Sunday, November 29, 2009

Media Slurping The Kool-Aid of Tim Tebow's Heisman

This is a special Sunday edition of Word On The Farm.  There won't be too many Sunday topical blogs, but after this weekend's college football action, I didn't think waiting until Monday would be a good idea.

The Word Of The Day is Kool-Aid.

I am sick and tired of the media's man-crush on Tim Tebow.  Gary Danielson, Skip Bayless, Verne Lundquist, and anyone else who believes that Tim Tebow's intangibles should make up for his lack of statistics in order to give The Golden Boy a second Heisman Trophy needs to stop drinking his kool-aid.  Yes, his intangibles are amazing.  His leadership skills are second to none on the football field, and his character is just as flawless.  However, leadership and character skills are not the criteria for the Heisman Trophy, and neither is career achievements.  Simply put, Tebow has been responsible for 25 fewer touchdowns this year than he was in his sophomore campaign when he won the Heisman.  That does not compute to another trophy, not when there are plenty of other candidates who are much more worthy of that honor.

I don't care what he does next week against Florida.  Mark Ingram lost ANY chance he had at the Heisman Trophy on Friday when he was sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter against Auburn because he wasn't moving the ball.  The fact that the Crimson Tide used the oh so handy excuse of a minor injury to cover that up to keep him in the Heisman race doesn't overshadow the fact that he did have a bad game on a national stage.  Especially when...

Colt McCoy had a HUGE game against Texas A&M to vault into the lead for the Heisman.  One more game against Nebraska next week like he had on Thursday and you can etch his name as a Heisman winner.  He will have to overcome a very solid Cornhusker defense, however, in order to do this.  It should be a great matchup between McCoy and Nebraska star tackle Ndamukong Suh, whose name has also been mentioned this year as a possible candidate.

Toby Gerhart might have had something to say about the Heisman race last night, rushing for over 200 yards for the third time in the last four games against a weak Notre Dame run defense.  He ran for three scores, and also threw his first career touchdown pass against the Irish.

Why isn't Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore getting more love for the Heisman than he's getting?  All he has done in his sophomore season is throw for 3053 yards, 38 touchdowns and only THREE interceptions in 362 attempts.  Those are numbers that any quarterback would love to have.  While he hasn't had that big 450-500 yard passing game that the Colt McCoys, Jimmy Clausens or Case Keenums have had, he's the reason the Broncos are going to the BCS.  That's right.  Boise State is going to the BCS.  More on that shortly.

Imagine what the race would look like if Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike hadn't gotten hurt and missed essentially four games.  When he got hurt, he was the front runner for the award.  He came out in his first full game since October 15th against Illinois and torched the Illini for 399 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Pike looks like he could very well be a first round pick in next April's NFL Draft.

Now onto the Bowl Championship Series.  Thanks to the upsets of Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech this week, you can absolutely put Boise State into the BCS as an at-large team along with TCU.  For the first time in BCS history, there will be TWO non-BCS conference schools playing in the BCS.  Here are my projections for the BCS games:

Rose Bowl: Ohio State (Big Ten Champ) vs Oregon (Pac Ten Champ)
FedEx Orange Bowl:  TCU (highest non-BCS team) vs Georgia Tech (ACC Champ)
Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Alabama (at-large team) vs. Cincinnati (Big East Champ)
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:  Boise State (at-large team) vs. Penn State (at-large team)
National Championship Game:  Florida (BCS #1 - SEC Champ) vs Texas (BCS #2 - Big 12 Champ)

Some of you might ask me why I'm taking Penn State over Iowa as the last at-large team even though Iowa beat Penn State earlier in the season.  Look at how each of these two teams finished.  Penn State has won seven of their last eight.  Iowa's last three games were two losses and a 12-0 win over Minnesota.  Penn State also has the bigger fan base and is more likely to travel to Arizona to play in the Fiesta Bowl than Hawkeyes fans.  Face it, it's true.  Besides, it's a sentimental pick, I want to see JoePa get one last game of glory, even if I don't think the Nittany Lions have a prayer against Boise State.

I need to throw this out there.  I always thought of Pete Carroll as a classy guy, even if the USC program has undergone a lot of turmoil in recent years due to possible recruiting violations and character issues with their players.  While I don't condone UCLA's calling of the time out with 48 seconds left after USC downed the ball, what Pete Carroll did having Matt Barkley throw a useless 48 yard TD pass is completely bush league, and then to have the entire Trojans team come out onto the field and taunt the Bruins after the score is even worse.  If I were a player on the UCLA Bruins, I don't care who I would have had to run over, there would have been a fight.  Coaches shouldn't let their emotions get the best of them, especially in a rivalry game, but what Pete Carroll did was completely bush.

T-minus two days and counting before the inevitable announcement that Notre Dame and Charlie Weis have come to a mutual buyout agreement of his contract.  He said it himself, 6-6 is unacceptable as coach of the Fighting Irish.  Don't blame this year on Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate.  If Notre Dame had a better record, both of these guys would be mentioned as top Heisman Trophy contenders.  I would like to see both Clausen and Tate stick around one more year, as they would be the front runners along with Boise State's Kellen Moore.  If the Fighting Irish can install a halfway decent defense, there is no reason they can't finish 9-3 or 10-2 next year.  Then again, they were supposed to do that this year with their schedule.  Rumors are running rampant that Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is at the top of their wish list.  That would be a major coup for the Irish if they can get him out of Oklahoma.

Enjoy the NFL games today.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

NFL and College Quick Hits

Taking the cheap way out of the picks this week.  It is the holiday weekend after all.

NFL Thursday:
Green Bay 27, Detroit 10
Dallas 13, Oakland 10
Denver 24, NY Giants 13

NFL Sunday:
Atlanta 27, Tampa Bay 20
Miami 26, Buffalo 12
Cincinnati 38, Cleveland 7
St. Louis 20, Seattle 9
Carolina 24, NY Jets 19
Philadelphia 31, Washington 3
Houston 24, Indianapolis 21 UPSET SPECIAL #1
San Diego 27, Kansas City 21
San Francisco 20, Jacksonville 17
Minnesota 34, Chicago 10
Tennessee 24, Arizona 21
Baltimore 17, Pittsburgh 14

NFL Monday Night:
New England 37, New Orleans 31 UPSET SPECIAL #2


College Thursday Game:
#3 Texas 49, Texas A&M 14

College Friday Games:
#5 Cincinnati 37, Illinois 7
Auburn 17, #2 Alabama 14 UPSET SPECIAL #3
West Virginia 21, #9 Pittsburgh 17 UPSET SPECIAL #4
#6 Boise State 56, Nevada 45

College Saturday Games:
South Carolina 24, #18 Clemson 21 UPSET SPECIAL #5
#24 North Carolina 27, NC State 7
#25 Ole Miss 28, Mississippi State 13
#12 Oklahoma State 45, Oklah
#4 TCU 66, New Mexico 3
#1 Florida 27, Florida State 10
#14 Virginia Tech 33, Virginia 13
South Florida 20, #17 Miami 14 UPSET SPECIAL #6
#19 BYU 37, #21 Utah 21
#15 LSU 24, Arkansas 21
#7 Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 17
#23 Houston 56, Rice 21
#20 USC 44, UCLA 20
BONUS GAME Notre Dame 34, Stanford 30

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Edition

The Word Of The Day is Turkeys.

Well, it's Thanksgiving tomorrow.  While all of you are chomping on your turkeys and eating your pies and potatoes, watching the three putrid NFL games that you're being force fed because of these so-called traditions, I will be at work, watching people walking down the hallway to the restaurant here in the hotel to go eat and gorge on their Thanksgiving dinners.  Now that I am single and have no one to share this holiday with, I'm not celebrating it.  What's the point?

Anyhow, since it is Thanksgiving, and, well, we are On The Farm, I think it's appropriate that we present the first annual Word On The Farm Turkeys for 2009.  So without further ado,

Keizo Konishi - How do you justify voting Miguel Cabrera as the American League Most Valuable Player?  As you avid readers saw on my blog yesterday, Cabrera was at best the ninth most valuable player in the league last year.  Inexcusable.

Manny Ramirez - The biggest clown in Major League Baseball got himself a 50 game suspension for taking a banned substance, allegedly for "erectile dysfunction".  It's bad enough to get caught taking a banned substance.  It's MUCH worse to admit you have ED.  That's what Cialis and Viagra are for.

J.P. Ricciardi - Deservedly fired at the end of the baseball season, Ricciardi failed to make the trade to deal Roy Halladay during the season with either Philadelphia or Boston at the trade deadline, thus lowering the price that they can get during this offseason.  Halladay has since come out and said he will not re-sign with the Jays.  Dumb move, J.P.

Lane Kiffin - Rule one of becoming a coach of a major college football program: Don't rile up the opposing coaches.  He alienated Urban Meyer (he being the coach of the National Champion Florida Gators) by saying he would take the Volunteers and run all over the Gators.  How'd that work out?  At least you kept it close, Coach.

Bill Belichick - I love The Hoodie as much as anyone, but you have to be an absolute turkey to go for it on fourth and two from your own 28 yard line against Peyton Manning and the Colts.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Maurice Jones-Drew - This wasn't a turkey move as far as NFL plays goes, but it was a turkey move as far as Fantasy Football goes.  Mau-Jo cost approximately 10,000 players wins a couple of weeks ago by taking a knee at the 1 yard line instead of scoring the open touchdown, including himself.  Fortunately, I had already built a 50 point lead so those six points didn't matter to me.  Otherwise he'd be higher on the list.

Donnie Walsh - You passed on Brandon Jennings and Ty Lawson for who???  Someone who doesn't fit the Mike D'Antoni offense?  It's no wonder the Knicks have sucked this entire decade.  But at least they aren't the 0-14 New Jersey Nets.

Larry Johnson - "I'm not Grand-mama" Johnson made the cardinal mistake of using Twitter to spew out a gay slur against head coach Todd Haley.  If Johnson had been rushing for at least four yards a carry, maybe he's still in Kansas City.  Rushing for less than three yards a carry and doing this means you lose your paycheck.

Major League Umpires - Showed how blind they really are, letting a Joe Mauer sure double be called a foul ball even though it was clearly fair.  Then, in what should have been a double play, Ed Brinkman called only one of two players out at third base that were both off the third base bag.  Those were the most egregious calls, but they weren't the only ones.  More on officiating later.

Dante Wesley - You'll remember Wesley as the clown who launched himself into kick returner Clifton Smith, knocking Smith out of the game and out for a couple of weeks.  The NFL only gave him a one game suspension, although I think he should have been gone for the year.  I still think that way.

LaGarrett Blount - The senior Oregon running back sucker punched a Boise State player after their loss in the season opener, then went after the fans of Boise State after the game.  Suspended for the season by Oregon officials after the game, he was re-instated earlier this month after showing contrition.  I praise Oregon for giving this kid another chance to get his life in order and give him a chance at the NFL.

Brandon Spikes/Urban Meyer - The Florida All-American linebacker attempted to eye gouge Georgia running back Washaun Ealey in the middle of a pile a few weeks ago.  Urban Meyer suspended him for the first half against Vanderbilt, and it took a media circus to force Spikes to suspend himself for the entire game. This should have been the decision from the beginning, no matter what Ealey thought.

Bud Adams - His display of bird flipping during the Titans win over the Bills a few weeks ago was utterly embarrassing.  His full page ad in the Buffalo paper was worse, because nowhere in the advertisement was there an apology for his actions.

The Female Turkey of the Year goes to:
Elizabeth Lambert, New Mexico women's soccer - How do I explain how big of a turkey she was?  I can't.  I will let her actions speak for themselves.  Lambert's Actions against BYU

And finally, The Turkey of the Year goes to:
Southeastern Conference officials - How bad do you have to be to be suspended by your conference?  One crew was suspended because of egregious calls made in consecutive weeks.  The first was a reckless personal foul called for a touchdown celebration that wasn't much of a celebration.  The next week, they screwed up again, calling a penalty on LSU that cost them a win against Florida.  I wonder how much the Gators administration is paying the officials to give them wins.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Well DUHHHHHHHHHH


The Word of the Day is DUH.

(Just a quick note.  I've added a few new blogs to my network as great reads.  I hope you read those blogs as well as this one.  They are all very entertaining.  As you see at the top, I've also added a new logo, created at cooltext.com.  Hope you enjoy it.  Shameless plug: Please click on the advertisements you see on this page.  It would be nice to make money off this blog, but since I don't have any direct sponsorships yet, it would be nice if you click on the ads to help make me some much needed money for the holidays.)

Albert Pujols was just named the unanimous winner of the 2009 National League Most Valuable Player award.  Well duh.  Prince Albert was clearly the best player in baseball, and if he wasn't named a unanimous winner of the NL MVP award, it would have been the biggest travesty since, well, yesterday's AL MVP announcement that Joe Mauer only got 27 of 28 first place votes.

Speaking of which, what in the hell were you thinking, Keizo Konishi?  Miguel Cabrera was the best player in the American League?  By what criteria?  Most cheeseburgers eaten during the pre-game buffet?  Most hot dogs eaten at first base during the game?  Most times caught on camera picking his nose?  There is no justifiable reason that Miguel Cabrera was the best player in the American League.  Miguel Cabrera wasn't even the most valuable Detroit Tigers player this year.  Justin Verlander was.  In fact, if I had a ballot for the American League MVP, it would have looked something like this:

1. Joe Mauer
2. Derek Jeter
3. Kendry Morales
4. Ben Zobrist
5. Kevin Youkilis
6. Mark Teixeira
7. Zack Greinke
8. Aaron Hill
9. Miguel Cabrera
10. Jason Bay

Cabrera deserved to be in the top ten this year.  But the fact that he drank himself off during the month of September when the Tigers needed him most says enough about his character that he should not have been anywhere near the top of the ballot.

Speaking of dumb votes, what in the hell is Placido Polanco and Jeremy Affeldt doing getting MVP votes?  Really?  Polanco was at best the FIFTH best second baseman in the American League this past year, and even that is probably generous (Hill, Zobrist, Cano, Pedroia, Roberts come to mind before I even consider Polanco).  And a SETUP man in the National League is in the top ten?  The fact that Adrian Gonzalez finished TWELFTH should show that there is no way in hell that Jeremy Affeldt should have been considered a top FIFTY player in the National League, let alone top ten.  These voters should have their ballots revoked IMMEDIATELY.

College basketball season started in earnest last week.  After watching the Coaches vs Cancer classic last week, I want to know what the coaches of the Big East were thinking putting Syracuse SIXTH in the conference in their pre-season ranking.  They looked very impressive against Ohio State and North Carolina last week.  Mark my words right now.  Syracuse WILL be a Final Four team this year.  Since I really didn't do a college basketball preview, I'm going to announce my Final Four teams here as I think we will see Syracuse, Kansas, Duke and Texas as the last teams standing.

What took the Titans so long to give the reins to Vince Young.  All he does is simply win games.  He may not put up the best numbers (see Boller, Kyle), but he gets the job done.  Eight straight regular season wins for Vince.  If they had pulled the plug on Kerry Collins earlier, we might be talking about the Titans as a playoff contender.  Now, however, even if they win out, there is virtually zero chance that the Titans will make the playoffs.

My NFL MVP Watch:
1. Brett Favre.  Unheard of idea four months ago, but 21 TDs, 3 INTs and leading the NFL in QB rating shows that The Gunslinger is more than just a gunslinger.

2. Peyton Manning.  He is carrying this Colts offense to an undefeated season with guys named Garcon running the routes.

3. Drew Brees.  It's nothing that he did that is causing him to drop in my eyes.  It's just that Favre has been unbelievable.  Looking forward to seeing what he can do against Patriots defense.

4. Tom Brady.  He's BACK.  Enough said.

5.  Wes Welker.  Hear me out here folks, because this isn't just because of my Patriots fandom.  The Patriots didn't have Welker in week two, so the Jets could focus on shutting down Randy Moss because the Pats didn't have enough depth at WR.  Result: Jets win.  Welker is back the second time around, and he torches them for 15 catches and nearly 200 yards, getting first downs on nearly every single reception.  Result: Patriots win.

My Top Three Heisman Candidates:
(Before I begin, this is probably the weakest crop of Heisman candidates in recent memory.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
1. Case Keenum, Houston.  He is putting up staggering numbers.  If Houston had any type of defense, they would be in the discussion for BCS buster.

2. Mark Ingram, Alabama.  Ingram is carrying the Crimson Tide towards the BCS title game.  Yes, I said it.  Alabama will beat Florida to go to the BCS title game.

3. C.J. Spiller, Clemson.  Spiller is probably the most versatile player in college football this year.  This year's version of Percy Harvin.  That's right.  Percy Harvin.

Tomorrow:  NFL and College picks.  Probably won't be another blog after tomorrow this week due to Thanksgiving holiday, not that I will be celebrating it.  It is also the 11 year anniversary of my half brother's tragic passing due to a car accident.  I will be working instead to keep my mind off it.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Wow, what a weekend!

The Word of the Day is Legendary.

First off, I'm going to introduce a new weekly feature to Word On The Farm. It's called Tweet of the Week. No, it's not going to be a random tweet that I found most entertaining. It's going to be self-serving, a tweet that is a reference to anything that I post on my Twitter account that I find to be the most influential to my 51 followers. (Shameless plug - Please feel free to follow me on Twitter at @LynchCats. I post on more than just sports and poker on there. Want to get to know the man? Follow me there.) A little bit of backstory on this tweet. I believe this was Saturday morning, I was sitting at work, when Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) posted a tweet referring to himself as Stink, speaking in "fourth person" - his nickname. Trey Wingo (@wingoz) suggested that he find a way to go "fifth person". Being the innovative mind that I am, here was my post, attached as a re-tweet with Trey Wingo's response:

@wingoz EXCELLENT POINT RT @LynchCats What if he goes Rock Hoover? Fictional Character = 5th person? @markschlereth see if you can go 5th person
9:13 AM Nov 21st from web

A little while later, my suggestion was realized.

@markschlereth There aint no messin with the Hoov. And the Hoov is about to go wheels up in a few. 5th person?
9:17 AM Nov 21st from UberTwitter

Enough said.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson for becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive Sprint Cup titles. How classy was it to see drivers like Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Brian Vickers to come up and congratulate him during his post-race interview. And Johnson is one of the great ambassadors of the sport, always celebrating the fans and his crew.

Brett Favre, 40 year old MVP? Say it isn't so. This is probably the best Brett Favre has ever looked, and that says something about the three-time Most Valuable Player. I mean, this gunslinger is putting up numbers that would make anyone jealous.

What a great day in the NFL yesterday. Six outstanding finishes in the final minutes of games. The Colts defense steps up and picks off Joe Flacco as the Ravens are driving for the game winning score. Oakland scoring the tying touchdown, then forcing a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and kicking the game winning field goal against Cincinnati. Dallas finding some offense out of a tree and scoring the game's winning touchdown with less than five minutes left against Washington. Ryan Succop (2009's Mr. Irrelevant) kicking the game winning field goal against Pittsburgh after Chris Chambers takes a catch and run down the field for 61 yards. Jacksonville scoring the game winning touchdown against Buffalo with a few minutes left, overcoming Terrell Owens' best game as a Bill with 197 yards receiving. The New York Giants driving and scoring the game winning field goal in overtime after Atlanta came back from 14 down to tie it.

And then there was Matthew Stafford. The Lions and Browns both came into the game at 1-9. I fully expected this game to be a snorefest. I wish I hadn't been saddled with the Bills/Jaguars or Giants/Falcons, because this Lions/Browns game might have been the game of the year. The game comes down to the final play, eight seconds left, Matthew Stafford getting absolutely pummeled while throwing a Hail Mary, and Hank Poteat throwing Calvin Johnson down in front of the referee forcing them to throw a rare pass interference flag on a hail mary, negating the game ending interception. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Cleveland CALLS A TIMEOUT, allowing Stafford to come back onto the field without missing a play. So what happens next? Eric Mangini becomes Karma's latest bitch, as Stafford finds a seam and throws the game winning touchdown with no time left.

Kudos to Kurt Warner for having the foresight to take himself out of the game after being hit in the head in the second quarter yesterday. The NFL has had a real problem with concussions being in the spotlight over the last few years, so Warner taking himself out was one of the smartest things I've seen in a long time. Pittsburgh should follow his lead and hold out Ben Roethlisberger as long as necessary to keep him healthy for the foreseeable future. And if I'm the Philadelphia Eagles, Brian Westbrook is done for the season, not just for three or four weeks. They need to see if LeSean McCoy is the answer at running back for the future, or if they have another kid who can come in and do the job.

Kiss Charlie Weis' career at Notre Dame over, and I think he even realizes it. And he's right. 6-5 is not good enough for Notre Dame, not when the schedule screamed for 10-2.

How putrid are the New Jersey Nets? Thirteen straight losses to start the season, with a very realistic chance to start an NBA record 0-18? I think Lawrence Frank is gone by the end of the week.

Northeastern University is ending its' football program after 73 years. A sad day for college football, and college sports in general. Granted, Northeastern isn't an FCS power, but it's still sad.

Congratulations to Real Salt Lake for winning the MLS cup in just their fifth year of existence. I wish I cared about soccer to care about this.

Condolences to Daniel Negreanu for the passing of his mother last night. Don't know the guy personally, but I know he is one of the great promoters of poker, and from what I hear is becoming quite the golfer as well.

NFL Power Rankings:
1. New Orleans (10-0). I can't give any specific reasons why I'm picking New Orleans over Indianapolis. Probably because Indy has struggled to win the last two weeks over New England and Baltimore. HUGE game next Monday against New England.

2. Indianapolis (10-0). Have looked ugly in close wins over New England and Baltimore. Need to step up their game to remain undefeated.

3. Minnesota (9-1). Brett Favre has clearly been the MVP this year. Apologies to Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Chris Johnson, et al.

4. New England (7-3). Probably playing the best football out of anyone right now. One dumb Bill Belichick decision away from being 8-2 and one game back of Indy for top seed in AFC.

5. San Diego (7-3). Three and a half games behind Denver just four weeks ago. Didn't we see this story just last year?

NFL Bottom Five:
32. Tampa Bay (1-9). I just can't penalize Cleveland after the game of the year.

31. St. Louis (1-9). Started following Steven Jackson (@sj39) on Twitter. Too bad he has no offensive help around him.

30. Cleveland (1-9). This was the first sign of life from the Browns all year.

29. Washington (3-7). Offense is just plain offensive. I can't put Detroit behind the Redskins.

28. Oakland (3-7). Win over Cincinnati aside, I still think they would lose to Detroit on a neutral field. Thus, can't put Detroit here either.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

CFB and NFL Quick Picks

Busy week, first week of my second block of classes, so very busy.

CFB:
#1 Florida 56, Florida Int'l 7
#2 Alabama 45, Chattanooga 3
#3 Texas 55, Kansas 10 (Mark Mangino gets fired after the game).
#4 TCU 45, Wyoming 10
#8 LSU 27, Mississippi 14
Michigan 28, #10 Ohio State 24 (upset special #1)
Arizona 37, #11 Oregon 35 (upset special #2)
#13 Iowa 17, Minnesota 13
#14 Penn State 24, Michigan State 13
#15 Virginia Tech 33, NC State 6
#16 Wisconsin 20, Northwestern 10
#17 Stanford 55, #25 California 20
#19 Oregon State 30, Washington State 13
#20 Miami 20, Duke 17 (OT)
#21 Utah 47, San Diego State 10
#22 BYU 35, Air Force 27
#23 Clemson 48, Virginia 13
#24 Houston 52, Memphis 42

NFL Picks
Dallas 31, Washington 10
Detroit 21, Cleveland 2 (that's not a misprint)
San Francisco 24, Green Bay 23
Pittsburgh 30, Kansas City 7
Minnesota 34, Seattle 21
NY Giants 20, Atlanta 17
New Orleans 48, Tampa Bay 21
Jacksonville 27, Buffalo 6
Baltimore 21, Indianapolis 20 (NFL Upset Special)
Arizona 45, St. Louis 14
San Diego 27, Denver 12
Cincinnati 28, Oakland 3
New England 55, NY Jets 14
Philadelphia 27, Chicago 10
Houston 23, Tennessee 20 (Monday Night)

Monday, November 16, 2009

What the Deuce??

The Word of the Day is Dumb.

What in the hell was Bill Belichick thinking? Fourth and two on your own 29, Peyton Manning on the other side of the field, and two minutes left in the game. WHY IN THE HELL ARE YOU GOING FOR IT ON FORUTH AND TWO???????? I don't want to hear all of this statistical crap about how Belichick and company hits on fourth down 75% of the time, or that the Patriots defense had let the Colts run up and down the field in the fourth quarter. Unless you can GUARANTEE WITH 100% CERTAINTY that you will hit on fourth down, you PUNT, PUNT, PUNT.

Congratulations to Michelle Wie. She has had to endure a lot of unabashed criticism with the way that her father has advised her career. This is huge for Michelle's career, because now with the orangutuan off her back, she won't have to deal with the Anna Kournikova comparisons anymore. I think this is the start of a legendary career. One thing that has been overlooked this year is how close Wie has been to winning this year. She's had two second place finishes and two third place finishes. I will be the first one to go on the record right now and say that Wie WILL win a major championship next year, and in fact, my prediction will be she wins the Nabisco Championship. You heard it here first.

Nice to see the NFL took a very hard stance on Bud Adams. His egregious actions flipping off the Bills sideline is ridiculous. As an owner of a team, and a representative of the NFL, Adams MUST be held to a higher standard. The $250k fine is a great start, however, I would like to see a little bit more. First off, I think a full page apology from Bud Adams in the Buffalo News needs to be in order. I also think Adams needs to donate some money to a local charity, ideally the same amount as his fine.

Skip Bayless must be eating his words right about now. Chad Ochocinco boldly predicted that the Bengals would finish 12-4 this year. After sweeping both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, I don't see any way they don't finish 12-4 and win the AFC North. Right now they are in line for the #2 seed in the AFC, giving them an important bye and home field for the divisional round.

Manny Pacquiao was extremely impressive in his win over Miguel Cotto Saturday night. I am looking forward to a PacMan vs Money Mayweather matchup next year. This should be a match of the century candidate.

Congratulations to Andrew Bailey and Chris Coghlan for winning the American and National League Rookie Of The Year awards. Both players deserved to win, and both players flew under the radar for most of the season. I'm glad the writers went for the best years instead of the most hyped, as Elvis Andrus and Andrew McCutcheon didn't quite do enough to earn the awards. For McCutcheon that wasn't his fault though, as the Pirates waited until June to call him up.

So at midnight ESPN will be running 24 hours straight of LIVE NCAA basketball games to kick off the 2009-10 season. I'm looking forward to watching all 24 hours of their coverage, seeing teams that normally wouldn't get national TV coverage.

I swore to myself I wasn't going to mention the situation with Allen Iverson and the Grizzlies, but here it is. I knew that it was never going to work, because Iverson's ego was going to get in the way.

I'm going to skip the Browns/Ravens game tonight. The only way I would watch this game is if I wanted to sleep. And since I just woke up, I really don't want to sleep.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

NFL Week Ten Preview

The Word of the Day is Sweeps.

It's Sweeps Time for the Nielsen ratings, which means it's time for the annual Indianapolis/New England regular season matchup. Brady vs. Manning, Colts vs. Patriots. It's an annual AFC Championship game preview that usually never disappoints. This year will be no exception. Indy and New England are 1st and 2nd respectively in scoring defense in the league. Add in the fact that Indianpolis is 8-0 right now and this has all the markings of an instant classic. This is the sixth undefeated team that New England has faced this year in nine games. I might be making this pick with my heart being a Patriots fan, but with the injuries that the Colts are dealing with on defense, I'm picking New England 38, Indianpolis 24.

Speaking of sweeps, the Cincinnati Bengals are looking for their second season sweep in two weeks when they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. Marvin Lewis has put the kibosh on Chad Ochocinco's plan to send the Steelers' secondary bottles of mustard. I think the emergence of Rashard Mendenhall for the Steelers is huge in this matchup, as he wasn't a big factor in their first meeting. In a close game, I'm picking the Steelers to win at home, 24-20.

The first Thursday night matchup of the year brings us the Chicago Bears traveling to San Francisco to face the 49ers in what is being billed as the Mike Singletary Bowl. Vernon Davis has already caused waves by trash talking the Bears, and the 49ers have yet to win after signing star wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The Bears looked dreadful against the Cardinals last week, and coming into a short week, I don't see any reason why things will be any different. 49ers blowout the Bears, 33-10.

Quick hits for the rest of the week:

Denver at Washington: This is going to be ugly for the Redskins. Broncos are looking to rebound from consecutive losses. Denver 42, Washington 6.

Jacksonville at New York Jets: Jacksonville has improved with the play of Maurice Jones-Drew, and the Jets are still hard to figure out. For some reason, I think the Jags pull off the upset, 21-17.

Buffalo at Tennessee. Vince Young is 2-0 for the Titans. The Bills have won two games all season. Vince goes to 3-0, Titans win 23-3.

New Orleans at St. Louis. A scrimmage for the Saints this week. No chance of an upset for the Rams here, as the Saints win big 49-13.

Tampa Bay at Miami. Tampa is coming off their first win of the season against Green Bay, and they don't have to travel far to face the Dolphins. The 'Fins didn't look impressive against New England last week offensively. I'm going on the board for a Buccaneers upset here, 16-10.

Detroit at Minnesota. Detroit got Calvin Johnson back last week, but still looked awful. Minnesota is coming off a very well timed bye week. Vikings win a game that will be closer than it should be, 27-21.

Atlanta at Carolina. Atlanta needs this win to have a chance to make the playoffs, as they have struggled in recent weeks. As long as Jake Delhomme is still the starting quarterback, I won't pick the Panthers. Atlanta bounces back, 30-13.

Kansas City at Oakland. This game has the potential to be a worst game of the year candidate. One of these teams has to win, however. Or do they? As much as I want to call for a tie, I'm not going to do that. Kansas City 10, Oakland 6.

Dallas at Green Bay. The Cowboys have run off five straight wins, while the Packers just lost to previously winless Tampa Bay. The Packers offensive line is a sieve, and the Cowboys will exploit that. Dallas 28, Green Bay 20.

Philadelphia at San Diego. The Chargers have charged back into the AFC West race thanks to the Broncos losing two straight, and the Eagles have fallen back into second in the NFC East after their loss to Dallas. A must win for the Eagles, but I don't think they will. Chargers win a close affair, 24-23.

Seattle at Arizona. Kurt Warner is coming off a 5 TD performance last week against the Bears overrated defense. The Seahawks aren't as good. Arizona gets their second home win big, 38-14.

Baltimore at Cleveland (Monday night): Baltimore looked bad against Cincinnati for the second time this year. The Browns would look bad against Cleveland State right now. Baltimore wins big 30-7.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veterans Day

First off a very hearty shout-out to the veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Thank you for protecting our country both in wartime and in peace.

The Word of the Day for today is Youth.

For those who criticize poker as not being a sport, you're going to be disappointed that I am starting a blog with a poker note. But since it is covered by both ESPN and Sports Illustrated, and is featured on many sports networks, I'm covering it. Congratulations to 21 year old Joe Cada on winning the 2009 World Series of Poker, becoming the youngest Main Event champion of all time. He came back from having just over 1% of the chips with 7 players remaining to win the whole thing. He did get lucky a couple of times, notably when he had pocket 3s against Jeff Shulman's pocket jacks and hit a 3 on the flop, and when he hit another set with his deuces against Antoine Saout's pocket queens three handed. Watching Darvin Moon playing the final table made me realize that should I ever get the opportunity to drop $10k to play the main event that I have just as good a chance as anyone to win it. Could he have made losing look any easier?

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked impressive on the road Monday night against Denver. They rattled Kyle Orton into having his worst game of the season, forcing three interceptions, while Rashard Mendenhall showed why the Steelers made him their first round pick in 2008.

Brady Quinn has regained the starting quarterback position in Cleveland. Is there any worse job in sports right now than to be the Browns' QB? I can't seem to think of anything short of being the Oakland Raiders general manager. The Browns are making the Raiders look like a professional franchise.

The Patriots and Colts are set to play in their annual AFC Championship Game preview game. This is probably the biggest game for the Colts on their quest to go undefeated. More on this game tomorrow in my NFL preview blog.

I'm going to rail on Time Warner Cable for a minute. How is it that the NFL Network has been around as long as it has, yet you STILL refuse to add it to your basic cable package. It's pathetic the NFL is on their network on Thursdays starting this week, and so many NFL fans are unable to watch the game.

The Hot Stove season is in full swing, as teams are already starting to position themselves for the 2010 season. The Red Sox added Jeremy Hermida as insurance in case they are unable to re-sign Jason Bay, and extended Tim Wakefield for two years. Wakefield's contract is significant, as they have been working together on mutual options for the past four seasons.

The Twins and Brewers made a trade last week that filled needs for each team. The Brewers sent embattled shortstop J.J. Hardy to the Twins for outfielder Carlos Gomez. You'll remember Gomez as the centerpiece of the Johan Santana trade before the 2008 season. Gomez fills a need for the Brewers, as he will be cheaper than Mike Cameron would have been to re-sign, and the Twins had a gaping hole at shortstop. I really like the trade for the Twins if Hardy can go back to his pre-2009 form. The Brewers are going to need to get more offense though to make up for Gomez and his sub-.300 on base percentage, although Gomez is one of the best defenders in the game.

The Power Rankings section of the blog.

NFL Top Five:
1. New Orleans (8-0). Second straight week they've come back from a double digit deficit to win by double digits.
2. Indianapolis (8-0). Peyton Manning along with Drew Brees the top two MVP candidates.
3. Minnesota (7-1). Bye week couldn't have come at a better time. Let's see what Brett Favre has in the tank for the second half of the season.
4. New England (6-2). Two major tests in the next three weeks for the Patriots, first at Indianapolis this week, and two weeks later at New Orleans.
5. Cincinnati (6-2). They are for real. Two impressive wins over the Ravens, and a win over Pittsburgh. One tipped pass away from being 7-1. Big game this week against my #6 team Pittsburgh.

NFL Bottom Five:
28. St. Louis (1-7). Can Steven Jackson get some help, PLEASE?
29. Detroit (1-7). Matthew Stafford going through some growing pains in his rookie season.
30. Tampa Bay (1-7). Great to see Josh Freeman get a win in his first start.
31. Kansas City (1-7). Amazing what a little talent can do to a person, isn't it Matt Cassel?
32. Cleveland (1-7). Ugh, could things get any worse?

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sunday NFL Quick Hits

The Word of the Day is Shout-Out.

This blog goes out to Chad Ocho Cinco (@OGOchoCinco on Twitter). Watched your Ustream show this morning, you're one of the great players and promoters for the NFL. And your mama is cool too. Good luck against the Ravens Chad.

Here are my picks, three hours before game time.

Washington at Atlanta. Falcons win big, 34-10.

Arizona at Chicago. Bears win a close one at home, 24-23.

Baltimore at Cincinnati. No way I'm picking against the Bengals this week, why shout out to the star if you pick em to lose. Not good PR. Bengals 27, Ravens 17.

Houston at Indianapolis. Houston is 1-17 all time against Indy. Make it 1-18. Indy 31, Houston 28.

Miami at New England. This isn't last year's Wildcat offense. New England 34, Miami 27.

Green Bay at Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay goes to 0-8. Packers 28, Bucs 7.

Kansas City at Jacksonville. Jamaal Charles at RB for Chiefs. Chiefs upset on road, 23-18.

Carolina at New Orleans. A couple of close games for New Orleans. This won't be one of them. Saints 44, Panthers 13.

Detroit at Seattle. Stafford gets Johnson back at WR. Don't like the look of either team. Lions upset Seahawks, 17-13.

Tennessee at San Francisco. Tennessee got their first win last week, Niners are reeling. Tennessee gets win #2 with VY at quarterback, 20-14.

San Diego at New York Giants. Giants have lost three straight, can't run the ball. Chargers can't run it either. I like the Chargers secondary better. Chargers win a shoot out, 37-28.

Dallas at Philadelphia. Eagles are the hottest team in the NFC not named Minnesota or New Orleans. Eagles 28, Cowboys 20.

Pittsburgh at Denver (Monday). Denver suffered its first loss last week. They won't do it here. Broncos 26, Steelers 23.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Quick World Series Take

This isn't going to be long tonight.

The word of the day is Champion.

So now we're going to be oversaturated with Yankees discussion for the next week, and on a personal level I'm gonna be ridiculed without prejudice being a Red Sox fan. Joe Girardi got lucky that his three man rotation succeeded in October and November, because had they lost, he would have been highly criticized for it.

The person that will get a huge amount of criticism, however, is Charlie Manuel. How do you let the pitcher who was named the team's pitcher of the year in J.A. Happ get less than THREE innings of work in the postseason. Starting Joe Blanton in game four of the Series was a mistake against the Yankees' lefty heavy lineup.

It has been a turbulent season for the Yankees, starting with their expensive stadium and outrageous tickets, and Alex Rodriguez' steroids issues, and the big contracts they gave to C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira. They struggled in the early part of the season, in particular against the Red Sox, but after their last series loss to the Red Sox, and not coincidentally with the return of Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees heated up, and took the rest of the baseball world by the throat.

Hideki Matsui was huge in the three games he was able to play with the designated hitter, particularly tonight. He tied a World Series record with six RBI in one game, tying Bobby Richardson in 1960. I would have been tempted to start Matsui in the outfield in the NL games and move Damon over to right field just to keep his hot bat in the lineup, though. Matsui's game six performance wrested the MVP trophy away from Chase Utley, who was bidding to be the first player since Richardson to win the MVP for a losing team.

Now, onto the Hot Stove Season.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Being Played For A Fool

It's November. Yay.

The word of the day is Played. As in, I got played for a fool.

I really hate the internet sometimes. I really do. In particular, people who can't be who they really are and create different people just to get their jollies off. Pisses me off to no end.

Ok, now that I'm off that sandbox.

I've come to a conclusion. The Giants are overrated. For the third straight game, they have looked simply awful. The Eagles showed just how bad they were defensively, sending Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson all over the place. Speaking of DeSean Jackson, he's a total beast. He has six touchdowns already this year of more than 50 yeards. The Eagles are clearly the best team in the NFC East right now.

The Saints are as good as advertised, although Atlanta gave them a hell of a run last night. They are just one point per game behind the 2007 Patriots record pace. Looking at the rest of their schedule this year, I see only one or two games that they could lose.

The Rams and Lions showed in the same game just how bad they really are. Both offenses, save for Steven Jackson of the Rams, are putrid. How Steven Jackson is having the year he is having is amazing. Probably one of the most impressive seasons in NFL history considering the circumstances. Granted, Detroit was without Calvin Johnson, but even with him, they're still bad.

The 49ers defense took it to Peyton Manning, holding him without a touchdown this year. In fact, if it wasn't for a halfback option play by Joseph Addai, the Colts lose that game at home. Four trips to the red zone and all the Colts could muster were field goals. Not a good sign if you're Indianapolis.

How impressive was Ted Ginn in the third quarter? Two returns for at least 100 yards in the third quarter were a first in NFL history, and he went quickly from the doghouse to the penthouse for the Dolphins. And how bad can the New York Jets be to hold the Dolphins to as few yards as they did, but still lose the game that badly. Overrated? I think so.

I would like to congratulate the Houston Texans for having their best start in team history, going 5-3 over the first half of the season. It's nice to see them finally taking a big step forward after consecutive 8-8 seasons.

Oh yeah, and Brett Favre had a successful return to Green Bay. That is all I am going to say about Favre unless he's MVP. And he won't be.

My NFL Top Five:
1. New Orleans (7-0)
2. Indianapolis (7-0)
3. Minnesota (7-1)
4. Denver (6-1)
5. New England (5-2)


I am thoroughly enjoying this college football season. I'm enjoying it because it is allowing me to make a mockery of the Bull Crap System known as the Bowl Championship Series. I love the fact that we could have SIX undefeated teams going into bowl season. Yes, that's right. I'm calling for SIX of the seven current undefeated teams to stay that way (the only reason being the SEC championship game will eliminate one of Florida or Alabama). Should Florida/Alabama and Texas remain undefeated, those two teams definitely deserve to be in the BCS Championship game. However, the call for a playoff will run rampant because there will still be Iowa, Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise State undefeated. Oh, and the fact that TCU or Boise State won't even get the chance to even be IN the BCS is a joke. Both teams deserve to be there. The NCAA and the BCS need to their hands off of each other's units and stop counting the cash to see how much of a joke their system is. The only thing that is good is that the voters are still keeping Boise State ahead of Oregon. If Oregon jumps them, that will be a joke.

Speaking of jokes, the Florida Gators are a joke. Their "suspension" of Brandon Spikes is a joke. Tim Tebow's justification of Spikes' actions against Georgia is a joke. And Brandon Spikes' apology is a joke. If LaGarrett Blount got suspended for the year for Oregon, Spikes should be gone as well. The SEC once again has proven themselves to be a joke by accepting Florida's handling of the situation. F*ck the SEC. They are a classless organization from top to bottom.

My Heisman top five:
1. Jimmy Claussen
2. Mark Ingram
3. Tim Tebow
4. Case Keenum
5. Colt McCoy

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Sunday NFL Quick Hits

This is gonna be a short but sweet entry with my quick NFL picks. No word on the farm for today. I'll save that for my weekend wrap-up after the Monday night game.

Houston at Buffalo
Matt Schaub is having an MVP caliber campaign this year. Buffalo is sucking eggs. Houston moves to 5-3 for the first time in team history, winning 35-14.

Cleveland at Chicago
The Bears are coming off a humiliating loss to Cincinnati last week, when Cedric Benson ran roughshod all over them. Cleveland is putrid. Bears take out their frustrations on Cleveland, 34-3.

Seattle at Dallas
Seattle has been inconsistent both offensively and defensively. Miles Austin has become Tony Romo's new play toy. Nothing changes this week. Dallas 24, Seattle 13.

St. Louis at Detroit
This could be the Rams' only shot at a win this year. However, Matthew Stafford has practiced all week for the Lions. Not a good sign for the Rams to say the least. Detroit wins a nail biter, 17-13.

San Francisco at Indianapolis
San Francisco has named former #1 pick Alex Smith as the starter for this game. Not a good sign for a team facing the Colts. Colts run away with this one, 42-16.

Miami at New York Jets
Mark Sanchez has been inconsistent the past four weeks. Everyone has been inconsistent in defending the Wildcat offense. I like Miami to win on the road, 27-21.

New York Giants at Philadelphia
The first of two huge games to be contested in Philly this week (if you don't know the other one, get the hell off my blog. Seriously.), Philadelphia needs a win to close the gap with the recently struggling New York Giants. I'd like to pick a tie, but since I can't, Philadelphia wins by a field goal at the end, 27-24.

Denver at Baltimore
Baltimore needs to right the ship and fast before Cincinnati and Pittsburgh completely run away from the division. (Who saw that coming???) Denver remains the class of the AFC West, but this is the first of three straight tests. Baltimore rights the ship, and Denver becomes the latest team to lose. Baltimore 23, Denver 21

Jacksonville at Tennessee
Vince Young has been given the reins by Jeff Fisher in Tennessee. I'm still not sure what to make of the Jaguars this year. Something tells me that Tennessee wins a sloppy game, 14-10.

Oakland at San Diego
Oakland, while they have two wins, are still the laughingstock of the NFL right now. San Diego needs a turn around game if they have ANY chance of catching Denver. San Diego wins a laugher, 31-13.

Minnesota at Green Bay
Brett Favre returns. The fans boo. The Packers win. The fans cheer. Packers 27, Vikings 20.

Carolina at Arizona
The Panthers are sticking with Jake Delhomme at quarterback. Big mistake. Arizona blows out the Panthers, 33-7.

Atlanta at New Orleans (Monday night)
Drew Brees is the MVP of the league so far. Anyone that says it's Peyton Manning needs to get their lips off his ass. New Orleans and Indianapolis remain the only undefeated teams, as the Saints win 28-21.