Not going to lie, there are just a handful of interesting games this week. However, a majority of them are the after the 4 o'clock hour on Sunday. Le sigh. But the good news is that this week we get to see a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game as well as two very entertaining divisional rivalry games. The Interesting Picks: Sunday 1:00 p.m. Cinncinati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns I bet people are asking how the 0-5 Browns and the 2-3 Bengals be an interesting game. Historically, the Browns always play the Bengals tough. Sometimes we get impressive shootouts between the two teams like in 2004 with a 58-48 win for the Bengals, a 51-45 win for the Browns in 2007, and just recently a 34-27 win for the Bengals back in Week 2 this season. But when you get down to it, the Browns are still young and inexperience while the Bengals have been playoff tested. Pick: Bengals St. Louis Rams @ Miami Dolphins This will be a battle of the unheralded defenses. Both of them are tied for 5th overall in sacks with 15.0 apiece, Miami is 1st overall in rushing defense (61.4 ypg) while St. Louis is 9th overall in scoring defense (18.0 ppg), and both are in the top 15 of overall defense with St. Louis at 14th (335.4 ypg) and Miami at 15th (343.2 ypg). But the Rams are coming off a big win over their divisional rival, Arizona Cardinals, and get above .500 for the first time since 2006. Pick: Rams Detroit Lions @ Philadelphia Eagles Lions are getting a much needed bolster in defense with S Louis Delmas and DE Cliff Avril coming back from injury. Combined with the fact that the Lions are 10th versus the pass on defense (allowing 213.0 ypg) and tied for 5th with passing TDs allowed (allowing 5 so far), it's not going to be pretty for Michael Vick, who currently leads the NFC in turnovers with 11 (6 INTs and 5 Fumbles). Pick: Lions Bonus: Calvin Johnson will score 2TDs and then the Madden Curse will strike like *BOOM* Tough Actin' Tinactin. Sunday 4:05 & 4:25 p.m. New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks For Patriots fans, the news of TE Aaron Hernadez practicing with the team is very encouraging after mising time with an ankle injury. They're coming off 2 consecutive games where they had over 200+ yards rushing, something they haven't done since 1978. However it'll be foolish to underestimate the Seattle Seahawks defense. They're 3rd overall in rushing (66.6 ypg), 5th overall in passing (192.0), 2nd overall in total defense (258.6 ypg), 2nd in scoring defense (14.0 ppg), and have been notorious in the pass rush (5th in sacks with 16.0). If this was Gillette, I would pick the Patriots. But they're playing in CenturyLink Field in Seattle where the '12th Man' resides and where the crowd noises can easily affect the tempo of a hurry-up offense and disrupt the communication between the quarterback and his receivers. In his 13 years in the NFL, this will be Brady's first time playing in Seattle and it'll be his first time experiencing what has frustrated so many QBs and Coaches alike. Pick: Seahawks *New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers* This is the match up of the week where we will see who is for real in the NFC. Already revenge is on the mindset of the 49ers, who lost to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game last year and the 49ers have two former Giants: RB Brandon Jacobs and WR Mario Mannigham. This is like a reminiscent of the 49ers-Giants match ups during the Walsh & Seifert/Parcells years. However things are different. The Giants resemble the 80s 49ers in terms of offense, 2nd in overall yards (429.2 ypg), 3rd in passing (309.0 ypg), 2nd in overall scoring (30.4 ppg), plus Eli Manning has the arm and explosiveness like a Joe Montana. On the opposite side, the 49ers resemble the 80s Giants in terms of defense, 2nd in overall defense (262.6 ypg), 2nd in passing defense (181.2 ypg), and 1st in points allowed (13.6 ppg), plus they have Alex Smith who can manage the game almost flawlessly like a Phil Simms. As long as the Giants defense can hold Frank Gore, you can bet that Big Blue will beat Big Red. Pick: Giants Monday 8:30 p.m. Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers Two charter AFL teams that have been going at it since 1960 and have always been fun to watch. Broncos lead the overall series 55-48-1. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses last week with the Broncos losing 31-21 against the Pats and Chargers collapsed in the 4th quarter in a 31-24 loss against the Saints. Interestingly enough Peyton Manning has historically struggled against the Chargers. He's 4-3 against them 191 completions out of 314 attempts (60.8 % completion) for 2,128 yards and throwing only 12 TDs but 16 INTs for a QB rating of 72.5, which is the lowest QB rating for Manning against one team. However the Chargers this year are 20th against the pass, allowing 260 yards per game, as well as been inconsistent on both sides of the football. Though Peyton has struggled against the Chargers before, don't expect him to this time around. Pick: Broncos Bonus: John Gruden will finally be able to let out his big man crush of Peyton Manning in this one It was Raul Too Cool in Game 3 of the Yankees vs Orioles instant classic Wednesday as Ibanez's took the cold bat out of Alex Rodriguez's hands and turned it red hot. Joe Girardi made the move of his career by pinch hitting Ibanez for the 0-3 A-Rod. Ibanez went on to produce a classic Yankee playoff moment. However with 5 years and 100 million dollars still committed to A-Rod, the Bronx bombers can't feel good about having to pinch hit for a future Hall of Famer with a 40 year old in the 9th inning. You have a 37-year old third basemen who who can't buy a clutch hit with his 27 million dollar salary, that is not exactly a recipe for success in New York. As amazing as Wednesday night's win was for the Pin Stripes, Yankee fans, players and coaches can't be happy with prospect of 5 more years of this weighing down the empire. - Joe Passarelli Postseason baseball is here! After seeing the top seeds falter in the innaugural Wild Card play-in, we find ourselves at the heart of the League Divisional Series. Eight teams are still alive, including first-time participants in the Washinton Nationals, as well as the perennial powerhouse from the Bronx. We have big-time sluggers facing off against dominant pitching, and as always, plenty of drama and controversy. Today, we will experience a quadruple header, and they are all elimination games... let's check out today's matchups
-Kevin Aherne At one time, not too long ago, receivers like Chad Johnson and Plaxico Burress were the out right stars of their respective team's receiving core. But nowadays, they are down on their luck and are struggling to find a place in the NFL. More and more elite receivers are coming out of college and the woodwork everyday. The one thing that Ocho and Burress have not done is beg for a job. They took their talents to any teams that would offer them a chance to play and tried out like every other player pursuing a job. But for one receiver, just trying out is not good enough, and has to result to proverbial begging. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the one time star of the San Francisco 49ers and the showboating self proclaimed ace of the Dallas Cowboys, Terrell Owens is literally begging for a job back in the NFL. After the Jets loss to the undefeated Houston Texans under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, Owens tweeted: "Hey JETS!!! I'm available! I'm ready, willing & able! Call my agent @jordanwoy & let's make it happen." I mean how pathetic is it to beg for a job when you have been nothing but trouble for every team that you have ever played for? The funny part about the whole situation is that people are actually on Owens' side. Chris Carter said on Mike and Mike in the Morning, that there is no way that what the Jets put out on the field monday night are better than Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens or Plaxico Burress. I mean in a way i agree with Chris, but there is no need to beg for a job. You don't think that teams realize that these receivers are available, and I'm sure that they have the agents' numbers. If they really want your talents on their team then they will contact you. The sad part is with Santonio Holmes being out for the rest of the season, I would not be surprised if the Jets give one or two of these former star receivers a call, because lets face it the Jets would be better getting some lingere league receivers over what they have been putting out on the field. You be the judge though, what is your opinion on this subject? -Coach- Week 4 is in the books my friends. We saw blowouts, shutouts, heartbreaks, and sad sacks all over the place. But more importantly, we got back the regular refs. Hooray. Now we can start all over and piss and moan about how many blown calls that made and then rant about how we can do a better job, even though we sucked down 5 beers before the 2:00 warning. Any who, bumped up my picks to a very impressive 10-5. Should have picked the Bears over the Cowboys, may Ditka forgive me. Now onto this week's pick'ems. Not that many good match ups to say the least. But thank the football Gods and Coach Ditka that we get to see an old rivalry renewed. The Interesting Picks: Thursday 8:20 p.m. Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams Interesting NFC West divisional game we got going on. A 4-0 Cardinals team going against a surprisingly decent 2-2 Rams team. However the Cardinals have won 11 of the last 12 match ups stemming back from 2006, including winning 6 at St. Louis. Kevin Kolb has stepped up his game, throwing for 67 of 107, 751 yards and 7TDs to 2INTs and is looking to and will hook up big time with Larry Fitzgerald in this one. And if that's not the case, expect the tenacious Cardinals D to peck away at the Rams offense. Winner: Cardinals Sunday 1:00 p.m. Green Bay Packers @ Indianapolis Colts Well shoot, looks like we got ourselves a 'shootout' between Luck and Rodgers. I'm just messing with y'all. It'll turn out that Green Bay will go up by 17 points midway through the second quarter and it'll force Andrew Luck to just keep throwing the ball. It'll be tough for him since Green Bay is currently 6th overall in pass defense and we all know how much OLB Clay Matthews loves to pass rush. Winner: Packers Cleveland Browns @ New York Giants The bad news for the Giants is that WR Hakeem Nicks (foot) and SS Kenny Phillips (MCL sprain) will miss this game. The good news is that the still got decent guys who can step up and take over (WR Domenik Hixon and SSs Stevie Brown and Tyler Sash). Plus it doesn't hurt to go against a Browns team that's 24th overall in total offense and defense. Browns are scrappy but are no match for Big Blue. Winner: Giants Philadelphia Eagles @ Pittsburgh Steelers Nothing like an in-state rivalry to help make this week interesting. The Steelers are coming off the bye week and are getting back RB Rashard Mendenhall back as well as SS Troy Polamalu and OLB James Harrison from injuries. On the opposite side, the Eagles have just recently signed Chris Collinsworth who admitted he came out of retirement to catch Michael Vick's balls. That won't save them from the Steelers, who boast an impressive 26-6 against the NFC since 2003, including winning 7 straight. Winner: Steelers Bonus: Fuck you Chris Collinsworth Atlanta Falcons @ Washington Redskins My upset pick is right here. Falcons have a great passing offense in Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Rodney White. Unfortunately on the defensive side of the ball they're ranked an abysmal 29th in rushing defense, allowing 146.3 yards per game. They'll be going against a Redskins team that is ranked 3rd overall in total offense (421.8 ypg) and 2nd overall in rushing offense (171.0 ypg). Even Stevie Wonder can easily see what Shannahan's game plan is going to be. Winner: Redskins Sunday 4:25 p.m. Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots It's another classic Brady-Manning passing duel. In these duels, Tom Brady is 8-4 against Peyton Manning, but Peyton has won 4 of the last 6 match ups. However in the early going of the season, the Patriots are a disappointing 24th defending the pass (281.5 ypg), going up against the likes of Jake Locker, Kevin Kolb, Joe Flacco, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Peyton Manning, on the other hand, is currently 7th in passing yards (290.5 ypg) and is notorious for being able to read defenses and make audible. And don't expect the Patriots to be able to run the ball as successful against a Denver run defense that is 9th overall and has given up a mere 87.5 ypg, including 3.4 ypc. Patriots were riding high after their blow out win against Buffalo but expect them to be taken back down to earth in this one. Winner: Broncos As the NHL remains on ice with its ongoing lockout, the NBA looks to heat up the coming months with a plethora of hot stories burning this offseason. From a super face lift to the Los Angeles Lakers to a burning desire to remain champions in Miami, there is certainly not a shortage of stories igniting the NBA landscape. On behalf of 990wbob.com, I have compiled the five hottest NBA topics as we get ready to tip off the 2012-2013 NBA season. 5. Los Angeles Clippers: This time last year the Clippers were sitting at the top of the NBA hot stove pulling off a stunning trade to bring in all world point guard Chris Paul to pair with high flying wing man Blake Griffin. After a disappointing finish to the first year of the CP3 era in LA, the Clippers added six man specialists Jamal Crawford to add to the fire power of Lob City. They also added veterans Grant Hill and Lamar Odom to the fold. Hill would love to end a stellar career by making one final push for a championship with this high powered Clipper lineup; however Odom is coming off of his worst and most embarrassing season with Dallas and is in dire need of reclaiming his form which made him a consistent 6th man of the year candidate. Can this LA home coming be the missing ingredient to the success of Lob City, or will the western conference be too strong for Blake Griffin, CP3 and company to overcome? 4. Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had the greatest season to date last year as they guided the Thunder to the western conference championship. Certainly there is no shame in losing to the king; however OKC is looking to shake off the disappointment of a second place NBA finish. The way this team is loaded with young talent, the sky seems to be the limit, the Thunder were even able to add to their collection of young dynamic talent by drafting forward Perry Jones. Although this move may give rise to the trading of sharpshooter James Harden' as it may be cheaper to keep this upstart draft steal than to resign Harden to a big money deal with Durant, Westbrook and Perkins already on the books with big money commitments. 3. Boston Celtics: Well Boston's big three gave it all they had last season, coming within one game of keeping LeBron and company ring-less in south beach. After flaming out against the heat, the Celtics made some proactive changes. They said good bye to Ray Allen, who gave them five years of outstanding play at the two guard position. Allen's departure may have left Boston fans with a bitter taste in their mouths, but with a solid offseason the Celtics are looking to gear up for yet another deep run in the eastern conference. Garnett and Pierce are clearly the locker room leaders, however this Celtic team will only go as far as Rajon Rondo takes them. Rondo's talents include a fantastic ability to keep a fast paced offensive attack going. With the emergence and hopefully speedy recovery of Avery Bradley at the two guard position, this should provide the Celtics with a lethal offensive and defensive presence alongside Rondo. Danny Ainge did a masterful job retooling his bench, including the signing of former sixth man of the year and NBA champ Jason Terry, who should providing some sharp shooting that was lost in Allen's departure. The drafting of Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo will provide some much needed youthful presence to what had been an aging team. The biggest addition to the team may come with the return of forward Jeff Green. Green has been the subject of much ridicule after being traded for Kendrick Perkins two seasons ago. He is looking to silence the haters and prove his worth to the team, after being resigned to a very generous deal; Green has 40 million reasons to be an x factor to 2012-2013 Celtics. 2. Miami Heat: After finally adding a championship to his multiple MVP Awards and Gold Medals, LeBron James is actually remarkably off of the radar going into his first title defense. With the downfall of the Orlando Magic, the competition in the Eastern conference seems to be few and far between. The Celtics were their greatest test last season and seem to be the only true threat to the Heat once again. Former Celtic Ray Allen may look to instill some regret in the minds of Bostonians, as open shots should be plentiful playing alongside Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James. LeBron’s words of “Not one, not two, not six, not seven" were infamous legacy scaring words that followed the king for his first two years in south beach. A successful title defense will do wonders in the King’s efforts to purify his legacy, and perhaps LeBron will finally have a date with destiny and face Kobe and those new look Lakers in the finals. 1. Los Angeles Lakers: After back to back seasons of early playoff exits, the Lakers have assembled a cast truly worthy of the Hollywood spot light. They substitute problem child Andrew Bynum with the greatest defensive center in the Association Dwight Howard. They add assist Jedi master Steve Nash in search of a championship ring to end a hall of fame career, they even add former UNC star Antawn Jamison to a list of forwards including Pau Gasol and Meta World Peace. Certainly you can't buy a championship; the Lakers found that out the hard way when adding Karl Malone and Gary Payton to a team coming off of a three straight titles provided them with a bitter defeat to the Pistons in the Finals. Will history repeat itself, or will LA's offseason moves heat up the NBA season in route to a dream finals matchup against Miami? - Joe Passarrelli |
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