Newman's wax beans...

Obscure Seinfeld reference for you. Anyway, it's no secret that there haven't been many posts lately. Whether it's the time of year, a laissez-faire funk, or the fact that I can't access G-mail, we've sort of bottomed out here at startplayingleonpowe.com. I'm heading back to the east coast tomorrow and will meet with the rest of the contributers to figure out where we go from here. Hopefully we can get back on track.

Until then, Happy Holidays.

Finally!

I know the Casey Blake and Adam Everett signings were setting your world on fire, but the first big signing of the offseason is official. CC Sabathia has been signed by the New York Yankees for 7 years at $161 million (with an opt out clause after only 3 years) making the 28 year old, the second richest player on his team. Many reports were saying that Sabathia wanted to play for a west coast team but as Ted Dibiase always said, "Everybody's got a price."

Breaking news: Dude is fat.

The Yankees' starting rotation looks a wee bit better with the big guy at the top. A healthy Chein-Ming Wang shifts down to number 2 and the second coming of Roger Clemens, er, I mean Joba Chamberlain will be third. Now MLB.com has some guy named Alfredo Aceves after Joba followed by Phil Hughes. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say New York is going to sign one more starting pitcher but if they don't, that's Sabathia followed by 4 right handed pitchers all of whom are under 30. The fun stat of the day is that CC is 21-8 lifetime against the four other AL East teams.

If the Rays end up dealing Sonnanstine or Jackson, they can still put David Price into a rotation that won 97 games last year. I haven't heard anything out of Tampa Bay, but I would consider using the Jonathan Papelbon model and converting Price into a lights out closer. Either way, that starting five is tremendous. A healthy Josh Beckett is still one of the best in the game, but he needs to show up to camp in shape next year so he can avoid those nagging injuries. But he along with Daisuke, Lester, possibly Masterson and whatever free agent Boston inevitably signs (John Smoltz, really?) comprise a pretty formidable rotation as well.

Of course, Sabathia signing with the Yankees leaves the Dodgers a little high and dry. Lowe is obviously not staying and they don't seem to be on Burnett's radar. So without a top pitching free agent to sign, I think Ned Coletti has do something he wasn't too keen on doing: paying Manny Ramirez a lot of scrilla. Fortunately for LA however, not too many teams seem to be chomping at the bit to sign Manny. On a side note, I love how the GM meetings are at the Bellagio. Awesome.

So will Teixeira be the next one to sign? Are teams seriously considering giving Derek Lowe a 4 year deal? Also, can we expect a few big trades (hey Kenny Williams, I like Jermaine Dye, don't trade him, thanks) before the New Year? Why don't I have Peter Gammons' phone number? We should totally hang out!

UPDATE: The Yankees just offered A.J. Burnett five years for $80 million. Hmmm....

UPDATE #2: Friday - Sabathia, Wang, Burnett, Joba, Phil Hughes. Yikes.

Dear James...

SUCK IT!!

For those of you who care (read: nobody) I'm still fighting for a playoff spot in one league, the one that all other writers for this blog are a part of. I went into last night trailing James, who is in 1st place in that league, by 30 points with DeAngelo Williams left to go. I trailed by over 20 points going into halftime. And I left the game victorious. Because DeAngelo Williams is effing AWESOME.

Sure, James will still be in the playoffs, while I have to win next week and outscore the 4th place team by 40 points. But I don't care right now, because I went from 2-7 to 7-7 and at least have a reason to care about fantasy football for another week.

Also, James: continue to suck it.

6 20 17 12 9 18 11

No this isn't some crazy new Lost number sequence. It is actually the number of minutes Leon has played in the last seven games dating back to 11/26. Only one of those games was a back to back so Doc can't use that excuse. In fact, there is no discernible pattern to his playing time. Nine minutes against the Pacers at home in a 114-96 final? (Scalabrine had 15 for those of you keeping track at home/hating life.) His total number of minutes is down to 16.3 on the year. Celtics fans can't be complaining too much since the team is a ridiculous 20-2 but I'm not going to let up on Doc. One negative thing I can say about Leon's game though is his free throw percentage is down. (Fun fact: Leon has gotten to the line every game except one so far this season.) Other than that, why is he only getting two more minutes per game than last year? Is it matchups? Is Garnett refusing to leave games? By the way, KG's numbers are all down across the board except FG% and FT% so it's not like he's lighting it up.

Halp Plz.

Quick note

I realize I haven't been writing about Leon all that much so far this season but I wanted to pass this along. I was reading through some Bob Ryan posts on boston.com and came across this excerpt from a couple of weeks ago:

"You have to love the bench. Man-for-man, they don't seem that imposing, but they have really developed a group rapport and it's really fun when they get into the game. How can you not appreciate Leon Powe? That is one inside scoring, rebounding, and hustling kid. You say, "Wow, wouldn't it be great if he were 6-foot-11?" but then you realize he might not try so hard if he were 6-11. He's just right at 6-8."

The Celtics host the Pacers tonight who are coming off a gigantic last second win against the Lakers. Indiana is also the last team to beat Boston...on November 1st.

12/1/08: Celtics v. Magic

Thanks to my obsessive refreshing of Ticketmaster, Ben and I were able to grab some cheap seats to see the defending champs take on the Orlando Magic last night at the garden. Psyched! A few random thoughts from last night:

• J.J. Redick started the game, thanks to a host of injured Orlando players. A shooting clinic it was not, however, as Jonathan Clay managed only six points despite playing 31 minutes. The crowd was pretty excited by his appearance, though, but not nearly as excited as they were for..
• SCAL-A-BRI-NE. Alright. Yes. It's funny that he's goofy looking and terrible, and when the blinding all-orange AT&T ad comes on while he's playing, he looks even goofier. But he's BAD. Stop the chants, people. Doc doesn't know you're kidding and actually puts him in. Just stop.
• Nine technicals in the game! The Celtics now lead for most technicals in the league, thanks in large part to Perk's nine on the season. I had two favorites on the night:
• Sam Cassell drew a technical and was ejected (to massive cheers) in the 2nd quarter for arguing a technical that was called on Perk. And no, he was not playing at the time.
• Rashard Lewis got a technical and was stewing, perhaps thinking about starting a conversation with the ref. Hedo Turkoglu noted that this would be a bad decision, and ambled over to Lewis to talk him down, rub his back, maybe make him a warm cup of milk, but Rashard would have none of that and shoved Turkoglu down. Which leads me to this..
• Orlando looked like a pile of garbage. Clearly evident from the score (107-88), and the shooting %s (54%-42%), but this looked like a dysfunctional team. Dwight Howard looked annoyed that he's not still playing with the Olympic team/impatient for the dunk contest. Obviously this was not the usual Orlando starting lineup, but they just looked off for much of the game.
  
• Kind of a lackluster night for Leon.. 12 mins, a couple rebounds, a couple points, and three fouls. Note to Leon: work on your damn free throws! I'm sure RayRay can help you obsessively practice this shot until your arms fall off...

A great night for Pierce, Rondo, Allen, Garnett, House, and the row in front of us that won free bowls of clam chowder from Legal. Jerks. I'm hungry now, after looking at pictures of clam chowder, so I'm out.

Monday...Meditations?

Damn it. Monday Musings sounds sooo much better than Sunday Musings AdamMan! Oh well. Thanksgiving slowed down the production at SPLP but we're getting back on track. Of course, this is just going to be me talking about random things incoherently because I don't (never?) have the ability to put together an actual structured column right now. My brain is fried from being back at work for one day. Okay ramblers, let's get ramblin'.

I had a feeling last Monday that the first big free agent signing was going to happen before the holiday. It's a week later and all we have is...Mike Hampton? Wow, way to make headlines Houston. This guy is like the Family Guy flashback when they remade Peter into the six hundred dollar man. He's not quite human, not quite cyborg, but all kinds of washed up. I know they aren't going to pay him a lot of money but where's the huge Teixeira deal? How come the Yankees haven't signed Sabathia yet? The Hot Stove is cooler than Freddie Jackson sipping a milkshake in a snowstorm.

Speaking of AdamMan, I can't even begin to imagine what it was like at Gillette yesterday. Apparently no one told Matt Light that poor Matt Cassel is playing for a contract. The running game continues to fail and I have never seen Randy Moss drop two wide open catches like that in the same game. The Patriots might have to win every game from here on out just to make the playoffs although only one team will make it out of the AFC West. James' absence is oddly conspicuous so far today. How could anyone be proud of that Colts' win? Whether you like them or not though, they are building some serious momentum. And I HIGHLY doubt Manning will ever have a game like that for the rest of his career.

If you have plans on Saturday night, break them immediately. Manny Pacquiao is set to put the beatdown on the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao is regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. I know next to nothing about the sport, but I've watched a bunch of Pacquiao's fights and they never fail to entertain. Now he's in the biggest fight of his career against a very unlikeable opponent who will most likely outweigh him by at least 15 pounds when they step into the ring together. Manny started his career at 108 pounds (or lbs.) and critics are hailing this as nothing more than De La Hoya not wanting to fight someone his own size. If you are on the fence about watching the fight and have HBO, watch the great 24/7 series. Initially when the fight was being discussed, Oscar said it would be his last fight. He has already changed his mind and will most likely fight again. But he'll keep ducking guys like Margarito. On the other hand, a Pacquiao/Ricky Hatton showdown could be infinitely entertaining and could quite possibly be one of the last great fights of this era. Let's face it folks, boxing in the United States has been on it's deathbed for some time. And whether Pacquiao wins or loses, the sport is only a few years away from finally kicking the bucket.

Has fan(s).

Saturday night, I attended the Clippers/Heat game at the Staples Center. Believe it or not, it was actually a pretty exciting game with LA squeaking out a 97-96 win. Miami had just beated Phoenix the night before and just didn't have enough gas to close out the game. They were outscored 29-23 in the fourth quarter despite good showings from Dwayne Wade (duh), Michael Beasley who came off the bench, and Udonis Haslem. One player who wasn't so productive was Shawn Marion. But that didn't really matter to one dedicated fan of "The Matrix." We were sitting in section 301, halfway up. And as stated before, I am a Heat fan. Apparently I'm not taking my team seriously enough. There was this dude in a Marion jersey yelling in a deadpan voice (if that's possible) "Let's go Shawn Marion! Let's go Matrix!" to the point where other people started chanting in jest. DID NOT bother this guy one bit. It also didn't bother him that Marion scored 5 points in 33 minutes. I had to go over and high five him at one point just so he didn't hurl himself off the balcony. Good times.

And just to throw this out there, I just finished Bret Hart's autobiography. If you were ever a fan of the Hitman or professional wrestling in general, it is a fascinating read. He kept an audio diary of his entire career and man is it in depth. The tragedies and struggles of Bret and the entire Hart family are truly monumental. It's a good 550 pages, but once you start, it's tough to put down. Kind of like a package of Peeps.

Sunday Musings

As you probably didn't notice, we didn't get a picks column up today. Blame it on Thanksgiving. Blame it on us being a couple of lazy assholes. Or, if you're like me and Milli, you could blame it on the rain. I would have thrown up a half-assed column (again) but I was busy watching Ben ROFLsberger and the Steelers capitalize on big-ass mistakes by the Patriots today. It's one thing to watch your team choke in a statement game at home. It's another thing to sit through 3 hours of 35 degree driving rain while watching it. Just ask the icy, blunt objects that I used to refer to as "my feet"... that blew.
Around the league, an unbelievable 10 out of 12 road teams won today. I'm sure that made a lot of bookies smile big grill-filled smiles. At least you can still count on Cincinnati, Cleveland, and St. Louis to lose in this mixed up NFL of ours. Buffalo continues their giant nose-dive. Has anybody else noticed this all started after 1) they gave Jauron a contract extension because they went 5-1 and 2) Their QB got knocked in the head? Meanwhile, everything you know about the Broncos and Jets is apparently wrong. But of course, my day was mainly based around this:

You may not have known about Matt Slater, rookie DB/WR/special teams "specialist" who's the son of Hall of Famer Jackie Slater, before today. But if you care even vaguely about the Patriots, Steelers, or AFC playoff picture in general, you're probably familiar with him now. One epic doink off Slater's hands helped set a tightly contested 13-10 game on it's course towards a frustrating 33-10 laugher. With games coming up against the Seahawks and Raiders, plus games against the slumping Cardinals and Bills, the Patriots season is by no means over. But today was just more proof that this is not the efficient, mistake-free Patriots team that you're used to.

I know it will be easy for people to look at Cassel's 2 INTs and 2 fumbles and assume he's to blame for this one. But with Randy Moss dropping 2 wide-open passes (one in the endzone), both fumbles coming on blindside hits after Matt Light got horribly beat, and one of those picks being in desperation garbage time... watching the game it was clear there were others far more to blame for this one.

Just a side note: I feel the need to point out the impressive amount of mediocrity I've managed to achieve in fantasy football this season. Going into this week, in my four fantasy football leagues, ALL four teams came in with a gag-inducing 5-7 record. They all got there different ways, they all had a unique path to ineptitude, but my fantasy teams are united in that beautiful mark that is eerily similar to Dustin Pedroia's height. The one bright spot: the team I'm the most invested in just locked up it's 4th straight win to pull to 6-7, and I actually have a shot at a playoff spot in that league. Hooray for small victories!

Turducken Day Picks!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. James here to throw up some Thanksgiving football picks. You know, at first glance, this seems like a pretty awful group of games. Detroit playing Tennessee? Oh my God, blowout, right? Dallas and Seattle? BORING. Well at least the Cards and Eagles could be entertaining tonight except OH WAIT, it's on the NFL Network, so 80% of you won't see it!

Anyway, yeah, this seems fairly unentertaining unless you follow one of these teams. Still, I'm excited. Mostly excited for the Detroit/Tennessee game. Let me explain.

Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions
This is a game the Lions can win. I swear to God I'm not crazy. Detroit came out strong last week against Tampa Bay, and if football games were 15 minutes long, it would have been a blowout. They've got to win one game this season, they've GOT to. I think this is their best matchup. Culpepper has shown flashes of his old self since coming back, and if the Lions can build an early lead on the Titans, Tennessee's waning offense might not come back. Yes, Detroit has the second worst defense in the league, but Kerry Collins is finally becoming a liability (although you won't hear the media admit that, they'll still gush all day about how great he is at 'game management'), and the whole Smash and Dash combination isn't smashing or dashing like they were a few weeks ago.

This game will be decided in the first 10 minutes. If Tennessee comes out and plays like they did to win their first 10 games, they'll dominate. If they can get ahead of Detroit, the Lions stand almost no chance of winning the game.

This is the Lions' day. Thanksgiving is reserved for them and the Cowboys. If the Lions are going to win any day this season, it's today. They can play with teams, they just haven't for 60 minutes. Even if they go 1-15 this season, the damage will be much worse if than one win came against the Titans. If this weren't Thanksgiving, and this were a 1:00 game on a Sunday, I'd say it'd be a blowout for the Titans. This is a special football day though, and special things could happen.

Adam: I was really excited to predict for all of you the 0-12 DEE-TROIT BASKET-BALL Lions defeating the 12-0 Titans for the biggest NFL upset in upwards of 10 months... but stupid Bart Frave and the NY Jerks ruined all that. Fuck it, I'm still picking the Lions, and I predict Megatron knocking Cortland "Don't Call Me Seamus" Finnegan out for at least a quarter. Lions win, 24-21

James' pick: If you couldn't tell already, I'm picking the Lions to win for the second week in a row. 24-21.

Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys
This game comes across to me as far less special and exciting as the Lions/Titans game. Dallas finally found its groove and has played better football than the Titans these last couple weeks. Let's face it, the Seahawks are awful. Their two wins this season? Pre-Haslett St. Louis, and San Francisco. If the Lions played the Seahawks, I'd take the Lions in a heartbeat. Seattle stinks.

Let's face it. if the Cowboys lose this game, Tony Romo will be burned in effigy all around Dallas. This is a must-win game for the Cowboys. They NEED to be 8-4 going into next week. After today, they have arguably the toughest schedule in the NFL for any playoff contender. They go up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Football Giants, Baltimore Ravens, and Philadelpia Eagles. They'll need to go at least 3-1 to have a shot at the Wild Card, so any hiccups in their most winnable game will be detrimental to their chances at seeing January. Most coaches want their teams to look at this week and only this week, but Wade Phillips has to be stressing the importance of winning this game.

Seattle has to be dying to get through this week and be one game closer to finishing this season. Mike Holmgren has to be dying to be one game closer to having a nice long vacation (as if he'll stay away from football for very long). Julius Jones ought to be getting tons of carries for the Seahawks. Matt Hasselbeck ought to be throwing lots of incompletions. Their defense ought to be giving up lots of points. When you've been through the kind of season that Seattle's had, you can't blame them for not having any heart left. While 31 teams are looking forward to next week, Seattle's looking forward to next season.

Side note. I just got Rick Roll'd by the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Now my entire family thinks I'm crazy because they don't get the phenomenon. Not to mention RICK FREAKING ASTLEY performed it live. I think Rick Astley wins the award for the greatest Rick Roll of all time. I also think I just witnessed the death of Rick Rolling. You can't top it, you just can't. Alright 4Chan people, let's get on finding a new internet prank phenomenon.

Anyway, I don't care about talking about this game anymore.

Adam: Dallas/Seattle: I want to pick Seattle, I really do. I want that lovely city to have something to cheer about. I want local boy Matt Hasselbeck to make good and give the Hawks hope that next year, when they're not forced to use backup QBs as wideouts, things can be better. I want to, but I just can't Not in Dallas. Not on Thanksgiving. Not this year. Dallas wins, 34-13.

James' pick: Cowboys win 37-17

Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles
Did anyone think at the beginning of the season that Kurt Warner and Ken Whisenhunt would be a heavy favorite over Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid at this point in the season? In fact, did anyone think that four weeks into the season? Four weeks ago even? Well they are, and even though the Cardinals are only being given 3 points, I think people are expecting a much bigger win from Arizona than that.

Let's face it Eagles, this is the NFL, and even a team as talented as yours can lose hold of their season in a matter of seconds. I actually think the Eagles are a far better team than the Cardinals, but their morale is so broken at this point that I don't know what to expect. Are they going to have a resurgence and make their record at the end of the season more reflective of the team they should have been? Maybe.

Another parade side note. What's with all of these cheesy tween boy/girl groups? I mean, seriously, this is terrible. Miley Cyrus is expected, but they're throwing out groups such as the Clique Girlz and the Varsity Fanclub and I don't know who else, but it's so awful. I'd rather listen to new age renditions of Christmas music the entire parade than another one of these douchebag groups.

Back to the game. The Cardinals' magic number is 1. No pressure to win this game, which could hurt them. Do I think Whisenhunt is telling his team "Don't worry about playing well fellas, if we don't get them this game, we'll get em next time"? No, but the Cardinals aren't going to kill themselves to win this game. Maybe the Eagles' desire to end this season with a little bit more respect will fuel them to outplay Arizona, or maybe they'll come out tonight and play the exact same way they've played these past couple weeks.

Last side note. The View episode with Rachael Ray and Elizabeth Hasselbeck looking smoking hot side by side is on, so I think it's time to say goodbye to the parade and hello to fwap fwap fwap time.

Well, time to load up on food prior to watching football, drinking beer, and loading up on more food.

Adam: Last week's gut check against the Giants will do the Cards a lot of good. When it comes down to it, they didn't get blown out of the joint. They didn't roll over and die. They played hard, they put up some points on a good defense, and they made a late game onside kick mean something. Meanwhile the Eagles are doing their best to cash in on all the good spirit of the Phillies' win, and finally tanking like they've always wanted. I see a sizeable win for Arizona (38-20), and a lot of these kids of looks on the Philly bench:



James' pick: Rachael Ray looks BANGIN. Oh, and the Cardinals win 31-24

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Week 12 Picks

Hey there boys and girls. It's Adam Man here, and yes I'm still alive. First off I want to thank James for filling in last week while I was incapacitated. I know I've been getting a little lazy around here lately, but I assure you all I'm still fully committed to writing inane drivel that nobody will read. And you can take that to the bank.

Week 12 is here, and that means records are starting to mean something, fluke seasons are starting to turn into football fact, and most importantly that it's time for Marques Colston to catch a god damned pass. Seriously. Looking around the league, it seems that there is no Eastern Division team, in either conference, with a losing record. That's simply amazing. Almost as amazing as there being no NFC North team with a winning record. I can't figure out if that's the worst thing right now, or if it's the fact that a horrible Denver team has the inside track to win their division.

I know these are getting up late today, but the blame for that can be placed on the wonderful feast that is Turducken. That took up my entire Saturday and left me in a coma until late this morning. Anyway, enough of my rambling, here are the picks (featuring James' rambling).

Week 12 Picks:


Texans @ Browns (-3)
Adam: So I've decided to dub this the "Wow, We Really Expected This To Go Better" Bowl. Both teams came into the season with big hype that they were going to break out and become one of the next bigtime AFC teams. Now at 3-7 and 4-6 respectively, it's looking like another year of trying to figure out how to make that leap. Two games into the Brady Quinn era, the offense has scored 29 and 30 points in his two starts, good for 2nd and 3rd most points all year. Looking down the pipe, the Browns need this game as they've still got the Colts, Titans, Steelers, and a desperate Eagles team on their schedule. Houston, meanwhile, has been a very streaky team. A 4-game losing streak to start the year, followed by a nice 3-game win streak, but they've dropped 3 straight since then to some very good teams. With Cleveland, Jax, and Green Bay up next, I see another little streak coming on. I just don't see the Browns slowing Steve Slaton down, and Quinn is due for his first stinker game as a starter.
Adam's Pick: Houston wins, 24-20
James' Pick: Texans over the Browns 28-20

49ers @ Cowboys (-7)
James: The 49ers are playing to keep their dignity. The Cowboys are playing to keep their playoff hopes alive. This is a must-win for Dallas, and they know it. A big win over Washington last week kept America's team looking towards January, but it's far from a done deal. Can they get over their locker room drama? Will Tony Romo's homeless date show up at the game in a pink #9 jersey and jinx the team? Those questions will be answered Sunday. Later in the day, Washington's going up against Seattle, so the Cowboys know they MUST win. In must-win situations, Dallas has a tendency to stink worse than say...a homeless guy who hasn't showered in days sitting next to you in a movie theater. Mike Singletary wants this one bad, so while Dallas is a far better team, expect the Niners to come out swinging and take advantage of every opportunity they can.
Adam's Pick: Cowboys take it, 34-13
James' Pick: : Dallas gets a sloppy victory marred by Jessica Simpson, Terrell Owens, and Homeless Man bickering after the game about who Tony loves more. They all find out they're wrong as Romo struts out of the locker room holding Jason Witten's wrist. 24-18

Buccaneers @ Lions (+8)
James: We're actually going to see an 0-11 Detroit team on Thanksgiving. We might as well have fried cod instead of turkey, Jell-O pudding instead of cranberry sauce, and french fries instead of stuffing. Very un-Thanksgiving. That is, of course, as long as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't have the worst game of their collective lives. I won't buy that 'trap game' excuse if the Bucs lose, but facing off against New Orleans next week has to be in the back of their minds. Tampa Bay has come so far, yet still has a ways to go before securing a playoff spot. Jeff Garcia has come through for the second season in a row, not having secured the starting job prior to the season starting, but still ending up one of the league's most effective quarterbacks. Detroit hung around with Carolina last week, so an automatic win isn't necessarily the case for Tampa. As bad as the Lions are, the Bucs still have to play a good game if they want to stay with the Panthers in the division.
Adam's Pick: Bucs win, 21-17
James' Pick: Detroit saves Thanksgiving by winning 21-20

Jets @ Titans (-1.5)
Adam: I dunno about you, but that looks like a might tiny line to me for an undefeated team at home. Apparently people are convinced by the Jets and their 4-game winning streak. That, and it seems people know the Titans are good, but nobody believes they're good enough to take this streak all the way. As people have been pointing out all week, these teams actually have a lot of similarities. Big, fat, and ridiculously awesome run-stuffing Defensive Tackles (Jenkins and Face-Stomper Haynesworth); old, grizzled, ex-alcoholic QB's, quality running back tandems... it sets up nicely for an entertaining slugfest of a game. When it comes down to it, however, I really see the Titans being a little more physical, especially on D, and I have no faith in the Jets to win two big road games in a row. Plus, I'm really looking forward to predicting next week that the 12-0 Titans will lose to the 0-12 Lions on Thanksgiving. Oh, it's gonna happen. BA-LEE DAT!
Adam's Pick: Titans win a tight one, 28-24
James' Pick: Jets over the Titans 20-14

Bills @ Chiefs (+2.5)
James: It was too good to last. Buffalo was one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and they looked legit. Very legit. When they were 5-1, no one could see anyone but them winning the AFC East. Four games later and no one can see them doing anything but winding up dead last in the division. What happened to the Bills? I don't know, but it's not very fun to watch. Maybe Trent Edwards is still in his development phase. That would explain the three interceptions in the first quarter of last Monday's game. They weren't great plays by Cleveland's defense as much as they were easy giveaways. Rian Lindell continued the Bills legacy of going wide right, and if everyone else watching felt the same thing as me, it was destined to happen. It was like the Colts/Steelers game in '05 and the refs blew Troy Polamalu's interception call and the Colts held on for a field goal try. I knew before the kick that Vanderjagt would miss. Sometimes kickers are destined to miss. The positive from the Bills' game: Marshawn Lynch had his first 100 yard game this season (and in turn got me the 22 fantasy points I needed to win last week). They're going to need to have a big offense against the Chiefs if they want to outscore the red hot Tyler Thigpen, one of those rare gems that skips the developmental phase and goes straight to being uber-productive. The Chiefs need a win for their own sanity, and they've got a great shot at doing it.
Adam's Pick: Chiefs win it, 31-21
James' Pick: Kansas City hands Buffalo their 5th loss in a row, 34-24. Bills fans are sad. So am I.

Bears @ Rams (+5)
James: The Bears are in the best position to take control of the NFC North this week. While Minnesota and Green Bay are off facing the Jaguars and Saints, respectively, they get the lowly Rams who have gotten back to playing the Rams football we all expected to see this season. Chicago has an opportunity to brush off being on the wrong end of a blowout against the Pack last week with a victory in St. Louis. Steven Jackson's holdout injury and the Rams inability to stop good offenses such as Chicago's makes this matchup very favorable for the Bears. We'll see if their defense gets back to normal and they're able to either stay in first or take the lead outright.
Adam's Pick: Bears win, 20-14
James' Pick: Nothing special, Bears win 32-14

Patriots @ Dolphins (-1.5)
Adam: After only one win in 2007 the question is: are the Fins just happy to be here at the 5-win mark? Or are they hungry for more? The way they're playing, and the way they're talking, it suggests they're looking to keep this going. Meanwhile, all aboard the Matty Cassel bandwagon! Seriously, he's looking better and better every week, which I expected would happen for a guy with so little starting experience. 400 yards, 3 TDs, 60 rushing yards... it's pretty amazing the numbers he put up in last week's effort. That being said, he's still leaving some plays on the field that could be game changers. A lot of red zone trips are coming away as 3-pointers, and I think there's some value to the theory that Cassel is being told "Hey, no matter what you do, don't throw a pick." He's not taking many chances, in tight coverage, he throws it so far outside that it really looks like he's playing it safe. With how much confidence he seems to be getting, if they take the cuffs off, this offense could really take off.
Adam's Pick: The Pats look at some tape, stop the Wildcat, and win 31-17
James' Pick: New England over Miami 27-24

Vikings @ Jaguars (+1)
James: While I'm sure the Vikes would much rather be going up against St. Louis in a big week for the NFC North contenders, facing the Jaguars isn't much worse. The Jaguars, with a 1-4 home record, have been the epitome of mediocrity this season. When they win, they don't look that great, and when they lose, they look awful. Minnesota's the kind of team that Jacksonville can stay with and even beat if they're on their best game, but Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor really need to have a big game. MoJo is averaging 49.5 yards per game since running all over Denver for 125 yards a month and a half back. Minnesota missed a golden opportunity to beat the Bucs last week and take the division lead, so you know they're going to bring their best game possibly to Jacksonville.

Oh, who am I kidding? Brad Childress was hired to make sure that this team never gains momentum in crucial times, and a six game collapse is imminent. Watch as Adrian Peterson punishes the Jaguars' offensive line for 80 yards in the first quarter, and then gets 5 carries the entire rest of the game.
Adam's Pick: The Vikings take it 29-21, and the Jags continue to be who I thought they were.
James' Pick: Jags take it 25-21

Eagles @ Ravens (EVEN)
James: Seriously, you have to be a giant asshole to tie. It's worse than losing, absolutely worse. Bob, my Eagles fan friend, said he was actually hoping the Bengals kicked the field goal and won the game. You know how in like, 23% of all horror films, the tag line is “THERE ARE FATES WORSE THAN DEATH”? In football, there are fates worse than losing. Like tying, and being known as “the team that tied that one game”. Worse, when your slightly slumping quarterback who's always on thin ice in Philadelphia tells the media he didn't know there were ties in football even though MY MOM knows there are ties in football, you've got a serious, serious problem on your hands. The Ravens aren't a team who want to tie. They're pissed from getting embarrassed by the Giants, and frankly, they're a better team than the Eagles. Much better. This game's in Baltimore, and it's going to be a good one. Trust me. If the Patriots/Dolphins and Jets/Titans weren't going on, I'd probably have this game on at 1:00
Adam's Pick: Ravens win it behind Super Flacco's arm, 24-16
James' Pick: Ravens win big, 31-13, as the Eagles' offense never takes flight.

Raiders @ Broncos (-10)
Adam: As much as I think the Broncos are a bunch of frauds, I still understand that the Raiders are just horrible. They give up over 100 more yards per game than they gain, they are dead last in points scored. It's pretty bad when your fans are looking wistfully up at Daunte Culpepper in Detroit and wondering what might have been. For Denver, the Leatherhead Larson story is enough to give the Broncos good football karma and make sure they don't fall to an upset. That and I always have a hard time rooting against a white running back. Go Peyton Hillis go! Take the Mike Alstott torch and run like hell with it!
Adam's Pick: Broncos yawn to a 34-12 win.
James' Pick: Raiders beat the pants off of the Broncos 12-7 and still don't score a touchdown.

Panthers @ Falcons (EVEN)
Adam: What a big game here for both teams. The Falcons, your feel-good story of the 2008 season, sit at 6-4 and in 3rd place of a very strong division. If they were able to pull off this big win at home, they'd only be one game out of first place with 5 games to play. Even with the uphill climb ahead of them for this season... having an offensive core of young players (with quality personal character) has got to give Falcons fans plenty of hope for the future. The Panthers are playing beyond expectations this season (after being sleeper Super Bowl picks for the past few years) and have a chance to put some space between them and a division opponent. The Panthers live and die by the run (6th ranked rush offense, 17th ranked rush D) as to the Falcons (2nd and 22nd), so expect a quick game with lots of rushes and the clock moving pretty constantly. If I was a betting man? My money would be on the Burner to get the best of this one though.
Adam's Pick: Atlanta closes the gap and wins, 20-17
James' Pick: Panthers over the Falcons 37-34

Giants @ Cardinals (+4.5)
James: A lot of times when a team looks as good as the Giants do, it's because their strength of schedule isn't that great, making them look dominant against easy teams. You can't accuse the G-Men of that this season. They've beaten the Steelers, Cowboys, Eagles, and Ravens all in a row. Eli Manning's got one of the easiest jobs in football. Just hand the ball off to one of your three 70's disco/R&B band themed running backs, and occasionally throw to a receiver and hear about how well you spread the ball around. When your job is made this simple, and you're as good as Eli Manning, a lot of positive things can happen when you get the ball. Justin Tuck leads an absolutely dirty defense that no quarterback ever looks forward to playing against. Even if they're current MVP front-runner Kurt Warner. Warner, Matt Leinart's backup in preseason, is playing like he did with the Rams. Having Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston to throw to doesn't hurt either. It's the #2 offense facing off against the #2 defense. The Super Bowl MVP vs the guy trying to win regular season MVP. The Giants vs the Cardinals. Expect a huge game.
Adam's Pick: The Cards make the NFC a lot more interesting, winning 37-31
James' Pick: The Giants defense has a few hiccups, but is able to hold the Cardinals to just a couple touchdowns while cruising to 10-1. 37-21

Redskins @ Seahawks (+6)
Adam: Here we've got a team on a 3 game losing streak coming in to face a team on a 2-8 streak. The Seahawks have really been doomed by their geography alone this season, falling victim to the curse of Seattle. The injuries they've faced, plus another team in the division pretending to show the slightest sign of competence for the first time this decade, and they didn't stand a chance. This offseason should be very interesting with the expected departure of Holmgrem and the glaring need for an offensive shot in the arm. The Zorn era in Washington has been a roller coaster confidence ride. They really need this game, with tough matchups against the Giants and Ravens the next two week, if they want to stay in the NFC playoff race. The Seahawks are just trying to figure out if Beanie Wells is worth a top-5 pick. Count on the team with urgency winning this one.
Adam's Pick: Redskins stay in the hunt with a 31-13 win
James' Pick: Redskins over the Seahawks 24-10

Colts @ Chargers (+3.5)
James: Do you remember that scene in Rookie of the Year where the kid is facing his first major league pitcher, and the pitch comes in, but he's so scared and nervous that he just goes “ohmygodohmygodohmygod” the entire time? I think that's how the scene goes, but it's been a few years months since I've seen it. Anyway, that has been me this entire week. Part of me is excited on the prospect of going 7-4 while getting revenge on the team that has given us the most trouble these past couple seasons (including ending our season last year). Another part of me is scared to all hell that another nightmare like last season is going to happen. It doesn't get much worse than Peyton Manning throwing 6 interceptions and Adam Vinatieri missing a chip shot field goal that could have won the game, but the postseason wasn't on the line last year. Last time I was this nervous or a game was before the Colts/Patriots AFC Championship game in 2006. This is the biggest game of the season for any Colts fan, without a doubt.

This game is much, much different than last year's. For one, the Colts had just lost their first game of the season, and were just beginning to be hurt by injuries. This was when they started falling apart. The 2008 Colts went through that the first month and a half, and now they're healthy and gelled and much better than this point last year. Also, San Diego's pass defense was a bajillion times better than this year. In fact, the Bolts rank dead last in the NFL in pass defense. Also different from last year is that we don't have to worry about stopping Michael Turner. Instead, we get to focus on the lowly LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles. Ok, so that's not much easier, but still.

I just want the game to be over with already. I get nervous and start sweating and my heart starts racing during preseason games, so this one's going to be tough on me. Luckily, I have DVR now, so I can tape the game and go back to Faith Hill any time things aren't going so well.
Adam's Pick: Sorry James, I pick the Bolts over the Colts, 28-17
James' Pick: Colts 34-27. It'll be another 4th quarter comeback, because Peyton loves doing that and enjoys throwing it in the face of everyone that he can do it better than anyone ever. Colts go 7-4 and create some space between them and a couple other contenders, and I poop myself all over the place.

Bring on the Cubans!

Alexei Ramirez kicked all kinds of ass the year playing second base for the Chicago White Sox and ended up finishing second in the ROY voting. Let's face it, the Sox weren't getting any younger with guys like Konerko, Pierzynski, Thome and Dye so watching a young guy flourish like that certainly gave me hope for the future of the franchise. He will most likely move to shortstop next season and up until this morning, it was unclear who would be playing to his right.


That fine young gentleman pictured above is Dayan Viciedo, a "19 year old" Cuban defector who is about to sign a 4 year deal to play on the South Side. And okay, I might be getting a little ahead of myself saying that he'll definitely start at third, but he'll certainly compete for the job with Josh Fields as the only player likely standing in his way. And reports are coming in that it was that opportunity to immediately fight for a starting job that swayed Viciedo to sign with Chicago. Plus the presence of Ramirez and Jose Contreras will only help Viciedo to get acclimated to America and to Major League Baseball. He was the youngest player to ever play in the top Cuban league's All-Star game and he can also play right field. However, critics of his play maintain that he is already overweight and unmotivated. Miguel Cabrera comes to mind. That could be good and bad.


Either way, this is the second step (the first was trading Swisher which I didn't touch on here at SPLP just because he was so woefully underperformed and Kenny Williams knew he was wrong in trading for him and cut his losses) in building upon a team that made it to the playoffs this past year. Center field is a big concern as well as another starter in the rotation (Clayton Richard?). Second base could be filled by rookie Chris Getz whose minor league numbers look pretty impressive. With all the talk about the Teixeiras and the Mannys, there are still plenty of free agents out there that could have major impacts on teams. And Williams isn't shy about making trades either. I love how it's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm already talking looking forward to baseball again. Not to say I'm ignoring the NBA by any means. In fact, the Celtics' win last night was very, very impressive. People back home are saying that Boston's defense might actually be better than last year. Holy crap. I don't think Al Harrington and Cuttino Mobley know what they're in for. (And by the way Clippers fans, how excited are you about having Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby and Zach Randolph in the game at the same time? That was only semi-sarcastic too!)

Finally, there are six HUGE NFL games this weekend that James and AdamMan will cover in their picks post. It's do or die for a few teams with Titans/Jets and Giants/Cardinals standing as potential playoff matchups. Sooo glad I have DIRECTV. Have a good weekend everyone!

Preview: Thursday Night Football! Woo!

When I think of Thursday night, the one thing that most comes to mind is how excited I am to sit back, crack open a cold beer, and occasionally check on the game on ESPN.com while watching something else because I don't get the NFL network.

Seriously though, I hate when the Colts are Thursday nighters because a) Playing three days before everyone else does sucks and b) I have to go out to actually see the game. The Colts get to play in the armpit of NFL time slots week 16, and I am looking forward to that, mainly because that means we get three extra days of rest and practice before we play the Titans the final game of the season.

Anyway, so the Steelers and Bengals sans Ocho Cinco play tonight. I don't think Cinci's chances were that great with 85, but they definitely don't improve without him. The team says no comment until after the game on why he's inactive, but sounds like no good.

The Steelers are coming off a close 11-10 game last week against the Bolts. Prior to that, the Colts beat them. They've been shaky these past couple weeks, but were able to play smart football and not turn the ball over in their San Diego win. Don't count Cinci out, but this game's being played at Heinz Field, and the Steelers are definitely looking to create some space between them and the Ravens.

I expect awkward play from both teams, because that's what happens on a Thursday night game. Roethlisberger will probably throw for 80 yards with 4 turnovers, but the Steelers still score 42 points on interceptions and fumbles returned for touchdowns or something.

The Bengals need to play consistent offense if they're going to have any chance. Last time these two teams played, the Bengals hung on for a while, but eventually the Steelers just bullied them out of the game.

On the plus side for the Bengals, at least this game gives them an extra three days to prepare for the Ravens.

James' pick: I call upset. Why the f not? Forget everything I just said, Bengals win 17-7

OH MY GOD DOC!

I guess myself, espn.com, and common sense weren't enough to sway Doc Rivers. He started BRIAN SCALABRINE tonight! He played in the first 6 minutes with Garnett suspended and did jack squat. Leon mercifully came in to replace him and this better be one of those things like Doc pulled last year. Start someone and have them play roughly half of the first quarter and sit them on the bench for the rest of the game. There is no excuse for Leon to not start and as long as he doesn't get into foul trouble tonight, there is no reason why he shouldn't get upwards of 28-30 minutes. You can even make the lame argument that Leon is more effective because he comes off the bench and provides a spark but that doesn't fly after what he accomplished in the finals last year. That's the biggest stage there is, coming off the bench or not. And it's his third year in the league. Further proof that Doc is going to bail after the Big Three move along and has no interest in grooming the young guys for future success. Honestly Doc, just because your team is 9-2 and are the defending World Champs doesn't mean you can pull crap like this. Prove me wrong buddy.

Oh yeah, I just checked the play by play. Leon scored 6 points in the final minute of the quarter on two jump shots and two free throws.

P.S. If someone can come across an actual, real reason that Doc provided to start Scalabrine, holla.

EDIT: According to Boston.com, Doc wanted to "keep the second unit in tact." Yeah, a good way to do that is by putting a guy in who is below the second unit. They also reference the whopping 13 minutes Scalabrine played against the Bucks where he went 2-2 and had 1 assist. Great. The website also provided this gem that I addressed during the finals:

"After a 21-point effort in Game 2 of last year's NBA Finals, Powe put up a dud when he started Game 5 in place of Kendrick Perkins, going scoreless in 5 minutes of play."

Ugh.

Anyway, with 1:45 left in the 3rd quarter, Leon is leading the team with 14 points in just 15 minutes.

WTF, Mercury Morris?

So if you haven't heard, Mercury Morris couldn't stand that his fifteen minutes of post-NFL fame were over from last season. A couple days ago, the guy who was about the 6th or 7th most impressive 1972 Dolphin (seriously, he's not even their best running back. Guess which back from the 72 Fins is in the Hall of Fame? I'll give you a hint, it's Larry Csonka and not Mercury Morris) saw another opportunity to come out and have people listen to him, and said he likes the 2008 Tennessee Titans.

Now, ok, don't get me wrong. If the Titans went undefeated, that's great for them. I'd be disappointed the Colts didn't win it all, but you can't argue a perfect season. However, Mercury Morris is the same guy who was on ESPN literally every 20 minutes last year to talk about how he didn't want the Patriots to go 19-0. I didn't want them to go 19-0 either, but I can at least appreciate that what the Patriots did was far more impressive than what the Titans have accomplished thus far.

I've said it before, and this isn't just a bitter Colts fan talking now (if I'm arguing FOR the Patriots, you can't in good conscience call me biased), but the Titans aren't as good as their record shows. They don't have the capability to go 19-0, or even 16-0 for that matter. I can guarantee it won't happen. If we adjusted the records to show where teams should actually be had referees not made game changing blown calls, the Titans would have lost back in week 5 to the Ravens. You remember that false start on the Titans where the referees "blew" the whistle (funny how no one really gives up on the play despite it having been blown dead) and then Terrell Suggs gets called for contact to Kerry Collins' helmet? Except instead of hitting Collins' helmet, Suggs had a clean swipe at his arm as he threw and didn't touch his helmet at all? That play? And that call wiped out the 3rd down stop the Ravens made, allowing the Titans to go downfield and score? Yeah, that.

Anyway, you could make at least 10 of those arguments this season and change the entire shape of the playoffs. The point is, the Patriots were about 100 times the team the Titans are. I can understand how Morris is rooting for the team who no one believes in. But the reason no one believes in them is because they're not even the best team in the NFL. As long as they stay perfect, they'll be on top of the power rankings, but once they lose, expect teams like the Giants and Panthers to take their spot. If the Jets beat them this Sunday, they could also move past Tennessee.

What the Patriots did was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. No one embarrassed so many quarterbacks, so many defenses, so many coaches, or so many fans as the 2007 Patriots. When the Patriots came out, except for maybe three games during the regular season, they completely dominated the other team for 60 minutes. They hardly had to fight for a win. When have the Titans ever been accused of running up the score? The Titans are +113 in point differential so far, which is not too shabby. I won't argue that. The Patriots in week 6 were +138. By week 11, they were +254.

I love this quote from Mercury. "The Patriots, you people were crowning them after the second game and the season was a formality. I kept trying to tell you". I think they were made the favorite after the second game, but they certainly weren't handed the Lombardi Trophy. By the way Mercury, if the season was as long in 2007 as it was in 1972, the Patriots would have won the Super Bowl + 1.

I can see why Morris is rooting for the underdogs, although it's kind of strange to call the Titans underdogs. However, I just don't see how if you were part of the only undefeated team in history, you would rather a team that's barely squeaked out a good portion of their wins and benefitted greatly from others' mistakes join you in history than the most talented, most dominant group of guys ever put onto a football field.

So how much talk did Larry Csonka do during the season? Well, he said he didn't wish the Patriots any luck, but would congratulate them if they went 19-0. That was it.

Mercury, for the love of Peyton Manning, just go away. I'm really really hoping the Jets quiet him for another few months on Sunday.

Would Tom Brady make a difference at this point?

I know it's kind of a silly question, but after putting up a 30-51 400 yard, 3 TD no INT performance (with 60 rushing yards just because) on a really good defense, what else can Matt Cassel do at this point? The team still lost on Thursday and wouldn't even make the playoffs if the season ended today. In an earlier post I mentioned how the injuries were once again piling up for New England. Combine that with a defense that is almost last in passing TDs given up and the amount of quality teams in the AFC, the Pats, even with a 6-4 record might be headed for a disappointing end to their season. Miami squeaking out a crappy win against Oakland on Sunday didn't help matters either. Speaking of the Dolphins, they host the Patriots this Sunday. It's been a while since a late November Miami/New England matchup actually meant something. Here's a helpful tip to Belichick and the boys: if Miami is lined up in the wild cat, RONNIE BROWN IS GOING TO RUN THE BALL. You're welcome. (How they failed to adjust to that at halftime is just crazy.)

The rest of New England's schedule has the Steelers and the Cardinals at Gillette and road games in Seattle, Oakland and Buffalo. They need to win at least four of those and the playoffs still aren't guaranteed. Meanwhile, the current leaders of the AFC East are the damn Jets who just so happed to be in Tennessee this week. Collins vs. Favre, catch it! Old bastards...

Stupid panda jerk. Making me look like an idiot!

Whenever I start Cotchery, Favre NEVER throws him the ball. In the two games I didn't start him? 14 catches 187 yards and 1 TD. Anyway, after the Titans, New York still has to travel to San Francisco and Seattle. They have home games against Denver, Buffalo and Miami. We could be getting into crazy tie break territory when all is said and done. Buffalo has really dropped of the face of the earth and that loss last night might have sealed their fate.

Switching topics now to the NBA. Every team has played at least ten games and now and looking at the standings, there are very few surprises so far. The Knicks (vomit) are currently 6-4 and Mike D'Antoni has expertly swept all the drama under the rug and has his team playing halfway decent basketball. I love how he just isn't playing Marbury, the type of dude who exemplifies the NBA thug stereotype. He's also the type of dude that will seriously just sit on the bench all year and collect his TWENTY ONE MILLION DOLLARS. What a joke. New York does play Boston tonight however. Just ask Atlanta what happens to your momentum when you play the Celtics. (quick note: Garnett has been suspended for tonight's game. Leon starting anyone?)

How about Dwight Howard's 30 point 19 rebound 10 block performance last week? Can you imagine if he could hit his free throws? The Shaq parallels eerily continue... Oh and I like how he's already talking about the dunk contest.

The rookies have been playing some good ball too. Rose, Beasley and Mayo are all putting up some big numbers with guys like Jason Thompson, Luc Mbah a Moute and Marc Gasol all seriously contributing to their respective teams.

And if having your team start 3-7 isn't bad enough, how about charges of insider trading? I like Mark Cuban more often than not (especially how he constantly brings up how poor the officiating is) but what is a billionaire doing worrying about losing $750,000? Sure I would take several hundred Jack Bauer kicks to the balls for that kind of cake but c'mon Mark. Guess you won't be buying those Cubs now huh?

Oh and congrats to little Dusty P for winning the AL MVP Award. Laser show indeed.

Shocked

I almost fell out of my chair yesterday watching the San Diego/Pittsburgh game. Jim Nantz was talking about a hurt player and actually said, "he's out with a hamstring injury." He said injury! As a person I hold personally responsible for starting the whole, "this guy's out with a knee/leg/assneck" trend, it made my day to hear him refer to the entire malady, not just the body part. I was almost as surprised by this as the woman who sits in front of me at work who spends half of her day on personal calls. And we don't sit in cubicles here. There are three rows of tables facing the offices of the more important people. I've never seen anyone with such blatant disregard to office etiquette. It's so bad that at some points, she'll be there talking on her work phone when her cell phone rings. She'll answer the cell phone too and have a phone in each hand! Seriously! How she is still employed blows my mind. On top of that, she talks at full volume and just babbles about the most mundane "details" of her life. What an insufferable pig. (Of course this is coming from a guy who posts on his sports blog during work so I guess it's all relative. But at least it looks like I'm working...)

Anyway, nice job Jim. Keep up the good work.

I'll hopefully be back later tonight with some random musings on the first ten games of the NBA season, the AFC East and more.

Weeeeek 11 baby

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