Giving Thanks…. For Last Week…. 6-3 Yeah. You go Tony!

Not only did my 6 winners win and cover, they blow the Cover! The average spread was roughly 6 points and they all won by more than 20, except the Cowboys who won by “only” 16! And the Chiefs who only won by 18. You aren’t supposed to win by 18 in the NFL. Now you are probably saying, “What happened to Humility”. Tony. Well, there are plenty of weeks for that. This week only Gloating.

Getting the 3 losers out of the way

1. Started off quite badly last Friday with Boise -30 over Fresno

Seemed like a good idea at the time.. 51 points later, not so much. News flash…. The Broncos are pretty good.

2. Cinncy -5.5 over Buffalo

This is the kind of game that drive Handicaps into other, more noble, professions, like Bail Bondsmen. Cinncy at home gets up by almost 3 TDs and suddenly falls apart and allows the lowly Bills to score 49 points..Duh

3. USC -3.5 over Oregon State

One week the Beavers lose to one of the worse teams in the history of the Pac 10 and the next week they Blow out the Trojans…. fill in your own joke here.

The Blessed 6.. Winners

1. Cowboys become grown men and crush the Lions at home…. just like the last 25 other teams Detroit has faced on the road.

2. Pittsburgh -7 over Oakland

If it had been Pittsburgh -31, I would have still won.

3. KC crushes the QB less Cardinals

The birds should start flying South for the Winter now.. Of course.. South of AZ is Mexico..so maybe not.

4 Wisconsin -5.5 over Michigan

The Badgers are Won by 20 and are really, really good.

5. Stanford -7 over Cal

The Cardinal who won by 34, and are really, really good. (As opposed to, say.. the Cardinals) p.s. Several years ago, when I lived in Palo Alto, Stanford decided that their Nickname…The Indians.. was not politically correct, so changed to the Cardinal.. Not the Cardinals (plural), just singular, as in the color red. That leads to some strange Cheering…. Go, the Color Red. Much like the Crimson Tide. Go Red Water…..

6. OU -7.5 over Baylor

The Sinners..oh, I mean Sooners beat the Baptists by 29. ( The Sooners are pretty good too ,but so is Okla State which is in a way why I am not picking the Bedlam game this week.)

Another quick Shot at the BSC There is are chance that one of these 4 teams Boise, TCU, Stanford, or Wisconsin, could be left out of the BSC games all together and they are all just GREAT. Who is for the BSC? About 200 old White Guys, University Presidents and Bowl officials. Who would rather have a playoff like every other sport in the World? Everybody Else!

This Week’s Picks

NFL

1. Giants -7 @ home over Jacksonville

Giants coming off a loss and playing at home. NY’s D can dominate most teams….teams that don’t have Michael Vick that is and Jacksonville doesn’t have him .. though their QB is having his best year..

2.Cleveland -6 @home over Carolina
And speaking of QBs, The Browns have a young rookie and the Panthers don’t have any.

3.Denver -3 @ home over St. Loui

Denver is an up and down team . Last Week they were down so where do you think they will be this week?

NCAA

4. Arizona + 20 @ Oregon

Not too sure about this game, but not too sure about al ot of games and had to pick some, didn’t I? Oregon is a good team on the road, and great at home. But 20 points seems a tad high. And I may seem a tad high for picking against the Ducks.

5. Florida + 3 @ Fla State

Doesn’t Florida always win this game? Yes, FSU is better this year, and yes they are playing at home, and yes the Gators are quite as good as usual.. And yes I must be crazy, butIi like the semi-Toothless Gators in this one.

6. Geo Tech + 13 @ Geo

Yes, the Bulldogs are playing better, and yes they are playing at home, and yes Tech is not quite as good this year.. and yes, I am picking the Rambling Wreck anyway, because they always give Georgia fits and sometimes totally muzzle the Dogs.

7. Texas Tech -10 @ home over Houston

This is the STONE COLD LOCK of The Year In fact. I am wondering if this was a miss print in USA Today because 10 points is not nearly enough.. Tech is way better and even more way better at home. (I am not sure that.. way more better.. is grammatically correct, but I did go to school is Texas, so could be)

Happy Football Feasting, Tony

50-50

” We” Broke Even Last Week:

The 3 winners..

The Jets won and covered barely in overtime. Philly won and covered by a lot.. scoring 59 points.. thanks to a very adept QB. And Okla also covered by a lot thanks to a very inept Texas Tech D.

The 3 losers..

Navy barely covered, Utah didn’t show up at all, and I guess I was wrong about South Carolina.. The old ball coach still has it.

Next Week

NFL

1. Dallas @ home -6.5 over the Lions

Detroit just set an NFL record for most consecutive road losses.. 25. the record formerly held by…. Detroit! Surely they won’t start playing better on the road this week just to make me look bad.

2. Pittsburgh @home -7 over Oakland

It is true that the Raiders are playing better, but the Steelers are the better team, and are coming off a loss, are at home, and pissed.. go with pissed.

3. KC @home – 8 over AZ

The Cardinals have issues.. many issues, starting with their QB. But the Chiefs are a better team, are coming off a loss, are at home and pissed.. go with pissed

4. Cinncy @ home -5.5 over Buffalo

Buffalo is one of the really bad teams from last year that are playing much better. But Cinncy is the better team, coming off a loss, are at home and pissed.. Sound familiar?

NCAA

5. Fresno State -30 over and @ Boise State

(Hopefully I will get this blog out before the game on Friday night, otherwise that would be cheating. And I don’t think that cheaters win except Auburn.) Yes, Boise is great, and yes, they are playing at home on the Blue ” Smurf Turf”, but 30 points? Come on…. Fresno can score on anyone, so I am going with the Bulldogs. And I have been to both places and Fresno can best be described as Boise without the glamor.

6. Wisconsin -5.5 over and @ Michigan

Way back in the first blog of the year, I picked the Badgers as my surprise college team of the year. And the most surprised person of all is me.. Especially after they rang up over 80 pts on poor Indiana. This week they are playing Mich in the Big House and won’t score half that many points…. but 40 ought to do it..

7. Stanford-7 over and @ Cal

It is true that the Bears almost beat Oregon at home last Saturday night, and will be at home again this week, where they play really well. But Stanford should be able to play keep-a-way. Their power running game should keep the Cal D off the field and the Cal Band off the field.

8. OU -7.5 over and @ Baylor

The Sooners are another one of those teams that don’t play as well on the road and they have go to Waco this week. ( Usually people just got to Waco if they have to.) And Baylor is having its best season in years. But OU is just a better team. So they won’t be dancing in the aisle in Waco this Saturday. Of course, they are Baptists and not supposed to be dancing to begin with..

9. USC -3.5 over and @ Oregon State

Oregon State is playing at home, coming off an embarrassing loss and pissed, so go with pissed right? Wrong. The Beavers loss was to Wash State.. a truly horrible team, so can’t be playing that well. So go with the Trojans over the Beavers and fill in your on joke here.

A Last thought on the BCS

I didn’t pick an ACC game this week, because I can no longer figure out who is good over there. I also didn’t pick a Big East team, because I can figure out who is good…. No One! And yet, both of these conferences get an automatic birth in the BSC. Conversely, Boise and/or TCU could be left out all together. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The BSC is broke….fix it!

Happy Viewing,

5 and 3….. Hurray for me!

Last Week

I did great in college.. Ok, mostly Bs. But, I did great in last’s week’s college picks. I picked 5 out of 6 winners. However, one team, So. Cal, won but didn’t cover. And another team, Fla. State, didn’t win, and didn’t cover anyone. And I split my 2 NFL picks. Winning with the Steelers and losing with the Colts. And now for a few words about the:

BSC

Like most people, I feel that the BSC has one too many letters in it. But we’re stuck with it.. Kind of like our politicians. Until last week, I wasn’t 100 % sure that my new fav team, TCU, could actually hang with the big boys. Ok frogs, you convinced me. But if Oregon and Auburn win out, they will play for the National Champion, which is only fair. Oregon is playing the best ball in the country right now, and is not going to lose. Az proved that they aren’t good enough to do it. Now the OSU game is always a war…. An uncivil War. But this year the Ducks are just too good. They will be focused, knowing they are just a game away from playing for all the Marbles….unless I have lost all my marbles. And if Auburn runs the tables, they would more than earn it, playing the strongest conference in the land. But they have 3 tough games left, Georgia, Ala, and probably Fla in the SEC Championship game. But the Auburn D is suspect.. Their Offense is definitely not a suspect, and neither is their QB suspect, however he is A suspect..

This Week

NFL

1 Jets -3 over and @ Cleveland

The Jets are barely getting by, where as, Cleveland is playing much better. They are playing at home, and just beat the hell out of NE. AND they did it with their 3 string QB, and a 3rd string Running back…. 3rd string in college, that is.. at Arkansas. So go with the Browns right? Wrong.. The Browns can’t do it 2 weeks in a row, can they?

2. Philly -3 over and @ Wash

The Redskins are coming off a Bye, are rested, and playing at home. So go with Wash right? Wrong.. Because the Eagles are the better team and Michael Vick is playing great.. Last year at this time, Vick was 3rd string in Philly, and not doing well. Jason Campbell was starting in Wash and not doing well. And Donovan McNabb was the starting QB in Philly and doing very well. Now Campbell is starting in Oakland, and doing very well. Vick is starting in Philly and doing very well. And McNabb is starting in Wash and not doing very well. Is that clear?

3. Indy -6.5 @ home over Cincy.

The Bengals are coming off a loss and semi desperate. But the Colts just don’t lose 2 in row.. You can count on Indy to win and cover, just like you can count on Dallas.. to duck and cover..

NCAA

4. Utah -5.5 over and @ ND

Utah is coming off an embarrassing loss. But ND is coming off an embarrassing decade….And are starting to get used to it.

5. Navy -15 @ home over Central Michigan.

I don’t know much about Central Michigan, other than that they are probably located somewhere in the central part of Michigan. Unless they are one of those schools like South Fla., which is located in Central Fla! But I don’t think that C. Michigan is as good as East Carolina and Navy just rang up 65 points on them last week.. By the way, I used to do stand up in Greensville NC where ECU is located, and had to point out to the people there that they were about 70 miles from the ocean.. So how did the School mascot become the Pirates? Did Black Beard and his men come up the Interstate from Wilmington? Just asking..

6. Fla -6.5 @ home over South Carolina

The game is basically for the SEC East. Fla is getting better and So Carolina is getting worse. Fla plays like Gators at home in the Swamp. where as the Gamecocks play like Chickens on the road. Unless Coach S. pulls out some evil genius game plan to beat his old team…. Don’t think so.

7. Oklahoma -15.5 @ home over Texas Tech

A similar scenario ensues.. (Good alliteration, huh?) Sooners play great at home and Tech doesn’t play so well on the road. OU is coming off an embarrassing loss to the Aggies and are pissed. While Tech is coming off a nice home win, and are fat and sassy. Yes, 15 points are a lot to give. But it is my Big 12, where they try to keep tackling to a minimum.

Happy Viewing, Tony

Back from the Dead! Maybe

Maybe I am not crazy after all. Maybe I can figure this thing out. And, maybe this season will start to take shape. Or, maybe not. But for one week anyway, it seemed to make sense and I finished 4 & 2. And there are a lot of promising games for this week, so things are looking up after all…. well, maybe.

Last Week

My 4 winners from last week, all covered pretty easily…. Iowa, Okla State, Ark. and the Rams. KC won, but didn’t cover against a Buffalo team that has improved so much that I am considering not making fun of them any more, and pick a new target… How ’bout them Cowboys! Texas did lose to Baylor. Now all season I have not picked any games involving the Cowboys and UT, as they are my fav teams. Of course, prognosticators are not suppose to have favorite teams. So now those 2 will be my new favorite teams to make fun of, and TCU becomes my new fav even if they are Frogs..

This Week

1. So Cal @ -7 over Arizona State

Yes, the Trojans are tired from trying to keep up with the Speedy Ducks who appear to be the best team in the country (are there 2 less appropriate football nicknames than the Ducks and the Frogs?). But the men of Troy are also embarrassed, and probably mad. And they have way more talent on their payroll, I mean roster than the Sun Devils.

2. TCU -4.5 @ and over Utah

The Utes are playing well and are at home, and will have plenty of fan support because what else are you going to do in Salt Lake on a Saturday night, go on a hay ride? And the Frogs are one thing that is very rare these days, consistent. They beat the teams they should beat. They did lose to Utah 2 years ago in Salt Lake but out played them.

3. Okla State @home -6.5 over Baylor

Ok, Baylor is pretty good. And when was the last time you could say that? OK. But OK State is very good. OK, and playing at home. Ok, neither has much of a Defense but not sure you need one these days. Right, Oregon and Auburn? So, go with the Cowboys….OK. No, not the Dallas ones, they suck….Ok.

4. AF -7 over and @ Army

Most years this would be a no brainer but Army is much better. But the Falcons have a unique option. Making the Air Force difficult to prepare for, frustrating and confused…. just like the Air Lines.

5. Stanford -7.5 @home over Arizona

Arizona is good…. Stanford is really good. So go with the really good. Plus, I used to live in Palo Alto and I liked it really good.

6..Fla State – 7 @home over NC

NC has lots of good players that will soon be playing on Sundays. But unfortunately, most of them can’t play on Saturdays now, because they took bribes from Agents and had to join a support group called friends of Reggie. Fla State is unpredictable but at least most of their players aren’t on probation… Yet.

NFL

7. Indy Even over and @ Phili

Like TCU, the Colts win games they are supposed to. They are consistent and predictable. And we predictors like predictable. Oh yeah, and their QB ain’t bad either.

8. Pittsburgh -3.5 over and @ Cinncy

The Steelers are coming off a loss, but are still probably the best team in Football. And the Bengals are at home and desperate. But desperation doesn’t always win. As I recall from my dating days!

Happy Viewing, Tony