December 26, 2024

Mid-Term Hoop Grades Follow Up

February 10, 2010 by

Back on January 18th I created a mid-season list of NCAA teams that I believed were going in the right direction and looked pretty much unstoppable. Here is and update on how I’m doing to date.

Sleepers Me and Steve Lavin would agree on:

Marquette was 11-6 now 15-8 – When I threw these guys in the mix they immediately lost 2 in a row, but since then they have won 4 in a row. The only problem the wins have been against the bottom 4 of the Big East so I’m skeptical overall.

Ohio St. was 13-5 now 18-6 – I told you Evan Turner can play. Since the last update they are 5-1 with a win at Purdue. The Buckeyes are a definite long term threat for the tourney.

UAB was 15-3 now 19-4 – Still doing well overall. The Blazers are 8-2 in their last 10 games with a mini 2 game losing skid in between. Wins over Cincy, Arkansas and Butler with a close loss at Virgina makes them a strong contender down the road.

Butler was 14-4 now 20-4 – Ho-hum, just another 13 game winning streak over a lousy conference, but they did beat Ohio State in December to show some worthiness.

Gonzaga was 14-3 now 19-4 – They are 11-1 since the Duke debacle at the Garden back in December. The Zags only lost at Michigan State by 3 and Wake by 2 so they understand good hoops.

Alternates: Siena, Charlotte, Northern Iowa, UNLV

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Predicted Final Four teams on 1/18/2010

Kentucky – When Wall and Calipari are speaking this duo is unstoppable!

Villanova – Still the class of the league with the ‘Cuse. They will be there late.

Texas – A month ago I called the Longhorns the scareiest team in the country. They have become a non-factor now.

Kansas – Would love to see Kansas and Kentucky in the Final.

Teams to take Texas’ spot: The ‘Cuse, Purdue, Kansas St., Cornell

Filed Under: Basketball, College Basketball, General Sports Tagged With:

Super Prop XLIV

February 4, 2010 by

Super Bowl weekend with the biggest game of the year is only 76 hours away which means prop bets are out and ready for wagering.

So when you go to your friends house for the once a year family football function, where going to work on the most called-in-sick day isn’t a priority, think about the little fun things that make this game a real spectacle.

The proposition bets are limitless in this game with anything from Manning total pass yards, first catch of game, FG attempts, how long will it take to sing the Star Spangled Banner, over/under how many times the camera will show a Kardashian which is currently set at 4 1/2.  These bets to me are so much more fun than having the Colts -6 or the over under. This is the time for picking squares and having some friend of a friend’s wife win the fourth quarter and final score and win a few hundy.  I mean c’mon, isn’t it always the person who isn’t as passionate as degenerates like me that wins these things? Yet we always have the glass 1/2 full view until about the end of the first quarter when you know they will never end with a 2 or a 5 as a score.

So might as well have some fun and get on the props like these lil diddies:

Score first TD = Collie +900, Meachum +1200

Manning Over 2 1/2 TDs = -125

First Offensive Holding Penalty = Scott Lilja +800

Matt Stover under 1 1/2 FGs = -105

and the standard for me every year.. Tails Never Fails!

Filed Under: Football, General Sports, NFL Tagged With: , ,

USC/Bengals Maualuga Faces DUI Charge

January 29, 2010 by

Here is a prime example of pure stupidity.  We always ask each other, “With all the money professional players make, why don’t they get a driver or at the very last get a taxi?”

Police in northern Kentucky have arrested Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga on charges of DUI and careless driving. Maualuga decided to test his slalom skills with a parking meter and two parked cars earlier this morning in his 2003 Pontiac.  A 2003 Pontiac? C’mon Rey a 2003 Pontiac? Did you purposively drive this hooptie because you knew you were going to get straight plowed and would end up wrecking your ride?

Maualuga was almost two times the legal limit and he is nursing a broken ankle that happened in Week 16 against the Chiefs. Now, for the final two questions. You are from southern California and your season is over so what in the blue hell are you are still doing in Kentucky? Duuuuude, WTF?

Filed Under: Football, General Sports, NFL Tagged With: ,

Controversy Going into the Olympics

January 22, 2010 by

I am sure you have been biting your nails while looking at the calendar with impatience because you just can’t wait for the 2010 Winter Olympics start. So since you are such a pair ice dancing maniac you probably already have heard about what happened at the European Skating Championships with the Olympic favorites.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin who are considered the ultimate favorites to win gold this year wowed the crowd with a routine to remember. They swished and sashayed their way into the lead with an opening skate that was supposively very offensive to Aborigines. The performance is generating a lot of anger in Australia and the aboriginal elder Sol Bellear even called the dance “very offensive.” There were no concerns issued from judges or spectators, but the aborginal people in Australia feel exploited. So the controversy burns on, but the bigger controversy is in relation to Maxim’s costume. Can someone tell me what the heck is on this guys head? What tree or bush is he portraying to be? Yikes!

Wow, I just cant wait to watch the Winter Olympics.

Filed Under: Olympics, Winter Olympics Tagged With:

Why the Colts Will Win

January 22, 2010 by

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

Filed Under: Football, General Sports, NFL Tagged With:

I Can’t Wait for the NCAA Tourney

January 18, 2010 by

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

Filed Under: Basketball, College Basketball, General Sports Tagged With:

Will Americas Team Win Today?

January 17, 2010 by

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

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: , ,

WTF? WOW! and makes sense

January 12, 2010 by

Say it aint so? Another coach ala Mike White from the west coast has worn out his welcome in the SEC.

Lane Kiffin has accepted the USC head coaching job and I think the Trojans really did get their man and he was more than happy to get out of Knoxville and Tennessee is more than accommodating to allow it to happen.

He doesn’t come alone as family and friends are on the plane.  Kiffin will bring his father and defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, and assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron (ex-Mississippi head coach) to Southern Cal with him. Wide receivers coach Kippy Brown will be named interim head coach at Tennessee, but that won’t last for long.

With Kiffin, USC will get a proven offensive mind who knows the system. Kiffin already has Matt Barkley and he will be able to work with the best QB prospects in the country in the coming years. What the Trojans just did was reload, not rebuild.  I don’t know how they did it, but they got better in coaching plus they have a young team primed for success and they will drive even more recruits to the school. Sorry to my beloved UCLA, but this is a great move by Mike Garrett who I hate with a passion orchestrated this along with Pete Carroll masterfully.

Now, who is the Vols next coach? Does Gruden now have a chance to take over a program where he started his coaching career as a graduate assistant in ’86? I think if he wants to coach college over pro then he wont get better than this, but he could be waiting for or an opening in the NFL in 2011.

Kiffin has left the cupboard full with a young solid team and 22 recruits leading to the #6 overall 2010 ranking from Rival Sports. 14 of the recruits are 4 stars and Kiffin recruited defensive studs, top wide receivers and straight up athletes from all over the country. See a pattern? Sound familiar? This is a win/win for both school. Also, do you really think Kiffin leaves Tennessee for USC if there was a death penalty coming? USC is the #8 ranked recruiting class with only 14 recruits, but of course three were 5-stars and eight were 4-stars.

Filed Under: College Football, Football, General Sports Tagged With: , ,

Why will Baltimore win today?

January 10, 2010 by

New England has not lost at home in a long time.. November 2006 to be exact. They still have Brady and Moss and Belichick is still at the helm. So why is New England going to lose today?

Baltimore comes in with a 9-7 record and really with the old Defense that has made them the most feared team in the NFL. But what they have is the #3 Total defense in the NFL, #5 against the rush and #8 against the pass. They will load the box against the likes of Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor and Lawrence Maroney.  Maroney is just what Baltimore loves.. a guy who cant hold on to the ball, Taylor hasn’t played but in 5 games and Morris has been banged up. A nice Combo when healthy, but they will not be as effective because of a missing WR.

Losing Wes Welker, as much as NE wants to spin it as just a minor setback, will clamp down on Moss and while NE used to have the effective weopons at the 3-4 WR spot those days are over. Jabar Gaffney is gone.. he’s brutal, but he fit the system, Terry Glenn was let go mid season, and rookie, an ex-QB 7th round pick out of Kent St. , will be the slot man in a Playoff game. Dont forget that Sam Aikin is a 4th round pick in 2003 who couldn’t make it in Buffalo and Mathew Slater.. yes HOF Jackie Slater’s son, who was an 8th rounder in 2008 as a DB is also there.

Let’s not forget Tom Brady is still rehabbing the knee cus everyone knows that it is a year to get healthy to play and 2 years to get back to normal. Not to mention his broken ribs, and digits, and lately if you have had any old HS injuries and you live in the south where its been cold as hell.. you are hurting because of the cold. It will be in the high teens with a 15-20 mph wind..

I like the Offensive line and Ray Rice as well as the demeanor of Flacco. Harbaugh is a good coach and the last 2 times Baltimore played NE they had them by the cajones and as Denny Greene once said, “…we let ’em off the hook”.  The Ravens will run the ball with their NFL ranked #5 rush O and the overall #13 Offense.. Think of it this way.. Arizona is ranked behind them in Rushing and Overall O.

I am betting Baltimore to cover +4

Filed Under: Football, General Sports, NFL Tagged With: ,

Congrats, 2010 Top 5 and a Long Spring and Summer Ahead

January 8, 2010 by

Congratulations to Alabama for becoming the 2009-10 BCS Champions.

Now that college football and the regular season of the NFL is over we have to get over the fact there will not be a Monday night game nor will there be a Toledo vs. Bowling Green Tuesday or Wednesday night ‘football jonesing’ game.

We have come to that time a year where we get 4 NFL games this week and next then 2 games on one day in 2 weeks and then 2 weeks later a single game and that will be it until August. I can’t say it has been the greatest of college football years because ethe excitement of previous years did not resonate. I’m not sure why, but maybe its because only Oklahoma #2, USC #4 and #7 Oklahoma St really didn’t live up to their preseason rankings.  Preseason ranked Florida #1, Alabama #5 and Texas #3 were always in the top 3 or 4 and really nobody came close to knocking them out.

The real surprises to watch this year were TCU preseason ranked #18 and Boise State #20 who both finished the regular season undefeated. The Broncos and Horny Frogs rose the ranks and in a small way give us hope for a potential playoff scenario in the future.

The biggest tanks of 2009 were Mississippi, USC, Oklahoma, Kansas and of course Lou Holt’s National Champion, Notre Dame.

I know its way way too early to even think about next year, but here are my 2010 NCAA Football preseason Top 5 picks:

#1 USC – have you seen the 2010 cupcake schedule? Hawaii, Virgina, Minny and Wazu to open. Barkley and the defense are another year older and will roll.

#2 Virginia Tech – except for Boise State they can breeze through the ACC with no Fla St, Clemson or Maryland on the schedule.  Miami and North Carolina are on the road.

#3 Alabamaa – They return 13 from a National Championship team with most of the offense either sophomores or juniors. They play Penn St in their second game and Florida in Tuscaloosa.

#4 Boise St. – They have a ‘real’ game against VTech in October at FedEx field and a home game vs Oregon St.  They bring back a lot of skill players and 20 starters.

#5 Ohio St. –  Terrelle Pryor has the confidence now and so does Tressel to take this project to the next level.  Marshall, EMU and Indiana on the schedule.

Filed Under: College Football, Football, General Sports Tagged With: ,
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