Week 5 College Football pick recap

Well, I stay in the red, but I did it knowingly on two games. Hopefully you all took my advice and stayed away from my picks. Let's get to it:
#4 LSU @ #18 Georgia (-3)
Pick: LSU +3
Result: 20-13 LSU: W
This was a ugly, terrible, sloppy game for about 3.5 quarters. The end however was fannnnntastic. There are a couple of things that really jumped out in this game. 1st AJ Green is pretty much an alien cyborg from the future. Coming off a performance when he had huge catches and a rowdy FG block, AJ continued to get the job done with this amazing catch for a TD when UGA needed it most, putting the Bulldogs on top with 1:09 left.

This video brings me to my 2nd point. STOP CALLING BULLSHIT EXCESSIVE CELEBRATION PENALTIES. I'll fully admit that I love celebrations post TD. Guys like Ochocinco just make me happy. It is hard to score a TD, why not let them celebrate. Sure, you can easily go too far, and I understand why the rule is there. But what in that video deserved a 15 yard flag?!?? The SEC has since issued a mea culpa admitting that the flag shouldn't have been thrown, but it was. If a guy scores a huge TD like that to put his team in a position to upset a top 5 rival with just over a minute left in the game, he should be given some leeway. Especially when he didn't do anything!!

All that being said, that flag isn't why UGA lost. It was a terrible call and certainly hurt, but it didn't allow the big KR, and it certainly didn't miss all of these tackles:

S-E-C speed.

#7 USC (-5) @ #24 Cal
Pick: Cal +5
Result: 30-3 USC: L
Well, the Tedford collapse is officially on. This one was just a boat race from the get go. SC pretty much dominated this game from the opening whistle. Not only did they effectively move the ball, they held Javhid Best to a mere 47 yards, while Joe McKnight had a stellar 2 TD, 117 yd performance. Just a beatdown.

#8 Oklahoma (-7.5) @ #17 Miami
Pick: Miami +7.5
Result 21-20 Miami: W
Jacory Harris works when it isn't raining. While OU started this game with a pair of interceptions and a QUICK TD drive, Miami took over in the 2nd half with Harris following his early 2 picks with 3 TDs. Reports are that Bradford will try to start this Saturday to get a game under his belt before the annual showdown with Texas. The mustachioed one has played admirably in his stead, as Jones was in "game manager" mode, throwing for 188 yds and a TD on 18 of 30 passing. Not great, but not losing the game either.

#22 Michigan @ Michigan St (-3)
Pick: Mich +3
Result: 26-20 MSU (OT): L
I'm just going to quote myself from the pick page:
"I really don't get this line at all. Clearly this means MSU will win by 10 and you will all lose if you go with me, but I don't care. I know I'm walking into a trap and I'm doing it while whistling Dixie. This looks like a freaking blank check to me."

That's me, just hanging out under the red cage watching the game, not a care in the world...Stupid trap game.

Washington @ Notre Dame (-13)
Pick: ND -13
Result: 37-30 ND (OT): L
This game was so infuriating to watch. The inability of the Irish offense to score once the got in the red zone was absolutely pathetic. 30 points (in regulation) seems like a nice day...but when you have 500 FREAKING YARDS OF OFFENSE IN REGULATION HOW DO YOU NOT SCORE MORE TDS?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? Clausen showed that there were no real lingering issues with his toe, coming out with a career day throwing for 422 yards on 23 of 31 passing, w/ 2TDs and a INT courtesy of a ball that went right through the hands of Armando Allen. Golden Tate continued to step up in the Post-Cannon era, torching UW for 244 yards, including a couple of LONG dominant catches

Golden just refuses to let the offense die if he can help it. Also, he can fly apparently:

Dude can do it all. I will fully admit to being terrified until he got up. The thought of an offense sans Floyd and Tate is not a world I want to live in. The craziest part of this game though was the double goalline stand by the Irish thanks to a roughing the snapper call after the 1st half of the stand on a FG attempt (I know, what?). I'll let the vid tell the story, a bit long, but way manly:

The takeaway is a win is a win. ND needs to step up their secondary play and RZ offense if they expect to put up a fight against USC in 2 weeks.

Result this week: 2-3
Result to date: 9-16 (.360)
Well, the winning % went up. When it goes up after a 2-3 week, you know you are bad. How'd you kids do?

Ryan:
Results this week: 2-3
Results to date: 8-17(.320)

Johnny Chan:
Results this week:2-3
Results to date: 7-18 (.280)

Kristin:
Results this week: 2-3 (yayyyyy you did it)
Results to date:2-14 (.125)

Judson:
Results this week: 4-1
Results to date:14-11 (.560)

Travis:
Results this week:3-2
Results to date:4-11 (.267)

Daniel:
Results this week: 3-2
Results to date:4-6 (.400)

Donnie B:
Results this week: 3-2
Results to date:7-13 (.350)

The Senator:
Results this week: 0-2
Results to date:0-2 (Why only pick 2 games mystery The Senator? And why make up your own lines? Come on now)

Matt:
Results this week: 3-2
Results to date: 9-14 (.360)

Better than it's been the last two weeks, we are slowly moving the right direction. Tune in next time, same bat time (tomorrow around 3ish prob) same bat channel (umm..this one).

College Football Week 3 Pick Recap

Well, while it doesn't feel as demoralizing as last week, the results are gonna look pretty similar kids. What can I say, big lines will punish you when the teams dont decide to punish. Sadly my knowledge on most of these comes from quick highlights since I was at the ND game. But let's be serious, if you are really coming here for in depth analysis, well...you've got terrible terrible taste. Recap, AWAY!

Tennessee @ #1 Florida (-30)
PICK: UF -30
Result: 23-13 UF: L
Listening to people from the Florida side has been interesting since this game. You get a lot of the cliched talk of "happy to walk out with a W." Then you had the curious interview w/ Urban Meyer, claiming that Tennessee just didn't want to win on Saturday. Tebow continued to validate his hype, looking like a damn rhinoceros and simply refusing to go down. I dont know if he will ever do anything in the NFL, but damn the kid is fun to watch. Jonathan Crompton continued to suck, horribly. 11 of 19 for 93 yards and 2 picks is not going to win you games anywhere, especially in the SEC against the #1 team in all the land. Still, was definitely expecting an UGA style beatdown as opposed to a 10 point game, but hey, a win is a win, they just wanted to take it one play at a time, give a 110%, and God willing, come out with the victory.

Texas Tech @ #2 Texas (-17.5)
Pick: UT -17.5
Result: 34-24 Texas: L
Another revenge game with a big line, another loss for yours truly. Quite simply, Texas just looked sloppy. Reports after the game were that Colt McCoy was sick w/ the flu during the game. This would account for numerous un-Colt like incompletions due to bad overthrows. The gunslinger just didn't have his normal stuff. What blows my mind is looking at the stats after the game, I would've expected him to be in the 50's for completion %. Yet McCoy finished up 24-34, and both of his picks came on balls that his WRs got both hands on. Taylor Potts showed that he can easily fill the role of "Random Red Raider (alliteration bonus) QB to throw for billions of yards" while rocking a truly hilarious mustache. Quick aside, the Big XII South is absolutely killing the facial hair market right now. Between Potts, OU's backup Landry Jones, and Colt's preseason dirt strip, there is just unintentional hilarity all over the place. Back to the game, the Tech passing game was pretty fantastic all day, yet inexplicably at the end of the game, Leach decided to try the run. The Pirate King is crazy, sometimes it's a good crazy, this time it was bad.

#USC (-18.5) @ Washington:
Pick: UW +18.5
Result: 16-13 UW: W

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHA
(deep breath) BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

#19 Nebraska @ #13 Virginia Tech (-5.5)
Pick: Nebraska +5.5
Result: 16-15 VT: W
Oh Nebraska, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. From all accounts, Nebraska really out played VT the entire game...up until the last drive that is. Nebraska gave up a huge 80 yard pass by Tyrod Taylor to set up a late score that ended up being the nail in the Big Red coffin. Nebraska looked good on Saturday though, especially Running Back Roy Helu Jr. who dropped 169 yards on the Hokies vaunted D. This was a tough fought game, and a bitter pill for the Huskers to follow. The bright side here is they looked good, and this isn't a conference loss. The Big XII North title is looking more and more like Nebraska's to lose. VT meanwhile gets a big out of conference win to avenge their loss to Bama and has some momentum going into their huge matchup with this year's "Are they Back??" Miami Hurricanes led by the master of awesome that is Jacory Harris.

Michigan St. @ Notre Dame (-10)
Pick: ND -10
Result: 33-30 ND: L
Dear sweet Lord. Let it never be said that being an Irish fan is boring. This game was a shootout and had tons of highlight reel moments. This game did nothing to calm the anger of ND fans toward Big TenLeven refs as for a 2nd week in a row, a touchdown was taken away from Irish. This week's was even more egregious than AA's against Michigan for 2 reasons. First, watch the play on this shot done by a fan in the stands:

Now, when you can clearly see from the stands that Cannon got not one, but two feet inbounds, it's damn near inexplicable to think that the officials there, AND on replay, could call it an incomplete pass. The worst part however, and a true dagger to my soul, is Michael Floyd broke his collar bone on this play. The rest of the day was spent with my friends and I trying to reassure ourselves that hey, people come back from this as quickly as 4 weeks (and a trip to the Backer, natch). Sadly, the news came down the next day confirming our worst fears, our Cannon had been taken from us. ND lost their best player at least until the bowl game. I know I've said it a lot on here, but I truly believe by the time all is said and done, Floyd will easily be a top 5 WR of all time at ND, and really has the possibility to be better than Rocket, Brown, and Samardzija. However, if he can't stay healthy, we may never find out. ND's defense once again gave up far too many points, but Kyle McCarthy (get some fam) stepped on Sparty's throat with an interception in the defensive red zone to secure a long awaited victory over MSU at home. It was ugly, it doesn't make anyone feel better about the rest of the year, and the Irish lost their best player, but hey, a win is a win right?

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't post Golden Tate's chicanery. I can't condone this, and I have no idea with some of the things we were called for, how this didn't get a 15 yard Unsportsmanlike at the very least. HOWEVAH, it is also freaking awesome. ND has been missing this type of swagger for a long time. Shark had some, Tate has it in spades. Like they say, if you don't want him to dance (or superman your marching band) don't let him score. Surely you've seen it, but if not:

So how'd we do?

Result this week: 2-3
Result to date: 6-9 (.400)

Another sub .500 week, damn. At some point this has got to pick up. How'd yall do?

Ryan:
This week: 2-3
To date: 6-9 (.400)

Matt:
This week: 1-4 (only because he picked cover, spread's all we care about this year)
To date: 5-5 (.500)

Travis:
This week: 1-4
To date: 1-4 (.200)

Donnie B:
This week: 3-2
To date: 4-6 (.400)

Johnny Chan:
This week: 1-4
To date: 4-11 (.266)

David L.:
This week: 3-2
To date: 8-7 (.533)

Judson:
This week: 2-3
To date: 9-6 (.600)

This week we make our comeback kids. Tune in tomorrow, big day on the blog. We will have our normal picks made, but also a special guest host from the man behind Who Shot Mamba? (www.whoshotmamba.com) and the former YAYsports! (RIP), Brian Spaeth (@brianspaeth). Scoreboard should be right. Taker easy kids.

College Football Week 2 Recap

I'm sorry this came so late. I tried to start this post 4 other times before today. The problem is everytime I got to the last game I got furious and had to shut it down. Enough time has passed now to where I can still type while seething with anger. Plus, it's time to concentrate my hate on the next opponent. Homer amateur writers needs to move on to next games just like the players do, right? On we go, how'd we do?

#3 USC (-7) @ #8 OSU
Pick: USC -7
Result: 18-15 USC: L
This was flat out just an ugly game. For a matchup of 2 top 10 teams, I walked away from this one fairly unimpressed. USC's D (and Tressel's painfully predictable playcalling) did enough to keep Pryor and the Buckeyes in check. Meanwhile, for all the praise being heaped on Matt Barkley, let's slow down a bit. 15 of 31 for 195 yards, 0 TD, and 1 INT....really? The last drive that "Barkley led" should be credited to the ever electric Joe McKnight. SC did enough to win, but I cant say they are really striking fear in the hearts of teams around the land.

UCLA @ Tennesse (-10)
Pick: UCLA +10
Result: 19-15 UCLA: W
The closer this game got, the better I felt about it. THAT was the Jonathan Crompton we all know and love. 93 yards passing and 3 interceptions is no way to go through life son. Another sloppy game that surely has the Gators licking their chops for their chance to get Kiffykins back for all his smack this summer.

South Carolina @ #21 Georgia (-6.5)
Pick: Georgia -6.5
Result: 41-37 UGA: L
Well, I did not see this one coming. UGA got a well needed win after the OSU loss in week 1. Cant say I was expecting a shootout like this from these two teams. More losses like this and Gamecock fans may start counting down the days til they send the OBC to that big golf course in the sky.

Miss. St @ Auburn (-14)
Pick: Miss. St. +14
Result: 49-24 Auburn: L
Again, what the hell? Since when do these teams actually play offense. This is what happens when you go off knowledge based purely from the year before. So much failure.

#18 Notre Dame (-3.5) @ Michigan
Pick: ND -3.5
Result: 38-34 Michigan: L
So much anger. My gut reaction Saturday that I posted on my Tumblr still stands. For those of you that didn't see them, they were:

• Really, you throw on 2nd down when “running out the clock” allegedly?
• You get called for an unsportsmanlike for putting a single finger up to your facemask nowadays?
• You play bend dont break the entire game and let a true freshman tear you up without at any point putting a QB spy on?
• You are allegedly one of the top receivers in the country yet you have 4 HUGE drops in the 2nd half
• On a huge 3rd down you put a timing route that takes incredible practice and cohesion on a true freshman?
• You can’t make an f’ing 28 yard field goal?
• You have inside safety help covering the quick slant as a CB yet still bite on the juke and leave the WR wide open in the corner?

These all stand now. I still don't know, after watching tons of replays, why AA was called out of bounds on that TD. I dont really think there was a hold on the Rudolph big game, but it might've happened. The play-calling still absolutely infuriates me. But hey, what are you gonna do? The main point is the Defense MUST step up their game from here on out. Jon Tenuta was hired because of his innovative blitzing schemes, yet ND has been able to get pressure on QB's. THIS MUST CHANGE!! Once again, credit to Jimmy, dude had a great day: 25 of 42, 336 yards, 3 TDs and no picks...not shabby. My boy Floyd was a stud again, but went down with an injury late. All reports are he's good to go for Saturday after getting 15 stitches.

Result this week: 1-4
Result to date: 4-6

Lord Almighty that is brutal. Well now that we know I suck, how did you all do? In order of picks made.

Ryan:
This week: 1-4
To date: 4-6

Johnny Chan:
This week: 0-5
To date: 3-7

Judson:
This week: 3-2
To date: 7-3

Donnie B:
This week: 1-4
To date: 1-4

David L:
This week: 0-5
To date: 5-5 (all or nothing there, huh slick?)

The Regulators:
This week: 1-4
To date: 1-4

Kristin:
This week: 0-5
To date: 0-6

Yikes, that is an ugly, ugly week. Let's get em back next week, shall we kids? Scoreboard on the right should be updated, now with new players added. Have a good one.

Conference Finals predictions

What up kiddies, I'm back. Sorry for the hiatus there, I was busy trying to not fail out of school and the whatnot w/ finals. I'm now done with my 2L year, kicking it in the ATX and doing some lawyering this summer. I know I missed a round, but I blame it on equal parts being holed up in the SMU library and sad sad depression after watching my Spurs just get rolled. So let's recap and do some new picks. I guess I'll start with my new picks.

Eastern Conference Finals:
#3 Orlando Magic vs #1 Cleveland Cavaliers
Pick: CLE in 5.
I wont lie, I kind of want to pick a sweep here but I think Dwight is good for at least one 28 and 26 game while either Hedo or Rafer or Lewis feels like dropping 25 to 30 mainly from way back. The problem is A) you cant stop LeBron right now. 23 is playing some of the most impressive ball I've seen in awhile. Not only that, but his supporting cast has stepped up big time so far. That and the Cavs have been an absolute juggernaut, 8-0 so far. I just dont see Orlando putting up enough of a fight here.

#2 Denver Nuggets vs #1 LA Lakers
Pick: LAL in 6
Yes, I was way way way wayyyyyy off with the Nuggets in round one. After a quick beat down of the Mavs people seem convinced that they are going to crush the Lakers. Sure the Lakers struggled with the Rockets, but it was a strange series. The 1st game without Yao hurt the Lakers as much as the Rockets because the Lakers had to switch to the much faster pace the Rockets were forced to play, and frankly were not ready for it. I think the game 7 performance is what should be focused on. Maybe I just want to try and redeem myself, maybe it's because I want to deny Bilas and Stephen A and all the ESPN folk at the draft who predicted that Melo v James would be the next Bird v Magic, which is just wrong. I think Kobe will play his team into the finals and that the Nuggets run finally comes to an end. This should be a fun one tho, and I expect very physical. I can't wait until the first time the Machine goes against Birdman (*bird hand sign* BRRRRRRRRR) as they will likely cause techs on the opposing side throughout the contest. Expect LA to establish their dominance in game 1 with a convincing victory

As always feel free to leave your predictions or thoughts down in the comments. Now, how did my 1st round predictions go?...umm..not great

Lakers v Jazz:
My pick: LAL in 4
Actual: LAL in 5
Not too shabby, this really wasnt a series like most people figured. A good start.

Nuggets v Hornets:
My pick: NO in 7
Actual: DEN in 5
And it begins to fall apart for me...yikes was I wrong about this Denver team. Right now they are probably playing the 2nd best ball behind the Cavs of the remaining team. They didn't just beat the Hornets, they absolutely stomped them. Who knew...not me.

Spurs v Mavs:
My pick: SAS in 6
Actual: Dallas in 5
I'm still not ready to talk about it. Maybe once the season is done, maybe after I see the draft, but not yet. In short: The Spurs are dead, long live the Spurs. It's been a hell of a decade...

Blazers v Rockets:
My pick: Blazers in 5
Actual: HOU in 6
Umm...yah, about that. Houston came out ready to play. I guess the Blazers really are still just the team of the future, the young bucks will have to wait.

Total games off in the West: 12. I'm terrible, I know. How about the East:

Cavs v Pistons:
My pick: Cavs in 4
Actual: Cavs in 4
YAYYYYYY I DID IT YAYYYYYYYY. Finally got a series on the button, if you can even call this a series. Talk about a team who got the proverbial nail in the coffin, the Pistons are going the way of their town. It's starting to look like Robocop's prediction of future Detroit may not have been too far off.

Celtics v Bulls:
My pick: Celts in 6
Actual: Celts in 7
There is nothing that I can say about this series that hasn't already been said. These games were some of the most fun I've had watching basketball in a long time. I'm not ready to proclaim it GREATEST SERIES EVAHHHH like some people, but it was definitely a barnburner. The lasting things I took away from this: 1) Ben Gordon is still infuriatingly inconsistent, 2) Joakim Noah is evil and should be destroyed before he and his undead brethren try to end us all, 3) Derrick Rose is a freak and will be a joy to watch in the next decade or so, 4) Ray Allen IS Jesus Shuttlesworth, 5) Nobody anywhere would be surprised if it ends up KG has killed a guy.

Magic v 76ers
My pick: Magic in 5
Actual: Magic in 6

Hawks v Heat
My pick: Hawks in 7
Actual: Hawks in 7
Another money pick by your boy. Both of these series had some fun moments but my inconsistent posting has left me with nothing to really say at this point.

Total games off in the East: 2
Now that is some delicious prognosticating right there kids. The WCF kicks off tomorrow with the ECF on Wednesday. Thoughts, cheers, boos, and predictions all welcome below. Enjoy the ball kids, I know I will.

NBA Playoffs 1st Round Predictions

So after a long grueling season we've finally come to the playoffs. Thanks to league pass I've watched more basketball this year than I ever have and to tell you the truth, could not be more excited about this years playoffs. There are going to be some great battles on the road to the O'Brien trophy and I think fans everywhere are in for some treats.

Back at the beginning of the year I made some predictions here. My predicted order for the Western Conference was 1: LA 2:NO 3:HOU 4:SA 5:UTAH 6:PHX 7: POR 8: DEN. I said in that post that I thought either PHX or DAL would miss out on the playoffs this year, both were on the decline and I gave the nod to the Suns based on the Nash Amare combo. Well, Amare went down and the Suns are enjoying their vacations already. Ends up I was pretty far off, the real order being: 1: LA, 2: Den, 3: SA, 4:POR, 5: HOU, 6: Dallas, 7: NO, 8: Utah. But if you've read this blog for any amount of time you know that by now I'm VERY used to my predictions falling through, so let's get to the 1st round matchups shall we?

Western Conference round 1:

#1 Los Angeles Lakers (65-17) vs #8 Utah Jazz (48-34)
Prediction: Lakers in 4
This series will not be close. I mean it will be an absolute curb stomp. Even Jerry Sloan doesn't give his team a chance to win. With all of the great ball on, this is one series you can feel ok with just catching in the highlights just to see what Kobe does to take over.

#2 Denver Nuggets (54-28) vs #7 New Orleans Hornets (49-33)
Prediction: Hornets in 7
This series is worth watching just for the battle between Chris Paul and Deron Williams. You have the undisputed best PG in the league in Paul going against a fantastic player in Deron who I'd say is the 3rd best PG in the league (many argue 2, they are wrong, Tony has the rings, the experience, and the stats to back it, in a few years we'll talk). The Hornets had some problems coming down the stretch with Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic banged up. Chandler came back at the end and needs to be at full strength to bang w/ K Mart down low for the Hornets to have a chance. Yes the Nuggets have Melo and a walking dagger in Chauncey Billups, but I think in one of the best series in the first round, the Hornets will pull off the upset.

#3 San Antonio Spurs (54-28) vs #6 Dallas Mavericks (50-32)
Prediction: Spurs in 6
Obviously I can't be objective here. The Spurs and Mavs split the season series this year and know each other as well as 2 teams can in the NBA. These teams have given us some fantastic series in the last few years, the last time being 06 when Manu Ginobili broke my heart as I watched him absurdly foul Dirk at the AT&T Center for the and 1 that ended the Spurs season. Many people were ready to write the Spurs off once Manu went down. I think this was a poor decision, Manu only played in about half the games this year and really never contributed a ton. The most important matchup here wont be Tim vs Dirk, the turning point is going to be Tony Parker vs Jason Kidd. Kidd is a terrible defender and Tony has accepted the greater responsibility this year on the scoring end and will torch Kidd. As long as Pop is on the bench the Spurs will have the coaching advantage and have known for weeks that Manu will not be around. Write them off at your own peril, San Antonio isn't letting this run end without a fight.

#4 Portland Trail Blazers (54-28) vs #5 Houston Rockets (53-29)
Prediction: Blazers in 5
I could not have been happier to avoid the Blazers in the first round. Everyone looks at this team and talks about how in a few years they will be title contenders. What I want to know is why aren't more people scared of them now. Brandon Roy is an absolute beast, LaMarcus Aldridge might be my pick for the most underrated player in the game, and Greg Oden has grown during the year into a formidable inside presence. The Rockets on the other hand are without T-Mac(which in the playoffs may not be a bad thing) and Yao has had several injury problems throughout the year. I dont like this matchup for the Rockets and see the Blazers getting by fairly easily.

Eastern Conference:
#1 Cleveland Cavaliers (66-16) vs #8 Detroit Pistons (39-43)
Prediction: Cavs in 4
Again, this will not be pretty. The Pistons are on the down swing and I'd put the over under on Sheed techs at 4 in this series. The only reason it is this low is I don't see this going past 4 games. The Pistons run is doneski kids.

#2 Boston Celtics (62-20) vs #7 Chicago Bulls (41-41)
Prediction: Celts in 6
With the revelation that KG may miss the playoffs, part of me wanted to pick the Bulls in 7 and for my analysis just say ANYTHING IS POSSSIBLEEEEEEEEEEEE. HOWEVAH, even w/o KG, the talent disparity between these 2 teams is still pretty large. The Bulls top weapon in rookie PG Derrick Rose is still a rookie. Not only that but Rondo has shon great improvement this year and will make Rose work on both ends. The Bulls cant answer Pierce but will steal a few in Chi-Town.

#3 Orlando Magic (59-23) vs #6 Philadelphia 76ers (41-41)
Prediction: Magic in 5
I've read many looking at this as a possible upset. I just don't see it. Yes the Magic haven't closed incredibly strong, but I just dont like this matchup for Phili. Orlando can hit from deep or pound away w/ Dwight Howard. This one won't be close.

#4 Atlanta Hawks (47-35) vs #5 Miami Heat (43-39)
Prediction: Hawks in 7
Here is the beauty of home court. The Hawks are absolute beasts in the ATL and Joe Johnson is about to show why more people should know his name. The Heat are going to give them a battle tho, you just cant count out Dwayne Wade who has returned with a vengeance this year. This is going to be an incredible series I think.

So there it is. Make your picks, applaud my style, or call me an idiot in the comments. Enjoy the playoffs kids, it's gonna be a blast.

Week 13 Results AKA When ND becames a basketball school

Well, I hate football. That's really all there is to it at this point. Over the weekend I will probably have a long rant to try and figure out where my head is at as far as ND football is concerned. Needless to say, it's not a happy place. However, this was a big week for football and we are in the middle of a good old fashioned mexican standoff in the Big XII south. Game on:

Syracuse @ ND (-20)
Pick: ND Cover
Result:24-23 Cuse, Lose both.
I'm still too angry to think rationally about this game. Right now I feel like we can't keep Charlie but cant fire him either. Give me a few days to compose my thoughts...

#2 Texas Tech @ #5 Oklahoma (-7)
Pick: Tech Cover, OU Win.
Result: 65-21 OU, Win SU, Lose ATS
Well the pirate ship is going down after this curbstomp. I dont think anybody thought that OU would come out and lay this type of a beat down on Tech. Sam Bradford vaults himself up to the top of the Heisman list with 304 yards and 4TDs and Oklahoma puts themselves in great shape for a shot at the title game. Let's look at the clusterf- we have at this point shall we?

So currently, Bama sits comfortably at 1 in the BCS while Texas is at 2 with .9209. OU is at 3 with .9125. While this looks good for Texas right now, the remaining schedule is a very bad Texas A&M team that likely wont help them in the polls. Meanwhile, OU gets a shot at #12 Okie St. Oklahoma is already ahead of Texas in 2 of the 3 facets of the BCS: the Harris poll and the USA Today Coaches poll. Texas' saving grace is the computers put the Horns at at 2 and OU at 3 by a fairly convincing margin.

This becomes further muddled by the fact that the 2nd Big XII title game tiebreaker (well, the next on the list that is useful this year) is BCS standing. Since we have the rock-paper-scissors TT-OU-Texas scenario, assuming all 3 win this weekend we will have to wait and see what the computer spits out. Tech got shot so far down, they are likely out of the National Title picture. Even if OU loses to Okie State, sending Tech to the title game by virtue of their head to head win over Texas, they may not make up enough ground to pass Texas, and UT could get to the MNC game. This of course assumes they beat an Aggie team they have lost to the last two years...Confused yet? Me too. I'm just gonna sit back and watch, cause my head hurts...I was told there would be no math.

Michigan @ Ohio St (-21)
Pick: OSU cover
Result:42-7 OSU. Win both
The only solace I have in the football world right now is that Michigan is having our year from last year.

#14 BYU @ #7 Utah (-7)
Pick: BYU Win
Result: 48-24 Utah, lose both.
Well, this is what happens when you try to will things you want with picks. The Mormons failed me yet again and the Utes continue their march to a BCS game that I will invariably avoid like the plague.

#20 Pitt @ #19 Cincinatti (-5)
Pick: Pitt Win
Result 28-21 Cinci, lose both
Again, I'm horrible at this game. The lesson as always is never ever ever count on a Wannestache led team when it counts, you will only fail.

Result this week:
ATS:1-4
SU:2-3

Record to date:
ATS:33-33-1
SU:45-22

How did you kids do?

Johnny Chan:
Record this week: ATS: 1-4 SU: 3-2 Record to date: ATS: 36-30-1 SU: 48-19

Matt:
Record this week: ATS: 4-1 SU: 3-2 Record to date: ATS: 33-33-1 SU: 42-25

Judson:
Record this week: ATS: 3-2 SU: 3-2 Record to date: ATS: 29-27-1 SU 39-18

David:
Record this week: ATS: 0-5 SU: 2-3 Record to date: ATS: 23-36-1 SU: 37-23

Be sure to pay attention as the picks may very well go up tomorrow to get some of the earlier games this weekend. If you happen to get in late it's cool, just predict the games that haven't happened and it'll get taken care of.

Week 10 results

Dashed hopes and dreams are the name of the game this week for a few teams. Well, for a few teams and my record...ugly. Here we go

Record thus far:
ATS:25-22-1
SU:33-15

Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame (-5)
Pick: ND Cover.
Result: 36-33 Pitt, 4OT, lose both. De-freaking-moralizing. I had a decent peg on this game too. I told you i was scared of McCoy and well...the kid lit us up. After a quiet 1st half, McCoy ended up w/ 169 on the ground. Pitt brought out some interesting formations on O as well, lots of "wildcat"esque plays throwing their various RB's behind center. I was also right about Michael Floyd continuing his absurd freshman campaign, this time going for 100 yds and 2 TDs on 10 catches. Golden Tate had a hell of a game as well, with 111 yds and 1 TD, including one of the most amazing catches I've seen this year.

How does he do that? I dont know, but it's awesome. While the Irish O looked great in the 1st half they absolutely collapsed in the 2nd. For some reason the line just looked like hell. Pitt was able to get incredible pressure when they were only bring four guys, sometimes just 3, and dropping everyone else back. Once the got to Jimmy a few times he reverted to his freshman problems of not checking down, happy feet, and getting over-excited. Either way, the D held strong in the late going, even Brandon Walker finally stepped up, making four big FG's. The main problem is the inability of the offense to get into the endzone once in the 4 opportunities. Just pathetic...

Texas (-4) @ Texas Tech
Pick: Tx cover
Result: 39-33 Tech. Lose both. What a freaking ballgame. Huge ramifications for this one as Texas Tech now steps into the drivers seat. Since they jumped up to 2 in the BCS it is highly likely if they win out, nobody (read the zombie led nittany lions) will be able to jump them. Texas was hurt early on when their manbeast Orakpo went down, and the refs certainly let the kids play, there wasn't a holding call in sight all night. But it came down to great players making great plays. Colt McCoy ran a great drive to give Texas the lead with just under a minute and a half left, but Grahm Harrel and Michael Crabtree answered the only way they know how...

Like Harrel said in the post game...you can't man up Crab. Seriously Muschamp...what in the hell are you thinking? That being said, you see the safety coming in late on the play, blown assignment? An even more painful play by the UT secondary was the potential dagger that was literally dropped the play before. UT just ran a hell of a gauntlet and the fact that they only lost on a last second TD shows you something about the team. Not only that, but only dropping to 4 in the BCS and their schedule finally giving way, they should have the inside track at an at large berth right now. Not too bad considering next year is supposed to be "the year."

Florida (-6) "@" Georgia.
Pick: Georgia WIN
Result: 49-10 Florida, Lose both. Well, I've been saying for weeks that Florida is being overrated while UGA is unfairly punished...I will shut up now. WOW this was a beatdown. Stafford looked horrible from the get go and the Gators just looked strong. That Florida-Bama showdown should be quite the ballgame.

Miami @ UVA (-2.5)
Pick: Miami WIN
Result: 24-17 Miami in OT. Win both. YAYYYYYYY I did it yayyyyyy. Admittedly I know nothing about this game, all I know is it's the only one I got right so far, so that makes me happy. Wow the ACC is ugly this year.

Washington @ USC (-45)
Pick: USC cover
Result: 56-0 USC, win both. Man, this was just mean. And USC let up too, the score was 42-0...at HALFTIME!! Carrol pulled up on the reigns mightly in a game that could've probably been 90-0. Just ugly in Washington, I feel bad for their students since I've been throught what they are going through. Luckily you are almost out of the woods Husky fans, the bad man will be gone soon.

Record this week:
ATS: 2-3
SU: 2-3

Record to date:
ATS:27-25-1
SU:35-18

Sadly my quality from last week faded in violent fashion. How'd you kids do?

Johnny Chan:
Record this week: ATS: 1-4 SU:1-4 Record to date: ATS: 30-22-1 SU: 38-15

David:
Record this week: ATS:1-4 SU:2-3 Record to date: ATS: 18-27-1 SU: 28-18

Matt:
Record this week: ATS: 4-1 SU: 4-1 Record to date: Matt: ATS: 23-29-1 SU: 31-22

Judson:
Record this week: ATS: 0-5 SU: 2-3 Record to date: ATS: 21-21-1 SU 30-13

Wow that was an ugly week all around...except for Matt. Well played there Rigney, your plan to make up some points treated you quite well. Until next time kiddies.

Week 8 results

Some fun games this weekend with some big blowouts. No crazy run of upsets like the last few weeks so we should all pick up a few more points. Let's do the damn thing:

Results thus far:
ATS:20-17-1
SU:24-14

Missouri @ Texas (-6)
Pick: Texas cover
Result: 56-31 Texas, Win both. I dont think many people saw this beat down coming. The score doesn't nearly reflect how much Texas punished Mizzou in this game, the 35-3 halftime score was much more telling. Colt McCoy cemented himself as the top dog in the Heisman race so far with a ridiculous line: 29 of 32, 337 yds, 2 pass TD, 2 run TDs. Not a bad day right there. Orakpo led the D by getting tons of pressure on Chase Daniels and the Horns showed that they definitely should be the #1 team in all the land.

#16 Kansas @ #4 Oklahoma (-21)
Pick: OU cover.
Result: 45-31 OU, win SU, lose ATS. Look up shootout in a football game and this game tape should be your 1st result. 674 total yds for OU, 491 for Kansas. Bradford had another absurd game with 468 yds and 3 tds. While OU didn't play enough D to get their cover, they showed their O is one of the best in the land. However, another bad D week has to have Stoops a little concerned about the rest of the road in the pass happy Big XII.

#12 Ohio St (-4) @ #20 Michigan St
Pick: MSU WIN
Result: 45-7 OSU, lose both. Well...yah...that big upset pick didn't work. Turnovers early led to OSU jumping out to a quick 21-0 lead as the Buckeyes looked like the team everyone predicted at the beginning of the year. Ringer let me down and MSU showed why they havent won a Big TenLeven title since what, 88? UGLY beatdown

#7 Texas Tech (-21) @ Texas A&M
Pick: Tech cover
Result: 43-25 Tech, win SU, lose ATS. Yah Tech won by 18, but they scored in the final minute of the game for a useless TD and altogether looked horrible. Several problems on special teams with a few FGs/XPs blocked by the Aggies and on the whole once again just not showing up against a vastly inferior opponent. Sure the Raiders are undefeated up until now, but they are widely regarded as having played a weak schedule up until now and have to close out with the likes of UT, OU, and Okie St. Have fun Leach, yarrr

#22 Vanderbilt @ #10 Georgia (-14.5)
Pick: Georgia cover
Result:24-14 UGA, win SU, lose ATS. Freaking Georgia, you can't cover 14.5 against Vandy? really?? Vandy is becoming a thorn in my side, whatever I pick involving them is always wrong. Get out of my soul Dores.

Result this week:
ATS:1-4
SU:4-1

Results thus far:
ATS:21-21-1
SU:28-15

UGGGGGGLy week against the spread for the home team. How'd it treat you kids?
Johnny Chan:
Record this week: ATS:3-2 SU: 5-0 Record to date: ATS: 26-16-1 SU: 33-10

Judson:
Record this week: ATS:3-2 SU:5-0 Record to date: ATS: 17-15-1 SU 23-10

Matt:
Record this week: ATS: 0-5 SU:3-2 Record to date: Matt: ATS: 16-26-1 SU: 24-19

David:
Record this week: ATS:2-3 SU:5-0 Record to date: ATS: 15-20-1 SU: 23-13

By the way, I really wanted to throw the 44 point USC spread up just for kicks to see if anyone thought they would cover it. Who woulda figured itd be 69-0...damn WSU sucks. Better week for some than others. Maybe we can all turn it around this week. Enjoy the days til saturday. Destroy Radio. Goodnight now

Baseball playoffs post part 2: Stop with the Frank TV and Bon Jovi please

Hey kids. I know I've been neglectful in a typed form on the playoffs thus far, but what can I say, a combination of football, people visiting, and school becoming real have limited time for typing that isn't the normal prediction posts. However, I have been watching dilligently so lets review my always horrible picks and talk about some of the shenanigans shall we.


NLDS:
LA v CHC
I picked the Cubs to win this series thinking they would wait to have their inevitable playoff collapse. Needless to say I was thrilled to see them get unceremoniously swept by Manny & Co. The thought of having to listen to more stories about idiotic Cubs fans and their "destiny" would have been painful. Enjoy the wait til next year...again. The Daily Show had it right:


PHI v MIL
The pick was Phili 3-1, the result was the same. Pay me. Cole Hamels looked like a beast when he took the bump, as did the whole Phili staff as the Brewers never got around 2 runs in this series. The Phillies weren't exactly in offensive juggernaut mode, but they did enough to get the job done here. Admittedly I was sad to see CC go. It will be interesting to see who goes after him this offseason and to see how long his arm stays attached to his body after throwing an absurd 253 innings this year. Down the stretch I think he pitched on 3 days rest 4 consecutive times...Dude's a machine

PHI v LAD
So here is your NLCS, granted I had PHI over CHC in 7, so let's just switch CHC for LAD there. First thing I like about this series is we had ourselves a good old fashioned donnybrook in game 3. This has been a testy series with several beanballs and buzzshots, the culmination being a fastball over Shane Victorino's head that led to the benches clearing after he was out at 1st later in the at bat. The other story from this series has been the consistency of Phili so far. Sure they got crushed in game 3 but have been playing good ball. I expect them to close out in game 5 tonight w/ Cole Hamels on the hill who has looked absolutely lights out whenever hes been on the mound this playoffs and LA's only real chance is Manny going 3 jack.

AL:
BOS v LAA
Well, my predictions came crashing down as the team I had winning it all got tossed in 4 games by the Red Sox. Not gonna lie, didn't see that one coming, I really thought Boston had lost too much offense and the combo of the Angel's pitching with Vladi and Tex anchoring the lineup was bulit for a postseason run...clearly I know nothing about baseball

CWS v TB
I thought the Rays would have to go the distance but they ended up getting it done in only 4. Call it youthful exuberance, call it scoring 6 runs in every win, who knows. Either way the Rays got the job done and moved on. The only sad thing IMO about the White Sox going down is the realization that Ken Griffey Jr really is never gonna win a world series ring, which is a shame.

BOS v TB:
Well, I had LAA beating TB here, so clearly that prediction is out. Currently the Rays are sitting up 3-1 after last night's absolute curbstomp of 13-4. The Rays have just been playing HR derby against the Sox this series, already hitting 10 bombs, 3 coming with rookie sensation and your clear ROY Evan Longoria. Only 4 teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit, but 3 of them have been by Boston teams, so they have the easy historical pep talk there. Thing is, I dont think theyve got it in them this year. For the same reason I didn't like them from the start, they dont have the offense and the Rays lineup is just raking right now. The only thing that hurts Tampa is this 2 day layoff at a time when they couldnt be hotter.

So as of right now it's looking like a TB PHI world series. Just for fun, Craig Sager let us know last night that at the outset of the season the Rays were 100-1 longshots to win it all...makes you wish you had put 10 bucks on em now doesnt it? So the two options are the worst franchise in baseball or a team that comes from a city of perennial losers that hasnt seen a major championship (Sorry Bon Jovi, Arena league doesn't count. And STOP with that damn song...wow is it horrible) in over 25 years. Well, I can't have another NL East team winning the world series so let's go with the young upstarts in 6. This of course means the Phillies will probably win in 5 but we shall see. Go Rays. Yay baseball. You know what to do


And anyone who can make it so there are no more Frank TV adds will have my undying gratitude. GOOOOOOOOOOOODnight now

Week 7 Results AKA why Eddie doesn't bet real money on games

Holy F was that ugly for the home team. I got to witness a fantastic ballgame in the Red River Shootout. Not only was the outcome good (albeit against me on the picks) but it was a heck of a ballgame. Anyway, let's look at the violence that was this week.

Record to date:
ATS:18-14-1
SU:23-10

Notre Dame @ #22 North Carolina (-7.5)
Pick: ND win.
Result: 29-24 UNC, Lose SU, Win ATS. Rarely will I be happy with a loss. However, Clausen again set a career record for yards, and ND damn near won a game where they lost the turnover battle 5-0. If there are only 4 turnovers, we have another shot at the end of the game. Or we can do better and take off the pick 6, then its a win. A poorly timed loss but not a season killer and nothing like last year's debacles. Plus we could be Michigan...losing at home...to Toledo. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WEARRRRRR IT!

#5 Texas @ #1 Oklahoma (-7) (Neutral site Dallas)
Pick: OU Cover.
Result: 45-35 Texas, Lose both. One of, if not the best game of the year to this point. Texas stepped up on a huge stage to take down the #1 team in all the land. OU was the first of the high ranking teams to go down this week as we will get to later. Colt stepped up and played mistake free ball, OU had absolutely no running game, and Jordan Shipley just wrecked shop while Quan Cosby killed unsuspecting members of the OU D. Hell of a game for the Horns, now we see how long they can hold on to #1 (admittedly I think they should be behind Bama, but thats just me) as they have to go through this brutal stretch

#4 LSU v #11 Florida (-6)
Pick: LSU win.
Result: 51-21 Florida, lose both. Holy Curbstomp Batman. This got ugly in a hurry. Im guessing Ricky Jean Francois will not be allowed to talk to the media before games anymore. Percy Harvin just man-beasted his way thru the LSU D and special teams. A violent win for Florida, which led to a gratuitously high jump in the rankings for me. Why their loss to unranked Ole Miss has been forgiven so much more than UGA's loss to #2 Bama makes no sense.

#17 Oklahoma St @ #3 Missouri (-14.5)
Pick: Mizzou Cover.
Result: 28-23 OSU, lose both. I'm getting really tired of typing lose both. A fairly low scoring affair for this expected shootout. OSU showed some outstanding blitzes to finally slow Chase Daniel down, including forcing his 1st 3 and out of the year. Hell of a win for Okie St.

#5 Penn St. (-6)@ Wisconsin
Pick: PSU cover.
Result: 48-7, win both. Finally... Like I said, Penn St is good, Wisco is not. Boomshakalaka. (I didnt see this one, that's all the analysis i got for ya)

Results this week:
ATS: 2-3
SU: 1-4...yikes

Results thus far:
ATS:20-17-1
SU:24-14

And the home game:
Johnny Chan:
Record this week: ATS: 2-3 SU: 2-3 Record to date: ATS: 23-14-1 SU: 28-10

Judson:
Record this week: ATS: 2-3 SU: 2-3 Record to date: ATS: 14-13-1 SU 18-10

Matt:
Record this week: ATS: 1-4 SU:1-4 Record to date: Matt: ATS: 16-21-1 SU: 21-17

David:
Record this week: ATS: 1-4 SU: 1-4 Record to date: ATS: 13-17-1 SU: 18-13

A pretty ugly week for all involved. Hopefully we all make a comeback next week. goooooodnight now

Prediction recap to this point

Well, as we all knew was gonna happen, I suck at this game. Let's go thru the calls shall we:
~got Rose right, but that was a given
~Beasley is pending, just wait for the trade
~Portland has been involved in 1 trade we know about, and then online sources are saying that they traded Arthur (Hornets picked him for them) to the Rockets, so theres 2 allegedly.
~DJ went way higher than I thought, that one still blows my mind
~Gordon went 7th...Pretty reasonable actually, Arthur was the slide of the draft
~Knicks came thru obviously...but where was Spike?? That's always a given
~Steven A is still loud.
I had some picks right and some wrong thru the middle. But that's just so far. Plenty of Draft left, including 2 chances for the Spurs to redeem themselves. Mind you, CDR still on the board...

Trying to return to sanity

Indiana takes Jerryd Bayless from Arizona. Good guard, I like that pick. Acc to ESPN we just tied the record for Freshmen picked in a 1st rd, with the 11th pick. Granted, a skewed stat thanks to the new age limit, but still. Kings on the clock, idk, they wanted DJ bad, so prob some guard.

uhhh....who?? Kings go for Jason Thompson from Rider. Stern summed it up when he told us Thompson wasn't here. Theres a reach for ya. Lowest first SR to ever be taken. As a PF ESPN says he needs to improve his Post D, yah, that wont hurt you at all. Stuart Scott makes a terrible joke, the rest of the booth just stares him down and he quietly moves on...what an idiot.

Well, still no Spike (1st time in like 7 years, thought that was a lock) no trades. But Portland has its first of 5 picks, a pick I figured for sure would've gotten shipped somewhere. I'm clearly off, and I have NO clue what Portland's plan is for this draft. I'm thinking Brandon Rush from Kansas (Is he Kareem's lil bro, last I saw played for theLakers, went to Missouri...anybody?)

WHAT?????

Well, there's the big surprise. DJ Augustin goes 9 to Charlotte, a team who needs big men, with Brook Lopez still there, and they already have Raymond Felton...This makes no sense. I had heard rumors that NJ would take him at 10 and then trade him to Portland, maybe CHA is gonna beat them to it? This just doesn't make sense tho, I'm really confused. Jersey is up now, I have no clue what's gonna happen. We havent had an in-draft trade yet, I'm thinking by pick 12 we will (and I'd be willing to bet $ Portland is part of it)

NJ finally takes Brook Lopez who was rocking the Brady Quinn "what the hell is going on face" Indiana is on the clock. They picked up TJ Ford for Jermaine Oneil, so I'd expect them to take someone to play at the 3 or 4 here. Let's go with Anthony Randolph from LSU. (Ford is 6 of 10 so far, not real sure where I'm at, we'll count the damage later)