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…
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
Welcome to the first installment of the Doin Work Mailbag. Some of these go pretty far back, since we haven’t published any e-mail feedback to this point. You’ll be surprised at some of the letters we got….
Dear Doin Work,
I don’t caer for yor coments about me. I never listen to crittics. Oviusly you didn’t wach any of owr games. I’m the onley one out there playin good. You try throwin ta guys named Chaz, Louis, and Jonnie Lee. Shoot, I can’t even see past my center’s hair. Plus, the ofensiv line is teribel. As soon as I can get out of Oakland, you’ll see. I’ll be wining. A lot. You probbably see me holding a mvp trophey one day.
-Jamarcus Russell
First off, allow me to apologize. We didn’t want to make it look like you didn’t bring value to the team. You give fans something to cheer for – like, when you get hurt or yanked out of the game. You also keep things interesting. We love going into a game against a team like the Chiefs or Browns knowing that we could very well get shut out. We also love the fact that you could be replaced by a backup QB and we could beat any team in the league.
Dear Doin Work,
I really don’t appreciate your use of my likeness as the Joker in your Doin Lines feature. Was this supposed to be a subtle reference to my overdose? I don’t remember doing any cocaine that night, if that’s what you’re getting at. I’ll let you off the hook for now, but I swear, mate, if you put up a picture of Jake Gyllenhal and I the next time a pro athlete comes out of the closet, that’ll be the 10th thing I hate about you. You don’t wanna see that!
-Heath Ledger
Don’t worry, Heath. I’m sure that wasn’t the reason Chappy put your picture up. I think it had something to do with New Year’s, and how the Joker gassed up the Gotham City NYE celebration. Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.
Dear Doin Work,
Thanks for posting Brass Bonanza on Christmas Eve! It’s still the greatest sports song of all time. We may not have the Whalers anymore, but there’ll always be NHL 94 on Sega!
-Greg R. Hartford, CT
Greg, you don’t have to tell us twice! Brass Bonanza will live on for eternity with such classics as NBA on NBC and Rock and Roll Part 2.
Dear Doin Work,
Don’t blame me for “spoiling” USC basketball. I didn’t do anything wrong. Money was on the table, I took it. No one would do anything different – ask Stephen Jackson. Whatever, SC got what they deserved. I don’t care if they have to forfeit wins or postseason appearances. I was never a Trojan. I just wanted to play my one year of college ball in LA and move on.
-OJ Mayo
You’re right, and let’s face it, anything to keep eyes off the football team is a good thing.
Dear Doin Work,
What’s up with all the Tyreke Evans hype? Everybody knows Brandon Jennings will be the rookie of the year. He scored 55 points in a game! What’s Tyreke’s season high? It definitely wasn’t 55. He also has a lot more help on his team with great players like Sean May and Andres Nocioni. Brandon Jennings has no one, yet he scored 55 points in a game! It’s called the rookie of the year award, not rookie on the most surprising team of the year. Did I mention Jennings scored 55 in a game?!
-Jake R. Waukesha, WI
Perhaps we’re biased living on the West Coast, but Tyreke Evans has been having a more consistent, more impressive year. If Evans fails to notch a 55 point game, though, the award is all Jennings’.
Dear Doin Work,
I heard you wrote about me “having fun in Charlotte.” I tried to read the article, but when I picked up my laptop, I fumbled it off my foot and it went out of bounds.
-Stephen Jackson
Understandable. If you get it back though, just shoot it. I hope you don’t take that the wrong way.
Dear Doin Work,
Please take down the video of me blocking Kobe’s dunk attempt. True, it was a most beautiful block, but Kobe is the best player in the game. By posting this video, you are devaluing the game of basketball. I hope you will reconsider this practice in the future. Until then, go Lakers Warriors!
-Ronny Turiaf
First off, let me just say I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of ‘Movie Time with Ronny’ on Warriors Weekly. Your analysis of The Hangover was fantastic. If I hadn’t seen it already, I surely would’ve rushed to Blockbuster to pick it up. I never would’ve guessed it was “very funny.” As for the video we posted, some of us are Warriors fans. We know you’re still a Laker at heart, but I’ve spent the last few years cheering against you, first at Gonzaga, then in Los Angeles. You wear a Warriors jersey and you blocked Kobe Bryant. We’re going to show that no matter what.
Dear MCeezy,
I’m sorry to hear about your frustration with Xbox. I can’t say that I’m sorry, because I really have nothing to do with that. However, you may be happy to know you can still play great games on your PC. It looks like you are running Windows 7, a fine choice. If you have any other questions, feel free to respond to this email via Microsoft Word, the best word processor available. How come there are no posts about the Seattle Sonics on your page?
-Bill Gates
Don’t worry about it Bill. I crafted a beautiful chart of my experience with Xbox on Microsoft Excel, then exported it to Microsoft Access for review. I’m just putting some finishing touches on it in Microsoft Publisher and I’ll show it to you once I set up my Microsoft Outlook. As for Sonics news, just search Kevin Durant and you’ll find plenty of mention of the Sonics.
Dear Doin Work,
Hey Brah, I really hope you weren’t making fun of us with the cross country snowboarding vid. Skootching a serious sport man.
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, theexperts 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!
This offseason, the other two California football teams will have many different decisions to make, but the most important one will be the same. Do we give our former #1 pick another year to become the franchise QB we need, or is it time to cut ties and move in a new direction? The 49ers and Raiders each had a number one draft pick within a three year span. They both took potential franchise quarterbacks, but neither has panned out to this point. Though there are plenty of pros and cons for both dilemmas, I think the answers are pretty simple. One is favorable and one is not. Let’s take a look at how both QBs got to the point they’re at, and the potential outcomes moving forward.
2005: The 49ers were coming off a 2-14 season and held the first overall pick. There was plenty of talent available, but SF’s biggest need was at Quarterback. The choice came down to Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers. In the end, Smith was heralded as the better athlete, and more intelligent. Now, for every Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, or Demarcus Ware they passed on, there was also a Cedric Benson, Pacman Jones, or Mike Williams that would’ve been worse. But, since Rodgers was the only other guy they were going to pick, he’s the only one it’s fair to compare with. To this point, Rodgers has thrown for more yards and touchdowns on less attempts than Smith, while throwing less interceptions as well. Smith got off to a rough start in his first year, throwing 1 TD pass to 11 interceptions. In 2006, he looked to be coming into form, completing 58% of his passes and connecting on 16 TD passes to 16 INTs. Last season was derailed by a shoulder injury, however, and when he came back this season, Shaun Hill had beat him out for the starting job. Smith, however, replaced Hill in Week 7, and had an up and down final 11 games to end the season. He finished with his best ever TD to INT ratio at 18:12. He also completed over 60% of his passes. The problem, though, is he still has yet to live up to his potential, and the 49ers are left to question whether he ever will. I can’t say with confidence that he will, but the chances are much better than his Oakland counterpart. Smith’s shoulder probably still caused him some discomfort early this season, but he should be back to full strength by now. The reason I see him getting better is his intelligence. While there certainly are exceptions based on physical gifts, the best QBs, like starting pitchers in baseball, are the smart ones who figure out the game and learn to play within it. I think Alex Smith can only get better the more he plays.
2007: The Raiders were coming off a 2-14 season of their own and held the first pick also. Also in need of a franchise QB, Al Davis couldn’t resist the size of LSU’s Jamarcus Russell, and despite new Head Coach, Lane Kiffin’s objections, selected him with the #1 overall pick. While I never really questioned the Niners’ selection of Alex Smith, I knew this one was doomed from the start. We all knew Russell could throw a ball across the Bay from his knees, but how does that translate to playing QB in the NFL? What he made up for in physical tools, he lacked in the mental department. Three seasons later, he has alienated himself from teammates and fans, something that’s hard to do in Oakland. The combination of bonehead plays, lack of accountability and complete lack of pocket presence has lead many to question his future as this team’s quarterback. He was given the keys to the franchise this year and repeatedly drove the wagon off a cliff, with an untimely interception, sack, or fumble. In his three year career, he’s completed just 52% of his passes for a lowly 65.2 QB rating. He’s also thrown just 18 TD passes to 23 INTs. Those numbers would all surely be lower if 90% of his passes weren’t dump off passes to backs. When he was replaced by Bruce Gradkowski this year, the rest of the team clearly elevated their level of play. It looked as if they felt they had a much better chance with anyone other than Russell out there. Now, whenever Russell gets into the game, it’s the result of an injury to another QB, and he is inevitably greeted with boos from the Raider Nation. Russell has shown no signs of getting better, and even worse, his drive and desire to get better have been called into question far too often. The Raiders need to make a decision, but if I know Al Davis, Tom Cable will be far more likely to be shown the door. My only hope is that the Raiders at least pick up a new QB who could challenge, and ultimately beat out Russell for the starting spot.
I made it through my first published season here on Doin Work (minus one week when I was gone). I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the results considering I made myself pick a few here and there just because I knew they’d be on TV and interesting. I found that when I was a more avid gambler, I never really won or lost much, which probably wasn’t a bad thing! This season pretty much reflected that. I went (3-2-1) last week bringing my season record to (45-42-3). Unless this week goes terribly wrong, I should end the regular season above .500. I’m extra scared of this last week of the season, because you never know which playoff teams will rest guys. It’s almost like betting on pre-season games… Obviously the teams that need to win to get in are full throttle, but the teams that are already in and have a limited need to win this week are kind of scary. Kind of like wondering what the new year will bring tomorrow scary. As always the home teams are in bold.
Buffalo (+8) Over Indianapolis
Will Peyton be pouting on the sideline again this week?
With headliners at the franchise quarterback spot, we have a hall of fame duo of Fitzpatrick versus Painter. If you aren’t already extra excited about this one, you might be the type of person that needs to cancel their Antiques Roadshow on the DVR, so you can re-watch this epic battle over and over for weeks to come. I forsee this being a battle for which QB can keep his rating over 50! I know that the Bills have locked up last place in the AFC East, and the Colts have locked up the 1st seed in all of the AFC which might make some think it’s a meaningless game. I guess I’ll agree, but it DOES look like a good game to bet on. The Colts laid down for the Jets last week with a pissed off Peyton strolling the sidelines, so I think the Bills can cover this one. Speaking of the Jets, if they make it in the playoffs, they are the luckiest potential playoff team out there. They play the best team in the league (Colts), who rest guys, and then another playoff team (Bengals), that will likely rest up for their first round match up. Talk about a cake walk schedule at the end of the year against playoff teams! The Bills will be playing all their starters, and whether they play good or not it shouldn’t matter too much since they should easily beat the Colts 2nd team.
Texans (-8) Over New England
The Texans have a shot at making the playoffs for the first time in their franchise history (8 years). I figure they are going to give it everything they have, and pull out victory. They’ve been playing very well as of late, and have given themselves an opportunity to make some history for themselves. Andre Johnson has been nothing short of unstoppable, and pulling in over 450+ yards in the last three games has him atop the league leader board in receiving yards. The Patriots on the other hand, will be a guessing game on what Bellichick will do. He’s been very evasive on what his plan is with his players and their playing time. My guess is he doesn’t play his starters for that long, and that would mean the Texans could put up huge points on a very weak 2nd defensive unit from New England. I see the Pats going into pre-season mode. If they rest Brady, Moss, and Welker for most of the game, this one shouldn’t be all that close as the Texans run the score up in their home finale.
San Francisco (-7) Over St. Louis
There is no game on the slate I feel more comfortable picking. The Niners desperately want to end the season 8-8. They had a few unlucky breaks this season that kept them from being within reach of a playoff spot, but Singletary won’t let them lay down for the final game of the year. He’s instilled a strong sense of pride, that this organization was lacking since Mariucci left. The Rams desperately want to lock up the #1 overall pick. Tanking this game would give them just that. It’s hard to pick the Rams in any situation, but here it would be plain ridiculous as they seemed to have taken the last seven weeks off after nabbing their sole win of the season. The only buzz in St. Louis is: What’s up with Holliday?Did the Cards sign him yet? The 49ers do have a lot of weapons aside from Frank Gore now. Crabtree and Davis are good complements to Gore, and have shown that they can efficiently work within the passing game. Problem for them is Alex Smith isn’t the answer at QB. I think even if they still only had Gore and Patrick Willis, they could cover the spread without breaking a sweat. Mark this as a lock on your gambling slate!
Chicago (-3) Detroit
Speaking of not messing with draft pick chances, why wouldn’t the Lions lay down for one more game to secure the #2 pick in next years’ draft? I tried to answer this question, and figured that since there isn’t one reasonable answer, this has to be a safe pick. The Bears pretty much sucked for most of the year, whether it was Cutler, injuries, or bad coaching they looked like cubs not bears more often than not. Cutler has a chance to hit 30 interceptions for the season if he can throw four this week, but I think they’ll end this year on a high note as much as I don’t want to see it. A two game winning streak might give them a little confidence going into next year. I’ve tried to look at any possible bright side for them to this season, and there aren’t many. Last week, when they looked pretty good against the Vikings most likely was, their brightest moment of the year. It also gave me hope that the Vikings could get knocked out of the playoffs sooner than later, and end all of the Favre talks for a few months, until he decides if he wants to keep playing! I could never see Detroit beating the Vikes, so the Bears must be halfway decent. This is my 2nd favorite pick of the week!
Oakland (+10.5) Over Baltimore
The Charlie Frye era in Oakland hasn’t been anything to write home about. I hope this era will mercifully end at the conclusion of this season. He played bad last week including 3 interceptions against a pretty bad Cleveland Browns team, but the Raiders play surprisingly better at home, and keep it close. Last season they ended Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes with an upset victory that had people hoping that Jamarcus had finally taken the next step. Sadly Raider Nation was given some false hope, and he regressed into oblivion. Frye did have a bright spot last week as he threw for 333 yards. If he can keep from throwing picks in the redzone, they should at least cover the spread. Hopefully they’ll come back with a heavy dose of Michael Bush, since he looks like their best running back. Baltimore’s playoff hopes hinge on a few things happening, but they need this win to get in. I think they might be watching what is happening in the other games more than the one they are in, and get upset. I’m not sure why, but I just don’t see why everybody likes Flacco so much. He’s more hot and cold than a bi-polar Texan without his gun. There’s always at least one WTF kind of upset game each week, and I’m predicting it will be this one!
Tennessee (-4.5) Over Seattle
The Titans played really bad against SD, or it could be that the Chargers ARE that good. I’m thinking that was the case, so there’s no reason not to pick them this week. I’m sure they’d love to end the year at 8-8 giving them plenty of hope for next season in the rejuvenated Vince Young era. Not relying on old man Collins to lead the way can only do wonders for this team. I see Chris Johnson getting his 128 rushing yards this week to get to 2,000 rushing yards on the season. I’m betting he will break a couple 50+ yard runs, that is unless, the endzone is too close when he breaks them! The Seahawks are a team that regresses each week, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that they’ll get blown out. Forsett still isn’t getting enough touches! When will this change? I guess not for this season, since they’ve all but mailed it in. Watching them play it’s amazing that they’ve even won 5 games this year. Julius Jones is not as good a play maker as Justin Forsett, get it right over there Jim Mora Jr.
Philadelphia (+3) Over Dallas
I’m not sure why, but lately I’ve become somewhat of an Eagles fan. Maybe it’s because they are on Fox every week or it might have something to do with one of my favorite college players (Desean Jackson) coming into his own in Philly. He’s been making a huge difference every time he gets the ball. Mcnabb looks like he’s moving into the been there done that mode, which he has, and has to be pretty comfortable playing that role by now. He also looks like he loves his latest crop of offensive weapons that he’s been given. Celek has even been making huge strides, and even though Mcnabb couldn’t quite make good on his promise of getting him into the pro bowl, Celek still had a great season either way. I keep waiting for Dallas to fall apart at the hinges, but it keeps not happening! It’s that empty feeling of hoping that your getting something for Xmas, but in the end you don’t get it. That’s how I feel every time I watch the Cowboys hoping for a loss. Maybe it’s more rooting for Romo to fail. Maybe it’s disliking Jerry Jones. It’s just fun to them fail I guess. I’m sure both these teams will be playing everybody, so if they happen to meet in the playoffs they will have home field over the other team. Let’s hope Romo fumbles another field goal attempt!
Last week left much to be desired from my picks. Going (2-3-1) is like watching the Raiders or 49ers play, they look good for a few plays, but by the end we usually met with disappointment because of our overpaid 1st round quarterbacks. I’m still happy that I’ve stayed over .500 on the year, because I’ve never kept track for a full season, and am now starting to know why I never really win or lose much on betting on sports. I’m (42-40-2) on the year, so hopefully I can finish out this season strong! As always the home teams are in bold.
San Diego (-3) Over Tennessee
Could Santa bring me two presents this year? A Lakers loss coupled with a Chargers loss would make my sporting Christmas! Probably not. I think the Titans are a solid squad, but the Chargers don’t do a whole lot of charitable work this time of year. They are an amazing 17-0 in December with Rivers at the helm. Man, that was tough to write, since there might not be another guy in the league I sports-hate more. I guess I’m still completely shocked that Norv hasn’t blown a late game decision. When will it come!?! I doubt it will this week, since they would like to give themselves a Merry Christmas by earning that first round bye as the #2 seed. I hope I’m wrong and Chris Johnson puts up 270 rushing yards to get him to 2,000 on the year, and helps Vince go to 8-1 as a starter on the season. Either way this should be a fun game to watch, and hopefully Santa will bring the Bolts a lump of coal!
Green Bay (-14) Over Seattle
Last week was a fluke at least I think it was. The Pack lost a tough road game to the Steelers in a game that Big Ben set career game records that I don’t see him beating anytime soon. I think after being thoroughly outplayed the Packers D will step it up this weekend against a Seahawks team that has regressed, even with very low expectations going into the season. I know that they are waiting to get out there and re-establish everything that was going right before their meeting with Pittsburgh. Why do the Seahawks keep giving the ball to a uninspiring Julies Jones over a budding star in the wings in Justin Forsett is beyond me. I guess Jim Mora Jr. is as clueless as we all thought he was. If Green Bay can’t roll up the score on this terrible Seattle team at home, then they don’t deserve to make the playoffs.
Cincinnati (-13.5) Over Kansas City
I guess I was wrong last week. Cincy wasn’t overly emotional to hang with SD. I think I make the outside factors out to be more than they really were. Thinking back to the worst times in my life, I guess it didn’t really affect my work all that much. Maybe I might not have wanted to be there, but I still did what I needed to do just like the Bengals performance. I think KC officially gave up on this year about week 12. They decided to start just letting teams score at will. Three of their last four opponents have hit the 40+ point mark, and the only game that was remotely close was against the lowly Bills where they still lost by 6 at home. I can proudly say that the Raiders aren’t the worst team in the division for once! I was happy to see the NFL didn’t fine any of the players that paid tribute to the fallen Chris Henry. If they had, the NFL would get three lumps of coal in their stocking from Chad himself! Continue reading
We hear about the Raiders moving back to LA. We hear about the 49ers moving to Santa Clara. We hear about the A’s moving to San Jose. Here’s one you probably haven’t heard. The 49ers have revealed a potential interest in moving to *gasp* Oakland? That’s right, the more spacious side of the Bay has a few things the Southeast corner of San Francisco does not; namely multiple freeways and BART access. Like all these discussed moves, however, the Niners to Oakland is purely talk at this point. If the scenario were to evolve, we’d likely see the Raiders and 49ers sharing a stadium, like the Giants and Jets in New Jersey. What’d be interesting is how many San Francisco and Marin County fans would make the trek to the East Bay. I’ve met more my than my share of folks who avoid Oakland like the plague. The ironic part is, in my opinion, Candlestick Park is in a far worse location than the Oakland Coliseum. The only SILVER lining to all of this is the possibility of seeing a new stadium built in Northern California, since two teams may just be enough to get it done. Let’s just hope the A’s don’t get any ideas about trying to share a ballpark with the Giants!
Still getting used to the fact that Jamarcus Russell threw a game winning touchdown pass today. I’m not ready to give him any credit for it however. It’s clear this team is stepping up as a unit and everyone is getting it done collectively. Great day for Michael Bush gaining 133 yards on the ground. For the Raiders, the wins don’t mean anything, but knocking the Broncos out of the division title hunt isn’t too bad of a consolation. Enjoy the highlights…. not sure how long the video will stay up before the NFL pulls it.
Last week wasn’t phenomenal, but it was a winning week nonetheless. I went 4-3, which keeps me above .500 overall (40-37-1). I have to say, this past weekend was probably the least football I’ve watched in awhile. It’s weird how earlier in the season everybody was saying there is no parody in the league. Sure looks like it has evened out a bit since then! As always the home teams are in bold.
New Orleans (-7) Over Dallas
I haven’t picked the Saints for a couple of weeks, so I guess I’m due. I’ve been weary since they went on their non spread covering ways for a few weeks, but last week I think they collected themselves and are ready to dominate again. They can pretty much sew up home field advantage through the playoffs with a win over Dallas. Plus, every home game they’ve played they have won by more than 10 points, which makes this a safe pick in my mind. Dallas on the other hand is dealing with waaay too much pressure, since they never win in December, and this game won’t make anyone feel better about the Cowboys’ chances. I hope they miss the playoffs. I’d love to see it at the expense of Romo as well whether he is engaged or not, it’s just fun to see him struggle! One of my favorite sports hate guys!
Green Bay (+2) Over Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is just like many defending champs, kinda bad on the title defense. I’m sure they’ll be back as contenders next year, but for now those terrible towels will only get used to wipe tears away after piling up five straight losses. If they can’t beat the Raiders or Browns, I don’t see how they could beat a good Packers squad. It should be an air it out game, Rodgers has been playing much better than Big Ben lately, so you have to take the Pack even on the road. These are the two top rushing defenses (Steelers are #1), so Grant and Mendenhall probably won’t get going. Without the Steelers main man Troy in there, I like Rodgers chances much more, that is, if they can keep him upright. It seems like they’ve made some adjustments to keep him from being sacked as much. They’ve moved the pocket, rolled him out, and are throwing more quick outs. Big Ben will have to deal with Charles Woodson, the consensus for defensive player of the year, and one of my favorite former Raiders. Maybe I’m a little bias in this one as Rodgers is starting for my fantasy team for the first round of the playoffs, but oh well.
Tennessee (-3) Over Miami
No way in hell he could beat Usain!
This should be a pretty good game. Henne is doing much better than I ever expected. Miami has been doing pretty good since their best player, Ronnie Brown, was knocked out for the season. If they want to have any hopes of making the playoffs, they need to win this game. The Titans winning streak was broken against the Colts last week, but I see them bouncing back, and getting back on track. Some had them as one of the best teams in the league going into the Colts game, and losing to the best shouldn’t make you jump off their bandwagon. I think Vince and Chris Johnson should be enough to beat the Fins. I do like Rickey Williams comeback story this year, but I think these past few weeks are going to take a toll on how he finishes the season, because he is old for a running back.
Usain Bolt Over Chris Johnson over and over again
For some reason there’s tons of people wanting to race Chris Johnson or see if he’s faster than so and so. It started with Rajon Rondo requesting a one on one race, and moved to Joey Porter saying his teammate Ted Ginn Jr. could beat him in a running race. Then having Ted Ginn Jr. be a no show for the race! What’s up with that!?! I wouldn’t mind having this happen pregame this weekend, it wouldn’t take too long. I’m not sure what the infatuation is with racing CJ is. CJ thought talked some trash saying that Rondo was just trying to get his name on Sportscenter, but he did say that he would race Usain Bolt, which I find pretty ridiculous! Usain will make him look slow! Continue reading
I can’t say I know a lot about the guy, except he was suspended numerous times by the NFL for his off field conduct. It’s sad that Chris Henry didn’t make it through the pick up truck accident. I guess I’m curious what led to him being shirtless and banging on the back of the Ford F150’s windows. Here are the 911 calls on Henry last moments before and after the accident. It sounds like there’s a lot more to this story that hasn’t come out, so we’ll see how it develops. Doin Work wishes the best for your family and friends Chris!
JP is turning in the yellow and blue for silver and black!
JP Losman is coming fresh off leading Las Vegas Locomotives to the UFL Championship, and is destined to battle with Gradkowski for the starting job, as he signed with the Oakland Raiders! I’m not sure he’ll play this week, but with Gradkowski injured that might be why he was brought in. Watch out Denver, we have someone slightly to mildly better than Jamarcus! I don’t think Losman will do much, but this all but reaffirms that Jamarcus will be cut at the end of the year. Raider Nation has been waiting all season for Al to give up on him, and this looks like it might be the last nail in Russell’s horrendous career, if you could call it that. The organization finally had enough of Russell last week when he came into a 10-10 tie after Gradkowski was injured. He did his best to show he learned nothing from being benched. He got sacked his usual 50% of the time, and threw passes to the other team as much as he could with no receiver in sight. I think he threw it to Zack Miller, because he’s the only one he ever threw to accurately. I was glad he at least refrained from blaming the playmakers for not catching his balls 20 feet over their heads this week, which was his excuse when Bruce came in and won for them. Hopefully this will have to be the last rant I make on Jamarcus as he goes on his farewell tour… JP’s stats aren’t exciting, but one thing does stand out, his career QB rating is 10 points higher than Russell’s! I guess we’ll see how he does, but we all know it will be better than Russell.
Who would've thought this would be the last time he'd be #1 at anything! I guess, everyone but Al...
So, you may have heard by now that Tiger has cheated on his wife more times than he has fingers, but most major sports outlets aren’t really saying their opinion. Yes, I’m talking about you ESPN, SI, Yahoo, etc. I’m guessing it’s because of money, but I found it interesting that sites like TMZ and US have shed the true light on our most recognizable sports figure of this generation. Giving us the texts and voice-mails he sent to his mistresses. It got me thinking are these media outlets scared of the Jordan factor. When he went to play baseball Sports Illustrated put him on the cover of their magazine telling him to go back to basketball. He blackballed them for the rest of his career never giving them another cover shot, advertising shots, interviews, etc.
Tom Cable had a dream, and that dream was to be a head coach. The dream has worked out pretty well so far, as the Raiders have more hope than they’ve had in years, and like anyone living a normal life, he has had some “transgressions” along the way. I can’t defend whatever happened to “the punch” of assistant Randy Hanson. He was portrayed as target #1 bad guy by ESPN as they even ran an Outside the Lines report on the women he abused, and people he didn’t get along with. It was fine and all, because all of it was true, but where’s our expose on Tiger!?! It’s lame how they pick and choose what guys they are going to throw under the bus, and in fear of upsetting possible future connections they aren’t going to run a trashy story on Tiger. Make your mind up ESPN give us the tabloid trash or don’t, just stop being a hypocrite!
You may as well put her out there since Ulacher's replacements haven't stepped up.
I was pretty pumped on Saturday, as I hit both the predictions I made for the Civil War and SEC Championship game. I didn’t do quite as well when it came to Sunday, but I still went 5-3 on the week bringing the season record to 36-34-1. It’s nice to see I’m not losing money as fast as Tiger is with all these mini settlements or the big one with his wife. One thought on the game I didn’t actually see tonight. How bad is this Steelers team that lost back to back games to the Raiders then the Browns? I’ll let you answer that one, but it’s not a playoff contender that’s for sure. As always the home teams are in bold.
Denver (+7) Over Indianapolis
Indy easily handled one of the hottest team in the league taking the Titans down in blowout fashion, but in the end the Colts love to play in close games. I think this week will be close as Denver seems to have regained some of their early season form and won their last two games. With Orton looking healthy again their offense is back on track, and can keep up with the Colts on the scoreboard. I’m not predicting that the undefeated streak is going to end here, especially the way the breaks are going for them. I know that the Broncos sure have a lot more at stake with this game, and I could see them possibly winning outright.
Cincinnati (+7) Over Minnesota
I guess this is bold picking two teams in a row to upset two of the top three teams in the league, but last week was the Vikings first real test since they played Green Bay six weeks ago. Minnesota showed that they aren’t unstoppable when they play a GOOD team, and Cincy is a GOOD team this year. I also think Cincy will come out a little more pumped than normal as they play the game with a chance to clinch their division. Aside from the game fell asleep on against Oakland they have been great this year. I’m sure they picked up a few pointers from Arizona last week, so maybe we will see Favre turn into Farva! This should be one of the best games of the week!
Green Bay (-3) Over Chicago
Uh oh, last week I picked all road teams, and now I’ve already picked three! I really like this line though! It might be the easiest pick of the week! I think I like Charles Woodson more than the Monday Night Crew. He’s always been a favorite former Raider of mine. I still can’t figure out why teams would throw to his side of the field. If only we still had him and Asomugha, nobody would throw on us… Anyways, Green Bay is rolling right now, and the Packers have finally been keeping Rodgers upright. He’s currently tied for third in the NFL in passing TD’s and I don’t see any reason for him not to continue putting up big happy fantasy owner numbers against a suspect Bears D. I know this is a rivalry and all, but one team just isn’t that good, and the Bears fall off was worse than Tara Reid’s fall from fame.
The Media (-1,250 articles) on Tiger Woods OVER
I have to admit that I am surprised I ended up doing two posts on Tiger’s troubles, but since it’s all we hear about I had to add to the 30,000 articles already out there. Anyways, I’m taking the over 1,250 articles coming out this weekend that are Tiger related. This is slowly turning into a bigger fiasco than Michael Jackson’s death! Hopefully A&E doesn’t make a show about it like they did with the Jackson 5.
Houston (-6) Over Seattle
Yeah, I know the Texans have sucked lately, and the Seahawks have been playing decent, but just looking at Seattle’s 1-5 road record and haveonly score 16.7 points per road contest. Those numbers alone make me a believer in the Texans. Matt Schaub should be able to put up a solid fantasy day with a TD connection or two with Andre against a banged up 25th ranked passing defense. The Seahawks DON’T have a good offense, especially their supposed big play-maker TJ Houshmanzadeh who is averaging a stellar 3 catches for 7.9 yards per game with no touchdowns. One thing I do like about Seattle is that they are giving a chunk of carries to Forsett as he gets his shot to be the next big thing out of Cal. Funny note from Yahoo on Forsett about Jim Mora’s awesome job as coach!
Dec 7 Forsett scored a touchdown but got only eight touches Sunday as the Seahawks stubbornly stuck with the less dynamic Julius Jones.
Recommendation: Jones got 25 touches and did little with them, totaling 64 yards. Forsett totaled 34 yards, almost all of it coming on a 25-yard reception. It seems obvious to everyone but coach Jim Mora that Forsett should see more action. Perhaps that will happen, but don’t count on it until there’s official word. Forsett’s “tweaked” quadriceps was not a factor.
Tennessee (-13) Over St. Louis
The Titans hit a speed bump last week on their march to an improbable playoff berth. I doubt they can do it, but you never know. I see them winning convincingly after a tough game against Indy. Going home is always a boost, but playing the Rams might be even more of a boost. The biggest hype for the Lambs is Todd Mcshay and Mel Kiper Jr. arguing over whether they should pick Jimmy Claussen at the top of next year’s draft. I’m already sick of their big boards and projections, we don’t even know if the Rams will have the honor to pick that high! They might even improve their pick by pulling out a win in Tennessee! Ok, just kidding, I think if that happened, the Nets will make the NBA playoffs! Which by the way you can get a good discount on this site by buying them now!
Oakland (+1) Over Washington
Yes, I finally get my chance to gush on Gradkowski, and yes, I’m going to go right ahead and jinx him right now by picking the Raiders to win at home. Sure he throws some ugly looking passes, but didn’t Jeff Garcia do that his whole career!?! Bruce has given us a true leader in the huddle. I haven’t been this proud/excited with anything Raiders related in quite some time, and now that the offense looks like it actually has some confidence with the play-makers after FINALLY getting them some touches! Louis Murphy has been a fan favorite since they drafted him, and it’s good to see him being able to showcase his skills by having a QB that can get the ball to him. Washington does everything they can to lose each week, and that was on full showcase against the Saints. They are about as healthy as Al Davis, so I wouldn’t expect much of a showing on the road. If their spirits weren’t broken last week, then maybe Zorn isn’t that bad. Maybe they’ll come out fired up, but more than likely after that rough loss they might just pack it in for the rest of their games this season.
San Diego (+3) Over Dallas
This match up features the hottest team in the league versus the luckiest. Is it just me or do teams like to give games away when they play the Cowboys. I hate that their game is always televised, and I hate even more I have to watch some dumbass move by the other team that gives Dallas a win. It’s getting ridiculous. I keep thinking that it can’t happen again right!?! Well, I’m sure it could, but the Chargers look as focused as they’ve ever been. I think even Norv Turner has made me think that he can actually coach a little. I guess those Turner theories only work in the playoffs. I see Romo making one too many mistakes this week against an improving San Diego defense. We all know that Dallas likes to crumble in December, so lets just hope it’s fun to watch!
Well, I took a week off, but I’m back! I’m actually pretty surprised that I have done my picks for all but one week. Anyways in week 11, I went 4-3 which brought me back to .500 (31-31-1) on the year. As I was scanning through the upcoming games I realized that I liked a lot of road teams to win, so this week is my road LOCKS of the week! The lovely lady pictured above is a former Redskins cheerleader turned wife to a Redskin named Chris Cooley. Yes, the guy who let his dong flop out for everyone to see on his blog (that’s his wife, Christy). As usual the home teams are in bold, or in this case listed 2nd…
Denver (-4.5) Over Kansas City
I actually think KC can hang in there with the Broncos, but that all depends on which Denver team shows up. Is it going to be the physical one that pushed teams around on the line of scrimmage for seven wins or will it be the team that got pushed around in four losses? I think having the extra few days off, and annihilating the Giants, should give them at least a little more confidence going into this showdown. If KC has any shot, it will be because of Jamaal Charles is running the ball effectively. The Broncos should win this game convincingly, if they truly are a contender.
Tennessee (+6.5) Over Indianapolis
This game features two teams that have lived to win in the 4th quarter. Vince and Peyton have been the definition of clutch these past six weeks. Only one team can win this week though, and you can bet it will be close. It’s ridiculous that the spread is this high even if the Colts are at home. The Colts haven’t beat the spread in three straight weeks, and this week doesn’t seem much different to me. The Titans are possibly the hottest team in the league, and the college option play with Vince and Johnson seems to have every analyst drooling worse than Peter Griffen’s co-worker at the toy factory. They have been playing some inspired and fun to watch football, so we’ll see how it plays out! I think this Titans squad has more talent to end the Colts winning streak than the Texans did.
Philadelphia (-5.5) Over Atlanta
I’m not sold on the Eagles, and usually don’t bet on them because they are so up and down. This week however, they are playing against a very banged up Atlanta team missing their glue on offense. Having Turner and Ryan sidelined makes this all that much easier to pick Philly. It will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to Vick, but honestly, I don’t really care if they boo or cheer. If he was actually doing something in the offense, I could see a reason to make a big deal about it, but he’s not, so get over it MEDIA! It will just be a side note to the game. Desean Jackson will be out, but thankfully for the Eagles, they have plenty of other weapons to use in his absence.
New Orleans (-9.5) Over Washington
Zorn knows the end is near, looks like he's even tearing up!
The Miller Lite Can’t Make This Line High Enough Award, goes to, every opponent that the Skins play from here on out. As we proclaimed yesterday on Doin Work, Drew Brees is the front runner for MVP this season. Hardly a shock to many, but we had to debate it anyways! I don’t really foresee any possible way for the Redskins to keep this one close. The Saints are looking to clinch the NFC South with this victory, so it should give them enough incentive to NOT overlook this game even on a short week! After making Brady look like an average QB, just think what they will do to Campbell and this ugly offense.
St. Louis (+9) Over Chicago
Yes, I finally found a game I can take the points for the lambs. Actually, I’m not overly confident on this one, but since I have to stick with the road team theme, it’s very possible for them to cover. The Rams are a terrible team that might not win again for the rest of the year, but the Bears aren’t much better lately as they’ve completely abandoned the run, and have a defense that is a former shell of the dominant unit that it used to be. The loss of Lance Briggs won’t be helping them much. They’ve been giving up tons of points. The Rams have one bright spot, and that is Steven Jackson. He’s currently ranked 2nd in the league in rushing yards, despite the team playing from behind in most cases. It’s going to be tough for Chicago to compete if they don’t start giving Forte the ball some more! I know he hasn’t done much this year, but giving him only eight carries last week is ridiculous!
San Diego (-11.5) Over Cleveland
Rivers was in our MVP talks, mainly because the Chargers could be the hottest team in the league, but alas, he was denied from the top 5. This San Diego team is one that nobody wants to face right now, especially a team as bad as the Browns! LT is finally playing well, maybe it’s because of his kid he just had. He didn’t want his newborn to think that he was the reason for his decline into running back irrelevance. He’s been scoring like he used to lately as opposing teams forget to protect against the run in this pass happy offense. Their D has been stepping it up too, causing turnovers, and getting pressure on QB’s. They look like their normal December selves. It’s only a question now of when will Norv mess this up!
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.
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!
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…
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cali4dre
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Doin Work 