Sunday, October 30, 2011

NFL picks week 8

Running late on time, here are this weeks picks.

Titans 27, Colts 16
Saints 38, Rams 13
Giants 31, Dolphins 10
Vikings 30, Panthers 23
Ravens 37, Cardinals 9
Texans 23, Jaguars 17
Bills 27, Redskins 17
Patriots 38, Steelers 34
49ers 30, Browns 7
Seahawks 16, Bengals 13
Broncos 23, Lions 21
Cowboys 31, Eagles 30
Chargers 27, Chiefs 23

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Friday, October 28, 2011

World Series Thoughts

I'm still trying to process through what actually happened in that baseball game last night. For the first 6 innings, it was one of the sloppiest games I've ever seen. It was very apparent the nerves were at an all time high for the majority of the players. Pop ups being dropped, routine ground balls bobbled, double plays botched, it seemed as if everything that could go wrong was going to go wrong for both teams. Then something completely improbable, yet perfectly foreseeable happened. The Rangers entered the 9th inning with a two run lead, were two outs away from their first world series, and the bases were still empty. Albert Pujols was a combined 0-16 in every game other than game 3, and he was at the plate. Even with all of this, you had the feeling the game was far from over; and why not? The Cardinals were 10 1/2 games out of first place with a month left in the season and somehow made the playoffs. They were down 2 games to 1 in the division series against the best team in baseball, the Phillies, and somehow came back to win that series. There is something about this team that just won't allow them to lose, and it showed again last night. Pujols hits the double, Berkman walks, Craig strikes out, and with two strikes David Freese hits a two run triple to tie the game. Then in the 10th, the Rangers go up two runs again, and again the Cardinals come back to tie the game when they were down to their last strike. By the time the 11th inning came around, it was obvious the Cardinals were winning this game, setting up a game 7 in one of the best world series I've seen.

A few thoughts on last night's game:
First of all, Nelson Cruz should be flat out embarrassed. For the 2nd time in this series, he made a pathetic effort on a fly ball that changed the game. In game 1, he slid on his butt instead of diving for a ball that would've been the 3rd out of the inning and preserved a tie game. Instead, he missed it by sliding, allowing the go ahead and ultimately winning run to score. Last night, on the triple by Freese to tie the game, Cruz should've caught the ball. He had a good enough jump on it, and plenty of time to get back and make the catch without having to do anything spectacular. Instead, it was obvious he got scared of running into the wall, slowed down and made a pathetic jumping stab that wasn't close to the ball. Texas should've been celebrating a world series victory, and instead they were tied, with the Cardinals having gained all momentum. I don't care how scared Cruz was of the wall, it's game 6 of the World Series for crying out out, he should've ran through that wall before he let up the way he did. If the Rangers lose tonight, Nelson Cruz should be the #1 culprit for the Rangers, followed closely by culprit #2...

...Ron Washington. The Rangers manager has made a lot of smart moves in the playoffs thus far, but last night he made too many mistakes.There were three major mistakes last night that helped cost the Rangers this game

First mistake - having Napoli batting 7th. Mike Napoli is easily the MVP for the Rangers in this series, and showed so again last night by reaching base five times. Putting him behind Beltre and Cruz is a mistake, however. Beltre and Cruz are both power hitters, and where they hit in the lineup isn't as important as a good situational hitter. Napoli has been able to do anything the Rangers have needed, while Cruz and Beltre, while hitting a home run occasionally, have consistently failed to advance runners in critical situations. Last night, in the first inning, Rangers scored one run when they should've had at least two or three. with nobody out and runners on first and third, Napoli would've found a way to drive in a run. Instead you have back to back strikeouts and a groundout to end the inning, with Napoli never even getting the chance to bat in the inning. The best player on your team shouldn't be batting 7th. Period.

Second mistake - Not pinch hitting for Colby Lewis in the 5th inning. Rangers were clinging to a one run lead with the bases loaded and two out in top of the 5th. Colby Lewis was due up to bat. As an AL pitcher in the league with the DH, Lewis had only a total of 16 plate appearances since coming into the majors in 2002. 13 plate appearances in 10 years, with only three hits mind you. Yes the game was only in the 5th inning, but if the Rangers get a big hit in this situation, it could've changed the entire game. Instead, Washington leaves in Lewis to hit, he strikes out, and one inning later, he is pulled from the game anyway. Bad decision

Third mistake - Not leaving Holland in to finish the game. Derek Holland has been the one great pitcher in this series for the Rangers. He pitched a masterpiece in game 4, and was brought in last night with the game tied and bases loaded. After getting out of that inning, he was staked to a 7-4 the next inning after back to back home runs. Holland should've been left in to finish out the game. He hadn't allowed a run in the series up to that point, and he looked like the one player out there who wasn't terrified of the situation. Instead of leaving him to finish, Washington pulls him out after allowing a solo home run in the 8th inning. I believe Holland would've finished off the win, and the Rangers would be celebrating. Instead, the Rangers are facing a game 7 and Holland most likely is not going to be available because of the two innings he pitched in game 6.

Now, with all of this being said, I can not wait to watch game 7 tonight. This has been the best World Series I have personally watched. I can only hope game 7 lives up to the rest of the series. Everything that has happened tells me to pick the Cardinals tonight. With all that happened in game 6, how can you deny that the Cardinals seem to have destiny on their side. They have risen from the ashes so many times, it seems only fitting they would finish it off. On the other side, after the epic collapse last night, the Rangers could be completely shot emotionally. They had chance after chance to finish off St. Louis and couldn't do it. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Cardinals come out tonight and not only win, but dominate this game. All logical evidence points towards that happening. However...

I am picking the Rangers to come back from the emotional defeat of game 6 and become the first road team to win a game 7 since 1965. It's more of a gut feeling than a logical pick, but that's what I'm going with.

Rangers 7, Cardinals 6.
MVP - Mike Napoli

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Thursday, October 27, 2011

NCAA picks week 9

Next week I will have my own Heisman rankings and BCS bowl picks, which will be a part of my weekly picks from here on out.

Thursday, October 27th
#17 Houston 51, Rice 24

Friday, October 28th
TCU 34, BYU 17 - BYU has actually played better on the road than they have at home, but I think that changes tomorrow night at Cowboy stadium.

Saturday, October 29th
#3 Oklahoma St 41, Baylor 27
#5 Clemson 31, Georgia Tech 17
#6 Stanford 34, USC 27
#7 Oregon 52, Washington St 13
#9 Oklahoma 44, #8 Kansas St 27
#10 Arkansas 34, Vanderbilt 13
#11 Michigan St 27, #14 Nebraska 13
#12 Virginia Tech 37, Duke 17
#13 South Carolina 31, Tennesee 25
#15 Wisconsin 27, Ohio St 13
#16 Texas A&M 44, Missouri 31
#18 Michigan 38, Purdue 17
#19 Penn St 17, Illinois 13
#20 Texas Tech 38, Iowa St 17
#21 Arizona St 48, Colorado 10
Florida 27, #22 Georgia 23
#23 Auburn 31, Ole Miss 17
#24 Texas 34, Kansas 20
Rutgers 34, #25 West Virginia 31

Utah 31, Oregon State 17 - I have no faith in Utah's offense right now, but Oregon State's defense is bad enough that it should help the Utes gain some type of consistency. They better hope so, because if they lose at home to Oregon State, their season is officially an embarrassment, even with losing the starting qb. 

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Saturday, October 22, 2011

NFL picks week 7

After another terrible college week, I'm counting on my pro picks to save me. I went 12-1 last week, and need another good week to stay above 75% on the year. Here goes:

Broncos 27, Dolphins 13
Buccaneers 24, Bears 16
Lions 31, Falcons 23
Browns 27, Seahawks 24
Texans 23, Titans 20
Jets 23, Chargers 17
Panthers 27, Redskins 23
Raiders 34, Chiefs 17
Steelers 27, Cardinals 17
Cowboys 41, Rams 16
Packers 37, Vikings 13
Saints 42, Colts 17
Ravens 34, Jaguars 13

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Friday, October 21, 2011

NCAA picks week 8

Friday, October 21st
#15 West Virginia 38, Syracuse 21

Saturday, October 22nd
#1 LSU 41, #20 Auburn 17
#2 Alabama 38, Tennessee 12
#3 Oklahoma 51, Texas Tech 27
#4 Oklahoma St 44, Missouri 28
#5 Boise St 45, Air Force 17
#6 Wisconsin 31, #16 Michigan St 17
#7 Clemson 27, North Carolina 20
#8 Stanford 38, #25 Washington 24
#9 Arkansas 41, Ole Miss 9
#10 Oregon 44, Colorado 13
#11 Kansas St 48, Kansas 21
#12 Virginia Tech 37, Boston College 13
#13 Nebraska 31, Minnesota 13
#17 Texas A&M 48, Iowa St 21
#19 Houston 51, Marshall 24
#21 Penn St 23, Northwestern 20
#22 Georgia Tech 31, Miami 27
#23 Illinois 17, Purdue 13

Utah 27, California 13
BYU 41, Idaho St 17
Utah St 48, Louisiana Tech 31

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Sunday, October 16, 2011

NFL picks week 6

5 minutes before games starting, gotta hurry.

Falcons 31, Panthers 30
Bengals 27, Colts 13
49ers 23, Lions 20
Packers 41, Rams 13
Giants 34, Bills 30
Steelers 31, Jaguars 10
Eagles 31, Redskins 27
Raiders 27, Browns 17
Ravens 34, Texans 17
Patriots 37, Cowboys 34
Saints 41, Buccaneers 27
Bears 27, Vikings 17
Jets 31, Dolphins 21

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Thursday, October 13, 2011

NCAA picks week 7

Saturday, October 15th

#1 LSU 38, Tennessee 13
#2 Alabama 44, Ole Miss 3
#3 Oklahoma 62, Kansas 17
#4 Wisconsin 48, Indiana 10
#5 Boise St 51, Colorado St 17
#6 Oklahoma St 54, #22 Texas 24
#7 Stanford 41, Washington St 17
#8 Clemson 37, Maryland 28
#9 Oregon 38, #18 Arizona St 28
#23 Michigan St 34, #11 Michigan 31
#12 Georgia Tech 45, Virginia 12
Mississippi St 24, #15 South Carolina 20
Ohio St 23, #16 Illinois 21
#17 Kansas St 44, Texas Tech 38
#19 Virginia Tech 23, Wake Forest 20
#21 Texas A&M 41, #20 Baylor 40
Florida 26, #24 Auburn 23

Pittsburgh 24, Utah 20 - I believe the Utes are the better team in this matchup, but until they prove they can eliminate the turnovers I can't buy into them. That plus the early morning start time in the Eastern time zone gives the edge to the Panthers.

Oregon St 27, BYU 24 - I don't think either team is any good, but since the game is in Corvallis, advantage Beavers.

Utah St 38, Fresno St 34

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Friday, October 7, 2011

Week 5 NFL Picks

I went 11-5 last week, so my record continues to stay right about the 75% mark, but I want to improve on that, so let's see how this week goes.

Eagles 31, Bills 27
Colts 24, Chiefs 20 - The Colts hurt themselves in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes by winning at home against their top competitor
Cardinals 27, Vikings 24
Giants 34, Seahawks 16
Steelers 20, Titans 17
Saints 31, Panthers 20
Bengals 24, Jaguars 20
Raiders 27, Texans 24
Buccaneers 24, 49ers 17
Chargers 34, Broncos 21
Patriots 31, Jets 20
Packers 38, Falcons 24
Lions 27, Bears 23


Til Next Time,
Dallas

NCAA picks week 6

Friday, October 7th
#5 Boise St 41, Fresno St 17

Saturday, October 8th
#1 LSU 24, #17 Florida 13
#2 Alabama 41, Vanderbilt 6
#3 Oklahoma 34, #11 Texas 17 - I would love to see Texas win, but I think they are the most overrated team in the top 25 and don't see them making this a close game.
#6 Oklahoma St 38, Kansas 17
#7 Stanford 41, Colorado17
#8 Clemson 34, Boston College 9
#10 Arkansas 41, #15 Auburn 27
#12 Michigan 37, Northwestern 23
#13 Georgia Tech 44, Maryland 24
#14 Nebraska 27, Ohio St 3
#16 West Virginia 34, Uconn 20
#18 South Carolina 41, Kentucky 17
#19 Illinois 31, Indiana 13
Missouri 31, #20 Kansas St 30
#21 Virginia Tech 34, Miami 17
Utah 24, #22 Arizona St 21 - Yes I'm biased, but I really do think the Utes pull this off. They will eliminate the turnovers from last week while their defense will force Brock Osweiler to make mistakes. Norm Chow will call a game plan that will play to Jon Hays strengths, and the Utes will pull off the upset of the Sun Devils.
#23 Florida St 34, Wake Forest 21
#24 Texas A&M 48, Texas Tech 44
#25 Baylor 38, Iowa St 23

BYU 38, San Jose St 17
Utah St  31, Wyoming 24

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Conundrum that is Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos have a problem. The Denver Broncos have many problems, actually, but one of the biggest issues at the moment is Tim Tebow, the most scrutinized and debated backup quarterback in the history of the NFL. The problem Denver has is that Tebow is not their starter, but the fans want him to be, and the media asks questions about him every single day. Players and coaches are beyond sick of hearing about him, and I'm sure Tebow himself wishes a solution could be found.

Good news Denver, I have the solution for you: get rid of Tebow.

Tebow being on the bench as the backup quarterback (or 3rd or 4th string) is a winning situation for nobody other than ownership who is still making big bucks off all the merchandise that Tebow alone is responsible for. That is not worth keeping him around if he isn't going to play. New head coach John Fox has clearly decided that Tebow is not his guy, so why keep him on the team? By trading Tebow, you will be able to at least get something out of him in return, and it will allow the rest of the team to focus solely on football. The fans will be outraged at first, but all fans really care about is winning, so if trading Tebow helps you do that, the fans will get over it rather quickly. This also allows Tebow to move on and get a chance to play somewhere else.

OR

An even better solution: make Tim Tebow your starter for the rest of this season.

No offense Broncos fans, but your team is going nowhere this season, no matter who is playing quarterback. John Fox has a way to solve his quarterback problem while making the fans happy at the same time. No coach or player wants to admit that their season is lost, but if Denver loses this week to the Chargers and drop to 1-4 heading to their bye week, Fox needs to admit to himself that they aren't winning this season.

Kyle Orton is not the long term solution for any football team. He might be a great practice player, I don't know, but I do know that he has been in the league for 7 years now, and he has done nothing to prove that he can lead a team anywhere but mediocrity. He has a career 79.7 passer rating, which isn't very good, especially for someone in the league as long as he's been in. He already has 8 turnovers this season, to go along with 8 touchdowns, although 2 touchdowns came when the game had already been decided. Orton might be fantastic in practice, but in gametime situations, especially in clutch time and the redzone, he has failed to show that he can come through.

Enter Tim Tebow. If Denver is 1-4 heading into the bye week, they need to make the switch to Tebow. That gives them 11 weeks to see what he can do. Either he is just as bad as Coach Fox obviously thinks he is, which the fans will be able to see and get off the Broncos back about, or he'll be the leader this team needs. In either case, the Broncos will have a solution to their problem, either keep Tebow as the starter, or get rid of him and go looking for a quarterback in the draft. By playing Tebow, Fox will see what he can do in games, not just practice, and if it's not good enough, just get rid of him. Like I said before, Kyle Orton is the future for no team, and if Denver thinks he is, and signs him to a long term contract, they have more problems than I thought. For Broncos fans and players, hopefully there is some resolution soon. Otherwise a very long season will be made even longer.

Til Next Time,
Dallas

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Week 4 NFL picks

My NFL picks are definitely going better than my college picks at this point, and after the day I had today with my college teams, I'm hoping the NFL can cheer me up tomorrow. I am going with a few upsets this week, and by the end of the day we will only have one team left undefeated.

Cowboys 27, Lions 24
Bears 24, Panthers 13
Bengals 27, Bills 24
Browns 20, Titans 13
Vikings 23, Chiefs 17
Redskins 24, Rams 13
Saints 41, Jaguars 13
Texans 27, Steelers 23
Eagles 24, 49ers 13
Giants 24, Cardinals 21
Falcons 31, Seahawks 17
Chargers 27, Dolphins 13
Raiders 35, Patriots 31
Packers 37, Broncos 17
Ravens 23, Jets 13
Buccaneers 31, Colts 13

Til Next Time,
Dallas