A Couple Political Campaign 'No-Brainers'

I have been bombarded in ridiculous quantities by political messages. When I get home and check my voice mails, there are always a few recorded messages for this candidate or that. When I am relaxing, it seems that about half of the commercials on television are messages for someone’s candidacy or, more likely, against someone’s. My mail is littered with pieces highlighting why I should vote for or against a particular candidate.

I have two political suggestions. These suggestions are not directed at Republicans; they are not aimed at Democrats. But if you are running for office and you want to win an election, take heed, this could make a difference for you.

First of all, billions (yes with a b) are being spent on advertising political candidates seeking office, and this is not even a Presidential election year. At the same time, we as a country continue to rack up deficits and debt levels that will cripple our children for generations. As a political candidate, you could generate infinite p.r. if you announced at the beginning of your candidacy that 50% of all the money you raise for your campaign would be donated to the National debt. The unpaid media you would generate would a) offset the money you are not spending on ads, and b) be more effective because it was coming from a third party. In addition, you would be putting your money where your mouth is and using the office you are seeking to make positive changes for the country. Finally, you would be viewed as a pioneer. This is a no brainer. Why has nobody thought of it yet?

Second, if I were running for political office, my first rule would be that I, nor anyone affiliated with my campaign, would use negative campaigning to talk about how bad my opponent is. This tactic gets attention every election cycle and people say they will avoid it, but I am in the district of the congressional race with the highest spending in the entire county (Pennsylvania 6th district, Lois Murphy (D) challenging incumbent Jim Gerlach (R)). I see ads and get phone calls for both of these candidates every single day. And every ad I see or phone call I receive discusses why their opponent stinks so badly. Why can’t they focus on what makes them appealing as a candidate and what they will try to accomplish in the role they are seeking? If either is reading this, and wants to call me and tell me how they plan on doing a great job as Congressperson, my vote is still up for grabs. Lois and Jim, you can email me through this blog and I will be happy to provide you with my phone number so we can talk!

According to an article on usatoday.com this morning, about 90% of the advertising dollars this season have been spent on mudslinging instead of on positive campaign messages. In addition, campaign spending is up 15% over 2004 races. I for one am very happy that this election season is coming to a close. I am sure the only people that are disappointed are the television station owners and stockholders who are surely benefiting from this ridiculous bashing that is at record levels. I am available for political consultation if any of the 2008 candidates for President wants to hire me for my ideas that could turn a dark horse into a winning candidate. Are you reading this, Evan Bayh? Do you hear me, Chuck Hagel? Drop me a note…I can help you make history, and with high approval ratings.

The Eagles: Oh, How the Mighy Have Fallen

All you need to know about the Eagles is that they have been favored in all 8 of their games this season, and have only managed 4-4 in those games. Their first three losses were all on the last play of the game and were brutally painful, games in which stupid metal and physical mistakes let opponents back into games that they had in their hands, games that Super Bowl teams win every time. The Eagles lost all three.

Then came yesterday. The day started great. We started with an outstanding tailgate. Since J.B. was back in tow, we had all the essential ingredients that are typically lacking when I am forced to handle logistics: a football, a grille, food to cook on said grille, Tastykakes, beer, and, of course, the mighty Captain. The wind was gusting! It was such a fierce wind even my cannon arm was having trouble slicing through it in the parking lot. This was great news. The Eagles had an experienced quarterback in Donovan McNabb who, besides being the league MVP for the first half of the season, had played 8 years in Philly and 4 more in Syracuse, where despite playing in a dome, they played plenty of road games in the elements. The Jags, on the other hand, were starting a guy with 8 career starts and a college career at East Carolina. Easy game plan: stuff the box with 8 defenders, stop the run, and make David Garrard beat you. The Eagles, when they focus against the run, can shut it down. Just ask Tiki Barber, who they actually contained this year for about the first time ever. Then get ahead and bring the blitz. EASY.

So we ate. Burgers and dogs, cooked to perfection. The wind was blistering, but the food tasted good, and the Captain dulled the effects of the wind. Then we headed in to watch what promised to be the easiest game the Birds had played in a while. If I can figure out the winning game plan in the parking lot, then the genius Jim Johnson would certainly have no problems with it.

The Eagles got the ball and went three and out after a series that included a dropped pass and a sack. Then they punted. "Dirk Johnson" and "into the wind" are not, as an Eagle fan, items you want to see in the same sentence. Jacksonville started their opening drive on the Eagles 48. 7 plays. 7 runs. 53 yards (they had a 5 yard penalty during the drive). They shoved it right down the Eagles throats. Where the hell was my gameplan of stopping the run and making an inexperienced QB beat you. Isn’t this the same team that got demolished by Houston last week?

The insisted on playing the last 53 minutes and change of this football game. But they could have saved the 60,000 in the crowd a lot of aggravation if they just would have called it right then. Those opening drives were a microcosm of the entire game. Jacksonville shoved the ball down the Eagles throats. The Eagles offense was completely worthless. Both sides of the ball played with little emotion or heart. This team got outhustled, outhit, outworked, outcoached, and outplayed. This team played like a team that had quit on their coach and just did not care. Aren’t Andy Reid and Jim Johnson the guys who were the saviors in this town less than two years ago when they took the team to their first Super Bowl in almost 25 years?

The funny thing about watching all of this unfold is that, after a while, I just stopped caring. I mean, if the team was out there going through the motions and obviously did not care, why should I? Then I did something I do not ever remember doing before at an Eagles game. I left. With over 9 minutes left on the clock. 9:28 to be exact. The game was a 10 point game, and the Eagles had the ball. But the game was over. And for the first time ever, beating the traffic seemed like a better option that watching the team try futilely to pull a rabbit out of their hats.

Some dope (he was probably in Tampa last week, see description of those Philly fans in the 10/24 post) yelled at us on the way out that we were fake fans for leaving so early. After asking him if he knew how to spell the word fake, I pondered his assertion: that we were bad fans for leaving early. My answer: sort of. In his neanderthalish way, he does have a point. True fans live on die with their teams. They support them when they are up. They stick with them when they are down (although in Philly, by sticking with them, that means stay and boo). By leaving early, we did not do this.

At the same time, I flip it around and say that, as a true fan, I have the right to leave early if I see that the team, that I am supposedly living and dying with, quit on me first. And this Eagles team quit yesterday. So screw you upper deck guy. Watch the game to the bitter end if you want. Cost yourself an extra hour in traffic getting home. But this team did not earn that hour of my time yesterday, and I am not sure if they can get back on solid footing this year. They are heading towards the brutal part of their schedule once Thanksgiving hits. They need to go at least 5-3 if not 6-2 to make the playoffs. Unlikely at best. Which is a shame. It is a shame to get such great quarterback play (until yesterday) and waste that effort. It is a shame to waste of one the last productive years of Brian Dawkins career, who has played with nothing but heart during his time here and who is running out of precious opportunities. It is a shame to have the ability to be 8-0 but be 4-4 because of self induced mistakes followed up by a game without effort and pride.

Most of all, it is a shame that this team will be the 92nd straight team to play professional sports for the city of Philadelphia (big 4 sports only) without winning a championship.

Maybe next year…..

Dils Win or Die Week 8; Pick Distribution and Individual Picks

*Click the graph if you are having trouble viewing it*

Note: picks in bold and italics mean those teams are used for second and last time.

Akshon Barclay 2 Chicago
Alberto Escobedo 1 Chicago
Alex Coates EAGLES
Alexa delaGuardia NY Jets
Amol Dixit 5 Chicago
Andy Smukler San Diego
Antony Joffe 1 Pittsburgh
Ari Raivetz Chicago
Brady Boss 1 Chicago
Brent Bryant NY Giants
Brian Ellis 4 Kansas City
Brian Getson 2 Chicago
Brian Harris 4 Kansas City
Bush 2 EAGLES
Che Hong Yeung Chicago
Chris Bassi 1 Kansas City
Cobes 1 Chicago
Cube Pittsburgh
D Froney 1 NY Giants
D Froney 2 Chicago
Daniel Neifer 1 Chicago
Darren Dahlman 1 NY Giants
Dave Holdsworth 2 Chicago
Dave Mehall 3 Pittsburgh
Dave Robbins 1 Chicago
Dave S 2 Chicago
David Scherby 1 Pittsburgh
Doug Cron Pittsburgh
Dylan Cooper Pittsburgh
Ed Welsh 2 Chicago
Eric Yungner 1 Chicago
Eric Yungner 2 Pittsburgh
Fenlin/Stern 1 NY Giants
Flummer 2 Pittsburgh
Gabe Bodhi 2 Chicago
George Triano Chicago
Jack Marshall 1 NY Giants
James Mills 2 Chicago
Jay Soroko 2 Pittsburgh
Jeff Berman Chicago
Jeff Saito Chicago
Jeff Slovin 2 NY Giants
Jeff Slovin 6 Pittsburgh
Jeff Wagoner Pittsburgh
Jeremy Hare 2 Chicago
Jimmy B 1 Pittsburgh
Joe Dansky 1 Chicago
Joe H Pittsburgh
Joe Pucillo 2 Chicago
John Abshear 4 Chicago
Joseph Beedon Pittsburgh
Juice 2 Chicago
Karen Gatz 2 Pittsburgh
Kauf 2 San Diego
Kay Lee 3 NY Giants
Kaz 3 Pittsburgh
Ken Dash NY Giants
Kevin Moran 1 Chicago
Kim P. NY Giants
LeErin Hickey 2 Cincinnati
LML Pittsburgh
Mark Lacarenza 1 Chicago
Mark Lacarenza 2 Chicago
Marole Leteber NY Giants
Marshall Dostal 3 Pittsburgh
MATT 1 Pittsburgh
Matt Biskner 1 Carolina
Matt Bottiglieri 2 EAGLES
Matt Bottiglieri 4 Chicago
Matt D…NOW R BYRON Pittsburgh
Matt Warren 1 NY Giants
Max Haber 3 San Diego
Michael Hickey 3 NY Giants
Mike Gosk 3 Chicago
Mr. Chris 2 EAGLES
Mr. Chris 3 Pittsburgh
Nate Pivaroff 3 Chicago
Nicola Espie Pittsburgh
Niemeyer 1 Chicago
Nomanerz Kansas City
P Sautter 2 Pittsburgh
Pablo Aguirre 2 Pittsburgh
Paul McIntyre NY Giants
Paul Zucconi 2 Kansas City
Phil Manno 4 Chicago
Rick Woods 2 Chicago
Ritter 2 Pittsburgh
Robin Mitchell NY Giants
Rodney Thomas 1 Chicago
Rodney Thomas 2 Pittsburgh
Ron P 4 Green Bay
Ryan Kohrig 3 Pittsburgh
Ryan Kohrig 5 NY Giants
Scott Stoddard Pittsburgh
Scott Tilley 2 Chicago
Shane Kent 1 NY Giants
Shane Kent 3 Chicago
Stephen Abela Pittsburgh
Stephen Sosangelis Green Bay
Todd Turchin 1 NY Giants
Vernon Lee 1 NY Giants
Wendy Adkins Pittsburgh
Zack Kramer Pittsburgh

Sports Odds & Ends, Props to Lisa Lampanelli, Marole Endorsement, and my NCAA & NFL Picks

I am a big fan of Lisa Lampanelli. She is a comic who appears often on Howard Stern’s show, and whenever she participates on one of the roasts (they barbequed Ba Ba Buey yesterday), she just kills me. If you ever get a chance to see her live or she does any sort of special on cable, I highly recommend her comedy.

The Tigers have St. Louis right where they want them. Last time these two teams met in the Fall Classic, Detroit rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the final 3 games. Mickey Lolich won three games in that series for Detroit, including a complete Game 7 on two days rest (after pitching a complete Game 5) to beat Bob Gibson (who also pitched 27 innings, and won games 1 & 4), the man whose ERA that year was 1.12. Anyway, Detroit is not coming back from anything this year unless their pitchers can stop throwing the ball away at least once a game. Brutal!

As an Eagle fan, it is fun to pronounce the Dallas Cowboys D-U-N, DONE! Everybody’s favorite player is the back-up quarterback, until he actually gets on the field and throw three interceptions in a half, including one returned for a touchdown. The Cowboys will not go to the playoffs with Tony Romo at the helm. And wasn’t it fun to watch the cancer T.O. immediately throw the deposed quarterback under the bus, stating that he worked so hard to create chemistry with Bledsoe but the quarterback just could not get on the same page with him. And Parcells just looks like he is in the middle of a root canal, just gritting through when this horrible experience will end already.

Kyle Singler, one of the top 10 high school basketball players in the country, is expected to announce his decision to attend Duke University later this afternoon. That will complete another awesome recruiting class for Coach K, who will need to replace Josh McRoberts next year in all likelihood. It will be interesting to watch Duke lpay some tough November and December games (Indiana, Georgetown, Gonzaga, and the CBE Classic, at which possible opponents include Marquette, Texas Tech, Stanford and Air Force) without an actual point guard. It will be fun to watch McRoberts actually play some point at 6’10”.

I watched the Flyers beat the Thrashers last night in their first game under the John Stevens regime. They won in a shootout. I actually think the 4-on-4 overtime sessions are pretty exciting hockey. I think they should get rid of the shootout and go with overtime until someone scores. At the pace at which they go, very few games would drag on….it is more exciting than the shoot out.

Clemson lost to Virginia Tech last night in what was a good old fashioned football game. Clemson, who has been about the best rushing and offensive team in the country, could not run the ball and could not stop the run. Virginia Tech got back to Basics and played some Beamer ball.

Speaking of college football, Charlie Weis should stop whining. Just go out and win your games and everything will take care of itself. If you want to stop dropping in the polls to teams at home eating cheeseburgers, stop needing come from behind wins at the buzzer against inferior teams. Anyway, I still have no earthly idea why the geniuses at the NCAA cannot figure out that we need a playoff system in place. DUH!!!

One thing specifically for those of you who live in the congressional district that has Lois Murphy and Jim Gerlach cutting each other down and never telling us what is so great about themselves: consider not voting for either, and instead writing in the name Marole Leteber. Marole is focused on the issues, and not why the other candidates suck so bad. Marole is also the only one of the three that has ever done a guest column on this blog. Write in Marole Leteber for U.S. Congress on November 7th.

OK, let’s get down to business. It is time for my NCAA and NFL picks for the week.

NCAA (Last week: 2-3; Season, 22-23-1, 49%, YUCK)

Notre Dame (-13.5) at Navy. Notre Dame is going to come out and bury someone now that they realize they are going the wrong way ni the polls with close games. Navy does not have a good come from behind squad.

Baylor (+5) vs, Texas A& M. Baylor is good enough to keep this game close. A&M is not good enough to lay 5 points on the road against a decent team.

USC (-11) at Oregon State. USC has a week off to correct some issues. Two weeks of prep for Pete Carroll will be enough to have his team (finally) dominate somebody they should be ripping through.

Arizona St (-1.5) at Washington. Who would have throught a sports team would miss a guy named Isiah? Certinaly no Knicks fans. The third string QB is simply not cutting it for the Huskies. Ariaona St is playing better of late.

Missouri (-2) vs. Oklahoma. This game actually looks too easy, which worries me. But I cannot help myself, with no Adrian Peterson, Missouri will win this game at home.

NFL (Last week: 3-3-1; Season 23-15-2, 61%)

Cincinnati (-4) vs. Atlanta. Cincy is still somewhat shaky, but look for last week’s win to get them back on track. I will be amazed if Michael Vick can string together two straight solid passing days.

New York Giants (-9) vs. Tampa. Gradkowski is ready for one of those tough days on the road where he has to play catch up. Gulp.

Arizona (+3.5) at Green Bay. I know, I know. Just trust me on this one.

Baltimore (+2.5) at New Orleans. I am still not sold on New Orleans. Not sold on Baltimore either, but I will take the meager offering of points.

Pittsburgh (-9) at Oakland. That was it for Oakland. They won their Super Bowl last week. Pittsburgh will be in a foul mood after giving up 41 in Atlanta. They will roll.

Denver (-2.5) vs. Indianapolis. Denver runs well. Indy cannot stop the run. Indy has a great defense to slow the Colts. This is a revenge game from past couple playoffs. Look for the Bears to be the only remaining unbeaten after this week.

Carolina (-5) vs. Dallas. We will see how happy T.O. is when he gets lots of passes but no wins!

A couple other NFL notes: The Jets, who have taken care of business against all the bad teams they have played, are underdogs at Cleveland, who is terrible, and their bad offense took a blow when their offensive coordinator just up and left this week. This screams trap to me (and to Stitzer by the way). That being said, I still do not have the guts to pull the trigger on Cleveland, even though it seems that the oddsmakers have.

The Eagles should win against a tough Jacksonville team this week. But how that line is 7 is beyond me. Too many points. Anyway, I will be there as always, and will be tailgating. Email me if you are interested and I will give you directions to our tailgate….

Have a good weekend.

Recap: The Boys' Trip to Tampa

There is a lot to cover in the world of sports. The win or die pool was knocked down from over 350 entries down to 102 after a slew of upsets on Sunday. We have Kenny Rogers to talk about, the end of the Bledsoe experiment in Dallas, and the near win by Duke football over the University of Miami. But all that will have to wait for a day or so, because there are more important things to cover today, like the boys trip to Tampa this weekend. So sit back and enjoy….

Welcome to the unfiltered, unabridged, and uncensored (as far as you know) story of my boys’ trip to Tampa for the Eagles/Buccaneers game on Sunday. Joining me on this pilgrimage were my buddies Billy, Lute, Art, Dashman, FRANKEL, and the monstrous zit on my face that is lingering longer than Bobby Bowden’s tenure at Florida St. I think my wife had it implanted to make sure I looked as much like the Elephant Man as possible when heading to the land of the beautiful people. Before I show you, I can only urge you not to look directly at it, as it could damage your retinas….

Anyway, we left Saturday afternoon with two pizzas Lute stole from his wife and with plenty of alcohol to wash it down with. And wash it down we did. We arrived in Tampa in time to throw the Eagles football that Dashman brilliantly brought around the tarmac/runway (see Billy boy in group picture above, kneeling), only to be reprimanded by the Tampa Airport police.

We hopped in our van, the one that Billy boy reserved for the entire weekend since Tampa, despite being a major metropolitan area, has less cabs than Paris (Texas, not France). This may have been the best move I have witnessed since Marky Mark decided to focus on an acting career instead of singing.

This was a strange 10-minute drive, because I swear that we went from the Tampa airport to the South Philly Marriott in that short a time period. It was amazing. Eagles shirts on all the patrons, bad Philly accents, bellies that represented a long-term commitment to far too many cheesesteaks, and E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES chants everywhere….Kind of good, kind of frightening. Being the snobs that we are, we of course immediately dropped off our bags in our room, and after calling housekeeping to freshen the stench in the room the Dashman and I were sharing, immediately left the sea of green and went to another hotel for cocktails, hoping there higher room rates would improve the environment. We brought the football with us.

We arrived at our next destination and set up shop in the hotel bar in time to watch the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lose in a monumental upset to UCLA. The Bruins had the ball with less than two minutes left. But, of course, by the time we got our drinks, the Irish had forced a punt, and scored on a bomb to Smardisdjgfkft with less than a minute on the clock. Amazing! Have you ever seen a team snatch victory from the jaws of defeat more often than Notre Dame. Certainly not the Philadelphia Eagles. There must be something to this whole “Touchdown Jesus” thing. They are the football equivalent of Matt Littman at a No Limit Holdem Table. He may go all-in with 3-4 offsuit, but he will pull a miracle out of his hat more often than not….

So how did we spend our time in this bar? There was a Bat Mitzvah going on in the hotel, so we decided to consult with some white dude with dread locks about what an appropriate gift for a Bat Mitzvah was these days, since some of us have one to attend in the near future. I cannot tell you how happy I am that we did this, since the Dread-dude told us that it can be as little as $25, as much as $40. I have decided to splurge and will be giving the entire $40!!!! After completing this discussion, we decided that an even better idea was to toss the Eagle football around the bar. After some long pattern resulting on near misses to chandeliers, the hotel personnel decided that they maybe disagreed with our idea. Dinner time.

We went to the Palm for dinner, and who do we literally bump into but George Steinbrenner, who was sitting at the table right next to us. We asked him if he liked the Alex Rodriguez version or the Bobby Abreu version of the Cory Lidle joke (see October 17th post). He asked for his check. After that, we filled up on steak, salad, wine and of course Captain, except Lute who picked at his food like an anorexic at a Big Mac.

After dinner, we hopped back in the van with our driver named Frank from Hungary and headed over to the Blue Martini, a great bar that features a band playing on stage with a full bar right in front of the stage (like an orchestra pit) and televisions lining the side of the stage. Tree-men-dous! Here is my breakdown of the people in this bar:

• Unbelievably beautiful women, 25%
• Divorced women over 50 looking for love, 10%
• Normal guys (us included of course), 5%
• Cheesy Philly guys hitting on all women, starting with the hot ones then moving down the line to the old, worn divorced ones while chanting the EAGLES chant, 60%

This bar was great, and there is nothing like it in Philly. We laughed, we drank, we enjoyed the band, especially the extended Shakira medley that had more legs than you would think possible. It was all good, until it all went bad. One of the aforementioned old, desperate chiquitas who was dressed in a pant suit that closely resembled Catwoman decided that she was going to dance on a platform right in front of our table. I cannot begin to tell you the effect this had on our evening. People volunteered to go fetch the next round instead of waiting for our waitress. Just frightening; fortunately, we were far from sober which helped dilute the negative effects, but there is only so much you can do to dull the horror in that situation. Overall, despite the jolt towards the end of the evening, it was an outstanding evening. We poured ourselves into bed at around 2:30, ready to begin anew with some tailgating a few hours later.

After some grease at the hotel to soak up the lingering alcohol (and make room for the new stuff), we headed over to the Stadium for some tailgating. There were a couple key items that were extremely noticeable as we partied before the game:

• The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed and less edgy than before an Eagles game. There was no hostility thrown your way for walking around in an Eagle jersey, just a nice, fun, friendly environment
• Not surprisingly based on our observations from around town, but there must have been 15,000+ Eagle fans, decked in full team colors.
• The women in Tampa are to the women in Philadelphia what a thoroughbred horse is to a donkey.

To illustrate my last point, below are three pictures from the game, two of Buc fans, and one of an Eagle fan. See if you can determine which is which:

Yes, it was that blatant. Anyway, we finally went in the game and got to our seats right before kickoff. Billy boy came through big time as he had us placed right on the 50 yard line, and just high enough that we were under the shade of the upper levels. Perfect seats. The game started off terribly, with McNabb turning the ball over as if he were a point guard on the 76ers, and our (okay me) yelling at some guy whose arms were as hairy as George “the Animal” Steele’s. It all turned during the third quarter when, after Tampa got their second touchdown from Ronde Freaking Barber (can’t the whole stupid family retire after this season), Donovan brought the team back. You know Donovan is trying to play catch up in a hot environment when he starts hurling all over the field. Who gets to clean that stuff up anyway? More importantly, McNabb does it. The fairy tale ending. He somehow survives a horrible 35 minutes of football and “boots and rallies” to bring the squad back for a miraculous win. When Westbrook scored with 33 seconds left, the perfect trip was complete. To top off the perfect boys trip, the Eagles finally pulled a Notre Dame, winning a game they had no business winning, even though they were the far superior team on paper.

And then Tampa Bay put on their catwoman suit and danced on an elevated platform. First a good kick return (on a stupid kickoff by the Birds), then Gradkowski trips but still gains nine yards. Then he falls down but gets up in time to throw an incompletion. But now there are 4 seconds left and the Bucs are on the Eagle 45, so clearly they will have to do a Hail Mary, and they are not Notre Dame, so we should be fine. But wait, he brings on the kicker. Why would he even try a 62 yarder with a guy who was 0-for-3 from 40 yards or longer this season? But he did. And he drilled it. Right down the middle with plenty of distance to spare. How? Why? This, in a nutshell, is what life is like as a Philadelphia sports fan. Other fans can say they have it worse. Cleveland, St. Louis, Buffalo. But they are wrong. Philadelphia is the most brutal sports city to grow up in. By a wide margin.

So we sat stunned for a minute as tens of thousands of Buc fans (I keep having the urge to say Tampa Bay, but I learned this weekend that was NOT cool, kind of like being in San Francisco and calling it Frisco or San Fran) hooted and hollered and in general acted like they had just won the Super Bowl. In all fairness, it was a pretty amazing win. As we were walking out, Dashman had a couple of near altercation, first as he was screaming top of his lungs back and forth with some girl in his best impression of Earl Weaver in the mid 70’s. Then he decided to pick on someone his own size and came close to throwing down with some dude with bad hair but pretty big arms. As soon as walked next to Dashman and told him not to worry, that I had his back, he pretty much calmed down, quickly realizing that he had the equivalent of the Iraqi army on his side.

The good news was that we were able to recover the Eagles football, which for some reason they would not let us bring into the stadium and which we had discarded into some trees before the game. Before we left, we did want to show Billy Boy our appreciation for putting together such a great weekend, so we got him a little something:

Overall, it was an amazing weekend that could have been perfect had a 62 yard field goal fallen short (would that be too much to ask?) As we flew back to Philly and the colder weather, the Eagles were 4-3, when they really should be 7-0 (favored in all 7, ahead in all 7 in the 4th quarter). But, as Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says you are, and the Eagles are 4-3, with the tough part of their schedule looming. A playoff spot is possible, a Super Bowl berth seems like a very long shot at this point. That is too bad, since the best quarterback in the world this season plays in Philadelphia, not New England or Indianapolis this year.

Billy Boy, Lute, Artie, Dashman, Frankel and I are all back at work. My zit seems to finally be receding (thanks to my wife taking the hex off!). Life is back to normal. But when it is time for our next road trip, rest assured, we will be ready to go and have a great time, and we will be ready for the disappointment that ultimately accompanies Philadelphia sports fans.

See you tomorrow or Thursday with some discussion on other sports topics from the last few days…..

Dils Win or Die Week 7; Pick Distribution and Individual Picks

*Click the graph above if you are having trouble viewing it (newer version)*

A Keiser Seattle
Adam Goldman 1 Seattle
Adam Goldman 2 Jacksonville
Adam Katzen 2 Seattle
AJ Fratoni 1 Jacksonville
AJ Fratoni 2 San Diego
AJ Whitehead Jacksonville
Akshon Barclay 1 San Diego
Akshon Barclay 2 Indianapolis
Akshon Barclay 3 Jacksonville
Alberto Escobedo 1 New England
Alex Coates NY Jets
Alexa delaGuardia Denver
Amol Dixit 2 Jacksonville
Amol Dixit 5 Indianapolis
Andy Smukler NY Jets
Anne Bolduc 1 Jacksonville
Anne Bolduc 2 San Diego
Anthony Themak Jacksonville
Antonio Ramos 1 Jacksonville
Antony Joffe 1 NY Jets
Ari Raivetz Denver
Arlyn Landow Seattle
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 1 Jacksonville
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 2 Arizona
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 4 Seattle
BayAreaBoys Arizona
Bear 1 Jacksonville
Bev Nicholl Jacksonville
Bill Bucy 1 Jacksonville
Bill Herrmann 1 Seattle
Bill Herrmann 3 Jacksonville
Billy Bredt Seattle
BJ Mahle Seattle
Bob Feinstein 1 Jacksonville
Bob Landow Jacksonville
Bob Van Nortwick Jacksonville
Bob Wallace 2 Seattle
Bobby P 1 Seattle
Borgen 1 Jacksonville
Brad Shields Jacksonville
Brad Stuart 1 Jacksonville
Brad Stuart 2 Seattle
Brady Boss 1 New England
Brady Boss 2 Jacksonville
Brent Bryant New England
Brian Ellis 4 NY Jets
Brian Fenlin 2 Arizona
Brian Fenlin 3 Jacksonville
Brian Getson 2 New England
Brian Harris 4 NY Jets
Brian Murphy Arizona
Brian Roberts Seattle
Brian Silverio Seattle
Brian Wallace 2 Jacksonville
Brian Yacker 1 Seattle
Brian Yacker 2 Seattle
Brownie 1 Arizona
Buddy Acchione 2 Jacksonville
Bull 1 Seattle
Bush 2 NY Jets
Bush 3 EAGLES
C Scruton 2 Jacksonville
CDW2 Jacksonville
Cecile Donnelly Arizona
Che Hong Yeung Indianapolis
Chip Hastings Jacksonville
Chip Levers 2 San Diego
Chris Bassi 1 NY Jets
Chris Bassi 2 Jacksonville
Chris Moseley San Diego
Chris P 2 Jacksonville
Chris Parliman Jacksonville
Chris Scoggins Seattle
Clint Mead 1 Seattle
Cobes 1 New England
Cobes 2 Jacksonville
Cobes 4 Jacksonville
Connie Lemon Seattle
Cube Denver
D Froney 1 Indianapolis
D Froney 2 NY Jets
Damon Devito Jacksonville
Dan Gold 1 Jacksonville
Dan Levine 1 Jacksonville
Daniel Neifer 1 Denver
Daniel Neifer 2 Jacksonville
Danny Kranzler 1 Jacksonville
Danny Kranzler 3 Seattle
Darren Dahlman 1 Indianapolis
Dave Finnegan Seattle
Dave Holdsworth 2 Indianapolis
Dave Mehall 3 New England
Dave Robbins 1 Jacksonville
Dave S Seattle
Dave S 2 Indianapolis
Dave Stassen Jacksonville
David Kay 1 Seattle
David Lapidus 2 Seattle
David Scherby 1 NY Jets
David Scherby 2 Jacksonville
David Scherby 4 Arizona
Denver Brown 2 Jacksonville
Derek Glenzinski 1 Jacksonville
Desiree Germon Seattle
Dominic delaGuardia Jacksonville
Doug Bonnell 1 Jacksonville
Doug Cron Indianapolis
Dylan Cooper Denver
Eagle 2 Seattle
Ed Welsh 2 Indianapolis
Ed Welsh 4 Jacksonville
Eddy Arechaga Seattle
Eric Meyers 1 Jacksonville
Eric Meyers 3 Jacksonville
Eric Yungner 1 New England
Eric Yungner 2 NY Jets
Erik Nakamura 1 Seattle
Erik Nakamura 2 Jacksonville
Fenlin/Stern 1 Indianapolis
Flummer 1 Seattle
Flummer 2 Denver
Frank Nussbaum Seattle
Gabe Bodhi 2 Indianapolis
Gags Seattle
Gary Beasley 1 Jacksonville
Gary Beasley 2 Arizona
Gary Jonas Jacksonville
Gene Han 1 Jacksonville
George Kuruc 1 Jacksonville
George Triano Denver
Gianna Cooper Jacksonville
Greg Heff 1 Jacksonville
Greg Magnani Seattle
Gregg Benedetto 2 Seattle
Iceman 1 Jacksonville
Iceman 3 Miami
J Ferry Seattle
J.B. Dilsheimer Jacksonville
Jack Marshall 1 New England
James Mills 2 Indianapolis
Jason Favrow 2 San Diego
Jay Soroko 2 Indianapolis
Jay/Scott Goldsleger 1 Jacksonville
Jay/Scott Goldsleger 2 Seattle
JD 3 Jacksonville
JD 4 Jacksonville
JDBakke1 Jacksonville
Jeff Berman Indianapolis
Jeff Resnick 2 Jacksonville
Jeff Saito Indianapolis
Jeff Slovin 1 Jacksonville
Jeff Slovin 2 Indianapolis
Jeff Slovin 6 Denver
Jeff Tiede 1 Jacksonville
Jeff Wagoner New England
Jeremy Hare 1 Jacksonville
Jeremy Hare 2 New England
Jim Harley 1 Jacksonville
Jim Harley 2 Jacksonville
Jimmy B 1 New England
Jo…NOW Seattle
Jodi Wallace 1 Arizona
Jodi Wallace 4 Seattle
Joe Dansky 1 Indianapolis
Joe David 2 Seattle
Joe Fagan Jacksonville
Joe H Indianapolis
Joe HM Jacksonville
Joe Pucillo 1 Jacksonville
Joe Pucillo 2 Indianapolis
Joe Pucillo 3 Arizona
Joe RH Jacksonville
John Abshear 1 Seattle
John Abshear 4 NY Jets
John Bolduc Seattle
John Ellinthorpe Jacksonville
Jon Taylor 1 Jacksonville
Joseph Beedon NY Jets
JPL Jacksonville
Judy Panichi 1 EAGLES
Juice 2 Indianapolis
Juice 3 Jacksonville
Juice 5 Seattle
Jules Seshens Seattle
Karen Gatz 2 Indianapolis
Kathleen Wells 1 Seattle
Kauf 1 Jacksonville
Kauf 2 Indianapolis
Kay Lee 2 Jacksonville
Kay Lee 3 Indianapolis
Kaz 1 Jacksonville
Kaz 3 New England
Keith Berger 1 Jacksonville
Kelly Krenger 1 Seattle
Ken Dash Indianapolis
Ken Ruderman Jacksonville
Kevin Gusinow 1 Jacksonville
Kevin Moran 1 Indianapolis
Kim P. Indianapolis
K-Mart..NOW STANLEY EAGLES
Krug 1 Arizona
Kurt Weber Seattle
Lack & Daily 2 San Diego
Lack & Daily 3 Seattle
Lack & Daily 4 Jacksonville
Larry Parsons 1 Jacksonville
Lauren Sivan Jacksonville
Lee/May 1 Seattle
Lee/May 5 Jacksonville
LeErin Hickey 2 NY Jets
LML Indianapolis
Lorne Keller Seattle
M Ferry Jacksonville
Maggie 2 Seattle
Manish Patel 2 Jacksonville
Marc Rudofker Seattle
Mark Lacarenza 1 Indianapolis
Mark Lacarenza 2 Indianapolis
Mark Lenert 1 Jacksonville
Marole Leteber Indianapolis
Marshall Dostal 1 Arizona
Marshall Dostal 2 Arizona
Marshall Dostal 3 Indianapolis
Marty Linsky 3 Dallas
MATT 1 Indianapolis
MATT 2 Jacksonville
Matt Biskner 1 New England
Matt Biskner 2 Jacksonville
Matt Bottiglieri 2 NY Jets
Matt Bottiglieri 3 Seattle
Matt Bottiglieri 4 Indianapolis
Matt Domski 3 Indianapolis
Matt Heffner Jacksonville
Matt Warren 1 Indianapolis
Matt Wilson Seattle
Matt Young Arizona
Max Haber 2 Miami
Max Haber 3 NY Jets
Max Haber 4 Jacksonville
Maze 1 Jacksonville
Maze 3 Jacksonville
Michael Frist San Diego
Michael Hickey 1 Jacksonville
Michael Hickey 3 New England
Michael Higashi 1 Seattle
Michael Koffler 1 Jacksonville
Michael Koffler 2 Jacksonville
Michael P. Jacksonville
Mike Gosk 2 Jacksonville
Mike Gosk 3 Denver
Mike Gross Jacksonville
Mike Keller 2 Seattle
Mike Lee 2 Jacksonville
Mike Lee 3 Seattle
Mike Moleski 2 Arizona
Mike Tynan 1 Jacksonville
Mo Powell 1 Jacksonville
Mo Powell 2 Jacksonville
Mr. Chris 2 New England
Mr. Chris 3 Denver
Nate Pivaroff 1 Seattle
Nate Pivaroff 3 New England
Nate Pivaroff 4 EAGLES
Nicola Espie Denver
Niemeyer 1 Indianapolis
Niemeyer 3 Jacksonville
Nomanerz NY Jets
Norm & Angie Cooper Jacksonville
Ondre 1 Seattle
Ondre 2 Jacksonville
P Sautter 1 Seattle
P Sautter 2 Indianapolis
Pablo Aguirre 1 Jacksonville
Pablo Aguirre 2 New England
Paul McIntyre Indianapolis
Paul Stitzer Seattle
Paul Zucconi 2 NY Jets
Peter Buck/Dan Kent Jacksonville
Phil D'Agostino Jacksonville
Phil Manno 2 Jacksonville
Phil Manno 4 Denver
Phil Milliner Jacksonville
R Coto 1 EAGLES
Randy Byron EAGLES
Richard Stanley 1 Jacksonville
Richmond/Griffin Jacksonville
Rick L 6 Jacksonville
Rick Woods 1 Jacksonville
Rick Woods 2 Denver
Ritter 1 Arizona
Ritter 2 Indianapolis
Ritter 4 Jacksonville
Ritter 6 Jacksonville
Rob Mitchell Jacksonville
Robin Mitchell Denver
Rodney Thomas 1 New England
Rodney Thomas 2 Denver
Roger Levine 2 Seattle
Ron Mexico 1 Jacksonville
Ron Mexico 4 Seattle
Ron P 4 NY Jets
Ron Wick Jacksonville
Rose/David Stitzer Seattle
Ross Novie 2 Jacksonville
Ryan Doheny 2 Jacksonville
Ryan Doheny 3 EAGLES
Ryan Doheny 4 San Diego
Ryan Doheny 5 Seattle
Ryan Kohrig 1 Jacksonville
Ryan Kohrig 3 Indianapolis
Ryan Kohrig 5 New England
Ryan Kohrig 6 Jacksonville
Schoettle 1 Jacksonville
Schoettle 2 Seattle
Scott Lease 1 Arizona
Scott Lease 3 San Diego
Scott Libby 2 Jacksonville
Scott Libby 3 Arizona
Scott Nurick Seattle
Scott Sonnenberg 2 Seattle
Scott Stoddard Denver
Scott Tilley 2 Indianapolis
Sean Ozbolt Seattle
Shane Kent 1 Indianapolis
Shane Kent 2 Jacksonville
Shane Kent 3 Indianapolis
Shane Kent 4 Jacksonville
Shane Kent 5 Miami
Shawn Mitchell Jacksonville
Silver Fox 2 Jacksonville
Stacey Tracton 1 Jacksonville
Stacey Tracton 2 Seattle
Stephen Abela NY Jets
Stephen Moss Jacksonville
Stephen Sosangelis NY Jets
Steve Abramowitz Jacksonville
Steve Berman 1 Jacksonville
Steve Berman 2 Seattle
Steve Gold 1 Jacksonville
Steve Gold 2 Seattle
Steve Gold 3 Seattle
Steve Stovall Jacksonville
Steve Whiteford Jacksonville
Steven Immergut 2 Seattle
Stuart Chase 1 EAGLES
Ted Price 2 Seattle
Ted Price 4 Jacksonville
The Legend 2 Seattle
Timmy Gatz 1 Jacksonville
Todd & Reg 1 Jacksonville
Todd & Reg 2 Seattle
Todd Kelly 4 Miami
Todd Turchin 1 Denver
Todd Turchin 5 Jacksonville
Tom Dilsheimer 1 Jacksonville
Tom Kaplan Jacksonville
Tom Nagel Jacksonville
Tom Speranzo Miami
Tony Zabawa Jacksonville
Uncle Joe 1 Seattle
Val Brochard 1 San Diego
Vernon Lee 1 New England
Wendy Adkins New England
Zack Kramer NY Jets

NLCS Game 7 Round-Up, Donna Shalala, and my Football Prognostications

I know people like Bill Simmons call the National League quadruple-A, but last night’s game was one of the more intense, exciting baseball games I have ever seen. My key takeaways:

• The catch by ex-Phillie Endy Chavez to rob ex-Phillie Scott Rolen of a home run in the 6th inning was the best catch I have ever seen. Huge spot; 6th inning of a tied game 7, and he gets his elbow over the fence to make a remarkable grab. Just sensational.
• Speaking of that catch, I am still in shock that that catch combined with Rolen’s subsequent overthrow of Albert Pujols by about 80 feet that helped load the bases in the bottom of the 6th for the Mets with one out did not result in a Mets win. If your team does not reside in Philadelphia, I am not sure how you fail to capitalize on the opportunity with the momentum that you have on your side.
• I would much prefer a low scoring pitchers’ duel (1-0, 2-1, etc) that a 9-8 game. It makes every pitch more exciting, and brings managerial strategy into the mix.
• Speaking of which, I thought both manager’s made several bad decisions last night, all resulting in good things for their teams. I guess that is why they get paid the big bucks and I write for free.
• Scott Rolen, besides almost costing his team the game, has proven again that he is a big crybaby when he does not get his way. He did not like the fact that LaRussa benched him earlier in the series (despite the fact that he cannot hit and can barely lift his arm) and would not talk to him, making LaRussa make decisions on whether to play him from watching video. If I were managing, I would have benched him for the series and gone with Spiezio, so he should feel fortunate LaRussa stuck with him as much as he did.
• Tim McCarver is really a bad announcer. I mean I know this is not ground breaking journalism, but it was awful last night.
• How do managers argue about balls and strikes from the dugout when they clearly have no vantage point to tell whether a pitch was in the strike zone or not from there?

As we head toward the World Series, I was ready to pick the Tigers in a landslide until my buddy Eric Haron asked, well, begged really, that I did not do that. I tried to tell him that based on my 0-6 record in series predictions, I was long overdue to get one right. He again pleaded with me not do to it. So here is my analysis. Detroit has better starting pitching, better hitting, a better bullpen, and a better manager. With all that being said, just for Eric Haron, St. Louis in 7. Read into that what you will.

I predict that we will hear, ad nausea, during the next week, about Tony LaRussa’s close friendship with Jim Leyland, about Placido Polanco being an ex-Cardinal, about Jeff Weaver being an ex-Tiger, and about Scott Rolen being traded for Placido Polanco. I am not interested in any of these stories, as I am aware of all of them already, but I supposed the 15 people baseball attracts to watch the World Series who are not already fans may be. Hopefully we see some of the excitement we saw last night which makes baseball such a great sport when it is clicking on all cylinders.

One more non-baseball note before I get to my football picks. Donna Shalala, the President of the University of Miami, should be ashamed of herself for her under-reaction to her football team’s brawl last week. For a guy (Brandon Meriweather) to use his cleats as a weapon and repeatedly stomp on an opponent who was on the ground in a technique that was somewhere in between fighting like a girl and a pro wrestler, and then to only be suspended one game, is so ridiculous I was even willing to use a run-on sentence. The coach, athletic director, and University President should all be fired for their completely inept manner of handling this situation. This is an embarrassing black eye for the University of Miami what will stick with the team for a long time.

Now to my football picks. Hopefully some of you actually read this stuff and take it to heart, as I was 8-3 on my picks against the spread last week (4-1 college, 4-2 pros) and I am hoping some people benefited from those selections. Let’s keep the mojo going this week:

NCAA: (Last week 4-1; Season 20-20-1, 50%)

Pittsburgh (-6.5) vs. Rutgers. Rutgers is undefeated and a legitimately pretty good team. The linesmakers are making this line high, and I think they know better than most that Pitt, after a dismal second half against Michigan St a month ago, has started playing very well. Despite laying almost a touchdown here, take the multi dimensional Pittsburgh attack at home against a Rutgers team that has a great back in Ray Rice but an erratic quarterback/passing game.

Texas (-5) at Nebraska. Are you kidding me? Nebraska does not have the athletes on either side of the ball to compete with Texas, not to mention the coaching. Lay the points for the road favorite here.

Wyoming (-4) vs. Colorado State. Wyoming is a solid team that is not yet getting the respect from Vegas. Got no the Cowboy bandwagon before that respect inflates their lines for the last few games of the year.

Georgia Tech (+7.5) at Clemson. Reggie Ball is playing very solid, consistent football in his senior year. They have the run defense that can contain Clemson’s great rushing attack. More than a touchdown is crazy here. This is a close game all the way, take the points.

Boston College (+6.5) at Florida State. Note, watch the pregame shows, and if BC’s quarterback is not playing, change this pick to the Under 42. Either way, you will be bringing home a winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Couple of additional leans (not fully endorsed plays): Washington St (+4) vs. Oregon, and Arizona (+2.5) vs. Oregon St. Finally, I am interested to see if Duke can cover 17.5 at home against half of Miami’s team.

NFL (Last week: 4-2; Season 20-12-1, 63%)

Buffalo (+5.5) vs. New England. Still not sold on New England. Rivalry game and must win means we will see Buffalo’s best effort, which will be good enough to cover.

Atlanta (+3) vs. Pittsburgh. Two teams with good running games and pretty good defenses. Big Ben may be back, but his team is not good enough right now to beat a quality team on the road. Take the Falcs.

Philly (-5.5) at Tampa Bay. I thought this line would be 3. They are saying if this game was at the Linc, the line would be 11.5. I think Jim Johnson’s defensive schemes will give a rookie QB fits, and the Eagles can score in the 20’s on anyone right now. They will win by at least a touchdown.

Cincinnati (-3) vs. Carolina. I know, Carolina is undefeated with Steve Smith in the lineup, and Cincy has stunk it up for the last two games. I think they will respond with a great effort at home and win and cover. Carolina is coming on strong, but if they were to win, I would say they are the favorite to go to the Super Bowl from this conference even over Chicago. I do not think they are quite ready for that yet….

Indianapolis (-9) vs. Washington. Indy has been playing people close, but Washington has no cornerbacks, so look for a big day from Mr. Manning and company.

Seattle (-6.5) vs. Minnesota. Minnesota is a couple of lucky plays from being a 10 point underdog in this game, which would have been more accurate.

NY Giants (+3.5) at Dallas. Did you think I was picking T.O. on Monday Night football against the team I picked to go to the Super Bowl from the NFC? Of course not.

Stitzer's Take: The Bronx Bombers, a Look Back & Ahead

Stitzer's anticipated Yankee column is here. I think it is well written and pretty on point, although my preference would have bee to see a bt more emotion and dagger throwing, perhaps the day after they bowed out. But, alas, cooler heads have prevailed.
______________________________________

It is funny to me how the Media is once again focusing on the Yankees “collapse.” The 97-win Yankees lost 3 out of 4 to a team that won 95 games, and had been the best team in baseball through 75% of the season. Where are the stories about the Twins collapse? The 96-win Twins were SWEPT by a team that won only 93 games. The 88-win Padres lost 3 out of 4 to the 83-win Cardinals – 83 WINS MADE THE PLAYOFFS!! Who are these people that love the 3-division/8-team post-season? It is bad enough 48% of the population has this “reward mediocrity” attitude when it comes to politics, but to ruin the sacred sport that is baseball is preposterous.

It does not matter how much you pay someone; their skills are what they are. You think that Randy Johnson should pitch like the Johnson in his prime because you are paying him $16MM a season? If that were the case, how do you explain CM Wang winning 19 games with his $350K salary? Shouldn’t Johnson out-produce Wang by over a 40:1 ratio? The purpose of this column is to analyze what went wrong with the 2006 Yankees, and to lend an opinion to what needs to be done to tweak this team for 2007.

Right off the bat, with all things being equal, having to go through 3 rounds of playoffs gives all 8 teams a 12.5% chance to win the Series. And, with the ridiculous amount of off-days in the post-season, all things are equal as the #5 & sometimes the #4 starters do not get to pitch – that can put a 90-win team on par with a 100-win team in a hurry. The Yankees unprecedented run of reaching the post-season 12 straight years should have produced 1.5 titles – it produced 4. Part of the recent 6-year drought is the law of averages. Plus, people have short memories. The 1996 Yankees were huge underdogs vs. the Braves (and would have been vs. Cleveland in the ALCS had the O’s not upset them). The 2000 Yankees only won 87 games. Those 2 years, the Yankees were not favorites to win, and yet they won. Look at the Braves – after 14 straight division titles, they have only 1 ring to show for it – AND they were favored to come out of the NL in many of those seasons. When I look at 4 titles in 12 years, with this data, I realize how lucky the Yankees are to have won 4 times – twice as much as any other team during that time span.

The #1 reason why the Bombers are playing golf is the decline of the starting rotation. Everyone can romanticize about the Tinos, O’Neils, Brosiuses, etc…being gone because those were the guys who were “clutch.” But in order to be clutch, your pitching has to keep you in games. The hitting has been to blame as well, and we’ll get to that, but by far, the decline of the caliber of the starting rotation is the main culprit. You do not even have to go back to 2000, the last year the Yankees won to see this decline; you only have to go back to 2003, the last year they won the pennant, to see the vast difference. 2003 staff: Clemens (17-9 3.91); Pettitte (21-8 4.02); Mussina (17-8 3.40); Wells (15-7 4.14) and Jeff Weaver (7-9 5.99). Weaver is the poster boy for just how superior the AL is to the NL as he is now a front-line NL starter. 2006: Wang (19-6 3.63); Mussina (15-7 3.51); Johnson (17-11 5.00) Jaret Wright (11-7 4.49); a myriad of failures in the #5 spot (RIP Corey Lidle, kids never deserves to lose their father). The thing that sticks out my mind is this: with the season on the line in 2003, Andy Pettitte started game 6 of the World Series. With the season on the line in 2006, Jaret Wright started game 4 of the 1st round. How did this Staff decline so quickly? 1) Trading Ted Lily for Jeff Weaver – this 2002 trade was the equivalent of Archduke Ferdinand being assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914 – things just snowballed from there. Weaver was the same age as Lily (26), and improved every year from 1999-2002. His ERA was 3.18 pitching with zero pressure on the pathetic Tigers (how ironic is that?). Since that trade, his ERA is well over 5.00 – with most of that time spent in the NL, where an ERA of 5.00 is the AL equivalent of 14.87. 2) Giving up too soon on Jose Contreras and trading him for Esteban Loaiza. 3) the Kevin Brown debacle – Weaver could have sucked as bad as Brown, and giving away Yhency Brazoban, who was great in 2004 out of the LA bullpen, was a horrible trade – think maybe he could have lightened Tom Gordon’s load in 2004 & 2005? 4) The ridiculous trade of Javy Vazquez & Brad Halsey for the shell of his former self Randy Johnson – just a horrible future killing trade. 5) The awful Carl Pavano signing. How to fix the Staff? 1) Give young prospect Phillip Hughes a chance to join the rotation out of Spring Training; there is no doubt this youngster will be called up by June when one of the geezers gets hurt, so why not let him start the year in the rotation? 2) Do NOT sign Barry Zito – he is overrated and past his prime. He racks up wins against the bad teams – see his 8.00+ ERA vs. the Yankees since 2004. 3) Trade or sign a legitimate #1 starter. Plenty of hitting that can be dealt – although any team that trades pitching for hitting is foolish, but there are plenty of dumb GM’s out there. 4) Count on Moose & Johnson to be the #4 & #5 starters – let the TBA #1, Wang, & Hughes be the anchors of the staff. Do not count on the way past their primes as any of your top 2 starters.

Bullpen fix: very simple – get a lefty to complement Proctor & Farnsworth’s as set-up guys. Villone is not the answer – he wore down too easily. Limit Mariano’s workload during regular season – even if it means Farnsworth is your closer 15-20 times. However, DO NOT ANNOUNCE “MO IS NOT AVAILABLE TONIGHT.” Just as the Don said to Santino “never let anybody outside the family know what you’re thinking.” When the Yankees do this it pisses me off as some CNN bimbo who gives away our troop movement to the enemy with traitorious words such as “the USS Bunker Hill is scheduled to sail from San Diego to the Persian Gulf…”

Catcher: Posada seemed to get better with age this season. He had a great defensive year and was the best offensive catcher in the AL after Joe Mauer. Hopefully his replacement for 2008 is being groomed on the farm. Sal Fasano is an ample back-up.

1st Base: Defensively, the team is screwed. Giambi has to play the field. While he is not as bad as people think, he is below average. Offensively, his .425+ OBP is hard to keep out of the lineup. Expect him to get some days off against LHP when either Craig Wilson or Andy Phillips.
2nd Base: Cano is the best 2nd sacker in the AL. He will win a few batting titles before all is said and done.

Shortstop: No Yankee will ever wear #2 after about 2012. I’ll take my sons to the game the day the # is retired and explain to them – that is how you play the game.

3rd Base: The best player in the AL needs to get his head of his rear-end in the field – 24 errors are unacceptable. Not getting runners in from 3rd with less than 2 outs is also unacceptable if it happens more than 25% - which it did in 2006. I would love to drive in 121 runs and have people boo me and say I had a bad year – the Yankee fans that boo him, to quote the Don again, “can never truly be Yankee fans.” If Cashman trades him, he best get back in their primes Steve Carlton & Jim Palmer. Getting a hit every now & then in October will also go along way to helping the 3rd baseman’s cause.

Left Field: Melky Cabrera, in my opinion, has earned the right to play every day in left field. He led all AL leftfielders in assists. He brings speed to the bottom of the lineup.

Center Field: Damon had a pretty good year. Would like to see him swing for the fences less, work counts, get on base more and run. By the end of next season, it may require 2 cut-off throws for him to get the ball in – his arm is that weak.

Right Field: Have to believe Sheffield will not be brought back. Abreu provided a real spark to this team, and despite what bitter Phillies fans think of him, he can play on my team any day. (Editor's note: As I have said in this space many times, Abreu is a great fit for the Yankees where he can blend in and not be THE guy. He was horrible in the role of supposed leader in Philadelphia, where his propensity for coming up small in big situations and lack of hustle were not a good fit for Alpha Dog status in a town that expects a blue collar work ethic)

DH: Hideki Godzilla Matsui. An average fielder at best, he needs to move to DH to let Melky play every day. A healthy Matsui should get on base 38% of the time and knock in 100+ runs.

Manager: Was very glad to see Torre retained – even with 6 ringless years, his post-season winning % is still above .600.

In conclusion, do you think that my take is everything is fine except the Starting Pitching? I thought so.

October 17, 2006 Column: Steve Lyons gets Screwed, The Cubs Do All Baseball Fans a Favor, Whoa are the Cardinals, a Wally Pipp Sighting, & More...

Programming note: Stitzer's season-ending Yankee summary column is coming soon, REALLY. Probably in the next 24 hours, certainly the next 48....I think....

Yankee fans and Phillie fans are battling it out to see who can get to a lower low. While the latter have been heard saying that Cory Lidle should have flown with Bobby Abreu because it has been proven that Abreu would never run into a wall, Yankee fans responded by saying that If A-Rod would have been on the plane with Lidle, it would not have crashed because A-Rod can’t hit anything in October…

Speaking of baseball, does anyone else think we are being overly sensitive these days? Steve Lyons got fired for what? Did anyone think his comments were racially motivated? Did anyone even know Lou Pinella was Hispanic? I think Fox overreacted on this one big time….

Speaking of Pinella, the best news about the Cubs hiring him is that we will not have to listen to him on baseball telecasts any more. He is just a brutal announcer. AND NO, THAT IS NOT A RACIAL COMMENT. He would suck whether he was white, black, orange, or green. Seriously, he’s Hispanic?

Today is a day in which we should all be happy that the Arizona Cardinals have no real fans. I watched that game and felt supremely depressed for the Cardinals. They forced six turnovers, gave up no touchdowns to the Bears offense, held a 20 point lead with 16 minutes to play, and still lost. I have the Bears defense on my fantasy football team, and even I was wholeheartedly rooting against this. I have witnessed many a collapse by the Philadelphia teams, most recently the Eagles 17-point 4th quarter debacle against the Giants, and I do not think any were as bad as this one. Did anyone that was watching the game think Rackers had any chance to make that field goal to pull it out for Arizona. You knew that thing was not going through the uprights. I could not sleep for 90 minutes after the game ended I was so upset by the course of events….and I could not care less about the Cardinals. If that had been the Eagles, I do not think I could make it into work until the following week. Horrible. This may set up to be the Raiders one win of the year when they play the Cards next week, as I am not sure how a team with this history can bounce back six days later. I did like Dennis Green’s tirade after the game. At least it shows he cares.

On the flip side, Tampa Bay got their first win of the season at home upsetting the Bengals (who are perilously close to being referred to as the Bungles again), led by rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, yet another NFL QB from the MAC conference. Does anyone else get the feel after watching Gradkowski for a couple weeks that Chris Simms may never get the starting job back in Tampa. This strikes me as a very similar situation to what Simms endured in college, where he had lots more talent than Major Applewhite, but Major did a better job of leading the team and winning ball games. If you could combine Chris Simms talent with Phil Simms leadership and heart, you would have a Hall of Famer. Somehow, that grit and leadership did not translate. I look forward to see how old Gradkowski does against a blitzing Eagles team this week…

As far as the Eagles go, this was a bad loss. I know they were coming off a big win and a letdown was so likely I would not even pick the Birds in my Friday pick column. I know the Saints are 5-1 and not a bad team. But the bottom line is that when you come back from 14 down to take a 7 point 4th quarter lead, and have all the momentum, you have to win that game. Period. You cannot let Michael Lewis guard Joe Horn. I should make a joke about Michael Lewis having less ability to cover than a stripper, but I will let it go…You cannot have 12 men on the field on the biggest play of the game and give the other team two chances. You cannot let the other team use the last 8.5 minutes of the game. You cannot burn timeouts so you have none left. Super Bowl teams win these games. The Eagles routinely lose them. What does that tell you?

Larry Coker, head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, should be fired immediately and never coach another college football game. Not only has Miami lost its dominant winning ways that Butch Davis rediscovered in the 90’s, but, more importantly, Coker has allowed the program to slide back to its roots of thuggery, as anyone who saw Saturday’s ugly fight can attest to. The kid that used his helmet as a weapon should go to jail for assault, and the kid who was kicking and spiking the other team should not only go to jail, but be ridiculed for fighting like a girl. (Speaking of which, did you see Larry Johnson tackle Troy Polomalu by the hair on Sunday?)…. And how about their announcer, ex-player Lamar Thomas, basically calling out the other team and wanting to get into the fracas himself. You know you are a scumbag when the always clean-cut and angelic Michael Irvin calls for you to get fired. Yes, classy program. Just as pathetic Miami’s behavior is the fact that Duke football, despite playing at home against Miami this week when Miami has 13 suspended players, is still an 18.5 point underdog against the Canes. Embarrassing.

Speaking of Duke, is there anyone in America after watching the 60 minutes segment two days ago that really believes these three Duke lacrosse players committed rape. As I said initially in my April 17th post on this blog, Mike Nifong should be disbarred and forced to resign, and the stripper/liar who made this stuff up should be the one to be thrown in jail for a very long time. Too many lives have been damaged and too many taxpayer dollars spent on these trumped up charges.

While we are on Duke, the Devils hoops team suffered a huge blow in its second practice of the year when Greg Paulus, the point guard, broke his foot and is out in definitely. More than any other player including Josh McRoberts, Paulus is irreplaceable as they have no other point guard on the roster. The hope is they get him back for the December 21st game in the garden against Gonzaga, but it is way too early to tell….

Dils Win or Die Week 6; Pick Distribution and Individual Picks

For those of you who follow such things, I told you I intended to have a winning college week with my picks against the spreads, and I did, going 4-1 against the # yesterday. Let's keep the momentum going with a winning day of NFL picks. You can find my picks in my Friday post (below this one). As for the Win or Die, here are this week's picks. Ignore the blank bar on the chart, and the graph in general is almost but not 100% complete as it was done before I received the last 6 picks (out of 450 total). Should be close enough to give you a good feel...individual picks below the chart as always. Good luck.


*Click the graph if you are having trouble viewing it*

Picks:
A Keiser Dallas
Adam Goldman 1 Denver
Adam Goldman 2 Dallas
Adam Katzen 1 Washington
Adam Katzen 2 Dallas
Adam Stillman Washington
Adin Gardens 2 Washington
AJ Fratoni 1 NY Jets
AJ Fratoni 2 Denver
AJ Whitehead Denver
Akshon Barclay 1 Denver
Akshon Barclay 2 Chicago
Akshon Barclay 3 San Diego
Alberto Escobedo 1 Denver
Alex Coates Dallas
Alexa delaGuardia Dallas
Amol Dixit 2 Dallas
Amol Dixit 5 Denver
Andrew Robinson Washington
Andy Smukler Dallas
Anne Bolduc 1 Dallas
Anne Bolduc 2 San Diego
Anthony Themak Dallas
Antonio Ramos 1 Denver
Antonio Ramos 2 Washington
Antony Joffe 1 Denver
Ari Raivetz Chicago
Arlyn Landow Dallas
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 1 Denver
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 2 San Diego
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 4 Dallas
BayAreaBoys San Diego
Bear 1 Dallas
Ben Kunkel Washington
Bev Nicholl Denver
Bill Bucy 1 Pittsburgh
Bill Herrmann 1 Denver
Bill Herrmann 3 Dallas
Bill/Mike McLaughlin 3 Washington
Billy Bredt Denver
BJ Mahle Denver
Bob Feinstein 1 Chicago
Bob Landow Dallas
Bob Van Nortwick Denver
Bob Wallace 2 Dallas
Bobby P 1 San Diego
Borgen 1 Denver
Brad Shields Denver
Brad Stuart 1 Denver
Brad Stuart 2 San Diego
Brady Boss 1 Dallas
Brady Boss 2 Denver
Brent Bryant Pittsburgh
Brian Ellis 4 Dallas
Brian Fenlin 2 Denver
Brian Fenlin 3 Chicago
Brian Finnell Washington
Brian Getson 2 Denver
Brian Harris 3 Washington
Brian Harris 4 Pittsburgh
Brian Murphy Denver
Brian Roberts Denver
Brian Silverio Denver
Brian Wallace 2 Chicago
Brian Yacker 1 Dallas
Brian Yacker 2 Denver
Brownie 1 San Diego
Bryan Sullivan Washington
Buddy Acchione 2 Denver
Buddy Emmert Washington
Bull 1 Denver
Bush 2 Denver
Bush 3 Dallas
C Scruton 2 Dallas
CDW2 Denver
Cecile Donnelly San Diego
Che Hong Yeung Dallas
Chip Hastings Denver
Chip Levers 2 Dallas
Chris Bassi 1 Dallas
Chris Bassi 2 Denver
Chris Moseley Denver
Chris P 1 Cincinnati
Chris P 2 Denver
Chris Parliman Dallas
Chris Scoggins Denver
Clint Mead 1 Denver
Cobes 1 Dallas
Cobes 2 San Diego
Cobes 4 Denver
Connie Lemon Denver
Coop 1 Washington
Cube Dallas
D Froney 1 Dallas
D Froney 2 Denver
Damon Devito Denver
Dan Gold 1 Chicago
Dan Gold 3 Washington
Dan Levine 1 Denver
Dan Levine 2 Buffalo
Daniel Neifer 1 San Diego
Daniel Neifer 2 Denver
Danny Kranzler 1 Dallas
Danny Kranzler 3 Denver
Darren Dahlman 1 Dallas
Dave Finnegan Dallas
Dave Holdsworth 1 Washington
Dave Holdsworth 2 Denver
Dave Mehall 3 Dallas
Dave Robbins 1 Denver
Dave S Denver
Dave S 2 Dallas
Dave Stassen Dallas
Dave Wisemiller Washington
David Gardner 1 Washington
David Kay 1 Denver
David Lapidus 2 Chicago
David Scherby 1 Denver
David Scherby 2 Dallas
David Scherby 4 Denver
Dean Scruton 2 Cincinnati
Denver Brown 2 Denver
Derek Glenzinski 1 Denver
Derek Glenzinski 2 Washington
Desiree Germon Dallas
Dominic delaGuardia Denver
Doug Bonnell 1 Denver
Doug Bonnell 2 Washington
Doug Cron Dallas
Doug Livingston Washington
Dunlavy 2 Washington
Dylan Cooper NY Jets
Eagle 2 Dallas
Ed Welsh 2 Dallas
Ed Welsh 3 Washington
Ed Welsh 4 Dallas
Ed Welsh 6 Washington
Eddy Arechaga Dallas
Enio Bencosme 1 Cincinnati
Eric Haron 3 Washington
Eric Meyers 1 Denver
Eric Meyers 2 Washington
Eric Meyers 3 Denver
Eric Yungner 1 Dallas
Eric Yungner 2 Denver
Erik Nakamura 1 NY Jets
Erik Nakamura 2 Denver
Fenlin/Stern 1 Denver
Flummer 1 Denver
Flummer 2 Chicago
Frank Nussbaum Dallas
Gabe Bodhi 2 Denver
Gags Denver
Gary Beasley 1 Dallas
Gary Beasley 2 Denver
Gary Jonas Dallas
Gene Han 1 Denver
George Kuruc 1 Denver
George Triano Dallas
Gianna Cooper Dallas
Greg Heff 1 Denver
Greg Magnani Dallas
Gregg Benedetto 2 Denver
Howard Smith Washington
Iceman 1 Dallas
Iceman 2 Washington
Iceman 3 Denver
J Ferry Dallas
J.B. Dilsheimer Denver
Jack Marshall 1 Denver
James Mills 2 Denver
Jason Favrow 2 Dallas
Jason P Washington
Jay Soroko 2 San Diego
Jay/Scott Goldsleger 1 Dallas
Jay/Scott Goldsleger 2 Denver
JD 1 Washington
JD 3 Dallas
JD 4 Dallas
JDBakke1 Denver
Jeff Berman Denver
Jeff Resnick 2 Denver
Jeff Saito Pittsburgh
Jeff Slovin 1 Dallas
Jeff Slovin 2 Denver
Jeff Slovin 3 Washington
Jeff Slovin 6 San Diego
Jeff Tiede 1 Denver
Jeff Wagoner Denver
Jeremy Hare 1 Denver
Jeremy Hare 2 San Diego
Jim Harley 1 Denver
Jim Harley 2 Denver
Jim Harley 3 Washington
Jimmy B 1 Denver
Jimmy Grossman 1 Washington
Jo…NOW SDallas
Jodi Wallace 1 Chicago
Jodi Wallace 4 Denver
Joe Dansky 1 Denver
Joe David 2 Denver
Joe Fagan Dallas
Joe H Dallas
Joe HM San Diego
Joe Pucillo 1 Denver
Joe Pucillo 2 San Diego
Joe Pucillo 3 Dallas
Joe RH San Diego
John Abshear 1 Denver
John Abshear 4 Dallas
John Bolduc Dallas
John Ellinthorpe Denver
John Klein Washington
John Winfield Washington
Jon Taylor 1 Dallas
Jon Taylor 2 Washington
Joseph Beedon Denver
JPL Denver
Judy Panichi 1 Denver
Juice 2 Dallas
Juice 3 Denver
Juice 5 Denver
Juice 6 Washington
Jules Seshens Denver
Karen Gatz 1 Washington
Karen Gatz 2 Dallas
Kathleen Wells 1 Denver
Kauf 1 Dallas
Kauf 2 Denver
Kay Lee 2 Dallas
Kay Lee 3 Denver
Kaz 1 San Diego
Kaz 2 Washington
Kaz 3 Denver
Keith Berger 1 Denver
Keith Cronin 1 Washington
Kelly Krenger 1 Chicago
Kelly Lanham 1 Washington
Ken Dash Pittsburgh
Ken Ruderman Denver
Kevin Gusinow 1 San Diego
Kevin Moran 1 Pittsburgh
Kevin New Cincinnati
Kevin New 2 Washington
Kim P. Denver
Kinger51 Washington
K-Mart 2 Denver
KP Washington
Krug 1 Denver
Kurt Weber Denver
Lack & Daily 1 Washington
Lack & Daily 2 Denver
Lack & Daily 3 Dallas
Lack & Daily 4 San Diego
Larry Parsons 1 Denver
Lauren Sivan Denver
Lee/May 1 Dallas
Lee/May 5 Denver
LeErin Hickey 2 Chicago
LML San Diego
Lorne Keller Denver
M Ferry Denver
Maggie 2 Denver
Manish Patel 1 Washington
Manish Patel 2 Denver
Marc Rudofker San Diego
Mark Christensen Washington
Mark Lacarenza 1 Denver
Mark Lacarenza 2 Dallas
Mark Lenert 1 Dallas
Mark Lenert 2 Washington
Mark Loftus Washington
Marole Leteber Denver
Marshall Dostal 1 San Diego
Marshall Dostal 2 Dallas
Marshall Dostal 3 Dallas
Marty Linsky 1 Washington
Marty Linsky 3 Denver
MATT 1 San Diego
MATT 2 Dallas
Matt Biskner 1 Denver
Matt Biskner 2 Dallas
Matt Bottiglieri 2 Denver
Matt Bottiglieri 3 San Diego
Matt Bottiglieri 4 Dallas
Matt Domski 3 Chicago
Matt Domski 4 Washington
Matt Emory Washington
Matt Heffner Dallas
Matt Sutton Washington
Matt Warren 1 Denver
Matt Warren 2 Washington
Matt Wilson Dallas
Matt Young Dallas
Max Haber 2 Denver
Max Haber 3 San Diego
Max Haber 4 Denver
Maze 1 Dallas
Maze 3 Denver
Michael Frist Denver
Michael Hickey 1 Denver
Michael Hickey 3 San Diego
Michael Higashi 1 Denver
Michael Koffler 1 Dallas
Michael Koffler 2 Denver
Michael P. Dallas
Mike Gosk 2 Denver
Mike Gosk 3 Chicago
Mike Gross Denver
Mike Keller 1 Washington
Mike Keller 2 Denver
Mike Lee 2 San Diego
Mike Lee 3 Denver
Mike Moleski 1 Washington
Mike Moleski 2 Dallas
Mike Tynan 1 Dallas
Mo Powell 1 Dallas
Mo Powell 2 Dallas
Mr. Chris 1 Washington
Mr. Chris 2 San Diego
Mr. Chris 3 NY Jets
Nate Pivaroff 1 Denver
Nate Pivaroff 2 Washington
Nate Pivaroff 3 Denver
Nate Pivaroff 4 San Diego
Nate Pivaroff 5 Washington
Nick Roby Washington
Nicola Espie Denver
Niemeyer 1 San Diego
Niemeyer 2 Washington
Niemeyer 3 Denver
Nomanerz Denver
Norm & Angie Cooper Denver
Ondre 1 Denver
Ondre 2 Chicago
P Sautter 1 Denver
P Sautter 2 Dallas
Pablo Aguirre 1 Denver
Pablo Aguirre 2 Dallas
Paul Malmud 1 Washington
Paul Malmud 2 Washington
Paul Manno 2 Washington
Paul McIntyre Chicago
Paul Stitzer Denver
Paul Zucconi 2 Pittsburgh
Pete Manno 1 Washington
Peter Buck/Dan Kent Denver
Phil D'Agostino Denver
Phil Manno 2 San Diego
Phil Manno 4 Dallas
Phil Milliner Chicago
R Coto 1 Dallas
R Coto 2 Washington
R Coto 3 Washington
Randy Byron Denver
Richard Stanley 1 Denver
Richmond/Griffin Denver
Rick L 1 Washington
Rick L 6 Dallas
Rick Woods 1 Denver
Rick Woods 2 Chicago
Ritter 1 Dallas
Ritter 2 Pittsburgh
Ritter 4 Denver
Ritter 6 Pittsburgh
Rob Mitchell Denver
Robin Mitchell Denver
Rodney Thomas 1 Denver
Rodney Thomas 2 Dallas
Roger Levine 2 Dallas
Ron Mexico 1 Denver
Ron Mexico 4 Dallas
Ron Mexico 6 Washington
Ron P 3 Washington
Ron P 4 Dallas
Ron Wick Denver
Rose/David Stitzer Dallas
Ross Novie 2 Denver
Ryan Doheny 2 Chicago
Ryan Doheny 3 Denver
Ryan Doheny 4 Denver
Ryan Doheny 5 San Diego
Ryan Kohrig 1 Denver
Ryan Kohrig 2 Cincinnati
Ryan Kohrig 3 Dallas
Ryan Kohrig 4 Cincinnati
Ryan Kohrig 5 Denver
Ryan Kohrig 6 Chicago
Schoettle 1 Dallas
Schoettle 2 denver
Scott Lease 1 Denver
Scott Lease 3 Dallas
Scott Libby 2 Dallas
Scott Libby 3 Denver
Scott Nurick Pittsburgh
Scott Sonnenberg 2 Dallas
Scott Stoddard Dallas
Scott Tilley 1 Washington
Scott Tilley 2 Dallas
Sean Ozbolt Dallas
Seth \2 Pittsburgh
Shane Kent 1 Denver
Shane Kent 2 Denver
Shane Kent 3 Dallas
Shane Kent 4 Dallas
Shane Kent 5 Denver
Shawn Mitchell Dallas
Silver Fox 2 Dallas
Simonque Washington
Stacey Tracton 1 Dallas
Stacey Tracton 2 Denver
Stephen Abela Dallas
Stephen Moss Chicago
Stephen Sosangelis Dallas
Steve Abramowitz San Diego
Steve Berman 1 Denver
Steve Berman 2 Denver
Steve Gold 1 Dallas
Steve Gold 2 Denver
Steve Gold 3 Dallas
Steve Stovall Denver
Steve Waldron Washington
Steve Whiteford Dallas
Steven Immergut 2 Dallas
Stuart Chase 1 Denver
Ted Price 2 Dallas
Ted Price 4 Denver
The Legend 2 Denver
Timmy Gatz 1 Denver
Todd & Reg 1 San Diego
Todd & Reg 2 Dallas
Todd Kelly 4 Pittsburgh
Todd Turchin 1 Denver
Todd Turchin 5 San Diego
Tom Dilsheimer 1 Denver
Tom Dilsheimer 2 Washington
Tom Kaplan Denver
Tom Nagel Denver
Tom Speranzo Pittsburgh
Tony Buglak 1 Washington
Tony Zabawa Dallas
Uncle Charley Washington
Uncle Joe 1 Dallas
Uncle Joe 2 Washington
Val Brochard 1 Chicago
Vernon Lee 1 Denver
Victor Pham Washington
Wendy Adkins Dallas
Xavier Goss Washington
Zack Kramer Denver

Cory Lidle, George Rogers, A little baseball, and NFL and NCAA Picks

I appeared on the George Rogers Show yesterday and the Opening Drive in Greenville, SC today. My George Rogers appearance can be found at www.georgerogersradio.com. My segment goes from about the 5.5 minute mark until about the 20 minute mark. Stitzer’s Yankee guest column may be posted tomorrow (Saturday), so check back for that. Also, win or die picks will be posted Sunday before kickoff.

R.I.P. Cory Lidle. Nobody should die like that. Three points I would like to make on this matter. First, I feel bad about writing in this blog less than a month ago that he should “get hit by a bus”. He was bashing my team on the way out the door, and I need to stick up for my guys, but in retrospect, I guess I should have chosen my words a little more carefully. Second, every time a tragedy happens and someone dies before their time, the media gets itself into a frenzy making that person into one of the greatest people on the Earth, and how big a loss to society it will be. I am sure Cory Lidle was a great guy, but enough of making everyone that dies into a martyr. Finally, I am waiting on the Yankee fans to fuel the flames that A-Rod killed Lidle. After all, if he did not suck so bad, they would still be playing. This is not me talking, this is simply my hypothesis of where Yankee fans might take this.

Wow. What a performance last night from Tommy Glavine. Who would have thought the Mets, with their old and injured pitching staff and stuff offensive lineup, would need a masterpiece from Glavine to overcome an almost as strong performance from Jeff Weaver. I thought the Mets would win games 9-8, not 2-0. Still does not make a Hall of Famer out of Glavine in my opinion, but great performance in a huge spot.

Time to get down to business and get to my picks for this week…..

NCAA (Last week 3-3; Season 15-18-1, 46%)

Back to a better than embarrassing week, but we need to turn in a winning college week. That is exactly what I intend to do this week….

Rutgers +2.5 at Navy. I think Rutgers is a legit team that can take care of business on the road against Navy. The key is whether Navy can stop Ray Rice and the Scarlet Knight rushing attack. I say not quite. Close, but Rutgers wins.

Texas A&M +1.5 vs. Missouri. Turns out I was one week early predicting the demise of the Tigers perfect season. This line is a trap, as they want you to lay less than a field goal on a perfect team who is playing against a team that could not win at home against the Texas Tech team that Mizzou beat on the road last week. This game is a slam dunk. Aggies get it done.

Auburn +1.5 vs. Florida. Florida has a great defense but so does Auburn. The difference in this game will be Kenny Irons and the Tiger rushing game (note: if you hear that Irons is not recovered and back to close to 100% from his injury, stay away; this is assuming a healthy Irons). In addition, Auburn will be fired up beyond belief after an embarrassing home loss to Arkansas last week.

Florida St (-22) at Duke. Look, I hope I am wrong, but I am just not sure how even a subpar FSU team can help but winning by 30+ points, even in Durham.

Penn St (+6) vs. Michigan. The Nittany Lions will be ready for Michael Hart with their great linebackers, forcing Chad Penne to beat them without his best receiver. I don’t think he can do it. As a bonus, we saw last year against Ohio State that State College is a tough road atmosphere at night.

NFL (Last week 4-1-1; Season 16-10-1, 62%)

That’s right, another excellent week in my NFL picks, leaving me at over 60% for the season, documented. In actuality, I did not lose any games as Carolina line moved to 8, getting me a push, but I will take a loss here, as it was 8.5 at time of publication).

The Eagles face an interesting test this week. Can they avoid a letdown against a good team after a huge monumental win last week against the Cowgirls? Historically, under Andy Reid, they have done a good job in this area, typically winning the games they are supposed to. It appears that they will be without Stallworth and Hood again. And is McNabb ever going to have an average or poor game this year? I think the Eagles get it done in a dogfight this weekend, but I am not confident enough to include it in the picks. Eagles win, NO PICK.

Seattle (-3) at St. Louis. This is how silly I am. If the line were the same, and St. Louis was 2-3 instead of 4-1, I would LOVE the Rams. But because they are 4-1, the line is probably legitimate, and I think Seattle, who has had a week off to fix the disaster that was the Sunday night game against the Bears, has too much for St. Louis, even at the Edward Jones dome and even without Sean Alexander. Plus, Mark Bulger is due for an interception; he has none all year. Seattle handles the Rams.

NY Giants (+3) at Atlanta. This line says that on a neutral site, these teams are dead even. I do not believe that. I think the Giants are much better and will win a close game.

Carolina (+3) at Baltimore. Ditto the Giant logic above, Carolina covers.

J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS (-2) vs. Miami. The Jets have looked good except for one game. The Dolphins have looked bad in all their games. The Dolphinns defense is old and has lost a step, specifically Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. They are starting Joey Harrington at quarterback. And the public is fooled, driving the line down a ½ point since it opened at 2.5. The Jets will deliver a fatal blow to Miami’s floundering playoff hopes.

Kansas City (+7) at Pittsburgh. The Steelers may win, but I am not laying 7 on them the way they are playing against anyone, especially against a Chief team that is actually getting good quarterback play from Damon Huard. Take the Chiefs.

Oakland (+15) at Denver. I will wait until you finish laughing. Are you done? Look, Oakland is not going to go 0-16 against the spread, and Denver can barely score 15 points in a game, much less win by that much. This is a rivalry game, and Al Davis hates Shanahan, so if Oakland ever will play with heart, it will be now (of course, the flip side is that we know Shanahan will not pull off the dogs). It will hurt you to do and you might feel silly, but play the Raiders here and you will be thanking me around midnight Sunday night, east coast time.

Quick Hitters

Why is it when I go running with my iPod, and a song comes on with a curse word in the lyrics, that I get a little boost of adrenaline? Am I 12?

Stitzer recommends the John Adams biography by David McCullough. He says it should be required reading for every American citizen. This may or may not rule out Marole.

Speaking of Stitzer, he promises to do a guest column this week to recap the Yankees season. My recap would start with making the $252 million man someone else’s problem next year. The guy has hit .103 with ZERO RBI’s in the last two postseasons combined.

The Broncos/Ravens game last night was every bit the sleep aid as T.O.’s bottle of pain medication.

Speaking of T.O., I would rather have him on my team any day than Stephen Jackson. He is a much better talent, and much less likely to actually kill somebody.

Any Detroit Lion fan can tell you how sad it is that Dolphin fans are excited that the Joey Harrington era has replaced the quickly cancelled Daunte Culpepper era in Miami.

Speaking of the Lions, is there anything more criminal than Matt Millen still having a job? He is on his third coach, who is still winless. Maybe it’s the players that Millen is assembling…

Donovan McNabb has over 1,600 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 1 interception through 5 weeks. This has never happened in the history of the world. I would say he is pretty good. Even without the mighty T.O.

Mark Brunell has had three games where his QB rating is below 80 and two where it has been higher than 115. His game should be diagnosed with schizophrenia.

There are five days until college hoops practice starts around the country. Let me get in shape: “Go to Hell, Carolina, Go to Hell!” That makes me feel good even before the season starts.

Upset alert: watch out for Penn St, tough at night at home, to give Michigan more than they can handle with the Wolverines missing their biggest aerial threat in Manningham.

Should Dennis Green start packing now or actually wait until he gets fired at the end of the season?

So much for the feel good start of the season, with the Jets losing 41-0 at Jacksonville this weekend. I guess Stitzer may have a second guest column to write! Look for the Green and White to bounce back with a much better performance this week against the Dolphins, perhaps igniting talk for the beginning of the Cleo Lemon era in Miami.

Have any of you Sports Guy readers on espn.com noticed that his wife is kicking his ass on her NFL picks. For the record, I am, too!

For those of you who failed to notice my 0-4 performance in the MLB divisional playoffs, I am picking the Mets and the A’s to win the Championship series and meet in the World Series.

With ‘24’ not on until after the New Year, Entourage on hiatus, and Two and a Half Men on against Monday Night Football, is there anything good on television besides sports? I am open to recos….

The over/under for T.O. calling Drew Bledsoe gay or punching him in the face is 11 days.

Dils Win or Die Week 5; Pick Distribution and Individual Picks

*CLICK the graph above if having trouble reading it*

A Keiser New England
Adam Goldman 1 Carolina
Adam Goldman 2 Chicago
Adam Katzen 1 Jacksonville
Adam Katzen 2 Carolina
Adam Stillman New England
Adin Gardens 2
AJ Fratoni 1 Chicago
AJ Fratoni 2 Indianapolis
AJ Whitehead Chicago
Akshon Barclay 1 Chicago
Akshon Barclay 2 New England
Akshon Barclay 3 Indianapolis
Alberto Escobedo 1 Carolina
Alex Coates Carolina
Alexa delaGuardia Carolina
Amol Dixit 2 Carolina
Amol Dixit 5 New England
Andrew Robinson Carolina
Andy Smukler New Orleans
Anne Bolduc 1 Indianapolis
Anne Bolduc 2 Carolina
Anthony Themak Carolina
Antonio Ramos 1 New England
Antonio Ramos 2 New Orleans
Antony Joffe 1 Carolina
Ari Raivetz Indianapolis
Arlyn Landow New Orleans
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 1 Chicago
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 2 New England
Ashley/Barr/Hollrah 4 Carolina
BayAreaBoys Indianapolis
Bear 1 New Orleans
Ben Kunkel Indianapolis
Bev Nicholl Indianapolis
Bill Bucy 1 Indianapolis
Bill Herrmann 1 Chicago
Bill Herrmann 3 Carolina
Bill/Mike McLaughlin 3 Carolina
Billy Bredt Chicago
BJ Mahle Indianapolis
Bob Feinstein 1 New England
Bob Landow Indianapolis
Bob Van Nortwick New England
Bob Wallace 2 Minnesota
Bobby P 1 New England
Borgen 1 Chicago
Brad Sheilds Indianapolis
Brad Stuart 1 New England
Brad Stuart 2 Indianapolis
Brady Boss 1 Indianapolis
Brady Boss 2 Carolina
Brent Bryant Indianapolis
Brian Ellis 4 New Orleans
Brian Fenlin 2 Carolina
Brian Fenlin 3 New England
Brian Finnell Indianapolis
Brian Getson 2 Carolina
Brian Harris 3 Carolina
Brian Harris 4 Indianapolis
Brian Murphy Carolina
Brian Roberts Indianapolis
Brian Silverio Indianapolis
Brian Wallace 2 Indianapolis
Brian Yacker 1 Chicago
Brian Yacker 2 Indianapolis
Brownie 1 Indianapolis
Bryan Sullivan New Orleans
Buddy Acchione 2 Carolina
Buddy Emmert Carolina
Bull 1 Chicago
Bush 2 Indianapolis
Bush 3 New Orleans
C Scruton 2 Carolina
CDW2 Indianapolis
Cecile Donnelly Carolina
Che Hong Yeung Carolina
Chip Hastings Indianapolis
Chip Levers 2 Jacksonville
Chris Bassi 1 Carolina
Chris Bassi 2 Indianapolis
Chris Moseley Indianapolis
Chris P 1 Indianapolis
Chris P 2 Indianapolis
Chris Parliman Carolina
Chris Scoggins New England
Clint Mead 1 Indianapolis
Cobes 1 Carolina
Cobes 2 Carolina
Cobes 4 New Orleans
Connie Lemon Chicago
Coop 1 Jacksonville
Cube Chicago
D Froney 1 Minnesota
D Froney 2 Indianapolis
Damon Devito Carolina
Dan Gold 1 Indianapolis
Dan Gold 3 New Orleans
Dan Levine 1 Indianapolis
Dan Levine 2 New England
Daniel Neifer 1 Indianapolis
Daniel Neifer 2 New England
Danny Kranzler 1 Carolina
Danny Kranzler 3 Indianapolis
Darren Dahlman 1 Carolina
Dave Finnegan Indianapolis
Dave Holdsworth 1 Indianapolis
Dave Holdsworth 2 Chicago
Dave Mehall 3 Minnesota
Dave Robbins 1 Indianapolis
Dave S Carolina
Dave S 2 New England
Dave Stassen Indianapolis
Dave Wisemiller Minnesota
David Gardner 1 Carolina
David Kay 1 Carolina
David Lapidus 2 Indianapolis
David Scherby 1 Chicago
David Scherby 2 New Orleans
David Scherby 4 Indianapolis
Dean Scruton 2 Carolina
Denver Brown 2 Indianapolis
Derek Glenzinski 1 New England
Derek Glenzinski 2 Carolina
Desiree Germon Chicago
Dominic delaGuardia Chicago
Doug Bonnell 1 Minnesota
Doug Bonnell 2 Indianapolis
Doug Cron Carolina
Doug Livingston Carolina
Dunlavy 2 New Orleans
Dylan Cooper Kansas City
Eagle 2 Jacksonville
Ed Welsh 2 New England
Ed Welsh 3 Carolina
Ed Welsh 4 Carolina
Ed Welsh 6 Indianapolis
Eddy Arechaga Carolina
Enio Bencosme 1 New Orleans
Eric Haron 3 Carolina
Eric Meyers 1 New England
Eric Meyers 2 Indianapolis
Eric Meyers 3 New Orleans
Eric Yungner 1 New Orleans
Eric Yungner 2 New England
Erik Nakamura 1 Jacksonville
Erik Nakamura 2 Carolina
Fenlin/Stern 1 New England
Flummer 1 Carolina
Flummer 2 Indianapolis
Frank Nussbaum
Gabe Bodhi 2 New England
Gags Chicago
Gary Beasley 1 Chicago
Gary Beasley 2 Indianapolis
Gary Jonas Carolina
Gene Han 1 Indianapolis
George Kuruc 1 Carolina
George Triano New England
Gianna Cooper Carolina
Greg Heff 1 New England
Greg Magnani Jacksonville
Gregg Benedetto 2 Jacksonville
Howard Smith NY Giants
Iceman 1 Chicago
Iceman 2 New England
Iceman 3 Indianapolis
J Ferry Chicago
J.B. Dilsheimer Indianapolis
Jack Marshall 1 Carolina
James Mills 2 Carolina
Jason Favrow 2 Minnesota
Jason P Minnesota
Jay Soroko 2 New England
Jay/Scott Goldsleger 1 Indianapolis
Jay/Scott Goldsleger 2 Carolina
JD 1 Indianapolis
JD 3 Carolina
JD 4 Indianapolis
JDBakke1 Chicago
Jeff Berman Indianapolis
Jeff Resnick 2 Chicago
Jeff Saito Carolina
Jeff Slovin 1 New Orleans
Jeff Slovin 2 Chicago
Jeff Slovin 3 Carolina
Jeff Slovin 6 Minnesota
Jeff Tiede 1 Indianapolis
Jeff Wagoner Indianapolis
Jeremy Hare 1 New England
Jeremy Hare 2 Chicago
Jim Harley 1 Indianapolis
Jim Harley 2 Indianapolis
Jim Harley 3 Carolina
Jimmy B 1 Chicago
Jimmy Grossman 1 NY Giants
Jo…now STROBCK New England
Jodi Wallace 1 New England
Jodi Wallace 4 Indianapolis
Joe Dansky 1 New England
Joe David 2 Indianapolis
Joe Fagan Indianapolis
Joe H Carolina
Joe HM New Orleans
Joe Pucillo 1 New Orleans
Joe Pucillo 2 San Fran
Joe Pucillo 3 Chicago
Joe RH Carolina
John Abshear 1 Carolina
John Abshear 4 Indianapolis
John Bolduc Indianapolis
John Ellinthorpe Indianapolis
John Klein New England
John Winfield Carolina
Jon Taylor 1 Carolina
Jon Taylor 2 Minnesota
Joseph Beedon Kansas City
JPL New England
Judy Panichi 1 Carolina
Juice 2 New England
Juice 3 Indianapolis
Juice 5 Indianapolis
Juice 6 Chicago
Jules Seshens Carolina
Karen Gatz 1 Chicago
Karen Gatz 2 Carolina
Kathleen Wells 1 Chicago
Kauf 1 Indianapolis
Kauf 2 Chicago
Kay Lee 2 Indianapolis
Kay Lee 3 Chicago
Kaz 1 Carolina
Kaz 2 New England
Kaz 3 Indianapolis
Keith Berger 1 Minnesota
Keith Cronin 1 Carolina
Kelly Krenger 1 Indianapolis
Kelly Lanham 1 Carolina
Ken Dash Jacksonville
Ken Ruderman New England
Kevin Gusinow 1 Indianapolis
Kevin Moran 1 Carolina
Kevin New Chicago
Kevin New 2 New England
Kim P. Indianapolis
Kinger51 New Orleans
K-Mart 2 Carolina
KP Carolina
Krug 1 Jacksonville
Kurt Weber Indianapolis
Lack & Daily 1 Indianapolis
Lack & Daily 2 Indianapolis
Lack & Daily 3 Carolina
Lack & Daily 4 Chicago
Larry Parsons 1 Indianapolis
Lauren Sivan Indianapolis
Lee/May 1 Chicago
Lee/May 5 Carolina
LeErin Hickey 2 Minnesota
LML Chicago
Lorne Keller Carolina
M Ferry Chicago
Maggie 1 Oakland
Maggie 2 Carolina
Manish Patel 1 New Orleans
Manish Patel 2 New England
Marc Rudofker Indianapolis
Mark Christensen New Orleans
Mark Lacarenza 1 New England
Mark Lacarenza 2 Carolina
Mark Lenert 1 Carolina
Mark Lenert 2 New England
Mark Loftus Kansas City
Marole Leteber Indianapolis
Marshall Dostal 1 Indianapolis
Marshall Dostal 2 Indianapolis
Marshall Dostal 3 New England
Marty Linsky 1 Chicago
Marty Linsky 3 Indianapolis
MATT 1 Chicago
MATT 2 Indianapolis
Matt Biskner 1 Indianapolis
Matt Biskner 2 Carolina
Matt Bottiglieri 2 Indianapolis
Matt Bottiglieri 3 New Orleans
Matt Bottiglieri 4 Chicago
Matt Domski 3 Jacksonville
Matt Domski 4 New England
Matt Emory Carolina
Matt Heffner Indianapolis
Matt Sutton Chicago
Matt Warren 1 New England
Matt Warren 2 New Orleans
Matt Wilson Jacksonville
Matt Young Indianapolis
Max Haber 2 Carolina
Max Haber 3 Carolina
Max Haber 4 Indianapolis
Maze 1 Indianapolis
Maze 3 New England
Michael Frist Indianapolis
Michael Hickey 1 Chicago
Michael Hickey 3 Carolina
Michael Higashi 1 New Orleans
Michael Koffler 1 Indianapolis
Michael Koffler 2 Indianapolis
Michael P. Jacksonville
Mike Gosk 2 Carolina
Mike Gosk 3 Carolina
Mike Gross Chicago
Mike Keller 1 Chicago
Mike Keller 2 Chicago
Mike Lee 2 Chicago
Mike Lee 3 Carolina
Mike Moleski 1 Carolina
Mike Moleski 2 New Orleans
Mike Tynan 1 Carolina
Mo Powell 1 Chicago
Mo Powell 2 New England
Mr. Chris 1 Minnesota
Mr. Chris 2 Indianapolis
Mr. Chris 3 New Orleans
Nate Pivaroff 1 Indianapolis
Nate Pivaroff 2 Chicago
Nate Pivaroff 3 Carolina
Nate Pivaroff 4 New England
Nate Pivaroff 5 Carolina
Nick Roby Kansas City
Nicola Espie Chicago
Niemeyer 1 Carolina
Niemeyer 2 Chicago
Niemeyer 3 New England
Nomanerz Carolina
Norm & Angie Cooper New Orleans
Ondre 1 Indianapolis
Ondre 2 New England
P Sautter 1 Indianapolis
P Sautter 2 Carolina
Pablo Aguirre 1 Carolina
Pablo Aguirre 2 New England
Paul Malmud 1 Carolina
Paul Malmud 2 New England
Paul Manno 2 Jacksonville
Paul McIntyre Carolina
Paul Stitzer Indianapolis
Paul Zucconi 2 Carolina
Pete Manno 1 New Orleans
Peter Buck/Dan Kent Indianapolis
Phil D'Agostino Indianapolis
Phil Manno 2 Chicago
Phil Manno 4 Indianapolis
Phil Milliner Carolina
R Coto 1 Chicago
R Coto 2 Carolina
R Coto 3 New England
Randy Byron Indianapolis
Richard Stanley 1 Indianapolis
Richmond/Griffin Indianapolis
Rick L 1 Carolina
Rick L 6 Indianapolis
Rick Woods 1
Rick Woods 2
Ritter 1 Indianapolis
Ritter 2 San Fran
Ritter 4 New Orleans
Ritter 6 New England
Rob Mitchell Indianapolis
Robin Mitchell New Orleans
Rodney Thomas 1 Carolina
Rodney Thomas 2 New England
Roger Levine 2 Carolina
Ron Mexico 1 Chicago
Ron Mexico 4 Indianapolis
Ron Mexico 6 New England
Ron P 3 Carolina
Ron P 4 New Orleans
Ron Wick New England
Rose/David Stitzer Indianapolis
Ross Novie 2 Carolina
Rozanna Tesler Oakland
Ryan Doheny 2 Chicago
Ryan Doheny 3 New England
Ryan Doheny 4 Chicago
Ryan Doheny 5 Indianapolis
Ryan Kohrig 1 New England
Ryan Kohrig 2 St. Louis
Ryan Kohrig 3 KC
Ryan Kohrig 4 New England
Ryan Kohrig 5 KC
Ryan Kohrig 6 New Orleans
Schoettle 1 Indianapolis
Schoettle 2 Indianapolis
Scott Lease 1 Chicago
Scott Lease 3 Indianapolis
Scott Libby 2 Carolina
Scott Libby 3 Indianapolis
Scott Nurick New Orleans
Scott Sonnenberg 2 Indianapolis
Scott Stoddard Carolina
Scott Tilley 1 Carolina
Scott Tilley 2 Carolina
Sean Ozbolt Chicago
Shane Kent 1 Chicago
Shane Kent 2 Chicago
Shane Kent 3 Carolina
Shane Kent 4 Carolina
Shane Kent 5 Indianapolis
Shawn Mitchell Indianapolis
Silver Fox 2 Indianapolis
Simonque Carolina
Stacey Tracton 1 Carolina
Stacey Tracton 2 New Orleans
Stephen Abela Jacksonville
Stephen Moss Carolina
Stephen Sosangelis Minnesota
Steve Abramowitz Indianapolis
Steve Berman 1 Indianapolis
Steve Berman 2 Carolina
Steve Gold 1 New England
Steve Gold 2 Chicago
Steve Gold 3 Indianapolis
Steve Stovall New England
Steve Waldron New England
Steve Whiteford Carolina
Steven Immergut 2 New England
Stuart Chase 1 Chicago
Ted Price 2 Indianapolis
Ted Price 4 Indianapolis
The Legend 2 Chicago
Timmy Gatz 1 Minnesota
Todd & Reg 1 New England
Todd & Reg 2 Indianapolis
Todd Kelly 4 Carolina
Todd Turchin 1 New England
Todd Turchin 5 Carolina
Tom Dilsheimer 1 Indianapolis
Tom Dilsheimer 2 Chicago
Tom Kaplan Carolina
Tom Nagel Indianapolis
Tom Speranzo New England
Tony Buglak 1 Minnesota
Tony Zabawa Carolina
Uncle Charley Carolina
Uncle Joe 1 Carolina
Uncle Joe 2 Indianapolis
Val Brochard 1 Indianapolis
Vernon Lee 1 Chicago
Victor Pham Minnesota
Wendy Adkins Carolina
Xavier Goss Chicago
Zack Kramer Carolina