Sportsmeat

This gentleman accurately summarizes my feelings regarding all current sports topics:

Labels: BCS, Eli Manning, Hawaii, Kansas, New York Giants

Don't miss 'em this week. NFL only, as there's only one Mad Dog left in college...

MINNESOTA Detroit +3
INDIANAPOLIS Jacksonville +7
NEW ORLEANS Tampa Bay +3
N.Y Giants CHICAGO +2

Big Thunder is on the favorite train with the Vikings, Colts, Saints, and Giants.
EJ likes the Lions, Jags, Saints, and Bears.
Budds picks the Lions, Colts, Bucs, and Bears.

Ok. Since we kind of botched last week's posting of the standings, we're going to scale everything down -- so it's one point for each game and, well, Maxipriest's 0-for-4 is going to cost him 2.5 points rather than 5. Here are the updated standings with last week's points in parentheses:

Budds 104 points (2)
EJ 90.5 (4)
Maxipriest 89.5 (-2.5)
Snoop 85 (2)
Joe 79 (0)
Big Thunder 62 (0)
Dave Law 53.5 (0)
Y.A. Shoes 29 (0)

And by the way, if anyone can work Budds' Youtube post below into future weddings I attend, that would be excellent.

Wait for it...

I’ve floated this before but I’m not sure if I ever put in on paper. So here goes. Once again the BCS is a mess and once again people are clamoring for a playoff. My proposal is to go back to an 11-game season and add an eight-team playoff that would look like this:

-) The winners of the six BCS conferences and two at-large teams.
-) If a non-BCS school finishes in the Top 12 of the BCS, it gets in. (If there are three such teams, the Top 2 get in.)
-) The at-large selections are decided by BCS rankings.

Thus, this year’s field would currently look like this:
ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: West Virginia
Big Ten: Ohio State
Big 12: Missouri
Pac-10: USC
SEC: LSU
At-Large Qualifier: Hawaii
At-Large: Georgia

Ranked in BCS order, we’d have:
1) Missouri vs. 8) Hawaii
2) West Virginia vs. 7) USC
3) Ohio State vs. 6) LSU
4) Georgia vs. 5) Va. Tech

I’m not really that concerned where the games are played. The bowl sites should be utilized at some point (perhaps the first round hosted by the home team, semis at the Sugar and Orange Bowls, with the final at the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta getting the two best teams not in the playoff), but it doesn’t really matter. It’s that they play.

Ok, so we dropped the ball on getting the picks out early this week. BT made the selections on Tuesday and Budds and I both took the Pack. Of course, you guys didn't know this.

So here goes with the other picks. Since there is no 20-point dog in college football this week, we're gonna add a college game to the picks. So here are BT's selections:

PITTSBURGH -16 Miami
NEW ENGLAND -22 Philly
Green Bay -3.5 DETROIT
KANSAS -2 Missouri (In KC)

I took the Pack, Dolphins, Eagles and Mizzou.
Budds took the Pack, Steelers, Eagles and Kanas.

And to replace the Packers-Lions (and in honor of double-digit spread week) we'll throw out:

ARIZONA -10.5 San Francisco

How do you go 1-3 picking NFL games and consider the week a total success? When UL-Monroe knocks off Alabama. Budds and I both picked the Warhawks, offsetting poor NFL predicting weekends to earn 17 points. Overall, it was a tough week for the Sportsmeat crew. No other dogs covered, and only Thunder and Maxipriest broke even on the NFL games (going 2-2, everyone else went 1-3).

Here are the updated standings (points this week in parentheses):

Budds 102 points (17)
Maxipriest 92 (4)
EJ 86.5 (17)
Snoop 83 (2)
Joe 79 (2)
Big Thunder 62 (4)
Dave Law 53.5 (2)
Y.A. Shoes 29 (0)

This week's picks, also posted on the comment thread of Biggest Loser by the Large Partner of Lightning...

N.Y Giants 2½ DETROIT
JACKSONVILLE 3 San Diego
DENVER 2½ Tennessee
MINNESOTA 6 Oakland

And here are the dogs:

KANSAS 26½ Iowa State
BOISE ST. 34 Idaho
ALABAMA 24½ UL Monroe
FLORIDA 34 Florida Atlantic

BT picked the Giants, Jags, Titans and Raiders, with Idaho as his doggies.
Budds went with the Giants (though cheering for the reverse), Chargers, Titans, and Raiders, with U.L. Monroe (the Warhawks -- had to look that one up).
EJ chose the games but I can't find his picks in my inbox.

So it looks like A-Rod is going back to the Yankees, reuniting two things I can't stand. Do as the dust settles, it's time to determine who is the biggest loser in this beatiful union:

Candidate #1: Scott Boras
The Skinny: Filed for free agency on the last day of the World Series, earning a rebuke from the commissioner's office. Promised to ignite a bidding way and make A-Rod baseball's first $300 million man.
The case for: Now, he essentially gets booted out of negotiation as A-Rod goes to Florida to meet with Yankees' brass sans Boras, meaning he will have little to do with the eventual signing.
The case against: Six percent of $280 mil is still pretty sweet.

Candidate #2: A-Rod
The Skinny: Baseball's best player and self-absorbed superstar forgoes big money in an extension to become a free agent.
The case for: A-Rod had to essentially come crawling back to the Yanks in an effort to earn the money that didn't appear available on the open market. This whole charade will do nothing to furhter endear him to Yankee fans.
The case against: He'll be making $28 million as a 43-year-old.

Candidate #3: The Yankees
The Skinny: Hal (or Hank, I can't keep them straight) Steinbrenner said the Yanks had no use for A-Rod if he opted out, which cost them $21 million in salary that was being paid by the Rangers.
The case for: Yanks said they were done with A-Rod, now accept him back at market value and lose the $21 mil (the Yanks say the $21 mil was factored into the contract, which then makes this contract worth more than $300 mil by my specious reasoning).
The case against: The Yanks have the best third baseman in baseball locked up for 10 years, which will be lucrative as A-Rod chases Hank Aaron's legitimate home run record and Barry Bonds' illegitimate home run record.

So I put it to Sportsmeat nation (we're a small nation, like Belize)? Who's the biggest loser?

Quick hits from the weekend:

-) I think because I can’t stand the guy, I tend to ignore how good he is, but Terrell Owens was the best player on the field Sunday against the Giants. He absolutely killed them—making a couple of tough catches and showing good speed for a man his age (34 next month) and size (6-foot-3, 225). The game was also an illustration of how far Tony Romo has come. He’s a legit Top 5 QB in the NFL right now, perhaps behind only Brady, Manning and Favre this season.

-) The most interesting thing about the Pats going 16-0 is whether they’ll keep playing their starters in the last few games if they’ve already wrapped up home field. The 13-0 Colts from a few year’s back probably proved that it’s not good to rest for the last three games (went 0-3 and lost to the Steelers in Round 1) but what about Week 17? It’s Pats at Giants, and the Ginters may have something to play for. Also to keep in mind, the biggest spread in NFL history is 24 points (Steelers-Bucs in 1976). Jets at Pats in Week 15 figures to test that.

-) There’s a lot of sadness in the Sportsmeat family over St. Louis’ win on Sunday, but I’d rather see the Dolphins go 0-16, so it’s still OK. And why is Shula trying to trash the Pats’ run to 16-0? Even if what he says has merit, it just comes across as the 1972 Dolphins whining more about their record. I’d love to see someone make that team have to chill the champagne for a whole season, I just don’t want it to be the Patriots.

-) The Heisman race is down to two players: Oregon’s Dennis Dixon and Florida’s Tim Tebow. Dixon has his team in the championship race, while Tebow’s team has three losses, but Tebow’s stats are absurd. Tebow is currently second in the passer ratings (Dixon is fourth), leads the nation in passing yards per attempt (Dixon is 11th) and has 23 TDs against five INTs (Dixon has 20 TDs and three picks).

All in all, I’d still say advantage Dixon based on his team’s record, but it’s Tebow’s rushing that could make the difference. Tebow is third in the nation with 19 rushing TDs (by comparison, Darren McFadden has 12) and has 718 yards rushing (Dixon goes eight TDs and 549 yards rushing). Right now, if I had a vote, I’d go 1. Tebow; 2. Dixon; 3. Chase Daniel, Missouri.

-) My current Top 10: 1. LSU; 2. Oregon; 3. Oklahoma; 4. Kansas; 5. West Virginia; 6. Ohio State; 7. Missouri; 8. Arizona State; 9. Georgia; 10. Florida.

Couple of notes here: The Oklahoma-Kansas call is a tough one because while Oklahoma dominates at home (avg. score: 53-15), they’re suspect on the road (avg. score: 33-19), but Kansas has yet to play Mizzou and does not play Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech, so they’re tough to judge. As to Nos. 5-7, they could go in any order, and Missouri jumps the pack with a win over Kansas. And as to No. 10, I know Florida has three losses but they also have wins over Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina, while USC and Va. Tech are lacking in quality wins (and USC lost to Stanford).

It was a big weekend for Budds, who ran the table with a 4-0 week in the NFL and picked the only cover, UAB, which lost by 14 to UCF in a game I would otherwise never have known the score of. The weekend moves Budds into second place as we gear up for the stretch run to the grand finale -- the college bowl special and the NFL playoffs.

Updated Standings:
Maxipriest 88 points (4)
Budds 85 (13)
Snoop 81 (6)
Joe 77 (11)
EJ 69.5 (6)
Big Thunder 58 (4)
Dave Law 51.5 (2)
Y.A. Shoes 29 (0)

Except Packer fans. America's favorite belt-whipping, placekick-holding, elbow-separating, cheap-clothes-wearing quarterback, Koy Detmer, returns to the NFL this week with the Vikings. Jeff George was available, but Brad Childress went with Koy boy instead. Hey, he can't be worse than the rest of their QBs. Anyway, enough with the chit chat. The picks:

TITANS Jags +4
STEELERS Browns +9.5
PACKERS Vikings +6 (Will Koy break out the whip?)
Cowboys GIANTS +1

And the dogs:
Penn State 24.5 TEMPLE
Boise St. 24.5 UTAH STATE
Central Fla 20 UAB
LSU 36.5 Louisiana Tech

Big Thunder is big on the Jags, Steelers, Vikings, and Cowboys, plus Temple, with its biggest home crowd of the year and about five percent of the fans cheering for the home team.
Budds picks the Jags, Browns, Packers, and Cowboys, along with UAB.
EJ likes the Jags, Browns, Vikes, and Cowboys, and he chose Temple.

ESPN's Barry Melrose has apologized for his recent comment about the Newark hockey arena -- "Don't go outside if you have a wallet or anything else, because the area around the arena is just horrible" -- a comment that, by Jersey insult standards, is pretty mild. While I do appreciate Mayor Cory Booker sticking up for his city, Melrose might have been justified if he had indeed been pickpocketed or harassed in Newark. I mean, it happens. But he never even went to the arena, let alone to the area outside it.
In retaliation, I'm trying to come up with an insult to Melrose's hometown, which, according to Wikipedia, is Kelvington, Saskatchewan, a thriving metropolis of nearly 900 hearty souls that I clearly have never visited. But I hear the women there don't shave their armpits, and their boots smell like apple cider vinegar. Oh, and I wouldn't walk down the street there if your hat has antlers because somebody might shoot you.
I'll apologize tomorrow.

Labels: melrose, mullets, tumbleweeds

Not too much movement in the Pride Point Bowl this week, with the big winner (Dave Law at nine points courtesy a Utah State cover) and the last-place finisher (Snoop, via his love of the Pats) separated by just five points. Joe and I led the NFL picks by going 4-0, with Budds, Y.A. Shoes and leader Maxipriest all going 3-1.

Here are your updated standings:

Maxipriest 84 points (6)
Snoop 75 (4)
Budds 73 (6)
Joe 66 (8)
EJ 63.5 (8)
Big Thunder 54 (7)
Dave Law 49.5 (9)
Y.A. Shoes 29 (6)

Let's get to it. THE GAME OF THE CENTURY:

Patriots -5.5 COLTS

OK, after everyone has had a cigarette and relaxed from thinking about THE GAME OF THE CENTURY, we can move on to the rest of the field. In honor of Michigan State's Kyle Sackrider, we will pick games featuring some of the NFL's most fearsome sack-men.

Dallas (DeMarcus Ware - 5.5 sacks) -3 PHILLY (Trent Cole - 9 sacks)

KANSAS CITY (Jared Allen - 8 sacks) -2 Green Bay (Aaron Kampmen - 8 sacks)

CLEVELAND (Kamerion Wimbley - 3 sacks) -1 Seattle (Julian Peterson - 7 sacks)

Also, we got dogs:

BYU -21 Colo. St.
Texas Tech -21 BAYLOR
BOISE St -25.5 San Jose St.
TENNESSEE -28.5 Lou. Lafayette
FRESNO ST. -20.5 Utah St
OKLAHOMA - 21 Tex. A&M

Buddhizzle takes Dallas, Green Bay, Cleveland, Tex. A&M, and THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (making the dreaded pick-against-your-team move, virtually ensuring that the Eagles will lose by 2, making him a double loser)

EJizzle takes Dallas, Green Bay, Cleveland, Tex. A&M (yes, the same freaking teams) and THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (EJ is taking the Colts "based purely on principle" -- perhaps an example of pride trumping pride points?)

BTizzle takes Philly, Green Bay, Seattle, Utah St. and THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (who will win by double digits, if not triple)

Labels: Big Sacks, Giant Sacks, Kyle Sackrider, Luscious Sacks, Pride, Sacks, The Game of the Century