Welcome to Doin Work’s NFC Divisional round live blog between the Cowboys and the Vikings. Yesterday we got two dome games in the books, and hopefully there will be a little more drama in the last dome game of the week. Of the games this week it has the lowest spread, so there’s some hope at least!
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Minnesota Vikings vs. Dallas Cowboys Live Blog!
Doin Dallas vs. Minnesota Live Blog Tomorrow!
Doin Work hasn’t done a live blog in forever! We don’t forsee any relevant Northern California sports events happening anytime soon, so we picked a game that has seemingly endless amounts of national media attention, and plenty of players and organizations that are fun to make fun of! Tomorrow is your chance to chat it up with us and friends. We will be starting the chat room about 15 minutes before kickoff 12:45 EST/9:45 PST. It should the perfect opportunity to get in all the cheap shots and take out your frustrations on the many easy targets like Favre, Romo, Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips, Brad Childress, and the always annoying announcers. We’ll have a link up tomorrow morning for you to log into the chat!
$500 Bills Don’t Make the Cut…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian police have arrested a Lebanese man allegedly carrying fake currency with a face value of $66 million after he tipped a hotel staff with a $500 note, an official said Friday.
The largest U.S. note currently in wide circulation is a $100 bill. But police found bundles of $1 million, $100,000 and $500 notes in the man’s hotel room in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, said Izany Abdul Ghany, head of the city’s commercial crime unit.
Hotel staff alerted police after a housekeeper received a $500 note tip and found out it was fake when she tried to convert it to local currency at a money changer, Izany said.
The man could be charged for possessing counterfeit money and, if found guilty, face up to 10 years in jail, he said.
This is not the first time the man has been in trouble with the law in Malaysia, Izany said.
A Malaysian court charged him last week with cheating over the sale of office supplies in 2005 in a separate case. Cheating, or fraud, carries a maximum penalty of five years.
Who ever heard of a $1 million bill or a $100,000 bill for that matter!?! Maybe Dr. Evil thinks that there IS such a thing, but any sane person outside of a 6-year-old would know that there isn’t one. This guy obviously had some access to the internet to get his templates and print that fake scrilla out. Wouldn’t you want to make sure that it’s actually currency before you started using them at places!?! I guess there’s such thing as a $500 bill, but they haven’t been printed since 1945, so I doubt there are any still in circulation. It’s more likely they are in the US Treasury’s museum. Unless you count the religious money/fliers with Jesus on them, there is no such thing! Maybe his parents gave him Monopoly money as a kid. Why would you print $66 million worth and keep it on you!?! Who could ever break a $100K dollar bill for you let alone a million dollar bill!?! This guy should be arrested for being a moron instead of a counterfeiter!
Doin Shoe Discounts
Well we brought you golf apparel discounts, and then we brought you hoops discounts. Now we bring you DC Shoes discounts! I’m a former employee of the company, so feel confident in using this because it is legit!
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Friends and Family Days Enjoy 30% Off January 14 – 18, 2010 Print this Email |
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Also look for, All Mens and Boys Fleece All JR Shoes All Mens and Boys Footwear All Orange Tag Clearance |
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*Offer valid on regular and sale merchandise in the US and Canada at Quiksilver Factory, DC Factory, and Boardriders Stores ONLY. Not valid in Hawaii. Discount may not be redeemed for cash. One time use per customer. Employees are not eligible. Not valid towards the purchase of gift cards. Quiksilver reserves the right to terminate or change the terms of the offer without notice. Offer can be used in conjunction with current promotions running in the stores.
Employees please use PROMO CODE: FFJ1
**Excludes Orange Tag Clearance product, discount only on Regular Priced Mens and Boys Fleece.
***Buy 3 Jr shoes and get the 4th pair free of equal or lesser value.
****Excludes all Orange Tag Clearance and Jr Footwear. Second item must be of equal or lesser value.
*****Discount is taken off the lowest ticketed price. Selected styles are on sale, see store for details.
Offer valid from 1/14/10 – 1/18/10
Offer valid at your local DC Factory Stores.
Doin Divisional Lines
Ouch, the playoffs started rough, but I can’t say that I wasn’t aware that my picks seem to go downhill once the regular season ends. I wish I could say it was because the teams were so even, but with the exception of one game they were all blowouts. I actually missed most of the Arizona and Green Bay game because I assumed it WAS going to be another blowout when Arizona was up by 20 in the 3rd… Anyways, my 1-3 record last week will have to improve if I want any of you to take my picks seriously this playoffs. This week I’m trying out a new strategy, and picking the teams I don’t want to win. I guess if I don’t win my picks, I’ll find some solace in jinxing the teams I want to lose. As always the home teams are in bold.
Arizona (+7) Over New Orleans
Do I want Arizona to win? No. Were they playing better than the Saints down the stretch? Yup. I’m not sure why, but I like to root against Arizona, and for some reason the more I do root against them, the more they win! Last week they added another amazing chapter to their recent playoff history, but I guess that didn’t convince odds makers. It did convince me! The Saints defense struggled at the end of the year, and most likely will struggle again against a now very balanced Cardinals attack. With Beanie emerging as a solid back, the Saints will have to worry about more than just Warner and Fitz. I would say the same for the Saints, but their offense looked less dynamic than the Packers at the end of the year only producing 44 points over their last three games compared to averaging 36 through the first 13 weeks. I really like the Cards 10 straight wins against the spread, so I’m picking them with confidence! I kind of want to see a battle of the grey hairs in the NFC Championship game!
Baltimore (+7) Over Indianapolis
Since last week I was wrong about nearly everything, I figured I may as well go against who I want to win this week. I really don’t want to pick Flacco over Manning, which sounds retarded rolling off the tongue. You ever notice Flacco’s off hand when he throws? It looks like he’s got a disability or something. Anyways, in the end, I’m not really sure I agree with this line. Seven points is pretty high, especially when their first meeting in Week 11 was a 17-15 Colts win where the Baltimore D picked Peyton off twice. It was a sloppy Colts win, but it wasn’t anywhere near a blowout. The Ravens looked dominant against a mojoless Patriots team last week. It’s nice to see that you don’t really need a QB to win a game, you just need the other QB to NOT show up. I doubt the Colts will forget their mojo, and will hopefully win in a close one. I still think it’s lame that the Colts didn’t go for the perfect season, but I’m not Caldwell, so it wasn’t my decision.
Minnesota (-3) Over Dallas
I know, Dallas is the hottest team in the league, and not to many people are picking Minnesota since they kind of limped across the finish line. Tony Romo is playing better than I ever thought he could, the Boys rushing attack looks great, and their defense is shutting down everybody. All of this still isn’t going to stop me from picking the Vikes! The Vikings are 8-0 at home this year, and I doubt that Favre sort of came out of retirement to lose to pretty boy Romo at home nonetheless. There’s something about the Metrodome that helps them win. They play like nobody’s business when they are there, so I see this one playing out exactly the opposite of the way people are predicting. I’d say that this is the most fair line of the bunch. I hope I don’t find out the hard way this weekend when the game is on that the Cowboys are that good…
San Diego (-7) Over New York Jets
I was hoping that when I saw the LT glide music video, it would give me just one extra reason to root for the Jets, but finding out it was filmed two years ago ended that hope. As much as I don’t want SD to win this game, I have a feeling this one will be a blowout. There’s only one Revis, and three really good receivers and a decent fourth that Rivers can throw to (Jackson, Floyd, Gates, and sometimes Nanee). The Bengals only had one receiver, Ochocinco, so passing game was containable. In this pass happy era, it’s not the running game that wins games for you, especially in the non-treacherous weather of San Diego. Just look at the top two seeds in the AFC this year! Phillip Rivers, much to my dismay, is a great quarterback. No matter how much I sports hate this guy, he keeps playing well and winning. The Chargers are as healthy as they’ve been all year and are getting back Eric Weddle in the secondary. I can’t picture Sanchez putting in two good playoff performances in a row. Especially since this time around he will have to make more plays if their offense is going to be successful. They won’t be able to grind it out on the ground like they did against Cincy. I see Sanchez making some mistakes against a much better defense.
Is Blake Griffin the Next Greg Oden?
The news breaking that Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the season came out of LA today. He will instead opt for surgery to enable him to play next year. I don’t blame the guy, the Clips aren’t going anywhere this year, and they’ve made it where they are without him. Like Baron said today, “It’s tough, but we have to keep playing.” This news made me think about a few things;
One, was he cursed like we all thought he was when the Clippers drafted him? I’d say being drafted by the Clippers is a curse in general, but being selected #1 overall by them is scarier than running into Gary Busey on the street. They always under achieve and under utilize their talent, so maybe it’s better he doesn’t learn a useless system. I already felt bad for Eric Gordon being stuck under Dunleavy’s rule, but at least he’s out on the court playing. They’ve had two #1 overall selections in their franchise’s history (88′ Danny Manning 98′ Olowokandi), and we know how that turned out. Griffin was just doomed from the start.
The second thing I thought was; thank god the Warriors or the Kings didn’t have that pick. I’m sure at the moment both teams are happy with what they got in the draft, and NOT getting the #1 overall could be a blessing in disguise.
The third thing I thought was; Is he the next Greg Oden? He very well could be. I’m not a doctor, but I never view surgery as a good thing. Although he never looked awkwardly old like Oden does, he shares some similarities. They were both #1 overall picks. They are now both going to be missing their first full season. I guess we’ll know for sure if he gets hurt next season after showing a little promise to start the year. I hope he’s not, and I hope Oden can come back strong, but my instincts tell me otherwise! I’ll leave it to you to decide.
Techno Rap Super Bowl Shuffle?
Wow, I never saw LT as a rapper, or singer. I guess this was filmed back in 2007, but wasn’t released until yesterday! Pretty funny stuff! I guess Nike wanted to get this video out before LT is no longer a Charger…
Doin 50th Birthday Celebrations!
Dominique Wilkins was born on January 12th 1960, in Paris, France. This marks his 50th birthday today, and Doin Work would like to pay tribute to one of our generations most dominant players. For the record, I don’t count anyone that is younger than me, 28 or played before I was aware of what I was watching late-80’s. My “generation” may grow or shrink depending what kind of mood I’m in, but that’s what it is for now.
It’s good to see that Wilkins is active with the Hawks organization that he made such a great impact on. He has been instrumental in helping them out with player and management moves. He has helped bring some excitement to the franchise and pushed all the right buttons through drafting, and being patient with the young players. It’s good to see a franchise letting their young guys mature together, something I’m not accustomed to with the Warriors. They’ve also made solid veteran pickups along the way as well. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith did their best Nique impression last night as they beat the Celtics in a terribly officiated game.
Alas, Wilkins didn’t get the nichkname The Human Highlight Film for nothing. He’s kind of an rfp, but he is far from forgotten so we’ll call him a rp of the day. Unfortunately for him, he played his peak years in the Jordan era, and averaged 30+ a year in four separate seasons only capturing one scoring title. He was a seven time all-star, and led the Hawks to four straight 50 win seasons. He may have been around at the wrong time, and having to duel with Bird’s Celtics and then Jordan’s Bulls maybe made us belittle some of his accolades too much. He gave them both a run for their money every time they faced off, but he never could win a championship in the end. It’s tough to knock him for that, since if anyone deserved one, he did. He has far surpassed MJ on success sitting in the executive suite. I can’t see the Bobcats being where the Hawks are anytime in the next five years. Nique is still giving back, by throwing a 50th birthday celebration and donating some proceeds to Diabetes Foundation, since he too, suffers from diabetes. I enjoyed every game I could catch of his growing up, and a trip through youtube to watch his highlights, is never one I’m opposed to making. Anyways, here’s one solid highlight reel of one of the ten best dunkers we may ever see in the NBA, enjoy.
Marshawn Charged for Grand Theft of $20
BUFFALO, N.Y.— Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch has been accused of stealing $20 from a police officer’s wife.
Buffalo Police Sgt. William Crawford, filed a complaint with Hamburg Police saying the football player took $20 from his wife last month while at a T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant at the McKinley Mall.
Hamburg Police are not commenting on the issue because the woman who alleges Lynch stole money from her has not filed a complaint yet.
The Department did release a statement on Sunday:
“The facts reported in the January 9th edition of the Buffalo News regarding an incident between Marshawn Lynch and Mrs. Crawford are not consistent with those conveyed to our department by Mrs. Crawford. The Town of Hamburg Police has received no complaint from anyone directly involved.
ProFootballTalk.com reported Lynch’s agent is speaking out about the incident. Doug Hendrickson is calling the allegations “false and entirely malicious” and “slanderous.”
Hendrickson goes on to tell ProFootballTalk that he is a “racist rogue cop” and that the cop is “very dangerous and citizens of Buffalo should be scared that this guy is on the force.”
Okay, so maybe I lied about the grand theft part, but he is accused of taking a Andrew Jackson out of someone’s hand. It’s always fun to watch the player’s that comes out of Cal in the NFL, and Marshawn has been no exception to the rule. They are just cocky and fun to follow for good or bad. When I read this story, I could help but laugh. I honestly don’t even need to know the rest of the details to think this is one of the worst charges I’ve ever seen. The trashy lowlifes that go on the peoples court shows don’t even care about $20, so why is this lady? Maybe it’s Marshawn’s gold teeth or his flowing dreadlocks that make him kind of scary, but I don’t see the reasoning behind this claim. I think the “rogue racist cop” has a racist wife as well. Apparently, when the wife of the officer was going to pay for the bill she pulled out a $20 bill and Lynch snagged it from her hand as he and teammates were talking to the ladies at the table. Not sure why she didn’t say anything to anyone at the time, after all it was TGI Fridays NOT some club or any kind dangerous place to say something. Even if she was scared of him from those rape charges he had awhile back, that should just give her one more of a reason to report it right away. I can almost guarantee management at the restaurant could have done something to settle the situation if she had told them. Scared of the guy or not, as a police officers wife you should know your rights, and be aware of your surroundings. What makes this story even less believable in my mind, is that the filing of these charges weren’t until now, and the incident happened way back on December 7th! WTF lady!?! I guess this is just one more sign that Marshawn needs to get out of Buffalo. Maybe he’ll make a comeback in a new uniform like Cedric Benson did with Cincy this year…
Monday Morning Randomness
Over the weekend there was one good playoff game, and the others turned out to be not so exciting, especially for someone like myself that doesn’t have any real connection to the teams playing. I just wanted to see some good contests, but that unfortunately didn’t happen for the most part. The Arizona and Green Bay game made up for it a little bit being the highest scoring playoff game of all time, but still, I really hoped for more this weekend. I have to say it was fun watching the Pats get blown out at home though! I guess I’ll talk about few other things I found interesting in the sporting world this weekend.
Aroldis Chapman signed with the Reds for $30 million. This made me happy since I won’t have to root against the man with the same last name as me wearing an Angels uniform. Seeing how he went to Cincy, I have a feeling he won’t pan out since most their moves don’t. Not too many guys I can think of fare well pitching in that stadium. Maybe he’ll end up being a closer, which would be slightly easier to be successful than a starter at least in Cincy…
Vlad Guerrero stays in the AL West, but is moving to Texas. If there’s anywhere to see if Vlad has anything left in the tank it’s got to be Arlington. If he doesn’t produce there it’s easy to assume that his bat speed has slowed, and IS out of gas. The Rangers kept busy by signing Kahlil Greene to a deal as well. It looks like the Rangers can be a team that will be tough in the west if they can get another pitcher besides the often injured Harden they might be in business!
I came across some more reason’s that Raines deserves to be in the HOF. This link on Sportsnation shows how voters picked Dawson over Raines 70% to 30% in an original poll when it was just their names, then they posted the best five season’s from both guys in a new poll using Player A and Player B. The percentages flipped, and 70% voted for Raines’s numbers over Dawson’s. Thanks for showing me I wasn’t crazy when I said Raines deserves to be in the HOF sportsnation!
Paquiao and Mayweather are fighting on March 13, but Pacman will be in Dallas fighting, and Mayweather will be in Las Vegas. Sounds like Mayweather must want to fight Pacman for the PPV purchases. We’ll see which fight is MORE worth watching as Mayweather hasn’t announced who his opponent is, but I don’t see myself buying either…
Kansas and John Wall dropped to #3 in the NCAA basketball rankings and Texas jumped to #1 with their perfect 15-0 record. Kentucky is #2, in case you were wondering at 16-0. It’s the first time anyone but Kansas held the top spot this year including the preseason. The Jayhawks lost to Tennessee on Sunday in an upset.
Jay Mariotti actually wrote something that I agree with about the Rooney Rule in the wake of the Pete Caroll hiring. Sure Seattle says that Leslie Frazier was a true candidate for the head coaching job, but does anyone buy that? Sounds like they went straight for Pete, and Frazier was only considered because of the rule. Like I said in my piece on Pete moving, just a waste of everybody’s time bringing him into interview…
Pete Heading to the NFL… Again!
The Jim Mora era came to a quick end in Seattle with his firing. He only lasted one year, and yesterday was relieved of his head coaching position. He helped take a team that was okay, and turned them into one of my favorite teams to bet against in my Doin Lines picks. They were a lock to get blown out nearly the whole second half of the season. Today it was confirmed that the Seahawks search for a new coach started and ended with Pete Carroll. The former USC head coach is reportedly 100% on board with joining the Seahawks. Seattle adhered to the Rooney Rule by bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier yesterday, but sources around the league were already buzzing that Carroll and Seattle being close to a deal almost before they released that they met with Frazier, which makes me feel like they never really considered him for the job. I feel like this rule is just wasting peoples time, as it was completely obvious who Seahawks were targeting. Why should they even have to bring in Frazier when they weren’t really considering him? Carroll’s move from sunny Southern California to the cold pacific northwest might have a bigger impact on SC’s recruiting than it does for the Seahawks. It already sounds like a number of recruits might be changing their minds about going to SC next year. Luckily they don’t have to deal with the Rooney Rule that the NFL has to, and can pick a replacement coach quickly. Urban Meyer anyone? Ok, probably not, but that would be pretty comical. Continue reading
Doin NBA Power Rankings
Surprisingly we haven’t done any power rankings for hoops this year, so we were about due for this post! We’re approaching the halfway point in the season, and this is how we think the top 16 looks as of today.
1. Los Angeles Lakers – As negative as we are about the Lakers on Doin Work, we respect them. Aside from losing to their freeway rivals Wednesday, the Lake Show still have the best record in the league, and only have 7 losses on the season. I watch them more than I want to, and they’ve had a few injuries, but if Kobe is in the lineup they seem to find a way to win. Their defense might be a concern going forward, but when Ron and Pau are both healthy and back in the lineup they should be solid in the defensive department again. Bynum has been stepping up in a major way.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers – I’m not really sure how the Cavs lost to Charlotte, but other than that mini-speed bump they’ve been very consistent since destroying the Lakers on Christmas. I have a feeling that Nike could get their lame MVPuppet match up this year. It’s sad that I think beginning to be less of a Lebron fan because of those commercials!
3. Boston Celtics – No contending team outside of Portland has more injuries to key guys than the Celtics. Even without Rondo, KG, and Pierce they somehow beat a Toronto team that is playing surprisingly well lately. I guess it’s not a surprise for the leagues oldest team is having injury problems. I’m sure they’re just hoping that they are healthy at the right time.
4. Dallas Mavericks – If the playoffs started today, the Mavs would have the #2 seed. I was actually surprised to see this, but it’s true! Cuban has reigned over the Mavs for a decade now, and seems like he’s pushing the right buttons with his squad this year. They may have stunk up the court against the Lakers, but they beat all the teams they are supposed to and are deeper than I imagined they would be.
5. Orlando Magic – Matt Barnes has been playing some great ball since being put in the starting rotation. Unfortunately for the Magic, he has been their best player as of late and they don’t look like a very deep team anymore. Coach Van Gundy thinks they are in a rut, and it seems like he’s right as they’ve lost three straight. If guys don’t know their roles on the team, it always leads to unhappy players…
6. Denver Nuggets – I’m not sure how the Nuggets are hanging onto their division lead, but they are without Chauncey and Melo. The refs gave them a gift of a foul against the Warriors. They better watch out though, because the Blazers are closing in fast, and have overcome many more injuries than these Nuggets.
7. Portland Trailblazers – Can you say enough good things about Brandon Roy. He’s the ultimate team player. He didn’t have huge stats in the beginning of the year because the team didn’t need him as much. Now that 80% of the team is on the IR he’s playing with D-Leaguers and still has this Blazers team hunting down Denver for the division lead. Roy put up a stinker against the Clips, but if Kobe gets a pass, so does he!
8. Phoenix Suns – This might be too high for the Suns, but screw it. They have beat the best in the league and seem to lose to the worst. I really don’t know what to make of them, since they are so inconsistent, but as long as Nash is running the show they will win. If Richardson can get a little bit more consistent, I like where this team is going.
9. San Antonio Spurs – The Spurs started off the year slow, but as is the case every year, they’re right in the thick of things now. Winners of 12 of their last 15, the Spurs haven’t been flashy, but rank second in the league in FG% and third in 3PT%. Tim Duncan is averaging nearly 20 and 10.
10. Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks have stumbled as of late, dropping 5 of their last 7, but they have plenty of talent to carry them into the playoffs. With Josh Smith continuing to mature with each game, and Jamal Crawford finding his stride as a bench player, they simply need to keep pace in the top half of the Eastern Conference standings and they can be a dangerous playoff team once again.
11. Utah Jazz – It’d be easy to chalk up the Jazz’ early struggles to injuries, but they haven’t really had many. Carlos Boozer has played all 35 games, while Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur have missed a combined 7 games. As long as Williams’ wrist injury doesn’t linger all season long, Utah should find themselves right in the thick of the playoff race.
12. Houston Rockets – The Rockets have been proving doubters wrong all season so far, and despite their current three game losing streak, they’re sitting pretty at 20-16. Those three losses have come at the hands of the Hornets, Lakers, and Suns, all on the road. They’ve been beating the teams they’re supposed to. In this league, if you do that, you’ll find yourself in playing in the postseason. Houston currently sits in the 7th spot, but only by a half a game. In fact, only 3 games separate them from the 12th spot right now.
13. Oklahoma City Thunder – A trendy preseason pick to make the playoffs, the Sonics have not disappointed. Kevin Durant has carried the load, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocks. Their 19-16 record is impressive enough, but what really stands out is their 10-8 record on the road. The only teams in the West with worse home records are Minnesota and Golden State. It’s too bad they’re in OKC, as I’m sure the Seattle fans would provide them a much better home court advantage.
14. Miami Heat – The Heat were hot, no pun intended, to start the season but have since cooled off. Nonetheless, they’re still lingering around the .500 mark, which historically would get you in the playoffs in the East. Dwyane Wade should also garner some MVP attention should Miami finish in the top half of the standings. He’s averaging 27 pts, 5 reb, and 6 ast per game.
15. New Orleans Hornets – Riding a four game win streak, the Hornets are now over .500 for the first time this season at 17-16. That’s not good enough for the playoffs in the Western Conference, but with Chris Paul back healthy, they’ve got to like their chances to pass up Houston and/or Oklahoma City before the season ends.
16. Toronto Raptors – Let’s face it, this could be any team here at #16. The Raptors haven’t exactly impressed this season, but they’re still right in the thick of things. The Chris Bosh farewell tour is going strong. Now, if only Jose Calderon could regain his form, Toronto could have a good shot at knocking off a higher seed in the first round of the playoffs. I wouldn’t count on it though.
Subtraction by Addition
Well, the A’s signed JacKKK Cust today to a one year deal of about $2.4 million. I was crossing my fingers he wouldn’t be back, and thought we did say our goodbyes, but sadly he he is back. He was our top home run hitter last year, so in the end I see why, especially for a discounted price… It’s funny how the Giants were rumored to be talking to him, they must be pretty happy the A’s stepped to the plate with a contract. I’m hoping we never have to see him in the field. We already have a few too many outfielders, and what looks like a good defensive team. Messing up that defense by putting Cust down there doesn’t make you feel all that excited. Adding one more outfielder to the mix isn’t going to help anybody feel like they have a set role on the team. Maybe Beane has some plans to make some more trades. I for one, hope he does. It’s still early in the off-season, so I won’t say this is a bad move yet. The signing of Duscherer was a major plus, but I think this signing could be bad. I hope he doesn’t clog up the bases with his walks and not give all our speedy guys a chance to run the bases or strike out with the bases loaded too much this year.
The Cuban Missile is Going to be a Gayngel
Awhile back you may remember me writing how excited I was for the 22-year-old lefty, Aroldis Chapman. I really couldn’t contain my excitement of seeing the next great bearer of last name Chapman (which is my last name), and was hoping he would be the best since Rex Chapman (the basketball player). I already had a nickname picked out for him “The Cuban Missile”. He has tons of upside, and will get his shot at the big league level just like anyone else who has hit 101 mph on the radar gun with some accuracy. I’m still curious if he really is 22, but that’s for Cuban immigration to figure out. I would still be behind him, but yesterday it was reported that the Angels agreed to terms and have locked him up for $21 million. I’ve been an advocate of not paying guys before they throw a pitch at the big league level, and do think giving Chapman and Strausberg contracts this size isn’t the smartest thing to do for unproven talent. Alas, I’m at a loss, because I can’t stand anything Angels related, so this might bring an end to me rooting for him to succeed. Donning the Halo’s uniform, I’m scared to hear what Rex Hudler (Angels Announcer) has to say about him. If you’ve never heard Rex Hudler announce, he puts Angels players on the same pedestal as NFL announcers put Brett Favre. If Aroldis does succeed, I hope they find out he’s really 33, and trade him away to a team I don’t care about so I can root for him again! Actually I hope they trade him before he ever gets to the bigs, but we all know that the Angels hold on to prospects tighter than Gilbert and his guns.
Doin Wild Card Lines
Last week was a nice winning week of 4-3 and finishing the regular season vs. the spread at 49-45-3. I’m happier than Scott Boras every time a client of his signs a long deal that my predictions led to a winning season! The playoffs are a completely different story though. I usually struggle in predicting the outcomes in recent years. You really don’t know how these games are going to turn out, but I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction. As always the home teams are in bold.
Ochocinco will have a tough time on Revis Island
New York Jets (+2.5) Over Cincinnati
The Bengals have shown one thing since Chris Henry’s untimely death, which is, they aren’t past it. The gloom of losing a teammate has put them in the losing column in three of their last four games. The Jets meanwhile got two straight teams on bye weeks, and are amazingly in the playoffs. Indy and Cinncinati laid down for them, Tampa wasn’t hard to keep under 10 points, Atlanta WAS a tough opponent to hold to ten, but I’m tired of this double fist pump fetish on the Jets D. Sure they have Revis, who will shut down Ochocinco, but I don’t see them winning more than this wild card game. Sorry Cincy, but you’re injured at the wrong time, and playing your worst when it counts most. At least you were the most successful Hard Knocks team so far! The Jets will win, but I’ll be rooting for Cincy. Who knows Sanchez could choke on a pepper and throw a few interceptions and give this one away.
Philadelphia (+4) Over Dallas
Call me crazy, but I still think the Eagles are the better team. In the playoffs, they will pick up their game. They have been there, and will step up. McNabb is a perfect 3-0 in the wild card round over his career, and has 8 more playoff wins than Romo, who hasn’t won A playoff game. I can’t take anything away from Romo at this point as he has played some very good football lately. My lingering hope is that since he has played so damn well lately, he is bound to come crashing down to the Romo that looked so bad earlier in the season. Or even the Romo we saw four weeks ago will do. I know there’s a lot of doubters on the Eagles side after last week’s shellacking, but about this time a week ago, the experts were putting them in the Super Bowl. I guess everybody likes to jump ship every now and then.
New England (-3.5) Over Baltimore
Wes Welker this, Wes Welker that, is pretty much all you hear about this game. Although Brady hasn’t thrown many other receivers this year, that doesn’t make me believe he can’t throw to the other guys. Sure his completion percentage is going to go down with Welker out of the game, because Welker is that good. I’ve seen Tom be that good too without big names, and everytime I doubt the guy he proves me wrong. Plus his opposition is Mr. Flacco, and honestly I’m still not sold on him. He’s successful enough to keep his job, but I’ve rarely been impressed when watching him. Maybe it’s his weak receiving group. There’s also the Foxboro factor too, that seems to win them games somehow. I see Brady exposing Baltimore’s weak secondary in ways that the Raiders couldn’t last week.
Green Bay (+1) Over Arizona
I’m kind of surprised I’m picking three road teams, but you have to go with your gut on playoff picks. Green Bay opened up a can of offense last week, destroying Arizona’s 2nd team everything. It won’t be quite as easy this time around. Arizona will surely play all of it’s playmakers, and they aren’t short on those. Their main question going into the game has to be their defnese’s inability to contain teams. Green Bay has proved they can put up points in bunches, and seem to be rolling as good as anytime I can remember this season. Rodgers has turned into the anti-first round flop pick, and been the leader that they hoped he would be! They also have a defensive leader in Charles Woodson. He has been all over the field and deserves to be the defensive player of the year. Woodson should be all over the field trying to confuse old man Warner and his receivers. If he’s a major factor in this game ie. picks, tackles, or sacks I like the Packers chances. I’d love to see a Minnesota Green Bay matchup next round, and that would mean that Philly also won!
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