BREAKING EVEN

                         
 
Last Week’s Review…. Or
The Cowboys ride off into sunset…. Or
They are ridden out of town on a rail……..
 
 
Well gang, we got one hit and one miss last week, and let’s get the bad one out of the way first.. All the experts were picking the Cowboys.. and me too.  I am an expert, right?  Wouldn’t you agree?  (ok, no more pathetic groveling for praise.)  And here was the general  thinking…. The Cowboys were on a roll and had the momentum… The Vikings were kind of coasting or cooling off, and generally not playing that well.  So you go with the hot team in the playoffs.. like the Chargers.. 
So what did we learn Boys and Girls?  We learned that the Vikes were really good, but had just taken their foot off the gas.. Coasting… get it? And the Cowboys had hit their max speed and done as well as they could. Or that maybe Philly kind of sucked.  The good news,  the Colts did what they were supposed to, so we broke even last week.
 
 
This Week’s Picks 
   
 
Well, I don’t have a lot of choices.. just 2.  Which is one more than I will have after this week  with just the Super Bowl left.  I am getting depressed just thinking about going into pigskin withdrawal, and having to go back to football Rehab and my 12 step program. Step one….  drop the remote and move away from the TV..
 
 
 1. Indy -7.5 @ home..over the Jets
 
Can the Colts Beat the Jets by a TD at home?  Yes!  How do we know?  Because they just did it last week. Yeah, that was the Ravens they beat.  But the Jets and Ravens are the exact same team!  This year Rex Ryan came over from Baltimore, brought a couple of his defensive players with him, and created Baltimore North. And the Colts beat them pretty easily didn’t they?  By the way, for those of a scientific mind, here is the exact formula.
 
The Jets + a better O line = Ravens + a better QB  (And both Defenses the same…. great)
 
But the Colts are playing great D too,  which is odd because they don’t seem to have that many good defensive players.  Must be the coaching.  And their Rookie Coach has Peyton on his side.. Making him really smart!  
 
However the Jets are also  playing great. Going into SD and shutting them down. So dont beat the farm!   ( See how effectively i hedged my bets)
 
2.. Minn + 3.5 over and @ NO           
Ok, here is another formula for you left-brained people….or is it right brain.  I can’t get either side of mine to remember!
The Cowboys just beat NO at their dome…The Vikes Just beat The Cowboys at their dome… So, i.e. The Vikings well beat the Saints in their Dome. See how easy and logical that is Mr Spock?   Oh and here is another formula.   The Vikings.. great O and QB.. Check. Vikings great D check.. The Saints.. Great O and QB.. Check.  The Saints great D.. oh, not so fast there my friend.  And there is the difference all laid out for you.  Any questions class?
 
Happy Vegging Sunday. You will have to find something else to do on Saturday. How about NFL classic replays…….

2 OUT OF 3.. HOORAY FOR ME!

      2 OUT OF 3.. HOORAY FOR ME!
 
               Last Week.. a Quick Review and Some Prolonged Gloating
 
Remind me next year to stay away from College Games,  As I do much better picking the pros. Proving once again that a College Degree, much like a Playboy Centerfold, doesn’t really help get a job, but looks good on the wall.
 
1.. NE -3.5 over Balt
Ok I had to miss one, didn’t I?…. Otherwise they would be knocking my door down with offers.  (Actually I am already being flooded with offers, but enough of the Cialis Ads!)   When Will Tom Brady win the Super Bowl again? Quote the Ravens..Never More.. The Ravens never really put it all together..The O and the D.
 
2. Dallas -4 over Philadelphia
Once the Boys got over the shock of seeing George Bush and Emmitt Smith sitting together, they shoot down the Birds and got a little revenge for last year’s meltdown in Philly.
 
3  Jets + 2.5 over Cincy
NY not only covered, but won the game and actually dominated. What do you need to win in the Play Offs?  The old thinking is a strong D.. Check. They are # 1.. and a strong running game. Check. # 1 again.. So now they are a scary team.  And now the Jets have clearly established themselves as the best team in NY presently playing in NJ.
 
 

This week’s Hesitate Guesses
 
This is the Best Weekend for NFL football every year.  You have the 8 best teams playing for their lives.  Kind of like the finals of American Idol, but you don’t have to put up with the Judges… just the Back Judge.   And much better than Super Bowl Sunday which has just one game that might suck.
But again, the Odds Makers have done a great job and  I don’t like any of the games really, but i guess I have to choose. I am tempted to pick the Jets for the reasons just stated, but they are the only team without a proven QB..So..uh, no.  And I am tempted to pick Arizona to upset the Saints. but uh, no.  Will anyone be able to stop the other in this game?  uh, no.  So that leaves us just 2 games to pick.
 
1.. Cowboys +2.5 over and @ The Vikings
This game would have been easy pickings in November.  Minn was on a roll and The Boys doing their usual up and down dance.  But the Vikings ended the season kind of shaky.. much like a 40 year old man playing QB.. And the Cowboys were on a roll.. and beating everybody.. Ok just Philly, over and over.. So I go with the hot team with the former kid  QB from Wisconsin over the old former QB from Wisconsin. 
 
2.Indy + 6.5 over Baltimore
Again, not sure as the Ravens are playing great and won’t be intimidated on the road.  But the Colts are playing at Payton’s Place with Payton.. Enough said..   
 
Enjoy the games and don’t call as I will have the phone off

STAY OUT OF SCHOOL

 Remember kids.. stay Out of School.. That is no place for young  people to be. I seem to be ok as long as I just pick the pros, but my college picks are going down faster than the Hilton sisters on spring break. So I will stay out of school picks from now on.

I was undefeated last week in the pros…. 3 Wins and 2 ties..  Things are a little more reliable and predictable in the NFL.  Like the good old Rams, you can always count on them to suck.  And to lose, not just by the point spread of 7, but by 26 points.. So there is some kind of order in the pros, but only chaos in college which has more upsets than Gilbert Arenas has Guns.. By the way, remember when the Washington Wizards used to be the Bullets. How much more appropriate is that?  Anyway, I went O for in the bowl games..O for 2.. and not only did my 2 picks not cover the spread, they didn’t cover the receivers either and both G Tech and TCU lost the game itself..  And TCU was my new favorite team (for one week anyway). And I have to give it up to Boise State and Iowa.  And I don’t give it up that easy. Ok, I lied. I am easier than both the Hilton and Simpson sisters combined..  Unfortunately, no one watched the Sugar bowl & Iowa’s victory because people really didn’t care.  After Cool and the Gang’s Half Time show it all went down hill … ..Georgia Tech’s offense and the Nielson Ratings..  
Here is some good news.. There are no more College Games!  By the time you read this, my Longhorns will have probably lost and I didn’t have the heart to pick against them or the guts to vote for them..  So there.  I predict that I will not lose another college game this season!
 
                                                      Play Off Picks 
 
As I said in my very first blog, I don’t like to have to pick every game. I like to look around and find a game that stands out…. where the point spread seems off.  But now that the college season is over and the NFL playoffs are here, well, I don’t have many choices now do I?  So here goes.

All the home teams are favorites which seems about right..   So here is the one game I am NOT picking and why.   Ariz -1.5 at home over GB.  I can’t get a read on the Cardinals and the Pack is playing great.  So just can’t figure out who I like in this one.  I assume Arizona will play much better this week.  But if you put a gun to my head, or if Gilbert Arenas did, I would have to pick the Packers.  But I ain’t gonna do it.
 
1.. NE  @ home -3.5 over Baltimore
I am was tempted to pass on this one too.  And/or pick the Ravens for 2 reasons.. One, the Patriots lost Wes Welker, a great Texas Tech receiver who was never once locked in a tool shed!  Two, the Ravens are starting to play like the Ravens I picked in my dark horse of the year category in the first blog..   But I am going to stay with New England for 2 reasons (sound familiar).   One, their mad genius coach will figure out a way to compensate for the loss of Welker.   And Two, they are at home.  Oh yeah, and though Brady may have some bruised ribs, He has a super model wife to nurse him back to health.
 
2.  Dallas @ home -4 over Philly   
Again, I don’t like picking Cowboy games because I tend to vote with my heart not my head.. But  since my heart is working better than my head.. Lets go with the Boys. They are clearly the better team right now and though the Eagles will almost certainly play better than they did last week, Dallas is playing great and has the home field advantage at the DeathStar.. Jerry’s World.. The Jones Mahal or whatever name you want to call it..
 
3. Jets + 2.5 over Cincy
Ok, here you will notice I went against the home team.  That’s because right now the Jets are playing better than the Bengals.  And have 2 things you need in the playoffs…. a hot defense and a good running game.  Though the Bengals have an advantage of having the game in Cincinnati, they also have the disadvantage of living in Cincinnati!
 
                    Happy Viewing Y’all.. and not just Y’all, but also All Y’all

5 AND 2 WILL MORE THAN DO!

  Ok  We are back on track!  Picking 5 out of 7 winners.  Not wanting to toot my own… horn or anything….. (If I could toot my own horn I would never leave the house!) 
  
                          A Quick Review and a Little Horn Tooting
 
NFL Tooting.. 3 and 1   Houston over Miami. Got it, and my first Cowboy pick didn’t back fire.  Unlike other Cowboy squads, this team may not beat itself. And if I could beat myself….. well, never mind. Only the Vikings let me down, not to mention themselves, the Twin Cities and the large Senior Citizens for Brett Fan Club.
                                     
NCAA Tooting   4 and 1   Nebraska, and Southern Cal came thru like champs. Oklahoma won but not by enough (just 4 pts and the spread was 7.5).  Stanford proved that these white guys can actually play.  And if you needed further proof, my other pick, Navy, really rolled over Missouri (as opposed to say, Arizona, who just rolled over)  And I still don’t get it with The Midshipmen….. they are small, white and slow and actually have to go to class and still win.  How do they do that?
 
 
The New Year’s Picks    (I have a feeling that this year is going to be better than last year but not better than last week, which was great.)
 
NFL 
1.   Bears – 3 over and @ Detroit
The Bears found some life whereas there is no life in Detroit…. oh yeah, and in their football team either. Bears playing to save their coache’s job. Lions playing to save, well nothing.
 
2.Pittsburgh- 2 over and @ miami
I only make this pick because it is the early game, because by the time the 4 o’clock games roll around, the Steelers and the Fish may have nothing to play for and be out of the Wild Card race.  But now, we have 2 desperate teams and while Miami is at home, the Steelers are much better….ok, at least 2 points better..
 
3.Tenn -4.5 over and @ Seattle
By 4 pm neither team will have anything to play for.  Ok, actually Seattle hasn’t had anything to play for for a long time.  Nothing but pride.  Oh yeah, they lost that a long time ago too.
 
4. SD -3.5 over Washington
It is true that SD also has nothing to play and will rest most of their starters. But they can beat the Skins with the first team tied behind their back.
 
5. SF -7 over and @ St Louis
The Niners playing a little better and the Rams can’t play any worse can they?  
 
( if you read my first 2 blogs, I correctly predicted that the one thing that would make this year unique in the NFL would be the number of teams that suck. And though it has been extremely close all year,  I think we have to give the Rams the award….. The Annual  Sucketh the Mostest Award)
 
     
Bowl games   (Five Pro games, 2 Bowl games and a Partridge in a Pear Tree)
 
6.  Ga Tech – 3.5 over Iowa in the Orange Bowl
I have won with the techsters all last year.. why not this year?  Iowa has the good defense though. but The Rambling Wreck should not Wreck..
 
7.   TCU -7.5 over Boise State
Though I am still mad at the Fiesta Bowl people for putting these teams together.  We all wanted to see how they would do against the Big Boys. But I have to go with the Frogs…. my new Favorite team…. And my dad an alumni to boot! 
  
                           Happy Holidays and Go Frogs