Raiders Close Out Year on a Winning Note

The Oakland Raiders went across the Raider Nation to Tampa, to take on the formerly playoff-bound Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Raiders are actually starting to look like an NFL team these past few weeks and, I think things are gonna be looking bright going into next year.

Here are a few things I am pleased with:

1. The fact that Cable benched "Lame" Kwame Harris.

-Mario Henderson is starting to look like a formidable NFL LT, he's miles and miles better than Harris. The Raiders need to take an OT with their first round pick, which is looking like a 7 or 8 pick, this would enable them to take either a right or left tackle. This could be kind of difficult because there are no "sought-after" right tackles in the first round, and then we would have to move Super Mario over to the right side, I would think if you can play blindside tackle with a right handed QB, you should be able to play RT. I wouldn't mind seeing them take Virginia's Eugene Monroe. It's easy to want to get a chubbie over Bama's Andre Smith, but I read that he is a little slow against the speed rushers, and that is basically what the entire NFL is. A good O-Line is the key to JaMarcus' development. He's showed what he can do with a little time every once in a while.

2. The emergence of Michael Bush this season.

-Michael Bush got the chance to play in his first full season, and he didn't disappoint. We now have the opportunity to use three backs. Bush stepped in this week and got 177 yards on 28 carries when DMC and Fargas were dinged up. We could call them Earth, Wind, and Fire, I seriously made that up just now. Michael Bush=earth, Darren McFadden=wind because he's faster than fast, Justin Fargas=fire because he is a very hard working and strong athlete.

3. Tom Cable's ability to get these guys to play these last two games.

-You know what? I was thinking firmly that the Raiders needed to go out and get another stinkin head coach. Maybe not. Tom Cable the "interim"coach has gotten the team to play this season, since the infamous firing. I'm not necessarily saying that he should stick with Cable, but he should for sure consider him as a top candidate for the job. He can work with the new offensive lineman that they draft, and he would give them a little bit of continuity and reliablity that the team hasn't had in a coon's age.

Final Week Predictions

Here's where I'm gonna lay down a blog that breaksdown all the B.S. of the NFL playoffs.

NFC:

Here are the teams who are in: New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and the Alanta Falcons.

Bubble Teams: Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears. Minnesota needs to beat the New York Giants, if they do that they will win the NFC North and get in as the third seed. If the Bears win and Minnesota loses the Bears win the divsion and Minnesota is done. The Bears can get in as a wild card if they win and the Buccaneers and Cowgirls lose (don't worry Mikey, the Bucs are going to lose to the suddenly hot Oakland Raiders this week).

Dallas is in the driver's seat for the six seed. Win and they're in. Easier said than done being that they play Philly in Philly against that defense, and given Tony Romo's history for playing less than stellar in December might continue. Philly can get in themselves, but they need a lot of help. They need to win and basically everyone to lose. That tie at Cincy is killing them right now.

When the dust settles after tomorrow's action here's what the NFC will look like.

1. Giants

2. Panthers

3. Bears

4. Arizona

5. Falcons

6. Eagles

I think the Eagles will get in after beating Dallas and the Raiders beat the Buccaneers.

AFC:

These teams are in: Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Indianapolis Colts these are the only ones who clinched a spot.

Bubble Teams: This is the more messy Conference. The AFC East is gonna be a good race on Sunday. The Jets and Dolphins play in New York, the Pats play Buffalo in Buffalo, the Jets are 9-6, so they need to beat the Phins and the Bills to beat NE. I think the Jets will lose to the Dolphins and the Bills will beat the Pats, so the Jets and Patriots are out of the question, Miami gets in.

Baltimore win and they're in as a wild card. This should happen against Jacksonville. Also, San Diego should get ready to lose to Indy in the first round after they beat Denver this week. Denver isn't worthy of making it in. Too inconsistent.

When it's all said and done tomorrow:

1. Titans

2. Steelers

3. Dolphins

4. Chargers

5. Colts

6. Ravens

This is big mess at the moment and this is how it will look in my opinion. I hope I was somewhat accurate in lieu of this mess.

Video Blog #1

I decided to try out my webcam and I wanted to try a video blog this time. Let me know what you think. I had to talk about the Raiders big victory against a "good" Houston Texans team. I needed to talk about the Lions and, I did something new: Performers of the Week. "Boom's Brats" is what I'll call them.

Can They Get a W This Week?

It would be really nice to see the Raiders beat the Texans this week in Oakland and give some of these awesome fans something to cheer about in the final home contest, and give themselves some momentum heading into next year.

At the same time, it's almost a waste to win another game and lose a prime spot in the draft. This next draft is going to be huge. We need to have a big draft. We need help at various positions across the entire field, I look at OT as the biggest need and should be addressed in the first round. You can't really go wrong with a good offensive tackle, unless his name is Tony Mandarich. But, that was all hype anyway. Another large need is FS, we need a good Free Safety to play across from Gibril Wilson, who is having a great year. It would be nice to get another WR at some point, and even though I hate to say it, I think they need to draft another QB in the late rounds to give a possible backup to maybe push JaMarcus Russell a little.

People across the Raider Nation are talking of trading CB Nnamdi Asomugha, are only true Pro Bowler (Shane Lechler is a punter, c'mon). This would be a mistake. I don't think it is a good idea to trade the best cornerback in the league and the only on the team who cares about winning at this point. Having said that, I don't think slapping the Tag on him again is the right call either. We need to lock him up.

There are also rumors of the Raiders going after Giants OC Kevin Gilbride as their next head coach. In a way, it makes sense because he has brought Eli Manning into a Super Bowl Champion and he might be able to do the same with JaMarcus. But, I don't really want someone who was punched in the face by Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan's father Buddy Ryan for being a pussy back in the late '90's when he was head man of the San Diego Chargers. So the Raiders need to get Jim Fassel. Fassel would be a great fit. He once coached in Oakland in the mid '90's and I think that Al Davis can put his trust in him. He took the Giants to a Super Bowl in 2000, so he's a proven Super Bowl coach.

CC Reportedly Headed to New York

As of early Wednesday morning, free agent pitcher CC Sabathia was close to a deal with the Yankees with huge dimensions. 7-years and $161 million dollars later he signed with the Evil Empire.


The Yanks first offer was reported to be 6-years and $140 million. It was also reported Tuesday that CC spoke with Dodgers GM Ned Coletti saying that he wanted to play in Los Angeles, in his native California. It seemed like the Yankees weren't his first choice, considering he was so big into hitting and that's not possible in the AL. Apparently, playing close to home is no match for $161 million.


He wanted to play on the West coast and no team really stepped up in making any substantial offers, so it came down to returning to Milwaukee, a place that I feel he enjoyed but lacks the ability to win championships year in and year out, or, going to the Big Apple for a boatload of money.


This is my personal view on the situation: CC Sabathia will always hold a special place in my heart as a Milwaukee Brewer fan. He led us in a magical '08 season in which we wouldn't have made the playoffs without him. Having said that, he made the choice to go to the big city and run the risk of becoming, in the words of my boy Jim Rome "A-Roded," where you are judged on how you play in October, and if you don't perform, you're just another wasted free agent signing. He struggled in his one playoff appearance this past season. No one in NYC cares if you won the Cy Young in 2007 or in A-Rod's case several MVPs. All the Yankee fans and the Steinbrenner family care about is winning World Series titles.


Good luck to you CC, I will continue to root for you, but going to New York doesn't strike me as best decision for you and your family.

-Mitch

Championship Saturday

We have, quite possibly, the biggest Saturday of the year going down this week. Here are my picks:


Friday 7 p.m.: #12 Ball State vs. Buffalo University (MAC Championship)-
Turner Gill has done a phenomenal job at the helm for Buffalo U getting them to a bowl game, after winning 5 of their last 6. Gill is a potential Coach of the Year, but I can't go against Nate Davis and the Cards. I like Ball State in this one. BALL 35-24.


Saturday 11 a.m.: East Carolina vs. Tulsa (Conference USA Championship)-
David Johnson is a heck of a QB, he has 3,671 yards and 42 TD's this season, and he spreads the ball around a little bit. East Carolina started out the year looking unstoppable, then they lost three straight to fall back in the ranks. Maybe they're a little inconsistent? I'll take Tulsa 42-28.


Saturday Noon: #18 Boston College vs. Virginia Tech (ACC Championship)-
BC has bounced back pretty nicely from back-to-back losses in late Oct./early Nov., including one to an underachieving Clemson team. They did beat VA Tech earlier this season in Chestnut Hill, MA. I think Frank Beamer will have the team ready to go this time. I'm gonna go with my instinct on this one... VA Tech in a squeaker 20-17.


Saturday 3 p.m.:#1 Alabama vs. #2 Florida (SEC Championship)-
This is probably gonna be the game of the year, outside of the National Championship. It's such an intriguing matchup: Alabama's strength vs. Florida's speed. I can't really decide if I want to see Tim Tebow lose tomorrow or in the BCS National Championship. Why Wait? I'll take BAMA to finally slow down Florida, look for a big play in the special teams of Alabama. BAMA 28-24. In a great game.


Saturday 7 p.m.: #4 Oklahoma vs. #19 Missou (Big 12 Championship)-
I am a huge Sam Bradford fan. If he doesn't win Heisman, something is wrong. The game is played at Arrowhead Stadium in Killer City. This will be the first time there will be an 11-1 team in that stadium all year. I think the cold and crappy conditions will slow down the spread attack of Mizzou. Stoops will find a way to get the team pumped for this game, plus, Oklahoma is much better. OU in a barn-burner 49-31.


Saturday 11 a.m.: Army vs. Navy -
Army is not good at all. Navy is quite good. Navy all the way, 38-10.

Sharks Improve on Franchise-Best Start

The San Jose Sharks are off to their best start in franchise history. It's no long and storied history like the Montreal Canadiens or anything, but a pretty good history nonetheless.

The Sharks improved to 21-3-1 on Tuesday night, in a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Tank. The Sharks got out to a fairly quick 4-0 lead and never looked back.They were led by Joe Thornton who picked up a goal and three assists, bringing his season assist total to 23. Joe Thornton's 23 assists are good enough for second in the NHL, right behind Pittsburgh's young Superstar Evgeni Malkin. Wisconsin native, Joe Pavelski, also had a decent showing last night. He finished with a goal and an assist, along with getting four shots on goal.

I look for the Sharks to continue what they are doing, as long as, they can adjust on fly as teams become more and more prepared for them. I am very pleased at what I am seeing out of young RW Devin Setoguchi. He's playing at an all-star level this season.

Go Sharks!

Raiders Toppled By Kansas City

I want to first say that I am extremely pissed about the way the game turned out this afternoon.


Just when I thought the Raiders might turn things around and win a couple games here to finish the season strong, they go ahead and give the Killer City Chiefs their second win of the season and drop to 3-9 themselves. Let's say I can feel for the Bronco fans after last week.


The offense of every game prior to last week showed up again. Except for the first half, the Raiders had 185 yards of total offense, not exactly Texas Tech numbers, but pretty good none the less. They come out in the second half and do absolutely nothing. JaMarcus ended at 10/28 for 132 yards. He did have some long scrambles though. Justin Fargas had a decent game, (82 yards and a score) but had the fumble that was the back-breaker. JaMarcus' favorite target was TE Zach Miller because the WR's were, once again, non-existent.


Larry Johnson seemed to be the Larry Johnson of old again, having rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries collecting a TD along the way. Tyler Thigpen wasn't very great, but he seemed to be able to find Tony G when ever he needed to make a play.


The Raiders are set to take on a struggling San Diego Chargers team on the NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football" this week.

Oregon State Rose Bowl Bound No More

Oregon State's dream of taking the ever coveted trip down to Pasadena was erased late Saturday Night at the hands of their bitter rivals Jeremiah Johnson and the Oregon Ducks.

The Beavers had to play without the likes of their talented Tailback Jacquizz "Quizz" Rodgers, and they couldn't run the ball at all without him. The Ducks, on the other hand, ran the ball all day. 385 yards including 219 from Jeremiah Johnson, compared to State's 89 yards on the ground. Oregon set a school record for total yards in this one with 697, breaking the previous mark they just set on Sept. 6th against Utah State.

Lyle Moevao had a decent game given that he was down by two scores really early. The Beav's kept going to WR James Rodgers, older brother of Quizz, on what they call the Fly Sweep (it's a glorified end around) that wasn't there at all really.

The Oregon victory knocked Oregon State likely down to a Sun Bowl berth and gave Oregon the Holiday Bowl or even a Rose Bowl, but we'll need a miracle. This was the first victory for the Ducks in Corvallis, OR since 1996, and snapped Oregon State's current 8-game home winning streak.

Terps Knock-off Sparty

The Maryland Terrrapins defeated the #5 Michigan State Spartans on Thursday night at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.

Led by Dave Neal who scored 17 points and 5 boards off the bench. Greivis Vasquez also had 17 to go with 6 assists in 35 minutes for Gary Williams, who gave a pretty speech before the game to the guys, according to CBSportsline.com and Greivis Vasquez. "Coach told us in the locker room. Let's go out and win this tournament. That fired us up."

Coach Gary Williams always gets his teams ready for the games against the really good teams, just ask UNC last year. Speaking of which, last night, I made a $10 bet with my good friend Mike Fant that Maryland would beat UNC at some point this season. Believe it will happen.

NFL Picks for Week 13

I know I'm a little late for the Thanksgiving games, so I'll just do Sunday's games that I give a shit about.


Indianapolis @ Cleveland - I think Peyton Manning is really coming around and playing like he should finally. Even though the Browns are at home, I like Indy over Cleveland 31-20.


San Francisco @ Buffalo - Everyone knows I love Mike Singletary and my hero Patrick Willis, but they don't really have much else. They need a solid QB to go with Frank Gore. Plus, it's the old West Coast team going East to play at 1o:00 am Pacific story. I'll take Buffalo in this one. BUF 27-13.


Carolina @ Green Bay - The Pack is coming off a blowout loss to New Orleans on Monday night, and now they get to take on the first place team of the same NFC South. I'm sorry guys, I really think the Packers can win, but I think Carolina will run it all day. Carolina squeaks one out, 20-16.


Pittsburgh @ New England - The Steelers are my Super Bowl pick from the AFC and they will live up to it this week in Foxboro. PIT 24-17.


Denver @ New York Jets - The Broncos got mashed by a Raiders team that has no identity, and the Jets are on a roll. This could be real ugly as Denver has no defense. NYJ 38-17.


Kansas City @ Oakland - The Raiders better beat the Killer City Chiefs, especially in the Oakland Coliseum. OAK 27 KC 14. Don't look now but the Raiders are still alive in the division race.


Chicago @ Minnesota - I think the Vikings will get it done in the trenches on Sunday night. Adrian Peterson is too strong for Urlacher and the Bears D. Vikings win 23-17.

A Lot To Be Thankful For

Today is Thanksgiving. It's a time to, of course, watch football. The Titans are pounding on the 0-11 Lions at the moment, and the Cowboys will probably pound on the Seattle Seahawks later. I think the Arizona Cardinals @ Philadelphia Eagles game will be much more competitive for sure, but I like the Eagles to bounce back and get a win against the Cards. I am damn thankful for not being a Detroit Lions fan.


More importantly, I am thankful for having the health to be able to come over to my parents house on Turkey Day and hang out and eat some good food. I'm thankful to have such an awesome group of friends that all came home from their respective schools, I called into work to hang out with these guys, and had an overall good time with them so far. Thanksgiving is an underrated holiday and it gives us the ever popular Black Friday.

Have a great rest of your Thanksgiving everyone. God Bless.

Oregon vs. UNC: Maui Invitational

The Oregon Ducks basketball team looked extremely impressive before my eyes last night, as they defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 92-69 at the Lahaina Civic Center.


Joevan Catron looked like a great player last night. I'm not really even sure what position he is. He's built like Charles Barkley but plays handles like a guard but can really rebound and play inside he had 17 and 13 boards. Frosh C Michael Dunigan looked pretty impressive against the other Alabama bigs, 18 points, 10 rebounds. Tajuan Porter was alright, a little bit of an off night. Kamyron Brown looked good at the point, as well as freshman Garrett Sim off the bench.


I think Oregon and their many freshmen pose a threat to the evil empire of UNC. I'm not saying Oregon will win but lookout for the Duckies tonight.

Raiders Beat Up on Denver

Wait a Minute. What just happened?

The freakin' Raiders actually won a freakin' game. Now that I am done making sure that I am still breathing, let's take a better look.

The Raiders actually came out and performed well, for once. JaMarcus Russell was throwing pass at 100 percent efficiency for most of the game and finish with only one incompletion: 10/11 for 152 yards and a TD, and more importantly no INT's. He's been doing a pretty good job for most of the year of not throwing picks. Ashley Lelie stepped up and decided to give a JaMarcus a semi-reliable target as he had 4 grabs for 92 yards, one of which was a score from four yards out. Fargas and McFadden provided some hard running behind a shabby offensive line.

The Defense was solid and opportunistic as always. Thomas Howard led the game in tackles and had the game's only interception and it was a big one too, with the Jay Cutler looking to lead Denver back in the game. Chris Johnson came up with a pick-six but it was called back for defensive holding on Johnson himself.

Don't look now but, the Raiders may have a chance to win the division. Yep, I said it. It seems as if no one wants to win it. Maybe the Raiders took a big step in the right direction yesterday. They get KC at home this week and they better win that one.

Peace out, A-town down.

-Mitch

Can the Titans Survive This Week?

My answer is no.

I have a tendency to go against the Titans every week because I don't really think they are all they great. They always prove me wrong though, but I really don't think the Titans can survive this week at home against the New York Jets. As much as I would love to see the Lions hand the Titans their first loss, and get their own first win on Turkey Day, (seeing as that is the Lions Super Bowl, year in and year out) they will fall this week.


I think the Jets are probably the strongest competition that Tennessee has faced all year. As I take a look at their schedule, they haven't played a team that is anymore than two games above five-hundred. Well, the Jets are 7-3, led by Brett Favre, riding high off a big win in Foxboro, and have had a long week to prepare.

The Titans have beaten Jacksonville both times, and they are in the midst of a really bummer season. The Colts are on the rise a little. Baltimore is 6-4 and have a rookie QB at the helm. They could have easily lost to the Pack.


Having said that the Titans do have a very nasty, physical defense that keeps them in the game for 60 minutes, Keith Bulluck is Keith Bulluck, Jevon Kearse and Kyle Vanden Bosch are great ends, the corners are definitely solid. Chris Johnson is a good running back to go with LenDale White on the offensive side of the ball. Kerry Collins is having a very Vinny Testeverde-like year (old as dirt and still producing). Justin Gage and Brandon Jones are probably better than I once thought.


They're has to come a time when I say they are a good team, and I will if they beat the Jets this week.

-Mitch

Oregon, in the Rose Bowl mix

The Oregon Ducks have a legit chance to make it in the Rose Bowl. It'll take some magic, but they can get in. USC would have to lose to Notre Dame (which is highly, highly unlikely) or lose at UCLA to end the year. Also, Oregon State would have to lose at Arizona, which I hope they don't so we can have the Civil War in Corvallis actually mean a lot this season. Oregon can go into Corvallis and win, I know it.

I cannot wait, the game is Saturday, November 29th 2008. It's televised nationally on the VERSUS network at 6 p.m. Central, everyone check it out.

What a Weekend for Wisconsin Sports

It was a good sports weekend for us here up in Wisconsin.

The Badgers had an awesome turnaround in the second half against bitter rival Minnesota. They played like they should have all season, and made Minnesota look like they did last year at times in the second half. They ended up winning 35-32 after being down 21-7 at the half.


The Packers destroyed the Chicago Bears in every facet of the game on Sunday, they ran for 200 yards and Aaron Rodgers looked really solid against a maligned secondary. He only threw, really, one bad pass that was picked off by Brian Urlacher. Kyle Orton who came back from injury to play this week, probably came back too soon. He was limping around on da Bears first drive of the game. Matt Forte was pretty decent for da Bears. The Pack still won 37-3.


The Bucks got 'er done on at Memphis Friday in OT. This was without Michael Redd for the sixth time this year, and Charlie V (Villanueva) was out as well. But in Charlie's absence, Luc Mbah a Moute stepped in as the starting Power Forward and had 19 points to go with 17 rebounds. On Saturday, they took Boston to OT. I never thought they would do that, they lost but oh well, they are playing pretty well right now for having a starting five of: PG Luke Ridnour, SG Charlie Bell, SF Richard Jefferson, PF Luc Mbah a Moute, C Andrew Bogut.


On a side note, the Badgers Men's Basketball team escaped with a 68-61 victory over Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon in Madison.

College Basketball, Already?

Many people like UNC. Many people like Duke.

Well, I say fuck both of 'em. I like Maryland.

It's that time of year again people where we try to predict who is going to go to the Big Dance and the Final Four and, ultimately, win the title.

I think that Connecticut has a real good shot at it. I'm a sucker for the big guys, I never like to pick a team to win it like Tennessee last year, no big men, four guards and a 6'8" guy. Hasheem Thabeet=7'3".

The easy choice would be to say North Carolina is going to win it. But I don't like UNC. In fact, I was nearly in tears on that bitterly cold January day here in Wisconsin when the Terps went into Chapel Hill and took down #1 North Carolina. They'll miss James Gist and Bombale Osby in the middle, but Braxton Dupree will be a force. Greivis Vasquez is a great leader, and also very ugly.

I think having Louisville in the top 3 is ludacris. They'll lose to Kentucky.

The story of Texas' back-up Center Buck Burnette is classic.

I can't leave the monitor without mentioning the Wisconsin Badgers. Bo Ryan is a coaching god. He recruits slow, white guys from the South Dakota and they're perfect for his offense. I can't wait for the Marquette vs. Wisconsin game, and I know Charlie can't either, it's always a good one, and the game is in Milwaukee this year so I think Marquette has a slight advantage.

NBA: Northwest Division Thoughts

Hey, sorry it's been so long but Gears of War 2 came out the other day and I finally beat it yesterday. So here goes...

1. Utah Jazz (3rd in Conference) - The Jazz are gonna be a very solid team coming out of a weaker division in the West. Deron Williams is an awesome point guard, I don't think anyone can deny that. Carlos Boozer is a great player, he's averaging 11.2 boards a game so far. I can understand why Sloan has Andrei Kirilenko coming in for a spark off the bench. They are a solid all around team, but their downfall is that they aren't nearly as good on the road as they are on at home. They'll finish like 59-23.

2. Denver Nuggets (6th in Conference) - Denver is great shape after acquiring Chauncey Billups from Detroit. He can flat out play, and when it counts too. I find myself liking J.R. Smith more and more and especially off the bench. Carmelo is Carmelo. I hope Kenyon Martin shows up this season along with Nene. 52-30.

3. Portland Trailblazers (8th in conference) - Yeah, I'll give them a playoff berth this year. Barring a long-term Greg Oden injury. Brandon Roy is a good NBA player. Steve Blake is underrated. Travis Outlaw has a lot of upside, he's not exactly Kobe but he'll do the job. The Blazers should finish somewhere in the 46-48 win range.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves - The T'Wolves are gonna be good one day, just not one day this season. Al Jefferson is a superstar in the making. Kevin Love is a possible Rookie of the Year. Mike Miller is a proven shooter in this league, but they are just too young to make the postseason my friends. Like the Blazers last year. 36-46. Two words: Mark Madsen.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder - Oh boy. This is the NBA's nether region right now. They move the franchise out of Seattle, and don't get me started on that, with Kevin Durant and who? Robert Swift, the red-headed step-child, I think he's on the roster still. They'll be lucky if they win 20 games this season.

So Long, DeAngelo

The Oakland Raiders released/waived former Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Wednesday. Hall has been sort of a disappointment for us Raider fans, he gave up 40 catches for 552 yards so far this season (STATS LLC.) He gave up more yards than any other defensive player in the league. Having said that, we could give him a break for playing across from Nnamdi Asomugha who is emerging as the best corner in the NFL.

I'm not giving him a break. He was signed to a huge 7-year, 70 million dollar deal and never lived up to it. He hasn't been nearly as good as I thought or hoped he would be. I think that had he not struggled with injuries in camp he could have had more time to work at adjusting to the man coverage that Oakland runs, versus the zone coverage he played with in Atlanta where he could fly around and make plays.


We'll have to see who wants to take a chance on this guy. I'm sure someone will pick him up and he'll have a complete turnaround, but that's why they're the Raiders. You can't play under Al Davis.

NBA: Southwest Division Thoughts

1. New Orleans Hornets (1st in Conference) - The Hornets will be this year's rendition of last year's Celtics, record-wise. These guys are gonna be unstoppable. Chris Paul will win the MVP, without even trying. David West is an animal, along with Tyson Chandler. Peja Stojakovic is a deadly 3-point assassin, if you will. They also added James Posey, the ultimate 6th man and the ultimate winner. They'll finish somewhere in the neighborhood of 65-17, and win the Finals.


2. Houston Rockets (4th in Conference) - Houston is going to have a good year, behind T-Mac and Yao. They add Ron Artest to an already pretty stacked starting five. If Artest can stay out of trouble, and stay healthy he's a good player. I love Rafer Alston, he goes from the "And 1 Mixtape Tour" to the NBA and has always been a solid guy off the bench, but on this team he's the starter which isn't always good. Whatever happened to Steve Francis? Oh, that's right he got traded to the Knicks and it ruined his career, what else is new? Assuming Yao and T-Mac stay healthy the Rockets could maybe finish first in the division. They'll probably finish like 58-24.


3. Dallas Mavericks (7th in Conference) - The Mavs will have a decent year, not by Mark Cuban's standards but still a good year. Jason Kidd is good but not getting any younger. I've never heard of Antoine Wright before but he starts in front of Jason Terry. I really like Josh Howard. Dirk Nowitzki is always an MVP candidate. The Mavs are gonna fall victims to the murderous division that is the Southwest and finish something like 49-33.


4. San Antonio Spurs - Too old without Manu Ginobili for most of the season. Probably finish 40-42.

5. Memphis Grizzlies- Too young and in a rough division, if they were in the Northwest I'd give them a chance. They'll finish 28-54.

Look Out For The Sharks This Year

The San Jose Sharks are my favorite team in the NHL. Primarily, because of Joe Thornton being awesome and also because they have a kid on the team named Joe Pavelski (you might have heard of him, or not because no one pays attention) who's from right down the road from here Steven's Point.

The Sharks are off to a great start this year, led in points by Captain Patrick Marleau and the deadly RW Devin Setoguchi. The goaltending has been great in Evgeni Nabokov, but more importantly from backup Brian Boucher, who has two shutouts in his two appearances this season. Joe Thornton has, as always, a good amount of assists already. They are set to take on the Minnesota Wild tonight at the "Tank" (HP Pavilion) this should be a good matchup, as the Wild are 7-2-1 and the Sharks are 10-2.

It's a long NHL season and the Sharks are known as choke artists in the playoffs. But, not this year my friends.

Wow, That's Ugly!

To say the Raiders took one on the chin in Sunday's 24-0 drubbing by the Atlanta Falcons would be an understatement.

Oakland's lowly Raiders, a once prominent NFL franchise, had zero first downs and -2 yards in total offense, in the first half. They finished the game with 77 total yards, with JaMarcus Russell going 6 of 19 for 31 yards, that's right 31 yards. This sort of output doesn't really suprise me. It shouldn't suprise any Raider fans. It was only a matter of time until they got embarrassed like this on offense. Matter of fact, I think the Raiders defense is one the best in the league just for keeping it competitive at 24-0. I shouldn't be quick to jump to conclusions but, I don't think JaMarcus Russell was the answer the were looking for. It was Al Davis' answer, but he's got one foot in the nursing home and the other in the freakin' looney bin. I don't really know what the answer is or where they should start exactly. Maybe somebody should knock Al Davis on his ass for putting that sort of team out there for an NFL contest. The Offensive line is a joke, and we all knew that. I think Fargas and McFadden are worthy of taking the field for that offense, but other than that I haven't seen much. Especially from Javon Walker. He needs to step up and catch some balls and give Russell a target. If I were JaMarcus I would be ashamed to take the goddamn podium after a performance like that.

I think I am done for now, but next week it probably isn't gonna be any better against Carolina when they come to town. And I feel terrible for those fans, one the most animated and devoted crowds in the NFL. I hope they wear bags over their heads next week as a part of their costumes.

NBA: Southeast Division Thoughts

1. Orlando Magic (1st in Conference) - I think the Magic are going to have a big year in '08-'09. Jameer Nelson is a good point guard. Rashard Lewis is a scorer. And, well, Dwight Howard is a next-generation Shaq. Hedo Turkoglu is a good shooter as well. I like the Courtney Lee pick out of Western Kentucky after their Cinderella season. Look for them to finish somewhere around 54-28.


2. Atlanta Hawks (4th in Conference) - The Hawks will be another great team and will definitely be in the playoffs this season, and could even win the division. Joe Johnson is as good as anyone in the League right now. Josh Smith is a freakish athlete who plays defense as well. Al Horford is a good big man. Marvin Williams hasn't be worth the #2 pick he got, but neither has Andrew Bogut been worth the #1 pick, yet. Atlanta will finish 51-31.


3. Miami Heat (7th in Conference) - The Miami Heat are gonna be way better than last year. D-Wade will be healthy. I would have gotten hurt too if my team was a million games below .500 and I was playing with D-League guys. The addition of Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers from the draft will be nice. The only thing really holding them back is that they have no true center. Zo is probably too old to play alot. Jamaall Magloire isn't all that great and Udonis Haslem is undersized. Still, they'll be alright. They'll finish around 44-38.


4. Washington Wizards - No playoffs this year for the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas is obviously one of the better players in the League, so is Caron Butler. Antawn Jamison is banged up and not getting any younger. I think DeShawn Stevenson is good, and a bit of a character too. The Wizards are a little too thin on the bench. They'll finish something like 36-46.


5. Charlotte Bobcats - The college all-star team. Raymond Felton, Jared Dudley, Adam Morrison, D.J. Augustin, Emeka Okafor, Sean May, the list goes on. They are just too young. Adam Morrison hasn't played much for them, being hurt all last year. Felton is solid. Okafor is too, but they don't have much experience at all. I like Gerald "G-Force" Wallace a lot. He's 7 years pro and is essentially the grandpa of the team, along with J-Rich. Nazr Mohammed is 10 years pro, yet no experience. Larry Brown brings some experience for them, but he hasn't done much in his latest coaching ventures. They'll be around 32-50 at the end of the year.

God Bless Mike Singletary

Mike Singletary made is presence known amongst the San Francisco people on Sunday afternoon.

After the Niners got their asses blasted by a pathetic Seahawks team at Monster Park, Mike Singletary told you what he thought about it in his press conference. This was one of the best press conferences you'll see. He is such a passionate man when it comes to football. I absolutely love that. He's a no B.S. type of guy and that is awesome to me, the way he handled Vernon Davis was spot on. That is how all coaches should be in the NFL, the players need more discipline. Mike Singletary will definitely bring that and get it turned around out there.

I just had to say something about this and how it speaks volumes to me that he is not there to mess around and how he wants guys that are about the team and not themselves, and what Vernon Davis did was selfish. I am a big Mike Singletary fan. I can almost consider myself a 49ers fan because he is the coach.

On a side note, I had a rough week for picks. Just know this "It will change."

NFL: Week 8 Picks

Another week of NFL action to getcha through your Sunday.

Oakland @ Baltimore- I really think the Raiders can win this one. They can get some turnovers off Joe Flacco. The offense of the Raiders is borderline garbage. Raiders 20-14.


Arizona @ Carolina- I think the Cardinals are really good. Kurt Warner is old as dirt but he keeps going. Anquan Boldin is apparently going to play this week, after he got destroyed by Eric Smith just 3 or 4 weeks ago. That will be boost for ARZ. Cards win 38-24.


Tampa Bay @ Dallas - It's pretty much do or die time for the Cowgirls. After the Rams embarrassed them last week. I don't think the outcome will be all that much different. TB 24 DAL 20.

St. Louis @ New England - It would be cool see the Rams win, because it's always cool to see the Pats lose. Not this time. NE wins 31-27.

N.Y. Giants @ Pittsburgh - This is gonna be a great game dudes. Both teams are eerily similar, good offense, led by young but proven QB's and awesome defenses. I think the Steelers will get it done though. Pittsburgh 21-17.


Seattle @ San Francisco - I think the Niners can rally around Mike Singletary. I love the Mike Martz offense, and Frank Gore has a big game. 49ers win at home 34-13.


Indianapolis @ Tennessee - I am going with the Colts on Monday Night. I don't think Tennessee is all that great. They haven't played anyone yet. Kerry Collins hasn't played extremely well or anything. The Titans defense is the best in the league. Still, I like the Colts for some reason in an upset of sorts. Indy 24-14.

NBA: Central Division Thoughts

1. Detroit Pistons (3rd in Conference) - The Pistons are the best team in this shabby division, and possibly the conference. I can't pick anyone higher than them in the Central. Chauncey Billups is as good as anyone in the clutch. Rip Hamilton is a great player, and I really liked the way Rodney Stuckey made his name in the playoffs last season. They'll finish 49-33 this season.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers (6th in Conference) - The Cavs are a essentially a one-man show with LeBron, since he is the best player in the League. Yes, he's better than Kobe. LeBron or Kobe seems to be the big debate these days. I'll go with LeBron. Daniel Gibson has a lot of upside, he'll have a good year. It's hard to leave the Cavs out of the playoff picture. I'll give 'em 44-38.

3. Chicago Bulls - I like the Bulls a lot this season. But I don't know for sure if they have a playoff bound team. "Captain" Kirk Heinrich is a good player and leader. Ben Gordon is too small to be a shooting guard, but isn't a point guard either. Luol Deng can be good. I love Joakim Noah, he brings so much energy, even though he is terrible fundamentally. I think the Bulls could maybe sneak in the playoffs. I'll give 'em 42-40.

4. Indiana Pacers - Danny Granger is ready to breakout, and with the addition of T.J. Ford, he can do so. I like the Brandon Rush pick, Rookie of the Year? we'll see. Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels off the bench will be nice this season. They are gonna be too young to get in this season, but maybe next. Let's say 37-45.

5. Milwaukee Bucks - Oh my precious Bucks. When will you finally make me happy? When they start playing D, that's when. In theory, the Bucks could make the playoffs. They have plenty of vets on the team this season. Ramon Sessions is the man. However, Luke Ridnour will need to step up. Redd and Jefferson can be great together. I, personally, am a fan of Andrew Bogut. He isn't a real house-hold name, but he gets the job done. Scott Skiles just needs to motivate these guys and they too could maybe sneak in this year, and shock the world. Or at least me. I'll say they end with a record of 34-48.

NBA: Atlantic Division Thoughts

1. Boston Celtics (2nd in Conference) - I don't see any reason why they can't repeat as Atlantic Division Champs. That being said, I don't think they'll win it all again. A great group of core guys ("The Boston Three Party") but they aren't getting any younger, and last year was their year. I'll give 'em a record of 51-31.


2. Philadelphia 76ers (5th in Conference) - I really like the way this team looks on paper. They have to go out and play at the beginning of the year this season. If they can get out to good start and avoid key injuries, I think they have enough depth to finish 2nd in the Atlantic. Two words: Andre Iguodala. I'll say 47-35.


3. Toronto Raptors (8th in Conference) -I like this team. They add a great inside player in Jermaine O' Neal to go along with Chris Bosh. The smaller players are a little more unknown but they are solid. Jemario Moon is a great athlete. They should be good enough to get in. Let's say 43-39.


4. New Jersey Nets - This is a relatively young team with the exception of Vince Carter, who will probably get traded around the deadline when the Nets are already out of it. Devin Harris is awesome. But other than a good draft, they have nothing to say for themselves. I say 34-48 at best.


5. New York Knicks - Oh boy. You would think with such a high payroll they should be good, right? Well maybe, I think if the Knicks play like they can they could potentially pass the Nets for 4th, but no playoffs this year my friends. The players they have just aren't as good as they're cracked up to be. I'll 32-50.


The Atlantic overall is a pretty weak division after Boston, but there are some good younger players in here. Look for the Sixers to have a good year behind Elton Brand and the two Andre's. Like I said, I'll say Boston will win the Division but falter in the playoffs a little, maybe Conference Finals.

World Series Prediction

Wouldn't it be great to see the Rays win this thing? I think it would too. How couldn't you? they are young, talented, and have a momentum advantage going into the Series. But, I think the Phightin' Phils are gonna pull it out.



The Phillies are a little too strong for the Rays. I'm not gonna use the, "Oh, they're inexperienced." or the, "The slipper ain't fittin no more" reasons, we can throw that idea out the window, but I will use the reason that, I think the Phillies a little better top to bottom. Cole Hamels or Scott Kazmir? I'm takin' Hamels. The only thing I don't like about the Phillies is Jamie Moyer. He's had it. He's gotten shelled in every outing this postseason.



All that being said, I think this is going to be a great series. Look for the Phillies to win in seven games, including tonight in Game 1.

NL Cy Young: Tiny Tim Lincecum

When it comes down to it I firmly believe that the 5-11, 168 pound Tim Lincecum deserves to be the NL's Cy Young award winner.

Looking at the numbers, Tim was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA in 227 innings this season. Not bad for being on a team of, "a bunch of has-beens and never-will-be's." As the line goes from Major League. The Giants were just 72-90 in '08. Some of my other pitchers in consideration are CC Sabathia from The Crew, Brandon Webb from the D'Backs, or possibly even Johan Santana from the Mets. CC is more of a candidate for MVP (Go Brewers!), and he struggled early in the year with the Cleveland Indians. Webb started off hotter than Marisa Miller, but kinda faded a little in the middle of the year and watched his team crumble around him. Johan Santana can always be considered as long as he stays off the shelf.

Lincecum was the most consistent throughout the year on a mediocre team. If I had a vote, Tim Lincecum gets my vote any day of the week.

Sianara Nolan, Hello Singletary

The 5-time Super Bowl champion 49ers fired their head coach on Monday night, the third head coach firing of the season.

Mike Nolan was canned after starting the year 2-1, then dropping four straight including a loss this past week to the New York Giants. Nolan spent 3 and half tumultuous seasons in Frisco, where he went 18-37. There were a few underlying things going on in the organization that could be contributing factors to Nolan's firing. Things were being run in an unorthodox fashion since his hiring in 2004. The former Bears great and Mike Nolan assistant Mike Singletary will take over coaching duties for the remainder of the season, I think Mike Singletary definitely has what it takes to be a successful head coach in the NFL. "I am confident that Mike Singletary's leadership ability, along with his experience as both a Hall of Fame player and coach, gives him the ability to turn our season around," 49ers GM Scot McCloughan said. That is interesting considering the way the Rams have appeared to turn it around after firing Scott Linehan. Anyhow, Mike Nolan will only be remembered for his snazzy suit and tie appeal on the Niner sidelines.

Congrats, Tom Cable

Let's give it up for Tom Cable for getting his first win as Raiders head coach on Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum against the New York Bretts, even though he almost blew it with a costly timeout.

The Jets Jay Feely was attempting a game-tying 52-yard field goal, he doinked it off the upright, Raiders win. Or do they? No. Tom Cable called one of those timeouts that come right before the snap. This one went the opposite way that it should have. Usually when that happens the kicker makes the first then the whistles come in for the timeout, then he has to retry and then he misses. This went the other way, that's why they're the Raiders. They did end up winning the game in OT, on an absolute bomb from Sebastian Janikowski. I mean, this kick was 57-yards but It would have gone in from probably 62 or 63 right down the middle too, making me happy. Don't get me wrong here, I'm happy about it, but they still didn't look good for most of the OT session, and they won because they capitalized on costly Jet turnovers.

This is a big win for the Raiders, it could be something to build on from a season that Al Davis ruined for them.

A Wild Week 6 in The NFL

First, I'm going to send a shout-out to my boy Chuck and his blog Chuck's Corner it's a much more established blog than yours truly's. He knows his sports, PLUS he's really good for you die-hard College Football fans.

What a Week 6 it was for the NFL. We saw a few upsets and we saw a few players emerge this past week.

First we had the Redskins, who were riding high after notching consecutive road wins over NFC East division rivals the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. Maybe the Redskins were, perhaps, riding a bit too high and managed to overlook the lowly St. Louis Rams a bit. St. Louis went into the half leading 10-7 by way of Oshiomogho Atogwe's 75-yard fumble return off Offensive Lineman Pete Kendall on a crazy deflected pass. St. Louis then mustered 2 Josh Brown field goals in the 3rd quarter to take a 16-7 lead. Then Washington responded with a Shaun Suisham field goal and Clinton Portis 2-yard TD run to take the lead 17-16. The Rams completed a 43-yard pass from Bulger to rookie Donnie Avery down to the WAS 16-yard line, after a hilarious Richie Incognito unsportsmanlike conduct penalty made it a 49-yard field goal attempt to win it and, as he often does, Josh Brown drilled it as time expired. Rams win 19-17, and party like it was 1999, after their first win of '08.

Another crazy finish was in Atlanta where the Falcons stunned the Bears at the bitter end of the game to go to 4-2 on the year and a tie for first in the NFC South. With 0:11 ticks left Bears QB Kyle Orton connected with WR Rashied Davis on a nice play seemingly ending the game, but in the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend. The Falcons took the squib kick and had 0:06 seconds to work with. Matt Ryan, who I am a big fan of, made a heck of a toss with a defender in his face to Michael Jenkins to get down to the 31-yard line, and somehow manage to keep a second on the clock. This set up a Jason Elam game-winning 48-yard field goal. Falcons win 22-20.

There was a great finish in Houston, as the Texans got their first win of the '08 campaign. The win coming on what looked like a QB draw on 4th and 2 in the waining seconds of Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins. Texans win 29-28. This was an important victory for the Texans after that choke job last week against the Colts, in the emotional home opener.

Perhaps the wildest of them all were in Phoenix, where the Cowgirls went down to face, arguably, the best team in the NFC in the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards led 24-14 in the fourth quarter, then Romo hooked up with Marion the Barbarian on a swing pass for 70 yards and a score. Then a three and out by Arizona gave Dallas the ball and after a few plays and mass confusion on part of the refs, because of Travis LaBoy getting injured and not being able to get back onside, the Nick Folk of the Cowboys drilled a 52-yarder to send it to OT. In OT, the Cowboys went three and out, and then Sean Morey of the Cardinals blocked the punt and Monty Beisel recovered in the endzone. Cards win 30-24.

In the Monday Night affair, we had the Cleveland Browns get a big victory over the Champs 35-14. This was a big win for them and we could possibly see the Browns get that high-octane offense from last season rolling once again. They got a great game from Derek Anderson(18/29 for 310 yards and 2 TD's) and it's about time too. Braylon Edwards also was a big target for Anderson, BEAST MODE, reeling in 5 for 154 yards and a score.

I liked a lot of the things I watched this week. The Cowboys, Bears, and Patriots all lost and the first two in a wonderful, heart-breaking fashion, and the Pats got blown out, which is nice as well. It was also nice to see the banged-up Packers snap the skid against the banged-up Seahawks, heading into the showdown vs. Indy this weekend here in Wisconsin. My Raiders got annihilated, but they're a mess anyway. If I could give out a weekly award it would be to either Matt Ryan for his performance or Derek Anderson for his.

See ya 'round

Rays Even Series Heading to Boston

They won't go down without a fight.

I have to admit, I've been a skeptic all season. But after last night, I might be on the bandwagon officially. I just loved the way that they just kept coming back, and see-sawing with the ever so heralded Boston Red Sox (America's Team) in an absolute marathon of a baseball game. "We did not want to go to Boston down 0-2,” said Evan Longoria, who homered for Tampa Bay. “It’s 1:30 in the morning and we pulled it out.” It's just amazing to see the way these "kids" (i.e. B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro) can hit, you combine them with Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd, (who crushed a Josh Beckett offerring over the gate in centerfield, and I thought was dead and buried after last year) not to mention one heck of a starting rotation and an overall successful bullpen, last night wasn't the best proof of that but you gotta tip your cap to Dan Wheeler for going 3 and two-thirds for the Rays. I could almost now see the Rays winning this series, with the help of home-field advantage, or at least taking it to seven games.

In a way my skepticism could have been jealousy because the Rays remind me of my team, the Milwaukee Brewers, but they are just better in every aspect of the game, at least for this season. I was secretly wishing the Brewers could meet the Rays in the World Series so we could make all the big shots in the MLB front office cringe by having two of the smallest markets in the Fall Classic this season.

See ya 'round