Sean Salisbury was a former ESPN football analyst who liked to bicker back and forth with “The Professor” John Clayton on the airwaves until out of nowhere he vanished from the goliath sports network. Salisbury has admitted to USA Today that he took cell phone pictures of “Lil Sean” a few years ago and then decided to show the pictures to his colleagues. This has been rumored for a very long time, but until now Sean has vehemently denied this ever happened. The former vagabond NFL quarterback claimed it was “a sophomoric mistake” and I have to agree when you consider he was 43 when he pulled out Captain Winky at the job. The one other disturbing part of the article is it doesn’t address if he showed these pictures to men or women?? Salisbury is currently unemployed and I don’t see much luck on the horizon for him to get a new job after this disturbing revelation.
Archives for January 2010
Why the Colts Will Win
This is the game where the underdog now is the team that is playing at home and with the MVP of the NFL. That’s right, the Colts are a wagering favorite, but are being treated as an underdog.
Forget the fact that the Jets beat the Colts in week 16. The Colts were winning when they took out the starters in the 3rd quarter after they had already garnered 17 first downs through a little more than half the game. Forget the fact that the Jets went into Cincy and San Diego and beat the home teams with their excellent defense. Cincy was just a bad team who limped into the playoffs and San Diego just shot themselves in the foot. (literally due to missing 3 FGs and stupid penalties)
Now let’s go back to Jan 4th, 2003. The New York Jets beat the Colts 41-0 in the first round of the playoffs so if you don’t think that with what happened to Indy in week 16 and what happened 7 years ago isn’t in the back of Peyton Manning’s head then you are crazy. The Colts were anticipating this game, although they were thinking they would be playing SD, but their prayers have been answered. Yes, the Jets are the Lady GaGa of the playoffs, but they will not get into the end zone.
Mark Sanchez has not been asked to make the plays yet and last time I checked the Indy defense is healthy and very good. Dwight Freeney, Rahim Brock, and Gary Brackett are still there and are ready to take away the run and make Sanchez beat them.
On the offensive side. The Jets could not stop Antonio Gates or Vincent Jackson and SD had 17 1st downs to the Jets 12 and this is with 10 penalties. SD who throughout the game continually were 3rd and long due (4-13 on 3rd down) to stupid penalties (4 penalties in first 4 possessions). They left themselves in a position that they could not run the offense which allowed them to score more than 20 pts in every game since the middle of November 2008. Of course missing 2 chip shots would have given them 20 pts and a victory, but you can’t say what if. Considering what Gates and Jackson did what do you think Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne will do?
The Jets will not beat the Colts on 93 yards passing for a game and Peyton will shred the NY defense with a clock running, precise game plan. I see this as a blowout. The spread is 7 1/2 and Vegas is begging you to take the Jets.
I am betting the Colts -7 1/2 to cover
Tar Heels on the Bubble
The very young UNC basketball squad lost again last night leading to their third loss in a row which is something they have never done under head coach Roy Williams since he took over in 2006. The Tar Heels were beat soundly last night at home by unranked Wake Forest and they are clearly missing sophomore forward Ed Davis and sophomore forward Tyler Zeller who are injured. Tension is in the air right now in Chapel Hill and if you don’t want to believe me then just look at the statements from ole Roy Williams on Wednesday after the game. Williams clearly frustrated after another loss decided to rip freshman Dexter Strickland for his actions earlier in the day. During practice this morning we ran a set play and I said, ‘Dexter, what are you doing?’ And he said, ‘Coach, I don’t know what to do.’ ‘Well, whose fault is that –mine or yours? This is practice No. 53, son.’ I know Williams is frustrated, but Strickland is about the only wing that can create a shot for the Heels right now. The bigger issues are the injuries to Davis and Zeller in conjunction with senior wing Marcus Ginyard playing very poorly and super frosh John Henson who looks more like something from Avatar running up and down the court these days rather than a real ball player.
North Carolina is currently 1-3 in the ACC and an unimpressive 12-7 overall. The Heels have crucial games coming up on the road at NC State, at home against UVA who leads the ACC, and then at Virginia Tech. When you consider the Heels haven’t won a true road game yet this year you understand why fans are freaking out. It’s obvious the media has been in love with UNC all year long, but they will now finally fall out of the top 25 in the next poll and with a RPI ranking of 55 before the Wake game they need to tread lightly or their bubble just might pop.
World Cup Merchandise Gone Wrong
Do you have your ticket yet for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? If you do then you might be thinking about how you are going to remain safe around all the amped up Africans along with the typical rowdy fans/hooligans that follow the game of soccer. Well worry no more because a British company based in South Africa called Protektorvest has created a flag-emblazoned stab vest for the low low cost of $69.95 to keep you safe and sound. The Protektorvest will protect “the vital inner body parts from stabs, cuts, slashes and blows from sharp, edged or spiked weapons.” This doesn’t unfortunately protect you from cocktail bombs, rocks, bottles or human stampedes, but those never happen at soccer events, right? I’m not sure what kind of message this really sends when you are basically telling your potential assaulter that I’m scared, I’m British and if you really want to hurt me my head and lower extremities are wide open.
Dusty Dvoracek is a Douche
Dusty Dvoracek is currently an ineffective defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears and a former stud for the Oklahoma Sooners. Dvoracek ran into some trouble down in Norman, Oklahoma when he was arrested at a bar called Seven47. Witnesses reported that once Dusty was asked to hit the road he did what all liquored up meatheads do when they are told to leave a club. He decided to “allegedly” hit a representative of the security team for the bar instead of doing as he was told. Luckily he was arrested for assault and battery, public intoxication, interfering with an official process and most importantly for simply being a douche. Dvoracek might have a bit of a chip on his shoulder these days since he has basically done nothing for the Bears since arriving as a third round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. To date he has played in only 13 games over a four year career and the lack of playing time is due to ending each of his four seasons on injured reserve.
Syracuse IS The Real Deal!
All right…enough is enough.
Will someone please tell me what the sports world has against the Syracuse Orange? In particular the 2009-2010 edition of the men’s basketball program?
I just finished watching the ever brilliant Doug Gottlieb make another astounding back handed compliment about the Orange.
Here’s the clip:
First off – when the hell is ESPN going to let go of Syracuse’s loss to the D2 Lemoyne Dolphins. It was a stupid EXHIBITION game!!!! In EARLY November!!!! Did you notice how Gottlieb made it sound like Syracuse lost the game during part of its regular non-conference schedule? Straight out of Gottlieb’s mouth – “The one time they tried to play man to man, they lost to a non division 1 team, in the non-conference.” Maybe it was a slip up but with Gottlieb’s open disdain for anything Orange…I don’t think so.
I mean (and don’t hate me for this UNC fans) the Tar Heels lose to the College of Charleston (out of the Southern Conference) in early January and it gets one maybe two days worth of coverage. And by the way UNC has lost 4 of the last 5 and they are STILL in the top 25. I’m not trying to disrespect the Heels…but if it was the ‘Cuse…they would have been dropped out of the top 25 after the loss to the College of Charleston.
But let’s get to what really has me steamed. This whole notion that Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense is not a quality defense and therefore not capable of winning a National Championship or even beating a team such as Texas.
Some facts:
Syracuse holds teams to 37.4% FG%
Syracuse holds teams to 30.3% 3-PT%
Syracuse averages 7.1 Blocks per game
Syracuse averages 11.7 steals per game
All from a zone.
Syracuse shuts down hot outside shooting all the time. Many games this season teams come out shooting like mad men from beyond the arc. In the 2nd half the ‘Cuse adjusts its zone, pushing out on the shooters and slowing down the number of 3’s allowed and then they run away with almost every game (the average margin of victory so far this season is 19.9 points).
Syracuse is holding teams to 30.3% from 3 and 37.4% overall and still the sports prognosticators – like Gottlieb – say the zone will not work well enough to be used as a full time defense against teams like Texas and Kentucky. After 19 games of this season that argument is getting very old. This is an extremely talented defensive team playing a solid defensive scheme.
Is this team good enough to beat anyone in the country? I would say yes. Is the defense good enough to get a number 1 seed in the tourney? Arguably yes. Is it talented enough to win a National Championship? You betcha! – It seems to have worked in 2003.
I am not sitting here saying that it will happen; too many things have to go the right way for even the best of teams to win and make it all the way to a national championship. But I am going to argue that if this trend continues and the Orange continues to play the way they have been playing, it is a distinct possibility.
I Can’t Wait for the NCAA Tourney
As we now enter into league play of college hoops it is time to give you my Final Four teams. Sure you can say I could have done this in November, but let’s be serious that is such a crap shoot. You are destined to be totally incorrect.
There are no 2008 UNC teams where you are pretty much a shoe-in to make it to the big dance. We have about 10-12 teams that are slowly inching away from the pack. The preseason poll was dead on with Kansas #1, Texas, Nova, KY etc. Then token appreciation for UNC at #6 plus Cal and Washington in the top 14 were dead wrong. Shot in the dark teams like Dayton, Illinois, Minny and UCLA were all in the top 25-30.
How bad is the Pac-10. WOW, what a complete mess. Arizona St. with quality losses to Duke, Baylor, BYU and USC are leading the hapless league @ 14-5, but after that you have a total of 89 wins among the rest of the teams. Compare 89 wins to the Big Ten’s 126 and you quickly see the Pac-10 sucks. UCLA has lost to Cal State Fullerton (who as lost to Central Ark, Stephen F Austin, UC Davis and Northridge), Portland and Long Beach State and I dont even want to get into some of the other teams’ losses. If they get 3 teams in the tourney that would be an achievement. Just horrible hoops.
The Big 12 is once again showing their might. Texas is #1, Kansas #3 and Kansas St. is #10. Baylor, Okie St and A&M are in the top 25-30 mix. ACC has the powers of Duke, but after that we have seen UNC fall out of the top 15, Clemson, Fla St and Miami are all 3rd tier teams. Then there is the Big East. 4 Teams in the Top 10, and another 3 in the Top 25-30. Quality league with 13 of the 16 teams a tough matchup no matter the league.
With all this said I will give you my Top 4 teams and a few ones to watch.
Teams that I believe are sleepers and I believe Steve Lavin would agree:
Marquette – 11-6. Lost 6 games by an avg of 3 pts. Twice to Nova by 2 and West Va by 1. Anything can happen in the Big East tourney and Lazar Haywood is a man.
Ohio St – 13-5. Can play with anyone in the country. Evan Turner is the man and they have a top 3 recruiting class every year. Going through the Big Ten will prep them for the Big Dance. Only losses were to ranked teams.
UAB – 15-3. Have won 14 of 15 and only loss was at Virginia who leads the ACC. Crushed Cincy, Georgia and Butler. Jr. Elijah Millsap avgs 17/9 per game.
Butler – 14-4. Had some losses early, but to Clemson by 1, Gtown, Minny and UAB who were all ranked at the time. Is already 7-0 in Horizon League and look to stay on track for games in March.
Gonzaga – 14-3. 3 losses to Mich St by 4, Wake by 2 and crushed by Duke at the “Garden in NY.” Just played Illini, Portland, USD and St. Marys on the road and won them all. Still has Memphis, but they will be ready for the dance.
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Final Four teams (Yes I know they are Top 4 as of today)
Kentucky – Just the class of the year. John Wall is all that was advertised and Patrick Patterson is the best small center in the country. The underclassmen are rounding out nicely and the Calipari system is on fire.
Villanova – They have all the right pieces to make a run. Scottie Reynolds is the best floor general in college basketball and they out rebound their opponents every game so I can see them in the final game discussion.
Texas – They are the scariest team in the game. One of only three teams in the country with potential All-Americans on the inside and outside. Damion James is too athletic at the forward to be stopped by anyone in the game.
Kansas – Another team with All-Americans inside and outside. Sharon Collins and Cole Aldrich have Final Four experience and they have a wonderful support staff. Bill Self is one of the best X & O coaches in the game. Gonna be a heck of a Big 12 Championship game.
Overachievers
Notre Dame, Virginia, Marshall, Siena, La Tech, Murray State
Will Americas Team Win Today?
I have been spot on during the playoffs except for the Green Bay game which was a wagering loss, but it gave me hope the playoffs were not going to be as bad as the initial three Wild Card games we had to endure.
This weeks spotlight game is Dallas at Minnesota. The Vikes and their 40 year old QB with all kinds of playoff experience meet the hottest team other than San Diego (which means whales vagina) in Dallas. Tony Romo has essentially been playing playoff football for a month and he and his teammates have come away with an A grade.
Since the Cowboys’ loss at home Dec 13 against the Chargers 20-17 they have reeled off 4 straight wins against the likes of @ New Orleans, twice against PhilLY (who at the time many thought were the NFC favorites) and lowly Washington. Its not that they won, but how they won. They have outscored their opponents 89-31 over this span including back to back shutouts which is the first time they have done so in franchise history. They won for the first time since Nov 1st by scoring more than 26 points so although on paper they have have looked solid their offense is still a little suspect. That being said who needs offense when you have a defense only giving up an average of a little more than 15 points per game.
The Vikings defense was getting riddled late in the year by the likes of Chicago, ‘Zona and Carolina, but still have similar overall D stats to the ‘Boys. What we have here is a game where the defenses will be the talk of the game and whoever doesn’t turn the ball over will be the victors. I know novel concept, but here is the difference. Dallas has issues on the road and Minnesota is 8-0 at home. The most points Dallas scored on the road was 31 game 1 at Tampa and their next highest was 26 in mid-October in OT against KC. Not exactly a juggernaut.
Farve is playing what quite possibly could be his last game and if so he and Kurt Warner will be giving us speeches 5 years from now in Canton. Brett needs to get rid of the ball quickly and hope his O-line gives him the 3 step drop time needed to carve out some yards so AP can then provide a solid runnig game and force Dallas to respect the rush. Remember this, Dallas has not played a team with a serious running game since New Orleans and Brees threw 45 times so the rush was not in play and only 2 teams in the NFL who are in the top 10 in rushing (Carolina and Saints). Yes they beat them but we still haven’t seen the defense go up against a team like the Vikings on the road and win.
I am betting the Vikings to cover -2 1/2
NFL Bets of the Day – January 16th, 2010
Today starts the Divisional playoff games and I couldn’t be more excited. While I think tomorrow is the best slate of games today isn’t shabby at all. Good luck!
Arizona +7
Baltimore +6
Overall Record:
NFL 33-18 (2009-10) 136-90-5 (overall)
College Basketball 15-8-1 (2009-10) 212-157-7 (overall)
NBA 44-36
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)
College Basketball Bets of the Day – January 13th, 2010
We are running at a pretty decent clip so far and we plan on continuing the trend through April. There are a ton of games when you consider 15 of the top 25 are playing tonight so if you don’t like our picks find something to ride. Good luck!
Pittsburgh +6.5
Kansas -12
Nevada -3
Overall Record:
NFL 33-18 (2009-10) 136-90-5 (overall)
College Basketball 14-7 (2009-10) 211-156-6 (overall)
NBA 44-36
NHL 1-2
MLB 90-69-5
College Football 37-24 (2009-10) 142-115-1 (overall)