NBA Blog

Before we get to the picks, here’s a quick recap of this week’s events. 

T.O. tried to commit suicided.  No, he didn’t.  Yes, he did.  No…he didn’t.  Yes…he did.  I have no idea, but I did learn some things this week.  His publicist sucks (Read the quote about 25 million reasons to live.  Who says that?).  His agent sucks (No comment).  His personality sucks.  His interviews and press conferences suck. 

But, the best thing to come out of this whole saga/ordeal/controversy/overblown story is Jeremiah Trotter.  His quotes about T.O. have been hilarious in the face of a sad attempted sucide, or was it a cry for help, or was it all a mistake?  I’m getting a headache here.  Anyway, Trotter said this, “Nobody loves themself more than T.O.  He even has a shirt that says ‘I love T.O.’”  Seriously.  I’ve got nothing on that.

On to the weekend:

NCAA (home teams in bold):

I’m not really digging a whole bunch of these games; the Tx Tech/TAMU line is driving me crazy because I don’t know which way to go.

1.  Mich. St. (-26) over Illinois - the Illini flat out stink, and if Rutgers can roll them by 33 at home, why can’t Michigan State’s offense do the same?
2.  Miami (-16.5) over U of Houston - this is wild.  Houston actually has an excellent quarterback, but I just don’t think they stand a chance against the athletes on the field for Miami, even if they look like the walking dead right now.  I think this is the game where they get pissed off and blow someone out of the water.  Let’s just hope that statement is not taken literally; it would be like watching the opening sequence of ‘Last Boy Scout’.
3 & 4.  Syracuse (-5) over Wyoming  - yeeeeeeesh.  What an ugly game.  Syracuse can’t score, but they can cause turnovers and I don’t think Wyoming is capable of too much offensively.  That’s why the second part of this is to take the under.
5.  Georgia (-18) at Ole Miss - Ole Miss cannot score ANY points.  Georgia doesn’t allow many points.  Not a good equation for the Rebels at home, especially coming off of Georgia’s stink-fest against the once formidable Colorado Buffaloes.  Keep in mind that CU’s athletic QB gave Georgia some fits and that is exactly what former Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer will try to do as well.  All in all, this won’t be within 3 td’s.

NFL:
1.  Jets (+9) v. Colts - The Jets are fiesty enough to keep this close.  They’ll hog the ball on the ground to chew up clock and complete underneath stuff to Coles all game to keep it tight.  One TD win for the Colts on Sunday.
2.  Chargers (-2.5) at Ravens - Shawn Merriman and LaDanian Tomlinson are the best players on the field and they’re both wearing ‘Bolts.  With that being said, I think the Ravens will get their first loss on Sunday in a tough game.  The under is also tempting for this one.
3.  Vikings (+1) at Bills - AFC v. NFC and NFC team on the road should equal an AFC win.  I just don’t see it happening here.  The Vikes are tough, and I’d rather rely on Brad “I never throw a bad pass” Johnson than J.P. “I love Brett Favre a little too much in a Champ Kind sort of way” Losman.
4.  Cowboys (-9.5) at Titans - Kerry Collins v. Drew Bledsoe.  Wow, that would be exciting if they were still at Penn State and Washington State, respectively.  Now, it just sounds boring.  At least the T.O. talk may keep it interesting/insane/confusing.  I still don’t know what the hell went on there (One last note on that, did you hear what the sergeant for Dallas P.D. had to say about T.O. when compared to his officers.  That was great.  “They’re 10 times the person T.O. is.”  Good stuff.  Now, I’m done with that.  I feel like Sal Paolantonio.)
5.  49ers (+7) at Chiefs - If Dick Vermeil were coaching K.C. and Trent Green were at the helm, I’d be all over K.C. in this one.  Instead, we’ve got Herm Edwards and Brock Huard.  ‘Nuff said.
6.  Saints (+7) at Panthers - Something ain’t right in Panther’ville.  They nearly lost to a guy who was extremely close to passing out and/or dying last week.  And the Saints are looking really good with a solid QB, two tough running backs, and all the positive energy/karma coming out of New Orleans.  They’re riding a real high right now.  Even if they lose, it will be by less than 7.
7.  Falcons (-7) v. Cardinals - Atlanta should wake up after last Monday, and Kurt Warner is the perfect quarterback to face after a tough loss.  Their defense will pick up at least four sacks and 1-2 turnovers. 
8.  Dolphins (-3.5) at Texans - How bad has Daunte Culpepper been?  The once-trendy Super Bowl pick is barely a field goal favorite versus the worst team in the league not coached by Art Shell.  That’s real bad, but possibly good for us with a small line.
9.  Rams (-5.5) v. Lions - The Lions shaky D versus Stephen Jackson, Tory Holt and Marc Bulger at home.  I’m thinking a 6 point win for the STL.
10.  Pats (+6) at Bengals - Each of the last few years we’ve thought the Pats were done.  They’ve looked done, and then come out and beat a quality team on the road.  Seriously, look it up.  There is just enough craziness in Cincy right now to shake them up and let a tough Pats team stay close, or even pull out a ‘W’.
11.  Jaguars (-3) at Redskins - I don’t think Washington can move the ball against Jacksonville’s defense.  They’ve got the toughest defense surrounded by the best middle linebacker in the league (Mike Peterson).  They are so tough.  This too will be a low scoring affair.  Wait until gametime to watch the line move and if it goes up a point, take the under.
12.  Browns (-2.5) at Raiders - the only people watching this game have money on it.  There’s absolutely no other reason to watch.  But, if I had the money, I’d probably bet big on Cleveland.  They’re not that talented around the board, but at least they care.  Oakland doesn’t have talent or heart. 
13.  Seawhawks (+3.5) at Bears - I don’t know if the ‘Hawks can beat the Bears at Soldier Field without Shaun Alexander.  I do think they can keep it close enough with their offense and wait for their defense to cause a Rex Grossman mistake/injury.  I’m really torn about taking the ‘Hawks money line.  I think the safer bet is the points.
14.  Packers (+11) at Eagles - I have no clue.  This could be a hu - yuge Eagles blow out, or they could falter in the fourth and let Favre try to get back in it like the Giants were able to do.  I’m leaning towards the latter especially with Brett playing on MNF for one of the last times.  Heart over head here, and that’s how I’m justifying it.

Last week: 8-7 (I’m giving myself the bonus Pats-Broncos under).

Fantasy watch: I think Randy Moss may break out of his funk big time against Cleveland’s suspect secondary.  Unlike the Steve McNair bounce pass underneath, all Andrew Walters has to do is audible at the line (because the hotel manager probably called the wrong play) and throw a three-step go-route up the sidelines for Randy, who has to be livid right now with the mess that team is in.

No, not because of my mediocre 7-7 run at picks on Friday.  Rather, you are reading the post of a recent Kentucky licensed attorney.  I found out that I passed the bar on Monday.  I didn’t sleep all weekend, and it took 20 minutes for it to register that my number was actually on the list of passing applicants.  (I had to have someone else verify that my number was on the list, and I wasn’t just seeing things.) 

Then, this afternoon I was sworn in to the practice of law.  The official large ceremony is October 9, but my office was anxious to get me to work.  Of course, I had to swear that I would not and have not participated in any duels, so my weekend is shot.  Oh well, you win some and you lose some. 

This past Friday was an experiment, and it turned out pretty much like I suspected.  I figured I would go about .500 for the week without doing crazy, in-depth reviews, but rather rely on my knowledge.  (Note: if you factor in the under for the Broncos game, then I was above .500.  But, I digress.)  The main point was to get people out there thinking about the games and hopefully talking about them on the site.  I will be posting another set of games a day earlier, on Thursday, to try to spur some more chatter.  If any of you out there think you can beat my picks, maybe we can come up with a contest.  Just throwing it out there.  Hit me up.

Oh yeah baby.  Two posts today.  I’m getting crazy.  Since I feel utterly worthless in the office today, I thought I’d give you a little something I promised last week.  Football lines for the weekend, and my picks.  

Important note: I’m exceptionally nervous and freaking out about my upcoming bar results.  Nothing to worry about, but if I fail, there’s a 95% chance I don’t have a job.  Of course, this means nothing with my student loan payments, credit card payments, and that little thing called a MORTGAGE!  What’s there to worry about?  This is why your devoted writer has been so scatterbrained as of late.  I can’t freaking think. 

Anyway.  In honor of my last full day of work (read the previous paragraph), on to the picks:

Saturday - I meant to post something yesterday about the lock that was Georgia Tech, but since I didn’t, you’re just going to have to take my word for it.  I had planned to post five lines for your enjoyment, but since I didn’t get the GT line up yesterday, I added a sixth pick for the price of five.  (Home teams in bold.)

1.  Minnesota (-3) over Purdue - Purdue is not that good this year, and I think Minnesota will be able to exert its running game and control the clock.  This comes down to a 1-2 TD win for the Golden Gophers.

2.  WVU (-21.5) over East Carolina - Steve Slaton is going to have another monster game and the Mountaineers win by at least 28.

3.  USF (+3.5) at Kansas - I don’t like many teams in the Big XII this year, and I think Kansas is the worst of the lot.  I don’t see any reason why USF can’t keep this within a field goal, and possibly walk away with a W.  If you’re feeling frisky, take the USF money line.

4.  Tennessee (-22) over Marshall - Tennessee at home against Marshall after a one point home loss to Florida.  Please, this is a sure-fire winner.

5.  Missouri (-22) over Ohio - Ohio is not good.  Mizzou is not terrible.  It’s a home game for Mizzou before entering conference.  They’ll work the kinks out against Ohio.  They should win by 24.

5.  Clemson (-16.5) over UNC - UNC flat out stinks.  Clemson has played too many teams close, and will look to blow out someone to get them on track.

There you have it sports fans; the college round-up.  Here’s how I think the NFL weekend will shake out:

1.  Jets (+5.5) at Buffalo - Both teams have been overachievers so far this year.  I think this will be a tight game all the way to the end and will come down to a field goal.  I still think Buffalo pulls it out, but Pennington and co. will keep it close.

2.  Steelers (-2) over Cincinnati - I’m not sold on Cincy right now for some reason.  I think Pittsburgh will be able to run the ball better against the Bengals than they did against Jacksonville’s physical defense.  Pittsburgh will “announce their presence with authority” and take over the clock and game keeping the Bengals’ offense off the field.  I’m also worried about Chad Johnson after last week’s shot.  If he’s healthy, I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

3.  Jags (+7) at Indianapolis - No Dwight Freeney, no Colts’ defense.  Plain and simple.  Jacksonville has the toughness to beat up on the Indy wideouts just like Pittsburgh did in the postseason last year, and just like New England did every year before that.  Also, without a running game to help Peyton, the Colts won’t be able to run the play-action big plays.  This is going to be a tight game all the way to the wire.

4.  Titans (+10.5) at Miami - until Daunte Culpepper does anything, I’m not taking a double digit spread.  Even if the ‘Fins are playing the hapless Titans.  Sorry.

5.  Texans (+4) v. Washington - Have the Redskins even scored four points this year?  They will also seriously miss Shaun Taylor at safety.  I really don’t like this game either way, so I’m guessing a FG wins it for Wash.

6.  Vikings (+3) v. Chicago - The Vikings are tough, and I’m not sold on Chicago’s offense.  At home, I’ll take the Vikes getting 3.

7.  Panthers (-3) at Tampa Bay - Something has to give in this game.  With Steve Smith possibly coming back, I think the Panthers get off the schnide.

8.  Packers (+6.5) at Detroit - I don’t like this game either.  It will be ugly.  The Packers are atrocious, but Detroit’s offense has been equally bad thus far.  The Packers will lose again, but it will be a tight, boring, and (insert your own bad adjective here) game. 

9.  Ravens (-6.5) at Cleveland - The Ravens believe they are that good and have been walking the walk.  Cleveland is too young and has too many holes on the O-line to do anything to stop Baltimore’s defense.  I think it will be a tough fight, but Cleveland won’t be able to do much of anything. 

10.  Cardinals (-4.5) v. St. Louis - I don’t know.  For some reason I think Edge goes off in this game. 

11.  Giants (+3.5) at Seattle - Three point win for the ‘Hawks in this one, even without Shockey at tight end.

12.  Eagles (-6) at San Francisco - San Francisco showed me some things last weekend, but I think that the Eagles will come out swinging for the fences after the loss last weekend.  It could get ugly early, and San Francisco won’t have enought to catch up to Philly at the end.

13.  Broncos (+6.5) at New England - Both teams have looked bad thus far.  I think they are both overrated, and this will be a low scoring game.  Parlay the Broncos with the under (39 points) and you’re looking at a winner.

14.  Monday Night Football: Falcons (-3) at New Orleans  - I’m taking the Falcons and I’ll tell you more about this one Monday morning.

“The ’70’s are over Mr. Lebowski!  You lost!  Get a job, you bum!”

In honor of sit-ins, protests, and over-zealous Hollywood celebrities who think that because they played-a-person-who cared-about-politics-in-a-show-one-time-so-everyone-should-obviously-listent-to-them, 1,000 Baltimore Orioles’ fans timed a walk-out at 5:08 pm of the make-up game yesterday.  The time was specfically chosen to honor former Oriole greats Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken.  Orioles’ fans, who used to continually pack the house in the best ball-park in America, aren’t casual fans and have finally taken as much as they can handle.  They got it right this time.  Instead of not showing up for a game, which is what Pirates’ fans and Marlins’ fans have been doing for years, they actually showed up and made it obvious that they will not stand for the well below mediocrity level that has been set in Baltimore by the owner.  Not showing up for games hurts both the fans and the city.  It makes the city look bad, and eventually the team will just threaten to leave.  Then the fans get nothing.  Also, many tickets are owned by season ticket holders.  They’ve already paid, so their hurting themselves also.  This way, the fans show up for tickets they’ve already paid for, thereby getting at least SOMETHING for their hard-earned buck, and the walk-out makes it wholly obvious to EVERYONE involved that the fans are pissed off.  Maybe this is the beginning of something that will spur the O’s management into action.  I’m an O’s fan, and I’m sick and tired of nothing ever getting done to improve the franchise.  They’ve been in dire need of pitching for years and an infusion of young talent.  Instead, the team has continually settled for retreads.  As much as I loved B.J. Surhoff and Jeff Conine’s heart and soul, they never should have been starting, and they certainly should not have continued to be brought back year after year unless they were the savvy veteran that was a great clubhouse presence.  Instead, they continued to get run on the field without the O’s ever adding anything. 

Phew, I’m off my horse now.  I still thought it was great though.

Sarcastic, yet poignant column time:  Team USA is officially no longer the most dominant basketball power.  So the men have been struggling for years in the international game; who cares.  What really hurts is that the women lost to Russia.  Are there any international women’s teams?  It’s pathetic that we can’t win on the international level in either gender for a sport we invented and have controlled forever.  I didn’t even know other countries had women’s teams.  But seriously, how far has USA hoops fallen when our women can no longer dominate the game?

Urban watch:  Still unsigned as far as I know.  If any of you loyal readers hear anything post it here.

ESPN recently posted a question about which non-playoff NBA team had the chance to make a title run by 2010.  Here’s what I think of the question: 

Based on the current rosters, I would have to lean towards either Orlando or Boston as a possible title contender by 2010.  Both teams have an excellent core of young talent that they will be able to cultivate and lock into long-term deals.  Dwight Howard (and his shoulders) should be at the peak of his career posting Moses Malone type numbers.  If the Darko Milicic project (sounds like an 80’s band) works, then they’ve suddenly got a tremendous one-two punch with their bigs.  Trevor Ariza and Jameer Nelson make excellent complements to those two. 

Boston’s got a slightly smaller chance of winning a title simply because I continue to see their franchise in turmoil between developing their youth and making a run now while Paul Pierce still can.  I’m not sure if Yao and T-Mac will ever be able to win a title together simply because they are never healthy enough to do it, and they will struggle to even make the playoffs in the West especially after the Spurs reload their roster in ‘07.  That’s the team with the true dynasty potential.

 Let me know what you think about it.

 Early Weekend Wager Watch:  The Raiders aren’t playing, so you can’t bet against them.  The lines I would continue to watch would be the Atlanta Falcons game and the Philadelphia Eagles game.  Also, watch the over-under for the Bears game on Sunday.  If it climbs a few points this week, jump on the under.  It should be a low scoring affair.

Week 1 is in the books for this NFL season, and here are a couple of thoughts from our first weekend:

Trent Green’s career may be over. Yeeesh! That was an ugly shot he took to the head. It reminded me a lot of the first major Steve Young concussion. It should be interesting to see how the Chiefs’ offense works under Brodie Croyle. As of right now, I don’t like their odds.

Vernon Davis, aka ‘Man Child’, showed some glimpses as to his potential greatness. If he can become more consistent, I don’t see any reason that Alex Smith won’t improve exponentially this season. A great receiving tight end is essential for the development of a young qb, and Davis has the makings to be phenomenal.

Wow, the Packers suck. Brett Favre is going to have a terrible season, and that really pains me to say so. He’s been my favorite player since he first stepped into the starting lineup for the Packers. If Sterling Sharpe could have stayed healthy, Favre and Sharpe would have gone down as one of the greatest qb-receiver tandems in NFL history. Instead, Favre made due with the likes of Robert Brooks, a washed up Andre Rison, one-dimensional guys like Antonio Freeman and Don Beebe, and complete stiffs like Mark Chmura. Its ugly to watch now. But on the bright side, once Favre retires, I can retire from sports bigamy and throw myself whole-heartedly back onto the 49er bandwagon (if one even exists anymore). So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.

I would go on record and call the Packers the worst team in the league, but I’m 100% sure that honor goes to the Raiders. If I were Al Davis, I would fire the offensive coordinator, fire Art Shell, and release Aaron Brooks. Wait, let me rephrase that. If I were Al Davis, I NEVER would have signed Aaron Brooks, and I never would have re-hired Art and his coaching staff. Art took loaded Raiders’ rosters and created this mess. I guess people forget how much he set the franchise back the first time.

Also, why on earth are there still franchises that have dirt fields? Its completely preposterous. NFL franchises are worth over $500 million, and with all the mega corporations out there, I see no reason for a team to not have better facilities. At least the Oakland A’s have that ‘small market’ excuse. But the Raiders? The NFL has revenue sharing, and each team makes money hand over fist with their licensing agreements and network deals. The Raiders should get their own stadium; its pathetic.

 College football sidebar:  Ohio State’s offense is amazing.  Can’t wait for WVU to get hosed in the BCS so I can watch Notre Dame’s offense try to keep pace with Ohio State’s for the national title.  I don’t like either team, but man would that ever be a great game.  Next year, I don’t see any reason why Texas won’t be the front runner for another national title.  I don’t think they will be able to make it back to the top this year without a ton of help, but they’re still BCS bound after they win the Big XII.

So I was involved in TWO fantasy football drafts in the past two weeks, and ended up drafting tenth in both of the leagues.  One was for work and the other was with a bunch of guys from lawschool.  They are both twelve team leagues, and I landed the tenth pick in both.  How does that happen?  To make matters worse, I’m in the same division with teams that landed the first and second pick in the league with my buddies from lawschool.  Needless to say, I’m less than enthused about my chances this year.  Oh well, I’m still on the five-year grace period for running roughshod through the league in our inaugural season.  (I’m giving myself the same five-year period that professional teams should get, because, after winning the league, I drafted 10th in each of the last two seasons.)

     Whatever.  I hope all of you are taking the chance to watch the AAAA baseball in the National League.  Joe Girardi should easily win Manager of the Year, and then go coach the Cubs.  I really want to root for the Marlins because of Girardi and the emotion and heart that the young team plays with, but how can I do it when the team has such a horrible person for their owner.  He destroyed the Expos, and now he’s doing horrendous things with the Marlins franchise.  Plus, their fans suck.  It’s true.  But then again, if I were living in Miami, I wouldn’t pay to watch a team of guys with less notable names than the roster from “Major League” playing in an ugly stadium when I could sit on the beach and talk to some of the most beautiful women on the planet. 
     Also worth noting is the awesome run that Ryan Howard has been on.  He and Chase Utley have transformed the previously uber-talented, under-acheiving Phillies into a hard-working, scrappy team.  The deals in the last two years to remove Placido Polanco, Bobby Abreu, Billy Wagner, et al., have really worked wonders for that team.  I really think they will win the Wild Card and challenge the Dodgers and Mets for a World Series run. 

On to basketball:  So the U.S. finished third.  I’m not suprised in the slightest.  The best players for them in the tournament were Carmelo Anthony and Shane Battier.  I knew when they kept Bowen off the team that they would be in trouble.  There really was no reason for Brad Miller to be on the roster, and I guarantee that if Bowen and Battier would have gotten run against Greece, that repeated pick-and-roll would not have been as effective.  And we saw once again how abyssmal United States is at shooting the rock.  There really is no flow to the American game of basketball.  It’s dribble up and kill a fast break by pulling a three.  If you don’t believe me, watch college basketball.  There’s a reason why teams that run a tremendous zone defense always make solid runs during March Madness, and its because they cause teams to be stagnant offensively and force threes.  I’m off my soapbox now.

NFL time baby.  I cannot wait.  I’m fired up for Thursday.  I won’t put up my prediction for the Thursday night game, but starting on Friday, I’m going to post some interesting matchups for those of you who like to, um, possibly wager on some college and pro games.  I’ll also talk about interesting players to watch for fantasy purposes.  For now, I’m off to read some depos.