After this weekend of NFL action, the regular season will be two months down with two months to go. That means two things. One, its time for the Brett Favre retirement talk to start up again. And the second is it’s time to determine which teams are for real and which one’s are worse then Charles Barkley’s golf swing. To do this, I have broken down all 32 teams into three levels. Level I is for teams whose playoff chances are completely gone and should start looking forward next season. Level II is for teams where there are still some doubts, but if everything goes their way, they have a chance of playing deep in to January. And then there is the few, the proud, the Level III squads. These are the elite teams who are fighting only for first round byes in the playoff brackets.
Level I
Miami- Maybe Daunte Cullpepper over Drew Brees wasn’t such a good idea.
Buffalo- Dick Jauon isn’t the coach for a team with no quarterback
Cleveland- The Browns have played in some close games, but lack experience to finish them off.
Houston- Now starting at running back for your Houston Texans…Wali Lundy.
Tennessee- Vince Young looks like the real deal, but unfortunately, he can’t play corner.
Oakland- Al Davis has yet to realize that it’s not 1977 anymore.
Washington- So much off-season spending, such a little amount of wins…again.
Green Bay- Maybe the Pack should stop hiring coaches named Mike.
Detroit- New coach, new QB, but still the same old Lions.
Tampa Bay- Who was that idiot who picked the Bucs to be in the Super Bowl?
San Francisco-If you can name more then five people on the ‘Niners, give yourself a round of applause.
Arizona- He may be a horrible coach, but at least Dennis Green’s press conferences are entertaining.
Level II
NY Jets- They may end up as the worst ten win team in league history.
Cincinnati- When this team gets all their guys off of injuries and suspension, watch out.
Baltimore- How can a team’s defense be so good while the offense is so bad?
Pittsburgh- They may need another huge December run to make the playoffs this year.
Jacksonville- How do you hold the Steelers and Jets scoreless and allow 27 to the Texans?
San Diego- Maybe the leagues most talented team, but something isn’t right out there.
Kansas City- I think Larry Johnson is going to have another HUGE second half. Philadelphia- They are a 17 point comeback and two last second field goals from being un-beaten.
Dallas- The talent is there, but can this team make it to December 1 without killing each other?
Minnesota- Underrated QB, solid D and great home field will make the Vikes tough to beat.
Carolina- The best team in the NFC when healthy, but that’s a big ‘when’.
Atlanta- Mike Vick’s proving he can throw, but can the Falcons defense stop the opposing QB?
St. Louis- With such a bad division, all the Rams have to do is win some big road games down the stretch.
Seattle- Even without Alexander and Hasselback, the ‘Hawks should win the NFC West.
Level III
New England- The Pats have three tough games the rest of the season (At Minnesota, home vs Indy and Chicago)
Denver- They may not have the big names, but I think the leagues best D lives in the mountains.
Indianapolis- For Peyton and Co., the big question is can they come up big during playoff time.
Chicago- The Bears can’t afford another Rex Grossman performance like his one on Monday night.
NY Giants- The G-Men have no weak areas on offense, but their secondary needs some serious help.
New Orleans- The best story in the NFL is also one of the un-stoppable offenses.
On to the picks. After another so-so Sunday last week, I’m 63-37 over the entire season, which isn’t great. Before the season began, I told myself that anything less then a 70% winning percentage would be unacceptable. Considering I’m now at 63%, I’m going to need some big weeks pretty soon.
My picks in bold
Jacksonville at Philadelphia
Atlanta at Cincinnati
Arizona at Green Bay
Houston at Tennessee
Seattle at Kansas City
Baltimore at New Orleans
Tampa Bay at New York Giants
San Francisco at Chicago
St. Louis at San Diego
New York Jets at Cleveland
Indianapolis at Denver
Pittsburgh at Oakland
Dallas at Carolina
New England at Minnesota
I’m remarkably still alive in the survival pool, though I should have been killed long ago. Twice I’ve chosen teams that have gotten their only win of the year the week I chose them. The Colts had to claw out a victory versus the Titans when I picked them. And the Eagles needed a second-half choke job by the Packers to get the win. So with the Cardinals, Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles, Colts, Broncos and Patriots all used up, I’ll take my beloved Bears to beat the 49ers this week.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
NBA Preview
Next Tuesday night is Halloween, the scariest night of the year. Full moon’s, crazy costumes, and best of all, an endless amount of delicious Snickers, Butterfingers, M n Ms. Skittles, and Recees. For the first 15 years of my life, October 31 was more anticipated then my birthday, New Years and the fourth of July combined. It meant staying up late, hanging out with friends, and once again, the candy.
Then these last few years, the night has lost some of its luster. I got too old to go trick-or-treating and dress up. Halloween parties were boring. So instead these nights were spent studying history instead of Twix bars.
But now, for the first time in a while, I’m excited for October’s final day. And this actually has nothing to do with massive amounts of sugar. It’s due to the opening day of the 2006-07 NBA season. Remember how last season ended? The playoffs had so many series that in most years would be obvious for top billing. Lakers-Suns, Cavs-Wizards, Mavs-Spurs, Clippers-Suns, Pistons-Cavs, they all were instant classics. Then the Finals were the best we’ve seen since Jordan retired. Dirk’s transition from star to super-star. Pat Riley cementing his place on the Mt. Rushmore of coaches. And of course D-Wade taking the first lap in his race with LeBron to be best player of this generation. So to commemorate the association’s 60th season, I will hand out some awards to the players, coaches and teams that most deserve them, followed by some predictions.
The Vin Baker ‘This is it for me’ award:
Yes, the title of this award could symbolize many things, from player most likely to be caught driving drunk or the guy who will be worse after being traded. In this case though, it’s for a guy who is approaching the last good year of his career. The namesake of this trophy, Mr. Baker, averaged 21 points and 10.3 rebounds in 1997 while making the All-Star team and third team All-NBA. But for the remainder of his career (Which surprisingly is still active) Baker never reached those numbers again and now is lucky to get on the floor for more then two minutes a game.
So for this year’s winner, I could have gone in many directions. Shaq would be an obvious choice, but I think he still has a couple of solid years left in him. Steve Nash could be a dark horse, since he spends so much time running and moving he is due to eventually hit that bump where he just is so fatigued that he can’t do it anymore. But my winner is a man who I have a great amount of respect for. I rocked his jersey in third grade and his shoes in seventh grade. I graduated from middle school the night he shocked the Lakers in game one of the ’01 Finals. I’m speaking about Allen Iverson. Yes, he did average 33 points a game last year. But the little guy takes so much physical abuse on the court every day; it is tough to see him keeping it going for much longer. And remember, he’s already played in the league for ten seasons. Plus the way the 76ers look this season, it doesn’t look like he’ll have much help this season. Look for one more good year from the Answer before he falls off.
The Chris Paul ‘Should have took me when you had the chance’ award:
Bill Simmons, the great ESPN.COM columnist, always says that teams should have a Vice President of Common Sense, a person who looks over a teams front office just to make sure they don’t do anything dumb. (See Houston Texans selecting Mario Williams over Reggie Bush) One of these VP’s could have been helpful last season for the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks, who already had forwards Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Al Harrington and Joe Johnson on their roster, selected UNC forward Marvin Williams with the second pick in the draft instead of Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul, who actually played a position that Atlanta needed help in. Of course CP-3 went on to win Rookie of the Year unanimously while the Hawks are still waiting on Marvin’s potential. This type of thing happens every year, but it seems like teams never learn from their mistakes.
So who is this year’s rookie that all the teams wished they had selected? I kind of want to pick my man Dee Brown of the Utah Jazz, who I think will be a great pro player, but that would look too much like a homer pick. Or I could have picked Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy, who is the consensus pick for Rookie of the Year. But that would have been way too easy. So instead I’m going with former Villanova guard Randy Foye, who was a scoring machine last year with the Wildcats. Now a Minnesota T-Wolf, Foye should have plenty of room to drive the lane and shoot from the outside with Kevin Garnett hogging the majority of defenders. Plus as Iverson has proved, it is not easy stopping a fast little guy with a great jumper. Foye should put up big numbers and make the six teams that passed him over feel silly. (Including Atlanta…. again)
The Steve Nash ‘Moving never felt so good’ award:
Remember when the Canadian point guard was a Dallas Maverick? He was a solid player, the third option on a team who always got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. I mean, when you thought about the Mavs of the early 2000’s, you would say goal number one was stop Michael Finley, then number two would be contain Dirk. It wasn’t ‘We have to make sure Nash doesn’t drop 18 points and 11 assists.’ But then he moved to Phoenix and became the second coming of Pistol Pete Maravich. Back to back MVP’s, two trips to the Western Conference Finals, and now in the discussion for the best player in the league. So was it just a change of scenery that elevated Nash’s game? Better surrounding players? A system that fit his game more? It was probably a combination of all those things. So who will be 2007’s guy who switches teams and breaks out from solid pro to star? (Note that last year’s winner was also a Phoenix Sun, Boris Diaw)
My pick for the Nash award is Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier, the ultimate third option. When teams are focusing on T-Mac and Yao, I think it will be Battier who pushes the Rockets into the playoffs. He is a tough player who reminds me of Scottie Pippen without the polished offensive game, and he loves to play defense and take charges. And his offense isn’t as bad as it was when he came out of Duke. If Battier can make half the impact that Nash had for the Suns, and if McGrady and Yao stay healthy, then Houston will be a contender in the West.
The Larry Brown ‘Perennial contender’ award:
Again, this award could symbolize a lot of things. No, it’s not for the coach who is most likely to quit at the end of the year. It’s for the man in the suit who will not be available for the next few April’s and May’s, because his squads are going to be perennial playoff teams. Remember, before he went crazy and decided to coach the Knicks, Brown was one of the league’s best coaches. Since 1990, when he came back from being a great college coach, Brown has made the post-season 14 times, with five different teams (Spurs, Clippers, Pacers, 76ers, and Pistons)
The winner of the Brown award hit to fit my three criteria. One, they had to have made the playoffs previously in their coaching career. Two, they had to be under the age of 50. And three, they had to have somebody on their team who was arguably in the top ten player discussion. This eliminated guys like Raptors coach Sam Mitchell (No experience), Suns head man Mike D’Antoni (Too old) and coach of my beloved Bulls, Scott Skiles (No top ten guys). A couple of coaches got check marks on all three criteria, but one stood out among the others. And that would be Dallas coach Avery Johnson. He has the experience, making last seasons Finals in his first full season as head-coach. He is young enough to relate to his players, having only retired from the league in 2004. And he has a big-time player in Dirk Nowitzki. Look for Avery’s slick suits and high-pitched voice to be at a playoff press conferences for many years to come.
The Los Angles Clippers ‘Ten year re-building project’ award:
Remember the good old days, when you could write in the Clips for a lottery ball as soon as the season tipped off. The days where you could trust Donald Sterling and Co. to draft a bum like Michael Olowokandi over Paul Pierce or Lorenzen Wright over Kobe Bryant. Ahhh, that was nice. But ever since the Bulls traded Elton Brand for Tyson the Toothpick Chandler, the Clippers haven’t been the same basement dwelling team. Last year, not only did they make the playoffs, they were a miracle Raja Bell three away from going to the Western Conference Finals. And this year, if Shaun Livingston lives up to his potential, the Clippers could cement themselves as LA’s best team. So who is the new team that will be the constant NBA punching bag?
You thought I would out-smart myself, didn’t you? Maybe give you an un-usual pick, something a bit out of the box. Nope. It’s got to be the New York Knicks. Stephon Maurbury, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose, Jamal Crawford. All good guards if you are trying to win the Rucker Park league. But in the NBA, it’s nice to have a point that will actually call plays for other people. Add in Eddy Curry’s large amount of unused skill, Nate Robinson’s lack of size and Quinten Richardson’s in-ability to play defense, and Isaiah Thomas better finish “Coaching Basketball For Dummies” in a hurry. And the great thing is, even if the Knicks stink up Madison Square Garden worse then circus elephants, there number one pick, AKA stud center Greg Oden, goes to the Bulls.
As for the real awards the NBA hands out, here’s how I see them going:
MVP---Kobe Bryant, Lakers
He should have won it last season, but whose really paying attention. The new number 24 rested all summer, since he was one of the only top players who didn’t play for the national team. This will help him win his second strait scoring title, and it will help him that the Lakers will be better then expected.
Rookie of the Year---Adam Morrison, Bobcats
The white boy from the Northwest may not look like an assassin, but he can really drain it. Inside, outside, it doesn’t matter. Morrison can put the ball in the hoop from anywhere on the floor, and with a young point guard in Raymond Felton feeding him the rock, Morrison should get plenty of opportunities to fill up the stat sheet.
Most Improved Player---Yao Ming, Rockets
It’s strange to see a four-time all-star as the most improved player, but I think that this will be the season will Yao finally takes the baton from Shaq and becomes the next great center. Right now, he’s just a Chinese Rick Smits. By the end of the season, he’ll have people in Houston comparing him to Hakeem.
Defensive Player of the Year---Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz
AK-47 may not look like a big-time defensive stopper, but don’t let looks fool you. This guy can play some serious D. Last season he led the league in blocks with 220, and he added in 102 steals. This year the Jazz will be in more big-time games where their top player will be coming up with more important stops.
All NBA Team:
G-Kobe Bryant, Lakers
G-Dwayne Wade, Heat
F-LeBron James, Cavaliers
F-Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
C-Yao Ming, Rockets
All-Rookie Team:
G-Randy Foye, Timberwolves
G-Dee Brown, Jazz
F-Adam Morrison, Bobcats
F-Steve Novak, Rockets
C-Patrick O’Bryant, Warriors
Eastern Conference Playoffs:
1-Miami Heat
2-Clevland Cavaliers
3-Chicago Bulls
4-New Jersey Nets
5-Detroit Pistons
6-Washington Wizards
7-Indiana Pacers
8-Orlando Magic
Eastern Conference Finals:
Cavaliers over Nets
Western Conference Playoffs:
1-Dallas Mavericks
2-Phoenix Suns
3-San Antonio Spurs
4-Houston Rockets
5-Los Angles Clippers
6-Utah Jazz
7-Los Angles Lakers
8-New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Western Conference Finals:
Suns over Rockets
NBA Finals:
LeBron versus Shawn Marion will be a great match up, but Cleveland has no one to stop Nash and Amare. Suns in six.
I will have my NFL picks posted on Saturday.
Then these last few years, the night has lost some of its luster. I got too old to go trick-or-treating and dress up. Halloween parties were boring. So instead these nights were spent studying history instead of Twix bars.
But now, for the first time in a while, I’m excited for October’s final day. And this actually has nothing to do with massive amounts of sugar. It’s due to the opening day of the 2006-07 NBA season. Remember how last season ended? The playoffs had so many series that in most years would be obvious for top billing. Lakers-Suns, Cavs-Wizards, Mavs-Spurs, Clippers-Suns, Pistons-Cavs, they all were instant classics. Then the Finals were the best we’ve seen since Jordan retired. Dirk’s transition from star to super-star. Pat Riley cementing his place on the Mt. Rushmore of coaches. And of course D-Wade taking the first lap in his race with LeBron to be best player of this generation. So to commemorate the association’s 60th season, I will hand out some awards to the players, coaches and teams that most deserve them, followed by some predictions.
The Vin Baker ‘This is it for me’ award:
Yes, the title of this award could symbolize many things, from player most likely to be caught driving drunk or the guy who will be worse after being traded. In this case though, it’s for a guy who is approaching the last good year of his career. The namesake of this trophy, Mr. Baker, averaged 21 points and 10.3 rebounds in 1997 while making the All-Star team and third team All-NBA. But for the remainder of his career (Which surprisingly is still active) Baker never reached those numbers again and now is lucky to get on the floor for more then two minutes a game.
So for this year’s winner, I could have gone in many directions. Shaq would be an obvious choice, but I think he still has a couple of solid years left in him. Steve Nash could be a dark horse, since he spends so much time running and moving he is due to eventually hit that bump where he just is so fatigued that he can’t do it anymore. But my winner is a man who I have a great amount of respect for. I rocked his jersey in third grade and his shoes in seventh grade. I graduated from middle school the night he shocked the Lakers in game one of the ’01 Finals. I’m speaking about Allen Iverson. Yes, he did average 33 points a game last year. But the little guy takes so much physical abuse on the court every day; it is tough to see him keeping it going for much longer. And remember, he’s already played in the league for ten seasons. Plus the way the 76ers look this season, it doesn’t look like he’ll have much help this season. Look for one more good year from the Answer before he falls off.
The Chris Paul ‘Should have took me when you had the chance’ award:
Bill Simmons, the great ESPN.COM columnist, always says that teams should have a Vice President of Common Sense, a person who looks over a teams front office just to make sure they don’t do anything dumb. (See Houston Texans selecting Mario Williams over Reggie Bush) One of these VP’s could have been helpful last season for the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks, who already had forwards Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Al Harrington and Joe Johnson on their roster, selected UNC forward Marvin Williams with the second pick in the draft instead of Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul, who actually played a position that Atlanta needed help in. Of course CP-3 went on to win Rookie of the Year unanimously while the Hawks are still waiting on Marvin’s potential. This type of thing happens every year, but it seems like teams never learn from their mistakes.
So who is this year’s rookie that all the teams wished they had selected? I kind of want to pick my man Dee Brown of the Utah Jazz, who I think will be a great pro player, but that would look too much like a homer pick. Or I could have picked Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy, who is the consensus pick for Rookie of the Year. But that would have been way too easy. So instead I’m going with former Villanova guard Randy Foye, who was a scoring machine last year with the Wildcats. Now a Minnesota T-Wolf, Foye should have plenty of room to drive the lane and shoot from the outside with Kevin Garnett hogging the majority of defenders. Plus as Iverson has proved, it is not easy stopping a fast little guy with a great jumper. Foye should put up big numbers and make the six teams that passed him over feel silly. (Including Atlanta…. again)
The Steve Nash ‘Moving never felt so good’ award:
Remember when the Canadian point guard was a Dallas Maverick? He was a solid player, the third option on a team who always got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. I mean, when you thought about the Mavs of the early 2000’s, you would say goal number one was stop Michael Finley, then number two would be contain Dirk. It wasn’t ‘We have to make sure Nash doesn’t drop 18 points and 11 assists.’ But then he moved to Phoenix and became the second coming of Pistol Pete Maravich. Back to back MVP’s, two trips to the Western Conference Finals, and now in the discussion for the best player in the league. So was it just a change of scenery that elevated Nash’s game? Better surrounding players? A system that fit his game more? It was probably a combination of all those things. So who will be 2007’s guy who switches teams and breaks out from solid pro to star? (Note that last year’s winner was also a Phoenix Sun, Boris Diaw)
My pick for the Nash award is Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier, the ultimate third option. When teams are focusing on T-Mac and Yao, I think it will be Battier who pushes the Rockets into the playoffs. He is a tough player who reminds me of Scottie Pippen without the polished offensive game, and he loves to play defense and take charges. And his offense isn’t as bad as it was when he came out of Duke. If Battier can make half the impact that Nash had for the Suns, and if McGrady and Yao stay healthy, then Houston will be a contender in the West.
The Larry Brown ‘Perennial contender’ award:
Again, this award could symbolize a lot of things. No, it’s not for the coach who is most likely to quit at the end of the year. It’s for the man in the suit who will not be available for the next few April’s and May’s, because his squads are going to be perennial playoff teams. Remember, before he went crazy and decided to coach the Knicks, Brown was one of the league’s best coaches. Since 1990, when he came back from being a great college coach, Brown has made the post-season 14 times, with five different teams (Spurs, Clippers, Pacers, 76ers, and Pistons)
The winner of the Brown award hit to fit my three criteria. One, they had to have made the playoffs previously in their coaching career. Two, they had to be under the age of 50. And three, they had to have somebody on their team who was arguably in the top ten player discussion. This eliminated guys like Raptors coach Sam Mitchell (No experience), Suns head man Mike D’Antoni (Too old) and coach of my beloved Bulls, Scott Skiles (No top ten guys). A couple of coaches got check marks on all three criteria, but one stood out among the others. And that would be Dallas coach Avery Johnson. He has the experience, making last seasons Finals in his first full season as head-coach. He is young enough to relate to his players, having only retired from the league in 2004. And he has a big-time player in Dirk Nowitzki. Look for Avery’s slick suits and high-pitched voice to be at a playoff press conferences for many years to come.
The Los Angles Clippers ‘Ten year re-building project’ award:
Remember the good old days, when you could write in the Clips for a lottery ball as soon as the season tipped off. The days where you could trust Donald Sterling and Co. to draft a bum like Michael Olowokandi over Paul Pierce or Lorenzen Wright over Kobe Bryant. Ahhh, that was nice. But ever since the Bulls traded Elton Brand for Tyson the Toothpick Chandler, the Clippers haven’t been the same basement dwelling team. Last year, not only did they make the playoffs, they were a miracle Raja Bell three away from going to the Western Conference Finals. And this year, if Shaun Livingston lives up to his potential, the Clippers could cement themselves as LA’s best team. So who is the new team that will be the constant NBA punching bag?
You thought I would out-smart myself, didn’t you? Maybe give you an un-usual pick, something a bit out of the box. Nope. It’s got to be the New York Knicks. Stephon Maurbury, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose, Jamal Crawford. All good guards if you are trying to win the Rucker Park league. But in the NBA, it’s nice to have a point that will actually call plays for other people. Add in Eddy Curry’s large amount of unused skill, Nate Robinson’s lack of size and Quinten Richardson’s in-ability to play defense, and Isaiah Thomas better finish “Coaching Basketball For Dummies” in a hurry. And the great thing is, even if the Knicks stink up Madison Square Garden worse then circus elephants, there number one pick, AKA stud center Greg Oden, goes to the Bulls.
As for the real awards the NBA hands out, here’s how I see them going:
MVP---Kobe Bryant, LakersHe should have won it last season, but whose really paying attention. The new number 24 rested all summer, since he was one of the only top players who didn’t play for the national team. This will help him win his second strait scoring title, and it will help him that the Lakers will be better then expected.
Rookie of the Year---Adam Morrison, BobcatsThe white boy from the Northwest may not look like an assassin, but he can really drain it. Inside, outside, it doesn’t matter. Morrison can put the ball in the hoop from anywhere on the floor, and with a young point guard in Raymond Felton feeding him the rock, Morrison should get plenty of opportunities to fill up the stat sheet.
Most Improved Player---Yao Ming, Rockets
It’s strange to see a four-time all-star as the most improved player, but I think that this will be the season will Yao finally takes the baton from Shaq and becomes the next great center. Right now, he’s just a Chinese Rick Smits. By the end of the season, he’ll have people in Houston comparing him to Hakeem.
Defensive Player of the Year---Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz
AK-47 may not look like a big-time defensive stopper, but don’t let looks fool you. This guy can play some serious D. Last season he led the league in blocks with 220, and he added in 102 steals. This year the Jazz will be in more big-time games where their top player will be coming up with more important stops.
All NBA Team:
G-Kobe Bryant, Lakers
G-Dwayne Wade, Heat
F-LeBron James, Cavaliers
F-Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
C-Yao Ming, Rockets
All-Rookie Team:
G-Randy Foye, Timberwolves
G-Dee Brown, Jazz
F-Adam Morrison, Bobcats
F-Steve Novak, Rockets
C-Patrick O’Bryant, Warriors
Eastern Conference Playoffs:
1-Miami Heat
2-Clevland Cavaliers
3-Chicago Bulls
4-New Jersey Nets
5-Detroit Pistons
6-Washington Wizards
7-Indiana Pacers
8-Orlando Magic
Eastern Conference Finals:
Cavaliers over Nets
Western Conference Playoffs:
1-Dallas Mavericks
2-Phoenix Suns
3-San Antonio Spurs
4-Houston Rockets
5-Los Angles Clippers
6-Utah Jazz
7-Los Angles Lakers
8-New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Western Conference Finals:
Suns over Rockets
NBA Finals:
LeBron versus Shawn Marion will be a great match up, but Cleveland has no one to stop Nash and Amare. Suns in six.
I will have my NFL picks posted on Saturday.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
A weak Week Seven
I’m on a short week, since I am going out of town on Friday, and because of an outrageous amount of homework, I was unable to post earlier. So I will just combine two columns into one. So here are my week seven NFL picks, along with some random thoughts.
Week Seven
Is it just me, or is the NFL purposely matching up horrible teams to make if difficult for people like me to make picks. My strategy for the survival pool is usually find the worst team playing on the road and pick against them. (Go back and look at my history of survival picks, every single one of my picks were home teams.) But this week the NFL offers us pathetic matchups like Green Bay at Miami, Detroit at the Jets and worst of all, Arizona at Oakland. Are there any crap teams to pick against? And the league can’t expect people to tune in to these games. I’d rather watch YouTube videos of the Miami-FIU fight or the Dennis Green press conference from last Monday night.
Anyways, here are the picks. My record from last week was a horrible 6-7, but we all have a bad weekend now and then (Just ask Rex Grossman). For the season I’m 55-32.
My picks in bold
San Diego at Kansas City
Green Bay at Miami
Detroit at New York Jets
Pittsburgh at Atlanta
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
New England at Buffalo
Jacksonville at Houston
Carolina at Cincinnati
Denver at Cleveland
Arizona at Oakland
Minnesota at Seattle
Washington at Indianapolis
New York Giants at Dallas
Since I took eight of 13 road teams, it will be difficult for me to make a survival pick. So I will go with the New England Patriots to go in to the snow and defeat the Buffalo Bills.
Random Thoughts
1-Monday night’s Bears-Cardinals game was one of the craziest, most absurd and heart-pounding football games I have ever seen. At times, it looked like the score would end up being 40-0...Cardinals. But then at other points in the game, you wouldn’t think Arizona could score a touchdown if they were facing a high school team. The Bears showed heart and determination, as well as the value of an amazing defense. Brian Urlacher was a mad man out there, making play after play until the Bears finally got the lead. And thank goodness former Illinois kicker Neil Rackers is the second coming of Mike Vander-jag, a kicker who can nail 57 yarder’s in 31-7 games but couldn’t make one from 35 with the game on the line if his life depended on it.
2-Yes, the win put the Bears at 6-0 heading in to this Sunday’s bye. But this team is far from perfect. Rex Grossman showed on Monday night he still has a long way from being a consistent threat in the pocket, and Thomas Jones must have decided not to make the trip to the desert. The O-Line was shaky at best, allowing multiple sacks, a couple of fumbles and was called for at least three penalties. And now with Mike Brown out for the year,(A HUGE loss) rookie Danieal Manning and second year man Chris Harris are going to have to step up at safety and be the backbone of the Cover-2.
3-Moving over to college football, it is looking more and more that the winner of the Michigan-Ohio State game on November 18 will take home the Big 10 title as well as a spot in the National Title game. Currently I’ve seen one full game from each team, (OSU @ Texas and Mich. @ Penn St.) and I have to say that I thought the Buckeyes were more impressive. There offense is damn near unstoppable with quarterback Troy Smith, tailback Antonio Pittman and receivers Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez. I understand UM has a great D, but it will be tough to beat Jim Tressel’s squad in Columbus.
4-The team that the winner of that game is going to play in the title game will be difficult to figure out. Currently USC is in that position, but I expect them to lose to Cal, Oregon or Notre Dame, three teams all with one loss each. Let’s say Cal defeats the Trojans. Then how do you figure out the rankings of all the one-loss teams? You would put Cal in front of USC, but Tennessee beat the Bears, so they go on top of Cal. Florida beat the Vols, so move the Gators to the top of the list. But UF’s one loss was to Auburn, which elevates the Tigers. In front of them would then be Arkansas, the team that handed Auburn their only defeat. But who did Arkansas lose to? Yep, that would be USC. Like I said, it’s going to be tough to sort though this mess.
5-Turning to baseball, you may have heard that the Cubs hired a new manager. Sweet Lou Pinella is the new man in charge, and to be honest, I’m not too excited over this move. I think Pinella is a perfectly fine manager, a guy who can turn a good team in to a great one. The problem is, the Cubs are not a good team. There not even an average team. If Lou happened to see any of the North Siders last year, he would know that just changing skippers is not going to be much help. Sure, the Tribune Co. has promised to increase payroll, but if they do that by signing more Jacque Jones’ and Wade Miller’s, it won’t make much of a difference. Sign a couple of big hitters, about three starting pitchers, and hope to re-sign Juan Pierre. Then the man in charge might start to make a difference.
6-The stupid thing about the Pinella signing was the announcement that pitching coach Larry Rothschild was staying on board. How could this possibly be? Rothschild was responsible for more injuries then Mike Tyson and Lawrence Taylor put together. He ruined young guy, experienced veterans, whomever he could get his hands on. With this guy next to the Cubs manager for another year, look forward to more Double-A pitchers taking the Wrigley Field bump while the MLB starter has his arm in an ice bucket.
7-I had to get this off my chest before I’m done. Last week, high school senior Eric Gordon of Indianapolis announced that he would be attending Indiana University next fall. No big deal, except for two little bits of info. One is that Gordon is the best shooting guard in the class of 2007 and two is, he had already announced that he would be attending to the University of Illinois. Now I am a big time Illini fan, so I am obviously upset, but even if I didn’t have a rooting interest in the matter, I still find this to be a horrible aspect regarding all of college athletics. How is it that a player who already declared to a school was still being recruited by a rival program? How is it fair to the first school, in this case U of I, (Not to be mistaken with IU, the school Gordon will attend) who spent all this time recruiting the player, to suddenly have to fill a spot with only a limited number of prospects left? If Gordon had announced last February that he was opening his recruitment back up, that would be OK, because then Bruce Webber and his staff would have all summer to look for a replacement. But now with almost everyone worth signing already signed, the Illini are stuck. I already disliked the Hoosiers before this, now I hate them on a level previously reserved for Florida State Univ., the St. Louis Cardinals, and New Trier High School. Thanks Eric.
Week Seven
Is it just me, or is the NFL purposely matching up horrible teams to make if difficult for people like me to make picks. My strategy for the survival pool is usually find the worst team playing on the road and pick against them. (Go back and look at my history of survival picks, every single one of my picks were home teams.) But this week the NFL offers us pathetic matchups like Green Bay at Miami, Detroit at the Jets and worst of all, Arizona at Oakland. Are there any crap teams to pick against? And the league can’t expect people to tune in to these games. I’d rather watch YouTube videos of the Miami-FIU fight or the Dennis Green press conference from last Monday night.
Anyways, here are the picks. My record from last week was a horrible 6-7, but we all have a bad weekend now and then (Just ask Rex Grossman). For the season I’m 55-32.
My picks in bold
San Diego at Kansas City
Green Bay at Miami
Detroit at New York Jets
Pittsburgh at Atlanta
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
New England at Buffalo
Jacksonville at Houston
Carolina at Cincinnati
Denver at Cleveland
Arizona at Oakland
Minnesota at Seattle
Washington at Indianapolis
New York Giants at Dallas
Since I took eight of 13 road teams, it will be difficult for me to make a survival pick. So I will go with the New England Patriots to go in to the snow and defeat the Buffalo Bills.
Random Thoughts
1-Monday night’s Bears-Cardinals game was one of the craziest, most absurd and heart-pounding football games I have ever seen. At times, it looked like the score would end up being 40-0...Cardinals. But then at other points in the game, you wouldn’t think Arizona could score a touchdown if they were facing a high school team. The Bears showed heart and determination, as well as the value of an amazing defense. Brian Urlacher was a mad man out there, making play after play until the Bears finally got the lead. And thank goodness former Illinois kicker Neil Rackers is the second coming of Mike Vander-jag, a kicker who can nail 57 yarder’s in 31-7 games but couldn’t make one from 35 with the game on the line if his life depended on it.
2-Yes, the win put the Bears at 6-0 heading in to this Sunday’s bye. But this team is far from perfect. Rex Grossman showed on Monday night he still has a long way from being a consistent threat in the pocket, and Thomas Jones must have decided not to make the trip to the desert. The O-Line was shaky at best, allowing multiple sacks, a couple of fumbles and was called for at least three penalties. And now with Mike Brown out for the year,(A HUGE loss) rookie Danieal Manning and second year man Chris Harris are going to have to step up at safety and be the backbone of the Cover-2.
3-Moving over to college football, it is looking more and more that the winner of the Michigan-Ohio State game on November 18 will take home the Big 10 title as well as a spot in the National Title game. Currently I’ve seen one full game from each team, (OSU @ Texas and Mich. @ Penn St.) and I have to say that I thought the Buckeyes were more impressive. There offense is damn near unstoppable with quarterback Troy Smith, tailback Antonio Pittman and receivers Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez. I understand UM has a great D, but it will be tough to beat Jim Tressel’s squad in Columbus.
4-The team that the winner of that game is going to play in the title game will be difficult to figure out. Currently USC is in that position, but I expect them to lose to Cal, Oregon or Notre Dame, three teams all with one loss each. Let’s say Cal defeats the Trojans. Then how do you figure out the rankings of all the one-loss teams? You would put Cal in front of USC, but Tennessee beat the Bears, so they go on top of Cal. Florida beat the Vols, so move the Gators to the top of the list. But UF’s one loss was to Auburn, which elevates the Tigers. In front of them would then be Arkansas, the team that handed Auburn their only defeat. But who did Arkansas lose to? Yep, that would be USC. Like I said, it’s going to be tough to sort though this mess.
5-Turning to baseball, you may have heard that the Cubs hired a new manager. Sweet Lou Pinella is the new man in charge, and to be honest, I’m not too excited over this move. I think Pinella is a perfectly fine manager, a guy who can turn a good team in to a great one. The problem is, the Cubs are not a good team. There not even an average team. If Lou happened to see any of the North Siders last year, he would know that just changing skippers is not going to be much help. Sure, the Tribune Co. has promised to increase payroll, but if they do that by signing more Jacque Jones’ and Wade Miller’s, it won’t make much of a difference. Sign a couple of big hitters, about three starting pitchers, and hope to re-sign Juan Pierre. Then the man in charge might start to make a difference.
6-The stupid thing about the Pinella signing was the announcement that pitching coach Larry Rothschild was staying on board. How could this possibly be? Rothschild was responsible for more injuries then Mike Tyson and Lawrence Taylor put together. He ruined young guy, experienced veterans, whomever he could get his hands on. With this guy next to the Cubs manager for another year, look forward to more Double-A pitchers taking the Wrigley Field bump while the MLB starter has his arm in an ice bucket.
7-I had to get this off my chest before I’m done. Last week, high school senior Eric Gordon of Indianapolis announced that he would be attending Indiana University next fall. No big deal, except for two little bits of info. One is that Gordon is the best shooting guard in the class of 2007 and two is, he had already announced that he would be attending to the University of Illinois. Now I am a big time Illini fan, so I am obviously upset, but even if I didn’t have a rooting interest in the matter, I still find this to be a horrible aspect regarding all of college athletics. How is it that a player who already declared to a school was still being recruited by a rival program? How is it fair to the first school, in this case U of I, (Not to be mistaken with IU, the school Gordon will attend) who spent all this time recruiting the player, to suddenly have to fill a spot with only a limited number of prospects left? If Gordon had announced last February that he was opening his recruitment back up, that would be OK, because then Bruce Webber and his staff would have all summer to look for a replacement. But now with almost everyone worth signing already signed, the Illini are stuck. I already disliked the Hoosiers before this, now I hate them on a level previously reserved for Florida State Univ., the St. Louis Cardinals, and New Trier High School. Thanks Eric.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Week Six
Raiders at Broncos?
Bears at Cardinals?
It’s weekends like this when I wonder if the network suits are asleep at the wheels of the football automobiles known as Sunday and Monday Night Football. Are they trying to make me switch to the baseball playoffs by providing us with two horrible matchups? Does NBC actually want me to see if that special on Comedy Central will be a more entertaining Sunday night affair? Is ESPN really pumping out that non-stop ‘Is it Monday yet?’ ad campaign only to give me a one-sided blowout?
OK, so maybe week six doesn’t provide the headline grabbing matchups that last Sunday did. But still, you can do better than this. Giants at Falcons features two number one overall draft picks from the past six years. Seattle at St. Louis is pretty much the game of the year in the NFC West. Hell, even Houston at Dallas is an in-state rivalry game.
But instead were stuck with a Sunday night game featuring Oakland, fully equipped with the worst coach in the league and an offensive coordinator that ran a bed and breakfast 365 days ago, against Denver, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The over/under on when John Madden starts rambling on about the glory days of this rivalry is the start of the second quarter, and honestly, I’d take the under.
A night later the Worldwide Leader serves up the mighty monsters of the midway, the Chicago Bears of course, taking on Arizona and their rookie QB, Matt Leinart. This one at least will be worth watching, even that’s only to see how many sacks the Bears can get on the pathetic Cardinals o-line. But I’m pretty sure the outcome won’t be in doubt for too long.
So why are the networks giving us these crap games as national showcases? Maybe they are afraid of competing with the baseball post-season, or they just want to give some exposure to these lousy teams. Or maybe in April when they scheduled these games, they actually thought that both squads would be good. Whatever the case is, lets hope there isn’t another pair of primetime games like this the rest of the year, for our sake.
As for my picks, there are only 13 games this weekend to makes selections for because six teams have the week off. Last week I went 10-4, improving my season record to 49-25.
My picks in bold
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay
New York Giants at Atlanta
Tennessee at Washington
Houston at Dallas
Carolina at Baltimore
Buffalo at Detroit
Seattle at St. Louis
Philadelphia at New Orleans
Miami at New York Jets
Kansas City at Pittsburgh
San Diego at San Francisco
Oakland at Denver
Chicago at Arizona
My survival pick from last week, the Indianapolis Colts, needed all 60 minutes to keep my streak intact, scoring all 14 of their points in the second half in a comeback win versus the Titans. I have now used the Cardinals, Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles and Colts in the survival pool, so for this week I will take the game I just finished complaining about, the Denver Broncos to beat Oakland.
Random Thoughts
Since I didn’t really make any points in my last column, I decided to offer some thoughts in this one. Here’s what’s on my mind:
1-These MLB Championship Series’ are really causing me some distress. Who do I cheer for? In the AL, you have two teams that are really tough to root against. Oakland is this low budget brainchild of Billy Beane, a group of guys who play the right way. Good pitching, clutch hitting, exciting baseball. Then you have Detroit, the loser’s turned winners led by the fiery, chain-smoking, old school manager. My support is with the A’s, only because I picked them before the whole thing, and plus the Tigers have Neifi Perez on the squad.
As for the NL, instead of having a tough time because I enjoy watching both squads, I have a tough time because I highly dislike the Mets and the Cardinals. So I guess in that match up, the best-case scenario would be seven competitive baseball games in which Tim McCarver never opens his mouth.
2-Yesterday the White Sox announced that they are establishing a partnership with the convenience store 7-11 in which all of the Monday through Friday night games played at the Cell will be starting at…you guessed it, 7:11pm. Now I believe this is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, but that’s not what I’m going to rant about. What I’m wondering is why can’t the Sox just sell out everything? Instead of a Crede to Konerko ground ball, shouldn’t that be a 5th 3rd Bank putout. (If you don’t know how to keep score, that obviously didn’t make sense to you.) How about when Tad Iguchi drives in an eighth inning run to make it 6-4, every announcer is forced to call that the Allstate insurance run. And when Bobby Jenks gives up a walk off homer, the scoreboard will read ‘That was Bobbie’s seventh Panasonic ceiling fan blown save of the year’. Or better yet, have the Miller Lite Hawk Harrelson drunk pick’s to click. You can put that on the board….YES!
3- I promised myself I wouldn’t go on and on about my beloved Gators, even though they put on an impressive show last Saturday versus LSU to jump to number two in the national polls . Instead I’d like to talk about another undefeated squad, the surprise of the Big 12, the Missouri Tigers. Coming from someone who watched every Mizzou game a year ago, I have to say the feelings of both surprise and fulfillment are creeping into my mind. In 2005, I felt the Tigers were a talented team that was held back by two things: Horrible coaching and “star” players who were not interested in being leaders. I put star in quotes because the “stars” I’m talking about were quarterback Brad Smith, wide receiver Sean Coffey and safety Jason Simpson. No, this wasn’t the second coming of Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson and Ed Reed, but Smith, Coffey and Simpson were solid players. The problem was that they weren’t really team players. It seemed that Smith would have rather run for six yards then throw a pass that would have gone 20. Coffey wouldn’t run across the middle of the field even if there were a new Bentley waiting for him if he did it. And Simpson tried (and I should mention, failed) to make ESPN’s ‘Jacked Up’ segment every time he could have made a simple body tackle. So this team had bad leadership to start off with. Add on to that head coach Gary Pinkel, also known as the second coming of Dick Jauron. A guy who would run the draw on third and eight, the coach who sets his players up to fail. It was no surprise the team was a disappointment in ‘05.
So with the departure of the three ‘stars’ this season, I felt Mizzou would be a solid team. But with Pinkel still in charge, I was hesitant to claim them my sleeper team, since I knew at any time they could fall harder then Baxter from ‘Anchorman’. Turns out, I was wrong. Pinkel has relaxed now that his go-to-guy, Smith, is gone, and is letting hit team play. Six wins later, the Tigers are ranked number 19 and are the last unbeaten in the Big 12.
4-R.I.P. Cory Lidle
Bears at Cardinals?
It’s weekends like this when I wonder if the network suits are asleep at the wheels of the football automobiles known as Sunday and Monday Night Football. Are they trying to make me switch to the baseball playoffs by providing us with two horrible matchups? Does NBC actually want me to see if that special on Comedy Central will be a more entertaining Sunday night affair? Is ESPN really pumping out that non-stop ‘Is it Monday yet?’ ad campaign only to give me a one-sided blowout?
OK, so maybe week six doesn’t provide the headline grabbing matchups that last Sunday did. But still, you can do better than this. Giants at Falcons features two number one overall draft picks from the past six years. Seattle at St. Louis is pretty much the game of the year in the NFC West. Hell, even Houston at Dallas is an in-state rivalry game.
But instead were stuck with a Sunday night game featuring Oakland, fully equipped with the worst coach in the league and an offensive coordinator that ran a bed and breakfast 365 days ago, against Denver, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The over/under on when John Madden starts rambling on about the glory days of this rivalry is the start of the second quarter, and honestly, I’d take the under.
A night later the Worldwide Leader serves up the mighty monsters of the midway, the Chicago Bears of course, taking on Arizona and their rookie QB, Matt Leinart. This one at least will be worth watching, even that’s only to see how many sacks the Bears can get on the pathetic Cardinals o-line. But I’m pretty sure the outcome won’t be in doubt for too long.
So why are the networks giving us these crap games as national showcases? Maybe they are afraid of competing with the baseball post-season, or they just want to give some exposure to these lousy teams. Or maybe in April when they scheduled these games, they actually thought that both squads would be good. Whatever the case is, lets hope there isn’t another pair of primetime games like this the rest of the year, for our sake.
As for my picks, there are only 13 games this weekend to makes selections for because six teams have the week off. Last week I went 10-4, improving my season record to 49-25.
My picks in bold
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay
New York Giants at Atlanta
Tennessee at Washington
Houston at Dallas
Carolina at Baltimore
Buffalo at Detroit
Seattle at St. Louis
Philadelphia at New Orleans
Miami at New York Jets
Kansas City at Pittsburgh
San Diego at San Francisco
Oakland at Denver
Chicago at Arizona
My survival pick from last week, the Indianapolis Colts, needed all 60 minutes to keep my streak intact, scoring all 14 of their points in the second half in a comeback win versus the Titans. I have now used the Cardinals, Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles and Colts in the survival pool, so for this week I will take the game I just finished complaining about, the Denver Broncos to beat Oakland.
Random Thoughts
Since I didn’t really make any points in my last column, I decided to offer some thoughts in this one. Here’s what’s on my mind:
1-These MLB Championship Series’ are really causing me some distress. Who do I cheer for? In the AL, you have two teams that are really tough to root against. Oakland is this low budget brainchild of Billy Beane, a group of guys who play the right way. Good pitching, clutch hitting, exciting baseball. Then you have Detroit, the loser’s turned winners led by the fiery, chain-smoking, old school manager. My support is with the A’s, only because I picked them before the whole thing, and plus the Tigers have Neifi Perez on the squad.
As for the NL, instead of having a tough time because I enjoy watching both squads, I have a tough time because I highly dislike the Mets and the Cardinals. So I guess in that match up, the best-case scenario would be seven competitive baseball games in which Tim McCarver never opens his mouth.
2-Yesterday the White Sox announced that they are establishing a partnership with the convenience store 7-11 in which all of the Monday through Friday night games played at the Cell will be starting at…you guessed it, 7:11pm. Now I believe this is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, but that’s not what I’m going to rant about. What I’m wondering is why can’t the Sox just sell out everything? Instead of a Crede to Konerko ground ball, shouldn’t that be a 5th 3rd Bank putout. (If you don’t know how to keep score, that obviously didn’t make sense to you.) How about when Tad Iguchi drives in an eighth inning run to make it 6-4, every announcer is forced to call that the Allstate insurance run. And when Bobby Jenks gives up a walk off homer, the scoreboard will read ‘That was Bobbie’s seventh Panasonic ceiling fan blown save of the year’. Or better yet, have the Miller Lite Hawk Harrelson drunk pick’s to click. You can put that on the board….YES!
3- I promised myself I wouldn’t go on and on about my beloved Gators, even though they put on an impressive show last Saturday versus LSU to jump to number two in the national polls . Instead I’d like to talk about another undefeated squad, the surprise of the Big 12, the Missouri Tigers. Coming from someone who watched every Mizzou game a year ago, I have to say the feelings of both surprise and fulfillment are creeping into my mind. In 2005, I felt the Tigers were a talented team that was held back by two things: Horrible coaching and “star” players who were not interested in being leaders. I put star in quotes because the “stars” I’m talking about were quarterback Brad Smith, wide receiver Sean Coffey and safety Jason Simpson. No, this wasn’t the second coming of Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson and Ed Reed, but Smith, Coffey and Simpson were solid players. The problem was that they weren’t really team players. It seemed that Smith would have rather run for six yards then throw a pass that would have gone 20. Coffey wouldn’t run across the middle of the field even if there were a new Bentley waiting for him if he did it. And Simpson tried (and I should mention, failed) to make ESPN’s ‘Jacked Up’ segment every time he could have made a simple body tackle. So this team had bad leadership to start off with. Add on to that head coach Gary Pinkel, also known as the second coming of Dick Jauron. A guy who would run the draw on third and eight, the coach who sets his players up to fail. It was no surprise the team was a disappointment in ‘05.
So with the departure of the three ‘stars’ this season, I felt Mizzou would be a solid team. But with Pinkel still in charge, I was hesitant to claim them my sleeper team, since I knew at any time they could fall harder then Baxter from ‘Anchorman’. Turns out, I was wrong. Pinkel has relaxed now that his go-to-guy, Smith, is gone, and is letting hit team play. Six wins later, the Tigers are ranked number 19 and are the last unbeaten in the Big 12.
4-R.I.P. Cory Lidle
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
No trouble here
I realized something very important recently. If people didn’t contradict themselves, we would never learn new information. A person would end up having the same point of view for their entire lives; never realizing it is OK to admit that they are wrong.
For example, if Tupac had only recorded ‘I Get Around’ and not done ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby’, the hip-hop world would have lost one of it’s most celebrated songs. But thankfully ‘Pac realized that he could say both that he loved to be with lots of women while also expressing how important and tough it is to be female at that time.
What would have happened if Jules from ‘Pulp Fiction’ never realized the true meaning of Ezekiel 25:17 and continued leading his original path of what the righteous man should be? He probably would have continued on in his job as mobster, teaming up with a new partner since John Travolta’s Vince got flushed away, doing tasks for Marcellus Wallace.
And on the other side of the spectrum, Pete Rose is a person who eventually realized it’s all right to prove yourself wrong as long as in the end, you are telling it like it is. For almost 15 years he claimed he didn’t bet on baseball, only to reveal in 2004 that he actually did. He’s still a liar and not respected by anyone, but the point is, he learned his lesson.
So with all that being said, I have to announce that I also have learned my lesson and I’m going to go and contradict myself on something I said in last week’s column. In the piece ‘So Much on My Mind’, I ranted, “So before the talk about recording the Shuffle Remix starts, let’s just focus on the week ahead.”
And while I still feel that way, and am still aggravated that people are already guaranteeing the Chicago Bears will finish with an un-blemished 16-0 record, the temptation was too strong. So here’s my remix to the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’, applying to the 2006 Monsters of the Midway.
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Rex Grossman:
My name is Rex, and I’m an ex-Gator
If you think I won’t stay healthy, you’re just a hater
I can throw it deep, throw it short
Soon we’ll be on top of this whole damn sport
Sittin on the bench was not my thing
So in 2007 I’m going to win my ring
But I didn’t come here looking for trouble
I just came to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Charles Tillman:
Number thirty-three here, they call me Peanut
To throw it at me, you got to be nuts
I’ll intercept the pass and take it to the house
Ask the Seahawks what were all about
I stop the run, stop the pass
Come at me and I’ll kick your ass
But I’m not here to spit this jive
I came to Shuffle like they did in ‘85
Olin Kruetz:
I run the O-Line but my name is Olin
It kinda sound German but it’s really Samoan
I hike the ball and lead the blocks
Moving really fast with strength like rocks
Try and get by me and you’ll be out
We don’t just get wins, we make it a rout
But I didn’t come here to flex my muscles
I just want to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Thomas Jones:
Number 20 here, and I pound that rock
By quarter number four I have the D yelling ‘Stop’
But I’m going left, I’m going right
I can run the pigskin all day and night
Come at me and you know the deal
Nobody better at Soldier Field
But I’m not trying to start a tussle
I just want to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Robbie Gould:
It’s the kicker’s turn, and I’m as good as Gould
Put my leg on E-Bay and for sure it’s sold
Cuse I make them all, from in close to far
If I stay perfect, I’ll be a star
When I trot on the field, the crowd will stand up
When I come off, the ref’s got his hand’s up
But I’m not bragging about making field goals
I’d rather talking about winning Super Bowls
Tank Johnson:
Coming through the middle, I’m the Tank
Pilling up sacks like money in the bank
Next to Tommie, next to Brown
Run at us and you’re going down
A year ago, our D was number two
Challenge us this year and you’ll meet my crew
But I ain’t here to brag about my hustle
I just want to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Bernard Berrian:
They call me B.B. and I’m going deep
If you’re at corner don’t fall asleep
Cuse I’ll go by you and put up six
Then I pose for fans as they take their pics
Me and Rex, we got this vibe
To remind the fans of ‘85
I don’t even need to run, I’ll walk or prance
But I’d rather just stay and do my Super Bowl dance
Brian Urlacher:
Playing in the middle its number 54
I’ll pick it off and take it for a score
The next Butkus, the next Signleterry
In ’85 the D was mean, in ’06 it’s scary
Those guys passed it along and gave me the torch
Now we want to be the champs of the NFC North
But our main goal is not the division
It’s to shuffle to Miami doing a whole lot of winning
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
OK, so I’m no
Eminem or Jay-Z. Still, it’s the best I got. (And FYI, if you think you can do better, feel free to put a verse or two in the comments section.) I’ll be back on Friday with my weekend picks and a random though or two.
For example, if Tupac had only recorded ‘I Get Around’ and not done ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby’, the hip-hop world would have lost one of it’s most celebrated songs. But thankfully ‘Pac realized that he could say both that he loved to be with lots of women while also expressing how important and tough it is to be female at that time.
What would have happened if Jules from ‘Pulp Fiction’ never realized the true meaning of Ezekiel 25:17 and continued leading his original path of what the righteous man should be? He probably would have continued on in his job as mobster, teaming up with a new partner since John Travolta’s Vince got flushed away, doing tasks for Marcellus Wallace.And on the other side of the spectrum, Pete Rose is a person who eventually realized it’s all right to prove yourself wrong as long as in the end, you are telling it like it is. For almost 15 years he claimed he didn’t bet on baseball, only to reveal in 2004 that he actually did. He’s still a liar and not respected by anyone, but the point is, he learned his lesson.
So with all that being said, I have to announce that I also have learned my lesson and I’m going to go and contradict myself on something I said in last week’s column. In the piece ‘So Much on My Mind’, I ranted, “So before the talk about recording the Shuffle Remix starts, let’s just focus on the week ahead.”
And while I still feel that way, and am still aggravated that people are already guaranteeing the Chicago Bears will finish with an un-blemished 16-0 record, the temptation was too strong. So here’s my remix to the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’, applying to the 2006 Monsters of the Midway.
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Rex Grossman:
My name is Rex, and I’m an ex-Gator
If you think I won’t stay healthy, you’re just a hater
I can throw it deep, throw it short
Soon we’ll be on top of this whole damn sport
Sittin on the bench was not my thing
So in 2007 I’m going to win my ring
But I didn’t come here looking for trouble
I just came to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Charles Tillman:
Number thirty-three here, they call me Peanut
To throw it at me, you got to be nuts
I’ll intercept the pass and take it to the house
Ask the Seahawks what were all about
I stop the run, stop the pass
Come at me and I’ll kick your ass
But I’m not here to spit this jive
I came to Shuffle like they did in ‘85
Olin Kruetz:
I run the O-Line but my name is Olin
It kinda sound German but it’s really Samoan
I hike the ball and lead the blocks
Moving really fast with strength like rocks
Try and get by me and you’ll be out
We don’t just get wins, we make it a rout
But I didn’t come here to flex my muscles
I just want to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Thomas Jones:
Number 20 here, and I pound that rock
By quarter number four I have the D yelling ‘Stop’
But I’m going left, I’m going right
I can run the pigskin all day and night
Come at me and you know the deal
Nobody better at Soldier Field
But I’m not trying to start a tussle
I just want to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Robbie Gould:
It’s the kicker’s turn, and I’m as good as Gould
Put my leg on E-Bay and for sure it’s sold
Cuse I make them all, from in close to far
If I stay perfect, I’ll be a star
When I trot on the field, the crowd will stand up
When I come off, the ref’s got his hand’s up
But I’m not bragging about making field goals
I’d rather talking about winning Super Bowls
Tank Johnson:
Coming through the middle, I’m the Tank
Pilling up sacks like money in the bank
Next to Tommie, next to Brown
Run at us and you’re going down
A year ago, our D was number two
Challenge us this year and you’ll meet my crew
But I ain’t here to brag about my hustle
I just want to do the Super Bowl Shuffle
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Bernard Berrian:
They call me B.B. and I’m going deep
If you’re at corner don’t fall asleep
Cuse I’ll go by you and put up six
Then I pose for fans as they take their pics
Me and Rex, we got this vibe
To remind the fans of ‘85
I don’t even need to run, I’ll walk or prance
But I’d rather just stay and do my Super Bowl dance
Brian Urlacher:
Playing in the middle its number 54
I’ll pick it off and take it for a score
The next Butkus, the next Signleterry
In ’85 the D was mean, in ’06 it’s scary
Those guys passed it along and gave me the torch
Now we want to be the champs of the NFC North
But our main goal is not the division
It’s to shuffle to Miami doing a whole lot of winning
Chorus:
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
OK, so I’m no
Eminem or Jay-Z. Still, it’s the best I got. (And FYI, if you think you can do better, feel free to put a verse or two in the comments section.) I’ll be back on Friday with my weekend picks and a random though or two.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Week Five
What an NFL season we’ve already had, and it’s only week five. Injuries, choke jobs and head-busta's. Lets review:
Week one was the Manning Bowl, the Trent Green controversial hit, and the Seahawks barely getting by the Lions in their return to Detroit. Week two brought us T.O.’s broken hand, the Giants miracle comeback against Philly and Ben Rothlesberger sticking up all of northern Florida in his return game versus Jacksonville. That was followed by T.O.’s questioned suicide attempt, Chris Simms and his spleen that had to be removed and the Saints return to the Superdome. Then last week we had Albert Haynesworth doing his best Ciara One-Two-Step impression on Cowboys center Andre Gurode, Santan Moss treating the Jags defense like a first-time ‘Madden’ player, and the Eagles potentially knocking out Brett Favre.
So that means that the league is probably taking this week off right? No big-time games to go head-to-head with the baseball playoffs. WRONG. This Sunday will be even crazier then the last, because like most colleges, it’s homecoming weekend. You have Bills coach Dick Jauron returning to Chicago to face the Bears, Giants linebacker Lavar Arrington squaring off against his former employer’s the Redskins, and of course, Terrell Owens returning to the City of Brotherly Love to battle the Eagles. I’m ready for a good ten hours of football this Sunday, and here are my picks on what I think will happen. Hopefully I can improve no last week, when I finished with a decent 9-5 record (I am 39-21 through the four weeks of the season.)
My picks in bold
Miami at New England
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Washington at New York Giants
Buffalo at Chicago
St. Louis at Green Bay
Cleveland at Carolina
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Detroit at Minnesota
Kansas City at Arizona
Oakland at San Francisco
New York Jets at Jacksonville
Dallas at Philadelphia
Pittsburgh at San Diego
Baltimore at Denver
In the survival pool, I’m going to go with an easy selection this week, guaranteeing the Colts will defeat Vince Young and the Titans.
Week one was the Manning Bowl, the Trent Green controversial hit, and the Seahawks barely getting by the Lions in their return to Detroit. Week two brought us T.O.’s broken hand, the Giants miracle comeback against Philly and Ben Rothlesberger sticking up all of northern Florida in his return game versus Jacksonville. That was followed by T.O.’s questioned suicide attempt, Chris Simms and his spleen that had to be removed and the Saints return to the Superdome. Then last week we had Albert Haynesworth doing his best Ciara One-Two-Step impression on Cowboys center Andre Gurode, Santan Moss treating the Jags defense like a first-time ‘Madden’ player, and the Eagles potentially knocking out Brett Favre.
So that means that the league is probably taking this week off right? No big-time games to go head-to-head with the baseball playoffs. WRONG. This Sunday will be even crazier then the last, because like most colleges, it’s homecoming weekend. You have Bills coach Dick Jauron returning to Chicago to face the Bears, Giants linebacker Lavar Arrington squaring off against his former employer’s the Redskins, and of course, Terrell Owens returning to the City of Brotherly Love to battle the Eagles. I’m ready for a good ten hours of football this Sunday, and here are my picks on what I think will happen. Hopefully I can improve no last week, when I finished with a decent 9-5 record (I am 39-21 through the four weeks of the season.)
My picks in bold
Miami at New England
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Washington at New York Giants
Buffalo at Chicago
St. Louis at Green Bay
Cleveland at Carolina
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Detroit at Minnesota
Kansas City at Arizona
Oakland at San Francisco
New York Jets at Jacksonville
Dallas at Philadelphia
Pittsburgh at San Diego
Baltimore at Denver
In the survival pool, I’m going to go with an easy selection this week, guaranteeing the Colts will defeat Vince Young and the Titans.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
So much on my mind
As I sat down with my laptop to begin working on this week’s column, I realized that I had no clue what I wanted to write about.
First I was thinking about a Cubs season recap. But with the leaves starting to fall and the temperature cooling, I wouldn’t want to ruin these first days of autumn by reminiscing on a horrible summer.
Then I thought, maybe I’ll do an NFL first quarter report card. The only problem is that I haven’t really been able to see many teams due to my busy schedule.
Maybe an MLB playoff preview? Unfortunetly I started writing this kind of late for that, so that wouldn't really work.
So what should I do? Instead of writing a bunch about one subject, I’ve decided to cover a plethora of topics in a super-sized version of ‘Random Thoughts’.
1-How about them Bears! The stomping of Green Bay and Detroit was expected. The comeback win against Minnesota was exciting. But to completely annihilate the defending NFC champs 37-6 on National TV. Let me repeat that once more. 37-6. That’s not a few lucky breaks. That’s not just home field advantage. Don’t give me that ‘Without Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks are a different team’ garbage. When you beat a previously unbeaten team by more then four touchdowns, you have flexed your muscle and shown the entire country who the best team in the NFC (And dare I say the entire league) is. And the scary part about it is, that was the tough part of the schedule. Now they have Dick Jauron’s Bills, at Arizona, a bye, and home versus Miami and San Francisco. There’s no reason the Monsters of the Midway shouldn’t be 8-0 heading in to their three game East Coast swing on November 12.
2-Rex Grossman and the offense played well, but the real stars of Sunday night was the defense. All of last week, the newspapers and sports-talk shows were concerned with Seattle’s potentially ‘explosive’ offense, which featured a previously unseen four wide receiver formation. Throw in backup running back Maurice Morris, who for some reason got some people more scared then they would be if Alexander had played, and you would have thought the Bears were going up against one of those All-Pro teams on ‘Madden’ where everybody has all 99 ratings. Instead it was just another pathetic attempt to fool Lovie, Riviera and the ferocious Bears D. Ricky Manning Jr made a great first impression on the Windy City, (I guess it would actually be a second impression, since he left his first one on some guys face at a Los Angles Denny’s a week after the Bears signed him) rookie Mark Anderson showed flashes of being the next great Bears pass rusher, and Tommie Harris jumped up to the top of the Defensive Player of the Year leader board.
3-My only cause for concern with the Bears actually has nothing to do with the team or coaches. It’s the fans. And the hype. Already I’m reading people declaring a 16-0 season is realistic, and that it’s a good possibility because we have a Griese at quarterback. Or the sportswriters bragging about how they will be able to spend the first week of February in Miami because this team is definitely going all the way. Can I just say that it’s only been four games. We are only one fourth of the way through the season. And don’t people learn from history anymore? Last year the Colts won there first 13 games, and they didn’t even win one single playoff game. So before the talk about recording the Shuffle Remix starts, let’s just focus on the week ahead.
4-In other news around the NFL, I’m actually excited for this Terrell Owens back to Philly game. I saw one report that said ‘Expect a downpour of D-batteries to be in the forecast and that the halftime entertainment will be the city of Philadelphia honoring J.D. Drew and Mitch Williams for their service’. That honestly wouldn’t surprise me, though these things never seem to happen the way we predict them too, so really, anything can happen. But the real excitement should be on the field, since the Eagles and Cowboys are two of the top teams in the NFC. Donovan McNabb is playing like an MVP, but he’ll need someone else on his offense to step up to beat Dallas’ top-notch defense. As for the Cowboys, the have talent on offense, but I’m still not sure that Drew Bledsoe can win the big game. If he has a poor performance, the ‘Boys have almost no chance of winning. I still haven’t decided on a prediction, but I’ll have it by Friday.
5-On to college ball, I’m quite nervous for this weekend. No, the Northwestern-Wisconsin game doesn’t have me all riled up, even though it should be a nice Big Ten battle. It’s the battle in the Swamp featuring my fifth ranked Florida Gators and the visiting ninth ranked LSU Tigers that has my heartbeat going faster then Garrett Wolfe. This is a huge game, not only because it’s a battle of two top teams, but also because it’s the start of a brutal stretch for the Gators. After the Bayou Bengals game, UF travels to the Plains of Auburn and face the second ranked Tigers. Then following a bye week, it’s on to Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party against number ten Georgia Bulldogs. So if the Gators fall to LSU, they will need to rebound very quickly in order to stay in the SEC race. The key, as in most big time SEC games, will be who can make the big play on offense. Both defenses are very fast and athletic, so whichever side’s backs and receivers step up will be the one’s who will leave with the victory. Obviously I’m going for the Gators, but I give them the advantage because of their depth at wide out and because they are at home.
6-Isn’t there a sport in the playoffs right now? Oh yeah, it’s our national pastime. In March I picked Oakland to win it all, so I’m sticking with them now. Unfortunately my pick from the Senior Circuit, the Atlanta Braves, didn’t quite live up to my expectations, so out of the National League, I like the Dodgers, especially now that the Mets can’t find a starting pitcher who can survive pre-game stretching. So in the all California series, I’ll take the A’s in five, with Nick Swisher (who was a member of my championship fantasy baseball team) as Series MVP.
7-As for my beloved baseball team, you may have heard that the Cubs were in the news recently. On Sunday night, only hours after the final game of the season, team President Andy McPhail resigned, ridding the franchise of one of the worst baseball minds this city has ever seen. Then on Monday the team announced that manager Dusty Baker would not be returning to the dugout in 2007. So what does this all mean for the future of the Cubs? Until they rid themselves of general manager Jim Hendry, in my opinion, not much. I was never one to blame Baker for all the Cubs failures, like many others did, because he can only manage the players on the roster given to him. It’s Hendry’s job to fill that roster, and if you were paying any sort of attention this year, you would know that he failed. After 2005, when Kerry Wood and Mark Prior both spent plenty of time on the disabled list, you would think a priority of Hendry’s would be to get a starting pitcher. And I guess, in his eyes, he was successful, because he did indeed sign a starting pitcher. He inked Wade Miller, a guy who hasn’t gone an entire season without getting hurt since 2003. Sure enough, Miller gets hurt in spring training and ends up making only five starts all season, all in September during games more meaningless then Yom Kippur services. (Zing!) True, Miller’s five games were one more then Wood pitched this season, but the point of this is instead of fixing a problem, Hendry just added to it. Unless he goes out and spends every single cent the Tribune Company gives him this winter on good, productive, preferably not old players, Hendry should be fired the second he arrives to Mesa in February.
8-As for replacing Baker, three candidates names continue to come up; Joe Girardi, Lou Pinella and Bob Brenly. In my opinion, go with Girardi, but each has their plusses and minuses. Girardi is obviously a top-of-the-line manager, as showed by what he did with the Marlins this season. But it concerns me greatly that he got fired after doing such a great job. Even a complete idiot wouldn’t give a guy who won 78 games with a $19 million payroll the pink slip unless he was truly impossible to work with. Is he the guy to take over a team going on close to 100 years without a title? Sweet Lou is also a great manager, a two-time skipper of the year and a world champion with the 1990 Reds. But I’m not sure his in your face attitude is really what the North Side needs. Plus he wants a team who will contend quickly, and if that doesn’t happen, he is likely to quit. Then we're right back to where we are now. And Brenly, the current Cubs color-analyst, is also a former WS title winner. He knows the team, the fans, the ballpark. But is he a good manager? Many people think he only won because of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, and didn’t really have much skills from the bench. Girardi is Peoria native, Northwestern alum, a Cubs player for six years and former bench coach for Yankees manager Joe Torre. He understands both the city and atmosphere surrounding it, but also how to win, something the Cubs haven’t done much. He may be tough to deal with, but if the club wins, I honestly don’t care.
First I was thinking about a Cubs season recap. But with the leaves starting to fall and the temperature cooling, I wouldn’t want to ruin these first days of autumn by reminiscing on a horrible summer.
Then I thought, maybe I’ll do an NFL first quarter report card. The only problem is that I haven’t really been able to see many teams due to my busy schedule.
Maybe an MLB playoff preview? Unfortunetly I started writing this kind of late for that, so that wouldn't really work.
So what should I do? Instead of writing a bunch about one subject, I’ve decided to cover a plethora of topics in a super-sized version of ‘Random Thoughts’.
1-How about them Bears! The stomping of Green Bay and Detroit was expected. The comeback win against Minnesota was exciting. But to completely annihilate the defending NFC champs 37-6 on National TV. Let me repeat that once more. 37-6. That’s not a few lucky breaks. That’s not just home field advantage. Don’t give me that ‘Without Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks are a different team’ garbage. When you beat a previously unbeaten team by more then four touchdowns, you have flexed your muscle and shown the entire country who the best team in the NFC (And dare I say the entire league) is. And the scary part about it is, that was the tough part of the schedule. Now they have Dick Jauron’s Bills, at Arizona, a bye, and home versus Miami and San Francisco. There’s no reason the Monsters of the Midway shouldn’t be 8-0 heading in to their three game East Coast swing on November 12.
2-Rex Grossman and the offense played well, but the real stars of Sunday night was the defense. All of last week, the newspapers and sports-talk shows were concerned with Seattle’s potentially ‘explosive’ offense, which featured a previously unseen four wide receiver formation. Throw in backup running back Maurice Morris, who for some reason got some people more scared then they would be if Alexander had played, and you would have thought the Bears were going up against one of those All-Pro teams on ‘Madden’ where everybody has all 99 ratings. Instead it was just another pathetic attempt to fool Lovie, Riviera and the ferocious Bears D. Ricky Manning Jr made a great first impression on the Windy City, (I guess it would actually be a second impression, since he left his first one on some guys face at a Los Angles Denny’s a week after the Bears signed him) rookie Mark Anderson showed flashes of being the next great Bears pass rusher, and Tommie Harris jumped up to the top of the Defensive Player of the Year leader board.
3-My only cause for concern with the Bears actually has nothing to do with the team or coaches. It’s the fans. And the hype. Already I’m reading people declaring a 16-0 season is realistic, and that it’s a good possibility because we have a Griese at quarterback. Or the sportswriters bragging about how they will be able to spend the first week of February in Miami because this team is definitely going all the way. Can I just say that it’s only been four games. We are only one fourth of the way through the season. And don’t people learn from history anymore? Last year the Colts won there first 13 games, and they didn’t even win one single playoff game. So before the talk about recording the Shuffle Remix starts, let’s just focus on the week ahead.
4-In other news around the NFL, I’m actually excited for this Terrell Owens back to Philly game. I saw one report that said ‘Expect a downpour of D-batteries to be in the forecast and that the halftime entertainment will be the city of Philadelphia honoring J.D. Drew and Mitch Williams for their service’. That honestly wouldn’t surprise me, though these things never seem to happen the way we predict them too, so really, anything can happen. But the real excitement should be on the field, since the Eagles and Cowboys are two of the top teams in the NFC. Donovan McNabb is playing like an MVP, but he’ll need someone else on his offense to step up to beat Dallas’ top-notch defense. As for the Cowboys, the have talent on offense, but I’m still not sure that Drew Bledsoe can win the big game. If he has a poor performance, the ‘Boys have almost no chance of winning. I still haven’t decided on a prediction, but I’ll have it by Friday.
5-On to college ball, I’m quite nervous for this weekend. No, the Northwestern-Wisconsin game doesn’t have me all riled up, even though it should be a nice Big Ten battle. It’s the battle in the Swamp featuring my fifth ranked Florida Gators and the visiting ninth ranked LSU Tigers that has my heartbeat going faster then Garrett Wolfe. This is a huge game, not only because it’s a battle of two top teams, but also because it’s the start of a brutal stretch for the Gators. After the Bayou Bengals game, UF travels to the Plains of Auburn and face the second ranked Tigers. Then following a bye week, it’s on to Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party against number ten Georgia Bulldogs. So if the Gators fall to LSU, they will need to rebound very quickly in order to stay in the SEC race. The key, as in most big time SEC games, will be who can make the big play on offense. Both defenses are very fast and athletic, so whichever side’s backs and receivers step up will be the one’s who will leave with the victory. Obviously I’m going for the Gators, but I give them the advantage because of their depth at wide out and because they are at home.
6-Isn’t there a sport in the playoffs right now? Oh yeah, it’s our national pastime. In March I picked Oakland to win it all, so I’m sticking with them now. Unfortunately my pick from the Senior Circuit, the Atlanta Braves, didn’t quite live up to my expectations, so out of the National League, I like the Dodgers, especially now that the Mets can’t find a starting pitcher who can survive pre-game stretching. So in the all California series, I’ll take the A’s in five, with Nick Swisher (who was a member of my championship fantasy baseball team) as Series MVP.
7-As for my beloved baseball team, you may have heard that the Cubs were in the news recently. On Sunday night, only hours after the final game of the season, team President Andy McPhail resigned, ridding the franchise of one of the worst baseball minds this city has ever seen. Then on Monday the team announced that manager Dusty Baker would not be returning to the dugout in 2007. So what does this all mean for the future of the Cubs? Until they rid themselves of general manager Jim Hendry, in my opinion, not much. I was never one to blame Baker for all the Cubs failures, like many others did, because he can only manage the players on the roster given to him. It’s Hendry’s job to fill that roster, and if you were paying any sort of attention this year, you would know that he failed. After 2005, when Kerry Wood and Mark Prior both spent plenty of time on the disabled list, you would think a priority of Hendry’s would be to get a starting pitcher. And I guess, in his eyes, he was successful, because he did indeed sign a starting pitcher. He inked Wade Miller, a guy who hasn’t gone an entire season without getting hurt since 2003. Sure enough, Miller gets hurt in spring training and ends up making only five starts all season, all in September during games more meaningless then Yom Kippur services. (Zing!) True, Miller’s five games were one more then Wood pitched this season, but the point of this is instead of fixing a problem, Hendry just added to it. Unless he goes out and spends every single cent the Tribune Company gives him this winter on good, productive, preferably not old players, Hendry should be fired the second he arrives to Mesa in February.
8-As for replacing Baker, three candidates names continue to come up; Joe Girardi, Lou Pinella and Bob Brenly. In my opinion, go with Girardi, but each has their plusses and minuses. Girardi is obviously a top-of-the-line manager, as showed by what he did with the Marlins this season. But it concerns me greatly that he got fired after doing such a great job. Even a complete idiot wouldn’t give a guy who won 78 games with a $19 million payroll the pink slip unless he was truly impossible to work with. Is he the guy to take over a team going on close to 100 years without a title? Sweet Lou is also a great manager, a two-time skipper of the year and a world champion with the 1990 Reds. But I’m not sure his in your face attitude is really what the North Side needs. Plus he wants a team who will contend quickly, and if that doesn’t happen, he is likely to quit. Then we're right back to where we are now. And Brenly, the current Cubs color-analyst, is also a former WS title winner. He knows the team, the fans, the ballpark. But is he a good manager? Many people think he only won because of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, and didn’t really have much skills from the bench. Girardi is Peoria native, Northwestern alum, a Cubs player for six years and former bench coach for Yankees manager Joe Torre. He understands both the city and atmosphere surrounding it, but also how to win, something the Cubs haven’t done much. He may be tough to deal with, but if the club wins, I honestly don’t care.
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