OSU - Michigan Wrapup

Before we can go over the game, we must discuss those hideous uniforms. But do not take fashion advice from me, so I wont write about about how bad they looked. I felt like it was gimmick, something more suitable for a program like Oregon, not the tradition rich Buckeyes (ask Georgia coach Mark Richt what he thinks about those gimmick black uniforms - they have gotten blown out each of the last 2 seasons while their non- traditional Black uniforms). Where were the Buckeye Leaves on the helmets? How could I cheer for Ohio State when I seriously thought it was NC State playing? I also felt like it was disrespectful to the rivalry, this gimmick is something that you can do against Toledo not your most hated rival. Michigan even though they are down right now, is still an elite program. This was nothing more than a cash grab by the richest athletic department in the NCAA. Thanks for ruining the OSU-UM game, Gene Smith.

To the action on the field, OSU scored a defensive touchdown early and kept the pressure up all game. The offensive line has come together in the month of November, as Brandon Saine, Boom Herron, and Terrelle Pryor ran the ball very well. A Devon Torrence interception in the endzone pretty much sealed the deal. I felt like Michigan did some good things, but Rich Rodriguez and Tate Forcier outsmarted themselves as they tried to do too much. To anybody saying that this is no longer a rivalry, I say this: 50 years from now, nobody will care that Ohio St went to the Rose Bowl (unless it is some miracle game such as the 1997 Rose Bowl) they will remember Ohio State has won 6 straight against Michigan for the 1st time. Michigan ruined so many OSU seasons during the Cooper era, we have a long way to go to pay them back. This game may not matter as much nationally, and I am fine with that. Any supporter of Ohio State and Michigan knows that this is the most important game each year. By the way, after 6 straight wins Ohio State still trails Michigan in the total rivalry 57-43-6. Jim Tressel may continue to lose games against top 10 opponents and BCS games, but he is 8-1 against Michigan and he will have a job as long as he wants as Ohio States head coach as long as his football teams continue to beat Michigan.

As for Michigan, where do you go from here? No bowl game for 2 straight seasons. Good program, good coach, wrong fit. For a program not used to losing, they have to give RichRod patience as he builds his program. However, anything less than 9-3 and a win in Columbus next year and I believe he is gone. The thing I do not understand is, what happened to all of the talented players? Its not like he left the cupboard bare. This is Michigan, they have talent. In my opinion, that is the head coach just being too stubborn and trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Michigan needs to get back to being an elite program to save the reputation of the Big 11.

The Buckeyes Rose Bowl trip is certain, but the opponent is yet to be determined. I have to be honest, I am nervous about the prospects of playing Oregon. Certainly, Ohio State will be the best defense Oregon will face but an offense that good will score points. If we hold Oregon in the 20s, Ohio State can win, but if Oregon scores 30 or more we will lose with Tressel's conservative style of coaching.

Week 11 NFL Picks

It doesnt look like I will be able to do a football Friday update this week. But, that might be a good thing considering how my picks have been doing. It has been noted by several fans that my picks have been terrible, most especially my Stone Cold Steve Austin Lead Pipe Locks. So, this week we go to the sports book and I am going to pick each game against the spread and give confidence points to each game on the slate this weekend (With 16 games being played this weekend, I will give 16 pts to the team I feel most confidently will cover, and 1 being the team I feel least confident in).

Lines courtesy of Danny Sheridan:

16. Minnesota -10.5 vs. Seattle. Seattle will not have a chance as Peterson will run over them, and Favre will sling it around. Look for the pash rush to get after Hasselbeck.
15. Cincinnati -9.5 @ Oakland. Certainly the Bengals have a let down or 2 left in them, but I watched Bruce Gradkowski in Cleveland a year ago, who is starting at QB for Oakland, and the Bengals will load up the box and dare the Raiders to beat them passing the ball and I dont think they have it in them.
14. Pittsburgh -10 @ KC. KC was able to run the ball last week against Oak, I dont think they will have similar success against the Steelers
13. Indy -1 @ Baltimore. I like Peyton to keep it going agains ta banged up Ravens D.
12. Arizona -9 @ St. Louis. St. Louis covered last week @ home against New Orleans, dont you think I would learn my lesson? No, the answer is I am a sucker for going against these bad teams.
11. Dallas - 11 vs. Washington. Dallas has looked good lately and Washington didnt impress anybody by beating stumbling Denver after a bye week. Ill give them points.
10. San Diego +3 @ Denver. Denver is stumbling right out of the playoffs as SD races past them. Maybe LT will show up for 2 games in a row?
9. NO - 11 @ TB. Lots of double digit road favorites worry me. But the Saints are good, and while Josh Freeman has looked like the QB of the future, hes bound to have a bad game and the Saints D feasts off turnovers.
8. Detroit -3.5 vs. Cleveland. If the Browns score a TD will anybody see it? This battle of 1 win wonders should be a thriller, but I see Detroit being able to score enough to beat the Browns.
7. Jax -9 vs. Buf. Buffalo just fired there coach and I like the Jags.
6. Jets +10.5 @ NE. Dont get me wrong I think the Pats should win this game, but 4 out of the Jets 5 losses have been by 4, 3, 5, and 2.
5. NYG -6.5 vs. Atl. Each week it seems like Atlanta is playing a tough opponent. I like the rested GMen
4. Carolina -3 vs. Miami (Thursday night). I will take the suddenly surging Panthers and give the 3 against the banged up Dolphins in a game that noone will see, thanks to the NFL network.
3. Chicago +3 vs. Philadelphia. Philly has been inconsistent so it wont suprise me if they win, but with the extra rest, Jay Cutler will find a way to not throw as many INTs.
2. SF +6.5 @ GB. I think Rodgers is better than Cutler so there wont the QB wont give the game away in this 1, but protection has been horrible all year for GB. With the extra days off, I think Singeltary finds a way to pressure Rodgers and keeps this 1 close.
1. Houston -4 @ Tennessee (Monday Night). The Titans offense has come alive with Vince Young under center. I think there will be a shootout. I am betting against the red hot team, but not a ton of confidence here.

Feel free to play against me, we will grade how I did next Tuesday out of a possible 136 points

Kenny Powers

Kenny Powers is the BEST. Here are some of my personal favorite quotes:

"Im just your average American, with extraordinary hair."
"Alright, so let me get this straight. So I gotta pay for a blow job, and I gotta pay for a fuckin' hotel room too? Well that seems like I'm spending too much money for nothin' I got a house. You can just get your ass over and we could just do the blow job here. And can I wear the 'SCREAM' mask? The mask from 'SCREAM' while I do you from behind. "
"I've been blessed with many things in this life: an arm like a damn rocket, a cock like a burmese python, and the mind of a fucking scientist."
My personal favorite:
"A lot of people ask me, 'Kenny Powers, you're a giant superstar. You can get any woman. Have you ever paid for sex?' And the answer is yes, I have. Several times, in fact. And it's actually kinda cool. You can negotiate practically anything and sometimes, even just kind of do stuff in the moment that you never agreed to pay for and it goes by without much argument."

Leave your own Kenny quotes or favorite scenes

Football Friday

Another exciting weekend of college and pro football on the docket.

A look at the college games reveals an exciting game today, under the Friday night lights, between West Virginia and Cincinnati. I think this could be one of the most exciting games of the weekend and I will be watching to see how Cincy plays their QBs, but I think this will be a close game. Of the remaining unbeaten teams, Cincinnati certainly has the toughest remaining schedule.

Iowa is visiting the Horseshoe this weekend and I fully expect a blowout. Iowa has struggled to run the football in all their games and without QB Stanzi I expect OSUs defense to force Iowa to tap out early in the game. OSU will wake up Sunday morning smelling Roses....

UPSET ALERT - Bama travels to Mississippi St and while I do not anticipate a loss, the blueprint has been made as to how to stop Bama - load up the box and slow down the running game while their QB McElroy throws INTs. Against Florida, Mississippi Sts inability to score was its problem, maybe they find a way to score and make this an interesting game.

BLOWOUT ALERT - The 1 team Urban hates more than Georgia is South Carolina. He hates Spurrier and his Visor. Florida will be able to find its offense and dominate SC.

SHOCKER SPECIAL - Teams coming off byes this year are 14-10, including several near misses. I like the Cleveland Browns to win on Monday Night for 2 reasons. 1st, they played very well a year ago in all the prime time games, I expect that to continue. And 2nd, the Browns always play the Browns, err Ravens, tough in Cleveland just like they play Pittsburgh tough at Pitt. Browns will keep hope alive and win on Monday.

Pittsburgh plays the Bengals and the first time these 2 teams played was an exciting come from behind win for Cincinnati. I expect the Steelers to be ready for this game and beat Cincinnati as they have looked much better defensively with Polomalu. Big Ben always makes plays and rarely do the Steelers lose to a team 2 times in the same season. The Steelers are positioning themselves for a post season run.

Certainly the game of the day has to be KC @ Oak. I like KC to win the game.

The actual game of the day was going to be my lock of the week but I am backing off it. The Pats play the Colts in what should be a thriller and they are playing on prime time for all the nation to see. Peyton has been brilliant this season, but the offense seems to in the past 2 wins. The Pats, on the other hand, have been building off of a slow start. I like the Pats to win in Indy and end the Colts perfect season.

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN LEAD PIPE LOCK - The Saints travel to St. Louis on Sunday to play the Rams. The line is a puny -13.5. The Rams have been complete dogs all year and things wont change. The line could be Saints -27.5 and Id still make this my lock of the week.

As always, enjoy the action.

Mid Season NFL predictions

So NFL is at mid season and since I didnt get to officially blog my preseason predictions, I figured I would post my mid season projections.

AFC East - Patriots
AFC North - Bengals
AFC South - Colts
AFC West - San Diego
Wild Card - Pittsburgh
Wild Card - Houston

Breakdown - For the record, I picked the Bengals to win the AFC North before the season so I am going to stick with my prediction here even though I can see the Steelers over taking the Bengals in the division but I foresee both teams making the playoffs. I also had the Colts out of the playoffs, whoops! I think the Colts and Pats have a strangle hold on their divisions, and I foresee Denver falling out of the playoffs as the Broncos falter down the stretch as the Chargers get hot.

AFC Championship - Patriots over Steelers

NFC East - Cowboys
NFC North - Vikings
NFC South - Saints
NFC West - Arizona
Wild Card - Philadelphia
Wild Card - Green Bay

Breakdown - the East is the only real toss up, as I definitely foresee the Cowboys as paper tigers but nevertheless I will predict them to win the division and lose in the 1st round of the playoffs. The Saints and Vikings have the bye weeks just about locked up. I will believe in Green Bay as a wild card even though they just lost to Tampa Bay but I can not foresee 3 teams from the NFC East making it this year because every team is down.

NFC Championship - Saints over Vikings

Super Bowl 44 Saints over Patriots.

NFL MVP - Peyton Manning. Is there any question that the Colts win every week because Peyton is playing on a level above everyone else. Peyton wins over Drew Brees because Brees has had more help from his defense to overcome some big deficits and Brees has also made more mistakes. For the record, I think we are going to see the Patriots of 2007 in the second half of the season with a healthy Brady.

Comeback player of the year - Since the MVP rarely goes to any position other than QB, I decided to give some love to Cedric Benson. What a year he has had in 8 games. He truly has turned his career around. Good for you, Cedric.

"With the 1st Pick.... St. Louis!" St. Louis is who everyone thought they were...bad. But they have plenty of competition but I believe the Browns will win 2 games in the 2nd half of the season. Maybe even one on Monday night??? Maybe KC or the Lions?

Lets see how close I can get...

Weekend Wrapup

As pointed out by some of my fans, my predictions took a hit this weekend. So before I recap the action from Saturday and Sunday I will pick the Monday nighter:
Ill take Denver +3 and a special bonus ill take the under (41.5).

The Bama-LSU game lived up to the hype. While the 24-15 final was more points than I had predicted, it was a defensive battle and an LSU interception that never happened adds more to the conspiracy theorists that the SEC is fixing games.

OSU defensive line showed up on Saturday as Cameron Heyward embarrassed Penn Sts left guard. With Iowa's shocking loss, the OSU-Iowa showdown at the Shoe is for a trip to the Rose Bowl. With these games, I do not know what to believe about the state of the Big 11. I want to believe that it is strong, but I just dont see it.

BOOM! Outta here Chuck Weis. Go away and take RichRod with you.

My College Football top 5
1. Bama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Cincy
5. TCU

To the NFL:
The Packers are now the worst team in the NFL, as they lost to the Bucs who by the way wore the throwbacks. Keep the throwbacks on, Bucs....

The Ravens really didnt show up. Maybe its the Bengals really did show up. The Bengals look tough as they are 6-2 and Cedric Benson is running like a man possessed.

The Bears are who the Cardinals thought they were as they got rolled. Who would have guessed that Bears fans would have begged to have Kyle Orton back?

Lastly, the Panthers tried to follow through on my upset special, but the Saints are too good as they continue to prove that they can overcome any obstacle and they improved to 8-0.

NFL Power Rankings
1. Saints
2. Colts
3. Vikings
4. Patriots
5. Bengals.
32. Browns!

Football Friday

Another great weekend ahead packed with very good games. Headlined by LSU @ Alabama. Alabama is a team I have been very high on all year. But I expect this game to be a battle, with 2 very good defenses and 2 quarterbacks prone to turning the ball over. Not sure what the over/under line is but 10 points might be too high as Alabama wins 6-3.

Another defensive battle will be taking place in State College, PA. The Buckeyes have such a great defense, it would not surprise me if they win. However, at the rate in which Pryor turns the ball over and without our kicker I do not see the Buckeyes generating enough points to win the game. I will take Penn St. 17-7.

I have had Florida on upset alert all season. But not against Vandy as the romp will be on, even without the eye gouger, as Tebow can smell the Heisman. Iowa is the team I should have had on upset alert as they consistently play in an exciting game every weekend. They could be looking ahead to Ohio St next weekend, but I don't think they lose to Northwestern. I do not for see any major upsets this weekend, so you know that means that Saturday will have upsets galore.

I do not know how the NFL will go on without the Browns in action on Sunday, at least we may get to see some competitive games.

The Cardinals come east as they play the Bears at 1pm. They do not have a good history playing at 1pm, but the bears are still who Denny Green thought they were and this time the Cards wont let them off the hook, I will take the Cards and the 3 points.

Peyton Manning is having a tremendous season. The Colts are off to another undefeated start. Houston comes in to Indy never winning a game in Indy and only beating the Colts 1 time in their franchises 14 tries. I like the Colts, Ill give the 9 points as the Colts continue to roll.

The Ravens play the Bengals in what could be the game of the day. Anyone who watched the 1st meeting between these 2 teams can not figure out why the Ravens are giving 3 points on the road when the Bengals are coming off a bye and beat the Ravens on the road. And Cedric Benson has been running the ball like a mad man and ran for over 100 yards in Baltimore. So you know what this means? Vegas knows more than I do and I trust Vegas. Ill take the Ravens and give the 3.

2 Games I will take the points: Miami +10 in New England and Carolina +13 in New Orleans. Miami has been running the wildcat perfectly and it goes back to where it started a season ago. Does it die here? No, and I think the Pats overcome a Dolphins lead late and win by 3. As for the Saints, they had a tough divisional game on Monday Night in which they opponent ran all over the field. The Saints D can cause turnovers but I think the Panthers will run the ball more than Woody Hayes would. I am calling for the upset, as the Saints are no longer perfect.

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN'S LEAD PIPE LOCK: Packers -9.5 @ TB. The Pack has feasted on below average teams. TB is well below average. The Packers will embarrass the Bucs 34 - 9 as they recover from a beatdown from the Vikes.

An open letter to Dawg Pound Mike

Mike,

You are living a fantasy that many people dream of by getting to express your thoughts with the owner of your favorite pro sports team. But from hearing you flap his gums about this meeting, I could only think of 1 thing and that is don't you think Randy Lerner is smarter than you, Dawg Pound Mike? And if he isnt, don't you think he can hire someone who is? The only reason Randy Lerner took the meeting with you is for PR. The only person Randy Lerner is listening to is the corporate sponsors than give him the most money.

And by hearing you claim that he is passionate and is upset with the state of the football team makes me believe he outsmarted the genius Dawg Pound Mike. If I'm Randy Lerner of course I'm pissed off, he is paying over $100 million in salaries and is getting didly poo in return for them. If Randy Lerner really did care he would have spoke to Phil Savage for more than 6 minutes to realize that his plan to win a super bowl here is to throw bukubucks at a bunch of jabroni's. He would have let another team interview Eric Mangini to realize he isn't all he is cracked up to be. If he wanted to believe Eric Mangini was the next Bill Belichick that's fine, but even Belichick had time away from football and a second defensive coordinator stint under Bill Parcells to realize where he messed up in Cleveland. He would have hired someone other than George Kokinis who apparently did work for the Browns but not sure what he did beside trading any player that was talented.

Dont you think every owner in the NFL is passionate? Well maybe not Detroit, they need to worry about the auto industry. Ok, but the Rams owner must care about being 1-7. No actually, the Rams owner is selling the team to Rush Limbaugh. What about Oakland, Al Davis, just win baby? Yes Al does care, but the problem there is Al has been dead for years. Its weekend at Bernies nonstop there. Pretty tough to win a game when everybody is taking orders from people who are controlling a dead guy. Clearly lowly Tampa Bay's owner must care. No actually, like Randy, the Glazers lone passion is their soccer team in England and the reason for the demise in Tampa is 3 fold (1. Letting Tony Dungy go 2. Letting Rich Mckay go 3. Dismantling the Defense before its prime). See Dawg Pound Mike, the Cowboys are competitive every season because Jerry Jones is passionate and it rubs off on his players. The Patriots are successful because Robert Kraft hired smart football people to run his franchise, now he stands back and polishes his Lombardi trophies. The Steelers have had so much consistency, and its because the Rooney family knows how to run an organization. Maybe that's why we ha vent beaten Pittsburgh in 6 years.

If I was in the interview with Lerner, I would have told him to take deep breaths next time he is in position to hire a coach and not take the first Patriots assistant he sees. I would have told him either move the Browns to London or LA, but dont keep them in Cleveland if you are going to continue to own the team. The Browns cant be successful and wont be successful unless Randy Lerner hires someone that matters. And to be honest, I don't think anyone who matters will join the Browns because the rebuilding process will be much to long and agonizing.

Dawg Pound Mike, you are delusional. You are 40 and you wear a giant bone on your head. You and Big Dawg and the Bone Lady should all get together and cry about how bad the Browns are. But just know that this losing season, wont be the Browns last.

Sincerely,
Joe