Top 5 Sports Days of the Year

5. New Year's Day
New Year's Day itself is typically pretty uneventful. The only thing that makes the day worthwhile is the slew of college football bowl games that usually accompanies it. I say "usually" because some genius decided to put only three games on New Year's this year, while putting five games on January 2nd. I realize the 2nd is a Saturday, but having only three games on New Year's Day is a downright travesty. Another great choice by the guys who run college football.

4. NFL Draft
I might be alone on this one, but the NFL draft is easily the most exciting non-actual sporting event of the year. It's a day full of football, surprising picks, stupid picks, and trading down by the Eagles. As a bonus, watching guys who have just been drafted trying to do interviews is always great unintentional comedy.

3. Super Bowl
Most people would put Super Bowl Sunday at number one. Super Bowl Sunday is great, no doubt. However, the hype almost always surpasses the actual game. Sure we've been very lucky the last two years and have been treated to two of the greatest Super Bowls of all-time. Normally though, unless your team is playing in it (and I'm an Eagles fan), Super Bowl Sunday is a tad bit overrated.

2. Opening Day of Baseball
It's the unofficial start of Spring. I can't remember an Opening Day in which the weather hasn't been perfect, and you're just dying to get out of class/work and go to your team's first game. In a sport severely lacking in parity, Opening Day is great because for at least one game, every team has hope. And for one game, you get every team's ace on the mound.

1. First Day of March Madness
This will always be my personal favorite. Before college, having to get through the school day knowing there were games going on was torture. I would try to find the games on the ancient TVs that each classroom had behind the teacher's back, but no luck. When I finally got home or in the car to listen to the radio, there was always at least one upset or great game going on. And that's only the day games, there are still plenty of games at night. Then the whole thing happens all over again the next day. If every day could be the first day of March Madness, life would be perfect.

By popular demand: 64 team football playoffs

Since the 12 team playoff was no fun (Florida won), the 64 team bracket is back by popular demand:

Kevo NCAA Football Tournament (click on Championship Bracket)

Don't ask how long that took.

First round games are in the higher seed's home field, and then the bowl sites for the following rounds.

If you have as much free time as I do, feel free to fill out a bracket and let me know who you think would win (maybe even bracket competition?). Click Predict It on the top if you want to.

Roy Halladay + Bowl Picks

In case you've been dead for the last week, the Phillies have made a couple trades involving pitchers.. Roy Halladay is now in Philadelphia and Cliff Lee is not. I think if I read another Halladay/Holiday pun, I'm going to puke. Needless to say, this has been the epicenter of conversation among Philadelphia sports for the last several days. If I had to gauge what the ratio of positive to negative feedback from fans/media, it would probably be 20% positive and 80% negative. Being the reasonable and keen observer that I am, I'll look at it from both sides.

POSITIVES
Roy Halladay is a better pitcher than Cliff Lee. I know Lee was great for the Phillies for the short time he was here. I know he won a Cy Young award more recently than Halladay. But here's the ultimate kicker: Roy Halladay is going to the Hall of Fame, Cliff Lee, in all likelihood, is not. Roy Halladay career: 3.43 ERA, 148 wins, and an astounding (in this age of baseball) 49 complete games. Cliff Lee career: 3.97 ERA, 97 wins, 13 complete games. Cliff Lee is a great pitcher, no doubt about that, but Halladay will go down as one of the top 20 pitchers of all-time when all is said and done, possibly even higher than that. Halladay is who the Phillies wanted all along last year. They just didn't want to pay his price tag, so they settled for Lee. Bottom line, Halladay is an upgrade over Lee.

Cliff Lee would not have been a Philadelphia Phillie after this season. I know he came out and said he wanted to finish his career in Philadelphia. I'm sure he wanted to, but the Phillies wouldn't have been able to afford his asking price. He made it well known that he wanted Johan Santana type of money. With Ryan Howard's contract on the horizon, the Phillies have to save money wherever they can. They got Halladay to sign for 3 more years after this season for a cheaper price than Lee. The Phillies are not the Yankees for Red Sox. They just can't spend money however they please. Halladay over Lee is a fiscally smart choice.

Halladay is a better fit for the Phillies than Lee. He's a ground ball pitcher in a park where a seemingly routine fly ball can turn into a homer very fast. He's also a righty in a rotation that would have been four lefties and one righty if Lee had stayed. And let's not forget what the Phillies Achillies' Heel was last season: the bullpen. Halladay is a guaranteed 7 innings every time he goes out, if not more. He's going to help out the bullpen drastically.

NEGATIVES
Yes, the team could have had both Halladay and Lee this season. It would have stretched their payroll to their absolute maximum, but they could've done it. The opening day rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Happ, and Blanton would have been the best the in the league, no contest. They would have easily been everyone's World Series favorites and 100 wins would have been a very real possibility.

There's also the fact that the Phillies could have made this trade for Halladay last season, along with getting Lee. Dealing in what-ifs is a tricky business, but what if the Phillies had Halladay to pitch in that World Series? Would we be celebrating back-to-back titles right now? Would I have to deal with seeing Yankees World Series merchandise everytime I go to Modell's in New Jersey?

Besides the payroll factor, GM Ruben Amaro didn't want the Phillies' minor league system to be depleted of talent, which is why he got three of the Mariners top prospects. I understand the need to have talented players in the minors, because the team does have a future to worry about. But, as fans, would you rather:
a) Have three straight World Series titles, go down as one of the greatest teams of all-time, and be absolutely terrible for 10 straight season after that
OR
b) Win one World Series, fall short the next year, be competitive for the next 10 seasons, maybe win another title, but ultimately just be remembered as "another team"

Having been a Phillies fan through some terrible terrible seasons, I can say it's not an easy choice to make. But ultimately, if you have a chance to win it all, I think you have to go for it and not worry about tomorrow.

That's not to say I'm not excited for Roy Halladay in a Phillies uniform. He's going to be great, and this team is certainly the favorite in the National League once again. However, if we fall just short again this year, there's always going to be that big what if. This could have been one of the greatest teams of all-time. Now? We'll see.

BOWL PICKS

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno St over Wyoming

St. Petersburg Bowl: Rutgers over UCF

New Orleans Bowl: So. Miss over Mid Tenn State

Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon St over BYU

Poinsettia Bowl: Cal over Utah

Hawaii Bowl: Nevada over SMU

Little Caesars Bowl (is Little Caesars still in existence? If it is, how do they have money for a bowl game?): Marshall over Ohio

Meineke Car Care Bowl: Pitt over Tyler Hansbrough

Emerald Bowl: USC over Boston College

Music City Bowl: Clemson over Kentucky

Independence Bowl: Georgia over Texas A&M

EagleBank Bowl: UCLA over Temple

Champs Sports Bowl: Miami over Wisconsin

Humanitarian Bowl: Bowling Green over Idaho

Holiday Bowl: Nebraska over Arizona

Armed Forces Bowl: Houston over Air Force

Sun Bowl: Oklahoma over Stanford

Texas Bowl: Missouri over Navy

Insight Bowl: Minnesota over Iowa State

Chick-fil-A Bowl: Virginia Tech over Tennessee

Outback Bowl: Auburn over Northwestern

Gator Bowl: Florida State over West Virginia

Capitol One Bowl: LSU over Penn State

Rose Bowl: Oregon over Ohio State

Sugar Bowl: Florida over Cincinnati

International Bowl: South Florida over Northern Illinois

Papajohns.com Bowl: South Carolina over UConn

Cotton Bowl: Ole Miss over Oklahoma State

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas over ECU

Alamo Bowl: Texas Tech over Michigan State

Fiesta Bowl: The College University over Boise State

Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech over Iowa

GMAC Bowl: Central Michigan over Troy

National Title Game: Texas over Alabama
It's a classic "two teams very close in talent but one team is still heavily favored because of what happened in their last games" game. Texas wins a close one.

The Third Annual Kevo College Football Playoff

Ladies, gentlemen, and Tom: in what is fast becoming a December tradition only rivaled by Christmas, it is now time for The Third Annual Kevo College Football Playoff.

The premise is simple: the BCS sucks. Everyone with half a brain knows this, unfortunately everyone with power in the NCAA has less than half a brain. The bigwigs don't want to lose money, teams don't want to left out of bowl games, and sponsors don't want to lose their bowl games. Of course, if anyone had common sense, none of this would have to happen. Luckily, I do have some common sense. If anyone with any power in the NCAA is reading this, here's how you do a playoff system.

1) 12 teams make the playoffs
In most years, there are easily 12 teams that legitimately could win a playoff. 8 teams is just not enough, and there probably aren't 16 teams that would really deserve it. 6 automatic bids are given to the big conference champions (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, SEC) and six bids are given to at-large teams. The at-large teams can be decided either by a selection committee, or by a rating system similar to the BCS. For argument's sake, I'll use the BCS rankings for this season to pick the at-large teams. Teams are then seeded, again either by committee or rankings. The top 4 seeds get a bye. Here would be the teams for this season, with overall seed:
ACC Champ: Georgia Tech (9)
Big 10 Champ: Ohio State (8)
Big 12 Champ: Texas (2)
Big East Champ: Cincinnati (3)
Pac-10 Champ: Oregon (7)
SEC Champ: Alabama (1)
At-Large: TCU (4), Florida (5), Boise State (6), Iowa (10), Virginia Tech (11), LSU (12)

2) Every bowl game is still played
11 bowl games are part of the playoff system. The rest are played as they are now, outside of the playoffs. Detractors would say the non-playoff bowl games would be completely meaningless. Guess what? They are now.
The title game, semi-finals, and one quarter final game are played at the major bowl sites (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta), with a rotation of which game gets the title game each year. The rest of the games are played at the bigger bowl sites (Cotton, Gator, Capital One, Holiday, Outback, Chick-fil-A, Liberty). And like college basketball, higher seeded teams get to play closer to home where possible.

3) How the schedule would work
Some people say there simply isn't enough time in the season for a playoff system. By the way, Ohio State is going to have a 41 day layoff before they play in the Rose Bowl. Yes, there's time.

Start the season on the first week of September. Every team gets 12 games with one bye week, 13 weeks total. This ends the regular season in the last week of November. The conference title games can be played the first week of December. Non-playoff bowl games can start the Saturday after and continue through the week. The first round of playoffs start the 3rd week of December. The second round is on the fourth Saturday. The semi-finals are on New Year's day (along with other non-playoff bowl games, there has to be a lot of games on New Year's after all). The title game is a week later. Now, was that so hard?

So here's how the playoff schedule would look this year:



First Round, Saturday, December 19th

5. Florida vs 12. LSU at the Outback Bowl (Tampa Bay)
6. Boise State vs 11. Virginia Tech at the Holiday Bowl (San Diego)
7. Oregon vs 10. Iowa at the Capitol One Bowl (Orlando)
8. Ohio State vs 9. Georgia Tech at the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta)

Second Round, Saturday, December 26th

1. Alabama vs 8. Ohio State/9. Georgia Tech at the Orange Bowl (Miami)
2. Texas vs 7. Oregon/10. Iowa at the Cotton Bowl (Dallas)
3. Cincinnati vs. 6. Boise State/11. Virginia Tech at the Gator Bowl (Jacksonville)
4. TCU vs. 5. Florida/12. LSU at the Liberty Bowl (Memphis)

Semi-Finals, Friday, January 1st

Game One at Sugar Bowl (New Orleans)
Game Two at Fiesta Bowl (Glendale)

Finals, Thursday, January 7th

Rose Bowl (Pasadena)


Is it perfect? No, teams from Florida (i.e. Florida) get a huge advantage because so many of the bowl games are played in their home state. Different bowl sites might have to be used every year, but honestly, wouldn't this be so much better than the way things currently are?

Of course, we have to simulate this to figure out who the real National Champion is. Once I get/steal a copy of NCAA 10 from someone, it will be done. Stay tuned.

Duke beats UConn

If I had to make a list of college basketball teams I hate, it would go:

1. UNC
2. Tyler Hansbrough
3. UConn
4. Maryland
5. Villanova

So watching Duke take care of UConn today to win the pre-season NIT was enjoyable, to say the least. However, I almost come out of this game a bit discouraged for a few reasons:

a) Apparently, Coach K read my last post begging him to use more than 7 players this year. He responded by...basically playing only 7 players in this game. Ok K, you won this game with 7 players, but I am 100% guaranteeing you that if you continue to use this strategy, Duke is not making it past the Sweet 16 again this year. You have 10 incredibly talented players, for the love of God, use them.

b) Another typical Duke problem reared its ugly head again today. The team doesn't know how to put teams away. They were up by 20, completely in control, and let UConn come back into the game. And this was a UConn team that played terribly on offense today. Duke just looked awful offensively in the last 10 minutes or so. A better opponent would have come all the way back.

c) Whatever those ugly designs are on the back of the uniforms, get rid of them, please.

But hey, a Duke over UConn win is a Duke over UConn win, and all in all, a great start to the season.

Duke Season Preview

I figured everyone was anxiously anticipating a write up about their favorite college basketball team, the Duke Blue Devils, so I will deliver. Yes, the season has already started, but unlike college football, the first few months of college basketball really don't matter.

Duke is currently 4-0 and ranked 7th in the AP poll. They have dominated their first few opponents, winning by an average score of 94-59. You can say they haven't really played anyone so far, but they have beaten Coastal Carolina (alma mater of Tyler Thigpen, so they must be good at all sports), Charlotte (typically a very solid team and has made the tourney several times recently), and Radford (predicted to win the Big South conference, pretty much the SEC of college basketball).

Ok, maybe I'm stretching here a bit, but the Dookies have looked good so far, and unlike any Duke team I've seen in years, they have a ton of size. They have seven players that go 6'8 or taller, which is unheard of for this team. Duke has been killed by their lack of size in recent seasons, but that shouldn't be an issue this year.

Another aspect of this year's team which has been lacking in previous season is depth. Right now, Duke goes 10 players deep. I say right now, because Coach K has been known to play a lot of players early in the season, then ends up sticking with they same seven guys late in the year. Coach K, if you're reading this, and I know you most likely are, PLEASE stick with the 10 man rotation this year. You will be a better team for it, I promise.

The Christian Laettner/Grant Hill/Shane Battier/Jay Williams/J.J Redick of this year's team is Kyle Singler, a 6'8 Junior. The preseason ACC Player of the Year is undoubtedly "The Man" on this year's team. So far, he's averaging 18.3 points, 6.5 boards, and 3 assists per game. Because of the team's new found size, he'll no longer be forced to play power forward, and looks much more comfortable in his natural small forward position. The team will go as he goes.

The X-Factor (I hate using X-factor, but oh well) of this year's team will be Junior guard Nolan Smith. Smith missed the first couple games, but has looked great in the last two games, averaging 22 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. He's not a pure point guard, but he's easily the best playmaker the team has this year. Duke doesn't have the backcourt depth that they've had in previous year, so Smith's play will be key.

The other key player on this year's team is Senior guard Jon Scheyer. Although Scheyer is bulit like a 2 guard, the team played much better with him running the point last season. He'll assume that role this season, and his outside shooting and passing abilities will be vital to the team's success.

Two freshmen will also play big roles for Duke this season. Ryan Kelly has a game similar to Singler, but he's taller and probably even a better outside shooter. Andre Dawkins is a guard who is not afraid to put up a 3 at anytime, and he has been a pleasant surprise early in the season.

All in all, this Duke team has some very exciting potential. They're definitely a different Duke team than we've seen in recent years, and that should be for the better. With North Carolina looking a bit lost without my favorite guy, Psycho T, you have to say Duke is the favorite to win the ACC right now. Now all they have to do is get past the Sweet 16.

NFL at Mid-Season

This is a real post, it will not include Vince from Slap Chop or Tyler Hansbrough.

Halfway through the season, and here's what we know for sure:

1) There are a lot of really bad teams. Like a lot. How this is possible in a league with a salary cap and a billion scouts and personnel per team is beyond me. I think the Florida Tuskers from the UFL could beat the Browns this year. If Roger Goodell wants to help the league, he'll start by firing Eric Mangini and Tom Cable himself.
2) There are a few pretty good teams. The Colts and the Saints seem like good teams, but I don't necessarily think they're great. Maybe we were all spoiled by the Patriots a couple years ago, but I just don't see that dominant team this year. It's still pretty wide open in my view. I could see the Saints, Colts, Patriots, Steelers, Vikings, Cowboys, Giants, and sure, the Eagles as possible Super Bowl contenders.
3) Andy Reid still doesn't know how time works in football. Sigh.

Awesome. Here's how I see the rest of the season playing out, starting with awards:

Mid-Season MVP: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
I mostly say this so my coffee table doesn't get mysteriously flipped over. Like last year, the MVP race will most likely come down to Brees and Peyton Manning. Manning is certainly deserving. He's been incredible despite a lack of experienced receivers besides Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, and a non-existent running game. However, Brees has been the predominant reason why the Saints, a historically terrible franchise, are undefeated and the current NFC favorites.

Mid-Season Rookie of the Year: Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
It's not often that a third round wide receiver wins Rookie of the Year, but it's not often that a third round wide receiver has been the best receiver on a defending Super Bowl champion team. Percy Harvin is also very much in the running for this award.

Mid-Season Coach of the Year: Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
You can certainly make a strong argument for Josh McDaniels, who looked like he was gonna get fired by the Broncos before even coaching a game, who now has his team at 6-2. But the Saints' success has been the story of the season so far, and Payton has to be the front runner for this award.

Most surprising team of the mid-season: Denver Broncos
The Broncos offseason was an all out disaster. They parted ways with their franchise QB, Jay Cutler. They made some very questionable picks in the draft and Josh McDaniels seemingly couldn't do anything right. However, they're 6-2 at the midway point and in first place in the AFC West. They've come down to Earth a bit, but they're still very much in it. The Bengals are the runner-up.

Most dissapointing team of the mid-season: Tennessee Titans
I predicted a dissapointing season for the Titans from the get go, but not quite this bad. They've won two straight games under Vince Young, sure, but there's no way they get past 5-6 wins this year. A huge let down for a team that had the league's best record last season. And there was that 59-0 lost to the Patriots.

How I see it finishing out:

NFC
1: New Orleans Saints (14-2)
2: Minnesota Vikings (12-4)
3: Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
4: Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
5: Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
6: New York Giants (10-6)

AFC
1: Indianapolis Colts (13-3)
2: New England Patriots (12-4)
3: Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
4: Denver Broncos (10-6)
5: Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
6: Baltimore Ravens (9-7)

Playoffs:

Giants over Cowboys Eagles over Cardinals Steelers over Ravens Broncos over Bengals

Saints over Giants Vikings over Eagles Colts over Broncos Patriots over Steelers

Saints over Vikings Patriots over Colts

Super Bowl XLIV: Patriots over Saints

NBA Predictions yaaaaaaaay

In case you didn't notice, and in all likelihood you probably didn't, the NBA season started last week. So for all zero of you who care, here are my predictions for the upcoming season...

Eastern Conference

Atlantic
1. Boston (1)
2. Toronto (4)
3. Philadelphia (8)
4. New Jersey (13)
5. New York (14)

Central
1. Cleveland (3)
2. Chicago (5)
3. Indiana (10)
4. Detroit (11)
5. Milwaukee (15)

Southeast
1. Orlando (2)
2. Atlanta (6)
3. Miami (7)
4. Washington (9)
5. Charlotte (12)

Western Conference

Northwest
1. Utah (3)
2. Denver (4)
3. Portland (5)
4. Oklahoma City (9)
5. Minnesota (14)

Pacific
1. LA Lakers (1)
2. Phoenix (7)
3. Golden State (11)
4. LA Clippers (13)
5. Sacramento (15)

Southwest
1. San Antonio (2)
2. Dallas (6)
3. New Orleans (8)
4. Houston (10)
5. Memphis (12)

Playoffs
Boston over Philadelphia Orlando over Miami Cleveland over Atlanta Chicago over Toronto
LA Lakers over New Orleans San Antonio over Phoenix Dallas over Utah Portland over Denver

Boston over Chicago Cleveland over Orlando LA Lakers over Dallas San Antonio over Portland

Cleveland over Boston San Antonio over LA Lakers

San Antonio over Cleveland

Phillies-Yankees World Series Preview

Just as a certain handsome, genius blog writer predicted at the beginning of the MLB season, the Phillies and Yankees will meet in the World Series. Needless to say, this World Series matchup has a little more juice to it than last year's Phillies-Rays series. This is Philadelphia vs New York, two cities that absolutely hate each other. It's the current champs against the all-time greatest baseball franchise. It's Kevo vs. Barr.

So, here's a breakdown of the matchup, position by position:

Starting Pitching
You can't ask for a much better matchup for game 1 than Cliff Lee vs CC Sabathia. Both are former AL Cy Young award winners, both with the Indians oddly enough, and both are coming off stellar seasons and even better postseasons. Lee and Sabathia pretty much cancel each other out, so the rest of the starters will decide this one. For game 2, it will either be Cole Hamels or Pedro Martinez vs AJ Burnett. We know what Hamels can do in the postseason, but he hasn't been good this year, where Pedro has been very good as of late. Burnett has been solid, but nothing spectacular for the Yankees. Game 3 for the Yankees will go to Andy Pettite, vs either Hamels or Pedro, and Joe Blanton will go in Game 4 for the Phillies and the Yankees will probably go back to Sabathia. Overall, there isn't much separating the starting pitching staffs. If Hamels pitches the way he can, the edge goes to the Phils. But for now, it's too close to call.
Advantage: Push

Bullpen
Brad Lidge seems to have straigtened things out, which will be huge for the Phils. But no matter how good Lidge is, he can't match the mystique that is Mariano Rivera. Rivera has been simply masterful in all of the Yankees postseason runs. When you add Joba Chamberlain to the mix for the Yanks, they get the edge here.
Advantage: Yankees

1st Base
Ryan Howard vs Mark Teixeira, it doesn't get much better than that. Normally I would say this is a push, but with the way Howard has been hitting this postseason, and the way Teixeira has not been hitting in the postseason, the edge goes to Howard.
Advantage: Phillies

2nd Base
Chase Utley vs Robinson Cano. As we all know, Chase Utley is the man. However, Cano is very underappreciated and lost amongst all the big names for the Yankees. Utley has struggled a bit this postseason, but at the end of the day, there's still no second baseman I would rather have.
Advantage: Phillies

Shortstop
Jimmy Rollins vs Derek Jeter. Jimmy Rollins has always been the Phils' catalyst. If he hits well in this series, the Phils have a great chance of winning. However, it's Jeter, it's the postseason. I hate to do this.
Advantage: Yankees

3rd Base
Pedro Feliz vs Alex Rodriguez. Since we all know where this is going, A-Rod is a cheater and all-around jerk.
Advantage: Yankees

Left Field
Raul Ibanez vs Johnny Damon. This is a tough one to call. Ibanez has the advantage in power and driving in runs, whereas Damon is better at getting on base and setting the table for the powerful lineup. However, the one area in which Ibanez was supposed to struggle at, defense, has been surprisingly good for him this season. We all know how Damon struggles in the outfield. So,
Advantage: Phillies

Center Field
Shane Victorino vs Melky Cabrera. Cabrera has looked good in the postseason, but Shane is entirely different player in the playoffs. Shane gets the edge offensively and defensively. Easy choice.
Advantage: Phillies

Right Field
Jayson Werth vs Nick Swisher. Swisher is hitting .125 in the playoffs. Werth set a team record for home runs in the postseason, and could beat the all-time record. Next.
Advantage: Phillies

Catcher
Carlos Ruiz vs Jorge Posada. Chooch has been very impressive this posteason, both at the plate and behind it. Still, there's no doubt that Posada has the postseason experience and bat to be the choice here. Sorry Chooch.
Advantage: Yankees

Designated Hitter
Matt Stairs/Ben Francisco vs Hideki Matsui. I imagine Charlie Manuel will use Stairs against righties and Franciso against lefties. Stairs can hit it out at anytime, obviously, and Francisco has done well for the Phils. Still, they're not everyday hitters like Matsui is.
Advantage: Yankees

So, position by position, it's a 5-5 tie. Scientifically, this means the Phils will win the World Series in six games. Listen, you can argue and call me a homer all you want, but there's no denying that the Phils have been a better team this postseason than the Yankees have been. And remember, most of this current Yankee team has not been to World Series; the Phils were just there last season. The Phils will be loose, rested, and as the best road team in the majors this year, certainly not scared of Yankee Stadium. Get ready to celebrate again, Philly, just not like this guy:

Week 6 Picks

Last week: 11-3
Overall: 54-22
Upset Picks: 3-2

Cincinnati over Houston

Green Bay over Detroit

UPSET PICK: Baltimore over Minnesota (it's the best I could do this week)

New Orleans over NY Giants

Pittsburgh over Cleveland

Carolina over Tampa Bay

Washington over Kansas City

Jacksonville over St. Louis

Philadelphia over Oakland

Seattle over Arizona

New England over Tennessee

NY Jets over Buffalo

Atlanta over Chicago

San Diego over Denver

NFL Power Rankings and Week 5 Picks

I know, I'm a terrible blogger and forgot to put up week 4 picks. Sorry to all of those who lost money last weekend because they couldn't use my picks. To make up for it, this will be an extra long awesome blog. First, here are my power rankings after week 4.

32. St. Louis Rams (0-4)
They just have nothing to be positive about right now. Kyle Boller is their starting QB right now, they have no good receivers, and the defense is just terrible. Steven Jackson is on pace to rush for over 1,400 yards, but he is also on pace to run for 0 TDs. With the first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select...

31. Kansas City Chiefs (0-4)
Boy, Matt Cassel sure has been a lot better this year than Tyler Thigpen was last year. Good thing they gave him $209304 million or whatever it was.

30. Cleveland Browns (0-4)
All Notre Dame bias aside, Brady Quinn had about zero chance to be a successful QB on this team. No running game, no receivers (Braylon Edwards doesn't count because he stopped trying about 2 years ago) and terrible coaching. I hope he gets out of Cleveland and proves he can be an NFL QB somewhere else.

29. Tampa Bay Bucs (0-4)
Why aren't they starting Josh Freeman? I guess they feel more comfortable with "veteran" Josh Johnson. Whatever, they stink.

28. Oakland Raiders (1-3)
Remember how I said they looked like they might be ok after week 1? Whoops.

27. Detroit Lions (1-3)
Looks like they're going in the right direction. Of course, we've said that before. They really need to start drafting some defense.

26. Washington Redskins (2-2)
Has there ever been a worse 2-2 team in history? And they just keep playing bad team after bad team. They're going to get destroyed by the NFC East, and I can't wait.

25. Carolina Panthers (0-3)
It's strange, I feel like they have the talent to be a good team. Oh wait, they have the human INT machine at QB. Seriously, time to pull the plug on Jake.

24. Tennessee Titans (0-4)
Finally I was right about the Titans being bad. They might as well throw Vince Young back in there to see if they can salvage his career.

23. Miami Dolphins (1-3)
Well at least they now have the best QB ever from Coastal Carolina, Tyler Thigpen. START HIM.

22. Buffalo Bills (1-3)
Remember when I said TO would have one good season in Buffalo? This is why I don't do this professionally.

21. Jacksoville Jaguars (2-2)
Still the most boring team in the NFL, perhaps professional sports. I've never seen so many empty seats in an NFL stadium, except for when Temple plays at the Linc.

20. Seattle Seahawks (1-3)
Don't the Seahawks realize Seneca Wallace is not good by now? They always throw him in every time Hasselbeck gets hurt, and he stinks. Maybe I just wanna see Mike Teel start.

19. Houston Texans (2-2)
NEXT year is the year the Texans will finally break out. I'll say it every year until it happens.

18. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
Really, are they ever gonna give Matt Leinart a chance? Assuming he's not busy getting drunk in a hottub with underage girls.

17. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
Wade Phillips definitely won't make it to next season, and I'm starting to think Tony Romo will be searching for a new job as well.

16. San Diego Chargers (2-2)
Have the Chargers of the past few seasons been the most underachieving NFL team of all-time? They've had an incredible amount of talent for years, but haven't sniffed a Super Bowl. They'll be done soon.

15. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
They might be undefeated if they had an average offensive line. Aaron Rodgers deserves better.

14. San Francisco 49ers (3-1)
A good start, but I'm still not convinced they're for real. That's still good enough to win the NFC West though.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
Big Ben was a good host on RAW. He should probably focus on football now, since the Steelers are in third place. Never though I would say that.

12. Chicago Bears (3-1)
Remember how I said you shouldn't take too much stock in a team after week 1, and I proceded to say the Bears were done? Whoops.

11. Cincinatti Bengals (3-1)
Some will say they should be undefeated barring a miracle play from the Broncos. Of course, they needed overtime to beat the Browns. We'll see how good they are this week against Baltimore.

10. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)
It's pretty hard to tell how good they are right now. They had a tough game against the Patriots, and two other good, not great, performances. 49ers game this week should tell alot about both teams.

9. Denver Broncos (4-0)
Yeah yeah, maybe I'm just hoping they're not that good. Remember, they had the West lead for a while last season too. They'll slow down, starting with this week.

8. New York Jets (3-1)
The defense is legit, but Mark Sanchez will become a rookie QB, see last week. They'll hang around for a while because of the D.

7. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
Tampa, Oakland, Washington the next three weeks, followed by a showdown with the Giants. Donovan should be plenty warmed up for that game, which will be for first in the East.

6. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
They're not the best team in the NFL yet, but they're real close. Steelers fans should be real worried.

5. New England Patriots (3-1)
No, Brady is not gonna throw 50 TDs. Most people forget he wasn't amazing statistically before that 50 TD season. So they're fine, they're gonna win the East, relax.

4. New Orleans Saints (4-0)
If that defense keeps playing as well as they did last week, look out, they could be the favorites in the NFC.

3. Minnesota Vikings (4-0)
Adrian Peterson is awesome. The defense is awesome. They have a QB. That's all I'm gonna say about them.

2. New York Giants (4-0)
Since I hate having them this high, I'll just say that watching Eli Manning doing that little hop after he hurt his foot was hilarious.

1. Indianapolis Colts (4-0)
Yeah Peyton is good. And he's doing it with a Frenchman at wide receiver. He deserves the MVP just for that.


WEEK 5 PICKS
Last week: 10-4
Overall: 43-19
Upset Specials: 2-2

UPSET SPECIAL: Cleveland over Buffalo

Pittsburgh over Detroit

Dallas over Kansas City

Minnesota over St. Louis

New York Giants over Oakland

Philly over Tampa Bay

Carolina over Washington

Baltimore over Cincy

Atlanta over San Fran

New England over Denver

Arizona over Houston

Seattle over Jackonville

Indy over Tennessee

New York Jets over Miami

The Kevin Kolb problem

If you've been an Eagles fan during any of the Donovan McNabb era, or even if you have lived in Philadelphia during that span, you have to know that Kevin Kolb's success is going to mean trouble.

For his first two NFL starts, Kolb has played very well. He's thrown for over 700 yards and 4 TDs. Of course, it was against two soft defenses in the Saints and Chiefs, but still, considering his inexperience, he has to be commended for his performance.

Of course, now the real problem starts. McNabb will most likely start against the Bucs after the Eagles' bye week in week 4. Luckily for Donovan, his first two games back will be against the 0-3 Bucs and 1-2 Raiders, so he should put up big stats in those games. However, look at this next stretch of games: @ Redskins (always tough), Giants, Cowboys, @ Chargers, @ Bears, Redskins, @ Falcons, @ Giants. Yikes. Needless to say, Donovan might not put up his best numbers in these games.

So what is bound to happen? The first game the Eagles lose, the first time McNabb throws a pick, or even the first time he bounces a pass to a wide open receiver, we're gonna hear it: PUT IN KOLB. It's almost an absolute certainty that it's going to happen.

As a lifelong Eagles fan, I have no problem saying this: 90% of Eagles fans are idiots. I'll never understand why Donovan has garnered as much hate as he has amongst Eagles fans. Yes, he has had his bad and embarassing moments. But he has been the lifeblood of this organization for over a decade now. If he was not able to play this season, this team would not make the playoffs with Kevin Kolb at QB, I guarantee that.

Is Kolb the future of the Eagles? Possibly, but there is no way he's ready to lead this team to the playoffs right now. He still makes poor passes, misses open receivers, and makes bad decisions. Yes, 700 yards is nice, but he did it by throwing 50 passes against the Saints and then playing perhaps the worst defense in the league.

So next time McNabb has a bad game this season, and it most likely will happen, think twice before you call for Kolb. McNabb is the best QB the Eagles have ever had, remember that.

Power rankings after week 3:

Top 5
1. Giants 3-0
2. Ravens 3-0
3. Colts 3-0
4. Jets 3-0
5. Vikings 3-0

Bottom 5
28. Redskins 1-2
29. Bucs 0-3
30. Rams 0-3
31. Browns 0-3
32. Chiefs 0-3

Week 3 Picks

Sorry I didn't talk about week 2, here are some highlights:

- Kevin Kolb played well, but he'll never be more than a backup

- Patriots will still win the AFC East, book it

- Pete Carroll is too "cool" for his own good, that's why USC loses stupid games

Anyway, week 3 picks:

Last week: 8-8

Overall: 22-10

Upset Picks: 2-0

Washington over Detroit

Green Bay over St. Louis

Minnesota over San Fran

New England over Atlanta

UPSET SPECIAL: Tennessee over NY Jets

Philadelphia over KC

NY Giants over Tampa

Baltimore over Cleveland

Houston over Jacksonville

New Orleans over Buffalo

Chicago over Seattle

Pittsburgh over Cincy

Oakland over Denver

San Diego over Miami

Indy over Arizona

Dallas over Carolina

Why the Emmys are a joke

I'll get to football, Kevin Kolb, Eagles sucking, etc. tomorrow, but today I want to talk about the greatest injustice in the history of award shows.

Hopefully most of you by now are familiar with The Shield, the FX cop drama that ended its seven season run this year. For those not familiar, the show stars Michael Chiklis (The Thing from Fantastic Four) as Vic Mackey, a cop who frequently uses questionable (that's putting it lightly) police tactics, but always gets the job done. Needless to say, Vic gets into a lot of trouble along the way, and has to go deeper and deeper into seedy tactics to get himself out.

I accidentally stumbled upon The Shield during its pilot, and I was immediately hooked after the first five minutes. The pilot is easily the best I've ever seen, and the end of the first episode affects everything that happens in the rest of the series. I'm not the only one who has become addicted to the show at first view. Anyone who has watched it with me has to watch the next episode, and then the next episode, and then start from the beginning, and watch them all, you get the idea.

Although the show has always been praised by critics, it hasn't been recognized by the awards shows anywhere near what it should have been. Chiklis won the Emmy for Best Actor in 2002, but the show has had a dry spell since then. I figured the final season of The Shield would finally get the show the recognition it so richly deserved. The season was amazing after all. Episodes were great from start to (especially) finish, and every actor saved their best performance for last. Chiklis was amazing as always, but Walton Goggins as Shane and David Rees Snell as Ronnie really stepped up for the last season.

So how many Emmy nominations did The Shield receive for its final season?

Zero.

Absolutely none.

None for Best Actor (Chiklis), none for Best Supporting Actor (Goggins or Rees Snell), none for Best Supporting Actress (CCH Pounder), none for Best Writing (the last episode), and most egregiously, none for Best Drama.

I don't watch every show on TV. I don't watch Mad Men, but I'm sure it's good. But honestly, how do four Mad Men episodes get nominated for Best Writing, and the final episode of the The Shield gets none?

I can't stress enough how great Goggins and Rees Snell were in this season. I might even say they deserved nominations more than Chiklis, they were that good. Vic Mackey has pretty much been the same since season 1, but it's incredible to see how much the characters of Shane and Ronnie have evolved since the beginning. Shane went from being an unlikable jackass to, well, and unlikable jackass but for many different reasons. Even though he was the de facto villain in the last season, you had to feel incredibly bad for him, and a lot of that comes from Goggins' performance.

Ronnie wasn't even supposed to be a regular character on the show. However, the writers decided to write him into the stories more because Rees Snell was so great in the role and fans loved him. He goes from having about two lines in the first season to becoming the third-main character on the show in the last season. I guess the Emmy voters didn't see his last scene in the final episode.

It wouldn't really bother me too much if The Shield didn't win any Emmys. The newer shows usually get the awards anyway. But to have ZERO nominations for the last season of one the greatest cop dramas ever is a crime. If only Vic was still around to crack some Emmy nominator skulls.

Do yourself a favor, watch The Shield, all of it, and you'll understand.

Week 2 Picks

Last week: 14-2

Atlanta over Carolina

Minnesota over Detroit

Green Bay over Cincinnati

Tennessee over Houston

UPSET PICK: Oakland over Kansas City, it's the Raiders winning, so it's an upset no matter who they're playing

New England over New York Jets

Philadelphia over New Orleans

Washington over St. Louis

Arizona over Jacksonville

Buffalo over Tampa Bay

Seattle over San Francisco

Pittsburgh over Chicago

Denver over Cleveland

San Diego over Baltimore

Dallas over New York Giants

Indianapolis over Miami

Random thoughts from NFL Week 1

Every year after NFL week 1, everyone dissects the week way too much, and makes outlandish predictions based on one game. I'll try not to do that, but here are some of my impressions from the first week:

- I hate to say it, but Donovan won't be the same this year. Remember the year after they went to the Super Bowl, in the first game he suffered a seemingly minor sternum injury, but it ended up hampering his play for the entire season. I'm afraid even if Donovan comes back by week 4, he won't be the same for the rest of the season.

- That being said, the Eagles D looked great against the Panthers. Sure Delhomme was terrible, but many of his poor throws were caused by Eagles pressure. My biggest worry about this team heading into the season was the defense, but they looked great against a pretty good Carolina team.

- Again, not to make outlandish predictions based on week 1, but Chicago is done. Besides the loss of Urlacher, the just looked lost on offense even with supposed franchise savior Jay Cutler. Cutler seems like the kind of guy who could lose focus easily if he starts the season out poorly.

- Arizona is in trouble as well. They still have no running game, and let's face it, Kurt Warner is old.

- Denver will still be bad, a miracle play against the Bengals to win means nothing.

- The Raiders actually played with some life for the first time in years, and they got robbed of that game. They'll be second in the West, maybe get to 7 wins.

- Even though they lost, the Titans might have been the best team in the AFC South in Week 1. The Colts looked bad just getting by the Jaguars.

- The best performance of the week goes to Drew Brees. I don't care if you're playing against the Drexel football team, 6 TDs is impressive.

- The worst performance of week 1 goes to the Texans. For years we've been waiting for this team to break out, and this finally seemed like the season. Instead, they lose by 17 points to a rookie QB in his first start on the road.

- To college now, and I haven't been more upset about a game recently than Notre Dame/Michigan. Michigan played well, no doubt, but Notre Dame just shot themselves in the foot. Notre Dame has the talent to win 10 games, and I wasn't convinced of that before the season. But they still don't know how to win close games, so it looks like it'll be something like 8-4, Gator Bowl loss, and bye bye Charlie Weis.

Top 5/Bottom 5 after week 1
Top 5
1. Steelers
2. Eagles
3. Patriots
4. Giants
5. Vikings

Bottom 5
5. Chiefs
4. Bucs
3. Browns
2. Lions
1. Rams

Week 1 NFL Picks

In case you wanna know who's gonna win every week...

Pittsburgh over Tennessee

Atlanta over Miami

Cincinnati over Denver

Minnesota over Cleveland

Indy over Jacksonville

New Orleans over Detroit

Dallas over Tampa Bay

Philadelphia over Carolina

Baltimore over Kansas City

Houston over New York Jets

New York Giants over Washington

UPSET PICK OF THE WEEK: San Francisco over Arizona, because I have to pick one every week, and I picked all favorites so far

Seattle over St. Louis

Green Bay over Chicago

New England over Buffalo

San Diego over Oakland

NFL Preview Extravagana Part IV

So, I'm an idiot. I forgot the season actually starts tomorrow, so I guess I need to wrap this up. So here's my complete standings, playoffs, etc.

AFC

East
1. New England 13-3
2. Buffalo 9-7
3. New York 7-9
4. Miami 6-10

North
1. Pittsburgh 12-4
2. Baltimore 11-5
3. Cincinnati 6-10
4. Cleveland 4-12

South
1. Indianapolis 11-5
2. Houston 10-6
3. Tennessee 8-8
4. Jacksonville 5-11

West
1. San Diego 12-4
2. Denver 5-11
3. Kansas City 4-12
4. Oakland 2-14

NFC

East
1. New York 10-6
2. Philadelphia 10-6
3. Dallas 9-7
4. Washington 7-9

North
1. Green Bay 11-5
2. Minnesota 10-6
3. Chicago 9-7
4. Detroit 3-13

South
1. Carolina 11-5
2. Atlanta 9-7
3. New Orleans 9-7
4. Tampa Bay 5-11

West
1. Seattle 9-7
2. Arizona 9-7
3. San Francisco 6-10
4. St. Louis 3-13

Playoffs

San Diego over Houston Baltimore over Indianapolis New York over Minnesota Philadelphia over Seattle

New England over Baltimore Pittsburgh over San Diego Philadelphia over Carolina Green Bay over New York

New England over Pittsburgh Philadelphia over Green Bay

Super Bowl XLIV

New England over Philadelphia

NFL Preview Extravaganza Part III

Thank you very much Virginia Tech for making me look stupid on the first week of the season. Oh well, at least Notre Dame looked good. On to the AFC South:

AFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
Remember when we thought we saw then end of the Colts mini-dynasty last season when they started 3-4? All they did to finish out was 9 wins to end the season. They entered the playoffs as many people's AFC favorite, but were defeated by the Chargers in the first round. Despite their early playoff exit, there's no doubt that the Colts are the favorite to take back control of the South this season. As long as they have everyone's favorite TV spokesman, Peyton Manning, at QB, the Colts will be a contender. Some of the other faces on offense have changed; Marvin Harrison is gone, and his production is expected to be replaced by former first round pick Anthony Gonzalez. Although Joseph Addai is still listed at the starting RB, he will be pushed by this year's first round pick, Donald Brown. The defense still has room to improved, especially on the D-line, but they are good enough to keep them in games. If you have any doubt if they Colts are at the end of their run, just watch the first quarter of their preseason game against the Eagles. They'll be back in the playoffs.

2. Houston Texans (10-6)
Every year the Texans get a little bit better in the offseason, and every year we expect them to finally make the playoffs for the first time. So this year I'm going to say...the Texans will break out and make the playoffs for the first time. All of the talent is certainly in place. The offense is potentially explosive. Andre Johnson is easily one of the top 3 WRs in the NFL, and Kevin Walter is a nice no.2 option. Steve Slaton had an excellent rookie season at RB and should only improve this season.. The key to this team is QB Matt Schaub. He has done well when healthy, unfortunately that has not been very often. If he plays the whole season, this team will make the playoffs. The D is still a bit shaky, but has two superstars in Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans. They're not quite ready to overtake the Colts, but they could be the team to beat in the division next season.

3. Tennessee Titans (8-8)
Last year, I though the Titans would show that their playoff run from 2007 was a fluke and they would fall back into mediocrity. Of course, they ended up going 13-3 and winning the South. Of course, this year I'm gonna say that the Titans were a fluke last year, and they'll fall back into mediocrity. The Titans are built in the same mold as the Steelers and Ravens: run first and play great defense. The problem with the Titans, and it was exposed in the playoffs last year, is they're just not as physical as the Steelers or Ravens. They'll be able to run the ball again this year with Chris Johnson and the svelte LenDale White. However, and I know I'm making a mistake for saying this, but I don't trust Kerry Collins for another season. Even though they added Kenny Britt, they still lack a go to receiver for this season. And you can't underestimate how the loss of Albert Haynesworth will affect their defense. He was their MVP last season, and they're gonna be alot easier to run on this season. So yeah, the Titans will be mediocre this season, and I won't be wrong this time.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
Is there seriously a more boring team in the NFL than the Jaguars? First of all, they play in Jacksonville, and apologies for all the Jacksonvillians reading this, but how did Jacksonville get an NFL team? What is in Jacksonville, except a bridge or something? I remember when the Eagles played in the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, and everyone just seemed miserable to be there. Second of all, they have one good player, Maurice Jones-Drew. Torry Holt might help out the receivers a little bit, but he's all they've got there. David Garrard is one of those "game manager" QBs, which is a nice way of saying he's terrible. The defense is nothing special anymore. How can I tell? Sean Considine is staring for them. That right there about sums up the 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars.

NFL Preview Extravaganza Part II

Before I get to the AFC North, man, what a terrible game between Oregon and Boise State last night. You have to expect something like 42-38 when those teams play each other, but instead we got a 19-8 game (what kind of score is that?) with a ton of mistakes and bad play. Then of course there was that nice sucked punch after the game, probably the most exciting thing that happened all night. I hope Blount had fun playing football, cause he's not gonna be playing too many more games I think.

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
If you look at the Steelers last year, you've gotta think that their defense didn't get nearly enough credit for their Super Bowl victory. Back when the Ravens won it all, we heard about how their defense was the all-time greatest, and how they completely carried their offense. The same can be said for the Steelers last season. Big Ben's stats were nothing special (17 TDs to 15 INTs), Willie Parker and pretty much their entire running game was nonexistant, and their o-line gave up a ton of sacks. Still, and I hate this cliche, they know how to win games. The D is still the best in the NFL, and they didn't lose anyone of importance from last season. Even if the offense struggles again, they're the favorites in the division.

2. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
The Ravens are kinda like the Steelers-lite. They play very similar brands of football, and have the same strengths and weaknesses. It seems like the Ravens have never had a good offense, but that could be changing soon if Flacco continues to develop and Ray Rice emerges as a no.1 RB. Their defense is 1b to the Steelers 1a. Watching Ravens/Steelers games is always fun, and it looks they'll be battling it out for North supremacy once again this year. The Ravens have the talent to overtake the Steelers, and with a couple more years for their young offensive players to develop, they could easily be the favorites.

3. Cincinatti Bengals (6-10)
Forget the Madden Curse, I think it's about time to take the HBO Hard Knocks curse seriously. 2001- the Ravens, coming off a Super Bowl win, lose in the playoffs, 2002- Cowboys, sucked, 2007 (next year it was on) -Chiefs, terrible, 2008- Cowboys, no playoffs. So it's the Bengals turn to be cursed this season. About the only reason for optimism for the Bengals this season is the return of Carson Palmer, and the (alleged) return of Chad Ochocino to form. They also added Laverneus Coles and Chris Henry has looked good at receiver, so they should have a much improved offense. I still wouldn't trust Cedric Benson at running back, hopefully they'll get smart and start Brian Leonard. The defense still isn't anything special, considering Dhani Jones might still be starting. They'll score more points, but don't expect a dramatic turnaround.

4. Cleveland Browns (4-12)
I was tempted to make Cleveland a surprise team of sorts this season, like everyone was expecting them to be last season, but then I realized it's the Browns and that wouldn't be a good idea. I'm rooting for my boy Brady Quinn to win the QB job and show something this season, but it's won't be easy with their o-line, Braylon Edwards dropping everything, and a nondescript running game. The defense isn't much better, actually it's probably worse. I like how the Browns turned the 5th pick of the draft into 3 average players from the Jets (thanks to Eric Mangini) and a center. A center will probably turn the team around. Sorry Cleveland, basketball season starts soon.

NFL Preview Extravaganza Part I

Well, pretty soon we'll get to hear football stories that don't involve the names Favre, Vick, Burress, T.O, or even Stinson. And thank God. This NFL offseason has been so incredibly annoying, I'm so excited that some real football is actually about to start. This is the first part of a 10938430 part NFL blog super extravanganza, and it might even be as good as this preview: http://media.www.thetriangle.org/media/storage/paper689/news/2006/06/30/Sports/New-England.Cincy.Should.Repeat.As.Division.Champions-2119806.shtml

So here's part I, the AFC East.
1. New England Patriots 13-3
Despite the incredible annoyingness of anything or anyone from Boston, you have to be impressed by what the Patriots have done over the last decade. It's getting to the point where it's hard to remember the last time the Patriots weren't the favorites in the AFC East, and that's pretty darn incredible considering how quickly the fortunes of any NFL team can change. They even went 11-5 last year despite losing the best QB in the league after 5 minutes into the season (and as Kansas City will probably find out, it wasn't because of Matt Cassel).
Brady will be fine this year. Not 2007 fine, but he'll probably be amongst the top 3 QBs statistically this year, easily. They still have Moss, Welker, and now they added the ultimate weapon in Greg Lewis. The defense is great; they have the protoypical 3-4 defense and it doesn't seem to matter who they plug in there.
They have one potential weakness: the running game. They have about 5,000 RBs now with the addition of Fred Taylor, but they don't really run the ball too much, and they don't really need to. You just have to wonder how they'll move the ball if Brady somehow has a bad game. But doesn't really matter, they'll be dominant again this year.


2. Buffalo Bills 9-7
Everyone's already saying that T.O is a terrible fit in Buffalo, it'll never work, Trent Edwards is not good enough for T.O, etc. Well, yeah everyone is pretty much right. Why T.O chose to go to Buffalo is beyond me. I've gotta think there were at least a few other teams out there that would have taken him, but why he went to the NFL city with perhaps the least amount of media exposure baffles me. However, T.O has always behaved for at least one season wherever he's been, so I think they just might get one ok year out of him. Trent Edwards looks like he could be decent, and I think they could have a pretty good looking offense. The running game is a little unsettled with Marshawn Lynch suspended for being a criminal or something, but he'll be back. The defense is pretty average all around, but they're young and could definitely improve this season. They just seem like that one team every year that is just all around average but somehow comes close to sneaking into the playoffs.

3. New York Jets 7-9
Unless you're the 2008 Atlanta Falcons, the combination of rookie QB and rookie head coach usually doesn't turn out very well. Of course, for the Jets last year, the combination of Brett Favre and being old didn't work out too well for them. Remember when they started off hot, and everyone was talking about a Jets/Giants Super Bowl? That seems like a long long time ago. The Jets still have talent. Sanchez looks like he'll be a solid QB. Maybe not Matt Ryan of last season, but good enough. I'll be shocked if Leon Washington isn't starting at RB by the end of the year. They really need to get him the ball. The D was pretty good last year, and should probably get better with Rex Ryan as head coach now.
Still, the rookie QB/new head coach thing is still weighing against them. I think they'll be the team that loses a lot of close games this season, then comes on strong next year.

4. Miami Dolphins 6-10
Did the Dolphins really win the AFC East last year? That doesn't seem right. I'm just not convinced that this is a good team. Yeah, they innovated the whole wildcat thing last season, but now that everyone is using it, it'll be easier to stop. I'm not sold on Chad Pennington being a playoff QB again. I think he played with a chip on his shoulder last season, and won't duplicate last season's success.
I guess I should have better reasoning than I just think they were a fluke last year, but yeah, I just think they were a fluke last year. Well here's a stat: despite going 11-5 last year, they only outscored their opponents by 28 points. So take some of those close wins and turn them the other way, and here we are. In an all-around solid division, I think they fall back this season.

Time to make changes to baseball

I always love whenever a proposed change to baseball comes up, it's met with such opposition from baseball "purists". Baseball is the only sport in which these "purists" are so obsessed with the game's past that they refuse to make any change that, gasp, might actually improve the game. So while the NFL is constantly making changes to make their game better, MLB is being held back because of tradition. Seriously, is Babe Ruth gonna roll in his grave because baseball adds more replay?

With that in mind, I've thought of a few things that would make baseball better, but will most likely never happen:

1. DH in both leagues
This is probably my favorite. I think it's great when people make the argument that the DH takes away from the strategy and purity of the game. When pitchers are hitting, managers have more to think about when adjusting their lineups. They have to make double switches, decide whether to bunt a pitcher or let him swing away, etc. Apparently this adds drama to the game. I think it sucks. How many times in a National League has a team started to rally in an inning, the 8 hole hitter gets a walk to load the bases...and here comes the pitcher to suck all of the drama out of the inning. Why should the pitcher have to hit? He's a completely separate entity than the rest of the team. He's judged by different stats, has a completely different mindset than everyone else. Sure, maybe having a guy who just hits doesn't make too much sense either, but it's more fun that having the pitcher hit. God forbid baseball should be more fun.
Odds of happening: 1,000,000: 1

2. More replay
Yeah, I said it. Go ahead and complain that it will make the games longer. That's a valid argument, and the only reason why more replay shouldn't happen. But for those who say, "Human error is a part of the game," no offense, but you are an idiot. Why should umpires getting calls WRONG be a part of the game? Shouldn't the game be decided by what the players do, rather than what the umpires say they did?
I wouldn't have replay on every call. That would make things way too long. Why not make a system similar to the NFL? Each manager gets two replays per game, or per series, or per week, whatever. They can challenge safe/out calls, home runs calls, catches, tags, anything like that, just not balls and strikes. So, even if there's two replays per game, say they take 7 minutes each when all's said and done, that adds 14 minutes to each game. If that's a huge problem to anyone, too bad. I would rather get things right.
Odds of happening: 10:1 of replay somehow getting expanded

3. No more All-Star game deciding home field advantage
This is a no brainer, and I imagine it will happen soon. The idea of this is to make the game more exciting and mean more and whatever. This was the fall out from that infamous tie game. Apparently that game made fans realize that the all-star game means nothing, because they didn't get that before for some reason. Honestly, the game doesn't seem anymore important to me now than it did before, and deciding home field advangtage because of it makes no sense. Just give it to the team with the best regular season record, that was easy.
Odds of happending: probably will soon

4. Less interleague play
Part of the reason the all-star game lost its appeal is because of interleague play. Before interleague, seeing AL vs NL was exciting every year because we never got to see these players on the field at the same time. It may the World Series seem more special too. But now, it seems like we get a whole month of interleague play, and it's just too much. Maybe it's because I'm a Phillies fan and they're terrible in interleague, but I think 18 interleague games a year for each team is way too much. Just have two series every year for each team, a home and home with their most natural rival, and stop it there. Mets vs Yankees every year, Phillies vs Red Sox, Dodgers vs Angels, Giants vs A's, and so forth. It would make the All-Star game and World Series a lot better.
Odds of happening: Interleague games sell a lot of tickets, so probably 0

5. Make the first round of playoffs 7 games
Here's what I don't get. The NBA, which has a shorter season, more teams make the playoffs, and what seems like two weeks between playoff games, went from a 5 game first round to a 7 game first round, just so they can have more games that no one will watch. Baseball has a longer season, only 4 teams making the playoffs, they can play every day, yet they only have 5 game series in the first round? After struggling through 162 games to make the playoffs, a team could be gone with three bad games in the first round. MLB and NBA should collaborate and trade first round series lengths. How does that not make sense?
Odds of happening: 1,000: 1

6. Move the Astros to the AL West
Doesn't really matter, but 6 teams in the NL Central, 4 teams in the AL West, Astros would make the most sense to make the move. Just saying.
Odds of happening: Probably not unless I'm the commissioner.

7. Intentional walks
This has always annoyed me. If a team wants to walk a guy intentionally, what's the point of making the pitcher throw 4 balls to the catcher. Why not just say, hey we're gonna walk this guy, and just let him go to first without having to make the pitches? I'm sure the baseball purists would love this one.
Odds of happening: same as above

Mr. Selig, I know you are a frequent reader of my blog, so please take these changes into consideration. Thanks.

Part 2- National League w/ John Kruk

I'm sure the suspense has been killing everyone, so here's my run-down of the senior circuit going into the final month of the season. There are seven teams left in the NL with a realistic shot at making the playoffs, so here they are, from worst to first:

7- Florida Marlins
If you believe in trends, the Marlins should win the World Series this year. After all, they do it every six years since the 1997 season. However, I'm going to go against fate and say the Marlins don't go all the way in 2009. Much like the Twins in the AL, the Marlins always seem to find a way to get it done with no money and few superstars, and the fact that they're even over .500 is impressive. They have a legit ace in Josh Johnson and the rest of their staff is solid. They also score a ton of runs, even if their only really great every day player is Hanley Ramirez. So yeah, good job Marlins but no playoffs this year.

6- Atlanta Braves
The Braves probably have the best starting pitching staff from top to bottom in the majors. They don't have one surefire dominant pitcher (maybe Tommy Hanson soon), but there's no easy game against this staff. However, the score about zero runs a game. If they can keep their rotation intact over the next few seasons and add a bat or two, they will be dangerous. However, they just don't have the lineup to make enough noise down the stretch this year.

5- San Francisco Giants
The Giants are very similar to the Braves in that they have great pitching and no hitting. However, I would be very very scared of the Giants in the postseason because they have two dominant starers in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, and a guy that used to be dominant in Barry Zito. Oh by the way, they have another guy who threw a no-hitter this season in Jonathan Sanchez. So yeah, if these guy find their way into the playoffs, watch out. The problem is their lineup, or the fact that it's basically non-existant. When your best hitter is a guy whose nickname is Kung-Fu Panda, you have issues. Much like the Braves, if they add some bats, look out.

4- Colorado Rockies
Stop me if this seems familiar: The Rockies are absolutely terrible in the beginning of the season, then out of nowhere, make a turnaround, become the hottest team in the majors, and end up sweeping the Phillies in the playoffs and making the World Series. Yeah, that happened two years ago, and it looks like history may repeat itself. On paper, this team isn't as good as the NL champions of two years ago. No Matt Holliday, and although the pitching staff has been overachieving, you have to wonder how long they will last. However, there's no arguing how good they have been over the last few months, and you always go with the hot team in the baseball playoffs. They are scary, for sure.

3- Los Angeles Dodgers
They still have the best record in the NL, but this is not the same team that dominated in the first half of the season. I have two words for you: Vicente Padilla. Besides the fact that they had to sign Padilla, their bullpen isn't very good, with the exception of Jonathan Broxton, and they're just not hitting very well as a team right now. Yes, even everyone's favorite guy Manny isn't playing too well right now. The lineup is still potent, but they're going in the opposite direction of the Rockies right now, and I wouldn't be shocked if Colorado ended up catching them in the West.

2- St. Louis Cardinals
Their were two major acquistions at the trading deadline this season: Cliff Lee to the Phillies, and Matt Holliday to the Cardinals. Holliday has made the Cardinals incredibly better, and maybe even the team to beat in the NL. Chris Carpenter has quietly become the best pitcher in the NL this season, and Adam Wainwright ain't so shabby either. The Cardinals still have a few problems. Their starting rotation is very thin after Carpenter and Wainwright, and their bullpen isn't so special either. And besides Holliday and some guy named Pujols, the lineup isn't going to scare too many teams. However, Pujojs+Holliday+Carpenter+Wainwright could be enough to lead them to a World Series.

1- Philadelphia Phillies
Yes, I'm a homer, too bad. I really wish I had wrote this before the Phils lost 2 out of 3 to the Pirates, but oh well. We all know what's good about the Phils, so I'll focus on the negatives. The biggest problem right now is Brad Lidge, and if he's going to figure it out by playoff time. We keep waiting on him to run off 10 saves in a row to say he's back, but it just doesn't look like it's gonna happen. So what to do about Lidge? It's looking like a real possibility that he won't be the Phillies closer pretty soon. The other problimatic pitcher is Cole Hamels. Yes, he looked good in in last outing, but it would be great to see him put together 4 or 5 good starts to know he can be counted on in the postseason. He is the key to the team right now. If the Phils go into a series with Lee, Hamels back in form, Happ, and Blanton the way they are pitching right now, it's lights out. So yes, call me a homer, but the Phils are the favorite in the NL right now.

So, Rockies win the Wild Card, Phils beat them in the first round, Cardinals take out the Dodgers in the first round, Phils over the Cards to get back to the World Series.

That would set us up with a Phils/Yankees World Series, which I predicted at the beginning of the year. Needless to say, that series would be slightly more intriguing than Phils/Rays from last year. Here's hoping.

Breaking Down the MLB Stretch Run- American League

First of all, since I was asked to comment about it, I just wanna say that Plaxico Burress receiving a two year prison sentence for carrying a gun and then shooting himself in the leg is ridiculous. Especially when you consider the fact that fellow NFL wide receiver Donte Stallworth received one month in jail for a DUI manslaughter charge. What Plaxico did was idiotic, no doubt, but no one got hurt except himself. Stallworth killed a man, and there's a very good chance it could have been avoided if he wasn't drunk and high. But whatever, trying to make sense of any of that kinda stuff these days is pointless. So enough about criminal football players and on to baseball...

American League

This has, for the most part, been a typical American League year. In the West, the Angels will have no problem winning the division again, but in typical Angels fashion (except for the 2002 season in which they won it all), they'll disappoint in the playoffs. Usually the Angels have strong pitching but a weak lineup, however it seems to be the opposite this year. Their starters' ERA is attrocious, and there bullpen's not much better. So have fun with your first round exit Anaheim or Los Angeles or whatever you are now.

In the Central, it's been a typical close race that will go down to the wire. Even though Detroit fell flat last season, you had to know they had too much talent not to improve this year. They have a great top of the rotation with Verlander, Washburn, and Jackson, so if they make it in, keep an eye out for them come playoff time.

The White Sox are just above average all-around, but that could be good enough to win this division. However, there's no way I can see this team doing any damage in the playoffs. Buehrle and Danks are a decent top of the rotation, but they they have the immortal Gavin Floyd (I know, he's better now, whatever) and Jose Contreras. Yeah no thanks, goodbye White Sox.

Then, of course, there's those sneaky Twins, now 4.5 games back despite being under .500, and you just know they're gonna end up being in this race at the end. I have no idea how, consdering Carl Pavano is their second starter right now. The Twins do this every year, and I guess having Morneau and Mauer helps. If they somehow win the Central, they're not doing anything in October with that rotation.

In the East, well, the Yankees were due. They're easily the best team in baseball right now, and they'll most likely enter the postseason as the odds-on favorites to end that dreadfully long 9 year World Series drought (poor Yankees fans). They're pitching great, their lineup has been unstoppable. Unfortunately, I have nothing negative to say about the Yankees right now. They're the favorites.

The wild card spot might be the most interesting race in the AL right now. The Red Sox are currently on top, but they have a ton of question marks right now. After Beckett and Lester, the rotation isn't looking too great right now, even when Tim Wakefield comes back. The offense should have improved with the addition of Victor Martinez, but they're still struggling. They're the de facto favorites to win the wild card, but I can't see a deep postseason run in the cards for the Sox.

Then there's the Rangers, and I'm shocked that they're still hanging around. They've always had the offense, but never have come close to having the pitching. Texas has actually put together a nice little rotation led by, yes, Kevin Millwood. I still don't know who Scott Feldman is exactly, but he's 13-4 this year. The offense is still there, and the addition of Pudge will help. I'll be surprised if they end up surpassing the Sox; the rotation has almost no late season experience, but they have the talent to do it.

Finally, the Rays are still hanging around too. They obviously have the talent to win the wild card, and make a postseason run. On paper, they're probably better than last year's team. But there just seems to be something missing from this team. They don't have an ace this season with Scott Kazmir struggling, and they just don't have the momentum they had last year. Can they catch the Sox? Sure, but I just don't see it happening.

So yeah, here's what I see going down in the AL:

West: Angels (2 seed)
Central: Tigers (3 seed)
East: Yankees (1 seed)
Wild Card: Red Sox

ALDS: Yankees over Tigers, Red Sox over Angels
ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox in 5

Yeah, boring, I know. But that's the AL, same teams, same close races every year. The NL preview will be more exciting, promise.

MICHAEL VICK AAHHHHHH OMG

Since the public outcry for an update has turned into an uproar, here you go.

As I am writing this, I realize the one great thing about the Michael Vick saga is that it pushes Brett Favre off the frontpage. Even now that the Favre rumors have started again (shocking), it is much more important to ESPN that Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick are BFFs.

I was going to write about Vick before he was signed by the Eagles. Obviously, the signing changes things a lot, especially since he was picked up by my favorite team. But I will try to convey what I was going to say before this all happened.

When watching the Vick coverage on ESPN and everything else before he got signed, it seemed that a lot of players, coaches, analysts, etc. actually felt bad for him. That he "deserved a second chance" (how many times have we heard that recently?).

Anyway, if you are one of those who "felt bad" for Vick, I have two words for you: stop talking. Why should we feel bad for him? Listen, I do not own a dog or have any emotional attachments to them. I like dogs, but who doesn't? (well, except, you know) I absolutely hate PETA. I think they are the second most evil organization in the world next to Al-Qaeda. But obviously what Vick did is deplorable, and I don't feel bad that he lost all of his money and went to jail.

I'm all for second chances in life, and sure, guys who are in prison for doing terrible things can be remorseful and change their lives when they get out blah blah whatever. But we don't have to feel sorry for these people for messing their lives up and then not being able to put it back together again. The fact is Vick would have never been able to get his old job back in any other line of work, except maybe veterinarian. So please, Andy, Donovan, everyone else, please stop talking about second chances and just talk about how he's gonna play football.

So yeah, on to the football part of it. I'm excited to see how Vick will be used with the Eagles. I mean, we just got the world's best decoy, that's for sure. I can't wait until the first time he trots out onto the field, lines up at wide receiver, the defense freaks out, and meanwhile McNabb throws it to DeSean Jackson for a 60 yard TD. I think everyone who "is not going to be an Eagles fan anymore because of Vick" will shut up. (As an aside, I really hope the Phillies sign Vick next season too so all of the fake Phillies fans go away just like the fake Eagles fans are now.)

Purely from a football sense, I think this is a good move for the Eagles. Even if he does nothing this season, they can cut their ties with him at the end of the year, and PETA will move on to be idiots about something else. If he's good, they can keep him for next season, and maybe even trade him to the Raiders for their first round pick or something.

So, in summary, I don't like Vick the person, but I can get behind Vick the player. And if you're really an Eagles fan, you will too.

2009-2010 College Football Bowl Predictions

We're a month away from the college football season, aka the official start of Fall, so naturally it would be as good a time as any to share my bowl predictions for next season. Is this too early? Absolutely. But unlike the NFL, where things that happen in the offseason actually have a significant impact on the upcoming season, we can pretty much make predictions for the next NCAA season immediately after the National Title game, and they wouldn't be much different the day before the kickoff of the first game. So unless Tim Tebow decides to become a full-time circumsizer (more on Tebow in an upcoming post), nothing that happens in the next month should matter too much.

I got a record two right last year, and I'm hoping to hit the big three this time around. Of course, these are basically impossible to predict. There are certain conference match-ups for each game (Pac-10 plays the ACC in the Emerald Bowl, for example) so it's not a completely blind guess. Without any further ado...

New Mexico Bowl- Nevada vs. BYU

St. Petersburg Bowl- UTEP vs. Louisville

New Orleans Bowl- Troy vs. Houston

Las Vegas Bowl- UCLA vs. TCU

Poinsettia Bowl- Arizona State vs. Colorado State

Hawaii Bowl- Fresno State vs. Southern Miss

Motor City Bowl- Central Michigan vs. Minnesota

Meineke Car Care Bowl- Miami vs. Cincinnati

Emerald Bowl- NC State vs. Arizona

Music City Bowl- Arkansas vs. North Carolina

Independence Bowl- Kentucky vs. Colorado

Eagle Bank Bowl- Ball State vs. Boston College

Champs Sports Bowl- Clemson vs. Illinois

Humanitarian Bowl- Boise State vs. Utah

Texas Bowl- Texas Tech vs. Navy

Holiday Bowl- Cal vs. Oklahoma State

Armed Forces Bowl- Air Force vs. Tulsa

Sun Bowl- Oregon State vs. Kansas State

Insight Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Kansas

Chick Fil-A Bowl- Auburn vs. Florida State

Outback Bowl- Michigan State vs. South Carolina

Capitol One Bowl- Iowa vs. Georgia

Gator Bowl- Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech

- This is absolutely the best case scenario for my Fightin Irish, in my opinion. People are talking about the BCS. Really? Have you been watching this team for the last two seasons? Yes, the talent is there, and that talent should equal 8, possibly 9 wins, but even that is optimistic. They still don't show up against good teams, luckily they aren't playing too many of those this season.

Rose Bowl- Ohio State vs. USC

- Rematch of these two in the Rose Bowl. USC might have a "down year", but they'll still win the Pac-10. OSU will win the Big 10, but will stumble somewhere along the way to keep them out of the title game.

Sugar Bowl- Alabama vs. Oklahoma

- Alabama is digusting on defense, but they lost a ton on offense. They'll win a lot of ugly games. Oklahoma win will the Big 12, but no way are they going undefeated in that conference.

International Bowl- Rutgers vs. Bowling Green

- Rutgers plays in Mexico North, again. Apologies to all the Mexicans out there.

Papajohns.com Bowl- West Virginia vs. LSU

Cotton Bowl- Nebraska vs. Ole Miss

Liberty Bowl- East Carolina vs. Tennessee

Alamo Bowl- Michigan vs. Missouri

Fiesta Bowl- Texas vs. Oregon

- Texas looks like a 10 win team, but I think they lose out to Oklahoma. Oregon? I dunno, kinda a left field pick, but they're talented and the Pac-10 isn't that great this year, so there you go.

Orange Bowl-Penn State vs. Pittsburgh

- An all PA battle in Miami. Penn State should finish second in the Big 10 to Ohio State, and will probably be looking at 10 wins. Honestly, you could pick the Big East champion out of a hat right now, but I think Pittsburgh has the most talent this season.

GMAC Bowl- Western Michigan vs. Wake Forest

BCS Title- Florida vs. Virginia Tech

- Florida is of course everyone's pick to repeat as national champions this season. No doubt, they are loaded, and have a great chance of running the table even in the murderous SEC. Virginia Tech is kinda a left field pick, but hear me out. Yes, they have a showdown with Alabama to start the season. If they get past the Crimson Tide, their schedule plays out favorably. Most of their difficult games are at home, with the exception of Georgia Tech (definitely a bit of a fluke last season, if you ask me) and a potentially scary game at East Carolina. But the ACC isn't anything great, and I can definitely see Va Tech running the table or finishing with one loss. Of course, they'll probably get slaughtered by Florida, but oh well.

It should be fun to look back on this post in 5 months and see how horribly wrong I was, but hey, that's what all this blog stuff is for: completely pointless, generally incorrect opinions.