Foursquare, which says it has more than 25 million users worldwide now, with more than 3 billion check-ins, noted in the email that users who want to know more about the social network's privacy policy can find those details and others in its "Privacy 101" document online.

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital Life and InGame on Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/foursquare-will-now-show-users-full-names-1C7755877

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[WTB] Facebook PVA Accounts At Cheap Price !

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Source: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=2617499&goto=newpost&r=3f34

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