My Current Guilty Pleasure

Butter spindles, tootsie pop drops, and Dr. Pepper are currently dominating my life. I am having a hard time making it through the day without eating/drinking at least one of these items. And, sadly I must admit there has been several days when I have all three. My new thing is to eat a Kwik Trip lunch when I am on the road for work. In fact, I have had this for lunch the past two days. Not healthy, I know! I have a real hard time driving past a Kwik Trip without stopping and getting some butter spindles or tootsie pop drops. Thankfully, there are no Kwik Trip locations near my condo. Now, if I could only display self control when I am traveling.

Thankfully, I am starting another cleanse on March 1 with Laura so I will be forced to break this bad habit!

Any one else have any food addictions? Guilty pleasures? Feel free to share...the Bean Spiller will not judge.

Here's to Day 1 without this fabulous trifecta of calories,

The Bean Spiller

Weekend Picks

Hmm, I think I went 1-4 last weekend's on my picks. I am really glad I prefaced my blog by saying I was out of touch with college hoops this season and did not have a feel for what would happen. I guess I should not feel too bad because this seems to be similar to the success rate of the so called analysts that flaunt their picks on ESPN, CBS, Fox, etc. Has anyone ever listened to a Sport’s Guy podcast where he picks games after the games have been played? He is awful at predictions yet thousands, maybe millions, of people listen to his podcasts and read his columns and buy into his picks. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge BS Report fan and listen to every podcast and read every column. I just find it entertaining that these guys get paid money to make predictions; yet, there accuracy is always subpar. Enough of my banter, here are my picks for the weekend:

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State: The top ranked Buckeyes travel to the Kohl Center, or Kohl, as Dick Vitale likes to call it, this Saturday. OMG, this is driving me nuts! He referenced Kohl on Wednesday during the Duke/UNC game and then did it again this morning on The Lucas and Lepay Show. Not sure, why he dropped the “the” or the “center” but does he not realize there is no flow and it sounds like junk when you say the Buckeyes will play at Kohl. Get it right Dicky V. Wow, I got side tracked there. Anyways, I am picking an upset here and really believe the Badgers have a legitimate shot to win this game. We are dominate at home; we played terribly on Wednesday so the odds of us throwing another stink bomb like that are slim; and OSU has been dangerously close to losing on the road all season (Illinois, Northwestern for example). Praying that I just did not jinx the Badgers and looking forward to being at THE KOHL CENTER on Saturday!!! Badgers 68 vs. OSU 59

Syracuse at Louisville: I like the Orange in this matchup of ranked Big East teams. While Louisville has been a pleasant surprise this season, I think they lose at home on Saturday. Syracuse needs to bounce back after their loss to Georgetown. Expect a big game from Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardin. Hey, speaking of Kris with a K…It is Laura and Kris’ birthday today. Wahoo, February 11th birthdays…2nd best only to November 21st. Syracuse 71 vs. Louisville 64

San Diego St at UNLV: Upset alert!!! The Aztecs will go down when they travel to Sin City to take on the Runnin’ Rebels. UNLV has experienced guards and as I face booked earlier this week, having experienced guards goes a long way. Plus, do we really think the Aztecs are 6th best team in the country. I do not…so expect to see another loss for SDSU. UNLV 75 vs. SDSU 67

Minnesota at Iowa: Iowa almost upset the Badgers on Wednesday and has been playing decent basketball over the last couple weeks. On the other hand Minnesota is falling apart and lost to Illinois at home on Thursday. The Hawkeyes can win this game if they find a way to guard and keep Mbakwe off the boards and disrupt newly appointed point guard Hoffhauber’s rhythm. Sorry, Tubby but I think you are going to go down this weekend and give Iowa its 4th conference win. In a Big Ten Barn Burner, Iowa 59 vs. Minnesota 53

And there are my picks for the weekend. Hopefully, I can more than one right this time around.

Enjoy and Go Badgers,

The Bean Spiller

Home Favorites

Looking at this weekend’s upcoming games, it looks like there will be a lot of home cooking. Based on the matchups, I would expect the home team to hold serve in most of the games played in the next two days. But hey, I have not been watching a ton of college basketball this season and feel really out of touch with what is going on in the N-C-2-A. Despite my lack of viewing, I thought it would be fun to pick some games…so enjoy, but please do not rub it in my face if I go 0-5.

UCONN at Seton Hall: If Jeremy Hazel is playing, the Pirates have a great chance to upset Kemba Walker and the Huskies. I am sure he wants to bounce back from that 1-8 performance, as a shooter, I you’re your pain Jeremy. UCONN will be looking to bounce back after a tough home loss to Syracuse so Seton Hall will have to play a near perfect game and prevent Walker from going off the Jimmer style. With limited confidence, I will say Seton Hall 74 vs. UCONN 68.

Kentucky at Florida: Kentucky will also be looking to rebound from a loss when they travel to the Swamp on Saturday. The Wildcats have dropped 3 of their last 7 contests, each of these coming on the road, and I expect them to fall once again. Florida has great senior leaders in Parsons, Macklin, and Tyus and guards who like to run and gun. If Florida can clamp down on Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, they should be able take care of “Mr. I Need to Find a Way for the NCAA not to Vacate my Wins and Final Four Runs” and his new crop of freshmen. For those of you that did not get my dig, I am referring to John Calipari and his history at UMass and Memphis. Gators win by 10.

Kansas at Nebraska: Believe it or not, the football powerhouse Nebraska has not lost a Big 12 home game this season. Shoot, this stat is not nearly as impressive, now that I realized they have only played 3 Big 12 home games. Kansas has been dealing with a lot of off the court issues and has really come together as a team but I expect them to have another let down i.e. losing to Texas at home. While I would not be surprised to see Kansas dominate the Corn Huskers, I will predict an upset in corn country and say Nebraska 70 vs. Kansas 64.

Michigan State at Wisconsin: Otherwise known as the Izzo vs. Ryan showdown, this matchup never disappoints. The Badgers threw away, literally, a victory up in East Lansing and should have a bitter taste in their mouths. Michigan State has been reeling of late…see 20 point loss to Iowa, the bottom feeder of the Big 10. (Please Badgers do not make me eat my words next Wednesday). I am a little nervous that the Spartans will come out sharp after an embarrassing loss, but have more confidence in the Badgers playing at the Kohl Center. Bucky 65 vs. MSU 54. Another Big Ten barn burner.

Ohio State at Minnesota: On Sports Center today, ESPN had a segment which discussed OSU’s remaining schedule and the possibility of running the table. ESPN is notorious for jinxing teams on winning streaks; and unfortunately, I think they have done it again. I say unfortunately because I was hoping for the Buckeyes to remain undefeated and travel to Madison as the #1 ranked team in the country. And then we could create bedlam at the Kohl Center…just like we did at Camp Randall during the football season, as we dominated Terrell, I like to get free clothes and tattoos, Pryor and the Sweater Vest. Hoping for another Gopher loss but thinking that Tubby will have the troublesome Gophers ready to play. Minnesota 70 vs. Ohio State 62

Anybody else have any predictions?

Go badgers,

The Bean Spiller

$$$Whole Foods$$$

Seeing as my fridge was empty and I was going to be in the Hilldale area over the noon hour, I made the executive decision to take my lunch at Whole Foods on Monday. I think Whole Foods is one of the greatest places on earth! I imagine that anyone who enjoys cooking and grocery shopping loves Whole Foods. When I walk into Whole Foods, I feel the same excitement as I do when I am in a candy store. Utter joy! The bright colors, artisan cheeses, generous free samples, hot and cold bars, are just a few of the fabulous perks that Whole Foods has to offer its customers.

As I walked through the high-end grocery store, two thoughts kept repeating in my mind. The first: “I wish there was a Whole Foods down the street from my condo…at least there could be one on the east side.” And the second: “How nice would it be to be able to afford to shop here on a regular basis. How can I make this happen?” At the time, both these thoughts seemed like realistic ideas.

Unfortunately, my bubble would burst just as quickly as my excitement had grown. I proceeded to the check out aisles and scanned in my 7 items (chicken salad, pasta salad, small cup of soup, and 4 Kombucha drinks). The grand total for the items that would probably get me through only 2 meals was $26.00, which ends up being about $3.71 per item. Hmm, that seems a bit steep especially when considering the fact that I had purchased a week’s worth of groceries at Copps for$62.00.

Looking back, I think it is in my best interest that Whole Foods NOT open a store near my condo. At least until, I can afford to shop there on a regular basis as I do not trust my will power and/or ability to keep myself away from the “Adult Candy Store.”

Here’s to eating healthy,

The Bean Spiller