Week 17 NFL Picks

Week 17 is a nightmare for bettors. Who needs to win, who doesn't need to win, who's already checked out on their coach, its all up in the air.

Teams we know need to win for seeding or division championship purposes:

Bengals, Jets, Rams, Philly, Dallas, Indy, Green Bay. I think that's it.

Bengals -6 vs Steelers. I say take the points even though its in Cincy. Steelers love to play the role of a spoiler, and they've been playing half-decent recently.

Jets -11.5 vs Oakland. Dogs again today. I don't think the Jets can score enough and quickly enough to cover the number here. If Oakland gets a field goal, the Jets need to score 14 unanswered. Oakland isn't bad against the pass, and the Jets have a spotty running game.

Rams -2.5 @ Minnesota. Lay the points. Rams win and cover. Minny stinks.

Philly -9 vs Atlanta. Classic let-down moment for Philly. Take the points.

Dallas -13 vs Detroit. Lay the number. Detroit STINKS.

Indy -9 vs Miami. I think the Colts win and cover here. Miami is playing QB's that don't belong in the league, and its my belief that Nick Saban is going to Alabama and everybody knows it. Indy will win and cover this one to raise another "#3 seed in the AFC playoffs" banner in next years home opener.

Green Bay +3 @ Chicago. Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre. Thats what's going on in the pre-production meetings at NBC right now. Chicago -3 is the play.

Good luck all.

Mediocrity!

After an 0-3 Saturday, we're sitting smack dab at 10-10 on the Bowl Season. 8-1 start, which means a 2-9 finish.

Wow. Thats bad.

I think thats what's known as a "streak" shooter. Pat Bradley-esque.

Anyway, one college game today. The Smurf Turf bowl in Boise. THE U vs Nevada. Flip a coin, this game sucks. Of course, I'll watch it because its only competition is what will certainly be the Brett Favre love fest on NBC. Spare me.

Miami -3.5 tonight. Why not? No idea. I mean its Nevada. They can't beat Miami, can they?

(bear in mind 2-9 as of late). We're still taking the U.

The Big 10 to Petition NCAA?

After two large leads followed by losses yesterday and today, thatguysports has a source who says that the most arrogant conference in the country (for absolutely NO reason), the Big 10 may petition the NCAA to shorten bowl games to 3 quarters.

It appears that teams from the Big 10 simply can't sustain good football for 4 quarters.

More on this story as it develops.

An Open Letter to ESPN

Dear ESPN,

I want you to know how much you mean to me, and the effect you have had on my life. Every morning regardless of day I know that I will be able to see any score I want from the prior day within an hour or waking up. As somebody with an 8 month old who needs toothpicks in his eyes to stay awake past 10:30, I assure you that morning Sportscenter is vital.

You've broadcast virtually every game on ESPN and ESPN 2 in High Definition this college football season, which is ranks just below Internet porn and sex as things most important in my life.

That said, I have a few bones to pick with you as 2006 is coming to an end. We still have a wonderful relationship, but I think we can improve on it.

Please, I beg of you, enough with the celebrities in the broadcast booth. George Foreman was in the booth today during the BC-Navy game, and to be completely honest, I have no idea why. Even when there are some reasons for it, it still stinks. I don't need Jimmy Kimmel freaking out during a Chicago Bears game. And if I do, I want him to tell me that its because he has 5 grand on the Bears -10.5 and they're up 7, lining up for a field goal. Promoting "We Are Marshall" should NEVER be a part of Monday Night Football.

Next, I realize its tough being the world wide leader and not having a piece of the BCS, but stop promoting the Rose Bowl as if it means anything this year. Its two "first loser" teams playing each other. Is it a great game? Sure. Both Michigan and USC are very good teams. But its meaningless. Completely meaningless. You could have promoted it this way if there was no BCS championship, because this year is a year that could have a split champion (in theory). But its not, so please. Stop acting like the Rose Bowl is anything more than a good game between two good teams. Its annoying. It won't be worth promoting like this until its the national championship game, which to be honest with you, I think will never happen again.

Moving on, please change the format of Monday Night Football. Throw a TON OF MONEY at a good color guy. Get ride of Theisman, get rid of Kornheiser, and just go back to football. Tirico is tolerable but can he just call a game and not say anything else? Please?

Lastly, and this is sincere, please stop yelling. I don't mean during a game...because a big play is ok for an announcer to yell about. But please ask your studio talent that there's no reason to scream. Michael Irvin, Sean Salisbury, Tom Jackson, Stuart Scott, and Stephen A. Smith don't need to yell. Maybe they could grease a sound guy and get them to turn their microphones up, that's ok in my book. But why yell. Constantly. Non-stop. About anything that they're talking about. Its really not necessary.

I hope you were able to find some of my requests helpful. You and I have a wonderful relationship that I feel very strongly about. But there is always room for improvement. Here's to us in '07.

Your friend,

Andrew
thatguysportsblog.blogspot.com

Daily Bowl Picks: Saturday's Games

A strong finish to a bad day left us at 2-3 on Friday. 1-4 O/U. Bowl Season to date 10-7. Looking to improve upon that with 3 bowl games slated for Saturday. We're rushed for time today so these will be brief.



Meineke Car Care Bowl: Boston Collge -7 vs. Navy
BC wins and covers again. The Pick: BC-7



Alamo Bowl: Texas -8.5 vs. Iowa
Iowa has destroyed me this year when I've bet on them. I think they stink. Drew Tate is a hot-headed homo. Texas -8.5



Chik Fil-A Bowl: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech -3.
Va Tech is a completely different team now then how they started. I think they cover the number in this one and their defense gives Georgia fits. Va Tech -3.

My Take on Bob Knight

Although his team is down right now, there is no doubt that Bob Knight will break Dean Smith's record at some point in the next week. It seems like the right time to comment on a man who, if nothing else, creates conversation.

If you asked me 10 years ago what I thought about Bob Knight I would have told you he was an asshole. I had a coach in high school who used to teach us what he called the man to man principles of a Bob Knight defense. Looking back on it, this guy just wanted to act like Coach Knight. Legitimately his eyes bugged out of his head, and I think it happened from yelling. He grabbed you, pulled you, looked like he was going to kick the shit out of you time and time again. Much like Knight looks like, or reportedly has done to players throughout his years.

5 years ago I probably would have said close to the same thing. He was on his way out of Indiana, was assaulting kids at practice, and just came off as a generally unlikeable guy.

Today, I don' think I hate him anymore. Maybe its because he's quiet now. I mean playing at a non-basketball school (really) Texas Tech has humbled him? Or at least, he's not in the spotlight as much as he was before. Maybe I'm more aware of the type of athlete that he deals with, thus needing to instill a military-like discipline at all times.

I liked how he sounded after he tied the record when ESPN interviewed him after the game - asked him what he thought. And he joked that all it means is that he's coached a long time. That he's a dinosaur. Is he getting more like-able with age? Perhaps.

Do I view him differently because I am changing with age? More likely.

College Bowl Season: Free Daily Picks

Terrible, terrible Thursday night for our picks. As things stand now, and I don't see anything changing, we're 0-3 on Thursday night. Part of me expected this, there was no way I was going 11-1, even 10-2 or 9-3 would've been insane. So 8-4 it is, heading into New Years weekend.

No game so far this bowl season has had a point spread matter. Every underdog that has covered has won outright, and every favorite that has won has covered. That doesn't seem like a coincidence as its happened 12 times now. That, to me, is a trend. Don't lose sight of that as we go through the 5 games on the slate for Friday. Here goes.

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl: Clemson (-10) vs Kentucky. O/U 58

Clemson can run the ball, and Kentucky isn't great against the run. James Davis and CJ Spiller are the difference here. Ask yourself, will Kentucky beat Clemson outright? I say no. The pick: Clemson -10 Gun to head: Over

Brut Sun Bowl: Oregon State (-3.5) vs Missouri O/U 52

Missouri has a flu going around and 25% of the team missed practice this week. That, and the fact that they started 6-0 by playing nobody then sucked when they played a weak Big 12 schedule. Oregon State -3.5 is the play here. Gun to head: Under

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: South Carolina (-5.5) vs Houston O/U 56
I know very little about Houston. I know Steve Spurrier has had a ton of time to pick apart their defense though. SC was something like 10 pts away from an SEC title game appearance. Go with the 'ol Ball Coach in this one.

South Carolina -5.5. Gun to head: Under

Insight Bowl: Texas Tech (-6.5) vs Minnesota O/U 65.5
Minnesota can't stop the pass and Texas Tech throws nonstop.

Texas Tech -6.5. Gun to head: Over

Champs Sports Bowl: Maryland vs Purdue (-1) O/U 52.5

Underdog could easily beat the favorite. Maryland is the pick here (+1). The trend of the spread being meaningless continues. Gun to head: Under

Notre Dame Football Fans are Delusional

I had the pleasure tonight to watch a lot of the Alabama game at a birthday party surrounded by Notre Dame fans. Two alums (father and son) and a brother. All fans, all equally delusional.

Now these were good guys. They knew their stuff about football, the game. Knew their stuff about college players, coaches, etc. But the conversation was amazing.

For starters, does everybody from the Midwest hate the SEC? I mean, "they don't play anybody non-conference." You don't have to if 1) you actually play IN a BCS conference, and 2) you happen to play in the BEST BCS conference. It got better. Nick Saban was never that good a coach, and the SEC has no offensive ability. Furthermore, this years SEC QB group was terrible. Not as good as the QB's that Notre Dame played. Henne and Booty I'll give you, but who else? Drew Stanton? Please. UCLA QB? Please. I'd take Eric Ainge, Chris Leak, Jamarcus Russel, and even John Parker Wilson over those 2. And it isn't even close.

But back to Saban. If he left Miami to go to Alabama he'd just leave to go to the NFL again. Even though he's been as successful as Spurrier and has said he enjoyed college more than the NFL. This is because he has NFL roots. Once an NFL guy, always an NFL guy. But Charlie Weiss will never coach the New York Giants. Ever. Because he's not an NFL guy? Or...no wait, because he's coaching the great Notre Dame.

Other gems:

- Notre Dame tries to schedule top teams, they just don't know when they're going to be good and bad. That point, I'll grant you. But what's lost in it, is that when they do schedule great teams, and they stay great, THEY LOSE! USC: Loss. LSU when they were good: Loss. Tennessee when they were good: Loss. Michigan when good: Loss. Michigan State when good: Loss. When those teams suck, they win. Does that not define overrated?

- Notre Dame can put 28 on the board against LSU next week. I was speechless.

- UCLA is a solid non-conference opponent. Yeah the day after they got destroyed by a bad Florida State.

I could go on, but its like I'm piling on at this point. It was just a very puzzling conversation.

Oh well, at least ND fans have the service academies to whoop up on in their tough schedule.

College Bowl Season: Free Daily Picks

Another bowl game last night, and another win. 8-1 ATS and 7-2 over/under as we were a bit surprised at the offensive output last night. Not to mention the defensive output by Florida State with 3 Defensive or Special Teams touchdowns.

3 solid bowl games today, and I think 3 solid wins on the horizon.

First up, the Petro-Sun Independence Bowl between Alabama and Oklahoma State (-2, O/U 50). The wrong team is favored in this game. Alabama played one of the nations toughest schedules in having to travel to Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas and Florida, not to mention hosting Auburn in the Iron Bowl. 'Bama has struggled in the red zone this year, but I think that's more of a factor of the defenses they faced and the fact that Mike Shula's balls haven't dropped like a 3 week old kitten. Shula is gone, and the interim coach is Defensive Coordinator Joe Kines.

Kines will have to stop an option attack that is very good, but I think Alabama's speed will surprise Oklahoma State.

When Alabama has the ball, I look for DJ Hall (he should play) and John Parker Wilson to hook up on more than one occasion. Playing a defense that gives up almost 400 yards per game (in a fairly weak overall Big-12) will make Alabama fans happy.

The pick: Alabama -2. Gun to head, Under 50.

Up next is the Texas Bowl, Rutgers -7.5 vs. Kansas State (O/U 44.5).

This one will come down to motivation. I don't think Rutgers is up for this game. They were close to playing in a BCS Bowl and now they're here. Kansas State is a pretty good team with the ability to make you one dimensional offensively. Rutgers already is one dimensional so I think K. State shuts them down. Take the points, Kansas State is the play here. Another gun to head plan on Under, but I'm not touching the total.

Not a wonderful bowl season thus far for the Pac-10, and I don' think it improves greatly tonight. Cal takes on Texas A&M, Cal -3 is the line. Over/Under is 53.

A&M is a couple close losses from really having a super season. They can run and throw the ball very well. That balance should keep Cal's defense off balance.

A&M shut down Texas in Austin, and while I don't think they'll do the same tonight, I look for them to do enough. Texas A&M +3 is the play tonight. Game goes Over.

Jason Taylor is Right

"You really shouldn't be able to fail a test like that and play in this league, to begin with," Taylor said Wednesday. "To make the Pro Bowl and all the other awards, I think you're walking a fine line of sending the wrong message."

Well said Jason. It astounds me how arrogant the NFL can be. What other explanation do you have for a guy getting voted into the Pro Bowl after missing 1/4 of the year for failing a steroid test in week 5, thereby telling you that the prior 1/4 of the year was played while under an illegal substance.

Wouldn't you think that if you were nabbed for steroids, you'd, I don't know, automatically lose consideration for post-season awards? I mean do you have to spell that out in the rules? Why isn't that just common sense? If you get caught cheating on a college term paper, you're probably not winning any student of the year awards. I don't really think you need it spelled out in the student handbook to know that.

Full article can be found here.

The Patriots Without Belichick?

I couldn't even begin to tell you how miserable I would be if this is even remotely true.

From ProFootballTalk.com via barstoolsports.com:

A league source tells us that there are emerging rumors in NFL circles
linking Patriots coach Bill Belichick to the New York Giants. The
move, per the rumors, would entail a package deal of Belichick and Pats V.P. of player
personnel Scott Pioli.

We don't buy it. Though Pioli clearly is in
play for the Giants G.M. job (although there could be an effort by New England
ownership to block a move), Belichick won't be coaching the Giants
without the blessing of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. And there's no way in
hell that the Krafts will allow both Pioli and Belichick to escape
from the organization.

Despite some speculation in media circles that Belichick's contract might expire after
2006 (including an oddball shot-in-the-dark by Ron Borges that Belichick could end up with the Texans in
2007), Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe recently
reported that 2006 is
not the final season of Belichicks contract.

I don't even know if I can talk about this coherently. This would be a nightmare. How is this even possible? Would the Bulls have traded Michael Jordan? Would the Twins trade Johan Santana? This astounds me.

Just tell a 5 year old there's no such thing as Santa Claus and look at his reaction. That would be my face with this news.

Lets just move on. Nothing to see here.

UH OH!!!

There are at least 100 Major League Baseball players who are crapping themselves today.

And rightfully so.

Here's hoping there are no Boston Red Sox players on this list. I can't deal with WEEI opening up the "steroids" issue again. Please lord, make it stop!!

Daily Bowl Picks: Emerald Bowl

Thatguysports is now 7-1 ATS and 7-1 O/U on this early college bowl season with another double win last night in the Motor City Bowl.



SEVEN AND ONE!!!!!!!!!

Make some more money tonight on the Emerald Bowl. Florida State is a 3 point underdog to UCLA (O/U of 39).


Bobby Bowden is starting Drew Weatherford over Xavier Lee tonight. Florida State is going to look to run the ball against a very stout rush defense in UCLA. The defensive front 4 for UCLA is phenomenal, arguably the best quartet (love that word) in the country.

UCLA's quarterback is mobile, and that mobility hurt USC in the Bruins upset of the Trojans to end their national title hopes, but I think FSU's defense is as quick as any in the nation and he becomes a non-factor.

I see this being a defensive struggle, but I see Weatherford hitting 6' 6'' Greg Carr for a couple big plays and that will be the difference.

The play: FSU +3. Gun to head O/U: Under. FSU 20 - UCLA 13.

NFL Recap: Week 16

- Eli Manning sucks. I don't mean he's in a slump, or having a bad year, or anything like that. I mean he flat out sucks. He will never win in the NFL. He throws off his back foot if he's pressured, or has all the time in the world. He's inaccurate on deep throws, inaccurate on short throws, and inaccurate on screens. He almost missed a wide-open Plaxico Burress in the first quarter after his defender fell down. That play was 99% Plaxico, and 1% Manning (handling the snap gives him 1/100 of the play. Giants fans everywhere have to throw up in their mouths with this guy. How would Sean Merriman look outside Umenyiora, Kiwanuka, and Strahan right now?

Honestly, how could you respect a teammate with this picture floating around the Internet??

- Yet the Giants still control their own destiny. I hope they make the playoffs. Betting against Manning in a playoff game will be tremendous. Especially because his last name will sway the line at least 3 points in the Giants favor completely undeservedly.

- The Colts will lose in the first round of the playoffs. I don't care if they're playing at home, and I don't care if Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison practice an hour before the game and go over their entire passing tree (gee, haven't heard that story before). They got pounded by the Houston Texans this weekend. Ron Dayne looked like he was back in the Big 10 destroying over-rated college programs again.

- In typical fashion, Peyton Manning was unwilling to take any criticism for the loss. Obviously they're not losing because of him, but how about you get out of the way of your Center and not fall down on a key 4th quarter play.

"It is what it is and we are what we are,'' he said. "It's not like basketball, where guys can play both sides of the ball. You can only control when you're out there.''

I don't see winners like Tom Brady saying stuff like that Peyton. No. He calls out his team, and dumps his supermodel girlfriend just to show them how serious he is. Now that's a leader.

- Parcells was right, Romo has a ways to go.

- Jim Mora Jr is as bad as his old man.

- Anybody else have Denver -3? Would've been nice to push on that one, huh fellas?

- I really enjoy betting against Cleo Lemon and Joey Harrington. Its strangely enjoyable.

- The Patriots - Jaguars game may have been the most dominant 3 point win in NFL history. The Jaguars did nothing offensively all game long, except for one fluke long run and another drive against the Patriots version of a prevent and a missed tackle for a big play.

As El Presidente over at Barstoolsports said in his post-game comments, the NFL has to review the "down by contact" rules. If you destroy the guy trying to block you and he destroys the running back, he's down. End of story.

- Lastly, I'm just not on board with this Baltimore Ravens express. I know they keep pounding teams, and I know they beat the Chargers, but I just can't warm up to Steve McNair and Jamal Lewis....and a seemingly limited Receiving corps.

They beat the Chargers in week 4. Teams at that point don't even know what they have. They needed two defensive touchdowns to beat the Saints. After those two wins, guess how many wins against a playoff team they would have had this year? Zero. Beating up on Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Tennessee (without Vince Young starting mind you) just isn't impressive to me.

I'd love for the Patriots to hit the Ravens in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

That's it for this week folks, thanks for reading.

CMU tonight.

That Guy

Peter King Report, Week 16

Peter King once again astounded me with his "fine 15" this week. Aside from San Diego and Baltimore, nothing that he types makes any sense. New Orleans isn't even the best team in the NFC, yet he's got them at #3 overall. Because they beat a horrendous New York Giants team that is reeling with a very very very bad Quarterback (Eli Manning) right now.

Nowhere did I see any highlights of the Saints Defense. In fact, I would argue that if Manning didn't suck as bad as he did, the Giants would've been able to score some points on Sunday. Eli Manning wasn't throwing off of his back foot because he had to, it was because he legitimately throws off his back foot 90% of the time. He sucks and he stinks and he sucks.

Anyways, I'm not ready to act like the Saints are all that just yet. They got shredded last week by the Redskins at home.

Last week he points out that the Patriots should be concerned that they didn't have much offense against the Texans (nor did they need any), but now he says nobody wants to play them with them on the road. Interesting.

If you want a solid weekly rankings article, check out Cold Hard Football Facts Dominant Dozen and Tepid Twenty. What do you know...the guys at CHFF actually show what teams were ranked LAST week! And some history of who teams beat in prior weeks. Amazing stuff. Not juggling things week in and week out just to make yourself sound like an insider.

College Bowl Season: Free Daily Picks

Motor City Bowl: Central Michigan -7.5 vs Middle Tennessee State. Over/under 51.5.

Both of these teams have actually played some decent competition this year, unfortunately they haven't done very well against them. The MAC is a very underrated conference year in and year out, but don't get caught in the bias because they're on ESPN more than the Sun Belt Conference (Troy narrowly beat MTSU in the championship game, so you know MTSU isn't junk).

That said, I'm going to point to one statistic for this one. MTSU only averages 145.7 yards passing per game. That tells me that they're just too one-dimensional for me. This line opened at CMU -11 and moved nearly 4 points. Don't get caught up in the public opinion on this one, today's play is on the Chippewas laying the 7.5. Even if the line is 8, we still go with CMU.

Gun to head over/under, play the Under.

The Big Unit Leaving the Big City?

ESPN is reporting that the Arizona Diamondbacks are making a play for Randy Johnson. It is believed that they may need to include a 2nd team, and that may be the San Diego Padres.

As a Red Sox fan, I can't say I am happy with this news. Randy Johnson sucks. He gets tattooed like its his job, and his frame is as fragile as an elderly woman with osteo-perosis. Plus, its clear he never really made the transition to New York and just doesn't seem happy. I mean he got into a fight w/ the New York media on his first day.

The possibility of the Yankees trading for bullpen help from the NL West doesn't concern me, but doesn't the freeing up of Johnson's contract just give them the ultimate green light to go after Zito?

NHL Hockey Blog

I know I don't blog about the NHL enough, but with the Boston Bruins beating Montreal the other night, I think I should get my butt in gear. We're approaching the "dead zone" now as there is about 6 weeks left in the NFL season but a full 10 weeks before spring training gets going (Hot Stove Baseball is ok, but not wonderful).

So what better way to re-focus on Hockey than great hockey fighting or taunting videos.

First up: Brian Bellows gets made fun of (one of my favorite videos of all time).



Rob Ray Tunes up a Nordiques Fan who gets on the bench:



Alexander Ovechkin highlights. wow.

Jack Del Rio, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, SHUT UP

Nothing is more annoying than a second rate team, in a second rate city, complaining about a football game and officiating. Check out the Jacksonville press clippings from yesterday.

"When I saw the replay, I had hope because his arm was moving forward,'' Jaguars
coach Jack Del Rio said. "The arm is moving forward, and the ball (was) knocked
out, and that by definition is an incomplete pass. It wasn't ruled that way.
"I don't know that I can do any better job of explaining it. I know what I
saw on replay, and I had hope. It just wasn't ruled that way, so what you have
to do is deal with it and move on.''

Ok, that's something I can sort of agree with. It was a borderline call that I did think would get reversed - but you don't actually think, Jack Del Rio, that you were going to eventually score on that drive, do you? Please. You were toyed with yesterday. You scored on a fluke long run from the second coming of Christ (go ahead and ask Dan Dierdorf, he anointed him as the second coming yesterday during his Maurice Jones-Drew person of the year campaign that got in the way of his announcing the game yesterday) because the Patriots thought he was down, as did half the officials.

You scored a meaningless touchdown against a prevent defense that allowed you to score. Stop bitching about that one play - you weren't going to score to win the game.

And this is even more pitiful:

Del Rio also was unhappy about a challenge he lost in the third quarter, when
the officials ruled that New England's David Thomas made a 22-yard touchdown
catch. Del Rio had time to consider his decision to challenge because safety
Deon Grant injured his hamstring on the play, giving Del Rio time to check the
replays.
"The ball hit the ground, and it moved,'' Del Rio said. "I saw it
on the screen and verified it because we had an injured player, so I had several
looks at it.
"Maybe I'm looking from an angle full of hope. I don't know.
It's clearly not an unbiased view, but we didn't get either of those calls, and
in a close game like that, that didn't help, that's for sure.''

Hey Jack, that ball stuck on his arm the entire time, and it didn't move. You're desperate. You're a joke. Go swing an ax in the locker room.

The Patriots may have just ended your season. Again.

Holiday News and Notes: Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of my readers.

Hopefully you followed me last night and not yesterday during the day. We finished with a 2-4 record for NFL picks, gun to head was much better as it truly was a doggie dog day.

In college, however, another 2-0 with Hawaii and the Under coming in. That gives us a record of 6-1 against the spread, and another 6-1 against the over/under. No college games today.

Some news and notes from yesterday before the Mrs. gets upset with me blogging on Christmas morning.

- Phil Sims is starting to suck. Yesterday during the Cincy-Denver game, he made a statement that once again John Lynch is having a pro-bowl season. Look, John Lynch is IN the pro-bowl. But by no means is he having a pro-bowl season. Some numbers: Zero INT's, 5 passes defended, and 46 solo tackles. in 15 games. You could point to nickel-backs who have the same numbers as Lynch. Love the mark the guy is going to leave on the game of football when he retires, but if anybody thinks he is deserving to go to the Pro-bowl this year, he's out of his mind.

- Charley Casserly already does suck. Look, we get it Charley. You are an "insider." You talk to people. But can you get more of an intro on CBS pregame? Please? Every thing he talked about yesterday started off with: "I talked to ...." 8 for 8. 8 pieces of news, 8 "I talked to." we get it. We obviously don't think you're just making things up. But can a writer on CBS maybe try to work with him on this? I'd even take a "My sources tell me"

- Colt Brennan set the single season NCAA passing TD record last night, and we couldn't be happier. Because Hawaii covered.

- Looking ahead to the NFL playoffs, Miami could be a huge friend for our beloved Patriots. If the Patriots beat Tennessee and Miami knocks off Indianapolis (and believe me, they could), the Patriots will slide into the #3 seed, avoiding San Diego until the AFC title game, and hopefully avoiding Denver in the Wild-card round. I think Denver home vs San Diego is a lock, and I'd like to avoid Denver if possible. Just bad karma going on there.

- About the Colts, if the headline of this story on ESPN.com doesn't sum up Peyton Mannings career, I don't know what will: "Colts can't clinch bye despite Peyton's last record." You can't make this stuff up.



Again, Merry Christmas and I'll be back tomorrow.

Week 16 NFL Picks

Here are my picks for the NFL today. Both full plays, and gun-to-head bets.

Carolina @ Atlanta (-6.5): Carolina is in a free-fall and looks to be without Jake Delhomme again today. Atlanta is fighting for the wild card spot, and Jim Mora, Jr. is fighting for his job. The interesting question is if his own players care. That said, we'll bet on Atlanta -6.5.

Tennessee @ Buffalo (-4.5): Tennessee is a dangerous team with Vince Young, and an improving defense. That said, it came out this week that Vince Young seems both mentally and physically tired after a long season last year playing into January, and the grueling NFL season. I think Young comes back down to earth a little bit this week, and we like the Bills to cover here. They seem to play very well at this time of year - typically because they're out of it by week 8 year in and year out. Buffalo -4.5 is the play.

Chicago @ Detroit (+5.5): While the home dog this year has been a great pick, I think this team is just dreadfully bad. The Chicago D was a little bit embarrassed last week with the comeback that Tampa Bay put on, so look for them to come out fired up to make a statement that they won't be shredded by a questionable Quarterback with limited weapons. The visiting team covers the 5.5 point line today. Chicago -5.5.

Indianapolis @ Houston (+9): Another home dog, but another pitiful team. If the Patriots can wipe the field with Houston with their current state of players I think Indy will cover this number as they know they're playing for a shot at the all-important 1st round bye. Indy -9 here.

Patriots @ Jacksonville (-3): Take the points. New England is looking to make a statement and will have to do it without Vince Wilfork. No firm word yet on Rodney Harrison, but look to be surprised that he may return to the field tonight. I see a lot of 4-3 Defense from the Patriots this week and I think David Garrard will struggle with a Bill Belichick defense. Patriots +3 is the play here.

San Diego @ Seattle (+4): Here's one for the home dog. Seattle comes out with a little to prove today. They put a complete game together and take out LT and the Chargers. A paltry day for Tomlinson ruins every jerk-off fantasy football manager who thinks he is good even though he only had Tomlinson and this is their fantasy championship. So screw you LT owner and SCREW LT. Seattle +4 is the pick.

Gun to head for the remainder games: Baltimore +3.5, Cleveland -3, 49ers -4, Wash +1, Denver -3, Giants -3

Sunday College Bowl Picks

A solid 3-0 ATS on Saturday with a 2-1 "gun to head" over/under finish to the day. Were it not for an injury plagued 2nd half in the ECU-S. Florida game, I think the Over comes in.

Regardless, just one college game tonight, the Hawaii bowl.

Arizona State comes into Hawaii as a 7 point underdog to host Hawaii. Colt Brennan looks to set the NCAA single season touchdown passing record today and to rebound from a loss to another Pac-10 team, Oregon State by 3 points.

Looking at this one, I think these defenses are both evenly bad. Arizona State beat their rival Arizona and it still wasn't enough to keep their coach's job. Today's play is Hawaii -7. Gun to head, I think this game goes under....barely.

Daily Bowl Picks: Saturday's Games

At the time of drafting our picks from Friday don't look so good. At this point, it looks like Major Applewhite the coach is just as good in a bowl game as Major Applewhite the player.

Back on the horse for Saturday. First up, the papajohns.com Bowl between East Carolina and South Florida (-4.5). South Florida beat West Virginia this year, and they're a team that is on the upstart and will get up for a bowl game. I don't know much about ECU, but the win over WVU tells me South Florida is the pick. Also like the over 43.5 for the total play here.

The New Mexico Bowl pitts New Mexico (-3) in a home game against San Jose State. SJ State is 8-3 ATS this year so they're the pick. They played Boise State tough this year, and that's good enough for us. Also play on the under 49.

The final battle of the juggernauts is the Armed Forces Bowl, Utah (-1) vs Tulsa. Over/under is 49. Tulsa has a strong defense but you have to be concerned with level of play with their schedule. I like Utah in this one, as its essentially a pick'em with a 1 point line. Utah beat a good TCU team. Game goes under as well.

Good luck all.

Duke Lacrosse Players Rape Charges Dropped

From the "couldn't see this coming" department, the charges against 3 Duke Lacrosse players were dropped today. Shocker.


Look, as far as I'm concerned this case was over with after the 60 Minutes special on it on CBS. For starters, it was a CBS piece that didn't provide a single "in favor of the victim" part of the story. Not a SINGLE one. Nothing. Not a "this part makes sense" or an "alibi doesn't check out," but one piece after another of evidence supporting innocence.

They repeatedly talked about how the DA used this case as a way to get re-elected. Its amazing to me how long it took the charges to be dropped. Take a look at this piece of the story today:

In dropping the rape charges, Nifong filed court papers that said the
accuser told an investigator Thursday that she is no longer certain whether
she
was penetrated vaginally with the men's penises, as she had claimed
earlier.
Nifong previously said he would rely on the woman's account because
of a lack of
DNA evidence against the players.

So there was no DNA, the girl is an open full fledged prostitute, and they're relying on her WORD as evidence in this case. Do the math fellas, this case isn't going to fly.

If I was a taxpayer in Durham, NC I would be livid that they're even going through the sexual assault and kidnapping charges.

I just wish they'd stop calling her a stripper. Stripper minus bouncer equals hooker.

Pre-weekend Notes

Tough couple nights in a row for me as the 6 day holiday bender started at the C's game on Wednesday. Because it could continue at any point between now and early this afternoon, I'll throw up some pre-weekend notes to get people through what should be a relatively quiet work week.

Jamie Chisholm at Barstool Sports comments on Sports Illustrated's hot women athlete list as voted on by their swimsuit models. I think the models need a mulligan for the list.


NFL Holiday gift list from our friends at Cold Hard Football Facts.

Great Musberger comment by Easy Eddie Silva's buddy CC.

I'm not late to the game to talk about Paul Pierce's injury, I just don't really know what to say about it. Take a high school varsity team that has 1 senior and 11 sophomores and then have that senior get hurt. I can't envision this team making it through the next two weeks anywhere near .500.

Jerry Thornton at barstool sports convinces us to not give up on the Patriots yet.


Thats it for now folks.

College Bowl Season: Daily Picks

Hopefully you jumped on the Mormon's in Vegas last night, as that was the 2nd game that was never in doubt. Our under "gun to head" play also came in, which leaves us at a YTD of 2-0 ATS and 2-0 O/U.

Tonight the bowl game quality takes a little bit of a dip as we have the New Orleans Bowl, Rice (-4) vs. Troy.

Troy plays in just a horrendous conference - the only reason I see them being close with regards to the line, is because they have played good teams tough this year. They are 7-2 against the spread against teams with a winning record.

Rice on the other hand is really a tale of two seasons. Major Applewhite took over as Offensive Coordinator after being the flavor of the month for many NFL practice squads and it took Rice some time to adjust to his new spread option. The wild card tonight is whether QB Chase Clements will play. He's been out for most of the year with a shoulder injury. Rice coaches aren't saying what they plan to do with him, and I'm not sure it matters.

This line opened at Rice -7.5, but early betting has driven it to -4. That early betting was with Clemens not playing at all, but he was medically cleared to play last week.

Thatguysports picks Rice -4 tonight. Over/under opened at 49 but has been pushed to 53.5/54 on most books, and gun to head we'll go Under tonight but not by much. 34-17 Rice.

Ryan Leaf Loves Practice

I hope you watched the BYU-Oregon game tonight. Ryan Leaf may have said one of the most ironic, quietly hilarious things of all time. In the booth talking about his life, trials and tribulations, and of course his brother the Oregon 1/2 QB, Bob Davie brings up how his brother is more known to play well in games, but not so much in practice. Where I come from, thats known as a "gamer" and in fact, somebody you'd probably rather have as your quarterback than the opposite.

Without skipping a beat, Ryan Leaf points how how much he loved practice, for "the competition."

If that doesn't sum up why Ryan Leaf is one of the biggest busts of alltime, I don't know what does. Can't you see Ryan Leaf on a Sunday night in San Diego, perfectly content with losing that afternoon, gearing up to shred the scout team the next day and talk trash?

You seriously can't make this stuff up.

The file name of that picture was "leafconfused." That's hilarious too.

College Bowl Season: Daily Picks

The Pioneer Purevision Las Vegas Bowl between BYU (-3) and Oregon (62.5). One thing is for sure, this game will be way more entertaining than Minnesota/Green Bay tonight.

Oregon has yet to settle on a starting quarterback and are instead leaning towards splitting time between Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf, which we all know always works out well (please read sarcasm).

BYU is legitimately good, have a pretty good pass defense, and they have a very talented Quarterback. Add that to the potential "chip on the shoulder" mentality of them playing a seemingly superior Pac-10 school, and I like the Mormons to cover in Sin city tonight.

Last year they travelled well to Vegas, and this year the word on the street is that they're even better then before.

BYU -3 is the pick, gun to head on the total, under 62.5

Celtics Basketball

Took in the Celtics - Warriors game last night and I have a few thoughts.

- How is Mike Dunleavy a highly paid basketball player? The best I could assess last night, he doesn't pound the glass, barely runs the floor, yells at everybody at all times, never pulls a "my bad" when it was clearly "his bad," refuses to follow his shot, and makes horrendous decisions. Oh and he might spend 60% of his time on the court crying to officials. He is more annoying than when he played for Duke - and that's hard to do.

- The Celtics dancers are the best addition to the Boston sports landscape in my lifetime. And that includes 3 Super Bowl championships and the Red Sox winning the World Series. I can't emphasize this enough. I would pay 5 times the face value of a ticket if the dancers danced the entire game and during time-outs the players played.

- The Celtics have nobody that can shoot except for Paul Pierce, and they all know it. I counted at least 4 times that when Delonte West and Rajon Rondo were on the floor together they passed up runners in the lane to pass to the other so they could penetrate and pass on a runner in the lane. It looked like they were running the Globetrotter weave in the middle of the lane. Oh and one of those times the play ended w/ a shot-clock violation after the ball wound up in Pierce's hands and he was quadruple teamed and couldn't get a shot off.

- Doc Rivers isn't even capable enough to get a technical foul when he 1) clearly needs to to light a fire under his teams ass and 2) the Celtics are getting totally jobbed by the officials.

- The guys behind me were talking about what "Damn Yankees" album is the greatest and they talked about songs that "talked to them," and some album that "was worth buying only for the title." That was fun to listen to.

- And the amateurs in front of us spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if Mike Dunleavy was related to Mike Dunleavy the coach. And where he coaches now. I'm not joking. Corporate fans rule.

- Lastly, Rajon Rondo looks like a Somali refugee. His arms and legs are twigs. No offense intended for any Somali refugees who read thatguysportsblog.

Bill Belichick loves Charley Casserly

You can just feel the venom with this piece from Mike Reiss's blog today. If he hates Casserly this much, can you imagine what festering hatred there is for Polian at the Colts?

Priceless stuff.

On another front, Rodney Harrison was upgraded to Questionable this week. I don't think he plays Sunday, but the fact that he's improving is a fantastic turn of events for this team. My gut is that he'll destroy Vince Young in week 17 to tune up for the playoffs.

Who goes on the bench, Hawkins or Sanders? Part of me prefers two safeties who can kind of hit - so I'd prefer Hawkins on the bench, but I think Sanders would get burned about 10 times in that first playoff game, so who knows.

Remember the safety Eugene Wilson the Patriots used to have?

Are the Indianapolis Colts Serious?

It was mentioned over at the barstoolsports.com message board during the Monday Night Football game against Cincinnati that somebody noticed an "AFC Finalist" banner flying at the RCA Dome.

While I didn't doubt for a second that it could be true, I still had a hard time believing that a professional franchise was promoting losing in a Conference championship game. Its one thing if you put up a banner for AFC Central Champions or something like that - I get that and I suppose its ok. But "AFC Finalist?"

Do you think Peyton Manning points to it during pregame, or talks about it when he meets the rookies just drafted by the Colts. "See that there banner, that's what its all about. Getting to the AFC title game. One of these days, I tell you, I'm going to win that game. Once we change more rules to suit us, like getting rid of being able to run the football, that title is ours."

I mean that banner is pathetic, no? And I know this particular banner is old, but they obviously continue to put it up - because quite frankly, they don't have anything else to put up.

Hopefully you Layed the Points(ettia)

Nice win agains the man last night with TCU never leaving a doubt agains the Huskies of Northern Illinois. I seriously feel bad for Garrett Wolfe after last night. Cleary he is a very talented running back, and I do think he could play the Brian Westbrook role very well at the next level, but last night's game looked like a scout team against the starters, only they made the star running back play for the scout team so that he could "give a good look" to the Defense.

It even reached the comedic point of Northern Illinois "trying a little too hard" like the Rudy types you used to want to kick the crap out of in football practice (que comments relating me to "Rudy").

Still a great win on both the line, and the total. YTD Line: 1-0 YTD O/U: 1-0

We Scooped Them All

I can't resist reminding our readers that on Saturday morning we posted this.

And on Sunday, the Boston Globe had this.

On Monday, the Herald had this.

Again, I point out...we had it on Saturday morning.

That, my friends, is called a SCOOP. This blog started like 2 weeks ago, and we're already beating the Globe and Herald. Whats next, buying ESPN?

Kirk Herbstreit and Nebraska - Wow

Note to self: If you ever meet ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, don't tell him that your buddy "bigfin" is a Nebraska fan.
This video is hilarious. Look at the other host's faces as he goes on and on. You think he stopped but he keeps going.

Credit to my buddy shoota for sending this in.

Is Billy Hunter Serious?

A day after suspensions were handed down from NBA Commissioner David Stern for the incident at MSG the other night, NBA Players Union President Billy Hunter isn't happy about it.

"There's no justification for the 15 games other than the fact that the commissioner clearly wants to send a message."


Ummmmm ok....and? Let me set you straight Billy: Would sending a message be a bad thing? Two years ago you had a full fledged brawl get 10 rows in the stands, and last weekend another fight reached the crowd. Look, your players are clearly not getting it. Even a sport that condones fighting (hockey), has rules that prevent a 3rd man from getting involved. And they have these pieces of fiberglass that prevent the fight from actually spilling into the crowd.

Do you think for a second that if Carmello Anthony suckered Collins at half court and they just piled on top of each other that there would be that much of a suspension? Of course not. But he basically suckered the guy on top of the first row, then Nate Robinson gets tackled into the 4th row and all hell breaks loose.

So go ahead and contest the suspension Billy - get it reduced by an arbitrator, and wait another year, two years, for it to happen again. Only this next time, when a 9 year old kid gets one between the eyes and gets put in the hospital, I hope you can be found liable as well.

Arena Ready for Some Football???

Apparently ESPN just bought a stake in the Arena Football League.

You know what this means. PROMOTIONS!!!!

What a nightmare. I can see it now next week and the week after on Monday Night Football, John Bon Jovi to talk about the Philadelphia Storm; Joe Avezano if he still has a stake in the Dallas Arena franchise; and maybe John Grudens overweight brother (who hung on to his athletic achievements a little too long to be a QB in the Tampa franchise if I remember correctly) will all be trucked in and out of the Monday Night Football booth to promote "who will be the next Kurt Warner" nonsense.

Spare me.

The Arena League isn't even watchable for the most die-hard football fans on the planet (yours truly). Add Stu Scott to the equation and I'll want to slit my wrists.

More on Boston College Head Coach Search

I have good word that the BC head coaching search was over after two interviews, one with Mark Whipple and the other with soon to be Head Coach Jeff Jagodzinski.

Apparently Whipple completely railroaded those that he interviewed with and there was no doubt after interviewing both candidates, the administration at the Heights knew who they were going to hire.

College Bowl Season: Daily Picks

This Bowl season I will be picking each and every game for who I like and why.

Tonight, the Pointsettia Bowl between TCU (-12) and Northern Illinois (O/U 47).

Strength vs Strength with Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois running the ball against the 4th best run defense of the Horned Frogs. I look no further than that.

The Huskies of Northern Illinois lost their quarterback in the 2nd to last game of the season, so I look for TCU to force Northern Illinois to the air. You also can't ignore the fact that TCU is 16-5 against the number in their last 21 games, as well as 8-3 against the number this year and 8-1 against the number against teams with a winning record.

The Pick: TCU -12. Gun to head on the total: Under 47.

Jagodzinski to BC

As reported here last weekend, sources are now saying that Boston College is going to hire Packers Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski as Head Coach next year.

I don't doubt that Jagodzinski is a good coach, and probably a very good offensive mind, but I don't know if he has any name recognition at all. With the success that former 1AA coach Jim Tressel is having at Ohio State, I wonder if the price was too high for Mark Whipple, or perhaps Whipple knows something about the status of Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh that isn't quite "out" yet.

Its no secret how I felt about Tom O'Brien at the Heights. I hope the "Fire TOB" crew realizes now what they may be missing. I can't imagine that hard-core BC fans (if there is such a thing) are 100% happy with this signing. How could they be??? They know nothing about the guy.

Isiah Thomas is Awful

I've waited a couple days to post about the brawl between the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks brawl from Saturday night because it was something I didn't really feel strongly about until now.

George Karl absolutely went off on comments Thomas made to him during and after the melee yesterday.

I have to say, I think Thomas is way off base on this one. Of course, that makes sense as he also told people that the only reason Larry Bird was considered "good" was because he was white. It begs the question, just what does he have to do to be known simply as not a good guy? I mean that much is clear, no? He is absolutely ruining one of the marquee franchises in the NBA after already botching an extremely talented Indiana Pacers team and winning nothing with them. Whenever the Celtics drew a Thomas coached Pacers team in the playoffs, you automatically gave them between 1-2 games just on coaching alone...and its not as if the Celtics had Red on the bench at the time either.

Now Thomas reached a new low. Memo to Isiah: Being up 19 points isn't really a blowout in the "everybody makes a run" NBA. You and your team may suck, but you do have talented shooters who are able to go on a quick streak, and with the...shall we say....potential officiating "bias" towards all things New York, it wouldn't be a stretch for that 19 point lead to be 12 in about a minute.

Of course, Thomas is merely hinting that this would have something to do with the brawl - for my money....Isiah Thomas ordered the hard-foul and incited his team by doing so.

Pitiful....of course, Isiah is a beloved ambassador to the game so it shouldn't surprise anybody that he wasn't disciplined for it. And working in New York doesn't hurt either.

CNNSI's Peter King has Lost his Fastball

For years now Monday Morning Quarterback has been a staple to every real football fan's Monday morning "bathroom break" reading material. King had all the answers for a great column. Usually a hot scoop, nice story, or great insight to the beginning, followed by his episodic bests/worsts/quotes/fine 15, and the "things I think I think" piece.


For the last year or so you had Pedro Martinez-like drops in his velocity. Maybe he goes off on a tangent too often about coffee (every week), or he tells us a LITTLE too much about his daughter's soft-ball team...but today was Pedro's rotator cuff tearing. It was Rick Ankiel being unable to throw the ball to the pitcher. This was the last straw.

So we begin:

8. New England (10-4). A 40-7 win would imply all is well in Patland. All is
better. But 230 yards of offense? Against the league's 28th defense? Good thing
the Pats had incredible field position all day.

OR, they scored virtually at will, and because of that field position they didn't need to get a ton of yards. I mean they ran a screen pass untouched for 50 yards and a touchdown. If the football field is 1,000 yards long, that play gets them the full grand.

Mike Wright, DT; Ellis Hobbs, CB, New England. Symbolic picks from a game that
the Patriots needed to get back on some sort of playoff track. Depth makes
the Patriots a team you can never count out. Pro Bowl-caliber nose man Vince
Wilfork was lost indefinitely last week with a sprained ankle, and Wright, an
undrafted free agent from Cincinnati, plugged the middle well against the run.
He blew up a Houston screen when he burst past center Drew Hodgdon and nailed
David Carr for a 13-yard sack. For the game, Wright had five tackles and a
quarterback pressure in addition to his sack. Hobbs had one interception and a
93-yard kickoff return for touchdown. He's playing a solid opposite side corner
to Asante Samuel.

I'm okay with the Mike Wright portion, but Ellis Hobbs has been benched as a corner for the last month. I realize King isn't from here and probably doesn't watch the Patriots and only the Patriots but as a national NFL reporter, you HAVE to know that. Especially if you know you're going to write about it.

1. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans. The gap narrowed Sunday because Tomlinson
was exquisite and Brees had an off-day. But the standings don't change. I'm not
saying it's impossible they won't change, but I'm still leaning toward Brees on
the basis of many things, one of them being where would the Saints be without
him.
2. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego. What can you say? Brilliant.
Utterly brilliant in the win over Kansas City: 25 carries, 199 yards, two
touchdowns. With two games left, he already has 31 touchdowns.

Just stop being a contrarian. LaDanian Tomlinson is THE MVP this year. He set the scoring record as a RB not a Kicker. Thats ridiculous. He's scored 2 TD's in 5 straight games. He's the most dominant player in the league today, and Drew Brees was stymied at home vs the Redskins in a HUGE game. Stop with the contrarian nonsense Peter. Please.

g. Congratulations, Chad Pennington: 29 of 39 for 339 yards against the Vikes.
That was one heck of a job against a good front seven in the Metrodome.

The Vikings can stop the run...at least their YPG is good. Maybe that's because they can't stop the pass any better than a Freshman football team. If the Patriots WR's light you up - you know your pass defense is terrible.

j. Sunday in the desert, Jay Cutler finally looked like the Jay Cutler Denver
drafted.

Against Arizona. mmmkay?

And I'll end this one with the horrendous statement of the year:

3. I think I have never seen a team that needs a quarterback more than the
Raiders. It's still incredible to me that they passed on Leinart and Cutler to
draft the great Michael Huff. (Note to every scout who ever filled out an
expense account: when you need a quarterback desperately, you never, ever, ever
take a safety instead). And, for the future, let's hope they've learned their
lesson. If Brady Quinn's off the board when the Raiders pick very high in the
first round next April, they absolutely have to take JaMarcus Russell (if the
LSU junior comes out), Ohio State's Troy Smith or Michigan
State's Drew Stanton.

Um, what?

Sunday NFL Recap - Week 15

- First off I'd like to thank the Kansas City Chiefs Defense. I think its difficult for 11 people to have their head wedged up their asses all at once, but the Chiefs managed to do that last night and allow Ladanian Tomlinson an 85 yard touchdown run after they blocked a punt and bone-headedly touched the ball past the line of scrimmage. I would scream at my high school team for that play - is there ANY shock that Herm Edwards looked clueless as to what the call was? Hey Herm, whatever happened to "you play...to win..the game?" You suck pal.

And can the Fantasy owners who have LT please stop fallating themselves? You drafted a guy who is setting records week in and week out...and he's carrying you. I'm going to lose this week in the semi-finals of one of my leagues to a guy who has LT and took Tampa's Defense in the 5th round - as the 2nd defense taken all around. Now you tell me, does he have a clue, or did he just fall ass-backwards into a championship because LT is just unstoppable and the Chargers ensure he gets 2 TD's a game?

- Redskins over Saints in New Orleans, with the Saints playing for home field. How do you figure???

- As mentioned this past week, of course the Patriots are dominant the weekend after Tom Brady not only calls out his teammates for losing focus, but shows them how serious he is by kicking his broad to the curb. Patriots in the Super Bowl, mark it down.

- Did anybody happen to catch the NFL network's coverage after the Dallas-Atlanta game on Saturday night? DeAngelo Hall does his interview where he says TO spit on him, and the NFL Network crew rips TO up one side and down the other. Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders go into how they would have been kicked out of the game for their retaliation to that, its an affront to your manhood, etc.

Go to commercial, who's on the panel - TO himself! And Deion Sanders is buddy buddy with him, as if it never happened. Unreal. Spineless, really.

- Don't look now, but if the Colts don't win tonight, there's a very good defense in Miami staring them in the face in week 17. Wouldn't it be something to see the all-time greatest team on earth (media) as a 4 seed in the playoffs?

- The Jeff Triplett watch found us in San Diego last night - no shock to anybody that there was a confusing call or 5 in the first half. Triplett is so unsure of himself that it looks like he's cold even when he's in a warm climate. He fascinates me.

- Tim Rattay and Ike Hilliard carved up the Bears Defense in crunch-time yesterday, and I'm supposed to believe the Bears (or anybody in the NFC) will give the AFC entry in the Super Bowl a game of it? Please.

- Heading into tonight's "fantasy game of the week" between the Colts and Bengals, ThatGuy needs this to win both of his semi finals: 200 yards and 3 TD's from Chad Johnson, 100 yards and 1 TD from TJ Houshmandzadeh, 100 yards and 2TD's from Ben Utecht, and 100 yards and 1 TD from Joseph Addai OR Dominick Rhodes (Oh and we need one of those two to get hit by a bus on the way into the stadium so they don't split carries tonight).

Needless to say, it doesn't look good.