Sportsmeat

After a year of mediocre prognosticating, our legions of readers have been curious as to the identity of the mysterious "Dave Law." A quick Google Image Search reveals this middling pickmaker's identity (right).

Let's get right to it.

This is the NL Playoff Race Pride Points Pickem. We will pick games for New York, Philly, San Diego, Arizona and Colorado (Denver). That is the extent of my comments on the topic.

Home teams in BOLD CAPS so I don't screw this up again:

INDY -10 Denver

SAN DIEGO -12 Kansas City

Pittsburgh -6 ARIZONA

Philadelphia -3 NYG


Finally, time for some Mad Dog:


MIAMI (FLORIDA) 24 Duke
UTAH 21 Utah State
NEBRASKA 21 Iowa State
Hawaii 25½ IDAHO
Louisiana State 40 TULANE
Oklahoma 21½ COLORADO
TULSA 20 Alabama-Birmingham
Ohio State 23 MINNESOTA
Southern California 20 WASHINGTON
PURDUE 22½ Notre Dame
CENTRAL FLORIDA 22 Louisiana-Lafayette
KENTUCKY 22½ Florida Atlantic
ARKANSAS 36 North Texas

Fact: With 17 games to go, the Mets held a seven-game lead in the NL East.
Fact: No team in Major League Baseball history has ever held such a lead and lost its division.

Fact: The Mets have scored at least six runs in eight of their last nine games.
Fact: The Mets are 4-5 over that span.

Fact: The Mets are 4-9 in their last 13 games.
Fact: In those nine losses, the Mets held at least a one-run lead in six of them, a two-run lead in five of them, a three-run lead four of them and a four-run lead in three of them.

Fact: Up until yesterday, the Nationals were the worst offensive team in baseball.
Fact: In the last two weeks, the Nats scored 12, 9, 4, 13, 10 and 9 runs for a total of 57 runs and an average of 9.5 runs per game.

Fact: I almost threw up while watching last night’s game, in which the Mets were up 5-0 and 6-2 and still lost by three runs.

We’re three games into the NFL season, which is about the time you can reasonably draw conclusions on how teams are shaping up. With that in mind, here are my winners and losers from the season’s first three weeks.

The Winners

The Cheaters. Yeah, they cheat, but really, it also wouldn’t matter. The Cheaters have destroyed their first three opponents – two of which made the playoffs last year – by 24, 24 and 31 points, scoring 38 points each game. Tom Brady is completing a preposterous 79.5 percent of his passes and Randy Moss has 403 yards and five TDS. (He had 553 yards and three TDs all of last year.)

The Packers. This team had the look of a 6-10 squad coming into the season and was projected to start 0-3 with games against the Eagles and Chargers, and on the road against the Giants. Instead, they’re 3-0, Brett Favre is breaking records by the week (even earning a mention on NPR the other day, though Steve Inskeep struggled with the pronunciation of his last name) and putting up his best numbers since 2004.

Me picking the AFC. My six AFC playoff picks are currently 14-4, with the 1-2 Chargers as the only team with a losing record. The reason for this success? The Jets play in the AFC so I know it better, but these were also pretty easy picks to make (Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Colts, Broncos, Chargers).

The Losers

Me picking the NFC. My projected division winners are a combined 2-10, and none of them currently has a winning record. Seriously, that’s pathetic. Saving myself, I did pick the Panthers and the Cowboys as the wild card (the ‘Boys being a late switch from the Seahawks), but still – it’s hard to do much worse than that.

The Saints. The trendy pick to win the NFC (and yes, my pick as well), the Saints have been downright awful so far this far, tumbling to 0-3 – losing by 31, 17 and 17 points – and looking more like 2005’s 3-13 squad than last year’s NFC runner-up.

The Falcons. Sadly (well, at least for me), only five teams are 0-3 at this stretch in the season so the chance at the first-ever 0-16 team is again remote. But if anyone has a chance to blow it completely, it’s the Falcons. The whole Mike Vick thing royally screwed them, leaving them with no good options at QB (someone rightly pointed out that coach Bobby Petrino would trade all his QBs for his college QB last year, Brian Brohm), a team already defeated and, overall, lacking in quality talent. Throw in Petrino learning the pro game on the fly and this is an out-and-out disaster.

In the world of college football, the big winner this weekend was Syracuse, a 36.5-point dog that stopped Louisville's 20-game home winning streak. But in the far more important world of Sportsmeat, Maxipriest is this week's champion, taking 15 points for taking the Orange to finish with 18 points for the week and move into the early lead. (Incidentally, Maxi and Budds were the only people whose dogs won last year.) Budds was the big winner from the pro ranks, taking the maximum 7 points for picking the Jets (a push versus the Dolphins), Browns, Jags and 'Boys.

Here are the updated standings (with this week's point total in parentheses):
Maxipriest 25 points (18)
EJ 17 (10)
Dave Law 15 (3)
Joe 14 (5)
Budds 13 (7)
Snoop 11 (3)
Big Thunder 8 (3)
Y.A. Shoes 5 (0)

This week's Pride Point Pick 'Em highlights an oft-cited rule of pointspreading: Home field advantage in the NFL is worth three points. So that means for these four games, all else is a push. Mad Dog -20 options below. You know the drill.

JETS -3 Dolphins
BRONCOS -3 Jags
RAIDERS -3 Browns
BEARS -3 Cowboys

Mad Dog options:
LOUISVILLE 36.5 Syracuse
BOSTON COLLEGE 28 Army
NEBRASKA 21.5 Ball State
Florida 23 MISSISSIPPI
OHIO STATE 22.5 Northwestern
BOWLING GREEN 20.5 Temple
WEST VIRGINIA 25 East Carolina
CINCINNATI 22.5 Marshall
TEXAS 37.5 Rice
USC 25 Washington State
TCU 21 Smu
KANSAS 32.5 Florida Intl

Big Thunder takes the Jets, Broncos, Raiders, and Cowboys, along with Rice, a Mad Dog rerun.
Budds goes with the Jets, Jags, Browns, and Cowboys, and Marshall as the dog.
EJ's taking his Jets, along with the Jags, Browns and Bears, and an Army of +28.

A week ago the Mets’ biggest problem appeared to be choosing which four of their five deserving starters would make the postseason rotation. That is no longer an issue—El Duque is out indefinitely and John Maine and Oliver Perez appear to have hit a wall. All of a sudden, their best starter is a guy on the verge of retirement and their second-best starter has made a scant three starts in the last year. And the biggest problem of all? There may be no postseason to prepare for.

No team in Major League Baseball history has ever blown a seven-game lead held on or after Sept. 12. But the Mets have orchestrated this same dance all season. They were the worst team in baseball for the month of June, then built a seven-game lead on Aug. 25, which was whittled down to two games one week later. They built it back up to seven games by the 12th, and now the lead is down to 1-1/2 games.

What happened? Basically, the middle relief has been a problem all year, relying on a strong starting staff to pick up wins. But now the starters have faltered. Duque is old, and as I’ve said here many times this season, old players get hurt (Tom Glavine excepted; Moises Alou not). Perez is pitching his first full big-league season in three years and Maine (whose ERA, 2.74 at the All-Star break, climbed over 4.00 with last night’s dismal performance) is pitching his first-ever. Oh, and the team’s sparkplug, Jose Reyes, is batting .210 over the last five weeks. The Mets have a lot of young players still learning how to get it done and a lot of old players winding down, with only Carlos Beltran and the declining Shawn Green in between. Oh, and we’ve learned that steroids really do help pitchers.

What next? Amazingly, the Mets have the biggest lead in the National League and are tied with the D-Backs and Padres for the league’s best record. So it’s still their division to lose and they’ve responded every time they’ve been challenged this year. Teams with big leads do tend to relax (see this year’s Red Sox, who are only one game away from having to start the postseason on the road). Plus, their schedule is favorable. I think they’ll hold on, but I say that with decreasing levels of confidence.

As BT mentioned, and EJ foreshadowed, we have a remarkable tendency to turn a sure thing into a sure loser. Week One it was the Eagles. Week Two it's Cincinnati, our unanimous pick that ended up on the losing side of a shootout against Derek Anderson and the Browns. If you asked me a week ago what sport the professional athlete Derek Anderson played, I'd have said basketball, and I would not have been wrong. Well, at least we can stop hearing about Brady Quinn for a month or so.

It was a mediocre week of picking, with four of us at 2-2 and four at 1-3. In other news, Oklahoma beat Utah State 54-3, covering a 46-point spread (sorry MP), while five Mad Dogs covered: Idaho, La. Tech, Fla. Intl., Buffalo, and San Diego St.

The standings after two weeks:
Dave Law 12
Joe D. 9
Snoop 8
E.J. 7
Maxipriest 7
Budds 6
Y.A. Shoes 5
Big Thunder 5

I don't know if this is old news, and I apologize if it is. I had read the story about the Oregon Duck mascot fighting with the Houston Couger. I had not, however, seen the video, which is very, very good.

Labels: Houston Couger, Oregon Duck

EJ points out that I mislabeled the home and away teams in last week's NFL picks column. This likely had at least some effect on most of the pickers' picks. So we will be awarding 1 point for each correct Week 1 pick, and 2 points per correct pick from here on out.

Moving on, here are this week's Games o' the Week. This time, I'll put home teams in CAPS:

PATRIOTS -4 Chargers
RAMS -3 49ers
Bengals -6.5 BROWNS
EAGLES -7 Redskins (aka "The Brothers Tomlinson Bowl")

BBD takes Bolts, Niners, Bengals, Eagles
BT takes Pats, Rams, Bengals, Skins
EJ takes Chargers, Rams, Bengals and Skins (Making the Bengals an early candidate to be upset)

Also, we are kicking off the Mad Dog -20 season! This week offers a wide variety of choices. Yes, there will be a lot of crappy college football on Saturday.


UCONN -29.5 Temple
PENN STATE -34 Buffalo
PURDUE -21 Central Michigan
VA TECH -21 Ohio
MIZZOU -20.5 Western Michigan
Tx Tech -28 RICE
WAKE FOREST -20 Army
OKLAHOMA -46 (!) Utah State
MIAMI -32.5 Fla Int'l
CAL -33.5 La Tech
A&M -23 La Monroe
KANSAS -23 Toledo
LSU -40 Middle Tenn St.
WASH ST. -25.5 Idaho
ARIZ ST. -28.5 San Diego St

5 points to pick a dog that covers the spread. 15 points to pick an outright winner.

BBD takes Idaho
BT takes Rice
EJ takes Looooooosiana Tech

Submit now, or die.

Labels: BT F*cked Up, Mad Dog -20, NFL Picks

In Week 1, there was one game that the Sportsmeat prognosticators (all 8 of us) picked unanimously. We could not have been more sure that Buddha's beloved Iggles would comfortably cover the 2.5 point spread with a blowout win in Green Bay. I have long vowed that, when faced with the Sportsmeat equivalent of a sure thing, I would get to Vegas and put as much as I could possibly afford on the team that none of us had picked. Had I done so, I'd be a happy man right now. It turns out that Donovan McNabb is a step slower than Byron Leftwich, Greg Lewis has the hands of Kevin Everett (too soon?), and Andy Reid has been raiding his sons' secret stash. The Pack won outright, by a score of 16-13.

Adding salt to Buddha's wounds, he rounded out his picks with the Jets, Giants and Ravens, making it a clean 0-4. Not to be outdone, both EJ and Joe replicated Buddha's 0-4 start.

On the other side, Dave Law, Ya Shoes and Maxipriest each picked the Pats, Cowboys and Bengals to go 3-1 and tie for the early lead. BT and Byron rounded out the group with 1-3 records.

Stay tuned for this week's NFL picks plus the belated season premiere of the Mad Dog -20 college picks.

Labels: Eagles, NFL Picks, Packers, Results

First, my apologies for being an absentee blogger for the past few weeks. I was working at the US Open and couldn't access the blog from there. Alas, the Open is finally over so here are my thoughts from the past few weeks:

-) The Open was again a pretty decent one. Albeit a little sparse on Americans, Justine Henin and Roger Federer both put on pretty incredible performances. Henin did not drop a set, beat both Williams sisters back-to-back in a Grand Slam and won the title (never done before) and beat three former champions in the last three rounds. Moreover, Henin did not lose a set at this year's French Open and did not lose a set in her only hard-court tournament leading up to the US Open (at a Tier I event no less). At this point there is no question she's the best player in the world.

As for Federer, he won Wimbledon and the US Open for the fourth year in a row. No one in tennis history had even accomplished that double three times. His four consecutive US Opens are the most in a row since Bill Tilden won his fourth of six in 1923. Federer has played in 10 straight Grand Slam finals (the former record was seven, and also set many moons ago) and, in the past four years, has won three, two, three and three of four Grand Slams. Amazing. Even more impressive when considered his losses are 2007 French in the final to Nadal (who is on his way to becoming the best clay player ever), 2006 French final to Nadal, 2005 French semi to eventual winner Nadal and 2005 Aussie semi to Marat Safin in a five-setter that is still the best match I've ever seen (and yes, Safin went on to win the title). In my eyes, Federer has already passed Sampras on the GOAT list, with only Rod Laver to beat. If Fed can win the French, it's no longer a conversation.

-) A lot was made of Serena's completely classless exit from the Open. The response was typical Serena, who consistently lacks any hint of grace when losing, but should not also be applied to Venus. Despite baiting from reporters (and an apparent dizzy spell), Venus still gave full credit to Henin and has, throughout her injury-riddled career, shown a reverence for the game and those who came before her. It's a mistake to paint both Williams with the same brush simply because they're sisters.

-) Other Open notes: Got to meet some cool people and came away impressed by Chris Russo, and particularly by Ron Darling and John Feinstein. Couldn't hope to meet two nicer guys.

-) OK, after that last Larry King-style note, we'll move on from tennis. This season has once again shown that college football should wait until after Week 3 or 4 to release the first poll. Two weeks ago App State over Michigan was the biggest upset of all-time. Now, Michigan just might not be any good after losing their front 4 on defense and All-everything corner Leon Hall. Of course, that doesn't explain the offense sucking as well, but still ... In other sports the polls don't matter, but in football they do, considerably. A great team could go 12-0 but if they start Week 1 unranked, they may never ascend to the Top 2. It's better to get a look at everyone and then decide.

-) Not much on NFL thoughts because people tend to over-react to Week 1. I will say this, though: If I were a fan of the Pats, Colts or Panthers I'd be feeling pretty good right now. Not so much for the Browns, Jags and Falcons (the former two will be looking for new coaches soon, courtesy of both bungling the QB situation). As to the Jets, bad game, but not one I expected them to win. I don't think they'll win this week either, but they can still bounce back and go 10-6. I think 8-8 is more likely, but anything is possible (well, except for Joey Harrington getting into the Hall of Fame).

Anyway, this has gone on long enough so I'll call it a day here. But do keep an eye out for the NFL Week 2 picks and for the College Football Maddog 15-point underdog challenge to return this week.

As you all know, the greatest sport in the world is upon us. This is where your esteemed prognosticators deliver our nfl picks. Last year, we had a 54% success rate at picking division champs, a 50% success rate in picking playoff teams, a 50% success rate in picking Super Bowl participants, and an astounding 67% success rate in picking the Super Bowl champion. BT was best at picking division winners, hitting 5 of 8. Buddha led the pack with 7 of 12 playoff teams. All three 'Meaters picked the Colts to the Super Bowl, with BT and Buddha picking them to win. And finally, BT nailed the MVP choice with LT. So we kinda know what we're talking about. Without more, here are the 2007 picks:

Meat picks

Division winners:

EJ

Eagles, Bears, Saints, Rams, Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Chargers

Budds

Eagles, Packers, Saints, Seahawks, Patriots, Bengals, Colts, Chargers

BT

Cowboys, Bears, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Chargers


Wild Cards:

EJ

Cowboys, Panthers, Steelers, Broncos

Budds

Bears, Rams, Jets, Chiefs

BT

Eagles, Seahawks, Jets, Steelers


NFC Champ

EJ - Saints
BBD - Eagles
BT - Saints

AFC Champ

EJ - Patriots
BBD - Colts
BT - Chargers

Super Bowl Champ

EJ - Patriots
BBD - Colts
BT - Chargers

MVP

EJ - Manning
BBD - LT
BT - LT

Offensive POY

EJ - LT
BBD - Manning
BT - Manning (no comment on whether its Eli or Peyton)

Defensive POY

EJ - Kerry Rhodes
BBD - Urlacher
BT - Merriman

Offensive ROY

EJ - Marshawn Lynch
BBD - Calvin Johnson
BT - Adrian Peterson

Defensive ROY

EJ - Adam Carriker
BBD - Paul Posluzsvrklmnopy
BT - Gaines Adams

Send in your picks.

Finally, the first week of Pride Point Pick 'Em as well. We're going with the three teams supported by this blog's authors, as well as the best game (other than tonight, since this post is late):

Home Away

Pats -7 Jets

Eagles -2.5 Packers

Giants +6 Cowboys

Ravens +2.5 Bengals


BT takes the Pats, Eagles, Giants and Ravens.

Labels: NFL, Prognostications

Labels: Browns, Montclair High, Peter King, Redskins, Ross Tucker