The Muss goes for #20 today seeing if he can get past that almost hump. If he adds the 20th victory the Hall of Fame resume looks a lot better than it does right now.

A little vacation video...

I'm headed down to Hotlanta tomorrow morning til tuesday for a wedding, so there are some cached posts on the way, but nothing substantial. Perhaps I shall just do a celebratory post of the Mets not making the playoffs now, and have it up on Sunday afternoon...

Maybe I should be excited about the AL Central but I'm really not. The Twins are in first and they have the same record as the Yankees, so they just aren't that good a team. They have 3 games against KC this weekend which screams boredom, win all three and they are as good as in. Meanwhile the White Sox still control their destiny, sweep the Indians and beat the decrepit Tigers and they get a play in game. Lose one and they might be screwed.

Schedule
Twins
Fri Sep 26 KC 8:10 PM Liriano (6-3) Davies (8-7)
Sat Sep 27 KC 3:55 PM Perkins (12-4) Meche (13-11)
Sun Sep 28 KC 2:10 PM Baker (10-4) Duckworth (3-2)
White Sox
Fri Sep 26 Cle 8:11 PM Danks (11-8) Lewis (3-0)
Sat Sep 27 Cle 7:05 PM Vazquez (12-15) Jackson (1-3)
Sun Sep 28 Cle 2:05 PM Buehrle (14-12) Lee (22-3)
Mon Sep 29 Det TBA Floyd (16-8) Garcia (1-1)

Who's In / Who's Out
I'm not doing too much analysis for this cause it's just not exciting, combined these teams are 8-12 in their last 20. KC gave the Twins an extra edge by declaring Greinke out for Sunday, I think the Twins win all three and get in when the White Sox slip up on Sunday as Cliff Lee cinches his Cy Young.

3 teams, 3 games left, 2 spots remaining. So who gets in, who is out? Or will there be some extra baseball played on monday? Let's take a quick look at some key questions.

Schedule
Brewers
Fri Sep 26 Cubs 8:00 PM Suppan (10-10) Dempster (17-6)
Sat Sep 27 Cubs 3:55 PM Bush (9-10) Lilly (16-9)
Sun Sep 28 Cubs 2:05 PM Sabathia (16-10) Marquis (11-9)
Mets
Fri Sep 26 Florida 7:10 PM Pelfrey (13-10) Volstad (5-4)
Sat Sep 27 Florida 1:10 PM Niese (1-1) Nolasco (15-7)
Sun Sep 28 Florida 1:10 PM Santana (15-7) Olsen (8-11)
Phillies
Fri Sep 26 Washington 7:05 PM Blanton (8-12) Balester (3-6)
Sat Sep 27 Washington 3:55 PM Moyer (15-7) Lannan (9-14)
Sun Sep 28 Washington 1:35 PM Hamels (14-10) Perez (7-11)

Will the Cubs Lay Down?
The Cubs didn't exactly put their best lineup out there last night against the Mets and I doubt they will over the course of the next few days. With Zambrano's recent struggles, either Lilly or Dempster will likely be their #2 starter which means both will likely be taken out around the 100 pitch mark leading to Sweet Lou doing some bullpen experimentation. I expect the Cubs to do exactly what they did against the Mets, rest some starters and anyone who is dinged up (ie DeRosa) and play with 75% of their A squad.

Sheets or Bush?
Ben Sheets is very questionable for Saturday but could potentially replace Bush on the mound if he's good to go. Personally I don't think that's going to happen, but Bush has been under the radar good this season so I don't think it's the worst possible situation.

Do the Nats Have Any Life?
The Phillies staff sucks but outside of Myers they have the three pitchers going this weekend they would like to go and they are playing a team they would like to play. As bad as the Nats are at least Odalis Perez and John Lannan can be tricky at times. But still at home against a 100 loss team the Phillies should be able to get it done this weekend. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies can win the first two and manage to save Hamels for game 1 of the NLDS.

Weather Forecastin
First off living in CT I know that's it's been pouring and pouring and pouring all day long and chances are high that the Mets game will end up getting postponed which most likely will lead to a double header on Sunday. This would be optimal for the Mets. The Mets have the option of bringing Santana back on 3 days rest on saturday if need be, but the man threw a career high in pitches his last start so that seems like it might not be the best idea, but pitching Niese isn't a good idea either. If the game tonight is canceled then the Mets get a bail out. They can pitch Pelfrey tomorrow, throw Santana on full rest on Sunday and pitch Ollie P on short rest rather than Niese.

Can the Marlins Do It 2 Times?
The Marlins knocked the Mets out of the postseason last year and ironically they get the same opportunity this year. Outside of making the playoffs themselves the Marlins would like nothing better than to watch the Mets stare blankly onto the field on sunday after their playoff hopes have been eviscerated.

Do You Rest Your Ace If You're a Game Up?
If the Mets/Phillies/Brewers are a game up on sunday what do they do with their staff aces? Do they go for the throat and pitch their top guys to clinch the spot, or do they roll the dice pitch a lesser guy hoping for a win in order to save their ace for hopefully the ALDS or at worst the Play-In game.

Who's In / Who's Out
I expect all teams to go 2 and 3. I expect the Phillies to win their first two games and go into Sunday up 2 games on the Brewers and Mets with the ability to rest Cole. I expect the Mets and Brewers to be forced throw Santana and Sabathia in Sundays game and I expect both to win which sets up a monday showdown where the Mets have nobody to pitch and the Brewers pray for Sheets to be ready. I have a feeling that Sheets will giddy it up on monday afternoon against a Mets pitcher of your choice (Niese maybe, Petey on 3 days rest doubtful, Maine back from the dead doubtful) and in the process send the Brew Crew to October baseball.

I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say I'll do better this week (can't do much worse).

5. Tennessee Titans (-3 1/2) vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings picked up W #1 last weekend but they weren't facing the Titans defense who will make Gus return to his Frerotten days.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (-3 1/2) at Chicago Bears
The Eagles are arguably the second best team in the NFL right now. They pummeled Big Ben into a submission and they will do the same to Kyle Orton this weekend. All while putting up points on the overrated Bears defense.

3. Jaguars (-7 1/2) vs. Houston Texans
Whoops... messed that up. We'll go with the Texans to lose again.

2. Washington Redskins (+11 1/2) vs. Dallas Cowboys
I know the Cowboys are probably the best team in the league right now, but 11 1/2 points in conference against a team that's played well the past two weeks? I'll be stupid and say the Redskins are going to keep it close.

1. San Diego Chargers (-7 1/2) at Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have been surprisingly non-awful the past few weeks despite all the Kiffin rumors. I think it's about time they return to awful. Plus the Chargers are still a little desperate as 1-3 will probably put them 3 games back of the Broncos.

Survivor League Pick: SCREW Seattle

I'm out but if you're still in and you pick Jacksonville this week, you will still be in next week.

Non-Spread Picks

It is now the 3rd season without the USC trio of Bush, Leinart, and Lendale. In these 3 years the Trojans have continued to extremely talented. They have continued to pummel ranked opponents, but something has changed. Each year the Trojans come up limp against one of the lesser in conference opponents. In the past 3 seasons the Trojans are 10-1 against ranked opponents with all ten wins by a touchdown or more. Meanwhile they have a total of 5 losses in these 3 seasons. All 5 of these losses coming in conference with 4 coming against unranked opponents.

I just don't get it. I understand that it's easier to get up for big games like USC or the Rose Bowl but still, how can a team throttle a two time BCS title participant and then in their next game get outclassed by a 1-2 team with a loss to Stanford?

Maybe it says something about Pete Carroll and what always appears to be a laid back attitude. Maybe it says that he prepares and prepares for the big time matchups and eases up when their squad is heading to face a lesser opponent. Maybe he has a difficult time motivating his players when they aren't looking across the field at top competetion. Maybe it says something about the USC players that are recruited, maybe because they are all 5 star prospects they figure that when they line up against a worse team that they are just going to win no matter what.

Whatever the issue is, it is obvious that the crux of the post trio Trojans is the let down. They have the talent to beat and destroy any team in the country, and they do. But they have the mental toughness to lose to just about anybody, and they do. Mark down the 3rd straight season that the Trojans have the best talent in the country but throw it down the toilet.

2008 Ranked Win: #5 Ohio St. 35-3
2008 Loss: @Oregon St. 27-21

2007 Ranked Wins: @#14 Nebraska 49-31, @#24 Cal 24-17, @#6 Arizona St. 44-24, Rose Bowl #13 Illinois 49-17
2007 Losses: Stanford 24-23, @#5 Oregon 24-17

2006 Ranked Wins: #19 Nebraska 28-10, #21 Oregon 35-10, #17 Cal 23-9, #6 Notre Dame 44-24, Rose Bowl #8 Michigan 32-18
2006 Losses: @Oregon St. 33-31, @UCLA 13-9

So, I have no idea how the friggin Beavers beat the Trojans yet again last night but if there's answers it just might be in this sign.

May 2nd Yovani Gallardo leaped over a sliding Reed Johnson on a play at first. And with all leaps, Yovani landed, his landing just so happened to leave one key body part not intact. On that fateful leap the sophomore pitcher with all the promise in the world tore his ACL apart and seemingly ended his 2008 season before it even got underway.

Well tonight after 4 months and 3 weeks of rehab, Yovani has fought his way back into the Brewers rotation and will make the start this evening. I've heard of athletes recovering quickly from ACL surgery, but just over 4 months? That is some solid dedication some diligent rehabbing and the benefit of being a 22 year old.

With 4 games left to go its tough for me to not pull for the Brewers with what some of their pitchers are fighting through (not Sheets of course). Between Gallardo coming back from an ACL rupture and Sabathia pitching on short rest potentially three straight starts, it seems like every Brewer pitcher is doing whatever it takes to get them to the playoffs (except Sheets) and that's a refreshing thing to see.

It's not quite the week for the SEC as last, but still the SEC is almost the only relevant conference right now in college football and until everyone has a loss they will continue to have the biggest game of the weekend.

5. Wisconsin Badgers at Michigan Wolverines
Hey I know you don't care about this game and neither does anybody outside of the northern midewest, but for some reason I think Michigan is going to pull off the upset here. 2 weeks to prepare, they can't possibly play worse than they did in South Bend, Wisconsin is invetiably going to choke. This is probably the heart overwriting the brain, but McGuffie is gonna get it done. The Pick: Wolverines by 1

4. Texas Christian Horned Frogs at Oklahoma Sooners
Hey look the Sooners actually want to play a team with talent this week. Well that's fun. I'd imagine the spikey frogs won't be a problem for the Sooners at home though. The Pick: Sooners by 13

3. Virginia Tech Hokies at Nebraska Corn Huskers
Imagine if this matchup occured during the Mike Vick years, before Bill Callahan threw Nebraska's program down the shitter? Everybody would love it. Now? Neither team is ranked even though they have a 6-1 combined record. It will be interesting to see if Bo Pelini can win his first big matchup for the huskers or if Tyrod will continue to win football games for the Hokies. The Pick: Hokies by 2

2. Illinois Illini at Penn State Nittany Lions
Everyone seemingly is gushing over what Penn State has shown over the first 4 weeks of the season to which I question with "Um, who have they beaten?" Look they won every game by a ton but they played the Chanticleers in Happy Valley. That's fair. I think Senile's boys are going to run into a Juice buzzsaw this weekend. The Pick: Illinois by 4.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide at Georgia Bulldogs
I can't say I'm ready to bored the Bama bus yet even though they have been impressive when they face BCS challengers. UGA just seems like they have the talent to wipe away any Bama threat, especially at home. The Pick: UGA by 9.

The good ole media has pretty much crowned Brandon Webb as the 2008 NL Cy Young award winner with a sliver of love being thrown the way of Tim Lincecum, but where's the love for Johan Santana? Isn't it 2008? Isn't it time to start devaluing wins? Let's compare the stats of the three candidates and see where Webb stands out.

Wins: Webb 22, Lincecum 17, Johan 15

Innings Pitched: Johan 225 1/3, Lincecum 220, Webb 219 2/3

ERA: Johan 2.64, Lincecum 2.66, Webb 3.24

WHIP: Johan 1.17, Lincecum 1.18, Webb 1.2

Quality Starts: Johan 27, Lincecum 25, Webb 24

K/9: Lincecum 10.31, Johan 7.87, Webb 7.21

K/BB: Johan 3.28, Lincecum 3.07, Webb 2.79

Average Game Score: Lincecum 61.6, Johan 59.3, Webb 56.2

Those are just a sampling of some of the more popular statistics used in evaluating pitching in the year 2008. Webb has the advantage over Santana (or Lincecum for that matter) in one thing wins. The one thing the pitcher only has a 50% control over. Santana definitively has been a better pitcher than Webb this season and has marginally been a better pitcher than Lincecum, but just like when he lost the Cy Young to fat ass Colon he will get screwed over from the Cy Young Award by his teammates and their inability to score runs or protect leads. Sucks for him.

#1 Extra Base Hit: Aubrey Huff
A lot was made the past few days of Stephen Drews 40, 10, & 20 splits so one might have thought he was the extra base hit leader. Some may have thought Albert Pujols the best hitter in baseball had the most extra base hits. Others may have gone with Hamilton or Utley or Wright or Braun or any of the studs in the league right now. Would anybody have thought it was Aubrey Huff who has the most extra base hits in baseball?

#6 Grounded into Double Play: Derek Jeter
Here's a stat most probably didn't know about the disappointing Yankees this year; Derek Jeter hits into a ton of double plays. He's certainly having a down year average wise and overall stat wise but his 26 double plays have consistantly been rally killers.

#1 Pitcher Per Plate Apperance: Nick Swisher
I would have thought the Greek God of Walks would have dominated this category or hitters like Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Jack Cust etc. Players that either strike out, walk or hit homers. I guess Swisher is close to this category but he certainly wouldn't have been my first guess. Regardless, Swisher sees over 4.5 pitches per plate appearance and is certainly a key contributor for the White Sox grinding away starters.

#1 Hit By Pitch: Chase Utley
Utley is certainly an old school player and I guess I can't say I'm surprised by the fact he is leading baseball in getting drilled. But he is smallish and should be able to get out of the way of pitches, unlike the large man that trails him by 7 Jason Giambi. I guess its obvious that Utley doesn't really want to get out of the way.

#11 Stolen Bases: Matt Kemp
I knew Kemp was a great athlete coming into this season and that he had a chance of going 20/20 if actually given the paying time he deserved. But did you have any idea that the man has 35 steals this year? Only 3 behind teammate Juan Pierre.

#3 RBI Against: Andy Pettitte
If you're a Yankee fan then you know that this has not been the prototypical year for Andy Pettitte. He's struggled often to get the big out in the big spot and has given up runs in seemingly every game. But I don't think any Yankee fan would have thought that Pettitte gave up the third most RBIs in the league. That's miserable.

#5 WHIP: Ricky Nolasco
Talk about floating under the radar. Did you know that Nolasco has 15 wins with a 3.55 ERA? Probably not. And if you didn't know that then you certainly would not know that Nolasco is fifth in major league baseball in WHIP which is better than that of Johan Santana, Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia.

#10 WHIP: Dave Bush
For some reason Ned Yost decided it was a good idea to platoon Dave Bush in the starting rotation. This is the same Yost that skipped many of Bush's start in 06 when he was arguably the best pitcher on the staff.

#1 Stolen Bases Against: Gavin Floyd
Floyd is having a great season in helping the White Sox pursue the AL Central Crown but it's pretty obvious then when he gives up base runners, he pays no attention to them. Players have stolen 34 bases against Floyd, 6 more than any other pitcher in baseball.

#1 Balls in Play Average: Carlos Marmol
While he's not walking or striking people out from the bullpen, Marmol is forcing weakly hit balls as no one is even remotely close to his league lowest balls in play average.

CC Sabathia is about to make a boat load of money this offseason. He's a durable left handed ace who when ported to the National League won his first 9 decisions. He's been so dominant for the Brewers the 2nd half of the season that there were proponents for his Cy Young candidacy. And then September rolls around the Brewers hit the shitter and CC Sabathia is 0-2 in his 4 starts.

CC Sabathia has pitched for 4 teams in his career that were in the playoff race in September. In 2001, his rookie season, Sabathia helped lead the Indians into the postseason. In 2005 the Indians fought for both the wildcard and the division but came up short on both ends. Last season the Indians took home the division and this year he's obviously fighting with the Brew crew for the wild card. So let us simply look at his September numbers for these years.

In 2001 Sabathia threw 35 2/3 innings over 6 starts to the tune of a 4.29 ERA. He went 3-1 with 4 quality starts and two miserable starts where he gave up 6 and 7 runs respectively. His WHIP of 1.31 was mediocre mostly do to a poor BB per 9 of 4.54. One thing Sabathia did do in his 2001 season was finish extremely strong, his last three starts of the regular season he pitched 17 innings and gave up a lone run. Sabathia followed up the regular season outings by winning his lone playoff start, giving up 2 runs through 6 in an easy 17-2 victory.

In 2005 Sabathia was an absolute beast in September. Sabathia started 6 games going 4-1, throwing 43 1/3 innings to the tune of a 1.45 ERA and a WHIP of .9. His K per 9 in September of 05 was 9.55 and the only game the Indians lost which he started in September was more do to the offense than Sabathia. Sabathia gave up 1 run in 6 innings in a 2-0 shutout loss to the A's.

Last year people remember Sabathia's miserable postseason showing, but in September he went 4-0 in 5 starts. He threw 38 innings to the tune of a 2.37 ERA and a .97 WHIP. The Indians won all 5 of his September starts and Sabathia took home the Cy Young. In the postseason Sabathia however was quite the opposite. He gave up 3, 4, and 8 runs in his 3 respective starts and was amongst the main reasons the Indians choked away their series to the Red Sox.

This season for the Brewers Sabthia is 0-2 in 4 starts with a 3.03 ERA (plus 3 unearned runs) over 26 2/3 innings pitched. The Brewers are 2-2 in Sabathia's starts which isn't ideal, but it's certainly better than the 4-13 they are this month without him. Sabathia's is scheduled to go on 3 days rest tonight for the Brewers and if there's still a meaning to the game on Sunday he will again throw on 3 days rest. If Sabathia can come up big and help lead the Brewers to the postseason no matter he does in October he will be a hero in Wisconsin.

So what does history say? It tells you that for the most part Sabathia has been a very good pitcher in the closing month of the season when in the race. Even this year despite the slump, he's given his team a chance to win games and he's willing to make sacrifices for the squad.

These next 5 days could go a long way in eviscerating the memory of his horrid 2007 postseason and could potentially add even more money to a contract that already will compete for the highest in MLB.

As a Jet fan, you listen to the GM and coach chirp all offseason about the additions they made. How they got Calvin Pace and he's perfect for the system. How Gholsten is going to a superior pass rusher this year and how he's a physical specimen. How the line is going to be solid with the additions of Faneca and Woody and their run game is going to amongst the best in the league. How the Jenkins is finally the 3-4 nose guard that the scheme has needed. And of course how Brett Favre opens up the offense and now the squad has no limitations. And so Jet fans listen they get their hopes up, they think maybe they'll be a playoff team this year. Obviously because we're Jet fans and are typically massively pessimistic we temper these expectations some, but we should make the playoffs right? The GM and coach sure think so.

And what do we get as fans? We get a nationally broadcasted embarrassment. A full blown embarrassment. The offense turned the ball over 4 times and threw in a turnover on downs for good measure. The defense forced a punt 1 F'n time the entire game. 1 Punt. Shit the Chargers only had three plays the entire game on 4th down and two of them ended up being made field goals. The only part of the Jets that was worthwhile last night was the F'n kick return. Even the god damn fans were embarrassing. JEST? Seriously you can't spell Jets? Shit.

Who Wants to Block? No One of Course

A lot shat is being slung Brett's way today and while he certainly didn't play well and he could have easily thrown two more interceptions I'm not going to lay the biggest burden on him. Rather I'd like to pick a bone with the offensive line and protection schemes. Too often the Chargers had a man running completely free at Favre. Too often did he have absolutely no time to throw the ball. And even though they allowed only three sacks the entire game, two game in the red zone and one pushed them out of field goal range. That's pretty timely.

In addition I just don't get our coaching staffs treatment of the offensive line. Last week they had confidence in the line enough to pound the rock 3 times at the goal line. This week? After several penalties on a two point conversion attempt the Jets wound up with the ball on the 1/4 yard line. So they pound the rock right? Nope, they line up in Shotgun with 5 wide. 5 F'n wide. And incomplete of course. What the hell is wrong with you people, just QB sneak the shit. You contradict the crap out of yourselves.

Who Wants to Hit the QB? Not the Jets of Course

0 sacks. That's right zip nada zero. When your secondary is obviously mismatched and your d-line can't get any pressure on the QB it's not a recipe for success. Any time the Jets actually did come with a blitz the lineman seemingly all ran into the same blocker. The one time the Jets actually got pressure on Rivers and I was thinking to myself 'oh shit we might get a sack', Rivers immediately dumped the ball off for a designed screen to Sproles which gained a first down.

A Chronicle of Turnovers

Ok so Favre's turnovers let's take a quick peak at those. First off Cromartie should have picked a pass to the house in the first quarter. It was obviously a miscommunication between Favre and TJ, as Favre was looking for TJ to stop and curl after 5 yards and TJ ran a fly. Cromartie on the other hand was paying attention and somehow snuffed the catch attempt. TJ made up for Cromartie's blunder, by fumbling on the next snap. Yay!

On the very next possession the Jets got the ball to the 50 and Favre threw an out route pass high and away. Coles somehow allowed Cromartie to reach over him with one hand and tip the ball to himself and then of course acted like the play was over only to finally realize Cromartie intercepted the ball when he was 15 yards away. INT Touchdown, YAY!

So... Two possessions later the Jets get the ball back (after giving up another touchdown of course), and the vaunted my receiver goes one way I throw the ball the other play works to perfection and some dude named Weddle picks the ball off. Perhaps the Jets should just run routes in straight lines, no change of direction ever therefore we confuse no one. Neither ourselves nor the opposing defense.

The final Favre bout with a potential INT came on 4th and 4 near the goal line when he had no time to pass the ball nor an open receiver and he just threw it up for grabs in the middle of the end zone. Whatever, its better than taking a sack. Somehow the DB for San Diego let it hit his stomach and fall to the ground, but regardless of the drop they still lost the ball.

Oh... And for good measure Clemens just wanted to make sure everyone knows he sucks by throwing and interception at the end of the game.

Other Random Pissed Off Thoughts

~Dwight Lowery is a nice nickel corner, he's too small to be covering Gates or Jackson on any routes as was shown by two of the huge plays the Chargers had. Whomever Revis does not cover against the Cardinals (Boldin or Fitz) next week is going to have a massive afternoon.

~Jenkins better not be hurt for a lengthy period or we are screwed.

~Vernon recorded a tackle for the first time. Woo 1 tackle in 3 games that's awesome production from the #6 god damn pick in the draft. You know who else has 1 tackle this season for the Jets? Alan Faneca and Jerricho Cotchery.

~I almost wish this was the bye week as I'm so annoyed with the no shows of the past two weeks that I'd almost rather not risk another potential loss next week to a team they absolutely have to beat.

Snapshot of the Moronic Jet Fans Courtesy of Tirico Suave

The Jets and Giants are opening 'jetBlue' Stadium in August of 2010. Both teams are selling off Personal Seat Licenses to the fans which essentially is a big 'Go F Yourself' to any season ticket holder (or its an asset that might have even more value in the future if you care to look at it in a positive light). Each team has devised its own system to determine the price of the PSLs so let's take a look and see who are the winners and losers.

First of all let's just say unless you're loaded you aren't getting premium or club seating anytime soon. The premium seating on the field level around the 50, have at minimum a 20K PSL. So unless you got the cash to drop over 100K in one year for 8 days of enjoyment, I'm guessing you'll pass up on this offer. So let's just do an analysis of which side is better for fans/corporations.

Corporations Better 'Bargain': (Giants by a lot)
It's pretty simple to analyze which team has a better deal for the the extremely rich/corporations, it's the Giants. The Jets are auctioning off their most premium seats on the home side while the Giants are offering a flat 20K PSL. Meanwhile on the road side the Giants stick with a flat 20K PSL while the Jets go with 25K. In addition the PSLs in all of the box suites in the mezzanine are more expensive for the Jets as well. In actuality the Jets have a higher ticket price or PSL in every section not in the upper deck. And throw on the fact that the Giants are a better team now and are the more historic franchise and it's pretty simple that

The Average Fan: (Jets by a little)
I sit in the upper-deck, I'm not ashamed of saying so I sit in the upper-deck for basically everything. I go to Yankee Stadium or Shea or a basketball game, I'm in the upper-deck. I'm cheap what can I say. I don't really want to drop 75% more to be lower. With that being said people of my mindset end up slightly better with the Jets. They upper-deck for the Jets has no PSL so there is no up front fee, the problem is the Jets Upper-Deck tickets are priced higher and thus the Jets will make up the lost PSL money over a 10 year period.

The Giants however have better packages in the lower portion of the field for fans. The Jets have a lot more distribution in their PSL rates and typical the Giants end up with a section or two which is of lower price than the Jets. The difference isn't remarkable, but still there.

Overall for the common poor fan willing to sit in the upper-deck the Jets strategy is better, if you aren't going to be 100 yards up in the air in December than the Giants packages are slightly better.

Wow You Guys Suck: Kansas City Chiefs, Obviously the Chiefs are just a miserable football team. In two weeks they managed to get destroyed by teams that had a top 4 draft pick last season. Herm just might be on his last legs here. Runners Up: Lions and Rams should join the Chiefs in a round robin toilet bowl competition for the #1 draft pick.

This Scarecrow Needs a Brain: Al Davis, Senile old man can you just fire Kiffin or say he's coaching the entire year already? The Raiders aren't making the playoffs this year so it really doesn't matter whom your coach is, it's just annoying for everybody on the planet to deal with your senile old man stupidity on a day to day basis. Runners Up: Phil Savage for having the genius to sign DA to a long term deal and now 3 weeks into the season contemplating putting in Quinn, Jet fans for pretending their team was going to be good this year.

Cough Cough Cough: Martin Gramatica, While former Saint Kicker John Carney was knocking home the game winner for the Giants in overtime, Mr. Gramatica was sucking it up on a 43 yarder that would have given the Saints a lead within 2 minutes. Instead he shanked it, and the Saints are 1-2. Runners Up: Colts D for giving up a FG in 67 seconds, the Bears D for giving up the final TD in regulation.

The Shocker: Dolphins, If I was still alive in my suicide league there would have been two options to choose from this week. The first being the Bills against the Raiders and the second and better choice being the Pats at home against the Dolphins. Well, I'm guessing a ton of people were dumped in the 3rd week after the debacle at the Razor. Runners Up: JT O'Sullivan has 2 wins as a starter this year, the Ravens are 2-0 somehow.

The Pimp: Ronnie Brown, When a man has 5 touchdowns against a team that hasn't lost a regular season game in almost 2 calendar years, the man is the pimp no questions asked. Runners Up: Michael Turner who is living up to the hype, Everybody in the NFC East.

You Got Jakked Up: Three Day Old Cheeseburger, If anybody took a consistant ass whoppin this week it was Big Ben who was getting smashed on every single snap by the Iggles D-Line.

My Fantasy Anti-MVP: Brian Griese, Seriously? That dude threw for over 400 yards this week? Seriously? WTF?

New York Jets Anti-MVP: Any Lineman, Who needs to protect their QB or hit the opposing QB? Certainly not the Jets.

My Picks

My Picks: 12-4
Preseason Picks: 12-4
Picks Vs. Spread: 5-11

So... maybe I shouldn't do so much picking of spreads and should just stay with the 'analyst' role of picking game winners. That's working out a lot better for me.

Remember this is all about Quality Wins and Bad Losses so if you lose to a top ranked team its not going to kill you, if you lose to Arkansas St. in the opener it will haunt you the entire season.


The SEC had big matchups this weekend and the chips fell exactly where I expected them to with LSU, Bama, Florida and UGA looking like the class of the conference.

1. USC - The idle Trojans could potentially get supplanted if an SEC team runs the table, but that victory over the Buckeyes won't be going away anytime soon. Quality Wins: Ohio State

2. LSU - The Tigers despite their questionmarks at quarterback were able to battle back on the road against a solid Auburn squad and now a firmly entrenched in the BCS race once again. Quality Wins: @Auburn

3. Alabama - Who knows if Arkansas is any good or whether Clemson is for real and will take home the ACC, but right now Bama is looking very impressive when matched up against fellow BCS schools. Quality Wins: @Clemson, @Arkansas

4. South Florida - The win versus Kansas was huge but they are looking vulnerable every weekend they play. Eventually this team is going to get knocked off. Quality Wins: Kansas

5. Mizzou - They put up a ton of points again but one has to question if their defense gives up 20+ points to Buffalo, how many will they give up against the Sooners or Longhorns? Quality Wins: (n)Illinois

6. UGA - UGA is cruised this weekend in Arizona, and gets to host the Crimson tide this weekend for the biggest showdown of the weekend. Quality Wins: @South Carolina, @Arizona St.

7. Wisconsin - The Badgers can still hang their hat on the Fresno victory thanks to Fresno pulling off an OT win against Toledo. Quality Wins: @Fresno St.

8. Vandy - Vandy hangs on vs. Ole Miss and hangs on in the rankings. I'd imagine they will lose soon enough and fall out. Quality Wins: South Carolina

9. Utah -Utah saved their skin and their ranking with a late 4th quarter comeback against Air Force. Quality Wins: @Michigan, @Air Force

10. Wake Forest - Thinking FSU on the road is a big win might be a thing of the past but Wake got themselves a jump start in the ACC and just might make a push for their BCS birth. Quality Wins: @FSU

11. Florida - Road wins against Tennessee are usually very impressive but let's not forget the Vols lost to UCLA who is absolutely terrible. It was a crapshoot for me to select between Florida and BYU, but the edge for this week is to Florida. Quality Wins: @Tennessee

Dropped Out: Arkansas St. (they lost last weekend and I missed it whoops), East Carolina (due to a miserable miserable miserable loss to NC St. who is awful, plus WVU lost again), BYU (thanks to UCLA proving they are awful by losing to Arizona)

Noticeable Absences: Oklahoma, Texas & Texas Tech with their very difficult out of conference schedules.

(n) = neutral field

Go America. Without Tiger the Americans seemed more unified seemed to have a better time and pulled out an early sunday afternoon victory. I certainly can't say that Tiger was the downfall of past Ryder Cup squad, but it seemed to benefit the squad that instead of him players like Boo Weekley, JB Holmes, Anthony Kim were around. Players that seem to make those around them laugh and enjoy themselves rahter than be nervous around the presence of the all mighty.

Meanwhile the European powers crumbled under the pressure. Paddy Irish and Sergio Spanish did not come up big for a squad that needed them. Without some key European contributors (such as Luke Donald and Monty) the Europeans just did not have their A game. And they were sent packing by an enthusiastic American squad and crowd.

My Predictions

Solid Predictions

2. Anthony Kim will be your American Hero and will make you learn his name.
Kim is going to a beast for America for a long time, he's passionate and he's got a great skill set. He's the American answer to Sergio, hopefully without the choking in Majors.

7. Pink Pants Poulter will be a beast for the Europeans.
Pink Pants Poulter was the best golfer in the tournament. 4.0 points himself.

4. Phil Mickelson remains mediocre in Ryder Cup play.
1-2-2 is piss poor for the man that is the 2nd best golfer on the planet.

5. Bald man Furyk plays better this year without Tiger than he did in 06.
2-1-1 is a solid result for the bald man.

Dead Wrong Predictions

8. Chad Campbell will be a miserable captains choice for the Americans.
2-1 is certainly not miserable, its winning golf.

6. JB Holmes will hit the ball hard and far, the home state Kentucky fans will love him, and he will fail them.
2-0-1 is not a failure, its beastly.

3. Sergio continues to carry the Europeans and loses only 1 match.
Sergio was awful, plain and simple.

So/So Predictions

9. The Europeans will definitely have better outfits.
The Europeans brought no colored pants, and only their outfits on saturday were relatively solid. The Americans at least busted out Tiger red on sunday.

10. The Cup comes down to Sunday afternoon and the last couple of pairings.
It came down to Sunday It was just over a bit earlier than the last pairings.

1. America wins by 1 point (14 1/2 - 13 1/2) cause Europeans obviously have to hate Kentucky.
They won just by a little bit more than expected.

Do Not Mess With Team Booze (2-0-1)

Let's Do a Simple Math Equation: Jets + Big Blue = jetBlue. It might be corny to try to get a sponsor that incorporates the names of both teams, but it's certainly better than having a sponsor that funded the Nazi party right? jetBlue is the best sponsor for the New Stadium at the Meadowlands, get it done Woody/Mara/Tisch.

At the start of the 2007 season the Yankees organization brutally botched the Bernie Williams scenario. Instead of signing the best postseason player in franchise history for one final swan song, they signed Doug Stinkevich and Andy Can't Hit a Lick Philips. What a miserable idea. This season in centerfield the Yanks have played Melky and his 36 RBI in like 400 at bats and Brett .180 Gardener. Bernie would have been better than either even at 40.

So why bring this up now? Bernie needs a real send off. He deserves it. He was a great Yankee. In the 2 seasons since he has left he has never gotten his send off, never gotten the ovation he deserved. On sunday he will be at the stadium for the final home game at the House that Ruth Built. On sunday the Yankees should go one step further than honoring him on the field, they should sign him to a 1 day contract and suit him up. The season is done and over, and Bernie is probably better than Melky or Gardener anyway, I don't care if some people would see it as a mockery, the man deserves to wear the uniform one last time. He deserves to suit up and hear the roar of the crowd. His crowd.

Cashman, Steinbrenners, etc. get this done please.

10. The Cup comes down to Sunday afternoon and the last couple of pairings.

9. The Europeans will definitely have better outfits.

8. Chad Campbell will be a miserable captains choice for the Americans.

7. Pink Pants Poultier will be a beast for the Europeans.

6. JB Holmes will hit the ball hard and far, the home state Kentucky fans will love him, and he will fail them.

5. Bald man Furyk plays better this year without Tiger than he did in 06.

4. Phil Mickelson remains mediocre in Ryder Cup play.

3. Sergio continues to carry the Europeans and loses only 1 match.

2. Anthony Kim will be your American Hero and will make you learn his name.

1. America wins by 1 point (14 1/2 - 13 1/2) cause Europeans obviously have to hate Kentucky.

Ya... When I said I had no confidence last week, I meant it. I went 6-10, but I went 3-2 in the suggestions (1 loss being the Jets). This week I'm feeling better if not for the reason that all home teams other than the Boys are favored. So it's a doggin week.

5. St. Louis Rams (+9 1/2) at Seattle Seahawks
Ok Ok I know this seems stupid. I mean the Rams got throttled both weeks this season, but listen to me for a sec. The Rams lost to the Eagles and defending Superbowl champs. Both teams are A) Good and B) Have dynamic offenses. The Seahawks just lost to the F'n 49ers at home. This game will be close.

4. New York Giants (-13 1/2) vs. Cincinnati Bengals
This spread looks huge I know. But the Bengals are terrible on both lines. They can't protect Palmer which has made his stats go through the shitter. And their defense is as bad as ever. All you need is a two td win at home from the Superbowl champs and you'll get it.

3. Tennessee Titans (-4 1/2) vs. Houston Texans
The Titans have arguably the best defense in the NFL and they are a better team with the Drunk at QB. They will win this game at home and win it by at least a touchdown.

2. New England Patriots (-12 1/2) vs. Miami Dolphins
Matt Cassel showed himself to be a serviceable quarterback in the past two weeks. He will only gain in confidence and will a week against the putrid Dolphins will be able to help that out. The Dolphins will score 7 or less and the Pats will easily put up 20+.

1. Cleveland Browns (+1 1/2) at Baltimore Ravens
I'm down on the Browns this year, but I'm not this down. The Ravens won week 1 on smoke and mirrors and would have been exposed last week had they played the Texans. Because they didn't you as a better get to enjoy this line in which they are favored for some dumb reason. The Browns lost to two top 5 teams in the NFL. The Ravens suck. Take the Browns this one's easy.

Survivor League Pick: SCREW Seattle

Balls once again I be out of the Survivor League because teams can't beat shitty teams at home. Screw you Seattle.

Non-Spread Picks

You're in a deep league you've drafted Tom Brady and Vince Young as a backup and somehow missed out on the waiver wire pickups of the Castle and the Drunk. Now you're left with only to options: Vikings new starting QB Gus Frerotte and Chiefs new starting QB Tyler Thigpen. So who do you go with?

The Case for Gus Frerotte

1. The Man Gives a Mean Headbutt.
2. You've actually heard of him before.
3. He does not play for a team that just lost by double digits to the Raiders.
4. He could potentially throw a dump off pass to Adrian Peterson and enjoy the benefits.
5. For some reason even though they have Peterson, Childress likes to throw the ball.
6. Has actually started a game before.
7. Did Not start at a college that lost to a tooth paste company's football team.
8. Stupid people picked the Vikings to win the Superbowl.

The Case for Tyler Thigpen

1. There's limited chance he leaves the game due to a self inflicted head butt injury.
2. He's not named Gus Frerotte.
3. The Chiefs Will be down by double digits so they'll let him throw the ball.
4. So what if Coastal Carolina sucks, Chanticleers is a solid nickname.
5. Myrtle Beach has a lot of golf courses and strip clubs so he probably enjoyed college more than Frerotte did at Tulsa.
6. Larry Johnson might rip off Herman Edward's head and open up the playbook.
7. The Chiefs are playing Atlanta, so it's a battle of 2 teams that suck.
8. Head coach makes sure he 'Plays to Win the Game'

My Choice Is: Thigpen

Why? Cause he's not named Gus Frerotte.

It's SEC week in college football which equals fun (unless the score is 3-2).

5. Georgia Bulldogs at Arizona State Sun Devils
So Arizona St. lost to a bad UNLV team last weekend, but... maybe they were looking past the Rebs and at the Bulldogs. Right? So maybe this game will be a good one right? Probably not, but hey you never know when teams have to travel cross country to play, I mean UT lost to UCLA and look at how they fared last weekend. The Pick: UGA by 2

4. Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Florida St. Seminoles
Wake Forest is under the radar (probably cause the ACC sucks) and no one has any expectations for Florida St. after all of their off the field incidents this offseason and Bobby Bowden's senile tendencies. This matchup is amongst the biggest for the ACC Atlantic of the season and the winner gets a leg up on the trip to the title game. The Pick: FSU by 11

3. Alabama Crimson Tide at Arkansas Razorbacks
It's Bobby Petrino's first big game for the Razorbacks and he gets another carpetbagger to face off against in Nick Saban. The Razorbacks avoided their first loss last weekend thanks to Hurricane Ike and will be hard pressed to avoid a loss this weekend, but... for some reason I think Alabama is gonna choke. The Pick: Backs by 2

2. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Should anybody have been surprised that UT choked against UCLA? I mean they choke every year. But then again they seemingly fight back every year with some clutch in conference victories. Those clutch victories usually come against Georgia though and not Florida and Tim Tebow who dropped 59 on the Vols last year. The Pick: Florida by 10.

1. Lousiana State Tigers at Auburn Tigers
Outside of Alabama making a serious run at the SEC West and knocking off one of these two clubs, this game is essentially for the SEC West Title Birth. After Auburn throttled Miss St. last week 3-2 they have to be brimming with confidence. LSU may have questions at quarterback but they have a better coaching staff and better athletes they'll find a way to get it done. The Pick: LSU by 3.

Wow, Man U would look really good sprinting up and down the Field with Ben Bernanke emblazoned on their jerseys. And with AIG getting 85$ Billion (with a B) from the Fed perhaps it should happen.

This is Donnie Jones you probably have never heard of him. Let me give you some clues. He played for LSU's title winning squad in 2003? He was drafted by the Seahawks in 04 but only played 7 games for them. He then played 2 years for the Dolphins and now is in his second season on the St. Louis Rams. He is currently leading the NFL 3 different stats. Give Up?

He is the St. Louis Rams punter of course. He's leading the league in punts, total punt yards, and punt average. He's already punted 819 yards worth. That's almost a 1/2 a mile. Donnie is well ahead of the tragic punt pace set by Andy Lee of the 49ers last year when he punted 105 times for 4968 yards. Donnie is on pace for 6552. That's over 3.5 miles. The record number for punts in a season is held by Chad Stanley in 2002 for the Texans in their first year of existance. Jones is on pace for 128 this year.

Keep it up Donnie, someone needs to get a record this year for the putrid Rams.

When I ventured off to the Greater Hartford Open this summer it was the first time I stepped foot at a golf tournament. I had a blast, I drank some beer, walked around on a beautiful day and saw some guys bomb the ball 300+ yards. One think I noticed while I was there was that there are an incredibly large amount of volunteers. Most of them just stand in a singularly spot on the course and hold up their arms or hold up little signs to tell you to be silent. It's not exactly a difficult job just kind of boring, because while you get to watch golf you probably can't drink beer while doing it.

But apparently a lot of people want to volunteer for the Ryder Cup. So many people want to volunteer for the Ryder Cup that they have to reject people. So many people want to volunteer for the Ryder Cup that they can get them to pay to volunteer and still have too many applicants. Sure the reward for volunteering (16 hours of work) is that they receive an a upgraded ticket worth $555 dollars which they can utilize when they are not working.

The fee for these volunteers is $220, so lets say that they are working 16 hours over the 3 days and the tournament goes somewhere around 10 hours a day (complete estimate 2 rounds a day over the first two days). So sure they get the ticket at less than 50%, but they'll be working for just under 50% for free. Doesn't seem like a bargain to me.

The Ryder Cup in all has 3,600 volunteers paying $220 dollars a piece or 792,000 in all. If that isn't solid business I don't know what is.

DeSean Jackson made arguably the biggest bonehead play in football history by celebrating a touchdown before he actually crossed the goal line, but to me something is being lost in all of this mess. The play was by rule effected by the same exact call by the officials and same exact NFL replay rules.

On Sunday the Chargers got boned by Eddie Muscles. Cutler's attempted pass obviously went backwards and Eddie Muscles just missed the call and blew the play dead. As we all know the killer was blowing the play dead, by doing so the Chargers were not rewarded with the possession which they so obviously achieved after the miscue. In last nights game Desean Jackson blatantly released the ball a yard or more in front of the goal line yet the play was called a touchdown on the field and dead. Meanwhile, two Cowboys swarmed by the ball but never picked it up. Had the play not been called dead it's quite obvious that with two members of the Cowboys Secondary trailing Jackson that the Star-Helmeteers would have recovered the ball. Yet, again one day later the team that deserved the ball was not rewarded it. Instead the fumbling squad was given the ball in prime field position.

In the end the play last night will go down as a boneheaded maneuver and the Cowboys getting screwed is going to be completely overlooked. Everyone is saying well the Eagles deserved to score there so it was just that Westbrook scored on the next play. In my opinion Jackson got away with complete stupidity and the Eagles did not deserve to score because of it. Either way, the Cowboys went on to win the game so the Touchdown in the grand scheme of things was irrelevant. Meanwhile, the Chargers screwing came in the final seconds where more attention is paid and after 3 failures on defense fell to 0-2 and 2 games back in the division.

Obviously, Eddie Muscles had an easier play to call than last nights officiating crew (what official can keep up with Jackson) and obviously the screwed party lost in one game and won in the other but the play had the same blown call. A backwards pass in which the team who deserved to pick it up was punished by the whistle. I don't have the perfect solution for these mistakes, but to me its the replay rule that is as flawed as was the officiating. I don't know whether either making all loose balls live or giving the official a discretionary decision on whom would recover the ball is a optimal solution but either would be better than punishing the team that should have just benefited from forcing a turnover.

So apparently holding the ball was completely F'n optional for the Wolverines this weekend. The music is obviously fitting for the play. [Via House Rock Built]

The 08-09 UEFA Champions League starts today and since predictions on sports I really follow have gone miserable the past week, I figure let's try my hand on sports that I casually follow.

Group A: 1.Chelsea, 2. Roma 3. Bordeaux 4. CFR Cluj
Chelsea moves on with the black shirts and so does Roma as Italy>France.

Group B: 1. Internazionale 2. Werder Bremen 3. Panathinaikos 4. Anorthosis,
The Special One dominates for Inter and Werder Bremen moves on as well in by far the easiest group. I mean Anorthosis is from Cyprus, that country is smaller than Connecticut.

Group C: 1.Barcelona 2.Sporting CP 3.Basel 4. Shakhtar Donetsk
Barca is a certainty to move forward and well I know little to nothing about the remaining teams. So we shall go with the Portuguese squad Sporting CP.

Group D: 1. Liverpool 2. PSV Eindhoven 3. Atlético Madrid 4. Marseille
This is probably the group of death with 4 solid squads. Liverpool always shows up at the Champions League so they are the group favorites and should advance. The other 3 will be in a fight but I'll go dutch with PSV.

Group E: 1. Manchester United 2.Celtic 3. Villarreal 4. Aalborg BK
Typically the Scottish clubs don't advance past the group stages, but hey if 'ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE' in Boston perhaps the same is true in Europe. Going with Man U to take the group and Celtic to follow as plan B.

Group F: 1. Bayern 2. Fiorentina 3. Lyon 4. Steaua
Lyon is the best team in the group but... screw the french go I-ties, Bayern takes the group and Fiorentina moves on.

Group G: 1. Arsenal 2. Dynamo Kyiv 3. Porto 4. Fenerbahçe
Arsenal should easily move on from this group with the remainders having a solid fight to get to the final. I'm gonna go out on a limb and go with Dynamo Kyiv because I'd imagine playing in the Ukraine is miserable for visiting clubs and that they will win most of those games.

Group H: 1. Juventus 2. Real Madrid 3. Zenit St Petersburg 4. BATE
Madrid and Juventus are perennially powerhouses and BATE's stadium only holds 5,500 people. Chances are pretty solid that Juventus and Madrid advance.

Championship Matchup: Chelsea vs. Inter
Why this matchup? Because A) I'm greedy and want Chelsea to make it and think they have the squad to get there again. And B) Because I'm greedy and would love to see Chelsea square off against Inter Milan and Jose Morinho with the European Crown on the line. And the Winner is.... The Special One gets revenge on Big Boss.

Wow You Guys Suck: St. Louis Rams, Honestly, I think the Rams are begging to bring back Martz right now. Sure his defense sucked when he was the coach, but atleast his defense and offense didn't suck. I'd expect Scotty to be fired by midseason. Runners Up: Hurrican Ike enough with the god damn hurricanes ravaging the south during football season, the Bengals Offense/Defense/Special Teams/Coaching Staff.

This Scarecrow Needs a Brain: Desean Jackson, It really is unfortunate that Dallas didn't pick up the ball and truly punish Jackson for what amounted to possible the dumbest football maneuver ever. Seriously, get an F'n brain kid. Runners Up: Eddie Muscles for blowing the ole Denver Call, Mangini for thinking 3 straight runs was gonna get it done.

Cough Cough Cough: Minnesota Vikings, 15-0 lead with Adrian Peterson in the backfield would make you think that the game is in the bag. I mean just hand the ball off and burn clock and the game is yours. Or not. Runners Up: Mr Kitna you lead your team back from a major deficit only to throw 2 ints to end the game, Chargers defense for giving up a td on 4th and 4 and giving up the 2-point conversion.

The Shocker: 49ers, It's not that F'n surprising that the 49ers won, its just I got booted out of the survivor league because I put faith in Hasselbeck (who was terrible) and the Seahawks home field advantage. Runners Up: I know the Chiefs are awful but who thought the Raiders would win a game by double digits this year, who saw the Panthers being at 2-0 without Steve Smith.

The Pimp: Every Cardinal Involved in the Pass Attack, Yes the Dolphins defense is awful but every time you looked up at the bottom line on sunday Kurt Warner was averaging 40 plus yards a pass attempt. And Boldin was averaging a td per reception. Runners Up: Brandon Marshall with 18 friggin catches, Aaron Rodgers for not sucking.

You Got JAKKED UP: Jahvid Best, Ya He's not in the NFL but the dude threw up.

My Fantasy Anti-MVP: Me or the Ability to Bench People, Why Wouldn't all of my players that score a ton of points over the weekend be on my bench? Of course that's the only thing that makes any sense.

New York Jets Anti-MVP: Kickers, 31 yards is a tough field goal eh Mr. Feely? And Punting the Ball more than 35 yards is apparently impossible.

My Picks

My Picks: 9-7
Preseason Picks: 9-7
Picks Vs. Spread: 6-10

Ugh on the Spread picks and the survivor picks and my fantasy starting lineup selections. Ugh on a lot of things this weekend.

I can never make up my god damn mind on who to start on my fantasy teams week in and week out. I toggle players in and out and in and out and the only thing that remains certain is that I always F it up. Like this week where my 4 highest scorers just so happened to be a part of my 6 man bench. Woo, way to go ass hat.

[Click the Image to See Larger Shot]

Boy am I glad I missed Cripple Fight 2008 due to the Stadiums That Are About to Be Demolished Tour. 6 Friggin Turnovers? Jebus.

Rich Rod please tell me all of this will be solved when we get an athletic quarterback who doesn't completely suck? Right? It will be solved? Ugh, at least OSU was throttled.

Thanks to the Brew Crew getting throttled this weekend in Philly and the Mets bullpen holding up their portion of the bargain, the NL race has become suddenly very interesting. Currently 4 teams are separated by 3 games and fighting for two spots. Unfortunately, over the course of the next two weeks these teams will never face off against each other, so prepare for a lot of teams that are out of it to play spoiler. Here's a sum up of which National League teams will have the biggest influence on the race.

Chicago Cubs (1or2 Astros, 6 Brewers, 4 Mets)

No playoff team other than the Cubs can influence the wildcard race. The Cubs are currently up 7.5 games in the division and will not have much to play for come the last week of the season other than playing the role of spoiler and helping set the rest of the playoff contenders. After todays game against the Astros in Milwaukee, the Cubs head home to take on CC Sabathia and the wild card leading Brewers. After games against the Cards (who are just about out of it) the Cubs finish the season on a 7 game road trip with 4 at Shea and 3 in Milwaukee and potentially a monday game against the Astros if needed. The Cubs in the final week could easily decide they want to rest Harden, Zambrano, or any other key player which could potentially make the path easy for the Brew Crew and the Mets. But don't count out Sweet Lou deciding that he wants to put the screws to the potential postseason enemies.

Atlanta Braves (6 Phillies, 3 Mets, 3 Astros)

Atlanta has 12 games left this season and all 12 games comes against teams vying for the final 2 NL playoff spots. The Braves just stole 2 games away from the Mets bullpen over the weekend so they're showing some fight, they just aren't very good right now. They're batting Martin Prado (who?) in the 3 hole. After sitting out a few days the Braves got Larry Jones back and he of course pummeled the Mets pitchers at his sons namesake.

Florida Marlins (3 Astros, 3 Phillies, 3 Mets)

The Marlins are fresh off sweeping the Nats and in the midst of a 5 game winning streak. They get to try to extend that when the Astros put Roy Oswalt and his massive scoreless streak on the hill on tuesday night. After a 3 game set against the Astros, the Marlins play weekend host to the Phillies and start it up against fat toad Joe Blanton on Friday night. Then in a beautiful bit of scheduling the Marlins close out the season in Shea looking to bounce the Mets from the playoffs in back to back seasons.

Washington Nationals (4 Mets, 3 Phillies)

The Nats have been a mostly awful but strangely streaky team this year. They finished August on a 7 game winning streak including a sweep of the Dodgers showing that they could make an impact on races. However, now they are currently on a 5 game losing streak including a 2 game sweep at the hands of the Mets. The Nats were a pain in the Mets ass last year at the end of the season and tonight begins their 4 game set in Washington.

Cincinnati Reds (3 Brewers, 3 Astros)

The Reds starting friday have 6 straight games against division rivals poised to make the postseason. The Reds are having a solid month of September rattling off three straight series wins over the Cubs, Brewers and Diamondbacks. Series wins against either the Brewers or the Astros could push them out of the postseason.

Pittsburgh Pirates (3 Astros, 3 Brewers)

The only other team in MLB with games against the postseason contenders is the lowly Pittsburgh. The Pirates and Reds flip flop opponents between the weekend series and the final weekday series. The Pirates line up the traveling Astros after they make their trip to Florida and then get the Brew crew afterwards. If anything the Phillies and Mets will probably root for the horrible Pirates to simply come away from both series with a single win.

Remember this is all about Quality Wins and Bad Losses so if you lose to a top ranked team its not going to kill you, if you lose to Arkansas St. in the opener it will haunt you the entire season.


Talk about a weekend full of blowouts. 59-0? 35-3? All of those Pac 10 losses? 3-2? And of course the cripple fight pathetic showing. It was an interesting week of college football for sure.

1. USC -The Trojans won so badly I think they should get credit for approximately 3 victories. Even though you somewhat discredit them for beating the Beanie-less Buckeyes, there's little doubt that right now they should be regarded as the best team in the country. The UVA win however is no longer quality, considering they just lost by 35 to friggin UConn.Quality Wins: Ohio State

2. East Carolina - The Pirates relinquish the top spot, because well USC trounced the back to back National runner-up. The Pirates struggled this weekend but held on for the victory Quality Wins: VT, WVU

3. Alabama - Bama holding strong at #3 now that Clemson has their ass winning football games. Quality Wins: @Clemson

4. South Florida - The Bulls of South Florida snuck out two big time victories in back to back weeks. Perhaps their victory this weekend will get Mangino on a diet... Probably not. Quality Wins: Kansas

5. Mizzou - So Missouri likes to score a lot of points again this year. I certainly am looking forward to their big in conference matchups. Quality Wins: (n)Illinois

6. BYU - So apparently the Mormons think that USC still is the football monopoly of LA. 59-0? Jebus christos. Quality Wins: UCLA

7. Wisconsin - Good for the Badgers actually playing a tough opponent on the road for once and winning a solid out of conference game. Fresno St. is a solid team and the Badgers did well to hold them off. Quality Wins: @Fresno St.

8. UGA - Held on for a 14-7 victory over the Smelley Cocks. I think the Gamecocks are a pretty good football team, so despite the fact they have two losses we shall include UGA in the top 11. Quality Wins: @South Carolina

9. Vandy - Same with Vandy. Quality Wins: South Carolina

10. Arkansas St. - Idle Arkansas St. is holding on to the spot on the notion that A&M might be a good football team.Quality Wins: @Texas A&M

11. Utah - How many more weeks before I concede that beating Michigan this year isn't quality? 1? Quality Wins: @Michigan

Dropped Out: UCLA, Cal, Fresno St., GaTech

Noticeable Absences: The Majority of the AP top 11.

(n) = neutral field

4 Loser Engineers Are Touring the Big Apple this Weekend to Get a Final Taste of Two Stadiums which are about to meet Mr. Recking Ball. Should be some solid drunken debauchery. Story details to be told next week.

If you see someone wearing this jersey, feel free to kick them in the groin...

I went 10-6 last week with the spread picks but I don't have anywhere near the same confidence as I did last weekend. I have a bad feeling about these.

5. New York Jets (-2 1/2) vs. New England Patriots
Do I really have a ton of confidence in the Jets winning this game? Hell no. Do I think you have to be criminally insane to bet this game? Ya pretty much. Neither you, me, Bill BEEEEELLLIIICHIIICK, Matt Cassel or probably God know how Matt Cassel is going to play this weekend. Betting on this game is stupid. With that being said the Jets are going to win. (Or probably make me cry / drink excessive amounts of beer)

4. New York Giants (-8 1/2) at St. Louis Rams
The Rams just lost 38-3 against the Eagles. The Giants are the defending champs, I don't care about 9 points or the road game, they're going to win and beat the spread easily.

3. New Orleans Saints (- 1/2) at Washington Redskins
Well they aren't going to tie, so this is a Pick 'em game. And since I think the Saints are going 14-2 and since the Redskins have no clue on offense right now, I'm picking the Saints.

2. Green Bay Packers (-2 1/2) at Detroit Lions
I have the Lions winning the division so I guess this would classify as a must win if that was to happen. But how could you pick a team that just gave up 300 yards on the ground to a perennial doormat. The Lions are awful.

1. Indianapolis Colts (-1 1/2) at Minnesota Vikings
Ok. 1) The Vikings are vastly overrated by everybody for some reason, perhaps the love of Purple Jesus. 2) The game is on the turf so no ill effects for the Colts. 3) Come on you really think the Colts are going to go 0-2?

Survivor League Pick: Seattle Seahawks

Um, I'm not very comfortable with any team this week to be completely honest. I hate taking the Seahawks cause they have zero wideouts. But they're playing at home against JT O'Sullivan they have to win right? Right?

Non-Spread Picks

The Pros pits two college football rivals against one another and sees which has produced a more eligible pro team.

The Offense

Quarterback

USC currently has 4 quarterbacks in the league. Two of whom won Heisman's in Leinart and Palmer and two of whom have yet to start an NFL game in Cassel and Booty. Meanwhile the Buckeyes have only one quarterback in the league now that Krenzel is gone, and that is Troy Smith. The undersized mobile QB who's yet to make a dent in the NFL.

Edge: USC

Running Backs

USC of course has the double headed monster from the Colliseum in Bush and White still roaming the NFL as starters. In addition they have Justin Fargas whose playing the role of starter for the Raiders and Chauncey Washington in Jacksonville. The Buckeyes lone running back rep is Antonio Pittman whom like Troy Smith has yet to make an impact in the NFL.

Edge: USC

Wideouts

The Trojans currently have 5 wideouts suiting up in the NFL, none of whom have made a significant impact. If you had to chose a starting 3 for the Trojans it would probably be Steve Smith (not of the Panthers but of the Giants), Keary Colbert and perhaps Dwayne Jarrett. Not that impressive. Meanwhile the Buckeyes have the emerging Santonio Holmes, Joey Galloway and Anthony Gonzalez amongst their 7 total wideouts in the NFL.

Edge: tOSU

Tight Ends

Ben Hartsock vs. Rookie Fred Davis and Billy Miller. Pretty nondescript. Edge to USC for the rookie with potential.

Edge: USC

Offensive Line

Overall the Buckeyes have a handful more lineman but let's just take a look at whom would be the starters for each team.

Center: Ryan Kalil vs. Nick Mangold
Guards: Deuce Lutui & Chilo Rachal vs. Adrien Clarke & Rob Sims
Tackles: Winston Justice & Sam Baker vs. Orlando Pace & Kirk Barton

A lot of youngsters for both sides other than Orlando Pace who will be a hall of lineman. Neither team has two guards in the NFL that are currently starting.

Edge: tOSU

The Defense

D-Line

Tackles: Mike Patterson & Sedrick Ellis vs. Ryan Pickett & Tim Anderson
Ends: Kenechi Udeze & Frostee Rucker vs. Will Smith & Jay Richardson

Will Smith is probably the best player amongst this batch but Udezi isn't far behind and the Trojans have much more depth than does tOSU.

Edge: USC

Linebackers

Lofa Tatupu, Keith Rivers, Willie McGinest vs. AJ Hawk, Mike Vrabel, Na'il Diggs

The Trojans agter their top three only have Thomas Williams (who?) to turn while the Buckeyes have Bobby Carpenter, Vernon Gholsten (overrated) and Matt Wilhelm as other options. For me its too close to call.

Edge: Push

Secondary

Corners: Brian Kelly & Terrell Thomas vs. Antoine Winfield & Nate Clements
Safeties: Sammy Knight & Troy Polamalu vs. Donte Whitner & Will Allen

The Buckeyes are very deep at corner with Youboty, Shawn Springs & Chris Gamble as other options so feel free to disagree with my top two choices. Other way, despite the dominant Polamalu the Buckeyes have a much deeper secondary.

Edge: tOSU

The Special Teams

Return Men

Reggie Bush vs. Ted Ginn. Both have been highly disappointing at their actually poosition in the NFL, but both still pack some punch on special teams. As solid as Reggie Bush was as a punt returner in college he's not as fast nor as dangerous as Ginn on returns. Ginn adds the kickoff of return dimension which Bush currently lacks as well.

Edge: tOSU

Kickers

Neither team has a punter in the NFL, which is surprising to me given it seems like every tOSU punter kicks the ball 70 yards against Michigan, and only Ohio St. has kicker Mike Nugent of the Jets who got injured and limped around last weekend.

Edge: tOSU

Who Would Win?

Overall the Buckeyes have 9 more alumni in the NFL than do the Trojans (46-37). Their roster would have much more depth. The Trojans obviously have a much more skilled passer, but he would have no receivers to throw the ball to especially with the corners that the Buckeyes would throw out there. Both teams have dominant linebackers who could stuff the run. It's difficult to say who would be victorious but I'd give the edge to the Buckeyes mostly due to depth at offensive line and wideout

All Rosters Pulled from ESPN

This is Beanie Wells celebrating a 'Rose' Bowl trip after demolishing the Michigan Wolverines. If Beanie Wells is injured and doesn't play against the Wolverines I will be absolutely thrilled. But this weekend I really want him on the field and it's not because I picked him for the Heisman or the fact that I picked the Buckeyes to win the National Title. I would love to be wrong on the latter, and don't necessarily care about the former. I just want a competitive game this weekend and one with no Buckeye excuses.

The Buckeyes are already getting 10.5 points from Vegas for Saturday night's showdown against USC. And this was before Beanie Wells was dropped to doubtful this afternoon. Sure there's still a chance that without Beanie the Buckeyes will be able to hang with the Trojans, but in all likelihood they will lose and lose by a decent margin. I'd much prefer the Buckeyes losing with all their chips and to be summarily proven to be an inferior team to USC. I want no controversy and no excuses and it looks like that won't be the case.

In case you don't know Louisville sued Duke for pulling out of a football game between the two. The clause in the contract said that Louisville had a right to sue if they could not find a team of 'similar stature'. Here's what Duke's lawyer had to say about Duke Football:



That was fantastic. Duke won the case.

Courtesy of LIO

Allianz. It sounds like a cool name for the new Giants Stadium. Especially cool given that two teams will again share the stadium. They created and 'Allianz' when building the stadium and when taking the taxpayers money. If they're gonna shell out $25 million plus a year for the naming rights. So what could possibly be wrong with that. Well a lot actually.

If for some reason you don't know this, the Tri-State area has far and away the largest Jewish population in the country. Don't trust me? Well look at the wikipedia's Distribution of American Jews by County. You'll notice that essentially every county in New York, New Jersey and Southern Connecticut is listed.

So Simon, what the hell is your point? Who cares if there are a lot of Jewish Americans living in New York. The point is that Allianz is a very old German company. A German company which just so happened sponsored the Nazi party during their history. One who's CEO was economics minister for Hitler. And the company that just so happened insure the chemical engineers at Auschwitz. A company that sent the life insurance money due to Jews to the Nazi party instead.

Whoopsies. Time to get a new sponsor.

Every year the fantasy playoffs or the stretch drive of your fantasy team is effected by starting pitchers who just don't start. There are several reasons for their foregoing of starts and seemingly I have one of each of these types of guys on my team. So ya I'm bitter because I'm watching my first place dominant team teeter on the edge of missing out on the grand prize.

The Shut Him Down Starter (Justin Duchscherer): He's got a mild injury and he really could make his way back and take a few starts at the close of the season but his team is out of contention and well why bother. He's had a great year he's been a fantasy surprise and stud for his team, and it's about getting him optimally healthy for next season so no more starts for you.

The Rest For the Postseason Starter (John Lackey): You're on the best team in all of baseball and you've been struggling as of late. So now that your team has clinched your division its time to rest up and get fired up for the postseason. It's not that he really needs to take a start off, its just you really want to 'recharge his batteries', and since winning is really meaningless right now, why not.

The Dead-Armed Youngster (Jeremy Guthrie): He's the youngster that's been the workhorse for a poor team. He's been surprisingly good but has struggled as of late, probably because he's pitched a ton of innings. So it's time to give him a couple of starts off so that he can rest up and build up arm strength and finish strong and build confidence for 09.

The Can't Handle the Pressure Starter (Dan Haren): I'm actually starting but you might almost prefer that I'm not. I'm having the 2nd half swoon again and I can't get it done in the month of September. I probably need rest but because my team is in the pennant race and desperately needs me they keep on throwing me out there. And I reward them with outing where I throw 99 pitches through 4 innings and can't even make it to the 5th inning.

There are definitely more scenarios were starters kick their owners in the cajones down the stretch run. But these are 4 of my 7 starters, I'm sinking in the quicksand and screaming for help right now.

Well this week certainly makes up for the boredom that was last week.

5. Cripple Fight 08: Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Hey it's cripple fight time. I've already gone over this, they both suck. This could be the difference between making a bowl game or not making a bowl game. So I guess its saving your program from some embarrasment. The Pick: Tie, they both suck.

4. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Virginia Tech Hokies
The Yellow Jackets picked up a huge 3 point win over BC last week. If they could somehow beat whiny Glennon and the Hokies then they put themselves in the ACC driver seat. However, it will be Tyrod to the rescue as he will lead the Hokies to their first solid win of the season. The Pick: VT by 3

3. Wisconsin Badgers at Fresno St. Bulldogs
Oh my god oh my god oh my god, Wisconsin scheduled an out of conference game against a team that has the potential to win more than 5 games in a season. This has got to be the toughest out of conference opponent they have scheduled this decade. So naturally just to annoy me they will win by some stupid late 4th quarter turnover. The Pick: Sconsin 4.

2. Georgia Bulldogs at South Carolina Gamecocks
DOCTOR Lou thinks the Gamecocks have the best defense in the South Eastern Conference and that they are going to beat Georgia this weekend. I doubt he changed his mind after they lost to Vandy, because he's senile. Let's just say Doctor Lou is going to be wrong like always. The Pick: Bulldogs by 13.

1. Ohio St. Buckeyes at Southern California Trojans
I think the fact that USC is favored by double digits is a bit ridiculous. Vegas is begging for you to take the Buckeyes. And well, since I picked them to win the National Title (and because I hope I somehow give them a voodoo hate jinx) I will pick them to beat the Trojans. I imagine that Beanie was healthy enough to play last weekend but they opted not to. And I imagine that he will have a big weekend this week. Either way it's nice to see teams actually schedule huge out of conference games. The Pick: tOSU by 3.

South Florida vs. Kansas is obviously amongst the biggest 5 games of the weekend. I just missed it somehow because I'm a moron. Anyway either team that wins picks up a potentially valuable bowl kicker at the end of the year. Despite their OT win last weekend, I'm going with South Florida at home.

Oh, And... Go USC.

Appropriately dubbed the Cripple Fight by mgoblog, Michigan is playing Notre Dame this weekend live on NBC. The two winningest programs in college football history will certainly put up an exciting game right? Or not.

Why Even Tune Into the Game?
Well if you're a hater of the Wolverines, the Big Ten or Notre Dame this is the perfect opportunity to watch with and make fun of your Northern friends.

How Will the Game Turn Out?
My buddy Joe at CollegeGameBalls thinks Michigan will win 31-24. To which I think he's smoking some dope. Not that I think Michigan won't win. I have no idea, both of these teams suck and Michigan is really really good historically at losing to Notre Dame and making them look good for no reason at all. Should Michigan dominate? Probably. Will they? I've got no idea.

Anyway I don't disagree with the pick what I do disagree with is the score. 31-24? Michigan scored 16 points against Miami of F'n Ohio. They can't make up their mind on which quarterback sucks less. In two games they've put up a total of 486 total yards. Tim Tebow puts that up himself practically every game. The Great White Hope, Sam McGuffie is leading the team in rushing and 2nd in the team in receiving yards after two games. The problem? He's averaging 3.3 yards a carry. Whoops. If Michigan drops 31 it might be a miracle.

Oh and Notre Dame also sucks. They dropped 21 on a San Diego St. team that gave up 29 points to Cal Poly. Cal F'n Poly, a bunch of loser engineers. In the process ND turned the ball over 4 times. Ugh that's awful.

The Ramifications of the Game

So what is the ramifications of the game? Well it actually might be a 'huge' game for Michigan and Notre Dame. Notre Dame is coming off the 3-9 catastrophe and need to actually beat a team that isn't a service academy. Perhaps with a win they could get on a roll against the Weak 10 and fight its way to a bowl game this year. If they lose than Vigo Clausen might go down as the worst quarterback to wear the gold helmet ever. For Michigan they've made a bowl game my entire life. This is the questionable year. Sure they only need 6 wins, but damn their quarterbacks blow. If they lose this game they could be in deep shit. Sure the Big 10 sucks, but so do they.

In essence the winner of this game should make a bowl. The loser of this game just might not make a bowl.

Cripple Fight Photoshop from CGB
Vigo Clausen from the Sporting Blog

That is the effect that the Olympics had on Jamaica. Barbara Blake Hannah, a special consultant to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports, said: “Sports is one thing that holds Jamaica together. I heard that on the day of Bolt's 100 metres, no one here was killed. Even murder took a holiday for him.” Times Online

If you are one of the Fantasy Football Players who decided that immediately after seeing Brady go down with a horrendous knee injury, that you were going to float out trade offers around the league in hopes that you could get some moron to accept a deal, than you sir are a dirt bag whom should not be allowed to play fantasy sports.

And if you were a moron who looked at the trade wire and was like hell ya I'll trade Jon Kitna for Tom Brady and accepted the deal, well then you sir are a huge idiot.

Wow You Guys Suck: St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia is a talented team and a tough place to play but losing 38-3 is really really poor. The only benefit of the weekend for the Rams is that the Seahawks also lost and their division is going to be awful this year. Runners Up: JT O'Sullivan had lots of turnovers, Detroit Lions defense.

This Scarecrow Needs a Brain: Matt Millen, Seriously this man needs to be fired. They're facing a team with a rookie quarterback, a new running back and new coach. You traded your best defensive lineman in the off season. And your team goes out and gives up 300 yards on the ground and allows a 62 yard td on the rookie's first pass. That's some good work by the D. Runners Up: Vince Young for just not showing up in the huddle one drive, the Vikings for thinking Tarvaris is a Superbowl QB.

Cough Cough Cough: Cincinatti Bengals, If you want to be a playoff team you need to beat a rookie quarterback in his first start. Instead the Bengals went out to Baltimore and couldn't get a single thing done on offense even though the Ravens were missing arguably the best safety in the league in Ed Reed. Piss poor by Cincy. Runners Up: San Diego giving up a last second td, .

The Shocker: Carolina Panthers, They don't have their best offensive player, they are playing on the road against an AFC powerhouse, their qb is coming off Tommy John surgery and they pull off a last second victory. Who the hell saw that coming? Runners Up: The Bears knocking off Indy, Two Rookie QBs winning their first start.

The Pimp: Michael Turner, Apparently getting your first start in the NFL after sitting behind the best running back in the league for years is motivating. After one week as a starting running back Michael Turner is already over 1/5 of the way to a 1000 yard season. Runners Up: Everyone on the Eagles, Eddie Royal who had a diesel first start

You Got JAKKED UP: Tom Brady's Knee, Goodbye Mr. Left ACL.

My Fantasy Anti-MVP: St. Louis Rams, It probably should be me for deciding that I wanted to base my fantasy success on the Rams. But whatever why Bulger, Stephen Jackson and Tory Holt can't put up a single god damn touchdown is beyond me.

New York Jets MVP: Thomas Jones, He equalled his 2007 touchdown total, which means he scored a single touchdown. He played well he helped control the ball for the Jets and would have had the game sealing first down if not for a Damien Woody false start.

My Picks

My Picks: 12-4
Preseason Picks: 12-4
Picks Vs. Spread: 10-6

Not a bad week if I say so myself. Who had the Colts and Chargers losing. Or the Falcons and Ravens winning? Probably not many considering 12-4 sits at 99.2% on ESPN.

Well, that was pretty non-hetero.

After years of hope it has finally happened, Tom Brady in all likelihood will miss the remainder of the 2008 football season. And well as horrible as it probably is to say this, as a football fan of a rival team it feels good. Sometimes in this world if you can't beat them fairly you just need to beat them unfairly and thanks to the good graces of of Hero Bernard Pollard the rest of the AFC and AFC East has a chance.

Scriptin Week 1

If you are a Jet or Steeler fan it would be almost impossible to have scripted a better week 1. Both teams got off to a good start with their first victory. And both teams watched as some of the AFC preseason favorites spit the bit. The Colts and Bolts choked and Brady goes down. The AFC is officially wide open after week 1 and the Steelers just might be the favorites.

Opportunity Lurks

If you're a Jet fan you probably looked at the opening three weeks and figure 1-2. A win against the Dolphins and a loss against the Bolts and Pats. Well, with Matt Cassel at the helm of the defending AFC champs coming to the Meadowlands in week 2 you have to hope to take the division lead. This is your opportunity, to take a lead on the Patriots to put them in their first hole in years, to give them their first regular season loss in years. They are vulnerable and they need to be pounced on.

November 1999

So what were you doing in November of 1999? I was a junior in high school. Since 1999 I've gotten my High School degree, a bachelors degree and finished up 2/3 of my MBA. Well 1999 is the last time Matt Cassel could ever call himself a starting quarterback until next sunday. That's almost an entire decade and the kid is only 26. I repeat the last time he was a starting quarterback ever was when he was 17 years old. It's not as if he was backing up bad players, Carson Palmer won the Heisman when he was his backup, Matt Leinart is arguably the most successful college QB of all time, and Tom Brady is Tom Brady, so not being a starter in those circumstances isn't too embarrassing. It's just 9 years is 9 years and that's a lot of rust and nerves to chip through. Perhaps the Pats once again will catch lightning in a bottle with a low round draft pick, but no Pats fan can be anything but queezy today.

Pats Reworked Projections

Everywhere today you will see projections for the Brady-less Pats. To which everyone should respond with, um how in the world could you have any idea. Sure, the Pats have a solid supporting cast and an easy schedule, but they have a quarterback that hasn't taken a meaningful snap as a starter ever. You have no idea what may happen in the next few months and nobody does. Could Cassel be so awful in the first few weeks that he is replaced? Sure. Could he as easily lead the incredibly talented Pats to the postseason? Sure. No one has any clue how the kid will perform and I bet that includes the players and coaching staff of the New England Patriots. So let us all enjoy the show and hope that Brady's injury does lead to the sinking of an aging dynasty.

Bernard Pollard most certainly seized the fear of the Patriot Fan and sucked away the energy of their Super Bowl hopes. Thank You Bernard you are a true American Hero.

So I didn't get time to post this last week given my classes and what not. And now that Brady is out they are all shit any way so I'm not gonna put much extra effort into them. Well or any effort at all. Let's just say they will be wrong.

Now that I've broken down each division over the past two weeks it is time for me to do my playoff predictions. To wrap up here's what I see the the NFL playoff seeds lining up as.

1. NFC South Champs: New Orleans Saints 14-2
2. NFC East Champs: New York Giants 12-4
3. NFC West Champs: Arizona Cardinals 9-7
4. NFC North Champs: Detroit Lions 8-8
5. NFC Wildcard #1: Dallas Cowboys 12-4
6. NFC Wilcard #2: Seattle Seahawks 9-7

1. AFC East Champs: New England Patriots 15-1
2. AFC North Champs: Pittsburgh Steelers 14-2
3. AFC South Champs: Indianapolis Colts 12-4
2. AFC West Champs: San Diego Chargers 11-5
5. AFC Wilcard #1: Tennessee Titans 10-6
6. AFC Wildcard #2: New York Jets 10-6


Wild Card Weekend

Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals

Winner: Seahawks

Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions

Winner: Cowboys

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts

Winner: Colts

Tennessee Titans vs. San Diego Chargers

Winner: Chargers

Divisional Playoffs

Seattle Seahawks vs. New Orleans Saints

Winner: Saints

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants

Winner: Cowboys

San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots

Winner: Patriots

Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Winner: Steelers

Conference Championships

NFC Championship: Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints

Winner and NFC Champions: Saints

AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots

Winner and AFC Champions: Patriots

Super Bowl XLIII: New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots

Winner and Super Bowl XLIII Champions: New England Patriots

Remember this is all about Quality Wins and Bad Losses so if you lose to a top ranked team its not going to kill you, if you lose to Arkansas St. in the opener it will haunt you the entire season.


What an absolute bore of a college football weekend. Ohio had a chance to pull off an amazing upset but folded and the only really entertaining game to watch was a battle of Florida schools, one that did not include Miami, UF or FSU.

1. East Carolina - There is no arguing the Pirates place on this here poll. Nobody in college football has put together two bigger wins in the opening weeks that the Pirates. They knocked off the Hokies in dramatic fashion and pummeled the Mountaineers. These two wins, minus a bad loss, will keep the Pirates in this poll for a long time. Quality Wins: VT, WVU

2. Alabama -Week of mediocre victory against Tulane but the Clemson throttling carries through. Quality Wins: @Clemson

3. UCLA - A week off for the Bruins leads to a stationary spot. Quality Wins: Tennessee

4. Utah - Beat the pants off of UNLV after knocking off Michigan. Quality Wins: @Michigan

6. Mizzou - Followed up the win over captain Zookers with a blowout victory over Double Directional Missouri St. Quality Wins: (n)Illinois

7. Cal - Followed up their solid win against Michigan St. by beating Wazzu 66-3. I don't think Wazzu is very good this year.Quality Wins: Michigan St.

8. Vandy - With all that talk from Lou Holtz I would have you know thought the Gamecocks would throttle the Commodores. Alas Doctor Lou got it wrong.Quality Wins: South Carolina

9. USC -UVA is probably garbage but no one else really has big wins so USC will remain and after saturday either the Trojans or the Buckeyes will vault to near the top of this poll. Quality Wins: @UVA

9. Fresno St. - A much deserved bye week after traveling cross country. Quality Wins: @Rutgers

10. Arkansas St. - They followed their week 1 win by putting up 83 points against SWAC school Texas Southern. They were leading 52-0 at one point before half time. that's fun.Quality Wins: @Texas A&M

11. Georgia Tech - I have no idea how good BC is going to be this year, but we shall give GT credit for knocking them off atleast for now. Quality Wins: @BC

Dropped Out: Nebraska, Bowling Green

Noticeable Absences: The Majority of the AP top 11.

(n) = neutral field

It's week one and you're making your survivor league pick. You win you move on you lose you're out. You get to choose from any team in the NFL, so what to do. Do you pick the Patriots, who definitely are going to win so that you can assure that you move on to week 2, but then you can't use them anymore. Or do you pick a team with a bit more risk to save the juggernauts for later. Well the above picture shows the distribution of picks on Yahoo's survivor leagues and not surprisingly the Patriots are first but, at least to me, it's surprising how much confidence the nation has in the Jets. Enough confidence to make them the 4th most confident pick.

Perhaps its my limitless pessimism, but until I see the Jets win a few games this season I'd stay far away from utilizing them in a survivor league. Favre should be a considerable improvement and on paper the Jets should make a push at the playoffs, but until you have any form of proof they are still a 4-12 team playing on the road against a division rival. A division rival whom also has a new quarterback, a new coaching staff, a healthy running back squad, etc, aka a ton of unknowns.

For my sake I hope the nation is right, but I think they're pretty stupid for taking the Jets week 1. I'm taking the Pats.

MVP: Three Day Old Cheeseburger, Going with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning is incredibly boring. I went with Brady last year and got it right but who cares. I'm going out on a limb and saying Ben 'Three Day Old Cheeseburger' is going to have a massive season for the Steelers and going to help lead them to a division crown and one of the best records in the AFC. So I'll jump out on the ledge and pick him.

Offensive Player of the Year: LT, For all the love that Adrian Peterson has gotten in the offseason, LaDanian is still the best running back in the league. I expect him to bounce back from the playoff controversy with a massive 2008 campaign.

Defensive Player of the Year: Troy Polamalu, I went with him last year and he got hurt. He is the key to the Steelers defense, he stays healthy and they win a lot of games and he gets a lot of hype. He gets injured and they are screwed.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Stewart, Who trusts DeAngelo Williams as a starting running back? I don't and think Stewart will get the bulk of the carries and approach 1000 yards this year.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sedrick Ellis, If the Saints are to improve to the levels I think they will, than they will need sizable improvements on defense. One of these being Jonathan Vilma, the other beeing rookie Sedrick Ellis.

NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Marc Bulger, Injured most of last season, I expect Bulger to be back and firing with a vengeance.

Kicker of the Year: Shayne Graham, Ya that's right bring back the kicker of the year category. Simply so a redhead can win an award.

This weekend of college football is very very very boring so this post will be very very very short.

5. Stanford Cardinals at Arizona St. Sun Devils
A guess a conference matchup is decent. And despite the fact the Cards should finish in the bottom half of the Pac 10, they currently have one conference win and are the leaders.
The Pick: Sun Devils by 17.

4. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Boston College Eagles
Both teams look like this might be a rebuilding year, yet they sit at 1-0. The 2nd game of the season is a very good time to get that first conference win and build some momentum.
The Pick: GaTech by 3

3. Ole Miss Runnin Rebels at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The ACC is favored over the SEC in another game. Let's see if they can avoid getting embarrassed.
The Pick: Ole Miss by 1.

2. West Virginia Mountaineers at East Carolina Pirates
The Pirates just came off arguably the biggest victory in their schools history and they get to celebrate by playing another ranked team from the Dual Virginias. Will they rattle off back to back wins? Doubtful.
The Pick: Mountaineers by 6.

1. Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida Gators
This probably won't be a good game cause Miami hasn't been good for years but at least its a sexy game.
The Pick: Florida by 14.

Week 1 is apparently favorites week as I love a bunch of favorites and overall like the favorites a ton more than the Dogs.

5. Detroit Lions -2.5 at Atlanta Falcons

Rookie QB in his first career game pretty much equals loss. The Lions could and should get off to a head start on what might compete as the worst division in football.

4. Denver Broncos -1.5 at Oakland Raiders

The Broncos won't be down for more than a season and will return to playoff contention this year. This means easily dispatching the Raiders week 1.

3. New Orleans Saints -3.5 vs. Tampa Bay Bucs

I picked the Saints to go 14-2 (Man I'm stupid), so if they can't beat the Bucs by 3.5 at home the first week of the season than I'm gonna be dead wrong.

2. New York Jets -2.5 at Miami Dolphins

This is with my heart as much as with my head. The Jets need to win this week if they want to make the playoffs, else they may fall into an 0-3 hole and be done with. 2.5 points is nothing and the Jets should win comfortably by a touchdown.

1. New England Patriots -16.5 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Ha Ha Ha Tom Brady is injured. That's as believable as Belichick not trying to cheat to win. The Chiefs suck, the Pats will want to get off to a strong start and at home they will absolutely mall Herm and his crew.

New England Patriots

Predicted Record: 15-1
Playoff Seed: 1

Key Player: Tom Brady, If Brady gets injured or killed the Patriots won't make the playoffs. If he stays healthy than they will win the AFC. Can we bring back Mo Lewis the hit man and have him pull a Drew Bledsoe?

Fantasy Player to Eye: LaMont Jordan, I know he's been a complete lame fantasy player the last two seasons in Oakland, but people seem to get revived in New England when they actually win games. Maroney is obviously going to get the majority of the carries but there is potential that Jordan could eventually be a solid contributor.

Why the Record: If Tom Brady is healthy, which he seems like he is, the Patriots will win a lot of games. I can't pick them to go undefeated, and they might be slightly worse than last years team, but they still are the best team in the NFL>

New York Jets

Predicted Record: 10-6
Playoff Seed: 6

Key Player: Kris Jenkins, The Jets have been unable to stop the run since the day Mangini took over their roster. Part of the problem was the fact that they never had a massive space eating defensive tackle. This offseason the Jets traded for Jenkins hoping he will fill the role. If he doesn't it will be another year where their defense mightily struggles.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Dustin Keller, The rookie Keller is more wideout than receiver which seemingly has worked out for the Dallas Clarks and Chris Cooleys of the world. He's going undrafted in many leagues currently but could potentially emerge as a solid target for the Jets.

Why the Record: I think 10-6 is an optimistic but realistic number. They have a lot of winnable games on their schedule and if they can win this weekend and avoid going 0-3 (NE week 2, @SD week 3) then they could potentially make a run towards the postseason.

Buffalo Bills

Predicted Record: 9-7

Key Player: Lee Evans, The man shows flashes of greatness and then disappears into the futility in other games. Last year he reduced his yardage from 1200+ to 800+. If he doesn't return to his 06 numbers the Bills offense will once again struggle.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Marshawn Lynch, If the offense can become more consistent with Edwards at QB the entire season, than Lynch could potentially see more time in the end zone.

Why the Record: The Bills could easily finish anywhere from 2nd to last in the AFC East. I personally believe that Evans will return to his old form and that Lynch will stay on course and they will win a lot of home games.

Miami Dolphins

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Chad Pennington, The Dolphins should have a strong rushing attack if both Brown and Williams stay healthy. Now its Pennington's job to make accurate throws and attempt to push the ball deep so that teams don't load up against the run. If he can do that the Dolphins could easily surprise a lot of teams.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Ricky Williams, The man just got a contract extension somehow so the Dolphins must believe in him. If Ronnie Brown again gets hurt, a strong possibility, and Ricky garners all of the carries he could easily rush for 1200 yards again.

Why the Record: I actually think the Dolphins have a decent chance of winning more than 6 games this year. I think their rushing attack will be sound, Pennington will make smart decisions and they will be one of the surprising teams in the NFL this year.

1. San Diego Chargers

Predicted Record: 11-5
Playoff Seed: 4

Key Player: Shawn Merriman, When you're arguably the best defensive player in the NFL and every game you are one wrong hit away from being done for the season you are a huge factor. If Merriman goes down so does their pass rush and so does their 2008 hopes.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Antonio Gates, He's still getting drafted like he's the top TE in the NFL and yet his health has been highly questionable this point. I think they're might be a bit of a fall off from what you would expect his numbers to be at seasons end.

Why the Record: They still have LDT and with Merriman giving it a go they still have a formidable defense. It's just they won't have enough gas to get over that hump once again.

2. Denver Broncos

Predicted Record: 10-6

Key Player: Selvin Young, That running back by committee thing that worked so brilliantly for the Broncos for so long just hasn't been quite the same the past few years. Currently it's Selvin Young's job and if the Broncos are to be successful he needs to have a big year.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jay Cutler, Last year he was hampered by playing with Diabetes without even knowing. This year on insulin Cutler will be straight bangin.

Why the Record: The Broncos had a poor by their standards season in 07 but should bounce back to wear they usually are at this year. And that is at the fringe of making the postseason and in the low double digits.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

Predicted Record: 5-11

Key Player: Offensive Line, It hasn't been that long since the Chiefs had the most dominant rushing attack on the planet. And then Shields and Roaf retired and their big advantage was sunk. If they are to return to Larry Johnson's beastly years past they need vast improvement on the O-Line.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Dwayne Bowe, Bowe came out of nowhere and had a very solid rookie campaign. The question is now that he's made a name for himself will he start drawing more attention and go into a sophomore funk?

Why the Record: Brodie Croyle...

4. Oakland Raiders

Predicted Record: 2-14

Key Player: Lane Kiffin, The ownership tried to force you to resign and you refused, now you still have the reins of a sinking ship. Any chance you can pull it out from under?

Fantasy Player to Eye: Justin Fargas, Sure McFadden is going to be the more dynamic running back and will take away a lot of the load Fargas was given last season. But the question is which player will wind up with the ball on the goal line? My bet is it will be Fargas who will be lest risky for the organization to abuse on goal line stands.

Why the Record: They're the Raiders. JaMarcus isn't going to be any good and McFadden isn't going to be enough for them to start throwing up a ton of points. They'll probably be better than 2-14 but whatever.

1. Indianapolis Colts

Predicted Record: 12-4
Playoff Seed: 3

Key Player: Center, With Jeff Saturday shelved for a bit the Colts are going with rookie Jamey Richard who must be able to help protect Manning while also delivering quality snaps that do not mess with the Laser Rocket Arms timing.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Anthony Gonzalez, Gonzo was an underrated beast for the Buckeyes in college and now with some question marks surrounding Marvin's health he will emerge with even more opportunities to catch the ball.

Why the Record: They are the Colts, they still have Peyton Manning and Addai and Harrison and Wayne. They lost Saturday which will hurt a lot but they will still win in the double digits.

2. Tennessee Titans

Predicted Record: 10-6
Playoff Seed: #5

Key Player: Vince Young, Vince Young regressed mightily in his Sophomore campaign, yet the Titans still won 10 games and made the playoffs. If he could return or improve upon his rookie campaign numbers the Titans will make a push for the division.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Chris Johnson, LenDale went training at Wendy's in the offseason and looks like a land whale. Mr. Johnson could potentially swoop in and become the #1 back for the Titans because of LenDale's cravings.

Why the Record: They won 10 games last year with horrible quarterback play. If they get some play from Vince they will easily win 10 games again.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

Predicted Record: 10-6

Key Player: Wide Receivers, The Jaguars have a very very weird combination at receiver this year with Reggie Williams being knicked up, Matt Jones facing felony drug charges, Dennis Northcutt being old, Jerry Porter being useless for seasons with the Raiders and Troy Williamson being cut by the Vikings. Someone on the roster needs to step up and catch passes.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jones-Drew regressed in his sophomore campaign and lost over a yard on his per carry yardage average. He's still slated to share the load with old man Fred but potentially this could be the year he gets the Lions share of the carries and rewards those who selected him in the 2nd round.

Why the Record: Once again the Jaguars will be carried by their rushing game and their defense. And once again they will come up short due to the fact that they have no dynamic air attack.

4. Houston Texans

Predicted Record: 5-11

Key Player: Mario Williams, Why? Someone needs to hit the other quarterback as much as their quarterback gets hit. It's only fair.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Steve Slaton, He plummeted in the draft after he decided to come out early but now sitting behind injury plagued Ahman Green who could emerge as a running back who garners carries and lots of points.

Why the Record: The division is brutal, the rest of the schedule is difficult and they still have Matt Schaub at quarterback and big time question marks at running back.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Predicted Record: 14-2
Playoff Seed: 2

Key Player: Troy Polamalu, Last year the crazy haired one went down and so did their defense. This year the Steelers need him to be healthy if they are to get through the entire season.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Three Day Old Cheeseburger, Last season the Cheeseburger threw a ton of touchdown passes (except in the 1st round of the playoffs of course). This year perhaps to go along with those TD passes he'll tack on a bit more yardage.

Why the Record: Cause I'm stupid probably and 14-2 is a bit ridiculous considering they practically play every difficult team in the NFL 5 times a piece. I guess I just think they're going to be really good and the Cheeseburger is going to be a beast.

Cincinnati Bengals

Predicted Record: 8-8

Key Player: CPD, Every year its the same story with the Bengals, how many of them will get arrested before the season starts and/or how many felons are they going to sign. If key players don't get arrested maybe they'll win some games.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Chris Perry, You may or may not remember who Chris Perry is, but he used to be an absolute beast at Michigan before he was drafted by the Bengals and left to rot on the bench. Now that he's been handed the keys to the empire and gets a chance to shine.

Why the Record: The Bengals should again be mediocre. They should be able to put up a lot of points but once again have a poor defense.

Cleveland Browns

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Brady Quinn, Why? Because he's not gonna play at all and I just think its going to be funny watching him cheer Derek Anderson from the sidelines.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Kellen Winslow, the soldier has been allergic to the end zone for the majority of his NFL career. Perhaps this will be the year that he gets to celebrate.

Why the Record: The schedule is tough and I have a funny feeling that Anderson and company are going to regress mightily this season.

Baltimore Ravens

Predicted Record: 1-15

Key Player: Quarterback, Kyle Boller just landed on IR so its not him. Is it Joe Flacco? Is it Troy Smith? Is it me? I'd vote me, but I doubt that's gonna happen.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Ray Rice, If/When Willis gets injured and is out for the year, Ray Rice could potentially become a solid #3 running back on any fantasy team.

Why the Record: No QB + aging/injured defense, plus I got a little out of hand with their losses. 1-15 is extreme but they're gonna be really bad.

1. Arizona Cardinals

Predicted Record: 9-7
Playoff Seed: 3

Key Player: Offensive Lineman, The Cardinals scored a lot of points the final weeks of the season thanks to Kurt Warner connecting for 300+ yards. If the offensive line can give Warner the time, they will once again score a ton of points.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Anquan Boldin, He's a beast of a man and his fired up that he hasn't gotten a massive contract yet and with the pass first offense Boldin will be a top flight wide out.

Why the Record: A mediocre schedule with a lot of offensive fire power equals a slightly above average record.

2. Seattle Seahawks

Predicted Record: 9-7
Playoff Seed: 6

Key Position: Matt Hasselbeck, Bald man struggled a bit in the preseason and with the absence of old reliable Shaun Alexander even more burden for the Seahawks success will be placed on his shoulders. Perhaps they should take the ball and score.

Fantasy Player to Watch: Julius Jones, The problem with Jones the past few seasons has been his inabilty to get in the endzone.

Why the Record: Their the Seahawks of course their supposed to have the best (tied for it) record in the NFC West because the division is crappy and they win all their home games every year.

3. St. Louis Rams

Predicted Record: 8-8

Key Player: Marc Bulger, I have no idea who their backup QB is and as a fantasy owner of Bulger I don't want to find out. In 2006 Bulger threw 24 tds and only 8 ints. If he puts that performance up then the Rams will make a playoff push, if not they're gonna be near the West basement.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Steven Jackson, He slipped a bit due to his contract dispute, but honestly how much effect is it going to have sitting out training camp for a couple weeks? The man is a sprinting tank. He's going to put up a ton of points and be a reliable running back.

Why the Record: I expect Bulger to get a little knicked up but have a solid season. So they should finish around .500.

4. San Francisco 49ers

Predicted Record: 2-14

Key Player: Mike Martz, He's the 'offensive guru' and he hand picked the QB, so it's on his head to score some points with this team.

Fantasy Player to Watch: Isaac Bruce, Someone on this team needs to catch passes right? I mean Martz likes to throw 100 times a game so maybe old man river Ike Bruce will do something.

Why the Record: JT O'Sullivan...

New York Giants

Predicted Record: 12-4
Playoff Seed: 2

Key Player: Justin Tuck, With the absence of Osi and Strahan the man with the millions Justin Tuck is going to need to perform at a very high level. He has all the pressure squarly on his shoulders. If he gets to the QB consistently they can make up for the absences. If he struggles the Giants will give up a lot of points.

Fantasy Player to Eye: The Juggernaut, Brandon Jacobs will be a beast at the goal line this year and with Eli comfortable the Giants should be putting up a lot of points this season.

Why the Record: Eli Manning. Perhaps it was just 4 games or perhaps it was the turn around of a career. I go with the latter. Despite having less talent and being more mistake prone than his older brother he's always somehow had a better knack for the big spot. His rookie year he lead some 4th quarter comebacks. He actually beat Florida in college with a less talented football team, and he lead a complete underdog to the Superbowl title. 12-4 may be a high estimate, but Eli has turned the corner.

Dallas Cowboys

Predicted Record: 12-4

Key Player: Jason Witten, The Cowboys currently have some question marks after TO at the wideout position. Witten must have a big season to take away some of the double coverage which will often be placed on TO.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Felix Jones, I'm not saying that Felix Jones is going to get a boatload of carries or have a massive impact, but there is a chance that in addition to getting work as a 3rd down back that he ends up getting some downs as a slot receiver.

Why the Record: The Cowboys have the talent to win a ton of regular season games. The question is, does Tony Romo have the scrotum to win a playoff game.

Philadelphia Eagles

Predicted Record: 8-8

Key Player: The Physical Therapist, The story was the same last year as it has been in the past, knicks and bruises and injuries around the board. Already Kevin Curtis is down and if a few more players go down with injury the Eagles will just miss out on the postseason.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Reggie Brown, Without Curtis, Brown is undeniably the main receiving target for McNabb. He had a decent season in 2007 with 780 receiving yards, but in 2008 he should find himself with more receptions and more end zone celebrations.

Why the Record: Come on you really think Westbrook and McNabb are going to stay healthy this season? Westbrook has never played a full 16 games in a regular season and McNabb hasn't since 2003.

Washington Redskins

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Jim Zorn, Jim Zorn has never been an offensive coordinator in his life. Oh wait nevermind he was for a few weeks when he was hired as the offensive coordinator but then made the Head Coach. For someone with such limited coaching legacy to go off of, it shall be interesting to see how he performs with the coaching power.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jason Campbell, He's got the gig all to his own and has the talent to make a mark. As a fantasy backup he just might surprise you and contribute to a few key victories.

Why the Record: Someone in the division has to lose games. The Redskins have the worst quarterback in the division and made some questionable coaching decisions coming into the year.

New Orleans Saints

Predicted Record: 14-2
Playoff Seed: #1

Key Player: Reggie Bush/Deuce McAllister, Deuce went down last year and so did the Saints. For as good as Brees has been the past two seasons they need a rush attack to balance the offense and to control the ball and wear down the defense.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jeremy Shockey, Consider me on the bandwagon for Shockey. He's never quite lived up to his hype and/or skillset. With the Saints he will be targeted a ton and given the rest of their fire power and some added motivation he should put up lots and lots of points.

Why the Record: Well 14-2 is a bit much obviously, but their offense should be able to score with anybody in the league and with the addition of Sedrick Ellis and the free Jets give away in Vilma their defense should be much improved.

Tampa Bay Bucs

Predicted Record: 7-9

Key Player: Old Man Jeff, Or Dead man walkin as he referred to himself is now at the helm again for good (just with 47 backups). He won football games last year despite putting up limited numbers. Can he play magician again?

Fantasy Player to Eye: Ronde Barber, What he scores like a touchdown or two a year right? That's about 1 or 2 more than you may expect from certain skill positions.

Why the Record: Old man Jeff is bound to hit the floor some day and that day is today.

Carolina Panthers

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Jake Delhomme, Obviously when your Quarterback comes back from Tommy John surgery he's the major question mark on your team. Last year he went down and they pulled a QB out of the old folks home and then stunk. Jake needs to stay healthy for Ws.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Jonathan Stewart, He's a rookie running back which means he's always intriguing to watch. He could gobble the majority of the carries and rush for over 1000 yards or he could stink and pull a DeAngelo Williams and do nothing.

Why the Record: You ever heard of a QB being awesome the year after Tommy John surgery? Na I didn't think so.

Atlanta Falcons

Predicted Record: 3-13

Key Player: Michael Turner, He's finally getting the opportunity to start in the NFL and considering the dearth of offensive weapons on the Falcons its essential that he has a big season if they want to win some football games.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Opposing Defenses, In a deep league and missed out on one of the top defenses. Well then just hit the waiver wire and grab whatever defense is playing the Falcons and enjoy the plethora of sacks, ints and defensive tds.

Why the Record: A Rookie QB with inexperience everywhere and no solid karma around equals another very high draft pick.

Detroit Lions

Predicted Record: 8-8
Playoff Seed: 4

Key Player: Kevin Smith, Without Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator the Lions might actually try to run the ball a little bit, and rookie Kevin Smith is probably the man for the job. If he can gain some yards on the ground consistently than the Lions could win the division.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Calvin Johnson, The man will be beast this year. He will not be the bust draft pick that some of his predecessors were and he will eclipse Roy Williams as the #1 target on the team this year due to his ridiculous size and speed combo.

Why the Record: Well 8-8 isn't very good and winning the division at 8-8 is pretty pathetic, I just don't think this division is going to be good at all this year. I think the Lions will win their home games and be able to put up some points and somehow sneak away with the crown. But then get pummeled the first round of the playoffs.

Chicago Bears

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Kyle Orton, Who knows if he will be starting for more than a week but the Bears key has been and will continue to be quarterback play. They haven't gotten any and I doubt they will from the neck beard this year. And without it they won't make the postseason.

Fantasy Player to Eye: The Running Back Position, They have some guy named Forte as their expected starter. Please raise your hand if you have any idea who he is. I certainly have my hand down. They'll have to hand the ball off to whomever is the running back so figuring out who the #1 guy truly is and getting him as a 3rd string rb would be a nice add.

Why the Record: Kyle Orton is not a good quarterback. He wasn't a good quarterback his rookie year when they lucked into a ton of wins. He's not a good quarterback now. And to top it off they don't have an established go to running back. Offense is going to be very poor for the Bears this year.

Green Bay Packers

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Ryan Grant, He busted onto the scene last year and was a beast. And in order for the Packers to alleviate some of the ridiculous pressure that his lumped onto Rodgers shoulders he needs to carry the load and put up some big games.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Greg Jennings, Jennings emerged as Favre's go to receiver last year and was amongst the elite fantasy wideouts in 2007. Now with Rodgers taking the helm one could question his status and his draft ranking might slip. If he winds up with the same production he could be a steal, if he dips he could sink your squad.

Why the Record: I'm a believer in the overwhelming distraction that was Brett Favre lingering into the season. I'm a believer that Aaron Rodgers was never that good and that he will struggle under the pressure. And I'm a believer that the Packers will struggle mightily against the AFC South.

Minnesota Vikings

Predicted Record: 6-10

Key Player: Quarterback Position, I have no idea if Jackson is going to be the starter the entire year or if Gus 95 year old head buttin Ferrotte will take the helm but whoever is throwing passes needs to make a few completions or the opposition is gonna throw 11 in the box on each play.

Fantasy Player to Eye: Chester Taylor, The Vikings can't pass the ball. Last year despite the fact that AP was a complete monster Taylor still got a solid number of carries and put up quality numbers. Even as the #2 back on the team he could put up #1 running back numbers.

Why the Record: The theme of this division is 'Crappy Quarterback' and the Vikings are the division leader in the category. There's only so much the best running back in the NFC can do. Just look at how bad the Chargers were for years despite the greatness of LDT.

Remember this is all about Quality Wins and Bad Losses so if you lose to a top ranked team its not going to kill you, if you lose to Arkansas St. in the opener it will haunt you the entire season.


1. Alabama -How could I possibly have doubted that Clemson was going to give the full out choke this weekend. Man that was stupid. Quality Wins: @Clemson

2. East Carolina - Perhaps Tech made a little misjudgement when they decided to redshirt Tyrod and give the full duty to Glennon, cause he sucked on saturday and now their national title hopes end before the start of September. Quality Wins: VT

3. UCLA - Only Phil Fulmer's squad could lose a game where they intercept 4 passes in the first half. Perhaps the Ricky point is in full effect already. Quality Wins: Tennessee

4. Utah - Fuck Balls Cock Shit Fucker. Damn it. Quality Wins: @Michigan

5. Bowling Green - A lot of the teams on this top 11 are the result of big time week 1 upsets, but arguably none was more surprising than Bowling Green knocking off Team Wanny. Quality Wins: @Pitt

6. Mizzou - Chase Daniel really gave himself a solid start to the Heisman race by throwing up 50+ points against the Zookers. Quality Wins: (n)Illinois

7. USC - Well, there certainly was no stumbling block for USC in Charlottesville. Quality Wins: @UVA

8. Fresno St. - Perhaps without Ray Rice Rutgers is going to regress back to their old shitty ways but Fresno St. went into the dirty jersey and gave them a good butt whoppen. Quality Wins: @Rutgers

9. Arkansas St. - I know absolute nothing about Arkansas St., I didn't even know they were a D1 school, but they did go into College Station and knock off A&M which is either pretty impressive or incredibly pathetic for the Aggies. Quality Wins: @Texas A&M

10. Cal - The Bears pulled off a close victory against the Spartans who may end up being a surprising success in the Big 10. Quality Wins: Michigan St.

11. Nebraska -Directional Michigan went into the season as the favorite for the MAC title, so we'll give the black shirts a little credit for coming away with a solid victory. Quality Wins: Western Michigan

Dropped Out: Uh Nobody It's the First Poll

Noticeable Absences: The Majority of the AP top 11.

(n) = neutral field