January 6, 2011

Doin Wild Lines

By chappy81

6-0 last week. I can’t believe it took me all season to finally have a perfect week, but it actually happened! What was even better about the perfect week is that it put me over.500 for the season for the first time all season. It’s been a fun this year having By around to keep me motivated on making all these picks. Plus, it’s much more fun than caring about the Starbucks logo changing. Hopefully next year I can take By down!! Also, this week we were joined by Ryan Meehan from First Order Historians. I made the same picks over on his site if you want to check out even more reasons why I picked these teams check it out here.

I must admit, I’m a bit jealous Chaps had a perfect week, something that I was striving for all season long.  But I can’t complain about a 42-35-5 record on the season, the first time I’ve made picks in which I could reflect back on from a whole season’s worth.  It was real fun joining Chaps this season, and I definitely look forward to next (if there is one).  According to Roger Goodell, there will be.  But for now it’s money time, onto the playoffs!

Week 17 (Chap 6-0, By 2-2) Overall (Chap 48-47-3 By 42-35-5)

New Orleans (-10.5) @ Seattle

Chappy picks New Orleans -10.5. Is there any question on this one? Seattle shouldn’t be in the playoffs, and the Saints will show us all why. I understand that Drew Brees hasn’t had a career year, and has thrown quite a few picks this year, but you know what makes up for a subpar season? Winning in January. He’s shown he can do that, and I think he’ll open up a few big plays against a not very impressive Seahawks defense. Plus, the Saints have had the same problems as two other playoff teams during the regular season, injuries to the offense (Packers and Colts), but were good enough to still win 10 games. I feel like injuries were the reason the Falcons are widely conceived to be a much better team. Now, Brees has most of his weapons back at the right time, so we will soon see who is best, I think they’d play next round.

By picks Seattle (+10.5). What!?  I stated how much I hate Pete Carrol before right?  So why the contradiction here?  Why would I pick his team to win?  Quite simply put, this game can only head in one of two directions.  Either the Saints completely mop the floor with the Seahawks winning by some 40 points, or the Seahawks pull off one of the greatest upsets in playoff history by dethroning the champs.  There’s no in between in my eyes.  There’s no Seahawks lose a tight one.  And as much as I love Drew Brees and despise Cheat Carrol, I’m hoping Seattle shows some NFC West pride and represents our division well.  Otherwise the NFL might have themselves a BCS like controversy in terms of how they decide playoff participants going forward.  Seahawks have nothing to lose here, which makes them dangerous, I like their chances.

Meehan picks New Orleans -10.5.   The Seahawks ended the year with a -79 point differential, and to make matters even more depressing, lost every one of those nine games by 15 points or more.  Yikes.  Later on, I’ll discuss why this upsets me so much.  The Seahawks shouldn’t get their “12th man” advantage, because this game should be in New Orleans.  They didn’t beat anybody good and all of the good teams they played they got smoked.  Now, I’m picking the Saints, but I will say that if an upset this weekend has to happen it’s this one here. Prediction:  New Orleans Saints 32, Seattle Seahawks 15

NY Jets @ Indianapolis (-2.5) Continue reading

17 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

January 6, 2011

Most Villified Pervert

By chappy81

Brett Favre is getting sued as I’m sure you’ve heard by now. Ran across this little re-enactment from a news team in Taiwan not to be confused with China, since censorship there isn’t as high on the governments priority list. Anyways, if you haven’t seen this yet enjoy!

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Comedy, Random, Sports

January 5, 2011

Old Guys Vs. The Lockout

By chappy81

As the 2011 NBA lockout comes closer to a reality it got me wondering who we might see retire rather than continue on with their career since there are a lot of players out there that are old and still performing at a very high level. That being said the dinosaurs of the NBA might not want to take less than they are already making when the new CBA is reached. Thanks to a Wikki search they listed the ten oldest players in the league right now, and I will go through the seven oldest, and put a percentage on their chances of sticking around to play after the strike is over.

Shaquille O’Neal, 38 years old. Shaq might actually be helped out by this lockout. He hasn’t played a full 82 games since 1994, so I’m guessing that the lockout could actually keep him fresh. At the same time, if he knows that there won’t be basketball being played, I’m sure he’s going to eat himself into retirement. Look for him to have a waist growth spurt and remind us that people can be as big as Refrigerator Perry. Odds of returning after a lockout: 5%

Kurt Thomas, 38 years old. I actually forgot Kurt was still in the league, but he’s alive and well in Chicago filling in for the many injuries they’ve had to their frontline. He’s one of those guys that teams just keep picking up making the Bulls the 8th team of his career. I feel like he has some solid value for teams because he’s seen it all and isn’t a distraction. Odds of returning after a lockout: 80%

Grant Hill, 38 years old. Grant found the fountain of youth with his teammate Steve Nash.

Is Sprite the fountain of youth or is it the fountain of knee surgeries?

The guy is having his best year since he was in Orlando statically. If there’s anyone you think would stay in shape of these old guys during a lockout it would be Grant. He’s also the Suns best defensive player, which I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing for the Suns. Odds of returning after a lockout: 90%

Juwan Howard, 37 years old. Honestly I thought Juwan would have hung up the sneakers by now, but the Heat needed some bodies to fill up the roster and he got a call. Sure, he started some games in Portland last year, but we all know about that injury factory in the pacific northwest. If Miami doesn’t win it all this year, Howard is very expendable. Odds of returning after a lockout: 10% unless someone takes a chance on him.

Jason Kidd, 37 years old. I’ve always had a soft spot for the wife beater from Oakland. He’s been declining this year, but mostly because there’s so many other talented guys around him so he doesn’t need to be as great as he was. I think Cuban rides him until he’s shooting 20% from the floor. Odds of returning after a lockout: 99%

Theo Ratliff, 37 years old. He hasn’t really made an impact anywhere over the last few years. I don’t see him really making an impact on the Lakers except replacing Adam Morrison on the bench as the best towel waiver. This feels like his last season to me. Odds of returning after a lockout: 1%

Steve Nash, 36 years old. He’s better than Kidd, but the thing I worry about with Nash is what if the lockout happens and he signs with the MLS in an effort to ignite some support for his one true love, soccer. They can’t pay him as much as he’d make in the NBA though, so his odds of returning after a lockout feel like 99%, but you never know with a real footballer.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Sports

January 4, 2011

Tom Cable Out in Oakland

By mceezy

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that the Raiders have informed Tom Cable they won’t be picking up his option. Don’t worry everyone, I don’t follow Schefter, or anyone for that matter, on Twitter. I just happened to catch it on their tweetfeed…..

Does that mean Hue Jackson will be taking over or are the Raiders going in a completely nonsensical different direction? Nothing would surprise me at this point….

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports

January 4, 2011

RFP Of The Day: Marty Conlon

By mceezy

There’s not much to say about Marty Conlon. He played for 8 teams in 9 years. His best season came in 94-95 when he put up 9.9 ppg and 5.2 rpg for the Milwaukee Bucks. 20/10 is the benchmark for great power forwards, but a 10/5 guy is a rich man’s Marty Conlon. I got to enjoy him in his 2nd year in Sacramento when he was only a 5/3 guy, so I didn’t quite get to see him in his prime. He once had 9 pts, 5 reb, and 3 ast in a playoff game. Oh wait, those are his career playoff numbers….

Marty was born in the Bronx, went to high school in White Plains, and played college ball in Providence.  (see a them here?) His other NBA stops came in Seattle, Charlotte, Washington, Boston, Miami, and of course the obligatory stop with the Clippers. But this all what makes him Random and Forgotten. Let’s get to why he’s an RFP! Behold Exhibits A and B…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and then I found this bad boy….

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Random Forgotten Player, Sports

January 3, 2011

Dorell’s MIP Case

By chappy81

Nope, Dorell Wright didn’t get a minor in possession. He’s 25 years old, so there’s no way he could even get one at this point. Dorell isn’t a household name, and unless you were a Heat or Warriors fan you still might not know that he even exists. The Warriors acquired him over the offseason for the next three years at a fairly cheap $11M. I had no idea what we got when we signed him, and have been in many a texting frenzies with the blog mates on how awesome he is for many of the Dubs games this year. I thought he was more of a defensive guy since all the reports that I read said that’s all he really was at the time the Warriors acquired him. Somehow, some way, he’s morphed into a knock down shooter (in best Mark Jackson voice). He currently leads the NBA in three pointers made (85), and is making up for the scoring punch to ab offense that lost Morrow, Azubuike, and Maggette this past season. So far this season, Dorell has gone up in every major category making him my hometown bias pick for, the most improved player. As his minutes went from 20 to nearly 39 per game he has doubled up in his averages in every major category. His points have more than doubled (7.1 to 15.7). His rebounds have nearly doubled from (3.3 to 6.2). His assists have more than doubled going from (1.3 to 3.1). His steals have gone up from (0.7 to 1.4). People might knock his field goal % dropping 5 points, but my reasoning for that is he’s taking a ton of threes (averaging 6 per game), which would lower anyone’s percentages a little. With all those threes he’s taking, he is 27th in the league in 3PT percentage, which makes me not care that his FG% overall has taken a little dip. There’s no signs of him slowing down since the W’s have no bench. Another reason to hand the award to Dorell is that he came out of nowhere to relevance this season. All the other guys I’m about to mention were all at least relatively known at the beginning of the year.

I guess there are some other candidates out there, but in my eyes none of them have improved from last season to this season as much as Dorell, but here are some that I think are in the running. Kevin Love is a beast that should be considered for the award, but at the same time we saw some of what he’s doing this year towards the end of last year, so does that really count as improved now that he’s getting the minutes and already showed us that he could do this? I say no, but it’s arguable. Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose are on the same plane in my book. Rose has had an amazing season, and shown that he is indeed fantasy relevant instead of just a good player he has been boosting his stats in nearly every area. Westbrook developed a jumper this summer and is scoring more, but both of these guys were stars already, and I commend them for their improvement, but it just isn’t significant enough of an improvement to earn the MIP award. I’d put Raymond Felton slightly above them, because he is improving tremendously in every category much like Dorell, but being in D’antoni’s system jumpstarted that more than anything. We all knew that Felton was solid, just not this good. An honorable mention for a guy on the radar is Paul Millsap. He started off the first month of the season like he was going to win the award, but has fallen back to earth a little now that Al Jefferson has figured out the Utah offense, and mans the post keeping Paul away from this award. Michael Beasley also made the honorable mention list. He was a bust in Miami, and now is a main cog in Minnesota and hasn’t had any legal troubles thus far. If he keeps it up he should be on the list with his teammate.

28 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

January 1, 2011

Bowling In The New Year

By mceezy

New Year’s Day isn’t quite what it used be, but at least a few Bowls have remained committed to the tradition. There are still six games on the January 1 schedule, but the fact that there are seven more games after today really says something. Nonetheless, I’ve been glued to the TV today and plan to be for the remainder of the holiday. It’s always fun to see what games you end up watching versus what you were anticipating the most. I figured I may as well chime in with my observations periodically throughout the day….

TicketCity Bowl – Northwestern vs. Texas Tech – I don’t even know if I get ESPNU, because there’s never been a game on the channel that I’ve wanted to watch. This game was a pretty good matchup on paper, but I wasn’t going to go out of my way to watch it if there were better games on. Looks like there’s plenty of offense though. Taylor Potts seems to be making a case to be included in the “Year of the Quarterback” group. I’ve got it on in the background now, if nothing else just because it’s the latest into the game. Northwestern has the ball down 14 with 6:21 left right now.

Capitol One Bowl – Alabama vs. Michigan State – I might have been most excited for this one. Michigan State looked pretty good this year and Mark Ingram and Julio Jones would surely go out in style. The game’s turned out to be a lopsided affair, but it’s still been entertaining, despite the score. 35-0 Tide in the 3rd quarter.

Gator Bowl – Michigan vs. Mississippi State – I’ve ended up here a lot as a result of the aforementioned game being a disappointment. Denard Robinson is always entertaining, and the atmosphere’s been a electric. Mississippi State has taken a huge step forward this year, and win over Michigan would cement a Top 20 finish for the year. The Bulldogs lead 31-14 early in the 3rd.

Outback Bowl – Florida vs. Penn State – This one’s had the most hype. It’s Urban Meyer’s last game after six whole seasons. It’s also Joe Paterno’s 114th last game as head coach of Penn State. I don’t care too much for the coaching storylines, but I do hope Paterno coaches Penn State until he dies. I know the administration is pretty ready for some new blood, and I know they were pretty bad for a few years there, but despite a 7-5 down year, they’re still coming off three 11 win seasons in the last 5. They went 9-4 the other two years. Most schools can only dream of that kind of success. Who’s going to take them higher than they already are? Having said all that, this game’s turned out to be the closest of the bunch. Therefore, it will likely remain in sole possession of the TV screen for the duration of the final 22+ minutes. Tied at 17 now.

Rose Bowl – TCU vs. Wisconsin – I’m still pretty bitter this wasn’t a Pac-10 / Big Ten matchup. Sure Oregon got the BCS nod, so they weren’t obligated to have a Pac-10 team, but Stanford was right there for the choosing. TCU could’ve played in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. All complaints aside though, this was still a pretty good matchup, and certainly the main event. I can’t imagine Oklahoma and UConn is going to blow people away. The Rose Bowl lived up to the hype though. After a fast start, the scoring become fewer and farther in between, and it ended up coming down to the last drive for Wisconsin.

Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Connecticut – Yep, just like I thought. This game is teetering right on the border of too boring to watch, but too close to turn off. Now that the NHL Winter Classic is over, it’s not like there’s anything else to watch instead. Part of me wants Oklahoma to destroy UConn so it’s that much more obvious to the BCS the Huskies have no business being in this game. The other part of me wants them to at least make it respectable. I guess I’m pretty much getting both right now. Whether or not UConn pulls off a miracle is yet to be seen, but should they lose, as expected, they can find a consolation in the fact that they’ve put up a better fight than major conference schools like Florida State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Colorado, and Iowa State.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 31, 2010

Doin Lines Week 17

By chappy81

Actually, "We'll" Be Back!

We made it through another season of picks, and fortunately now all we have left after this one is the playoffs which is much easier since there aren’t nearly as many games. I can’t lie, I thought I’d do better this year, and after last week’s ugly 2-5 there’s no chance of hitting .500 on the year. Oh well, maybe the new year will bring me better picks for the playoffs.

Happy New Year’s to all our readers out there!  May 2011 bring you plenty of success and happiness!  I went 2-3 last week, and I’m actually quite happy about it being that I was on track for an 0-5 week.  My main goal is to not screw anything up and stay above .500 on the year.  Then I’ll ride that momentum into the playoffs.

Oakland @ Kansas City (-3.5)

Chappy picks Oakland +3.5. KC doesn’t have much to play for. It looks like they will be hosting the Jets in the first round of the playoffs. Oakland feels like they have something to play for as they want to be the first team to sweep their divisional games and not make the playoffs. Great record to have I guess. Cable will be coaching for his job, and an 8-8 finish might just keep that in tact.

By picks Oakland +3.5. Being that K.C. has locked things up in the AFC West, the Chiefs don’t have much riding on this game.  I wish there were more at stake for this game because the Raiders/Chiefs rivalry is always a good one when both teams are playing well.  With that said, the Raiders would like nothing more than to end 2010 with a good win and look forward to 2011.  I think they get it done.

Miami @ New England (-4)

Chappy picks New England (-4). I’m scared the Pats will rest players, but going back to their (almost) perfect season they didn’t rest guys, so I don’t see them doing it this week. If this was in Miami I might take the points, but since it’s in Foxboro not sure how you couldn’t roll with the Pats. They haven’t really had a close game since they played the Colts in week 11, no reason for this one to be close.

Jacksonville @ Houston (-3)

By picks Houston (-3). Well Houston once again followed the same pattern of years past.  Fast start, slow finish.  It’s a shame a team with this much potential’s season highlight will be officially eliminating a banged up Jags team from playoff contention.  Pocket Hercules is not at 100%, and without him, the Jags can’t compete.  In fact, is Pocket Hercules even playing?  In fact, even if he was I still like the Texans by 10.

Cincinnati @ Baltimore (-9.5)

Chappy picks Cincinnati +9.5. This has been a terrible season for Cincy, but they do cover a lot of spreads. Last week they even beat SD without their duo of diva receivers. Baltimore is in no matter what, and has to count on a Pittsburgh loss to win the division. I think Baltimore wins this game, but when they pull all their starters Cincy works its way back within a TD.

Brett who?

Minnesota @ Detroit (-3)

Chappy picks Minnesota (+3). Last week convinced me that the Vikes are still a decent team when they have a QB that doesn’t turn the ball over. Can’t say I really knew who Joe Webb was last week, but after seeing him play Tuesday he looks like he could lead this team to another victory. They have a short week to prepare, and Detroit is on a two game winning streak, so they are bound to come back to earth. Plus the Lions need a higher draft pick, so no need to try this weekend.

New York Giants (-4) @ Washington

By picks New York (-4). Similar to last season, the Giants have had a bit of a let down in 2010.  They’ll win impressively this week, as the Redskins are along the lines of Carolina, woeful, but New York still misses the playoffs.

Carolina @ Atlanta (-14.5)

Chappy picks Atlanta (-14.5). This pick scares me. The Falcons could have this one locked up at halftime, and when they are up by 28 they could pull their starters which would give the Panthers a chance to cover. Fortunately Claussen is one of the worst passers in the league, and will save this bet with a few pick sixes to keep the Falcons lead growing. If there’s one guy that needs to have a good game its Claussen, to prove to the team that they don’t need to draft Luck #1 overall, but that’s not going to happen, and Luck will be the unlucky Panthers QB.

St. Louis (-3) @ Seattle

Hi, I'm Pete, please punch my face.

By picks St. Louis (-3). Well somebody has to win this s**t division, and St. Louis’ is as worthy as anybody.  I might have picked Seattle at home had Matt Hasselbeck not been injured, but without their leader the Seahawks have no chance.  Plus I hate Pete Carrol and would rather see the Rams do a one and done post season run than Seattle.  St. Louis by 10.

San Diego @ Denver (+3.5)

Chappy picks San Diego (-3.5). SD had the top ranked defense and top ranked offense for a good portion of the season. Do they want Norv to stick around. If they don’t I could see them tanking this game, but I don’t think they will against a division rival. SD doesn’t want to have a losing season, and they won’t let Tebow do what he did to Houston’s horrible D. Tebow gets pummeled, and everyone questions whether he’s really a true QB all offseason.

14 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 31, 2010

In Case You Missed It….

By mceezy

….And there’s a good chance you did. It’s a few days old now, but Kings-Grizzlies highlights probably don’t make the news in your local area. Even if you did see it, it’s worth another watch. There hasn’t been much to cheer about at Arco Arena this year, unless you’re a Warriors fan, but just when it looked like the Kings were about to suffer another devastating loss, Tyreke Evans seemed to resurrect his season with one long shot (figuratively and literally) to give his team an improbable win. Guess that’s what I get for turning down an invite to the game…..

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 29, 2010

Doin NBA Power Rankings

By chappy81

#1 Dallas Mavericks (24-6) – They lost to a weak Raptors team last night playing without Dirk, but this team is legit so far this season, and has slayed two 10+ game winning streaks that Miami and San Antonio had going. I’ve watched a handful of Mavs games this year, and they seem to be playing a different level of defense to close out games. I’m not sure they are a favorite for a championship, but I already have more confidence in them than years past.

#2 Boston Celtics (24-5) – No Rondo, no problem. Pierce and KG have found the fountain of youth this year, and look rejuvenated and as focused as they ever have. When this team gets all the way to full strength, it might be impossible to stop them.

#3 San Antonio Spurs (27-4) – Are these Spurs going to wear down? They just beat the Lakers last night, and don’t seem to be slowing down, but at the same time I feel like there has to be a couple of injuries around the corner. Plus, they seem to be relying on late heroics a little too much for comfort. When was the last time their big three went through a season without an injury? Dunno, that one stumped me too!

#4 Miami Heat (24-9) – Who has two thumbs and picked them to be the #1 seed in the east? This guy!!! I’ll admit I thought this team was in trouble early in the season, but a 16-1 run sure makes you believe in them a whole lot more doesn’t it!?! Lebron keeps making stupid comments, but at least his team is finally winning.

#5 Chicago Bulls (20-10) Continue reading

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 27, 2010

Just Another Dunk

By chappy81

Blake Griffin is easily the rookie of the year at this point of the season, and will continue to be unless some kind of injury happens. Anyways,  I actually watch a lot of Clippers action, since I can’t bring myself to watch the Lakers night in and night out. Griffin is on his way to 400 dunks this season, (leading the NBA), and this one above occurred Sunday night, and I had to go back and re-watch it on youtube today because of it’s awesomeness. This has happened on many occasions, so I figured it was time to throw one up on the blog. This babble has made me feeling Blake Griffin for the dunk contest more than voting Monta Ellis into the All-Star game. I mean, the guy already said he wants to be in it, soooo what’s the holdup!?! If you need some more convincing, here’s his best dunks for the month of November, if that doesn’t convince you, I guess you just don’t like basketball.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 24, 2010

Doin Lines Week 16

By chappy81
I'm Rick James Bitch!

I'm Rick James Bitch!

4-2 last week has the .500 benchmark more reachable since week 3. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy finally having back to back winning weeks. Between Christmas shopping, traveling, and all the other holiday stuff I don’t  really have a lot of time to think about and/or look at what is going on with a lot of these games with injuries and kind of stuff, so hopefully I’ve gained enough knowledge over the season to get me through this week without reading any previews, and go on an actual win streak.

3-2 last week, once again above the .500 mark which has been the norm for me as of late.  Like Chappy said, the holiday’s have gotten the best of me time wise, and aside from some news tickers I’ve read, I don’t know what’s going on in football as of late.  Going with the gut instincts again this week.  Happy holidays everyone from the Doin Work crew!

Week 15 (By 3-2, Chap 4-2) Overall (By 38-32-5, Chap 40-42-3)

Minnesota @ Philadelphia (-14.5)

Chappy picks Philadelphia (-14.5). Let’s see. Explosive offense meets a team that just got blown out by the Bears. This game might be a little watchable if Favre was in there. Actually these past few weeks when I’ve seen Favre on the field it was almost painful to watch. I have no idea why Favre is even still trying to play out the season when it looks like it hurts when someone touches him. I guess he’s a football addict. Anyways, this should be a lock for a 28 point win for the Eagles. They do everything better than the Vikes, and if AP is out still, there’s zero chance of them staying close.

Washington @ Jacksonville (-7)

Chappy picks Jacksonville (-7). Regardless of who the Redskins start in this game at QB, one thing has become clear to me. The Redskins are divided. This never bodes well for any team when half of them don’t want to do anything for the coach, and can you really blame them? I’d quit too, which makes me want to take the Jags who still have a chance to make the playoffs if the Colts slip up.

By picks Jacksonville (-7). This was not the season I envisioned for the Redskins after they acquired Donovan McNabb and Mike Shanahan this off-season.  I figured they’d be right in the mix for NFC East supremacy, or at least in the Wild Card hunt.  Instead, with the benching of McNabb and the “Fat” Albert Haynesworth saga, the Redskins have become the ugly siblings of the division.  They’re a train wreck to look at.  The Jags will most likely be without their “Pocket Hercules” this week, but I still they take care of the ‘Skins rather easily.  Bare in mind the Jags are still very much in contention for their division crown.

San Francisco @ St. Louis (-2.5)

By picks San Francisco (+2.5). It’s been a rare occasion this season, when the 49ers were not favorites.  This could be one game in which I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.  The NFC West is so god awful that if you had to place them in a college conference, they’d be in the WAC.  Because that’s what they are, wack.  With that said, the 49ers still have a chance to make the playoffs with a 7-9 record, and at this point, I think it would be funny if they did.  Troy Smith, the better Smith is back at the helm for S.F., which means we have a puncher’s chance.

Seattle @ Tampa Bay (-6)

Chappy picks Tampa Bay -6. Not sure why, but the Seahawks are still in the hunt for the NFC Worst. They probably wont even lose any ground with a bad game this weekend. I’m still not completely sold on Tampa, but they are about 50 times better than Seattle is. I think Pete should look into getting Baloo from Tailspin to check out this seahawk, because it been going downhill.

N.Y. Jets @ Chicago (-1)

By picks the N.Y. Jets (+1). What better way to show your support for your coach’s foot fetish, than to give the Bears a good ass kicking?  And to kick that ass, you need a foot.  All joking aside, this game has bore fest written all over it, unless you’re a fan of low scoring, unimaginative offenses.  The Bears do try to open things up on occasion, but they won’t have success this week.  Not against that stingy Jets’ D.  As far as the Jets offense, Mark Sanchez couldn’t consistently hit an open receiver if they were in a sparring match.  Yet, the Jets find a way to win close ones.  If the spread is -1 for Chicago, the Jets should win by 2.

Indianapolis @ Oakland (+3)

Chappy picks Oakland +3. The Raiders show up more when they are the underdog with less to play for. They can’t seem to play big when it counts. Call this one the shocker of the weekend as Jacksonville gets closer to representing the AFC South. Plus I’m a homer, and when in doubt go with your team when they are getting points at home!

By picks Indianapolis (-3). Sorry Chappy, Matt, and all Raider Nation faithful out there, but I don’t care if this game is being played in Oak Town, the Colts finally find themselves in the driver’s seat in the race for tops of the their division, and I expect them to put the pedal to the metal.  For what it’s worth, I believe the Raiders will put up at least 24 points against the Colts, and Darren McFadden will continue to beast it up.  But Manning and company will drop no less than 35 points against the silver and black.  Sorry buddies 😦

San Diego @ Cincinnati (+7.5)

Chappy picks San Diego -7.5. Easiest pick of the day. The Chargers rule December, and VJ looks like he has his swagger back. Who needs Gates right now the way this offense is moving the ball. Cincy is about as bad as it gets. The team By and I dubbed the most woeful in the league (Carolina) looks better than this bunch right now. TO is out for the year, so I see the whole team mailing it in!

New Orleans @ Atlanta (-2.5)

Chappy picks Atlanta (-2.5). No reason to think Atlanta can be slowed down now with home field on the line. The Saints have had as good a season as you can have coming off a Super Bowl win, but since they couldn’t beat the dirty birds in their own house I don’t see them doing it in Atlanta. I’m hoping for some offensive explosions from both these teams that seem to put up big numbers week in and week out. Is it weird that no body mentions Matt Ryan in the discussion for MVP? Sure his numbers aren’t eye popping, but he’s leading a 12-2 team!

By picks New Orleans (+2.5). I can’t believe I’m going against Matty Ice, but the Saints win this week.  Trust me, it won’t be anything Matty Ice does wrong, he’ll be the smooth, silky assassin he’s been all season.  I just think Drew Brees will be playing like a man possessed this week.  Division title hopes are still on the line, coming off a tough loss in Baltimore, Drew Brees has a lot at stake, and we’ve seen how he plays when a lot’s at stake.  This match will be the opposite of the N.Y. Jets/Chicago game, a high scoring slug fest.  Saints squeak by.

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December 23, 2010

Mid-Week Ramblings…

By chappy81

Ohio State just had five of their best players suspended, including QB Terrelle Pryor. Definitely not a Buckeyes fan, nor do I feel that this was all that solid of a punishment. They took a measly $1K to $2.5K, and are all paying for that with a five game suspensions. The main part I don’t understand in this whole suspension is why these players get to play their bowl game this year. If all the evidence is there, shouldn’t the NCAA suspend all of them for the bowl game, and the first four games of next year for the five games?!? Personally I think they should, and that feels like a much stiffer penalty than the one handed down. Missing a bowl game and most likely losing it because you are missing five of your best players seems more fair in my book. Maybe the NCAA is trying to protect itself so if they run across something on Cam Newton, he will still be eligible for the Championship game, and then they could suspend him for next year when he’ll be in the NFL anyways keeping everyone’s pockets fat.

The Bobcats are blowing up the team to start 2011 with fresh outlook, after a season of underachievement. Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a good one on Yahoo about how the Larry Brown-Michael Jordan relationship all broke down starting back in 2008 when Jordan wanted to draft Brook Lopez, but ended up listening to Brown and drafted DJ Augustin. Change was obviously needed. I’m not sure what to make of Paul Silas coming back to coaching after being out of it for awhile. I thought he was a great coach for the Hornets the first time around with BD, Mashburn, Magloire, and Steve Smith, but this Bobcats team is nowhere near them talent wise. Either way, I’m sure he’ll be better than Art Shell was coming out of his hiatus back to coaching. I loved that Jordan brought Charles Oakley in as an assistant coach. Last week Oakley blasted Charles Barkley for being lazy and just getting by with his athletic skills. I won’t argue with Oak, because he’s probably taking mental notes and I don’t want to be on that list. Lebron’s list is fine, but Oak’s isn’t. I was more wondering if he knew what was about to happen and wanted to say “Chuck, stay behind a desk and keep being lazy cracking jokes on TNT instead of trying to coach or be a GM, you just don’t have the work ethic.”

Phil Jackson sounded off about not wanting to play on Christmas saying “I don’t think anybody should play on Christmas Day. Soccer teams don’t play this time of year, they take a break. I don’t understand it… It’s like Christian holidays don’t mean anything to them anymore. We just go out and play and entertain the TV. It’s really weird.”

Ummm, we know Phil is full of head games, but seriously Phil? I know you guys work hard and all, and maybe most don’t want to work on this glorious Christian holiday, but sports is a form of the entertainment industry, and when are the most people watching? When they don’t have work! You and your squad are paid ridiculous millions to play, so give us some damn entertainment. If you want your team to suck and not be one of the marquee match ups on Christmas I’m all for it. I’d love to see the Lakers not be on TV during Christmas because they aren’t relevant, that would almost be as good as any present I could get. I can make a list of the cons of my job a mile long, and I’m sure everyone playing on Christmas would much rather have that be their biggest “problem over a the average citizens problems like even having a job. I’m positive Jeanie will be able to handle giving out the solid gold PS4’s you got the kids this year. Plus, if there were no basketball games on Christmas, how could I parlay my Christmas money on some games to have an even better Christmas?!?

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December 22, 2010

Demarcus Cousins: Rookie (mistake) Of The Year

By mceezy

Demarcus Cousins thought the game was in the bag. So did I. So did every other fan in attendance last night.

Last night was a big one for me. Most of you probably didn’t know they even played, since neither are even close to relevant, but MY Golden State Warriors paid a visit to MY Sacramento Kings last night. I’m grew up a Kings fan, back when they were almost as bad as they are now, and these days, I root for them 78 games a year. The four that I don’t are – surprise – when they play the Warriors. Regardless of which arena the game is played, I remain pretty neutral. Ultimately I want the W’s to win, but I usually just hope for a close game. Sometimes that backfires and they end up in triple overtime in Oakland on a weeknight! They’re almost always good games though, and whichever team wins, at least one of my teams is getting a victory.

Last night though, I was a full-on Warriors fan for the first time. I’m running out of ways to remain a Kings fan. It’s not because they’re losing. I endured more losing from 1984-1997 than anyone can imagine. This year, they’re not even fun to watch. I knew they’d struggle, considering the inexperienced roster, but I thought they’d at least be fun to watch. They show flashes here and there, but for the most part just look like an overmatched JV team that knows it’s about to get its ass kicked. They don’t even try. Last night was another huge blow to the franchise as a whole. It’s like when you know an addict who refuses to get help. You finally realize that they just need to hit rock bottom or else they’ll never admit they have a problem. That’s where the Kings are at. So, last night was another step in that direction. It was so bad that we contemplated leaving early, since the game seemed out of reach for the W’s. Instead, I witnessed one of the biggest meltdowns I’ve ever seen on a basketball court.

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December 20, 2010

Doin Hurdling

By chappy81

We haven’t really been on top of giving our readers very many funny clips lately, and when I saw this one today, I couldn’t resist posting it. We are fond of all things that come from Asia since three of us are Asian, and this guy in the clip had the spirit of the Panda with him in this race (literally), because that’s how a Panda would attack these hurdles too. I’m not sure if it was because he couldn’t jump or if it was some kind of special Olympics event, but whatever his reasons were for plowing through the hurdles, he brightened up my otherwise rainy and gloomy Monday. I couldn’t stop laughing when he knocked over the hurdle in the lane next to him right at the end making it so the other guy couldn’t even finish. As far as I can tell from homeboy’s celebration after crossing the finish line he must have won!!

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports