The Drive with Charlie & Dan

It is time for 'Intern Mike' Giarraputo's 'Hot Picks' for Week 4 of the NFL season. Okay, we gave 'Intern Mike' a critical evaluation of his picks from last week on 'The Drive with Charlie & Dan.' However, he still has a winning record and is poised for a big week.

Week 3 of the NFL kicked off on Thursday night with the Niners politely disposing of the injured Giants 30-12. To get you ready for Sunday's action, 'Intern Mike' Giarraputo has put together his 'Hot Picks.'

There were 38 teams suiting up in Section 2 for Friday night football this week with some pretty dramatic match-ups for WEEK 2. The biggest game of the evening was #1 CBA visiting #3 Shaker, played in front of a packed house in Latham. There were two big upsets, including one road-team victory in Ravena.

When many visit their favorite seafood restaurants, lobster or some recipe featuring the popular crustacean is usually one of their top choices on the menu. However, some New Yorkers may not find the tasty favorite as one of their choices anymore. A movement is putting the claw on the North Atlantic lobster industry and food providers are booting the seafood delicacy off of their menus.

The high school basketball season can be long and grueling from November through March. Now add the lose and go home stress of any sectional tournament, and the result will be a ton of ups and downs. There are amazing accomplishments that haven't happened in 55 years and tremendous disappoints for teams that were basically expected to win. These boys and girls are 15 to 18 years old. When you get to this stage of the season, these student-athletes, along with their dedicated coaches have put a lot into their season. It means more.

I spent the last few decades working for a Division I athletic department. Each year, one of the compliance officers comes around and makes you sign like twenty times that you won't cheat and you won't gamble...and that includes all fantasy sports that result in any payout or award. I stopped paying attention to betting lines, NCAA pools and never even thought about getting involved in fantasy football.

This afternoon as I passed through the thousands of fans that came out to enjoy the first Friday of racing season in the Spa City, many come year after year. The UAlbany Alumni Association held their annual outing. Hundreds were adorned in purple and gold ready to make their bets and enjoy the spectacular weather and an amazing card of top horse racing, highlighted by the 9th race, the Forbidden Apple Stakes.

Pandora’s Box has now been opened. The NCAA ruled that student-athletes may now own their NIL (Name, Image & Likeness). The ruling seems like it would be a common sense decision and it should be but it’s not.

Some don’t know how to fish. Others think fishing is boring. There are those that think you have to be in the middle of the ocean to be fishing, while so-called experts will swear you have to be on a glacial stream in some mountain range to “really be fishing.” The fact of the matter is fishing is fun. Fishing is easy. Even when it isn’t a “NYS Free Fishing Weekend,” fishing can be inexpensive, notice I said “can be inexpensive.” No matter where you live in the Capital Region, some world class fishing spots are usually minutes away.

26 players has its challenges. Most of these student-athletes are the “best players” on their travel teams and they want to play the whole game everyday and who would blame them? They are kids. Traditionally, in youth sports, the players are not the problem. Well, another thing I learned, this group paid attention and was polite and ridiculously well behaved because their parents were cool. They seemed to appreciate the entire experience for their kids