Because 7-layer dip is for sissies.

I don't know about you, but this sounds delicious. Other than the beans. Beans are the worst.

Photos from BuzzFeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/how-to-make-the-ultimate-47-layer-dip

Deer antler extract?

One Super Bowl star is facing some heat for using a banned substance. That player? Ray Lewis. What is that substance, you say?

According to the New York Daily News, "the story dates back to October, 2012, when Lewis allegedly called the makers of the extra spray — which contains IGF-1, a banned substance — after tearing his triceps.

According to the report, Mitch Ross, owner of S.W.A.T.S - Sports with Alternatives to Steroids - taped a phone conversation where Lewis asked Ross for help, even telling him “just pile me up and send me everything you got.”

Lewis, of course, denied it."

That spray, was none other than deer antler extract, according to this report.

Deer antler extract? For one, I don't get how someone decided to use it, much less ban it because of its performance-enhancing capabilities. How could that possibly hear a torn muscle faster? I just don't get it.

Silver Linings Playbook

I had heard good things about Silver Linings Playbook, so I decided to go see it the other night. To me, it kind of was a whole new genre - the romantic dramatic comedy, or the RomDramCom, as I dubbed it. It wasn't cheesy like your standard RomCom, as there were very serious elements brought into the storyline. The reason it worked was because of the acting. Bradley Cooper took on a very difficult role and nailed it. Jennifer Lawrence was cast perfectly as the female lead. I would have liked more of Robert De Niro and Chris Tucker in supporting roles, but I thought they complemented the story line quite well. It was another movie that left me wanting to read the book too, which i think is a good compliment for a movie. I won't be surprised to see SLP come away with an Oscar or two at the Academy Awards next month. Check out showtimes while you still can at marcustheatres.com.

Best Buy Fail

From what I've seen, those "Extreme Couponing" shows and what not rely on flaws in the wording on the coupons. Most of the time people take advantage of it so they can get tons of gallons of mouthwash, or something mundane like that. Well the other day, Best Buy had such a flaw in the wording of one of their deals, and ended up giving away thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Check out the link here for more info: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-buy-coupon-fail-2013-1

Needless to say, someone got fired over this one.

AFC-NFC Title game thoughts

NFC: As impressive as the Falcons were to start the game, I knew that San Francisco was by no means out of it when they fell behind 17-0. Having watched the 49ers trounce the Packers the week before, I knew that San Fran was a team capable of sustaining drives, capitalizing on turnovers and punishing you on defense. From the point that LaMichael James scored to make it 17-7, I knew the Falcons didn't have much of a chance. The Falcons will be back and potent next year too, but this was simply the 49ers' year to make it to the Super Bowl.

AFC: The Patriots did what they always do in the first half, but from the final few plays of the 2nd quarter through the rest of the game, they just seemed...off. It was a play very un-Tom Brady-like when he went to spike the ball rather than using his last timeout. New England could have gone into the half up 17-7 instead of 13-7. The Patriots wouldn't score from there on out, a testament to the pressure that the Ravens put on Brady and the rhythm that New England couldn't seem to find. Joe Flacco looked darn good, and he's definitely earned every penny that he'll sign for in the off-season.

Hockey?

Growing up, I played basketball, loved baseball and watched football. There was always this fourth  port out there - hockey - that I never really got into. It was partially a factor of the region I grew up in, and also because there was no professional team in town or consistent games on TV that I could watch. Over the past few years, I've become close friends with many people from the Minneapolis area - hockey die-hards. I was committed to learning more about the NHL and might even become a fan of a Minnesota (gasp!) sports team - the Wild. I'm looking forward to watching what NHL I can find on TV this weekend, and hopefully I'll be on my way to becoming a casual hockey fan. Don't want to set the bar too high just yet.

Manti Te'o

As an unabashed Notre Dame supporter, I feel obligated to have a stance on the situation surrounding Manti Te'o. To me, there are just more questions than answers. From what I have heard, predominantly from the Deadspin report, the press conference with ND AD Jack Swarbrick and Te'o's statement, I have coming to one basic conclusion: We don't know the half of it. For that reason, I'm inclined to give Te'o the benefit of the guilt until proven otherwise. Kind of the way the American legal system is supposed to work.

For more on my take, read here: http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2013/01/give-manti-teo-the-benefit-of-the-doubt-for-now/

How about them Badgers?

I've been saying it for a little while now, but this Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team is a different one than we've seen in years past, and last night's win over Indiana proved that. In the Bo Ryan era, this team has stuck purely with the swing offense and tough man defense. It was a style that was boring to some, but there's no denying its effectiveness. This year's team plays that style, but earn some style points while their at it. Instead of just wearing teams down with a very vanilla approach, this team isn't afraid to take a big 3 to kill a team's momentum and better yet, they've thrown down more dunks this year already than I've seen out of UW teams for a couple of seasons. From Jared Berggren to Sam Dekker to Ben Brust (!!!!!), this team has some swagger and I can't wait to see them really round into form come tournament time.

Lance Armstrong

I know Lance Armstrong has done some things that are wrong, but he is by no means a bad person. For starters, cycling is a dirty sport. Year after year, from the Tour de France to big events like the Olympic Games, it is revealed that people are cheaters. Blood doping, human growth hormones, whatever. I'm not a scientist, but I know that the vast majority of recent winners (granted many of those events were won by Armstrong) have been disqualified. The sport is dirty and full of cheaters. I think that says something about the sport more than anything. It's the culture that has been cultivated over recent history in the sport. Armstrong just happened to be faster on a bike when he cheated.

This doesn't mean that Lance is a bad person. His Livestrong charity has done so much good, and there's no doubt that it was basically a miracle that Armstrong was able to beat cancer and ride his bike competitively. And blood doping or not, winning those 7 straight Tour de France is downright impressive. But that should not take away from what Livestrong has done. Yes, it started off as the Lance Armstrong Foundation, but Livestrong has become so much more than just its founder and spokesman. I still wear my Livestrong bracelet in my support of the fight against cancer, and I have no intentions of taking it off any time soon.

High school hoops teams to keep an eye on

It's well known that the Coulee Region is in a sort of a heyday when it comes to high school basketball right now. With a number of different players already committed to playing for Division 1 programs next year, it's easy to see why their teams are getting much of the local attention. However, the talent pool does not stop there. I'm a big fan of local hoops, and here are some of those other teams I think you should be keeping an eye on as we get twoards the second half of the season.

1) Central boys - Love the way they play defense. Long, athletic and can shoot threes. Might not be the most talented team in the MVC, but could be the hardest working. Would not be surprised to see them knock off Onalaska or Aquinas this season.
2) West Salem girls - Westby has gotten the notoriety in the Coulee Conference the past few years, but the Panthers locked the clamps down on the Norsemen last night, beating Westby for the first time in nearly three years.
3) Luther boys - Maybe the fastest-paced offense in the area. Almost run a hockey line change, which should pose a matchup nightmare with anyone they face in the postseason.
4) Caledonia girls - The same crew that led them to the state tournament in volleyball is back on the basketball court too. Bigger and faster than nearly everyone they play, and can light up the scoreboard too.

MLB Hall of Fame Voting

I understand why there was no one voted into the Hall of Fame this year. I get it. That doesn't mean I agree with it. In my opinion, HOF voters should look at the ballot this way: This is the list of people that Major League Baseball has determined are eligible. They're all in current good standing with the league, and this can legally be voted into Cooperstown. I don't think it's right for writers to then impose their own moral slant on the issue, trying to decide who is or isn't connected to performance enhancing drugs. If they're on the ballot and you think their performance on the diamond is Hall of Fame worthy, vote them in. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and the like should all be in the Hall of Fame. Period. End of Story.

Losing the Big Game

As you might know, I'm a huge Notre Dame fan. I had a pit in my stomach heading into last night's game against Alabama, so you can only imagine what I felt like as the game progressed. The opening drive was bad. The Crimson Tide asserted their will from the first play of the game, and it was all down hill after that. Alabama is far and away the best team in the country, and I don't care what Oregon, LSU or Texas A&M fans say. They would have gotten slaughtered just like Notre Dame did.

It was awesome watching the Fighting Irish all season long. I'll remember the wins against Oklahoma, Stanford, Pitt and USC for quite some time. It was certainly a let down in the title game, but I do take some comfort knowing that they lost to a superior team. It wasn't dumb mistakes or just bad play. They could have played nearly flawless football and still lost. Alabama is just that good.

Final thoughts on ND-Bama

I'm nervous. This is different than the Super Bowl because for one, Notre Dame has hardly ever been good in my lifetime. The Packers were the favorites in Super Bowl XLV, whereas the Fighting Irish are a big underdog. I think the offensive and defensive lines are similar enough where they might cancel each other out and it could down to playmakers. Notre Dame QB Everett Golson certainly has those capabilities, and we'll see for sure tonight if he can make those plays.

Read more of my take at www.midwestsportsfans.com

Nervous

I'm nervous for the two big games I'll be following this weekend, for different reasons. It's win or go home for the Packers, against a division rival, at Lambeau Field. The Packers can lose to anyone else in these playoffs, just not Minnesota. And for Notre Dame, I'm nervous because of the magnitude of the situation. There's a national championship on the line for the Fighting Irish. I don't think many people expect them to win, and I kind of like the underdog status. Nobody remembers who finished 2nd, but win or lose, the 2012 season will have been a great accomplishment for Notre Dame.

Bowl Season

I'm generally not a big fan of bowl season. I think that it should be an 8-team playoff, with other bowls for teams over .500. I pick and choose the best matchups that I'm interested in, and the ones that I've watched over the weekend haven't disappointed, which is nice. More than anything, it gets me excited for the players I'm going to have fun following next year. So far I've been really impressed with South Carolina DE Jadaveon Clowney, South Carolina QB Connor Shaw, Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater and Georgia QB Aaron Murray. All will be returning to their respective schools next years, and will likely be high picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. But, more than anything, I'm looking forward to watching my beloved Notre Dame in the National Championship next Monday.

Cheer up, Badger fans.

Well, Bucky Faithful, it's ok. It was a game the Badgers weren't supposed to be in anyways, but Wisconsin more than held their own. The offense was in a position to win, late in the game, but came up short. It was a very respectable by Barry Alvarez and Co. in Pasadena against a very good Stanford team, and even though it's the Badgers' third straight loss in the Rose Bowl, they can certainly leave California with their heads held high. And there's plenty of things to be excited about for the 2013 season. Montee Ball will graduate, but the backfield will certainly be potent with the returns of James White for his senior campaign and Melvin Gordon is back too, who I think has a chance to really be something special. Plus, in the very limited time that Joel Stave saw in the Rose Bowl, I'm convinced that with him (or Bart Houston, if he pans out) under center, the Badgers' QB situation is only going to improve from the Curt Phillips/Danny O'Brien experiment. I think there's enough players returning on the line and defense as well to make Wisconsin very competent in new coach Gary Andersen's first year in the Big Ten.