Dils

Week 20 Picks

2009-01-15T14:08:00.002-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 2
Baltimore 2
EAGLES 1

Individual Picks:

Craig Bradley 4 Arizona
Gigante Baltimore
Iceman 3 Arizona
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Baltimore
Sonnyp 1 EAGLES

Week 19 Picks

2009-01-09T11:56:00.000-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Carolina 7
Pittsburgh 5
Tennessee 2

Individual Picks:

Amol Dixit 1 Carolina
Brad Stuart 1…NOW LHUB Carolina
Bryla 2 Carolina
Craig Bradley 4 Pittsburgh
DS 3 Tennessee
Eric McNutt 3 Carolina
Gigante Pittsburgh
Iceman 3 Pittsburgh
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Pittsburgh
Ken Nilson Carolina
M Fahlbusch…NOW BATTLING BEARS Carolina
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Tennessee
Rob Kaiser 1 Carolina
Sonnyp 1 Pittsburgh

Week 18 Picks

2009-01-02T12:59:00.000-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 1
Atlanta 1
Baltimore 9
EAGLES 3
Indianapolis 1
San Diego 1

Individual Picks:

Amol Dixit 1 Baltimore
Brad Stuart 1…NOW LHUB Arizona
Bryla 2 Baltimore
Craig Bradley 4 Baltimore
DS 3 Baltimore
Eric McNutt 3 Baltimore
Gigante Baltimore
Iceman 3 EAGLES
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Atlanta
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK EAGLES
Ken Nilson Baltimore
M Fahlbusch…NOW BATTLING BEARS Baltimore
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN San Diego
Pauley 4 Indianapolis
Rob Kaiser 1 Baltimore
Sonnyp 1 EAGLES

Week 17 Picks

2008-12-26T12:14:00.000-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Atlanta 12
Baltimore 3
Green Bay 1
Tampa Bay 1

Individual Picks:

Amol Dixit 1 Atlanta
Brad Stuart 1…NOW LHUB Baltimore
Bryla 2 Baltimore
Craig Bradley 4 Atlanta
DS 3 Atlanta
Eric McNutt 3 Atlanta
Gigante Atlanta
Grill Sargent 1…NOW RJBDAD Tampa Bay
Iceman 3 Baltimore
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Atlanta
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Atlanta
Ken Nilson Atlanta
M Fahlbusch…NOW BATTLING BEARS Green Bay
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Atlanta
Pauley 4 Atlanta
Rob Kaiser 1 Atlanta
Sonnyp 1 Atlanta

Week 16 Picks & Pick Breakdown

2008-12-19T15:01:00.003-05:00

Pick Breakdown

Denver 3
Eagles 1
Houston 7
Indianapolis 2
Miami 2
New England 12
New Orleans 1
NY Jets 1
Tampa Bay 1

Individual Picks

Amol Dixit 1 New England
Brad Stuart 1 Miami
Bryla 2 New England
Coop 4…NOW SMUKLER Denver
Craig Bradley 4 New England
Dennis Hsiao Houston
DS 3 New England
Eric McNutt 3 Indianapolis
Erin Cooney 2 Denver
FCP 1 Houston
Gigante New England
Grill Sargent 1…NOW RJBDAD New England
Iceman 3 New Orleans
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Miami
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Indianapolis
Ken Nilson New England
Kobenoj 1 Houston
Kurt Weber Tampa Bay
Laughandwin Houston
Lucky Pals Houston
M Fahlbusch…NOW BATTLING BEARS New England
Matt Kunkel Houston
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN New England
Pauley 4 New England
Rob Kaiser 1 New England
Sam Rothstein 2 Houston
Sonnyp 1 New England
Soskin & Brebach 7 EAGLES
Stitzer Ann Denver
Vandy 7 NY Jets

Week 15 Picks

2008-12-12T14:13:00.001-05:00

Pick Breakdown

Eagles 22 (oh, the pressure...)
Indianapolis 7
New England 1
Washington 2

Individual Picks

Amol Dixit 1 EAGLES
Brad Stuart 1 EAGLES
Bryla 2 EAGLES
Coop 4…NOW SMUKLER EAGLES
Craig Bradley 4 EAGLES
Dennis Hsiao EAGLES
DS 3 EAGLES
Eric McNutt 3 EAGLES
Erin Cooney 2 Indianapolis
Falcon 7 Washington
FCP 1 Indianapolis
Gigante EAGLES
Grill Sargent 1…NOW RJBDAD Indianapolis
Iceman 3 EAGLES
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS EAGLES
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK EAGLES
Ken Nilson EAGLES
Kobenoj 1 EAGLES
Kurt Weber EAGLES
Laughandwin Indianapolis
Lucky Pals New England
Matt Kunkel Indianapolis
Michael Fahlbusch EAGLES
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN EAGLES
Pauley 4 EAGLES
Rob Kaiser 1 EAGLES
Sam Rothstein 2 EAGLES
Sonnyp 1 Indianapolis
Soskin & Brebach 7 Indianapolis
Stitzer Ann EAGLES
Stuart Chase 2 Washington
Vandy 7 EAGLES

Week 14 Picks & Breakdown

2008-12-05T13:50:00.002-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 15
Denver 1
Indianapolis 7
Minnesota 1
New England 1
San Diego 2
Tennessee 5

Individual Picks:

Amol Dixit 1 Minnesota
Brad Stuart 1 Denver
Bryla 2 Arizona
Coop 4…NOW SMUKLER Arizona
Craig Bradley 4 Tennessee
Dennis Hsiao San Diego
DS 3 Arizona
Eric McNutt 3 Arizona
Erin Cooney 2 Indianapolis
Falcon 7 San Diego
FCP 1 Arizona
Gigante Arizona
Grill Sargent 1 Arizona
Iceman 3 Indianapolis
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS New England
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Tennessee
Ken Nilson Tennessee
Kobenoj 1 Arizona
Kurt Weber Arizona
Laughandwin Arizona
Lucky Pals Tennessee
Matt Kunkel Arizona
Michael Fahlbusch Indianapolis
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Arizona
Pauley 4 Arizona
Rob Kaiser 1 Arizona
Sam Rothstein 2 Tennessee
Sonnyp 1 Indianapolis
Soskin & Brebach 7 Indianapolis
Stitzer Ann Arizona
Stuart Chase 2 Indianapolis
Vandy 7 Indianapolis

Week 13 Picks

2008-11-26T13:46:00.001-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Baltimore 2
Buffalo 5
Dallas 15
eagles 0
Indianapolis 1
NY Jets 1
Tennessee 14

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Buffalo
Amol Dixit 1 Dallas
Brad Stuart 1 Tennessee
Bryla 2 Tennessee
Coop 4 Dallas
Craig Bradley 4 Dallas
Dennis Hsiao Tennessee
DS 3 Tennessee
Eric McNutt 3 Tennessee
Erin Cooney 2 Dallas
Falcon 7 Dallas
FCP 1 Tennessee
Gigante Dallas
Grill Sargent 1 Dallas
Iceman 3 Tennessee
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Tennessee
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Dallas
Ken Nilson Baltimore
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Buffalo
Kobenoj 1 Dallas
Kurt Weber Dallas
Laughandwin Tennessee
Lucky Pals Indianapolis
Matt Kunkel Baltimore
May Lee 6 Buffalo
Michael Fahlbusch Dallas
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Dallas
MWatson 1 Buffalo
Pauley 4 Tennessee
RL12 Buffalo
Rob Kaiser 1 Tennessee
Sam Rothstein 2 Dallas
Sonnyp 1 Dallas
Soskin & Brebach 7 Tennessee
Stitzer Ann Tennessee
Stuart Chase 2 Tennessee
TMAD 3 NY Jets
Vandy 7 Dallas

Week 12 Picks

2008-11-21T12:33:00.001-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Chicago 3
Dallas 11
Denver 28
Pittsburgh 24
Tennessee 1

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Pittsburgh
Albanese / Lacount 2 Denver
Amol Dixit 1 Pittsburgh
Andy Smukler 1 Denver
Berco11 Denver
Brad Stuart 1 Pittsburgh
Brian Harris 2 Denver
Bryla 2 Dallas
Carey 2 Denver
Coop 4 Pittsburgh
Craig Bradley 4 Pittsburgh
Dan Gold 5 Denver
Daniel Hopson 1 Denver
David Popeil Denver
Dennis Hsiao Pittsburgh
DS 3 Dallas
E Meyers 2 Denver
Eric McNutt 3 Pittsburgh
Erin Cooney 2 Pittsburgh
Falcon 7 Dallas
FCP 1 Dallas
Flum 1 Denver
Frank Treemarchi Denver
Gbodhi 1 Denver
Gigante Pittsburgh
Grill Sargent 1 Pittsburgh
Harold Doft 2 Denver
Harris Roth 1 Denver
Iceman 3 Pittsburgh
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Dallas
JG 2 Denver
JoAnn Cunningham Denver
Kaioh 2 Denver
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Pittsburgh
Ken Nilson Pittsburgh
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Pittsburgh
Kobenoj 1 Pittsburgh
Kurt Weber Chicago
Laughandwin Dallas
Lord Jeff 2 Denver
Lucky Pals Pittsburgh
Marshall Dostal 2 Denver
Matt Kunkel Pittsburgh
Matt Warren 4…NOW MAUI Denver
May Lee 6 Pittsburgh
Michael Fahlbusch Pittsburgh
Mike Row 1 Denver
Mitchell 1 Denver
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Dallas
MWatson 1 Dallas
Pauley 4 Dallas
PMalmud 3 Denver
Raj Gazula Denver
Ray Wright 2 Denver
RL12 Pittsburgh
Rob Kaiser 1 Dallas
Sam Rothstein 2 Pittsburgh
Silverio / Seits Denver
Sonnyp 1 Pittsburgh
Soskin & Brebach 7 Chicago
Steven Immergut 1 Tennessee
Stitzer Ann Pittsburgh
Stuart Chase 2 Pittsburgh
TMAD 3 Chicago
Todd Lowen Denver
Vandy 7 Dallas
Wahoowa 2 Denver

Week 11 Picks

2008-11-14T15:29:00.004-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Atlanta 1

Carolina 19

EAGLES 12

Indianapolis 16

Miami 32

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Miami
AJ Keirans EAGLES
Albanese / Lacount 2 Miami
Amol Dixit 1 Miami
Andy Smukler 1 Miami
Berco11 Miami
Boisi 1 EAGLES
Brad Stuart 1 Indianapolis
Brian Harris 2 Miami
Bryla 2 Indianapolis
Carey 2 Carolina
Coop 4 Carolina
Craig Bradley 4 Carolina
Dan Gold 5 Carolina
Daniel Hopson 1 Miami
David Popeil Miami
Dennis Hsiao Indianapolis
DS 3 Miami
E Meyers 2 Carolina
Eric McNutt 3 Miami
Erin Cooney 2 Miami
Falcon 7 Indianapolis
FCP 1 Miami
Flum 1 Miami
Frank Treemarchi Miami
Gary Jonas 2 EAGLES
Gbodhi 1 Miami
Gigante Carolina
Greg Newman 1 EAGLES
Grill Sargent 1 Miami
Harold Doft 2 Miami
Harris Roth 1 Miami
Iceman 3 Carolina
J Me Mac 1 EAGLES
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Indianapolis
JG 2 Carolina
JoAnn Cunningham Miami
Kaioh 2 Indianapolis
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Indianapolis
Ken Nilson Indianapolis
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Indianapolis
Kobenoj 1 Carolina

Kurt Weber Miami
Laughandwin Miami
Lord Jeff 2 Indianapolis
Lucky Pals Carolina
Marshall Dostal 2 Indianapolis
Matt Kunkel Carolina
Matt Warren 4 Miami
May Lee 6 Miami
McAndrews 2 EAGLES
Michael Fahlbusch Carolina
Mike Chen 3 EAGLES
Mike Row 1 Miami
Mitchell 1 Carolina
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Miami
MWatson 1 Miami
Pauley 4 Miami
PMalmud 2 EAGLES
PMalmud 3 Miami
Raj Gazula Indianapolis
Randy Brown EAGLES
Ray Wright 2 Carolina
RL12 Indianapolis
Rob Kaiser 1 Miami
Sam Rothstein 2 Miami
Scott Lease 7 Atlanta
Silverio / Seits Carolina
Sonnyp 1 Carolina
SOS 1…NOW TED PRICE EAGLES
Soskin & Brebach 7 Carolina
Steven Immergut 1 Carolina
Stitzer Ann Indianapolis
Stitzer David EAGLES
Stuart Chase 2 Miami
TMAD 3 Indianapolis
Todd Lowen Miami
Vandy 7 Carolina
Wahoowa 2 Indianapolis
Yungner 2 EAGLES

Week 10 Picks

2008-11-07T15:05:00.001-05:00

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 15
Baltimore 1
Carolina 8
Miami 24
NY Jets 3
San Diego 29

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Miami
AJ Keirans Carolina
Albanese / Lacount 2 Miami
Amol Dixit 1 Carolina
Andy Smukler 1 San Diego
Berco11 San Diego
Boisi 1 Carolina
Brad Stuart 1 Arizona
Brian Harris 2 San Diego
Bryla 2 NY Jets
Carey 2 San Diego
Coop 4 Miami
Craig Bradley 4 San Diego
Dan Gold 5 Miami
Daniel Hopson 1 Baltimore
David Popeil Arizona
Dennis Hsiao Arizona
DS 3 Arizona
E Meyers 2 Arizona
Eric McNutt 3 San Diego
Erin Cooney 2 Arizona
Falcon 7 Miami
FCP 1 Miami
Flum 1 Miami
Frank Treemarchi San Diego
Gary Jonas 2 Arizona
Gbodhi 1 San Diego
Gigante San Diego
Greg Newman 1 San Diego
Grill Sargent 1 Miami
Harold Doft 2 Carolina
Harris Roth 1 Miami
Iceman 3 San Diego
J Me Mac 1 Miami
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Carolina
JG 2 San Diego
JoAnn Cunningham Arizona
Kaioh 2 Miami
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK San Diego
Ken Nilson Carolina
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Miami
Kobenoj 1 San Diego
Kurt Weber San Diego
Laughandwin San Diego
Lord Jeff 2 San Diego
Lucky Pals San Diego
Marshall Dostal 2 Miami
Matt Kunkel Miami
Matt Warren 4 San Diego
May Lee 6 Miami
McAndrews 2 San Diego
Michael Fahlbusch Arizona
Mike Chen 3 Miami
Mike Row 1 Miami
Mitchell 1 San Diego
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN NY Jets
MWatson 1 Arizona
Pauley 4 San Diego
PMalmud 2 Miami
PMalmud 3 San Diego
Raj Gazula Carolina
Randy Brown San Diego
Ray Wright 2 Arizona
RL12 Arizona
Rob Kaiser 1 Miami
Sam Rothstein 2 Miami
Scott Lease 7 Miami
Silverio / Seits Miami
Sonnyp 1 San Diego
SOS 1 Miami
Soskin & Brebach 7 San Diego
Steven Immergut 1 San Diego
Stitzer Ann NY Jets
Stitzer David Arizona
Stuart Chase 2 Carolina
TMAD 3 Arizona
Todd Lowen San Diego
Vandy 7 Arizona
Wahoowa 2 San Diego
Yungner 2 Miami

Week 9 Picks

2008-11-01T10:40:00.002-04:00

Pick Breakdown:

Atlanta 1
Chicago 53
Denver 5
EAGLES 9
Houston 1
Indianapolis 2
Jacksonville 8
Minnesota 4
NY Giants 2
Tampa Bay 5
Tennessee 4

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Chicago
AJ Keirans Chicago
Albanese / Lacount 2 Chicago
Amol Dixit 1 Chicago
Andy Smukler 1 Chicago
Andy Smukler 3 Jacksonville
Berco11 Chicago
Boisi 1 EAGLES
Brad Stuart 1 Chicago
Brian Harris 2 Minnesota
Bryla 2 Chicago
C. Gibbs & Co. 2…NOW BOISI Jacksonville
Carey 2 EAGLES
Coop 4 Chicago
CP 1 Denver
Craig Bradley 1 Jacksonville
Craig Bradley 4 Chicago
Dan Gold 5 Tennessee
Daniel Hopson 1 Atlanta
David Kennedy Denver
David Popeil Chicago
Dennis Hsiao Chicago
Donald Woodin Denver
DS 3 Chicago
E Meyers 2 Chicago
EC Jacksonville
Eric McNutt 3 Chicago
Erin Cooney 2 Tennessee
Falcon 7 Minnesota
Falcon10 Jacksonville
FCP 1 Chicago
Flum 1 Chicago
Frank Treemarchi Chicago
Gary Jonas 1 Denver
Gary Jonas 2 Minnesota
Gbodhi 1 Chicago
Gigante Chicago
Greg Newman 1 Chicago
Grill Sargent 1 Chicago
Harold Doft 2 EAGLES
Harris Roth 1 Chicago
Iceman 3 Chicago
J Me Mac 1 Chicago
Jeff Resnick…NOW LOWEN REBORN Jacksonville
Jeffrey Silverman 1 Houston
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS Chicago
JG 2 Chicago
JoAnn Cunningham Chicago
Kaioh 2 Tennessee
Kelly Krenger 2…NOW VIC/RICK Chicago
Ken Nilson Chicago
Kevin St. Pierre 2 EAGLES
Kobenoj 1 Chicago
Kurt Weber Chicago
Laughandwin Tampa Bay
Lord Jeff 2 Chicago
Lucky Pals Tampa Bay
Marshall Dostal 2 Chicago
Matt Kunkel EAGLES
Matt Warren 4 NY Giants
May Lee 6 Chicago
McAndrews 2 Chicago
Michael Fahlbusch Chicago
Mike Chen 3 Chicago
Mike Row 1 Chicago
Mitchell 1 NY Giants
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Chicago
MWatson 1 Indianapolis
Nina K Jacksonville
Pauley 4 Chicago
PMalmud 2 Chicago
PMalmud 3 Chicago
Raj Gazula Chicago
Randy Brown Indianapolis
Ray Wright 2 Chicago
RL12 Tennessee
Rob Kaiser 1 Chicago
Rulestl Denver
Sam Rothstein 2 Chicago
Scott Lease 7 Chicago
Silverio / Seits Chicago
Sonnyp 1 Tampa Bay
SOS 1 Chicago
Soskin & Brebach 7 Tampa Bay
Steven Immergut 1 Chicago
Stitzer Ann EAGLES
Stitzer David Minnesota
Stuart Chase 2 EAGLES
TMAD 3 EAGLES
Todd Lowen Tampa Bay
Tom Huang 3 Jacksonville
Vandy 7 EAGLES
Wahoowa 2 Chicago
Yungner 2 Chicago

Week 8 Picks

2008-10-24T14:50:00.002-04:00

GO PHILLIES!!!! Go Birds........

Pick Breakdown:

Baltimore 10
Carolina 3
EAGLES 10
Houston 8
Jacksonville 3
New England 5
NY Jets 53
Washington 5

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Houston
AJ Keirans Baltimore
Albanese / Lacount 2 New England
Amol Dixit 1 NY Jets
Andy Smukler 1 NY Jets
Andy Smukler 3 Houston
Berco11 NY Jets
Boisi 1 Baltimore
Brad Stuart 1 NY Jets
Brian Harris 2 NY Jets
Bryla 2 New England
C. Gibbs & Co. 2…NOW BOISI NY Jets
Carey 2 NY Jets
Coop 4 NY Jets
CP 1 NY Jets
Craig Bradley 1 NY Jets
Craig Bradley 4 EAGLES
Dan Gold 5 NY Jets
Daniel Hopson 1 NY Jets
David Kennedy NY Jets
David Popeil NY Jets
Dennis Hsiao Carolina
Donald Woodin Baltimore
DS 3 EAGLES
E Meyers 2 NY Jets
EC NY Jets
Eric McNutt 3 NY Jets
Erin Cooney 2 NY Jets
Falcon 7 NY Jets
Falcon10 Baltimore
FCP 1 NY Jets
Flum 1 Houston
Frank Treemarchi NY Jets
Gary Jonas 1 Baltimore
Gary Jonas 2 NY Jets
Gbodhi 1 NY Jets
Gigante NY Jets
Greg Newman 1 Baltimore
Grill Sargent 1 New England
Harold Doft 2 NY Jets
Harris Roth 1 NY Jets
Iceman 3 Houston
J Me Mac 1 NY Jets
Jeff Resnick…NOW LOWEN REBORN EAGLES
Jeffrey Silverman 1 Baltimore
Jeffrey Silverman 2…NOW MIXED NUTS EAGLES
JG 2 NY Jets
JoAnn Cunningham Washington
Joseph Beedon 1 Jacksonville
Kaioh 2 Carolina
Kelly Krenger 2 NY Jets
Ken Nilson EAGLES
Kevin St. Pierre 2 NY Jets
Kobenoj 1 NY Jets
Kurt Weber NY Jets
Laughandwin NY Jets
Lord Jeff 2 Carolina
Lucky Pals Baltimore
Marshall Dostal 2 NY Jets
Matt Kunkel Washington
Matt Warren 1 Jacksonville
Matt Warren 4 EAGLES
May Lee 6 NY Jets
McAndrews 2 NY Jets
Michael Fahlbusch NY Jets
Miggy 1 Jacksonville
Mike Chen 3 Houston
Mike Row 1 Houston
Mitchell 1 NY Jets
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN NY Jets
MWatson 1 Baltimore
Nina K NY Jets
Pauley 4 NY Jets
PMalmud 2 NY Jets
PMalmud 3 Washington
Raj Gazula NY Jets
Randy Brown EAGLES
Ray Wright 2 NY Jets
RL12 Houston
Rob Kaiser 1 EAGLES
Rulestl NY Jets
Sam Rothstein 2 NY Jets
Scott Lease 7 New England
Silverio / Seits NY Jets
Sonnyp 1 NY Jets
SOS 1 Houston
Soskin & Brebach 7 Washington
Steven Immergut 1 Washington
Stitzer Ann Baltimore
Stitzer David EAGLES
Stuart Chase 2 EAGLES
TMAD 3 NY Jets
Todd Lowen New England
Tom Huang 3 NY Jets
Vandy 7 NY Jets
Wahoowa 2 NY Jets
Yungner 2 NY Jets

Win or Die Week 7 Picks

2008-10-19T10:14:00.003-04:00

Pick Breakdown:

Chicago 1
Dallas 1
Houston 30
NY Giants 12
NY Jets 2
Pittsburgh 5
Tampa Bay 42 (Note: Gabe Bodhi did send in his pick in time, which I received when server went back up today)
Tennessee 3
Washington 4

Individual Picks:

AJ Fratoni 1 Houston
AJ Keirans Tampa Bay
Albanese / Lacount 2 Tampa Bay
Amol Dixit 1 Houston
Andy Smukler 1 Houston
Andy Smukler 3 Tampa Bay
Berco 11 Houston
Boisi 1 Tampa Bay
Bolduc 9 NY Jets
Brad Stuart 1 Tampa Bay
Brian Harris 2 Houston
Bryla 2 Tampa Bay
C. Gibbs & Co. 2...NOW BOISI Houston
Carey 2 Tampa Bay
Coop 4 Houston
CP 1 Tampa Bay
Craig Bradley 1 Tampa Bay
Craig Bradley 4 NY Giants
Dan Gold 5 Houston
Dan Winicki 3 NY Jets
Daniel Hopson 1 Houston
David Kennedy NY Giants
David Popeil Houston
Dennis Hsaio Houston
Donald Woodin Houston
DS 3 NY Giants
E Meyers 2 Pittsburgh
EC Tampa Bay
Eric McNutt 3 Tampa Bay
Erin Cooney 2 Houston
Falcon 7 Pittsburgh
Falcon 10 Tampa Bay
FCP 1 Houston
Flum 1 Houston
Frank Treemarchi Houston
Gary Jonas 1 Houston
Gary Jonas 2 Tampa Bay
GBodhi 1 Tampa Bay
Gigante Houston
Greg Newman 1 NY Giants
Grill Sargent 1 Houston
Harold Doft 2 Tampa Bay
Harris Roth 1 Tampa Bay
Iceman 3 Washington
J Me Mac 1 Houston
Jeff Resick...NOW LOWEN REBORN Pittsburgh
Jeffrey Silverman 1 Tampa Bay
Jeffrey Silverman 2...NOW MIXED NUTS Pittsburgh
JG 2 Tampa Bay
JoAnn Cunningham Tampa Bay
Joseph Beedon 1 Tennessee
Kaioh 2 Tampa Bay
Kelly Krenger 2 NY Giants
Ken Nilson Taampa Bay
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Tampa Bay
Kobenoj 1 Houston
Kurt Weber Houston
Laughandwin Houston
Lord Jeff 2 Chicago
Lucky Pals NY Giants
Marshall Dostal 2 Houston
Matt Kunkel Tampa Bay
Matt Warren 1 Houston
Matt Warren 4 Washington
MayLee 6 Tampa Bay
McAndrews 2 Tampa Bay
Michael Fahlbusch Tennessee
Miggy 1 Pittsburgh
Mike Chen 3 Tampa Bay
Mike Row 1 Houston
Mitchell 1 Tampa Bay
Mo Powell...NOW ADIN Tampa Bay
MWatson1 NY Giants
Nina K Tampa Bay
Pauley 4 Tampa Bay
PMalmud 2 Tampa Bay
PMalmud 3 NY Giants
Raj Gazula Tampa Bay
Randy Brown Tampa Bay
Ray Wright 2 Tampa Bay
RL 12 Houston
Rob Kaiser 1 Tampa Bay
Rulestl Tampa Bay
Sam Rothstein 2 Tampa Bay
Scott Lease 7 Tampa Bay
Silverio / Seits Tennessee
Sonnyp 1 Houston
SOS 1 Tampa Bay
Soskin & Brebach 7 NY Giants
Steven Immergut 1 NY Giants
Steven Immergut 2 Dallas
Stitzer Ann Washington
Stitzer David NY Giants
Stuart Chase 2 NY Giants
TMAD 3 Tampa Bay
Todd Lowen Houston
Tom Huang 3 Tampa Bay
Vandy 7 Washington
Wahoowa 2 Tampa Bay
Yungner 2 Houston

Week 6 Picks

2008-10-11T10:43:00.002-04:00

Pick Breakdown:
Chicago 1
EAGLES 1
Indianapolis 2
Minnesota 56
New Orleans 31
NY Giants 3
NY Jets 9
San Diego 1
Washington 70

Individual Picks:
Aimee Dobrowski Washington
AJ Fratoni 1 NY Jets
AJ Keirans New Orleans
Albanese / Lacount 1 Washington
Albanese / Lacount 2 Minnesota
Albanese / Lacount10 NY Giants
Amol Dixit 1 Minnesota
Andy Smukler 1 New Orleans
Andy Smukler 3 Minnesota
Ari Raivetz 1 Washington
Bay Area Mike NY Giants
Berco11 Minnesota
Bill D'Elia Washington
Bill Mahle Washington
Boisi 1 New Orleans
Boisi 2 Chicago
Bolduc 9 Minnesota
Brad Stuart 1 Minnesota
Brian Getson 5 Washington
Brian Harris 2 NY Jets
Brian Wallace 2 Washington
Bryla 2 Minnesota
C Money 3 Washington
C Money 4 NY Giants
C. Gibbs & Co. 2 New Orleans
Carey 2 New Orleans
Chris Accashian 2 Washington
Chris Nangle 2 Washington
Clark Schier 1 Washington
Coop 4 Minnesota
CP 1 Minnesota
Craig Bradley 1 EAGLES
Craig Bradley 4 New Orleans
Cris Sherman 4 Washington
Dan Bruton Washington
Dan Gold 5 New Orleans
Dan Winicki 3 New Orleans
Daniel Hopson 1 Minnesota
Dave Camp Washington
Dave Kay 2 Washington
David Freiss 1 Washington
David Kennedy Minnesota
David Popeil Minnesota
Dennis Hsiao Minnesota
Donald Woodin New Orleans
Doug Cron 1 Washington
DS 3 Minnesota
E Meyers 2 Minnesota
EC Minnesota
Ed Ramirez 2 Washington
Emory 1 Washington
Enio 1 Washington
Eric McNutt 3 New Orleans
Erin Cooney 1 Washington
Erin Cooney 2 Minnesota
Falcon 2 Washington
Falcon 3 Washington
Falcon 7 San Diego
Falcon10 New Orleans
FCP 1 Minnesota
Flum 1 Minnesota
Frank Treemarchi New Orleans
Gary Jonas 1 NY Jets
Gary Jonas 2 New Orleans
Gbodhi 1 Minnesota
Gigante Minnesota
Greg Newman 1 Minnesota
Gregg 2 Washington
Grill Sargent 1 NY Jets
Harold Doft 2 Minnesota
Harris Roth 1 Minnesota
Holdsworth 1 Washington
Iceman 3 Minnesota
Ike 1 Washington
J Me Mac 1 Minnesota
Jack P Washington
Jake Doilney Washington
Jay Soroko 2 Washington
Jeff Resnick 3 Washington
Jeff Resnick…NOW LOWEN REBORN New Orleans
Jeff Tiede Washington
Jeffrey Silverman 1 New Orleans
Jeffrey Silverman 2 NY Jets
JG 2 New Orleans
Jim Foo 4 Washington
JoAnn Cunningham Minnesota
John Winfield…NOW PRINCESS MADDIE Washington
Johnny Mac 1 Washington
Joseph Beedon 1 New Orleans
K New 1 Washington
Kaioh 2 NY Jets
Kelly Krenger 2 New Orleans
Ken Nilson Minnesota
Kevin St. Pierre 2 New Orleans
Kobenoj 1 Minnesota
Kurt Weber NY Jets
Lac JC Washington
Larry Parsons 1 Washington
Laughandwin New Orleans
Liza K Washington
Lord Jeff 2 Minnesota
Lucky Pals NY Jets
Lydia 4 Washington
Mark Cabato 2 Washington
Marshall Dostal 2 New Orleans
Matt Kunkel Minnesota
Matt Warren 1 New Orleans
Matt Warren 4 Minnesota
May Lee 6 New Orleans
McAggie 2 Washington
McAndrews 2 Minnesota
Michael Fahlbusch Minnesota
Miggy 1 Minnesota
Mike Chen 3 Minnesota
Mike Piken 2 Washington
Mike Row 1 Minnesota
Mike Ryan 2 Washington
Mitchell 1 Minnesota
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Minnesota
MWatson 1 Minnesota
Nick Angiulo Washington
NickelS Washington
Niemeyer 2 Washington
Nina K New Orleans
Nitin Singhal 5 Washington
Ondre 2 Washington
Pauley 2 Washington
Pauley 4 Minnesota
PMalmud 2 Minnesota
PMalmud 3 Minnesota
Raj Gazula Minnesota
Randy Brown New Orleans
Ratzo 1 Washington
Ray Wright 2 Minnesota
Richard Stanley 1 Washington
Rick Target 2 Washington
RL12 NY Jets
Rob Kaiser 1 Minnesota
Rob Kaiser 2…NOW L&M BENIT Washington
Roger Levine 1 Washington
Ron Mexico 5 Washington
Rulestl New Orleans
Sam Rothstein 2 Minnesota
Scott Lease 2 Washington
Scott Lease 7 Minnesota
Shonis 1 Washington
Sidler 2 Washington
Siemon 1 Washington
Silverio / Seits New Orleans
Sonnyp 1 Minnesota
Sonnyp 2 Washington
SOS 1 Minnesota
Soskin & Brebach 7 Minnesota
Stacey Barr Tracton 1 Washington
Steven Immergut 1 New Orleans
Steven Immergut 2 Indianapolis
Stitzer Ann New Orleans
Stitzer David Indianapolis
Stuart Chase 2 New Orleans
Tanghunters 1 Washington
Ted Price 4 Washington
The Bala Bunch Washington
Timmy Gatz 2 Washington
TMAD 3 Minnesota
Todd & Regan 3 Washington
Todd Lowen Minnesota
Tom Huang 3 Minnesota
Tom Huang 5 Washington
Trevor Julian Washington
Vandy 7 New Orleans
Victor Boni Washington
Wahoowa 2 Minnesota
Wendy & Bill Washington
Yungner 2 Minnesota

Philly can Taste a title, Football tidbits & Some College Coach outbursts

2008-10-07T14:43:00.002-04:00

The Phillies are now 8 wins away (JUST 8) from ending the most painful championship drought in sports. I know Cubs fans believe their 100 year drought in baseball is worse, but I disagree for a few reasons. First, none of them were alive for all 100 years, and if they were, they have been blessed in other ways. Second, Cubs fans probably also like other Chicago teams like the Bears, who won the Super Bowl in the 1985 season, and the Bulls, who won 6 times behind the guy who may or may not have welched on gambling debts which may or may not have led to a league suspension and other bad, bad things. As for Philly, we have our own 100 season streak. It has been 25 years in all 4 sports since the Sixers brought us a title back in 1983. That is a long time. We have played for 7 titles since then (Eagles in 1004, Phillies in 1983 & 1993, Flyers in 1985, 1987, and 1997, and the Sixers in 2001) but have come up painfully short in every instance. We have had superstars die (Pelle Lindbergh, Jerome Brown) in the prime of their career and lives. We watched Joe Carter hit a walk off home run against Mitch Williams. We watched Donovan McNabb throw up. We need this title in Philly. We need it bad, and we need it now. I know baseball and the media really want a Boston vs. Manny (and Lowe and Nomar) series, but we will not be denied. 2008 is Philadelphia’s time. We need it, and as Mick Jagger once said “You can’t always get what you want, but you can get what you need!”
The NFL is more popular than Major League Baseball. By a lot. This fact was never up for debate, but never evidenced so loudly as on Sunday. The Eagles played the Redskins at the exact same time as the Phillies played their clinching playoff game against Milwaukee. It turns out that almost twice as many people watched the Birds SUCK than watched the Phillies close out the Brew Crew. The Eagles had something like a 23 share versus the Phillies with a 13 share. It will really be embarrassing if the Phillies game 3 against the Dodgers gets beat in Philadelphia by the Patriots/Chargers game Sunday night.
Speaking of the Birds, they stink. They are the team in the NFL that is getting the least from the most talent. Their play calling is horrendous. Andy Reid’s time to leave is upon us. And his press conferences are so canned I could stand in for him at this point. As my cousin said at lunch today, his ability as a parent has now been eclipsed by his performance as a head coach.
There are more really bad teams in the NFL than at any point in recent memory. Cincinnati, St. Louis and Detroit are three just putrid teams. I don’t count Houston with these three teams as, although they are winless, they are not nearly in the same league with those other squads. Throw in Kansas City, Oakland, Cleveland, and Seattle, and it is amazing that 85% of the entrants are out of the Win or Die survivor pool after only 5 weeks.
And now that Matt Millen has been relieved of his duties in Detroit, I guess that the “Most Likely to Have Compromising Pictures of His Boss” goes to Marvin Lewis of the Bengals. I mean, this guy, has not only gotten less from more consistently during his tenure as head coach, but off the field his players can’t stay out of trouble. And, wasn’t he a defensive guru as a coordinator in this league? How does his defense continue to have more holes than swiss cheese…still! How does this guy still collect a paycheck????
As bad as Matt Millen, Andy Reid and Marvin Lewis all are, I think my performance as a Fantasy Football GM is worse than all of them. Not only do I make the wrong choices at running back and defense every single week (as Howard Cosell would say, “my propensity for error is embarrassing”), but it gets worse. I traded away DeAngelo Williams and Andre Johnson this offseason, and met up with that team this week. Well, they scored 65 points between them as I lost my game 81-80. Just awful….
Speaking of awful, I guess Duke football remembered this week it was, well, Duke. We lost 27-0 to Georgia Tech. However, I believe it was 0-0 at halftime, and I still think Coach Cut will get this team winning, it just may take a couple years to get his own recruits in and playing well…
We have an amazing week of college football coming up on Saturday. Texas/Oklahoma meeting at the Cotton Bowl in their annual Red River Shootout will highlight a great slate of games including Florida/LSU, Penn St/Wisconsin, and Oklahoma St/Missouri (Mike Gundy’s tirade from last season is still the best coaches outburst since John Chaney threatened to kill John Calipari; if you missed it last year, click here; and click here for Chaney)

Week 5 Picks

2008-10-03T15:36:00.002-04:00

Pick Breakdown:
Arizona 1
Carolina 68
Chicago 4
Dallas 89
Denver 3
EAGLES 4
Green Bay 8
Indianapolis 2
Jacksonville 2
New England 1
New Orleans 4
NY Giants 5
San Diego 3
Tennessee 1

Individual Picks:
Aimee Dobrowski Carolina
AJ Fratoni 1 Dallas
AJ Keirans Dallas
Albanese / Lacount 1 Carolina
Albanese / Lacount 2 Indianapolis
Albanese / Lacount10 Dallas
Amol Dixit 1 Dallas
Andy Smukler 1 Carolina
Andy Smukler 3 Dallas
Andy Smukler11 Green Bay
Ari Raivetz 1 Dallas
Bay Area Mike Carolina
Berco11 New England
Bill D'Elia Carolina
Bill Mahle Carolina
Boisi 1 Dallas
Boisi 2 Carolina
Bolduc 5…NOW JASON KREYDT EAGLES
Bolduc 9 Carolina
Brad Stuart 1 Carolina
Brian Getson 5 Carolina
Brian Harris 2 Carolina
Brian Wallace 2 Dallas
Bryla 2 Carolina
C Money New Orleans
C Money 3 Chicago
C Money 4 Carolina
C. Gibbs & Co. 2 Dallas
Carey 2 Dallas
Chris Accashian 2 Carolina
Chris Nangle 2 Carolina
Clark Schier 1 Dallas
Coop 4 Dallas
CP 1 Dallas
Craig Bradley 1 Dallas
Craig Bradley 4 Carolina
Cris Sherman 4 Dallas
Dan Bruton Dallas
Dan Gold 5 Dallas
Dan Winicki 3 Carolina
Daniel Hopson 1 Carolina
Dave Camp Dallas
Dave Kay 2 Dallas
David Freiss 1 Dallas
David Kennedy Dallas
David Popeil Carolina
Dennis Hsiao Dallas
Donald Woodin Dallas
Doug Cron 1 Dallas
DS 3 Carolina
DS 4 EAGLES
Duckboy 2…NOW JUICE EAGLES
Dunder Mifflin San Diego
E Meyers 2 Dallas
EC Dallas
Ed Ramirez 2 Dallas
Ed Stein Jacksonville
Emory 1 Carolina
Enio 1 Dallas
Eric McNutt 3 Dallas
Erin Cooney 1 Dallas
Erin Cooney 2 Carolina
Falcon 2 Dallas
Falcon 3 Dallas
Falcon 7 Carolina
Falcon10 Denver
FCP 1 Carolina
Flum 1 Dallas
Flum 3 New Orleans
Frank Treemarchi Dallas
Gary Jonas 1 Carolina
Gary Jonas 2 Dallas
Gbodhi 1 Dallas
Gigante Carolina
Greg Newman 1 Carolina
Gregg 2 Dallas
Gregg 3 New Orleans
Grill Sargent 1 NY Giants
Harold Doft 2 Carolina
Harris Roth 1 Carolina
Holdsworth 1 Dallas
Iceman 3 Dallas
Ike 1 Carolina
J Me Mac 1 Carolina
Jack P Dallas
Jake Doilney Dallas
James Mills 2 New Orleans
Jay Soroko 2 Dallas
Jeff Resnick 3 Dallas
Jeff Resnick…NOW LOWEN REBORN Dallas
Jeff Tiede Dallas
Jeffrey Silverman 1 Carolina
Jeffrey Silverman 2 Indianapolis
JG 2 NY Giants
Jim Foo 4 Carolina
JoAnn Cunningham Dallas
John Winfield Chicago
Johnny Mac 1 Tennessee
Joseph Beedon 1 Dallas
K New 1 Dallas
Kaioh 2 Dallas
Kelly Krenger 2 Carolina
Ken Nilson Dallas
Kevin St. Pierre 1 San Diego
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Dallas
Kobenoj 1 Carolina
Kris Kershaw 1 San Diego
Kurt Weber Dallas
Lac JC Carolina
Larry Parsons 1 Dallas
Laughandwin Dallas
Liza K Carolina
Lord Jeff 2 Dallas
Lucky Pals Dallas
Lydia 4 Carolina
Mark Cabato 2 Chicago
Marshall Dostal 2 Carolina
Matt Kunkel Dallas
Matt Warren 1 Dallas
Matt Warren 4 Carolina
May Lee 6 Dallas
McAggie 2 Carolina
McAndrews 2 Dallas
Michael Fahlbusch Dallas
Miggy 1 Carolina
Mike Chen 3 Dallas
Mike Piken 2 Carolina
Mike Row 1 Dallas
Mike Ryan 2 Carolina
Mitchell 1 Dallas
Mo Powell 2…NOW ADIN Carolina
MWatson 1 Carolina
MWatson 2 EAGLES
Nick Angiulo Dallas
NickelS Carolina
Nicola Espie 2 Jacksonville
Niemeyer 2 Dallas
Nina K Dallas
Nitin Singhal 5 Dallas
Ondre 2 Dallas
Pauley 2 NY Giants
Pauley 4 Carolina
Pierre 1 Green Bay
PMalmud 2 Carolina
PMalmud 3 Dallas
Raj Gazula Dallas
Randy Brown Arizona
Ratzo 1 Carolina
Ray Wright 2 Dallas
Richard Stanley 1 Dallas
Rick Target 2 Carolina
RJBillyBoy Green Bay
RL12 Carolina
Rob Kaiser 1 Carolina
Rob Kaiser 2 Dallas
Roger Levine 1 Carolina
Ron Mexico 5 Dallas
Rudy 1 Green Bay
Rulestl Dallas
Sam Rothstein 2 Carolina
Scott Lease 2 Dallas
Scott Lease 7 Carolina
Shonis 1 Dallas
Sidler 2 Dallas
Siemon 1 Carolina
Silverio / Seits Dallas
Sonnyp 1 Carolina
Sonnyp 2 Dallas
SOS 1 Denver
Soskin & Brebach 7 Dallas
Stacey Barr Tracton 1 Carolina
Steven Immergut 1 Dallas
Steven Immergut 2 Denver
Stitzer Ann Dallas
Stitzer David Carolina
Stuart Chase 2 Dallas
Tanghunters 1 Carolina
Ted Price 4 Dallas
The Bala Bunch Carolina
The Legend 1 Green Bay
Tim Pasik Green Bay
Timmy Gatz 2 Carolina
TMAD 3 Carolina
Todd & Regan 3 Dallas
Todd Lowen Carolina
Tom Huang 3 NY Giants
Tom Huang 5 Carolina
Trevor Julian Dallas
Vandy 7 Chicago
Victor Boni Dallas
Wahoowa 2 Carolina
Wendy & Bill NY Giants
WJO 7 Green Bay
Yodster 1 Green Bay
Yungner 2 Carolina

Week 4 Win or Die Picks, Link to Second Chance Pool

2008-09-27T09:08:00.007-04:00

For anyone interested in the 2nd Chance Pool, it is not too late to sign up. You need to sign up and make your pick before games start tomorrow. To sign up, click here.

As for the original Win or Die, picks are in, and here are a few facts:

After only 2 people picked road teams last week, 49% (172 total) picked a visitor this week
31% picked Denver (a road team), the most popular pick of the week
11 of the 26 teams that played this week were picked by at least one entry

Pick Breakdown:
Arizona 2
Buffalo 21
Carolina 51
Cincinnati 1
Dallas 44
Denver 110
Jacksonville 59
New Orleans 14
Pittsburgh 9 (including default pick for Ike)
San Diego 39
Tennessee 2

Individual Picks:
A Keiser Dallas
Adin 2 Dallas
Aimee Dobrowski Jacksonville
AJ Fratoni 1 San Diego
AJ Keirans San Diego
Akshon 1 Denver
Albanese / Lacount 1 Jacksonville
Albanese / Lacount 2 Carolina
Albanese / Lacount 4 Denver
Albanese / Lacount10 Carolina
Alberto Escobedo 2 Denver
Alex Caperonis 2 Denver
Alex Parsons Denver
Amol Dixit 1 Jacksonville
Andy Smukler 1 Jacksonville
Andy Smukler 3 New Orleans
Andy Smukler11 Carolina
Anne Bolduc Denver
Anthony Aquilone 4 Dallas
Antony Joffe 1 Denver
Ari Raivetz 1 San Diego
Aswell Arizona
Bakke 2 Denver
Bambi 1 Dallas
Barry Bredt Denver
Bay Area Mike Carolina
Ben Hsiang 2 Denver
Ben Josephson Denver
Berco 1 Denver
Berco 3 Denver
Berco 6 Denver
Berco 9 Denver
Berco11 Carolina
Big Blue 3 Dallas
BigSlick 2 Denver
Bill D'Elia Jacksonville
Bill Mahle New Orleans
Boisi 1 Carolina
Boisi 2 San Diego
Bolduc 5…NOW JASON KREYDT Carolina
Bolduc 8 Denver
Bolduc 9 Buffalo
Brad Stuart 1 Buffalo
Brian Getson 5 Buffalo
Brian Harris 2 Jacksonville
Brian Wallace 2 San Diego
BrianFitz 1 Denver
Bryla 2 Buffalo
Butler 1 Denver
Butler 2 Dallas
Butler 8 Denver
C Money San Diego
C Money 3 San Diego
C Money 4 Buffalo
C. Gibbs & Co. 2 New Orleans
Carey 2 New Orleans
Charles Warren Denver
Chas Kulbok 1 Denver
Chris Accashian 2 Jacksonville
Chris Bassi 2 Denver
Chris Nangle 2 Jacksonville
Clark Schier 1 Jacksonville
Clint Mead 1 Dallas
Coop 3 Dallas
Coop 4 Carolina
Cowman Denver
CP 1 Carolina
CP 2 Dallas
Craig Bradley 1 New Orleans
Craig Bradley 4 Jacksonville
Cris Sherman 3 Denver
Cris Sherman 4 San Diego
Dan Bruton San Diego
Dan Gold 5 Pittsburgh
Dan Gold 6 Dallas
Dan Winicki 1 Denver
Dan Winicki 3 Jacksonville
Dani13 Denver
Daniel Hopson 1 Jacksonville
Dash / Marks Dallas
Dave Camp Jacksonville
Dave Kay 2 New Orleans
Dave Mehall 1 Denver
David Freiss 1 Carolina
David Kennedy New Orleans
David Popeil Jacksonville
Dennis Hsiao Buffalo
Denny Gaughan 3 Dallas
Donald Woodin Carolina
Doug Cron 1 Jacksonville
Doug Cron 2 Denver
DS 2 Denver
DS 3 San Diego
DS 4 Pittsburgh
Duckboy 2 Carolina
Dunder Mifflin Carolina
E Meyers 2 San Diego
EC Carolina
Ed Ramirez 1 Denver
Ed Ramirez 2 San Diego
Ed Stein New Orleans
Ed Welsh 1 Denver
ELI Denver
Emory 1 Jacksonville
Emory 2 Denver
Enio 1 San Diego
ERB 1 Denver
Eric McNutt 3 Carolina
Erin Cooney 1 Carolina
Erin Cooney 2 San Diego
Erin Cooney 4 Denver
Falcon 2 New Orleans
Falcon 3 Jacksonville
Falcon 7 Jacksonville
Falcon10 Pittsburgh
FCP 1 Jacksonville
Flum 1 San Diego
Flum 3 Buffalo
Frank Treemarchi Carolina
Frist 2 Denver
Gary Jonas 1 Jacksonville
Gary Jonas 2 Carolina
Gbodhi 1 Jacksonville
Geoff Burger 2 Denver
Gigante San Diego
Green Monsters 2 Denver
Greg Newman 1 Jacksonville
Gregg 2 Jacksonville
Gregg 3 Pittsburgh
Grill Sargent 1 Buffalo
Harold Doft 2 Buffalo
Harris Roth 1 Carolina
Holdsworth 1 San Diego
Howard Smith 1 Dallas
Iceman 1 Dallas
Iceman 2 Dallas
Iceman 3 San Diego
Iceman12 Denver
Ike 1 Pittsburgh
IMSMFG 1 Denver
J Me Mac 1 San Diego
Jack Marshall 2 Denver
Jack P San Diego
Jackie Obeso Dallas
Jake Doilney Jacksonville
James Mills 2 Buffalo
Jason Kreydt 1 Denver
Jay Soroko 2 Jacksonville
Jay Soroko 4 Dallas
Jean Kunkel Denver
Jeff Resnick 2 Dallas
Jeff Resnick 3 Carolina
Jeff Resnick…NOW LOWEN REBORN Carolina
Jeff Tiede New Orleans
Jeffrey Silverman 1 Tennessee
Jeffrey Silverman 2 Carolina
Jeremy Hare 1 Denver
JG 2 New Orleans
Jim Foo 4 Jacksonville
JoAnn Cunningham Carolina
Joe Z Cincinnati
John A. 1 Denver
John Hwang 3 Dallas
John Snyder Denver
John Winfield Jacksonville
Johnny Drama Denver
Johnny Mac 1 Jacksonville
Jon Taylor 2 Denver
Jordan Selinger Denver
Joseph Beedon 1 Buffalo
Joseph Beedon 3 Arizona
Juice 2 Denver
Juice 3 Dallas
K New 1 Jacksonville
Kaioh 1 Denver
Kaioh 2 San Diego
Kaz 3 Denver
Keith Heier Denver
Kelly Krenger 1 Dallas
Kelly Krenger 2 San Diego
Ken Nilson Jacksonville
Kerrie Klein 2 Dallas
Kevin St. Pierre 1 Jacksonville
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Carolina
Kinger51 Denver
Kobenoj 1 Jacksonville
Kris Kershaw 1 Carolina
Krug 2 Denver
Kurt Weber Pittsburgh
Lac JC Tennessee
Larry Levin 1 Dallas
Larry Levin 2 Dallas
Larry Parsons 1 Buffalo
Larry Parsons 2 Denver
Laughandwin Carolina
Levine / Goldstein Denver
Liz 2 Denver
Liza K San Diego
Lord Jeff 2 Pittsburgh
LOUFAR 1 Denver
Lucky Pals Jacksonville
Lydia 4 San Diego
Mariusz Misiec 1 Denver
Mark Cabato 2 Jacksonville
Marshall Dostal 1 Dallas
Marshall Dostal 2 Buffalo
Matt Kunkel Jacksonville
Matt Warren 1 Jacksonville
Matt Warren 4 Carolina
May Lee 1 Dallas
May Lee 6 Carolina
McAggie 2 Buffalo
McAggie 3 Denver
McAndrews 2 Carolina
MHK 5 Dallas
Michael Fahlbusch San Diego
Michael Higashi 1 Dallas
Miggy 1 Jacksonville
Miggy 3 Denver
Mike Chen 2 Denver
Mike Chen 3 Buffalo
Mike Darling Denver
Mike Piken 2 Buffalo
Mike Piken 3 Denver
Mike Row 1 New Orleans
Mike Ryan 2 San Diego
Mike Wasserson 4 Denver
MikeKevSean Denver
Mitchell 1 Pittsburgh
Mo Powell 2 Jacksonville
Mossreport 1 Dallas
Mr. Ries Denver
MW 1 Denver
MWatson 1 Carolina
MWatson 2 Carolina
Nate Pivaroff 2 Denver
Newsome 2…NOW BP Denver
Newsome 4 Denver
Nick Angiulo Carolina
NickelS Jacksonville
Nicola Espie 2 Carolina
Niemeyer 2 Jacksonville
Nina K Carolina
Nitin Singhal 3 Denver
Nitin Singhal 5 Carolina
Nitin Singhal 6 Denver
Norm & Angie Cooper 2 Denver
Ondre 2 Carolina
PA #1 Denver
Paul Rote 3 Dallas
Pauley 1 Denver
Pauley 2 Carolina
Pauley 3 Denver
Pauley 4 Jacksonville
Pierre 1 Carolina
PMalmud 2 Buffalo
PMalmud 3 Carolina
Raj Gazula Jacksonville
Randy Brown Jacksonville
Ratzo 1 Jacksonville
Ratzo 2 Denver
Ray Wright 2 San Diego
Ray Wright 4 Denver
Richard Stanley 1 San Diego
Richard Stanley 3 Denver
Richard Stanley 4 Denver
Rick Hartman 1 Dallas
Rick Target 2 San Diego
Rick Thoms Dallas
RJBillyBoy Carolina
RL 1 Denver
RL12 Jacksonville
Rob Kaiser 1 Jacksonville
Rob Kaiser 2 Pittsburgh
Roger Levine 1 Jacksonville
Roger Levine 2 Dallas
Ron Mexico 2 Dallas
Ron Mexico 5 Buffalo
Rooster 1 Dallas
Rudy 1 Carolina
Rulestl Carolina
Russ Cohen Denver
Sal Murillo 2 Denver
Sam Rothstein 2 Carolina
Scott Barnes Denver
Scott Lease 2 Carolina
Scott Lease 7 Jacksonville
Scott Lease 8 Dallas
Scott Lubochinski 2 Denver
SEITS Dallas
Seth Bloom Dallas
Shamalamadingdong 6 Denver
Shamalamadingdong 7 Denver
Shamalamadingdong10 Denver
Shamalamadingdong11 Denver
Shamalamadingdong12 Denver
Shonis 1 Jacksonville
Sidler 2 Jacksonville
Siemon 1 Jacksonville
Silverio / Seits Jacksonville
Snielson 1 Denver
Sonnyp 1 San Diego
Sonnyp 2 San Diego
SOS 1 Carolina
Soskin & Brebach 3 Dallas
Soskin & Brebach 5 Denver
Soskin & Brebach 7 San Diego
Sozbolt Denver
Stacey Barr Tracton 1 San Diego
Stacey Barr Tracton 2 Denver
STD 2 Denver
Steve Gold 8 Dallas
Steven Immergut 1 Jacksonville
Steven Immergut 2 New Orleans
Stitzer Ann Carolina
Stitzer David San Diego
Stitzer Rose Dallas
Streetsmart Denver
Stuart Chase 2 Jacksonville
Stuart Chase 3 Denver
Sugar and Spice Denver
Sword Dallas
Tanghunters 1 Carolina
Ted Price 4 Carolina
The Bala Bunch New Orleans
The Legend 1 Carolina
Tim Pasik Buffalo
Timmy Gatz 2 San Diego
TMAD 3 Jacksonville
Todd & Regan 3 San Diego
Todd Lowen Jacksonville
Tom Huang 2 Denver
Tom Huang 3 San Diego
Tom Huang 5 Buffalo
Tom Keegans 2 Denver
Trevor Julian San Diego
Up Uhrs 2 Denver
Vandy 3 Denver
Vandy 7 San Diego
Vandy 8 Dallas
Victor Boni Jacksonville
Wahoowa 2 Carolina
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 3 Denver
Wendy & Bill Carolina
Will Bowen Denver
WJO 5 Denver
WJO 7 Jacksonville
Wonderwoman 2 Denver
Yodster 1 Buffalo
Yodster 3 Dallas
Yungner 2 Jacksonville
Zekedittos Denver

Week 3 Win or Die Picks

2008-09-20T10:57:00.002-04:00

Pick Trends & Highlights:

Picks are less spread out than in the first two weeks, with only 14 teams chosen overall and only 5 teams picked more than 10 times
A higher percentage (31.3%) of entries picked Buffalo than any other team this season so far (who would have guessed that before the season started????)
60.8% of entries picked one of the top 2 choices (Buff & NE), 77.7% took the one of top 3 choices (NYG), 86.7% took one of the top 4 choices (Sea), and 92.2% took one of the top 5 choices (SD). This means we will have either another bloodbath or a very calm week.
14.7% chose a winless team to come through for them this week.
0.4% (2 entries) chose a road team.

Pick Breakdown:
Atlanta 8
Buffalo 160
Carolina 1
Chicago 3
Cleveland 1
Denver 6
EAGLES 2
Indianapolis 3
New England 151
NY Giants 86
San Diego 28
San Francisco 6
Seattle 46
Tennessee 10

Individual Picks:

3 Rings 3 New England
806 A…NOW LUPETTI New England
A Keiser San Diego
Adin 2 NY Giants
Adin 4 New England
Aimee Dobrowski Buffalo
AJ Fratoni 1 NY Giants
AJ Keirans NY Giants
AJ Whitehead New England
Akshon 1 Buffalo
Albanese / Lacount 1 Buffalo
Albanese / Lacount 2 Seattle
Albanese / Lacount 4 San Diego
Albanese / Lacount 8 New England
Albanese / Lacount10 Tennessee
Alberto Escobedo 1 New England
Alberto Escobedo 2 Buffalo
Alex Caperonis 2 Buffalo
Alex Parsons Buffalo
Amol Dixit 1 NY Giants
Andy Smukler 1 Seattle
Andy Smukler 3 Seattle
Andy Smukler11 San Diego
Anne Bolduc NY Giants
Anthony Aquilone 4 EAGLES
Anthony Aquilone 8 New England
Antony Joffe 1 Buffalo
Ari Raivetz 1 Buffalo
Aswell EAGLES
B Kunkel 1 New England
Bakke 2 Buffalo
Balancing Act New England
Bambi 1 NY Giants
Barry Bredt Buffalo
Bay Area Mike San Francisco
Ben Hsiang 2 NY Giants
Ben Josephson Buffalo
Berco 1 Seattle
Berco 2 New England
Berco 3 Buffalo
Berco 5 New England
Berco 6 Buffalo
Berco 9 NY Giants
Berco11 Buffalo
Big Blue 3 Seattle
Big Blue 4 New England
BigSlick 2 Buffalo
Bill Armideo 2 New England
Bill D'Elia Buffalo
Bill Mahle Seattle
Bob Landow New England
Bob Wright 2 New England
Boisi 1 Buffalo
Boisi 2 NY Giants
Bolduc 1 New England
Bolduc 2 New England
Bolduc 3 Indianapolis
Bolduc 4 Indianapolis
Bolduc 5 Seattle
Bolduc 8 Seattle
Bolduc 9 San Diego
BP 3 New England
BP 4 New England
Brad Frey 1 New England
Brad Stoltz New England
Brad Stuart 1 NY Giants
Brad Stuart 2 New England
Brian Fenlin New England
Brian Getson 4 New England
Brian Getson 5 NY Giants
Brian Harris 2 Seattle
Brian Wallace 2 NY Giants
BrianFitz 1 Buffalo
Bryla 2 NY Giants
Butler 1 Seattle
Butler 2 Seattle
Butler 5 New England
Butler 6 New England
Butler 7 New England
Butler 8 Seattle
Butler 9 New England
Butler10 New England
C Money Buffalo
C Money 2 New England
C Money 3 Denver
C Money 4 Seattle
C. Gibbs & Co. 2 NY Giants
Carey 2 San Diego
Charles Warren Buffalo
Charlie Murphy New England
Chas Kulbok 1 Buffalo
Chas Kulbok 2 New England
Che Yeung New England
Chris Accashian 2 Buffalo
Chris Agrios 2 New England
Chris Bassi 2 Buffalo
Chris Dietrich New England
Chris Nangle 2 NY Giants
Clark Schier 1 Buffalo
Clark Schier 3 Indianapolis
Clint Mead 1 Seattle
Coop 3 NY Giants
Coop 4 Buffalo
Cowman Buffalo
CP 1 NY Giants
CP 2 Buffalo
Craig Bradley 1 Buffalo
Craig Bradley 3 New England
Craig Bradley 4 San Diego
Cris Sherman 3 Buffalo
Cris Sherman 4 Seattle
Dan Bruton Buffalo
Dan Gold 3 New England
Dan Gold 5 NY Giants
Dan Gold 6 Buffalo
Dan Gold 9 New England
Dan Winicki 1 Buffalo
Dan Winicki 3 Buffalo
Dani13 Buffalo
Daniel Hopson 1 Buffalo
Daniel Hopson 2 New England
Dash / Marks NY Giants
Dave Amstel New England
Dave Camp Buffalo
Dave Kay 2 NY Giants
Dave Mehall 1 Buffalo
Dave Mehall 2 New England
Dave Mehall 3 New England
Dave S 1 New England
Dave Wisemiller 1 New England
David Freiss 1 Buffalo
David Freiss 2 New England
David Keller New England
David Kennedy NY Giants
David Popeil Buffalo
DD 1 New England
Dennis Hsiao Seattle
Denny Gaughan 3 San Diego
Denver Brown 1 New England
Dick Ahrendts 3 New England
Donald Woodin San Diego
Doug Cron 1 Seattle
Doug Cron 2 Buffalo
Doug Livingston 1 New England
Drew Pressman New England
DS 1 New England
DS 2 NY Giants
DS 3 NY Giants
DS 4 Buffalo
DS 5 New England
DS 9 New England
Duckboy 1 New England
Duckboy 2 San Diego
Dunder Mifflin Tennessee
E Meyers 2 NY Giants
EC San Francisco
Ed Ramirez 1 Buffalo
Ed Ramirez 2 Buffalo
Ed Stein San Diego
Ed Welsh 1 Buffalo
ELI Buffalo
Emory 1 Buffalo
Emory 2 San Diego
Enio 1 Buffalo
ERB 1 Buffalo
Eric Heuerman 2 New England
Eric McNutt 3 Buffalo
Erickson/Marlo 1 New England
Erin Cooney 1 Seattle
Erin Cooney 2 NY Giants
Erin Cooney 4 Buffalo
Falcon 2 Buffalo
Falcon 3 NY Giants
Falcon 7 Buffalo
Falcon10 Buffalo
Falcon11 New England
FCP 1 Atlanta
Flum 1 Buffalo
Flum 3 Tennessee
Frank Treemarchi Buffalo
Frist 2 Buffalo
Gary Jonas 1 Buffalo
Gary Jonas 2 San Diego
Gbodhi 1 NY Giants
Gbodhi 2 New England
Geoff Burger 2 NY Giants
Gigante Seattle
Green Monsters 1 New England
Green Monsters 2 NY Giants
Greg Ferrari New England
Greg Newman 1 Buffalo
Gregg 2 Atlanta
Gregg 3 San Diego
Gregg Brandon New England
Grill Sargent 1 Seattle
Hare/Levin 2 New England
Harold Doft 2 Buffalo
Harris Roth 1 NY Giants
Harris Roth 2 New England
Harris Roth 8 New England
Holdsworth 1 Buffalo
Howard Smith 1 Seattle
Iceman 1 Buffalo
Iceman 2 Buffalo
Iceman 3 NY Giants
Iceman12 San Diego
Ike 1 Buffalo
IMSMFG 1 Buffalo
IMSMFG 3 Chicago
IMSMFG 5 New England
J Me Mac 1 NY Giants
Jack Marshall 1 New England
Jack Marshall 2 Buffalo
Jack P Seattle
Jackie Obeso Buffalo
Jake Doilney Buffalo
James Mills 2 Buffalo
Jason Kreydt 1 Seattle
Jay Soroko 2 Buffalo
Jay Soroko 4 Seattle
Jean Kunkel Buffalo
Jeff Resnick 1 Buffalo
Jeff Resnick 2 Buffalo
Jeff Resnick 3 NY Giants
Jeff Saito 1 New England
Jeff Tiede Buffalo
Jeff Wagoner New England
Jeffrey Silverman 1 San Francisco
Jeffrey Silverman 2 San Diego
Jeremy Hare 1 San Diego
JG 2 Buffalo
Jim Foo 1 New England
Jim Foo 4 Buffalo
JoAnn Cunningham NY Giants
Joe Bedwick New England
Joe David 2 Chicago
Joe Pucillo 1 New England
Joe Z San Francisco
John A. 1 NY Giants
John Hwang 3 Buffalo
John Moore New England
John Snyder Buffalo
John Wilkes Booth New England
John Winfield Buffalo
Johnny Drama NY Giants
Johnny Mac 1 Buffalo
Johnny Mac 2 New England
Jon Taylor 2 Seattle
Jordan Selinger NY Giants
Joseph Beedon 1 Seattle
Joseph Beedon 2 New England
Joseph Beedon 3 Buffalo
Josh Kaufman New England
Juice 2 Seattle
Juice 3 Buffalo
K New 1 Buffalo
K New 2 New England
Kaioh 1 Tennessee
Kaioh 2 Buffalo
Karen Gatzulis 2 New England
Kaz 1 New England
Kaz 3 San Diego
Keith Berger New England
Keith Heier Buffalo
Kelly Krenger 1 Seattle
Kelly Krenger 2 Atlanta
Kelsey Fithian New England
Ken Nilson Buffalo
Kerrie Klein 2 NY Giants
Kevin St. Pierre 1 Buffalo
Kevin St. Pierre 2 San Diego
Kinger51 Atlanta
Kipp Crisman New England
Kobenoj 1 Buffalo
Kobenoj 6 New England
KP New England
Kris Kershaw 1 Buffalo
Kris Swanson New England
Krug 1 New England
Krug 2 NY Giants
Kurt Weber Buffalo
Lac JC Seattle
Larry Levin 1 Buffalo
Larry Levin 2 Buffalo
Larry Parsons 1 NY Giants
Larry Parsons 2 Buffalo
Laughandwin Buffalo
Levine / Goldstein Buffalo
Littman 1 New England
Liz 2 Seattle
Liza K Buffalo
Lord Jeff 2 NY Giants
LOUFAR 1 Buffalo
Lucky Pals Denver
Lydia 2 New England
Lydia 4 Buffalo
M Lacerenza 2 New England
M Lacerenza CA New England
M Lacerenza JPS New England
MacAttack 1 New England
Mariusz Misiec 1 Buffalo
Mariusz Misiec 2 New England
Mark Cabato 2 NY Giants
Mark Cabato 3 New England
Mark Friedman New England
Marshall Dostal 1 NY Giants
Marshall Dostal 2 San Diego
Marshall Dostal 3 New England
Matt Kunkel Tennessee
Matt Warren 1 Buffalo
Matt Warren 4 Denver
Max Valencia New England
May Lee 1 Buffalo
May Lee 6 NY Giants
May Lee 7 New England
McAggie 1 New England
McAggie 2 NY Giants
McAggie 3 Seattle
McAndrews 2 NY Giants
MHK 4 New England
MHK 5 NY Giants
Michael Fahlbusch NY Giants
Michael Higashi 1 Buffalo
Miggy 1 NY Giants
Miggy 3 NY Giants
Miggy 4 New England
Miggy 5 New England
Mike Chen 1 New England
Mike Chen 2 Buffalo
Mike Chen 3 NY Giants
Mike Darling San Diego
Mike Gosk 3 New England
Mike Piken 1 New England
Mike Piken 2 NY Giants
Mike Piken 3 Buffalo
Mike Row 1 Buffalo
Mike Row 2 New England
Mike Row 3 New England
Mike Row 4 New England
Mike Ryan 2 Buffalo
Mike Wasserson 2 New England
Mike Wasserson 4 Seattle
MikeKevSean Buffalo
Minh Nguyen 3 New England
Mitchell 1 NY Giants
Mo Powell 2 Buffalo
Mossreport 1 Buffalo
Mossreport 2 New England
Mr. Ries Buffalo
MW 1 NY Giants
MW 4 New England
MWatson 1 San Francisco
MWatson 2 San Francisco
MWatson 3 New England
MWatson 4 New England
Nate Pivaroff 1 New England
Nate Pivaroff 2 Buffalo
Nate Pivaroff 3 New England
Newsome 2 Buffalo
Newsome 4 Seattle
Nick Angiulo Buffalo
Nick Roby 1 New England
NickelB New England
NickelS Buffalo
Nicola Espie 2 Buffalo
Niemeyer 2 NY Giants
Nina K NY Giants
Nitin Singhal 3 Buffalo
Nitin Singhal 5 Buffalo
Nitin Singhal 6 NY Giants
Nomanerz New England
Norm & Angie Cooper 1 New England
Norm & Angie Cooper 2 NY Giants
NovaFreak 2 14 34 New England
Ondre 2 NY Giants
PA #1 Buffalo
Paul Rote 3 Buffalo
Pauley 1 Seattle
Pauley 2 Buffalo
Pauley 3 Seattle
Pauley 4 Buffalo
Phil Prisco 2 New England
Pierre 1 NY Giants
PMalmud 2 Seattle
PMalmud 3 Buffalo
R Woods 2 New England
Rachael Cooper New England
Raj Gazula Atlanta
Randy Brown Buffalo
Randy Byron New England
Ratzo 1 San Diego
Ratzo 2 NY Giants
Ray Wright 1 New England
Ray Wright 2 Denver
Ray Wright 4 NY Giants
Richard Stanley 1 Buffalo
Richard Stanley 2 New England
Richard Stanley 3 NY Giants
Richard Stanley 4 NY Giants
Rick Hartman 1 Buffalo
Rick Target 2 Buffalo
Rick Thoms NY Giants
Ritter 1 New England
RJBillyBoy Buffalo
RL 1 Buffalo
RL 2 New England
RL12 NY Giants
Rob Kaiser 1 Buffalo
Rob Kaiser 2 San Diego
Robin Mitchell Carolina
Roger Levine 1 Buffalo
Roger Levine 2 Atlanta
Ron Mexico 2 Buffalo
Ron Mexico 5 NY Giants
Rooster 1 NY Giants
Rudy 1 NY Giants
Rulestl Buffalo
Russ Cohen Buffalo
Sal Murillo 2 NY Giants
Sam Rothstein 1 New England
Sam Rothstein 2 Buffalo
Samuel Chevadisaikul 3 New England
Scott Barnes Buffalo
Scott Brucker New England
Scott Lease 1 New England
Scott Lease 2 Tennessee
Scott Lease 7 NY Giants
Scott Lease 8 NY Giants
Scott Lubochinski 1 New England
Scott Lubochinski 2 Buffalo
SEITS Atlanta
Seth Bloom NY Giants
Shamalamadingdong 6 Buffalo
Shamalamadingdong 7 Buffalo
Shamalamadingdong10 Buffalo
Shamalamadingdong11 Buffalo
Shamalamadingdong12 Buffalo
Shonis 1 NY Giants
Sidler 2 NY Giants
Siemon 1 Buffalo
Silverio / Seits Buffalo
Snielson 1 Seattle
Sonnyp 1 Buffalo
Sonnyp 2 Buffalo
Sonnyp 3 New England
Sonnyp 4 New England
SOS 1 Buffalo
Soskin & Brebach 2 Cleveland
Soskin & Brebach 3 Seattle
Soskin & Brebach 4 New England
Soskin & Brebach 5 NY Giants
Soskin & Brebach 7 Buffalo
Sozbolt San Diego
Sportschic New England
Stacey Barr Tracton 1 NY Giants
Stacey Barr Tracton 2 Buffalo
STD 2 NY Giants
Steve Gold 7 New England
Steve Gold 8 Buffalo
Steven Immergut 1 Denver
Steven Immergut 2 Seattle
Stitzer Andrew New England
Stitzer Ann NY Giants
Stitzer David Buffalo
Stitzer Rose Seattle
Streetsmart Tennessee
Stuart Chase 2 NY Giants
Stuart Chase 3 Buffalo
Sugar and Spice NY Giants
Sweet 900 New England
Sword NY Giants
Tanghunters 1 NY Giants
Ted Price 4 Buffalo
The Bala Bunch San Diego
The Big Crunch 1 New England
The Legend 1 NY Giants
T-Hoff New England
Tim Pasik NY Giants
Timmy Gatz 2 Buffalo
TMAD 3 Tennessee
Todd & Regan 3 Seattle
Todd & Regan 4 New England
Todd Lowen Seattle
Tom Huang 2 Buffalo
Tom Huang 3 Buffalo
Tom Huang 4 New England
Tom Huang 5 Tennessee
Tom Keegans 1 New England
Tom Keegans 2 Buffalo
Tonilyn Chicago
Trevor Julian Buffalo
Up Uhrs 1 New England
Up Uhrs 2 Buffalo
Vandy 3 Buffalo
Vandy 7 Seattle
Vandy 8 San Diego
Victor Boni San Diego
Vlee 1 New England
Wahoowa 2 Buffalo
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 3 NY Giants
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 4 New England
Wendy & Bill Tennessee
Will Bowen Seattle
WJO 5 Seattle
WJO 7 Seattle
Wonderwoman 2 Buffalo
Yodster 1 San Diego
Yodster 3 Denver
Yungner 2 Atlanta
Zekedittos San Diego
Zone New England

Week 2 Column

2008-09-16T14:49:00.002-04:00

Ahhhh, the beautiful days of September, with just a hint of chill in the air ant not a worry in the world. Well, except I guess for the real estate market's collapse an inability to get up, the complete destruction of our financial markets, and losing a brutal game to the Cowboys last night. Here are a few observations from the world of sports:

The Milwaukee Brewers have not made the playoffs since 1982 for more than one reason. But one of them is clearly incompetent leadership in their front office, which, of course, all stems from the fact that the team is owned by the Selig family. How can you possibly fire your manager with 12 games to go when you are tied for the wild card lead? Preposterous. And to replace him with Dale Sveum? Ask any Red Sox fan about the wisdom of that move….
Speaking of teams trying their best to make sure the Phillies make the layoffs for their second straight year, the Mets do not seem like they want to grab this NL East division by the throat. At least Mets fans can feel comforted knowing that no matter what happens, last year’s stretch drive was worse.
Is anyone on board for my Brad Lidge/Manny Ramirez first and second in the NL MVP voting? I didn’t think so….but I am right!!!
What people are saying about Mike Shanahan now that his decision to go for the win with a 2 point conversion instead of playing for overtime worked (versus what they would have said if it failed): Mike Shanahan is the gutsiest (most idiotic) coach in NFL history. To play for the win shows how much confidence he has in his offense (that he thinks his defense sucks) and he should be handed coach of the year (fired) right now.
So in two weeks, San Diego lost a game as time expired, and then on a horrendous call followed by a 4th down and 2 point conversions. Does anybody else think this is just bad karma that Norv Turner creates? And, hello? You do realize, Norv, that you have LaDanian Tomlinson on your team, right?
Speaking of the Chargers, they should be able to not pay Shawne Merriman for the entire season. He was advised by multiple doctors after last season to get surgery which may have enabled him to play this year. Instead, he shunned the suggestions of medical professionals and cost himself the entire season.
I think the Eagles fans are headed for a mostly love with some violent hate relationship with DeSean Jackson. This kid is clearly very talented, but he will do just enough stupid things such as dropping the ball on the one yard line instead of holding it into the end zone that he will drive people nuts at times.
Speaking of Eagle fans, why is it that after 10 years, people still do not appreciate Donovan McNabb and how good he is. Other than Tom Brady and Payton Manning, has there been a better QB in the league during McNabb’s 10 years? And, yes, he made two bad plays last night (taking the sack and that double pump handoff), but the team scored 37 freaking points (30 on offense). Is that not good enough to win a game? It amazes me that people still bash D-Mac every chance they get. Even Mike Schmidt, the king of the cool relationship with the fans, was revered by this point in his career…..
Who do you think the best team in Missouri. The Chiefs are woeful on their best days. The Rams aspire to horrendous. Don’t count out the Missouri Tigers in a three team battle royale. Chase Daniels, Jeremy Macklin and company may just be part of the best team in the state, in Columbia.
I know most of my legions of fans do not give a rat's ass about NASCAR, but for the few that do: don't you get the feeling that if Kyle Busch fades in the Chase after dominating the entire regular season, that he will start taking drivers out right and left, if not take it a step farther and come after Nascar officials with an uzi or machette?
Less than 30 days until college hoops practice starts!!!

I will be back later in the week with some fascinating thoughts on something or other...

Week 2 Win or Die Picks & A Few Thoughts...UPDATED 9/14/08, 9:30 am

2008-09-12T20:38:00.006-04:00

HOUSTON GAME CANCELLED, HOUSTON PICKS UPDATED BELOW....

First off, to our friend in Texas and Louisiana, stay dry and stay safe as Ike makes its way through....

OK, the picks are in, and I am happy to report, nobody mis-spelled Pittsburgh this week!!! On the flip side, everyone has to do a better job of getting in their picks on time. Next week I will begin to go to the default picks if necessary. So get your picks in early or at least on time. Thanks!!

Is anyone else appalled at the coverage that this Vince Young story is generating? Why are his private "doctor/patient" conversations with a therapist on the front page of espn.com? It is a disgrace.

Other than Cliff Lee, who bad are the Cleveland Indians? This team is 72-74 despite Lee being 22-2. How is Eric Wedge possibly coming back next year? Tribe fans should be outraged.

As I said the other day, if the Phillies make the playoffs (looking like an increasing long shot by the day), Brad Lidge should be MVP of the National League. I have an equally controversial idea. If the Phillies do not make the World Series, I would make Manny Ramirez the National League MVP, even though he will only play about 55 games in the NL. The guy is hitting .396 with 14 HR and 41 RBI in 39 games to date. Has their been anyone more valuable (besides Lidge) this year in the NL?

Look for Ohio State to have all kinds of trouble today scoring against the great defense of USC. Without Beanie Wells and with a mediocre QB, the Buckeyes could get blown out of the building. If I were Jim Tressel, I would give a heavier dose of freshman sensation Terrelle Pryor than was probably in the original gameplan. What he lacks in experience he makes up in raw skills, and that may be the only way to keep this game close: put the ball in your best athlete's hands and keep it there.

Oh yeah, the picks.....

A few interesting tidbits:

18 of 32 NFL teams were selected this week
278 entries selected road teams, including 14 on teams that are not favored
A higher percentage of entries picked the NY Giants this week than any team in week 1 (28.0%)
293 entries (40.8%) selected teams that enter the week with an 0-1 record
10 entries selected New Orleans, who are a pick em on the road at Washington. Nobody picked Washington
3 entries picked the Patriots, a one point underdog on the road at the Jets. Nobody picked New York.

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 130
Buffalo 1
Carolina 8...NOW 10
Cincinnati 4...NOW 5
Dallas 8 (at least 8 people did not see the Eagles game last week....)
Denver 3
Green Bay 28
Houston 12....NOW 0
Indianapolis 4
Jacksonville 23
Kansas City 43
Minnesota 1
New England 3
New Orleans 10
NY Giants 201...NOW 204
Pittsburgh 33
Seattle 122...NOW 126
Tampa Bay 85 ...NOW 87

Individual Picks:

3 Rings 1 Jacksonville
3 Rings 3 Tampa Bay
806 A NY Giants
A Keiser NY Giants
Adin 1 Jacksonville
Adin 2 Tampa Bay
Adin 3 Minnesota
Adin 4 Tampa Bay
Aimee Dobrowski NY Giants
AJ Fratoni 1 Tampa Bay
AJ Keirans Arizona
AJ Whitehead NY Giants
Akshon 1 NY Giants
Albanese / Lacount 1 NY Giants
Albanese / Lacount 2 NY Giants
Albanese / Lacount 3 Kansas City
Albanese / Lacount 4 Arizona
Albanese / Lacount 6 Kansas City
Albanese / Lacount 8 Pittsburgh
Albanese / Lacount10 Pittsburgh
Alberto Escobedo 1 Arizona
Alberto Escobedo 2 NY Giants
Alex Caperonis 1 Seattle
Alex Caperonis 2 NY Giants
Alex Caperonis 3 Seattle
Alex Parsons NY Giants
Amol Dixit 1 Tampa Bay
Amol Dixit 2 Seattle
Andy Lutz Seattle
Andy Smukler 1 Tampa Bay
Andy Smukler 2 Seattle
Andy Smukler 3 Arizona
Andy Smukler 4 Jacksonville
Andy Smukler11 Tampa Bay
Andy Smukler12 Seattle
Anne Bolduc Pittsburgh
Anne Ryan Seattle
Anthony Aquilone 3 New Orleans
Anthony Aquilone 4 Tampa Bay
Anthony Aquilone 8 NY Giants
Antony Joffe 1 Arizona
Antony Joffe 2 Jacksonville
Ari Raivetz 1 NY Giants
Aswell Carolina
Aubrey Galloway 1 Cincinnati
Aubrey Galloway 2 Seattle
B Kunkel 1 Tampa Bay
Bakke 2 NY Giants
Balancing Act Arizona
Bambi 1 Arizona
Barry Bredt NY Giants
Bay Area Mike Houston....NOW NY GIANTS
Ben Hsiang 2 Pittsburgh
Ben Josephson NY Giants
Ben Levitt Kansas City
Berco 1 Tampa Bay
Berco 2 NY Giants
Berco 3 Tampa Bay
Berco 5 Arizona
Berco 6 NY Giants
Berco 8 Seattle
Berco 9 Arizona
Berco11 NY Giants
Berco12 Seattle
Big Blue 1 Seattle
Big Blue 2 Jacksonville
Big Blue 3 Green Bay
Big Blue 4 Arizona
Biggie Seattle
BigSlick 1 Seattle
BigSlick 2 NY Giants
Bill Armideo 2 Green Bay
Bill D'Elia NY Giants
Bill Harter 1 Seattle
Bill Mahle Tampa Bay
Bob Landow NY Giants
Bob Wright 2 NY Giants
Boisi 1 Houston...NOW NY GIANTS
Boisi 2 Pittsburgh
Bolduc 1 NY Giants
Bolduc 2 NY Giants
Bolduc 3 Pittsburgh
Bolduc 4 Pittsburgh
Bolduc 5 Dallas
Bolduc 8 Dallas
Bolduc 9 NY Giants
BP 1 Seattle
BP 2 Seattle
BP 3 Arizona
BP 4 Arizona
Brad Frey 1 NY Giants
Brad Frey 2 Jacksonville
Brad Stoltz NY Giants
Brad Stuart 1 Pittsburgh
Brad Stuart 2 Tampa Bay
Brett Mahle Jacksonville
Brian Fenlin Arizona
Brian Getson 1 Cincinnati
Brian Getson 2 Seattle
Brian Getson 4 Arizona
Brian Getson 5 Tampa Bay
Brian Harris 1 Kansas City
Brian Harris 2 Green Bay
Brian Wallace 1 New Orleans
Brian Wallace 2 Indianapolis
BrianFitz 1 NY Giants
Brownie 2 Seattle
Bryla 1 Seattle
Bryla 2 Arizona
Buck / Kent Seattle
Butler 1 NY Giants
Butler 2 NY Giants
Butler 5 NY Giants
Butler 6 NY Giants
Butler 7 Green Bay
Butler 8 NY Giants
Butler 9 NY Giants
Butler10 NY Giants
C Money Tampa Bay
C Money 2 Pittsburgh
C Money 3 NY Giants
C Money 4 Arizona
C. Gibbs & Co. 1 Seattle
C. Gibbs & Co. 2 Arizona
C. Gibbs & Co. 4 Kansas City
Camplorenzo Seattle
Carey 1 Cincinnati
Carey 2 Denver
Cecily Levine Seattle
Charles Warren Green Bay
Charlie Murphy NY Giants
Chas Kulbok 1 Green Bay
Chas Kulbok 2 Tampa Bay
Che Yeung NY Giants
Chris Accashian 1 Seattle
Chris Accashian 2 Arizona
Chris Agrios 2 NY Giants
Chris Bassi 2 NY Giants
Chris Dietrich Pittsburgh
Chris Johnston Seattle
Chris Nangle 2 Pittsburgh
Clark Schier 1 NY Giants
Clark Schier 2 Seattle
Clark Schier 3 NY Giants
Clint Mead 1 Tampa Bay
Clint Mead 2 Seattle
Coca Cola Kid Seattle
Coop 3 Houston....NOW TAMPA BAY
Coop 4 Tampa Bay
Corey Davis Seattle
Cowman Pittsburgh
CP 1 Tampa Bay
CP 2 NY Giants
Craig Bradley 1 NY Giants
Craig Bradley 3 Indianapolis
Craig Bradley 4 Green Bay
Craig Torrie Seattle
Cris Sherman 3 NY Giants
Cris Sherman 4 Tampa Bay
Dan Bruton NY Giants
Dan Gold 3 Houston...NOW NY GIANTS
Dan Gold 4 Houston...NOW SEATTLE
Dan Gold 5 Tampa Bay
Dan Gold 6 Tampa Bay
Dan Gold 7 Kansas City
Dan Gold 8 Kansas City
Dan Gold 9 NY Giants
Dan Winicki 1 NY Giants
Dan Winicki 2 Seattle
Dan Winicki 3 NY Giants
Dan Winicki 4 Seattle
Dani13 Pittsburgh
Daniel Hopson 1 Arizona
Daniel Hopson 2 NY Giants
Dash / Marks Arizona
Dave Amstel NY Giants
Dave Camp NY Giants
Dave Kay 2 Tampa Bay
Dave Mehall 1 Arizona
Dave Mehall 2 NY Giants
Dave Mehall 3 Arizona
Dave S 1 Tampa Bay
Dave S 2 Seattle
Dave Wisemiller 1 NY Giants
Dave Wisemiller 2 Jacksonville
David E. Williams Seattle
David Freiss 1 NY Giants
David Freiss 2 Arizona
David Keller NY Giants
David Kennedy Pittsburgh
David Popeil Arizona
DD 1 NY Giants
Dennis Hsiao Arizona
Denny Gaughan 1 Kansas City
Denny Gaughan 3 NY Giants
Denver Brown 1 Tampa Bay
Dick Ahrendts 3 Pittsburgh
Donald Woodin Tampa Bay
Doug Cron 1 Tampa Bay
Doug Cron 2 Arizona
Doug Livingston 1 NY Giants
Drew Pressman NY Giants
DS 1 Tampa Bay
DS 2 Tampa Bay
DS 3 Tampa Bay
DS 4 NY Giants
DS 5 NY Giants
DS 9 NY Giants
Duckboy 1 Dallas
Duckboy 2 Dallas
Dunder Mifflin NY Giants
Dwight Schrute Seattle
E Meyers 2 Tampa Bay
EC Arizona
Ed Ramirez 1 Dallas
Ed Ramirez 2 NY Giants
Ed Ramirez 3 Kansas City
Ed Samocki 2 Seattle
Ed Stein NY Giants
Ed Welsh 1 Arizona
Ed Welsh 2 Kansas City
ELI Pittsburgh
Ellis 3 Kansas City
Emory 1 Tampa Bay
Emory 2 Arizona
Enio 1 NY Giants
Enio 2 New Orleans
ERB 1 NY Giants
ERB 2 Kansas City
Eric Heuerman 1 New Orleans
Eric Heuerman 2 NY Giants
Eric McNutt 3 Arizona
Erickson/Marlo 1 NY Giants
Erin Cooney 1 NY Giants
Erin Cooney 2 Tampa Bay
Erin Cooney 3 Seattle
Erin Cooney 4 Arizona
Falcon 2 NY Giants
Falcon 3 Arizona
Falcon 7 NY Giants
Falcon 8 Seattle
Falcon 9 Seattle
Falcon10 NY Giants
Falcon11 Arizona
FCP 1 Green Bay
Flum 1 Arizona
Flum 2 Seattle
Flum 3 NY Giants
Frank Nussbaum 2 New Orleans
Frank Treemarchi Tampa Bay
Frist 1 Seattle
Frist 2 NY Giants
Gary Carroll 1 Seattle
Gary Jonas 1 NY Giants
Gary Jonas 2 NY Giants
Gary Jonas 3 Kansas City
Gary Walters 1 Seattle
Gbodhi 1 Arizona
Gbodhi 2 Dallas
Geoff Burger 2 Tampa Bay
Gigante Arizona
Glenzinski 1 Seattle
Glenzinski 2 Kansas City
Green Monsters 1 NY Giants
Green Monsters 2 Arizona
Greenlaw 7 Seattle
Greenlaw 8 Seattle
Greenlaw 9 Seattle
Greenlaw10 Seattle
Greenlaw11 Seattle
Greenlaw12 Seattle
Greg Ferrari Dallas
Greg Newman 1 Arizona
Gregg 2 Carolina
Gregg 3 Arizona
Gregg Brandon NY Giants
Gretchen Liersaph 1 Jacksonville
Gretchen Liersaph 2 Seattle
Grill Sargent 1 Arizona
Grossy 2 New Orleans
Hare/Levin 2 Green Bay
Harold Doft 1 Kansas City
Harold Doft 2 Arizona
Harris Roth 1 Arizona
Harris Roth 2 NY Giants
Harris Roth 5 Seattle
Harris Roth 8 Pittsburgh
HOGO 1 Seattle
Holdsworth 1 NY Giants
Holdsworth 2 Seattle
Howard Smith 1 Tampa Bay
Iceman 1 Arizona
Iceman 2 Arizona
Iceman 3 Arizona
Iceman10 Seattle
Iceman11 Seattle
Iceman12 NY Giants
Ike 1 Tampa Bay
Ike 2 Seattle
IMSMFG 1 Tampa Bay
IMSMFG 3 Arizona
IMSMFG 5 NY Giants
J Me Mac 1 Tampa Bay
J Ryan Seattle
J Troilo Kansas City
J.O. Seattle
Jack Marshall 1 Arizona
Jack Marshall 2 NY Giants
Jack P NY Giants
Jackie Obeso Arizona
Jake Doilney Arizona
James Mills 1 Kansas City
James Mills 2 Tampa Bay
Jason Kreydt 1 Tampa Bay
Jay G 2 Seattle
Jay Soroko 2 NY Giants
Jay Soroko 4 Pittsburgh
Jean Kunkel Arizona
Jeff Resnick 1 NY Giants
Jeff Resnick 2 NY Giants
Jeff Resnick 3 Tampa Bay
Jeff Resnick 4 Seattle
Jeff Saito 1 Arizona
Jeff Saito 2 Kansas City
Jeff Tiede Tampa Bay
Jeff Wagoner NY Giants
Jeffrey Silverman 1 NY Giants
Jeffrey Silverman 2 Arizona
Jeremy Hare 1 NY Giants
JG 2 Indianapolis
Jim Blanda Seattle
Jim Foo 1 Tampa Bay
Jim Foo 4 NY Giants
JoAnn Cunningham NY Giants
Joe Bedwick NY Giants
Joe Dansky 1 Kansas City
Joe Dansky 2 Kansas City
Joe Dansky 3 Seattle
Joe Dansky 9 Seattle
Joe Dansky10 New Orleans
Joe David 2 Dallas
Joe Pucillo 1 Tampa Bay
Joe Pucillo 2 Seattle
Joe Z Denver
John A. 1 Tampa Bay
John Hwang 3 NY Giants
John Moore Arizona
John Rice 1 Seattle
John Snyder NY Giants
John Wilkes Booth Tampa Bay
John Winfield NY Giants
Johnny Drama Pittsburgh
Johnny Mac 1 NY Giants
Johnny Mac 2 NY Giants
Jon Taylor 2 NY Giants
Jordan Selinger Green Bay
Joseph Beedon 1 Pittsburgh
Joseph Beedon 2 Arizona
Joseph Beedon 3 NY Giants
Josh Hantman Seattle
Josh Kaufman Arizona
JPL Seattle
Juice 2 Pittsburgh
Juice 3 NY Giants
K New 1 Arizona
K New 2 Carolina
Kaioh 1 Arizona
Kaioh 2 NY Giants
Karen Gatzulis 1 New Orleans
Karen Gatzulis 2 Green Bay
Kaz 1 NY Giants
Kaz 2 Jacksonville
Kaz 3 Tampa Bay
Keith Berger Tampa Bay
Keith Heier Arizona
Kelly Krenger 1 NY Giants
Kelly Krenger 2 NY Giants
Kelly Krenger 7 Kansas City
Kelsey Fithian NY Giants
Ken Nilson Arizona
Kerrie Klein 2 Arizona
Kevin Moran 1 Seattle
Kevin Moran 2 Kansas City
Kevin St. Pierre 1 NY Giants
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Arizona
Kinger51 Green Bay
Kipp Crisman NY Giants
Kobenoj 1 NY Giants
Kobenoj 2 Kansas City
Kobenoj 3 Kansas City
Kobenoj 4 Seattle
Kobenoj 5 Seattle
Kobenoj 6 NY Giants
Kobenoj 7 Jacksonville
KP Houston...NOW TAMPA BAY
Kprice 23 Jacksonville
Kris Kershaw 1 NY Giants
Kris Kershaw 2 Seattle
Kris Swanson Tampa Bay
Krug 1 NY Giants
Krug 2 Arizona
Kurt Weber Tampa Bay
Lac JC Arizona
Larry Levin 1 NY Giants
Larry Levin 2 NY Giants
Larry Parsons 1 Tampa Bay
Larry Parsons 2 Carolina
Laughandwin NY Giants
LBK 1 Seattle
Levine / Goldstein NY Giants
Littman 1 Arizona
Littman 2 Houston....NOW SEATTLE
Liz 2 Arizona
Liza K NY Giants
Lord Jeff 1 Seattle
Lord Jeff 2 Arizona
LOUFAR 1 NY Giants
Lucky Pals Carolina
Lydia 1 Seattle
Lydia 2 Arizona
Lydia 4 Denver
M Lacerenza 2 NY Giants
M Lacerenza CA NY Giants
M Lacerenza JPS Arizona
MacAttack 1 Arizona
MacAttack 2 Kansas City
Marc Skloff 1 Jacksonville
Marianne Swearingen Seattle
Mariusz Misiec 1 Pittsburgh
Mariusz Misiec 2 NY Giants
Mark Cabato 2 Arizona
Mark Cabato 3 NY Giants
Mark Friedman NY Giants
Marshall Dostal 1 Arizona
Marshall Dostal 2 NY Giants
Marshall Dostal 3 Pittsburgh
Matt Emory Seattle
Matt Kunkel NY Giants
Matt Warren 1 New England
Matt Warren 3 Kansas City
Matt Warren 4 Arizona
Max Doilney 2 Seattle
Max Valencia Green Bay
May Lee 1 NY Giants
May Lee 2 Kansas City
May Lee 6 Arizona
May Lee 7 Tampa Bay
McAggie 1 NY Giants
McAggie 2 Tampa Bay
McAggie 3 Arizona
McAndrews 2 Arizona
MHK 4 Arizona
MHK 5 NY Giants
Michael Fahlbusch Tampa Bay
Michael Higashi 1 NY Giants
Michael P Jacksonville
Miggy 1 Green Bay
Miggy 3 NY Giants
Miggy 4 New England
Miggy 5 NY Giants
Mike Camp Kansas City
Mike Chen 1 Tampa Bay
Mike Chen 2 NY Giants
Mike Chen 3 Arizona
Mike Darling Arizona
Mike Gosk 2 Seattle
Mike Gosk 3 Tampa Bay
Mike Piken 1 NY Giants
Mike Piken 2 Arizona
Mike Piken 3 Tampa Bay
Mike Row 1 Tampa Bay
Mike Row 2 Tampa Bay
Mike Row 3 Arizona
Mike Row 4 Arizona
Mike Ryan 1 New Orleans
Mike Ryan 2 NY Giants
Mike Ryan 3 Seattle
Mike Wasserson 2 NY Giants
Mike Wasserson 4 Arizona
MikeKevSean Green Bay
Minh Nguyen 1 Jacksonville
Minh Nguyen 3 Arizona
Mitchell 1 Arizona
Mo Powell 1 Jacksonville
Mo Powell 2 Arizona
Montrule Kansas City
Mossreport 1 Arizona
Mossreport 2 NY Giants
Mr. Ries NY Giants
MW 1 Arizona
MW 4 Pittsburgh
MWatson 1 Tampa Bay
MWatson 2 Tampa Bay
MWatson 3 Arizona
MWatson 4 Arizona
Nate Pivaroff 1 Arizona
Nate Pivaroff 2 NY Giants
Nate Pivaroff 3 Arizona
Newsome 1 Seattle
Newsome 2 NY Giants
Newsome 4 Green Bay
Nick Angiulo NY Giants
Nick Roby 1 Tampa Bay
NickelB Pittsburgh
NickelS NY Giants
Nicola Espie 1 Jacksonville
Nicola Espie 2 Pittsburgh
Niemeyer 2 NY Giants
Nina K Arizona
Nitin Singhal 2 Jacksonville
Nitin Singhal 3 NY Giants
Nitin Singhal 4 Kansas City
Nitin Singhal 5 Pittsburgh
Nitin Singhal 6 Green Bay
No Money Seattle
Nomanerz NY Giants
Nomanerz Too Kansas City
Norm & Angie Cooper 1 NY Giants
Norm & Angie Cooper 2 Buffalo
NovaFreak 2 14 34 Arizona
Ondre 1 Seattle
Ondre 2 Green Bay
PA #1 NY Giants
Paul Rote 2 Seattle
Paul Rote 3 Arizona
Paul Zucconi Houston...NOW CINCINNATI
Pauley 1 NY Giants
Pauley 2 Arizona
Pauley 3 NY Giants
Pauley 4 Arizona
Pete Lupetti 2 Kansas City
Phil Prisco 2 Tampa Bay
Phil Prisco 3 Seattle
Pierre 1 Tampa Bay
Pierre 2 Kansas City
PMalmud 2 NY Giants
PMalmud 3 Tampa Bay
PMalmud 4 Seattle
R Troilo Cincinnati
R Woods 1 Seattle
R Woods 2 Tampa Bay
Rachael Cooper Arizona
Raj Gazula Arizona
Randy Brown Houston...NOW CAROLINA
Randy Byron Tampa Bay
Ratzo 1 NY Giants
Ratzo 2 Indianapolis
Ray Wright 1 Arizona
Ray Wright 2 Pittsburgh
Ray Wright 3 Seattle
Ray Wright 4 Green Bay
Richard Stanley 1 NY Giants
Richard Stanley 2 NY Giants
Richard Stanley 3 Pittsburgh
Richard Stanley 4 Carolina
Rick Hartman 1 Arizona
Rick Hartman 2 Seattle
Rick Target 2 NY Giants
Rick Thoms Tampa Bay
Ritter 1 Tampa Bay
RJBillyBoy NY Giants
RL 1 NY Giants
RL 2 Tampa Bay
RL 5 Seattle
RL 6 Seattle
RL10 Seattle
RL12 Arizona
Rob Kaiser 1 NY Giants
Rob Kaiser 2 Carolina
Robin Mitchell Arizona
Roger Levine 1 Tampa Bay
Roger Levine 2 NY Giants
Ron Mexico 1 Seattle
Ron Mexico 2 NY Giants
Ron Mexico 3 Seattle
Ron Mexico 4 Seattle
Ron Mexico 5 Tampa Bay
Ron Mexico10 Seattle
Ron Mexico11 Kansas City
Ron Mexico12 Seattle
Rooster 1 Arizona
Rooster 3 Kansas City
Rudy 1 Tampa Bay
Rulestl Arizona
Russ Cohen Arizona
Sal Murillo 2 Arizona
Sam Rothstein 1 NY Giants
Sam Rothstein 2 Arizona
Sammy04 Seattle
Samuel Chevadisaikul 2 Kansas City
Samuel Chevadisaikul 3 NY Giants
Scott Barnes Arizona
Scott Brucker NY Giants
Scott Lease 1 NY Giants
Scott Lease 2 NY Giants
Scott Lease 3 Seattle
Scott Lease 4 Seattle
Scott Lease 7 Arizona
Scott Lease 8 Arizona
Scott Lubochinski 1 Tampa Bay
Scott Lubochinski 2 NY Giants
SEITS Tampa Bay
Seth Bloom NY Giants
Shamalamadingdong 1 Seattle
Shamalamadingdong 2 Seattle
Shamalamadingdong 3 Seattle
Shamalamadingdong 4 Seattle
Shamalamadingdong 5 Seattle
Shamalamadingdong 6 Arizona
Shamalamadingdong 7 Arizona
Shamalamadingdong10 Arizona
Shamalamadingdong11 Arizona
Shamalamadingdong12 Arizona
Shelton Stamps Houston...NOW SEATTLE
Shonis 1 Green Bay
Sidler 2 Pittsburgh
Siemon 1 NY Giants
Silverio / Seits NY Giants
Snielson 1 Pittsburgh
Sonnyp 1 NY Giants
Sonnyp 2 Tampa Bay
Sonnyp 3 NY Giants
Sonnyp 4 Tampa Bay
Sophie Seattle
SOS 1 Arizona
SOS 2 Seattle
Soskin & Brebach 1 Kansas City
Soskin & Brebach 2 NY Giants
Soskin & Brebach 3 Tampa Bay
Soskin & Brebach 4 Green Bay
Soskin & Brebach 5 New England
Soskin & Brebach 7 Arizona
Sozbolt NY Giants
Sportschic Green Bay
Stacey Barr Tracton 1 Green Bay
Stacey Barr Tracton 2 NY Giants
STD 2 NY Giants
Steve Gold 5 Seattle
Steve Gold 6 Seattle
Steve Gold 7 NY Giants
Steve Gold 8 NY Giants
Steve Holstad 1 Seattle
Steve Whiteford Jacksonville
Steven Immergut 1 Arizona
Steven Immergut 2 Green Bay
Stitzer Andrew NY Giants
Stitzer Ann Green Bay
Stitzer Barbara Seattle
Stitzer David Tampa Bay
Stitzer Rose Houston...NOW CAROLINA
Streetsmart Arizona
Streetsmarter Seattle
Stuart Chase 2 Arizona
Stuart Chase 3 NY Giants
Sugar and Spice Arizona
Sweet 900 NY Giants
Sword NY Giants
T Gage 2 Kansas City
T Millions Houston...NOW SEATTLE
Tanghunters 1 Arizona
Team Mia's College Fund Seattle
Ted Price 1 Jacksonville
Ted Price 4 Tampa Bay
The Bala Bunch Green Bay
The Big Crunch 1 NY Giants
The Legend 1 Tampa Bay
The Office Kansas City
The Terminator Kansas City
T-Hoff NY Giants
Tim Pasik NY Giants
Timmy Gatz 2 Arizona
TMAD 3 NY Giants
Todd & Regan 3 NY Giants
Todd & Regan 4 Pittsburgh
Todd Lowen NY Giants
Tom Goodwin 2 Seattle
Tom Huang 2 NY Giants
Tom Huang 3 Tampa Bay
Tom Huang 4 Arizona
Tom Huang 5 NY Giants
Tom Keegans 1 NY Giants
Tom Keegans 2 Arizona
Tom Speranzo Seattle
Tonilyn NY Giants
Tony Buglak Kansas City
Tott 2 Seattle
Touchdown Tommy Seattle
Trevor Julian NY Giants
Up Uhrs 1 Arizona
Up Uhrs 2 NY Giants
Vandy 3 Arizona
Vandy 4 Kansas City
Vandy 7 NY Giants
Vandy 8 NY Giants
Victor Boni Carolina
Victoria Blanda Jacksonville
Vlee 1 NY Giants
Vlee 2 Kansas City
Von 3 Jacksonville
Wahoowa 2 Arizona
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 1 Seattle
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 2 Jacksonville
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 3 Tampa Bay
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 4 NY Giants
Wendy & Bill Green Bay
Will Bowen NY Giants
WJO 5 Tampa Bay
WJO 6 Seattle
WJO 7 Arizona
Wonderwoman 1 Seattle
Wonderwoman 2 NY Giants
YNotMe Seattle
Yodster 1 NY Giants
Yodster 2 New Orleans
Yodster 3 Green Bay
Yungner 2 Arizona
Zack Kramer 1 Seattle
Zekedittos Pittsburgh
Zone NY Giants

Week 1 Column

2008-09-09T12:12:00.001-04:00

Watching the Patriots and the Chiefs play on Sunday, it was obvious that the football season was going to be drastically affected by a huge quarterback injury that could alter the landscape of the NFL as a whole and my fantasy football team in particular. That’s right, Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle, my 3rd string fantasy quarterback, separated his shoulder and is out for a while. Oh, yeah, and the guy who just had arguably the greatest season in NFL history (regular season, anyway!), Tom Brady, is out for the year. I guess that could put a wrench in the Patriots Super Bowl plans. This is a terrible break for the Boston sports fans. Having to suffer through a football season without a legitimate chance to win a title must be difficult coming off the Celtics championship, the Red Sox World Series, and the 3 Super Bowl titles. We in Philadelphia really feel bad for their suffering.

How is Matt Millen still employed? This continues to be one of the biggest mysteries in sports. It is more bizarre than trying to make sense of an Amy Winehouse interview. Does he have pictures of the Lions owner? Has he threatened his life if he fires him? These are the issues that the Fox pre-game show should be tackling. The team Mr. Millen put together this season managed to make Matt Ryan look like a Hall of Famer in his first career start, and made Michael Turner look like LaDanian Tomlinson should have been his back-up in San Diego instead of vice versa. Falcons fans (are there any??), don’t get too comfortable in your perch atop the division….

After week 1, it looks like Oakland and St. Louis could be battling it out to see who wins the #1 draft choice in 2009. There performances were beyond bad. The Rams made the Eagles receivers look like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Lance Alworth. And the Eagles regular starting wide receivers were out with injuries!!! Speaking of Eagles receivers, Hank Basket has three times as many 85+ yard touchdown receptions as any other active player in the National Football League. Yes, Hank Baskett.

Getting back to the Patriots, week 2 presents an interesting dynamic. I would argue that this game at the New York Jets is an absolute, no doubt about it, must win…….FOR THE JETS. They are flying high off their week 1 win behind their new Hall of Fame quarterback, and now find themselves in a completely unexpected position of being the favorite to win the AFC East. They cannot lose serve at home in the Patriots first game without Brady. It would be devastating. I would be interested in see the Jets fan’s take on this issue, but I think the Jets will not win the division unless they win this week in a statement game.

Romeo Crennel got a contract extension as head coach of the Cleveland Browns in the offseason. Has a coach ever been given an extension and then fired less than halfway through the next season? That could happen. Cleveland looks awful, and Derek Anderson had to be a one year wonder, right? Actually, he was more like a 12 week sensation, as he faded down the stretch last year….

Week 2 looks to have some interesting games, and I will discuss some of those later in the week.

As football gets out of the starting gate, baseball is coming down the home stretch. The Mets are looking over their shoulders again at the Phillies, knowing the Phils overtook them last year, and that they have no closer to hold them off this year. With that talent the Phillies have, that should be enough to win the NL East. I am just not sold that this team has enough grit to get over the top this time around. Their hitting just has been so inconsistent all season long. If the Phillies do overcome the Mets (or the Brewers), the MVP of the NL (who will probably not get any votes) should be Brad Lidge. Lidge is 35-for-35 in save situations, and the Phillies are 66-0 in games they have led after 8 innings. Clearly, if the Phillies make the playoffs, there will have been nobody more valuable to his team than the Phillies closer. Not Albert Pujols. Not Lance Berkman. Not David Wright. Nobody. On the flip side, Cole Hamels has as stuff that is comparable with anyone, but his heart is small. He comes up tiny in big situations always, and he always seems more concerned with his long term career (and money making abilities) than with doing whatever he has to in order to win.

Duke football is 1-1. And despite the win coming against James Madison, that is huge!!!!

Lance Armstrong is considering coming back to ride in the Tour de France. Yawn. Does anyone else thing he is proclaiming his innocence of doping charges a little too loudly?

I will be back with more later in the week….

Win or Die Week 1 Picks

2008-09-05T15:47:00.017-04:00

The week 1 picks are in. Here are a few observations:

1,128 entries (unless I receive additional entries in the mail)
There was at least one pick on every NFL game, and on 20 different teams
133 entries (almost 12%) picked road teams, including 99 on road teams that struggled last year such as Arizona, Cincinnati, Detroit, and the Jets
7 entries picked underdogs
There were more than 30 picks on 8 different teams, and more than 100 picks on 5 teams
The most selected team (EAGLES) were only selected 22.3% of the time
Pittsburgh is the team that the most people spell incorrectly
As an Eagle fan, when I combine the fact that Sports Illustrated picked them to go to the Super Bowl (as did someone yesterday on espn.com) with the fact that more people picked them in win or die this week than any other team, I get very, very, very nervous and in fact nauseous.
If you survive this week, picks are due next week Friday at noon ET, and early picks are encouraged. Too many late picks this week.....

The pick breakdown and individual picks can be found below. They are listed alphabetically and should be the username you requested, if you requested one. If your pick is wrong, let me know immediately.

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 8
Baltimore 2
Buffalo 10
Cincinnati 11
Dallas 22
Denver 19
Detroit 42
EAGLES 251
Indianapolis 168
Jacksonville 9
Miami 1
Minnesota 1
New England 135
New Orleans 33
New York Giants 21
New York Jets 40
Pittsburgh 178
San Diego 174
San Francisco 1
Seattle 2

Individual Picks:

"O...H" San Diego
"I…O" Indianapolis
3 Rings 1 EAGLES
3 Rings 2 San Diego
3 Rings 3 Pittsburgh
3 Rings 4 Indianapolis
806 A New Orleans
806 B San Diego
A Keiser EAGLES
Adin 1 Pittsburgh
Adin 2 New Orleans
Adin 3 EAGLES
Adin 4 Baltimore
Afiore 1 Indianapolis
Afiore 2 San Diego
Aimee Dobrowski EAGLES
AJ Fratoni 1 EAGLES
AJ Fratoni 2 Cincinnati
AJ Keirans Pittsburgh
AJ Whitehead EAGLES
Akshon 1 New England
Akshon 2 Indianapolis
Albanese / Lacount 1 New England
Albanese / Lacount 2 Pittsburgh
Albanese / Lacount 3 EAGLES
Albanese / Lacount 4 NY Giants
Albanese / Lacount 5 San Diego
Albanese / Lacount 6 Buffalo
Albanese / Lacount 7 Indianapolis
Albanese / Lacount 8 New Orleans
Albanese / Lacount 9 Indianapolis
Albanese / Lacount10 New England
Alberto Escobedo 1 Pittsburgh
Alberto Escobedo 2 New Orleans
Alex Caperonis 1 New England
Alex Caperonis 2 New England
Alex Caperonis 3 EAGLES
Alex Caperonis 4 Indianapolis
Alex Caperonis 5 Indianapolis
Alex Caperonis 6 San Diego
Alex Coates Indianapolis
Alex Parsons Dallas
Alistair Campbell San Diego
All Money Cincinnati
Amol Dixit 1 Pittsburgh
Amol Dixit 2 EAGLES
Amol Dixit 3 San Diego
Amol Dixit 4 Indianapolis
Andrew Robinson EAGLES
Andy Lutz New England
Andy Nieble San Diego
Andy Smukler 1 New England
Andy Smukler 2 New England
Andy Smukler 3 New England
Andy Smukler 4 New England
Andy Smukler 5 Indianapolis
Andy Smukler 6 Indianapolis
Andy Smukler 7 Indianapolis
Andy Smukler 8 Indianapolis
Andy Smukler 9 San Diego
Andy Smukler10 San Diego
Andy Smukler11 EAGLES
Andy Smukler12 Pittsburgh
Anne Bolduc Dallas
Anne Ryan Pittsburgh
Anthony Aquilone 1 Indianapolis
Anthony Aquilone 2 Jacksonville
Anthony Aquilone 3 Dallas
Anthony Aquilone 4 NY Jets
Anthony Aquilone 5 San Diego
Anthony Aquilone 6 Detroit
Anthony Aquilone 7 Jacksonville
Anthony Aquilone 8 EAGLES
Antony Joffe 1 Pittsburgh
Antony Joffe 2 Denver
Ari Raivetz 1 New England
Ari Raivetz 2 San Diego
Ari Raivetz 3 Indianapolis
Arlyn Landow San Diego
Arrogant Bastards Detroit
Aswell Pittsburgh
Aubrey Galloway 1 NY Giants
Aubrey Galloway 2 Denver
B Kunkel 1 New England
B Kunkel 2 Detroit
Bakke 1 Seattle
Bakke 2 New England
Bakke 3 Indianapolis
Bakke 4 San Diego
Balancing Act New Orleans
Bambi 1 Pittsburgh
Bambi 2 Indianapolis
Barry Bredt Pittsburgh
Bay Area Mike New Orleans
Ben Hsiang 1 Detroit
Ben Hsiang 2 EAGLES
Ben Josephson New England
Ben Levitt Dallas
Ben Williams San Diego
Berco 1 EAGLES
Berco 2 Pittsburgh
Berco 3 EAGLES
Berco 4 Indianapolis
Berco 5 NY Jets
Berco 6 Pittsburgh
Berco 7 San Diego
Berco 8 Pittsburgh
Berco 9 New England
Berco10 San Diego
Berco11 Pittsburgh
Berco12 EAGLES
Bernard Chua San Diego
Big Blue 1 Pittsburgh
Big Blue 2 EAGLES
Big Blue 3 Arizona
Big Blue 4 New Orleans
Biggie EAGLES
BigSlick 1 Pittsburgh
BigSlick 2 EAGLES
Bill Armideo 1 Indianapolis
Bill Armideo 2 NY Jets
Bill D'Elia EAGLES
Bill Harter 1 EAGLES
Bill Harter 2 Indianapolis
Bill Mahle New England
Bob Landow EAGLES
Bob Wallace Indianapolis
Bob Wright 1 Detroit
Bob Wright 2 New Orleans
Boisi 1 New England
Boisi 2 New England
Bolduc 1 EAGLES
Bolduc 2 EAGLES
Bolduc 3 EAGLES
Bolduc 4 New England
Bolduc 5 New England
Bolduc 6 Detroit
Bolduc 7 Detroit
Bolduc 8 Pittsburgh
Bolduc 9 Pittsburgh
Bolduc10 San Diego
BP 1 EAGLES
BP 2 EAGLES
BP 3 Pittsburgh
BP 4 Pittsburgh
BP 5 San Diego
BP 6 San Diego
Brad Frey 1 Pittsburgh
Brad Frey 2 EAGLES
Brad Stoltz New England
Brad Stuart 1 Dallas
Brad Stuart 2 EAGLES
Brad Stuart 3 Indianapolis
Brad Ward San Diego
Brett Mahle New England
Brian Fenlin NY Giants
Brian Getson 1 EAGLES
Brian Getson 2 Pittsburgh
Brian Getson 3 San Diego
Brian Getson 4 New Orleans
Brian Getson 5 New England
Brian Harris 1 EAGLES
Brian Harris 2 Pittsburgh
Brian Murphy Indianapolis
Brian Silverio Indianapolis
Brian Wallace 1 EAGLES
Brian Wallace 2 Pittsburgh
BrianFitz 1 EAGLES
BrianFitz 2 Indianapolis
BrianFitz 3 Indianapolis
Brownie 1 Cincinnati
Brownie 2 EAGLES
Bryla 1 EAGLES
Bryla 2 Pittsburgh
Buck / Kent EAGLES
Butler 1 New England
Butler 2 New England
Butler 3 San Diego
Butler 4 San Diego
Butler 5 Pittsburgh
Butler 6 Pittsburgh
Butler 7 Pittsburgh
Butler 8 NY Jets
Butler 9 NY Jets
Butler10 EAGLES
C Money EAGLES
C Money 2 NY Jets
C Money 3 EAGLES
C Money 4 Pittsburgh
C Ryan San Diego
C. Gibbs & Co. 1 New England
C. Gibbs & Co. 2 New England
C. Gibbs & Co. 3 Indianapolis
C. Gibbs & Co. 4 Pittsburgh
Callie Erickson Indianapolis
Camplorenzo NY Jets
Carey 1 Dallas
Carey 2 Pittsburgh
Cecily Levine NY Jets
Charles Warren Pittsburgh
Charlie Murphy NY Jets
Chas Kulbok 1 NY Jets
Chas Kulbok 2 Pittsburgh
Che Yeung EAGLES
Chris Accashian 1 EAGLES
Chris Accashian 2 Pittsburgh
Chris Agrios 1 San Diego
Chris Agrios 2 EAGLES
Chris Bassi 1 Detroit
Chris Bassi 2 Pittsburgh
Chris Dietrich EAGLES
Chris Johnston EAGLES
Chris Kempner Detroit
Chris Leahy San Diego
Chris Nangle 1 San Diego
Chris Nangle 2 EAGLES
Clark Schier 1 New Orleans
Clark Schier 2 Pittsburgh
Clark Schier 3 EAGLES
Clint Mead 1 New England
Clint Mead 2 EAGLES
Coca Cola Kid New Orleans
ColtnDarby Detroit
Coop 1 Indianapolis
Coop 2 San Diego
Coop 3 EAGLES
Coop 4 New England
Corey Davis EAGLES
Cowman New England
CP 1 EAGLES
CP 2 Pittsburgh
CP 3 san Diego
CP 4 san Diego
Craig Bradley 1 Pittsburgh
Craig Bradley 2 Detroit
Craig Bradley 3 NY Jets
Craig Bradley 4 Denver
Craig Torrie EAGLES
Crazedgator San Diego
Cris Sherman 1 Indianapolis
Cris Sherman 2 Indianapolis
Cris Sherman 3 EAGLES
Cris Sherman 4 EAGLES
Dan Bergey San Diego
Dan Bruton EAGLES
Dan Gold 1 Indianapolis
Dan Gold 2 Indianapolis
Dan Gold 3 EAGLES
Dan Gold 4 EAGLES
Dan Gold 5 EAGLES
Dan Gold 6 Pittsburgh
Dan Gold 7 Pittsburgh
Dan Gold 8 Pittsburgh
Dan Gold 9 Buffalo
Dan Gold10 San Diego
Dan Gold11 San Diego
Dan Gold12 San Diego
Dan Winicki 1 New England
Dan Winicki 2 EAGLES
Dan Winicki 3 Denver
Dan Winicki 4 EAGLES
Dani13 New Orleans
Daniel Hopson 1 NY Jets
Daniel Hopson 2 Pittsburgh
Daniel Hopson 3 San Diego
Dash / Marks New England
Dave Amstel Pittsburgh
Dave Camp New England
Dave Hutchinson Indianapolis
Dave Kay 1 Indianapolis
Dave Kay 2 Pittsburgh
Dave Mehall 1 EAGLES
Dave Mehall 2 Pittsburgh
Dave Mehall 3 Pittsburgh
Dave Nowicki San Diego
Dave S 1 Pittsburgh
Dave S 2 EAGLES
Dave Wisemiller 1 Pittsburgh
Dave Wisemiller 2 New England
David E. Williams New England
David Freiss 1 Pittsburgh
David Freiss 2 EAGLES
David Keller EAGLES
David Kennedy New England
David Popeil EAGLES
DD 1 EAGLES
DD 2 San Diego
Dean Froney San Diego
Dennis Hsiao New England
Denny Gaughan 1 EAGLES
Denny Gaughan 2 Indianapolis
Denny Gaughan 3 New England
Denver Brown 1 EAGLES
Denver Brown 2 San Diego
Dick Ahrendts 1 San Diego
Dick Ahrendts 2 Detroit
Dick Ahrendts 3 NY Giants
Dils San Diego
Donald Woodin New England
Doug Boyer San Diego
Doug Cron 1 EAGLES
Doug Cron 2 Pittsburgh
Doug Livingston 1 Pittsburgh
Doug Livingston 2 Indianapolis
Doug Stovall San Diego
Drew Pressman EAGLES
DS 1 NY Giants
DS 2 New England
DS 3 New England
DS 4 New England
DS 5 Pittsburgh
DS 6 Detroit
DS 7 Detroit
DS 8 San Diego
DS 9 Arizona
DS10 Indianapolis
DS11 Indianapolis
DS12 Indianapolis
Duckboy 1 EAGLES
Duckboy 2 Pittsburgh
Dunder Mifflin NY Jets
Dwight Schrute Denver
E Meyers 1 San Diego
E Meyers 2 EAGLES
EC New England
Ed Ramirez 1 New England
Ed Ramirez 2 New England
Ed Ramirez 3 Pittsburgh
Ed Samocki 1 Indianapolis
Ed Samocki 2 EAGLES
Ed Stein EAGLES
Ed Welsh 1 NY Jets
Ed Welsh 2 EAGLES
Eddy Arechaga Indianapolis
El Dorko Indianapolis
ELI EAGLES
Ellis 1 San Diego
Ellis 2 Detroit
Ellis 3 EAGLES
Emory 1 Denver
Emory 2 EAGLES
Enio 1 NY Jets
Enio 2 Denver
Enio 3 Detroit
Entourage Jacksonville
ERB 1 Pittsburgh
ERB 2 EAGLES
Eric Haron 1 Indianapolis
Eric Haron 2 Indianapolis
Eric Heuerman 1 EAGLES
Eric Heuerman 2 Pittsburgh
Eric McNutt 1 San Diego
Eric McNutt 2 Indianapolis
Eric McNutt 3 New England
Erickson/Marlo 1 EAGLES
Erickson/Marlo 2 Indianapolis
Erin Cooney 1 New England
Erin Cooney 2 New England
Erin Cooney 3 New England
Erin Cooney 4 New England
Expleber Indianapolis
Falcon 1 Cincinnati
Falcon 2 Pittsburgh
Falcon 3 Pittsburgh
Falcon 4 Detroit
Falcon 5 Indianapolis
Falcon 6 Indianapolis
Falcon 7 EAGLES
Falcon 8 EAGLES
Falcon 9 EAGLES
Falcon10 EAGLES
Falcon11 New Orleans
Falcon12 Detroit
FCP 1 EAGLES
FCP 2 Detroit
Flum 1 NY Giants
Flum 2 EAGLES
Flum 3 Pittsburgh
Flum 4 Indianapolis
Frank Nussbaum 1 San Diego
Frank Nussbaum 2 EAGLES
Frank Nussbaum 3 San Diego
Frank Treemarchi Pittsburgh
Frist 1 EAGLES
Frist 2 Pittsburgh
Frist 3 San Diego
Gary Carroll 1 Pittsburgh
Gary Carroll 2 Indianapolis
Gary Jonas 1 Pittsburgh
Gary Jonas 2 Pittsburgh
Gary Jonas 3 New Orleans
Gary Jonas 4 San Diego
Gary Walters 1 NY Giants
Gary Walters 2 San Diego
Gbodhi 1 Pittsburgh
Gbodhi 2 EAGLES
Gbodhi 3 San Diego
Gbodhi 4 Indianapolis
Geoff Burger 1 San Diego
Geoff Burger 2 EAGLES
Gigante EAGLES
Glenzinski 1 Pittsburgh
Glenzinski 2 EAGLES
Grant K San Diego
Green Monsters 1 New Orleans
Green Monsters 2 Pittsburgh
Greenlaw 1 Indianapolis
Greenlaw 2 Indianapolis
Greenlaw 3 Indianapolis
Greenlaw 4 Indianapolis
Greenlaw 5 Indianapolis
Greenlaw 6 Indianapolis
Greenlaw 7 New England
Greenlaw 8 New England
Greenlaw 9 Pittsburgh
Greenlaw10 Pittsburgh
Greenlaw11 EAGLES
Greenlaw12 EAGLES
Greg Ferrari EAGLES
Greg Newman Pittsburgh
Gregg 1 Indianapolis
Gregg 2 New England
Gregg 3 EAGLES
Gregg Brandon New England
Gretchen Liersaph 1 EAGLES
Gretchen Liersaph 2 New Orleans
Grill Sargent 1 Buffalo
Grill Sargent 2 San Diego
Grossy 1 San Diego
Grossy 2 EAGLES
Hare/Levin 1 San Diego
Hare/Levin 2 EAGLES
Harold Doft 1 EAGLES
Harold Doft 2 EAGLES
Harold Doft 3 San Diego
Harris Roth 1 EAGLES
Harris Roth 2 Pittsburgh
Harris Roth 3 Indianapolis
Harris Roth 4 Indianapolis
Harris Roth 5 Pittsburgh
Harris Roth 6 San Diego
Harris Roth 7 Indianapolis
Harris Roth 8 Pittsburgh
HOGO 1 New England
HOGO 2 Indianapolis
Holdsworth 1 EAGLES
Holdsworth 2 New England
Howard Smith 1 EAGLES
Howard Smith 2 San Diego
Howard Smith 3 Indianapolis
Iceman 1 New England
Iceman 2 New England
Iceman 3 New England
Iceman 4 San Diego
Iceman 5 San Diego
Iceman 6 San Diego
Iceman 7 Indianapolis
Iceman 8 Indianapolis
Iceman 9 Indianapolis
Iceman10 EAGLES
Iceman11 EAGLES
Iceman12 Pittsburgh
Ike 1 Pittsburgh
Ike 2 EAGLES
IMSMFG 1 NY Jets
IMSMFG 2 Indianapolis
IMSMFG 3 EAGLES
IMSMFG 4 San Diego
IMSMFG 5 Pittsburgh
J Me Mac 1 Buffalo
J Me Mac 2 Indianapolis
J Ryan EAGLES
J Troilo EAGLES
J.O. EAGLES
Jack Marshall 1 NY Giants
Jack Marshall 2 Pittsburgh
Jack P New England
Jackie Obeso New England
Jake Doilney EAGLES
James Mills 1 Pittsburgh
James Mills 2 EAGLES
Jason Kreydt 1 EAGLES
Jason Kreydt 1 San Diego
Jay G 1 Jacksonville
Jay G 2 Denver
Jay Soroko 1 San Diego
Jay Soroko 2 Pittsburgh
Jay Soroko 3 Indianapolis
Jay Soroko 4 New England
Jean Kunkel EAGLES
Jeff Resnick 1 New England
Jeff Resnick 2 New England
Jeff Resnick 3 New England
Jeff Resnick 4 New England
Jeff Resnick 5 Indianapolis
Jeff Resnick 6 Indianapolis
Jeff Resnick 7 San Diego
Jeff Saito 1 Pittsburgh
Jeff Saito 2 EAGLES
Jeff Tiede New England
Jeff Wagoner EAGLES
Jeffrey Silverman 1 Pittsburgh
Jeffrey Silverman 2 New Orleans
Jeremy Hare 1 New England
Jeremy Hare 2 San Diego
Jerry K Indianapolis
JG 1 San Diego
JG 2 NY Jets
Jim Blanda EAGLES
Jim Bolduc San Diego
Jim Darcangelo Indianapolis
Jim Foo 1 Pittsburgh
Jim Foo 2 San Diego
Jim Foo 3 Indianapolis
Jim Foo 4 Denver
Jim Taylor San Diego
JimFer Indianapolis
Jimmy Bredt Detroit
JMC San Diego
JoAnn Cunningham EAGLES
Joe Bedwick New England
Joe Dansky 1 NY Giants
Joe Dansky 2 EAGLES
Joe Dansky 3 EAGLES
Joe Dansky 4 Detroit
Joe Dansky 5 Detroit
Joe Dansky 6 San Diego
Joe Dansky 7 San Diego
Joe Dansky 8 San Diego
Joe Dansky 9 Pittsburgh
Joe Dansky10 Pittsburgh
Joe Dansky11 Indianapolis
Joe Dansky12 Indianapolis
Joe David 1 Detroit
Joe David 2 New Orleans
Joe Hall San Diego
Joe Pucillo 1 EAGLES
Joe Pucillo 2 NY Jets
Joe Pucillo 3 Detroit
Joe Z NY Jets
Joffe / Clark / Garvey 1 Indianapolis
Joffe / Clark / Garvey 2 San Diego
John A. 1 EAGLES
John A. 2 San Diego
John A. 3 Indianapolis
John Galindo San Diego
John Hwang 1 San Diego
John Hwang 2 Indianapolis
John Hwang 3 New England
John Marshall San Diego
John Moore NY Giants
John Rice 1 Pittsburgh
John Rice 2 San Diego
John Snyder EAGLES
John Wilkes Booth Pittsburgh
John WinfieldEAGLES
Johnny Drama Arizona
Johnny Mac 1 New England
Johnny Mac 2 EAGLES
Jon Reis EAGLES
Jon Taylor 1 Indianapolis
Jon Taylor 2 NY Jets
Joon Lee San Diego
Jordan Selinger Pittsburgh
Joseph Beedon 1 NY Giants
Joseph Beedon 2 EAGLES
Joseph Beedon 3 NY Jets
Joseph Beedon 4 Jacksonville
Josh Hantman Pittsburgh
Josh Kaufman EAGLES
JPL Pittsburgh
Juice 1 San Diego
Juice 2 EAGLES
Juice 3 Pittsburgh
Juicy Couture San Diego
Jules San Diego
Juris Dr Dre San Diego
K-Mart Detroit
Kaioh 1 EAGLES
Kaioh 2 Pittsburgh
Karen Gatzulis 1 Pittsburgh
Karen Gatzulis 2 EAGLES
Kate Lehrkind San Diego
Kaz 1 EAGLES
Kaz 2 New England
Kaz 3 Pittsburgh
Keith Berger EAGLES
Keith Heier EAGLES
Kelly Krenger 1 New England
Kelly Krenger 2 New England
Kelly Krenger 3 Indianapolis
Kelly Krenger 4 Indianapolis
Kelly Krenger 5 San Diego
Kelly Krenger 6 San Diego
Kelly Krenger 7 Pittsburgh
Kelsey Fithian Dallas
Ken Nilson NY Jets
Ken Kracmer Detroit
Kerrie Klein 1 Indianapolis
Kerrie Klein 2 NY Jets
Kevin Moran 1 EAGLES
Kevin Moran 2 New Orleans
Kevin New 1 EAGLES
Kevin New 2 Pittsburgh
Kevin St. Pierre 1 Pittsburgh
Kevin St. Pierre 2 Denver
Kim P San Diego
Kinger51 NY Jets
Kipp Crisman EAGLES
Kobenoj 1 New England
Kobenoj 2 New England
Kobenoj 3 Pittsburgh
Kobenoj 4 Pittsburgh
Kobenoj 5 EAGLES
Kobenoj 6 EAGLES
Kobenoj 7 EAGLES
Kobenoj 8 San Diego
Kobenoj 9 San Diego
Kobenoj10 Indianapolis
Kobenoj11 Indianapolis
Kobenoj12 Miami
KP EAGLES
Kprice 23 New Orleans
Kris Kershaw 1 Denver
Kris Kershaw 2 Pittsburgh
Kris Kershaw 3 Cincinnati
Kris Swanson NY Giants
Kris Wagoner San Diego
Krug 1 EAGLES
Krug 2 New Orleans
Kurt Weber New England
Lac JC Pittsburgh
Lac M San Diego
Lac V San Diego
Lac VJ Indianapolis
Larry Levin 1 New England
Larry Levin 2 New England
Larry Parsons 1 Pittsburgh
Larry Parsons 2 Dallas
Larry Parsons 3 Seattle
LaughandwinNew England
LBK 1 Pittsburgh
LBK 2 San Diego
Levine / Goldstein EAGLES
Levine / Kaplan 1 Indianapolis
Levine / Kaplan 2 San Diego
Lisa Torquati 1 San Diego
Lisa Torquati 2 San Fran
Littman 1 EAGLES
Littman 2 NY Giants
Liz 1 Cincinnati
Liz 2 EAGLES
Liza K New England
LML San Diego
Lord Jeff 1 EAGLES
Lord Jeff 2 New England
Lou DeBenedittis Indianapolis
LOUFAR 1 Pittsburgh
LOUFAR 2 San Diego
Lucky Pals Pittsburgh
LuckyLou Jacksonville
Lydia 1 New England
Lydia 2 Pittsburgh
Lydia 3 Indianapolis
Lydia 4 Dallas
Lydia 5 San Diego
M Lacerenza 1 San Diego
M Lacerenza 2 EAGLES
M Lacerenza CA EAGLES
M Lacerenza JPS EAGLES
M Lacerenza MOPO San Diego
MacAttack 1 New Orleans
MacAttack 2 EAGLES
Marc Skloff 1 EAGLES
Marc Skloff 2 Indianapolis
Marianne Swearingen EAGLES
Mariusz Misiec 1 EAGLES
Mariusz Misiec 2 Pittsburgh
Mark Cabato 1 Detroit
Mark Cabato 2 Pittsburgh
Mark Cabato 3 EAGLES
Mark Christensen Detroit
Mark Friedman Pittsburgh
Marshall Dostal 1 Pittsburgh
Marshall Dostal 2 EAGLES
Marshall Dostal 3 EAGLES
Matt Dostal 1 San Diego
Matt Dostal 2 Detroit
Matt Emory EAGLES
Matt Kunkel EAGLES
Matt McMillen Indianapolis
Matt Warren 1 New England
Matt Warren 2 Indianapolis
Matt Warren 3 New Orleans
Matt Warren 4 Pittsburgh
Matt Wilson 1 San Diego
Matt Wilson 2 San Diego
Matt Wilson 3 Indianapolis
Matt Wilson 4 Indianapolis
Max Doilney 1 San Diego
Max Doilney 2 EAGLES
Max Valencia EAGLES
Max23 San Diego
May Lee 1 New England
May Lee 2 New England
May Lee 3 San Diego
May Lee 4 San Diego
May Lee 5 Cincinnati
May Lee 6 EAGLES
May Lee 7 Pittsburgh
May Lee 8 Indianapolis
McAggie 1 Pittsburgh
McAggie 2 Dallas
McAggie 3 New Orleans
McAndrews 1 Indianapolis
McAndrews 2 New England
Meghann Indianapolis
MHK 1 Indianapolis
MHK 2 Indianapolis
MHK 3 San Diego
MHK 4 New England
MHK 5 New England
Michael Fahlbusch EAGLES
Michael Ferry 1 San Diego
Michael Ferry 2 Indianapolis
Michael Higashi 1 EAGLES
Michael Higashi 2 Indianapolis
Michael Nachman Indianapolis
Michael P EAGLES
Michele DeBeneditis San Diego
Miggy 1 Pittsburgh
Miggy 2 Indianapolis
Miggy 3 Pittsburgh
Miggy 4 Dallas
Miggy 5 Pittsburgh
Mike Camp New England
Mike Chen 1 Pittsburgh
Mike Chen 2 EAGLES
Mike Chen 3 Pittsburgh
Mike Darling EAGLES
Mike Gosk 1 San Diego
Mike Gosk 2 Dallas
Mike Gosk 3 Dallas
Mike Keller 1 Indianapolis
Mike Keller 2 Indianapolis
Mike Keller 3 San Diego
Mike Piken 1 Pittsburgh
Mike Piken 2 EAGLES
Mike Piken 3 NY Jets
Mike Row 1 EAGLES
Mike Row 2 EAGLES
Mike Row 3 Pittsburgh
Mike Row 4 Pittsburgh
Mike Row 5 Indianapolis
Mike Row 6 Indianapolis
Mike Row 7 Indianapolis
Mike Row 8 Indianapolis
Mike Row 9 Indianapolis
Mike Row10 Indianapolis
Mike Row11 Indianapolis
Mike Row12 Indianapolis
Mike Ryan 1 Pittsburgh
Mike Ryan 2 NY Jets
Mike Ryan 3 EAGLES
Mike Ryan 4 Detroit
Mike Wasserson 1 Indianapolis
Mike Wasserson 2 EAGLES
Mike Wasserson 3 San Diego
Mike Wasserson 4 NY Jets
MikeKevSean Pittsburgh
Ming Lai Indianapolis
Minh Nguyen 1 New England
Minh Nguyen 2 San Diego
Minh Nguyen 3 EAGLES
Mitchell 1 EAGLES
Mitchell 2 San Diego
Mo Powell 1 NY Jets
Mo Powell 2 Pittsburgh
Mo Powell 3 San Diego
Mo Powell 4 Indianapolis
Montrule NY Jets
Mossreport 1 Pittsburgh
Mossreport 2 EAGLES
Muff Diver Indianapolis
MW 1 New England
MW 2 San Diego
MW 3 Indianapolis
MW 4 EAGLES
MWatson 1 Buffalo
MWatson 2 Buffalo
MWatson 3 EAGLES
MWatson 4 EAGLES
Nate Pivaroff 1 EAGLES
Nate Pivaroff 2 New England
Nate Pivaroff 3 EAGLES
Nate Pivaroff 4 Indianapolis
Nelson Ranco 1 San Diego
Nelson Ranco 2 Indianapolis
Newsome 1 Denver
Newsome 2 EAGLES
Newsome 3 Indianapolis
Newsome 4 New England
Nick Angiulo New England
Nick Roby 1 EAGLES
Nick Roby 2 Detroit
NickelB EAGLES
NickelC Indianapolis
NickelS Arizona
Nicola Espie 1 Pittsburgh
Nicola Espie 2 Dallas
Niemeyer 1 San Diego
Niemeyer 2 EAGLES
Niemeyer 3 Detroit
Nina K EAGLES
Nitin Singhal 1 Detroit
Nitin Singhal 2 NY Jets
Nitin Singhal 3 Arizona
Nitin Singhal 4 Denver
Nitin Singhal 5 New England
Nitin Singhal 6 Pittsburgh
Nitin Singhal 7 San Diego
Nitin Singhal 8 Indianapolis
No Money NY Giants
Nomanerz EAGLES
Nomanerz Too Denver
Norm & Angie Cooper 1 EAGLES
Norm & Angie Cooper 2 New Orleans
NovaFreak 2 14 34 EAGLES
Ondre 1 Pittsburgh
Ondre 2 EAGLES
Ooyen 1 Indianapolis
Ooyen 2 Indianapolis
PA #1 EAGLES
PA #2 Indianapolis
Paul Rote 1 San Diego
Paul Rote 2 EAGLES
Paul Rote 3 Pittsburgh
Paul Zucconi Pittsburgh
Pauley 1 Pittsburgh
Pauley 2 Pittsburgh
Pauley 3 EAGLES
Pauley 4 EAGLES
Pete Lupetti 1 Detroit
Pete Lupetti 2 Buffalo
Phil Milliner San Diego
Phil Prisco 1 San Diego
Phil Prisco 2 New England
Phil Prisco 3 EAGLES
Phil Prisco 4 Indianapolis
Pierre 1 EAGLES
Pierre 2 Pittsburgh
PMalmud 1 San Diego
PMalmud 2 EAGLES
PMalmud 3 EAGLES
PMalmud 4 Pittsburgh
R Troilo Pittsburgh
R Woods 1 EAGLES
R Woods 2 Pittsburgh
Rachael Cooper EAGLES
Raj Gazula New England
Randy Brown New England
Randy Byron NY Giants
Ratzo 1 New England
Ratzo 2 EAGLES
Ray Gutowski Indianapolis
Ray Wright 1 NY Giants
Ray Wright 2 Pittsburgh
Ray Wright 3 EAGLES
Ray Wright 4 New England
Richard Stanley 1 Dallas
Richard Stanley 2 Pittsburgh
Richard Stanley 3 New England
Richard Stanley 4 NY Jets
Richard Stanley 5 Indianapolis
Richard Stanley 6 Jacksonville
Rick Hartman 1 EAGLES
Rick Hartman 2 New Orleans
Rick Target 1 Detroit
Rick Target 2 Pittsburgh
Rick Thoms EAGLES
Ritter 1 EAGLES
Ritter 2 San Diego
RJBillyBoy New England
RL 1 New England
RL 2 Pittsburgh
RL 3 Jacksonville
RL 4 Detroit
RL 5 EAGLES
RL 6 Dallas
RL 7 San Diego
RL 8 San Diego
RL 9 Indianapolis
RL10 Denver
RL11 Minnesota
RL12 NY Jets
Rob Kaiser 1 NY Jets
Rob Kaiser 2 EAGLES
Robin Mitchell New England
Roger Levine 1 NY Giants
Roger Levine 2 EAGLES
Ron Mexico 1 New England
Ron Mexico 2 New England
Ron Mexico 3 Pittsburgh
Ron Mexico 4 Pittsburgh
Ron Mexico 5 Pittsburgh
Ron Mexico 6 San Diego
Ron Mexico 7 San Diego
Ron Mexico 8 Indianapolis
Ron Mexico 9 Indianapolis
Ron Mexico10 NY Giants
Ron Mexico11 NY Giants
Ron Mexico12 EAGLES
Rooster 1 Buffalo
Rooster 2 Indianapolis
Rooster 3 EAGLES
Rudy 1 EAGLES
Rudy 2 San Diego
Rulestl EAGLES
Russ Cohen New England
Ryan Locaitis / Randy Bolen Cincinnati
Sal Murillo 1 Detroit
Sal Murillo 2 EAGLES
Sam Rothstein 1 EAGLES
Sam Rothstein 2 NY Jets
Sammy04 Pittsburgh
Samuel Chevadisaikul 1 San Diego
Samuel Chevadisaikul 2 NY Jets
Samuel Chevadisaikul 3 Pittsburgh
Scott Barnes New England
Scott Brucker New England
Scott G 1 San Diego
Scott G 2 Indianapolis
Scott Lease 1 EAGLES
Scott Lease 2 New England
Scott Lease 3 New England
Scott Lease 4 New England
Scott Lease 5 Indianapolis
Scott Lease 6 Indianapolis
Scott Lease 7 EAGLES
Scott Lease 8 EAGLES
Scott Lubochinski 1 EAGLES
Scott Lubochinski 2 Pittsburgh
Scott Nurick 1 Indianapolis
Scott Nurick 2 San Diego
SEITS Pittsburgh
Seth Bloom New England
Shamalamadingdong 1 Arizona
Shamalamadingdong 2 Arizona
Shamalamadingdong 3 New Orleans
Shamalamadingdong 4 New Orleans
Shamalamadingdong 5 Pittsburgh
Shamalamadingdong 6 Pittsburgh
Shamalamadingdong 7 Pittsburgh
Shamalamadingdong 8 San Diego
Shamalamadingdong 9 San Diego
Shamalamadingdong10 EAGLES
Shamalamadingdong11 EAGLES
Shamalamadingdong12 EAGLES
Shane Kent 1 Indianapolis
Shane Kent 2 Indianapolis
Shane Kent 3 Indianapolis
Shawn Mitchell San Diego
Shelton Stamps NY Jets
Shonis 1 New England
Shonis 2 San Diego
Sidler 1 San Diego
Sidler 2 New England
Siemon 1 EAGLES
Siemon 2 Indianapolis
Siemon 3 San Diego
Silverio / Seits Pittsburgh
Simonque Indianapolis
Snielson 1 New England
Snielson 2 Indianapolis
Sonak Shah Detroit
Sonnyp 1 New England
Sonnyp 2 New England
Sonnyp 3 EAGLES
Sonnyp 4 EAGLES
Sophie EAGLES
SOS 1 NY Jets
SOS 2 EAGLES
Soskin & Brebach 1 Pittsburgh
Soskin & Brebach 2 Dallas
Soskin & Brebach 3 New England
Soskin & Brebach 4 EAGLES
Soskin & Brebach 5 NY Jets
Soskin & Brebach 6 San Diego
Soskin & Brebach 7 Denver
Sozbolt Pittsburgh
Sportschic Pittsburgh
Stacey Barr Tracton 1 Pittsburgh
Stacey Barr Tracton 2 Dallas
STD 1 Indianapolis
STD 2 Buffalo
Steve Gold 1 Indianapolis
Steve Gold 2 Indianapolis
Steve Gold 3 Indianapolis
Steve Gold 4 Indianapolis
Steve Gold 5 EAGLES
Steve Gold 6 EAGLES
Steve Gold 7 EAGLES
Steve Gold 8 EAGLES
Steve Gold 9 San Diego
Steve Gold10 San Diego
Steve Gold11 San Diego
Steve Gold12 San Diego
Steve Holstad 1 EAGLES
Steve Holstad 2 Indianapolis
Steve Stovall 1 San Diego
Steve Stovall 2 Jacksonville
Steve Whiteford NY Jets
Steven Immergut 1 Pittsburgh
Steven Immergut 2 EAGLES
Stittzer Ann New England
Stitzer Andrew EAGLES
Stitzer Barbara NY Jets
Stitzer David Dallas
Stitzer Joe Willie San Diego
Stitzer Paul Indianapolis
Stitzer Rose Baltimore
Streetsmart NY Giants
Streetsmarter Pittsburgh
Stuart Chase 1 Indianapolis
Stuart Chase 2 New England
Stuart Chase 3 New England
Stuart Erickson San Diego
Sugar and Spice Pittsburgh
Sweet 900 EAGLES
Sword New England
T Gage 1 Indianapolis
T Gage 2 New England
T Millions EAGLES
Tanghunters 1 EAGLES
Tanghunters 2 Detroit
Team Mia's College Fund NY Giants
Ted Price 1 Pittsburgh
Ted Price 2 Indianapolis
Ted Price 3 San Diego
Ted Price 4 EAGLES
The Bala Bunch Pittsburgh
The Big Crunch 1 Pittsburgh
The Big Crunch 2 San Diego
The Legend 1 EAGLES
The Legend 2 Indianapolis
The Office Dallas
The Terminator Pittsburgh
T-Hoff EAGLES
Three's Company Indianapolis
Tim Cunningham Cincinnati
Tim Pasik New Orleans
Timmy Gatz 1 Detroit
Timmy Gatz 2 Denver
TMAD 1 San Diego
TMAD 2 Detroit
TMAD 3 Pittsburgh
Todd & Regan 1 Indianapolis
Todd & Regan 2 San Diego
Todd & Regan 3 Pittsburgh
Todd & Regan 4 Dallas
Todd Greenbaum San Diego
Todd Lowen Pittsburgh
Tom Goodwin 1 San Diego
Tom Goodwin 2 EAGLES
Tom Huang 1 Cincinnati
Tom Huang 2 Pittsburgh
Tom Huang 3 Denver
Tom Huang 4 Buffalo
Tom Huang 5 EAGLES
Tom Huang 6 Detroit
Tom Keegans 1 EAGLES
Tom Keegans 2 Pittsburgh
Tom Maiden Cincinnati
Tom Nagel San Diego
Tom Speranzo EAGLES
Tonilyn Arizona
Tony Buglak EAGLES
Tott 1 San Diego
Tott 2 Pittsburgh
Touchdown Tommy EAGLES
Trevor Julian New England
Up Uhrs 1 Pittsburgh
Up Uhrs 2 New England
Vandy 1 San Diego
Vandy 2 San Diego
Vandy 3 Pittsburgh
Vandy 4 Pittsburgh
Vandy 5 Indianapolis
Vandy 6 Indianapolis
Vandy 7 New England
Vandy 8 New England
Victor Boni New England
Victoria Blanda Dallas
Vlee 1 EAGLES
Vlee 2 New England
Von 1 Indianapolis
Von 2 San Diego
Von 3 New England
Wahoowa 1 San Diego
Wahoowa 2 EAGLES
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 1 EAGLES
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 2 New England
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 3 Pittsburgh
Wells/Sudman/Bartos 4 New Orleans
Wendy & Bill New Orleans
Will Bowen New England
WJO 1 San Diego
WJO 2 San Diego
WJO 3 San Diego
WJO 4 San Diego
WJO 5 Pittsburgh
WJO 6 Pittsburgh
WJO 7 Pittsburgh
WJO 8 Indianapolis
WJO 9 Indianapolis
WJO10 Indianapolis
Wonderwoman 1 Pittsburgh
Wonderwoman 2 EAGLES
YNotMe Pittsburgh
Yodster 1 Denver
Yodster 2 EAGLES
Yodster 3 New Orleans
Yungner 1 Indianapolis
Yungner 2 New Orleans
Zack Kramer 1 EAGLES
Zack Kramer 2 Indianapolis
Zekedittos New England
Zoe San Diego

Thursday Night Picks

2008-09-04T19:15:00.002-04:00

A couple notes:

All the picks will be posted here before Sunday's kickoff. I will alert everyone via email when these picks are available
As soon as I post all the picks here, those picks are frozen and cannot be changed and no new picks will be accepted
The pot will be 75k+

Because there is a game tonight, I wanted to post all the picks involving this game ONLY. The following 20 entries all picked the Giants, with no picks on Washington:

Albanese / Lacount 4
Aubrey Galloway 1
Brian Fenlin
Dick Ahrendts 3
DS 1
Flum 1
Gary Walters 1
Jack Marshall 1
Joe Dansky 1
John Moore
Joseph Beedon 1
Kris Swanson
Littman 2
No Money
Randy Byron
Roger Levine 1
Ron Mexico10
Ron Mexico11
Streetsmart
Team Mia's College Fund

Stitzer's Take: Broadway Brett, Is He a Salvation?

2008-08-07T13:26:00.001-04:00

Our esteemed colleague, Andrew Stitzer, has weighed in with his initial, quick take on his beloved JETS trading for Bret Fav-rah (as Ben Stiller would say). Overall, my opinion is that this is a great move for the Jets, who improved their most important position by a lot and created an air of excitement around the team, without giving much up. But here is what Mr. Stitz is saying......

It is my understanding that the JETS have contacted Glenn Foley and asked his permission for Brett Favre to wear #4. So old #4, the face of the Green Bay organization for the past 16 seasons, has agreed to substitute Cheddar Cheese Yellow for Cream Cheese White. Readers on THEJETSBLOG have had reactions from “this is a disaster” to “hello Super Bowl.” Here is my take (a full JETS season preview will follow before opening day).

WHY I LIKE THE MOVE: The biggest rift between JETS fans up until late last night was “who should be the QB, Chad or Kellen Clemens? I was a staunch supporter of Clemens – still am – think he will be a good NFL QB one day. So I like the Favre move because it means Chad will not start. Now I love Chad – his leadership, his smarts, his guts, and his work ethic. But after 2 major shoulder surgeries his arm is as dead as Ed Harris’ in “Major League.” As a matter of fact, I heard Chad was working on the old Harris “jalapeno” idea to get more movement on his ball. It is tough to beat a good defense in the NFL when the corners can funnel receivers to a clogged middle because they know the QB cannot throw the deep out. Favre will make defenses have to defend a 50 yard box from sideline to sideline. With Chad, defenses only had to defend a 30 yard box from 10 yards from the sideline to 10 yards from the sideline. Defenses may also overplay the pass due to Favre’s presence; this should open more running lanes for Thomas Jones & Leon Washington.

WHY I DO NOT LIKE THE MOVE: A series of questions/concerns?
· What kind of football shape is Favre in?
· Can Favre learn the whole offense and be ready with the full arsenal the first few weeks of the season? He better as after Miami in the opener it is the Cheaters in Week 2 and at San Diego in week 3.
· What if by mid-season, Favre says “I made a mistake coming back,” and retires? What does that do to team moral?
· Is the Kellen Clemens pick in round 2 2006 now a wasted pick? Will he ever start for this team?

Overall, I still like the move because the Organization realized Chad is no longer a QB that can win 3 or 4 games in January.

Obstructed Views - Episode #11

2008-05-21T23:34:00.001-04:00

Brian, Ted, K-Mart and the Iceman tackle the 500. the playoffs and a little Mixed Martial Arts action.

Obstructed Views - Episode #10

2008-05-09T13:22:00.001-04:00

Brian, Ted and The Iceman compare the excitement of the NHL playoffs to the lack thereof of the NBA playoffs. Plus a little baseball talk and some football... but not the football you're thinking of.

Obstructed Views - Episode #9

2008-05-02T14:25:00.001-04:00

Brian and Ted are joined by Andrew Stitzer and Jeff Cooper to talk baseball, hockey and basketball playoffs and the Kentucky Derby.

Obstructed Views - Episode #8

2008-04-25T12:38:00.001-04:00

Words cannot describe this week's episode - you'll just have to listen. Topics include: Danica, NHL, NBA, Wrestling and Cricket.

Obstructed Views - Episode #7

2008-04-17T11:52:00.001-04:00

Brian and Ted are joined by Marc Rudofker to break down the NBA playoffs, get a early progress report on the NHL playoffs and debate the ridiculousness of 2-hour coverage of the NFL schedule.

Obstructed Views - Episode #6

2008-04-11T12:43:00.001-04:00

Brian and Ted are joined by Jeff Cooper and Bob Landow to talk NHL and NBA playoffs (believe it!), the first week of the baseball season and the ongoing saga that is Danica Patrick.

Obstructed Views - Episode #5

2008-04-03T13:41:00.001-04:00

Dils and The Iceman talk a little Final Four, more predictions on the upcoming baseball season and breakdown the NFL draft. Oh, and they actually talk some boxing. You heard me... boxing.

Obstructed Views - Episode #4

2008-03-25T16:43:00.001-04:00

Brian, K-Mart and The Iceman breakdown the first two round of the NCAA tournament, look ahead to the second weekend, solve the officiating problem and still find time to squeeze in a little hockey and baseball.

Obstructed Views - Episode #3

2008-03-18T12:37:00.001-04:00

The brackets have been set, so it's time to get serious. Brian and his guests Andy Stitzer and David Kay talk about the field of 65 and their final four picks.

Obstructed Views - Episode #2

2008-03-14T12:23:00.001-04:00

Join Brian and his guests Marc Rudofker and Jeff Cooper as they talk college hoops, college hoops and more college hoops - with a little NBA, NHL and rugby thrown in for good measure.

Podcast update, a Few Odds and Ends

2008-03-07T15:29:00.003-05:00

We had another podcast recorded last night but our files were corrupted, so no podcast this week. I apologize while we continue to experiment with the technology, but we are getting closer to being a well oiled machine. It's too bad, because K-Mart, Iceman and I, along with some help from the Fringe Sports King, had some great stuff for you this week. Next week we should be back up and running.

By the way, we have a great name for the podcast, and may name the blog the same thing...Obstructed Views. So look for Obstructed Views to be back with an episode next Friday.

Great weekend of college sports. Many of the mid and low-major conferences will be in the thick of conference tournaments, and March Madness is truly upon us. Of course, we have the big one tomorrow night with the Tar Heels coming to Cameron for the big one. Not only is the rivalry huge, but this year, a solo regular season championship is at stake, and quite possibly a #1 seed. Not sure how you could deny Duke a #1 if they can pull it off. If that is the case, they would have won the ACC regular season title, beaten UNC twice, and have two more top 25 RPI wins against them. At that point Duke should be locked into a #1. Of course that is a big 'if'.

The number of other big games is endless. Florida v. Kentucky, St Joseph's v. Dayton, etc. are just two games that are almost elimination games for the loser. Just a great weekend of college hoops all around.

Are the Eagles going to trade Lito Sheppard? Each day that goes by leads to what I imagine is a more and more disgruntled pro-bowl caliber cornerback. If the Eagles can really move Sheppard for Larry Fitzgeral, which would be a home run from my perspective, they need to make it happen sooner rather than later.

The Philberts are only 24 days away from the home opener on March 31. Questions abound, with a lot of questions to the starting pitching staff in particular. Can Myers make the transition back to starter, where he wasn't that great before he became a closer? Can he stay healthy? Can Hamel stay healthy? Can he pitch well when he is bitter about the contract he is playing under? Is Kyle Kendrick as bad as he looked this spring? Will Jamie Moyer get a letter from the President when he turns 100 later this summer? Is Kris Benson able to pitch at a major league level coming off major injury issues? Can Adam Eaton get anybody out? Will the Phillies just suck it up and sign Kyle Lohse? Ugh. Too many question marks for a team with so much offensive firepower.

Obstructed Views - Episode #1

2008-02-28T23:26:00.002-05:00

As college basketball heads into March, the discussion focuses on who's in and who's out and who is poised to surprise.
Also, free agency opens up in the NFL and even some NHL and IRL talk.

I apologize

2008-02-28T14:39:00.002-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. The good news is that we will have our first real live podcast (remember the one two weeks ago was "practice") produced and up by tomorrow.

Stitzer's Take: Duma Key, by Stephen King

2008-02-19T14:32:00.001-05:00

If you are looking for my "Practice" podcast, you can find it below in the post from 2/12. The first real podcast (and they should start weekly after that) is scheduled to be posted next Friday, 2/29. Andy Stitzer and Jeff Cooper are the scheduled guests.

Speaking of Stitzer, he has just finished reading the new Stephen King book, and wanted to share his thoughts. I will try to get back on here tomorrow and get the conversation geared back to sports, but for now, here is Stitz's take on Duma Key.
______________________________

As an attention grabber, let me begin with the following statement: in my humble opinion this is the best novel King has cranked out since Misery in 1987. I would also add Duma Key to the short list of “great” novels King has written which are, again, in my opinion, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand (my favorite book of all time), The Long Walk (written under his pen name Richard Bachman) Christine, Pet Sematary, It, & Misery. Despite being a huge “king head,” my opinion is that not everything he writes his great, and some is below average – especially that run of books in the 90s when he was so pre-occupied finishing wonderful The Dark Tower series. If you include The Dark Tower series, short stories, and novellas (which include The Body (the movie you know better as “Stand By Me”) & Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption), to go along with the 35+ novels, I estimate I have read over 30,000 pages of King’s work. These last 607 were some of the most enjoyable.

Edgar Freemantle (no relation to Mother Abigail of The Stand), a very successful Minnesota contractor, loses his arm and almost dies in an industrial accident. The near death experience has ripped his family apart; Edgar has no desire to live. The desire to live is restored by his shrink. Old Edgar moves to Florida, dabbles in sketching & painting – a hobby from his much younger days – and finds himself blessed with a talent he never he had. The price that Edgar must pay for his talents was neither what he wanted nor what he was willing to pay.

King has always excelled at taking regular people, doing everyday stuff, and then adding some fictional evil to the mix. Edgar has to battle a real “bitch” of that fictional evil in Duma Key, and in the immortal words of Gordon Gekko, “you win some, you lose some, but you keep on fighting.” Another element King has traditionally done a superb job is adding the “back story” that may have occurred last year or 200 years ago; it is almost as if you read a story within a story.

I will keep this short, as going on will give too much of the story away. For die-hard King fans and even casual fans, get ready to have your hackles raised on page 280…guarantee you have a flashback to a long ago written novel. For non-King fans, this would be a great way to be introduced to his works.

Stitz

Dilsmusings Podcast - Test Run; PLUS...Officiating SUCKS, and a Big 12 vs. ACC Comparison

2008-02-12T09:53:00.001-05:00

The audio on this show is sub-par, but that's why we call it practice (PRACTICE?!?!) The quality will improve moving forward - production-wise, I can't vouch for the content. But for now, enjoy our first effort.

As for college hoops, the officials proved that they can be equal opportunity game destroyers, as they single-handedly determined the outcomes of both a Men's and Women's Game last night. First, in DC, a Villanova team that has lost five of its last six was tied with Georgetown with 0.1 seconds left when Mike Donato called a touch (if that) foul 80 feet from the basket when absolutely no disadvantage was created for Georgetown. Villanova, who needs big wins desperately if it wants to get back into NCAA (and Big East) Tornament consideration, does not need an official handing the game to Georgetown in that manner. It was simply a horrid officiating call. More reason that these guys should be officials and only officials and not be allowed to ref as a hobby or second job.

Meanwhile, if possible, the refs in Knoxville did a worse job that the refs in DC, stealing a game from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and handing it to the Lady Vols. Don Imus must have been behind this conspiracy. Tennessee had the ball down 1 with a few ticks left, missed a shot and got the offensive rebound, at which time th clock stopped for no reason at 0.2 seconds. After the clock had been stopped for 1.3 seconds, the refs blew a fould and awarded Tennessee two shots. They then reviewed the play using replay and CONFIRMED their ridiculous call. This is highway robbery. In fact, I am not sure why the NCAA does not reverse the result and give Rutgers the win since time ran out. The officiating is so bad that I am actually spending tiem writing about women's basketball. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does.

And I am not even getting into the fouls and walking calls that do NOT get called on Tyler Hansbrough....

A friend of mine emailed me the following: Duke needs to beat an unranked mediocre team like MD in Durham; Big 12 is better than ACC. Agree? So I pondered it and here is my response:

If you think Maryland is a mediocre team, then you definitely have not seen them play any basketball since the calendar turned to 2008. They are playing sweet 16 basketball over the past several weeks without a doubt. they beat Carolina in chapel hill, had duke by 9 at half in college park, and have beaten everyone else (they started 0-2 in conference, and are 6-1 since). plus, if you know this rivalry, they ALWAYS play final 4 basketball against Duke. Watch the game Wednesday night and then tell me Maryland is not that good. They have two very good players up front in Gist (clearly 1st team ACC in my opinion, along with Hansbrough, Demarcus Nelson, Trevor Booker and Hickson at NCSU) and Bambale Osby. Their backcourt is shored up now that Eric Hayes is healthy to go with Grevais Vazquez. SO I would be more than pleased with a 1 point win on Wednesday no matter where game is being played.

I think ACC and Big 12 are rather comparable. I think ACC is getting bad rap this year and is better than people are giving it credit for. Check out this article for a comparison between the ACC and Pac 10 (the point being that the greatness of the Pac 10 may be a media creation and to tread lightly before buying into it: http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=24321

As for the ACC (and I am NOT arguing the ACC is great this year or the best conference or anything like that), it is ranked #1 in the conference RPI (Big 12 is third behind Pac 10), and it is the only conference that has zero teams with a losing record. The worst team in the league, Virginia, smoked Arizona earlier in the year.

When you compare the ACC and Big 12, here is how I see it:

Top Tier:
Duke/Carolina vs. KU/Texas. In my opinion, pretty comparable. All four teams have shown they can pretty much beat anyone on any given day. I think if I had to rate the best chances of winning the title, I would favor KU first, then Duke, then Texas then UNC (cause their defense blows), but overall, I would call these four a wash.

Next Tier:
Clemson/Maryland vs. Kansas St/Texas A&M. Are you sitting down? I think Clemson has the talent to get to the Final 4. I have watched this team play about 4 times (three against Duke and Carolina) and they are every bit as good. They have a monster inside presence in Booker and Mays, they have nice perimeter guys led by Rivers, and they are well coached. They have two key problems that will kill them in the first round if they do not fix between now and March: first, their free throw shooting is horrid, all in caps. Just brutal. Second, they do not know how to finish a team off. They had Carolina beaten twice and lost both times, including up 11 with three to go and lost. This team may lose early, but you heard it here first if they fix these areas, this team can beat anybody, anywhere. K St. has in my opinion the best 1-2 punch in the country with Beasley and Walker. I am very interested to see how they do in the tourney with two stars like this but no experience (either from the players or the coaches). This is another team that can make a deep run or lose on the first day. Texas A&M has really disappointed me this year. I think they have some talent but I am not convinced they can do anything with it. You saw my thoughts on Maryland above. Basically, any of these teams can go to the sweet 16, and K St and Clemson have the talent but right now not the mental makeup to go further.

Middle tier:
Techs (Va & Ga), NCSU, Wake vs. Baylor, Nebraska, OU, Texas Tech. NCSU has the most talent of these 8 teams. Of course their problem will continue to be that they do not have an adequate point guard to distribute the ball to all the talent (Hickson, MacCauley, Costner, Gavin Grant, Courtney Fells). Scott Drew has certainly done a nice job with Baylor program. Oklahoma is going to have a tough time with Longar squared out for the year, although Capel has done a nice job with that program this year. From this tier, each conference MAYBE gets one bid, with Baylor the front runner in the Big 12 if they can hang on. The ACC is more muddled, but if a 5th team gets in, it will still probably be NCSU, if they can get more consistent play from Gonzalez or Johnson. Nobody from this group will be playing the second weekend.

Bottom tier:
Miami/FSU/BC/UVA vs. Iowa St/Missouri/Okie St/ Colorado. Missouri and Iowa State can compete at home, Colorado and Okie St are terrible (when will the Sutton eras end in Stillwater?). The ACC teams in this group I think are slightly better, but overall it is close on this tier as on all of them.

I would say the conferences are pretty comparable. I disagree with your assessment on KSU being significantly better than Clemson. Maryland is better than A&M in my opinion. I would be willing to call it a wash but I do not believe the Big 12 is better than ACC.

Podcast Announcement, Blog Recommendation

2008-02-08T14:22:00.000-05:00

For those of you holding your breath waiting for my podcast launch, get ready to let ity out. We will be recordnig the first podcast this coming Monday, and it will be available next Tuesday (2/12) for your listening pleasure. The panel for podcast #1 will be myself, Ted Price (producer/moderator), Stephen Moss, and Bob Landow. Yuo will be able to access it here as well as through i-tunes. Should be fun....

I have a great blog for you to bookmark for any of you who are Jets fans, or NFL fans in general. Brian Bassett's Jets Blog is a really great read. Brian has one of the more professional blog site around, and as an added bonus, Stitzer is featured on there semi-regularly (he is toon2388). The Jet's blog features outstanding content.

College Hoops, L.J. Smith

2008-02-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

Duke 89, UNC 78.

The Devils controlled the game from about the second TV timeout though the end of the game. They were able to utilize their lack of size as an advantage by spreading the floor, and creating open looks at 3-balls all night that they were able to convert at a 44.8% clip. In addition, I think Coach K really outcoached Roy Williams (certainly not always the case in this match-up). He put his players in positions to make plays and force turovers (both of which they did). He also made the smart decision to let Hansbrough get his, but not let the other guys beat him. The result: 28 & 18 for Psycho T, big struggles from Ginyard, Ellington, Green, and Thomas from the perimeter. It will be great to see the return match up in Cameron with Lawson back at full strength.

Last night, UCLA continued to show two things. First, they are as strong a National Championship contender as any team in the country. Kevin Love is a beast inside. Darren Collison is the best defensive point guard in the country. They play good defense, they rebound, and Love's outlet passes are one of the best weaopns in the country. On the other hand, Washington State has lost 5 of their last 8, and it seems that thoughts of a deep run into March were wildly exaggerated. This team looks ripe, with certain match ups, to be one and done in March.

Eric Gordon, Indiana's super Frosh, made his much anticipated trip to Champaign to face the Illini team and the fans he jilted ahen he backed out of his verbal commitment when that scumbag cheater Kelvin Sampson kept recruituing him (does Sampson remind nobody else of a crooked Jim Calhoun). He clearly felt the heat of the crowd and the energy of the defenders, asd he struggled mightily and then some in this game. But ultimately, Illinois let him off the hook (they were who we thought they were...) and squandered a big second half lead and lost in double-OT. Indiana, who has perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the Nation in Gordon and D.J. White, has not looked right for about a month now. It will be interesting to see if they can get on track by March.

The Eagles placed the franchise tag on L.J. Smith, meaning they are committing to paying him a salary of the average of the top 5 tight ends in the NFL. Did I miss the announcement that Pat Gillick took over running the Eagles? Are you kidding me? Smith has been largely a disappointment since coming into the league. He has been plagued by injuries, inconsistency, a propensity to fumble, and dropped passes. He was picked when Jason Witten, the Cowboys perennial All-Pro (who was rated higher by most people but the genius brain trust of the Birds thought they knew better) was still suitting on the board (he got picked by the Cowboys the following round). If I were making the decisions, I would let L.J. take a walk, and turn the reigns over to Brent Celek, who had a very nice rookie year and looks like he can be a productive starting tight end in this league. UGH!

Duke v. Carolina, Shaq to Phoenix, and Kris Benson

2008-02-06T13:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight, we get to see another chapter written in the beautiful, fierce rivalry that is Duke v. Carolina basketball. This rivalry has featured countless unbelievable moments and brings out the absolute best in each other. In years like this one in which both teams reside near the top in college basketball's pecking order, it is even better than when one program or the other is struggling (Duke in 1995, Carolina in the Matt Doherty era).

From a Feb 2006 post I wrote "20 years ago next month, I was a Freshman at Duke. We were on our way to our first Final 4 under Coach k, a 37-3 record, and a #1 overall ranking at the end of the regular season. But none of that mattered on the first Sunday in March. All that mattered to all of us on that day was avenging at that point one of our only two losses of the season, in Chapel Hill. Duke was ranked #1 in the country, UNC was #3. Spring Break had started two days earlier, but nobody was leaving campus until after the game. We all camped out, ordered pizza, drank beer, and waited, and waited, and waited. At the game we chanted "we're #1, you're #3", "We're Smart, You're Dumb" and other beauties. It was all worth it. Duke went on to beat Carolina. The fact that I still remember the score, 82-74, or running on the court with all the other students after the game, just shows how important this stuff is if you are part of the rivalry (cause I don't remember much from 20 minutes ago, much less 20 years!!!!)

The Duke fans and the Carolina fans get this. Most of us (myself possibly excluded) are normal, productive members of society the vast majority of the time. But when their team, whether it is the Devils or the Tar Hells, lace it up against the other, they morph into a slightly psychotic nutcase that resembles a rabid dog. We desperately want to beat the other one every time. We respect the other's programs, but we do not like each other. It should be noted that Duke men do like Carolina women, as they tend, on average to be more attractive than our own kind."

Tonight Duke travels to Chapel Hill for Dick Vitale's return behind the microphone (can we all admit that we missed him and that he is good for the game...I had to substitute him for Dick in that sentence at the last moment) and will try to win their 8th straight in ACC play without a loss. The Tar Heels, who lost to Maryland in Chapel Hill earlier in the year, will try to tie the Devils atop the ACC standings. I for one hope that Ty Lawson is able to play and play well. I want to beat Carolina at their best so that none of the Duke haters can use the sprained ankle as an excuse for UNC's inability to handle Duke's pressure (from Duke's standpoint, Brian Zoubek will be missed, as he has the size to give 10-12 minutes of quality time against UNC's big frontline).

It will be interesting to see how the UNC fans blast Gerald Henderson, who broke Tyler Hansbrough's nose last time he was in the Dean Dome, and how G reacts and what kind of game he has. Henderson has really stepped his game up as far as both quality and consistency in the past 4-6 weeks so if he can keep building on that in a hostile environment it will be a big plus.

Tonight is Round 1 in what is likely a best of 3 to see who gets the coveted Raleigh/Charlotte road to the Final 4. The game probably means more to the Tar Heels since they are at home, have not played all that well lately, and would fall two games behind Duke in the ACC with a loss.

Whether Lawson plays or not, this will be an all out war, and these two teams will play at an amazingly high level (emotionally if not from an execution standpoint). When it is over, it will likely be something like the Democratic Presidential battle after Super Tuesday yesterday. There may be a slight frontrunner, but there will be more battles to fight this year before there is a victor declared in the war.

Let's Go Devils! Go to Hell, Carolina.

The NBA continues to amaze me for all the wrong reasons. The Miami Heat are going to trade Shaq to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. I know that Banks was likely thrown in the deal to even out salaries and make the trade feasible according to NBA rules, but how in the world could Phoenix trade Marion for Shaq at all? Shaq will be 36 next month, and he plays like he is about 46. How can he be expected to get up and down the court at the pace at which the Suns and Mike D'Antoni like to play? So Shaq by himself is a bad fit (not to mention the 2 more years after this one at $20 million per that he is owed). But to give up Marion, disgruntled at his role or not, is crazy. Marion is in his prime at 29, he is averaging 16 pts and 10 boards a game to go along with 2 steals and 1.5 blocks, and an ability to pass, run the floor, and basically fit what the Suns do. I just cannot understand how management in Phoenix can pull the trigger on this trade. (From the Heat perspective, this is a great trade, giving Dwyane Wade a legit #2 and build the foundation for what could be an exciting nucleus in the future). This will not end well for the Suns...

Pat Gillick is at it again. I guess feeling the pressure to match the Mets signing Johan Santana, Gillick is making a similar quality move by reportedly signing Kris Benson. In fairness to Benson, he did have an ERA below 4.00 once (back in 2000). Despite being the #1 overall pick in the draft out of Clemson, he has never won more than 12 games in the big leagues. And to make matters worse, he missed the entire 2007 season. Pat Gillick is just old and senile. I cannot believe he is still stealing money from the Phils. Pretty soon I will begin to believe that Ed Wade was a better GM (at least he drafted all the good players they have now..Utley, Hamels, Myers, Howard, J-Roll). The only good thing about bringing Benson to Philadelphia is that his wife will likely be coming with him. For those of you unfamiliar with the outspoken and beautiful Mrs. Benson....

Super Bowl Thoughts, A Bobby Knight Favorite, & Don't Always Believe Everything You Hear on ESPN

2008-02-05T13:44:00.000-05:00

Here are my thoughts after watching the Super Bowl Sunday night:

It is not always the best team that wins the Super Bowl, but the team that is playing the best. The Giants were at times a good team and at times an average team this year, but caught fire at the right time and took advantage of the opportunities they had. They deserved to win the title because they did it on the field when it mattered most.
New England was the team that clearly was the best thoughout the season, however did not have what it took to complete their 19-game sweep when it mattered the most. They were dominant in their first 11 or 12 games and then looked shaky the last quarter of the regular season and certainly less than fantatstic in the playoffs. Would a loss to the Eagles or the Ravens or somebody in the regular season taken the pressure off and let them play better and with less of a burden for the remainder of the year? We will never know.
Nobody is talking about the fact the the Patriots dropeed three, yes, three, interceptions on the Giants' decisive drive. Rodney Harrison dropped one. Asante Samuel, self proclaimed best cornerback in the NFL, dropped one, and Brandon Merriweather dropped one (although his would have been a really nice over the shoulder catch). Make any of these three plays and the legend of Tom Brady continues to grow.
If I had a vote, David Tyree was the MVP of the game. I know he did not do much throughout th egame, but really did anyone on the Giants offense do much throughout the game. When it counted, they could not have won the game without Tyree. Not sure you could factually say that about any other single player.
Personally, I was happy to see the Pats lose, because they are an arrogant bunch of chumps. Oh, and cheaters. I was most happy to see Junior Seau not win a Super owl ring. His entire career has been amazingly over-rated.
It does not seem like Eli's teammates have a lot of love for him. When you are the QB and lead your team to a victory, people are supposed to swarm you. It seemed like the players did not have a lot of interest in finding Eli to hug and high five. If it were reversed, players would have swarmed Tom Bardy, who seems to have the ultimate respect of his teammates (probably most of whom are hoping Giselle will fix them up and they can have a double date, but I digress).
Tom Coughlin's face recovered nicely from the frostbite he had in Green Bay.
The Giants winning the table gives hope to lots of teams in the NFL. During the regular season they were probably about the 8th or 9th best team in teh league. But they played well enough to get in the tournament, and then turned it on. There are lots of teams good enough to be in the top 8 or 9. They just need to get hot at the right time. And the Giants did. And they earned the title. Congrats to the Boys in Blue.

An oldie but a goodie on the day after Bob Knight resined (see post below for more on Knight). Remember when someone snuck a tape recorder into teh locker room and recorded his blasting his team? Well, here it is for your enjoyment.

ESPN is so powerful people just believe everything they say (or lecture on). Here is an example of how one of their main premises may be flawed this season. Click here to see Al Featherston's analaysis that suggests maybe the Pac 10 is not all that. Always take ESPN with a grain of salt...

Good Knight Bobby, The Palestra Rocks, Ty Lawson

2008-02-05T11:24:00.000-05:00

Bobby Knight suddenly and unexpectedly stepped down yesterday at the age of 67. After almost 1,300 career games and an amazing 902 wins, Knight decided he had had enough and handed the reigns over to his son, Pat. Say what you want about him and his acerbic personality, but Bobby Knight was one of the best coaches ever to stalk the sidelines (29 20-win seasons), and he was great for the game. He certainly had some unfortunate outbursts, but he cared about his kids and teaching them the game the right way. And he always made things more interesting. Duke fans all have a special spot in their heart for Coach Knight for coaching our guy, Coach K, and then getting him the head coaching gigs at Army and later Duke. Speaking of which, Coach K is now 108 wins behind Knight...and counting.

Last night I was fortunate enough to attend the game between St. Joseph's and Villanova at the Paestra. Now of course I am biased when I say that, in my opinion, there is no equal to Cameron Indoor Stadium. However, the Palestra is not far behind. It had been decades since I had graced the halls of the legendary basketball barn. As you walk in, the rafters and walls ooze tradition and history. As you walk toward your seats, you brave the hundred degree temperatures (no AC) and pack into your tiny seats like sardines. It is just a magnificent building. Some highlights (or lowlights) from the game:

After the National Anthem, the PA announcer asked for a moment of silence for those who had played in the rivalry and had passed away. As the moment was about to attend, a St. Joe fan screamed out "F*&^ Nova" that all 8,700 people could easily hear. Immediately after, the PA announcer said "Thank You." Priceless. Classic. Phenomenal.
St. Joe is looking more and more like a tournament team. Their defensive pressure and overall D was outstanding all night. This team can win at least a game in the big dance.
Rob Ferguson, who shows flashes of the player he was supposed to be, played a great game, with his 20 points coming inside and outside. Pat Calathes continues to have a better year than his much more heralded brother (who is having a great freshman year for the Gators).
Villanova looks lost. Jay Wright has not done a good job developing this team, and has no continuity in his substitution patterns. (That being said, Jay Wright is a great coach for this program). They clearly have some talent on this team, but everybody is playing inconsistently and the confidence level is at an all-time low.
Scottie Reynolds has regressed more than any player I can remember since Mark Macon or Greg Koubek. Just painful to watch. He is so hesitant with the ball. Does not know what to do. His shot is off. It is painful to watch. And remember, this is a kid that was good enough as a freshman last year that there was some speculation that he would jump to the NBA.

As Duke and UNC prepare to play in their first battle of the year tomorrow night (9:00 pom, espn, Dick Vitale's season debut), Ty Laswson is questionable for the game with a bad ankle. I, for one, am hoping he plays. If he doesn't, and Duke pulls out the win, then all the billions of Duke haters will say it is only bvecause Lawson didn't play. I want to play our best (although Zoubek is still out fo rthe Devils, costing them some size) against their best and let the chips fall where they may. Back tomorrow with more on that tilt.

Back later with a few thoughts from the Super Bowl....

Phillies Farm System, A Tale of Two Halves, and the Dils Super Bowl Prediction

2008-02-01T13:40:00.001-05:00

I mentioned earlier this week that the Philberts should put a package together and try to wrestle Eric Bedard, a legitimate #1 starter, away frmio the Orioles. Upon further review, it is evident why they can't do that: their farm system SUCKS. According to Keith Law of Scouts, Inc, the Phils only have 1 of the top 100 prospects in baseball, and he (Carlos Carrasco) only checks in at #53. In a nutshell, this is what happens when a) ownership is cheap and will not put the resources into building an infrastructure, and b) your last two General Managers have been Ed Wade and Pat Gillick. Of course, ownership does not care as they are able to put a competitive enough product on the field and pack the seats. It is hard to see a scenario in which this team can put together the pieces to go from contender to champion. Click here to see Law's full list.

The Dukies got behind for the second straight game last night, trailing NC St by 9 at the half (same deficit they had faced at Maryland). Then in the second half they outscored the Wolpack 55-26 and actually covered a 17 point spread with a 92-72 win. Greg Paulus was absolutely great last night, scoring a season high 22 points to go with 6 assists (a couple of them spectacular), some solid defense and strong leadership. In addition, Gerald Henderon continues to develop more consistency, and has as good a midrange game as anyone at the college level. He is consistently nailing his 15 footers, and can really get great elevation around the rim as seen on his outstanding putback last night. One more test for both Duke and UNC before they meet up in Round 1 in Chapel Hill on Wednesday night.

We are only 48 hours from the Super Bowl. The box pools are filled out around the country, and the pizza joints and bookies across the land are all ready to take lots of orders. Most people I have spoken with like the Giants, and for some pretty good reasons. The Giants played the Pats very tough a month ago when they faced off at the Meadowlands. In addition, the Giants match up well defensively with what the Pats try to do, and if their front 4 can get pressure on Brady, they can take Moss out of the game and try to take their chances with Welker. Offensively, Eli Manning seems to be maturing before our eyes (finally!) and has really started limiting his mistakes. Plaxico Burress, when healthy, is a great weapon that is difficult to stop much less slow down. Public sentiment seems to agree with the "people I have spoken with" as the line opened at 14 and has come down to 12. And on top of everything else, New England always plays close Super Bowls (they won the previous 3 by a field goal apiece), and has not been blowing people out since Thanksgiving. So all signs point to the Giants. Except this: Belichick not only has had two weeks to prepare for this game, but also had a chance to play against the Giants a month ago and that will help him design a plan that works against the Boys in Blue. In addition, on this ultimate stage, the Patriots want to prove that not only are they the best this year, but that they are the best of all time. And I am still not sold on the new and improved Eli Manning, at least not in this game at this time. I look for the Pats to get ahead, and then absolutely go for the jugular. Dils Prediction: Pats 35, Giants 13.

Johan Santana to the Mets...UGH

2008-01-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

Life as a Philadelphia Phillies fan can be summarized by the events of the past two days: the Phillies signed Pedro Feliz; the Mets traded for Johan Santana. Feliz is a marginal third baseman who can play decent defense, hit .250, and have adequate (20-22 homers in each of his last 4 years) power that is offset by the big whole in his bat that leads to lots of strikeouts. Some of those strikeouts next year will be due to the Mets new hero, Santana, who is probably the best pitcher in baseball and right in the middle of his prime.

I am baffled by the Yankees and Red Sox unwillingness to go the last mile to land Santana. When a superstar is traded, the team making the acquisition almost always gets the better of the deal. Had the Red Sox traded for the lefty with the unhittable change-up, they would have been lots of distance between themselves, the Yankees, and the rest of the American League. The Yankees lost an opportunity to get back to even against the hated Sox. And, unfortunately, the biggest losers other than the Yanks and Sox in my opinion are the Philadelphia Phillies, who go from the favorite in the NL East to a pretty big underdog if Santana and Pedro Martinez et al stay healthy.

Speaking of trading superstar pitchers, Eric Bedard of the Orioles is about to get traded also. Why is it that the Phillies, who put more than 3 million fannies in the seats last year, are never in the running to get these studs when history shows that the prospects that they cost never add up to the star of the trade? Why? Why? Why?

When you think about a key series in September and Santana, Pedro, and Maine lined up to face Hamels, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick, don't you think Eric Bedard would be a nice equalizer in that equation?

It's going to be a long season when things start going against you before pitchers and catchers report....

My poker results from last night, a very Stitzer web site, UConn hoops (ugh!), T.O. is a little light in the wallet, and a Duke/UNC tidbit

2008-01-29T10:23:00.000-05:00

To see how I did in my poker game last night, click here to read the account from Ray Wright at his KingPrussiaPoker blog. As you may imagine, I am referred to as BD in his account. By the way, I think I deserve more airplay in his summary!

Either Stitzer is behind this web site, or as soon as he finds out about it, it will move to the top of his "favorites" list.

I hate, and I mean hate, to give any credit to Jim Calhoun, but UConn's winning its last two games without leading scorer Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins, on the road against Top-10 Indiana and home against pressing Louisville, is remarkable. This team has improved by leaps and bounds over last year, and will present some problems on the first weekend of the tournament.

An arbitrator ruled in favor of the Eagles in their efforts to reclaim a pro-rated portion of T.O.'s signing bonus from the little crybaby. Not only is it great to see T.O. lose money which will give him something else to cry about other than the media's unfair treatment of his quarterback, but the Eagles actually benefit by getting that money added onto their salary cap for next year.

Here is an article from Al Featherston that speculates that Duke and North Carolina may be playing this season not only for the right to play the regionals in Charlotte but also to play the first two rounds in Raleigh. Featherston speculates that the committee may well separate the two teams in the first two rounds as it did two years ago despite the fact that they could play in the same location in Rounds 1 & 2.

Phillies Sign Pedro Feliz, Duke Dynasty Article

2008-01-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

The Phillies, who were planning to platoon Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs at 3rd base this season (like last year save light hitting Abraham Nunez in the mix), signed veteran Pedro Feliz to the mix today by signing the Dominican 3rd baseman to a two year deal. Feliz has hit 20+ homers each of the past four years, so he can provide a bit more pop to a position in which the Phils were dead last in slugging in the majors last year. The downside is that Feliz has struck out 100+ times in two of the last three seasons and does not hit for much average (expect .250). Plus I am not sure he is all that much better than Wes Helms, who I am guessing there is no room for now. So it's almost paying double for a marginally better player (unless you can find someone to take Helms' salary).

Overall, this to me is just another really questionable move by a GM that has made more shaky moves than good ones since he took over for Ed Wade.

Maybe one of the main reasons that so many people hate Duke is that they have been so good for so long. Joe Lunardi of espn.com talks about the Duke dynasty of the past 20+ years, and compares it to the UCLA dynasty when they won 10 titles in 12 years. The debate, he argues, is closer than you might think. Click here to read the article.

Big Win for Duke

2008-01-28T09:11:00.000-05:00

Duke went on the road and got a big 'W' last night with a 93-84 win over the Terps. It was (I think) only the third time in the last eight meetings that Duke has beaten Maryland, who always gives a great effort against the Dukies. In addition, the Devils had to come from behind, trailing (by 9) for the first time all season. A fantastic first half by Gerald Henderson kept them in the game, and then DeMarcus Nelson and Nolan Smith took over in the second half. Everybody continues to harp on Duke's lack of post presence (Osby and Gist combined for 46 & 20) as a fatal flaw, but they keep winning despite of this weakness (against teams such as Marquette, Wisconsin, Maryland, Clemson, etc.). They are winning by spacing the floor, playing pressure defense that leads to turnovers (Maryland had 22 last night) and having lots of weapons that can hurt you. Yes, a post player like Patrick Patterson would be nice (are you enjoying Kentucky's .500 season Patrick), but this Duke team can compete with any team in the country.

As for Nolan Smith, I cannot remember the last time I saw a player improve this much DURING a season. In my opinion, he has become a more consistent asset at the point than Greg Paulus (although Paulus has a knack for a big play or shot at a big time). His defense for a freshman is very strong, and his outside stroke and decision making are getting better by leaps and bounds on the offensive end.

And Nelson is clearly a first-team ACC performer at this point in the season. Probably not a lot of people predicted this at the beginning of the year, but DeMarcus has really stepped up the consistency and level of his play.

Duke and North Carolina continue to separate themselves from the ACC, making it a two team race less than half way through the conference schedule. After UNC disposes of BC on Thursday in the Hill (Chapel, not Chestnut), everybody in the conference behind the two Giants will be at least two games behind UNC, three behind Duke. Should make for a great atmosphere in the Dean Dome when these two meet for the first time next Wednesday (2/6).

Back later with more banter....

College Hoops Tidbits

2008-01-21T15:51:00.000-05:00

When I asked my four-year old who his favorite two teams are, he gave the obvious and correct answer: Duke and whoever is playing North Carolina!" So it was with great joy that we watched events unfold as Maryland upset the Tar Hells 82-80 (in Chapel Hill no less), followed by Duke handling a very good Clemson team 93-80 on Saturday.

What does this mean for the Tar Heels? Nothing. They will be just fine. They will still probably win the ACC this year, get a #1 seed and probably get the North Carolina home cooking all the way to the Final 4. But what does it say about the Terps? A lot. Maryland is now 4-3 in its last 7 games against the #1 team in America. All the while, they have really struggled since winning the National Championship six seasons ago. People point to what a great coach Gary Williams is to get all those victories against top teams and rightfully so. But I think the flip side is also important: Maryland has too much talent to be as inconsistent as they have been, and they should never, ever lose home games to teams like Ohio and American, which they have done already this season. Despite the fact that Maryland fans hate Duke so much they can taste it, Duke fans would like to see Maryland do well. It is good for the league, and makes things a lot more interesting in the ACC. Hopefully this win will get the Terps playing more consistent hoops, because even with that win on Saturday, if yesterday were Selection Sunday, I think the Terps are still on the outside looking in.

As requested, Marc Rudofker gave me some quick thoughts on the Villanova Hoops squad. Please note, he sent me these before 'Nova's impressive victory on the road in the Carrier Dome this weekend:

Despite struggling for most of the game vs an underrated DePaul team (line was an absurd 10 points) Nova gained a great deal and snagged a win to boot. What you have to understand about Nova is that they are still trying to figure out what kind of team they will be. After getting crushed on the boards against Cincy, Jay Wright vowed never to play small again. So against Depaul, he played often with one guard along with Stokes, Clark, Cunningham and Pena. Result, they outrebounded DePaul 43-20. Again, this is a work in progress and until Jay figures this out, they will have many ups and downs. In the interim, here is what you need to know and what to look for:

- Pena is emerging as a force and gives Nova a genuine post presence for the first time since Malik Allen
- Reynolds is finding his rookie form
- Stokes beginning to show some of the life that made him a MCD AA
- The Big Fella, Cas Drummond, dressed and played 3 minutes vs DePaul. He recovery from a stress fracture in his ankle is a key story as we head into February.

Pena, Grant, Fisher and Stokes are important but they are Freshman. Watching them grow is half the fun. To expect big things this years is probably unrealistic, but an 8/9 seed in the NCAA tourney is certainly doable.

And the two teams nobody is still talking about: the Drake Bulldogs, 7-0 in the Missouri Valley after beating previously fellow unbeaten Illinois St. The Bulldogs keep winning despite the absence of their leading scorer, and they finally snuck into the Top 25 this week probably for the first time in about 30 years. It would be amazing if the Bulldogs can keep it up Tuesday in a battle of Kyle Korver's little brothers when they visit Omaha and the Blue Jays of Creighton.

Second, Cleveland St is also 7-0 in league play after knocking off Butler and Valpo last week. Not too shabby. The Vikings have not played games this meaningful since Mouse McFadden ran the point over 20 years ago (certainly not when Rollie Massimino was there!) It would be great if the Horizon League could sneak two team into the field this year....

And oh year, the Giants and Patriots won to advance to the Super Bowl. We will be back with more postings this week (some may be short and sweet) so check back often....

Week 20 Win or Die Picks

2008-01-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

Based on the picks for this week, we will have either 4 or 5 entries still alive heading into the Super Bowl, depending on who wins the NFC game this weekend. I will be back later with my commentary on the games this weekend.

Pick Breakdown:

Green Bay 4
New England 1
NY Giants 3
San Diego 1

Individual Picks:

Chris Nangle 1 San Diego
David Louis Stitzer NY Giants
Ed Ramirez 2 Green Bay
Gary Jonas 1 NY Giants
Gregg 2 Green Bay
How Gldbrg..NOW BYRON Green Bay
Pierre Brown 1 Green Bay
Stuart Erickson 2 New England
Todd & Regan 4 NY Giants

Some Great College Hoops

2008-01-17T09:39:00.000-05:00

Duke 70, Florida State 57. The Devils had a great first twelve minutes, enjoying a 16-0 run and jumping out to a 30-13 lead against the Seminoles. But people that have followed this rivalry knew that Florida State, who has played Duke exceedingly tough recently, would make a run. And they did. The lead was 12 at the half, and then Florida State stormed all the way back with great defense, tremendous toughness, and heart to actually take the lead at 54-53 with under 5 to play. And this is when playing Pitt a month ago in the Garden came in handy. It seems that Duke got out toughed in New York City, and it was happening again last night. But Duke is growing and getting better. And they punched back. Hard. Duke closed the game on a 16-2 run to win a game that was truly much closer than the score would indicate. The late game heroics were led by Freshman Kyle Single, who hit a monster, monster three to give Duke the lead again. And then Greg Paulus, who has been simply terrible for the first 35 minutes, just took over down the stretch with a steal, two lay-ups, and one sucker punch to the chin (he is getting more under the skin of his opponents than ever, like Bobby Hurley used to do). John Scheyer was sensational all night long, not only scoring but also doing a lot of little things to help his team. And Gerald Henderson played a consistently solid game. I would rather see Henderson play consistently than make a spectacular play of two and then disappear. The Devils move to 2-0 in the conference and did not lose any ground to....

North Carolina 83, Georgia Tech 82. For the second time in three ACC contests, North Carolina got away with their life, winning by a point when Georgia Tech missed two shots at the win on the game's final possession. Does not matter how good you are (unless you play in a crappy conference like Conference USA, Memphis), it is not easy to go on the road and win in conference play (KU will likely have its hands full with a Missouri team that lost last night to Iowa State this weekend. Just watch). Bottom line is that championship teams find a way to win these games, and UNC has done just that twice in a row. Tyler Hansbrough is so tough that, even if you do not like him cause you are a Duke fan, you have to admire this kid's game, and most specifically, his competitiveness and toughness. He is just a fantastic college player. And anyone that thinks he will not be a good pro because he is not tall enough is dead wrong. This kid will be drafted later than he should, and some team will be very, very happy they got him. UNC will be a very tough out in the ACC and, more importantly, in March.

In the Missouri Valley Conference, who thought the huge match-up this weekend would not involve Southern Illinios. Or Creighton. Or Bradley. No, instead the joint will be jumping in Des Moines on Saturday when the Redbirds of Illinois St (6-0 in the conference) come calling on the Drake Bulldogs (6-0 in MVC play). Drake was able to win on the road last night against always tough Bradley, despite playing without the leading scorer ion the conference, guard Josh Young. I guess Dr. Tom Davis' son actually learned how to coach from the old man.

Villanova looked like it was going to lose to the mighty Depaul Blue Demons for the second time in about two weeks but used a 15-0 second half spurt to salvage a regular season split with the boys from Chicago. Villanova is not looking great right now, and we need Rudofker to give us some insight on this squad as the head into the heart of conference play.

Back Friday with some discussion on the NFL Championship games this weekend.

Stitzer's Take: Book Review: "Nixon and Kissinger" by Robert Dallek

2008-01-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for Win or Die Picks, they are listed in the post immediately below this one. As for this post, it is Mr. Stitzer's review of a book on Kissinger & Nixon that he just completed...as you would expect if you know Stitzer, it is a nice review of a book that many of us would not choose to read but that represents an important part in US history. Of course, Stitzer does not miss an opportunity to Hillary bash when he gets the chance! Enjoy...
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Having read Dallek’s last book, “JFK: an Unfinished Life,” and having thoroughly enjoyed both the writing style and the content, Dallek’s latest book quickly caught my eye. What appealed to me most was the title. I have refrained from reading a full blown biography on Nixon, as I have no desire to read hundreds of pages of Watergate minutia. And while the last few chapters of this book are rife with Watergate details, they are presented in context as to how the domestic nightmare of Watergate affected foreign policy. As each year passes us by, it is easier and easier to forget that Nixon’s 5.5 years in the White House were filled with foreign policy triumphs, disasters, questionable decisions, ridiculous decisions, and groundbreaking ventures. Nixon’s equal partner in USA foreign Policy was Henry Kissinger – a name that is probably unknown to most Americans born after 1975.

Dallek does a nice job on 2 chapters dedicated to the early lives and careers of RN & HK – not too in-depth, but enough to get a feel for who they were as people; what their strengths were & what their weaknesses were. Without giving away too much, what struck me right off the bat was how this was a marriage made in heaven & hell at the same time. From almost day 1 of his administration, RN made it clear to newly appointed National Security Council Chief Henry Kissinger “Foreign Policy will not come from State but from NSC – the White House will control it.” RN was a paranoid control freak – what President in their right mind would in essence turn his Secretary of State into a figurehead? The purpose of having an NSC is to have a balance against a State Department that could potentially run rampant. One of Ford’s first decisions was to name an NSC director as a counterweight against the Secretary of State he inherited – Kissinger (appointed to this position by RN early in his second term).

Dallek covers the ironies that RN, a GOP Congressman, Senator, VP, & ultimately President, who advanced his career by red-baiting Liberal and not-so-Liberal Democratic opponents into submission, did more than any post-WWII Prez to put the USA on friendly terms with the USSR & China (also not lost on Dallek were his observations, that as usual, the Conservatives stuck to their beliefs by condemning Nixon for this, and the Liberals, who care more about their party than their country, did not give RN credit, despite this policy of détente being in line with their core beliefs).

It seems amazing that only 35 years ago, that we had a Secretary of State that pretty much acted without Presidential directives to fly around the world and try to institute US Policy. As 1973 turned to 1974, and RN was subject to violent mood swings due to Watergate, HK was a one man band putting out fires in the Middle East, trying to ensure that N. Vietnam and the Viet Cong and Saigon honored the false peace, advancing relations with China, promoting SALT talks and summits with the Soviets, and attempting to keep a lid on US actions in Chile (some really good stuff in this book on Chile – do want to spoil it for you). HK’s successes conjured mixed emotions from RN – he was proud of what his administration was accomplishing, but his ego could not overcome that HK was receiving more praise from the Media (had RN listened to HIMSELF he would have understood that the Liberal Media was of course praising one of their own – a Harvard elitist – rather than the a GOP President).

Ultimately, Watergate brought the whole House of Cards down – and rightfully so. You had a President caught on tape directing the CIA to impede an FBI investigation and threatening to use the IRS to as a weapon to attack his enemies (at least Slick Willie was smart enough to not be caught on tape when he DID direct the IRS to attack his enemies). Dallek demonstrates that RN was so insecure & paranoid that he could not help himself by giving the OK for CREEP (committee to re-elect the president) to commit crimes to ensure a landslide victory in an election he was going to win anyway. RN’s justification that the Democrats stole the 1960 elections and wiretapped his 1968 campaign HQ does not hold water. The President cannot be an obstructor of justice (something we should all think about as the 2008 election approaches and one of the leading candidates committed acts that would have impeached a President 35 years ago – and the ultimate irony is that this 2008 candidate was a congressional assistant to the Rodino, the author of the articles of Nixon’s impeachment). The other argument that does not hold water is that RN was protecting those loyal to him. Presidents cannot afford to protect criminals, especially those undertaking illegal actions that were approved by the President.

The highlight of the book is Dallek’s writing. It is as if you are reading a really good fiction book. Unfortunately, especially as it related to Vietnam, this is anything but fiction.

Week 19 Win or Die Picks

2008-01-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

We are starting the week with 17 picks remaining. Nobody picked the New England/Jacksonville game, and either 5 or 6 picked every other game. We will have at most 14 entries left after this week, as at least 3 will be knocked out. The only question that remains is which ones will survive. After last week, Stitzer decided to prognosticate who all the entries would pick. Out of the 16 entries that are not his, and he was a meager 9-7 on those picks. I guess the point is that this pool is still anythiing but predictable. Hopefully he is better at picking the games on the field.

Pick Breakdown:

Dallas 3
Green Bay 6
Indianapolis 5
NY Giants 2
San Diego 1

Individual Picks:

Chris Nangle 1 Green Bay
D Froney 1 Indianapolis
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Indianapolis
David Louis Stitzer Green Bay
Ed Ramirez 2 Green Bay
Eric Meyers 3 Indianapolis
Gary Jonas 1 Green Bay
Gregg 2 NY Giants
How Gldbrg..NOW BYRON NY Giants
Joe Pucillo 2 Dallas
M Lacrnza..NOW BYRON Dallas
May Lee 6 Indianapolis
Pierre Brown 1 Green Bay
Ray Attiyah 1 Dallas
Stuart Erickson 2 Green Bay
Todd & Regan 4 San Diego
WJO 4 Indianapolis

Columbia Professors Are Morons, Duke/Temple, UNC escape, Eric Gordon, Missouri Valley, Where Have You Gone?, Joe Gibbs, and Baseball Hall of Fame

2008-01-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

On a non-sports note: did I read correctly that the liberal professors at Columbia University feel the need to send a delegation to Iran to apologize to their genocidal, insane president at how he was treated by the University's President on his visit in the fall. As John McEnroe would say, "you can't be serious!" What a bunch of weasels. It is behavior like this that threatens to force me to become a full-fledged Republican. YUCK!

I will be down at the Wachovia Center tonight as Duke will battle the hometown Owls. Duke will need to compensate for the loss of their only big man, as Brian Zoubek broke his foot for the second time in a matter of months and will be lost indefinitely (I cannot see him getting back and being effective this season). Duke's rotation, thought to be 11 deep at the beginning of the year, is now down to 8, 9 if you still hold out hope that David McClure can start logging meaningful minutes. And with no post presence, Duke will need to push pace and attack on both sides of the court even more than they have been early on this season.

The hoops game between UNC and Clemson on Sunday night showed that Clemson is a really good team that is unlikely to have a collapse similar to last year, when they missed the NCAA Tournament after starting the season 17-0. If they could have made a free throw here or there, they would have finished off the upset over the #1 team in the land. On the other hand, Carolina got little (compared to what they are used to) from Player of the Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson still struggled to hit jumpers consistently, and yet they still found a way to win on the road, in a very tough place to play, against a very good team. That is the mark of a team that has a very good chance to cut down the nets in April.

Speaking of Player of the Year candidates, Eric Gordon was unstoppable last night in the house next to the Big House. This kid is clearly one and done, and will be effective next year in the NBA. The only mystery is how brutal the Illinois fans will be when he visits Champaign later this season.

The conference that seems to me to have fallen the most over the past couple years is the Missouri Valley. This conference got I think 6 teams in the dance two years ago, and I would not be surprised if they were a one-bid league this year. The best team in this conference in the early going has been Drake, which has not played this well since the second best player from Overbrook high school, Lewis "Black Magic" Lloyd, ended up in Des Moines in the late '70s and early '80s. (I assume you know who Overbrook's best player was...) Besides Drake, Illinois State and Indiana State also sit atop the standings, with favorites Southern Illinois, Creighton, and Bradley all struggling mightily.

Joe Gibbs retired from the Redskins yesterday. This guy may not be able to draw up the X's and O's as well as he once did, but you would be hard pressed to find a better leader of men than Gibbs. After the Sean Taylor tragedy, and after Gibbs himself helped cost the 'Skins a game by calling back to back timeouts, he kept his team together and led them to four straight wins to close the year and make the playoffs. It was a remarkable feat, and Redskin fans will surely miss their idol, especially if Dan Snyder does not hire a strong personality, enabling Snyder to get more involved in football operations again.

Baseball had its Hall of Fame elections yesterday. Goose Gossage finally got a well deserved invitation to Cooperstown. I am still not sure why Jim Rice cannot find his way to the Hall. I am normally much tougher on criteria for enshrinement than most media members that vote (I typically would vote for 1-3 people while these media types often vote for 8-10), but to me Rice is a no brainer. I guess the media is still pissed that he was not the easiest to get along with in his playing days. Ridiculous.

My buddy Uncle Charley is obsessed with Kansas Head Football Coach Mark Mangino and chimed in that he "didn't know Tyvek made coaching pullovers", and when studying the Virginia Tech roster before they played, he noted Macho Harris and said "Mmmmm....Nacho Harris."

Week 18 Win or Die Picks

2008-01-04T13:50:00.000-05:00

At least 2 people will bow out this week as we have people on both sides of the Seattle/Washington and Jacksonville/Pittsburgh games.

Pick Breakdown:

Jacksonville 1
Pittsburgh 1
San Diego 10
Seattle 6
Tampa Bay 1
Washington 1

Individual picks:

Angel Tampa Bay
Chris Nangle 1 Seattle
CP 2 Pittsburgh
D Froney 1 San Diego
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Seattle
David Louis Stitzer San Diego
Ed Ramirez 2 San Diego
Eric Meyers 3 San Diego
Gary Jonas 1 San Diego
Gregg 2 Seattle
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Jacksonville
Joe Pucillo 2 San Diego
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON San Diego
May Lee 6 Seattle
Pierre Brown 1 San Diego
Ray Attiyah 1 San Diego
Steven Immergut 1 Washington
Stuart Erickson 2 San Diego
Todd & Regan 4 Seattle
WJO 4 Seattle

Big Mouth ASU QB, Bobby Frasor, Rich Rodriguez, and week 17 Win or Die Picks

2007-12-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

Message to Rudy Carpenter, quarterback of Arizona St: You may want to keep your mouth shut next time you are in a bowl game, unless you can back up the trash you talk. He spouted off all week about how he was not all that impressed with Texas, and they demolished Arizona St, and Carpenter personally, in the Holiday Bowl last night. If you talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk.

The Tar Heels lost guard Bobby Frasor for the season last night with a torn ACL. Frasor is a combo guard that can back up Lawson at the point or Ellington at the shooting guard slot. However, I think the Heels will not miss a single beat with this loss; it will be irrelevant for a team with this much talent that also has Quentin Thomas to bring off the bench in the guard spot.

West Virginia is suing Rich Rodriguez to retrieve the $4 million he rightfully owes them according to the contract he signed. I have seen blogs that say West Virginia is in the wrong and should just let Rodriguez walk. Are you kidding me? The guy signed a contract which had a buyout clause in it, and then did not have the decency to live up to the terms of the contract and the commitment he made to his team and his players. I hope West Virginia gets every cent of that $4 million, and I hope it costs Rodriguez a bunch extra in legal fees.

And as of the win or die, as we are a week away from taking this baby into the playoffs....

Pick Breakdown:

Cleveland 11
EAGLES 2
Green Bay 1
San Diego 3
Washington 3

Individual Picks:

Angel San Diego
Chris Nangle 1 Cleveland
CP 2 Cleveland
D Froney 1 Cleveland
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Cleveland
David Louis Stitzer Washington
Ed Ramirez 2 Cleveland
Eric Meyers 3 Washington
Gary Jonas 1 Cleveland
Gregg 2 Washington
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON EAGLES
Joe Pucillo 2 Cleveland
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON San Diego
May Lee 6 EAGLES
Pierre Brown 1 Cleveland
Ray Attiyah 1 Cleveland
Steven Immergut 1 Green Bay
Stuart Erickson 2 San Diego
Todd & Regan 4 Cleveland
WJO 4 Cleveland

Week 16 Win or Die Picks

2007-12-21T15:11:00.000-05:00

I was in Madison Square Garden last night for the battle between Pitt and Duke in which the Dukies choked away a 16 point lead and lost by 1. They shot 37% from the field, had 19 turnovers and were outrebounded by 18. Just a poor effort by the Devils. Overall, just a tremendous 24 hours in NYC as I was able to hook up with lots of friends. Will try to write something on games and trip in coming days.

As for the Win or Die....good luck to all and I hope everyone has a great weekend and Merry Christmas.

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 4
Detroit 1
Jacksonville 12
Tennessee 3

Individual Picks:

Angel Jacksonville
Chris Nangle 1 Jacksonville
CP 2 Tennessee
D Froney 1 Jacksonville
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Jacksonville
David Louis Stitzer Jacksonville
Ed Ramirez 2 Jacksonville
Eric Meyers 3 Jacksonville
Gary Jonas 1 Tennessee
Gregg 2 Jacksonville
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Detroit
Joe Pucillo 2 Arizona
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON Jacksonville
May Lee 6 Jacksonville
Pierre Brown 1 Arizona
Ray Attiyah 1 Arizona
Steven Immergut 1 Jacksonville
Stuart Erickson 2 Arizona
Todd & Regan 4 Tennessee
WJO 4 Jacksonville

Michigan/West Virginia, Steroids Thought, Dickie V, Brian Westbrook, Vikings/Bears

2007-12-18T10:03:00.000-05:00

If I were Bill Martin, University of Michigan Athletic Director, I would watch my back pretty closely. I would imagine there are some pretty ticked off Mountaineer fans now that Martin has stolen West Virginia's football coach to go with the hoops coach that he stole less than a year ago. Green is the prevailing color here as the path from Gold & Blue to Maize & Blue continues.

I still think college football somehow needs a rule in place keeping moves from happening until after bowl games. It is not fair to the West Virginia kids that they now will be coached by an interim coach in the bowl game.

Andy Pettitte. Brian Roberts. Fernando Vina. These are some of the players that came out with some sort of admission after their names appeared in the Mitchell Report last week. The message in each case was similar. I only used it once or twice and it was only to recover from an injury. Well, you know what, I was not there, so I cannot say whether this is true or false. (I think Jemele Hill in her espn.com article yesterday took some liberties with her assumptions.) However, what I would have said if I were being paid to write for espn instead of Jemele Hill, is that while I have no proof as to what happened or why or how many times, these apologies/rationales reek of, to use two words, insincerity and bullshit. Maybe Brian Roberts only used steroids one time? Maybe Andy Pettitte only used twice and to recover from injury for the good of the team? Maybe, maybe not. But if I were the agent for either, I would have advised to a) make a sincere apology that is not riddled with disclaimers, excuses, and mitigating circumstances, or b) keep your mouth shut.

Well, America got its college basketball wish. No, the Duke team plane did not blow up, not that wish. Instead, Dick Vitale is having throat surgery and is sidelined until February. While I think Dickie V is certainly excitable, I actually think his enthusiasm, passion and excitement for the game combined with his knowledge are good for college hoops, and that people will actually miss his doing games more than most will admit. So I will be in the minority and say get well and hurry back Dickie V!

John Runyan strategized and Brian Westbrook executed one of the best, most unselfish plays I have seen in football in a long time when Westbrook fell down on the 1 yard line so the Eagles could run out the clock without ever giving the Cowboys the ball back, instead of scoring an easy touchdown. Just a breath of fresh air in today's greedy world of professional athletics.

Speaking of the Eagles/Cowboys game, I had previously switched to sort of rooting for the Eagles to lose games (at least until the games actually started). After all, it would be better long term for the team to improve their draft status, and since it has been clear for a few weeks that they were not going to the playoffs much less Super Bowl, losing could help. Of course that never really works out when I sit down to watch the game with my 4-year-old and we always end up cheering heartily for the Birds as always (in other words, rationally it is OK to improve draft position, but emotionally you just can't do it). But even if I were rooting for the Birds to lose, the one loophole is always the Cowboys. The bile that comes to my throat at the mere thought of Jerry Jones or T.Blows is just overwhelming. So it was pretty damn special to beat the Cowboys in Texas Stadium on Sunday. For an Eagles fan, this was as good as it is going to get this year. With any luck, we can hurt their momentum, have them lose again, coughing up home field advantage in the process, and get Brett Favre one more shot at a ring.....

Because I had my Fantasy Football Semi-Finals on the line, I actually watched the entire Vikings/Bears game despite the constant urge to stab both eyes out. In case you are wondering, I pulled out a 79-76 win over Blacksnake thanks to a complete no-show from Bernard Berrian). Let me say, if these teams do not get into a bidding war with the Eagles for the services of one Donovan McNabb next year, they are insane. McNabb has ties to both teams. He is from Chicago, and played several years for Brad Childress of the Vikings when he was the Eagles Offenisive Coordinator. Either team can make a Super Bowl run with McNabb. The Eagles and McNabb need a clean break after this year. It is in the best interests of both parties. If it happens, he could win the MVP and the Super Bowl in the same year. You heard it here first.

New Duke Football Coach, Disappointing College Hoops Teams, Mark Prior, Win or Die Picks

2007-12-14T15:02:00.000-05:00

It appears as though Duke is going to introduce David Cutcliffe as its next Head Football Coach as early as today. While people say he is an offensive guru who developed both Manning boys (if you buy into the argument that Eli Manning has actually been developed), I could counter by saying in my opinion Eric Ainge, his latest project, has had a somewhat disappointing career at Tennessee. My buddy Uncle Charlie thinks that if the Blue Devils could not get Paul Johnson, "Cutcliffe seemed to me to be the best choice of the names that have been in the mix. I like the fact that Cutcliffe put some pretty good teams on the field at Ole Miss, which is not an easy place to win." He also did not like my choice of Rod Broad for an understandable reason: "I really have a problem with the idea of a UNC grad being the coach at Duke." Fair enough. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if Cutcliffe, who had open heart surgery last year, can win on the gridiron at Duke.

Now that we are a good month and change into the college hoops season, it is time to point out a couple of programs that have been disappointing to date:

Louisville has to be far and away the biggest disappointment. Not only was Louisville in the Top 10 in everyone's pre-season poll, I truly thought they were one team that had a legitimate chance to cut down the Nets this year in San Antonio. Now they have lost David Padgett for the year and Derek Caracter has been suspended indefinitely for missing curfew. Edgar Sosa has performed very inconsistently and is averaging only 7 ppg and barely hitting better than one out of every three 3-pointers he is throwing up there.
I really thought Maryland would emerge and be the 3rd best team in the ACC this season behind Duke and Carolina. Their all-sophomore backcourt has good size and I felt showed great flashed last year. Also, I felt James Gist would become an All-ACC type player. So far, the Terps are 6-5, including home losses to Ohio University and Boston College, who I watched lose at home to UMASS and look absolutely brutal. My guess is if the Terps do not pick it up, Gary Williams will start to hear real calls for his job. Of course, I still expect Maryland to turn it around, and you know they will give Duke all they can handle (if not more) the two times they hook up this season.
Souhern Illinois. It is not so much that the Salukis are only 4-3, or the fact that they lost to some pretty good teams, but rather the manner in which they lost to USC, Indiana and Charlotte that has me concerned. This team played lock down defense last year and would not have lost to anyone by 25 the way they did to USC, and certainly would not have lost to Charlotte by 15. Southern Illinois won a huge game in Carbondale the other night against undefeated and ranked St. Mary's so maybe all is not lost.

Note to the Phillies: Since you are budget strapped, why not go take a flyer on an incentive-laden deal for Mark Prior? Huge upside, and if you can get out with base salaries in the $2-3 million range, what is there to lose? OK , onto the win or die picks....

Pick Breakdown:

Baltimore 1
Cincinnati 1
Green Bay 1
Indianapolis 2
Minnesota 2
San Diego 3
Tampa Bay 12

Individual Picks:

Angel San Diego
Chris Nangle 1 Tampa Bay
CP 2 Indianapolis
D Froney 1 Tampa Bay
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Tampa Bay
David Louis Stitzer Minnesota
Ed Ramirez 2 Tampa Bay
Eric Meyers 3 Tampa Bay
Gary Jonas 1 Tampa Bay
Gregg 2 Tampa Bay
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Indianapolis
Joe Pucillo 2 Tampa Bay
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON Tampa Bay
May Lee 6 San Diego
Pierre Brown 1 Tampa Bay
Ray Attiyah 1 Tampa Bay
Ryan Carey 2 Cincinnati
Ryan Doheny 7 Baltimore
Steven Immergut 1 San Diego
Stuart Erickson 2 Minnesota
Todd & Regan 4 Green Bay
WJO 4 Tampa Bay

The List is Out

2007-12-13T15:29:00.000-05:00

George Mitchell's report is out, and paging through his document, it looks like many of the names I listed this morning were correct, and at least a couple, most notably Albert Pujols and Jason Varitek, do not appear. Looking at the report, my guess is that his list is just the tip of the iceberg (i.e., I am sure there were steroid sources that were not interviewed or uncovered by Mitchell). Bottom line is that Lou had it right in his post below this morning: let's spend our time looking ahead at how to fix the problem and not get bogged down in the past or what to do to punish past violators (to his credit, Mitchell said as much in his press conference). Here is a link to the list of players named in the report.

D-Day is Here: Lou Israel's Take on Baseball and Steroids...AND NEW: THE LIST

2007-12-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Lou Israel, a consistent participant in my pools (you know him as Mike Vick's alter ego, Ron Mexico) is jumping into the blog with his first contribution to the Musings. He is up-in-arms over how baseball has handled the steroids investigation. His premise is that baseball should stop focusing on the past and set their sights on how to improve the game in the future. It should start some good conversation on this , the day the the vaunted Mitchell Report is delivered to MLB at 2:00 pm today (please feel free to use the comment section to get the discussion going). We have not seen this much excitement about a report since the Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice Crop Report was delivered by one Clarence Beaks, may he rest in peace. Ladies and gentlemen, Louis Israel.....

Note (11:54): Here is the list of names that the Mitchell Report will identify later today:
Brady Anderson, Manny Alexander, Rick Ankiel, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Aaron Boone, Rafaeil Bettancourt, Bret Boone, Milton Bradley, David Bell, Dante Bichette, Albert Belle, Paul Byrd, Wil Cordero, Ken Caminiti, Mike Cameron, Ramon Castro, Jose and Ozzie Canseco, Roger Clemens, Paxton Crawford, Wilson Delgado, Lenn y Dykstra, Johnny Damon, Carl Everett, Kyle Farnsoworth, Ryan Franklin, Troy Glaus, Rich Garces, Jason Grimsley, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Jose Guillen, Jay Gibbons, Juan Gonzalez, Clay Hensley, Jerry Hairston, Felix Heredia, Jr., Darren Holmes, Wally Joyner, Darryl Kile, Matt Lawton, Raul Mondesi, Mark McGwire, Guillermo Mota, Robert Machado, Damian Moss, Abraham Nunez, Trot Nixon, Jose Offerman, Andy Pettitte, Mark Prior, Neifi Perez, Rafael Palmiero, Albert Pujols, Brian Roberts, Juan Rincon, John Rocker, Pudge Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Scott Sc hoenweiis, David Segui, Alex Sanchez, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Julian Tavarez, Fernando Tatis, Maurice Vaughn, Jason Varitek, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams and Kerry Wood.
_____________________________

There are a number of old white men who are convinced that they love baseball and understand it more than anyone else. Like the rest of us, they dream of being a part of the game, but since they are in power they've found a way to do it without any talent for playing, and without buying a ticket. Yes, they get sport so much more than the rest of us. They understand it on a higher level. That's why only they can understand the logic of running an inquisition and then asking for signatures from the subjects. And not the type of signatures you put on a legal document. They want the signatures on photos and cards, the kind from a hero that you frame and ebay or give to your son to mount on the wall.

That's ok though because as long as they're there, we're assured we have just what we need in sport. Lawyers. Teams of lawyers with impeccable records, a billion dollars of schooling, and oh, season tickets, because they love the game. Yes, it is everything that baseball needs.

I am not a fool and neither are most fans when it comes to the subject of their sport. We had a steroid era. I don't know how this is possible, but somehow my perspective is reported to be the bizarre and rare one. See, I'm not mortified that the players were on steroids, I just enjoy watching the game (so unsophisticated, I know). But even if it upset you, oh loyal fan, and I do understand that position- we know it now. Start testing and the steroid era will end. Just another era, another chapter of America's pastime. Brand the Barry ball, fine. Mark the record books with notations of a steroid era, fine. That is all that is needed. A government body coming to punish and 'out' is not a hero. The knowledge is out there, punishment is not the answer. But without it, how can our respected lawyers, our betters, brag about being a baseball.hero? Can't tell war stories of a 9th inning homer, so tell stories of a 9 hour interrogation. If you can't play it, litigate it. It has nothing to do with them. Leave Barry alone, leave the rest of them alone. It is not the government's business. These are not reasons to go to jail. These are not reasons to be publicly shamed in front of a nation. Just let the game recover.

So congratulations to the team of lawyers and the 8 digit paycheck we cut for them. They were able to use their Ivy League educations and their multimillion dollar laboratories to outwit some tobacco chewing jocks who took drugs so they could play better. Huzzah. The legal team can raise their glasses high tonight as they tuck into 100 dollar steaks that you and I paid for, all the while really believing they did something other than embarass and maybe jail a few dozen famous players who would stop anyway if and when all that needed to be done is done; that is a real testing system gets set up. With this way though, maybe some more money can be funnelled into Cooperstown for a Baseball's Greatest Lawyers wing.

I just hope they're careful at the champagne toast tonight. If there is any justice a waiter or bartender who is a fan of the game just might serve up a special dose of Dom Perignon bruised with the tainted urine so the boys could give the analysis which they deemed so important. But this analysis could not be done by a machine. No, as they swish the piss around their golden tongues and whitened teeth, the flavor and character could be tasted in human detail. Something like, pretentious, not very amusing, and with a long lingering and bitter aftertaste.

Go West, Young Man (Aaron Rowand Signs with Giants)

2007-12-12T16:04:00.000-05:00

Reports surfaced this afternoon that Aaron Rowand is going to sign a five year deal with the San Francisco Giants. Terms were not disclosed by you can bet the deal is in the $60-70 million range. I mean, if Andruw Jones, who couldn't hit the side of a barn this year, got a deal for $18 million per (admittedly for a shorter term), then clearly Rowand will net at least $12 million if not 14 or 15.

There was no way the Phillies, who have Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth signed for next year, are close to their budget limits, and need pitching help desperately (and 3rd base help wouldn't hurt either), were going to sign Rowand. And you know what, I agree 100% with this decision. In addition to being a budget fatality, the fact remains that Rowand probably had a career year last year when he hit .309-27-89, and played his usual solid defense. In my opinion, he is not worth the cash that it would take to get his name in ink on a contract.

So, if the Phillies made what I believe to be an absolutely correct decision based on market valuation and their budgetary restrictions, then why do I have a sneaking suspicion that they will really miss Rowand on their squad next year. This guy was a perfect fit for Philly with his blue collar style for a clue collar town. He brought it every day, and his hustle and effort were clearly contagious on this team. Guys like that are always missed.

The Phils have enough guys, Chase Utley immediately comes to mind, that have that great work ethic to overcome Rowand's absence. But they will miss him for sure.

Good luck to Aaron Rowand. Unfortunately for him, who always seemed like a win-first guy, the signing is curious because he is going to a team that is bound to struggle for the foreseeable future (having close to $20 million per wrapped up in a mediocre-at-best Barry Zito for 6 more years on a cash strapped team will not help). I guess this shows that pretty much all the professional athletes today are following the green (although Rowand is a California kid so I guess you can make the argument he wanted to go back home).

Bobby Petrino Shows His True Colors, And a New Blog Option...

2007-12-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

A quick blog note: I am going to shoot for increased frequency of posts, meaning I may post shorter stuff. That way, you can always click on the blog and find new stuff....we will see how that works out.

Let me see if I can put this in a nice way. Hmmm. Thinking. Still thinking. Nope. The only way to say it is as follows: Bobby Petrino is a complete and utter jackass. Let me count the ways:

When he was at Louisville, he basically flirted with every possible job opening that came his way. And not just your normal coaching flirtations. I mean he pretty much kissed necks and rubbed boobs before saying he was married and slinking back to Louisville.
When he left, he took a 5 year, $24+ million dollar job to coach the Falcons. Not even a year later, he is leaving Atlanta with a whopping three NFL wins on his resume.
When Arthur Blank, the man who was generous enough to pay him something like $1.5+ million per win, allegedly asked him point blank the other day if he was considering leaving after rumors surfaced, he looked him in the eye and said categorically NO.

Look, bottom line, why sign a five year deal to coach somewhere and then not even give it a full year? The going got tough with the Vick controversy and all the sucking the Falcons have done, and Petrino took his ball and went home, which now evidently is in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Here's to hoping a lot of top recruits will consider Petrino's lack of ability to keep commitments before committing 3-5 years to this coach.

And one more thing on this topic. When will the NFL and the individual coaches involved realize that there is a different skill set to be successful at the pro level than what works in college. Steve Spurrier, one of the best college coaches ever (you automatically get that distinction if you can win at Duke!), could not do it. Nick Saban? Nope. Butch Davis? Nope. Mike Riley? Nope. Barry Switzer? Please. The last guys to do this successfully from my angle were Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Green (yes, Green did have some success in Minnesota before he turned out to be who we thought he was), and that was a while back.

NFL teams should stop taking flyers on guys from the college level who a) probably won't succeed, and b) probably are more cut out for the college game anyway. And yo, college coaches......stop being fooled by the money. You are already making plenty of it. You are popular in your school/city, and you can probably keep your near perfect lifestyle in tact for an indefinite amount of time (see Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden). Appreciate what you have...the grass is not greener on the other side, only the money is.

Finally, Arthur Blank, listen. The real estate market SUCKS, so if you want a great candidate to replace Petrino, give me a call. I promise I will stay the length of my entire contract, and I promise I can win at least the three game Petrino gave you this year. And I will do it for half of Petrino's salary. Think about it...

My buddy J.O., who lives out in California, has jumped into the blog world. Even though he will not admit this, I am fairly certain that he was inspired by ME (I know I can inspire J.O. to do stuff cause once I dared him to give a toast at a 30+ person bachelor party in which he barely knew anyone, and did not even know the groom-to-be all that well). We can only hope this blog is better than that toast was). Anyway, if you live in the Bay area or are planning to visit, J.O.'s blog will be a social commentary on life in San Francisco. I encourage everyone to check it out. (It is also linked in my link section under Cocktail Hour).

Verizon/Comcast Remote follow up, Tim Tebow, Duke Football Coach, Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Mike Vick, Kay Yow, Some NFL, & Dils Bowl Pool

2007-12-11T10:15:00.000-05:00

Some quick follow up from my Verizon review last week regarding the Comcast remote working with the Verizon Fios service:

I called Comcast and learned that they charge $15 if a remote is not returned. I also visited Best Buy and discovered there is certainly no better option there for less. So, my recommendation is that when you switch from Comcast to Verizon Fios, which you should do immediately, hang onto your Comcast digital remote to use in conjunction with your Fios for the Page Down feature.
Also, I wanted to credit Joe Prez' wife, Tracy, with the Comcast remote discovery, which proves once and for all (not that there was a doubt), that Tracy is not only better looking but also smarter than Joe. To Joe's credit, I am fairly sure he can still take her in a 50-yard dash.

Tim Tebow won the Heisman Saturday night. He is the first sophomore to win the award, and has to be considered an overwhelming favorite to repeat next year for two reasons. First, it is likely that he will put up gaudy numbers again next year, and one would have to assume that his passing skills will be even more improved to go along wioth his bruising rushing style. Second, while Florida lost thre games this year and was never in teh National title hunt (although they may have been if the season was two weeks longer and everybody kept losing!), they wil be absolutely loaded next year and probably competing for another championship, giving Tebow even more exposure and credibility. Look for Chase Daniel, Steve Slyton (after a sub-par year this year) and Kevin Smith from University of Central Florida (who may break Barry Sanders all-time single season rushing mark this year as a junior) to give Tebow the most competition in 2008.

Duke still has not hired a footbal coach, having lost out in the Paul Johnson sweepstakes. My guess is that they will not take my recommendation and hire Rod Broadway or they would have done it by now. But they are looking at re-treads like Bobby Johnson (head coach at Vandy with a 20-50 career record for the Commodores) and Karl Dorrell (fired at UCLA) for the spot. Ugh. I would rather see them take a shot on Rick Neuheisel and hope he can clean up his act. At least the guy has shown hew can win. (Of course, I still think Broadway, who would be Duke first African American coach in any sport ever, was an ex Duke assistant, and has won in both jobs he has had as a head coach, overcome the fact that he is a Tar Heel alum and make him the right choice!)

Floyd Mayweather just showed how he is far and away the best pound for pound fighter in the world, and demolishing Ricky Hatton this past weekend in Las Vegas, despite most of the UK showing up to supoprt the Brit. People may not always love Floyd's style, but he is a once-in-a-generation type fighter. I would love to see him take one more big fight and take on Iceman's favorite Miguel Cotto before he hangs up the gloves. Cotto is a tremendous power fighter (and a bit more refined in his skills than Hatton) and is the only guy in my opinion that could have any reasonable chance of defeating Pretty Boy.

Michael Vick got sentenced yesterday. I will end this topic before everybody loses interest.

We do not talk a lot about Women's basketball in this site, but Kay Yow, the head coach at NC State, is truly a remarkable woman who transcends sports and provides such inspiration. Yow has been coachnig at State since before I was at Duke (if I remember correctly Andrea Stinson was the big star when I was in school, and yes I am old...). She has been battling cancer for quite some time, and has fought more valiantly and sccessfully that most in her condition could. Despite her cancer being termed "Stage 4" almost a year ago, she continues to fight and coach. She has helped raise a lot of money for teh V Foundation and cancer research. If you want to learn more about here story, here is a link to a NY times article.

They need to add some flexibility to the NFL schedule. The fact that the Falcons have been on Monday Night Football this year more than the 11-2 Green Bay Packers (AND BRETT FAVRE) is a joke. The two NFL Network games this week are Denver at Houston and Cincinnati at San Francisco. They need to put the best games on Prime Time. Of course, unless my campaign to get everbody to switch from Comcast to Verizon Fios works, most people don't get the NFL Network anyway. But still....

It was amazing to me that the Patriots, who were 12-0 this year, and other than 3 close games, had won 9 of those 12 by AT LEAST 17 points, were getting no respect last week (and I am not just talking about Steeler's players here). I heard lots of people say they thought PIttsburgh was going tobeat New England (in Foxboro). Of course, they got smahsed. Look, mayeb New England had a little lull against teh Eagles and Baltimore, but they are the class of the league, no matter much you hate them, Belichick or Brady. There is one team, ONE, that has a chance to beat them in January, and that is the Indianapolis Colts (who are playing well again after a lull of their own, lowlighted by a nasty 13-10 wni at home over Kansas City). Sorry, Dallas. Sorry, Green Bay. Sorry, San Diego. Sorry, Pittsburgh. None of you will beat New England this year. The Super Bowl Champion will be New England unless Indy beats them (and then I would give Dallas a chance)...

Reminder, if you want to sign up for the Dils Bowl Pool, click here to sign up and make your picks (picks and money due by Thursday, 12/20).

Verizon Fios Review, Fat Solution, Joe Prez Take on the 'Nova 'Cats, Week 14 Win or Die Picks

2007-12-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

You know what Billy King and I have in common? Within the past week, we have both been freed from the evil empire that is Comcast. I guess the difference is he is still getting paid by them! A week ago, Verizon Fios was installed at the Dils household. Here are my takeaways:

The pricing is better than Comcast's. Our comparable service is approximately $60 cheaper per month than the same service with Comcast.
The Fios DVR (i.e., TiVo) is really cool. You record shows on the TV with the DVR, but then can pull them down and watch them on any non-HD TV in the house (there is a hardward issue that makes it impossible to pull the DVR shows onto a high-def box). Still, very cool. Last Saturday I recorded the Duke hoops game Saturday and was able to watch it Sunday morning on the treadmill in the basement.
You get more channels with Fios. For sports fans, you get ESPNU (which has a ton of good college football and hoops games), which is not available at all on Comcast, and NFL Network is included on the Basic package (you pay $1.99 premium per month on Comcast). You can also get a sports and movies package for like $15 per month that includes over 40 movie channels plus abuot 12 additional sports channels. The HBO package on Fios has more HBO channels than its equivalent at Comcast.
I had a problem with my install in which they had to come out three times to install. When I called about it, they could not have been nicer, and offered me a choice of a free HD 19" flat screen TV or $150 credit. So, I have only had the service a week, but the customer service seems drastically better.
One disadvantage to Fios versus Comcast is that their remote guide is not able to "page down" like you can with the Comcast remote (you have to go one channel at a time). The solution: hang on to your Comcast digital remote. It works on the Fios guide!!! (I have not yet determined what Comcast will charge for a missing remote, I will advise when I discover)
To me, the quality of the phone connection, speed of the Ineternet connection, and quality of the TV picture are all a wash. They were perfectly fine on Comcast, and they seem about the same to me on Verizon.

So, as you can see, overall, I am a proponent of making the switch from Comcast to the Verizon Fios bundle! Of course, when you combine Verizon Fios (and additional TV watching) with the holidays (and additional eating) and my increased age and decreased metabolism, you have the risk of adding on a few extra pounds. For those of you in the Philadelphia area, I have a great solution for you. The Aquatic & Fitness Centers is the best gym/club I have ever encountered. Click here for more information; I would summarize the benefits of this club as follows:

Besides offering all the usual stuff you would find at a gym, these guys offer great diversity of services and equipment. They feature 8 indoor tennis courts, 3 racquetball courts, a basketball court, pools, and a great yoga and pilates studio.
They have hands down the best customer service I have seen. They are more attentive to members and guests than any competitor. They have almost 200 employees at each location to meet their cusomers' needs, including over 25 personal trainers at each location. When you come in you are greeted by 2 or more smiling faces and handed a towel. They throw members appreciation parties every month with food, music, special events, etc. No one does that....
One thing that skeeves me out about many gyms is teh cleanliness, and these guys are the best I have encountered. This place always looks and smells clean. You never have to worry about Costanza peeing in the shower or someone not wiping down the equipment!
For a workout place, they are so family friendly. They invite families to bring their kids, utilize our babysitting services, tennis lessons, kids fitness training, swim lessons, chill at our cafe with wifi and an Internet kiosk for the kids to check e-mail, etc. Most clubs are not so welcoming (other than stanky YMCAs)...
If you have a problem, the owner is there to solve it himself. He is always around and approachable. Try that at LA Fitness.

So, is that enough of a New Year's Resolution. Maybe some of you will work out so I don't have to. I am heading back to the couch. But in all seriousness, if you are looking for a gym in the Philly area, check out the Aquatic and Fitness Centers. I think you will agree they are the best.

My buddy Joe Prez was down at the Wachovia Center last night to watch the Villanova hoopsters take the court against LSU's Bayou Bengals. Here are Prez' takes:

LSUs Randolph and Johnson presented huge matchup problems for Villanova (offensively and defensively). Both > 6’11”, quick and able to block shots extremely well. Our usual guard penetration was negated by their shot blocking capability (14 blocks for LSU).
Although Malcolm Grant sparked the comeback, Casiem Drummond was the unsung hero of the first half and kept Villanova close by scoring all 10 of his points in the first half (if you call 35-24 close).
Redding and Reynolds had horrendous shooting nights (combined 4 for 21). Both were still active on the boards though and helped us to a +4 advantage.
Reynolds had a guy playing him tough on the perimeter. And as mentioned, he had plenty of help on Reynolds’ drives to the hoop. Reynolds could not finish anything. Although possibly an off night, it does expose what will probably happen to him in the NBA.
Corey Fisher sees the floor extremely well. He’s strong and threw a number of great passes that were mishandled. Predict that he has a better chance of making it in the NBA than Scottie Reynolds.
Pressure – LSU had no problem handling the Villanova half and three quarter trap/pressure. Villanova very looked slow rotating their defense. Perhaps the 9:30PM start was too late for them.
Having your team down by 21 points in the second half does not seem so bad compared to being home and trying to keep 2 twenty month olds happy.
The more remarkable comeback was not being down 21 with about 8:30 to play but being down 15 with under 3 mins to play. Lot of people left at the 4 min TV timeout.
Obvious key turning point was Malcolm Grant’s three and the foul which cut the deficit down to 11 and sparked a Villanova 9-0 run. A not so obvious play was 6’11” LSU center Randolph fouling out with 4 mins to go. That hurt LSU.
Malcolm Grant, true freshman, was ice from the line. All his free throws looked great. 18 pts in 16 mins of play is not a bad stat line.
Jay Wright seemed extremely subdued last night. Not sure if he was sick or what but was very quiet for a coach whose #21 team was getting their ass kicked in every way on their home floor by a team picked to finish at the bottom of their conference.
Jay Wright waited until <>
Arena was only half full and half of those people left with 8 mins and more left with 4 mins to go (bummer for them). Not sure why I stayed. Oh yeah, I work from home with 2 twenty month olds running me ragged. I considered this good quiet time.
Lastly, Villanova girls still look nice. All seem to be into wearing some sort of high suede boots over jeans (vs our years where they wore a XXXL sweatshirt over leggings – we picked the wrong 4 years). What can you do.

And, finally, this week's win or die picks for the 22 remaining survivors. Here you go:

Pick Breakdown:

Buffalo 2
Green Bay 4
Jacksonville 12
Minnesota 4

Individual Picks:

Angel Minnesota
Chris Nangle 1 Jacksonville
CP 2 Jacksonville
D Froney 1 Jacksonville
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Jacksonville
David Louis Stitzer Green Bay
Ed Ramirez 2 Buffalo
Eric Meyers 3 Minnesota
Gary Jonas 1 Jacksonville
Gregg 2 Green Bay
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Green Bay
Joe Pucillo 2 Jacksonville
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON Minnesota
May Lee 6 Buffalo
Pierre Brown 1 Jacksonville
Ray Attiyah 1 Jacksonville
Ryan Carey 2 Minnesota
Ryan Doheny 7 Jacksonville
Steven Immergut 1 Jacksonville
Stuart Erickson 2 Jacksonville
Todd & Regan 4 Green Bay
WJO 4 Jacksonville

Sean Taylor, Army/Navy, BCS/Bowl Games, Duke Football Coach, Heisman Pick, Michigan Hoops, Billy King, and the Cleveland Browns

2007-12-05T14:42:00.000-05:00

Let me start by putting this Sean Taylor story to bed. Several people missed my point (which shows my own inability to articulate clearly via the written word) and thought I was bashing a dead guy, which was not right and in fact irresponsible. That was not my intent. My point was simply that the media should not be able to have it both ways. When it fit their objectives, they bashed this guy and painted a picture of a thug and a hooligan. When he was tragically killed, they changed their tune and portrayed a responsible, humble, great young man who had been struck down in the prime of his life. My point is simply that it is difficult to buy into this new picture when the old one was drawn by the same artist using indelible ink. I do not know whether Sean Taylor was a great man or a troublemaker, or somewhere in between. I do know that it is difficult to reconcile the conflicting images that the hypocritical media has painted. Whether it is politics, sports, or entertainment, the media tends to use only the colors that will sell the most papers or bring in the most viewers. Whatever happened to truth in journalism?

I went to the Army/Navy game this past weekend. Despite the game being held in Philadelphia all but 7 times since I was born, I had never actually attended the game. It was a truly remarkable and moving experience. I went with a group of about 10 guys, including 1980 Heisman Trophy Winner George Rogers. The pageantry, passion, and excitement in the crowd and from the players was inspirational. After the game, we attended an event for members of the service who had fought Internationally in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were unfortunately men at the event who had lost their legs or who had been burned over their entire bodies. This served as quite a powerful reminder that the game we had watched was just that, a game, while these brave men and women were making real sacrifices everyday to preserve the way of life that we as American often take for granted. With that in mind, I want to say thank you to everybody who risks their lives for me and you, to ensure that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy every day. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! (Below is a picture of the pre-game procession that both schools participate in...this was the Army procession):

One more note from the game. While I have gotten to know George Rogers a little bit from being a regular contributor to his radio show over the past year and a half, I had never met him in person. In a day and age when many athletes are arrogant, obnoxious, egocentric, and aloof, George Rogers is a breath of fresh air. The smile never left George's face the whole day. He laughed, he slapped backs and shook hands with hundreds or thousands of fans (pretty easy to identify someone when they have the Heisman Trophy with them), he signed autographs, and in general was a complete mensch. Having seen how George treats other people, I am proud top be part of his show. Below are pictures of George and me with the Heisman (that thing is REALLY heavy), and my wearing George's Super Bowl and Heisman rings:

While we are on the subject of college football, I want to address a couple things with the BCS/Bowl Game announcements:

It is obvious to everyone except the decision makers (and Kirk Herbstreit) at this point that we need a playoff system. This year, you could at least somewhat legitimately argue that 6 different teams (Ohio St, LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, USC, and Hawaii) should be in the championship game under the current format. Why not let them decide it on the field? It would create crazy fan interest and generate more revenues for the schools and the NCAA. Of course this won't happen. But it has to......
The team that got screwed the most by far is Missouri. They were ranked #1 in the country going into the Big 12 Championship game, then do not even make a BCS game and getting passed over by Kansas, despite beating KU rather easily the week before, beating KU out for the Big 1 North title, and playing the 29th toughest schedule vs. KU's 109th ranked slate. They were even ranked higher in the final BCS standings. Just ludicrous.
The other team/conference that got shorted was Arizona St and the Pac 10. How in the world can Illinois with three losses get a BCS bid over Arizona St, while the Pac 10, a far superior conference to the Big 10 on every conceivable level, gets 1 BCS bid while the Big 10 gets 2. Of course, Illinois also lost to the aforementioned Missouri!
If they are going to stick with this stupid system, at least make all the BCS conferences play on a level playing field. It is a travesty that some conferences play title games while others do not. For example, if the SEC had no title game, there would have been a three way tie between Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU, and Georgia may have won the tiebreaker because of the highest ranking and gone to the Championship game.
And LSU may very well be one of the two best teams in the country, but to have them 7th in the BCS heading into last weekend, and leapfrogging 5 teams (3 of which did not lose), is insane. It just proves the polls are silly and that in the end the voters will do what they want anyway. If the polls are so meaningless which was just PROVEN, then why not do away with these arbitrary polls at least until the end of the year.

Moving away from the best in college football and to the worst, Duke has a new football coach to hire. To me, there are only two acceptable answers (assuming that they do not consider me to be a serious candidate). Paul Johnson, who wins consistently at Navy, and Rod Broadway, an ex-Duke assistant and current head coach at Grambling, should be the only two candidates that the administration speaks with about the vacancy. Either of these guys can win at Duke. Johnson has proven it at a school with bigger football obstacles to overcome. Broadway has won everywhere he has been, is a deserving African American, and is familiar with Duke (where he was an assistant for 13 years) and Durham (he was head coach at North Carolina Central).

Finally, I need to address my pick (since, unlike George, I do not get an actual vote) for the Heisman. Before last week, I would have given it to Chase Daniel, who I feel not only had a splendid year but simply elevates the play of all 11 people on his side of the ball. After their loss to Oklahoma in convincing fashion, I pick....Chase Daniel. I still think the Missouri QB was the most outstanding college football player in the land this year, edging out Tim Tebow and Colt Brennan with Darren McFadden getting 4th on my mental ballot.

I guess all the Michigan basketball fans that were clamoring for the firing of Tommy Amaker after last season were more than a little surprised to see Amaker's new squad, the Crimson of Harvard, beat fancy schmancy new coach John Beilein and his Wolverines last weekend. Bottom line: Amaker cleaned up a program that was in shambles 6 years ago and did not get the chance to take it to the next level. Maybe he could have, maybe not. But he is now 1-0 against his former team since leaving!

Speaking of ex-Dukies unceremoniously dumped, Billy King was fired by the Sixers yesterday and replaced by Ed Stefanski. You can make a legitimate argument that firing Billy was the right move (many of you have in fact). Whether he should have been fired or not, I found the timing curious. I could understand if he were fired a couple years back after the Chris Webber debacle and questionable signings like Dalembert (who is playing very well this year) and Willie Green. But he was right in the middle of his rebuilding plan. They played 30-29 basketball after trading Iverson last year, drafted young players (Thaddeus Young in particular) who they knew would take time to develop, and will finally be below the salary cap after this season. They could have justified firing Billy back then or in another year and a half if no improvement was made. But firing him less than 1/4 into this season was a bad move.

Everybody is whining (and when I say everybody, I mean Stitzer) that the refs were horrible on Monday night and that the league wants New England to go undefeated (bad calls: yes; conspiracy: ridiculous). I would argue that the team that got shafted last weekend the most by the zebras are the Cleveland Browns. The refs missed a force out on the last play of the game on a great catch by Kellen Winslow that would have given the Brownies a huge win after being behind all game. Why a force out is not reviewable is beyond me. Another stupid rule by the NFL.

I will be back later this week with more sports chatter, a solution to the extra holiday weight, and a review of my new Verizon Fios.

Dils Musings Expands, Win or Die Picks

2007-11-30T16:36:00.000-05:00

We have some big Dils Musings news.

Starting right after New Year's, Dils Musings is taking the magic to another medium. We are going to be producing a weekly podcast that will be available both on the blog and on itunes (you woll even be able to subscribe on itunes).

The best news of all: we need your help.

We are going to go with a format as follows: each week, the show will have a moderator, myself and two guests (YOU!!!). We will probably have repreat guests and tweak the format as we go. We will discuss a few topics each week that fit the guests area of expertise and have smart, witty dialog (i.e., diagreements but not typical sports talk show yelling…Stephen A Smith is not a likely guest). We will all be linked up via phone (i.e, you will not have to travel).

If you are interested in being a part of the Dils Musings podcast, please email my producer, Ted Price, at tedprice@mac.com (please cc… me). Please give Ted the following information:

Name
Phone number
Email
5-6 areas of "expertise"
Times of day that are best for you/impossible for you to do show

Now for the week's win or die picks....

Pick Breakdown:

Dallas 1
Denver 1
Indianapolis 3
Minnesota 1
New England 9
Pitsburgh 3
San Diego 5
Washington 9

Individual Picks:

Angel New England
Chris Nangle 1 New England
Coltndarby Washington
CP 2 San Diego
D Froney 1 Pittsburgh
Dan/Steve Gold 6 San Diego
Dave Bryla Washington
David Louis Stitzer Minnesota
Ed Ramirez 2 Indianapolis
Eric Meyers 3 New England
Gary Jonas 1 New England
Greg Marks Washington
Gregg 2 San Diego
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON New England
Joe Pucillo 2 New England
Juice 4 Washington
LZHBBS 1 Washington
M Lacerenza JPS Indianapolis
May Lee 6 Pittsburgh
Mizerny 2 Washington
Nina K Denver
Pierre Brown 1 New England
Raivetz 1 Washington
Ray Attiyah 1 San Diego
Ryan Carey 2 New England
Ryan Doheny 7 Dallas
Steven Immergut 1 Indianapolis
Stuart Erickson 2 New England
Todd & Regan 4 Pittsburgh
Todd Turchin 1 Washington
Von 3 Washington
WJO 4 San Diego

Sean Taylor and the Media, Eagles close call, other NFL thoughts, My Heisman winner, college Hoops, and More

2007-11-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

I am feeling a little guilty and surprised at myself today. Normally, when tragedy hits, I am saddened and dejected by the loss, even if I am not personally affected. I am sensitive, and my mother always told me that was a good trait. Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins Pro Bowl Safety, died this morning. And, while I certainly felt a little sad that someone with such talent and so much to look forward to was taken so young, I was not overly sentimental or surprised. In fact, I asked a couple people in the office today if I should feel bad that my overriding reaction was that "trouble finds trouble."

Predictably, the media painted all kinds of stories about how wonderful a young person Sean Taylor had blossomed into. James Thrash, who has never made a four yard catch without praising the Lord, praised Taylor's maturity and growth. Others remarked how great a person he was. Well, if you ask me, the media cannot have it both ways. Sean Taylor, since he came into the league, has been portrayed by the same media as a selfish, brooding loner who has been in trouble repeatedly both on and off the field. He missed a mandatory rookie symposium, was fined for seven late hits, and almost went to jail when he got into a fight during which he threatened another man with a gun. Hence, when I heard that Taylor had been shot, and that his house was robbed just over a week ago in what could possibly be a related crime, I thought to myself "trouble finds trouble."

But the bottom line is that my takeaway is that the media is one big hypocritical bunch of swine. Yes, I realize that anybody that follows sports or politics could have already told me this. But this is ridiculous. They beat this guy up to the point where his public perception is that of a derelict and a hooligan, and then when he is the victim, they paint a contradictory portrait in which they show what a great person has been lost. Anything to sell another paper or attract another viewer. Sensationalism at its finest. Just remember, media, that "trouble finds trouble, and you are starting to be the definition of the word...

The Eagles, as everybody saw on Sunday night, gave the Patriots a legitimate scare. In fact, they made a couple of boneheaded mistakes, otherwise they would have won this game (and they should have won this game). A couple observations from the game:

Great coaching job by Andy Reid and Jim Johnson, who have not had a good year as has been mentioned here on more than one occasion. They went to things they simply don't do (3-4 defense) in order to put themselves in the best position to win this specific game.
This loss exemplifies what it is like to be a Philadelphia sports fan. They rose up out of nowhere, and then fell just short at the end when victory could have been theirs. A microcosm of life in the City of Brotherly Shove.
This game in general just shows how horrible the Birds performance has been this year. To go to Foxboro against a team that has simply crushed everyone, with a backup QB no less, and give the Pats everything they wanted and maybe more, just proves that this team has underachieved immensely in putting a 5-6 record on the board to date.
There is no bigger Donovan McNabb fan that me, and I truly believe that he has a lot of good football left in him, but it is time for both the Eagles and McNabb to get a fresh start. This offense has never been right for his skill set, and he cannot thrive in this system without at least one start receiver. It is time for him to go home to Chicago and win a Super Bowl with the Bears in 2008. I look forward to purchasing a Bears #5 jersey next year!

Speaking of New England, there does not seem to be any team in the league that is even remotely in their league (besides the Eagles!!!). The Colts have taken a major step back in the last couple weeks due to injuries, and Pittsburgh has lost some of its luster with two straight dreadful performances (yes, I recognize the weather factor last night, but they lost to the JETS of all teams last week). Dallas and Green Bay have had nice years but they both have major holes. It is all New England this year.....

If I had a vote for the Heisman trophy, I would vote as follows:

5th: Todd Reesing, QB, Kansas. OK, so maybe they did not play the best competition in the non conference, but this is an 11-1 Big 12 team. Reesing had 30 TDs and 4 INTs going into last week's showdown with Missouri, and he showed the heart of a champion by never giving up and leading the Hawks to TDs on their last four possessions of the game.
4th: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas. D-Mac is a marvelous player who will probably be the #1 overall pick in the draft and a perennial All-Pro. But he has been too up and down this year to win the Heisman with three games of less than 100 yards and lower than a 3.3 ypc in those games.
3rd, Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii. You may say it's the system. I say this guy is about the most accurate college QB I have seen in a long time. He completed 70% of his throws this year, and is about the same for his career.
2nd, Tim Tebow, Florida. Tebow is a great talent, has accounts for over 50 total TD's this year, and is the first player ever to run and throw for over 20 TDs in a season. But I believe at times he is too selfish with the ball, and as a QB does not elevate the play of the people around him, at least as much as my winner.
THE WINNER. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri. Team ranked first in the country, a true leader, and a great college QB. Throw in 3500+ yards, 33 TDs and only 9 picks, and how could you vote for anyone else?

Duke fired football coach Ted Roof this week after a 6-45 tenure. The sad thing about the state of Duke football is that I had one friend tell me they should have kept Roof because he improved Duke's competitiveness. That is when you know your program has hit bottom. When you have the least successful team of all BCS conference schools and someone can make the argument that the coach is doing a good enough job to keep it. My first choice was to hire Houston Nutt to instill some fun and confidence in the program along with some credibility, but Ole Miss must have picked my brain as they hired him immediately. Ugh.

It looks like the Cubs would be willing to trade Mark Prior. Out of curiosity, I would love to know the asking price. On behalf of the Philllies, let me be the first to offer the following package:

Geoff Geary
2 season tickets to Citizen Bank Park
One Year Supply of Dollar Dogs
A Six Pack of Heineken

College Hoops is off to a sensational start. Some early thoughts:

Trent Plaisted of BYU is really good (like potentially first team Al America good). Look for the Cougars to be a potential sweet 16 team this year with the inside out tandem of Plaisted and point guard Sam Burgess.
Ummm, USC with OJ Mayo and Taj Gibson may be better than expected. They blew out a really good Southern Illinois team the other night.
Anyone who things Tyler Hansbrough won't be a good NBA player because he doesn't have the prototypical NBA body is insane. This guy will average 14+/8+ for a decade or more in the league.
My Dukies are much better than most people thought. DeMarcus Nelson has improved tremendously and provides senior leadership, Gerald Henderson is showing flashes, and Kyle Singler is as good as any freshman in the country (really!). Throw in a healthy Paulus, and depth that enables Scheyer to come off the bench, and you have a legit Final Four contender. It will be interesting to see how they do tonight against a Wisconsin team with tremdous size and skill on the front line. This well coached team could give the Dukies all it can handle, but will be good prep for the UNC's and the NC St's of the ACC.
Villanova looks like they will be a solid squad this year, as Cory Fisher looks like he will provide a great complement to Scottie Reynolds on the perimeter.
NC St, while they havea ton of talent, will miss their point guard from last year, Engin Atsur. This showed up early against Villanova the other night when token pressure gave the Wolfpack fits.

That is all for now, but I will be back later this week with more tidbits....

Win or Die Week 12 Picks

2007-11-21T17:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all and good luck to the survivors. Here we go:

Pick Breakdown:
Arizona 22
Dallas 13
Indianapolis 9
Jacksonville 2
New England 1
New York Giants 2
Pittsburgh 7

Individual Picks:
Abela 2 Arizona
Angel Dallas
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI Arizona
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Arizona
Bill Webster Arizona
Brian Silverio Arizona
Chris Nangle 1 Indianapolis
Coltndarby Pittsburgh
CP 2 Pittsburgh
D Froney 1 Dallas
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Pittsburgh
Dave Bryla Indianapolis
David Louis Stitzer Jacksonville
Dunlavy 1 Arizona
Ed Ramirez 2 Dallas
Ed Samocki 2 Arizona
Ed Welsh 3 Arizona
Eric Meyers 3 Pittsburgh
Gary Jonas 1 Dallas
Greg Marks Pittsburgh
Gregg 2 Dallas
Howard Goldberg Indianapolis
Iceman 5 Arizona
Jeff Saito 2 Arizona
Joe Pucillo 2 Pittsburgh
Juice 4 Indianapolis
Keller 3 Arizona
KP NY Giants
LZHBBS 1 Indianapolis
M Lacerenza JPS Indianapolis
M Lacerenza M Arizona
May Lee 6 Pittsburgh
May Lee 8 Arizona
Mizerny 2 Dallas
Nina K Indianapolis
Nitin Singhal 1 Arizona
Pierre Brown 1 Indianapolis
Raivetz 1 Indianapolis
Randy/Randy C Arizona
Ray Attiyah 1 Dallas
Ritter 3 Arizona
Ron Mexico 1 Arizona
Rudo 2 Arizona
Ryan Carey 2 Dallas
Ryan Doheny 1 Arizona
Ryan Doheny 7 New England
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Arizona
Sonnenberg 2 NY Giants
Sozbolt Arizona
Steven Immergut 1 Dallas
Stuart Erickson 2 Dallas
The Bandits Arizona
Todd & Regan 4 Dallas
Todd Turchin 1 Jacksonville
Von 3 Dallas
WJO 4 Dallas

Congrats to J-Roll, Stanford/Cal 25 Years Later

2007-11-20T15:42:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Jimmy Rollins, who was awarded the National League MVP award today. As I have mentioned several times on this blog, I believe this award went to the right guy, as J-Roll provided the best mix of offensive firepower, gold glove defense, and tremendous leadership of any player in the league. Nothing against Matt Holiday, who had a tremendous year, but Rollins was sensational throughout 2007. Now hopefully he can lead them to some playoff WINS next year.

The most famous play arguably in college football history was the last play of the Stanford-Cal game 25 years ago today. JPL, I am sorry to have to do this to you, but I just watched a show on that play, and the refs made not one but two bad calls that gave the game to Cal. One of the players had a knee on the ground before he pitched the ball, which should have ended the game. Then the last lateral was actually a forward lateral. Still an awesome play, but I cannot stand when refs determine the outcome of games, so in the Dils official records, I am going to have to give Stanford a 20-19 win.

Quick Hitters

2007-11-19T11:42:00.000-05:00

Once again Bill Belichick showed what a jackass he is by going for it on 4th down when his team was up 42-10. I really do hope somebody cheap shots Brady and takes him out. Maybe my man Brian Dawkins is the guy to do it next week!

The Birds looked awful for most of the game yesterday and needed AJ Feeley to rally the squad to a victory after McNabb left was a sprained ankle. They were playing an 0-9 team at home, it should not be that hard. They are in for a long game when they travel to play the Patriots next week.

Boston continues to make the rest of the country sick, as the Sox won the series, the Patriots are 10-0, the Celts have the best record in the NBA and even the Bruins are playing better than .500 hockey.

For all you tens of Duke fans, just a reminder that Duke is on TV tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday from Hawaii. Look for a great battle in a revenge game against Marquette Wednesday night if everything holds to form.

Speaking of Duke, we are so bad in football that even Notre Dame can cruise to an easy victory. Ugh!

Oklahoma was the latest team to take itself out of National Championship contention with an awful effort against Texas Tech. Two more this past week as Oregon lost its QB and a heisman trophy to go along with their lost title hopes.

If the Kansas/Missouri winner does not beat Oklahoma (or Texas) in the Big 12 Championship, Ohio State could be back into the championship game. Personally, I would much rather see a one-loss West Virginia team play for the title instead of the Buckeyes. But, in the meantime, I am rooting for the Jayhawks to win it all. What a story that would be!

Speaking of the Heisman, I guess Tim Tebow will win it by process of elimination. I doubt his season (as a sophomore on a three loss team) would be good enough to win in other seasons but this season everyone else has either gotten himself hurt of played himself out of contention. I personally would vote for either Todd Reesing of Kansas or Chase Daniel of Missouri (whoever wins this week) but I can't see either winning because most voters never heard of these guys before about a month ago.

Jimmy Johnson capped a dominant season with the NASCAR title. He was so good he overshadowed Jeff Gordon, who was almost as good and would have won the title in almost every other season. Most importantly, I won my NASCAR fantasy league. Pay up fellas...

Sorry there is not more meat today. I will try to post again later this week....

Week 11 Win or Die Picks

2007-11-17T08:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay. Remote server problems. Thank you to an assist from my cousin Tommy or this stuff would not have gotten done on time!

Pick Breakdown:

Dallas 4
EAGLES 27
Green Bay 13
Indianapolis 12
Pittsburgh 1

Interesting note: Last year in week 11, 12 of 22 survivors had the Eagles only to watch the Birds fall to Tennessee and McNabb tear his ACL. Better luck this year to those backing the Birds, the Birds themselves, and Donovan's knee!

Individual Picks:

Abela 2 EAGLES
Angel Green Bay
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI EAGLES
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Green Bay
Bill Webster EAGLES
Brian Silverio Green Bay
Chris Nangle 1 EAGLES
Coltndarby EAGLES
CP 2 Green Bay
D Froney 1 Green Bay
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Green Bay
Dave Bryla EAGLES
David Louis Stitzer Dallas
Dunlavy 1 EAGLES
Ed Ramirez 2 Dallas
Ed Samocki 2 EAGLES
Ed Welsh 3 EAGLES
Eric Meyers3 EAGLES
Gary Jonas 1 EAGLES
Greg Marks Indianapolis
Gregg 2 Indianapolis
Howard Goldberg EAGLES
Iceman 5 EAGLES
Jeff Saito 2 EAGLES
Joe Pucillo 2 Green Bay
Juice 4 EAGLES
Keller 3 Dallas
KP Indianapolis
LML Pittsburgh
LZHBBS 1 Dallas
M Lacerenza JPS Green Bay
M Lacerenza M EAGLES
May Lee 6 EAGLES
May Lee 8 Indianapolis
Mizerny 2 EAGLES
Nina K Green Bay
Nitin Singhal 1 EAGLES
Pierre Brown 1 EAGLES
Raivetz 1 Green Bay
Randy/Randy C Indianapolis
Ray Attiyah 1 Indianapolis
Ritter 3 EAGLES
Ron Mexico 1 EAGLES
Rudo 2 EAGLES
Ryan Carey 2 Indianapolis
Ryan Doheny 1 Green Bay
Ryan Doheny 7 EAGLES
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Indianapolis
Sonnenberg 2 Green Bay
Sozbolt Indianapolis
Steven Immergut 1 EAGLES
Stuart Erickson 2 EAGLES
The Bandits EAGLES
Todd & Regan 4 Indianapolis
Todd Turchin 1 Green Bay
Von 3 Indianapolis
WJO 4 Indianapolis

Baseball Awards, College Hoops, Athlete Whores, and A-Fraud

2007-11-15T09:51:00.000-05:00

And you guys thought I can't prognosticate effectively when it comes to baseball! AT the end of the season, I said the NL Manager of the Year should go o Bob Melvin, with Jolly Chollie as the least talented runner-up in history and Hurdle third. I also said Wedge shuold win in the AL. And I said Carmona shuold win CY Yound over Beckett and Lackey, with Pedroia winning the AL Rookie of the Year. Bam. Got em all. The only one I missed so far was when Ryan Bruan was scandalously given the NL Rookie of the Year after turning in 2/3 of a one dimensional season nistead of the two way star Troy Tulowitzky.

The evil empire (not the Yankees, the Tar Heels!) barely escaped with a win over a really good Davidson team last night. Bob McKillop and his Wildcats were in a position to knock off Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year before fading late (and only pushing a 7 ponit spread, ugh!), and they look to be even better this year. They hung right with the alleged #1 Tar Heels the entire game before coming up just short in the end. Stephen Curry, son of Dell, is the real deal, and the 'Cats could get over the hump and win at least a game in this year's dance.

Overall in college hoops, there seems to be great talent and great parity this year. And how about the Atlantic Sun conference! Gardner Webb beat Kentucky in Rupp by 16, Belmont beat Cincinnati (which may not end up being that big a deal) in the Bearcats home opener, and Mercer (yes, Mercer!) ruining O.J. Mayo's impressive debut by beat the Ttrojans of USC. And, by the way, none of those teams were favored to win the league in the preseason forecasts. East Tennessee St. is supposed to be teh team to beat, while Gardner Webb was picked at or near the bottom of the pecking order. Good times! Unless you are Billy Gillespie...

There should be some great college basketball all week next week, as there are the traditional tournaments in Alaska, Hawaii (go Duke), Puerto Rico, etc. It will be wall to wall college sports on ESPN next week. Treee-men-dous....

My friend AJ sent this list to me. Click here to see a blog posting devoted to athletes that have spawned illigitimate children. Funny and fascinating.

The only thing good about A-Rod besides his regular season performance is that he finally seemed to realize that his agent Scott "Bore-us" is an ass and put him on the back burner. Why he doesn't fire him I am not sure. Anyway, A-Rod went crawling back to the Yankees, who unfortunately are eagerly talking about a new $275 million deal. My buddy Kevin New described this situation best:

I guess all that matters is that ARod has not delivered in the playoffs
for the Yankees. Period. He's not alone, and does not deserve all the blame,
but I would rather see the team go in another direction, knowing full well
that you can't replace his regular season numbers.

I've never met him either but you have to be living under a rock, or
outside NY, to not want to throw up every time you hear the guy talk. Everything
is so scripted, nothing seems genuine. He clearly isn't liked in the clubhouse
and I think that the chemistry has been off since he got here. Could blame Jeter
for that b/c I think he could have made it a lot easier on Arod but chose not
to, I think that speaks volumes.

Origin of the "Win or Die" name

2007-11-14T12:54:00.000-05:00

Last night ESPN featured a one hour documentary on Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, the pride of Youngstown, OH (no matter how much Ron Jaworski and Al Bundy might dispute the claim). Most of the hour long show centered around the fight for which Mancini is best remembered, the epic battle with the tragic ending against the South Korean warrior, Duk Koo Kim. The fight took place 25 years ago yesterday, was witnessed live on National television, and changed boxing forever.

Mancini was a real life Rocky Balboa. His father was a great fighter whose career was cut short when he was called to duty to serve in World War II. Mancini fought because he loved the sport, and to honor his father and give him the title that he never had a chance to earn on his own. Mancini's rise to greatness was swift, aided by his immense popularity and a network in CBS that was more than happy to publicize and produce this real life fairy tale.

Mancini fought a war with the more experienced and talented Champion Alexis Arguello, fighting valiantly before being knocked out by the champ in the 14th round. However, the disappointment did not last long, as Mancini soon fought and destroyed champion Arturo Frias in a single round to win the WBA Championship at the age of 21. It is possibly the most action packed round in the history of boxing, just fantastic action.

In his second title defense, Mancini fought unheralded and huge underdog Duk (also Deuk) Koo Kim. The 23 year old from South Korea was 17-1-1 in his brief career, but had fought nobody of substance and had never fought outside of Asia. In addition, Kim had to struggle to make weight, leaving him dehydrated for the fight.

When the bell rang, however, Kim proved himself to be a worthy challenger. He fought with incredible valor and courage, never backing up from the barrage of punches that Mancini unleashed. Kim threw back with similar ferocity and inflicted powerful blows on Mancini as well. Many ringside observers would later say that the pace and type of battle that took place suggested that these two warriors would keep throwing until one could take no more.

To start the 13th round, Mancini hit Kim with what must have been 60 or 70 straight punches without Kim throwing any punches in return. But somehow Kim responded by taking the action right back at Mancini.

But it all proved too much for Kim. Mancini knocked him out about 10 seconds into the 14th round. Kim somehow struggled to his feet, but the referee stopped the fight. Minutes later, Kim slipped out of consciousness, and was pronounced dead five days later. As a result of this tragedy, boxing changed the limit of its fights from 15 rounds to 12, and also added an extra rope around the ring to provide fighters with more support as they fall.

Kim's mother could not deal with the tragedy, and committed suicide a couple months later. A few months after that, the referee from the fight, Richard Greene, also took his own life. Just a horrible tragedy all the way around.

When people went back to Kim's hotel room, he had taped the words "win or die" to his lamp shade. For him, this fight was so important that he was willing to win, or to die trying to do so. Just amazing, the heart of a champion that would somehow allow his body to keep going when about anybody else would have wilted earlier (but lived).

Duk Koo Kim was a more valiant warrior than any I have ever witnessed as a sports fan my whole life. His determination and strength propelled him to get every ounce of potential from his somewhat limited skills. His courage fueled him to never give up, and in the end, it cost him his own life.

When I started the Win or Die pool in 1995, I named it as such in honor of Duk Koo Kim, the fallen warrior who had given his life in search of his dreams. Kim's spirit will live on for as long as the pool continues.

The 25th anniversary of this tragic fight has provided more exposure to Mancini, who has battled the demons of this event constantly for the past quarter century, and to the memory of Duk Koo Kim. If you are interested in seeing the documentary, it is airing this Friday night at 9:00 pm eastern time on ESPN Classic. If you want to see the end of the fight, click here.

Thanks for letting me share....

Week 10 Column: Real Estate Plea, College Hoops, NL Rookie of the Year, MLB Free Agency, BCS, and an NFL Round-up

2007-11-13T10:18:00.000-05:00

As anybody who does not live in a cave knows, the real estate market is as bad as it has ever been with no signs of getting better. For me, this sucks! We have three communities actively for sale, and there are just no buyers out there. We have tried every promotion in the book, including a 10% off sale at one point. No bites. Consumer confidence is low, many people that want to buy can no longer qualify for mortgages with the overly stringent requirements now in place, and people that do qualify still don't buy because of fears that they cannot sell their existing home. We have a great promotion in place to combat the latter: Live Free for a Year. If you buy a Dilsheimer home, we will pay your mortgage for the first year (principal and interest). If you have any interest in buying a home in Coastal North Carolina (half hour North of Wilmington or halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach) or Delaware, click here for more information on our company and these jobs. Or tell your friends. PLEASE! We need some sales.

Now back to our regularly scheduled column....

College hoops is back and it looks like this season will be great. While last year was dominated by Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, this year looks to have a more talented and deeper freshman class. Michael Beasley at Kansas State has averaged 31 points and 18 boards in his first two games as a collegian), O.J. Mayo is the real deal at USC, and Kevin Love a monster cross town for the Bruins. Across the country, Derrick Rose may be as good as any of them for Memphis, while Kyle Singler is the best freshman to call Cameron Indoor home in a long time (probably since the Laettner/Hurley/Hill days). Eric Gordon looks to be the real deal in Bloomington, while Ohio State and Syracuse are also getting big boosts from the dandies. Bottom line is that college basketball has great depth and talent this year, and there should be as many as 8 to 10 teams with legitimate shots to go to the Final 4.

The Dukies look like they are back this year. They have three freshman who all bring different skill sets to the table. Nolan Smith is a combination guard who plays defense as well as any freshman perimeter player to come along in a while. Taylor King brings J.J. Redick-like range to Cameron since #4 left for the NBA (although not quite the consistency yet), and Kyle Singler brings an incredibly sound overall game in which he excels at the fundamentals. Combine that with the returning talent, and Coach K goes 11 deep. This is a huge change from the past few years when he has used a 6 or 7 man rotation (we will see if he can keep using this depth all season), and will enable the Devils to run and pressure the basketball with much more frequency and success. Greg Paulus is healthy and seems to be playing at a higher level both defensively and as a distributor of the basketball than was the case last season. One of the keys to Duke this year is the play of Brian Zoubek, who provides Duke's only real post presence, and will be a key factor in Duke's ability to handle teams like North Carolina with talented bigs. It appears that despite missing most of the summer, Zoubek has increased strength and better footwork than a year ago. In my warped opinion, Duke has a legitimate chance to compete this year, but we will know more in the next several weeks as the Devils will get tough tests from Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, and likely Marquette before the ACC schedule starts.

Ryan Braun won the NL Rookie of the Year in a close vote over Troy Tulowitzky. Braun had a nice season, putting up great numbers (.324-34-97) in only 113 games. However, Braun is a horrible fielder, making 26 errors in the 2/3 of a season he played, and having a fielding percentage of below 90% (that is awful!). In contrast, Tulo had strong offensive numbers (.291-24-99), but plays a magnificent shortstop, with only 11 errors in 155 games at a much more demanding position. His fielding percentage was 98.7%. Finally, Tulowitzky was clearly a huge leader and clubhouse presence for the Rocks despite his youth and was a big reason they made the playoffs. To me, Braun had a very nice season and will be a force for years to come, but voting for him over the Rockies SS just shows how many media people that vote for these award do not truly understand the game. Because Tulowitzky should have been Rookie of the Year. And it should not have been close.

Speaking of baseball, free agents are really free agents today, and can sign with any team. Look for several starting pitchers to get way, way, way more money than they deserve (notably Carlos Silva, Kyle Lohse, Josh Fogg, Livan Hernandez). These guys are all 4th or 5th starters, but because of the dearth of pitching talent, someone will pay them close to $10 million per year each. Ugh. Why couldn't I have thrown a curve ball for strikes? The Phillies, who need pitching help, made a bold move by trading for the talented but enigmatic Brad Lidge as their new closer, and moved Brett Myers back to the rotation. I, and most people, believe that Myers could be a great closer. However, this move was a good one, as Lidge, if he can keep his head straight, can do fine, and Myers, while not as dominant as a starter as he could be as a closer, is a better starter than any of the free agents out there. Look for the Phillies to try to add more bullpen deprth (Rno Mahay?) and a 4th outfielder behind Burrell, Victorino, and Werth. They should make a run at Mike Lowell but won't, and Aaron Rowand's career in Philly is over.

As for A-Fraud, he will get his money, continue to pile up stats, and never win anything except a bankbook contest. Look for the Angels to waste their money on him, and Artie Moreno should then officially be known as this decade's Peter Angelos.

If you listen carefully enough, you can practically hear the folks in Eugene, OR (led by Phil Knight and Dils blog reader Duckboy) getting very antsy about how this BCS is shaking out. While Oregon is sitting in the coveted #2 spot as of now, they do not play any more glamour games, and could easily be passed in the BCS standings by the Big 12 champ (Kansas, Oklahoma or possibly even Missouri). Bottom line is this: about 80% of the time, the BCS has enough controversy to PROVE that we NEED a playoff system (8 teams). That way the best can settle it on the field. If Kansas runs the table, how can you leave them out? LSU, Oregon, West Virginia, Ohio State (if they beat Michigan), and Notre Dame (just kidding!) can all make a completely valid case that they belong. Why is this so hard. It will generate money for the schools and the NCAA, the fans would love it. Every other NCAA sport is settled with a tournament. The time has come. Otherwise, people in places like Eugene will continue to get screwed unnecessarily.

Last week, the Vikings beat the Chargers handily. This week, the Chargers beat the Colts, one of the league's two best teams, and the Vikings lost by 34 to the Packers. This just shows that the league is weird and that truly any team can beat any other on any given day (except, apparently, the Dolphins and 49ers, who may never win again). Another thing: clearly the Packers are better than I think they are, or there is a whole lot of money to be made by betting against them down the stretch and in the playoffs. Clearly I am rooting for the latter.

In Cleveland, the Browns look like they really may be a young and improving team, with a nice offense and really good special teams. I guess we can officially remove Romeo Crennel from the hot seat that he was burning his bottom on after the debacle in week 1. It will be interesting to watch what happens next season. The brownies clearly have invested their future in Brady Quinn, but Derek Anderson is proving himself as a better than average (as Larry David might say, Pretty...PRETTY GOOD) quarterback, and they will likely take a step back when in all likelihood they hand the reigns to Quinn after this season. If I am Crennel, I fight like hell to keep Anderson as my guy as long as this team continues to progess.

The Eagles are in no man's land. They won Sunday just as I was ready to begin rooting for draft position. The problem is that the Eagles are not good enough to go to and/or win the Super Bowl, so limping to an 8-8 season really does them no good. They get to play the hapless Dolophins at home, which should bring them back to .500 if they can win 2 in a row for the first time this season. Whoop-ee! Being mediocre I think sometimes is worse than being pitiful.

On that note, I am going to get my hair cut....

Dils Win or Die Week 10

2007-11-09T15:59:00.000-05:00

Dils Win or Die Week 10

Abela 2 Seattle
A-Hole Jets Fan 1 New Orleans
Akshon Barclay 3 New Orleans
Alberto Escobedo 2 New Orleans
Alistair Campbell New Orleans
Angel Pittsburgh
Anthony Albanese 4 New Orleans
Bailey/Holstad 1 New Orleans
Bakke 3 New Orleans
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI Seattle
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Seattle
Bill Webster Seattle
Bob Van Nortwick New Orleans
BP 1 New Orleans
Brian McAndrews New Orleans
Brian Silverio Seattle
Buck/Kent New Orleans
CAM New Orleans
Charlie Piccirillo 2 New Orleans
Chris Dopp 4 New Orleans
Chris Nangle 1 Green Bay
Chris Parliman New Orleans
Clark/Joffe 2 New Orleans
Coltndarby Pittsburgh
Connvac 2 New Orleans
CP 2 Seattle
Cronin 1 New Orleans
D Bank 1 New Orleans
D Froney 1 Seattle
Dan/Steve Gold 5 New Orleans
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Seattle
Dave Bryla Pittsburgh
Dave Mehall 3 New Orleans
David Louis Stitzer Seattle
Dick A 1 New Orleans
DSG 1 New Orleans
Duckboy 2 New Orleans
Dunlavy 1 Seattle
Ed Ramirez 2 Seattle
Ed Samocki 2 Pittsburgh
Ed Welsh 3 Seattle
Eric Meyers 3 Seattle
Gabe Bodhi 2 New Orleans
Gary Jonas 1 Seattle
Gatorswonitall 2 New Orleans
Greg Marks Seattle
Gregg 2 Seattle
Howard Goldberg Seattle
Iceman 5 Seattle
Ike Royster New Orleans
J Taylor 2 New Orleans
Jaco 8 New Orleans
Jay Soroko 2 New Orleans
Jeff Resnick 2…NOW C-Money New Orleans
Jeff Rich 1 New Orleans
Jeff Saito 2 Seattle
Jim Foo 2 New Orleans
Jim Rudofker 1 New Orleans
Jimbo Conbo 2 New Orleans
Joe Cavucci 2 New Orleans
Joe Hochauser 3 New Orleans
Joe Pucillo 2 Seattle
Joe Pucillo 4 New Orleans
Joseph Beedon 2 New Orleans
Juice 2 New Orleans
Juice 3 New Orleans
Juice 4 Seattle
K New 1 New Orleans
Keller 3 Seattle
Kim P 2 New Orleans
KP Seattle
Larry Levin 1 New Orleans
Littman 5 New Orleans
LML Green Bay
Lou Cerota 2 New Orleans
LZHBBS 1 Seattle
M Lacerenza JPS Seattle
M Lacerenza M Seattle
Marshall Dostal 3 New Orleans
Matt Biskner 4 New Orleans
May Lee 6 Green Bay
May Lee 7 New Orleans
May Lee 8 Seattle
Mic Koffler…NOW HOCHHAUSER New Orleans
Mike Ryan 2 New Orleans
Mizerny 2 Pittsburgh
Nelson Ranco New Orleans
Niemeyer 1…NOW Axia3 #3 Carolina
Nina K Seattle
Nitin Singhal 1 Seattle
Nomanerz Too Kansas City
Norm Cooper New Orleans
Nussbaum/Schmolka 2 New Orleans
PA 1 New Orleans
Paul Stitzer New Orleans
Phil Hollrah Detroit
Pierre Brown 1 Seattle
Raivetz 1 Seattle
Randy/Randy C Seattle
Ray Attiyah 1 Seattle
Rick L 6 New Orleans
Rick Woods 2 New Orleans
Ritter 3 Seattle
Rob Kaiser 1…NOW Axia3 Carolina
Roger Levine 2 New Orleans
Ron Mexico 1 Seattle
Ron Mexico 5 New Orleans
Rudo 2 Green Bay
Ryan Carey 2 Seattle
Ryan Doheny 1 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 6 New Orleans
Ryan Doheny 7 Pittsburgh
Scherby 8 New Orleans
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Seattle
Sonnenberg 2 Seattle
Sozbolt Seattle
Steven Immergut 1 Seattle
Stuart Erickson 2 Seattle
Susan Walters New Orleans
T'down Tommy..NOW Randy/Gene Carolina
The Bandits Seattle
Todd & Regan 1 New Orleans
Todd & Regan 4 Pittsburgh
Todd Turchin 1 Seattle
Todd Turchin 4 New Orleans
Tom H 1 New Orleans
Tony Sollenbarger New Orleans
Val Brochard 4 New Orleans
Von 3 Buffalo
Wayne Kimmel 1 New Orleans
WJO 2 New Orleans
WJO 4 Seattle
Yacker 1 New Orleans

Grossy's Take: Eric, We Hardly Knew Ye

2007-11-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

The retirement of Eric Lindros from the NHL today begs the following question: has there ever been a more overrated and over hyped athlete in the history of professional sports in Philadelphia than the man who donned 88 for the orange and black from 1992-2000?

Like so many Cup-starved Flyers fans, the signing of Lindros (in which we edged out the dreaded Rangers because the Nordiques received our faxed offer first—let’s hear it for what passed for high-tech in the early ‘90s) seemed to signal the promise of Lord Stanley’s imminent return to Broad and Pattison. Sure there were some critics out there carping that Russ Farwell and Ed Snider gave up too much money ($15 million) and talent (Forsberg, Hextall, Steve Duschesne, Mike Ricci and others who later represented the core of the twice-over Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche) to land the junior hockey sensation Lindros. But it was a bold move for a franchise that was desperate for new life having recently fired the beloved Bob Clarke as GM and finishing in the cellar of the Patrick Division with just 32 wins in 1991-92.

Initially Lindros did not disappoint. Flyers fans immediately loved Lindros in equal parts for his smash-mouth physical style of play that complemented his scoring ability and undeniable natural hockey skills. First centering the “Crazy 8s” line and later the “Legion of Doom” with LeClair and Mikael Renberg, Lindros improved with every passing year, winning the Hart MVP trophy in the strike-shortened seasons of 1994-95 and scoring 115 points during the 1995-1996 season. 88 jerseys were ubiquitous in every corner of Philadelphia. The Flyers said goodbye to the Spectrum in 1996, led across the street to their gleaming new palace, “Spectrum II” ( I mean Core States Center, I mean First Union Center, I mean Wachovia Center) by our savior on ice, #88.

So where did it all go wrong? Lindros did not endear himself to any Flyers fans by missing the first 30 games of the 1996-97 season due to an off-season groin injury he sustained while playing for Team Canada. Nevertheless, Lindros came back on fire and scored 79 points goals while leading the Flyers to the Stanley Cup championship against the Red Wings. With Billy Penn atop City Hall donning a massive orange and black jersey, the Flyers seemed poised to deliver to Philadelphia its first professional sports championship in 14 years. And then something horrible happened: in what coach Terry Murray would infamously label “basically a choking situation” Lindros failed to show up in the most important games of his career with the Flyers getting swept in 4 games and outscored 16-6 in the series. Fans were horrified that Lindros could only muster a single goal in the final game of the Stanley Cup Championship. Even worse, his ability to lead the team as Captain was immediately called into question.

It was essentially all downhill from there. The first of many concussions leveled on Lindros in 1998 causing him to miss 18 games. Constant public feuding with GM Bob Clarke who so obviously and painfully defended his position on the throne as All Time Greatest Flyer, even to the detriment of his players. A collapsed lung and allegations against team doctors that they’d nearly cost Lindros his life. His mother Bonnie’s public criticism of the way the Flyers and Philadelphia treated her son. A lawsuit against WIP for defamation on the grounds that he missed an important game against the Penguins because of a raging hangover. And the final insult: the public stripping of his captaincy.

Lindros played his final game for the Flyers in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals in which the Flyers coughed up a 3-1 series lead to the Devils. Eric the Great’s last moment as a Flyer: being on the receiving end of a hit by Scott Stevens which left him with another concussion. The Devils went on to win the Cup and Lindros would sit out the next season, before resuming his shattered career with the Rangers, Leafs and Stars. Needless to say, we’re still waiting for our Cup.

Despite his physical and intimidating style of play, Lindros never lived up to the hype he generated. In addition to his frequent and multiple injuries, Lindros never seemed comfortable in the spotlight. Perhaps more than any other sport, the captaincy in hockey carries real meaning and instantly connotes leadership and respect, not unlike the QB of an NFL team. Yet Lindros was never able or willing to step up and be vocal leader of the team, especially in the biggest games of his career (the 1997 Cup finals). In that regard, it is hard not to draw uncanny parallels between McNabb and Lindros: Two athletically gifted yet seemingly aloof, oft-injured leaders of their teams who couldn’t quite deliver us to the promised land.

Fios Reviews, Eagles Truly Stink & the Colts and Patriots are the Class of the League

2007-11-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

First of all, thank you very much to all the people who responded to my question regarding Fios. Many of you expressed a similar desire to know what people thought about the service, so here are some snippets from the people who responded to me (in a nutshell, 80% very positive and a big improvement over cable company products, with some exceptions):

In regards to their internet service, I absolutely love it. A million times better than RCN/Comcast/Time Warner, etc. Never glitches, never stops working due to service problems, etc. (N.S., NYC)
I have had FIOS for about 6 months. I'm a former Cox customer and couldn't be happier when comparing to what I had with Cox. I have the telephone, Internet and FIOS TV, and did with Cox too (HD Digital). And hands down Verizon is better. At least my experience has been. Overall, the price is roughly the same. The FIOS TV is a little less than Cox's price, but the phone is more. Also have a multi-room DVR (FYI, the multi-room DRV if on a HD-TV records on the HD-TV and can be played on that TV and other none HD-TV's, I can't play on my other HD). Internet a virtual tie. And that includes customer service which is far superior than Cox. (E.Y., Virginia)
we just switched over to FIOS internet & TV .. bottom line ... good or better channel lineup, less cost (but not much) ... it's fine. we haven't had any problems. (A.C., Philly)
Switched from DirecTV about three months ago. Overall it's ok. The on demand features seems pretty good, but I don't get the HBO or other premium channels, so not sure how their on demand features normally are. Anyway, the interface as compared to DTV is a little strange, but ok. The set top box deal is cool because you just need one DVR, but can view anything on there from any TV. We also got it bundled with phone and internet, which I guess is fine -- no real difference from the other service. The only issue we had is with the install. They had to come back a couple of times because either the set top box was bad, or the DVR was bad -- depending on which TV. When they came over to hook it up and upgrade my internet, the guy accidentally took my wireless router (thought it was a verizon replacement). They never found it, so gave me a $120 gift card for comp usa. Not bad considering the router he took cost me $80 when I bought it over a year ago. Long story short -- I had comcast once and hated it. I had direct tv, and thought it was pretty good. I think the fios thing is pretty damn good, but I also think they are going through some growth pains with rolling it out across the country. (K.K.)
I Like it. The HD TV is good alot more channels than cablevision. Telephone has no problems, sounds the same as all others and the internet is a little faster than optonline. (Barely noticeable) There are other fees that they charge. My fees are 6 bucks taxes on phone. Starz and showtime About 30 channels 3HD is 12.99, HBO 10 + 1HD 15.99, Reg Box 4.99 ea, DVR HD box12.99, I think it is 9.99 hd only with no DVR and 15.99 HD box with DVR to watch recordings in each rrom that you have a box in. The picture is great in HD, good on big screen with regular channels and sound is much better. I have a sony 32 inch tube TV with simulated surround sound and that sounds alot better and looks just as almost as good as HD on my big screen. Any other questions just let me know. (T.N., Long Island)
Well, good friends of mine in Radnor got it over a year ago and love it. But my sister who lives in Berwyn got it about 6 months ago, had nothing but problems and horrible customer service problems with Verizon and got rid of it and went back to Comcast. You'll probably love it or hate it, no in between. (S.H., Philly)
We had Fios. The price for the same service was about $40 less a month....two phone lines, 3 boxes (2 were DVR, the multimedia didn't work for us since there were nights we would tape 3 shows in the same time slot) and wireless. It was around $222 a month with Verizon. TV was def. better but not a HUGE diff. I didn't like the box said PLA when watching a taped show instead of giving the time but not the end of the world either. I did like that you could search a program by title and type in the letters for quicker access. On Cablevision, we can only search by first letter then need to scroll through all the programs. I found out internet was MUCH slower and inconsistent. Verizon had me run all kinds of tests and sometimes I was running around 20,000 but other times only 4000. They said it was most likely a defective router. I canceled service b/c if I waited longer than the 15 day trial period, I would have to pay $199 service fee. When I switched back to cable, my bill went down lower than Verizon. When I did try to cancel, Cable tried to keep me by offering a lower bill so you can always call and tell them you are switching and see what they do. (S.M., New York)

Now back to some sports....

The Eagles are not a good team. I think most of us knew this before Sunday, and I have probably alluded to it in this space before, but Sunday night proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this team cannot compete with the better teams in the league at this point. The personnel is not at a level that can line-up and beat the best teams in the league. That is Andy Reid's fault as the General Manager. In addition, the gameplans, preparation and execution are all terrible, and that is Andy Reid's fault as the General Manager. The tea leaves, if I am reading them correctly, say that Donovan McNabb's days as the quarterback in this town are coming to a rapid close. I will go on record by saying I think this is a mistake and that if we get rid of McNabb, some other team will be very lucky to have him. He is still less than a year removed from surgery on his knee, and has NOBODY that can get open on a consistent basis. It was doubly irritating watching the Cowboys and watching T.O. (who was here) and Jason Witten (who was passed over by the Birds for L.J. Smith) run around freely because the Birds have nobody who can cover them. We should all pray that Andy Reid steps down after this season and that the Eagles can start to rebuild in earnest.

Much more interesting was the Patriots vs. Colts game. These two teams are so far above everybody else it is ridiculous. And the Colts, who were rightfully maligned for years because their defense was light years behind their offense, has put together a defensive squad with enough speed and talent to slow down Tom Brady, who had 30 TDs and 2 INTs coming into Sunday's game. In my opinion, the Colts proved that they are every bit as good as the Patriots. They were in a position to win despite playing without Marvin Harrison, who should be good to go for the rematch. Of course it would be ideal for Indy if the rematch were in the warm friendly confines of the dome in January, but this team has the ability to go into Foxboro and beat New England in January.

Pittsburgh looks like a legitimate 3rd best team in the league after just demolishing a Baltimore team that just cannot play away from home. Dallas is probably the best the NFC has to offer but no better than the 4th best team in the NFL at this team. Personally, I still do not believe in Green Bay despite the lofty record, and look for them to slump a bit down the stretch before making a much earlier than expected exit in the playoffs.

The college basketball regular season started last night with Memphis, a true National Championship contender, debuting in the Coaches vs, Cancer first round game. Derrick Rose looks like the real deal for the Tigers.

I will be back tomorrow or Thursday with a preview of the mighty 2007-08 Duke Blue Devils, along with a few other college hoops tidbits...

Andy Reid, Pats/Colts, Oregon/ASU, Michigan State debacle, and Dils Win or Die Week 9

2007-11-02T22:34:00.001-04:00

The Drug Emporium was a discount drug store corporation founded in 1977 in Columbus, OH. After some good years, Drug Emporium was unable to effectively compete with the Walgreens and CVS' of the world, and in 2001 it sold some stores to Snyders and the company declared bankruptcy. It has been defunct since that time until Thursday, when a judge declared Andy Reid's house as the new Drug Emporium. Drugs, needles, syringes, guns were all found at Reid's home. It is quite a healthy environment over there in Villanova.

Reid's older son is such an addict that when he went to prison, he smuggled 89 pills into prison by storing them up his butt. That should be good practice for the workout his backside will endure over the next two to 23 months in prison.

People are calling on Reid to quit or take a leave to tend to family matters. But, from where I am sitting, it seems that the judge took care of that for him and took over the problem by giving both of his buffoon sons up to 23 months in the big house (and not the one in Ann Arbor either).

It will be interesting to see how the Birds respond. They have their biggest game of the year (they will keep having these each week as long as they win) just three days after the sentencing so it will be interesting to see how they respond against their most hated rival, T.O & the 'Pokes.

Of course, this is not the best game of the weekend is the mighty Patriots storming into the RCA Dome to play the 7-0, undefeated, Super Bowl Champs. Everybody thinks the Pats will win and win big (based on the Pats being favored by 5.5 and 90% of the action in Vegas going toward the Patsies). I use an old Lee Corso favorite and say...not so fast my friend. This game may come down to which team can stop the other...once. I favor the Colts because I think they have two huge advantages: 1) the home crowd that will be loud and juiced for this one and 2) I think the Colts offense is better equipped to have more long, extended ball control drives, keeping the Patriots defense on the field for a majority of the game. Should be a great one.

A great college game on tap this weekend. If you have not seen Oregon and Arizona State play, I urge you to watch these guys duke it out. Dennis Erickson certainly knows what it takes to win in Outzen Stadium from his days in Corvalis coaching Oregon State, and he has a good team with a very good but banged up QB in Rudy Carpenter and a really underrated defense. But Oregon is the real deal this year, and has an even better QB in Dennis Dixon, who should win the Heisman. Combine that with the great home environment, and I think the Quack Attack gets it done and it may not be that close of a game.

We will get into more college hoops next week, but Michigan State, who is allegedly a top 10 team, lost an exhibition to Division II Grand Valley State. Nice work by Tom Izzo, Drew Neitzel, and Raymarr Morgan. Bryla, they need you in there to right the ship immediately!

Now onto the Win or Die picks. We have had calm waters for the last few weeks. Will it continue, or will we shed some blood this week. We will know soon. Enjoy the football weekend....

Pick Breakdown:

Individual Picks:

4 Rings 1 San Diego
Abela 2 Washington
A-Hole Jets Fan 1 Tennessee
AJ Fratoni 1 San Diego
Akshon Barclay 1 San Diego
Akshon Barclay 3 Pittsburgh
Alberto Escobedo 2 Pittsburgh
Alistair Campbell Pittsburgh
Angel Tennessee
Anthony Albanese 3 Oakland
Anthony Albanese 4 Pittsburgh
Bailey/Holstad 1 Pittsburgh
Bakke 3 Washington
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI Tampa Bay
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Tampa Bay
Bill D'Elia San Diego
Bill Webster Pittsburgh
Bob Landow San Diego
Bob Van Nortwick Pittsburgh
BP 1 New Orleans
Brad Stuart 2 San Diego
Brian McAndrews Pittsburgh
Brian Silverio Pittsburgh
Bryan Sullivan San Diego
Buck/Kent Pittsburgh
CAM Pittsburgh
Charlie Piccirillo 2 Pittsburgh
Chris Bassi 2 San Diego
Chris Dopp 4 Pittsburgh
Chris Nangle 1 Pittsburgh
Chris Parliman Pittsburgh
Clark/Joffe 2 Pittsburgh
Coltndarby Washington
Connvac 2 Tennessee
Connvac 3 San Diego
CP 2 Washington
Craig Borgen San Diego
Cronin 1 Pittsburgh
D Bank 1 Pittsburgh
D Froney 1 Tennessee
Dan/Steve Gold 5 Tampa Bay
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Pittsburgh
Daniel Hopson 2 San Diego
Darren Dahlman 2…NOW Axia3 #2 San Diego
Dave Bryla Tampa Bay
Dave Kay 1 San Diego
Dave Mehall 3 Pittsburgh
Dave Silbert San Diego
David Louis Stitzer New Orleans
Denver Brown 1 San Diego
Dick A 1 Pittsburgh
Doug Sargeant 2 San Diego
DSG 1 Pittsburgh
Duckboy 2 Pittsburgh
Dunlavy 1 Tampa Bay
Ed Ramirez 1 San Diego
Ed Ramirez 2 Pittsburgh
Ed Samocki 2 Tampa Bay
Ed Welsh 3 Pittsburgh
Ellis NYC 3 San Diego
Enio Bencosme 2 Oakland
Eric Heuerman 2 San Diego
Eric Meyers 3 Pittsburgh
Gabe Bodhi 1 San Diego
Gabe Bodhi 2 Pittsburgh
Gary Jonas 1 Tampa Bay
Gatorswonitall 2 Pittsburgh
Getson 1 San Diego
Goldstein - Levine San Diego
Greg Heff 3 San Diego
Greg Marks New Orleans
Gregg 2 Pittsburgh
Gretchen Liersaph 1 San Diego
Griffin et al…NOW HOCHHAUSER Kansas City
Griffin/Richmond/Gibbs 1 San Diego
Howard Goldberg Pittsburgh
Iceman 5 Pittsburgh
Iceman 6 San Diego
Ike Royster Tampa Bay
J Taylor 2 Pittsburgh
Jaco 1 San Diego
Jaco 8 Pittsburgh
Jay Soroko 1 San Diego
Jay Soroko 2 Pittsburgh
JD 1 San Diego
Jeff Resnick 1…NOW KRUG San Diego
Jeff Resnick 2…NOW C-Money Pittsburgh
Jeff Rich 1 Pittsburgh
Jeff Saito 2 Pittsburgh
Jim Foo 2 Tampa Bay
Jim Rudofker 1 Tampa Bay
Jimbo Conbo 2 Tennessee
Jimmy Bredt…NOW FALCON San Diego
Joe Cavucci 2 Washington
Joe David 5…NOW BP San Diego
Joe Hochauser 3 Tampa Bay
Joe Pucillo 2 Washington
Joe Pucillo 4 Pittsburgh
Joseph Beedon 2 Cleveland
Juice 2 Pittsburgh
Juice 3 Pittsburgh
Juice 4 Pittsburgh
Juice 5 San Diego
Juice 6 San Diego
Juice 7 San Diego
K New 1 Pittsburgh
Kay Lee San Diego
Keith Berger 1 San Diego
Keith Heier…NOW McNUTT San Diego
Keller 2 San Diego
Keller 3 Tennessee
Kim P 1 San Diego
Kim P 2 Pittsburgh
KP New Orleans
Kris Wagoner San Diego
Larry Levin 1 Pittsburgh
Larry Levin 2 San Diego
Littman 5 Pittsburgh
LML Pittsburgh
Lou Cerota 2 Pittsburgh
Lubart 3 San Diego
Lulu Cheng 2 San Diego
LZHBBS 1 Pittsburgh
M Lacerenza JPS Pittsburgh
M Lacerenza M Pittsburgh
Marshall Dostal 3 Pittsburgh
Matt Biskner 2 San Diego
Matt Biskner 4 Washington
Matt Wilson 2…NOW MAROLE Oakland
Max 23 San Diego
Max Haber 7 San Diego
May Lee 6 Tampa Bay
May Lee 7 Tennessee
May Lee 8 Pittsburgh
Michael Koffler 1 Pittsburgh
Michael Koffler 2 San Diego
Mike Ferry 2 San Diego
Mike Hovermann San Diego
Mike Ryan 2 Washington
Mike Tynan 1 San Diego
Mizerny 2 Pittsburgh
1 Kansas City
Nelson Ranco Pittsburgh
Newsome 1 San Diego
Nicola Espie 1 San Diego
Niemeyer 1…NOW Axia3 #3 Pittsburgh
Niemeyer 3 San Diego
Nina K Tennessee
Nitin Singhal 1 Washington
Nomanerz Too Tennessee
Norm Cooper Tennessee
Nussbaum/Schmolka 1 San Diego
Nussbaum/Schmolka 2 Pittsburgh
PA 1 Washington
PA 3 San Diego
Paul Stitzer Pittsburgh
Phil Hollrah Washington
Pierre Brown 1 Washington
Raivetz 1 Pittsburgh
Randy/Randy C Tampa Bay
Ray Attiyah 1 Tennessee
Richard Stanley 3 San Diego
Rick L 5 San Diego
Rick L 6 New Orleans
Rick Woods 2 Pittsburgh
Ritter 3 Pittsburgh
Ritter 6 San Diego
Rob Kaiser 1…NOW Axia3 Tennessee
Rob Kaiser 2 San Diego
Roger Levine 2 Washington
Ron Mexico 1 Tampa Bay
Ron Mexico 5 Tampa Bay
Rudo 2 New Orleans
Ryan Carey 2 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 1 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 5 San Diego
Ryan Doheny 6 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 7 Tennessee
Scherby 8 Pittsburgh
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 1 San Diego
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Washington
Silver Fox 2…NOW MONKS San Diego
Sonnenberg 2 Pittsburgh
Sozbolt Pittsburgh
Stacey Tracton 1 San Diego
Stephen Moss 1 San Diego
Steve Stovall 2 San Diego
Steven Immergut 1 Washington
Streetsmart San Diego
Stuart Chase 1…NOW TJ San Diego
Stuart Erickson 2 Washington
Susan Walters Pittsburgh
T'down Tommy..NOW Randy/Gene Pittsburgh
The Bandits Tampa Bay
The Hanford Dixon Experience San Diego
The Hanford Dixon Redux San Diego
Todd & Regan 1 Pittsburgh
Todd & Regan 3 San Diego
Todd & Regan 4 New Orleans
Todd Turchin 1 New Orleans
Todd Turchin 4 Detroit
Tom H 1 Pittsburgh
Tom Huang 4 San Diego
Tony Sollenbarger Pittsburgh
True Dat 1 San Diego
True Dat 2…NOW Axia3 #4 San Diego
Val Brochard 4 Tampa Bay
Von 3 New Orleans
Wayne Kimmel 1 Pittsburgh
Wells/Bartos/Sudman 1 San Diego
WJO 2 Dallas
WJO 4 Pittsburgh
Yacker 1 Pittsburgh

Philadelphians Join New Yorkers Everywhere by Yelling: Boston Sucks! Assist from Joe Prez...

2007-10-31T09:51:00.001-04:00

Back in 1982, the Sixers and Celtics had the best rivalry in basketball as division rivals who had been two of the best three teams in the league for at least half a decade, and had beat each other up in epic battles since the Russell/Chamberlain days. As expected the two teams clashed in the conference finals for the right to play the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Sixers jumped out to a 3-1 lead and seemed to be on cruise control. Then, however, fortunes changes drastically as the Celts won game 5 in Boston and game 6 in Philly. With the series tied 3-3 and the deciding game in Boston, it looked like the Celts were going to come back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Sixers in 7 games for the second straight season. But, alas, 1982 would be different, and the Sixers rallied for an amazing 14 point win in the Boston Garden.

As the game neared its end and it was clear that the Sixers would advance to the Finals, the Boston fans showed amazing grace and class, chanting "Beat L.A., Beat L.A." to the victorious Sixers. Just an amazing show of what the Boston fans were made of.

25 years later, the two cities are in remarkably different places. Philadelphia has not won a championship in any of the four major sports since 1983, an unbelievably depressing run of failure and misery. We have lost 7 times in the finals since the 1983 Sixers championship (1983 & 1993 Phillies, 1985, 1987, 1997 Flyers, 2001 Sixers and 2004 Eagles (who lost to Boston!)). What's worse, the Flyers were the worst team in the league last year, the Sixers are predicted to be the worst team in the league this year, the Eagles window seems to have closed, and the Phillies will likely never spend the money needed to get over the hump. Boston, meanwhile, has won three Super Bowls and two World Series titles this decade, and even the Celtics are contenders again with three perennial all-stars on their roster. While the Red Sox look set up for a Yankee like run of dominance, the Patriots are looking to not only win 19 straight, but maybe win all 19 by double figures. It is crazy....

My point in all this is that the Philadelphia fans have none of the grace or class that those Boston fans displayed 25 years ago (could this success be karma?). We are bitter that we have won nothing in a generation. We are angry that we have incompetent management and frugal ownership unwilling and/or unable to do the things necessary to win. And we hate the teams and the cities that have success that should be ours. When it all comes together and a city wins as much as Boston has lately, and it is a city with teams that we do not much care for to start, then our hatred and revulsion reaches a whole new level.

This is not a condemnation on myself or my fellow Philly fans. It is just a fact. It is something that could happen to anyone. It is like when Randolph and Mortimer Duke "took a perfectly useless psychopath like Valentine, and turned him into a successful executive. And during the same time, they turned an honest, hard-working man into a violently... deranged, would-be killer!" Bottom line: present a man with enough heartbreak, and losing, and frustration, and he will crumble. If you don't believe me, ask the fans of fellow loser cities like Cleveland and Buffalo what they think...

My buddy Joe Prez is a typical Philadelphia fan. He is a nice, responsible, hard working, kind generous guy, who used to have some good wheels back in the day but Mr. Prez is just like the rest of us, he now hates Boston and its teams. He openly admits that this is being driven by envy as a disgruntled Philly fan.

Prez, when discussing the current state of Boston teams, always has a zinger to help justify, as that makes us all feel a little better: "Their baseball team, although great, has the 2nd highest payroll in MLB and is beating up on a team that pays its players almost $90Million less. They won the Daisuke sweepstakes by spending $51million outbidding both NY teams and Texas just a year after they bought Josh Beckett. Their football team, has the most talent, won 3 of the last 5 SuperBowls, may go undefeated this year on their way to winning yet another SuperBowl and oh yeah - they cheat."

Prez then goes on to create the beginning of what could grow to be an excellent Top XX Reasons Why We Should All Jump on the Anti-Boston Parade right now:
1 - Mr. clean cut Tom Brady dates his girlfriend for 3 years, gets her pregnant and then leaves her to start dating supermodel Giselle (although I’m not sure any of us can blame him for this one).
2 - The NFL tucks it between their legs and destroys all of the tapes
3 - Two words – Randy Moss
4 - Two letters and a word – J D Drew
5 - Ted Kennedy killed his girlfriend and got away with it.
6 – Dirty old man Bob Kraft invites Kate Hudson in to his owner's suite at the Cowboys game. . . I could see Jerry Jones doing that but Bob Kraft – what the hell was that?
7 – Kraft kills trees to serve his paper empire (it’s all about going green now isn’t it?)

I will get the ball rolling on adding to Prez' list and say #8 should read: "When Boston wins, we are all subjected by even more annoying columns from "sportsboy" Bill Simmons at espn.com about how great all his glorious teams are." Does Bill even care that he has lost his edge, his writing is not nearly what is was 5+ years ago, and that is wife now writes more interesting stuff than he does?

And as it normally does with Philly fans, Prez takes it one step further, urging "the Eagles to put calls in to Buddy Ryan asking come him to come back and coach the team in Week 12 while Andy Reid takes his sons to jail (sentencing day is Nov 1 for both of them). Assuming the Birds are out of the playoff hunt by then (as if they aren’t yet), it might be interesting to let Dawkins and company inflict what damage they can on the Pats playoff health."

Some people might indict him as a bitter, angry, mean-spirited Philadelphia fan whose priorities are way out of line. I would respond to these people by tell them Mr. Prez is a fine example of a true passionate Philadelphia fan who would never, ever chant "Beat LA" to any Boston team.