The Bucs Cut Out Their Heart Today

My team lost its heart today. Photo from TBO.com.

You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised. It happens every single year in the NFL. Some veteran player, some face of the team, gets whacked going into free agency. Fans are left wringing their hands and wondering why and teams are stonefaced and “it’s business” about it. They don’t call it the Not For Long League for nothing. Jerry Rice went to the Raiders. Joe Montana was a Chief. Legends go on, usually don’t live up to our memories, and fade into the sunset. I’ve seen it happen. I really didn’t think I’d see it happen with Derrick Brooks.

It’s not like the Bucs haven’t done this before. They let Sapp & Lynch go with nary a qualm. And at the time I wasn’t that bothered. I understood the business of it, the money being a big part of it, their ages being another. Lynch got the last word by having a few more productive years in Denver. Sapp didn’t really kill in Oakland, but now he’s on TV where he’s always belonged, so all is well there. They were part of the Big Three in Tampa; Sapp was mouth, Lynch was the brain and Brooks was the heart. I could live without the mouth. The brain was good but could be replaced. The heart though? I just can’t imagine this team without him.

In their press conference today, new coach Raheem Morris and GM Dominik emphasized over and over that this move was not about age or money. Um. Okay. Well it damn well better not be about money, since we were already $55 million under the cap. Now we’re $65 million under it, and that money damn well better get spent and spent wisely. I’m not going to support a team that’s just about cutting cost. I’d root for the Marlins if I were about that. I want a team that goes that extra mile and tries to win. I don’t know if releasing these players is about winning. It doesn’t much feel like it now.

Derrick Brooks played for the Bucs for 14 years. He went to the Pro Bowl 11 times. He was defensive player of the year in 2002. His skills may have diminished in recent years, I can’t deny that. But his smarts didn’t. His heart didn’t. A big part of Derrick’s excellence wasn’t his speed, it was his intelligence. He could read plays with the best of them. He anticipated where that ball was going to go and he got there. I watched him chase down players like Michael Vick, who should have blown by him. That intelligence is still there, he still reads that field as well as anybody.

The way they spoke, it sounds as if the Bucs are changing their style of defense. Maybe Derrick wouldn’t fit in anymore. Maybe it’s better for him that he’s on the way out and can find somewhere else where he’ll fit in. In a day or two I may feel that way. Today I don’t though. Today I feel like my team let my favorite player down. He’s given them everything, he stood by them through several shitty moves and this time he’s on the other end of it. It’s hard to digest that.

I was not overly thrilled with the regime change last month. It wasn’t that I disagreed that maybe a change was needed, but I had a bad feeling about the veteran players on the team. Sure enough, that feeling was dead on. I wish I had been wrong. I don’t usually like to be wrong but this time out I would have taken it gladly.

Regardless of how I feel, there’s nothing I can do about it. The Bucs have made their choice and we all have to stand back and see what comes next. They avoided using the “rebuilding” word but that’s what they’re doing. Maybe in a couple of years that’ll pay off. Right now it sucks. I don’t see why Derrick couldn’t have finished his career with the Bucs. He could have been more coach than player at this point. Maybe that wouldn’t have made him happy. Wherever he ends up, I will continue to support him. He was the player that brought me to the Bucs (along with Dunn, another casualty of today’s blood letting) and I will follow him wherever he goes.

According to the Bucs, today wasn’t about money. It wasn’t about age. It would have been nice if it could have been about heart. But it’s business. It’s always business. Sometimes it just shouldn’t be.

Just Call Me The Commish

Watch out Finchem, I'm gunning for your job!

While watching my daily dose of PTI (Pardon The Interruption for the non-ESPN watchers) last week I was astounded when Wilbon & Kornheiser welcomed their guest for 5 good minutes.  He was introduced as Timothy Finchem, the commissioner of the PGA.  Did you know that the PGA had a commissioner?  Have you ever heard that name before?  I honestly had no clue there was a Commissioner of Golf, or why they’d even need one.  I guess to manage the money but seems an accountant could do that well enough.  It fascinated me and I got to thinking, could there be any better job than PGA Commissioner?  I’m sure the guy makes great bank and has few headaches, right?  That got me to comparing the various sports commissioners and weighing which job was better.  Hence this blog.  I’m not going to include the BCS Commissioner because being the commissioner of a league that lets computers decide its champion is a thing of shame, not to be glorified in a blog by me.

So, from worst to first:

MLB Commissioner:  Do you think Bud Selig is having any fun these days?  His biggest star admits to doing steroids, Congress continues to cast a baleful glare in his direction, two of his former biggest stars are getting ready to go on trial for steroids and lying to Congress, the All Star game decides home field advantage in the World Series…that’s a whole laundry list of problems.  And the fact that Selig turned a blind eye to the problems in baseball coupled with his kowtowing to the player’s union for years and years makes this job rather unappealing to me.   Not to mention just waiting for the hammer to drop and other names to come out.  I get an ulcer just thinking about it.  Nope, I wouldn’t want to be Bud.

NHL Commissioner:  I had a hard time placing this one.  On the one hand, hardly anybody watches hockey so you kind of get to exist in a vacuum.  Nobody really knows if you suck, because nobody really cares.  But that has to affect profitability, right?  The fact is they have been unable to find a star with drawing power.  Wayne Gretzky left and I don’t think the sport has been the same.  I’ve heard some not so pleasant things about Gary Bettman’s reign as commish, but I also heard that he improved the game somewhat with that OT shoot-out business.  The simple fact is, I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup, but at least I know his name.  He lands at #4 simply because his sport is pretty irrelevant.  Oh, and it’s too long for my taste, they crown a champ and it feels like they’re back to playing a month later.  Minus points for that.

NFL Commissioner:  Ahh Roger Goodell time!  The NFL is the #1 sport in America, so the job would appear to be the best of all of them when it comes to that factor.  Profits rise every year (unless you’re Detroit) and the league enjoys a lack of public scrutiny when it comes to things like steroids and drug testing.  This is because they have had stringent tests for years, although one suspects that the players are smarter than the tests.  Nobody cares like they do in baseball though, we just wanna win!  The reason this job is not the most appealing is because of the outside elements you have to deal with as commish.  The Pacman Jones’ of the world, if you will.  With each team having 53 players, it only takes one per team to create a lot of strife.  Dealing with the Mike Vicks and Plaxico Burress’ of the league would not be fun.  Nearly weekly someone is getting in trouble for something, be it drugs or DUI or shooting yourself in the thigh.  Points deducted for the troublemakers and the sheer number of people you’re dealing with and NFL Commish falls to the 3 spot.

NBA Commissioner:  I don’t watch the NBA, but I know who David Stern is and I could pick him out of a lineup.  I could pick him out because he scares me.  I would finger some other guy for the crime and hope that Stern would reward me in some way.  Basketball players are apt to fall into the same kind of trouble as football players are, pot smoking seeming to be the chief no-no they get nailed with.  But there are far fewer players to deal with here, so there’s less to worry about.  Hell, the #1 or #2 star in the league was charged with rape years ago and that affected nothing.  Points are deducted here because the NBA remains only the #3 sport of the big 4, with no signs of ever moving up the list.  Despite having some stars with name power, Lebron and Kobe, they’re still not MJ or Magic or Bird.  Your random person doesn’t care.  So Stern only gets #2.  I hope he refrains from hurting me!

PGA Commissioner:  Yep, that’s right, the guy I’ve never heard of, Tim Finchem, gets the top spot.  Think about it, who’s the league troublemaker?  John Daly right?  And everyone STILL loves the guy.  Nobody wants him punished, they want to sit down and have a beer with him.  Sure, you have Sergio take the occasional spit into a cup, but if that’s your biggest problem then you’re sitting on gold.  Your biggest concern is to make sure Tiger Woods is happy, right?  He was on PTI to celebrate Tiger’s return and what it means to the PGA.  Your #1 superstar is never going to get arrested for beating a woman or doing drugs.  He’s the ultimate family man and world ambassador.  Stern and Goodell would laugh at Finchem if he ever called them to complain about any of Daly’s silly acts.  Timmy gets to sit back and count his coins and maybe play a round or two of golf.  Tough life.

So there you have it.  There’s no better commissioner’s job than that of the Tim Finchem’s.  I’m aware that I have no idea what kind of administrative coordination these guys do, I’m sure it’s involved and whatnot but I still figure the PGA dude has it the best.  So, I’d like to throw my hat in the ring.  I’m running for PGA Commish.  Watch out Finchem!

Nole’s Notes

Nothing brings out the manlove like winning the Super Bowl. Photo from Getty Images.

Now that the NFL season is officially over, I guess I have to turn my attention to other sports.  I’ll be honest with you, other sports do not entrance me the way football does, but I do pay attention to headlines and major happenings for the most part.  So I’ve decided to do a weekly Notes Blog wherein I discuss the major sports happenings of the week.  It will be football, baseball, tennis, hockey, basketball, whatever strikes my fancy.  Without further ado, let’s hit it!

• Today is national signing day for the college recruits.  Well, most of them, for some reason some of them don’t commit today and commit several weeks from now.  So why have a deadline?  I really don’t get that.  Anyway, today us college football lovers get excited about all of these random people we never heard of before and get depressed over missing out on other top recruits.  I hope on espn.com and seminoles.com to find out what my Noles are doing and where they’re rated and who we’ve got and who we might get.  I get rather obsessive about it and refresh every half hour or so.  And today I ask myself why?  I don’t know these kids.  I don’t know anything about them other than somebody slammed 5 stars next to this guy and only 3 next to that guy.  Doesn’t really mean they’ll kick butt on the field, I’ve seen many of the top recruits flame out over the years.  But still, I care, and I get excited!  Go Noles!  We did land the top DT in the nation apparently, which pleases me, as well as high rated cornerbacks and safeties and a kicker.  All positions of major need so I’m content.  So, hope you’re having a blast college football gurus, may your school land those top recruits and may everybody decommit from USC and UF just because I hate them.
• So everybody’s all up in arms about this Michael Phelps marijuana smoking picture.  Some of the morons in the media blasted him for letting his picture get taken.  Hello, I don’t believe he knew it was.  Also, he is a 23 year old and he will do the occasional stupid thing.  That’s what happens in the early 20’s.  He admitted it, which was pretty stand up of him, because I saw the picture and it really didn’t even look that much like him.  I’d have gone with the lie personally, but then I happen to be an accomplished and awesome liar.  Now apparently the police are thinking of charging him.  Can you charge someone for a picture?  I mean, you may as well hit myspace right now and get your warrants ready.  What a bunch of bull.  Leave him alone, lesson learned, moving on, get in the pool and win some more gold medals in 4 years.  Thanks, buh bye.
• Apparently indictment records against Bonds were released this week and lo and behold, he tested positive for steroids.  This is GROUND BREAKING NEWS.  I was not aware of this information!!!!  I mean, I know he doubled his size right in front of our very eyes a couple years ago, but I assumed it was natural.  He was probably hitting Taco Bell and McDonald’s every night.  I can grow to twice my size very easily when I do that and I’m not on the roids!  Truly, I am sick of this story.  Get a trial going or don’t, I really don’t care anymore.  I am tired of Barroid and want him gone.  It doesn’t matter if he goes to jail or just goes home and counts his money and throws baseballs at passers by from his bedroom window.  Just go away!
• Roger Clemens, the same goes to you.  We know you did roids, you know you did roids, why are we all still talking about it?  Government, put up or shut up.  We’ll see if the vengeful media punishes Roger and Barry or if they usher them into the hall of fame with their not very valid we don’t know when he used argument.  If you’re going to keep Big Mac and Palmiero and others out, you keep those two out too.  Period.
• Kobe broke the scoring record at Madison Square Gardens the other night, got 61 there I guess.  That’s cool I suppose, not as cool as the 81 he got a couple of years ago.  It appears that nobody will ever beat Wilt’s record which is a shame, I live to watch records fall and I would actually tune in to a basketball game if there’s a possible scoring record on the line.
• What was going on in Pittsburgh on Tuesday?  I’ve seen some clips of the Super Bowl celebration party and that was the quietest damn crowd I’ve ever seen.  What, #6 is just passe now?  Ramp up the celebration, peeps!  Bring the energy, it’s cold out there so you should be yelling and whooping it up!  Perhaps William Gay’s retarded rap song stunned them all into silence.  I could understand that.  The record execs will not be knocking down your door Willie.
• Manny Ramirez remains unsigned and the Dodgers are getting a little bit tired of him turning down their rather large contract offers.  Albert Pujols of my St. Louis Cardinals is pushing for my spendthrift owners to get off their butts and bring him there.  At first I was horrified by this idea but then I thought of the beauty of having and Albert/Manny combo at 3/4 and I decided I could suck it up and deal with the Manny drama.  Do it!  Do it now, Cards!  It’s not like you’ve bothered to do anything to improve the team this off season, so there should be some cash lying around for Manny.  Albert with keep him reigned in, I have faith in that!
• I guess there was some epic tennis this past weekend.  Can’t say that I watched, but Federer/Nadal round 2938293 or whatever it was was a long battle that drained them both.  Nadal came out the victor and Federer had a heartfelt teary speech.  Nadal came back with his own honoring Federer.  Awesome display of sportsmanship.  Serena won again as well, go Williams Sisters.  I don’t follow the sport but I do follow them and I love that she’s still winning at an age when most tennis chicks are retiring.
• The Cardinals offensive coordinator is interviewing for the KC job.  He and Pioli have a history together so that’s a pretty good possibility.  If he goes that will probably be good for the Cards when it comes to retaining Boldin, but who can say what it means for Warner?  Haley’s done a great job with that offense and deserves another head coaching job.
• I didn’t do a Super Bowl commentary, by the time I thought about it I was immersed in Heroes blogging and Days drama and Idol in Hollywood, so the opportunity slipped past me.  But I will say that was the best Super Bowl I’ve ever seen.  I know it was quiet in the 3rd quarter but since I knew that AZ could score quickly I remained riveted.  Worked out well all in all.  My heart was broken for the Cards, that had to have been a major gut punch to lose; but the football fan in me was thrilled with the last minute TD by Santonio Holmes.  Gorgeous play, fantastic game.
• There should have been a longer review of the Warner fumble at the end of the game.  I hate to have a game that good end somewhat questionably.  No matter where you fell on was it or wasn’t it, you have to agree it should have gotten more than cursory glance in the booth.  I would have loved to see Warner get a shot at the end zone with Fitz and Boldin waiting.

So those are the big things on my mind this week.  I hope you liked this format, I’ll be happy to stick with it if people like it.  If it seems like I’m just talking to myself I’ll call it quits, because I talk to myself all the time and I could save myself some future carpal tunnel treatment if ya’ll don’t like it.  Let me know!

Super Bowl Prediction

Which WR will be the difference? Photo from Getty Images & US Presswire.

Well I’ve had a week and a half to try to decide which way I was going to go for my Super Bowl winner and I still don’t feel good about it.  But it’s time to get it out there anyway, so I’ll talk it through with you and see if I stick to my guns with the winner.

My head says, “Steelers, you dummy, pick the Steelers.  Defense wins championships.”  And that old adage is definitely true, we’ve seen it with the Ravens and the Bucs and the Giants and the Patriots in recent years.  The Steelers have one of the best defenses in the league, there’s no argument about that.  The Cardinals defense has been porous at times during the season but they’ve really picked it up in the playoffs.  They’ve picked everything up in the playoffs though.  Still, defensive edge goes to Pittsburgh.

Since we talked defense, I guess we should talk offense now.  Who has the advantage here?  Both QB’s have been to the Super Bowl and both have won one.  I’d give Arizona a slight edge in wide receivers, well actually it might be a really big edge if Hines Ward doesn’t go or isn’t 100%.  Larry Fitzgerald has been a beast and there’s no reason to think that Pitt is going to shut him down.  They might limit him compared to some other teams, but he will make some plays.  Pittsburgh gets the edge in the running game, though AZ has been pretty good there in recent weeks as well.  As for QB?  I like Warner better than Big Ben but the fact is they’re both just as capable of throwing crippling interceptions as they are throwing game winning TD’s.  They’re both scary to bet on.  Offensive edge to the Cardinals.

Another way is to go with the hot team.  Who’s hotter?  Both of them have rolled through the playoffs, so I really can’t distinguish there.  Pitt has the overall better record against better competition.  Arizona’s best wins have been in the playoffs, while Pitt has faced off with Baltimore three times and come out the winner, not to mention taking out the Chargers, another really hot team.

Coaching?  Both coaches have all of 2 years head coaching experience, though Whisenhunt was a coordinator at least with the Super Bowl winning Steelers.  Tomlin has a ring as the Bucs defensive backs coach.  Whisenhunt has the advantage of knowing the Pitt system rather well, seeing as he was there, but I’m sure Tomlin’s people have changed things up some.  I’d call coaching even.

X factors:

The Steelers have been here before.  They know what this game is like, they know the hoopla heading in and they know how to deal with it.  The Cardinals are almost entirely new to games of this magnitude.  Warner has been there before, Edge has dealt with the playoffs year in and year out, but that’s about it.  Can Warner get the rest of the team as focused as they need to be going in?  I’m sure that he’ll try and distractions will be kept to a minimum, but there will be some.

Big Ben.  Ben has lived for a couple of years now knowing that his team won the Super Bowl despite him, not because of him.  He turned in one of the worst QB performances in a big game that I’ve ever been unfortunate enough to see.  I honestly hated the Steelers for at least a year after that Super Bowl, because it was such a terrible game that it offended my senses.  So, this time out, Ben has to prove himself.  These Cardinals are not nearly as inept as those Seahawks were and he’s going to have to actually make some plays to win.  Will he step it up and get it done?

The “nobody believed in us” team.  The Cardinals have had the fun of playing the whole postseason as the team that everybody was picking to be one and done.  You may recall reading those very words from me a few weeks ago in my first playoff prediction.  Everybody sneered about how terribly they were playing down the stretch and what a crappy division they played in.  They used that each and every week to help motivate them, as these things seem to, and each week they’ve come out on top.  They’ll be singing that tune leading up to this game and if they win, we’ll be hearing it as they dump champagne and beer all over one another.  It’s a powerful motivator, silly though it might be.

So…with all that to consider, which way do I go?  Go with the gut and say the Steelers or go with the heart and pick the Cards?  Going into this week I fully intended on putting it on the line and picking the Cardinals.  There’s something that feels good about them, something that feels right.  The Warner story, Larry Fitzgerald showing his awesomeness both on and off the field (if you have not heard that young man give an interview, I beg you to listen to one, what a humble, good man he seems to be), Edge earning his ring, the team that nobody believed in achieving the pinnacle of their sport…that’s the thing I would love to see happen.  But do I think it will?  Every day that gets closer to the game I find myself leaning toward Pittsburgh, the team I know, the defense I trust.  When in doubt you go with the defense.  Sigh.

Alright, it’s time to man up (or woman up in my case) and make my pick.  So I’ll commit…Steelers by 3.  Special teams, which I did not discuss, makes a difference and Santonio Holmes sets up a couple short fields for Pitt.  So the head is winning out over the heart, but this is one pick I hope I actually get wrong.  Happy Super Bowling to you all, have some wings and beer and nachos and whatever else for me!  And go Cards!  (I can’t help it, I gotta root for the underdog this time!)

NFL Championship Game Predictions

Can Fitzgerald Dominate Again? Photo from the AP.

In keeping with my stellar .500 record in the playoffs, I fully expect to go 1-1 in this weekends games.  Which team will be my win and which will be my loss?  I have no idea, but I’m hoping I can get at least one of em right for you this week!  Maybe both, maybe neither, that’s the fun of this prediction game.

So who had Philly vs. Arizona in the NFC Championship game?  Anyone? Whomever did probably made a bundle in Vegas, so kudos.  I honestly have no idea how that game is gonna turn out, it’s the one I predict I will miss no matter which way I go!  Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh looks to be a heck of a battle and I’m really looking forward to that.  Without further ado, on to my picks!

Arizona over Philly: That’s right, after weeks of doubting them I’m finally going with the Cardinals.  I fear they will repay me for this by laying an egg, but I do have my reasons here.  Firstly, Westbrook continues to be rather beat up; I don’t doubt that he’ll play but I do doubt his effectiveness against that suddenly attacking Zona defense.  Kurt Warner scares me a bit, he’s due for a crappy game but with Boldin back and Fitzgerald being his awesome self, I imagine they can bail him out of a bad throw or two.  Edge seems to have found his legs and the awesomely named Hightower gives them youth and fresh legs at the running back position as well.  I have always loved McNabb and it wouldn’t surprise me if he pulled out another game but I’m going with my gut and taking the Cards.  Don’t disappoint me boys!

Pittsburgh over Baltimore: This is the game I’m most confident about though I question myself as to why exactly that is.  Yeah, Pitt has beaten Baltimore twice this year, but both were by 3 points and one was controversial with that TD that may or may not have been.  I have no doubt that this game will again probably come down to a field goal.  The reason I lean toward Pitt is because Baltimore is severely beaten up coming into this game.  How many of their players got knocked out of the game last week?  4? 5?  Some will play, some won’t but you gotta expect this game will be as hard hitting as their Titans game was again.  Ben is the wild card here, I don’t trust him not to make some stupid Favrian throws but I also don’t think Flacco can go through yet another game without an error.  He has to be a rookie sometime doesn’t he?  Of course every time I watch him I curse the Ravens for taking him a couple picks before the Bucs turn, I totally wanted us to get him and I feel justified in my liking of him now.  Surely his performance shows just how awesome my opinion is, right?  Hehe Thought so!  I like Pitts defense to pressure young Joe and make him make just one or two mistakes too many.  Should be an awesome game though.

So that’s how I see the playoffs finishing up.  Arizona vs. Pittsburgh.  Fascinating match up.  We’ll discuss that in a week or two if it comes to pass.  I hope you all have enjoyed this wacky NFL season as much as I have.  At least it’s always remained interesting.  I’ll be back soon to discuss the Super Bowl.

Playoff Predictions Divisional Round

Will Ed Reed lead his team to victory again? From the AP.

I took my time this week to get my picks in.  Time for heavy thought and deep contemplation of each teams strengths and weaknesses.  I compared rosters and intangibles.  Then I remembered who I was and threw that out the window and decided to just wing it like I usually do.  This week I shan’t be taking all road teams, lesson learned.  Thanks for reminding everyone that you’re a rookie, Matt Ryan, after weeks of fooling the masses.  Thanks to the football gods for having Indy lose the coin flip in OT.  Something really must be done about the overtime system, I get not why the league continues to balk at tinkering with that one.  Oh well, those picks were my bad and I own up to them.  On to the picks!

Baltimore over Tennessee: I’ll be honest, I have no idea how this game is gonna go.  It’s probably going to be one of those 6-3 games and whomever has the ball last will win.  It’ll be a slugfest and a lot of fun to watch if you like defense, as I do.  I’m going to presume that Ed Reed will get at least one interception that helps turn the game, since it appears that he does this weekly these days.  Tenn wasn’t playing their best football down the road and we’ll see if their time off has helped them to right the ship or not.  I’m going with Baltimore because they impressed me last week.  Now watch Flacco remember that he’s a rookie and cost them the game.

Carolina over Arizona: I would LOVE to get this pick wrong.  Arizona rose up and made me pay for picking against them last week, so maybe this week I can inspire them to overcome their road woes to defeat Carolina.  They did play them earlier in the year and jumped out to a big lead on them but then gave up said big lead and lost in a heartbreaker.  These things seem to happen with Carolina for some reason.  You can never say that they’re done in a game and you can’t trust them not to lose one they should win either.  I hate Carolina.  But, as long as they’re smart and keep Delhomme from throwing too many passes they’ll be okay.  He is the one liability they have, the one guy that can foul up and cost them a game when it matters most.  So, Zona, get after him and try to cover Steve Smith and you have a hope and a prayer.  Just a small one though.  Carolina, big.

NY Giants over Philly: This game will be fun to watch, divisional opponents, don’t like each other, tons of history, etc.  And everyone is pointing out that Philly beat the Giants in NY a few weeks ago, which is quite true.  Of course, at the time NY was reeling from the Plaxico “have gun, say hi to the thigh” situation that happened shortly before.  Losing Plax has hurt the Giants, they don’t have a WR that stretches the field the way he did.  But they do have Brandon Jacobs back and healthy, which makes a big difference.  Philly did what they had to against Minny but Minny is not the Giants.  I think it’ll be a close slugfest of a game but that Eli will pull it out over McNabb.

Pittsburgh over San Diego: I’m very torn on this game and I nearly went the other way, but I really like Pittsburgh’s defense more than any other group in this game.  Pitt’s offense is alright, Ben is coming off his concussion and we all know he can throw a stupid ball or five in every single game.  San Diego’s defense is nothing to write home about and their offense is better than they were earlier in the year but Pitt’s D will key on Sproles and challenge Rivers and his receivers to beat them.  Gates is still awesome but banged up as usual and the rest of the WRs have their moment but aren’t worldbeaters.  I prefer Hines Ward to any of them any day.  I think Pitt wins via the turnover.

So that’s what I see happening this week.  We”ll see if we can improve on our 2-2 performance at the very least.  I’ll be back next week but til then, enjoy the games.  Football season is quickly drawing to a close and we’ll all be missing it very soon.

Playoff Predictions & Awards

Brett the Jet left his team upset! Photo from the AP

I guess it’s time to focus on the NFL playoffs, seems like it’s been weeks since I thought about the NFL, but it’s only been a few days.  I guess that’s what happens when you live blog college football for hours on end!  But I’m still in love with the NFL, even if my moron team managed to choke their opportunity to participate in them away.  I’ll start with predictions for this week and then bestow some special awards in celebration of the 2008 season after that.

Wow, we’ll work through this together but I honestly think I might be taking all road teams in the playoffs.  This frightens me more than I can say, but let’s see how it works out, maybe I will talk myself out of somebody.

Atlanta over Arizona: I’m sorry but the Cardinals have not shown me anything to inspire me to consider picking them to win a playoff game, whether they’re at home or not.  They’ve lost to just about every quality team they played; Dallas excepted but I could argue about the “quality” of that team anyway.  Atlanta is a darn good team, much better than I gave them credit for most of the year.  Matt Ryan was the deserving rookie of the year and he might well get some votes for MVP, I couldn’t argue against those who did vote for him.  I expect a heavy dose of Michael Turner to wear down the Arizona defense, such as it is.  If Warner makes mistakes, as he’s prone to do, Arizona is done.

Indianapolis over San Diego: The only team hotter than the Chargers in recent weeks was Indy.  It’s like they came out of nowhere and Manning remembered he was Manning and the rest of the league just laid down before them.  The team that looked old and lost suddenly wasn’t anymore.  Amazing what a franchise QB can do for you, huh?  As to the Chargers, they’ve been impressive in recent weeks but their defense still gives up way too many points for my taste.  I look to Manning to carve them up and waltz out of SD with a victory.

Baltimore over Miami: Yes, this pick scares me.  But Baltimore dominated Miami early in the year and they’re playing just as well as Miami is.  The Dolphins have made me pay for picking against them every time, so I have no confidence in this pick, I just like what I’ve seen out of Flacco (some may remember that I wanted him to be a Buc, sob!).  Pennington and the Fins are a great story but my gut tells me the end is here.  Ugh…I know they’ll prove me wrong!  Oh well, good luck Miami, perhaps I have brought it to you by not believing.

Philadelphia over Minnesota: After I watched Philly destroy Dallas last week, I knew there was no way on earth I was going to pick against them in round one of the playoffs.  They got a favorable match up against Minny too, I don’t see Tavaris Jackson fairing any better against that blitzing D than Romo did.  McNabb seems to be playing with new fire as well, no reason not to think that won’t carry over for another week.  Things get different when Carolina and the Giants hit the mix next week, but for now I say Philly wins, easily.

So that’s where I see the playoffs going this week.  All road wins.  I am royally frightened, but at least I’m taking chances right?  Sure…why not?  Okay, on to the special awards I wanted to highlight.

Worst Performance By A Backup: Tie between the immortal Sage Rosenfels vs. Indy and JP Losman against the Jets.  Both killed their teams with untimely turnovers and ultimately set the playoff stage down the road by sending Indy on it’s winning streak and costing the Pats a playoff spot down the road.  Way to go Sage & JP, you did make an impact on the NFL this season!

Best Performance By a Backup: Kerry Collins, Tennessee.  He took over the team and led them to the #1 seed in the playoffs.  You really can’t ask for more than that.

Worst Drama: The Brett Favre Saga Part 1, retiring, unretiring, trade rumors and finally ending up on the Jets.  I don’t think I went one day without hearing his name for a few months over the spring/summer.  It was insane and annoying and I’m already bracing myself for this year’s version.

Best Drama: The Brett Favre Saga Part 2!  This one hit yesterday, starting the year off on the hilarious note that the Jets players felt he should have been benched in their final game and that he held himself separate from the team all year.  Doesn’t sound like Brett has any friends in that locker room!  That makes Part 3 of the Sage, retire or return?, all the more compelling.  Will Brett want to return to a team that doesn’t want him?  Will we have yet another trade watch?  For once I am actually intrigued by Brett’s off season doings.

Best Suspension: Adam “Pacman” Jones  I love the new commish and his heavy handed approach to things.  The fact that Adam was dumb enough to get drunk and get in a fight when he knew he was being watched like a hawk, well it shouldn’t surprise me but it did.

Biggest Collapse: So many to choose from but I’ll bestow this one upon my Bucs.  They just needed one win in their last 4 games and they’d have been playoff bound, but no, couldn’t be bothered to do that.  Kiffin’s departure, once a sign of doom to me, is now nothing but a shrug the way that defense played in those games.  I don’t know what happened but I do know I didn’t like it.

Most Disappointing Team: This one kinda has to go to Dallas doesn’t it?  I mean, I know I predicted them to go to the Super Bowl and I was sure not alone.   Maybe instead of acquiring all stars Jerry Jones will work on forming an actual team, instead of a bunch of individual jerks?  Eh, maybe not.  Oh well, he can continue to not win then!

Best Moment: 0-16 baby!!!  I know, other people would pick out some wonderful moment, but for me, it was seeing history made.  I couldn’t love Detroit and Marinelli and Millen more if I tried.  Thank you for giving me a little history!

MVP: Gotta go with Peyton Manning here.  He took a team that was pretty much left for dead and drove them all the way to the playoffs.  I gotta think that nobody really wants to play them either.  Honorable mention to Adrian Peterson and Matt Ryan here as well.

LVP: How can you have an MVP without celebrating a least valuable player?  After much thought, and a little help from Crunk, I decided to bestow this award on David Gerrard.  The Jags were supposed to be a major postseason player but they floundered all year.  Gerrard got his big contract and failed to produce at all.  He did have a lot of injuries on O-line to contend with but the Jags should still have been better than they were.

Best Hands: Braylon Edwards.  Every time I saw that guy, he was dropping something.  Then he got snippy and claimed that Cleveland fans didn’t like him since he was from Michigan.  Um, they liked you fine when you were earning your way into the Pro Bowl last year by actually catching the ball, jackass.

Best Benching: Has any team benefited more by losing their starting QB than Tennessee has?  Vince Young losing his mind, or whatever it was he did, led to Tenn turning to Kerry Collins and earning the #1 seed in the playoffs.  It really doesn’t get much better than that…it’s like Bledsoe to Brady without the injury.  Plus we all got to watch Vince on the sidelines and wonder if he was going to do anything crazy.  It was a win win situation.

And finally, it’s time to name my Douchetard of the Year Award.  He’s been prominent on this listing, and I spoiled it in another blog, but the DT of the Year is Brett Favre.  For holding us hostage with his will he or won’t he? retirement; to unretiring; to orchestrating a trade to the Jets; to losing several games down the stretch and missing the playoffs; to the locker room drama that is just emerging…Brett Favre is the most deserving player by far.  The drama that swirls around this guy is just astounding to me, and as I said earlier, we’re not done yet.  I would hope that it would drive him to retirement but then we’ll still be watching for the unretirement, so why bother?  Brett Favre, congratulations, you are my first ever DoucheTard of the Year award.  Keep it up and this award will bear your name for all future winners to admire and enjoy!

Well that’s my look at the playoffs and my look at the year that was.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and look forward to whatever 2009 brings!

Week 17 NFL Notes

Romo commits more no-no's and the Boys lose. Photo from The AP.

The league giveth and the league taketh away.  You know, watching Tampa self destruct against Oakland yesterday had my blood pressure shooting up to unsafe levels but then a beautiful thing happened to restore order to my personal land.  Firstly, the dream was achieved, with Green Bay hanging on to a much too close victory over Detroit.  0-16…I have finally seen the day!  Then, even better, Philly destroyed Dallas, slapping them all over the field like they were red-headed step children (apologies to all the red-headed step children that may read this, it’s just a saying!)  And all of a sudden I didn’t care that my morons choked away a 10 point lead to the Raiders.  Dallas was out of the playoffs and all was well yet again.  On to the thoughts:

• I, of course, must begin with 0-16…a pinnacle as of yet unheard of in the league.  Someone always manages to sneak in a win, like Miami last year (thanks again Ravens) to destroy my hope.  But this year Detroit came through for me.  For that I will always love them.  Thank you, Matt Millen, for building the perfect team of suckery!  Thank you, Rod Marinelli, for being incapable of eeking out one win this season.  Thank you Dan Orlovsky, just for being some random QB that lost a lot of games.  Thank you, Dante Culpepper, for not saving the day when you unretired.  Sorry, Calvin Johnson, that Detroit stole you from my Bucs.  I will miss you til the day you retire.
• Farewell Cadillac Williams.  Another blown left knee.  I’m so sorry for you, I hate to see that happen to any player, let alone one of my own who worked so hard to come back.  I really think losing you knocked all the wind out of our sails, though you aren’t to blame for the crappy tackling exhibited by my once vaunted defense.
• What happened to my Bucs?  Well, a mediocre offense that can’t be bothered to score unless they’re running the 2 minute drill or coming from behind in the second half was a big contributor.  A defense that is unable to get any pressure on the QB was another BIG contributor.  Tampa needs a pass rush like yesterday.  I better see D-line addressed heavily in the draft this year.  Garcia was also an issue, not patient at all, happy feeting all over the place and making some bad decisions, missing some wide open receivers.  It was really ugly and I have no more words for my team.  They sucked, moving on.
• Luckily the Bucs were not alone.  The Bears had everything on the line and managed to lose to Houston.  The real pisser of this game was that I initially was picking Houston to win and then I second guessed myself and changed it.  For that I blame the Bears more heavily.  The Bears loss didn’t hurt them in the end, due to Minny’s win over the Giants, but still, they could have won to make things more interesting when Minny was going for that game winning FG.
• Another team that tanked was the vaunted NY Jets.  News broke early today that Mangini got shit canned.  As a Patriots supporter, I won’t deny this made me laugh.  Karma’s a bitch, Eric.  And I’m sure the great folks in Green Bay were laughing watching Favre throw 3 picks in a must win game…sounds familiar doesn’t it?  All credit, though, goes to Miami.  From 1-15 to a 3rd in the AFC.  Fantastic.  Bill Parcells must have a deal with the devil.  Also congrats to Chad Pennington, nothing feels better than sticking it to your ex team and getting a playoff spot to boot.
• The Miami win knocked the Pats out of the playoffs, which is very disappointing as I would have liked to see how Cassel performed in the playoffs.  With news that Brady might not be back next year, it’ll be interesting to see if they hold on to Matty or if they’re spreading lies to jack up the asking price.  Wouldn’t put it past Bill, would ya?
• The game of the day must have been Carolina/New Orleans.  It looked like NO was gonna pull the upset and knock Carolina to the 5th seed but instead Delhomme found Steve Smith (who else?) for a big gainer and they kicked a game winning FG.  Hilariously Drew Brees still had a chance at Marino’s yards record with one second left but his receiver broke off the route and the ball hit the ground, leaving Brees 16 yards short of the mark.  I find that amusing, probably because I don’t care about the Saints.
• One of the most interesting teams heading into the playoffs has to be the Chargers.  They’ve been on fire in recent weeks and they demolished Denver last night to claim the final slot.  It’ll be interesting to see them play Indy next week, I’m not as confident in an Indy victory as I was a day ago.  Well I’ll do my picks in a few days, so we’ll see which way I go then.
• Congrats to Minnesota for edging into the playoffs with a 20-19 victory over the Giants.  And thank you, Giants for the nice little David Carr sighting you provided.  My mom and I appreciated it.  So pretty!  On topic, Minny has to be a bit concerned about Adrian Peterson’s fumbling issues.  He needs to be more careful with the ball.  I don’t think Minny will make any noise in the playoffs but if they do it will be because of AD, so he needs to hold on to the football.
• Yesterday wasn’t a good day for injuries.  Caddy with his knee, Madison in NY, Big Ben in Pitt…we’ll see if this effects anything for these teams.  Losing a corner won’t help the Giants any and Big Ben’s head better be straight before the playoffs hit.
• Lastly, can I just state again how friggin hilarious it was to see Philly smack the shit out of Dallas?  How many fumbles did Romo lose?  5?  Alright I think it was 2 or 3, but it sure felt like 5.  Not to mention an interception.  And that fumble by Barber that got returned 96 yards for a TD…a thing of utter beauty.  I haven’t laughed that much watching a football game in years.  Loved every shot of TO yelling on the sidelines in the first half, I think he quickly figured out it wasn’t worth it though, he was quiet in the second half.  Pacman had a fumble, Roy Williams was a nonentity and Romo looked like a lost little boy out there.  Just perfection.  Congrats to Philly, an interesting addition to the playoffs and a potential threat to every team there.  I’m looking forward to seeing how they do.  Funny how a few weeks ago they wanted McNabb and Reid run out of town huh?  Also a shout out to Brian Dawkins who caused a couple of the fumbles and was all over the field, including directing the crowd in their Eagles song.  Classic.

I had a hard time coming up with the Douchetard this week, there were so many great choices really.  And I have to bestow two because that’s just how we roll on a week such as this.  So, the first Sage Rosenfels Memorial Douchetard of the Week award winner is my own Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Yep, the whole team gets this one for losing 4 straight and playing their way right out of the playoffs.  It took a team effort to lose to Oakland and make Michael Bush look like Walter Peyton, so the whole team gets props.  Our other Douchetard goes to living legend Brett Favre, for his 3 pick day against Miami with the playoffs on the line.  Ok, they were on the line for NE at that point but still, inexcusable that he comes up so lousy in yet another big game.  Even more, the reason he’s really getting this reason is because now I have to go through another few months of the Favre Retirement Watch.  I thought I was blissfully free of it after last year but then they came back and we have to go through it all again.  So, Brett Favre, congrats on your Douchetard Award…more special hardware to follow I imagine!

Those are the main highlights I wanted to hit this week.  It has been an interesting year and week 17 lived up to the rest of the season as well.  I went 10-6 this week, so that feels much better than last week’s terrible showing.  Back later in the week with a look at the playoff match ups and bestowing some awards.

Last Week:  10-6

Season Record:  160.5-94.5

Week 17 NFL Picks

ESPN.com Illustration

Happy holidays, football fans.  I’m back and coming off a rather putrid 7-9 week, so things have got to be better this final week, right?  Although of course this is the week that wacky things happen and teams that clinched rest people and all sorts of stuff, so maybe not.  We’ll shoot for better anyway and see how it goes.

Atlanta over St. Louis:  The Falcons are in the playoffs and still have a chance to win the division with a Carolina loss, so they still have much to play for.  Not to mention momentum.  The Rams have been playing for a top draft pick, as they’ve been doing all season.  No incentive here so the Falcons get the pick.

New England over Buffalo:  The Patriots still have a chance to hit the playoffs with some help but of course they first have to win.  I don’t see this being an issue.  Has any team tanked more than Buffalo after their hot start?  NE rolls.

Kansas City over Cincy:  In the game that means absolutely nothing, this week’s Suck Bowl, I’ll go with the team that has been far more competitive each week than the one that has a win over the lowly Browns.  KC has lost several heart breakers but they’ve not quit, not sure I can say the same for all the Bengals players.  KC with the win.

Green Bay over Detroit:  And here it is…the quest for 0-16 comes down to this week, to this team, to this moment.  And I’ll admit it, I’m scared as can be over this one.  Will my dreams be dashed the final week of the season?  Will Green Bay continue to choke away games they should have won?  I’m going with them to hold on, pride on the line and all that, and give us the dream season.  Come on Lions, don’t let me down.

Indy over Tennessee:  Tenn has clinched and Indy is in as well, so not sure what teams we’ll see out there.  I think Dungy will keep his starters playing for awhile and I’m not sure about Tenn, thus I’m going this way.  Frankly I would go this way even if both teams played everybody, Indy has shown something in recent weeks while Tenn has been more of a wild card.

Minnesota over NY Giants:  The only reason I’m going with this one is because the Giants have clinched and Minn is fighting for its playoff life.  They still have a chance to take the north.  Again, I’m going with the team that has the motivation.

Carolina over NO:  Carolina still needs a win to clinch the division, even though they’ve earned a playoff spot.  NO has nothing to play for, except hatred of Carolina perhaps.  I nearly went with the Saints but their defense is crappy and Steve Smith will likely have a field day.  Carolina wins and claims the NFC South title.

Pittsburgh over Cleveland:  And now we know that a team with no quarterback really can’t survive in this league.  I mean, we knew that before, but it’s been reconfirmed.  Ken Dorsey?  Did anybody really know he was still in the league?  I sure didn’t.  Perhaps this week when they lose Brady Quinn will get punched again by another random player.  The Browns are fun at least!

Tampa Bay over Oakland:  Unbelievably Tampa is still in the playoff hunt after 3 terrible weeks of football.  They should be able to beat Oakland, but who can say with this team anymore?  The Raiders have shown signs of life in recent weeks so I can’t be as comfortable about this pick as I would like to be, but I will again go with the team that has the most on the line.

Chicago over Houston:  Hmm this one is tough.  Houston has actually played well in recent weeks but the Bears are fighting for a playoff spot so they should be going all out here.  I’m not going with an upset even though I don’t think that much of the Bears, despite their being on the cusp of the playoffs.  Orton still has not won me over and their offensive game plan, just chuck the ball down field and hope Hester catches it or gets a flag doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me.  However they are fighting to make the post season so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and pick there here.  I’m sure Houston will make me pay for that.

Baltimore over Jacksonville:  This game could go the other way but Balt is hungry and they’ll want to keep the Pats out of the playoffs.  I believe that is the scenario…there are so many going through my mind that I can’t keep track of them all.  Jax is one of the disappointing teams of the year, no reason they should rise up now.

Washington over San Fran:  Just because someone has to win.  Chalk the Skins up as another team that was a major disappointment.  I still can’t figure out what went wrong with them, it seems like they have the pieces there they just can’t put them together.  I’m happy the 49ers are signing Singletary longterm, I do think he’s the right man for the job and he has them playing hard at a time when they’re not playing for much of anything.

NY Jets over Miami:  Here we go to the big games…and I honestly have no idea what to expect here.  Every time I pick against Miami I end up regretting it, and every time I pick the Jets I end up regretting it too.  But for some reason I am inflicting a double whammy on myself by predicting the Jets to beat Miami.  So either I’ll really get it wrong or whatever voodoo these teams have working against me will cancel out and I’ll get it right.  Should be interesting at any rate.  The Jets get the nod because they’re at home and desperate.

Dallas over Philly:  Yep, I am predicting that my morons miss the playoffs due to Dallas winning at Philly.  It seems like the kind of thing that would happen to Tampa, after all, doesn’t it?  Frankly they don’t deserve to make the playoffs anyway.  I am hoping that Philly takes it but I have no confidence in them and Dallas feels like that team that’s going to luck into the playoffs and maybe make some noise once they’re there.

Arizona over Seattle:  Who cares really?  Zona is one and done in the playoffs and Seattle has nothing going on.  This game bores me.

San Diego over Denver:  Here’s the other big win and you’re in game we have this week.  I really couldn’t begin to guess what is going to happen in it either, but I do know that Rivers shredded Tampa’s defense last week and Tampa’s defense is a heck of a lot better than Denver’s is.  Of course, this is a divisional game and it feels like everything gets thrown right out the window in those games.  San Diego has been playing well in recent weeks and I think they’ll continue the trend and win that division.  Hard to believe that they can come back from their terrible record early in the season but there you go.

So that’s it for the final week in the NFL.  Let’s hope that my picks are a bit more accurate than last weeks were! I’ll be back next week with playoff predictions and individual awards.  Enjoy your final week of regular season football!  Oh, I forgot to name a Douchetard of the Week for last week…tough call but I think Big Ben gets his second award of the season.  With home field advantage on the line he lost two fumbles and threw a pick 6 when the game was still not out of reach.  Congrats Big Ben!

Last Week:  7-9

Season Record:  150.5-88.5

Bowl Blitz

Do these guys look like champions? Photo from The AP.

I haven’t forgotten about college football, friends, it’s just that the 3 weeks of no games period kinda diminishes my love for and interest in the game.  Also the fact that my team sucked balls at the end of the year did nothing to inspire my love for the old NCAA either.  But the bowl season kicks off tomorrow so I felt it was time to talk a little about each game.  We’ll go in order, but I forewarn you that some of these games have no meaning for me and nor do I know jack about the teams involved.  In those cases, I will pick a winner and move on.  I’m sure you understand.

Before I start, how about we take a moment of celebration to gloat over Sam Bradford winning the Heisman.  Do I care about Sam Bradford vs. Colt McCoy vs. Grant Harrell?  No, I do not.  They’re all good and interchangeable to me.  But I do care about Tebow not being a two time winner, so thank you voters.  All 3 of those QB’s had better years statistically and were equal in the win/loss column, so you did the right thing.  Go to the NFL, Timmy, I’m sick of you and I have it on good authority that the Jags are dumb enough to take you.  Take the money and run!

Dec. 20th, Eaglebank Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Navy

What the hell is the Eaglebank Bowl?  Who is Eaglebank?  Clearly this game is not in my area of the world.  Navy has a decent offense but Wake Forest has a confounding offense that drives me insane.  They’ve beaten my morons 3 years in a row, so they ought to be able to beat Navy.  The Demon Deacs get the pick.

Dec. 20th, New Mexico Bowl:  Colorado State vs. Fresno State

Who knew Colorado State even qualified to go to a bowl?  I’ll take Fresno State here.

Dec. 20th, Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl:  Memphis vs. South Florida

Alright, I live in Tampa and I have no idea what Magicjack is.  The hell?  A friend informed me that it’s a phone jack, I’ve seen the infomercials.  This might be the lamest sponsor I’ve ever heard of.  I’ll take USF, it’s a home game in their home stadium.

Dec. 20th, Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl:  BYU vs. Arizona

Is BYU even allowed in Vegas?  Isn’t that some kind of religious violation or something?  I’ll take them anyway, Arizona did nothing all year.

Dec. 21st, R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  Southern Miss vs. Troy

Hee, you can tell we’re in the games I know jack about, because all I want to do is comment on the damn bowl names.  I miss the days of the old Independence Bowl.  Although the Independence Bowl did sell out and become my favorite bowl name of all time, the Poolan Weedeater Independence Bowl.  Good times.  My spelling may be wrong on that but that’s how it was pronounced.  Awesome.  Uhhh..pick…Troy, why not?

Dec. 23rd, San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl:  Boise State vs. TCU

Hmmm, this appears to be the second bank already on this very short list.  Is this where our bail out is going?  To fund the ludicrous out of date bowl system?  I best not dwell on this idea or rage will overtake me.  I love Boise State here, their offense is awesome; I’ll love them for all time for taking down Oklahoma a couple of years ago,  Innovative team and I want their OC as the new FSU head coach (you know, next century sometime when Bobby is gone).  This could be a good one but I like Boise State.

Dec. 24th, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl:  Hawaii vs. Notre Dame

I wonder, is Notre Dame the only 6 win team that made a bowl?  I recall hearing that 7 wins were the guide this year, but of course the guide doesn’t count when it comes to the Irish!  I’m too lazy to look it up, but we’ll go with it, conspiracy theorist that I am.  Why should it matter to them, they’re college football U baby.  Ok…they WERE college football u….like 30 years ago.  When will people get the hell off their jocks?  How many bowl games have they lost in a row?  Yet you keep on inviting them.  And they get to go to Hawaii of all places.  Whatever.  I’ll take the home team because I refuse to pick Notre Dame, even though they should win this one.  Maybe Weis will get another 10 year extension if they achieve the pinnacle of awesomeness by winning the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Dec. 26th, Motor City Bowl:  Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan

Um, we’ll go with Central Michigan, this is almost a home game.

Dec. 27th, Meineke Car Care Bowl:  West Virginia vs. North Carolina

Oooh this is a tough one.  North Carolina has played some great games this season but they were tailing off by the end of the year.  I don’t think a whole lot of the Big Least conference, so I’m not overly enamored of this pick, but I’m going with West Virginia here.

Dec. 27th, Champs Sports Bowl:  Wisconsin vs. Florida State

My Noles have had a couple of heartbreaking bowl losses in recent years but this one does not scare me at all.  Wisconsin’s running game can be a force but I think the Nole D will be more than ready to handle it.  I also think the team speed is something Wisc isn’t used to facing.  Noles roll.

Dec. 27th, Emerald Bowl:  Miami vs. Cal

I think this is essentially a home game for Cal but you all know by now how I feel about the Pac-10 Conference.  Miami had a roller coaster year and I just found out their QB is suspended.  My pick just magically changed, funny how that works.  Cal gets this one.

Dec. 28th, Independence Bowl:  Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

How about that?  Earlier I was whining about the lack of normal bowl names and I cited the Independence Bowl and here it is, intact yet again.  Who knew?  Not only that but my alma mater is actually playing in it.  This shows you how very closely I have been following the bowl selection process doesn’t it? hehe  I’ll go with Northern, since I got my degree from there.  Funny, when I went there the concept of Northern being in a bowl was unheard of.  I transferred there from FSU (yes, I was insane) and my friends made me go to a game with them.  They were in the band and I got to sit with them.  Northern was in the midst of the longest losing streak in the nation.  I watched with horror as that terrible team played in their tiny stadium and I told my friends they would never see me set foot in that stadium again.  My high school could have beaten them.  I was true to my word and stayed home and watched real football on TV from then on!

Dec. 29th, Papajohns.com Bowl:  NC State vs. Rutgers

Hee, it’s our first bowl named after a website.  And a pizza place of course.  I don’t like Papa John’s.  Rutgers underachieved all year, Schiano has to be sickened that he didn’t take the Michigan job.  Hee.  Meanwhile NC State blew all year and then came out of nowhere to start beating teams like UNC and Miami.  I have no idea who to take here…I guess I’ll go with momentum and take NC State.  I don’t like it though.

Dec. 29th, Valero Alamo Bowl:  Missouri vs. Northwestern

This actually has the makings of a good game.  NW can be kinda decent on offense, could be a shoot out.  I’ll go with the underachieving Missouri and Chase Daniel though, I trust him a lot more than whomever helms Northwestern’s offense.

Dec. 30th, Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl:  Maryland vs. Nevada

Roady’s?  I don’t think I wanna know.  Aren’t Roady’s those guys that lug bands equipment from city to city?  Are they humanitarians?  Maryland is the pick, I haven’t a clue.

Dec. 30th, Pacific Life Holiday Bowl:  Oklahoma State vs. Oregon

I’m still pissed at Oregon for beating Oregon State and thus giving USC the Pac-10 title.  Shouldn’t they have intentionally lost just to ensure that USC did not get the title?  How hard is this?  Every team in the Pac-10 has to hate them don’t they?  Anyway, OK State has a potent offense, I don’t see the Ducks hanging with them.

Dec. 30th, Texas Bowl:  Western Michigan vs. Rice

I’m pretty sure Rice is in Texas…so there you go.

Dec. 31st, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl:  Houston vs. Air Force

I don’t know about you but I’m not picking against a military academy in a bowl that is named after the Armed Forces.  That would be just wrong.

Dec. 31st, Sun Bowl:  Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh

I think I’ll go with what should be considered an upset here, since Pitt is ranked and Oregon State isn’t.  I’m thinking my boy Jacquizz will be healthy again and make the difference.  He’s why they beat USC, I think they can take Pitt.

Dec. 31st, Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl:  Boston College vs. Vanderbilt

Ahh Vandy, how quickly we devolved from the dream season to the forgotten one.  I don’t see the dream returning here, BC should win this one rather easily.

Dec. 31st, Insight Bowl:  Kansas vs. Minnesota

Not sure which way to go on this one, Minnesota has had a surprising season and Kansas was not nearly as good as everyone thought they’d be.  I guess I’ll go with Kansas, their QB should be good enough to push them over the top.

Dec. 31st, Chick-Fil-A-Bowl:  LSU vs. Georgia Tech

Awww, didn’t this used to be the Peach Bowl?  I miss the Peach Bowl.  This is essentially a home game for the Yellow Jackets and I like them to edge LSU.  LSU’s QB is error prone and GA Tech likes to blitz quite a bit.  They run that triple option offense that can confuse even the best defensive teams.  I like Tech in a close one.

Jan. 1st, Outback Bowl:  South Carolina vs. Iowa

Hmmm…this is another one that’s hard to call.  When I’m in doubt, you know who I’m going to go with, just out of sheer love for the names.  What will I do when Smelley and Succup are gone from the Cocks?  It’ll be  a sad, sad day.

Jan. 1st, Capital One Bowl:  Georgia vs. Michigan State

How far the mighty Dawgs have fallen, from #1 to the Capital One Bowl.  That’s okay, I don’t see them having much of a problem here.  As long as their defense can shut Ringer down, Knowshon and the offense should carry the Dawgs to victory without much of a problem.  Michigan State’s decent but they’re nowhere near UGA’s level.

Jan. 1st, Gator Bowl:  Nebraska vs. Clemson

This could be interesting, Nebraska’s big bruisers against Clemson’s speedsters.  I like Clemson here, not for any particular reason other than a gut feeling though.  The blackshirt defense hasn’t been around for years and I think Spiller and Co can do some damage.

Jan. 1st, The Rose Bowl Game Presented By Citi:  Penn State vs. USC

How obnoxious is it that the Rose Bowl gets referred to as The Rose Bowl Game Presented By?  No other bowl gets that distinction.  I loathe the Rose Bowl and I blame them and the Big 10 and Pac 10 for that fact that we’re without a playoff today.  Them and their antiquated ideas.  HATE.  Do I really have to talk about this game?  I think we all know damn well that USC is going to beat Penn State.  Penn State looked extremely mortal by the end of the year and I think the Trojan defense is going to smack them around something good.  Then Pete Carroll will gloat about his victory and declare himself the real national champion.  You know it will happen.  While I’m talking about good old Pete, who are you people who are searching out information about his girlfriend and his affair?  I get blog hits every single day on this topic and I can’t help but wonder why anybody cares?  Please, one of you who will inevitably find me, leave a comment and tell me what’s so friggin fascinating about Pete’s woman?  Thank you in advance.

Jan. 1st, Fedex Orange Bowl:  Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech

Why is it that every year we get at least one crappy match up in the big games?  This is of course one of them.  But I’m done yet (what up Bama/Utah?)!  I get that Cincy is a surprise winner of the Big Least but do they really need to get rewarded with a BCS game?  I’m all for abolishing the Big Least from contention.  I know, the ACC isn’t that much better but at least it was competitive this year.  And Va Tech will probably kick the crud out of Cincy, limited on offense though they may be.  That defense is gonna have a blast.

Jan. 2nd, Cotton Bowl:  Mississippi vs. Texas Tech

Good lord, I didn’t even know Mississippi was in a bowl game.  I don’t think this is going to be much of a game, but TT is fun to watch on offense and Harrell and Crabtree, unfairly left out of the Heisman ceremony, ought to have a big day.  If Crabtree is healthy that is.  Crud, I forgot he was injured.  See how little attention I’ve been paying?  Well regardless, TT is gonna roll here.

Jan. 2nd, Autozone Liberty Bowl:  Kentucky vs. East Carolina

Why is this on Jan. 2nd?  I thought there would be one game but there are 3.  I don’t get it.  I’m going to take the Wildcats because I haven’t a clue.  I’ve liked ECU in recent years but I think they fell off this year.

Jan. 2nd, Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Utah vs. Alabama

Bama, you were so close to the national title game but instead you’re stuck playing Utah of all teams in the Sugar Bowl.  I know Utah was once coached by the immortal Urban Meyer, god of everything, but I don’t see them defeating Nick Saban, coach who never saw a job he didn’t like, no matter what they do.  Keep an eye on that freshman, Julio Jones, that Bama has.   He’s awesome.

Jan. 3rd, International Bowl:  Buffalo vs. Connecticut

Not sure why this bowl hits on Jan 3rd, but whatever.  I’ll go with UConn.

Jan. 5th, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:  Ohio State vs. Texas

While Ohio State has improved from it’s early poor showing against USC, I think the Buckeyes are outgunned against Texas.  McCoy, still smarting from his Heisman loss, should be able to lead the Longhorns over Ohio State.  OSU has given up a lot more big plays on defense than I’m used to seeing in recent years, I expect Texas to exploit that.  Pryor is a phenom but he’s young and not good enough yet.

Jan. 6th, GMAC Bowl:  Ball State vs. Tulsa

This pick’s for Letterman, Ball State it is.

Jan. 8th, Fedex BCS National Championship Game:  Florida vs. Oklahoma

And here we have it, #1 vs. #2, also known as Nole’s nightmare bowl.  Could you pick two coaches that I loathe more than Meyer and Stoops?  Maybe, maybe if you had Spurrier and Paterno, then sure.  But it’s pretty hard to do.  Gators everywhere I turn…yeah I haven’t forgotten where Stoopsy came from.  Gah…I truly hate this game.  So we have Heisman winner this year vs. Heisman winner last year.  These match ups never seem to work out well for the current Heisman winner, they’re usually bested by the runner up.  So that favors Florida.  But for some reason I was actually rooting for Oklahoma to make this game, despite my Stoops hate.  I felt like OK was the one team that might be able to hang with the Gators offensively while occasionally stepping up on defense and making a stop.  My gut says to go with Florida but the bile rising up within refuses to let me do it.  I’m going with the Sooners, heart above logic.  I just can’t tolerate the Gators winning another title under Tebow.  Boomer Sooner…it hurts to say it but there you go.

So that’s my longest blog of all time right there…hope it was as fun for you as it was draining for me.  I really am looking forward to watching some football again tomorrow.  So many boring Saturday afternoons stretch out ahead of me after bowl season is done.  I always miss football when it’s gone, flawed though it may be.  I hope you enjoy the games…I’ll check in periodically to talk about what we’ve seen in some of the lesser bowls, then we’ll look at the big ones as they go, provided they are remotely interesting.  Happy Bowling friends!