Wednesday, November 30, 2011

College Football: Week 14 Picks

Baylor -2.5
Georgia +14

Upset: Clemson +7
Pick of the Week: Wisconsin -9.5


Record: 35-25-2 (PoW: 6-7; Upset: 6-7)

NFL: Week 13 Picks

I'm one game under .500. Until I get there, no explanations.

I will say that I'm glad I saved my $1,500 and didn't enter the Hilton SuperContest in 2011. Maybe in 2012...

Raiders +3
Browns +7
Bengals +7
Giants +9
Chargers -1.5


Record: 27-28-5

Non-Sports Post: Classic Frame Job

Brooklyn - A vandal went on a tire-slashing rampage overnight on Monday, stranding more than three dozen cars on 71st and 72nd streets — and residents say that the carnage came a day after a Park Slope tire shop plastered the area with business cards. Neighbors on the block between Third Avenue and Ridge Boulevard said that the vandals slashed at least one tire on up to 40 cars 24 hours after business cards for Danny’s Rims Tires and Accessories were placed on dozens of car windshields.“It could just be coincidental, but it’s kind of fishy,” said one neighbor who declined to be identified because he feared retaliation by whoever was behind the tire slashings. “Most times, it’s just some kid and they hit one tire. But this time, they did it so that you can’t just throw a spare on.” Neighbors agreed that the carnage was too widespread to be the work of teens out having fun…

Cops said that they were looking into the connection between the slashings and the cards for the shop on Fourth Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. “We are aware that there were some cards found on the area,” said Captain Richard DiBlasio. “The 6-8 detective squad has an open investigation on that.”…


The brother of the tire shop’s owner flatly refused any connection. “It’s
got to be a bad coincidence,” said Jolio Moran. “We don’t pay people to slash tires. It’s frustrating that people would even think we would do something like that. We don’t even specialize in fixing flats. Our main thing is [selling] rims.” The shop pays two men to distribute the cards, he said. “My brother would never send people out to slash tires knowing that they’re going to come back here,” he said.



This reminds me of a time in college when I had a friend – we’ll call him Paul – who went into our baseball locker room and painted over everyone’s individual locker locks (including his own) with white out so no one could see the numbers. He left two lockers untouched. Those lockers belonged to two people we’ll call Andrew and Gary, who happened to be pranksters themselves and roommates. The hope of course was that we would all think Andrew and Gary were the guilty parties. Classic frame job.

Without knowing anything about the tire industry in Brooklyn, I’m guessing one tire company pulled a similar frame job here. Company A puts Company B’s business cards on all cars in the area. Then Company A slashes the tires in hopes everyone will think Company B was behind this reuse and in turn all the people who got their tires slashed will got to Company A to get them fixed. Not only will Company A get the business but it could put Company B out of business. Brilliant plan.

And for some reason I have a feeling Paul is behind this whole thing.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Monday Mullet

Great name, better hair

Sunday, November 27, 2011

11 Things I Know I Know: Week 12

1. I know it's time for the Jets to seriously consider an alternative to Mark Sanchez. Watching him - at least from the perspective of a Jet fan - is as nerve-wracking as anything I've seen in sports since having to endure the John Franco years in Flushing with the Mets. I don't think Mark Brunell is a better option for the rest of the year so it looks like we are stuck with Sanchize, but GM Mike Tannenbaum needs to bring in some talent under center for 2012. Maybe some competition will light a fire under Mark.

While he's add it, some skill position players who did not play in the Big 10 wouldn't hurt either.


Sanchez had one of the least impressive 4 TD games I can ever remember

2. I know Norv Turner needs to be fired. He is an absolute disastrous game manager (how do you not call timeout with 2:38 left in the game?), he motivates no one, and the Chargers have never developed a killer instinct during his tenure. Tim Tebow ran / willed the Broncos to victory today in one of the most boring, obvious game plans we've seen all year.

Time to go, Norv.

3. I know Andy Reid deserves another year. Sure, this Dream Team turned into a nightmare, but the guy has turned the Eagles into consistent winners. Even if they fail to make the postseason this year, Philadelphia has reached the playoffs in nine of the past 12 seasons. The Eagles have had only one losing season under Reid since 2000. Give the guy a chance to redeem himself. He's earned it.

4. I know the schedule down the stretch drastically favors the Cowboys in their quest to win the NFC East. Dallas will be favored in their next three games while the Giants will be underdogs in their next three (including on Monday Night Football tomorrow). New York needs to spring at least one upset if they want to play into January.

5. I know the Colts have clinched the top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Indianapolis is now 0-11. Call me crazy, but I think Alabama RB Trent Richardson would do more for this organization over the next 7-10 years than Andrew Luck would. I also think next week's Indy-New England game might have the largest spread of the year (-20?).

6. I know it was a great week for leap-frogging defenders. Check out these two hops by LaGarrette Blount and Roy Helu, respectively: Here and here.

7. I know Stevie Johnson's Plax-Shooting-Himself celebration would have been 1000 times cooler if he didn't drop a game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.


Johnson shooting himself in the leg would be followed in the fourth
by him shooting himself in the foot.

8. I know the only remotely interesting thing about the NFC West over the last five weeks of the season will be watching Patrick Peterson try to break the single-season punt return record. With his TD return today, PP has four this season, which ties the mark for one year.

9. I know the University of Miami alums started a new streak today. Week 11 marked the first time in 150 consecutive weeks that a former Hurricane did not score at least one touchdown. Reggie Wayne's 56-yard touchdown catch today got the U back on the right track.

10. I know that I couldn't be any less excited for the potential BCS title game rematch of LSU vs. Alabama. Why should LSU have to beat a team they already defeated on the road earlier in the year? Give the Tigers the title and we'll watch everyone else in compete in the other BCS bowls.

11. I know the Saints will knock off the Giants 34-17 tomorrow night. I don't see how New York can contain Drew Brees.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

College Football: Week 13 Picks

Happy Thanksgiving. Slow week with only three picks, but I like them a lot...


Wisconsin -14.5

Upset: Georgia Tech +6
Pick of the Week: Arkansas +12


Record: 34-23-2 (PoW: 6-6; Upset: 6-6)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

NFL: Week 12 Picks

Bills +8
Bears +5
Titans -3
Dolphins +7
Lions +7


Record: 24-27-4

Monday, November 21, 2011

MLB Odds & Ends

*I had an offseason plan for the Mets which was due to be published last week. However, all indications are that compensation for Type B free agents will be eliminated. This was a major part of my write-up. So...back to the drawing board for me. I'll have an updated version of this article out in the next few weeks.

*On October 31st, the Braves declined their 2012 team option on Nate McLouth ($10.65m) thus making him a free agent. As bloggers, we wasted waaaaay too much time dissecting the 2009 trade that sent him to Atlanta from Pittsburgh for these three scrubs: Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, and Gorkys Hernandez.

At least the Pirates saved themselves some cash in the deal. For just under $14m, what did Atlanta get from Nate "The Not Great At All" in that timeframe? 124 R, 21 HR, 76 RBI, and 23 SB in 848 ABs. Not good.

*Old friend Timo Perez of early-2000s New York Mets fame was suspended 50 games for failing a drug test. Good to see he's still playing despite the fact he hasn't gotten a Major League at bat since September 29, 2007, roughly around the last time Nate McLouth was a decent player.

*How pathetic are things in Oakland these days? Rumor had it that Billy Beane met with Sir Sidney Ponson last week, presumably to talk about bringing in the fat man to pitch for the A's.



*Former San Diego Padres minor leaguer 1B / OF Craig Cooper is still unsigned. A solid source told me he would jump at the opportunity to compete for a roster spot in Spring Training as opposed to trading mortgage-backed securities.

Flat out AWESOME

Monday Mullet

Evan Longoria

Sunday, November 20, 2011

11 Things I Know I Know: Week 11

Here are 11 Things I Know I Know:

1. I know the Lions are back. After losing three of their last four, worries started to creep into the minds of the Detroit faithful.

To start today's game, Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions in his first eight passes and saw his team fall behind 24-7 in the opening 20 minutes. Time to panic? Nah. Detroit cut the lead to 13 by halftime and outscored Carolina 35-8 in the second half behind five Stafford touchdown passes.

Detroit hosts Green Bay on Thursday and might have the best chance of giving the Packers their first (only?) loss of the season.



Kevin Smith - apparently resurrected from the dead over the last two weeks -
had over 200 yards from scrimmage on Sunday

2. I know the Cowboys are dangerous and could find themselves in first place if the Eagles can pull off a mini-miracle tonight against the Giants. (Side note: Huge shout out to Mark Herzlich, starting his first NFL game tonight. Congratulations.)

You can never fully trust Tony Romo...or completely count him out. He's about as polarizing an athlete as anyone not named Tim Tebow, and he has the Cowboys sitting at 6-4 as they head into their Turkey Bowl against Miami. Speaking of Miami...

3. I know the Dolphins will be playing spoiler for the rest of the season. Their last six games are against teams with legitimate playoff aspirations: at Dallas, vs Oakland, vs Philadelphia (humor me), at Buffalo, at New England, and vs the New York Jets. If you want to be playing meaningful January games, do not take Miami - winners of three straight - lightly.

4. I know the slate of Thursday games will be the best tripleheader in Thanksgiving history.

I talked about the Green Bay / Detroit and Miami / Dallas games already. I didn't even touch on Brother Bowl, San Francisco at Baltimore. All three of these games have deep playoff implications.

Also, if you need to find me for some reason on Thursday, search my couch between the hours of 12:30 and 11pm and you have a 99.9% chance of success.

5. I know I was more impressed with the Bengals than I was with the Ravens despite the fact they lost. Cincinnati and Gingy Andy Dalton went into Baltimore and gave them all they could handle. Baltimore needed a late fourth quarter red zone stop to seal the seven-point victory. The Bengals did this all without their best offensive weapon, AJ Green.

6. I know the Jets have nine lives. The loss to Denver means winning the AFC East is out of the question. However, they are only a game out of the final Wildcard spot thanks to losses from all of their closest competitors, most notably Cincinnati. They have three very winnable games on the horizon (vs Buffalo, at Washington, and vs Kansas City). If they win those three, New York will almost assuredly be at least tied for the Wildcard lead since the Bengals have games at Pittsburgh and against Houston over the next three weeks.

7. I know the Chargers are the best team in NFL history to ever have lost five straight games in one season. This team is making the playoffs despite being two games under .500 through 10 games. They are about to rip off three or four straight wins to get themselves back into the race.

8. I know Bears will play a huge role in determining which team wins the AFC West? Chicago knocked off the Chargers today, visit Oakland next week, then host Kansas City in two weeks, and finally travel to Denver in three weeks. Crazy scheduling that a team in the NFC North plays another division's teams in four consecutive weeks.

9. I know Dante Stallworth now has as many touchdowns to his name since 2008 as he does murdered people: 1. The guy should be in jail, not having "Hail to the Redskins" sung to him.

10. I know anyone in favor of #DeathToTheBCS (should first get behind me in line and then) root for Arkansas to knock off LSU on Friday. If that happens, the top three teams in the current BCS standings - LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas - will have each beaten each other once and lost to each other once.

Behind them are some less-than-incredible-one-loss teams:

Stanford - Got smoked at home by Oregon
Oklahoma State - Lost as 30 point road favorites at Iowa State
Virginia Tech - Lost at home to Clemson
Boise State - Lost at home by one point to TCU on a last minute two-point conversion (for my money, the "strongest" loss of the one-loss teams)

Then come the 11-0 Houston Cougars.

Excited about any of those matchups? Me neither.

11. I know the Patriots will beat the Chiefs 44-13 on Monday Night Football. Billy B will love running up the score on his old protege Todd Haley. No Matt Cassel, no Jamaal Charles, no chance.


"11 Things I Know I Know" is my feeble attempt to trump the untrumpable SI.com's Peter King and his "10 Things I Think I Think" which happens to be my favorite article each week.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

College Football: Week 12 Picks

A solid 4-1 week pushes me up to 56% on the season.

UAB +23
Rutgers +3
LSU -29
Virginia +17
Kansas State +9.5

Upset: USC +15.5
Pick of the Week: Nebraska +3.5


Record: 28-22-2 (PoW: 6-5; Upset: 5-6)

NFL: Week 11 Picks

Good Lord Almighty. I'm looking back at my picks for the last three weeks and noticed I am 0-15. Do you realize the odds of that? 1 in 16,384. If you parlayed the opposite of my last three week's worth of picks, you could be a millionaire at this point. I have beaten myself up over this pathetic performance, and it's time to turn this around. Right? My wallet hopes so.

Broncos +6: White Jesus.
Dolphins -1: Bills are a fraud.
Packers -14: Best team in football, hands down.
Titans +6: Seems like too many points.
Redskins +8.5: These games always seem to be closer than they should be.


Record: 21-26-3

Check out Rook's Latest Article

www.kuhlwhip.tumblr.com

He's got some wide receivers for you.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Introducing the Fe-Mullet

I can't believe it took me this long to think of this word. I'm so pumped right now I can't tell you.

Women in possession of a fe-mullet have been put on notice.








Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Link to Buy Low / Sell High

Rook put out a nice article today. Check it out: www.kuhlwhip.tumblr.com

College Football: Week 11 Picks

Virginia Tech -1
Kansas State +4.5
Washington +11.5

Upset: Navy +9
Pick of the Week: Oregon +3.5


Record: 24-21-2 (PoW: 5-5; Upset: 4-6)

NFL: Week 10 Picks

I'm 1-9 over the last two weeks. Until I break out of this funk, it's just picks without support:

Panthers -3
Giants +3.5
Lions +3
Ravens -7
Jets -1.5

Monday, November 7, 2011

Am I Dreaming Right Now?

Melky Cabrera just got traded for Jonathan Sanchez.

Um, what?

How did the Royals just pull off this coup? They are usually the ones getting ripped off not doing the ripping. I’m in shock right now.



Are the Giants giving anyone else away?

Every other GM in baseball is kicking himself right now for not realizing the Giants were ready to give away Sanchez.

I’m also shocked that the headline of the story is about the Giants acquiring Melky. It’s amazing what Yankee-related, name recognition gets you these days.

Maybe Shelly Duncan could net the Indians Matt Cain. At this point, anything seems possible.

Monday Mullet


Sunday, November 6, 2011

11 Things I Know I Know: Week 9

Full-fledged 11 Things will return in about a month, but here are some brief thoughts:

1. I know the Denver Tebows are one game out of the playoffs. Sure, they are 3-4 and need to jump three teams in their division, but let's give the Second Coming another few weeks before demanding his benching.



2. I know the Giants were the team of the week. Hard to argue with this one, either, as they went into Foxboro and came away with a victory despite being down twice in the fourth quarter alone...and despite employing Aaron Ross on their team. Even more impressive without Ahmad Bradshaw.

3. I know the Jets showed America the Bills are a fraud. What a terrible performance by Buffalo at home. New York's defense clearly got the rest it needed during the bye week and looks primed for a huge second half.

4. I know the Colts have the lead all to themselves in the Suck for Luck Race. I don't know what they would do with the pick, but I'm excited to find out. If Indy can't win one of their next two games (vs Jacksonville, vs Carolina), they might be staring at 0-16.

5. I know the 49ers are 7-0-1 against the spread this year. Why do I continue to doubt this team?

6. I know it's garbage that Alabama only dropped to 3rd in the BCS. They had their shot against the #1 team in the country and blew it. Stanford and Boise State have every reason to feel robbed.

7. I know the Bengals are legit contenders. I can't believe I just wrote that.

8. I know the Chargers are about to go on their typical second half of the season run. I thought they gained a lot of confidence as the game progressed today, and Phil Rivers can't be this bad all year.

9. I know the Saints are flying under the radar this season but figure to be a dangerous team in the postseason. In fact, this year's NFC playoffs could be among the best ever with Green Bay, San Fran, New York, New Orleans along with two of these teams: Philly, Detroit , Dallas, and Atlanta.

10. I know Thursday Night football starts this week. Make sure you set your fantasy lineups.

11. I know the Eagles will beat the Bears tomorrow night, 34-17.

Friday, November 4, 2011

College Football: Week 10 Picks

Last week was a very good one (3-1-1) that could have been great if not for one of the toughest pushes of all time. I had USC getting 8 at home and watched them blow a double-digit second half lead and then lose in triple overtime... by exactly 8 points. Brutal game for me, but least it was just a push. Trying to stay hot with these picks:

Pittsburgh +3.5
South Carolina +5
Washington +17

Upset: Texas Tech +14.5
Pick of the Week: Alabama -4.5


Record: 23-18-1 (PoW: 5-4; Upset: 4-5)

NFL: Week 9 Picks

After an 0-5 week, I'm embarrassed. Really terrible work by me. Let's get back to the winning ways:

Colts +7
Titans -1.5
Chargers +5.5
Chiefs -3.5
Jets +2


Record: 20-17-3