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!
Author Archives: chappy81
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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!
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.
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.
Jeremy Lin Teaches You How to Get in Harvard
The Warriors Jeremy Lin is a fan favorite in the Bay Area to no surprise somewhat because of his ethnicity. I think the part that got me the most excited during this video was the Latrell Sprewell poster hanging in his room, but overall it was entertaing.
Doin Lines Week 9
Chappy: First off, the picture above was taken by my friend down in Huntington Beach of her friend and his kid showing up to their Halloween BBQ/party. Easily the best father-son costume combo I saw over the Halloween weekend or most disturbing, I’m not sure. Last weekend I narrowly avoided a three-week losing streak. With no NBA, it’s going to be nice to have Thursday night football returning in week 10, especially since it’s the Raiders-Chargers game in the inaugural Thursday game of the season. Just like the AFC West, the lines this weekend are hard to feel comfortable about, but here we go.
By: After a stressful week of work, I finally took the time out to look at this week’s lines, afterwards, I couldn’t decide which was more stressful between the two. Thankfully I’ve been making solid picks as of late, and I credit it to sticking with my gut instincts. With that said, I’m still steaming from my decision to switch out my pick on my parlay card from Philly, to Diego last week. Douche Bag Rivers strikes again. On to the lines ~
Last Week: Chap (3-2), By (3-1)
Overall: Chap (21-16-3) By (18-14)
NYJ @ Buffalo (-2)
By picks the Jets (+2). Buffalo sits atop one of the toughest divisions in football with a 5-2 record, they already defeated the division favorite Patriots once this season, but for the life of me, I still can’t look at them as a legitimate threat to win the AFC East. Ryan Fitzpatrick and even more so Fred Jackson have had great seasons thus far, but neither I trust long-term. That’s another discussion. Truth is, the Jets are crazy underachievers, and similar to the Eagles, they just need to get pushed to the limit before they get things going. Although I don’t put much faith in Mark Sanchez, I do believe the overall Jets team is far too talented to slip further behind in their division. The turnaround starts this Sunday. I think the Jets win by 10 or more.
Atlanta @ Indianapolis (+7)
Chappy picks Atlanta (-7). Is there any team that is winless that looks worse than Indy? Rhetorical question, and I think I’m going to make it a point to pick against them every week for the rest of the year. I’m starting to feel bad for Jeff Spicoli as everyone besides Pierre Garcon seems to have given up on him, which includes the defense. The Falcons are coming off a bye week, and probably saw how easy it was for the Saints to have their way with the Colts a few weeks ago, and should be able to copy some of that blueprint. I see this being decided by halftime, with Michael Turner holding the ball for more time than the Colts offense does for the entire game.
Cleveland @ Houston (-11)
Chappy picks Houston (-11). I don’t think it matters whether Andre Johnson plays in this game or not, Houston will win. The Browns have had milestone wins this season over, Miami, Seattle, and Indy. 
Wow, that’s pretty impressive Cleveland. This weekend they’ll go into the game without Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty, pretty much their offensive threats. The Texans have two RB’s that have nearly as many yards each as the Browns have accumulated total. I know it’s a QB’s world, but every team needs some kind of running game, unless you have a star QB, and the Browns don’t have that yet in McCoy. I see this ending like the game Houston played against Tennessee (41-7).
Denver @ Oakland (-8)
Chappy picks Oakland (-8). This might be my least confident pick, but all the other games on the slate don’t appeal to me, so I’ll talk about the Raiders. It’s a battle of two QB’s that are trying to prove themselves. Unfortunately only Carson has actually proved anything in the NFL, and he has the more well-rounded team. I think the main reason I’m feeling so confident about this game is because the Raiders are coming off a bye week and are healthier than they’ve been since week 1 in the secondary. They may be without McFadden, but I’d rather let his foot rest and wait to put him in against the Chargers next week when he’s 100% instead of 80% for two weeks. I guess that might not matter, because Tebow throws like Jamarcus hitting receivers feet or teammates on the sidelines with jackets on. I would like to see Tebow score a TD and jump in the black hole to get de-virginized.
San Francisco @ Washington (+3.5)
Chappy picks San Francisco (-3.5). I can’t believe I’ve seen the 49ers in the top five on power rankings lately. Not that it isn’t deserved, but who would’ve thought a coach would’ve made so much of a difference. The Redskins started the season well, but since week 4 they’ve been what I thought they’d be this year, crappy. The stout 49ers D should be able to stop a turnover prone offense, and may even outscore the Redskins offense. I’ll probably never say the 49ers offense looks explosive, but it has been a lot more competent than I expected this year. Gore should have a monster game against a defense that has given up a ton of yards on the ground to their last three opponents. I’m not even worried about the whole westcoast team flying to play an early game on the eastcoast…
By picks who else, SF (-3.5). It’s crazy to think the 49ers are ranked #2 on ESPN’s power rankings as of Week 8, and I’m still not sure they’re deserving of it, but one thing’s for sure, they’re a helluva a team, and they got a helluva a coach. Just think about how good Jim Harbaugh’s coaching has been this season. Aside from questionable, conservative decisions he made in Week 2 against Dallas, he’s called perfect games this season. This is virtually the same Niner team as last year. Washington’s on the down, while the Niners keep rising. With big road wins already against Cincinnati (in a hideous game), Philadelphia and Detroit, there’s no reason to believe San Francisco can’t take care of a Washington team which was recently shut out. Niners by 7.
Green Bay @ San Diego (+5.5)
Chappy picks Green Bay (-5.5). The Phillip Rivers debacle in SD couldn’t make a Raiders fan more happy. Unfortunately the Chargers are still tied for first even with their best player sucking it up. If they are losing to teams like the Jets and Chiefs, then they pretty much don’t have any shot at beating the Packers. No need to write much here, except take GB with confidence!
By picks San Diego. Yeah right, By picks Green Bay (-5.5). Green Bay is the #1 team according to ESPN’s power rankings and they totally deserve it. The only undefeated team left standing, and although there’s still a lot of season left, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were heading towards a perfect one. Aaron Rodgers is the MVP, really no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. And unlike Douche Bag Rivers, Rodgers knows how to make use of the talent around him. The game will be relatively close all day, until the 2011 MVP pulls the Pack away for good.
Crazy Bastards
Last Christmas when I went home, my buddy introduced me to slack lining in his backyard, which was also not nearly as thrilling as hanging over a 100 ft. gourge. He also showed me a few videos of some professionals doing their thing, which was cool, but not nearly as extreme as the video I came across today, which has combined slack lining with base jumping for those adrenaline junkies out there.
Doin Headline Ramblings
I don’t really have a direction for this post, but it’s been awhile since I wrote something, so I felt the need to put up a few random thoughts in no particular order.
Raiders sign TJ Houshmandzadeh – I’m just glad it wasn’t TO. TJ might not be what he was back in 2009, but at least it doesn’t seem like he’ll be a distraction the way TO has been with every team he plays on. I’m not sure if I should be worried about the signing as I see two possible scenarios. A) Raiders receivers haven’t gelled with Palmer or B) my hopeful reason for the signing. Outside of Ford and Heyward-Bey, they don’t really trust the third receiver on the team between Schillens, Moore, and Murphy. Can’t say I blame them, since all of them have missed significant time this year and years past. Plus, anything to make Palmer a little more comfortable with his new team is a plus, and a familiar face always helps. TJ had his best years with Carson, and that went both ways. If Carson has TJ to bail him out as the ultimate possession receiver on a couple third downs each game, this signing was 100% worth it regardless of TJ’s stats on the season. Plus we have plenty of speed, so he won’t be stealing any routes from our deep guys, and can be the guy that goes across the middle without getting alligator arms.
McCourt tells us what we knew would happen – The Dodgers fans can finally start representing their team in LA again. Get those car flags out again, Frank is selling the team! The Angels run was short lived as people will once again flock back to the team of LA. If they actually get a good owner this team isn’t nearly as bad as some view them. A few improvements around Kemp and Kershaw should put them over .500 at the very least. I guess it all depends on who ends up with the team and how deep their pockets are, but anyone will be an improvement over Frank, well unless Selig finds someway to puts someone with McCort’s qualifications in charge again. Hell, even the mayor of LA wanted the guy out of town. Good luck Dodgers fans on your new era, I remember the feeling of hope when Chris Cohan put the Warriors up for sale!
The NBA Lockout rolls on – Seems like we’re in the 4th quarter of negotiations, but it’s like the time of the game when the score is close and there’s six timeouts called to advance the ball to halfcourt with lots of fouls and free throw shots in between. I’m still holding out some hope they’ll be playing by Christmas, but that hope is waning a lot lately. It sounds like all the little things have been settled, but the major issue is still the BRI. I can’t tell you much about BRI except it’s the first three letters in my name, and it doesn’t seem like any reports are good about it whether you read it should be 52/48 or a 50/50 split. Much has been made of the recent riff between Fischer and Hunter, and if the reports are true and Fischer is trying to talk players into a 50/50 split, I’m actually on board. I hella care how much each side makes, so if he can convince the players to take a worse deal hooray for us all, because we’ll have basketball again. The more I read about Hunter, the more mad I get. Who cares if he has a job in the grand scheme of things when this is all said and done, he’s costing games this season by simply walking out on meetings when I could be watching the Lakers-Warriors game tonight!!
Lenny Dykstra agrees to fight Jose Canseco – So there’s a celebrity boxing event this Saturday featured on an internet stream with the featured fight consisting of Jose Canseco vs. Lenny Dykstra. Not on the weekend agenda for a $20 fee. Some of the other matchup on the card were interesting, which should make for some good youtube clips to check later. Amy Fishcer gets a chance to knock around the Octomom. Michelle Bombshell and all her tatoos should be able to pound Tila Tequila into oblivion. Coolio takes on Jeremy Jackson (a guy I’ve never heard of). Kato Kalen takes a shot at politician Tareq Salahi. All I can say about these match ups is they seem like they’ll be more entertaining than the heavyweight division has been over the last decade…
Tim Tebow sucks again – I can’t remember a time when a 2-5 team has had so much press, but Tebowmania is ruling the land, and the verdict seems to now be that he sucks after last weekend. I like Tebow as a guy. He seems like someone you’d want to hang out with, lives with a general code of conduct that few have, but the football player isn’t something I root for as a Raiders fan. I actually enjoy his on-field failures. I kind of hope he does well at the end of the year, so they keep him on-board longer, thus keeping the Broncos at the bottom of the AFC West. One big question I have for this weekends tilt against the Raiders is; if he jumps in the black hole, does he still come out a virgin? Tough call there, but I’ll go out on a limb and say no, and Carson will outplay him this weekend even though Tebow’s best game of his career was last season against the Raiders.
Mike Tyson on Energy Drinks…
It looks like Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, and 50 Cent made a new energy drink. They made the video above in Hangover-esque style to promote it. I guess each one purchased feeds an impoverished kid in Africa, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve never been huge on the energy drinks, but this video was worth a watch. I thought I was over Tyson in the whole comedy role, but this video proved to me he’s still funny when he’s not getting ripped on in a Comedy Central roast. Maybe Jamarcus should’ve got down on this purple drank investment… Anyways, have a Happy Halloween and slip some Street Kings in someones drink if you have the chance!
Doin Lines Week 8
Chappy: Uh oh two bad weeks in a row. One more and it’s a streak. This is not good, I don’t have any excuses since there’s no basketball to distract me during the week from making good picks. Who really saw Baltimore and Oakland crapping the bed as much as they did, not I.
By: 2-2 I’ll take it, but more importantly 3-0 on my parlay card which means I cashed in for the first time this year. Hopefully the good times will keep rolling as I could use the spare cash these days. Anyway, on to the lines!
Last Week: Chap (2-4) By (2-2)
Overall: Chap (18-14-3) By (15-13)
Minnesota @ Carolina (-3.5)
Chappy picks Carolina (-3.5). I find it amazing how much I’ve picked Carolina this year. At the onset of the season I didn’t see any way I’d actually pick them, but Cam has made me and everyone else a believer. I can’t wait to see Jarrod Allen try to bring down this beast of a QB, because he probably won’t be able to! Last week Minnesota actually made their game against Green Bay a good one letting AP off his leash finally. Maybe they’ll actually use him like he should be used (as the most complete back in football) Looks like they answered the big question on whether Ponder is a better fit to start than McNabb. Poor Donnovan’s fallen off faster than Culpepper did. Maybe he can join him in the CFL or Jamarcus on the retirement list.
Detroit (-2.5) @ Denver
Chappy picks Detroit (-2.5). I thought Tebow was impressive last weekend, but that was against the Dolphins, and only for six minutes. There’s noway Suh and Co will let Tebow dissect them, and send this team to three straight losses. Suh would rather knock the Jesus out of him in a dirty play than let Tebow run them up and down the field. Detroit is reeling after two straight losses, and while some have lost confidence in this team, I haven’t. I think the biggest blow to them was losing Javid Best, but since Stafford only had a small ankle injury and sounds like he’s going to play I have confidence in the Mega-Staff connection to beat a Denver that is all of a sudden over-rated. Detroit gets back to their winning ways convincingly.
By picks Detroit (-2.5). And hell shall freeze over. By is going against Timmy Tebow. I can’t believe it myself, but despite orchestrating a remarkable comeback at Miami last week, there’s no way to disguise the fact that he did it against, well, Miami. The Dolphins suck. Detroit is not Miami. Now the Lions haven’t exactly been looking like world beaters themselves, losing two straight at home despite a raucous crowd that forces a hundred false starts every week, but they’re not as bad as this losing streak suggests either. Both the 49ers and Falcons are admirable opponents, and missing Jahvid Best hurt the Lions versus Atlanta, hopefully he’s back this week. But really, this game hinges on the availability of Matthew Stafford, who is day-to-day and should be good to go, and that being the case, I think Detroit pulls through in a close game, winning by a touchdown.
New Orleans (-13) @ St. Louis
Chappy picks New Orleans (-13). It seems like New Orleans usually has a letdown after a huge scoring output like last weeks college football score, but the Rams haven’t shown as much life as the Jags this year, which is saying something. The Rams struggle at stopping the run as they rank dead last in stopping it, so I see a big game from Sproles, Ingram, and Thomas. Especially after they get up by a couple of scores. Atleast the Rams can look forward to week 9, when their schedule finally gets easier, and they play some teams that they might be able to work themselves into the win column.
Cincinnati (-3) @ Seattle
Chappy picks Cincinnati (-3). Did the Seahawks really play a 6-3 game last weekend against the Browns and lose?!? There weren’t weather issues, it was just straight ugly. Cincy had a bye week, and actually looks like a good team, and even with this game being in Seattle I would think this line would be little higher. I’m taking AJ Green to score more than the 9 total points that Seattle and Cleveland put up last weekend. Cedric Benson is serving his one game suspension, but then again that might be a good thing to get the old man out of the lineup, and put some guys in who can actually break away.
By picks Cincinnati (-3). The Bengals have been one of the surprise teams this season, but they’ve done so flying under the radar. Andy Dalton has proven to be a serviceable quarterback with solid upside, but to compose himself the way he has as a rookie is quite impressive. He reminds me of a young Matt Ryan in terms of his calm state of being on the field. Cincy’s offense doesn’t exactly jump off the page in terms of explosiveness, but with AJ Green running their routes, the Bengals are a threat to score on any given play. But it’s their defense that’s been so impressive this season, yielding one of the best overall units. Combine all the above, along with the fact that Seattle isn’t very good, and I predict a Cincy win by at least 7.
Dallas @ Philadelphia (-3.5).
Chappy picks Philadelphia (-3.5). There’s only one reason I’m taking Philly, and it’s because Andy Reid is 12-0 after his teams’ bye week. Yeah, it’s been a rocky year for Philly, but I feel like they are probably healthier and their defense has to be better than it was in the first six games getting some extra practice in. They added a lot of new pieces, and I think they’ll start to gel more this weekend. Nnamdi, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Samuel will be able to pick off Romo at least a couple of times. Plus, Vick with some extra rest is never a good thing for opposing defenses. 
By picks Philadelphia (-3.5). I can’t stress enough how big of a win it was for Philly, when they beat the Redskins two weeks ago, as it reignited their confidence heading to their bye. Now they play host to the vulnerable Dallas Cowboys, who in my opinion are one of the most overrated teams in the league, and are actually worse than what their record indicates. Yes DeMarco Murray went off last week, and yes he set a new Cowboys rushing record, but he did so against the St. Louis Rams. While still impressive, it takes away some of the pop, just like how Tebow’s comeback win wasn’t as great because of who he beat. Ultimately it boils down to this, until Tony Romo can make the right decisions consistently, I will not trust the Cowboys, especially against a Eagles team that’s about to peak. Eagles big.
San Diego @ Kansas City (+4)
By picks San Diego (-4). This is tough. Kansas City is coming off a big win against the best team in their division, at their home. Plus whenever the Chargers and Chiefs meet up, it’s usually an all out battle. But Matt Cassel barely scratched 150 yards passing, had no touchdowns and two interceptions last week. If not for such a weird set of circumstances surrounding the Chiefs/Raiders game last week, Matt Cassel would have probably cost Kansas the game. That won’t fly against San Diego, even if they’re at home. Plus, you know the Chargers want to make amends for not only blowing the game at New York, but choking on the two-minute drill to end it. Chargers by 10.
NBA Fundraising Video
No posts on the lockout for two months, then BAM, two in a row! Pretty solid video showing how most people feel about the lockout. As in, who cares what the deal is in the end just get out of our face with the media BS, and make the damn deal. I don’t want to pay to see charity games, I want to see the Warriors take on the best of the Western Conference.
The NBA: Where Amazing Lockout Info-graphs Happen
I haven’t written a word about the NBA lockout. This poster was a good timeline of the events that have gone down so far. I keep hoping they come to an agreement, yet deep down don’t really believe they will. If only the NBA owners could’ve done something as stupid as the NFL owners did with signing TV deals that got them paid whether the games were played or not, but no such luck. They seem to be in a strong position, and the players seem to just have to take the deal their offered if they want to play ball this year. Anyways, I find it ridiculous that the players think they’ll be happy overseas. I’ve done my fair share of travelling, and think it’s funny they would consider overseas a legitamate option. First off, if you go to a game in China, there’s smoking allowed in the arena. That factor alone would make it harder to play. Second, they won’t get paid as much even if they are stars, and donning the Shanghai Sharks jersey won’t exactly give the players as much pride as wearing their NBA teams jersey. Honestly, I have no idea when or if this season will ever start/happen, but I know the players and owners are retarded for waiting so long to step up the urgency of these meetings. It’s like they didn’t really even start caring and meeting eachother until October started, which is pathetic. When they did meet they were only there for 6 hours!?! Yeah, they must be trying hard if they can’t even put in an 8 hour workday… If you haven’t read Bill Simmons two articles on the lockout, I recommend them if you have some time to kill and want to understand it better, because he’s quite long winded, but very on point… Here’s part 1, and here’s part 2. Oh and this was a great piece by Whitlock as well.
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