NFL - The Final Week

So it comes down tot he final week in football land with several teams still in contention and a whole bunch more playing for nothing.  Who will win?  Who will step up?  I think it's become clear that I have absolutely no idea, but that's not going to stop me from throwing out my two cents!

Falcons over Rams - with a shot at winning the division still, Atlanta should destroy a St. Louis team just trying to get to cleaning out their lockers and taking a few months off.

Patriots over Bills - New England could become just the second team to win 11 games and miss the playoffs.  They'll take care of business and then have to watch the Jets-Dolphins game to determine their fate.

Bengals over Chiefs - the inept Chiefs will find make sure to enhance their draft position with yet another loss against the almost equally woefull Bengals.

Packers over Lions - with an inability to break their 17 year losing streak in Wisconsin, Detroit will become the first ever 0-16 team and go down in history.

Colts over Titans - in another meaningless matchup between these two teams in Week 17 (it happened last year too), Jim Sorgi will play the stand in QB role a little better than Vince Young and the Colts will leave with a win.

Giants over Vikings - I'm breaking my trend here of picking the team with something to play for over the team with nothing on the line.  But really, I have so little faith in NFC North teams that I just can't stand to pick the Vikes.

Panthers over Saints - Carolina needs this one to stage off a late comeback in the standings and hang on to the division.  New Orleans will be gunning though for the both the win and for Brees to break Marino's passing yardage record, so this game should be fun to watch!

Dolphins over Jets - after watching New England beat the Bills, New York will know they have nothing to play for and they'll come out flat.  Pennington will have his revenge and the Fish will be in the playoffs just a year after going 1-15.  Maybe there is some far off hope for the Lions!

Cowboys over Eagles - in another scheduling twist, the NFL has given the Cowboys a distinct advantage in that Philly will know before the game begins that they've been eliminated from contention.

Steelers over Browns - the big question here isn't who will win, but rather will Cleveland manage to score an offensive touchdown again before the season ends.  After all, it's been six weeks since their last one!

Bucs over Raiders - Tampa will keep their very slim hopes alive by at least taking care of their own business.  Then they'll have to wait for some help.

Ravens over Jaguars - Baltimore controls their own fate here and I can't imagine them blowing it against a Jacksonville team that gave up playing hard a long time ago.

Texans over Bears - Despite the Minnesota loss I predicted above, I think that Chicago's offensive ineptitude ultimately will cost them the opportunity to win the division and get into the dance.

Cardinals over Seahawks - after winning an emotional one last weekend, I don't think Seattle will travel well this week.  Arizona is desperate to get back on track before they go into their opening round playoff game.  Their not going to get a playoff win, but I think they'll make the home fans happy one more time, anyway.

49ers over Redskins - with neither team truly playing for anything, I have to give this one to the home team.

Chargers over Broncos - finally, in the final game scheduled, Denver and San Diego will renew acquaintances in the Hochuli Bowl.  If Ed Hochuli hadn't blown a call in week one that cost San Diego the game against Denver, the roles would be reversed with the Chargers having the division lead.  They deserve to win this division more than Denver and I think fate will find a way to make things right.  Ole Eddie sure hopes so, anyway!

Merry Christmas and enjoy the final week before the dance begins!

Embarrassed by the Lions

I hate that I like the Lions. How can I not feel embarrassed about being a fan of this team? After they lose in Green Bay this week (and who are we kidding ... they will ... they haven't won there in 17 years), it's going to go down as the worst season any professional sports team has ever had. Winless. Not even competitive. They were outscored in eight games at home by 176 points. That breaks the NFL record by 30! They have the 30th ranked offense in yards, 27th ranked offense in points, and the 32nd ranked defense in both points and yards. That's 27th, 30th, and 32nd out of 32 teams in the four most important statistics to winning and losing. It's no wonder that the season has come to this.

But they're doing more than losing. They're doing it in a league that prides itself on parity. It's a league with a very restrictive salary cap designed to make sure that you can't end up with a "Yankees" type team buying up all the free agent talent. They're losing while teams with historically terrible management still manage to win three or four games a year (see: Raiders, Browns, Bengals).

And yet what do the fans get for their patronage? We get seven and a half years of being managed by Matt Millen. Under his guidance, the personnel department built a team that went 31-84 (a 0.270 winning percentage). Upon his firing, the Ford family, who own the team, promoted two guys from the management team that Millen had in place to act as co-GM's. And while they have can hardly take all the blame for this year because they couldn't make many personnel moves through the season, I hardly think that anyone from Millen's tenure should be given the benefit of the doubt and more time. But more time is exactly what they'll get as Ford announced this week that they'll be in place again next year.

I want to give up on them. I really do. I want to pick one of the exciting young teams out there like Atlanta or Baltimore with rookie QB's and rookie coaches and watch them rise up and get me excited. I want to stop caring about this hopeless waste of energy in Detroit. But I'm not a bandwagon jumper. I have to have some faith that with new ownership (see: Ford bankruptcy?), and top to bottom firings, and some time to evolve, I might get to cheer for a winner. After all, I was cheering for the Red Wings back in the '80's when they were the Dead Things, and look where that's gotten me now!

NFL Week 16

The stretch run is here and a whole bunch of games that don't matter will be contested. So trying to pick them becomes a case of trying to figure out who has something to play for, who has something to prove, and who is trying to save their job for next year. There are also a few really exciting battles looming, so on we go ...

Colts over Jags - we start tonight with what shouldn't be a very good game. But Indy and Jacksonville always seem to play tight games and this one is in Florida. I think Peyton will do just enough though to get it done and keep the Colts rolling.

Cowboys over Ravens - as much as I want to pick Baltimore and see Flacco be successful and make the playoffs, this is the last game in Texas Stadium and Dallas should come out all fired up to give the fans a good show.

Browns over Bengals - These teams both stink, but Cleveland stinks just a little bit less. They'll play hard for Crenel with all the rumours swirling around him getting canned at the end of the year.

Lions over Saints - yes, that's right. I'm picking Detroit. New Orleans has nothing left to play for. They're only 1-6 on the road. Reggie Bush is out for the year. Brees' numbers are down the last three weeks. Everything just points to this being the week. It probably won't be, but I have to try picking them once this year (if you look back, I actually did pick them in Week 1 ... my bad).

Steelers over Titans - Pittsburgh is getting it done ugly and Tennessee isn't threatening anyone the last few weeks. I think the Steelers will find a way to get it done playing for home field all the way through the playoffs.

Dolphins over Chiefs - Miami still holds their playoff fate in their own hands, being able to win the division by winning out. That's motivation enough to beat a lousy KC team.

49ers over Rams - San Francisco is playing really well lately. They're not a very talented team, but Singletary has them playing harder than any of their opponents and that's enough for them to win in this league of parity.

Falcons over Vikings - Atlanta should come out running and be able to shove it down Minnesota's collective throat all afternoon with the Vikes losing their best run stopper, Pat Williams for the rest of the regular season.

Patriots over Cardinals - There should be a few very disillusioned teams (Atlanta, Tampa, Chicago, Minnesota), a couple of whom will miss out on the playoffs while this lousy Arizona team beat up on an even weaker division and will still only manage an 8-8 record but still get a home playoff game!

Panthers over Giants - Carolina has not been winning games on the road, but the possibility of getting home field all the way through the NFC Championship will be motivation enough. Their defense will be able to stop a struggling Giants offense and they'll be able to put up enough running yards to get some points.

Eagles over Redskins - what happened to Washington? Half way through the year they were considered contenders. Now? Now they lost to the Bengals! Has any team slid further?

Broncos over Bills - okay maybe the Bills have slid further. From 5-1 to a very probable 6-10. That's Detroit Lion like. Remember last year when the Lions went from 6-2 to 7-9? Denver will do enough to get this done and lock up the division.

Texans over Raiders - Houston is on quite a roll and now they get a cupcake to guarantee a .500 season. There will likely be some high hopes for this team next year.

Jets over Seahawks - I'm not positive about this one. It'll be Holmgren's last game as coach in Seattle and he'll have the guys well motivated to win this one and spoil NY's playoff hopes. The Hawks played New York's division rivals tough this year. But I think that Favre's desire to get back to the playoffs will let him get it done.

Bucs over Chargers - San Diego will know by game time if they still have something to play for. If the Broncos lose, then a SD win sets up a week 17 matchup for the division. However, since I've predicted Denver to win, the Bolts will have nothing to play for and will come out flat.

Bears over Packers - home field will be the difference in what looks to be an unbelievably frigid Monday Night Football matchup. I feel for those fans who will be watching their beer freeze over in the stands at Soldier Field.

Enjoy the weekend!

Inside the NFL

There's an excellent story about Justin Blalock of the Atlanta Falcons today in Peter King's Monday Morning QB - Tuesday Edition article on Sports Illustrated. I'd like to share it here since the Monday night game was such a garbage contest and I have nothing else to really talk about.

Now for the Blalock story. I'm almost rooting for the Falcons to make it, just so Blalock gets his due. Think back to overtime Sunday, Atlanta and Tampa Bay tied at 10, the Falcons driving. On second-and-eight from the Buc 43, Matt Ryan scrambled forward, and from behind Buc defensive end Kevin Carter dove on his back and stripped the ball from Ryan at the Buc 39. Tampa Bay linebacker linebacker Barrett Ruud dove on the ball, cradled it in his right arm as he attempted to curl his body over the ball, and within a millsecond was snowed under by Bucs and Falcons alike.

Six seconds later, as the officials pried bodies away from the pile, they signaled for the Falcons and yelled, "Atlanta ball!'' And Blalock emerged with the football.

So what happened?

"Mostly grasping, gouging and punching in some unmentionable areas,'' said Blalock, a second-year guard from Texas. "Just chaos. Hopefully our season doesn't come down to that one play, but if that's the big one, I'm glad I was able to make it.''

What happens on the bottom of scrums is one of the great mysteries of the NFL. Once, Boomer Esiason told me he was at the bottom of a pile, having lost a fumble, and looked over to see Cleveland Browns nose tackle Bob Golic right next to his face. They couldn't go anywhere, so Boomer said to him: "Hey, you ever get those boots I sent you?'' Seems that Esiason had sent Golic a pair of Cowboy boots as thanks for an appearance on a radio show of his, and Golic said yes, he got them, and thank you. But it's usually not that cordial under there.

In this case, Blalock saw the ball come out, saw Ruud beginning to cradle it, and just dove for it. "He [Ruud] had one hand on it and he was trying to get his body over it so no one could pry it loose. I got my right arm in there, then wedged my body closer and just sort of moved him out of the way and got on the ball. It's physics. I'm just bigger, and I had the leverage. Then it was just crazy, with everybody jumping in there and trying to get it. My guys kept asking, 'You got it? You got it?' And I said I had it.''

He said it didn't occur to him how big the play was at the time. But the Falcons finished the drive with the winning Jason Elam field goal. If Ruud recovers that fumble, the Bucs would have needed to drive 30 yards to try a winning field goal of their own. At 8-6, Atlanta would have been a longshot in the NFC playoff race, needing two wins and lots of help to make it. At 9-5, they're major players.

"I didn't have the luxury to think about that at the time, obviously,'' Blalock said. "Now that I can think about it, I'm pretty happy. The strange thing is, that's only the second time I've ever touched the ball in a football game. At Texas once, I recovered a fumbled snap late one game. But that's it. This one is probably a little bigger.''

This one, in fact, is the kind of thievery that can save a season.

Here's Hoping!

The Lions put up a valiant effort against the Colts yesterday. Say what you will about how terrible they are, at least they haven't just packed it in. Apparently, trying to avoid going winless for the year is actually something to play for! Which is why I'm going to put it all out there and say that Detroit is going to get a win against either New Orleans or Green Bay in the next two contests. While Detroit is fighting to avoid going down as the first 0-16 team ever, New Orleans and Green Bay really have nothing to play for at all. Neither has any playoff hopes remaining, so the only thing facing them will be trying to avoid the ignominy of being the only teams that didn't beat the Lions. Add on the fact that the Saints have been hopeless on the road (1-6 so far) and that Drew Brees' production has fallen off over the past three games and I think the win could come at home on Sunday. So remember that you heard it here first. Detroit moves to 1-14 Sunday afternoon at Ford Field.

If I'm right, do you think anyone in New Orleans will be amused by the symmetry of Detroit cracking the win column against the Saints just as the winless 1976 Tampa Bay team finally got their first win in their 13th game of 1977 against none other than these same New Orleans Saints?

NFL Week 15

Here I come with post number 100 on this blog! They add up quick, evidently. And I come with picks for week 15 after getting off to a rocky start with the Saints losing last night. I did at least say it would be a close one and I lost when Chicago won the coin toss in OT. The NFL really needs to do something about that overtime format where the team winning the coin toss almost always wins the game. It hardly seems fair for them to battle for 60 minutes and then have the game decided by random chance. In any case, let's hope the other 15 picks turn out better!

Falcons over Bucs - The Bucs defense played a pathetic game Monday night and will no doubt bounce back with a better performance. I like the Falcons though because I think they'll be more desperate. Both teams have easy contests in weeks 16 and 17, but Atlanta needs to win out to make the playoffs, whereas Tampa can lose one and still have a shot.

Redskins over Bengals - Washington finally gets a win over a hopeless Cincinnati team.

Colts over Lions - This is a 1:00 pm start and should be over by about 1:10. Indy will take a four TD lead in the first half and Peyton will have a nap on the sidelines during the second half.

Chargers over Chiefs - too little, way too late for San Diego. Quite a disappointing year for the Bolts.

Seahawks over Rams - speaking of disappointing years, Seattle has really been a letdown. However, give them a ton of credit because they're not just playing out the string, they're laying it all on the line to get a few more W's.

Dolphins over 49ers - Miami will win this one, but it will be close. San Francisco is really playing hard under Mike Singletary and with a couple more solid efforts, the "Interim" tag should come off his "Head Coach" title.

Jets over Bills - New York finally gets back on the right track this week while the Bills confirm their fall from 4-0 and on top of the world to 6-10 and a long winter.

Panthers over Broncos - just call more runs to the right John Fox! Keep going there until it stops working. 300 yards against the Bucs D could be even more against a porous Broncos defense. The Panthers will remain perfect at home and on pace for home field advantage.

Packers over Jaguars - battle of underachievers here. Jacksonville is worse though and I don't expect them to do much even against the thoroughly poor Green Bay defense. Since GB hasn't been able to win at Lambeau lately, maybe a little road cooking is just what they need.

Ravens over Steelers - this is the game of the week to me. This will be the hardest hitting, manliest game, for sure. The sensational Joe Flacco will do just enough to outperform previous rookie sensation Roethlisberger. He'll just have to avoid those fatal turnovers that cost Romo the game against Pittsburgh last week.

Titans over Texans - it's going to be a shootout. These teams have been averaged a score of 29-26 in their last five meetings in favour of the Titans. I'm going to stick with the trend and pick Tennessee.

Cardinals over Vikings - I still think Minnesota stinks. They almost lost to the Lions both times the teams met. I mean, really ... how can you have any faith in a team that almost loses to the Lions?! Arizona is going to put up a ton of offense in the desert.

Patriots over the Raiders - New England keeps their playoff hopes alive with another west coast win that will likely be more difficult than it should be. After all, the Pats have made just about everything look difficult this year.

Cowboys over Giants - New York isn't playing for anything at all. They've already locked up the division and the only team that can catch them for home field through the NFC Championship game is the Jags who they can knock off themselves next week. This is a rest week for the G-Men and Dallas is going to benefit.

Eagles over Browns - where's the flex schedule now? Why are we stuck watching the crappy Browns on Monday night? Couldn't they have shifted Baltimore-Pittsburgh over? The last two Mondays don't get much better either. I guess last week's Tampa-Carolina game was as good as it gets!

Enjoy the weekend as the playoff picture continues to unfold!

The Buzz in Hockeytown

Finally! I watched a Wings game and they won! It took a lot more than it should have playing against a Calgary team that only arrived in Detroit at 4 am though. Calgary came out a lot harder than Detroit and won almost all of the battles for the first period, taking a 2-0 lead. After the first frame though, the game was all Detroit and with the Wings still trailing 3-1 half way through the third, the defending champs managed to really pick it up a notch and take over. Two goals in four minutes tied it up and Lidstrom managed to bury the winner in OT. As well as Detroit played in the second and, especially, the third periods, they need to do that from the opening faceoff a little more often to avoid giving up three every game. In net at the other end, it was Curtis McElhinney getting a rare start and absolutely standing on his head on a night where Detroit could have gotten 6 or 7 with all of the quality chances they had.

One last comment about the hockey game last night ... the refs did a decent job, but there were three penalties that follow a pattern I've been disturbed by this season. I realize that the league wants to open up the offense and eliminate the clutching and grabbing. However, there has been a rash of hooking, holding, and interference penalties that I think go too far. Rather than use judgment as to whether or not the player was inhibited from being able to make a play, the refs have been instructed to just call it as soon as a stick touches an opponent above waist level. Calgary got called for a phantom hold in the first period and Detroit was called for phantom hooks in the first and second. I know that by the rule book they were all the right calls. I just have visions of important games getting decided by power play goals on penalties that were really marginal in the level of interference run.

Onwards to tonight's New Orleans - Chicago game at Soldier Field. The weather is supposed to be cold and a bit breezy, but without snow or anything too severe. While I would imagine that the Saints will struggle a bit in the elements, and because they have gone win one, lose one most of the year, I don't trust the Bears to defeat any strong opponents. Chicago had a couple of strong wins in the early going against Indy and Philly, but that was before either of those teams started playing well. Since their bye week, the Bears only wins have been against the real weaklings of the league in Detroit, St. Louis and Jacksonville. So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Drew Brees will do enough to get New Orleans a couple of TD's and the Saints will win a tight one.

Tune in tomorrow for the rest of my picks for the weekend!

Maybe in Week 17?

Does that final game against the Packers provide a chance for the Lions to avoid running the table in reverse? I thought their best shot would be against the Vikes this weekend, but having blown the fourth quarter lead yesterday, I look ahead to see if there's another opportunity.

Week 15 against the Colts? Nope. No chance. Peyton will eat this defense up and we'll see Jim Sorgi at QB by the second half. Week 16 against the Saints? Ditto with Drew Brees at the helm. But week 17. That's a possibility. Green Bay has been giving up a ton of points and yards lately, especially through the air. With the Pack at 5-8, they'll be officially eliminated from the playoffs before that week 17 game, so they won't really have anything to play for. And to top it all off, Detroit has actually been competitive in their last three divisional games, losing by 2, 4, and 4 points.

If there's any hope at all, it's going to come at Lambeau. Detroit hasn't won there in about a thousand years, but Green Bay is only 3-4 there this year too. I still have hope. But I'm sure not holding my breath.

NFL Week 14

Hard to say what's wrong with the Red Wings defensively these days. But beating the Canucks 6-5 last night brought me back to the early 90's days where Detroit would win wild shootouts all season long and then bow out quickly in the playoffs when every team tightens up and scores come down. This team is fundamentally unchanged from last season though, so hopefully they can pull themselves together and stop giving up so many. At least for now they've got the firepower to hang in while they get things fixed.

Now, on to the weekend to come. While college football has Championship weekend in the SEC and Big 12 to figure out who's going to play for the National Championship, pundits will continue to spout off about what a farce the BCS is and why we still can't get a playoff. But the facts remain, the BCS is run by conferences with their own financial interests in mind, and the current BCS does a better job of distributing the millions than a playoff would. Good luck convincing them to change their minds on multi-million dollar payouts every year!

While I didn't manage to post my pick for last night's game, I see that San Diego very expectedly put a beatdown on the Raiders. Everyone put your hand up if you didn't see that coming. No hands? Okay. We'll move on then.

Bears over Jaguars - What a colossal disappointment Jacksonville has been this year. I watched that Monday night game start to finish and they were just dreadful in every aspect.

Vikings over Lions - this is the only hope to avoid 0-16 really. It's entirely possible that the Leos could pull the upset, but I don't see it. Detroit got gashed by the Titans running game badly last week. Does anyone really think they'll do better against A. Pete, the best back in the league?

Packers over Texans - While Houston looked pretty good Monday night, they don't travel very well and I especially don't hold much hope for them travelling to the frozen tundra on a short week.

Titans over Browns - Tennessee really has had a pretty easy schedule, haven't they? They've only had to play four teams that are above .500 and they'll only have two more the rest of the way. That means they got nearly a third of their season against garbage teams with no playoff hopes. I'm not convinced that they're going to be prepared for football in January.

Colts over Bengals - With the Bengals, Lions, and Jags on the schedule, Indy is going to go from a 3-4 start to their last game against Tennessee at 11-4. That's an impressive run and should make them a scary wild card team to face in the first round of the playoffs!

Falcons over Saints - sounds like the Saints might not lose a bunch of guys to suspension with the legal battle ensuing, but since they can't seem to play with any consistency, I think Matt Ryan will do enough to keep Atlanta's playoff hopes alive.

Giants over Eagles - NY will battle hard to show that all this Plax mess isn't going to distract them. With the best offensive and defensive lines, I think they'll have no trouble. Besides, McNabb isn't going to put up great numbers against the G-Men the way he did against the Cardinals wobbly defense.

Ravens over Redskins - Washington seems to be sliding backwards lately and is going to leave a disappointed fan base after appearing to be a competitor at the start of the season. Baltimore is really starting to roll as they open up the playbook for Flacco.

Dolphins over Bills - How's this for good fortune? Instead of going to freezing cold, windy, probably snowy Buffalo for their road game, Miami gets to travel to Toronto for a game inside the cozy Skydome, er - Roger's Centre.

Broncos over Chiefs - Would the real Denver Broncos please stand up? Which team will it be this weekend? They lost to the Raiders, so it's entirely possible that they could lose this one. But I don't they'll get caught napping again.

Jets over 49ers - New York got humbled at home last week in a game they never should have lost. Now they've got a tough cross country trip to make. It's their good fortune, though, that they only have to face the Niners. And even though San Francisco is playing better these days, it shouldn't be enough to knock off a Jets team that needs to bounce back.

Cardinals over Rams - speaking of playoff teams who haven't really beaten anyone (see: Titans, above), the Cards are going to roll into January and we'll all be totally clueless as to whether they have any chance to win a playoff game. They're just fortunate to play in the crappy NFC West, where one more win will lock up the division title.

Steelers over Cowboys - this should be the best game of Sunday. Pittsburgh is riding high after destroying the Pats and the Cowboys are picking up after a mid-season slump with guys returning from injuries. The pick here is a bit of a toss-up, but the way the Steelers played last week and with this one being played in the Ketchup Bottle, I've got to go with Pittsburgh.

Patriots over Seahawks - New England is lucky to face a bad Seattle team to try to bounce back from that loss to the Steelers. They'll be in tougher than they might think though against the Seahawks at home. Hasselbeck is getting back into the groove and this one should at least be competitive.

Bucs over Panthers - Despite a 9-3 record, I still don't have a lot of faith in Carolina. I think that Tampa is just the better team here and I look for them to prove it and take a huge step towards the division title Monday night.

Modern Pentathlon - Neither Modern, nor "Penta"

Here's a story that you probably missed last week: the Modern Pentathlon, which hasn't been "modern" roughly since it was created as an Olympic event in 1912, is to receive an update! The event that has for nearly a century combined pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse jumping, and running (how's that for a modern mix?!), is getting a facelift as outlined in this article from the New York Times.

The shooting and running will now be combined, which has led to the obvious conclusion that several NBA and NFL stars might now have a chance at Olympic glory if they can just learn how to fence and ride a horse!

I suppose the combination of running and shooting makes the final event of the competition a "biathlon" of sorts. If you follow up three individual events with a biathlon, is it still five? Yeah, I would say so. But Modern? I still don't think I can give them that one.

Half Way There

With today's debacle against the Titans, Detroit has moved within four games of the infamous first ever 0-16 season, and finishing the season on the road against Peyton and the Colts, at home against the high flying Saints offense, and at Green Bay where Detroit hasn't won in 17 years, I think that next week's game against the Vikings is the Lions only hope. It's do or die time.

But how bad is 0-16, really? Sure, no one has ever done it. But the league has only played 16 games in a season for 30 years. Back in 1976, the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 for the imperfectly perfect season. Detroit is only going to add two to that. How many more consecutive losses did Tampa suffer? Twelve! That's right. The Bucs started that '77 season 0-12 before winning their last two to break the 26 game losing skid. So going back to last year's season ending loss for the Lions, they've only now lost 13 straight. That's just half way to infamy!

Does anyone else see some irony though in Detroit's preseason record this year? They were 4-0 against the Giants, Bengals, Browns, and Bills! Just enough to give all of us so much false hope.

Turkey Bowls

Turkey Day is upon us! Unfortunately for those of us north of the border, we don't get to share in the trytophan fueled festivities, but I will hopefully have some opportunity to watch some football. Especially my lovable losers in Detroit!

But who will win the Thanksgiving games? Here are my thoughts:

Titans over Lions - Obviously. Tennessee coming off their first loss are going to be anxious to get back on track. This one could be ugly early.

Cowboys over Seahawks - Dallas shouldn't have much trouble taking care of the boys from up here in the Northwest. Seattle has been lousy this year and Dallas is finding their stride again as the injuries heal.

Cardinals over Eagles - Philly has been so bad the last two weeks that I almost have to believe that McNabb will bounce back. I'm a little worried about Arizona traveling so far on the short week. However, I don't think any of that is enough to stop the Cards from taking this one tomorrow night.

So enjoy your turkey folks! I'll sit here at work jealous and watch the scores tick by on the internet!

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

In Lions news, Detroit jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead yesterday and were well on their way to pulling the upset and getting one in the W column. Of course, we all know what happened next. Tampa put 5 TD's on the board in just 18 minutes of play and the Leos proved true to form. This team clearly has no idea how to win. It's a good thing that the national audience will only have to be exposed to them once this year - this Thursday when the Titans show up to kick them to the curb.

In Tiger news, the poor guy got dropped by Buick today. It seems that, wisely, GM has finally figured out that every million they pay to have their name on Mr. Woods's golf bag is one mil closer to Chapter 11. Undoubtedly, there will be many companies clamoring for the right to throw their name on El Tigre's bag, but it may not add up to the reported $7 M a year that he's been receiving from Buick. How is he going to get by having to support that second baby he and his supermodel wife are having! It's not like he can fall back on actual earnings right now.

Finally, in Bears news, Dr. Jeckyl will see you now. The Bears's defense, in the past three weeks, has given up 20 yards, 200 yards, and 14 yards rushing against Tennessee, Green Bay, and St. Louis respectively. How does a defense hold two teams to a combined 34 rushing yards, and then get gashed for 200 by a divisional rival who they have to beat to get into the playoffs?! Even better, if Green Bay wins tonight, there will be a three way tie between Chicago, Minnesota, and the Pack for the NFC North lead and a playoff berth. Since none of them are likely to get a wild card, I look at the Vikes and Packers holding a one game advantage over Chicago because they each still have another game against the Lions, whereas the Bears have used up their two free wins for the year!

NFL Week 12

Here we are again with another weekend approaching. Last night's game worked out fine with the Steelers taking care of business as expected. But far more exciting last night, how about those Wolverines?! No, not the football ones ... they still suck. I'm talking about the Michigan basketball team! The one not even listed in the 65 teams projected to dance in March in last week's SI College Basketball Preview issue. They pulled off the upset of No. 4 UCLA at Madison Square Gardens last night! I know it's just a start and they won't likely be able to keep this up and contend for the Big Ten title with Purdue and Michigan State heavily favoured, but they're obviously doing something right in Ann Arbor this year and hopefully it's just a sign of good things to come for a program that hasn't been able to recover from the NCAA sanctions caused by the Fab Five more than a decade ago.

All right ... enough basketball. On we go with the picks for week 12 ...

Falcons over Panthers - Not totally convinced on this one. But I don't think Carolina will have such an easy time running it down the throats of Atlanta as they had running on Detroit. Add the fact that Carolina's passing attack was just dreadful against both Detroit and Oakland the last two weeks and I'll take Atlanta in an upset.

Browns over Texans - Brady Quinn looked pretty good Monday night and Houston can't win on the road. I'm a bit worried about Quinn's broken finger, but not worried enough to pick Houston to get the job done.

Cowboys over Niners - This one should be a piece of cake for Dallas.

Bucs over Lions - Another obviously easy pick. Bring on 0-11 for their nationally telecast Thanksgiving game!

Titans over Jets - It'll definitely be a stiff test for Tennessee. However, with NY coming off such a big emotional win over the Pats, I think this game might be hangover time for Favre and the boys.

Bills over Chiefs - I can't believe how much Buffalo has sucked since the 4-0 start. That said, Kansas City is simply terrible and with the Bills' schedule, they have to still think they've got a shot at the playoffs if they take care of business.

Bears over Rams - what to make of Chicago? Gave up 20 yards rushing to Tennessee and followed it up with 200 against GB. Which team will show up this week? I think the one good enough to beat up on the wounded Rams.

Patriots over Dolphins - must win games for both teams. NE got beat last week because their D couldn't handle Brett having a perfect game. With three extra days to gameplan and memories of getting embarrassed by the Fins earlier this year, I can't figure out why New England is a two point dog in Vegas.

Jags over Vikings - I still think Jacksonville is better than their record. Unfortunately for them, the record is what it is and even with getting to feast on three more NFC North teams, they're not going to get into the playoffs without a miracle. But beating the Vikes is step one for a team that has to keep playing hard to have any hope.

Ravens over Eagles - Donovan didn't know that OT ended after one quarter? How is that possible? How could a veteran professional QB not know that? How could they play so crappy against the Bengals? So many questions.

Broncos over Raiders - I still don't know how the Raiders won a couple of games this season. They seem every bit as terrible as the Lions right now.

Giants over Cardinals - this is a tough call. The last two times Warner was involved in Giants vs Cards games, he was on the losing side, first with NY, then with Arizona. I think he's going to lose again because NY will put enough pressure on him that he can't rack up the 300+ yards he's been passing for every week.

Redskins over Seahawks - how bad is football in the Northwest? The 2-8 Seahawks are the most exciting option as the Apple Cup features 0-10 Washington against 1-10 Washington State on Saturday!

Colts over Chargers - In Peyton I trust. I'm a little worried that San Diego has made visiting QB's look terrible the last four home games, but I think Manning can overcome that. What I can't figure out is why the Chargers look so much better on paper than on the field this year.

Packers over Saints - New Orleans simply can't string two wins together. Brees would be the unquestioned MVP with the passing yards he's racking up if only his defense could give him a bit of support so they could crack .500.

Enjoy the weekend! It's now time to pray for a second UM miracle at the Horseshoe tomorrow. It pains me to see a senior class at Michigan go their entire careers without beating Ohio State. I hope things shape up under Rich Rod the way they've started to for the basketball team under Beilein! After all, they brought both coaches in from West Virginia ... Beilein has just had a one year head start.

NFL Thursday Nighter

With the Thursday night game just a day away, I thought I would chime in on it with time to spare.

The Steelers and Bengals both had very interesting finishes to their games last weekend. Troy Polamalu of Pittsburgh got completely jobbed by the officials, robbing him of a rightful touchdown for his stats. While the mistake didn't cost Pittsburgh the game (they still won 11-10, the only 11-10 final ever in the NFL), all the talk is that it could have lasting implications since point differential factors into playoff tiebreakers. What I haven't heard anything about is how it might affect Polamalu in his next contract negotiations. These guys are always using every stat they can to bolster their earning potential. How is he going to feel about getting ripped off of a defensive touchdown? Those types of plays are huge and they're what get you the big bucks!

In Cincinnati's case, the finish was even more bizarre. Capitalizing on a horrendous game played by Donovan "I didn't know a game could end in a tie" McNabb, the Bengals managed to have a shot to win in overtime, but the 47 yard field goal with 7 tics left missed. The game ended in that tie and half the Eagles team was left to admitting that they don't know the rules of the game they get paid millions of dollars to play for a living. That's kind of like the SEC (the stock market watchdog one, not the college football conference) saying "we didn't really know how all these derivatives worked, so we decided not to regulate them" only to have it all blow up in their face. Wait ... that happened too? Never mind.

So what do I see happening tomorrow night on short rest? Well, the Steelers, even having not played well still did get their W and they are clearly a better team here. The Bengals got a half W that they didn't deserve. Pittsburgh already beat up on the Bengals in Cincinnati a month ago, so I like the Steelers by 8 at the Ketchup Bottle.

Another inept defensive record

More record setting for an offense facing Detroit's D this weekend. The Panthers rushed for 264 yards at a rate of 8.3 yards per carry. Yeah ... you read that right, 8.3!! They almost averaged a first down every time one of their running backs touched the ball. Could the Lions possibly suck any worse? We'll find out soon ... just 6 more losses to be the first 0-16 team ever!

And not to pile on or anything, but you've got to feel bad for Jason Hanson. This guy is one of the best kickers ever. He moved into eight place all time in points scored by kicking a 56 yard field goal on Sunday. He's only missed one field goal all year. He's 6 out of 6 from 50 yards or more. And he's been performing this well with the Lions for 17 years!! That has for to feel like 17 long, torturous years playing in the football wasteland.

NFL Week 11 and NHL Conspiracy Theories

It was a fantastic game last night, even if my pick turned out wrong. Favre took care of the ball better than I said he would. Belichick's boys got completely outschemed on defense and couldn't come up with key stops when the Jets stopped playing not to lose and started playing to win in the fourth quarter and OT. And despite last minute heroics from Cassel and finally a big play from Moss, New England simply made too many costly mistakes (dropped balls, dumb penalties, gave up kickoff return for TD) to come away with a W. I think both of these teams have some fundamental flaws on defense right now, but they're operating awfully well on the other side of the ball. With both teams having some very winable games down the stretch, a repeat of last night in the playoffs could be something to look forward to!

And now for the rest of my thoughts on the games this weekend. I feel like there are a lot of pretty straightforward picks, so I'm probably going to get trounced by upsets. But here we go anyways ...

Falcons over Broncos - Every week I wait for Matt Ryan and this young Falcons team to crash back to earth and every week they prove me wrong. I'll take them and hope for the best against a very flawed Broncos team.

Eagles over Bengals - The Bengals have lost coming out of their bye seemingly every year for the last decade. Philly played a close one against the Giants last week and is without question the better team here. They should win easily.

Bears over Packers - The QB situation in Chicago is still a question mark this week, but Green Bay just played so terribly against Minnesota last week that I can't overlook it. They should be well motivated here, but I like the Bears to get a boost out of having hung so tough against the unbeaten Titans last Sunday. Bears in a close one.

Colts over Texans - Peyton is finally in a groove and Houston can't seem to win on the road, so this pick doesn't seem too hard. Indy has tended to make life difficult this year though and they didn't deserve to win the first matchup between the two this year. It could be close, but I can't go against Peyton at home.

Saints over Chiefs - I really want to pick KC here. New Orleans has been completely unpredictable with Brees putting up passing records but still failing to win and the Chiefs have been right in their last couple of games with chances to win in the final moments. But still, it's the 1-8 Chiefs and I can't overlook the fact that they just can't seem to get it done.

Dolphins over Raiders - How did Oakland get two wins this year? And Detroit can't get one? Bizarre ... too bad Oakland isn't on the Lions' schedule. Give this one to Miami in a walk.

Giants over Ravens - Just like with the Falcons and Matt Ryan, I keep waiting for reality to set in for the rookie QB - rookie coach tandem in Baltimore. Yet every week they show up and do enough to win with the defense playing exceptionally. I think they might meet their match this week though with NY forcing a turnover or two that will change the game.

Steelers over Chargers - I never would have believed that San Diego would struggle so badly to be a .500 team this year. What's even harder to believe is that it's very conceivable for both them and Denver to enter week 17 against each other at 7-8, playing for the division title and a playoff berth. That's one sad division.

49ers over Rams - Mike Singletary gets his first win here! The Rams continue to suck. Nobody cares. Let's move on.

Seahawks over Cardinals - Yes, I know. This pick is asking for trouble. 2-7 to beat 6-3 you ask? Yup. Seattle would have won last week with a moderately adequate performance from the QB and this week they get Hasselbeck back from injury. And Arizona? They had no right winning that game on Monday and wouldn't have if SF wasn't completely inept in managing the clock. I'm calling for the upset because it's up here in the rainy northwest.

Bucs over Vikings - Tampa is going to have to find some way to slow down Adrian Peterson here. If they can, I don't give any chance to Gus Frerotte to beat them on his own. It occurs to me that I'd like to pick the NFC North to lose every game, but I can't since the Bears and Packers are playing each other.

Redskins over Cowboys - Even if Romo can go, his throws can't possibly have everything on them with the still not completely recovered busted finger. Dallas' leaky offensive line won't give him a lot time to shake the rust off either.

Panthers over Lions - unfortunately for Detroit, they come up against another team who played a lousy game last Sunday and should be out for redemption. Moving to 0-10, the Lions will further enhance their position as the laughingstock of the league.

Titans over Jaguars - After facing the Bengals and the Lions, Jacksonville cannot possibly be prepared to face a team as strong as Tennessee this week. The Jags are struggling to run the ball and the Titans aren't going to make things any easier for them. Obviously it's tough to remain undefeated, but I have a hard time calling for the upset here.

Bills over Browns - This could be a real stinker of a Monday Night game. Buffalo will look for some redemption after losing to their entire division and Cleveland has given up 71 points in the last two weeks. I think Buffalo will get back on track, and with upcoming games against the Chiefs and Niners, that could mean 8-4 going into the last four weeks.

One final note for this post is that the Red Wings got back to winning last night with a 4-3 victory in Tampa. It's good to see them win, but it's upsetting to see them give up another three goals again. Of interest to me though, were the comments from a few of the guys after Tuesday's loss that the league seems to be giving 5 on 3 advantages to a team that goes down by three goals at every opportunity this year. Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory and I don't buy into them much, but those sure were two ticky-tack calls half way through the third period and it didn't get paid back when Staal put the same kind of hook on Datsyuk in OT. Not saying it was all the refs fault, but the zebras sure didn't hurt Pittsburgh's chances to win.

Toughest Pick in Week 11

Huge, huge game tonight in Foxborough. Jets - Pats. Identical records. Same on the road and at home. Same versus the AFC and NFC. Same versus the division. There's nothing that separates these teams in the standings right now. The Jets have a slight edge in passing yards and TD's, but also have more picks. The Pats have the slight edge on the ground. The defenses are giving up within 1 yard per game of each other, thought the Pats have a field goal lead in points allowed. What I'm getting at, is there just isn't any differentiation here.

So how do you pick a winner? New England should have some advantage because they're at home, but they've also got a lot of injuries. The Jets should have some advantage because they've built their entire team around finally knocking the Patriots off the top of the division, but all the money in the world on free agents hasn't been able to reign Favre back into the effective dink and dunk playmaking he produced in GB last year. He's still too prone to turnovers. But it's still Favre. He can certainly make magic happen. Just check out their 40-0 halftime lead against the Rams last week!

It should be the Jets, right? I mean, if they don't win, the Jets faithful are going to jump off a bridge! And we can't expect Matt Cassel to win on this big a stage, can we? I don't know ... would you put your money up against Belichick and his schemes? No, me neither. Not in New England. I have to go with the Pats. Can I bet your money instead of my own?

Wings - Pens, the Rematch

It was a crazy hockey game in Detroit tonight. While the first 45 minutes of play were almost all dominated by Detroit, two chintzy penalty calls in a span of 6 seconds completely turned the tide. Pittsburgh scored on the 5 on 3 and then popped a bunch more when all of the momentum went their way. Finally, with the net empty, and eerily similar to game 5 of last year's finals, Staal netted another one to tie it up and send it to OT. Half way through overtime, Datsyuk turned the puck over (after Staal gave him a little uncalled hook) and the Pens scored again on the break the other way.

I would love to blame the refs for turning the momentum with two bad calls and then missing the one in OT, but no amount of bad calls should have resulted in the Wings giving up five goals in less than fifteen minutes of play. That performance was absolutely pathetic and had better act as a wake up call as they start another tough road trip. I trust Babcock to ride the guys for this one. It was a bad loss.

Pretty Solid Picks!

11 out of 13 wasn't too bad for the weekend, and if the refs hadn't screwed up the illegal forward pass call that went against the Packers for a safety yesterday, I'd have had 12 out 13! That's two pretty good weeks in a row now. Perhaps I'm starting to get a handle on how these games are going to play out. Or maybe I just got lucky.

Tonight's game shouldn't exactly be a monumental event with an average Arizona team playing a crappy San Francisco team. So I move my attention to tomorrow's Stanley Cup rematch with Detroit hosting the Penguins. Obviously it's a new season and at this early stage, it's difficult to draw many conclusions, but both teams seem to be playing well and poised for another deep run. The game should be another exciting one between the two. Hopefully the Red Wings can continue to give the city a bit of hope in the doom and gloom that otherwise surrounds it.

NFL Week 10

I guess I have to throw this out there before the game starts tonight. I don't have a lot of time, so I'll dive right in ...

Broncos over Browns - I'm actually really tempted to take the Browns here because their D has been solid the last couple weeks and because Denver has been so bad. But I don't see Brady Quinn winning his debut. There's already been too much winning from rookie QB's this year.

Falcons over Saints - speaking over those rookie QB's, I keep liking Matt Ryan more and more every week. I think they'll hang in tough against New Orleans' potent offense and escape with a win.

Titans over Bears - I can't imagine Chicago beating the last undefeated team. Just watch ... I'll be wrong again.

Jaguars over Lions - Jacksonville will definitely not be sleeping through this one like they slept through the game against Cincy last week.

Panthers over Raiders - how did Oakland win two games? Seriously! They had negative yards on offense at the end of the first half last week and only gained three first downs the whole game.

Dolphins over Seahawks - poor Seattle stinks pretty badly too. Miami should have no trouble getting this win at home.

Packers over Vikings - this game could be tight because it's in Minny, but I really like how tough Green Bay played against Tennessee last week. They should get this important win to surge ahead in the division.

Patriots over Bills - tough loss for New England last week, but I think Buffalo is showing their true colours and falling apart after that quick start. Cassel and Co. should light 'em up on Sunday.

Jets over Rams - St. Louis is falling back to normal after a couple wins under the new coach. I think Favre lights them up this week (though he'll probably hand them a few picks as well).

Giants over Eagles - How is Philly the betting favourite in this one? Haven't the Giants won just about every road game they've played for the last 12 months? Aren't they 7-1? Maybe it's a trap, but I like the G-men to keep rolling.

Steelers over Colts - That Pittsburgh defense was amazing making Monday night miserable for Washington. I think the Steelers will win, and win or lose, Peyton is going to get beat up at the Ketchup Bottle Sunday afternoon.

Chargers over Chiefs - San Diego should be well enough rested after the bye to beat up on Kansas City this week. I think San Diego will even win enough down the stretch to win their division. That's not saying much though since the rest of the division stinks.

Ravens over Texans - I have no idea who to pick here because I don't have a huge amount of confidence in Baltimore. However, Schaub is hurt and the last time Rossenfels played, he guided the collapse agains the Colts.

Cardinals over 49ers - This is a crappy Monday Night game. Arizona should absolutely destroy SF. It might be fun to watch what Mike Singletary is going to do next though.

Enjoy the game tonight!

Looking Ahead

So Washington's election record moves a little closer to 100% this week, with them losing and the incumbent party getting the boot. The election return was not a big surprise of course, but the Skins getting dominated so badly by the Steelers defense was not entirely expected. I'm a bit worried with Roethlisberger potentially out, but if Pittsburgh's D keeps playing that way, they can beat anyone.

I'm looking ahead with interest this week though, to Thanksgiving Thursday, and a potential matchup between an 11-0 Titans team and a 0-11 Lions team. Obviously, either team could blow their perfect (or very much imperfect) season before then, but the matchup would certainly provide a little bit of intrigue to what will otherwise be a totally uneventful game with the Lions' only national audience of the season. So, what needs to happen for us to get there?

Detroit has the Jags at home this week who shouldn't take them for granted because they just screwed up doing exactly that against Cincy last week. Then they go to Carolina who might be looking ahead to a tougher stretch of games against teams who are all currently at .500 or better. However, Detroit is so lousy on the road that I doubt they pick up a win even if the Panthers are looking ahead. Finally, Detroit will host Tampa with the chance to get to 0-11. The Bucs are on their bye this week and then face the Vikings at home, so they should be well rested going into Detroit and with them in a tight battle for their division, Gruden will have them playing hard. I put the odds of 0-11 for Detroit at about 85% with my only hesitation being some resurgence under new QB, Daunte Culpepper. Bringing in the new QB might be just the kick in the pants that the Lions need to pull of a surprise win or two before this season is out.

Tennessee has a tougher road to get to that Thanksgiving game still perfect though. They go into Chicago this week where I fully expect them to get the win. I mean really, the Bears almost lost to Detroit. Could they really be that tough? With Orton hurt now, I don't give the Bears much shot at winning until he comes back. Next week though, the Titans have to go into Jacksonville to face the most Jeckyl and Hyde team in the league. With the Jags be the crappy team who lost to the Bengals last week or will they get their running game going again and play like the pre-season Super Bowl pick that a lot of people thought they were? My guess is that this could be the one that trips Tennessee up. Finally, the Titans host the Jets in the final week before Thanksgiving. I think the Tennessee defense does a lot more damage to Brett Favre and his interception stats and they come through this one clean. So I'll put the odds on them staying perfect a little lower than Detroit ... say, 60%. The Jacksonville game is going to be the toughest, but the longer you stay perfect, the more every team will be gunning for you. They'll definitely be in tough through this stretch.

The only thing I can very confidently guarantee is that if the two teams meet at 0-11 and 11-0, you can tick those numbers forward to 12.

Weekend Fun

Another interesting weekend in sports, wrapped up with a great hockey game here in Van City last night.

I'll begin with the Lions, who after the Bengals win are now the only winless team in the NFL. After last year's 6-2 opening half of the season, Detroit is now 1-15 in their last 16 games with the only win being against fellow doormat Kansas City in a meaningless late December game. Detroit was marginally better this week and kept it close, as I predicted, with a big 23 point second quarter. Unfortunately, those were their only points and not enough to support such a lousy defense. There's a chance for that first win this coming week though as Detroit faces the Jacksonville team who just gave Cincinatti their first win of the year. however, if I were a betting man I would guess that the Cincy loss will act as a wake up call for the Jags and they'll take Detroit a lot more seriously than they may have otherwise.

As for the rest of my NFL picks, tonight's game finally gives me a shot at double digit correct picks for just the second time all season. I'm a little worried though. You'll recall that I picked the Skins. While I'd like to be right, I'm afraid of the political outcome that that result might bring. You see, Washington's final home game prior to an election has almost perfect correlation with predicting the outcome of the election. If the Skins win, the incumbent party wins. If the Skins lose, the incumbent party loses. This predictor is 17-1 all time. Clearly, the Obama faithful will be cheering for the Steelers tonight.

Finally, the Red Wings finished off their road trip with a solid victory here in Vancouver last night. Special teams did the trick with the Wings cashing in on the PP three times and killing off all seven penalties that they took. While I'm pleased with the win, especially against the local guys, I wasn't terribly impressed with their play last night. The seven penalty kills were too many by far and it meant that Osgood had to have one of his best games of the year for Detroit. There were brief flashes where Detroit looked dominant, but Vancouver played them tougher than I would have liked to see. That said, the Wings came out of a really tough West Coast road trip, with five games in just over a week, and went 3-1-1 for 7 out of 10 possible points. A few days off will do them some good now before hosting the Devils (possibly without Brodeur) and then a Stanley Cup Final rematch next Tuesday.

NFL Week 9

Another slate of games approaches and I can't help but feel that perhaps I'm just not meant to get all of these picks right. At least I have one constant ... the Lions will lose. It's almost comforting.

Bills over Jets - call it a hunch, but I think Favre is hurting. Seeing the replays of some of the picks the last couple weeks, it just doesn't look he's got the same velocity we're used to seeing from him. Buffalo is going to bounce back from a bad loss at home.

Bears over Lions - Another record passing day for Kyle Orton? Probably not ... he already set his career high against the Leos earlier this year. Detroit will keep this one closer, but not close enough.

Jaguars over Bengals - Cincinnati is the only team in the league I think Detroit could beat right now and they're facing a Jags team who are going to be hungry after getting totally stuffed on the run last week.

Ravens over Browns - Cleveland is on a bit of a roll lately and showing some of the promise that a lot of folks believed they had before the year started. I'm not completely confident on this pick, I just think that Baltimore is good enough to hold them off.

Titans over Packers - Tennessee was very impressive in playing it out Monday night, completely dominating the second half against Indy. There's no glitz or glamour to this team, just tough, hard nosed football being played on both sides of the ball.

Bucs over Chiefs - Tampa disappointed me last week, but even if they're not as good as I thought, they're plenty good enough to beat Kansas City. KC is on the third or fourth string QB after all.

Cards over Rams - This could be the first Western team winning a game travelling east (if you don't count NO winning in London ... but someone had to win that one!). The Rams have stepped up under the new coach, but I think Warner has a big day back in St. Lou.

Vikings over Texans - Houston can't win on the road. They just haven't got it figured out. Minnesota will be desperate to keep up with the Bears in the division and will have enough in them to win this one.

Broncos over Dolphins - I don't know what to make of Denver. They're a talented offensive team with not much going well on the other side of the ball. I think they have enough fire power to get past Miami though.

Falcons over Raiders - Matty Ice goes into the Black Hole and comes out a victor! It helps that the Raiders only two wins were total gifts.

Giants over Cowboys - When Romo went down with the busted pinky, Dallas had to be hoping to get through the Tampa / NY games even. They beat Tampa last week which is going to lead to a little let down against a Giants team that seems to be getting better each week.

Eagles over Seahawks - Seattle's twelfth man is not enough. Can they put out thirteen or fourteen? No? Okay then ... not enough fire power to win games for poor Mike Holmgren who's got to put up with this team as his last before "retirement".

Patriots over Colts - Game of the week! What's that? No Brady? Peyton's playing hurt? Okay then, maybe this one isn't the Sunday Nighter NBC was hoping for. It should still be a good game and Matt Cassel will do just enough to pick on a depleted Indy defense.

Redskins over Steelers - Pittsburgh is just too beat up right now and Washington is going to come out and lay another physical beating on them. The Skins almost got caught last week looking ahead, but still came away with the win in Detroit. They'll be better this game.

ISU World Cup

After another miserable round of predictions this past weekend, I'm going to ignore football for this post and focus on the event I got to watch live on Sunday.

The ISU brought their World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit through town in a test event for the Olympics and tickets were not as popular as I expected. I was able, with just a few days of notice, to score a pair of seats pretty close to the ice for just $20 each! I thought this was a great vantage point to judge the speed and aggression of the skaters heading through the turns.

The event started with the quaterfinals of the men's and women's 500 m and 1,000 m races. This being my first opportunity ever to watch speed skating live, I was a bit confused by several aspects of the event that you don't actually get to see on TV every four years when they cover this during the Olympics. First of all, there are actually five tracks that get used. The little black markers on the ice that delineate the turn get moved for each heat to make sure that the ice is smooth and consistent. When they move the track, they also pour several gallons of water onto the ice and squeegee it into the ruts that get carved out by the skaters' blades. By the time they've gone through the five tracks, they can go back to the first and the water will have had time to freeze and create a new smooth, consistent surface for the skaters again. My next question, of course, was about the distance staying accurate with the track changing every heat, but they take care of that with five separate start lines for each corresponding loop. The five or six guys who take care of maintaining the track throughout the event get a serious workout skating around fixing the ice and the track all day!

After the quarterfinal heats, they cleaned the ice for real and prepared for the semifinals of the same four events. It was interesting to watch the strategies change from the 500 m races to the 1,000 m races. In the 500, it was essentially an all out sprint where the first person into the first turn more often than not came away with the victory. The 1,000 involved a lot more of the skaters playing cat and mouse with each other, getting through the first 2/3 of the distance without anyone really pushing it and waiting for someone to make the first move. Once the passes started happening, it was fast and wild to the finish.

The semifinal races generally each sent two skaters to the A final and two to the B final. From what I recall, B finals exist in case there are mass disqualifications in the A final, leading to the medals rolling down. I learned at the event that it's the responsibility of the skater trying to make a pass to avoid contact and it's that contact that leads to the DQ's. What I came to gather from watching though, is that some contact is clearly allowed. In fact, as the two Korean skaters in one of the 500 m semis squeezed a Canadian right out of the picture in the final turn, my outraged yelling for a DQ was met with inaction from the judges, but unkind reaction from the dozens of Koreans parked in the seats in front of me. Oops.

This clip that I found on YouTube was taken during the preliminaries on Friday or Saturday, but shows a pretty exciting race from World Record holder, and Canadian, Michael Gilday ...



The finals were pretty exciting with several Canadians spread through the races. None of them came up with golds, but Gilday got a silver in the men's 1,000, Remi Beaulieu took bronze in the same, Francois Termblay took silver in the men's 500, and Marianne St. Gelais won her first world cup medal, a silver in the women's 500 m. Looking through the list of people on the Candian team, it was clear that I am already way over the hill to take up short track speed skating, and apparently not french enough either!

After the individual finals were all complete, they really ramped up the excitement with the relay finals. It began with the women's 3,000 m relay which had five teams in the final due to an advancement due to DQ in the semis. This meant that there would be 20 skaters on the ice, all interchanging every lap and a half, trying to stay out of each other's way but not give any room for a pass. As the teams started to spread out a little it became dizzying just trying to watch and difficult to keep track. The excitement grew and the tight race eventually went to the Chinese over the Koreans and the third place Canadians. The men's 5,000 m relay was similarly dizzying, though with four fewer guys on the ice, a little easier to keep track of. The Canadians pushed extremely hard, but got edged out in the end by the Americans by about 0.8 seconds.

It was a great new experience to see live and something I would definitely recommend if you ever get a chance. I know I'll be trying to get tickets again when they come back to town, whether that be for another World Cup race, or the Olympics in 2010.

What to Watch?

Another weekend is upon us and I seek to determine the most exciting events to watch! Will it be baseball? Well, it is the World Series ... but there's threat of a rainout tomorrow and the series can't end this weekend regardless, so I'll have to say no. Hockey? There's an excellent slate of games Saturday night with every team in the league in action! But I still don't think that's it. NFL? There are a couple of intriguing games to watch including whether Europe will see a decent game between the Saints and the Chargers in London, and whether Pittsburgh or NY can show dominance between AFC and NFC leaders. Still though, neither of these games have huge implications for playoffs or much else. What's left? Ah yes ... there it is ... Saturday night at the Horseshoe! Penn State visiting Ohio State. God I hope JoPa's boys can kick some Buckeye tail! There's nothing better than watching OSU lose.

As for those NFL games, I do have some thoughts. Let's see if I can crack double digits for a change. I'm going with a lot of home teams in the hope that that might actually help this week. Here we go ...

Texans over Bengals - I just think Cincinatti is nearly as hopeless as Detroit. Houston is going to look like they're on a roll after this, but their recent opponents provide that deception.

Bucs over Cowboys - This is a bit of a toss up for me, but I think Dallas is spiralling out of control and the injuries and suspensions aren't going to let them get any better quickly enough.

Redskins over Lions - I've stated here before that I think the Leos are going to go 0-16 this year. Detroit's games now become automatic in my picks the rest of the way.

Bills over Dolphins - so yeah, I said I was liking the home teams this week and this is my third road pick in a row. Believe me, I'm getting to the homers.

Patriots over Rams - see? Home team. St. Louis is not good enough to win three in a row, even under the guidance of a new coach.

Chargers over Saints - okay, technically, this is another road pick ... but the game's in England! Aren't they both on the road? I just hope that San Diego brings the team that beat up on the Pats instead of the one who stunk up the joint in Buffalo.

Jets over Chiefs - Herm Edwards has got to feel down about leaving a decent Jets team to coach a lousy KC team with some fourth string QB trying to beat Favre in NY this weekend.

Eagles over Falcons - This one's going to be close. I'm pleasantly surprised watching Matt Ryan flourish this year the way rookies so rarely do. He's a lot of fun to cheer for. But I don't think he's got enough talent around him to win this game.

Panthers over Cardinals - no team from the Pacific or Mountain time zone has won a game outside their time zone yet this year. Don't expect this to be the first.

Ravens over Raiders - don't expect this to be the first either!

Jaguars over Browns - Jacksonville should be better than 3-3 right now. This is a playoff caliber team that needs to get the ball rolling and I think they'll do it at home against a weak Cleveland team.

Steelers over Giants - As discussed above, this should be a really good test of two top teams. With both sitting 5-1, we'll find out how much the Giants' record might have been helped by playing a lot of crappy teams so far and how ready they are to defend their title.

49ers over Seahawks - two crappy teams coming together here. I'm going to take San Fran mostly because they'll be motivated to perform after the coaching shake up.

Titans over Colts - this should also be a really good Monday night game this week. I like the Titans to remain undefeated because their defence could really do damage against a poorly performing Colts offensive line and make it a long night for Captain Pants's boy Peyton.

Enjoy the weekend! I'll be off Sunday to watch a far lesser observed sporting event, the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event here in Van City. Go Canada!

Sad Sack Lions

Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking about the ignominy of 0-16 this year. Don Banks is grateful that among all of the parity and unpredictability in the NFL these days, the one thing we can count on is the Lions total ineptitude. Check it out in this article.

At least Detroit has the Red Wings to cheer for.

Weekend Wrap Up

Another week, another pathetic first quarter for the Lions. The Leos have now been outscored 54-0 in the combined first quarters of their six losses. With the worst record among their next six opponents being the 3-3 Jaguars, I like the odds of this team running their record to 0-12 on Thanksgiving!

In better news, I beat the coin this week. My eight correct predictions going into the Monday nighter, while still not great, dramatically outshone random chance this week. Let's hope the Pats can make it 9 for me tonight.

I suppose some sports fans might also be interested in the fact that baseball is finally going to wrap things up shortly. While the TV executives were praying for the LA-Boston final, the action on the field managed to give them Tampa Bay - Philly. There should be about six people tuning in to watch this series ... that is if any of them can stay up until 1 am on the east coast to watch the games finish. Let's just say that even with the benefit of being three time zones over, I'm more excited about the chance to go watch the short track speed skating World Cup race that's coming to town next weekend as a test run for the Olympics.

NFL Week 7

Here we are again, heading into the weekend, trying to figure out what on earth the surprises will be in the NFL. And speaking of surprises, I've now watched the Red Wings' two home games so far against Toronto and Vancouver, and I can't figure out why Detroit isn't working harder. There's a clear talent divide between the Wings and those two teams, yet Detroit got out hustled both times and lost because of it. Last night against the Canucks, Detroit even game up two goals including the game winner by not reacting fast enough to bounces off the lively boards that they should be well and truly used to by now. It seemed to be another case of Vancouver just wanting it more and winning the little battles within the game. Of course, it wasn't hard to predict that Vancouver was going to come out jumping after their absolutely pitiful performance two nights earlier in Washington.

In any case, we'll move on now to the NFL picks for week 7. Again, I will pit my clear lack of predicting abilities against those of a coin to see if I can catch up after losing 8-6 last week. Here we go ...

Bills over Chargers - San Diego has to travel across the country after an emotion filled Sunday night win last week. Buffalo has won four years in a row coming off their bye week. Sounds to me like a Bills win.

Bears over Vikings - I'm not really sure which of these teams is worse, but at least Chicago had less trouble beating up on Detroit and it's in the Windy City. The pick has to be the Bears.

Steelers over Bengals - Cincinnati will remain winless and keep the Lions company in the cellar, especially with Pittsburgh coming off a bye.

Titans over Chiefs - On the flip side, Tennessee will remain undefeated by beating up on the lovable losers from Kansas City.

Cowboys over Rams - Romo or no, depleted secondary, trouble all over the place, and I still think Dallas will win this game on the road. They're lucky to have drawn St. Louis during this time of trouble.

Dolphins over Ravens - call me crazy, but I'm starting to believe in these Dolphins. It's not just that Wildcat offense either ... their defense has really been stepping up. They'll manage to keep Baltimore and their rookie QB in check.

Giants over 49ers - I almost feel sorry for San Francisco having to travel out to face a Giants team feeling ashamed of their last performance. They have no chance in this contest.

Saints over Panthers - I've had trouble picking NO games right this year, but I'm putting faith here in Drew Brees. His numbers don't lie and I love that Reggie is finally getting in on the action.

Texans over Lions - This was one of those games that I circled on the calendar before the start of the season thinking the Leos could get a W. Not so. There aren't any circles on that calendar anymore.

Colts over Packers - Would the real Peyton Manning please stand up? Is it the guy who lit it up last week? Or the one who stunk for the first four? With the revelation that he actually had a second knee surgery during the summer, I believe that he's finally starting to feel healthy again and what we saw last week was for real. Indy in a close one.

Jets over Raiders - Brett's only other visit to Oakland was the day after his father died and he put up almost 400 yards on the Raiders. This one will be less emotional, but this Oakland team is even less talented. Favre will win this one easily.

Redskins over Browns - I'm looking again at turnarounds. Washington played lousy last week and are going to be looking strongly to bounce back. Cleveland, however, came up big on Monday night over the G-men. With a letdown in emotion and a short week, I don't give Cleveland much of a shot on the road.

Bucs over Seahawks - Seattle is just bad. There's no sugar coating it. Now they have to travel as far as they possibly could (unless they draw the really short straw some year and get sent to Europe for a game; see: New Orleans vs San Diego next week). Tampa in a walk.

Patriots over Broncos - The Pats got embarassed last week too and are going to be looking to rebound. I think Denver will be a good team for them to let Matt Cassel open up against on Monday night. Should be a good game, anyway.

And now for the picks that you would be more wise to trust ... the coin toss! Heads for the home team, tails for the road. Results are: Chargers, Bears, Steelers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Panthers, Lions, Packers, Jets, Browns, Seahawks, Broncos. I like my chances.

And then there were two

The random coin toss out-picked me 8-6 this weekend. I think I should perhaps give up trying to get the selections right, and just go on tossing the coin.

With the Texans and the Rams getting their first wins of the season, only Cincinnati and Detroit remain with doughnuts in the win column. Detroit had a real solid chance to break out of that, of course, but for Dan Orlovsky's boneheaded safety in the first quarter against the Vikings. If you haven't seen it already, check it out here.

Adding to the ineptitude that has invaded Detroit area sports, the new vintage Wolverines managed to lose to Toledo on Saturday with a missed chip shot field goal that would have sent the game to overtime. Then to add insult to injury, Michigan grad Braylon Edwards, after helping his Cleveland Browns beat the Giants last night, did his postgame interview wearing a Penn State t-shirt. This, as Michigan gets ready to face PSU this coming weekend. Braylon's got some explaining to do!

Slackers

It was a pretty pathetic performance put in by the Red Wings last night. Uncharacteristic giveaways time after time ultimately cost them the Leafs' third goal, but the turnovers did a lot more to derail Detroit's offense than anything else. They didn't win the battles for the puck and they got outskated.

Hopefully they will learn from last night's game that having a lot more talent than the other guys isn't going to be enough this year. The work ethic has to be there too. Win the races. Battle like they did in the playoffs last year. And take advantage of opportunities. That's what it's going to take.

On the other side of the game last night, I think the Leafs are going to be able to hang around in more games than anyone expects. Ron Wilson has them playing hard and buying into the system. The trap is going to make them horribly boring to watch all year, but if Wilson can keep their effort levels up, they might have some hope at seeing the playoffs again.

Raising the Banner

Big night in Detroit tonight. Put on your jersey and break out the wing nut

Tonight we celebrate this ...

By beating up on this ...

Can't wait to check it out! LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!!!

How Strange Will This Week's Games Be?

Another week of picking dawns, and it's been pointed out that perhaps I would do better if I just flipped a coin. So, after I've made all of my carefully calculated picks, I will do just that and see how I fare versus fate. I'm not optimistic that this will end well for me.

Bears over Falcons - Is Kyle Orton for real or does he just wish he could beat up on the Lions every week? Tune in to find out.

Ravens over Colts - This is a pick where I could happily just flip a coin. Ultimately, I think the Ravens' D is too good and I think the Colts' two wins have both been fluky. I'll take the more solid team even though they're on the road.

Vikings over Lions - Minnesota's win on Monday night was also very fluky, but A.Pete could run for more than 200 yards against this porous Detroit defense. Look for it to be 21-0 at halftime like every other game the Lions have played.

Saints over Raiders - the Raiders are just as dysfunctional as the Lions. New Orleans is going to come out with something to prove after pissing away the game Monday night.

Jets over Bengals - it should be a high scoring affair and I think Cincy will remain winless, especially having to go on the road and face Brett.

Panthers over Bucs - tough game to pick. Both defenses are playing great and neither offense has stepped up, so it should be low scoring. I picked Carolina because no one knows how the QB carousel will land in Tampa.

Redskins over Rams - St. Louis is the only team in the league that might (and I emphasize the might part) be as bad as Detroit. Washington is going to pound them.

Texans over Dolphins - Houston has seemed cursed so far this year, but with Miami coming off back to back wins over New England and San Diego and having to go on the road, I think this might just be a week they could be caught napping. With Schaub back to health, Houston will take the doughnut out of their win column.

Denver over Jacksonville - I get both the Broncos and Jaguars games wrong every week. Pay no attention to this pick.

Cowboys over Cardinals - and so begins my picking of road teams the rest of the week. Dallas is too good for Arizona and they won't be caught off guard like Buffalo was last week.

Eagles over 49ers - Philly needs this game to keep their season on track. Donovan will have the boys jumpin'.

Packers over Seahawks - Green Bay will bounce back against a Seattle team that isn't nearly as good as everyone expected this year.

Patriots over Chargers - really tough pick after both just got burned by Miami's "Wildcat" offense. I think SD's pass defense looks susceptible and Philip Rivers has been too eratic to make plays to bail the defense out.

Giants over Browns - could I possibly get a Monday Night game right this week? The G-men should prove to be reliable.

Finally, here are the picks from the random number generator ...
Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, Oakland, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Houston, Denver, Arizona, Philadelphia, Green Bay, San Diego, Cleveland.

That's right ... the random number generator picked every winless team. And it will probably do better than me.

The Woebegone Lions

Stat of the day courtesy of Peter King's MMQB column ...

Detroit's seven first-half possessions ended in a punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, punt and punt -- and none lasted longer than 99 seconds.

Could this team possibly be any worse? They are truly going to threaten that perfect 0-16 record this season. The only hope they might have is playing the Saints and the Packers at the end of the year if either of those teams already have playoff berths locked up. And the way those two teams are going, that's no lock either.

And speaking of bad teams, how terrible is Kansas City, losing even worse (34-0) than the Lions this weekend? What do you think Denver is thinking right now after giving up 33 to the Chiefs in last week's loss?

Finally, my picks were bad again this week. 8-5 going into tonight's game. I'm optimistic that one of these weeks I'll hit double digits again in the win column. Perhaps if things like Denver's choke job last week and San Diego's this week stop happening I might be able to figure out what's going on in this league!

NFL Week 5

I'm uncertain about several of the picks this weekend and I'm not buoyed by my weak performance in week 4. However, with the beginning of the MLB playoffs in the books and Chicago overwhelmed with baseball fever (though they'll certainly be hoping for better outcomes shortly), I'll begin with Chi-town's other important sports event this weekend ... the disheartening destruction of the Detroit Lions (pardon the alliteration).

Bears over Lions - I was very impressed by the goal line stand against Philly (even though I needed Philly to get in for my picks). The Bears won't have to do anything nearly as difficult to beat Detroit.

Packers over Falcons - both have two wins, but Atlanta's were against KC and Detroit, so I don't value those much. Both lost to the Bucs, but Atlanta lost worse. I look for GB to bounce back from a couple of poor games. I'm a little worried about Rodgers' sore shoulder though.

Chargers over Dolphins - SD is a last second play and a bad call by the ref from being 4-0. There's no way the Fins beat them, even in Miami.

Giants over Seahawks - it's almost too easy picking the better team at home with the other guys flying across the country.

Eagles over Redskins - this is a tough pick to me. Philly should have won last week but as stated above, couldn't punch it in on three tries from the goal line. Washington seems to be pulling it together after a bad first week. But injuries will play a role and Philly is getting healthier while Washington is going the other way.

Panthers over Chiefs - KC's win was a one off. Won't happen two weeks in a row ... especially not against a great defensive team.

Titans over Ravens - I hate picking so many road teams, but I just can't overlook how well the Titans' defense is playing. Baltimore's D almost won them the Monday-nighter though. I think I'll take the team with an extra day of rest.

Colts over Texans - in Peyton I trust. Off the bye week Indy might get some of those banged up bodies back and they should certainly be a better team than Houston.

Bucs over Broncos - another tough one and I'm going to go with the road upset because defense wins ball games. Denver's record is inflated and I don't see them continuing to win with offense alone.

Cowboys over Bengals - this Cincy team is exceptionally bad. Dallas struggled with the game planning last weekend, but they would be hard pressed to blow it against the Bengals.

Cardinals over Bills - I would really like to pick Buffalo to be 5-0, but I still just can't believe in them. Look for them to lose a game they shouldn't this week and come back to the division a little bit.

Patriots over 49ers - I'm nervous about this pick too. However, Bellichick probably tried to hang himself after the colosal failures against the Dolphins and then he had extra time through the bye week to prepare for this one. The Pats should walk away from SF with the win.

Jaguars over Steelers - Pittsburgh was lucky to win Monday night (14 points in one bad minute by Baltimore sure helped them out) and I don't see them escaping what will be a very physical game against Jacksonville on short rest with the injuries they suffered.

Saints over Vikings - this will be another high scoring Monday Nighter if the Saints hold to form. I like them to win a shootout as Drew Brees continues to put up the most yards in the league this year.

Random Musings of a Lions Fan

At least there's one Lions team that can go out and win football games. The BC Lions are on a roll these days. After a pathetic start, they've rattled off four straight wins to climb into second place in the Western Conference with just five games to play, two of which are against a below-500 Argos team and two more against Edmonton who they've split the season series with so far.

In a nice change in the NFL this past week, the Detroit Lions also managed not to lose. Of course, the only way they managed that was to not play. From here on out, I don't see anyone on their schedule who shouldn't be favoured to beat them. Rest assured though, one of these weeks they'll come out and play a remarkably strong game and make everyone wonder why they haven't been able to win all year. The Bucs perfect season from 1976 (who can forget their 0-14 record?) will not be in jeopardy ... do you think they'll celebrate like the '72 Dolphins?

With the Leos on the sidelines this weekend, it turned out to be a tough slate of games to pick. Raise your hands all those who had the Chiefs winning a game. Chirping crickets ... it's all I hear. Skins over the Cowboys? Anyone? What about Bears over the Eagles? No one, eh? Oh well ... I'd like to thing that this coming week will make things easier, but as I look at the week 5 score board I grow timid ...

Skins at Philly - is Washington as good as they looked against Dallas?
Falcons at Green Bay - how bad is that shoulder of Aaron Rodgers'?
Titans at Ravens - both giving up nothing on D ... will either be able to score?

It just keeps going on. I think there's about 7 games that I'm tossing a coin on and I'm sure that won't work out well for me.

In brighter news, the NHL preseason has kicked into full swing and we're less than a week away from the regular season starting up. I'm looking forward to seeing the Wings try to defend their territory this year and to seeing how they hold up as a favourite when the favourites seem to collapse like a flan in the cupboard every year. The MLB playoffs are also set to begin, though we need an extra game this evening to decide who will win the AL Central since the Tigers stunk it up in their bid to eliminate the White Sox yesterday. It figures, of course, that the Tigers would finish dead last in the season when everyone picked them to win the World Series. I'm nto bitter about that at all. Of course, it could be worse ... I could be a Mets fan!

What's on Tap?

So USC lost to OSU, eh? But I thought that OSU just lost to USC a couple of weeks ago. What's that? Different OSU? Oh ... well at least they lost to the highly ranked one, right? Nope ... they lost to the unranked one. The one that lost to Stanford earlier on. Wow. I guess you just can't trust those 19 year old kids to travel up the coast and take care of business the way everyone expects. It's as though they're not professionals or something. Oh wait ... they're not?

And thus begins the 2008 season of college football. After all of the shocking upsets that we saw last year, I suppose this game last night shouldn't come as too big a surprise. But still, I was somehow blown away when I looked at the TV last night and saw the Trojans down 21-0 at halftime. I have no doubt that more surprises are in store this season with the uprising of the mid-majors (see: Boise State, East Carolina, TCU, and Fresno State all being ranked in the top 25 this week), the competitiveness of inter-conference play every season, and the sheer fact that college football teams are made up of a bunch of teenage (or just barely post-teenage) boys. I think that the unpredicatbility is part of what makes it so much fun to watch.

Speaking of predictions, here I go again with my picks for the NFL this weekend. I'm hoping to replicate my success from last week where I went 13-3!

Bengals over Browns - one of these two teams has to finally get a win this week because they can't both lose. I suppose they could tie. Can I pick that? Nah ... pick the home team.

Titans over Vikings - Tennessee just isn't giving up any points and Minnesota aren't scoring many either. It won't take much offense for the Titans to win this one.

Broncos over Chiefs - While I'm loving Denver's ability to put up points this year, I'm not sold on their D. However, KC is so lousy that it won't hurt the Broncos at all this week.

Saints over 49ers - I'm not totally sold on this one, especially with Shockey out, but I have little faith in the strength of the Niners' wins against a depleted Seahawks team and an inept Lions team.

Jets over Cardinals - In a battle of old QB's, I like Favre in his new home better than Warner travelling across the country.

Bucs over Packers - another game I'm not totally comfortable with, especially since Tampa could be missing their kicker. But I do like the way Tampa stepped up and faced some adversity in beating the Bears last weekend and will give them the benefit of the doubt at home.

Panthers over Falcons - Atlanta is going to have a hard time scoring on a good Carolina defence, especially with their rookie QB. I like the Panthers to bounce back from the loss to Minny.

Jaguars over Texans - This pick would be easy, except that Houston has had Jacksonville's number since they joined the league. However, I think the Jags are finally on track.

Chargers over Raiders - finally, an easy pick! I'll enjoy seeing the Chargers put up a pile more points against the only team with management as inept as Detroit's.

Bills over Rams - Can Buffalo actually wind up 4-0? It's really hard to believe, but I don't see St. Louis stopping them.

Cowboys over Redskins - speaking of unstoppable, do these Cowboys ever look good right now! Let's hope they can stay healthy and keep putting on a great show.

Eagles over Bears - Chicago could be 3-0 right now instead of 1-2 if just a couple more plays went their way. It just looks like one of those kinds of years for them.

Ravens over Steelers - This Monday night game will not be as high flying and offensive as the last two. If you like a ground out battle though, it'll be a great game to watch. I'm picking the Ravens because I think their D can hamper an injured Big Ben even more than Philly did last week.

Enjoy the weekend!