The picks: SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA - Missouri +2 (3 units) over Auburn

PAC 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Sun Devil Stadium - Tempe AZ -Stanford +3 over Arizona State

BIG 10 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN - Michigan State +6 (5 units) over Ohio State.

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Bulldog Stadium - Fresno, CA -Fresno State -3½ over Utah State.

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Rice Stadium - Houston, TX - Marshall -5 (3 units) over Rice.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Bank America Stadium - Charlotte, NC -Florida State -29 (5 units) over Duke.

Others - Baylor -15 (3 units) over Texas; Rutgers -6 over South Florida; Connecticut Pick over Memphis; Oklahoma State -10 (EVEN) (4 units) over Oklahoma.

This week's Amato and Armando Show - Link.

Still snowing and really cold. I'm busy at work. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

We broke a record temperature yesterday -15 degrees at 9 pm. The cold will be here for days. I'll be in court, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome. Stay civil please.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's legal team will have some restrictions eased for meeting with him and sharing information. Seems like crumbs to me, considering the exhaustive list of SAMS imposed by the Bureau of Prisons. The SAMS are here, and the Government's concessions are here. The defense motion seeking modifications is here.

Last week the judge denied most of the defense discovery requests (motion to compel disclosure is here, the court's order granting one request and denying the remainder is here.)

Denver is preparing for a big storm tonight, and the coldest temperatures in years. There could be 5 to 9 inches of snow by morning. Here's the latest advisory.

Thanks to readers who emailed me this morning to let me know the site was down.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Open thread.

Yikes! That was ugly yesterday - lost all my profits for the year on a -26 unit day in CFB. But today will be different! Here's the Amato and Armando Show with our picks:

The picks (Disagreements in BOLD) - (A) Minnesota Vikings -1, (J) Chicago Bears +1, (A) Tennessee Titans +4, (J) Indianapolis Colts -4, (A)Atlanta Falcons +3½, (J) Buffalo Bills -3½, (J) Cleveland Browns -7, (A) Jacksonville Jaguars +7, Arizona Cardinals +3 over Philadelphia Eagles, (A) New Orleans Saints +5, (J) Seattle Seahawks -5, (A) New York Jets -1, (J) Miami Dolphins -1, (A) Tampa Bay Buccaneers +7½, (J) Carolina Panthers -7½ , New England Patriots -9 over Houston Texans, New York Giants -1 over Washington Redskins, (A) Kansas City Chiefs +6, (J) Denver Broncos -6, (J) St Louis Rams +71/2, (A) SF 49ers -71/2, (A) SD Chargers (PICK), (J) Cinncinati Bengals (PICK).

Open Thread.

Lost of college pigskin on tap today. My picks: Bowling Green -2 over Buffalo U, Arkansas +24½ over LSU, Nebraska -2 over Iowa, SMU +10 over Houston, Marshall -4 over East Carolina, San Jose State +7½ over Fresno State, Pittsburgh +3 over Miami (Florida, Washington State +17 over Washington, Oregon State +23 over Oregon.

Open Thread.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I did. The hours of planning the dinner, googling recipes and cooking paid off -- every dish tasted just right. Everyone had seconds. And thanks to a TalkLeft reader who sent me two great bottles of Champagne when I moved last month, and another who sent me flowers for Thanksgiving, the atmosphere was lively and the scene pretty.

In the news, Marissa Alexander has been released from prison in Florida, pending retrial.

The ACLU has a new report on the more than 3,000 prisoners in the U.S. serving life without parole for non-violent crimes.

For 3,278 people, it was nonviolent offenses like stealing a $159 jacket or serving as a middleman in the sale of $10 of marijuana. An estimated 65% of them are Black. Many of them were struggling with mental illness, drug dependency or financial desperation when they committed their crimes. None of them will ever come home to their parents and children. And taxpayers are spending billions to keep them behind bars.

From Thanksgiving 2006: I Wish Thanksgiving Was For All of Us. It's disheartening that so little has changed since then.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, for the first time in years. I'm about to start. Is anyone else here cooking? What are you making?

I'm making a cornbread and fruit stuffing, two kinds of mashed potatoes ( regular and sweet), a green bean casserole, gravy, cranberry sauce and salad. In addition, of course, to the turkey.

I also made a giant lasagne last night, and put it in the freezer, just in case the turkey doesn't come out right. I'm much better at cooking one pot meals: sauces, noodle dishes and stews, than one big bird and a lot of side dishes.

I'm also checking out Black Friday deals. Be careful about clicking from Google, there are tons of links with m*lwAre. Who do you think has the best deals on whatever you are looking for?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Busy work day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

This week's Amato and Armando Show:

Our picks (Disagreement in BOLD (A) for Armando (J) for Amato): San Francisco 49ers -6 over Washington Redskins, New England Patriots +2 over Denver Broncos, (A) Arizona Cardinals -3, (J) Indianapolis Colts +3, (A) St. Louis Rams -1, (J) Chicago Bears +1, Pittsburgh Steelers +1 over Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers -4½ over Miami Dolphins, (A) Kansas City Chiefs -4½, (J) San Diego Chargers +4½, (A) Minnesota Vikings +4, (J) Green Bay Packers -4, Detroit Lions -9 over Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (A) New York Jets +4, (J) Baltimore Ravens -4, (A) Oakland Raiders + 1 1/2, (J) Tennessee Titans -1 1/2, (A) Dallas Cowboys +3, (J) New York Giants -3.

Open Thread.