Tag Archives: preview
The A’s opened up their season with nearly every expert picking them to finish dead last in the AL West. I personally have VERY low expectations going into this season, and since they usually struggle out the gate, I figured this April would be just as rough as years past. Even back when they were winning the division crowns, they were always dubbed a second half team. Another reason for pessimism for my beloved A’s was that they are the youngest roster in the league, which usually calls for lots of growing pains. I’m not going to say that this 6-2 start makes them a lock to win the west or even a .500 ballclub, but I know that they have the potential to stay out of the cellar. A lot of the “experts” picked the Mariners and Angels to win the West. Most liked the M’s because of the big off season moves, and the Angels because they are always there over the last decade. They still could be right, but after watching both the first series between the two teams, I have to say I’m impressed with the grittiness that this years’ A’s squad has. If chicks dig the long ball, then there won’t be many in the A’s clubhouse, but if chicks dig good pitching and defense we could have the next Playboy mansion in the works.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably way too overly excited about the 5-2 start, but it finally got me inspired enough to write a late preview about the club. The A’s easily could’ve swept the Mariners in their opening series, if they hadn’t committed four errors in that first game they could’ve beaten Seattle’s best pitcher, King Felix. The most inspiring part about watching them so far, sans game 1, is their ability to continue to put up runs during the game. They’ve scored in nearly 30% of their innings this year, which is a good way to win. They are supposed to have a good defense, and have played pretty good aside from opening nights four error performance. Pennington and Kouzmanoff are much better defensively than I thought they were, and now that our outfield is Cust free (I’ll get back to Cust getting cut later), we don’t have to give up an out a game wherever he happened to be. This is a grind it out team, and even this early in the year it feels like they are never out of a game. They have been behind in five of their eight games and comeback to win four of them. Continue reading
22 Comments | tags: AL West, Baseball, first place, good start, MLB, Oakland Athletics, preview | posted in Sports
I think part of college is passing out with Sister Cleo telling you to call around 3-4AM. Bust out those Tarot Cards Cleo! I need to make my predictions!
Just like anyone else, we like to be right about things, and what better way to see if we can predict the future as good as Sister Cleo than to put them in writing. We’ve decided to put up our predictions on a new tab as we make them, so it’s easy for the readers to refer back and laugh in our faces. At the end hopefully one of us can claim the coveted “I called it” moment at the end of the year. Who knows, maybe nobody will get anything right, but if that’s the case it would be one of the wackiest seasons we’ve ever seen, and unlike Cleo, we don’t have tarot card! It’s a long year, and we could look pretty ridiculous by the end, but here’s how we see the division and wild card winners, World Series, MVP’s, Cy Young’s, and top stat categories for each league playing out.
AL East Winner:
Mceezy: New York Yankees – No reason to suggest anything would change here.
Chappy: New York Yankees – No surprises here. The defending champs look as good as last year, and could be the first team to go back to back since, well, themselves.
By: Boston Red Sox – Why? Because I hate the Yankees, ’nuff said.
Dyslecix: Boston Red Sox – Meh….something about the Yankees getting it done back to back doesn’t feel right.
Cali4dre: NY Yankees. Once they move Granderson up to leadoff for good, they will be unstoppable from 1-6 and they’re 7-9 will still be better than half of MLB’s 3-5 hitters. Not to mention they’re pitching is very solid, and frankly the coach could be an orangutan and still be successful but it’s not, it’s a very serviceable Joe Girardi.
AL Central Winner
Chappy: Chicago White Sox – I just have this weird feeling that they will be good. Not that I’m overly confident in Rios and Peavy, but they are pretty solid up and down. The Tigers are talented, but don’t ever seem to put it together. I feel like the Twins will have more problems with injuries than Nathan going down for the season.
Mceezy: Detroit Tigers – I think they get big years from Cabrera and Verlander, and there’s no clear frontrunner in the Central.
By: Minnesota Twins – Why? Because Joe Mauer went to Cabo with the Playstation guy!
Dyslecix: Minnesota Twins – Not sold on the White Sox or Detroit the Twins are always there.
Cali4Dre: Detroit Tigers. The pitching staff is strong and young at the top, with Verlander and Porcello ready to carry the load. The offense is still pretty strong… love Austin Jackson as fantastic replacement for Grandy. Magglio’s bat looks to be back, Cabrera is sober, and Sizemore will be another great rookie-producer on this team. This is the year they get it together and hold off a weak Twins and White Sox combo. Continue reading
15 Comments | tags: 2010 season, Baseball, batting title, cy young, division winners, home runs, MLB, most, MVP, predictions, preview, rbis, Wild Card | posted in Sports
I know, last week's half naked Will Ferrell aka Jackie Moon picture was a disappointment, so this week I give you, body paint!
I did about as bad as I could have on my picks for the Sweet 16, but you just like Jesse James I’ll have to dust myself off and move on. Maybe I underestimated Tennessee, and I definitely gave the double digit seeds a little more credit than I should have. I thought they’d be close enough to cover a spread or two, but that wasn’t the case. I guess the last two days truly were separation days. The Cinderella’s went down, and the true contenders are headed to the Elite 8 with the Championship in sight. There was one thing I pondered while watching Duke tonight, did anyone get screwed more by the making of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy than Scheyer? He must hear so much hobbit trash talk on the court every game I wish we could hear him mic’d up. I know I’d be getting my punches in… Anyways, here’s my picks for the weekend games, and who will be making the final four.
Kentucky (-3.5) Over West Virginia
This is a tough one for me. I will be pulling hard for West Virginia, and huggy bear. But as much as I want them to win, I know they won’t. They need to pick up the defense, and if they can somehow stop/slow down Kentucky from running up and down the court, they have a shot. I just think Kentucky looks too good to be beat. This will be the first truly good team they’ve faced, and we should be able to tell if they are going to be able to walk their way to a Championship after this game. I thought Cornell would put up a little fight, but I was completely wrong. I think I’ve now forced myself to not pick against Kentucky again in fear of being eaten by Demarcus Cousins. Is it just me or is anyone else curious how much bigger he is going to get when he hits the pros? Christ, he already looks as big as Al Jefferson out there. Ok, ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, but agianst Cornell’s twiggy center, and most other players he’s come across he looks like a man amongst boys. The guy is going to be huge after he hits the weights for a couple years.
Butler (-3) Over Kansas State
I’d really like to see Pullen have some more cracks at game winners, the guy is nails when it matters most. My biggest question for this game is, how much does K-State have in the tank after that double OT marathon. I’m impressed with how many minutes those guys have played, and maybe Gus Johnson made them seem a little longer, but it has to catch up to you somewhere along the line. Maybe they are just young and can shake off the soreness or are in that good of condition. I think adrenaline could get them through this game, but Butler is playing out of their minds right now. Never bet against the team with the longest winning streak even if you really want to win the bet. This should be a good game. I’m REALLY looking forward to this one! Continue reading
6 Comments | tags: basketball, Baylor, betting, Butler, Duke, Elite 8, gambling, Kansas State, Kentucky Wildcats, lines, March Madness, match ups, michigan state, NCAA, predictions, preview, Tennessee Volunteers, vegas odds, vs., West Virginia | posted in Sports
My outlook heading into the sweet 16; Two brackets gone miserably wrong, and one with plenty of hope. I never expect to win in the pick’ems, so I usually just root more for entertaining action. In the midst of all these games I realized I hadn’t done a preview for the Vegas lines in awhile, and what better time than during the always entertaining March Madness. Anyways, here’s how I see the eight games playing out.
Cornell (+10) Over Kentucky
Kentucky has cruised through the tourney so far beating both teams they played to a pulp by 29 and 30 points. They have the most “NBA” talent of any team left, and have shown why they are a #1 seed. They destroyed a sixteen seed, and a slumping nine seed. Their reward is to play the Cinderella Cornell squad who has one less tourney win (6) than Kentucky has championships (7). I could see Cornell covering the spread if they keep raining threes like they have, but their main concern will be to not let Kentucky run wild. This is much easier said than done. If their zone somehow slows the cats down, then we could see this Cinderella make some noise. I can’t believe some of the “experts” are picking them to win. I wouldn’t go that far, but maybe a single digit win for Kentucky.
Said it before and I'll say it again, Evan Turner's game reminds me of Brandon Roy's.
Ohio State (-4.5) Over Tennessee
I’ve been repping the Buckeyes pretty hard since I have them winning it all in my one bracket of hope. I probably just jinxed them, but watching Evan Turner nearly put up a triple double in their last game has me thinking there’s a chance he could single handedly get them to the final four. The Buckeyes will need to avoid making the silly turnovers like they did against Georgia Tech which was the sole reason the game even close. The Vols don’t boast a high powered offense, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can create some easy hoops with Ohio States’ mistake prone lapses during games. If this game is close, it will be because Turner was held in check, and that should be priority number one for the Vols.
West Virginia (-3.5) Over Washington
Although I’ll be rooting for an upset in this game, it’s pretty tough banking on that to happen. West Virginia is a MUCH more physical team than the Huskies first two opponents. I think the physical play will give their shooters a rough time. If Washington has any chance they will need Isiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter to play flawlessly. West Virginia is somewhat offensively challenged, but there’s good news for the Mountaineers, the Huskies are ranked 295th in free throws conceded. I see the Mountaineers being too much for the Huskies to handle.
Syracuse (-6) Over Butler
Continue reading
6 Comments | tags: betting, Butler, college basketball, Cornell Big Red, gambling, Kansas State, Kentucky Wildcats, lines, March Madness, match ups, michigan state, NCAA, Northern Iowa, ohio state, Prediction, preview, Sweet 16, syracuse, vegas odds, vs., Washington, West Virginia, Xavier | posted in Sports
I’ve been searching for a solid baseball video game for awhile. And by awhile, I mean since 2007 when Electronic Arts stopped making their MVP baseball series. I tried out the 2K9 series last year, and thankfully I rented it opposed to buying it. The game was un-realistic to say the least. I also tried out The Bigs, and that one was even less like the real game, and felt more like NBA Jam (side note: I’m very excited about the new edition of Jam). Anyways, I think I’ve finally found my replacement for the EA MVP Series, and after about ten games played it is; Sony’s MLB 10 The Show.
The graphics are great, but they better be for every PS3 game. The best part about the game is obviously how much control you have over everything. The pitching is tough, and like real life the pitchers get angry, and over throw when they aren’t getting calls. It’s great how they did borderline pitches that are grazing or missing by millimeters. If your guy is on a streak of strikeouts, then when you slightly miss a corner the ump still gives it to you. It also works the other way when you can’t throw a strike, and you get squeezed on the corners having everything get called a ball. Fielding is fairly good, even though it randomly switches what player you are from time to time it usually changes you to the correct/closest person. They don’t make it super hard, and that’s a big plus, because I hate playing those games when a weak grounder ends up being an inside the park home run. Hitting is tough, but I think I’m getting the hang of it and finally not swinging at every pitch. If you square one up it’s usually out of the park. While hitting you can swing for the fence or you can use the left toggle to “go with the pitch” and spray it all over the field. All in all great gameplay, and I didn’t really scratch the surface of some of the truly cool features. I just wanted to let everyone know that if they are looking for a lifelike game this is it.
Another great feature in the franchise mode is the announcers. Yeah I know you rolled your eyes, but in this game they seem to not recycle the same phrases nearly as much. They also talk about the batters previous games. They will talk about how hot or cold they are and spit out stats like if they homered or went 3 for 3 or struck out five times. It’s pretty refreshing so far, because I don’t think I’ve really heard them repeat anything more than a couple times over about ten games. One downside is you have to listen to one of my most despised announcers, Rex Hudler. If you want to know how much I can’t stand him, read this one I wrote a little while back. Pretty good when the games can last an hour or more. Two thumbs up for the show! Oh, and so what if I only wrote this post because my hands were getting tired from playing!
5 Comments | tags: Baseball, best baseball game, control, gameplay, good, graphics, great, hitting, MLB 10 The Show, pitching, Playstation, preview, PS3, Sony, Video Game Review | posted in Sports, video games
I won’t be one of the people purchasing the Pacquiao vs. Clottey on PPV this Saturday the 13th, mainly due to the ridiculous price of the event, and paying for a fight that could be over about as fast as it started isn’t appealing either. It should no doubt be Manny and Floyd squaring off, but unfortunately that’s not the case. I probably won’t buy another fight until that match up happens, but who knows if it will ever happen. What if one of them loses!?! Would that make it impossible for the match up to happen!?! I’m sure I’ll catch Pacquiao and Clottey on HBO when that’s released. I’ve always liked boxing since one of my old roommates got me into it. His grandpa was none other than Denny Moyer. These days the sport isn’t what it used to be. I wish MMA never came around. I think that took a lot of true warriors out of the boxing pool. If Manny loses this fight it, would be as big of an upset as Buster Douglass over Iron Mike. I wouldn’t hold my breath though. Here’s my list of reasons why Manny will destroy Clottey this Saturday.
- Hand speed – Manny has the quickest hands of any fighter I can remember. Clottey has never seen anyone close to the speed of Manny, and will struggle against it. The only way to slow down speed is to go to the body, or get him on his heals early, and I wouldn’t count on either of those two scenarios.
- Work Rate – Clottey has been known in the past for taking periods of time or even a complete round off during fights. Pacquiao on the other hand never seems to take a second off. He’s always attacking, and if for some reason Clottey decides to take a round off, he may not ever catch up on the scorecards. Pacquiao will surely take advantage of any lapses in Clottey’s attack.
- Chin – Pacquiao had a questionable chin when he broke onto the scene. He hasn’t been knocked out since 1999, so those rumors have been put to rest facing sizable opponents like the last man he fought Miguel Cotto. If Clottey is counting on attacking the chin, he might need to rethink his strategy.
- Power – Manny is the smaller of the two, but packs the bigger punch. Manny has 38 KO’s in his 50 wins. Clottey only has 20 KO’s of his 35 wins. Clottey has never knocked out a top tier fighter, while Manny has knocked out three guys that had never been knocked out before (Jorge Solis, Erik Morales, and Marco Antonio Barrera).
- Big Fight Experience – This is by far the biggest stage that Clottey has ever seen. Pacquiao has been there tons of times, and with nearly everybody in the boxing world watching he usually destroys the lesser opponent.
This is how most of his opponents end up... I don't see it being any different this weekend...
I’m probably beating a dead horse with this post, since most don’t really belive Clottey has a shot, but I’ve never really written anything about boxing since we’ve had the blog going, so I thought I’d see how it went… All in all it’s pretty improbable to see any kind of upset. Manny is flat out the better fighter, and in reality, is the best fighter on the planet right now. I guess we can’t be 100% sure of that until he and Mayweather stop squabbling about blood testing, and get in the ring, but if Mosely beats Mayweather on May 1st we may never get the chance to see it.
5 Comments | tags: Boxing, fight, Joshua Clottey, Manny Pacquiao, PPV, preview, reasons pacquiao will win, Saturday March 13th | posted in Sports
Alright fantasy fans, we’ve are proud to say that we’ve now completed our cycle of fantasy sports here at Doin Work. We had a mock football, basketball, and now we’ve done baseball. I guess we could do one for Hockey and Golf, but seriously, I doubt there’s much interest from the fantasy community for either of them. As always, we had a 12 team mock, with people writing a little bit on why they picked the player they did, and in some cases why the already regret picking them! With out further ado here’s the first three rounds of the draft!
1) Matt La Porta Potties – Albert Pujols (Cardinals)
HELLO #1 PICK!!! I can’t remember the last time there has been a more straight forward #1 pick in a fantasy draft?!? Matt La Porta is going to be shitting on some Potties for sure this season. The only downside now is waiting two full rounds to pick again.
2) Huff Huff Pass – Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)
Tough to NOT pick Han Ram. Sure he might be considered weak when it comes to pain tolerance by his teammates, but that doesn’t effect any of his play when he’s out on the field. He’s a 30HR/30Steal/100Run/100RBI guy, so it’s tough to find any reason not to take him. Oh yeah, and he’s a shortstop that’s usually in the race for a batting title too! Shortstop was my weakest position last year, so I decided to sure that position up right off the bat this season…
3) Who Creamed in My Clear – Chase Utley (Phillies)
This was a tough choice for me, A-Rod and Miguel Cabrera were hard to pass up. In the end I’ve decided to go with the player that has won me two previous championships. Locking up a 2nd baseman who’s production is so prolific is a valuable early draft piece to have. There will be plenty of other players at corner positions and in the out field to pick up later on down the road.
4) Triple Hawpes Brewed – Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)
I really hate the Yankees, and dislike A-Rod to the extent that I probably wouldn’t mind if he got hurt. If there’s a guy in the league that is as feared as Pujols, I’d say A-Roid fits that mold. He’s hit 30 HR’s and 100 RBI’s in 12 consecutive seasons, so no reason to think he’ll slow down batting in the middle of the most feared lineup in the big leagues.
5) Blue Va-Jay-Jays – Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
Ummmmm…..When I saw I had the fifth pick I immediately wrote down Chase Utley and A-rod, and by god they went three and four right in front of me. Miguel is essentially a panic pick based on me looking at a million possible picks right up to time expiring. Longoria, Braun, and Kemp got long looks right up before I hit the “Draft” button. From a talent stand point, I probably got the best player on the board, not much to complain about really.
6) I need TP for my Pujols – Prince Fielder (Brewers)
Prince killed me every time I played him last year. I think he hit 40 of his 46 home runs when he was playing me in this head to head league. Seriously though, Prince is a one man wrecking crew, and he is just turning 25 years young. He looks like he could be an MVP contender for years to come. Even though there’s a lot of 1B that can put up comparable numbers, I sided with him because he killed me every time I was against him, and if you can’t beat him pick him!
7) Kinsler’s List – Ryan Braun (Brewers)
Bamm, I was hoping Braun would still be here. He’s a dynamic young power producer and I was hoping he’d be here instead of kemp. Alas, they were both still available making my decision even more simple. Getting a power outfielder is a great pick, there is so much power available in later rounds to build off, I’m just happy I got my guy. I’ve seen in happen in other drafts, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Ryan Howard makes it back to me. If these league values pitching I’ll have a chance.
#8 Lawn Mauers – Joe Mauer (Twins)
League wide I’m known for picking my hometown Minnesota players too early in drafts, and since I never seem to do all THAT great in the leagues why not change my strategy you ask? I’d much rather draft a guy I like earlier than I should instead of drafting a guy that I want to see fail in non-fantasy situations. I LOVE Mauer, and pray that we sign him to a long term deal. He’s easily the best catcher in the league, and will be producing at a spot that it’s hard to find good production at!
9) The Uggla Truth – Evan Longoria (Rays)
Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Honestly, I took a shot of Jack, flipped a coin, and landed with heads. Longoria it was. Thanks Mr. Daniels for making my pick a tad easier.
10) Keeping up with the Kouzmanoffs – Mark Texiera (Yankees)
Tex went invisible in the playoffs, but maybe it was because he was nervous in his first year with the Yankee playoff spotlight. I don’t see any reason for him to struggle during the regular season. Sitting in the heart of the order in the best lineup in the bigs he will put up huge numbers.
11) The Good,The Bad,And The Utley – Tim Lincecum (Giants)
Wow, okay so I hate taking pitchers early in drafts. I love building from the infield and then out, and tackling pitching last. I’m also an avid believe in streaming. Seeing Lincecum here so late, I couldn’t pass on the value. This has totally shaken up my draft strategy, but will see what happens, I also feel very good knowing I’d have a ton of trade partners with other owners in this league.
12) Mound Rubbers – Ryan Howard (Phillies)
There are no sure things in baseball, but Howard is pretty close. He’s smacked 45 or more homers in the last four straight seasons, and I doubt he’ll slow down anytime soon residing in a very hitter friendly lineup and park. I’m not sure how I got screwed with the last pick this year. I finished second to last in the standings and still have the disadvantage of picking last. Screw you random pick generator!
2ND ROUND Continue reading
1 Comment | tags: 1-36 picks, 2010, Baseball, fantasy draft, fantasy team names, first round, funny, MLB, mock draft, preview, rankings, second round, third round | posted in Mock Drafts, Sports
I guess it might be a stretch, since none of the four teams residing in the AL West are truly considered a threat to knock the Yankees off their thrown, but is there really anyone that looks like they can derail the Yankees besides injuries? I don’t think so… Can you name the only division that had three teams finish the season with 85 wins? Surprisingly, it’s the AL West! Sure you can argue that the AL East had three 84 win teams, but the basement is a lot worse than it is in the West.
The Yankees have pushed over the $1 billion mark in payroll a long time ago, and the Red Sox aren’t all that far behind, so we’ve been trained to see the East as far superior. Surprisingly the AL West had a great record versus the East going 95-79 in 2009. I think the best team in the West (Angels) regressed a little over the off-season losing their horse/ace in Lackey, and their versatile infielder Figgins, and that has put the division up for grabs.
I felt that Seattle made the biggest push to be a force in the west by trading for a bonafied yearly Cy Young contender, Cliff Lee, and last year’s runner up Felix Hernandez was already there setting up one of the deadliest duos in the league. They also stole Figgins away from the Angels, which should get them two guys on base if Ichiro and Figgy are hitting one and two. Milton might be able to knock them in if he’s on the field for more than 80 games, but that’s a big IF.
The Rangers bolstered their roster, but there are question marks already on the health of the players they signed. Vlad seems past his prime, but if he can be productive anywhere, it’s going to be in Arlington where careers being revived happens. They also signed the often injured Rich Harden, which could be a boost if they have a plan b for all the starts he gets scratched from each year. They were in the race for the West crown up to the last couple weeks, and have a ton of young talent that will only be better this coming season. It seems like a lot of the experts are picking them to win the west this year, but those predictions don’t seem to have much confidence behind them.
I’ll do my A’s preview a little closer to the season when I’ve gathered all my expectations of them, but honestly, all I’m hoping for from them is to stay healthy for once. We’ve used the DL more over the past two years than anytime in franchise history, and broke records two straight years in a row for DL usage. Not a good stat for a young team trying to figure out what pieces go where, and far from a recipe for success! Not sure about the offense, but the pitchers must be happy to have a true ace on the staff in Sheets. They owned a better run differential than Seattle last year, so there’s some hope!
All in all, I’d say the top teams of the AL West aren’t as good as the AL East. From top to bottom though, the West has teams that will be able to pull out wins night in and night out. You know you aren’t getting that from Toronto or Baltimore, who have both probably already given up on this year. I’d say that one distinct advantage that the West has over the East is in the farm systems. The East gets better through buying free agents that most of the time we can’t afford, and the West gets better by building up their prospects from within. I’m pretty pumped to see how it all shakes out, and one thing is for sure, the West is up for grabs this year with none of the teams completely out of the picture. Can’t say the same for the AL East.
What really defines the best division in baseball? The degree of difficulty? The balance from top to bottom? General intrigue?
Maybe I’ve been worn down from all the northeastern hype, and the YES network, but I believe there’s a solid argument that the west is the “best” division in baseball!
6 Comments | tags: aces, AL East, AL West, Baseball, best division, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, MLB, moves, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, offseason, pitching, preview, Seattle Mariners, signings, Texas Rangers, winner | posted in Sports
New Orleans (+5) Over Indianapolis
By now we’ve heard about all there is to say about the match up through every media outlet possible. The Super Bowl always wears on me a little leading up to it, but having the two number one seeds has me a little excited. I feel like I’m tired of the game before the game is even played, but when it finally goes on you can count on me watching. Media day is probably the most pointless sound bite day of all time. At one point it was cool and fun, but nowadays I could care less about what people think the outcome of an arm wrestling match between Brees and Manning. I mean seriously, is this the top story!?! Anyways, I’m declaring the Saints the home team in this one, since numerous people in New Orleans are being given the whole week off to travel to Miami, and support the team. It’s a scenario I’ve never heard of before, as the whole city seems to be closed down just to root for a sports team, and even schools are closing down for this big game! Are they more than a team to this city? Probably, and that’s why this will have the feel of a Saints home game. Not that there won’t be Colts fans there, I’m sure there will, but you can bet they will be in the minority. We all know about how good these QB’s are, so I’m going to try and breakdown the other things in this game that I see being the biggest factors.
I’m not going to pretend that there’s a lot of new information to enlighten you readers on since you’ve probably been following along on the daily coverage, unless of course you somehow missed that Freeney was injured, and the big fallout of the ankle injury, was that the Vegas line shifted a half point. It’s been pretty much the huge story of the Super Bowl this year, and although it looks like he might play the question now becomes will he be healthy enough to be effective. There really isn’t anyone on the Colts D that you gameplan for more than Freeney. If there is, let me know, because I’m unaware of that player at the moment. I’m wondering if this is karma kicking in, as the Colts should still be going for the perfect season, but instead opted to rest their starters at the end of the year. Now that they aren’t at full strength, I wonder if any of them are regretting not going for the perfect season and could have avoided playing the Jets in the AFC Championship game where Freeney got hurt. I’m also surprised how many people are picking the Colts to blow out the Saints. Sure they blew out Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez, but can they blow out Drew Brees? I don’t think I need to say this, but I will anyways. Drew Brees is in another league compared to the guys the Colts have beat in the playoffs so far! I have no doubt that the Colts can keep up on the scoreboard with them, but will their defense be able to stop the Saints like they did with the Ravens and Jets? The Saints are actually a balanced offense with an underrated running game, so it will be a lot tougher for the Colts to figure out what they are doing opposed to run, run, run like their last two opponents. I also think the Freeney injury will give Brees a ton of time in the pocket, and will make Mathis much less effective, since they will be able to double him every play. I think if the Saints get a good running game going that could be their best defense (keeping Peyton Manning off the field). The Colts are the more experienced team, and while I’m sure that will help them, I think the Saints are the team of destiny.
The Saints are the inexperienced team, and only have four guys that have ever played in a Super Bowl. For some reason I don’t think they will be nervous or fall victim to the bright lights of the big stage. I don’t see them falling behind by a couple TD’s early in the game like many seem to think will happen. They’ve had luck on their side all season, and seem to catch the big break every time you start to doubt them. The Saints have been putting pressure on QB’s all postseason. I think beating down Favre and Warner was much more impressive than the QB’s that the Colts D has stopped. Not that I’m overly confident in the Saints D stopping Peyton, I just think their playoff resume shows they are capable of slowing down big name QB’s. One thing do they have working for them is the fact that the Colts don’t run the ball. The Saints have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league, 21st in the regular season, and have given up over 125 yards on the ground per game. They weren’t exactly good at stopping the passing game either, but they did have the third most turnovers forced in the league. I see a couple turnovers happening in this game, and think whoever ends up winning that battle will most likely win the game. I don’t see Peyton turning the ball over, but he does have some rookies out there that could easily lay the ball down like Garcon, Collie, and Brown. One last note, remember how the Colts seem to always have a tough time against the Chargers in the playoffs? This Saints team reminds me A LOT of the Chargers teams that knocked the Colts out of the playoffs in years past. Great QB, check. Solid receiving core, check. Solid running game to keep Peyton off the field, check. A defense that puts pressure on QB’s, check. A swarming defense that creates turnovers, check. Here’s to hoping for a shootout, and going waaay over the 56.5 point over under, Saints 49, Colts 42.
7 Comments | tags: defense, Drew Brees, Dwight Freeney, February 7th, football, Indianapolis Colts, match up, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Peyton Manning, Prediction, preview, Super Bowl, vegas odds, XLIV | posted in Sports
What a great playoffs so far, we’ve had one great game, one okay game, and six blowouts. It’s made me much less excited about the upcoming games, but hopefully now all of the “pretenders” are out of the mix. Now, crossing my fingers, we’ll get a couple hard fought games this weekend for the race to own the 32nd draft pick. For some reason I find Shaq’s ultimate fundraising/dunk contest much more exciting than anything I’ve watched over the last two weekends. It’s very unlikely to happen, but you never know! Alas, I went 1-3 last week, AGAIN. I’m now only 2-6 on my playoff picks, which doesn’t really surprise me, since at the outset I knew that picking the playoffs never works out for me. Maybe it’s given me just one more reason to not care as much about these playoffs, but when game time rolls around, I’m sure I’ll be ready to watch. As always the home teams are in bold.
New York Jets (+7.5) Over Indianapolis
I wouldn’t consider myself on the Jets bandwagon, but they are playing some really good football right now. Even though the Jets regular season win over the Colts was against the second stringers, it has to give them some confidence going into this road game. I do want the Colts to win, possibly because I’m already tired of the New York hype machine. The way the Jets shut down SD last week has me wondering if luck IS on their side. It was surely on the Colts side last week as both Peyton picks didn’t hurt them. The Jets situation makes me reminisce about the Steelers march as the 6th seed to a Super Bowl title. I’m wondering how the Jets are going to attack this Colts D. We know what the Jets defense is going to do, and that will be everything they can to confuse and get pressure on Peyton. I know that the Colts haven’t been known over the years for any kind of run stopping capabilities, but this season they’ve held teams to 87 yards per game, which was good for third lowest yards allowed in the league. Since they are better at containing the running game than San Diego, they should be able to keep Greene and Thomas in check enough to pull out a close victory. They also did an amazing job on Fitz last week, so it seems like Braylon should have as tough a time as he does with actually catching the ball. I think the most interesting part of this game will be seeing how many times Peyton tests Revis Island. If Reggie Wayne has a big day, I have no shot at winning this bet. If the Colts jump out into an early lead, and my hopes rely on Sanchez, I have no chance of winning this pick. BTW, can you remember the last Championship game that was over a TD spread!?! Another thing I’m weary of in this game is the home team has won the AFC Championship three straight years.
New Orleans (-3.5) Over Minnesota
I couldn’t be more wishy washy with this pick since the line came out. Who knows by game time I might change my mind again. For now it’s the Saints though! I love the way they played like their old selves last week, even if it was at the expense of a terrible Arizona D. I’m thinking that it only takes one week to get your swagger back, and they looked rested and revived with plenty of swagger at home. I think the Saints D showed what they are capable of against a high powered offense, and have the tools to slow down another old man. I see the same type of energy this week coming out of them at home. I truly believe that the home field exists more in New Orleans than any other stadium, which has helped this team thrive over the season. If Minnesota wants to win this game, they’ll need to give AP the ball more. He needs to be more of a factor than Reggie Bush. I think because Bush was a factor last week it will keep the Vikings gambling defense a little more honest. Brees is as good as it gets on getting the ball out quickly, and I don’t see him ever holding the ball Romo-like in the pocket waiting for the mullet to destroy him. I’m really hoping this prediction is correct, so we aren’t subjected to watch/listen to Favre hype for two straight weeks. Another reason I’m not buying the Vikings is because I felt they had a pretty easy schedule, and seem prone to sucking in road games. They lost three of their last four road games, and the losses were to Carolina, Chicago, and Arizona. I’ll forgive the Arizona game, but the other losses shouldn’t have happened. It’s also when all the experts were wondering if they were even contenders. I’ve decided it’s because they just don’t play well on the road, and won’t this week either.
9 Comments | tags: AFC Championship game, betting, football, Indianapolis Colts, lines, match up, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFC Championship Game, NFL, predictions, preview, Spreads, vegas odds, vs. | posted in Sports
Ouch, the playoffs started rough, but I can’t say that I wasn’t aware that my picks seem to go downhill once the regular season ends. I wish I could say it was because the teams were so even, but with the exception of one game they were all blowouts. I actually missed most of the Arizona and Green Bay game because I assumed it WAS going to be another blowout when Arizona was up by 20 in the 3rd… Anyways, my 1-3 record last week will have to improve if I want any of you to take my picks seriously this playoffs. This week I’m trying out a new strategy, and picking the teams I don’t want to win. I guess if I don’t win my picks, I’ll find some solace in jinxing the teams I want to lose. As always the home teams are in bold.
Arizona (+7) Over New Orleans
Do I want Arizona to win? No. Were they playing better than the Saints down the stretch? Yup. I’m not sure why, but I like to root against Arizona, and for some reason the more I do root against them, the more they win! Last week they added another amazing chapter to their recent playoff history, but I guess that didn’t convince odds makers. It did convince me! The Saints defense struggled at the end of the year, and most likely will struggle again against a now very balanced Cardinals attack. With Beanie emerging as a solid back, the Saints will have to worry about more than just Warner and Fitz. I would say the same for the Saints, but their offense looked less dynamic than the Packers at the end of the year only producing 44 points over their last three games compared to averaging 36 through the first 13 weeks. I really like the Cards 10 straight wins against the spread, so I’m picking them with confidence! I kind of want to see a battle of the grey hairs in the NFC Championship game!
Baltimore (+7) Over Indianapolis
Since last week I was wrong about nearly everything, I figured I may as well go against who I want to win this week. I really don’t want to pick Flacco over Manning, which sounds retarded rolling off the tongue. You ever notice Flacco’s off hand when he throws? It looks like he’s got a disability or something. Anyways, in the end, I’m not really sure I agree with this line. Seven points is pretty high, especially when their first meeting in Week 11 was a 17-15 Colts win where the Baltimore D picked Peyton off twice. It was a sloppy Colts win, but it wasn’t anywhere near a blowout. The Ravens looked dominant against a mojoless Patriots team last week. It’s nice to see that you don’t really need a QB to win a game, you just need the other QB to NOT show up. I doubt the Colts will forget their mojo, and will hopefully win in a close one. I still think it’s lame that the Colts didn’t go for the perfect season, but I’m not Caldwell, so it wasn’t my decision.
Minnesota (-3) Over Dallas
I know, Dallas is the hottest team in the league, and not to many people are picking Minnesota since they kind of limped across the finish line. Tony Romo is playing better than I ever thought he could, the Boys rushing attack looks great, and their defense is shutting down everybody. All of this still isn’t going to stop me from picking the Vikes! The Vikings are 8-0 at home this year, and I doubt that Favre sort of came out of retirement to lose to pretty boy Romo at home nonetheless. There’s something about the Metrodome that helps them win. They play like nobody’s business when they are there, so I see this one playing out exactly the opposite of the way people are predicting. I’d say that this is the most fair line of the bunch. I hope I don’t find out the hard way this weekend when the game is on that the Cowboys are that good…
San Diego (-7) Over New York Jets
I was hoping that when I saw the LT glide music video, it would give me just one extra reason to root for the Jets, but finding out it was filmed two years ago ended that hope. As much as I don’t want SD to win this game, I have a feeling this one will be a blowout. There’s only one Revis, and three really good receivers and a decent fourth that Rivers can throw to (Jackson, Floyd, Gates, and sometimes Nanee). The Bengals only had one receiver, Ochocinco, so passing game was containable. In this pass happy era, it’s not the running game that wins games for you, especially in the non-treacherous weather of San Diego. Just look at the top two seeds in the AFC this year! Phillip Rivers, much to my dismay, is a great quarterback. No matter how much I sports hate this guy, he keeps playing well and winning. The Chargers are as healthy as they’ve been all year and are getting back Eric Weddle in the secondary. I can’t picture Sanchez putting in two good playoff performances in a row. Especially since this time around he will have to make more plays if their offense is going to be successful. They won’t be able to grind it out on the ground like they did against Cincy. I see Sanchez making some mistakes against a much better defense.
10 Comments | tags: AFC, arizona cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, betting, Dallas Cowboys, Divisional Round, football, gambling, Indianapolis Colts, match up, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFC, NFL, Playoffs, predictions, preview, San Diego Chargers, Spreads, vs. | posted in Sports
Last week was a nice winning week of 4-3 and finishing the regular season vs. the spread at 49-45-3. I’m happier than Scott Boras every time a client of his signs a long deal that my predictions led to a winning season! The playoffs are a completely different story though. I usually struggle in predicting the outcomes in recent years. You really don’t know how these games are going to turn out, but I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction. As always the home teams are in bold.
Ochocinco will have a tough time on Revis Island
New York Jets (+2.5) Over Cincinnati
The Bengals have shown one thing since Chris Henry’s untimely death, which is, they aren’t past it. The gloom of losing a teammate has put them in the losing column in three of their last four games. The Jets meanwhile got two straight teams on bye weeks, and are amazingly in the playoffs. Indy and Cinncinati laid down for them, Tampa wasn’t hard to keep under 10 points, Atlanta WAS a tough opponent to hold to ten, but I’m tired of this double fist pump fetish on the Jets D. Sure they have Revis, who will shut down Ochocinco, but I don’t see them winning more than this wild card game. Sorry Cincy, but you’re injured at the wrong time, and playing your worst when it counts most. At least you were the most successful Hard Knocks team so far! The Jets will win, but I’ll be rooting for Cincy. Who knows Sanchez could choke on a pepper and throw a few interceptions and give this one away.
Philadelphia (+4) Over Dallas
Call me crazy, but I still think the Eagles are the better team. In the playoffs, they will pick up their game. They have been there, and will step up. McNabb is a perfect 3-0 in the wild card round over his career, and has 8 more playoff wins than Romo, who hasn’t won A playoff game. I can’t take anything away from Romo at this point as he has played some very good football lately. My lingering hope is that since he has played so damn well lately, he is bound to come crashing down to the Romo that looked so bad earlier in the season. Or even the Romo we saw four weeks ago will do. I know there’s a lot of doubters on the Eagles side after last week’s shellacking, but about this time a week ago, the experts were putting them in the Super Bowl. I guess everybody likes to jump ship every now and then.
New England (-3.5) Over Baltimore
Wes Welker this, Wes Welker that, is pretty much all you hear about this game. Although Brady hasn’t thrown many other receivers this year, that doesn’t make me believe he can’t throw to the other guys. Sure his completion percentage is going to go down with Welker out of the game, because Welker is that good. I’ve seen Tom be that good too without big names, and everytime I doubt the guy he proves me wrong. Plus his opposition is Mr. Flacco, and honestly I’m still not sold on him. He’s successful enough to keep his job, but I’ve rarely been impressed when watching him. Maybe it’s his weak receiving group. There’s also the Foxboro factor too, that seems to win them games somehow. I see Brady exposing Baltimore’s weak secondary in ways that the Raiders couldn’t last week.
Green Bay (+1) Over Arizona
I’m kind of surprised I’m picking three road teams, but you have to go with your gut on playoff picks. Green Bay opened up a can of offense last week, destroying Arizona’s 2nd team everything. It won’t be quite as easy this time around. Arizona will surely play all of it’s playmakers, and they aren’t short on those. Their main question going into the game has to be their defnese’s inability to contain teams. Green Bay has proved they can put up points in bunches, and seem to be rolling as good as anytime I can remember this season. Rodgers has turned into the anti-first round flop pick, and been the leader that they hoped he would be! They also have a defensive leader in Charles Woodson. He has been all over the field and deserves to be the defensive player of the year. Woodson should be all over the field trying to confuse old man Warner and his receivers. If he’s a major factor in this game ie. picks, tackles, or sacks I like the Packers chances. I’d love to see a Minnesota Green Bay matchup next round, and that would mean that Philly also won!
9 Comments | tags: AFC, Arizona Cadinals, Baltimore Ravens, betting, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, football, Green Bay Packers, match ups, New England Patriots, New York Jets, NFC, NFL, philadelphia eagles, predictions, preview, Spreads, vegas, Wild Card Games | posted in Sports
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!
2 Comments | tags: Baltimore Ravens, betting, Buffalo Bills, chicago bears, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, final week, football, gambling, lines, match up, New England Patriots, NFL, oakland raiders, philadelphia eagles, picks, predictions, preview, san francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, spread, St. Louis Rams, starters benched, Tennessee Titans, vegas odds, vs., Week 17 | posted in Sports
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
7 Comments | tags: betting, Carolina Panthers, chicago bears, Christmas Game, Cincinnati Bengals, football, gambling, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Cheifs, lines, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, NFL, odds, predictions, preview, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Spreads, Tennessee Titans, vegas, vs., Week 16 | posted in Sports
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
6 Comments | tags: betting, chris johnson, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Dre Bly, faster, fastest, football, gambling, Green Bay Packers, houston texans, match ups, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, NFL, odds, philadelphia eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, predictions, preview, San Diego Chargers, san francisco 49ers, Spreads, St. Louis Rams, Ted Ginn Jr., Tennessee Titans, Tony Romo, Usain Bolt, vs., week 15 | posted in Sports
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