Eagles @ Giants, Sunday 1pm Evan: Eagles need it, Giants don’t. Also, when’s the last time the Eagles won a game they weren’t supposed to? They’re due. Pick: Philly Ahad: Eagles have to win this game. Pick: Giants Mike: The Eagles took care of Arizona with no problem on Thanksgiving. They were able to shut down a running game that the Cardinals don’t have. Good work. The Giants will have no problem running the ball. The Eagles problems on 3rd & short will continue. Pick: Giants Matt: The Eagles really do need this game to stay in the playoff hunt. It will be interesting to see if the Giants can continue to play up to their standards amid the media circus surrounding the Plaxico situation. I think the Giants could be vulnerable in this game. The Eagles were just some bad playcalling away from possibly beating the Giants when they met in Philly last month. I still think the Giants will win this game though. Pick: New York
Falcons @ Saints, Sunday 1pm Evan: I’m on the Matt Ryan bandwagon. Pick: Atlanta Ahad: I believe the Saints are going to have to deal with suspensions this week. I think NFC South teams have lost at home only twice this year, I am going against that trend. Pick: Atlanta Mike: I think the suspensions won’t be in effect this weekend after all the appeals. Not that it will change much. I don’t think the Saints can hang. Pick: Falcons Matt: I keep needing the Falcons to lose, but they just aren’t doing it. New Orleans is back home, and as Ahad mentioned, NFC South teams have been tough at home. The Falcons should be able to run the ball, especially if the suspensions for the Saints take effect. If the Saints can stop the run just enough, I think Brees and their offense will put up enough points to win. Pick: New Orleans
Dolphins @ Bills, Sunday 4:05pm (in Toronto) Evan: The fish can’t handle the cold waters of Buffalo. Pick: Bills Ahad: The game is in Toronto. Fans have petitioned to have them open the roof of the former Sky Dome. Pick: Dolphins Mike: When I was reading about the game in Toronto they said that the goal was to have the roof open as much as possible. I don’t know what to make of this Bills team. They were everyone’s favorite to win the division and since have gone 1-5. Pick: Dolphins Matt: Miami shouldn’t beat Buffalo at home (even if it is Toronto), but Buffalo lost to San Francisco last week. The Bills’ special teams need to make some plays, unlike last week when they couldn’t make a chip shot field goal. If the special teams make a bunch of plays, I like the Bills. I just don’t think they will make enough. Pick: Miami
Cowboys @ Steelers, Sunday 4:15pm Evan: I feel like this is the game to watch. Gotta have the Cowboys lose this one. Pick: Pittsburgh Ahad: Pac-Man coming back doesn’t make a difference. Pick: Steelers Mike: I’ve heard a lot of talk about how the Cowboys are ‘back.’ Really? Your proof is the Skins, Niners, and Seahawks. No thanks. The Steelers are at the top of the league right now with the Giants. Pick: Steelers Matt: Best game of the week. I am super excited, except for the fact I am going to miss it. I am going to the Seahawks game (thanks to Bobby Engram) and the game is not airing on Fox because of the stupid rule that when a Seahawks game is on, that can be the only game on, even though they are on separate stations. Hopefully, I can catch it later in the week on NFL Network Replay. The Cowboys’ playoff chances aren’t going to go down the drain if they lose, but it would be a certain confidence booster if they win. If the offensive line can protect Romo, he should be able to pick apart the Steelers secondary. It is supposed to be cold and possibly snowy, so whoever can run the ball better should win the game. The Cowboys just can’t turn the ball over. If they do, the Steelers will win. Gotta go with the my team, though. Pick: Dallas
Buccaneers @ Panthers, Monday 8:30pm Evan: Can’t pick against the worst 9-3 team in NFL history. Pick: Bucs Ahad: Panthers are rolling. Maybe Steve Smith will actually get in the end zone this week. Pick: Panthers Mike: Panthers are rolling. Bucs are pretty hot themselves. Not an especially appealing MNG game on the surface but actually may be one of the best matchups of the year. It looks like a toss-up to me. I trust in Jeff Garcia. Pick: Buccaneers Matt: Cowboys have the tiebreaker over the Buccaneers, so I will be rooting for the Panthers. Carolina got blown out earlier this season by Tampa Bay, but this game will be much closer. Gotta go with the home team in the NFC South. Pick: Carolina
Ball St vs Buffalo, Friday 8pm (MAC Championship, Detroit) Evan:Ball State wins, Letterman lobbies for a BCS bid Matt: I actually don’t know all that much about Ball State, other than the fact they are undefeated. I hear their QB is pretty good. Pick: Ball State Ahad: All I know about Ball State is that they are undefeated and they are very loyal to their conference. Apparently, that is why they turned down a potential bowl match-up with Boise State. Pick: Ball State Mike: Letterman has already been campaigning for the national championship game. I’m with everyone else. I haven’t seen any Ball State games, I just don’t watch much football on Tuesdays. Still, they are undefeated for a reason. Pick: Ball State
Pittsburgh @ Connecticut, Saturday 12pm Evan: Last year I would have picked UConn, but Pitt has surprised everybody. Pick: Panthers Matt: I think this game could easily go either way. I am still trying to figure out how UConn was able to blow out Cincinnati. I think Pitt is the stronger team, so I will go with them here in a close one. Pick: Pittsburgh Ahad: I believe one of UConn’s running backs is out for this game. I think Pitt is playing better right now. Pick: Pitt Mike: A win here for Pitt and they clinch at least 3rd place in the Big East (they’ll wind up 2nd if Rutgers loses to Louisville Thursday). I like how Pitt has been playing these last few weeks. UConn has a nice team and in the powerhouse that is the Big East they could compete for the title next year. Pick: Pittsburgh
Boston College vs Virginia Tech, Saturday 1pm (ACC Championship, Tampa Bay) Evan: I’m actually pretty excited about this game. I’m gonna root for Boston College just because Bruce Springsteen’s son goes there. However, I think the Hokies D will prevail in this low scoring affair. Pick: VT Matt: Virginia Tech lost earlier this season at Boston College by 5 points, so BC already has somewhat of a psychological advantage over VT of having already beaten them. After looking at VT’s schedule this season, just about every one of their games has been close, decided by 10 or less points. Because of their experience playing close games this year, I think they will pull this one out in yet another close one. Pick: Virginia Tech Ahad: V-Tech wins with defense, special teams and running ball. With Taylor running the offense the majority of the time, V-Tech pulls it out. Pick: V-Tech Mike: Where did BC come from this year? Without Matt Ryan I wasn’t expecting anything from them. They have played well the past 4 weeks helping them to be the last team standing in the Atlantic division. BC’s win in the first matchup was at BC. I like how BC is playing these days. Pick: Boston College
Alabama vs Florida, Saturday 4pm (SEC Championship, Atlanta) Evan: I hate picking games that involve the Gators, especially when they’re playing the number 1 team in the country (By the way, has there ever been a number 1 team that no voter actually thinks is the number 1 team like it is with Alabama?) Pick: Gators, 38-35 Matt: I am tempted to pick Alabama, but I think Florida has been playing too well to lose this game. Plus, I’d rather see them in the National Championship game against most likely Oklahoma. Pick: Florida Ahad: I think the two best teams in the country are Oklahoma and Florida and that is the national championship game I want to see. Pick: Florida Mike: I think Alabama’s best chance is to feed off of everyone that has been counting this game as a loss for them for the past 2 months. Alabama is undefeated for a reason. The Gators are just clicking too well at this point. Tebow is going to go out and dominate in the dome. He looked good in the mud in Tallahassee last week. Pick: Florida
South Florida @ West Virginia, Saturday 8pm Evan: Pat White’s last home game, I’ll stick with the Mountaineers. Pick: WVU Matt: West Virginia is at home, and they are playing an inconsistent South Florida team. I like WVU’s chances of rebounding after the loss to Pitt. Pick: West Virginia Ahad: West Virginia looks to rebound after the Pitt game. Pick: WVU Mike: Last week I said that Pat White wanted to wind down his career with a win against Pitt. That didn’t work out. Now he has a chance to get a win on Senior Day. South Florida should have taken the Big East this year but they’ve struggled. Pick: West Virginia
Missouri vs Oklahoma, Saturday 8pm (Big 12 Championship, Kansas City) Evan: Really really rooting for Missouri, but Big Game Bob is back – Pick: OU Matt: It is of course natural to root for BCS chaos, but I think Oklahoma will win handily and play Florida for the National Championship. Ahad: The Sooners will have a field day with the porous Missouri defense. Sooners win easily and head the championship game. Pick: Sooners Mike: I think an Oklahoma loss would cause less BCS chaos. Then it would be Texas vs SEC, no questions asked. Missouri lost last week to a 2nd string QB. I think Sam Bradford is at least a 1.5 string QB. Pick: Oklahoma
I was thinking about Famous Last Words today and realized it’s fun to make up your own. I found some pretty easy ones from sports in the past week or so.
Notre Dame after Charlie Weis’ 1st year: ‘Great season Charlie. You know that 6-year contract we gave you? Let’s make it 10. We feel like there are a lot of great years ahead of us.’
Plaxico: ‘The elastic in these sweatpants should be a suitable holster for my semi-automatic handgun.’
Sean Avery: ‘Elisha, you should leave your fiance for me. We’ll be together forever. It’s not like he is friends with one of the most famous singers in the world who would write a song about how horrible you are.’
Cardinals/Eagles Mike: What happened there? Is it just that the Eagles can’t play (or Reid can’t call plays) when challenged early in games? Warner threw 2 early picks in the game and the Eagles were able to get into the end zone when they made it to the red zone. The early lead gave the offense confidence and perhaps contributed to the Cardinals dropping passes throughout the game. After seeing that game a lot of people are likely thinking about getting back on the bandwagon. If they play like that, they can win out and get to the playoffs, I just don’t expect it to happen against the NFC East teams left to play. I also think we’ll see over the next few weeks if the Cardinals are good any more. Although, for them to win the division they don’t need to be any good. Maybe the lack of pressure has caused them to relax. Matt: I thought this was going to be the best game of Thanksgiving Day. I stopped watching around halftime. Most people would want to point out this was another case of a west coast team going east. First off all, Arizona is not exactly on the west coast. Second, they are in the Mountain Time Zone. Third, how many teams from the west coast time zone are any good? A big fat ZERO. The records of those teams are what, 13-35? Ahad: The Eagles were impressive, but I still have my doubts about this team. We will be able to get a read on this team after they play the Giants. A lot of Eagles fans are on the extremes about the performance of this team. One week they are worse than the Lions and the next they are Super Bowl Contenders. I try and remain objective and keep an even keel regarding the team. They still have an outside shot at the playoffs, but I’m not holding my breath.
Plaxico Matt: He is an idiot. There are still lots more details to come out yet, but I agree with mostly everyone else with opinions in the sports world that he will never suit up for the Giants again. Ahad: I agree that he is an idiot and should be penalized. I did see today that his teammate Steve Smith was held up at gunpoint outside his home. Maybe Plax was trying to hoard the cash before he starts losing game checks.
Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Evan: I changed my mind about 12 times during this game as to who I wanted to win. Oklahoma’s offense looks pretty explosive, but I still have suspicions about the defenses they have played this year. Would love to see them go down to Missouri and watch a small armed conflict break out in the plains. Ahad: I had no doubt that the Sooners would pull this one out. I think right now, Oklahoma and Florida are the best teams in the country. If OU falls to Missouri next week, BSC chaos will take place. Mike: There will be BCS chaos no matter what happens and there should be. If UF and OU deserve to go just because they are the ‘hottest’ teams in the country then why play the first 7 games of the season? Let’s just play 4 or 5 and then feel who is hottest. Matt: BCS chaos has already taken place, or it could be more of a Big 12 South chaos. They are going to have to implement an interdivisional playoff just to go to conference championship games now. I don’t feel there is any way Oklahoma will fall to Missouri, but if it does, oh boy, watch out. Can Texas actually play in the National Championship Game without winning its conference?
Florida/FSU Evan: Tebow needs to start getting more mention for Heisman. One question – you are starting a college football team from scratch, who is the one current player you want to start your team with? Mike: Each time I watch UF I forget how good Tebow is. Even in the downpour on Saturday he was throwing the ball around as if it were a clear day. I think he can thrive in any offense, which makes him better than any other QB to start your team. Ahad: I haven’t watched Tebow as closely as everyone else, so I am not sure that I can say he would thrive in any offense. I don’t know if he would thrive in a West Coast offense, but then again not many teams run that in the NCAA. Right now, I would have to go with Tebow because of his versatility. Matt: I would not think Tebow is well equipped at thriving in any offense. I mean, he is an extremely talented and intelligent player, but I don’t think he would excel in just any offense. Just look at the Urban Meyer coached Alex Smith and what he has done in the NFL to date. They are definitely two different types of players, though. Everyone else voted for Tebow, and I guess he would probably be at the top of my list as well. McCoy and Bradford wouldn’t be too shabby either.
Oregon/Oregon State Matt: How about them Ducks? Thank god, because I really didn’t want to play Oregon State again in the Rose Bowl. Bring on USC!
Mike’s idea for A New Division
I’m still confused as to why teams would play in a division where, even if they go undefeated, they have no chance at a championship. Utah at least is likely to get a BCS bid. Boise St and Ball St don’t look to be getting so lucky. Ball State does still need to play Buffalo in the MAC Championship. So my question is about what it means to be D-1A vs D-1AA. Could these non-BCS Conferences drop down to 1AA? Or could they just split off an create their own playoff system at the end of the season? The only roadblock I see to this is the NCAA not allowing it and threatening D1 status in other sports.
There are 5 non-BCS conferences. I’m going to put them in a New Division. At the end of the season there is an 8-team New Division playoff. So each conference gets an automatic bid: Tulsa (assuming they beat East Carolina), Ball State (assuming they beat Buffalo), Utah, Troy, and Boise St. Then 3 at-large bids: East Carolina, TCU, BYU (or maybe Rice). Those are just from a quick glance of the standings. Now these aren’t the traditional powers. They aren’t well known. But these would be great games. Easily as good as some of the poor matchups the BCS gives us each year. By the championship round you’d know the teams fairly well if you followed the early round action. The games could take place in the weeks between the end of the season and New Years. It would give these schools more exposure than random .com bowl and a shot at some sort of championship.
Question from Ahad
Did they put in the rule that a team must win its conference in order to be eligible for the BCS Championship game? I thought that was the case after Oklahoma lost to K-State in the Big 12 title, but fell to #2 in the BCS. They went on to get crushed by LSU in the championship game.
I’ve never really understood the Big 10/ACC Challenge. Why those conferences? Doesn’t Big 10/Pac-10 make more sense due to their college football connection? It’s not even a fair fight. The ACC has won every year and only Michigan St has a winning record out of the Big 10 schools. It’s been around long enough that it looks like its here to stay. One tweak I’d like to see is that each school play 2 games, 1 home, 1 away would be nice. It could also try and incorporate the 12th ACC team, who doesn’t play since there are only 11 schools in the Big 10. Although I do kind of like the penalty of the last place team being left out.
I mention all this because as I was looking at the upcoming college basketball schedule I saw some references to the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Not too terrible a name. Maybe a Pac-10/Big East matchup would be a little cooler. The farther the teams are apart the less likely they will play each other often. Now apparently last year was the 1st of this matchup. Nice job marketing this one, as I didn’t hear about it.
Here are this year’s matchups from the Pac-10. How many years until they can get all these games into a few day window instead of it running from November 29 until December 28?
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Oklahoma State at Washington
UCLA at Texas
USC at Oklahoma
Friday, December 5, 2008
Arizona at Texas A&M
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Baylor at Washington State
Oregon State at Iowa State
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Kansas State at Oregon
Nebraska at Arizona State
California at Missouri
Outside the four-day series window
Colorado at Stanford (Sat., Nov. 29, 2008)
Kansas at Arizona (Tue., Dec. 23, 2008)
Texas Tech at Stanford (Sun., Dec. 28, 2008)
Plenty of shows that I watch, I think everyone will like. Of course that isn’t the case. But if I had to pick one show that everyone should at least DVR, it would be NOVA. You may not be interested in every week’s subject, but every once in a while there will be one that sucks you in. I watch every episode. Unless my DVR decides to skip it. Some I pay more attention to than others. Sometimes I’ll fall asleep watching it. Sometimes I will split it into several viewings. This past week’s I wasn’t sure about. I figured I’d watch the first 5 minutes and finish it later. It hooked me right away and I sat there and watched the whole thing.
This episode looked at the Marine Mammal Center is Sausalito, California. They care for sick or injured seals along most of California’s coast. They attempt to nurse them back to health so they can return to the wild.
Many of the animals brought in have either been injured by trash or fishing nets or made sick by some sort of toxin. Most are a result of human influence in the ocean.
The Center is staffed mostly by volunteers. I’m not sure what sort of background you need to be a volunteer but it seems like a very interesting and rewarding way to spend your time. From what I saw when I was in Sausalito this summer, most people there have plenty of money and time on their hands. My only problem volunteering is that I’d probably want to take a Harbor Seal home as a pet.
A few of the episodes are available to watch online. Some of the recent ones that were very interesting were The Bible’s Buried Secrets (tries to connect archeological evidence with the Hebrew Bible) and Space Shuttle Disaster (looks at the 2003 Columbia disaster). Also, if you are a huge math nerd, Hunting the Hidden Dimension is all about fractals. They still make my head hurt and I learned about them in 10th and 11th grades.
Giants @ Redskins, Sunday 1pm Evan: Giants have everything going for them, but the Redskins need the win more. Having said that, the Giants are too good. Pick: New York Matt: I have to keep rooting for the Giants to take out the other divisional foes, so Dallas can have a clearer path to the playoffs. I think the Redskins have shown their true colors the past few weeks with the two losses in a row and then barely getting by the Seahawks. Clinton Portis is nicked up, and the Redskins really need to be able to run the ball to have a chance. They will fight hard and keep it close, but the G-Men will pull out the win. Pick: New York Mike: I’m with Matt, I don’t think the Redskins are anything special. While they are 7-4, their biggest win was 8 points over the Lions. Not impressive. Pick: Giants Ahad: The Giants are on a roll. The Redskins are haven’t proven anything to me yet. Pick: Giants
Saints @ Buccaneers, Sunday 1pm Evan: Has there ever been a less glamorous 8-3 team than Tampa Bay? Pick: Bucs Matt: The Saints were very impressive offensively on Monday Night. The defense stepped up and made plays when they needed to. However, Tampa’s defense should be able to slow down the Saints offense somewhat, and the Saints aren’t necessarily stout on defense, so the Bucs should score some points. The home team in these NFC South matchups has dominated this year, and I think the trend will continue here. Pick: Tampa Bay Mike: That Saints performance the other night makes them a tempting pick. However, I learned to not go against the Bucs at home. Pick: Buccaneers Ahad: The Bucs are tough to beat to beat at home and the Saints haven’t played well on the road. Despite an impressive win on Monday night, I am going against them. Pick: Bucs
Falcons @ Chargers, Sunday 4:05pm Evan: Matt Ryan on the road? I don’t stink so. Pick: San Diego Matt: Can you believe San Diego can still win the division at 4-7? I am not sure I have ever seen a team lose such close, heart breaking games in a season. This will be a tough one for the Falcons. They seem to have the advantage in this game, but San Diego is extremely desperate. A Falcons loss helps the Cowboys in their Wild Card chase. Pick: San Diego Mike: The Chargers have had some tough times, a lot of that has to do with the difficult schedule the past few weeks. 1-4 in their last 5, that 1 being a 1 point win over KC. Ryan is 2-3 on the road for the Falcons, I don’t think you can take too much out of that. Pick: Falcons Ahad: The Charges need this win. Ryan will struggle on the road and with Ron Rivera’s different blitz schemes. Pick: Chargers
Steelers @ Patriots, Sunday 4:15pm Evan: The Steelers may be one of the few teams who can go into New England and win in November. Matt Cassel has been playing lights out. Pick: New England Matt: Matt Cassel will be under siege this entire game from the Steeler D. Ben Roethlisberger will probably be under the same predicament. I expect the Steelers defense to get a few takeaways and the offense to get the ground game going. Pick: Pittsburgh Mike: Cassel has been playing better, but he hasn’t seen a defense like the Steelers. I haven’t watched enough of the Steelers to understand how they are winning, but they are. Pick: Steelers Ahad: This should be a solid matchup. The Steelers excel at stopping the run, but the Patriots don’t run the ball. The Pats will try and spread them out and throw the ball, which was successful for them all of last year. The Pats will look to apply a lot of pressure to Big Ben. The difference in this game will be which defense comes up with the big play. I see Big Ben turning the ball over at least once. Pick: Pats
Bears @ Vikings, Sunday 8:15pm Evan: One more loss and the Vikings are done. Bears will stick a fork in them. Pick: Chicago Matt: Chicago was able to beat the Vikings earlier this season in a high scoring affair where the Vikings special teams played horribly. Hopefully, they have that fixed by now. The winner of this game gets a leg up in the division. Pick: Minnesota Mike: I’m not sure about either one of these teams. The Bears had an ugly loss to the Packers but got lucky in following that up with the Rams. Matt mentioned it was a shoot out of sorts. I don’t think the Bears up up those sort of points again. Pick: Vikings Ahad: I don’t see another shootout in this one. Peterson had a little spat with Childress last week and I think he comes out on fire in this game. The Vikings will be able to control the Bears running game and the Bears passing game doesn’t scare anyone. Pick: Vikings
An extended version of last week’s episode of The Office is on Hulu. Its more than 4 minutes longer than the version that aired. I only watched the opening but there already was a great addition. Was this mentioned anywhere? I feel like I should have heard about this, rather than just stumbling upon it.
