Not sure who this guy is, but he does one hell of a Orton impression! I think Charlie Sheen is the only one who can describe what Tebow is doing better than Orton did above. At least Orton went to KC where he can get some revenge on New Years Day when they play the Broncos…
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Meyer In; Erickson, Neuheisel Out
Urban Meyer Named Ohio State Head Coach – Shocker. Meyer’s “time off to spend with his family” was the coaching equivalent of Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kris Humphries. None of us believed him, and what made it worse was, like Kim, he actually believed himself. And then, despite our low expectations, he comes back not even two full seasons from when he walked away. Let’s not forget to mention that Ohio State is even less removed from its relationship with Jim Tressell. What a dirty pair. These two parties deserve each other. Have we still not heard of any sanctions against the school from the NCAA? Is Meyer planning on coaching non-bowl eligible teams for the next few years? USC is still paying, so I expect Meyer to be severely handcuffed for the duration of his new contract.
Dennis Erickson Let Go By Arizona State – This one was a little tough for me to agree with. Erickson’s had an up and down tenure at ASU, but he had them off to a 6-2 start, with some decent credentials (wins over USC and Missouri, and respectable losses at Oregon and Illinois). But the Sun Devils ultimately lost their last four games and finished 6-6, which would mark the fourth consecutive year that Erickson failed to crack the .500 mark. I don’t know why all these Pac-12 ADs think their schools should recruit the same caliber players as USC and Oregon. Erickson played the hand he was dealt, and appeared to have some momentum going forward. He should have got one more shot at it. But, state rival Arizona made news last week when they hired Rich Rodriguez, so I guess ASU had to try and outdo them.
Rick Neuheisel Let Go By UCLA – The coach will not be returning next year, but he will be coaching in the Pac-12 Championship. I’ll never understand that one. How is he gonna care about that game? Sure he’ll want those kids to win under his watch, but I don’t think I’d be putting my best effort forth. It’ll be interesting to see how Neuheisel prepares the Bruins for a deathtrap this weekend. UCLA has to go into Oregon and play a 10-2 Ducks team that is probably looking ahead to the Rose Bowl. This is coming off a 50-0 loss at the hands of USC, which is probably what cost him his job.
Hoops are back on!
The only thing I saw in the CBA deal details that I actually cared about was the amnesty clause, which gives teams the right to waive one contract on thier roster without a penalty. Goodbye Andris Biendris, and finally back to the on-court basketball talk! The lockout isn’t completely over, but it sounds like both sides are ready to approve the most recent deal. Throughout the lockout, I’ve been keeping tabs on some of the W’s players and what they’ve been up to. One of our draft picks, Jeremy Tyler, got me pretty excited when he made the video above showing that he’s staying in shape and ready to try and make the W’s roster. He looks like a 6-11″ 286 pound beast in the making. Oh yeah, and the best part about this guy is we bought his draft rights for a cool $2M off of the hard-line penny pinching Jordan in the draft last year. I hope this is another one of those Jordan blunders he seems to be getting more and more famous for as an executive!
Doin Lines Week 12
Another week down in the NFL season. Shockingly, I’m still on a pretty good run with the picks. I thought by now I’d be falling back to .500, but fortunately that hasn’t been the case. By had too much to do this week to get his picks added in, so I’ll be flying solo on picks for week 12. I’ll pick a couple more games than I normally would including upsets in two of the Thanksgiving games maybe due to no bye weeks, but mostly due to By’s absence.
Last Week: Chappy (3-2-1), By (2-2)
Overall: Chappy (30-22-4), By (26-17)
Miami @ Dallas (-7)
Chappy picks Miami (+7). There’s nothing like stuffing your face, and watching the Cowboys lose. Unfortunately, they usually seem to win on Turkey day. I’m not entirely convinced that Miami will win this game, but ever since Reggie told everyone he and the entire team sucks, they’ve played very good. Who needs Andrew Luck anyways, Matt Moore is gelling with his receivers like Ace Ventura did with Snowflake, and actually looks like he might have a future in this league. The Cowboys are on a roll lately, but we all know that Romo can inspire a downward spiral in a hurry, and I feel like this is the beginning of the usual Cowboys collapse in the second half of the season even if it is still November where Romo is usually a winner.
Green Bay @ Detroit (+6.5)
Chappy picks Detroit (+6.5). Not sure how confident I feel in either of these Thanksgiving picks, but honestly I feel like it’s going to be a close game whether Detroit can pull out a victory or not. Maybe the Lions listened to my rant in the lines last week, because they started to run the ball again. I’ve been saying for awhile that since Best went out with a concussion, they had become way too predictable in their attack. I don’t really like the Detroit secondary or any secondary against Rodgers for that matter, but they at least have the guys to knock him down a few times, and don’t worry about a penalty if they do want to hit him just to hit him.
Houston @ Jacksonville (+3)
Chappy picks Houston (-3). Anybody out there think Matt Leinart can be effective in this offense? Probably not, since the last time he took over a winning team in AZ replacing Kurt Warner, he showed that he wasn’t the right guy for it. I do have lots of confidence in him being able to hand the ball off to Ben Tate and Arian Foster. Even I can do that, so he should be fine. Plus, he’ll get back Andre Johnson this week, and you barely have to hit the area code he’s in for him to haul in the pass. Since the Jags never score more than 20 points, I could see the Houston backfield beating them in points to cover this spread. The Texans can overcome Leinart’s sucktitude, and win by more than a field goal.
Carolina @ Indianapolis (+3)
Chappy picks Carolina (-3). I was really hesitant picking this game, because it seems like the past few times I’ve picked Carolina they’ve disappointed me. That being said, I’ve felt comfortable every time I’ve picked against the Colts this season, and Cam should be able to bounce back after his mistake prone game against a team that doesn’t let the opposing team make mistakes. A bye week wasn’t going to fix all the problems the Colts had all over the field, hell, an off-season might not even remedy their problems at this point… This might be the last time Indy has a chance to win this year, but sadly I only see 0-16 in their future.
Chicago @ Oakland (-4).
Chappy picks Oakland (-4). I’ll be in attendance for this game with about 20 friends! Back when the tickets were purchased for the game, I actually was very afraid the Bears would come in to Oakland and win. Now that SD helped us out by knocking out Cutler, I feel comfortable betting on this game again. It sounds like there’s an outside chance DMac might be playing in this one. Even if he’s not, Bettis 2.0, aka Michael Bush has shown he can get the job done by showing off his own version of Beat Mode, and could be one of the most underrated back in the league. As long as Palmer doesn’t turn it over, the Raiders should be able to beat Hanie and Forte. I am worried about the receiving core for the Raiders though with Ford and Moore in walking boots, and DHB coming off a concussion.
Denver @ San Diego (-6)
Chappy picks Denver (+6). Wait, what!?! Denver is a six point dog in this one?!? I know Vegas and God don’t exactly mix, but seriously Vegas, how can you smite Tim Tebow’s team like this!?! Phillip Rivers has shown us one thing this year, and that is he can turn it over with the best of them. He’s taking on one of the most underrated defenses in the league that causes tons of turnovers and three and outs, which should make it difficult even at home. It’s even highlighted more when their offensive line is in shambles. It’s funny how all my Chargers friends gave up on their season three weeks ago, just like Rivers did, zing!
NY Giants @ New Orleans (-7)
Chappy picks New Orleans (-7). For some reason the Saints are a team that’s flying under the radar kinda like the Texans were in the AFC. New Orleans is healthier than they’ve been all season on both sides of the ball, and have the type of offense that gives the Giants problems. I think I’m picking the Saints more because they’re coming off a bye week and at home where they always show up and play well. Awesome Drew Brees stat; at home he has completed a ridiculous 76% of his passes. The Giants will get Ahmad Bradshaw back, but I don’t see that being enough in the end to keep them close enough to cover. If my picks come out correct in the NFC East, the Eagles actually do still have a shot at winning that division.
Kemp Got Robbed
Back in August I got to sit in the Dodgers dugout while working with the Fox Sports production team. Finally had the right time to pull out this picture I took!
So today Ryan Braun was named the NL MVP. It came as a complete shock to me for a few reasons. Maybe while I was living in LA, I just heard too much hype on why he was a slam dunk choice for the award, but the more I thought about it the more I didn’t see why Braun had the “better” season. Yes, the Brewers made it to the playoffs and won a lot, but since Kemp played with literally nobody else helping him on offense it made Kemp’s year that much more impressive. Make no mistake Andre Ethier and James Loney are no Prince Fielder or Corey Hart. Some might argue Ethier is good, but despite some of his numbers early on, he had a crappy year. I watched more Dodgers games last season than I’d like to admit, but honestly unless Kershaw was on the mound, the only thing worth watching in thier games was Matt Kemp’s atbats. I suffered through half hour periods of other players batting basically to watch Kemp bat. He finished with the NL lead in homers (39), RBI (126), and was third in BA (.324) in one of the closest attempts at the triple crown in years. To put Kemp in a little better perspective; his team scored a 644 total runs on the season, and he accounted for nearly 20% of his team’s offense even though pitchers were pitching around him all season long (trust me I saw how few pitches he had to hit, and it was Bonds-esque). Oh yeah, and once on base Kemp did another thing better than Braun, which was steal bases. Kemp had 40 thefts to Braun’s 33. Was it Kemp’s fault the rest of his team wasn’t able to score more runs for them to win more games? He came through every time he could and then some. You know what else was impressive in Kemp’s stats that I came across, is he has five walk off hits, and three were homers. Braun had three walk off hits this year, and only one was a homer.
Putting the all the offensive numbers aside that clearly point to Kemp over Braun, doesn’t playing a harder position much better than the other guy playing a weaker position give you an upper hand in voting? I go back to the rookie of the year race last year, and how Buster Posey won the award over Jason Heyward. Heyward had slightly better numbers and had played more games, but Posey won the award because many cited he played the tougher position. Is Braun an above average outfielder with a great arm? Yes, but he plays left field, the spot usually designated for the worst outfielder on the team. Matt Kemp plays center field at a gold glove level. Sure I get it winning means something, but after I took a closer look at it today, I don’t understand how the BWAA made thier choice. Maybe they hate McCourt as much as Dodgers fans, and decided they couldn’t have the Cy young winner and the MVP under his watch. Anyways, congrats Braun you are a great player, but didn’t deserve the award this year in my eyes. At least Kemp can sleep well on his nice pile of cash money!
RFP Of The Day: Lawrence Moten
Who remembers this guy? Unless you’re a Syracuse, or perhaps a Big East fan, you probably don’t. He certainly didn’t have a very spectacular pro career, though I suppose he wasn’t really expected to. Despite leaving Syracuse as the Big East’s all-time leading scorer, Moten didn’t exactly have an NBA frame. Then again, that’s probably why I liked him so much. I can’t help but root for the lanky, skinny guys, and Moten was one of them. He’s listed at a gangly 6’5″, 185 lbs. Add to that, he rocked the long socks that I was always so fond of. He ended up getting drafted in the second round by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He spent two unimpressive years north of the border, and then played his third and final NBA season in Washington. He scored 9 points in 8 games that year. Moten was one of those guys who had game like nobody else, but just didn’t have the size to continue his success on the NBA hardwood. Looking back, his career actually reminds me a lot of Quincy Douby, who caught my eye at Rutgers when I saw him torch Moten’s alma mater. He lit up the Orange for 40+ points, but he too, played only three years in the NBA, before fizzling out with Toronto. Last I saw Douby, he had broken his wrist playing over in China. Last I saw Douby in REAL LIFE, he was walking down Market Street in San Francisco wearing his OWN jersey circa 2006. Oddly enough, no one recognized him except me. Though, the same could be said for John Wall yesterday. The lockout must be hitting the players hard, because Wall was flying Southwest with me from Las Vegas to Sacramento, but managed to fly, literally, under the radar.
In Case you Missed This Guy…
This video has been floating around youtube for a little while, and since I haven’t had time to write a post, I figured at least I’d let our readers see the best salesman in the world. He doesn’t even give you the opportunity to say no, because after his first line, he has you laughing so much you’re going to buy his product regardless of whether you need it or not! One thing I know for sure is this guy will not have a problem finding another sales job if he somehow gets fired… One thing is for sure, I’ll be looking out for Kenny Books!
David Stern “Locked Out” Rap
The radio station 95.7 in the Bay Area is a station I’ve listened to quite a bit since they were created. Plus, they are the only station that actually incorporates the A’s into their discussions, and they actually talk about the Raiders quite a bit too. The afternoon hosts were talking about this video they made with Stern rapping. I had to check it out, and have to think you’ll enjoy it too!
QB Play MATTers
Not sure if anyone else has wondered this, but when was the last time so much we talked about quarterbacks so much in an NFL season? Sure, QB will always be in the spotlight, but you could seriously have a reality series on just about every starter in the league. Some guys are getting attention because they’re playing great: Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees. Some are getting attention for their inconsistent, oft-erratic play: Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Michael Vick, Joe Flacco. Some are just downright terrible: Philip Rivers. Some guys are doing a good job of not screwing up and allowing their team to win games: Alex Smith, Jay Cutler. There’s even a couple of rookie QBs who are getting plenty of attention: Cam Newton, Andy Dalton. And then of course, on a whole nother level, there’s Tim Tebow, who appears to not even be a quarterback anymore.
But you know what all this has made me notice? There are a lot of quarterbacks named Matt in the league. I rattled off like 10 or 11 in my head, but somehow, when I scoured the NFL rosters, I only came up with 8. Two of them are backups. The list reads Stafford, Ryan, Schaub, Cassel, Moore, Hasselbeck, Leinart, and Flynn. I kicked around the idea of posting this, but ultimately decided it would be unappealing to the 99% of the world that isn’t named Matthew. Apparently I unearthed some sort of curse, as the next day saw not one, but two Matts ruled out for the remainder of the year. Matt Schaub evidently came too close to the cancerous cloud that is Albert Haynesworth and now his foot is “the size of a cinder block.” At least it clears way for another Matt, Leinart that is, to move into a starting role. That’s hardly a consolation for the 99% of Texans fans not named Matthew. Matt Cassel, on the other hand, is a little more optimistic about playing again later this season, but he just had surgery on his throwing hand, so we’ll see how that goes. Even if he can come back, it’s not like he was playing great to begin with. He’s touting a 76.6 QB rating, and if you throw out the game against the 0-10 Colts, he’d surely dip into the 60s. Only the likes of Blaine Gabbert, Rex Grossman, and Curtis Painter live in that world. Beyond all that, Cassel will always be the quarterback, to me, that lost to the guy who completed TWO PASSES ALL GAME.
Doin Lines Week 11
Chappy: Another week in the books, and By is on a tear right now. I didn’t have a winning week, but the Raiders did come away from this weekend holding sole possession of first place in the AFC West, so all in all it was a great week! This week we have Ryan Meehan joining us from such blogs as First Order Historians, East End Philadelphia, and the official Ryan Meehan website with our picks.
By: Of course God had smite me for going against his favorite quarterback in Tim Tebow. Never shall I listen to the devil over my shoulder again and doubt the “Chosen One”. Like so many times before this season, my 3 team parlay fell short because I couldn’t pull the trigger on my Niners at home, and elected to go with a now hopeless Chiefs team instead. All good, the positive out of it all, I’m nearly 10 games over .500 on Doin Lines! Now onto the lines!
Last Week: Chappy (2-3) By (3-1)
Overall: Chappy (27-20-3) By (24-15)
NY Jets @ Denver (+6.5)
Meehan picks Denver (+6.5). Denver must be good if they can win a game by 7 points having their quarterback only completing two passes. And the Jets must be slightly out of focus if they just lost a home game by three touchdowns. Given it was against New England, but there is something really wrong with the Jets. Regardless, they are still better than the Broncos and it’s a must win for them, so I’m taking them to win. Plus a loss would sink them to .500 and although it wouldn’t mean they were out of the playoff race just yet, it definitely would mean they’re standing on the slide ready to fall into the pool. Jets 24, Broncos 18.
Chappy picks Denver (+6.5). I’m not sure why, but I’m actually starting to buy into the whole Tebow is a winner thing. Maybe it’s the way God has put By in his place with his parlay card! One thing I really like about Tebow is you know he’s not afraid to make a mistake or two, because he burshs it off one second later. Having said that, I think the Broncos will lose Thursday night, but not by a ton. I picked a close score hoping for an entertaining game at least. Can Rex Ryan figure out John Fox’s foot fetish of a ground game? Tough to say, but I think Von Miller is an absolute beast and will keep the Jets from being able to run all that much.
Cincinnati @ Baltimore (-7)
Chappy picks Cincinnati (+7).
The cardiac cats are back. They seem to have a close game every week, and have been on the right side of most of those games. Dalton isn’t playing like a rookie, and the firecrotch has revived a team from the dead with help from AJ Green. Hopefully Green is on the field this weekend as they’ll need all the weapons possible against a Ravens team that is hard to figure out. The Ravens have been a huge anomaly this year, and seem tough to figure out from week to week, and I seem to always pick wrong when betting on their games, but that isn’t stopping me this weekend. Take the seven points in what I see as a close game. The Bengals D is no joke, so I don’t see a ton of scoring.
Oakland @ Minnesota (+1)
Chappy picks Oakland (-1). Is it me or should this line be more in favor of Oakland? I guess it doesn’t matter since nobody wins by one anyway. For starters the Raiders will have 10 days rest for this game after playing on Thursday in SD. The Vikings will be on short rest because of MNF. Am I overconfident in Palmer at the helm of our offense? Probably, because he’s been making throws I haven’t seen a Raiders QB make in over a decade. He’s made throws that not even the great Rich Gannon would’ve been able to make. Questioning his arm strength might just mean you haven’t seen his last two games. Minnesota seems to have packed it in already. If the Raiders don’t win this, they don’t deserve the AFC West title.
By picks Oakland (-1). I’ve been saying for quite some time that the Raiders are the best team in the AFC West, followed closely by the Chargers. Last week, the point was proven as the Silver & Black went into Qualcomm Stadium, in what felt like a home game for them, and took first place. Now that’s how you’re supposed to take something you want Juan Manuel Marquez. Anyway, there is some doubt here, as no team from the west likes traveling east for an early game, but coming off an emotional win like they are, I can’t fathom a Raiders let down this week. Carson Palmer is slowly getting it back, and getting familiar with his talented receivers, and whether DMac plays or not doesn’t matter. Michael Bush has shown what he’s capable of doing as the lone feature back when given the opportunity. It will be tough, and AP will have a big game, but the Raiders edge out the Vikings by 4 here.
Buffalo @ Miami (+2)
Meehan picks Miami (+2). Upset special. Not only is Buffalo total bullshit, they don’t match up well against the style of football Miami’s been playing as of late. In a twisted sort of way I’m not even sure this is really an upset at all. The game is in Miami and that fact always fills some extra space. Dolphins 24, Bills 23.
Carolina @ Detroit (-7)
Chappy picks Carolina (+7). Is it just me or did everyone completely discount the loss of Javid Best to the Detroit offense? Since he went down on his umpteenth concussion, they haven’t been the same team we saw in the beginning of the season. I think they had Stafford throw something like 60 passes last week, the polar opposite of what any team wants to do on offense. Either way they have zero running game without Best, and it’s hard to win throwing as much as they have lately, unless you have an elite QB, not sure Stafford is that quite yet.
Meehan picks Detroit (-7). I think we can all agree that the Lions looked horrible against Chicago last week. Not nearly as bad as Carolina, who appears to have given up after seeing “highlights” from that Titans game this past Sunday. Much like the Jets have to have the Thursday night game, the Lions need this one bigtime because writers (like me) and fans are starting to think the beginning of this season was a fluke for them. And it’s really hard to mention Detroit without bringing up how dirty of a team they are, so there’s your weekly standard comment on that. Lions 27, Carolina 11.
Tampa Bay @ Green Bay (-14)
Chappy picks Green Bay (-14). I simply don’t see anyone stopping Aaron Rodgers and the Pack especially a younger Bucs squad on the road in Lambeau. The Packers defense looked much better against the Vikings on Monday, not sure if that’s really showing improvement or if the Vikings suck that bad. Maybe they’ve figured out that part of their team again. If so, that’s scary for the rest of the league…
Tennessee @ Atlanta (-6)
Meehan picks Tennessee (+6). Since I can’t stand the Hasselbeck era Titans, you can almost bet the farm that they’ll win here. The Falcons have had to deal with questions all week about Mike Smith’s decision to go for it on fourth down at their own 29 yard line. And it’s a shame they have, because it’s distracting the fans from the real issue at hand here: That no matter how many times I write it I still can’t believe that Matt Hasselbeck has a job as a starter in the NFL. And since the Texans just lost their starting quarterback it’s possible the Titans may end up winning the AFC South now. Unreal. So I’m hoping the Falcons win because I want to see the Texans make the playoffs, but I’m picking the Titans to win because not only am I a fan of reverse psychology, but I love being right. Titans 27, Falcons 23.
San Diego @ Chicago (-3.5)
Chappy picks Chicago (-3.5). Talk about two teams heading in opposite directions. Even the quarterbacks are on opposite ends of the spectrum from what were used to. Rivers now looks like Cutler did at the beginning of the season, and Cutler looks like what Rivers looked like last season. One thing that stands out is the O-lines. Cutler’s O-line is healthy, Rivers O-line is not. A non-healthy O-line all adds up to turnovers, which the Chargers won’t be able to overcome. I see VJ getting loose for a couple scores after apologizing to his team this week for his lackluster effort against Oakland, but that won’t help when they’re down by two or three scores and Forte is running wild on a D that isn’t great against the run. SD has issues on special teams as well, so another Hester return in this one? I feel like it’s happening if they kick to him.
By picks San Diego (+3.5). Whatever has gotten into Douche Bag Rivers this season, I’d like to order more of that please! I can’t stand this guy’s face. But in reality, San Diego is immensely talented, and this is about that time of the season in which they come marching back from the dead and make a real playoff push. It won’t be easy, as they’ll have to get their season turned around on the road in chilly weather against a hot Bears team. Perhaps Brian Urlacher wasn’t wrong about saying Jay Cutler is the best quarterback if given time, as Cutler has been great lately. (I still don’t believe that statement). Whatever the case, this game should be a shootout, and I predict a lot of points on the board, but ultimately the desperation of the Chargers gives them the added advantage. Bolts over Bears by 3.
Dallas @ Washington (+7.5)
By picks Dallas (-7.5). I normally don’t like the idea of going with a team that has to win a division game by more than a touchdown on the road, but I’m kind of buying Dallas for the next few games. Tony Romo looks somewhat competent as of late, as shown by his dismantling of Buffalo at home last week, but more importantly Jason Garrett elected to go conservative with a big lead this time around, unlike in the Detroit choke job, where Romo handed the Cowboys a loss. Maybe it’s because they have a real running game now with DeMarco Murray. On the flip side, Washington has absolutely no identity. Did they really go back to Rex Grossman? Will they continue to rotate starting running backs each week? Who knows, but they’re a mess, and they’re going to get steamrolled this week.
Meehan picks Dallas (-7.5). Washington is now on a six game losing streak, and here they run into the Cowboys who are one of the five hottest teams in all of football right now. If you’re a fantasy guy and you own you some Dallas players, start every single one of them. And I’m not sure how fantasy football even works but if there’s some bizarre way that you can start them twice at the same time go ahead and do that too. This will be the game where Romo goes 31 for 35 and throws for 380, could even be a career game for him. Cowboys 40, Redskins 19.
Jacksonville @ Cleveland (PK)
Meehan picks Jacksonville. When I first contacted Chappy about doing these picks, he mentioned that he doesn’t pick all of the games every week. I would assume that this was the type of game he was talking about. Browns would be the most disappointing team in the league if anybody had actually expected anything out of them, which they didn’t so it’s not really an issue. Jags 19, Browns 6.
Seattle @ St. Louis (+1.5)
Meehan picks Seattle (-1.5). I talk a lot of shit about the Seahawks but you have to give them credit. There’s almost absolutely no way for them to sneak into the playoffs and they laid the Ravens out after the largest moral victory that team has had since Super Bowl XXXV. Of all the players that didn’t get moved before the trade deadline, Marshawn Lynch has to be more pissed than any of them.
Kansas City @ New England (-14.5)
By picks New England (-14.5). Tom Brady looked magnificent against the hated Jets in New York last Sunday night. A Jets defense that features the best corner in the league. Problem is, Brady loves his tight ends, and Revis doesn’t match up against either of them. Even if he did for a possession, who would cover Wes Welker? I guess what I’m saying is, the Patriots have too many options to defend against on offense, and they have a quarterback who knows how to get the ball to the right match ups. Only way New England doesn’t cover is, if they lose discipline and don’t approach this game with the business like attitude that they approach every game under Bill Belichick, or if whoever KC’s backup is, happens to be the next Tom Brady. I believe both is highly unlikely. Pats big.
Doin Work’s 1,000th Post!
We’re coming up on our 30 month anniversary in a few weeks. Next Spring, it’ll be three full years of Doin Work. Blogs weren’t invented yet when I was in Business School, but I imagine there would have been some statistic like, 90% of blogs fail after the first post. I’d be willing to bet that the average lifespan of a blog is comparable to that of a housefly. I’ve known dozens of people who started blogs that were done after 1-3 posts. To think that a few workaholics from California could sustain it for this long is, I wouldn’t say an achievement, but for us it is. We’ve persevered through personal stuff like changing jobs, losing jobs, and starting new jobs, to some pretty tough circumstances in the world of sports. Seriously, two lockouts this summer, and we’ve still found some stuff to babble about! It’s amazing how much the absence of the LA Lakers has lowered the volatility of our e-mail threads. Though you don’t see much from Dyslecix and Cali4Dre, they’re still there behind the scenes. In fact, we all agreed today to liveblog the Mayweather-Pacquaio fight when if that happens. No matter who’s doing the posting, it’s crazy to look back at the wide, wide variety of things we’ve featured. Here are some of the highlights….
Lakers vs. Clippers Live Blog – Seriously? We did this? It was an October game at that. Is that a preseason game?
The Best E-Mail Chain of all-time. I hope David Thorne has taught us all a lesson to not let the establishment own us.
Ghost Ride the Whip – Seriously, what’s not to like about two white A’s fans ghost riding a whip!
Funny Signs from China – Chappy and MCeezy’s trip to China was successful on the blogging front as we found a wide range of broken engrish signs. Oh, and for some reason this picture we photo-shopped for our caption contest ended up on Bleacher Report as a real photo of Yao.
The Entire Random Forgotten Player Series – I was only following in the footsteps of a blog that may have played a part in inspiring the birth of Doin Work. I was checking the old RFP of the Day blog daily for a while, until for some reason, they retired after featuring Danny Tartabull in 2008. Without any new RFPs, I figured it was time for Doin Work to carry the torch. Afraid to be copying someone else’s idea, I was thrilled to ultimately get the blessing of the originators of RFP of the Day.
We’ve Reveiwed our predictions to see how foolish or awesome our picks were. Speaking of tragedies, never forget Sonicgate, for some reason I have Memento playing in my head when I wrote that.
Doin Reviews on Documentaries – If we can’t promote a good friends great documentary what’s the point of all this!
Pebble Beach Stories – Chappy reminisces about his days working at Pebble Beach back in the good ol college days…
Stern’s Tarnished Legacy
I’ve never been a big fan of David Stern, and the recent lockout just gave me more reasons to dislike the man who fixes games, covers up referee scandals, and fines/suspends players for dumb reasons. Did he expand the game globally? Yes, in a ton of ways he did, but if there’s a good prospect somewhere, teams will find said player one way or another in the ever shrinking youtube filled world. Why should I care if a bunch of people in Europe or Asia are watching NBA games? Truth is, I don’t give a rats ass! What has Stern done for me as an American NBA fan? Looking back, not a whole lot. Did he give us Jordan, Bird, or Magic? Nope, those guys would’ve been around whether he held his position or not. Did he ever fix the referee problem? No, he still has the same 90-year-old dudes out there calling a game that is faster than a video game. Did he over-expand the league? Yes. Did he allow crappy human beings to buy the teams when other possible owners would have been better for the league? Yes. Has he had two work stoppages during the past 15 years? Yes, and for the record even baseball hasn’t seen that happen. I guess we’ll see if the NBA has a finals or not, but this could be more damaging than the MLB’s 94-95 missed WS…
Over 10 years in the league and Kahn still looks confused.
Stern became the commish in 1984, then four short years later expanded the league by adding the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. A year later he added the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. Then in a stroke of genius, six years later (95′) he added the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors in a meager attempt to get Canadians to like hoops like they love hockey. That’s like getting Europeans to watch the NFL over soccer, just won’t ever happen. Then last but not least, he added the Bobcats in 2004. Two teams in Charlotte sin’t a typo, it’s a reality that he doesn’t know where a worthy place to start a franchise is. What do all these teams have in common? Two distinct things. One, they nearly all are run by the “hardline” owners we keep hearing about in our current stalemate of a CBA negotiation. Two, all these teams were put in cities that have little means of supporting a team when that said team sucks. Lets be real, if any of these teams are run like the Clippers or Knicks were over the last decade there’s noway they would turn a profit in the cities they’re currently in. Which is the point, don’t we want owners to be motivated to make their teams better? I suffered through years of Chris Cohan leading the Warriors to losing seasons, and because we were in a big market that still filled the building, nothing dramatically changed within the organization, because Cohan was still making money. Wouldn’t it be better for the league if owners like Kahn and Jordan actually had to try and build a good team to get fans in their arena? They talk about competitive balance all the time, but why don’t they ever talk about teams that don’t even attempt to be competitive? I feel like there should be some kind of push for contraction of teams that have a losing record for more than a decade. How much more excitement would that season bring having a team on the brink of contraction? Remember the save our Sonics season? That sure got a lot of fans in the building, for different reasons, but still. Bringing in these teams has done nothing to help the league “grow”. Miami isn’t even a “true” big market, yet they are one of the only teams that has done well financially. Maybe it was having two of the best players in the league playing half their games there. Even with that, they can’t even fill the building regularly, and sell out more of their road games than their home games.
Which brings us to the lockouts on Sterns’ watch. The good ol’ asterisk season of 98-99. We got 50 games due to a lockout shortened season, and saw a lot of fat out of shape players. Maybe if they got a deal done before January, those guys wouldn’t have been so out of shape after getting their holiday grub on. Either way, I see it as a major failure that Stern couldn’t find a way to get the owners and players on the same page. They saw the popularity of the NBA dramatically decline in ticket sales, and viewers, how is that a good thing for owners? Sure, this last season was stronger than any season in recent memory with a plethora of young stars on the rise, but that all means nothing if they lose a season. Even my grandpa was into it last year, and he hated basketball for the longest time! I have a hard time seeing him coming back to basketball if the lockout makes for a missed full season.
What are you the commissioner of if you don’t actually have a league? Now, were in our second lockout under Sterns watch as a commissioner, and I’ve yet to see how he’s helped out with getting the games going again in any fashion. Instead Stern is passing the time by throwing out threats, and trying to pull one over on the players while he treats them like kids. Am I on the players side? Not so much, but I’m not into what Stern did with his ultimatums and consistently undercutting the players, which may have pushed them to not accept a deal when they were really close to agreeing to it. It’s no secret the players don’t like Stern, but he isn’t helping the players desire to accept a deal. I get it, he’s there for the owners, but at some point you have to try to show the owners that the players have some rights too, and instead of giving ultimatums and threats give them a sense of what is in the deal, and why it’s good for them. In any negotiation, nobody wants to get told what to do. Maybe we need Rodger Goodell to be the NFL and NBA commissioner. At least he can make it so both sides feel like they get a win. All along Stern knew they were going to miss games, all along he never really tried to get a decent deal for the players. All along I’ve despised every move Stern he’s made, and yesterday was just another sad example of a guy who doesn’t seem to have the agenda of the best interests of the league. Stern isn’t the only one to blame in all of this, but I feel if they (Stern and owners) showed the urgency they had over the last month by sending numerous proposals to the players during the summer we wouldn’t be in the “nuclear winter” state. Stern and the owners played the waiting game, and now he is paying for it with another HUGE black mark on his record as commissioner. When we got to see how swift and competent the NFL was in their lockout this summer, you can’t help but wonder, what the hell was the commish thinking!?!
Rodney Mullen Tribute
So last weekend I was down in LA for a wedding, and I ended up catching some of an amateur skate event with a friend, where there were some solid skaters, not street league level, but good nonetheless. Not sure why, but it got me thinking about what made me like skateboarding to begin with. It all has to go back to my first skateboard mancrush in Rodney Mullen. The guy has invented more street skating tricks than Tony Hawk, but he’s rarely talked about in the same light as the Hawk-man. The darkslide wouldn’ve never been invented, manuals may not have caught on, the underflip, and the all the impossible move may never have come around if not for him! Not sure why the video below says best of 2011, since all this footage is before 2004, and I distinctly remember when some of these clips came out back in the VHS skate video days, so some of it easily goes back to the mid-90’s, but as you can see, he was a huge innovator in a sport full of innovators.
Doin Lines Week 10
Chappy: Starting to get into a groove again with these picks, and so is By! Glad I picked mostly early games last week, because the late games were the upsets/close games. I can’t believe we’re over halfway through the season. Seems like it’s flying by. Pretty nervous for the Raiders-Chargers game tonight, and will not be wagering on it. Even with nobody on a bye week and more games to pick from there are a bunch of divisional match-ups this weekend and the lines are almost all in single digits, which could make it tough.
By: Great week for me last week, in fact, due to a hectic work schedule, I wasn’t able to write up a quick blurb about the Bengals/Titans match up, in which I would have picked Cincy. Should have had a 4-0 weekend. Also, due to my own confusion, I wasn’t able to confirm my picks with my homeboy who doubles as my bookie, which led to me losing out on a little money. It was the one downer of the weekend, but no biggie. The crazy thing is, I wasn’t entirely confident on any of last weeks games. This week on the other hand, I feel I got locked down. With that said, on to the lines ~
Last Week: Chap (4-1), By (3-0)
Overall: Chap (25-17-3) By (21-14)
New Orleans @ Atlanta (-1)
By picks New Orleans (+1). Before I get started, I must say I like all of Chappy’s picks, all of which I am not getting involved in. Which means you lucky readers will be getting our speculative opinion on 9 games this week! Anyway, this NFC South match up is a tough one. What’s not to like about Matty Ice and his career home record? And being that the spread is only one point, the Saints would have to defeat the Falcons to cover. But, if any team can do it, it’s the Saints. Well them and of course Aaron Rodgers. But the one thing I took away from New Orleans game last week, was a little more emphasis on balance. Sean Payton elected to use his running game a little more than usual, even going balance within the balance, as three back’s got significant touches. What that ultimately does, is open up the play action, which makes Drew Brees that more deadly. I think the Saints get a big statement win on the road against their division rivals, and show who is top dog of the pack.
Houston @ Tampa Bay (+3)
Chappy picks Houston (-3). Is Houston the best team that barely anyone is talking about? The way I see it, they probably are the most complete team in the AFC at the moment. Their running game is second to none, and Schaub can huck it all over the field when he needs to, and they’ve done virtually all of it without Andre Johnson. Their defense has improved a ton in the secondary compared to last seasons last ranked in passing yards allowed awfulness. The Bucs have been up and down all season, and it’s always hard to figure out which team will show up between the competitive team and the play dead team. Will it be the team that beat the Saints? That team sure hasn’t showed up the last two weeks. Of all the lines this weekend, I like this one the best.
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (+3)
By picks Pittsburgh (-3). I know, I know, the Bengals are 6-2 and currently tied with the Ravens for the division lead. There’s just one thing, they haven’t played the Ravens or the Steelers yet. Well that’s all about to change this weekend, and let the light shine on the truth. Now don’t get me wrong, the Bengals are legit, it’s just one of those situations in which they play in a division that’s a two horse race, and one of those horses just lost to the other horse at home last week on a last second play. I think that horse is going to be mad. Enough horse talk, quite simply put, the Steelers are going to lay down the lumber on the Bengals this week, no if’s, and’s or but’s about it.
Denver @ Kansas City (-3)
By picks Kansas City (-3). I’m the biggest Tebow believer/supporter/follower there is, but there’s no way I can look at anyone with a straight face and say that Tim Tebow won that game last week in Oakland. Sure he did some nice things, but the Raiders lost it themselves. The AFC West is as tight a race as they come past the half way point of the season, and to me, the two best teams are still the Raiders and Chargers, but the Chiefs are right there in it, despite their 0-4 start. Unfortunately for them, they thought they had a second bye last week, and never showed up to the game. They can’t afford to get behind, so look for them to take care of business at home, and kill all the Tebow hype. At least for one week.
Tennessee @ Carolina (-3)
Chappy picks Carolina (-3). Cam after a bye week had to learn a thing or two on what he’s been doing wrong thus far in the season, and that probably isn’t too much outside a bad decision on a throw or two. I’m not sure that this pick is so much that I think Carolina is a much better team, but more how I view the Titans these days. Hasselbeck has looked okay lately, but CJ300 hasn’t been getting it done, and leads the NFL’s 27th worst rushing attack. Looking through the games the Titans have won, they only beat crappy teams like Cleveland, Indy, and Denver, so I feel like Carolina should be able to cover the spread.
Baltimore @ Seattle (+6.5)
Chappy picks Baltimore (-6.5). I think Baltimore showed us all something last Sunday night, and that is Joe Flacco is actually clutch from time to time. That being said, I have a hard time seeing them needing a last second drive to win this game. Baltimore has been putting up big points during a three game win streak, and the Seahawks have only scored 28 points in their last three. It’s not going to get any easier for them as they face the 2nd ranked defense in the NFL. If this isn’t a blowout, color me purple.
New England @ New York Jets (-1.5)
Chappy picks NYJ (-1.5). The Jets seem to be plugging the holes in their rushing defense for the last three weeks against teams that can run the ball. I’m still not sure how confident I am in Sanchez, but ever since Shonn Greene stepped his game up he’s looked a lot better. New England has looked like crap for the last couple weeks, and I think the Jets D is much better than the Buffalo D that stifled Brady for a half. Is this the demise of NE? I sure hope so!
NY Giants @ San Francisco (-3.5)
By picks San Francisco (-3.5). Far removed from the glory days are the 49ers, when finesse took to the air, and points were scored in abundance. These Niners are about boring ball control, and smash mouth defense. And you know what? I love it just the same, because it’s working! There’s a lot of buzz about how Alex Smith has improved as a quarterback, but in my opinion, he hasn’t at all. Jim Harbaugh has simply placed him in situations in which even an idiot couldn’t fail. Frank Gore in a walking boot scares me, but he said he should be good to go. Our ability to score points hinges on him. The one thing that’s scary in a good way is this Niner defense anchored by P-Willy. They’re so good, they could tango with the AFC North. And they’ll get their chance during Thanksgiving. For now they’ll show Eli Manning what it’s like to feel pressure, and despite his impressive come back at New England last week, Manning was throwing against a poor secondary. No miracle catches by a #85 will save him this week. #NinerFaithful
Minnesota @ Green Bay (-13.5)
Chappy picks Green Bay (-13.5). Picking five favorites has me a little worried. Not sure how confident I am in this Monday night pick either, but how can anyone pick against the Pack at this point. Rodgers seems to be playing better than Brady’s video game style season 08′ season, and is on pace to throw for over 50 TD’s. There is a big question about their defense as they seem to be getting gashed weekly by opposing offenses. The only way I see the Vikings covering is if they hold the ball for two-thirds of the game, and AP gets like 180 yards with three scores. I’m not that confident that will happen for AP, so I’m taking the pack in a blowout…
Putting the Ug in Ugly
The Marlins leaked what their new jerseys will look like when they open next season in their new glorious stadium in Miami. All I can say is the guy who made them must be color blind. Yes I understand that the actual marlin fish has the three colors on it, but do they need all three on the M, on the caps? Those three awkward colors to put into any color scheme let alone a professional team. AAA team, yes, but not a pro team. Maybe it was the double rainbow guy helping them out, because they must’ve been on some kind of drugs to come up with these. Who would want to buy this cap and sport it around town? There’s noway you’d ever catch me in an orange cap with a yellow bill. Seems like they should’ve made the whole thing orange or the bill black at the very least. Why would you copy the Giants colors, when you’re nowhere near the Castro District where the rainbow colors will actually be a big hit!?! If they fill up the stadium, lets hope the fans kept their old gear instead of buying this new crap.
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