My TV was destroyed today when it showed Woody Paige's face on "Around the Horn" in HD for the first time, so I'd figure that I would use this free time to bring back some old favorites on this site: End of the Month and the Thursday installment of Random Thoughts that hasn't ran since February. So let's see if I have everything ready to do this:
- a list of thoughts written on a piece of paper...check.
- a list of things I've written down since 09/01 that I found rather intriguing or memorable...check
- an Eddie Van Halen giutar solo to get me pumped up...
WOOOO! Yep, I'm ready. Now, let's get started...
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
The following were on my mind between Monday, September 27th and Thursday, September 30th:
- It's official: "Lonestar" is now dead thanks to their awful ratings for their first two episodes of the series. The early cancellation now makes them the first cancelled new show of the 2010-11 TV season despite the warm reception from critics and message board. I predicted them to be one of this fall's breakout hit. Note to self: stop making predictions about a TV show's success.
- Damn you, NBC! Stop spoiling the plots of every one of my favorite TV shows on your network with your promos!
- Dear Ken Burns,
You made a four hour commercial free documentary on PBS about MLB from the '92 NLCS to '09 and you even didn't mention Albert Pujols once!?!? Look, I understand that you had a lot to cover. There was the '94 strike, the Red Sox finally winning it in '04, the '01 season after 9/11, Bonds, the '98 home run chase, steroids, etc. Still, if you're going to make a baseball documentary from this time period, how can you not even mention someone like Pujols who was the first player in MLB history to bat over .300 with 30+ HRs and 100+ RBIs in ten consecutive seasons (and without steroids, it appears for now) and is a 9 time All-Star, a 5 time Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover, a 3 time NL MVP, voted Player of the Decade by multiple news organizations (like "Sports Illustrated") and is considered to be one of the top hitters from his generation? It would be like leaving Gehrig out of a documentary about baseball in the 1930s, or Jerry West in a documentary about the NBA in the 1960s. In the words of the honorable Keyshawn Johnson: "C'mon man!"
*Only times they even shown Pujols were a picture of him celebrating after a game in 2004 and a five second highlight of him hitting a home run.
**Had plenty of time to mention the Indians corked bat incident, though.
***Not a Cardinals fan
****Yes, I watched all four hours!..
*****Shut up! I had some free time on my hands the past two days!
- Hey, Mozilla Firefox and Adobe, here's a suggestion! Instead of making me to install new updates every three days, maybe you can put all those updates into one big update that you do maybe three to four times a year. That way you can probably save all that effort into use for something else and I can keep my anger away from you.
- If I had a vote in the AL Cy Young award ballot, it would easily go to Felix Hernandez instead of CC Sabathia. Look, I understand that Hernandez has only 13 wins this season, which is almost ten less than the amount of wins Sabathia put up (21, a career high for him). However, if you take a look at some of the other major pitching categories and the pitching categories that aren't highly publicized, but are still useful in determining which player was better at a certain point than another, you will see that Hernandez this season has had the following stats better than Sabathia:
ERA(league leader)
WHIP
IP (league leader)
quality starts (league leader)
strikouts (league leader)
K/9
K/BB
Complete Game
Quality Starts
Opponent Batting Average
Opponent On Base Percentage
Opponent Slugging Percentage
So there you go. Not counting the arguments made by old-school writers who either still haven't gotten used to saber-metrics or are just plain stubborn, there really isn't a debate. Hernandez has clearly been the better pitcher. Other things to consider:
1. Last year's AL CY Young Award winner, Zack Greinke, had only 16 wins
2. While the Yankees have had one of the better offenses in the league, the Seattle Mariners have been one of the worst, getting about half as many yards as the Yankees had this season and could very well end the year as one of the worst run producing teams in MLB history.
3. Some pitching performances that Hernandez has had this year in which he did not get a win because of the team's poor offense that game:
05/13 vs. Baltimore: 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks (ND)
05/29 vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 8 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks (ND)
06/24 vs. Chicago Cubs: 9 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks (ND)
07/21 vs. Chicago White Sox: 9 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks (ND)
08/31 vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks (ND)
09/23 vs. Toronto: 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks (L)
- Oh, what the hell! Here are some other people who I feel should get some of the other major awards for their work in the 2010 MLB season:
Roy Halladay (Philadelphia pitcher): NL Cy Young
Miguel Cabrera (Detroit 1B): AL MVP
Joey Votto (Cincinnati 1B): NL MVP
Neftali Feliz (Texas pitcher): AL Rookie of the Year
Buster Posey (San Fransisco C/1B): NL Rookie of the Year
Ron Washington (Texas manager): AL Manager of the Year
Bud Black (San Diego manager): NL Manager of the Year
And now, here is another installment of "End of the Month" to wrap things up:
END OF THE MONTH:
Videos of the Month:
- The Funniest: "No One Likes M. Night Shyamalan"
And just like all M. Night Shymalan movies of the past five years, it is the trailer that is better than the actual movie will be.
- The Furriest: "Dancing Merengue Dog"
Makes you wonder how "celebrities" like David Hasselhoff and Margaret Cho can't remember their dance steps. After all, what this dog did was much more complicating.
- Best Music Video: OK Go's "White Knuckles"
Brilliant work by OK Go. Not only did they make another great viral- friendly music video, but they also added a key element to make it even better than had they not included it: cute animals! I mean, who doesn't love them?
(Runner up: Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You"-the non-karaoke edition. You gotta put this song in consideration as one of the best of 2010, right?)
-The Best Unintentional Double Rainbow Guy Parody: "Brooklyn Tornado 9/16/10"
It's about time the schmoyoho guys made an east coast version of the Double Rainbow song.
- The Most Awesome: "Dude, You Have No Quran!"
No. No he does not.
Congressional Meeting of the Month: Stephen Colbert in Character Addresses Congress About Migrant Workers on 09/24
This is the most interesting thing to happen on C-SPAN 3 since...since...well, ever. Maybe there was heated book discussion or two, but this easily tops it.
Random Tweet of the Month: Kanye West on 09/04:
"I'm Sorry, Taylor."
Well, that was sudden! I wonder what must have sparked Mr. West's sudden burst of honesty and humility?
Stories of the Month:
-The Most Ironic: Owner of Segway Dies in Segway Accident
So, he bough the company a year ago only to end up getting killed with its help. Now, that is is one true example of "be careful what you wish for." But, hey, at least he brought the first big media attention on anything segway related in years, so there's that...right?
- The Saddest: Injuries and Deaths Occur in San Bruno, California Natural Gas Explosion
- The Most Relieving: Florida Pastor Terry Jones Postpones Quran Burning Stunt on 9/11 Before It Was Set to Begin
It still doesn't make me forgive him for planning the whole thing in the first place, though.
- The Least Shocking: Paris Hilton Arrested For Possession of Cocaine
The only shocking thing about it was that it didn't happen sooner.
Launch of the Month: Google Instant
So I guess this means that I will have an even better chance at accidentally viewing a picture of a penis.
Redemption of the Month: Michael Vick
After ten quarters of playing like one of the best QBs in the NFL, Vick is now in the early NFL MVP and Comeback Player of the Year discussion and his jersey is becoming one of the highest selling in the NFL for the past few days. In fact, stores that wouldn't dare to sell them last year are now selling them by popular demand all of a sudden. It just goes to show you how much winning and playing well in a sport can easily change a person's reputation, especially in the city they play in.
Resurrection of the Week: Fire Joe Morgan.com on Deadspin (09/22)
(http://deadspin.com/tag/firejoemorganrereunion/)
And what a day it was! From the revelation that Joe Morgan walks around naked in the Reds locker room to the return of the David Eckstein bashing and Gallimaufry, it was seemingly classic Fire Joe Morgan all rolled into one super packed day. Makes me wish that I had actually read their site when it was actually running from '05-'08 instead of being a kid doing stupid kid stuff.
Meme of the Week: Sad Don Draper
Look at him, all sad and depressed. Makes you just want to comfort him, even though that it's impossible to do in reality. It's also great with photoshop, as you will see by clicking on this Tumblr.
Person of the Month: Christine O'Donell
Oh, those Tea Partiers! They just can't seem to run out of people like her, can't they. Let's see what we know about Delware Tea Party Queen Christime O'Donell so far:
-she's anti-masturbation
-she practiced witchcraft in college
-she believes that evolution isn't real because if it were true, then why aren't gorillas still evolving into apes? Well?
- she says she studied in Oxford, but she really didn't
- she is anti-gay, yet has an openly gay sister
-she is single and pro-abstinence, so for all we know she could be a virgin right now
-she thinks AIDS research is getting too much funding
Good Lord, that is fantastic! What isn't great however is the possibility that she could win. Let's just hope the voters of Delaware make the right choice. I mean, it's good to have a laugh or two but actually seeing these type of people be part of our nation's legislative branch is just scary to think about.
And that's about it for now. So, expect to see the Thursday "Random Thoughts" to pop-up every single week now until about mid-February or so. Have a good night, and I will see you tomorrow with my week 4 NFL picks.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Random Thoughts: 09/20/10- 09/27/10
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
The following were on my mind between Monday, September 20th to Monday, September 27th:
- Am I crazy, or does Bob Ley have a really hard time pronouncing "Eagles"?
- I am very much looking forward to the final three episodes of "Mad Men" season four. Not only am I interested in seeing how these three episodes compare to the spectacular final three episodes of last season (which includes the Emmy award winning season finale that I have been raving about from time to time since November), but how they answer some of the questions that have been popping up the last few episodes (and if you haven't watched the last few episodes, I suggest that you just skip these next few sentences). Will Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce keep Lucky Strike from dropping them in the next thirty days? If so, how will they be able to do? And if not, will they be able to assemble a new roster of clients to fill that void? How has Sally been doing with that child psychologist? And what about Joan? Did she have that abortion or not? Will Don's relationship with Dr. Faye be affected in any way now that Don told her about his identity switch during the Korean War (besides the fact that she knows something that only four or five other people in Don's life know)? Hopefully, Matt Weiner and company will not disappoint.
- Whoever designed the eco-friendly Kirkland water bottles with the bottle caps that are hard to open because of its thinness is the most evil person in the world.
- Boy, was I wrong about "Lonestar"! Last Monday, I predicted it to be one of the breakout new shows of the year along with "The Event" and "Mike & Molly." Now, I'm not even sure that it will last into October thanks to their pitiful first episode ratings!
(http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/09/21/tv-ratings-monday-dancing-castle-two-and-a-half-men-up-lone-star-no-star-the-event-hawaii-five-0/64332)
- How is it that I can watch episodes of "Family Guy" a thousand times a week on fifty or so channels, but I can only watch episodes "The Simpsons" on one channel and in a far less frequency? Now, that, is some BS.
- Newsflash, FOX Chicago: you are NOT the only news at 9 o'clock! If you can just flip through the channels, you will see that WGN has their nightly news on at the exact same time. I would probably suggest that you change that slogan.
- I wonder how many times Betty White has thanked the people that put her on that Snickers commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLIV. After all, the so called Year of Betty White that her hosting 'SNL,' win an Emmy and appear in more movies and TV show cameos than usual among other things probably would not have happened if she had not appeared on that commercial.
I'm still thinking about returning the Thursday editions of the Random Thoughts, so don't be surprised if that should occur this week. Otherwise, I hoped you enjoyed this post and I wish you a pleasant weekend.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
The following were on my mind between Monday, September 20th to Monday, September 27th:
- Am I crazy, or does Bob Ley have a really hard time pronouncing "Eagles"?
- I am very much looking forward to the final three episodes of "Mad Men" season four. Not only am I interested in seeing how these three episodes compare to the spectacular final three episodes of last season (which includes the Emmy award winning season finale that I have been raving about from time to time since November), but how they answer some of the questions that have been popping up the last few episodes (and if you haven't watched the last few episodes, I suggest that you just skip these next few sentences). Will Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce keep Lucky Strike from dropping them in the next thirty days? If so, how will they be able to do? And if not, will they be able to assemble a new roster of clients to fill that void? How has Sally been doing with that child psychologist? And what about Joan? Did she have that abortion or not? Will Don's relationship with Dr. Faye be affected in any way now that Don told her about his identity switch during the Korean War (besides the fact that she knows something that only four or five other people in Don's life know)? Hopefully, Matt Weiner and company will not disappoint.
- Whoever designed the eco-friendly Kirkland water bottles with the bottle caps that are hard to open because of its thinness is the most evil person in the world.
- Boy, was I wrong about "Lonestar"! Last Monday, I predicted it to be one of the breakout new shows of the year along with "The Event" and "Mike & Molly." Now, I'm not even sure that it will last into October thanks to their pitiful first episode ratings!
(http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/09/21/tv-ratings-monday-dancing-castle-two-and-a-half-men-up-lone-star-no-star-the-event-hawaii-five-0/64332)
- How is it that I can watch episodes of "Family Guy" a thousand times a week on fifty or so channels, but I can only watch episodes "The Simpsons" on one channel and in a far less frequency? Now, that, is some BS.
- Newsflash, FOX Chicago: you are NOT the only news at 9 o'clock! If you can just flip through the channels, you will see that WGN has their nightly news on at the exact same time. I would probably suggest that you change that slogan.
- I wonder how many times Betty White has thanked the people that put her on that Snickers commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLIV. After all, the so called Year of Betty White that her hosting 'SNL,' win an Emmy and appear in more movies and TV show cameos than usual among other things probably would not have happened if she had not appeared on that commercial.
I'm still thinking about returning the Thursday editions of the Random Thoughts, so don't be surprised if that should occur this week. Otherwise, I hoped you enjoyed this post and I wish you a pleasant weekend.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
End of the Week: 09/19/10- 09/25/10
END OF THE WEEK:
If you love fall weather, than you couldn't get any more perfect than here in the Chicagoland area today: 54 degrees, cloudy but not the kind that usually brings rain with it and winds between 5-10 mph N NE. Now I don't know about you, but that is easily one of my top three weather conditions. It just makes me feel alive. So, I feel good right now. Good enough to, I don't know...announce my picks for some of the week's bests. Here they are now.
TV Series Premiere of the Week: "Boardwalk Empire"
HBO might have just gotten their groove back after getting it stolen from AMC with "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad." For the past summer, the big hype going around TV land was the upcoming debut of this new show about Atlantic City, New Jersey set during the Prohibition era in the 1920s created by Emmy winning Sopranos writer Terrence Winter that stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Michael K. Williams from "The Wire" and had a pilot directed by Martin Scorsese. It even gained more hype over the last few weeks when almost every TV critic who watched it before Sunday thought that it was awesome. So, the 9 p.m. hour on September 19th finally arrived, I watched it all, and like I said on my Random Thoughts column the day after, I loved it too. It's certainly one of the best pilots that I have ever seen, and the show looks promising enough to finally give "Mad Men" its first competition in the Best Drama category for this year. But then again, I wasn't really that surprised, what with the description of the show. Other thoughts about all of the series premieres that occured this week...
-Runner-Up Pilot This Week: "The Event." Sure it did not give us a single clue about what this freakin' event is, but I still found it entertaining.
- Best New Comedy Pilot of the Week: "Running Wilde." Maybe it's because I had low expectations for it because of the disappointing reviews by critics or maybe it's because it was much better than the awful "Raising Hope" pilot, but there were a lot of funny moments in it for me that will make me stick around. But then again, I probably would have watched the next episode no matter how good it was what with my love of "Arrested Development" and the fact that the show was created by Mitch Hurwitz and stars Will Arnett, two people that were part of the show.
- Worst Pilot: "Shit My Dad Says" I actually missed the "30 Rock" season premiere to watch it. One of the worst decisions I made this week. I wish I had those thirty minutes back to do it all over again.
Stories of the Week:
- The Actual Story of the Week: NBER declares 'Great Recession' of 2008-2010 Over
So...are economy is back to being good again?
- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Stephen Colbert Appears in Congressional Hearing in Character, Talks About Migrant Workers
It was so big, the ratings for C-SPAN 3 jumped 200x. And by 200x, I mean from 12 people to 24 people. Seriously, though, I didn't mind the hearing as much as other people. So he said a few jokes, big deal. In my opinion, satire is one of the truest forms of expression in this country. Heck, there were even times in his hearing where he sounded more reasonable and honest than some Congressman on this topic.
Reunion of the Week: Joaquin Phoenix on "The Late Show with David Letterman"
I'm too lazy to make a joke on this one, so I'm just going to re-write what Dan Hopper on BestWeekEver.tv wrote about it:
Video of the Week: "Divorce Lawyer Tells It Like It Is"
Great divorce attorney advertisement...or greatest divorce attorney advertisement?
Lame Controversy of the Week: Katy Perry's Sketch on "Sesame Street" is Cut From Show
Great, a second week in a row in which we had Katy Perry part of some lame moment. Can't they just re-do this segment with a dress that doesn't show off her boobs? Did they really need to cut it at all? Sometimes I just think that those parents are doing it out of pure boredom.
Person of the Week: Michigan State University's Head Football Coach Mark Dantonio
for the huge balls that he had in the end of last Saturday's game against Notre Dame. The quick recap: down by three in overtime against Notre Dame, the Spartans faced 4th down and brought their field goal team out on the field to attempt a 46 yard field goal to tie things up at 27 and send the game to a second overtime, at least that's what most of us had thinking. Instead, here's what really happened:
Good Lord, Coach Dantonio's balls must have been on the ground when he made that call! First of all, everything on that play had to be perfect, from the snap being well done to the receiver getting open to the kicker making a perfect pass in the endzone to even the refs not calling what most likely should have been a delay of game penalty. Second, if it hadn't worked Dantonio would have probably faced big scrutiny all across Michigan and around the world for doing what seemed like an idiotic thing. But it did, the Spartans won without having to play another overtime period, and Mike Dantonio came out of it a genius. What's even more interesting after it all occurred, coach Dantonio had to go to the hospital for a clogged blood vessel! Going for the irrationally balsy move to win a game when you could have gone for the tie...and going to the hospital right after?!?! Now that, my friend, is someone I can get behind!
And that's the way it is! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
If you love fall weather, than you couldn't get any more perfect than here in the Chicagoland area today: 54 degrees, cloudy but not the kind that usually brings rain with it and winds between 5-10 mph N NE. Now I don't know about you, but that is easily one of my top three weather conditions. It just makes me feel alive. So, I feel good right now. Good enough to, I don't know...announce my picks for some of the week's bests. Here they are now.
TV Series Premiere of the Week: "Boardwalk Empire"
HBO might have just gotten their groove back after getting it stolen from AMC with "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad." For the past summer, the big hype going around TV land was the upcoming debut of this new show about Atlantic City, New Jersey set during the Prohibition era in the 1920s created by Emmy winning Sopranos writer Terrence Winter that stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Michael K. Williams from "The Wire" and had a pilot directed by Martin Scorsese. It even gained more hype over the last few weeks when almost every TV critic who watched it before Sunday thought that it was awesome. So, the 9 p.m. hour on September 19th finally arrived, I watched it all, and like I said on my Random Thoughts column the day after, I loved it too. It's certainly one of the best pilots that I have ever seen, and the show looks promising enough to finally give "Mad Men" its first competition in the Best Drama category for this year. But then again, I wasn't really that surprised, what with the description of the show. Other thoughts about all of the series premieres that occured this week...
-Runner-Up Pilot This Week: "The Event." Sure it did not give us a single clue about what this freakin' event is, but I still found it entertaining.
- Best New Comedy Pilot of the Week: "Running Wilde." Maybe it's because I had low expectations for it because of the disappointing reviews by critics or maybe it's because it was much better than the awful "Raising Hope" pilot, but there were a lot of funny moments in it for me that will make me stick around. But then again, I probably would have watched the next episode no matter how good it was what with my love of "Arrested Development" and the fact that the show was created by Mitch Hurwitz and stars Will Arnett, two people that were part of the show.
- Worst Pilot: "Shit My Dad Says" I actually missed the "30 Rock" season premiere to watch it. One of the worst decisions I made this week. I wish I had those thirty minutes back to do it all over again.
Stories of the Week:
- The Actual Story of the Week: NBER declares 'Great Recession' of 2008-2010 Over
So...are economy is back to being good again?
- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Stephen Colbert Appears in Congressional Hearing in Character, Talks About Migrant Workers
It was so big, the ratings for C-SPAN 3 jumped 200x. And by 200x, I mean from 12 people to 24 people. Seriously, though, I didn't mind the hearing as much as other people. So he said a few jokes, big deal. In my opinion, satire is one of the truest forms of expression in this country. Heck, there were even times in his hearing where he sounded more reasonable and honest than some Congressman on this topic.
Reunion of the Week: Joaquin Phoenix on "The Late Show with David Letterman"
I'm too lazy to make a joke on this one, so I'm just going to re-write what Dan Hopper on BestWeekEver.tv wrote about it:
"Waaaaaiitttttt aaaaa minnnuttteee… In this Letterman clip, Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t have a beard and sunglasses anymore and he seems lucid and polite and is responding to simple questions. If I didn’t know better,
and daggummit I thinks I do, I’d almost think that when Joaquin Phoenix had a beard and sunglasses and kept appearing everywhere doing nonsensical raps and falling down and ending up on the internet on a
daily basis with every website claiming that he’s faking, that it was some sort of JOKE.
and daggummit I thinks I do, I’d almost think that when Joaquin Phoenix had a beard and sunglasses and kept appearing everywhere doing nonsensical raps and falling down and ending up on the internet on a
daily basis with every website claiming that he’s faking, that it was some sort of JOKE.
Boom – cracked the case. Right here, right now, for the first time ever. I am now an official sleuth! Someone just handed me a detective cap, a giant magnifying glass, and a bloodhound"
My favorite parts were the times Letterman was just plain mean to Phoenix. Looks like he was still pretty made about the last time they met.
Video of the Week: "Divorce Lawyer Tells It Like It Is"
Great divorce attorney advertisement...or greatest divorce attorney advertisement?
Lame Controversy of the Week: Katy Perry's Sketch on "Sesame Street" is Cut From Show
Great, a second week in a row in which we had Katy Perry part of some lame moment. Can't they just re-do this segment with a dress that doesn't show off her boobs? Did they really need to cut it at all? Sometimes I just think that those parents are doing it out of pure boredom.
Person of the Week: Michigan State University's Head Football Coach Mark Dantonio
for the huge balls that he had in the end of last Saturday's game against Notre Dame. The quick recap: down by three in overtime against Notre Dame, the Spartans faced 4th down and brought their field goal team out on the field to attempt a 46 yard field goal to tie things up at 27 and send the game to a second overtime, at least that's what most of us had thinking. Instead, here's what really happened:
Good Lord, Coach Dantonio's balls must have been on the ground when he made that call! First of all, everything on that play had to be perfect, from the snap being well done to the receiver getting open to the kicker making a perfect pass in the endzone to even the refs not calling what most likely should have been a delay of game penalty. Second, if it hadn't worked Dantonio would have probably faced big scrutiny all across Michigan and around the world for doing what seemed like an idiotic thing. But it did, the Spartans won without having to play another overtime period, and Mike Dantonio came out of it a genius. What's even more interesting after it all occurred, coach Dantonio had to go to the hospital for a clogged blood vessel! Going for the irrationally balsy move to win a game when you could have gone for the tie...and going to the hospital right after?!?! Now that, my friend, is someone I can get behind!
And that's the way it is! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
2010 NFL Predictions: Week 3
Hey, there. I bet you were expecting this week's picks column, huh? Well, you can't. At least not on here.
See, due to the technical difficulties that I have experienced in trying to post the picks column for the past two weeks I have decided for this week I will just post the link to this post on my MySpace. Which is a shame, because I thought that this may have been my best column of the year so far. But if you DO want to read it, just click on the title or click on this week that will take you to MySpace, where I did indeed post it:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=216680214&blogId=539424427
So, go do that if you want. The things that I discussed in the column besides my picks and the reasons behind it include satellite companies asking you to pay extra for local channels, the Vincent Jackson holdout, Vick starting this week, the dud that was the Manning Bowl II and Joe Flacco's awful start among others. And that's about it. I'll try to do the opposite next week by writing the post here and then copying to MySpace. If it works, then great. If it doesn't, then I guess I will just keep doing the same thing for the rest of the season. Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
See, due to the technical difficulties that I have experienced in trying to post the picks column for the past two weeks I have decided for this week I will just post the link to this post on my MySpace. Which is a shame, because I thought that this may have been my best column of the year so far. But if you DO want to read it, just click on the title or click on this week that will take you to MySpace, where I did indeed post it:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=216680214&blogId=539424427
So, go do that if you want. The things that I discussed in the column besides my picks and the reasons behind it include satellite companies asking you to pay extra for local channels, the Vincent Jackson holdout, Vick starting this week, the dud that was the Manning Bowl II and Joe Flacco's awful start among others. And that's about it. I'll try to do the opposite next week by writing the post here and then copying to MySpace. If it works, then great. If it doesn't, then I guess I will just keep doing the same thing for the rest of the season. Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Random Thoughts: 09/13/10- 09/20/10
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
The following were on my mind between Monday, September 13th and Monday, September 20th:
- I wonder if NBC has just given up with "Chuck." Today is the show's fourth season premiere (yay?), and yet you wouldn't know it unless you either found out through Google search or through the show's Facebook page, since the network hasn't shown a single promo or advertisement of it on the network (at least whenever I saw it). They haven't even cross-promoted it with the "The Event," a new show that they have heavily promoted it throughout the summer that airs directly after it every Monday. But, then again, the poorly rated show was probably given two more seasons on NBC than it would have five or ten years ago, or if it was on another network.
- No, I will not f@#$ your life. Why don't you get yourself a bowl of ice cream and cheer up.
- With Ricky Williams having a 1,000 yard season last year for the first time in five years and Michael Vick looking as good as his 2004-2006 self the past few week, I wouldn't be shocked if we saw a future Comeback Player of the Year Award given to Plaxico Burress in the near future.
- I don't know what was more surprising to see yesterday in the NFL: seeing Mark Sanchez outplay Tom Brady, the Bucs, Chiefs and Bears starting out the season 2-0, the Texans coming back from 17 down to beat the Redskins, or this....female(?).
- I gotta give credit where credit is due. Congrats to Terrence Winter, Martin Scorsese and everyone behind the "Boardwalk Empire" pilot. Great acting from almost all of the cast from Steve Buscemi to that little girl who played Margaret's daughter (except for maybe that bootlegger with the funny laugh), classic Martin Scorsese directing with the tracking shots and the wide zoom shots among others, beautiful and shiny redesigning of 1920's Atlantic City, fantastic writing, wonderful costumes...overall, it was much better than I expected (and I expected quite a lot after the raving reviews from almost everyone who watched it). Sure I got confused for a few of the scenes, but that's not shocking considering that Winter was just trying to set up all of the major characters and early storylines. Look's like I have found my replacement drama this fall when "Mad Men" season four wraps up in four weeks.
- On a scale of 1 to 10 in how excited I am to have Fire Joe Morgan come back this Wednesday on Deadspin, I am at a 28.
- My bet for the first show to be canceled in this 2010/2011 TV season: "Chase." Bad reviews, terrible promos, and it's premiering after another new show, "The Event," who's lead-in is the low rated (but good!) "Chuck." If not them, then I think it will be either "My Generation" (another awful looking show with even worse promos and billboard ads than "Chase") or "Outsourced" (which should be boycotted by fans of "Parks and Recreations" and of good comedy shows). Now, as for breakout hit I am going with "Lonestar." It's got "House" as a terrific lead-in and I heard that the pilot is supposed to be good, so people that judge shows based on just one episode should like it. If not them, then I'm going with "Mike and Molly," since millions seem to love the comedies of Chuck Lorre, and "The Event," just because fans of "Lost" and "Heroes" will try to look for a show to fill the void they have had since those two shows ended last season which would be this one.
- Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new Internet God. Presenting...DJ Kitty.
- It's good to have broadcast TV back. And football season. Overall, it's just good to have fall back as a whole.
And that's gonna do it for now. The next date of the random thoughts is TBA, meaning it could be (as it has been since February) the very next Monday, or I could return the Thursday edition of Random Thoughts. Come back later on this week to find out. Until then, enjoy the start of your workweek!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
The following were on my mind between Monday, September 13th and Monday, September 20th:
- I wonder if NBC has just given up with "Chuck." Today is the show's fourth season premiere (yay?), and yet you wouldn't know it unless you either found out through Google search or through the show's Facebook page, since the network hasn't shown a single promo or advertisement of it on the network (at least whenever I saw it). They haven't even cross-promoted it with the "The Event," a new show that they have heavily promoted it throughout the summer that airs directly after it every Monday. But, then again, the poorly rated show was probably given two more seasons on NBC than it would have five or ten years ago, or if it was on another network.
- No, I will not f@#$ your life. Why don't you get yourself a bowl of ice cream and cheer up.
- With Ricky Williams having a 1,000 yard season last year for the first time in five years and Michael Vick looking as good as his 2004-2006 self the past few week, I wouldn't be shocked if we saw a future Comeback Player of the Year Award given to Plaxico Burress in the near future.
- I don't know what was more surprising to see yesterday in the NFL: seeing Mark Sanchez outplay Tom Brady, the Bucs, Chiefs and Bears starting out the season 2-0, the Texans coming back from 17 down to beat the Redskins, or this....female(?).
- I gotta give credit where credit is due. Congrats to Terrence Winter, Martin Scorsese and everyone behind the "Boardwalk Empire" pilot. Great acting from almost all of the cast from Steve Buscemi to that little girl who played Margaret's daughter (except for maybe that bootlegger with the funny laugh), classic Martin Scorsese directing with the tracking shots and the wide zoom shots among others, beautiful and shiny redesigning of 1920's Atlantic City, fantastic writing, wonderful costumes...overall, it was much better than I expected (and I expected quite a lot after the raving reviews from almost everyone who watched it). Sure I got confused for a few of the scenes, but that's not shocking considering that Winter was just trying to set up all of the major characters and early storylines. Look's like I have found my replacement drama this fall when "Mad Men" season four wraps up in four weeks.
- On a scale of 1 to 10 in how excited I am to have Fire Joe Morgan come back this Wednesday on Deadspin, I am at a 28.
- My bet for the first show to be canceled in this 2010/2011 TV season: "Chase." Bad reviews, terrible promos, and it's premiering after another new show, "The Event," who's lead-in is the low rated (but good!) "Chuck." If not them, then I think it will be either "My Generation" (another awful looking show with even worse promos and billboard ads than "Chase") or "Outsourced" (which should be boycotted by fans of "Parks and Recreations" and of good comedy shows). Now, as for breakout hit I am going with "Lonestar." It's got "House" as a terrific lead-in and I heard that the pilot is supposed to be good, so people that judge shows based on just one episode should like it. If not them, then I'm going with "Mike and Molly," since millions seem to love the comedies of Chuck Lorre, and "The Event," just because fans of "Lost" and "Heroes" will try to look for a show to fill the void they have had since those two shows ended last season which would be this one.
- Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new Internet God. Presenting...DJ Kitty.
- It's good to have broadcast TV back. And football season. Overall, it's just good to have fall back as a whole.
And that's gonna do it for now. The next date of the random thoughts is TBA, meaning it could be (as it has been since February) the very next Monday, or I could return the Thursday edition of Random Thoughts. Come back later on this week to find out. Until then, enjoy the start of your workweek!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
End of the Week: 09/12/10- 09/18/10
END OF THE WEEK:
Today marks the end of the last full week of summer, and thank God for that! No offense to summer, but for me there is no better season than autumn. The humid summer days will be gone (at least where I'm at). Football season is here. The new TV season kicks off. Baseball gets more interesting and the new NHL and NBA seasons are just around the corner. Stewart, Colbert and Letterman don't take so many day offs anymore. The NHL, NBA and the new Conan O'Brien show is just around the corner. To summarize, fall is awesome and there is nothing you can say to me that will change my opinion. So let's end summer right with the final summer "End of the Week" for the next nine months. As always, the final are my picks for some of the best, worst and most interesting people and things of the past seven days. Enjoy.
Video of the Week: "Dude, You Have No Quran!" (jump to the 0:55 mark)
First of all, the whole video was great. It's really nice to see that people of all walks of life can come out in public and take a stand at such a hateful and hypocritical act of burning a book that many people consider sacred. But the ten seconds with the Internet's newest meme star Jacob Isam was just the cherry on top of it. Well done, hippie. Well done.
Stories of the Week:
- The Actual Story of the Week: Christine O'Donell Wins GOP Primary in Delaware Senate Race
Well, Delaware Tea Partiers, you had a chance at getting the GOP a new Senate seat in November and ended up possibly blowing it by choosing someone who believes that AIDS research is getting too much funding among other things. Great job!
-The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Katy Perry Sings "Ur So Gay" to Get Revenge on High School Crush
The irony of this? After watching this video, Shane probably did make the right choice.
Overreaction of the Week: The Ines Sainz Story
All right, I get it! Sainz probably should not have been so hot and scandily clad looking and the Jets probably should have been so respectful. You don't have to remind me this at least fifteen times a day, Internet!
Internet Meme of the Week: Leo Strut
Simple, yet filled with endless possibilities. It's what any non-video meme should be.
Person of the Week: Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko
for proving that he just might be one of the coolest men in all of Major League Baseball. During the first inning in Thursday's game against the Twins, Paul Konerko got hit on an 89 mph pitch by Carl Pavano. That pitch went straight to his head and he was on the ground for a few seconds. Was it because Konerko was 10 for 27 this season off of Pavano? Probably not, but what we do know is that it must of felt quite painful for Konerko.
So why do I bring this up? Well, unlike most players who would go back into the dugout and not play for the rest of the game, Konerko refused to go back into the dugout and instead went to first base. And that's not the end. Whereas some players would get revenge by asking pitchers to bean the other team's best players or charge to the mound (I'm looking at you, Nyjer Morgan!), Konerko did it by homering in his next at-bat. Yes, you read that right! Not only did Konerko actually WANT to stay in the game and try to help his team win what was then a meaningless game since his team moved to eight games out of the division with 2.5 weeks left, but he actually got back at the Twins by homering in the at bat after getting hit. Now, I don't know about you, but if I were GM Kenny Williams I would take that moment as well as his stellar stats this season (.323, 37 HRs, 105 RBIs) and resign him as quick as possible before an other team has a chance to woo him over.
And that's the way it is! As with every other post I ever made, I hope you enjoyed this one. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
Today marks the end of the last full week of summer, and thank God for that! No offense to summer, but for me there is no better season than autumn. The humid summer days will be gone (at least where I'm at). Football season is here. The new TV season kicks off. Baseball gets more interesting and the new NHL and NBA seasons are just around the corner. Stewart, Colbert and Letterman don't take so many day offs anymore. The NHL, NBA and the new Conan O'Brien show is just around the corner. To summarize, fall is awesome and there is nothing you can say to me that will change my opinion. So let's end summer right with the final summer "End of the Week" for the next nine months. As always, the final are my picks for some of the best, worst and most interesting people and things of the past seven days. Enjoy.
Video of the Week: "Dude, You Have No Quran!" (jump to the 0:55 mark)
First of all, the whole video was great. It's really nice to see that people of all walks of life can come out in public and take a stand at such a hateful and hypocritical act of burning a book that many people consider sacred. But the ten seconds with the Internet's newest meme star Jacob Isam was just the cherry on top of it. Well done, hippie. Well done.
Stories of the Week:
- The Actual Story of the Week: Christine O'Donell Wins GOP Primary in Delaware Senate Race
Well, Delaware Tea Partiers, you had a chance at getting the GOP a new Senate seat in November and ended up possibly blowing it by choosing someone who believes that AIDS research is getting too much funding among other things. Great job!
-The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Katy Perry Sings "Ur So Gay" to Get Revenge on High School Crush
The irony of this? After watching this video, Shane probably did make the right choice.
Overreaction of the Week: The Ines Sainz Story
All right, I get it! Sainz probably should not have been so hot and scandily clad looking and the Jets probably should have been so respectful. You don't have to remind me this at least fifteen times a day, Internet!
Internet Meme of the Week: Leo Strut
Simple, yet filled with endless possibilities. It's what any non-video meme should be.
Person of the Week: Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko
for proving that he just might be one of the coolest men in all of Major League Baseball. During the first inning in Thursday's game against the Twins, Paul Konerko got hit on an 89 mph pitch by Carl Pavano. That pitch went straight to his head and he was on the ground for a few seconds. Was it because Konerko was 10 for 27 this season off of Pavano? Probably not, but what we do know is that it must of felt quite painful for Konerko.
So why do I bring this up? Well, unlike most players who would go back into the dugout and not play for the rest of the game, Konerko refused to go back into the dugout and instead went to first base. And that's not the end. Whereas some players would get revenge by asking pitchers to bean the other team's best players or charge to the mound (I'm looking at you, Nyjer Morgan!), Konerko did it by homering in his next at-bat. Yes, you read that right! Not only did Konerko actually WANT to stay in the game and try to help his team win what was then a meaningless game since his team moved to eight games out of the division with 2.5 weeks left, but he actually got back at the Twins by homering in the at bat after getting hit. Now, I don't know about you, but if I were GM Kenny Williams I would take that moment as well as his stellar stats this season (.323, 37 HRs, 105 RBIs) and resign him as quick as possible before an other team has a chance to woo him over.
And that's the way it is! As with every other post I ever made, I hope you enjoyed this one. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
2010 NFL Predictions: Week 2
Well, week 1 is in the bags in this 2010 NFL season and I guess if there's is anything you can say anything about it, is that it was much the two universes on "Fringe." On the show, both universes are actually much similar to one another, but have some notable differences and changes. The same thing can be said about week 1 of the NFL season and the 2009 season. While there were some slight differences from last year to week 1 of this year like the new coaches and players on all of the team, the Texans actually beating the Colts and the Chargers/Chiefs game being the more entertaining MNF game than the Ravens/Jets matchup, almost everything seemed to resemble last season. The Patriots offense looked stellar, the Saints proved to be better than the Vikings, Chris Johnson still had his "running from the cops speed" against Oakland, the Bills, Rams, Raiders, Browns and (controversially) the Lions all lost, the 49ers and Jets proved overrated and games in Florida barely sold out. And that's really all I will say. I hate to be one of those people that overreact to everything based on the week 1 games.
Now, onto the new batch of games that we have in store for week 2. In my predictions last week, I actually started off pretty well, going 11-5 in predictions. Unfortunately, mj50 just had a slightly better week going 12-4 and taking the one game lead to start the season. But, I'm just fine with that. After all, it is a long season. Anyways, the following are my picks of every NFL game for week 2 of the 2010 season. As always, the game times are based on the Central time zone.
Let's begin:
Arizona Cardinals vs. Atlanta Falcons (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Atlanta
I'm going to stick with my good ol' system of picking against West Coast teams playing in a 1 p.m. ET game that I used so many times last season in this match-up. After all, if it worked for me many times last year and in years past, why not continue with it this year (especially when it's a team like this year's Arizona Cardinals).
mj50's pick: Arizona
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers (-3.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Carolina
The Bucs could barely beat the Browns at home last week in a game that they had four to five months to prepare for, so how can you expect me to pick them against a much better Carolina Panthers team? Besides, Carolina won three of their last four home games against the Bucs, and the Panthers running game should own that Tampa Bay rushing defense.
mj50's pick: Carolina
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns (-2): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
Good job by the NFL scheduling people for having some of the teams that were awful last year and are expected to be awful this year face each other early in the season. Last week, you had Detroit vs. Chicago, Cleveland vs. Tampa Bay and Arizona vs. St. Louis. This week, you have this game, Seattle vs. Denver and St. Louis vs. Oakland. Better to have these games earlier in the season in favor of much more intriguing games later on in the year. Also, who would have thought that the San Diego/Kansas City game would be the better game than Baltimore/New York? Whereas the Chiefs game should have been a blowout for San Diego, it ended up being a close game with a great Chiefs crowd and some exciting moments while the Baltimore/New York game ended up being one you would never want to watch as long as you lived. It's funny how things like that happen.
mj50's pick: Cleveland
Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5) vs. Detroit Lions: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Philadelphia
Couldn't resist posting that video. It's hilarious and it basically summarizes how most Lions fans felt after this game which, let's face it, should have gone to them.
Now, as for this game, I think it will be nothing short of the blowout. Michael Vick will be very motivated to do a great job in order to prove to Andy Reid and the rest of the Eagles squad that he should remain the starting QB once Kolb recovers from his concussion. Speaking of QBs, Shaun Hill will be under center for the Lions now that Matt Stafford is injured again. And if Hill's performance in the Bears game is a precursor to how he will play in this game, then Philly should probably sleep easily the night before the game.
mj50's pick: Philadelphia
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tennessee Titans (-5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee
Week 1 was a tale of two completly different ballgames for the Steelers and the Titans. Whereas the Titans had a dominating performance against the Raiders that featured Chris Johnson going wild against that Oakland rushing defense (142 yards for 2 TDs) and the passing offense having one of their finer games you will see all season, the Steelers barely edged out Atlanta in a close overtime game that took them until the game's 63rd minute to score their first and only TD (an exciting 50 yard TD run by Rashad Mendenhall). But, whatever, a win is a win and that is what both teams received. Anyways, I think that because the Steelers were a little bit lucky to edge out the Falcons, I don't think that they do this again this Sunday against a superior Titans team on the road that will try to avenge their OT loss to the Steelers in week 1 of last season, no matter how much they will be motivated by the 2008 Terrible Towel stomping incident. Also, the Titans are 9-2 with Vince Young and Chris Johnson as the starting QB and RB respectively. How can you pick against that winning combination for this game?
mj50's pick: Tennessee
Buffalo Bills vs. Green Bay Packers (-13): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Green Bay
So, the Packers are supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, right? And...the Bills are terrible, right? I think we're done here.
mj50's pick: Green Bay
Baltimore Ravens (-2.5) vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cincinnati
Yes, the Ravens defense looked impressive. Yes, the Bengals were dissapointing. But if there's one thing that I have learned over my time watching NFL games is to never pick Baltimore when they play a game at Paul Brown stadium, as they are 1-4 in their last five games against Cincinnati. Also, it's not like Cincinnati is terrible! For all we know, they could have a similar start to the one they had last year in which they lost their first game and then went on to win the next four or five. I haven't given up on them.
mj50's pick: Baltimore
HALFTIME! And now, here's some Louis C.K.
Chicago Bears vs. Dallas Cowboys (-7.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
I've said it before and I said it again: the Bears were lucky to get by the Lions. The offense was sub-par and they would have lost had it not been for Calvin Johnson putting the ball on the ground a bit too early. And with that being said, I don't see how they could get another win, this time against a much more superior Cowboys team, especially with Tony Romo facing that putrid Bears secondary that almost made Shaun Hill look like Brett Favre in that final drive. As much as it pains me to say this since I'm a Bears fan, I see the Cowboys winning, and winning big.
mj15's pick: Dallas
Miami Dolphins vs. Minnesota Vikings (-5.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Minnesota
The Vikings are undefeated in the Metrodome during the Brett Favre era (and that includes the '09 postseason and the last two preseasons) and Greg Camarillo could have a potential eff-you game against his former team that traded him in the preseason. That being said, I do see this game being close throughout. Miami's new look defense with Karlos Dansby at linebacker and that solid rushing defense led by Cameron Wake and Koa Misi has impressed me in both the preseason and Buffalo game from last week. Plus, with Brown and Williams at RB for Miami, there's always a chance.
mj50's pick: Minnesota
St. Louis Rams vs. Oakland Raiders (-3.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Oakland
Just like in last week's Cleveland/Tampa Bay game, I'm gonna go with Oakland just because they have slightly better players and the homefield advantage. Otherwise, it's like choosing between a trash collector and a janitor.
mj50's pick: Oakland
Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos (-3.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Seattle
The Seahawks really impressed me in their beatdown of the 49ers last week to the point where I am not only picking the to win this game, but also am considering to make them my new favorite in the NFC West. Of course, the big key here (for me at least) is QB Matt Hasselback, whose performance lat week really reminded me of his old self. If he can at least perform 85% like he back back in '05-'07 and remain healthy (and that is a BIG if), then I do believe that the Seahawks will give the 49ers a run for the division crown.
mj50's pick: Denver
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Diego Chargers (-7): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Diego
A very tough pick, only because of the Norv Turner factor. Let's face it, the guy just can't seem to motivate his team in September games as coach. Still, the Chargers have a much better offense, a slightly better defense, and the homefield advantage, so I'm going to stick with the Bolts.
mj50's pick: Jacksonville
New England Patriots (-3) vs. New York Jets: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
Was there any surprise that the Jets offense would be that bad against Baltimore? You could just tell from the very beginning, from all the clips from "Hard Knocks" and from the preseason games that this Jets team was not going to be that good, especially now that they lost Alan Faneca on the the offensive line and reliable workhorse Thomas Jones at RB. And that is what will be the Jets' identity all season long: a team with a good defense and an awesome/wildly entertaining head coahc but not a team with the kind of offense that will make you say "Wow!" The Patriots, meanwhile, showed the exact opposite offensively, piling up 38 points on that Bengals defense including two TDs by Tom Brady to Wes Welker, who showed that no injury can stop his Pro-Bowl self.
Look, I'm not saying that this game will be a Patriots blowout. The Jets have too good of a defense to make that happen, especially at home. But I do think that because of the subpar Jets offense and the Patriots offense being much better, New England should be the victor in this one.
mj50's pick: New York
Houston Texans (-3) vs. Washington Redskins: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Houston
All Hail the Arian Nation! In his first game of his career, Arian Foster made all of the people that took him in the 6th-9th round in their drafts feel like geniuses, getting 238 total yards with 3 TDs, almost single handily winning the Colts game for the Houston Texans with Matt Schaub playing and the Houston defense player substandard. How this guy lost to Matt Forte for Offensive Player of the Week is something that I do not understand. Now, for the Redskins is a different. Yes, they won but they did it in an ugly low scoring ballgame that ended on a dumb penalty from the Cowboys. So now these two teams will meet to try to start off their seasons 2-0 for the first time in a while. I think this should be the game where we will see that Houston passing attack bounce back, especially now since they have Foster as a nice diversion. Washigton's passing defense should prove no match. Therefore, I am going with Houston in this one.
mj50's pick: Washington
New York Giants vs. Indianapolis Colts (-5.5): Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Indianapolis
It's the Manning Bowl II: Eli's Try at Revenge. Both teams obviously stack up well, but which team with a Manning as QB will get the victory? My guess is that it will be the older brother Peyton coming out of it 2-0 all-time against Eli. Indy is 16-2 in their last 18 games at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Giants passing defense hasn't shown me any signs that they will stop Peyton and,um... oh yeah, Peyton is better than Eli overall as a QB. Especially in the night games. Now, let's talk about week 1 overreactions.
It's one of the most common things you see at this time of the year is people, mostly writers and commenters, pronouncing a team to be overrated, underrated, etc. after just one game. You want to see it stopped, but it is too tantalizing for some people to do. Take the Colts losing to the Texans last week as an example. One loss to an opponent they have only lost once all time, and some people are starting to say that this is the start of the downfall. Here quickly now are three reasons why no one should worry about the Colts (for now at least):
1. The Texans were desperate to try to beat the Colts after going 1-15 historically against them before, including some pretty close ones in years past. So whereas the Colts just practiced for it like another early regular season game, the Texans were treating this one as their Super Bowl, practicing harder and trying their hardest to finally win a second game against them. In other words, the Texans just wanted it more
2. The Colts have made it to the playoffs every year since 2002 and have won at least 12 games every year since 2003.
3. It's week 1 of the NFL season people! Call me when they're either 0-3 or 1-4 and then we will talk.
mj50's pick: Indianapolis
New Orleans Saints (-5.5) vs. San Fransisco 49ers: Monday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
This was too easy, especially after seeing San Fransico's game against Seattle and the Saints defense limiting the Vikings offense to just 9 points last week. The only way I see the 49ers can win this game is if the Saints play like the Cowboys against the Redskins last week. But with Drew Brees and that explosive Saints offense against a defense that gave up 31 points an offense that only had 6 against one of the worst defenses from last year, I don't see that happening.
mj50's pick: New Orleans
RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week:
Green Bay over Buffalo
The James Madison over Virginia Tech Upset of the Week:
Cincinnati over Baltimore
The "Star Wars:Episode I" vs. "Star Wars: Episode II" "I'm Not Sure" Pick:
Jacksonville over San Diego
The week 3 column should come around the same time next week. Until then, enjoy this upcoming week of football!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
Now, onto the new batch of games that we have in store for week 2. In my predictions last week, I actually started off pretty well, going 11-5 in predictions. Unfortunately, mj50 just had a slightly better week going 12-4 and taking the one game lead to start the season. But, I'm just fine with that. After all, it is a long season. Anyways, the following are my picks of every NFL game for week 2 of the 2010 season. As always, the game times are based on the Central time zone.
Let's begin:
Arizona Cardinals vs. Atlanta Falcons (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Atlanta
I'm going to stick with my good ol' system of picking against West Coast teams playing in a 1 p.m. ET game that I used so many times last season in this match-up. After all, if it worked for me many times last year and in years past, why not continue with it this year (especially when it's a team like this year's Arizona Cardinals).
mj50's pick: Arizona
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers (-3.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Carolina
The Bucs could barely beat the Browns at home last week in a game that they had four to five months to prepare for, so how can you expect me to pick them against a much better Carolina Panthers team? Besides, Carolina won three of their last four home games against the Bucs, and the Panthers running game should own that Tampa Bay rushing defense.
mj50's pick: Carolina
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns (-2): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
Good job by the NFL scheduling people for having some of the teams that were awful last year and are expected to be awful this year face each other early in the season. Last week, you had Detroit vs. Chicago, Cleveland vs. Tampa Bay and Arizona vs. St. Louis. This week, you have this game, Seattle vs. Denver and St. Louis vs. Oakland. Better to have these games earlier in the season in favor of much more intriguing games later on in the year. Also, who would have thought that the San Diego/Kansas City game would be the better game than Baltimore/New York? Whereas the Chiefs game should have been a blowout for San Diego, it ended up being a close game with a great Chiefs crowd and some exciting moments while the Baltimore/New York game ended up being one you would never want to watch as long as you lived. It's funny how things like that happen.
mj50's pick: Cleveland
Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5) vs. Detroit Lions: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Philadelphia
Couldn't resist posting that video. It's hilarious and it basically summarizes how most Lions fans felt after this game which, let's face it, should have gone to them.
Now, as for this game, I think it will be nothing short of the blowout. Michael Vick will be very motivated to do a great job in order to prove to Andy Reid and the rest of the Eagles squad that he should remain the starting QB once Kolb recovers from his concussion. Speaking of QBs, Shaun Hill will be under center for the Lions now that Matt Stafford is injured again. And if Hill's performance in the Bears game is a precursor to how he will play in this game, then Philly should probably sleep easily the night before the game.
mj50's pick: Philadelphia
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tennessee Titans (-5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee
Week 1 was a tale of two completly different ballgames for the Steelers and the Titans. Whereas the Titans had a dominating performance against the Raiders that featured Chris Johnson going wild against that Oakland rushing defense (142 yards for 2 TDs) and the passing offense having one of their finer games you will see all season, the Steelers barely edged out Atlanta in a close overtime game that took them until the game's 63rd minute to score their first and only TD (an exciting 50 yard TD run by Rashad Mendenhall). But, whatever, a win is a win and that is what both teams received. Anyways, I think that because the Steelers were a little bit lucky to edge out the Falcons, I don't think that they do this again this Sunday against a superior Titans team on the road that will try to avenge their OT loss to the Steelers in week 1 of last season, no matter how much they will be motivated by the 2008 Terrible Towel stomping incident. Also, the Titans are 9-2 with Vince Young and Chris Johnson as the starting QB and RB respectively. How can you pick against that winning combination for this game?
mj50's pick: Tennessee
Buffalo Bills vs. Green Bay Packers (-13): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Green Bay
So, the Packers are supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, right? And...the Bills are terrible, right? I think we're done here.
mj50's pick: Green Bay
Baltimore Ravens (-2.5) vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cincinnati
Yes, the Ravens defense looked impressive. Yes, the Bengals were dissapointing. But if there's one thing that I have learned over my time watching NFL games is to never pick Baltimore when they play a game at Paul Brown stadium, as they are 1-4 in their last five games against Cincinnati. Also, it's not like Cincinnati is terrible! For all we know, they could have a similar start to the one they had last year in which they lost their first game and then went on to win the next four or five. I haven't given up on them.
mj50's pick: Baltimore
HALFTIME! And now, here's some Louis C.K.
Chicago Bears vs. Dallas Cowboys (-7.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
I've said it before and I said it again: the Bears were lucky to get by the Lions. The offense was sub-par and they would have lost had it not been for Calvin Johnson putting the ball on the ground a bit too early. And with that being said, I don't see how they could get another win, this time against a much more superior Cowboys team, especially with Tony Romo facing that putrid Bears secondary that almost made Shaun Hill look like Brett Favre in that final drive. As much as it pains me to say this since I'm a Bears fan, I see the Cowboys winning, and winning big.
mj15's pick: Dallas
Miami Dolphins vs. Minnesota Vikings (-5.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Minnesota
The Vikings are undefeated in the Metrodome during the Brett Favre era (and that includes the '09 postseason and the last two preseasons) and Greg Camarillo could have a potential eff-you game against his former team that traded him in the preseason. That being said, I do see this game being close throughout. Miami's new look defense with Karlos Dansby at linebacker and that solid rushing defense led by Cameron Wake and Koa Misi has impressed me in both the preseason and Buffalo game from last week. Plus, with Brown and Williams at RB for Miami, there's always a chance.
mj50's pick: Minnesota
St. Louis Rams vs. Oakland Raiders (-3.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Oakland
Just like in last week's Cleveland/Tampa Bay game, I'm gonna go with Oakland just because they have slightly better players and the homefield advantage. Otherwise, it's like choosing between a trash collector and a janitor.
mj50's pick: Oakland
Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos (-3.5): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Seattle
The Seahawks really impressed me in their beatdown of the 49ers last week to the point where I am not only picking the to win this game, but also am considering to make them my new favorite in the NFC West. Of course, the big key here (for me at least) is QB Matt Hasselback, whose performance lat week really reminded me of his old self. If he can at least perform 85% like he back back in '05-'07 and remain healthy (and that is a BIG if), then I do believe that the Seahawks will give the 49ers a run for the division crown.
mj50's pick: Denver
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Diego Chargers (-7): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Diego
A very tough pick, only because of the Norv Turner factor. Let's face it, the guy just can't seem to motivate his team in September games as coach. Still, the Chargers have a much better offense, a slightly better defense, and the homefield advantage, so I'm going to stick with the Bolts.
mj50's pick: Jacksonville
New England Patriots (-3) vs. New York Jets: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
Was there any surprise that the Jets offense would be that bad against Baltimore? You could just tell from the very beginning, from all the clips from "Hard Knocks" and from the preseason games that this Jets team was not going to be that good, especially now that they lost Alan Faneca on the the offensive line and reliable workhorse Thomas Jones at RB. And that is what will be the Jets' identity all season long: a team with a good defense and an awesome/wildly entertaining head coahc but not a team with the kind of offense that will make you say "Wow!" The Patriots, meanwhile, showed the exact opposite offensively, piling up 38 points on that Bengals defense including two TDs by Tom Brady to Wes Welker, who showed that no injury can stop his Pro-Bowl self.
Look, I'm not saying that this game will be a Patriots blowout. The Jets have too good of a defense to make that happen, especially at home. But I do think that because of the subpar Jets offense and the Patriots offense being much better, New England should be the victor in this one.
mj50's pick: New York
Houston Texans (-3) vs. Washington Redskins: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Houston
All Hail the Arian Nation! In his first game of his career, Arian Foster made all of the people that took him in the 6th-9th round in their drafts feel like geniuses, getting 238 total yards with 3 TDs, almost single handily winning the Colts game for the Houston Texans with Matt Schaub playing and the Houston defense player substandard. How this guy lost to Matt Forte for Offensive Player of the Week is something that I do not understand. Now, for the Redskins is a different. Yes, they won but they did it in an ugly low scoring ballgame that ended on a dumb penalty from the Cowboys. So now these two teams will meet to try to start off their seasons 2-0 for the first time in a while. I think this should be the game where we will see that Houston passing attack bounce back, especially now since they have Foster as a nice diversion. Washigton's passing defense should prove no match. Therefore, I am going with Houston in this one.
mj50's pick: Washington
New York Giants vs. Indianapolis Colts (-5.5): Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Indianapolis
It's the Manning Bowl II: Eli's Try at Revenge. Both teams obviously stack up well, but which team with a Manning as QB will get the victory? My guess is that it will be the older brother Peyton coming out of it 2-0 all-time against Eli. Indy is 16-2 in their last 18 games at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Giants passing defense hasn't shown me any signs that they will stop Peyton and,um... oh yeah, Peyton is better than Eli overall as a QB. Especially in the night games. Now, let's talk about week 1 overreactions.
It's one of the most common things you see at this time of the year is people, mostly writers and commenters, pronouncing a team to be overrated, underrated, etc. after just one game. You want to see it stopped, but it is too tantalizing for some people to do. Take the Colts losing to the Texans last week as an example. One loss to an opponent they have only lost once all time, and some people are starting to say that this is the start of the downfall. Here quickly now are three reasons why no one should worry about the Colts (for now at least):
1. The Texans were desperate to try to beat the Colts after going 1-15 historically against them before, including some pretty close ones in years past. So whereas the Colts just practiced for it like another early regular season game, the Texans were treating this one as their Super Bowl, practicing harder and trying their hardest to finally win a second game against them. In other words, the Texans just wanted it more
2. The Colts have made it to the playoffs every year since 2002 and have won at least 12 games every year since 2003.
3. It's week 1 of the NFL season people! Call me when they're either 0-3 or 1-4 and then we will talk.
mj50's pick: Indianapolis
New Orleans Saints (-5.5) vs. San Fransisco 49ers: Monday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
This was too easy, especially after seeing San Fransico's game against Seattle and the Saints defense limiting the Vikings offense to just 9 points last week. The only way I see the 49ers can win this game is if the Saints play like the Cowboys against the Redskins last week. But with Drew Brees and that explosive Saints offense against a defense that gave up 31 points an offense that only had 6 against one of the worst defenses from last year, I don't see that happening.
mj50's pick: New Orleans
RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week:
Green Bay over Buffalo
The James Madison over Virginia Tech Upset of the Week:
Cincinnati over Baltimore
The "Star Wars:Episode I" vs. "Star Wars: Episode II" "I'm Not Sure" Pick:
Jacksonville over San Diego
The week 3 column should come around the same time next week. Until then, enjoy this upcoming week of football!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are
greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Yep, These Are My Readers! (Apparently)
Before I begin this post, I want to say that all that I am about to say is absolutely true.
I had some free time on my hands earlier this evening. So, with that free time, I decided to check out this blog's accumulated stats for the first time in over a month. Two interesting things that I found out: a. My 2010 Emmys live blog from 08/29 and last Wednesday's NFL predictions column were the #2 and #3 most read posts in this blog's history. b. Under the all time traffic sources category, the following is the list of the top three all time search keywords that helped people find their way into this site:
1. "The mj15 Blog"
2. "Kiernan Shipka Masturbation Scene"
3. "mj15 blog"
Yep, you read that right! Apparently, a lot of people search the Sally Draper pleasuring scene from the 08/22 episode of this season's "Mad Men" and stumbled onto this random thoughts post on 08/23 in which I questioned how the director of that episode might have directed what must have been an uncomfortable moment. And in big numbers, too! Who knew?
Now, this brings up an interesting moral dilemma for me. On one hand, the fact that this was the #2 keyword search in this site's history is both strange and shocking to me. Howeva...I got some extra traffic and pageviews to this site. And after all, any traffic is usually good traffic...right?
So...what do you think? Should I be weirded out by this or glad that new readers clicked their way into the site for the first time? You know where to voice your opinion.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Random Thoughts: 09/02/10- 09/13/10
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
The following were on my mind from the Friday before Labor Day to today, the 13th of September, 2010:
- The Sunday of the first NFL season is now one of the best days on the calendar for me. Not only do I wake up that morning feeling like a little kid on Christmas morning, but it's the only time of the season where I actually get so pumped up watching the action on that day that I purposely wake up much earlier than normal Sunday to go the early morning mass just so I can watch all of the pre-game shows. Most of the time I don't even bother trying to watch shows like FOX NFL Sunday and Sunday NFL Countdown, but on this day I do.
- If there's anyone whom Lovie Smith should have given the gameball to after Sunday's game against the Lions, it had to have been the guys who created Rule 8, Section 1 and Article 4 of the NFL rulebook.
- I'm still not sure how two people sitting two white bathtubs naked has to do with erectile dysfunction.
- Denard Robinson. Say it with me: DENARD ROBINSON!
/UM is my favorite college football team in the country
- Let's see: Chris Johnson went ballistic, Jay Cutler and Matt Moore threw interceptions, Tom Brady connected to Wes Welker in successful fashion, the Raiders, Rams and Browns both lost and the Cowboys cost themselves from winning a close football game. Yep, I'd say that not much has changed in the NFL since the end of the '09 regular season.
- I'm not sure how good "The Social Network" will be or if it will indeed be as good as the Oscar buzz it is receiving. But there's one thing about them that I do know: their trailers and TV spots are outstanding. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OUHupfqws)
- A big thanks to Atlanta and San Diego for giving up their once big leads in their divisions and for the teams involved in the NL Wild Card race. With all of the playoff spots in the AL pretty much wrapped up (unless the White Sox go on some kind of big-'07 Rockies type winning streak to win the AL Central over the Twins) and the Reds dominating the rest of the NL Central, the final three weeks of the MLB regular season might have been one of the most boring ones ever had it not been for you guys.
- USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=TeamUSA100912-turkey)
- "The Suitcase" episode of "Mad Men" that aired two Sundays ago has to rank among the show's best for many reasons, and that includes the outstanding performances by Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss
I'm thinking of bringing back the Thursday edition of the RTs just for these next few months, and I will announce my final decision on this matter soon. Until then, expect to see the next batch of thoughts to be posted as it has been since February, the next Monday. Have a good week, everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
The following were on my mind from the Friday before Labor Day to today, the 13th of September, 2010:
- The Sunday of the first NFL season is now one of the best days on the calendar for me. Not only do I wake up that morning feeling like a little kid on Christmas morning, but it's the only time of the season where I actually get so pumped up watching the action on that day that I purposely wake up much earlier than normal Sunday to go the early morning mass just so I can watch all of the pre-game shows. Most of the time I don't even bother trying to watch shows like FOX NFL Sunday and Sunday NFL Countdown, but on this day I do.
- If there's anyone whom Lovie Smith should have given the gameball to after Sunday's game against the Lions, it had to have been the guys who created Rule 8, Section 1 and Article 4 of the NFL rulebook.
- I'm still not sure how two people sitting two white bathtubs naked has to do with erectile dysfunction.
- Denard Robinson. Say it with me: DENARD ROBINSON!
/UM is my favorite college football team in the country
- Let's see: Chris Johnson went ballistic, Jay Cutler and Matt Moore threw interceptions, Tom Brady connected to Wes Welker in successful fashion, the Raiders, Rams and Browns both lost and the Cowboys cost themselves from winning a close football game. Yep, I'd say that not much has changed in the NFL since the end of the '09 regular season.
- I'm not sure how good "The Social Network" will be or if it will indeed be as good as the Oscar buzz it is receiving. But there's one thing about them that I do know: their trailers and TV spots are outstanding. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OUHupfqws)
- A big thanks to Atlanta and San Diego for giving up their once big leads in their divisions and for the teams involved in the NL Wild Card race. With all of the playoff spots in the AL pretty much wrapped up (unless the White Sox go on some kind of big-'07 Rockies type winning streak to win the AL Central over the Twins) and the Reds dominating the rest of the NL Central, the final three weeks of the MLB regular season might have been one of the most boring ones ever had it not been for you guys.
- USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=TeamUSA100912-turkey)
- "The Suitcase" episode of "Mad Men" that aired two Sundays ago has to rank among the show's best for many reasons, and that includes the outstanding performances by Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss
I'm thinking of bringing back the Thursday edition of the RTs just for these next few months, and I will announce my final decision on this matter soon. Until then, expect to see the next batch of thoughts to be posted as it has been since February, the next Monday. Have a good week, everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
End of the Week: 09/05/10- 09/11/10
END OF THE WEEK:
Happy Saturday! Now, let's get straight into this, shall we? The following are my picks of some of the biggest, best and most interesting people and moments to come out of these past seven days. As always, I hope you enjoy.
Video of the Week: "The Amazing Race- Watermelon Launch"
The watermelon was out to avenge its dead brothers.
Stories of the Week:
- The Actual Story of the Week: 4 Dead and Hundreds Injured in San Bruno, California Fire Explosion
The current tallies: 4 people dead, 52 injured, 53 homes destroyed, and 120 homes damaged. Let's pray that all of these numbers don't get any worse.
- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week:'Playboy' Model Opens Plane Door Mid-Flight
The model, Tiffany Livingston, claimed it was because she was suffering from high anxiety. This brings up a question: is New Jersey really that bad that people would rather jump off planes miles away from it than go to it?
Launch of the Week: Google Instant
The good news? Faster searches, instant results, and the end of that suggestions box which were either incorrect most of the time and would often provide some embarrassing moments to some people. The bad news? You're now even more likely to find a random picture of a penis.
Person of the Week: Florida Pastor Terry Jones
for suspending what was supposed to be a planned burning of Korans in his church today, the ninth anniversary of the September 11th, 2001. For two months, Jones's Dove World Outreach Center in Gainsville, Florida was scheduled to hold a massive public burning of the Koran today, and up until Thursday night it appeared that this was going to happen, even though the media, most of the American public, politicians like Sarah Palin and John Boehner didn't like the idea of it taking place. For God's sake, even Sec. of Defense Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus asked Jones to stop the event fearing the country's security! But this morning, Jones finally did the right thing by going on The Today Show to announce that the church was suspending the planned event:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
"Not today, not ever. We're not going to go back and do it. It is totally cancelled." Thank God! Look, it's one thing to protest against a mosque that is supposed to be built four blocks from Ground Zero. It's another thing to do the ill-thought out and hypocritical act of burning a religious book simply out of hate. So, even though it took until the last minute, we should still acknowledge Jones for doing the right thing and stopping this "International Burn a Koran Day." That still doesn't excuse him for scheduling this type of thing, however.
So, that's about it. Now, as I mentioned earlier in the post, today is the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on US soil on September 11th, 2001. Let's take a moment today to remember that tragic day nine years ago and those who were lost in the tragedy. Let us also pray for the family members of the innocent people lost as well. The terror attacks may have lasted for a few hours, but it was something that we as Americans will never forget. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
Happy Saturday! Now, let's get straight into this, shall we? The following are my picks of some of the biggest, best and most interesting people and moments to come out of these past seven days. As always, I hope you enjoy.
Video of the Week: "The Amazing Race- Watermelon Launch"
The watermelon was out to avenge its dead brothers.
Stories of the Week:
- The Actual Story of the Week: 4 Dead and Hundreds Injured in San Bruno, California Fire Explosion
The current tallies: 4 people dead, 52 injured, 53 homes destroyed, and 120 homes damaged. Let's pray that all of these numbers don't get any worse.
- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week:'Playboy' Model Opens Plane Door Mid-Flight
The model, Tiffany Livingston, claimed it was because she was suffering from high anxiety. This brings up a question: is New Jersey really that bad that people would rather jump off planes miles away from it than go to it?
Launch of the Week: Google Instant
The good news? Faster searches, instant results, and the end of that suggestions box which were either incorrect most of the time and would often provide some embarrassing moments to some people. The bad news? You're now even more likely to find a random picture of a penis.
Person of the Week: Florida Pastor Terry Jones
for suspending what was supposed to be a planned burning of Korans in his church today, the ninth anniversary of the September 11th, 2001. For two months, Jones's Dove World Outreach Center in Gainsville, Florida was scheduled to hold a massive public burning of the Koran today, and up until Thursday night it appeared that this was going to happen, even though the media, most of the American public, politicians like Sarah Palin and John Boehner didn't like the idea of it taking place. For God's sake, even Sec. of Defense Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus asked Jones to stop the event fearing the country's security! But this morning, Jones finally did the right thing by going on The Today Show to announce that the church was suspending the planned event:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
"Not today, not ever. We're not going to go back and do it. It is totally cancelled." Thank God! Look, it's one thing to protest against a mosque that is supposed to be built four blocks from Ground Zero. It's another thing to do the ill-thought out and hypocritical act of burning a religious book simply out of hate. So, even though it took until the last minute, we should still acknowledge Jones for doing the right thing and stopping this "International Burn a Koran Day." That still doesn't excuse him for scheduling this type of thing, however.
So, that's about it. Now, as I mentioned earlier in the post, today is the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on US soil on September 11th, 2001. Let's take a moment today to remember that tragic day nine years ago and those who were lost in the tragedy. Let us also pray for the family members of the innocent people lost as well. The terror attacks may have lasted for a few hours, but it was something that we as Americans will never forget. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
2010 NFL Predictions: The NFL is Back! (cheers) And So Are the Picks! (silence)
The NFL is back! I repeat: the NFL is back! Oh, if I could only scream this into the entire world right now! The best twenty two weeks of the sports calendar is back and better than ever!
First of all, I would like to thank the following moments in sports and entertainment for making the days between Super Bowl XLIV and now not as much of a drag most of the time, in no particular order:
1. The Winter Olympics
2. The MLB season, specifically the part when the White Sox started going on that crazy winning streak in June where they pretty much won every game to get into first place and hold it for a few weeks.
3. "The Pacfic" and "Treme", two great HBO shows that ran back to back in the spring.
4. "Rubicon" and "Louie," two of my favorite new shows from the summer
5. The World Cup
6. The three week stay during the summer in my family's motherland (southern Poland), especially the two weddings I went to over there. 'Cause there ain't no wedding like a Polish wedding 'cause the Polish wedding don't stop!
7. "Mad Men"- season four
8. "Breaking Bad"- season three
9. "Toy Story 3" and "Inception," both of which were outstanding
10. The Blackhawks road to the Stanley Cup, which was awesome.
11. The 2010 NBA free agency period, particularly the "Will Lebron James Sign With the Bulls?" storyline. He picked Miami instead but did so in such a terrible way that I wrote my thoughts about it a few days later.
12. The Bulls push to the playoffs at the end of the season. Sure, they were gonna lose to Cleveland in the 1st round(and they did in five games), but at least it made me watch the final games of the NBA regular season, something I hardly do.
13. All of the shows from my TV top ten that I didn't mention already
14. The Emmys and the Oscars
15. The golf majors and Tiger's return after you-know-what
16. The NCAA Tournament with their high amount of upsets and instant classics this year
17. The NBA and NHL Playoffs
Sure, there were times when I really wanted the NFL back on my TV screen like those Sunday afternoons when there was nothing on except for C-rated PGA tour and some movies that I don't like or when I was getting tired about hearing of Lebron James talked about on ESPN, but these did help in providing good distractions. But for me, there's just nothing quite like spending Sunday afternoons on the TV screen watching NFL Redzone on one channel and Jay Cutler throwing another interception inside the 20 yard line on the other one. Now, let's get to the reason we're all here: the picks.
For those of you who are new to the site, this is the first of my weekly NFL picks columns which you will see from now until Super Bowl XLV. Each Wednesday or Friday (this depends on whether the first game of the week is either on a Thursday or a Sunday) I will be posting a column in which I predict who will win every NFL game that will be played that week and giving you my reasons why. I will also give you the spread of the games, even though I will not pick against it like people such as Hank Goldberg do. Last year, I decided on using the picks made by my dad, whom I call mj50 on this site, in some kind of experiment to see whether someone like him with less knowledge of football then me can do a better job in picking games than me, kind of like how Bill Simmons's wife did better than him that one year.
Well, it didn't turn out that way. I went 169-95 while mj50 went 162-105. Close, but no cigar. So the experiment didn't work, but you know what? I decided to have his picks back for this year as well. I figure that this will be some kind of tradition from now on. So let's get to it. The following are the predictions of the week 1 NFL games from my father and I. Since this is week 1, expect to see a lot of thought on how I think some teams will play throughout the season, and not just this game. I even have my Super Bowl picks as you scroll down. Also, just like last year, all game times are based on the central time zone.
Let's begin:
Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints (-5): Thursday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
What a match to begin the year, with the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints playing the first game of their title defense at home against the team they beat in an overtime classic at home, the Minnesota Vikings who for the second year in a row have have future Hall of Famer Brett Favre under center after another frustrating "will he play or won't he play?" summer. I've decided to pick New Orleans for one big reason, and that is this: when the whole traditional of having the Super Bowl champ of the previous year kicking off the season by playing a Thursday night game at home began in 2004 when the Patriots played against the Colts the season after winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, the home team/defending champion have won every time. Some did it in a close game (like the Patriots in 2004 beating the Colts 27-24 or the Steelers winning in overtime over the Titans last year), some did it in a blowout (like the Colts in 2007 beating the Saints 41-10) and the rest did it by beating them in a 9-11 point margin. But the point is they all won, and with the Saints playing in that great crowd in the Superdome right after they finish celebrating the hanging of the Super Bowl XLIV champions banner, I don't have any doubts that this "streak" will end this year.
Sure, the game these two played against each other in the NFC championship game last season was close and it took the Saints getting a Brett Favre interception in the final minutes of the 4th quarter, a coin flip in their favor and an offensive drive that result in Garrett Hartley scoring a 40 yard field goal to win it. But the Vikings this year are without #1 receiver Sidney Rice for the next eight weeks, the defense should have trouble stopping Brees (as most teams have since he joined New Orleans) and the injuries of Brett Favre has should be a factor much like it was during that NFC championship game. In other words, I expect the city of New Orleans to feel pretty good after the game.
mj50's pick: New Orleans
Miami Dolphins (-3) vs. Buffalo Bills: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Miami
Yes, I know this may sound crazy on paper, as the Dolphins are supposed to challenge the Patriots and the Jets for the AFC East and made some good acquisitions in the offseason by getting both Karlos Dansby as their middle linebacker and Brandon Marshall as their #1 receiver, something Miami hasn't really had in years. Plus, Miami has one of the top running back tandems with Ricky Williams coming off a 1,000 yard season despite not doing so since '03 and Ronnie Brown coming back and Buffalo was ranked 26th in rushing defense last year. But, as we all know, week 1 of the NFL season tends to be one of the most unpredictable weeks of the year, with more upsets than any other time of the year, and I have a strong feeling that Buffalo could be one of those teams that could make an upset. They have also done well in opening games since 2003, either winning them in big margins or keeping it close (they have yet to lose an opening day game by more than 3 points in this timeframe). I'm not saying that Buffalo will finish with the better record or that Buffalo will be really good this year, but for now I think that they will start of the season right at home.
mj50's pick: Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Atlanta
Oh, Ben Roethlisberger! You just had to get yourself involved in another rape accusations over the offseason, causing Commisioner Goodell to suspend you for four games this year for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Will you ever learn to stop being this dumb? Anyways, I do think that because of the Roethlisberger suspension, Atlanta will win this football game. Matt Ryan should be off of his sophmore slump, and you should start seeing that in this game. Plus, I have them as one of the team to challenge the Saints for the NFC south this year, so there's that. Now, let's talk about Peter King.
Ever since King picked the Steelers as his Super Bowl pick, people have been piling on him for doing so. And even though he might deserve it and that this pick was as silly as when he picked the Bears to win the NFC last year, at least he's doing something that not many people are, and that's not going with the flock of sheep and choosing the same four or five teams that the rest of the country (that includes me as you will see later on) have predicted. Just look at the picks by the so called NFL "experts" over at ESPN.com. Almost all of them have the exact same four or five teams to win it (the Colts, the Ravens, the Packers, the Cowboys) with a bit of homerisms in their too. The fact that King didn't go along with them is something that should at least be credit as brazen and shouldn't be that much destroyed as one might assume. I still hate his columns, though.
mj50's pick: Pittsburgh
Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Chicago
As I mentioned last week, this is the least excitement and hope that I've had for this Bears team since the 2004 season when Lovie Smith was in his first year and their best QB that season was Chad Hutchinson. Sure, they now have the quarterback (Cutler) and the additions of Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor were good, but they still didn't do anything to fix their need at their two weakest positions: offensive line and receiving. Also, they looked terrible in the preseason, they have a tough schedule this year and their secondary appears to have their third terrible year in a row set. After all, if you can make the Derek Anderson to Stephen Williams in week 3 of the preseason look like Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison, then how are they going to stop the great QBs they will be playing against in the regular season like Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Tom Brady and Eli Manning?
However, despite all of that just written I still think they are going to win this game against the Lions. Chicago averaged 42.5 points last year against Detroit and Cutler threw for 6 TDs against them last year including a 4 TD performance in week 17. Besides, it's the Lions that we're talking about! Sure, Detroit has a promising future with that young and talented core of young guys lead by Matthew Stafford at QB, Calvin Johnson at WR, Jahvid Best at RB and Ndamukong Suh at DL and with the addition of Kyle Vanden Bosch in the offseason, but I don't think they're ready to make an impact. At least in this season.
mj50's pick: Chicago
Cincinnati Bengals vs. New England Patriots (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
This game should be pretty close only because I think that the Patriots defense could very well be killed by Cedric Benson and the rest of the Bengals offense. But, if there's one thing that the Patriots can do, it's win their opening game of the season, not having lost in week 1 since 2004 and only losing once since 2002. Another thing that New England have done well during the Belichick/Brady era? Beating the Bengals, which they done everytime Brady was the starting QB during these two meetings. So, for those two reasons and the fact that they're playing in Foxborough, I'm going to go with the Pats.
mj50's pick: New England
Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tampa Bay
Look, both teams look terrible heading into the season. The Bucs have one of the worst coaches and QB situations in the NFL and finished 3-13 last year. The Browns are just too short on talent, have to rely on the new king of Cleveland sports Jake Delholmme who was atrocious in his final season last year with the Panthers and finished 5-11 last year. With that being said, I'm just going to go with the Bucs because of the homefield advantage. Otherwise, I really have no idea. Picking between these two teams is like decided whether "The Happening" or "All About Steve" were the better of the two movies.
mj50's pick: Cleveland
Indianapolis Colts (-2) vs. Houston Texans: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Houston
Another year, another NFL season in which people have Houston to be a playoff darkhorse. Just like last year and the last two or three years prior to the season, the Texans come into the season with the best WR in the game (Andre Johnson), a QB who is right on the edge of being part of the league's elite (Matt Schaub), running backs that people are talking about (last year it was Steve Slaton, this year it's Arian Foster) and a young and talent defense (led this year by Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryan and, in a few games, '09 Defensive ROY Brian Cushing). Yet, for the past couple of years the Texans have found to not live up to the hype. Basically, they have been like the Cincinnati Reds of the NFL for the past two years. So, will this be the year they finally breakout and actually play in the franchise's first playoff game. They certainly have the tools to do it, but for all we know they could just finish 9-7 this year and without a playoff berth.
Now, ass for this game between these Texans and the defending AFC champion Colts. Look, as long as Indy has Peyton Manning they will always be the better team than Houston. But the Texans have to beat the Colts eventually. The Texans have played a lot of close games with Indy in the last few years, and there's no way that Peyton Manning will go his entire career beating the Texans twice every year. Besides, the Indy game for Houston has now become their regular season Super Bowl. I expect this team to come to the game at Reliant Stadium extra prepared, extra focused and extra serious than normally and then FINALLY finding a way to finish a game against the Colts with more points.
mj50's pick: Houston
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
You know, with all the talk this offseason about the Cowboys and the Super Bowl type roster they have and the Redskins with the Donovan McNabb acquistition, new coach Mike Shanahan and whatever the heck Haynesworth did, not many people are talking a lot about the Giants. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but either way I expect them to challenge for that NFC East crown this year. They have a fully healthy Eli Manning back, who had to play through the second half of the season with what must have been a painfully distracting foot injury, a Giants defense and wide receiving corps that have the potential to have a sneaky good season, and the additions of Keith Bullock and Antrel Rolle in the offseason were really good in terms of filling some holes in the defense.
The Panthers, on the other hand, don't look that good to me heading into the season. Sure they have some things going for them (Steve Smith, the Williams-Stewart running back tandem, etc.) but I don't think they match up well in the NFC South against the Saints and the Falcons and I believe that the loss of Julius Peppers in the offseason will hurt them defensively. I say all these things because I think that when these two teams will face each other Sunday afternoon, these things will matter.
mj50's pick: New York
Speaking of the divisions in the NFL, here are my predictions on what will happen this upcoming season, including the playoffs. I'm not going to give my reasons why, though. I just think that since this is a predictions column, I might as well give my predictions on the entire season:
AFC South
1. Indianapolis 12-4
2. Tennessee 9-7
3. Houston 9-7
4. Jacksonville 7-9
AFC North
1. Baltimore 11-5
2. Cincinnati 10-6
3. Pittsburgh 8-8
4. Cleveland 5-11
AFC East
1. Miami 11-5
2. New England 10-6
3. New York Jets 8-8
4. Buffalo 5-11
AFC West
1. San Diego 12-4
2. Denver 9-7
3. Oakland 7-9
4. Kansas City 3-13
NFC South
1. Atlanta 11-5
2. New Orleans 10-6
3. Carolina 7-9
4. Tampa Bay 4-12
NFC North
1. Green Bay 13-3
2. Minnesota 9-7
3. Chicago 6-10
4. Detroit 5-11
NFC East
1. New York Giants 11-5
2. Dallas 10-6
3. Philadelphia 9-7
4. Washington 6-10
NFC West
1. San Fransisco 9-7
2. Seattle 8-8
3. Arizona 5-11
4. St. Louis 4-12
Wild Card
Miami over Cincinnati
Baltimore over New England
Dallas over San Fransisco
New Orleans over New York Giants
Divisional Playoffs
Indianapolis over Baltimore
San Diego over Miami
Green Bay over New Orleans
Dallas over Atlanta
Conference Championships
Indianapolis over San Diego
Green Bay over Dallas
Super Bowl XLV
Indianapolis over Green Bay 33-21
HALFTIME! This is the new part of the column that I have added this season. Once I am halfway through predicting each week's games this year, I'm going to post a great video of a stand-up comedy performance. This week, I'm kicking things off with my favorite ten minutes of "Eddie Murphy: Delirious.," one of the best stand up specials I have ever watched. Enjoy.
Denver Broncos vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Jacksonville
In the first game of the Tim Tebow back-up era in Denver, the team that blew a chance in the playoffs last season, the Broncos, take on the team with the least interested (unless they're winning) fanbase, the Jaguars. It's was a tough choice simply because I don't know a lot about the two teams to make a conclusions as to how they will play out this year (though I'm pretty sure they will both do good). I'm going with the Jags, however, simply because the Broncos outside of Champ Bailey have a worse defense then them, especially now that Elvis Dumervill is gone for the season (Jax finished 24th while the Broncos finished 27th) and they have been terrible since the second half of last season. Otherwise, it's a toss up for me.
mj50's pick: Denver
Oakland Raiders vs. Tennessee Titans (-6): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee
Tennessee is coming off a season in which they went 8-2 in their last 10 games. They also have a running back who promised to follow up his 2,000 yard season with a 2,500 yard one (which would be fantastic for me as one of his thousands of fantasy owners this year), a QB who almost always finds himself leading a team to victory in Vince Young and Jeff Fisher, who is one of the league's top five coaches. Oakland, meanwhile is still Oakland. Sure they made some improvements over the offseason like the Campbell addition at QB which finally puts some stability in at the position, but at this point I won't believe that they are a good team until I see them continually win football games in a season. Plus, Tennessee is much better than the Raiders in a lot of ways, and for that and the reasons I just mentioned I'm going with Tennessee in this one.
mj50's pick: Tennessee
Green Bay Packers (-3) vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Green Bay
Two different stories of two different teams heading into this season. On one hand, you have Green Bay, the trendy pick by many people to either win the NFC or the Super Bowl (including me) thanks to a packed offense led by possible MVP this year Aaron Rodgers and a defense that could be really good if they just improve their passing defense. On the other hand, you have the Eagles who still have Andy Reid as coach but are starting the Kevin Kolb era at QB now that they traded Donovan McNabb. In short, both teams have the possibility to have good and/or great seasons. As for this game, however, I like the Packers simply because they have the much better offense. It should be a good game, though.
mj50's pick: Green Bay
Arizona Cardinals (-4) vs. St. Louis Rams: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Arizona
If there are any doubters are there left in this world who still don't think that the QB isn't the most important position in football, just look at the Arizona Cardinals. After two straight trips to the playoffs including one in which they were leading Super Bowl XLIII with less than three minutes to go, they aren't even predicted to finish on top of the division. That is for one reason and one reason only: the retirement of Kurt Warner. Thanks to his departure and Derek Anderson replacing him at QB, the Cardinals look like they're going back to their pre-2008 days of failure. Sure, the losses of Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle might have been big factors too, but Warner was one of the league's five best QBs for the past two seasons and now that he's gone, that explosive offense that we saw in '08 and '09 should be gone for a while.
With that being said, I still think they're going to win this game. The Cardinals haven't lost to the Rams since September of 2006 and I think the Rams defense won't be able to stop Larry Fitzgerald and Beanie Wells. How Sam Bradford will play in his first NFL game should be much more interesting to watch than the game itself.
mj50's pick: Arizona
San Fransisco 49ers (-3) vs. Seattle Seahawks: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Fransisco
Ah, the NFC West! A division so terrible that you can probably get into the playoffs with a 9-7 record! Anyways, I think that these will be the two teams that will challenge for that division crowd. I like San Fransisco just because they've been close to the division crown in years past, have top 10 RB Frank Gore and a nice and talented defense, and I like Seattle just because they were one of the most consistent teams in that divisions up until '08 and for that reason only. Arizona could be in that mix as the season goes along, but to me these will be the teams that will finish the season on top of the division. Now, as for this game, I think SanFran will do much better than Seattle. Seattle ranked 31st in rushing defense last year and that terrible news considering that they start off the year facing Frank Gore and the SanFran defense will prove to be very good against Matt Hasselback and that Seattle offense.
mj50's pick: Seattle
Dallas Cowboys (-3) vs. Washington Redskins: Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
It's a pretty good Sunday Night game to start the season off on paper, with Tony Romo and the Super Bowl favorites Dallas Cowboys taking on new Washington QB Donovan McNabb and the rest of the Redskins in a matchup between two hated divisional rivals, and in the end I do think it will be pretty close. But, in the end, I think that the result will be just like you would expect, with the favorited Cowboys coming out on top. Tony Romo is 10-4 lifetime in September and the last time the Redskins beat the Cowboys at home was in 2007, when Dallas already clinched the #1 spot in the NFC and were giving their starters a week off. Otherwise, Washington has yet to beat the Cowboys at home since then.
mj50's pick: Washington
Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Jets (-2.5): Monday- 6:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Baltimore
I know I mentioned this before, but I have loved this past season of "Hard Knocks" with the Jets. The swearing, the funny and unintentionally funny moments, etc. But as I was watching all of moments happening in training camp with Rex Ryan and company, I realized through their preseason game highlights that the Jets are not as good as many people thought they would be. Not only do their second and third stringers look unimpressive, but Mark Sanchez appears from the highlights of the preseason games that he will have some type of a sophmore slump this year. Meanwhile, Baltimore looks the exact opposite. The defense looks nice heading into the season as usual, Ray Rice is expected to have another good year fantasy wise, and the additions of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmanzadeh (God, I hoped I spelled that right!) has just made their passing offense better than ever! I like the Ravens in this intriguing first Monday night matchup of the year.
mj50's pick: New York
San Diego Chargers (-4.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Monday- 9:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Diego
Dear ESPN,
How is it that a network as powerful as you can't seem to schedule a good second Monday Night Football game in week 1? Every year since you got the MNF rights, you always have had some nice and intriguing first game followed by some dud of a second game in which you know who's going to win for weeks prior. Can't you find some way to schedule two good teams to play in the 9:15 p.m. slot every week 1, like Colts/Chargers or NY Giants/San Fransisco? I don't know about you, but I will most likely tune out from watching football on your network once the Baltimore/NY Jets game ends just because the San Diego/Kansas City game should be a blowout.
mj50's pick: Kansas City
RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week:
Arizona over St. Louis
The Jacksonville State defeating Ole Miss Upset of the Week:
Buffalo over Miami
The "Parks and Recreations" vs. "Community" "I'm Not Sure" Pick:
Tampa Bay over Cleveland
And, that's it for this week's column. It's just good to know that after six months, the new NFL regular season will finally get underway tomorrow. I will be back with the week 2 picks next Friday due to the NFL starting on a Sunday that particular week. Otherwise, enjoy the games, wherever and however you do so.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
Ifyou have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
First of all, I would like to thank the following moments in sports and entertainment for making the days between Super Bowl XLIV and now not as much of a drag most of the time, in no particular order:
1. The Winter Olympics
2. The MLB season, specifically the part when the White Sox started going on that crazy winning streak in June where they pretty much won every game to get into first place and hold it for a few weeks.
3. "The Pacfic" and "Treme", two great HBO shows that ran back to back in the spring.
4. "Rubicon" and "Louie," two of my favorite new shows from the summer
5. The World Cup
6. The three week stay during the summer in my family's motherland (southern Poland), especially the two weddings I went to over there. 'Cause there ain't no wedding like a Polish wedding 'cause the Polish wedding don't stop!
7. "Mad Men"- season four
8. "Breaking Bad"- season three
9. "Toy Story 3" and "Inception," both of which were outstanding
10. The Blackhawks road to the Stanley Cup, which was awesome.
11. The 2010 NBA free agency period, particularly the "Will Lebron James Sign With the Bulls?" storyline. He picked Miami instead but did so in such a terrible way that I wrote my thoughts about it a few days later.
12. The Bulls push to the playoffs at the end of the season. Sure, they were gonna lose to Cleveland in the 1st round(and they did in five games), but at least it made me watch the final games of the NBA regular season, something I hardly do.
13. All of the shows from my TV top ten that I didn't mention already
14. The Emmys and the Oscars
15. The golf majors and Tiger's return after you-know-what
16. The NCAA Tournament with their high amount of upsets and instant classics this year
17. The NBA and NHL Playoffs
Sure, there were times when I really wanted the NFL back on my TV screen like those Sunday afternoons when there was nothing on except for C-rated PGA tour and some movies that I don't like or when I was getting tired about hearing of Lebron James talked about on ESPN, but these did help in providing good distractions. But for me, there's just nothing quite like spending Sunday afternoons on the TV screen watching NFL Redzone on one channel and Jay Cutler throwing another interception inside the 20 yard line on the other one. Now, let's get to the reason we're all here: the picks.
For those of you who are new to the site, this is the first of my weekly NFL picks columns which you will see from now until Super Bowl XLV. Each Wednesday or Friday (this depends on whether the first game of the week is either on a Thursday or a Sunday) I will be posting a column in which I predict who will win every NFL game that will be played that week and giving you my reasons why. I will also give you the spread of the games, even though I will not pick against it like people such as Hank Goldberg do. Last year, I decided on using the picks made by my dad, whom I call mj50 on this site, in some kind of experiment to see whether someone like him with less knowledge of football then me can do a better job in picking games than me, kind of like how Bill Simmons's wife did better than him that one year.
Well, it didn't turn out that way. I went 169-95 while mj50 went 162-105. Close, but no cigar. So the experiment didn't work, but you know what? I decided to have his picks back for this year as well. I figure that this will be some kind of tradition from now on. So let's get to it. The following are the predictions of the week 1 NFL games from my father and I. Since this is week 1, expect to see a lot of thought on how I think some teams will play throughout the season, and not just this game. I even have my Super Bowl picks as you scroll down. Also, just like last year, all game times are based on the central time zone.
Let's begin:
Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints (-5): Thursday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
What a match to begin the year, with the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints playing the first game of their title defense at home against the team they beat in an overtime classic at home, the Minnesota Vikings who for the second year in a row have have future Hall of Famer Brett Favre under center after another frustrating "will he play or won't he play?" summer. I've decided to pick New Orleans for one big reason, and that is this: when the whole traditional of having the Super Bowl champ of the previous year kicking off the season by playing a Thursday night game at home began in 2004 when the Patriots played against the Colts the season after winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, the home team/defending champion have won every time. Some did it in a close game (like the Patriots in 2004 beating the Colts 27-24 or the Steelers winning in overtime over the Titans last year), some did it in a blowout (like the Colts in 2007 beating the Saints 41-10) and the rest did it by beating them in a 9-11 point margin. But the point is they all won, and with the Saints playing in that great crowd in the Superdome right after they finish celebrating the hanging of the Super Bowl XLIV champions banner, I don't have any doubts that this "streak" will end this year.
Sure, the game these two played against each other in the NFC championship game last season was close and it took the Saints getting a Brett Favre interception in the final minutes of the 4th quarter, a coin flip in their favor and an offensive drive that result in Garrett Hartley scoring a 40 yard field goal to win it. But the Vikings this year are without #1 receiver Sidney Rice for the next eight weeks, the defense should have trouble stopping Brees (as most teams have since he joined New Orleans) and the injuries of Brett Favre has should be a factor much like it was during that NFC championship game. In other words, I expect the city of New Orleans to feel pretty good after the game.
mj50's pick: New Orleans
Miami Dolphins (-3) vs. Buffalo Bills: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Miami
Yes, I know this may sound crazy on paper, as the Dolphins are supposed to challenge the Patriots and the Jets for the AFC East and made some good acquisitions in the offseason by getting both Karlos Dansby as their middle linebacker and Brandon Marshall as their #1 receiver, something Miami hasn't really had in years. Plus, Miami has one of the top running back tandems with Ricky Williams coming off a 1,000 yard season despite not doing so since '03 and Ronnie Brown coming back and Buffalo was ranked 26th in rushing defense last year. But, as we all know, week 1 of the NFL season tends to be one of the most unpredictable weeks of the year, with more upsets than any other time of the year, and I have a strong feeling that Buffalo could be one of those teams that could make an upset. They have also done well in opening games since 2003, either winning them in big margins or keeping it close (they have yet to lose an opening day game by more than 3 points in this timeframe). I'm not saying that Buffalo will finish with the better record or that Buffalo will be really good this year, but for now I think that they will start of the season right at home.
mj50's pick: Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Atlanta
Oh, Ben Roethlisberger! You just had to get yourself involved in another rape accusations over the offseason, causing Commisioner Goodell to suspend you for four games this year for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Will you ever learn to stop being this dumb? Anyways, I do think that because of the Roethlisberger suspension, Atlanta will win this football game. Matt Ryan should be off of his sophmore slump, and you should start seeing that in this game. Plus, I have them as one of the team to challenge the Saints for the NFC south this year, so there's that. Now, let's talk about Peter King.
Ever since King picked the Steelers as his Super Bowl pick, people have been piling on him for doing so. And even though he might deserve it and that this pick was as silly as when he picked the Bears to win the NFC last year, at least he's doing something that not many people are, and that's not going with the flock of sheep and choosing the same four or five teams that the rest of the country (that includes me as you will see later on) have predicted. Just look at the picks by the so called NFL "experts" over at ESPN.com. Almost all of them have the exact same four or five teams to win it (the Colts, the Ravens, the Packers, the Cowboys) with a bit of homerisms in their too. The fact that King didn't go along with them is something that should at least be credit as brazen and shouldn't be that much destroyed as one might assume. I still hate his columns, though.
mj50's pick: Pittsburgh
Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears (-6.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Chicago
As I mentioned last week, this is the least excitement and hope that I've had for this Bears team since the 2004 season when Lovie Smith was in his first year and their best QB that season was Chad Hutchinson. Sure, they now have the quarterback (Cutler) and the additions of Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor were good, but they still didn't do anything to fix their need at their two weakest positions: offensive line and receiving. Also, they looked terrible in the preseason, they have a tough schedule this year and their secondary appears to have their third terrible year in a row set. After all, if you can make the Derek Anderson to Stephen Williams in week 3 of the preseason look like Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison, then how are they going to stop the great QBs they will be playing against in the regular season like Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Tom Brady and Eli Manning?
However, despite all of that just written I still think they are going to win this game against the Lions. Chicago averaged 42.5 points last year against Detroit and Cutler threw for 6 TDs against them last year including a 4 TD performance in week 17. Besides, it's the Lions that we're talking about! Sure, Detroit has a promising future with that young and talented core of young guys lead by Matthew Stafford at QB, Calvin Johnson at WR, Jahvid Best at RB and Ndamukong Suh at DL and with the addition of Kyle Vanden Bosch in the offseason, but I don't think they're ready to make an impact. At least in this season.
mj50's pick: Chicago
Cincinnati Bengals vs. New England Patriots (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
This game should be pretty close only because I think that the Patriots defense could very well be killed by Cedric Benson and the rest of the Bengals offense. But, if there's one thing that the Patriots can do, it's win their opening game of the season, not having lost in week 1 since 2004 and only losing once since 2002. Another thing that New England have done well during the Belichick/Brady era? Beating the Bengals, which they done everytime Brady was the starting QB during these two meetings. So, for those two reasons and the fact that they're playing in Foxborough, I'm going to go with the Pats.
mj50's pick: New England
Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tampa Bay
Look, both teams look terrible heading into the season. The Bucs have one of the worst coaches and QB situations in the NFL and finished 3-13 last year. The Browns are just too short on talent, have to rely on the new king of Cleveland sports Jake Delholmme who was atrocious in his final season last year with the Panthers and finished 5-11 last year. With that being said, I'm just going to go with the Bucs because of the homefield advantage. Otherwise, I really have no idea. Picking between these two teams is like decided whether "The Happening" or "All About Steve" were the better of the two movies.
mj50's pick: Cleveland
Indianapolis Colts (-2) vs. Houston Texans: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Houston
Another year, another NFL season in which people have Houston to be a playoff darkhorse. Just like last year and the last two or three years prior to the season, the Texans come into the season with the best WR in the game (Andre Johnson), a QB who is right on the edge of being part of the league's elite (Matt Schaub), running backs that people are talking about (last year it was Steve Slaton, this year it's Arian Foster) and a young and talent defense (led this year by Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryan and, in a few games, '09 Defensive ROY Brian Cushing). Yet, for the past couple of years the Texans have found to not live up to the hype. Basically, they have been like the Cincinnati Reds of the NFL for the past two years. So, will this be the year they finally breakout and actually play in the franchise's first playoff game. They certainly have the tools to do it, but for all we know they could just finish 9-7 this year and without a playoff berth.
Now, ass for this game between these Texans and the defending AFC champion Colts. Look, as long as Indy has Peyton Manning they will always be the better team than Houston. But the Texans have to beat the Colts eventually. The Texans have played a lot of close games with Indy in the last few years, and there's no way that Peyton Manning will go his entire career beating the Texans twice every year. Besides, the Indy game for Houston has now become their regular season Super Bowl. I expect this team to come to the game at Reliant Stadium extra prepared, extra focused and extra serious than normally and then FINALLY finding a way to finish a game against the Colts with more points.
mj50's pick: Houston
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants (-7): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
You know, with all the talk this offseason about the Cowboys and the Super Bowl type roster they have and the Redskins with the Donovan McNabb acquistition, new coach Mike Shanahan and whatever the heck Haynesworth did, not many people are talking a lot about the Giants. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but either way I expect them to challenge for that NFC East crown this year. They have a fully healthy Eli Manning back, who had to play through the second half of the season with what must have been a painfully distracting foot injury, a Giants defense and wide receiving corps that have the potential to have a sneaky good season, and the additions of Keith Bullock and Antrel Rolle in the offseason were really good in terms of filling some holes in the defense.
The Panthers, on the other hand, don't look that good to me heading into the season. Sure they have some things going for them (Steve Smith, the Williams-Stewart running back tandem, etc.) but I don't think they match up well in the NFC South against the Saints and the Falcons and I believe that the loss of Julius Peppers in the offseason will hurt them defensively. I say all these things because I think that when these two teams will face each other Sunday afternoon, these things will matter.
mj50's pick: New York
Speaking of the divisions in the NFL, here are my predictions on what will happen this upcoming season, including the playoffs. I'm not going to give my reasons why, though. I just think that since this is a predictions column, I might as well give my predictions on the entire season:
AFC South
1. Indianapolis 12-4
2. Tennessee 9-7
3. Houston 9-7
4. Jacksonville 7-9
AFC North
1. Baltimore 11-5
2. Cincinnati 10-6
3. Pittsburgh 8-8
4. Cleveland 5-11
AFC East
1. Miami 11-5
2. New England 10-6
3. New York Jets 8-8
4. Buffalo 5-11
AFC West
1. San Diego 12-4
2. Denver 9-7
3. Oakland 7-9
4. Kansas City 3-13
NFC South
1. Atlanta 11-5
2. New Orleans 10-6
3. Carolina 7-9
4. Tampa Bay 4-12
NFC North
1. Green Bay 13-3
2. Minnesota 9-7
3. Chicago 6-10
4. Detroit 5-11
NFC East
1. New York Giants 11-5
2. Dallas 10-6
3. Philadelphia 9-7
4. Washington 6-10
NFC West
1. San Fransisco 9-7
2. Seattle 8-8
3. Arizona 5-11
4. St. Louis 4-12
Wild Card
Miami over Cincinnati
Baltimore over New England
Dallas over San Fransisco
New Orleans over New York Giants
Divisional Playoffs
Indianapolis over Baltimore
San Diego over Miami
Green Bay over New Orleans
Dallas over Atlanta
Conference Championships
Indianapolis over San Diego
Green Bay over Dallas
Super Bowl XLV
Indianapolis over Green Bay 33-21
HALFTIME! This is the new part of the column that I have added this season. Once I am halfway through predicting each week's games this year, I'm going to post a great video of a stand-up comedy performance. This week, I'm kicking things off with my favorite ten minutes of "Eddie Murphy: Delirious.," one of the best stand up specials I have ever watched. Enjoy.
Denver Broncos vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Jacksonville
In the first game of the Tim Tebow back-up era in Denver, the team that blew a chance in the playoffs last season, the Broncos, take on the team with the least interested (unless they're winning) fanbase, the Jaguars. It's was a tough choice simply because I don't know a lot about the two teams to make a conclusions as to how they will play out this year (though I'm pretty sure they will both do good). I'm going with the Jags, however, simply because the Broncos outside of Champ Bailey have a worse defense then them, especially now that Elvis Dumervill is gone for the season (Jax finished 24th while the Broncos finished 27th) and they have been terrible since the second half of last season. Otherwise, it's a toss up for me.
mj50's pick: Denver
Oakland Raiders vs. Tennessee Titans (-6): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tennessee
Tennessee is coming off a season in which they went 8-2 in their last 10 games. They also have a running back who promised to follow up his 2,000 yard season with a 2,500 yard one (which would be fantastic for me as one of his thousands of fantasy owners this year), a QB who almost always finds himself leading a team to victory in Vince Young and Jeff Fisher, who is one of the league's top five coaches. Oakland, meanwhile is still Oakland. Sure they made some improvements over the offseason like the Campbell addition at QB which finally puts some stability in at the position, but at this point I won't believe that they are a good team until I see them continually win football games in a season. Plus, Tennessee is much better than the Raiders in a lot of ways, and for that and the reasons I just mentioned I'm going with Tennessee in this one.
mj50's pick: Tennessee
Green Bay Packers (-3) vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Green Bay
Two different stories of two different teams heading into this season. On one hand, you have Green Bay, the trendy pick by many people to either win the NFC or the Super Bowl (including me) thanks to a packed offense led by possible MVP this year Aaron Rodgers and a defense that could be really good if they just improve their passing defense. On the other hand, you have the Eagles who still have Andy Reid as coach but are starting the Kevin Kolb era at QB now that they traded Donovan McNabb. In short, both teams have the possibility to have good and/or great seasons. As for this game, however, I like the Packers simply because they have the much better offense. It should be a good game, though.
mj50's pick: Green Bay
Arizona Cardinals (-4) vs. St. Louis Rams: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Arizona
If there are any doubters are there left in this world who still don't think that the QB isn't the most important position in football, just look at the Arizona Cardinals. After two straight trips to the playoffs including one in which they were leading Super Bowl XLIII with less than three minutes to go, they aren't even predicted to finish on top of the division. That is for one reason and one reason only: the retirement of Kurt Warner. Thanks to his departure and Derek Anderson replacing him at QB, the Cardinals look like they're going back to their pre-2008 days of failure. Sure, the losses of Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle might have been big factors too, but Warner was one of the league's five best QBs for the past two seasons and now that he's gone, that explosive offense that we saw in '08 and '09 should be gone for a while.
With that being said, I still think they're going to win this game. The Cardinals haven't lost to the Rams since September of 2006 and I think the Rams defense won't be able to stop Larry Fitzgerald and Beanie Wells. How Sam Bradford will play in his first NFL game should be much more interesting to watch than the game itself.
mj50's pick: Arizona
San Fransisco 49ers (-3) vs. Seattle Seahawks: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Fransisco
Ah, the NFC West! A division so terrible that you can probably get into the playoffs with a 9-7 record! Anyways, I think that these will be the two teams that will challenge for that division crowd. I like San Fransisco just because they've been close to the division crown in years past, have top 10 RB Frank Gore and a nice and talented defense, and I like Seattle just because they were one of the most consistent teams in that divisions up until '08 and for that reason only. Arizona could be in that mix as the season goes along, but to me these will be the teams that will finish the season on top of the division. Now, as for this game, I think SanFran will do much better than Seattle. Seattle ranked 31st in rushing defense last year and that terrible news considering that they start off the year facing Frank Gore and the SanFran defense will prove to be very good against Matt Hasselback and that Seattle offense.
mj50's pick: Seattle
Dallas Cowboys (-3) vs. Washington Redskins: Sunday- 7:20 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
It's a pretty good Sunday Night game to start the season off on paper, with Tony Romo and the Super Bowl favorites Dallas Cowboys taking on new Washington QB Donovan McNabb and the rest of the Redskins in a matchup between two hated divisional rivals, and in the end I do think it will be pretty close. But, in the end, I think that the result will be just like you would expect, with the favorited Cowboys coming out on top. Tony Romo is 10-4 lifetime in September and the last time the Redskins beat the Cowboys at home was in 2007, when Dallas already clinched the #1 spot in the NFC and were giving their starters a week off. Otherwise, Washington has yet to beat the Cowboys at home since then.
mj50's pick: Washington
Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Jets (-2.5): Monday- 6:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Baltimore
I know I mentioned this before, but I have loved this past season of "Hard Knocks" with the Jets. The swearing, the funny and unintentionally funny moments, etc. But as I was watching all of moments happening in training camp with Rex Ryan and company, I realized through their preseason game highlights that the Jets are not as good as many people thought they would be. Not only do their second and third stringers look unimpressive, but Mark Sanchez appears from the highlights of the preseason games that he will have some type of a sophmore slump this year. Meanwhile, Baltimore looks the exact opposite. The defense looks nice heading into the season as usual, Ray Rice is expected to have another good year fantasy wise, and the additions of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmanzadeh (God, I hoped I spelled that right!) has just made their passing offense better than ever! I like the Ravens in this intriguing first Monday night matchup of the year.
mj50's pick: New York
San Diego Chargers (-4.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Monday- 9:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Diego
Dear ESPN,
How is it that a network as powerful as you can't seem to schedule a good second Monday Night Football game in week 1? Every year since you got the MNF rights, you always have had some nice and intriguing first game followed by some dud of a second game in which you know who's going to win for weeks prior. Can't you find some way to schedule two good teams to play in the 9:15 p.m. slot every week 1, like Colts/Chargers or NY Giants/San Fransisco? I don't know about you, but I will most likely tune out from watching football on your network once the Baltimore/NY Jets game ends just because the San Diego/Kansas City game should be a blowout.
mj50's pick: Kansas City
RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week:
Arizona over St. Louis
The Jacksonville State defeating Ole Miss Upset of the Week:
Buffalo over Miami
The "Parks and Recreations" vs. "Community" "I'm Not Sure" Pick:
Tampa Bay over Cleveland
And, that's it for this week's column. It's just good to know that after six months, the new NFL regular season will finally get underway tomorrow. I will be back with the week 2 picks next Friday due to the NFL starting on a Sunday that particular week. Otherwise, enjoy the games, wherever and however you do so.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
Ifyou have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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