NFL: Week 14 Picks

Need to get back to .500 before I explain picks. Will that happen this year?

Steelers -14
Chiefs +9
Lions -7
Eagles +3
Texans +3

Record: 29-31-5

Please Stop With the "Manning for MVP" BS

There have been some people suggesting that Peyton Manning deserves MVP votes this season despite not having played a single down.

NFL Magazine, a league-owned publication, went a step further and actually named Peyton their MVP.

[Editor's note: this is ridiculous for a few reasons: 1. The season is only 75% over; 2. It's a slap in the face to every player that actually PLAYED this year. I digress.]

Here are three questions / answers that I hope will stop this push.

-Would anyone vote for a retired player in any sport to win MVP? No, because it's nonsensical. In 1997-98, Michael Jordan led the Bulls to a 62-20 record and won his sixth NBA title. He retired immediately thereafter. The following year, Chicago went 13-37 in a lockout shortened season. Did everyone realize how great MJ was? Sure. Did anyone suggest Jordan for MVP? Of course not.

In 1998, John Elway led the Broncos to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl title. He retired immediately thereafter. The following year, Denver went6-10 and missed the playoffs. Did everyone realize how great Elway was? Sure. Did anyone suggest he win the MVP? Of course not.

Manning should be treated like a retired player. We understand he's great, but that doesn't mean he's the MVP.

No one is arguing Manning is a great player; he's just not the 2011 MVP

-Do you realize how terrible the combination of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, and Dan Orlovsky are at this point in their careers? The fact that Orlovsky could become the first player ever to start more than five games at quarterback for two different teams that went 0-16 summarizes it nicely. Collins was a very good quarterback at one time in his career. That time is not now. Curtis Painter has hair that hundreds of men would kill for, but unfortunately he's useless as a quarterback.

-Was this team in decline already before Peyton's injury? This team doesn't go 0-12 to start the year with Manning at the helm. That much is obvious. However, the team was trending downward for the last two seasons (admittedly, they did make the playoffs in both seasons), and the roster was aging. It is impossible to say what Indy's record would have been with Peyton, but with the way Houston is playing, it's not outrageous to think they would have missed the playoffs even with Peyton. Would anyone vote for him as the MVP if the Colts were 6-6 right now? Highly doubtful.

The best way to end this debate would be for the Colts to draft Andrew Luck and keep the rest of the roster largely intact. Then, with Manning starting under center next year, working with the same guys, we would be able to see how much of a difference he actually makes.

What does everyone else think?

Winter Meeting Thoughts

*As a Met fan, I love that 32-year old Mark Buehrle signed with the Marlins for 4-years / $58m. There is a 0.25% chance of this contract working out well for the Fish.

He's a slightly above average starter that will give you 200+ innings a year. Ok, he's a lefty. So what? Why is there such a premium placed on lefthanders?

I know fantasy baseball is just that: fantasy. But you cannot tell me a guy who will find himself drafted after at least 60-75 other starting pitchers in next year's drafts warrants a contract of this size.

This deal stinks of Jeff Suppan, Brad Radke, and Kevin Appier all wrapped in one. And, I'm overjoyed by the stench.


(Apologies for the poor quality, but MLB is stingy with their highlights)

Buehrle is a great athlete and made one of the most incredible defensive plays I've ever seen, but that doesn't justify giving him almost $15m per season.

I wouldn't mind watching them fork over $90m+ for CJ Wilson, either.


*This is somewhat unrelated to the Winter Meetings, but it was announced today that Tim McCarver - yes, the same Tim McCarver I have decried as one of the WORST announcers in all of sports - was named the Ford Frick Award recipient for 2011. This means McAwful will be headed to the Hall of Fame for his excellence in broadcasting.

Yes, the BASEBALL HALL OF FAME IN COOPERSTOWN, NY. And, yes, Tim McCarver. What is going on here?

I would call this a shame, a travesty, a sham, and a bad joke, but Matt at Awful Announcing did a better job than I could.

To put into context how much AA and its readers hate McAwful, he find himself on the Mt. Rushmore-esque masthead of terrible announcers.

Seriously, am I dreaming right now? Tim McCarver going to the Hall of Fame. WTF.


*If true, I love the Octavio Dotel / Tigers deal. That's a solid bullpen now with Jose Valverde at the back and Dotel + Joaquin Benoit setting him up.


*Sandy, please stay away from Brad Lidge. However, if the Yankees are willing to pay almost all of AJ Burnett's salary, take a shot on the guy. He still has strikeout stuff and would give up far few homers in Citi Field than he did at Yankee Stadium.


*I'll give you the team's offseason philosophy; you name the team. [Hint: it's been the same philosophy for the last 20 years.]

Let's not make a major splash in free agency on established, quality talent. Instead, we'll overspend on lower-level guys and make believe everything will work out. When it doesn't, we can say we tried.

If you guessed the Pittsburgh Pirates, you are a winner.

After handing an outlandish, 2 year / $10.5m deal to Clint Barmes a few weeks back, they were back to their misguided ways today, inking Erik Bedard to a 1 year / $4.5m deal AND Nate McLouth to a 1 year / $1.75m deal.

Fast forward to August when the Pirates are ineveitably out of contention again, and GM Neil Huntington can point to these moves (and the Rod Barajas signing) and say the effort was there.

It's amazing when you look at the history of awful signings they have had. These are all of the players they have given Major League deals worth at least $1m in the last five offseasons:

2006- Tony Armas
2007- Chris Gomez
2008- Eric Hinske, Ramon Vasquez
2009- Ryan Church, Bobby Crosby, Octavio Dotel (blind squirrel finds nut), Brendan Donnelly
2010- Lyle Overbay, Kevin Correia, Matt Diaz

Just because you pay someone to play like a star doesn't mean they are one.

Thank God for the Steelers and Penguins.


*At the July trade deadline, Carlos Beltran fetched a top-flight pitching prospect. Now, no one wants to sign this guy? He's not tied to any draft pick compensation. What am I missing?


*Seriously, Sandy, get your head right. I don't want to be sitting here tomorrow wondering what you were thinking when you traded away Ike Davis and Jon Niese.

Sandy Has Lost It

Trading Angel Pagan for two scrubs and giving Frank Francisco a two-year $12m deal?

Then signing Jon Rauch. We aren't playing basketball, Sandy. His 6'10" frame isn't helping us.

Old Man Is Off His Wagon.

College Football: Regular Season Summary

Because I never bet against the Service Academies, I will not be picking the Army-Navy game this weekend. That means, Week 14 concluded my college football regular season.

My record was: 37-27-2 (PoW: 6-8; Upset: 7-7)

I will be making bowl selections so check back over the next few weeks. I'm hoping to write in a bit more detail about each pick if time allows.

Monday Mullet

Juan Gonzalez made $87m in his career but couldn't afford a proper haircut

Depressed...

First the Mets lose Jose Reyes. Then I realize they'll only get a supplemental first rounder and a THIRD rounder for him.

Brilliant, Sandy. Just brilliant.

Oh, and now Ruben Tejada is our shortstop of the future.

Christ.

Initial Bowl Game Thoughts

*I've beaten this drum way too many times already, but I think it's garbage that there will be a rematch for the national title. We've already seen this game. Ok, I'm done complaining about this.

*I love the Illinois vs UCLA matchup in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Both teams fired their head coaches (Ron Zook and Rick Neuhesiel). I'm interested to see which team thought more highly of their outgoing coach.

*If you don't believe the whole BCS system is a sham, look no further than Virginia Tech playing in the Sugar Bowl. I was at the ACC Championship Game last night, and this team was terrible. They do not deserve to be anywhere near a meaningful game, after all:

1- they haven't beaten any good team this season,
2- they had their chance last night and squandered it, and
3- there are at least three (Boise State, Kansas State, Oklahoma) and maybe four (Baylor) more qualified teams that were passed over

Va Tech fans might* buy more tickets than some of these other institutions, but the BEST TEAMS should be playing in these games, not the teams with the most fans.

*I say "might" becuase Hokies fans didn't exactly show up in droves for the title game last night in Charlotte, a city within driving distance from campus.

*I know Jerry Jones is an Arkansas alumnus, but it seems like the Razorbacks find a way to play at Cowboys Stadium every year. They will take on Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl on January 6th in Dallas.

*If the the over/under for the Rose Bowl is any two-digit number, I'm taking the over. Wisconsin and Oregon are going to light up the scoreboard.

*The Urban Meyer Bowl, err, Gator Bowl between Ohio State and Florida will be a must watch as well.

Without this guy's involvement,
no one would have faulted you for skipping this game.

*The Liberty Bowl between Vanderbilt and Cincinnati features the two teams that offered "Behind the Scenes" packages in Buster Olney's Vermont fundraiser. I made bids on both but lost. Maybe I'll go to this game and knock them out in one shot.

*I'm happy that teams like Temple, Utah State, Wyoming, Ohio, and Arkansas State have the opportunity to play in bowl games. Just don't expect me to watch them.

11 Things I Know I Know: Week 13

1. I know the Tebows are in first place. Under the leadership of the The Glorious One, they have won five games in a row and six of the seven He has started. They are 4-0 on the road and sit atop the AFC West at 7-5 despite having been outscored by opponents 292-256 this season. The craziest stat in my opinion: Denver has only won one game this year by more than a touchdown. Keep the game close until the fourth, and then outwill the other team. If it ain't broke...

2. I know that as a fan, I would much, much, much, much prefer to have a camera placed on each of the end lines, each of the sidelines, and each of the goal lines than having them focused on each of the head coaches. CBS and Fox spend billions of dollars broadcasting these games, how can there ever be a question about what happened near a boundary? Spend the extra money and fix these cameras in position. Watching Tom Coughlin about to break into tears gets boring the 19th time we see it each game.

3. I know intelligent timeout usage is at an all-time low. I'm still baffled at the lack of clock management skills by head coaches. These guys are brilliant with the X's and O's but laughably bad when it comes to mathematics. (Editor's Note: I would be more than happy to help on your sideline Jason Garrett, Andy Reid, Mike Shannahan, Mike and Lovie Smith, or anyone else in need of help.)

4. I know the Bears will be calling Donovan McNabb if they haven't done so already. Caleb Hanie looks lost, and without Matthew Forte, this Bears offense stands no chance with CH at the helm.

Will McNabb be fitted with his FOURTH jersey in the last two years?

5. I know the Washington Redskins need to draft Robert Griffin III. Rex Grossman has negative pocket presence, and we know John Beck is awful. Mel Kiper called for the 'Skins to trade for Peyton Manning, but I think that makes very little sense. This roster is filled with deep threat wide receivers and lacks much in the way of a possession receiver. Manning would get these smallish guys killed with his questionable throws over the middle. Imagine RGIII throwing to Santana Moss, Brandon Banks, and Anthony Armstrong all day? That would be fun to watch. Much more fan that the offense being trotted out right now in DC.

Things won't get easier for Rex the rest of the way as he'll likely be without Fred Davis and Trent Williams, who were both suspended four games for drug use.

6. I know TJ Yates looked serviceable at quarterback for the Texans, but they cannot survive without Andre Johnson over the long haul. Yates made a couple questionable decisions with the ball, but he "managed the game" in a Trent Dilfer-kind-of-way (that is a compliment). Andre Johnson, however, went down with appeared to be a re-aggravation of a hamstring injury that sidelined him for almost two months earlier this year. If he's done for the season, so is Houston.

Something working nicely in Houston's favor, through Week 13, the AFC South has the least combined wins of any division in football. They are a shoo-in for the playoffs, but need AJ80 if they want to advance once they get there.

7. I know that all week I was telling anyone who would listen (not many people) how much today's Giants-Packers game reminded me of the 2007 Week 17 Giants-Patriots game. It's very fitting both games had the identical 38-35 score. New York caught a nice break when Dallas lost at Arizona today, making next week's matchup with the Cowboys a battle for first place in the NFC East.

8. I know the Browns are going to surprise some people next year. In this year's Draft, they focused completely on defense, and it worked. Next year, if they use their two first round picks on a quarterback and a skill position offensive player, they can make a run.

9. I know I was wrong about Cam Newton. I doubted this rookie when doing all of my 2011 NFL Draft prep work, and he has made me look pretty foolish.

After three more today, Newton now holds the single-season rushing touchdown record for a quarterback (13). More importantly, he has turned last year's pathetic 2-14 squad into a respectable 4-8 team that no one wants to face.

10. I know I will be sick of all the BCS Title Game rematch talk by next Wednesday. I never thought I'd say this about a national championship game, but I am not excited whatsoever. Either give Oklahoma State a shot at LSU or just give the title directly to the Tigers who already beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

11. I know the Chargers will beat the Jaguars 24-19 on Monday Night Football. I'm a little conflicted on this one. On one hand, San Diego has nothing to play for and the whole Jacksonville roster will be trying to impress their new owner and coach. On the other hand, Jacksonville is one of three teams since 1994 not to score at least 20 points in any of their first 11 games of the season (hat tip, CHFF). Talent wins out.

For what it's worth, the remaining slate of Thursday Night games is atrocious so plan accordingly.


"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.

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 Mullet

Great name, better hair

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.

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)